Naruto, You Broke Your Promise

Naruto was utterly baffled by the girl's sudden thanks.

He scratched his head and asked, "Hinata, why are you suddenly thanking me? I... don't think I ever helped you, did I?"

Hinata Hyuga raised her head, her face slightly red. Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz; if Naruto's hearing had not been so sharp, he might not have heard her at all.

"Naruto-kun, have you really forgotten?"

A flash of disappointment crossed Hinata Hyuga's flushed face before she continued, "Three years ago, did Naruto-kun help someone up at the market?"

Hearing Hinata's words, Naruto began recalling the good deeds he had done. But given the way people had treated him in the past, even if an old lady had fallen, people would have avoided him like the plague. Why would anyone have wanted him to kindly help them up?

Right...

A thought flashed through Naruto's mind, and he instantly remembered. He had never helped an old lady up, but he had helped a little girl.

It had been about three years ago. He had been bored to death at home, so he went out to wander around the market. Unexpectedly, he came across a little girl who had fallen to the ground and was crying miserably.

Not only had no one stepped forward to help the poor girl up, but a group of snot-nosed brats had mocked her nearby.

Naruto had seen that sort of thing plenty of times, and it usually happened to him. From childhood to now, he had endured more ridicule and cold indifference than he could count on ten fingers.

Moved by sympathy born of shared experience, Naruto walked over and asked the little girl whether she could stand up on her own.

But apparently, she could not.

So Naruto held out a hand and pulled her to her feet.

The moment he pulled her up, he saw her mouth move, though he did not hear what she said. He put on a cool expression and casually grunted, indicating that she did not need to thank him.

But the next second, his heart skipped a beat, because the little girl he had helped up had actually rolled her eyes at him.

Hey, I kindly helped you up, and you're rolling your eyes at me?

In the end, you're just like everyone else.

Discouragement welled up in his heart, and Naruto turned to leave.

Now that he thought about it, the little girl he had helped three years ago was actually Hinata Hyuga. Looking at the girl's Byakugan, Naruto said indifferently, "I remember now. But you don't need to thank me..."

Naruto did not need this kind of gratitude.

"H-how could that be? Naruto-kun helped me, after all. How could I not thank Naruto-kun..." Hinata immediately grew anxious.

Seeing the sincerity on the girl's face, Naruto suddenly wondered whether he had misunderstood something. He pointed at Hinata's Byakugan. "What's with your eyes?"

"Oh, you mean my eyes, Naruto-kun? They're a hereditary trait of my Hyuga Clan..." Hinata explained quietly.

So that was it...

At that moment, Naruto finally understood. He could not help sighing. "Actually, I should apologize to Hinata too. I always thought you disliked my help, so I thought you were always rolling your eyes at me..."

"H-how could that be? I wasn't always rolling my eyes at Naruto-kun." As she said that, Hinata froze. It seemed she really had rolled her eyes at Naruto.

At the thought, her face turned even redder. A blush spread from her cheeks and quickly climbed to her ears, until her entire ears glowed with an enticing rosy hue that made one want to gently nibble her earlobes.

"I always... always..."

She wanted to say that she had always been watching Naruto, but when the words reached her lips, she could not say another word.

Seeing Hinata stammering, Naruto looked back. This place was not far from his base, so he suggested, "Hinata, how about this? Come to my place, and you can slowly tell me why you fell back then..."

"Mm..." Hinata nodded heavily, her voice growing a little louder.

It was an invitation from Naruto-kun.

When they arrived in front of the wooden hut, the Nine-Tails came bouncing out. It had gotten smarter now. It no longer shouted Naruto's name as soon as it came out; instead, it first checked whether anyone was around. If there was, it would make a few whimpering noises and leap into Naruto's arms.

"Wow, Naruto-kun, is this the fox you keep? It's so cute." Fluffy little animals always stirred a little girl's desire to pet them, and Hinata was no exception. She wanted to touch the Nine-Tails too.

The Nine-Tails gave her a disdainful glance. Hmph. Last time, some brat wanted to touch this old man and failed. You... don't even think about it...

"Yeah, I think it's cute too. Do you want to pet it?" Naruto suggested.

Kurama: (╰_╯)#

"Ah, can I?" Hinata had not expected Naruto to let her touch it, and she asked in surprise.

"Of course."

As he spoke, Naruto handed the Nine-Tails over and encouraged Hinata with his eyes. Seeing the encouragement in Naruto's gaze, Hinata slowly reached out and placed her hand on the Nine-Tails.

The Nine-Tails dearly wanted to bristle, but intimidated by the powerful presence behind Naruto, it could only close its eyes and dejectedly let Hinata slowly stroke it.

After enjoying petting the Nine-Tails for a while, Hinata sat with Naruto on a log in front of the wooden hut and began talking.

The breeze was gentle, and faint rustling leaves filled the surroundings. One tall and one small figure sat side by side on the log as fragmented, irregular patches of sunlight streamed through gaps in the leaves and fell across the boy and girl.

The air was tranquil. The boy held an orange fox in his arms and quietly listened to the girl speak in a low voice. For a time, only the rise and fall of her voice remained in the yard.

As she spoke, the girl suddenly cried out, "Ah, Naruto-kun, I'm running out of time. I have to go home, or Father will scold me again."

From the girl's story, Naruto naturally understood how strict her father was. He could only say, "Then you should go back first..."

"Mm-hmm..."

Naruto walked Hinata partway home and watched her figure gradually disappear from sight.

"Ah, I forgot to become friends with Hinata." Naruto realized it only afterward and regretted it deeply.

"Naruto, you've grown up." The system's teasing voice suddenly rang out.

Naruto looked himself over. Compared to who he had been three years ago, he really had grown up. He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I've grown up."

Just then, the Nine-Tails suddenly jumped out of his arms, planted its hands on its hips, and said to Naruto with an indignant expression, "Naruto, you broke your promise..."

Naruto was utterly confused by the Nine-Tails' sudden outburst. He asked, "Kurama, how did I break my promise?"

"Hmph, you know perfectly well how you broke your promise. Do I really need to say it..."

"How am I supposed to know where I broke my promise if you don't tell me?"

"See? You don't even know where you broke your promise. If I tell you, will you even change? Is there any point in saying it?"

"Uh... if you tell me, of course I'll change..." Naruto felt like he was going insane.

"Hmph. We agreed that this old man... this old man would help cook and do things like that because you were alone. But what did you just do? You actually handed this old man over for someone else to pet like I was some kind of pet..."

The Nine-Tails looked furious. It directly turned around and ignored Naruto.