Amaya wondered what was wrong with Ark and made a mental note to ask him what was wrong once they had a free moment to themselves. She had a feeling that it was somehow tied to his past somehow, the past that no one on the team knew about, now that she thought about it. Sighing lightly, she was brought out of her reverie as she heard Hikari call her name. "Alright then, first let's start with the basics. And if you have any questions for me, don't hesitate to ask. I won't bite your head off," she said, hoping that Areku would be okay...

Blake thanked him for holding the door and nodded as a reply. "Let us hope. Though the smell is hopefully a good indication of the type of food they make," she replied as she walked towards the counter.

Hikari nodded. "Okay. Thank you." She said, feeling sure she would have endless questions. She hoped Maya would be patient with her. In the back of her mind, she worried about Ark and wondered where he was off to.

Naruto grinned. "That's usually the case." He said, following her to the counter. He didn't know yet what he wanted, but based on that smell it would be some kind of sandwich.

Ark had headed back to their dorm room in search of a scroll that he had found from the charred remains of his old house, hoping that the manual would be able to help Hikari find some sort of style she was interested in. And if she wasn't, then he could always just play it by ear. Though he knew he was going to have to apologize to the girls for storming off the way that he did...it was just, his father had told him that no one wasn't worth training if they had the heart and determination to learn.

"True," she replied as she looked up at the menu, not yet knowing what she wanted. A few of the options did look good though. She was also mentally debating about telling Naruto the secret that she was hiding, and why she was hiding it. He already knew that she was some sort of Faunice, but it would be easier for someone to at least know her secret.

Looking over the menu, Naruto saw a few things that looked pretty good. Glancing over at Blake, he sensed that she was debating something. Guessing as to what it was, he decided to drop a hint. "I'll probably get something with a lot of meat. If I were to guess, I'd say you liked fish, am I right Blake-chan?" He asked casually, but quietly enough that only she would catch it.

Blake blushed lightly at that and nodded, somehow not surprised that he already knew. "How?" she asked quietly, curious as to how he knew what type of Faunice she was. She made sure to hide her ears carefully and meticulously with her ribbon...

Instead of answering out loud, Naruto discreetly tapped his nose, indicating that he had identified her by scent. It was a perk of being a Faunice, especially a fox Faunice. "We'll talk more after we get our food." He said quietly.

Blake got the hidden message and nodded lightly, both in understanding and as an answer to his comment.

"And hello. Are you two ready to order?" the man behind the glass asked both Naruto and Blake.

Naruto nodded and stepped forward a little. "I'll have a roast beef sandwich, with mayo and tomato only please." He said.

"And for you miss?" he asked as another person started making the order for him.

"I'll have the Tuna Melt sandwich with lettuce and tomato please," Blake responded as the Cashier started with her order. After he was finished, and with Naruto's sandwich already on a tray, he rang the both of them up.

Naruto glanced at Blake. He didn't know if this was just lunch, or a date, so he didn't know whether to pay for her or not. "We can each pay for ourselves...is that okay?" He asked awkwardly.

"That's fine with me," Blake said. She didn't think of this as a date, especially since she didn't know Naruto all that well just yet. Granted, she wouldn't mind getting to know him better, but that was later. Paying for her lunch, she then noticed an empty table and made her ways toward it.

Naruto nodded, not sure whether he was relieved or disappointed, and payed for his lunch. He then followed her to the empty table, noticing that it was isolated enough for them to talk freely. Good choice.

Blake sat down at the table, her mind going a mile a minute as she wondered what to tell Naruto, and more importantly, how to tell it. Sighing lightly, she figured that just starting at the beginning would be the best start. Waiting for Naruto to sit down, she took a small bite of her sandwich.

Naruto sat down and took a large bite of his sandwich, never one to eat very slowly. As he chewed, he looked over at Blake and waited for her to say something. The ball was in her court at the moment, so there wasn't much for him to say.

Blake giggled lightly as she watched him eat before nodding lightly to herself. Putting her sandwich down on the tray for a second, she moved her hand up and slowly started to undo her ribbon. Once it was free, two black-like cat ears popped up, free from their bindings.

Naruto froze, mouth still full of food, as she revealed her ears. Sure, he had suspected. Known. But knowing and seeing were two entirely different things. Finally swallowing, he took a breath. "Wow. I don't know why you hide them- they're really cute." He said, not knowing what else to say.

Blake blushed lightly at this, never have her ears been described as cute. "There's a reason that I hide them Naruto-san, and once I tell you I will be okay if you want to hate and/or despise me," Blake said as she took a calming breath. This was it. Not only was it the reason why she hid her ears from the world...but also from the people that were looking for her. "It all began when I joined White Fang..." she started as she then went on to explain everything, including the reason that she quit: Adam, her partner, had gone too far.

Naruto listened quietly to her story, never interrupting or passing judgement. Once she finished, he took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Wow...wow. I understand why you hide it, Blake-chan. And why you left. I gotta say...this is amazing. When I first met you, I thought you seemed familiar, but I never imagined..." He paused, looking around to make sure there was still no one around. "Blake-chan, when I was a kid...I was also part of the White Fang. My parents were both high ranking officials there. My mother died giving birth to me, and my father died the same day, in a huge battle. I was kind of the community child. There's a lot I've blocked out about that past, but I remember a girl...a girl about my age, with cat ears. We didn't talk much, but we knew each other. We played together once, before going our separate ways. I left about a year before you did, because I started getting scared. The things they were doing...I didn't want to be part of it anymore. So I struck out on my own and started training. But I never forgot that little girl..." He was staring at her in disbelief.

((Wolfie hopes that's okay.))

(that is fine)

Blake blinked, then blinked again. "Wait...you're the kitling that was always hanging around?" she asked. She remembered playing with a little boy that had fox features, but she never in a million years thought it was Naruto..."I...I had always wondered where you had run off to," she said softly.

Naruto nodded, still a bit shell-shocked. "Yeah, that was me. I didn't think anyone noticed that I'd left. That's why I don't hide it...I don't expect anyone to ever recognize me." He said, no longer touching his sandwich. Amazingly, this revelation had temporarily taken precedence over his appetite.

"But people would recognize me, especially since I did some missions for them," Blake said, sighing lightly. "I'd like to not hide them, honest but with White Fang and the Princess..." she added on, knowing that Naruto knew what she was implying.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I get it. I never did any missions, so I guess I got off free. But as far as Snow White goes, I'll just have to make sure she's too focused on me to figure you out. She hates all Faunice, and I am one, so as long as I stick around she'll be so caught up hating me that you'll go unnoticed." He said.

"I can't ask you to do that though Naruto," Blake replied. "It isn't fair to you or to my team...and I honestly do hate having to hide this from them..." she admitted.

Naruto sighed. "If you say so. But you should probably get to know them all a bit better before letting them know. I won't be telling my past to my team mates until I know them well enough." He said.

"Likewise. I just hate the fact that I do have to hide it," Blake replied as she finally took a bite of her sandwich. After chewing and swallowing, she smiled lightly. "Thanks though...for understanding."