Chapter 109: Burning Reassurance
Finally, Naruto finished whatever he had been doing at the vending machine and turned to walk back quickly. He held out one of the cans in his hand to Satsuki.
"Here you go! Hot strawberry milk!" he said with a grin. "This is a certain curly-haired person's favorite. Anyway, you should drink it gratefully!"
"Curly-haired?" Satsuki didn't quite understand who Naruto was referring to with that sudden nickname.
However, the moment her fingertips touched the can, an unexpected sensation traveled from her palm.
It was warm.
Actually hot, perfectly heated to comfort her fingers that had grown cold from their post-rain walk.
So... during that time he had been lingering at the vending machine, he hadn't been fiddling with something else—he had been using fire-natured chakra... to heat this milk?
To use chakra developed through training... for something like this...
Satsuki held the warm can of milk, momentarily stunned. This kind of thoughtful consideration was completely beyond her expectations. Although she had indeed felt a bit cold during their walk, this level of care seemed... perhaps a bit too considerate?
Naruto had already sat back down beside her on the warm bench, holding an ordinary can of orange juice in his own hand.
He turned his head to watch Satsuki, who was looking down and beginning to sip the warm strawberry milk in small mouthfuls, before asking expectantly, "How is it? Feeling better? Is your body warmer now?"
The sweet milk's warmth slid down her throat, indeed driving away much of the chill from her body. Satsuki fell silent for a moment, feeling that tangible warmth, and gently nodded. "...Yes."
"Good then." Naruto shook his orange juice. "I was thinking about what to have for dinner. If you had to choose, would you want to go back and try my cooking? Or... should we go eat at Ichiraku Ramen?"
...It was about what would happen later.
If Satsuki were to follow her heart's desire, she would undoubtedly choose to have Naruto cook personally.
But at this moment, words about the future like "later," "tonight," and "tomorrow" quietly pierced her fragile nerves.
About tonight... for the first time in her life, Satsuki felt bone-deep fear about the approaching darkness. Just thinking about how after nightfall, Naruto might leave and return to his own home while she would have to stay alone in that vast, empty house... she felt waves of suffocating panic.
But reason kept warning her that she couldn't be like this. Naruto had already done enough for her—from yesterday's companionship to this warm can of milk... She had caused him enough trouble already. If she made even more unreasonable demands, it would really be too selfish, too inconsiderate...
These two emotions pulled violently at her heart, suddenly plunging her into a long silence, unable to answer what seemed like Naruto's simple question about dinner.
Seeing the little girl who had suddenly gone quiet with wandering, anxious eyes, Naruto assumed she just had some difficulty choosing and tried to break the stalemate with a negotiating tone.
"How about... I'll cook tonight then? But I think the refrigerator doesn't have any tomatoes left... I'll need to buy some more...?"
His words stopped halfway through.
Because he felt a hand carefully but desperately grabbing onto his jacket sleeve.
Naruto looked down to meet Satsuki's raised eyes, filled with moisture and something close to pleading.
"Can I... say something... really selfish..." her voice was barely above a whisper.
"Satsuki..."
Satsuki seemed to summon all her courage, looking directly into Naruto's eyes as she voiced her deepest fear and plea.
"Don't leave... tonight... please... even if it's just until tomorrow's sun rises... stay by my side..."
Her voice carried a sob but was unusually clear. "Please... don't go anywhere... I can't... be alone..."
After saying these final words, she deeply lowered her head again, not daring to look into Naruto's eyes anymore, afraid of seeing rejection or reluctance. Only that hand gripping his sleeve continued to hold on tightly, not letting go.
Faint, suppressed sobbing sounds came from beneath her lowered head.
"You're all I have left..."
"...So please, absolutely... absolutely don't abandon me..."
After Satsuki's tearful, almost desperate plea, the air fell into a brief silence.
Though this silence lasted only a few seconds, it felt heavy enough to completely crush Satsuki, who had just mustered all her courage.
Each second of waiting felt like facing judgment, as fear and regret began to grow—had she been too selfish? Was she really being disliked now?
Just when she was about to be consumed by this silence, Naruto's familiar voice finally rang out, without any hesitation or reluctance.
"...I see, I understand. Let's go then."
"...Go?" Satsuki carefully raised her head, looking at him through tear-blurred eyes, not immediately understanding what this "go" meant.
"Yeah, let's go." Naruto nodded decisively. "First we need to buy some ingredients for dinner. The supplies in the refrigerator probably won't be enough."
"We definitely need to buy tomatoes, and your favorites... hmm, let's see if there's any fresh fish too—we could grill fish or make fish soup tonight? Oh right, we also need to buy breakfast materials, eggs, milk and such..."
"Uh... also, since I'm staying over... I don't think I brought any change of clothes or toiletries, so I might need to buy those too... sorry, we might have to shop around a bit longer."
This series of rambling but incredibly specific arrangements instantly dispelled all the gloom and anxiety in Satsuki's heart.
She understood.
Not only did Naruto not find her selfish and troublesome, he had straightforwardly accepted her unreasonable request and was already seriously considering and planning the details of staying over at her house.
The taut strings in her heart finally completely relaxed, and that fear that had almost drowned her receded like a tide. She suddenly felt that... all the strength she'd been forcing herself to show, all the pretending, was finally unnecessary at this moment.
Really... unnecessary.
"...Yes..." she nodded vigorously, her voice carrying a slight tremor of relief. "Thank you... really... thank you so much... Naruto..."
Looking at the girl before him who was lowering her head and quietly thanking him, Naruto felt somewhat uncomfortable instead. He shook his head.
"No... actually, I should be the one saying thank you."
This statement was completely beyond Satsuki's understanding. She looked up in confusion, tears still hanging at the corners of her eyes, gazing at him uncomprehendingly. "Why...why?"
Naruto looked at her with utterly serious eyes. "Because... you're willing to let me stay by your side. Really, thank you so much... for trusting me like this."
In his view, being allowed to get close and be depended upon during someone's most vulnerable, neediest moments was itself a precious form of trust.
But these words made Satsuki shake her head vigorously, her tears becoming hard to control again.
"Don't... don't say such silly things... obviously... obviously I'm the one... I'm the one who keeps causing you trouble... I really... really don't know how to thank you properly..."
"If you really don't know how to give thanks..." Naruto's voice slowed, "then just owe me for now. We have plenty of time anyway—you can slowly repay me with lots and lots of... 'happy smiling faces' in the future."
"...Just something like that..." Satsuki shook her head. "That's nowhere near enough... just something like that... how could it possibly be enough..."
She felt that what she owed was far too heavy to be repaid by simple "smiles."
Naruto didn't let her continue. He directly interrupted her. "Don't you believe it?"
Satsuki gently nodded. She couldn't believe it.
"Just now," Naruto continued, looking into her eyes, "You were afraid that when you wake up tomorrow, you'd have to face loneliness alone again, right?"
Satsuki's body trembled slightly.
"But who can really say for certain what tomorrow will bring?"
Naruto's tone shifted. "However, 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 it, I'll make the same promise again."
He leaned forward slightly, making his words carry more clearly. "These things... I'm not doing them reluctantly because you asked me to. I'm doing them because I want to, that's all. Because being able to stay by your side... I really feel incredibly happy."
"So even if you don't believe right now that 'happy smiling faces' can repay me, I'll keep staying with you until you're willing to believe it, until you truly feel again that 'it's good to be alive.'"
With that, he reached out and grasped Satsuki's cold hand.
"When you feel terrible, just grab my hand like this! Although... this is my first time with this kind of experience too, and I don't know exactly what I should do, but at least... I'm confident I can provide warmth!"
Satsuki's breathing suddenly became rapid, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. The emotions surging in her heart were too complex, too turbulent—she couldn't identify what they were exactly, only feeling her chest swelling painfully, as if it might burst from some scalding emotion at any moment.
In the end, thousands of words stuck in her throat, condensing into that same pale but repeated phrase, accompanied by a stuttering sob. "I... I really... don't know... how to thank you..."
At that moment, Naruto's other hand once again gently, softly stroked Satsuki's black hair.
"I told you, Satsuki doesn't need to thank me."
"Because you're not my 'burden.' You're my 'choice.'"
After a brief pause, he showed a warm smile and made his final declaration.
"And I—"
"Will never regret choosing you."