"Girlfriend"—a simple word, but with all of Hinata's courage packed into it. Her soft voice carried more strength than it seemed.
She looked straight at Kushina, and all her usual shyness was gone. At that moment, she was like a true ninja—speaking her heart clearly and bravely.
Naruto could feel that determination. He held her hand a little tighter, like he was giving her strength—not just for her words, but for the deep love behind them.
Hinata instinctively turned to look at Naruto, and what she saw was his same warm and cheerful smile. Happiness sparkled in his eyes.
She looked down again shyly, but she didn't let go of Naruto's hand. Instead, she held it even more tightly.
Naruto took a deep breath and turned to Kushina. "Mom…"
"No need to say anything." Kushina smiled with complete satisfaction. "Mom understands."
She took two steps forward and snatched Hinata's hand right from Naruto, beaming as she pulled Hinata back to sit down with her.
Hinata stiffened a little, and gave Naruto a pleading look. In return, all she got was a silent "you got this!" cheer from Naruto.
Hinata let out a soft "mm" like a startled kitten, but didn't resist as Kushina led her to the table and sat her down.
Naruto sat next to her with a goofy grin on his face, staring at her like some lovestruck idiot.
Kurama watched the scene unfold, glanced at Naruto, then at Hinata, and finally clicked his tongue. "You're laughing now while Hinata's the one getting grilled. Just wait till you meet her dad. She'll definitely be the one laughing then."
Naruto froze.
Even thinking about it now gave him the chills—he could already imagine how stiff he'd be when the day came.
Kushina held Hinata's hands like they were something precious, smiling wider and wider. "Hinata-chan, can you tell me what made you like that brat of mine?"
She was genuinely curious—just like any parent would be about their kid.
And honestly, it wasn't just her. Even Naruto was curious.
"I bet it was my cool moves back in school that won her over!" Naruto said confidently to Kurama.
Kurama didn't hold back. "In your dreams. With how lame you were in school, no girl would've liked you."
"Then what else could it be?" Naruto still thought he was right.
Kurama rolled his eyes, then said with a bit of uncertainty, "I think it was during Christmas. Hinata got lost, and you brought her home. After that, she remembered you."
There was something like that in his memory, but he wasn't completely sure.
"Yeah right," Naruto pouted. "If I don't remember it, how would you?"
Hinata lowered her head even more. Her face red, she glanced at Naruto, then softly said under Kushina's eager gaze, "Back then, I got lost in the village… and some kids called me a white-eyed freak. Naruto-kun stood up for me."
Though to be honest, it wasn't exactly a heroic moment. Naruto had tried to use his clumsy clone jutsu, but those kids just beat him up. In the end, they got bored and left on their own.
Naruto had passed out afterward.
Naruto, listening nearby, was completely stunned. He had no memory of that. Kurama, though, nodded like it all made sense—he remembered the scene, just not when it happened.
Kushina looked a bit surprised. "So you liked Naruto from way back then?"
"No…" Hinata's cheeks were bright red. She sneaked a look at Naruto as she spoke. "That time… I just remembered him. I really started liking Naruto-kun during Christmas."
Naruto froze.
Kushina nodded, the gossip in her eyes getting stronger.
Hinata kept going. "That time… I got lost again. It was snowing, and really cold. Naruto-kun walked me home."
As she spoke, Hinata looked at Naruto, her eyes full of emotion. "He brought me right to my father. And my father held my hand while we watched Naruto-kun walk away."
"He was alone too… just a kid. But in that cold and snow, he still found his way home all by himself."
Then she lowered her head again. "I've always been weak since I was little… but after that, Naruto-kun's back as he walked away… I looked up to him. And then later… we met again at school…"
By this point, Hinata's voice was so soft it was barely a whisper.
Kushina gently pulled her into a hug, holding her like her own daughter. "Who says you're weak? Hinata, you're actually really brave."
Kurama shrugged. "Told you—my memory's never wrong."
"I knew it was from back then."
Naruto scratched the back of his head, confused. "Now that Hinata mentioned it, I do remember helping a lost girl get home... but that girl was actually Hinata? And how do you even remember something like that?"
Leaving aside the fact he saw it in the anime, Kurama explained, "Try being sealed in a place without a single bit of light for decades. You didn't know how to control my chakra, so I could see whatever you saw. For me back then, every bit of light was precious."
He never knew when Naruto might suddenly become stronger and, like Mito or Kushina, cut off his vision again. If that happened, he'd be stuck in total darkness for decades once more.
So moments like that stuck in his memory deeply.
Naruto was silent for a while, then quietly touched his belly. "Don't worry. That won't happen again."
"Heh, are you pitying me?" Kurama scoffed. "Yeah, the darkness is scary, I've known that for a long time. I just think light is precious. But back then, I wouldn't throw away my pride just for a bit of light."
Naruto didn't say anything. Then he muttered, "You really don't have the right to say that now."
"I said it was me *back then*, didn't I?" Kurama rolled his eyes. "And is that really the point here? Shouldn't you be more curious why your girlfriend keeps talking to me? I'm not her boyfriend, you know."
Naruto: "…"
Yeah, just shut up already.
Kushina was hugging Hinata, but her eyes were on Naruto. "Because we didn't have it, we longed for it. Because we longed for it, we noticed. Because we noticed, we started to like. It may have only been two short meetings, but somehow it felt like she saw her future."
She smiled with her eyes half-closed. "What a lucky, foolish boy."
"I agree with that." Kurama nodded.
Say what you want about Naruto, but just having a girl who quietly watched over him, liked him, and believed in him was already something many people would envy.
But what made people even more jealous was that Naruto saw that girl, felt her feelings, and chose to respond to them.
Honestly…
You're already a walking marriage office.
PS: These two scenes come from the anime's post-TV special and a movie flashback.
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