A/N - MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS EVERYONE 😂😂😂 I'm late lol and sorry, this was supposed to come out on Christmas but I got caught up with the day and the next, that I legit forgot to update this. But, I am now here to update, so here you go. Over 8,000 word chapter... again 😅

Please comment and vote and enjoy ❤️

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Chapter 2: Wake-Up Call

"I won't lose to you, Menma!" Nia declared as she threw a punch toward her opponent, only to have him duck underneath her attack and ram his elbow quickly into her gut causing her to keel over.

In retaliation, the girl locked her hands together and slammed it down on the ninja's back, before flipping around and giving him a clean roundhouse kick, sending him flying with her giving chase. Menma thought fast and did a back handspring, saving himself from receiving yet another devastating jab to the face as he caught Nia's fist in his hand and attempted to knee her in the gut, only for her to block that with her other free hand.

Realizing the tight spot they were in, the two bounced away from another, staring right into the other's eyes as they had created some distance between themselves.

"Better be careful, Nia," Menma warned her. "Your possible date with me seems to be slipping right through your fingers, ya know."

"I'm not worried at all," The girl responded. "I feel like I'm fighting for my dream... my dream of finally having the chance to be in your arms and get you to marry me like you told me you would when we were kids."

Menma rested a hand on his hip and sweatdropped.

"I might've said I'd make you my wife, but that was before we were even in the academy and in the middle of playing that dumb "house" game of yours. You can't possibly have taken that so seriously. We were practically babies when I told you that, give me a break."

"Yes, we were young, but even so, I've fallen for you. You're my best friend and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you!"

"Geez..." The blonde turned his head as if he were annoyed while a stubborn blush spread across his cheeks. "Always so hopeless, I swear..."

"Now come on," The girl bounded forward with determination. "Let's finish this!"

With a nod, the ninja then jumped into the air and attempted to sweep his foot against his opponent's cheek. However, Nia blocked with her left arm and buried her right fist into his stomach before performing a spinning back fist to his face then raising her leg to give him a hook kick.

Menma groaned as his back crashed to the ground and grabbed at his cheek as it began throbbing. There was no time him for him to stay still though as he witnessed his opponent front flip in the air and aimed her leg right down at his stomach, so in a hurry, he rolled away then used this chance to strike the girl in the back though she caught herself from landing on her front side by doing a front handspring and successfully landing on her feet instead.

Watching from the sidelines, Minato and Kushina observed the battle — each studying the movements of each young person.

They watched as they dashed forward and threw out a fist, Menma his left and Nia her right. The two fists met and the very ground seemed to shake beneath their feet.

Chocolate-brown eyes glowered into cerulean blue ones for one brief second and, shortly afterward, Nia brought her free hand in an open-palm strike aimed at Menma's chin, who leaned away from the strike, then pulled back his fist and threw it at the girl only to see her jump back to evade the swing.

Menma gave chase, thrusting forward with a kick only for Nia to catch him by the ankle before bringing him spinning around in a circle and throwing him.

The blonde regained his balance in midair, using one foot to catch himself and then flipping backwards. He landed, this time fully regaining his balance. Menma then reached into his hip-pouch and took two pairs of shuriken from its contents. With four rapid motions of his free hand, he tossed each one at Nia.

Nia, in a stunning display of agility, raced at him, dove right in between the gap presented by the first two shuriken, slid under the third, and jumped over the fourth. By the time she had reached her opponent, though, Menma had taken a kunai from his pouch.

The ninja thrusted his knife at Nia and, when the girl evaded, he followed up with a swipe. Nia so narrowly avoided it that the tip of the kunai caught the side of her face, leaving a gash on her cheek that dripped blood.

"Remember this is a sparring match, not some death battle!" Minato scolded the two as Kushina was equally as perturbed by what just happened.

"Yeah Menma, be more careful with your use of your weapons! I'll never let you hear the end of it if you were to send Nia into the hospital due to your recklessness, ya know!"

Not letting them distract him, Menma went in for another attack, only this time, Nia was onto him. The blonde thrusted, but Nia seized him by the forearm, twisted the knife out of his grip, then picked him up in a suplex, jumped into the air, and smashed the ninja into the ground behind him.

Nia kipped back up to her feet and took a good look at her crushed adversary, quickly drawing a kunai out and aiming the tip straight at him.

"Give it up, Menma," She gripped the handle then used the blade to tilt his chin upward so he was looking her in the eye. "I've won my date... see you at 7:00 tonight."

The blonde only smirked before kicking the girl's kunai away, jumping back to his feet, and throwing a punch that Nia barely evaded. The girl was good with follow-ups and did just that by immediately sweep-kicking the ninja right off his feet. She then jumped to meet him, grabbed him, then threw him into the ground.

Menma hit the ground and hit it HARD, then rolled backward just as Nia slammed her heel into the ground where he once laid, the ground exploding with dirt and grass sprung right out of as a decent sized crater was formed.

Menma suddenly vanished in that moment and left Nia searching for her opponent again.

What she didn't know, was that the young man was atop a branch, a bead of sweat sliding down his temple as he thought of what he should do.

'Damn...' He grumbled in his hand as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. 'I guess she does still have it in her...'

He took the time to recover. However, it didn't last so long cause as soon as he looked down, to his surprise, Nia was right at the base of the tree looking up at him. She smirked, then pulled back a fist and slugged the tree with a powerful forward jab.

The tree actually splintered on contact with her fist and Menma sprang from his cover as the tree came crashing down. Nia sprang after him, running fast enough to actually scale the next tree's trunk, then giving chase as Menma sprang from branch-to-branch in the forest.

The blonde realized that he wouldn't lose his opponent in a hurry and stood his ground as Nia shot at him, foot extended. Menma sidestepped on the massive limb of the tree, and Nia followed up her kick with a right hook that her opponent would block, then stepped in to nail her in the gut with a punch of his own.

Menma followed up by lifting Nia into the air and then delivering a series of swift and powerful punches of his own to her midsection. To finish his combo, he seized the girl by the arm, spun her in several circles, and threw her at the thick trunk of an abnormally-large tree.

"And just like that, no date for y-"

To his surprise, Nia had caught herself in mid-throw and landed, cat-footed, on the tree's trunk.

Her leg muscles had coiled like a tight spring and, soon after, she released the energy, springing at the ninja like a cat. Menma sidestepped, but Nia actually caught herself on her hands, rolled to rid herself of some of the inertia, then got to her feet and made to swing at the blue-eyed male.

Menma crossed his arms to defend himself, but much to his shock once again, Nia seemed to have vanished into thin air. The blonde then turned around just in time for her fist to slam into his face and send him flying back into the tree's trunk with a very audible "thud".

In a small flash, she would land a solid punch on the ninja's side. After that hit, Nia seemed to vanish, reappearing behind Menma and landing another kick.

The blonde didn't have time to react and, when he did try to swing again, Nia had appeared in a different position and landed a punch in a different place: his face, his back, his arm, his chest, his gut, any exposed place.

Nia would then land seven of these hits, charge a good chunk of her strength into her right fist, charged, and next land it smack dab in Menma's midsection, sending him flying backwards toward where his parents were and crashing to the ground roughly, grass and dirt being lifted into the air as he slid on his back before finally making a stop, his body going limp as he did.

The winner... Nia!

"Oh no! Menma!" Kushina ran toward her son, dropping to her knees and help sitting him up as the ninja winced.

Soon enough, Nia would approach them, dusting her hands and clothing off with a large grin on her face.

She was finally getting that date she wanted with him since childhood. It seemed her patience was finally being rewarded as she felt it should have been.

"Don't worry, he'll be just fine," She reassured his concerned parents.

Minato glanced over at her, a bit dumbfounded yet relieved that the girl hadn't lost her touch. If anything, he could tell she improved immensely.

"You must've been training in secret this whole time, huh?" He questioned as Nia just shrugged.

"Maybe?" She kept her smile.

"D-Damn..." Menma struggled to stand upright, even with his mother helping him. "You must've... really wanted that date."

Kushina and Minato glanced at one another before asking what their son was talking about.

"We made a bet!" Nia happily answered for him. "He said that if I were to to win against him, he'd take me out on a date!"

"Wow, really?" The red-head wasn't expecting to hear that yet was excited that Menma was finally gonna spend some time with a girl in a romantic light. "Well, I'm more than glad to hear you're actually going on a date for once and not trying to avoid the whole idea of it, Menma."

"But let's not forget why this sparring session was set up in the first place," Minato caught everyone's attention. "We did this so we can assess the areas in hand-to-hand combat that Menma has a weakness in. So... Nia, from what you observed from this battle, what would say my son needs to work on in order to improve himself in this area?"

Nia crossed her arms and thought to herself.

"Honestly, he's not terrible at all in this area. I'd say he's better than average, but just not as experienced as I am with taijutsu. I'd say that he needs to keep his other senses sharp and not rely so much on sight alone. Another thing is that I've noticed that he seems to be rather reckless in his efforts to bring me down. In taijutsu, it's a necessity to try and figure out your enemy's weak point and search for any blind and/or open areas that can be targeted."

She then paused for a brief moment before adding, "Though he was smart to try and find cover so he can catch a breather, it was quite obvious he lost his concentration and lost detection of where I was at until it was too late — that would correlate with how I suggested that he needs to heighten his other senses."

"Anything else?"

"No... he practically just lost so easily cause I wanted the date he offered to give me if I were to win," The girl sweatdropped and scratched her cheek. "I was fighting for something I was very passionate about so... I stepped my game up to another level than I normally do, but you don't need to worry, I'll sharpen his taijutsu in no time and he'll be one of the greatest shinobi for sure with the added fact that he's already phenomenal in other areas."

Minato lightly bowed his head in appreciation.

"Thank you for doing this for us and especially for our son."

"Oh no, no. I'm flattered you'd even give me an opportunity to do something such as this, so no need to thank me, Dad," Nia bowed her head instead.

Menma groaned.

"Quit calling my parents Mom and Dad already, ya know."

"Well, you're the one who promised to marry me, so I might as well-"

"We were little kids when I said that! How many times do I have to keep reminding you? You can be really annoying, ya know?"

Smiling, Nia skipped over to him then kissed his cheek.

"I'll be seeing you at 7:00, okay? You heal fast, so you should be good by then. I'll catch you later. Bye," She then turned and walked away while Menma just wiped his cheek with his hand.

"Argh, there's gotta be some way to make her and the rest of these other girls to stop liking me," The blonde sighed heavily.

"But your face is red, Menma," His mother told him, as he only responded by turning his head.

Where Nia was, her head was in the clouds as she thought of her first encounter with her crush.

~FLASHBACK~

"Ugly, ugly, ugly," A group of children sang while skipping around a beaten up little Nia.

"Leave me alone!" She screamed, pushing one kid to his bottom.

Unfortunately for her, the rest of the slightly older kids started shoving her.

"Don't touch him, you rat! No one likes you! Go away!" One pushed her to another kid before that kid would shove her to another one, starting a cycle.

"Yeah!" Another child agreed. "Ugly kids like you aren't allowed to play with any of us! You don't belong here!"

At one point, one kicked her to the ground before another kid would begin to yank on her hair as hard as they could.

"LET GO OF ME!" Nia then cried, throwing her head up, hitting the boy's groin with the back of her head, getting him to release her hair and start sobbing absurdly while holding his injury.

When the rest of the kids witnessed this, they went on to assault her, beating her more viciously than their first run. Sobbing, Nia reached for a stick a few feet in front of her and agressively swung it — swatting the bullies in the stomach, legs, and arms, and thus, getting them to back away from her.

"OWWWW!" A boy started crying while holding onto the scratch on his arm.

"WE'RE TELLING OUR MOMMY AND DADDY ON YOU!" Another girl sobbed as the group of children began to scurry off to their parents.

Meanwhile, weeping over the pain of her wounds, Nia struggled to sit up as bruises, bite marks, and small gashes covered some parts of her frail body.

"MOMMYYYY!" She screamed to no avail as she was in a isolated part of the village. "DADDYYY!"

For the next few moments, she cried into her curled hands, not really knowing what to do nor able to move very much.

"Are you okay?" She suddenly heard a voice and slightly lowered her hands, trying to catch a glimpse of whom was speaking to her through watery eyes.

Nia coughed then shook her head.

"I-I'm hur-hurting..." The toddler sniffled. "I wa-want my mommy..."

"You're bleeding... did someone hurt you?"

The girl nodded.

"The bigger kids w-wouldn't let me pl-play with them c-cause they sa-said I was too ug-ugly a-and then... t-they beat me up!"

"How old are you?"

Nia sniffled again as she counted her fingers and showed it to the other person.

"My m-mommy and da-daddy said... I'm... t-this many," She held up three fingers. "H-How old are y-you? Ar-Are you a big kid?"

"It's my birthday today. I turned three," The other toddler grinned before getting on their knees. "I was looking for more friends to invite to my birthday party, ya know? Do you wanna go?"

"B-But I can't go," She whimpered, finally wiping her eyes to see a young boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. "I'm hurting... I can't walk. I wa-want my mommy and daddy."

Hearing this, yet not quite understanding the entire concept of pain, the little boy put his hands under her under arms and attempted to help her stand up, though Nia started wobbling before falling back down to her bottom and sobbed wildly.

Again, she started screaming for her parents, but no was around to hear except for the little boy.

"It's okay," He tried to reassure her while getting on his knees and hands. "Get on my back and I'll crawl you to your momma and dadda."

"O-Okay..." Nia nodded, crawling to the boy before trying to get on his back with a strenuous effort.

Fortunately, she was able to do so, lying her upper body and head against his back while wrapping her arms around him so she wouldn't fall off.

"You're kinda of a fatty," The little boy's arms wobbled a bit before becoming balanced once more. "You should play outside more."

"I'm not fat!" Nia took offense to this and pinched his cheek as hard as she could, making him wince. "And I go outside everyday, but no one wants to play with me. They all keep saying I'm a rat..."

"OWWWW! I'M SORRY, YA KNOW! PLEASE STOP PINCHING ME BEFORE I TELL ON YOU!"

Hearing this, the girl pulled away and resumed holding onto the child before he would begin crawling forward, not really knowing where he was going.

"Do you have a name? My name is Menma," The blonde revealed whom he was.

"Umm... I think my name is Nia. That's what my mommy and daddy call me."

"The other kids don't like you, but you don't seem like a meanie. Do you wanna be my friend? I can help you to make more friends at my birthday party. I think some of them might be nice to you if they know we're friends and you're being nice to them."

"You really think so?" This made her smile.

"Mhm."

And so, the two would begin a friendship that would stretch out for many years. It would also be the day where Nia would capture a small interest in the blonde that would eventually grow into a more stronger emotion through time.

~FLASHBACK ENDS~

It wasn't much of an encounter, and he definitely was late to arrive when the other kids beaten her up, but... he did carry her to safety and along the way offered to be friends with her despite knowing how the majority of the other kids despised her at the time. Being that he was rather well-liked throughout the course of his life, her friendship with him managed to get a lot of the other kids to accept her after a few years or so.

Now, it seemed everyone liked her here. People would smile at her, greet her whenever they seen her, strike up a conversation usually. Sure, she had her rivalries with certain girls, but overall, in this reality, she was adored.

It seemed like she knew just about everyone. She was outgoing and cheerful. Life seemed beautiful to her day in and day out.

For the next few hours, she would hang out with her closest friends and telling them all about the date she was gonna go on, much to their amazement that Menma would even consider going on a date with anyone.

And by the time it was time for their very first date, Nia stood waiting for him in the area he said he'd meet her in. She did the best she could with her appearance to at least show she tried to look her best for the occasion. There were really no words to describe how excited yet nervous she was.

Every few seconds she had to take a deep breath and crack her knuckles before shaking her hands to get out the nerves while pacing back and forth a few time.

This was it: her moment! Her moment to show him how great she could be as his possible girlfriend. She waited years for this!

Goosebumps covered her skin as she waited. She had came early just in case but as time grew, her stomach began to feel queasy and her heart felt like it could explode! Her palms were getting sweaty and her face was flushed completely. If he were to see the nervous mess she was, she'd probably would have to hide under a rock.

She just wanted the night to go well. She just wanted the guy to ask for another date after this one was over. Maybe even a kiss would be great too.

Suddenly, that's when she saw him — walking towards her with one hand behind his back. Though she promised herself she wouldn't, in complete utter excitement she screamed his name.

"MENMAAAA!" She gushed at the blonde as she ran toward him with a large grin on her face, jumping once close enough to him and wrapped her arms around his neck then rubbed her cheek against his. "HOW ARE YOU?! I'M SO EXCITED TO SEE YOU! YOU'RE REALLY HERE! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

The ninja grumbled a bit as he waited patiently for her to let go of him. When she did, she immediately placed her hand under his, wanting him to hold it.

"Today is the luckiest day of my life," She told him and lightly began to swing it side to side. "I get to go on a date with the guy of my dreams: my everything. The most cutest guy ever! My heart's racing! I can't wait to get this whole thing started."

"You really should find someone else to be with, Nia..."

"Oh, stop being like that," This slightly annoyed her as she then linked her arms with his and walked forward with him. "Let's just enjoy ourselves, okay? I've been waiting for this date with you for centuries..."

Menma lowered his eyes to her.

"I just think that... you should give it up already. I've been rejecting you since we were toddlers... I don't want to be with anyone."

"I don't care... one of these days I'm gonna make you understand the extent of my love and then we'll finally be able to give your parents some grand babies," Nia smiled at the thought.

"Honestly... you just sound crazy."

Hearing this, the girl frowned and stood in front of him with her arms crossed. His attitude recently was much more than she could take. Normally, he wasn't a rude kind of guy, but lately that's just what he was: rude and insensitive.

"What?" Menma wondered why she looked so irritated.

"What's your problem?" She hissed. "I feel like you've been disrespecting and being rude to me with the way you've been acting toward me lately. Why?"

The blonde averted his eyes.

"This... has nothing to do with you, ya know."

"Could it be that you're that angry about me winning our little sparring match or that you're really that upset about going on one little date with me?"

"I just said this has nothing to do with you," Menma repeated. "I just... have a lot on my mind right now, all right?"

Nia affectionately rested her hand on his cheek.

"Let's... just save this date for another time and find somewhere private to talk things out. You know I'm here for you, don't you? I wouldn't mind lending you an ear..."

The ninja lightly grabbed her hand and moved it away from his face, holding it still afterward.

"No..." He refused. "I'd rather keep my thoughts to myself."

Nia sighed. "I won't pester you, but... sometimes it's good to have someone to hear you out, don't you think? I'm not one to judge you. I just wanna be here for you is all... you know that."

This time, Menma was the one to stroke her cheek with his finger. He didn't understand why he was doing that, but he just did. It couldn't be helped.

This only caused the girl to feel butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't ever recall him ever having been that affectionate with her on his own accord — it was a first.

"Yeah... you have been there for me," He acknowledged that fact. "For years you've been understanding of me."

"And... I'll continue to be... for many more years," She told him.

"I see..." The blonde mumbled, his face beginning to feel a bit heated before closing his eyes and making a decision.

"Fine," He yielded then pointed his thumb behind him where the Hokage monument was located. "We'll talk there, all right?"

"Of course," The dark-haired girl gently latched onto his arm, resting her head on it as she did so.

And with that, the two would head on over there. A few minutes would pass by before they would settle atop the fourth hokage's face statue: Sakura Haruno's father.

Sitting at the edge of it, their feet would dangle as they observed the lit up village below. This spot was always there go to if they ever wanted to escape from the world for some time or simply admire the village or night sky from up high.

"So... what's up?" Nia broke the ice between them, ready to help ease him in whatever way she could. "What's been going on? Nothing awful I hope."

Menma took a deep breath before telling her, "I've been... thinking about the transfer of the Nine-Tails from my mother to me."

"Ah," The girl responded. "That happened six months ago, right? How are you feeling about the whole thing?"

"Well... I'm not sure... if I should be the one to bear such a responsibility of keeping it under control within me. I feel... afraid that I may not be strong enough to really carry this thing out, ya know?"

"Of course you can do it, Menma. It's the whole reason why this was entrusted to you by the Hokage and your parents. They all believe in your strength to maintain it — I believe in that also."

The blonde only stared at the open palm of his hand.

"Yeah, but what if... what if I fail to do so and I end up unleashing the fox and the village ends up being under attack another time?"

Nia rested her hand on his arm.

"That won't happen. You just gotta learn to control its power."

"But how? I've already had a few close calls where it nearly got released! I don't wanna end up being the reason why many peoples' blood are on my hands, ya know!"

"That's why you gotta train your mind and body to prevent that from happening. The fox mainly tries to overtake you when you're experiencing a powerful negative emotion, right? If you can just... learn to suppress such strong dark emotions from happening in your heart like your mother was able to, you won't have anything to fear."

Menma gritted his teeth in frustration. "But... it's not... that easy, Nia."

"I never said it was going to be," The girl cupped his trembling clenched fist then gazed lovingly into his eyes. "But you just need to know that you're not alone in this — We're all here for you; every single one of us."

Hearing this, the blonde took a deep breath and was eventually to calm himself.

"I gotta be honest with you," The ninja then gazed into her eyes as well. "I know it may not always seem like it, but... I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you with me, Nia. You really are always here for me when I need someone. You never leave my side."

Nia's heart skipped a beat. She felt like she was finally getting the recognition she always wanted from him.

"Well gosh Menma... that really means a lot to me to hear you say that," She started blushing. "You really do mean a lot to me. I'm glad I was able to make you feel better."

"You do... bring my spirits back up now that I really think about it," Menma cupped her chin, making her keep eye contact with him. "I can always count on you to be there for me. You mean a lot to me too, Nia..."

"Menma..." The retired kunoichi's eyes widened before she lowered her eyes, her blush deepening as she had done so.

"Anyway," The blonde relaxed and raised a knee up, resting an arm over it and gazing down at the village. "When I was hoping to beat you in that sparring match, that task or mission I should say that I wanted you to aid me on was this: I wanted to have you help me change this world to a better place."

"A better place, huh?"

"Well, yeah... I know I can't be the only one who's sick of all the fighting, the killing, and all that hatred spewing out in this world. There... needs to be some sort of compromise between all villages. Some sort of peace throughout all nations and people."

"I agree with you, but how do you suppose we do all that?"

"I'm... not sure, but we'll find a way, I swear."

Nia gave a hopeful expression.

"After we find a way in doing so, do you think... you and I can finally walk down the aisle as husband and wife?" She mumbled rather shyly.

"Huh?" Menma blinked a few times. "Nia, you really need to get this marriage stuff out your head, ya know?"

Hearing this, the girl frowned and lowered her eyes; resting her hands in her lap as her head hung low.

"I see... maybe I should," She croaked. "After all, I've been waiting and trying for so many years, but you... never seem to love me the same way I love you. You've always rejected me no matter what I would say or do..."

"Nia..." The ninja leaned forward to glimpse at her face. "Are you... sad for once?"

"Not really sad... just disappointed and frustrated," She answered. "I wanna be with you, Menma... but I just don't know how long I can take before I try to move on from you. My feelings aren't reaching you, and it's starting to hurt me, and... make me feel lonely, even though I try to smile through it all, I just... don't think I can take much longer."

Menma rested a hand on her back.

"I... care about you, Nia, I just..."

"You just what?"

The blonde couldn't find the right words.

"I love you," She told him. "I've loved you for so long... through your bad and good days. I know I'm not a pretty girl like Hinata is nor am I the child of heroes' that Sakura is, but-"

"Don't," The ninja stopped her. "Don't compare yourself to any of them. Hinata is hot, but her attitude turns me off completely and just in general, scares me. The way she dresses is too revealing and I don't want my girlfriend walking around like that, ya know? Sakura is okay, but I don't know, I just... don't really pay attention to her in that way and pretty much just acknowledge the fact that her parents have their lives for the sake of the village all those years ago and is my teammate."

"Then... what's your opinion of me?"

Menma laid down on his back, using his arms to support the back of his head.

"You're just some girl who won't stop confessing her love to me as if I already don't know," He answered. "You've been doing that since we were little so I'm not annoyed by it anymore; I've gotten very used to it."

"That's it? I'm just some girl who obsesses over you?"

"You're one of my best friends, ya know? I... haven't really thought about how I truly feel for y-"

"Maybe you were right..." Nia interjected, causing the blonde to glance over at her. "Maybe I should get over you? After all, I've done everything I could to get you to like me back and nothing ever worked."

Menma kept quiet as Nia added on to what she was saying.

"I... met someone the other day when I went to visit a nearby village. There was this guy out in the forest who seemed as if he'd been struck down by someone and needed help so I tended to his wounds and stayed with him for a few days to make sure he was alright."

The blonde just closed his eyes, not surprised she would do something like that. It was normal for her to do so.

Nia slightly reddened.

"The thing is... over those few days, I think he gathered a crush on me because I saved him in the nick of time. He kept asking me to go on a date with him, but... I just kept telling him I was in love with someone else. He... even called me beautiful and said... some other things that made me feel... very happy."

Immediately, Menma's eyes shot open and he abruptly sat up again, turning his head to face the girl.

The expression on his face frightened her slightly.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You have feelings for someone else?" He seemed irritated.

Nia averted her eyes.

"Well, not really... but I've been thinking about giving someone else a chance to be honest just now."

"But why? It's not like they're gonna be a good boyfriend to you."

"He seems like a nice guy, and besides... you never give me a chance — you always reject me and that always hurts me."

The ninja frowned.

"So who the hell is this guy?! You're just gonna go be with him after declaring your great "love" for me?!"

"I don't really have much of a choice..." The girl replied. "I'm not getting any younger... We're at that age where it's normal to want to be in a relationship with someone or at least long for some sort of romantic connection with the gender we're attracted to. I want to be with someone and date and then get married and have children then grow old with the person I love in peace. I wanted that to be you, but you won't give me a chance, so I might as well try with someone else, Menma. What do you expect me to do? Wait for you until my body turns into bones then my bones turn into dust? No."

"But why this random guy?! You literally just met him, ya know!"

"I don't care. I'll go on dates with him and get to know him better: simple."

"Nia." Menma grasped her forearm. "You're my best friend!"

"I wanna be your girlfriend and your best friend; not just your best friend."

The blonde sighed.

"Sigh all you want, Menma..." Nia was offended by this, her eyes beginning to droop a little. "I'm sick and tired of being rejected by you over and over, time and time again. You don't even bother to read my letters at the very least. I'm tired of feeling undesirable cause of you when I know I can make an amazing girlfriend if you'd just give me a damn chance, but nooo, you just think I'm too ugly and you're too focused on other crap to notice or give a crap that I actually care for you more than anyone."

"Shut up, Nia..."

"No, don't tell me to shut up!" This made her even more furious. "You're over here getting mad cause I'm thinking of moving on from you when you won't even date me! You're acting so selfish and arrogant! Why don't you just admit that you're clearly jealous?!"

"Cause I'm not," The blonde told her.

Nia fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"Well good cause I'm leaving first thing in the morning to meet up with the gu-"

"No you're not!"

"Yes, I am! I'd be too stupid to reject someone who's attracted to me for someone who won't even look twice at me."

Menma groaned. "Damn... it's not even like that. I'm attracted to you, it's just-"

"No, you're not. If you were, I'd be your girlfriend right now."

"I... think you're adorable, I admit it."

Nia didn't seem to believe him but kept quiet.

"I'm serious," He looked her in the eye. "I've read literally every single letter you've ever written for me. I lied to you about having stopped because... well... ugh, just forget it! Tell me who this guy you're thinking about is!"

The girl raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe later... but you know, I was thinking that if I were to get with that other guy, I'll most likely give him my virginity."

"WHAT?!" Menma growled and squeezed her hand. "What the hell are you talking about?! You're gonna let this guy bang you?!"

"Well, yeah... if the relationship is going well and I feel I can trust him and feel that he really cares about me. Menma... we're not little kids anymore... I just... would like to experience certain things now instead of waiting around for something that may never happen if I stay hoping you'll return my feelings. I would like to experience love and sex now... and I have that chance to hopefully make that happen with someone else."

"But Nia..." The blonde sounded hurt. "Don't you wanna be with me? I thought you were in love?"

"I am in love with you and I do wanna be with you, but you don't feel the same way about me and you said yourself that you wish not to be with someone and you prove that to be true each and every time. What we want are two different things and I think it's about time I take your rejections seriously and move on to the next guy," Nia spoke softly yet stern enough to make the guy see that she was serious. "We'll always be best friends and I'll always have your back no matter what, but... it's just time for me to move on, I believe."

With that, she stood to her feet and stretched.

"I really should get some sleep now if I'm going to leave to meet up with the guy once more in the morning. I think he really likes me so I'm kinda nervous... he thinks I'm really beautiful or whatever it was that he kept calling me and wouldn't stop asking me out. I'm gonna tell him that I would like to try and make things happen if possible."

Menma's heart sunk to his stomach as he got up also and lightly gripped the girl's upper arms.

"No... you're not going to be meeting up with any other guy, ya know," He told her.

Nia wasn't too pleased to hear that.

"Of course I'm going to meet up with him. Menma... you just gotta understand: I can't take waiting around for you any longer when you just don't like me. I want something more than just a friendship with a guy I like. You won't give me that sort of love, but someone else is willing to let me experience that and I'm not gonna refuse that. I want my hand to be held, I want to laugh with someone, I want to be held, I want someone I can relate to and be with someone who thinks I'm pretty and worth his time and effort. I want someone I can grow old with and who I can trust with my entire heart and life."

"But... I felt... you and I already have that," Menma replied.

"No... we don't," Nia disagreed. "We're only like that in terms of friendship. Menma... I want romantic love. The type of love your parents have for each other. That's the one I'm talking about. I want to move on to the next step of my life... it's the whole reason I dropped this whole ninja thing. I wanna find someone that I can eventually settle down with... okay?"

"I know that's been your dream since you were real little, but still... why you gotta go give this other guy a chance?"

"He finds me attractive and wants to be my boyfriend, so why not? I don't have a chance with you, so... What the hell else am I supposed to do? This new guy has the potential to be my first everything! First date, first kiss, first sex, first-"

"He can't be your first date if we're on a date right now and he can't be your first kiss if we've been kissing since we were kids..."

Hearing this, the dark-haired girl blushed.

"We cancelled so this is not a real date... as for the kissing thing... um... those were just friendly kisses..."

"No... they weren't. You first kissed me when we were five and that continued until we were fourteen when I wanted to stop doing that. It's been a few years since then, right?"

"S-Sorry..." Nia decided to apologize. "I was a kid with a huge crush. I didn't fully understand what I was doing when I kept kissing you for all those years till we reached a certain age where the kissing... sorta became..."

"Where we were able to understand exactly what we were doing," The blonde finished. "When we were fourteen or fifteen, we almost even had se-"

"KYAH! JUST KEEP THAT IN THE PAST!" This embarrassed the girl. "That night was just... we got caught up in the heat of the moment."

"Yeah, but... it doesn't change the fact that we almost did it," Menma started to rub the small of Nia's back, making her heart throb hard. "I was gonna really do it that night with you, but you stopped me. Why?"

"Because... I wanted to do it as boyfriend and girlfriend... not as that friends with benefits sorta relationship we had going on back then. If you were my boyfriend, I would've let you do it with me, but... you weren't, so I stopped us short."

"Tell me whose the guy you're trying to let finish what I started." The ninja narrowed his eyes.

Nia lightly pushed away at his chest, though Menma still kept a firm hold on her.

"It's not really a big deal for you to know right now... and I didn't say I was gonna sleep with him right away, so please... calm down, okay?"

"What's his name?!" He demanded.

"Akihiko," The girl blurted. "His name is Akihiko, all right? Now will you stop freaking out on me?"

"Who is he? Which village is he from? Is he a ninja too? Do you think he's hot? Is he a jonin? How much money does he make? How old is this guy?"

"Menma... seriously, I'd like to go home now, please."

"I'll walk you home, but tell me more about this guy."

Nia sighed.

"In that case, I'll be just fine walking home myself."

With that, she freed herself from his grasp and took the time to find her way down the Hokage mountain before walking down the streets of the village.

"You know, this guy is totally wrong for you," Menma followed behind, then approached next to her. "I bet you he's probably already married with kids or something, ya know?"

"No, he's surprisingly single," Nia responded, not really giving her crush much eye contact. "But he's ready for a romantic connection with someone..."

Menma frowned.

"How old is this guy, Nia? At least tell me that."

"Forty," She answered, infuriating the blonde.

"WHAT?!"

Nia giggled.

"I'm just joking. He's a young adult — like us. Maybe a year or two older."

The blonde glared at her.

"So you're really gonna leave first thing in the morning to meet up with some guy you only knew for a few days?"

"Yep."

"I've known you since we were three, ya know. He's only known you for less than five days."

"I've been rejected by you since we were three. He made his feelings known to me in less than five days," The girl retaliated.

Menma crossed his arms.

"Smartass..."

Annoyed, Nia halted right in front of him.

"Menma... do you have something you wanna tell me?"

The blonde stayed silent. When he did, Nia just turned back around and continued walking.

"Well, if that's so then... I hope you felt better after that talk we had over your tailed beast. Remember: if you need someone, I'll always be here for you, kay? Thanks for the concern also, but I'll be fine. Goodnight, Menma," She then waved goodbye, now venturing off to her home alone.

"Yeah... goodnight..." Menma muttered before lowering his eyes to the ground and frowning.

With that, he would return to his home rather aggressively, grabbing a key from his pocket and unlocking the door before harshly twisting the knob and slamming the door behind him once he entered his house.

"Menma?" Kushina looked over her shoulder as she was sitting on the couch in the living room, "You're home early... I thought you went on a date with N-

"Who the hell is this Akihiko guy?!" The blonde stormed in, ripping his headband from his forehead and throwing it to the ground. "Do you guys know anyone who goes by that name?!"

"Why're you so upset?! I think he was some guy Nia told me about that wants her hand in marriage or something like that."

"HE ASKED TO MARRY HER?!"

"Ah, that name rings a bell," Minato sauntered in from the other room, setting a book on the shelf. "I believe he's the son of a feudal lord in a village not too far away."

"Tell me everything you know about him!"

Kushina frowned.

"You really should learn some manners. You don't speak to your parents with that tone of voice, ya know."

"Dad," The blonde took a step forward, running his hand through his hair in frustration. "Please... you gotta tell me more about this guy. Every single detail."

"I can... but why would you like to know, Menma?"

Menma bit his tongue back, too proud to admit to what he was feeling inside.

"Just... please? I think Nia could be getting herself into trouble..."

"Or maybe you're coming to your senses that you'll lose her to another man if you don't get it together soon," Kushina teased.

"Me getting upset over Nia wanting to be with someone else? Yeah right..."

"Here son," Minato handed over a piece of paper containing some information over the person whom he wanted to know of. "It's not everything, but... I hope this will put your curiosity to rest."

Without so much as a thank you, the youngest headed to his room, shutting the door and locking it.

Meanwhile, his parents smiled at one another goofily as they had a good clue on what was going on.

"I tried to tell him to tell her his feelings before it was too late," The redhead spoke as her husband sat next to her. "Nia seemed really discouraged over him for quite a while. I love our son, but I can't say I blame her for trying to move on, ya know? Especially when he dismisses her and his own feelings constantly."

"Menma's just not focused on girls right now... I'm more relieved he's focused on achieving his goals instead."

"Yeah, but Minato... he's our only child. Wouldn't you like for him to bring us some grandchildren? I thought it'd be Nia... or maybe even Sakura to be his future wife."

"He's just a young man... I'm sure he'll long for companionship when he's much older..."

Kushina let out a sigh as she then stared at the door of her son's room.

"That'll probably be a lot sooner than we think. He looked like he had a huge wake up call, ya know?"

But was that really the case, or was he actually just overly concerned about who Nia was supposed to visit the next morning?

———

A/N - That's the end of that! I hope you guys enjoyed this! Please comment and vote and have a great rest of your day ❤️

QOTD:

1. Fave Part?

2. Fave Line?

3. How do you think Menma's feeling toward the end?