From the author of The Scent of Rain! I'm back ppl! It sure is good to write once more! See, I did write a new story!

Chapter 1: Strange Emotions

A soothing summer breeze blew its way over the peaceful landscape of Konoha village, dancing across the trees and rivers. It was one of those days where nothing could go wrong, where people could relax and just take a day off. Perfect days like this were rare, without a cloud in the sky. Hyuuga Neji sighed contentedly, closing his eyes and lifting his head to catch the peaceful breeze that swirled around him. Neji leaned into the waft of wind, following the flowing rhythm the breeze seemed to set. Elegant features lifted in a smile as Neji closed his eyes and relished every minute of the day. He meandered lazily down to the nearest hill (coincidentally the one with the fluffiest grass) and flopped down, every muscle in his body relaxing as the Hyuuga snuggled into the soft grass. Neji locked his hands behind his head and watched the clouds float by without a care in the world.

Somewhere on those very same hills albeit a little further south tripped a small blonde fox-child merrily over the waving grass, chasing butterflies and laughing delightedly. Though Naruto was already supposed to be an experienced ninja, nothing could retain his perpetual optimism when came time to show it, which was ninety-nine point nine percent of the time.

Naruto twirled around and around, getting caught up in the slipstream of the fragrant mid-summer breeze, fluffy blonde locks swirling around in the wind. He danced to the breeze, danced with the breeze, spinning around in all sorts of loops and curlicues, sparkling blue eyes closed and a sweet smile on his face. He laughed gently and flopped down on the grass with a sigh. The fox-child bit his thumb, summoned a small red fox, and chased it happily over the hills, romping and playing this way and that. Naruto summoned four more foxes, and the kitlings plus the blonde rambled and bounded all over the hills, chasing each other playfully.

It was a while before Naruto finally stopped, suddenly remembering a very important object that had to be delivered to a very important person. It was July 3rd, and a certain Hyuuga had a birthday to celebrate. If said Hyuuga celebrated birthdays at all, now that was something the fox-child mused over thoughtfully. If Neji had a birthday, then Naruto would make sure he would enjoy it. It was only proper, seeing that Neji was his comrade and friend. Naruto clutched a present in his hands as he spotted a shock of long dark hair flowing gently in the breeze on a nearby hill. What a coincidence indeed. Naruto padded quietly around to the other side of the hill and snuck up behind the unsuspecting Hyuuga.

Neji drifted off lazily, silvery-white eyes closing to the world. He curled deeper into the grass when suddenly he felt the grass shift slightly a faint puff of air. Opalescent eyes slowly reopened, and Neji stared into the bluest eyes there ever could be in the existence of blue eyes. Uzumaki Naruto was leaning over Neji's head, grinning excitedly which made his eyes glow with innocence and light. Neji rolled over and sat up, peering curiously at the boy.

"Naruto? Why are you here?"

The aforementioned Naruto bounced up and down playfully, hands hiding something just out of Neji's sight. Neji tried to peek around Naruto's back, but the blonde evaded his attempts, giggling all the while. Naruto finally succumbed to the excitement and threw himself on Neji, letting out a squeal of happiness. Neji was confused. Why was Naruto so happy, and why did he hug him for no good reason? A faint flush stained ivory cheeks.

Naruto rubbed his face against Neji's, giggling softly, further flustering the Hyuuga. Neji stiffened, surges of strange energy running up and down his spine. The feelings confused the Hyuuga; they weren't unpleasant, quite the contrary in fact, but the prodigy had never experienced them before, which resulted in wariness from the boy. Neji broke away gently and turned to face the blonde, quickly subduing the blush that threatened to rise.

"Did you want to give me something?"

Naruto bobbed his head vigorously up and down, giggling some more. He brought his hands out from behind and presented a gift to Neji.

"Happy Birthday, Neji!"

Neji was stunned. How did Naruto know when his birthday was? He'd never told the blonde…then again, Naruto could've asked Hinata. He recovered from his momentary shock and accepted the present gingerly. The Hyuuga frowned thoughtfully, laid his ear against the gift to make sure it wasn't ticking (one could never be too sure with the Uzumaki, considering that he was a former prankster), and began to undo the bow. Carefully peeling away the tape, Neji's nimble fingers tore at the wrapping paper until a worn, yellowed book fell into his hands.

It was a leather bound book with streaks of gold lining running up the spine. Upon further scrutiny, Neji could make out faint writing on the manuscript. He blew away the layers of dust (Naruto sneezed) and read the kanji inscribed on the cover.

"The Ancient Secrets of Jyuuken? Naruto, where the hell did you get this?" Neji gasped. Naruto grinned.

"I found it when I was cleaning out my closet. I think the old geezer gave it to me a long time ago when I was little, but I don't know why. He should have given it to you. Since today was your birthday, I thought it would make a good present."

Neji ran his fingers over the book like as if it would break. This book, this very book, was the key to maximize his training and make his name known in generations of Hyuuga yet to come. Silvery eyes widened in wonder and amazement. Neji slowly raised his head and looked into Naruto's eyes, a deep current of gratitude overflowing in his gaze. Naruto smiled hopefully.

"So do you like it?"

Neji's features shifted into a genuine smile. The change seemed to alter Neji until he no longer looked like the ice-cold boy he used to be. Warmth radiated from the boy, seemingly working its way through Neji's body until Naruto could practically feel the heat. The fox-child smiled as well, cornflower eyes lighting up with joy.

"Ne, Neji, can we celebrate?" Neji cocked his head thoughtfully to the side.

"Celebrate?" Naruto bobbed happily on the balls of his feet.

"Yeah, it'll be fun!" Neji smiled and poked Naruto playfully on the nose.

"All right, as long as it's not something dealing with ramen." Naruto drooped.

"But ramen is so good….anyway, it's not what I had in mind. I know this great café just across the street from Ichiraku, and they sell the GREATEST ice-cream! So can we go? Ne? Ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne ne?"

Naruto himself was cute enough, but Naruto with puppy eyes and a pouty lip could demolish the Akatsuki in one fell swoop. Neji felt his restraint pack its bags and leave on a permanent vacation.

"All right, all right."

"YAY!" Naruto snatched Neji by the arm and hauled him off to celebrate. Neji gave in and allowed himself to be dragged by the fox-child, having not recovered from the begging look Naruto had displayed.

It was a few minutes later that they arrived at the café, the infamous Michi no Bai. It was a cheery place, with white garden chairs and tables inside and outside. Plants, tropical flowers, and vines overhung the walls, crawling over the awnings to add some touch to the place.

"Wow," Neji gasped in astonishment. Naruto grinned in triumph.

"See, see? I told you it was nice."

"Actually, I'm surprised that you actually know a place other than Ichiraku." Neji smirked. Naruto sulked.

"Hey, I do have a life."

"I would have never guessed." Neji got a ribful of elbow for the last comment. Just then a lady came up to their table.

"Would you like to order now?" Naruto looked up and gasped.

"Shizune-san! What are you doing here?" Shizune smiled.

"Tsunade-sama wanted me to make some money because she needs to pay off her gambling debts. Honestly, Tsunade-sama needs some discipline sometime…" Shizune trailed away thoughtfully. Naruto stared off into space, the cogs of his mind working frantically.

"Naa, Shizune-san. Here's what you can do…" And Naruto started whispering in her ear. Neji caught something about "photos" and "sake".When he was done, Shizune looked up, a sadistic smile on her face.

"Thank you, Naruto. I'll try that out as soon as I get a chance. Now, what would you like to order?" Naruto rested his chin on his hands, pondering thoughtfully.

"I'll have one vanilla scoop topped with nuts and berry sauce please." Neji stated. Shizune nodded.

"And you?"

"I'll have a scoop of vanilla topped with chocolate sauce, marshmallows, nuts, berry sauce, more nuts, specifically pecans and almonds, more chocolate sauce, banana slices, and a cherry on top, please." Shizune's eyes bugged out.

"Are you sure you can eat that much?"

"For someone who once ate 1,879 bowls of ramen, I'd say I could." Neji sweatdropped.

"Okay then." Shizune poofed away and reappeared with their orders. The fox child's eyes widened.

"The service sure is good around here." Shizune walked away, leaving Neji and Naruto to their delicacies. After a couple of minutes, Neji snuck a subtle glance at the fox-child seated across from him. The sight made him inhale sharply.

Whoever thought just the simple task of eating ice-cream could be so…so…alluring. Naruto's lithe pink tongue darted in and out, licking and nipping at the ice cream. Vulpine features displayed true bliss and contentment as the blonde nipped the nuts off one by one, licking off the chocolate sauce and all the other ridiculous toppings. Occasionally licking off some renegade sauce from his lush soft lips, the blonde continued to demolish his ice cream, emitting soft happy noises.

Neji's collar, wide as it was, suddenly seemed four sizes too tight. He swallowed nervously, a crimson blush spreading over his cheeks. The Hyuuga's fingers twitched nervously, and Neji had the sudden urge to take the boy in his arms. Shaking his head to drag his thoughts out of the gutter, Neji leaned over to Naruto.

"Naruto?" The blonde looked up, his tongue licking a few renegade nuts off of his chin.

"Hmm?"

"Can I…uhm…have a taste of your ice cream?" Naruto grinned.

"Kay!" The fox-child slid his glass of sweetness over to Neji. Neji hesitantly dipped his spoon in the ice cream and slid his tongue over the contents.

"This is really good. You made a good choice, Naruto." Naruto grinned happily, then stopped and stared at the corner of Neji's mouth.

"What?" Naruto pointed.

"You have a spot of ice cream on your mouth." Neji fumbled with his napkin.

"Here?"

"No,"

"Here?"

"No,"

"How about here?" Naruto sighed and leaned over. Much to Neji's surprise, the fox-child lapped at the corner of Neji's mouth, tongue licking at the beginning of Neji's lips. The Hyuuga desperately fought down the rising flush and fidgeted nervously as Naruto continued to clean. More tingles of energy ran down the Hyuuga's spine, and Neji felt a rush of lightheadedness.

Across the street, Sasuke sat bold upright as he witnessed the scene playing before him. A searing pain tore at his chest, and the Uchiha clenched his teeth. Why did he feel so angry when he saw the dobe with the Hyuuga? He didn't care what the dobe did or who his company was, but he felt somewhat…betrayed. After all, he had been the dobe's teammate for the past year or so, and he was the one who was probably the closest thing the dobe had for a friend. The raven haired youth gritted his teeth as he watched from the shadows, trying to analyze this feeling.

Jealously.

More to come soon!

Silver-eyed Hyuuga