It was already night, but Naruto decided to go out.
"Is she already waiting?" Naruto wondered.
He walked while enjoying the atmosphere, even though, as usual, the villagers kept their distance from him.
"Sigh..." He exhaled and ignored their stares.
Naruto headed toward the lake surrounded by trees.
The place was quiet, and he had found it while running around the village.
"So, you're already here?" Naruto greeted her.
In front of him, someone turned around with a nervous expression.
"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun..." she nodded.
Naruto smiled. "Have you been waiting long?"
"N-No! I just got here too..." Hinata crossed her arms repeatedly, denying it.
"Ohh, alright... Also, it seems we have a little intruder."
Naruto vanished.
He threw his kunai toward the bushes, where it stuck into the ground.
"Hiraishin." He reappeared before—
"Ahhh!" A scream was heard, making Hinata instinctively rush toward the sound.
"Hanabi?" Hinata muttered as she saw her younger sister fall and stare at Naruto with a pale face.
"You! Why are you here?" she asked, trembling. Instead of running, Hanabi questioned him.
Naruto twitched his nose. "Isn't this backwards?" he muttered while holding his chin.
"Heh, I should be the one asking. Why are *you* here?" Naruto approached and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Ughh..." Hanabi flinched and backed away, dragging her body. Only one thing was on her mind now—escape.
"Hanabi?" a gentle voice snapped her out of it.
She turned around. It was Hinata.
"Big Sis!" she cried as she stood up and ran to her.
"Sis, that guy... he's bad! He tried to take off my clothes and do something terrible!" Hanabi falsely accused him with a sad expression.
Hinata frowned and looked at Naruto, who simply shook his head.
She didn't know what to believe.
Hanabi kept trying to act sad, but—
Naruto grabbed Hanabi by the collar and pulled her away from Hinata.
"Hinata," Naruto called.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?"
"I'll be back. Just wait a moment. I need to talk to her." Naruto glanced at Hanabi, and Hinata nodded.
"Alright..." Hinata could only go along. Her sister had been asking about Naruto a lot lately and seemed to have a bad view of him.
Naruto smiled. "Relax... we're just going to talk."
Then he vanished.
Phew... Hinata slowly calmed down.
"Hanabi, what are you even doing? I'm just training with him, not doing anything weird..." Hinata complained in her heart.
But after a moment, she realized something.
"No... no! What am I thinking..." Her cheeks instantly turned red, and her knees grew weak.
Meanwhile...
Naruto set Hanabi down. He was carrying her like a kitten.
"So, what were you doing?" Naruto asked coldly.
Hanabi simply shook her head, refusing to answer.
"Ahhh, not in the mood to talk? Alright, then... I guess I'll have to do something to Hinata." His voice was soft, but Hanabi could feel the threat.
Cold sweat appeared on Hanabi's back. Her mind raced through all the possibilities.
"No!" she shouted. "My sister can't marry you! She's an honorable girl and doesn't deserve to marry a scumbag like you!"
"Hah?"
Her words annoyed Naruto.
"A scumbag? What do you mean? I've never even hurt her. And besides, isn't Hinata fated to be with me? So what's wrong with that?" Naruto thought.
He sighed softly, then sat down on the rocks and stared at Hanabi in silence.
"Hanabi... forget about that for now," he said.
"Forget it? What do you mean? You're going to hurt my sister and I won't allow it!" Hanabi shouted again.
Naruto had no choice but to cover her mouth with his hand.
"Be quiet before dirt gets into your mouth," Naruto said.
Hanabi stared back angrily and struggled, but Naruto's sharp gaze made her fall silent and nod.
"Alright, speak calmly. I'll listen," Naruto said as he let go.
"Fine," Hanabi grunted.
"So, what exactly is going on between you and my sister?" Hanabi asked quietly.
"You mean... a relationship?" Naruto replied.
"Yes, a relationship. What kind of relationship do you have?"
Naruto paused for a moment.
"Alright, Hanabi. I'll explain it now.
First, there's no relationship between us yet.
Second, we're just training together. Nothing like what your dirty mind imagined—"
"Heh, what do you mean!" Hanabi interrupted angrily.
But Naruto continued, ignoring her words.
"Third and last, even so... we *will* get married one day. Because you know what? Our destinies are already tied, and Hinata is meant to be mine."
Hanabi listened closely. Her eyes widened and she looked furious.
"What do you mean? There's no way my sister is destined to be with a scumbag like you!"
She couldn't accept it. To her, Naruto was nothing but a scumbag who played around with women. Yes… just a scumbag!
"Heh, hold on a second. You keep calling me a 'scumbag', but where exactly do you think I fit that description?" Naruto asked, confused.
This kid was really troublesome. All she ever said was "scumbag", like someone else he knew.
Hanabi nodded. "Yes, you're a scumbag! You think I don't understand? At the ramen shop, you flirted with the girl in front of you! And not only that, you embarrassed me in front of everyone! Isn't that what a scumbag does?"
She vented all her bottled-up emotions.
Naruto raised his eyebrows, then looked up at the shining stars.
"You know?" he said softly.
Before he could finish, Hanabi already shook her head.
"No, I don't know."
That made Naruto chuckle. This girl was truly annoying. He hadn't expected her to act like this.
"So, let's talk about that 'embarrassing you' part...
I never had any intention of humiliating you," Naruto lied.
"Back then, you made a ridiculous confession. You were only 7, and I was 12...
That's why I did it. Because you know... the Hyuga are known for their honor. And if the villagers found out one of the Hyuga children confessed her love to some weird guy like me..." Naruto slowly approached.
"...they might start nasty rumors and stain the Hyuga name," he whispered.
Naruto didn't finish his sentence. But Hanabi went quiet. She wasn't stupid. Her father was the clan head, and she had confessed her love to the strange boy in front of her...
"No... what have I done..." Hanabi held her head.
In her mind, she was grateful. The so-called scumbag in front of her had actually protected her.
"You... thank you," she muttered, turning her gaze away.
"You're welcome," Naruto replied casually.
"But still, you're a scumbag who plays around with girls!" Hanabi insisted.
"Alright... then I'll explain..."
"Yeah, explain!" Hanabi interrupted again.
Naruto sighed and exhaled slowly. He really wanted to stuff her mouth with his hand.
"So, what? Hurry up!" Hanabi pressed.
"Alright... Hinata, I know she likes me..."
Hanabi was about to interrupt again, but Naruto pinched her mouth first.
"But not just her. Maybe other girls like me too..." he continued.
"That's why, if I don't accept them or reject their feelings, they might get hurt."
Naruto slowly let go of her mouth.
"Do you understand?" Naruto stared into her eyes.
Hanabi fell silent.
"And you know... I can't bear to hurt their hearts. That's why I decided to accept all their feelings."
"It might still hurt, but at least that pain can heal with time..."
Naruto tried to change the way Hanabi thought.
Hanabi nodded. She understood what Naruto meant.
With her innocent thoughts, she came to a conclusion. He's right. At least this way, they all get the same thing... she thought.
Although for some reason, Hanabi felt something was still wrong...
"Alright... but don't you dare hurt my sister, or I'll make you pay for it," she threatened.
Naruto nodded. He had succeeded. At least for now, Hanabi wouldn't be a problem.