Naruto walked toward the door, followed by Sakura and Hinata. As he opened it, he gestured for them to enter, saying, "Please, come in."
They stepped inside, and he followed behind them. To their great surprise, the house was large, tidy, and had two stories. A staircase led to the upper floor, where a high-quality wooden railing could be seen. It connected the end of the stairs to a wall that concealed the rest of the upper floor. The wall had openings through which several closed white doors were visible. Sakura reached out to touch a piece of furniture near the entrance, as if checking for dust, and asked in disbelief, "Are you sure this is your house???"
Naruto replied, surprised, "Yeah… why do you ask?"
She teased, "Since when have you been this tidy? Everything here is spotless!"
He smiled as if hiding something. "Don't worry… I haven't changed."
Sakura eyed him suspiciously. "Don't tell me you hire maids to clean your place."
Naruto hesitated. "Not exactly…"
She thought to herself, "What else should I expect from him?"
Just as he was closing the door, they heard someone calling out, "Naro—…" but the voice cut off upon seeing the two girls. Then it continued, "—to."
Sakura and Hinata turned toward the source of the voice in astonishment. It was a breathtakingly beautiful girl—possibly even more than that. She had long, ruby-red hair that nearly reached her feet, glowing brightly. Her wide eyes were a reddish-orange hue, and her face, initially smiling, turned to a frown upon seeing them.
She looked at Sakura and thought to herself, "...That girl!!!"
Naruto, surprised, said, "Huh… you're here!"
She replied, "I was hoping to surprise you…"
Then, raising an eyebrow and speaking with a calm face, she added, "But I guess you surprised me instead."
Naruto looked puzzled. "What?…"
She continued to glare at him, her anger resembling that of a sulking child. He glanced at her, then at Hinata and Sakura, then back at her and smiled. "You mean the girls?"
She quickly pointed at him with her index finger, leaning forward slightly and exclaiming angrily, "You knew I wouldn't be coming today, so you brought them over… didn't you???"
Sakura looked at him and thought with a sigh, "Just as I expected… he's become a clone of his master."
Naruto looked at the angry girl, confused, then laughed. "No, wait… it's not what you think."
Her expression didn't change, so he continued, "They're just girls from my village. I found them in the forest. They'll stay here for the night and leave tomorrow… that's all."
The girl looked at him skeptically. "Really? And you expect me to believe that?!"
They stared at each other for a moment before Naruto thought to himself, "She really doesn't trust me, huh?"
But then a mischievous smile appeared on his face as he thought, "But I know how to make her believe me…"
He stepped closer to her. Her anger seemed to fade with every step he took. When he stood right in front of her, he bent slightly so their faces were level and pointed to his eyes. "Look into my eyes… do I look like I'm lying to you?"
She stared into his eyes for a few seconds, and gradually, her cheeks turned red. Then she quickly turned away, eyes shut in embarrassment. "Alright… I believe you."
Naruto smiled victoriously, stood up straight, and headed toward the staircase. "Kushina… go prepare the guest room—it's the spare room for visitors. I'll sleep in there tonight, and they'll take my room."
Kushina asked, surprised, "Why don't they sleep in the guest room instead?!"
He replied, "It's small and only fits one person."
She shrugged. "...As you wish."
Then she looked at the two girls still standing by the door, who were watching her in amazement. Naruto continued up the stairs, but paused when he heard Kushina say, "I'll be staying here tonight."
As soon as she said that, he smiled to himself. "Just as I expected."
Suddenly, her voice came again. "Aren't you going to eat?"
He called back, "Call me when the food is ready."
He then continued on his way to the office room, while Sakura and Hinata remained still, watching everything unfold. They exchanged looks, both thinking, Who is that girl… and why is he treating her so kindly??!
At that point, they exchanged glances with Kushina, and the silence stretched until she finally said, "So… follow me to Naruto's room."
Sakura and Hinata looked at each other before Hinata moved to follow her, and Sakura trailed behind. On the way, Kushina smiled kindly and asked, "You haven't told me your names yet. What should I call you?"
Sakura returned the smile. "Just call me Sakura."
Hinata: "And I'm Hinata."
Kushina smiled warmly. "Nice to meet you both."
When they reached Naruto's room, Kushina opened the door with a smile. "You'll be sleeping here tonight."
They responded, "Thank you."
She smiled at them once more and hurried off to prepare the meal.
As they entered the room, Sakura looked around in amazement. "Is this really his room?! It looks like a palace room! Where did he get all this money?!"
Hinata, as usual, said with irritation, "Do you think he spent all those years doing nothing?!"
Sakura sat on the bed and felt it, clearly impressed. "Still… I never expected him to come this far! …Hey, Hinata, do you know that girl?"
Hinata: "Of course not… how would I know her?! …Why do you ask?"
Sakura, puzzled: "She seems important to him. Do you think she's…"
Hinata cut her off quickly and angrily, "No."
Sakura: "But why not?"
Hinata, calming down: "I didn't see a wedding or engagement ring on his hand… so I don't think they're in a relationship."
Sakura: "Really?! I didn't even notice that…"
Then she thought to herself, So that's it… she still loves him, otherwise she wouldn't have checked his hand for a ring.
Sakura lay back on the bed. "This bed is so comfy!! Hinata, come try it!"
Hinata, annoyed: "I'll sleep on the floor… you take the bed."
Sakura suddenly sat up and said in surprise: "But it's wide—we can both sleep on it."
Hinata replied with a bit of anger: "I don't want to sleep in his bed."
Sakura looked at her suspiciously, then let out a sigh as she threw herself back onto the bed: "As you wish…"
Meanwhile, Kushina was on her way to the study room where Naruto was. When she reached the door, she knocked.
Naruto: "Come in."
Kushina slowly opened the door, peeking her head inside. Naruto looked at her and smiled:
Naruto: "What's up?"
Kushina gently: "Am I disturbing you?"
His smile widened as he shook his head, which brought a smile to her lips as she said:
Kushina: "Lunch is ready… I came to call you, just like you asked."
Naruto, still smiling at her: "Alright… I'll be right there."
Kushina smiled back: "I'll wait for you downstairs."
She then closed the door and went to invite the two girls as well. After they gave her permission to enter, her eyes immediately landed on Sakura, who was lying comfortably on the bed. Kushina stared at her for a long moment, a look of mild anger forming on her face.
Sakura, surprised: "Is there something wrong?"
Kushina, flustered: "N–no… Nothing… I mean… Lunch is ready… We'll be waiting for you downstairs."
She closed the door rather forcefully.
Sakura turned to Hinata and asked in confusion: "Did I do something to upset her?"
Hinata, also confused: "…Maybe."
Sakura: "Alright then… Doesn't matter."
In the dining room…
Naruto entered and found Kushina and Sakura waiting for him, sitting on opposite chairs. He sat on the chair between them and at the center of the table.
After a few moments of eating, Naruto looked at the plate next to Sakura, then at her:
Naruto: "Hinata's not coming?"
Sakura calmly: "She's not eating."
Naruto, surprised: "Why not?!"
Sakura, pretending not to know: "I don't know… That's what she said."
At that moment, Sakura's mind replayed the conversation she'd had with Hinata earlier…
Sakura, shocked: "Why?!"
Hinata: "I told you, I'm not eating… You go ahead."
Sakura: "We haven't eaten since morning… There's no reason to refuse!"
Silence fell as Hinata stared off into the distance. After a long pause, she hesitantly said, with tears gathering in her eyes:
Hinata: "There is a reason."
Sakura's eyes widened: "What is it?"
There was no immediate answer. But after a long silence, Hinata replied sadly:
Hinata: "I don't want to… to be in the same place with him."
Sakura let out a sarcastic smile: "What?! You're in his house right now… and you're telling me you don't want to be in the same place with him?"
Hinata, angrily and emotionally: "Fine, I'll—"
Sakura quickly interrupted her: "Sorry… I didn't mean that… Fine, I'll go, and you stay."
As she approached the door, Sakura turned back to her:
Sakura: "Should I bring you something?"
Hinata didn't answer. Instead, she turned her face away in anger.
Back in the present…
Naruto noticed Sakura was lost in thought, worry written all over her face.
Naruto: "Sakura…"
She quickly looked up at him.
Naruto: "What's wrong?"
Sakura, nervously: "N–nothing… I'll go check on Hinata."
As she stood and was about to leave, Naruto grabbed her hand and stood up too.
Naruto: "Sit down… I'll go."
He released her hand and walked toward the door. Sakura looked at him, her worry increasing.
Sakura: "But…"
Naruto, cutting her off: "I know."
Then he left.
Sakura slowly sat back down, saying to herself:
Sakura (thinking): "I hope everything goes well…"