Hearing what Naruto said, Ino was taken aback for a moment, then turned around. In the darkness, they were close, but not too close, lying in the same bed. Despite their innocent intentions, it was impossible to stop her face from flushing.
"I…" Ino stared at his familiar blue eyes, bit her lip, and hesitated, unable to speak the words on her mind.
She felt a little uneasy, 'Did he want me to stay? Should I agree? Actually, it wouldn't be a big deal if I miss the shrine visit during the New Year's Festival.'
'Even though I had never missed it before, the heavy snowstorm in Konoha was unprecedented. Skipping the visit this time shouldn't be a problem, right?'
Naruto lay on his pillow, with his head tilted to the side, staring at Ino, who is in a daze, and he couldn't help but find the situation a little amusing.
'I have been in this world for half a year. I was very lively at the beginning and made all kinds of troubles. Then, I became honest after being beaten a few times. I completed a few missions and made a few good friends.'
'I had experienced life-and-death situations, and had encountered many troubles. Actually, my life wasn't so bad now. At least, I would not be controlled by others in the future, and I could afford everything I wanted.'
"… I can actually stay a bit longer." Ino said at this moment.
"Mm." Naruto responded. He noticed Ino sweeping her hair behind her head, as if she had made some kind of decision, and looked at him with a dazed look.
"You're still thinking about that incident with Uchiha Itachi, aren't you?" Ino asked.
"Why are you asking about that all of a sudden?" Naruto asked with some confusion.
"I noticed you reacted strongly last time, getting really tense whenever someone knocked on the door." Ino pursed her lips and said, "I think you might have developed a stress response from that experience."
"Probably, but it's not that bad. It hasn't affected me too much."
"I heard from others that if you talk about it in a safe environment, the psychological trauma will be much better." Ino hesitated before continuing, "You asked Jiraiya-sama to help me find a teacher, and I'm really grateful for that."
"But… I don't have much to offer you in return, so…"
"You don't need to worry about that. We don't need to be so calculating in our relationship." Naruto said.
"It's different. These are two separate matters." Ino shook her head, her golden hair cascading onto the pillow, her eyes stubborn and bright, "I can't pretend to be unaware and just accept it without feeling guilty."
"It's one thing if it's just a small favor, but this is too significant. I wouldn't have any connection with Jiraiya-sama or Tsunade-sama under normal circumstances."
Naruto wasn't sure how to describe the girl in front of him, 'Sometimes she could be clueless, but in other situations, she was too perceptive. To be honest, she seemed like someone who would make a good wife.'
'But there is no rush now, there is still plenty of time.'
"Alright then, how do you want to repay me?" Naruto asked.
"Well…" Ino suddenly cupped Naruto's face in her hands, and as Naruto looked at her with a surprised expression, she said, "Now you can talk."
"Talk about what?" He was completely bewildered.
"About your trauma. With me accompanying you like this, it shouldn't be painful to recall, right?" Ino said with some surprise.
"Does this really work?"
"The books say it does!"
"What book are you reading?" Naruto suddenly had a bad feeling.
Ino blushed, pursed her lips and said nothing. Naruto was speechless, thinking, 'Jiraiya's dirty books were really causing all sorts of problems! What kind of so-called literary giant was this? Outrageous!'
"Oh no! Did I get it wrong?" Ino looked panicked.
"Not just wrong—it's completely off the mark! Totally unrelated." Naruto sighed and said seriously, "You should stop reading those kinds of books in the future."
"Oh, okay." Ino nodded honestly.
Now things felt a bit awkward. The method didn't work, and Ino felt that withdrawing now her hands seemed wrong. However, leaving them on his face didn't feel right either. While Ino was hesitating, Naruto spoke again.
"Actually, it's fine to talk about it. Since we're already this far, let's just talk as you suggested."
"… Sorry." Ino said, feeling a little embarrassed.
"There's no need to apologize for something like that." He said, "It's not that I'm afraid of death, or even particularly scared of Uchiha Itachi. It's just that at that moment, I was really frightened."
"Is it because it was a life-or-death situation?" Ino's eyelashes trembled slightly.
"No, I was scared something would happen to you. I was really, really scared." His voice was very calm, like the surface of a lake in winter, "You suddenly showed up that day, and I had already made up my mind to fight to the death."
"But if I transformed into the Biju, half of the village will probably be reduced to rubble. However, I didn't really care about the lives of the villagers at that time. What mattered more was that you survived."
"Why?" Ino didn't know why, but she felt a sudden warmth in her heart, then an unexpected sadness. She asked with a thick nasal voice.
"No reason. There doesn't have to be a reason for everything." He suddenly chuckled and said with amusement, "Anyway, nothing happened in the end. I'm just glad you're okay."
"You..." Her voice suddenly took on a sobbing tone as she withdrew her hands and turned away from Naruto to sleep, her back facing him.
"What's wrong?" Naruto genuinely didn't know what was going on.
"Nothing, I just... I suddenly felt a little sad. Waaaa…" Ino hugged the blanket and started crying, and even without turning around, Naruto knew her face was covered in tears.
"Why are you crying when nothing's wrong?" Naruto asked with some amusement.
"None of your business! Waaa!" Ino cried, her tone still fierce despite her tears.
"Didn't you ask me to talk about it? Now that I have, you won't let me ask anything." Naruto was a little helpless, "What's the logic behind this? It's totally irrational."
"Waaa! You're such an idiot!" Ino was crying so hard that she didn't want to pay attention to him and kicked him from under the blanket.
"Ouch!" Naruto yelped in pain.
It wasn't until Ino calmed down and her crying turned into sobbing that Naruto tentatively asked, "Do you need a tissue?"
"You're doing this on purpose! I've already finished crying, and now you ask!" Ino's voice was a bit muffled and unclear, which is usually the case after crying.
"I was just asking. There aren't any tissues in the room. It is in the living room." He said.
"Then can't you go get them?" Ino asked, her back still turned, her voice carrying a hint of blame and a touch of coquettishness, though only a little, he might have been imagining that part.
"It's too cold. I don't want to go."
"How can there be someone like you?!" Ino was exasperated, 'This person loved to deliberately make me angry for no reason and acted like a jerk all the time.'
'Who in their right mind would say something so ridiculous at a time like this? What kind of non-human substance made up his heart? Was he allergic to good vibes?'
"There are a lot of people like me, haha." Naruto poked Ino's back and asked kindly, "Are you cold? I've got a maid outfit with extra lining."
"Go to hell!!!! Ahhhh!!" Ino suddenly turned around and started punching and kicking Naruto, though not hard enough to hurt him. She ended up sweating from the effort.
No other words were spoken that night.
…
The next morning.
Ino was still sleeping soundly. There was nothing wrong with their sleeping postures. They slept separately, and there was no 'morning scene' like the ones in those anime.
In short, everything was normal. Naruto felt somewhat relieved by Ino's defenseless sleeping posture, 'Her tough exterior didn't always match her feelings.'
Her silky, golden hair tempted him to reach out and touch it, but he quickly withdrew his hand, 'There were other things to do, I should hurry up and wash up and prepare breakfast.'