Snow flooded all of Konohagakure, like a crushing wave of winter covered the entire village. The roofs of the houses, the ground, even on the clothes of the people, the snow had taken over the entire country. But despite all the snow and his mother's warnings, Toru was walking around the village, with his hands in his pockets and the scarf that covered part of his face, this helped him maintain body heat.
"This is so...quiet"
For some reason the snow made him feel nostalgic, as if he had seen winter more than thirty times, considering that Toru is six years old, something like that would be impossible, but still he felt the nostalgia of seeing the snow fall.
(That girl has been following me for more than ten minutes)
Toru looked back, and could see a person watching him from behind a wall. The person could hardly be seen clearly, she was small, with black hair and the pupil of her eyes was completely white. Toru felt a little awkward, as he felt harassed by the person who was looking at him from behind the wall.
"You've been following me for a long time, why?"
Returning his gaze to the front, Toru spoke. This sudden action caused the person behind the wall to fall on his back due to the shock he received at being discovered.
"How... did you find out?"
The person came out of hiding, thus revealing a beautiful girl with white eyes, her skin was as white and fragile as porcelain, her hair was dark, and the warm clothes she was wearing made her look charming and adorable.
"You didn't hide so well, you could see your head"
With a wave of his hand, Toru explained why it was so easy to spot her.
"So that's why..."
Toru adjusted her scarf a bit and looked at the white-eyed girl. A sigh escaped her lips as she tried to think of something to say.
"I don't know why you follow me, but I don't like that. If you want to talk to me just stand in front of me and do it, it's not that difficult"
The girl's eyes looked at Toru curiously, no one had ever treated her like this. Normally the others would turn away from her because of the strange color of her eyes, but he never tried to move away, he just stood in front of her looking at her with a neutral expression.
"But I..."
"When you want to talk to someone, just approach that person and say what you feel. It's simple, it's not impossible"
Toru's words were in complete contrast to his personality, after all he never talks to anyone other than Sasuke, Itachi and Naruto. The simple act of giving advice on socializing to a stranger made Toru feel pathetic.
"It's just that I... I just..."
A small tear appeared in one of the girl's tear ducts, she felt like an inferior being before anyone, she couldn't look anyone in the face without feeling fear. Toru watched this with no change in the expression on his face, but inside there was a pitched battle to decide what to do about it.
(Oh no. She's going to cry, now what do I do?)
Searching the depths of his memories, Toru found the answer, the words of a woman, better known as Asahi Kyoko, Toru's mother.
Girls like it when you invite her to eat sweet things. An ice cream can be fine on a hot afternoon, or a glass of hot chocolate in the morning. But at night it is different, since it is quite cold, so you should invite him to eat something that is not very heavy and that maintains body heat|
(Thank you, Okaa-sama. I'll make sure to buy a fruit-filled bun for you later)
Toru's eyes closed for a moment, and a sigh came from his lips, after all he was mentally preparing himself for what he was going to say.
"Are you hungry? It's already night, how about we go get some ramen?"
The girl looked up, confused by Toru's proposal. While it's true that no one approaches her because of the color of her eyes, being invited to dinner by someone like Toru made the girl strangely happy.
"Uh... I...?"
The girl was perplexed for a few seconds, not knowing what to answer.
"I'll take that as a yes"
Without thinking twice, Toru took the white-eyed girl by the hand and started walking in the direction of the nearest restaurant. The only thing the girl could do about it was lower her head to hide the blush that had appeared on her face.
(Why is he...? Why is he so different from the others? Everyone always...always stayed away from me, everyone is afraid of my eyes, they look at me with disgust...but he... )
The girl raised her eyes to see Toru's face, she carefully saw the expression that was shown on the gray-eyed boy's face. The eyes that showed no emotion, it seemed that Toru was sleepy all the time.
"You are very weird..."
The girl said quietly, but being so close, Toru could hear what the girl said perfectly.
"I've lost count of how many times I've been told that"
Toru stared straight ahead, trying to remember how many times people had called him 'weird'. He always knew what people thought of him, but for some reason he was already used to it, as if he had been called 'weird' hundreds of thousands of times.
"Huh? I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."
"It doesn't matter, it doesn't affect me at all"
Toru continued walking, ignoring the momentary feeling of inferiority that took over his mind.
-Ichiraku Ramen-
Inside that restaurant where the aroma of cooked meat could be felt in the air, a man was busy in the kitchen. This man was Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen. From afar you could see how he handled the ingredients of the star dish of his restaurant, with great skill he cut the meat, along with the broth and the rest of the ingredients, thus creating a ramen dish.
Teuchi put the bowl of ramen aside to finish preparing a second bowl. When the second course was finished, a brown-haired girl appeared next to Teuchi.
"I'll carry this, dad. Leave it to me"
The girl said placing the two bowls of ramen in her hands.
"Okay, but don't spill a single drop, okay?"
"Hehe. Who do you think I am? I can handle this, you taught me after all"
After saying that, the girl came out of the kitchen with the dishes in her hands and placed them on the table in front of a girl and a boy who were wearing warm clothes for winter.
"Two Orders of Ramen Ready"
"Thank you"
"Yes thanks"
The two thanked the service properly, took the wooden chopsticks that were on the table, separated them and began to eat.
Seeing that she had done a good job, the brown-haired girl returned to the kitchen, leaving the couple to enjoy their meal.
"This is pretty good for a simple ramen"
Holding the chopsticks delicately, the boy took a piece of meat and brought it to his mouth. Slowly he chewed the meat, making the juices it kept come out, giving a salty taste, but sweet at the same time.
"It's true, I don't know your name. Judging by your eyes I can easily tell that you're from the Hyuga clan, but I don't know your name"
The white-eyed girl kept silent at the question, it was true that she had never mentioned his name, but what made her keep silent was that she completely did not know the name of the boy she had been watching for so long, but thanks to the child in front of her was very perceptive that silence was broken in an instant.
"I am Toru, Asahi Toru. Can you tell me your name?"
The girl hesitated for a few seconds, but finally found the courage to put her shyness aside and answer Toru's question.
"My name is...Hinata...Hyuga Hinata"
Hinata looked up to see Toru's reaction to her name, but he kept the same expression with which she met him.
"That's good to know, now we can talk more comfortably"
Toru held the chopsticks for a moment before using them to take a bite of the ramen noodles. The way he ate was, to say the least, strangely elegant. She held her chopsticks delicately, taking her time enjoying each bite.
"You really like ramen, right?"
Hinata decided to speak, her voice was a little shaky, but she no longer felt so nervous.
"Yes, my mother usually buys ramen"
"I understand..."
When Hinata thought that she had brought up a good topic of conversation, the awkward silence returned to take over the environment. It was inevitable, neither of them was good at conversation, much less choosing topics of conversation. The two of them had just stayed quiet while they ate, every movement of their hands, breathing, the beating of their hearts could be heard due to the crushing silence in the place.
Ten minutes of eternal silence passed. The plates were completely empty, and Toru had just stared at the exit.
(How do I get out of here? I already paid for the food, but this is very inconvenient, even for me. I can't find a chance to leave. Okaa-sama, if you're there, please give me some advice)
Every second that passed seemed eternal, this made Toru feel overwhelmed, although the expression on his face doesn't show it, he wanted to get out of there, after all the situation had gotten out of hand. Toru thought that after eating ramen she would leave, but she didn't.
"Toru-kun..."
Hinata spoke, breaking the awkward atmosphere that had formed. This made Toru sigh in relief.
"What's the matter?"
"Well... do you... do you want to walk me home?"
"Yes, why not?"
Although his face didn't show it, Toru was very happy, he could finally get away from that awkward situation. He just had to drop Hinata off at her door and this stressful day would be over.
After making up his mind, Toru left the restaurant, and looked at Hinata, who was still sitting on the chair.
"We have to go, it's already too late"
Hinata looked at Toru, and a smile formed on her face.
"Yes..."
As they walked, neither spoke, at that moment the same thing was happening that happened in the restaurant, the dangerous awkward silence.
Each one went at their own pace, Toru was two steps ahead, while Hinata was behind Toru, thinking over and over why Toru's attitude towards her was so different from the others.
"Can I ask you something?"
Toru stopped in his tracks and turned to Hinata. He saw the blush on the white-eyed girl's face, so in order not to drag out this stressful day any longer, Toru said:
"Go ahead"
Hinata took a deep breath before asking, her ears were a bit red from the cold, plus she was shivering a bit, also from the cold.
"You... Why are you like this to me?"
Toru looked confused for a second. He didn't understand Hinata's question at all, what's more, not even his great intelligence could decipher what was happening at that moment.
"What are you talking about?"
Toru responded with another question, forcing Hinata to extend the question she had asked earlier.
"You... you don't look at me ugly, you don't feel afraid when you see my eyes. You were always very kind, you invited me to eat ramen, and you never said anything to make me feel bad... Why? Why! are you like that?!"
Hinata looked Toru in the eyes, her eyes looked confused, she didn't understand Toru's way of being at all. I never understand it, even that day, the day he saved her from those children hurting her.
"You... you... why do you make me feel like this?!"
Hinata asked again. At that very moment, Toru didn't know what to answer. He always acted according to his own wishes. Did he want to build a weapon that is capable of paralyzing a Jounin? Of course he would be willing to build it. He always did what his heart told him, but despite everything... he didn't know how to respond.
"Please answer me"
Hinata lowered her head, so Toru wouldn't see her cry. But in that she felt something in her head, it was Toru. He had his hand in Hinata's hair.
"Lift your head"
Hinata obeyed and looked up, saw Toru's eyes, which were shining thanks to the light from a nearby headlight.
"I'll take you home"
Toru wiped away Hinata's tears, took her hand and walked towards the Hyuga clan. At that moment, he felt strange, he didn't know what to answer, he never knew, and possibly he never will.
(Looks like I'll be home late today)