Chapter 12: A Pleasant Surprise

Chapter 12: A Pleasant Surprise

The next day, Ayari brought the girl she had promised to introduce to Shin.

Shin was called to Ayari's house, where he saw a white-eyed girl with short greenish-brown hair sitting in the living room. She had a cute, delicate face and looked very well-behaved.

Ayari enthusiastically said, "Shin's here."

The white-eyed girl immediately stood up when she saw Shin, looking at him with curiosity. She had only heard about this person in the clan but had never interacted with him before.

"This is Natsu. You should know her," Ayari said to Shin.

Shin nodded. He did have an impression of this girl - there weren't many people their age in the clan, so even if they didn't interact much, they knew of each other. Her older sister was Haruka, Hinata Ayano's maid.

"This is Shin."

"Hello," Shin said.

"...Hello," Natsu replied softly.

"Well, don't you think our Natsu is very cute?" Ayari said with a smile. "You wouldn't believe how many boys try to court her."

Luna Hyuga felt a bit embarrassed and tried to stop Ayari: "Sister Ayari..."

"She is quite cute," Shin said.

"...Thank you," Luna Hyuga politely responded.

Shin noticed that she kept glancing at him, quickly averting her gaze whenever their eyes met. He guessed she was curious about his eyes.

Seeing Ayari giving him meaningful looks, Shin reluctantly said, "It's almost noon. Why don't we go get something to eat?"

"Now that you mention it, I am feeling a bit hungry," Ayari immediately chimed in, giving Shin an approving look.

Shin felt slightly exasperated. He was only going along with this because Ayari seemed so enthusiastic about it.

"What would you like to eat?" he casually asked.

"I'm fine with anything. What about you, Natsu?" Ayari said.

"Anything is fine with me," Luna Hyuga said softly.

Shin: "..."

Realizing he had asked the wrong question, Shin decisively said, "Let's go for ramen."

"Ra...ramen?" Ayari was stunned, looking at Shin in disbelief. Her expression seemed to say, "Are you really taking a girl out for ramen on your first meeting?"

Luna Hyuga was also surprised. When other boys invited her out, they usually chose carefully selected restaurants like dessert shops, barbecue places, or sushi restaurants. Shin was the first to suggest ramen.

"You..." Ayari furrowed her brow in thought. "Don't you want to reconsider?"

"No need. Let's have ramen," Shin insisted.

Ayari was at a loss for words. She had initially thought Shin showed promise, but now she felt she had overestimated him.

Luna Hyuga, however, didn't find it inappropriate. She had come to meet Shin today partly out of curiosity about this clansman who had lost his Byakugan, but mainly because she couldn't refuse Ayari's request.

It was just meeting a boy and having a meal together, after all.

Shin ignored their thoughts. He was only thinking about the "Ichiraku Ramen" shop he had seen in the village a few days ago. He hadn't expected Ichiraku to have already opened a shop in Konoha at this time and wanted to try it out.

The three of them left the Hyuga clan compound together.

"I heard Shin is already a chunin," Luna Hyuga said, noticing Ayari frantically trying to catch Shin's eye. Finding it amusing that he seemed oblivious, she thoughtfully started a conversation to help Ayari out.

"Yes, I was fortunate to pass the chunin exams," Shin replied.

"I've heard the chunin exams are very strict. Passing them couldn't have been just luck," Luna Hyuga said. "I'm still only a genin."

"Being a genin is fine too. Becoming a chunin is just a matter of time and doesn't represent much," Shin said.

No one in the Hyuga clan would remain a genin forever.

"Shin is being too modest. I heard he accomplished great things on the front lines," Luna Hyuga said softly, her words sounding very pleasing to the ear.

Shin just smiled faintly and said, "I was just lucky not to die."

Ayari suddenly interjected, "He had infiltrated deep near the enemy camp. Even jonin might not have been able to safely retreat from such a situation."

"That sounds so dangerous," Luna Hyuga said, surprised.

Ayari matter-of-factly replied, "If it wasn't dangerous, how could he have brought back useful intelligence?"

Her words were meant to improve Shin's image, and they did have an effect, causing Luna Hyuga to view him in a new light.

Although she was a ninja, Natsu had never been to the battlefield. Her understanding of war mostly came from hearsay and seeing injured soldiers returning from the front lines, which gave her some sense of the cruelty of war.

In her heart, she held great respect for people like Shin who had been to the battlefield.

But Shin didn't take pride in this. He let Ayari talk about the front lines without interrupting, becoming more of a listener, as if the story wasn't about him at all.

Soon, they arrived at the Ichiraku Ramen shop.

It was a rather simple, small store. Seeing this, Ayari sighed even more deeply.

She felt her efforts today had been wasted and decided she needed to teach Shin a lesson when they got back.

"This place is actually quite nice," Luna Hyuga said with a slight smile, not showing any signs of disdain.

"I think so too," Shin said with a faint smile, feeling inexplicably nostalgic. He then lifted the curtain and walked in.

"Welcome!" The owner was a young man wearing a white chef's hat and an apron. His eyes seemed almost closed, and when he smiled, they disappeared completely.

"What would you like to order?"

"I'll have the house special ramen," Shin said.

"I'll have the same," Ayari said listlessly.

"I'd like the tonkotsu chashu ramen," Natsu said.

"Please wait a moment," the owner replied.

The three of them sat down, with Luna Hyuga in the middle. Ayari had quickly taken a seat leaving one space between her and Shin, so Natsu felt it would be impolite to sit on Ayari's other side.

"I came here when this shop first opened. There were so many customers then, and we had to wait in line for a long time," Luna Hyuga said.

"It's a pity I didn't come then," Shin said.

"No worries, you can always become a regular from now on," the ramen shop owner, who was stretching noodles, said with a smile. "We offer discounts for regular customers."

Ayari pouted on the side, thinking to herself that there was nothing special about a ramen shop.

"It seems Shin really likes ramen," Luna Hyuga said with a smile.

"No," Shin said, resting his chin on his hand and glancing at Luna Hyuga.

"I like all good food. It would be a shame to only love one type of food and miss out on other delicious dishes."

He noticed Ayari looking at him, and when their eyes met, she glared at him. Shin understood she was dissatisfied with his behavior.

Luna Hyuga was slightly taken aback by his words, then nodded: "What Shin says... makes sense."

Soon, steaming bowls of ramen were served. A thin layer of oil glistened on the surface of the soup, and a rich aroma filled the air.

"Let's eat," Shin said.