Faced with the current situation, Naruto was at a loss for words. It was not easy to come up with a few positive traits about Tayuya on the spot.
Though she liked bathing, staying clean, and could hang out with him without awkwardness, which were good qualities in his eyes, but these advantages didn't sound impressive enough when put on the surface. At least, saying them aloud would probably make someone think, 'Oh, that's it?'
But now, Tayuya was watching him, and disappointing her at this moment could make things more difficult. In his panic, there was no time to overthink.
"You can install air conditioning!"
"Huh?" Tayuya was momentarily stunned, seemingly not understanding what Naruto meant.
The water in the bathtub was clear and transparent. Ripples spread out, reflecting Tayuya's bewildered face.
"You know how to install air conditioners." Naruto gestured with his hands, feeling somewhat guilty. "Remember? That time in Konoha, you posed as a technician coming to install an air conditioner at my house?"
"Oh, that wasn't pretending. We were out of money for food, so we did that temporarily, and also to gather some information." Tayuya explained, "So, that can be considered a good quality, huh?"
"Isn't it? A girl who can install air conditioners is pretty amazing, right?" Naruto said with a straight face.
"Really?"
"Really." Naruto nodded. He did genuinely think that it was cool for someone to be able to install their own air conditioner.
"… I can do more than just that." Tayuya said.
"Huh?" Naruto was also a bit flustered. He wasn't sure if his random answer had the desired effect.
Naruto saw the girl lift her head, her damp red hair hanging in strands over her small face. Slowly, a cautious, small smile emerged.
Seeing this, Naruto quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you still living there?" Tayuya asked.
"No. Something happened, so I moved." Naruto said, "I'm currently staying on the top floor of Building 404 on Konoha Street. I'll probably be there for a few more years."
"Will you come here again?" Tayuya had turned her head away, curling up in the bathtub with her legs hugged to her chest, the waterline just touching her chin. There was no emotion in her voice, but her eyes darted quickly to glance at him.
"Yeah, I'll probably be coming more often in the future." Naruto replied, predicting that once he faced Pain, there would be no reason to keep the secret that he was no longer the Kyubi's Jinchuriki.
Then, since he was no longer a Jinchuriki, and with Tsunade and Jiraiya around, he wouldn't have as many restrictions as before.
"Oh." Tayuya nodded slightly.
The atmosphere in the bathroom fell silent. But then again, this kind of situation was odd to begin with, after all, who would normally have a serious conversation in front of a bathtub? Under normal circumstances, this would be considered perverted behavior.
Realizing he should probably leave, Naruto coughed lightly, "Uh... you go ahead and enjoy your bath. I'll go to the bathroom downstairs."
Hearing this, Tayuya suddenly stood up from the bathtub with a loud splash, which startled Naruto.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
Tayuya didn't seem embarrassed at all. She stared into his eyes for a second or two before stepping out of the bathtub, dripping wet. She walked past him and dashed out of the bathroom.
Under the warm yellow light, Naruto was left somewhat stunned.
"Run away?"
'Is her reaction time for being shy just incredibly delayed? Did she run straight back to her room? But in a way, that's fine. At least we cleared the air this time.'
As long as she didn't want to avoid him, Naruto didn't mind what Tayuya did, even if it meant going far away. After all, as long as she accepted this place, she would always come back.
She had nowhere else to go, so at least this place should become her home.
'As long as she remembered to come back, that was enough. As for the question she was pondering, why was I being kind to her, well, I had a hundred reasons to convince her. Does anyone need a reason to be kind to someone?'
'Absolutely not. Maybe it was attraction, or simply to pass the time. But those reasons didn't matter now. Whatever the case, I wanted to be kind to her, without expecting anything in return.'
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the wide-open bathroom door. Naruto turned his head towards the noise, thinking to himself, 'Why is she back already?'
Standing outside the bathroom, the girl, her skin glowing like jade, was holding a large bundle of banknotes in her arms, her wet red hair sticking to her face.
She thrust the scattered bills toward him and said, "Here, spend it."
Naruto stared at the pile of cash clutched tightly to Tayuya's chest, stunned for a long moment before he finally snapped out of it.
A few bills slipped and fell onto the bathroom floor, while two were stuck on either side of her wet face. The stack of money was taller than she was, and with the wet, slippery floor, she looked like she might topple over at any moment.
The phrase, 'Here, spend it', echoed in his mind. Naruto instinctively wanted to say that he had money, he really did have a lot of money, all of Gato's fortune.
But in this moment, money was no longer just money.
Naruto might be rich, but in reality, the wealth meant very little to him, and it couldn't carry any true significance. Even possessing so much money didn't make him feel wealthy.
Just like Tayuya could bring everything she had to him and share it with him, Naruto could also take out all of Gato's fortune, which might not even fit in the entire house.
But it wasn't the same, because he didn't care about that money. Compared to Tayuya, Naruto felt impoverished at this moment, realizing that he didn't seem to have anything he truly cherished.
He was merely borrowing glimpses of the summers of these girls, glimpsing the things they held dear.
"Alright." Naruto nodded in response.
With a loud rustle, he accepted the pile of money. Some of it fluttered into the air. Tayuya's pupils brightened slightly, reflecting the bathroom's ceiling light and his face.
"I also have money, I can give it to you to spend." She said.
"Got it, got it." Naruto chuckled, "Go on, take your bath. I'll help you put the money away."
"Okay." Tayuya shuffled back a few steps, then with a splash, returned to the bathtub.
Naruto gathered up the money and took it outside, taking the opportunity to head downstairs and use the restroom. On his way back up, he suddenly realized something, which is, Tayuya had nowhere else to go.
She couldn't risk running into Orochimaru, and all her teammates were dead.
She was now a child abandoned by the world, taught by Orochimaru only how to fight using the Cursed Seal. However, excessive use of the Cursed Seal's power would eventually consume her.
It was like how monsters would eventually go berserk, only to be left isolated and then killed.