Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 109 A Burning Feeling of Reassurance

Finally, Naruto finished fiddling with the vending machine, turned around and walked back quickly, handing a can of drink to Satsuki.

"Here it is! Delicious strawberry milk!" he said with a grin. "This is a certain curly-haired guy's favorite. Anyway, drink it with gratitude!"

"Curly hair?" Satsuki didn't quite understand who Naruto was referring to with this sudden nickname.

However, the moment her fingertips touched the jar, an unexpected sensation came from her palm.

It is warm.

It was warm, just the right amount of soothing her fingers, which were a little cold from her walk after the rain.

So... when he was lingering in front of the vending machine earlier, he wasn't fiddling with anything else, but rather using fire-style chakra... to heat up this can of milk?

He actually used his cultivated chakra... to do this kind of thing...

Satsuki held the warm milk can, momentarily stunned. This meticulous thoughtfulness was completely beyond her expectations. Although she had indeed felt a little cold during her walk, wasn't this kind of care a bit... excessive?

Naruto had already sat down again on the warm bench next to her, holding a regular can of orange juice in his hand.

He turned his head and watched as Satsuki lowered her head and began to sip the warm strawberry milk in small sips, before asking expectantly, "How are you feeling? Are you feeling better? Are you warmer?"

The sweet and warm taste of the milk slid down her throat, effectively dispelling much of the chill in her body. Satsuki paused for a moment, feeling the tangible warmth, and nodded gently. "...Mm."

"I see... That's good then." Naruto shook the orange juice in his hand. "I'm thinking about what to have for dinner later. If you had to choose, would you like to go back and try my cooking? Or... shall we go to Ichiraku Ramen?"

...That's about what happened next.

If Sazuki were to choose based on her own feelings, she would undoubtedly choose to have Naruto cook for her.

However, at this moment, the words "afterwards," "evening," and "tomorrow," which are related to the future, are quietly pricking her fragile nerves.

Regarding tonight… For the first time in her life, Satsuki felt an utter fear of the approaching night. Just the thought that Naruto might leave after nightfall and return to his own home, leaving her alone in this empty house… filled her with a suffocating panic.

However, reason kept telling her she couldn't do that. Naruto had already done enough for her, from spending time with him yesterday to this warm bottle of milk… she had caused him enough trouble. To make any more unreasonable demands would be too willful and immature…

Two conflicting emotions were rife within her, causing her to fall into a long silence, unable to answer Naruto's seemingly simple question about dinner.

Naruto looked at the little girl who had suddenly fallen silent and whose eyes were wandering and uneasy. He thought she just had a little difficulty making decisions, so he tried to break the deadlock with a tone of discussion.

"How about... I cook dinner tonight? But I think we're out of tomatoes in the fridge... I'll have to go buy some more...?"

He stopped abruptly halfway through his sentence.

He felt a hand gripping his coat sleeve carefully, yet with unusual force.

Naruto lowered his head and met Sasuke's raised eyes, which were filled with tears and almost pleading.

"Can I... say something...very impulsive...?" Her voice was barely audible.

"Sasuki..."

Satsuki seemed to have used up all her courage, looked directly into Naruto's eyes, and spoke out her deepest fears and pleas.

"Don't go... Today... Please... Even until tomorrow's sun rises... Stay by my side..."

Her voice was choked with sobs, yet unusually clear, "Please... don't go anywhere... I can't go alone..."

After saying that last sentence, she lowered her head again, not daring to look Naruto in the eye, afraid of seeing rejection or distress. But the hand gripping his sleeve remained clenched tightly, refusing to loosen its hold.

A faint, suppressed sob came from beneath her lowered head.

"You're all I have left..."

"...So please...please never...please don't leave me..."

After Satsuki uttered that plea in a tearful, almost desperate voice, a brief silence fell over the air.

Although the silence lasted only a few seconds, it was so heavy that it almost crushed Zuo Yue, who had just mustered all her courage.

Every second of waiting felt like being judged, and fear and regret began to fester—had I been too willful? Sure enough, I'm still disliked, aren't I?

Just when she was about to be swallowed up by the silence, Naruto's familiar voice finally rang out, without the slightest hesitation or difficulty.

"...I see, I understand. Let's go then."

"...Go?" Zuoyue cautiously raised her head, looking at him with teary eyes, not immediately understanding what "go" meant.

"Okay, let's go." Naruto nodded firmly. "First, we need to buy some ingredients for dinner. The food in the fridge probably won't be enough."

"We definitely need to buy tomatoes, since you like them... Hmm, let's see if we can find any fresh fish. We can grill fish or make fish soup for dinner. Oh, and we also need to buy some breakfast ingredients, like eggs and milk..."

"Um... also, since we're staying overnight... I don't think I brought any change of clothes or toiletries, so I might have to buy some while I'm at it... Sorry, I might have to shop around for a little while longer."

This series of detailed yet incredibly specific arrangements instantly dispelled all the gloom and unease in Zuo Yue's heart.

She got it.

Naruto didn't find her capricious or troublesome at all. Instead, he readily accepted her excessive request and even began to seriously consider and plan the details of how to stay overnight at her house.

The tension that had been gripping her finally eased completely, and the fear that had almost overwhelmed her receded like a receding tide. She suddenly realized that all her bravado and pretense were finally unnecessary at this moment.

Really... there's no need anymore.

"...Mmm..." She nodded vigorously, her voice trembling slightly with a hint of relief, "Thank you...really...thank you so much...Naruto..."

Looking at the girl in front of him, who was bowing her head and thanking him softly, Naruto felt a little uncomfortable and shook his head.

"No... Actually, I'm the one who should be saying thank you."

This was completely beyond Zuo Yue's comprehension. She looked up in confusion, tears still glistening in the corners of her eyes, staring at him in bewilderment. "Why...why?"

Naruto looked at her, his eyes incredibly serious. "Because... it's because you're the one who's willing to let me stay by your side. Thank you so much... for trusting me like that."

In his view, being allowed to get close to someone and be relied upon when they are most vulnerable and in need is itself a precious form of trust.

But these words made Zuo Yue shake her head vigorously, and she couldn't hold back her tears again.

"Don't...don't say such silly things...It's clearly...it's clearly me...I'm the one who keeps causing you trouble...I really...I really don't know how to thank you enough..."

"If you really don't know how to thank me..." Naruto's voice softened, "then you can owe me for now. Anyway, we have plenty of time. You can repay me slowly with many, many more... 'happy smiles' in the future."

"...But that kind of thing..." Satsuki shook her head. "It's simply not enough...How could that kind of thing possibly be enough..."

She felt that the burden she was bearing was far too heavy to be repaid with a simple "smile".

Naruto didn't let her continue; he interrupted her directly, "You don't believe me?"

Zuo Yue nodded slightly. She couldn't believe it.

"Just now," Naruto continued, looking into her eyes, "Satsuki was afraid of waking up tomorrow and having to face loneliness alone again, right?"

Zuo Yue's body trembled slightly.

"But who can say for sure what will happen tomorrow?"

Naruto changed the subject, "But there's one thing I can promise you—tomorrow, I'll still be by your side, just like today. And tomorrow, if you still need me, I'll make the same promise again."

He leaned forward slightly to make his words clearer. "These things... I didn't do them because Satsuki asked me to. I just wanted to do them, nothing more. Because being by your side... I feel incredibly happy."

"So even if you don't believe now that 'smiling happily' can repay me, I will always be there for you until you are willing to believe, until you truly feel 'it's good to be alive' again."

After saying that, he reached out and grasped Zuo Yue's cold hand.

"When you feel unwell, just hold my hand like this! Although... this is my first time experiencing this, and I don't know exactly how to do it, at least... I'm confident in my ability to offer warmth!"

Satsuki's breathing suddenly quickened, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. The emotions surging within her were too complex and too overwhelming; she couldn't discern what they were at all. She only felt a throbbing pain in her chest, as if it were about to burst open by some scalding emotion.

In the end, a thousand words stuck in his throat, condensing into that same pale, repetitive sentence, choked with a sob: "I...I really...don't know...how to thank you..."

Just then, Naruto's other hand gently stroked Sasuke's black hair once again.

"I already said, Satsuki doesn't need to thank me."

"Because you are not a burden to me. You are my choice."

After a brief pause, he gave a warm smile and made his final announcement.

"And I—"

I will never regret choosing you.