A/N - Hi guys! I decided to release this chapter a day early. Please comment and vote and enjoy ❤️

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Chapter 45: Nia's Jealousy

"Oh, you guys just don't understand. It's hard being away from her," Naruto whined as his team hopped from tree branch to tree branch. "She needs her hero at all times, ya know."

"You really should focus on the mission, Naruto," Sai advised him.

"Yeah, stop thinking and talking about Nia so much. It's annoying," Sakura joined in.

"You're annoying," The ninja mumbled under his breath.

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Sakura had heard him.

"GYAH! SAKURA, NO! WAIT!" Naruto would then scream when the girl kicked him down to the ground.

Yamato sighed and shook his head while Sai hopped down to the ground beside his fallen friend.

"I guess you can call that payback from all those times you told everyone the times you banged Nia, wouldn't you say Naruto?"

"What... the hell does that have to do with anything that just happened?" Naruto lifted his dirt covered face from out the ground.

"It's just relieving to see you get knocked out honestly after all the things you be saying and demonstrating." Sai gave another smile. "Remember your hip thrusting?"

"Oh, shut it," The blond climbed back up to his feet and dusted himself off.

"Ugh, what's taking you two so long?" Sakura dropped beside them and placed her hands on her hips. "Naruto, get it together and let's go."

"Sorry that you just kicked me out of the trees..." He replied with a frown.

"Quit whining. You're just fine."

"I can see why you miss Nia. She wouldn't hurt you like Sakura just did," Sai said. "Such a beast you are, Sakura."

"HUH?! WHAT YOU JUST CALL ME?!" The kunoichi lashed out at the black-haired boy, only for Naruto to hold her back as best he could, despite taking a few elbows to the face.

"That's enough out of you three," Yamato came down as well. "We've got a mission to accomplish. Now let's get moving."

"I would like to hear another story about Nia from Naruto."

"Please no," Sakura groaned. "He's talked about her enough, Sai. Don't even get him started."

"I don't care what you talk about as long as we make progress moving forward," Yamato commented. "Let's go."

"Fine," Naruto agreed as the four would move out once more. "I'll tell another story."

"This better not be another sex story. Tell one of those again and I'll let Nia know what you've been telling everyone," Sakura threatened.

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's not that. Well..."

Sakura shot a glare.

"I'm joking... kinda," The ninja sweatdropped. "This story actually involves you, Sakura."

"Me?"

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. You see, before you met her, Nia used to get so upset whenever I brought you up in our conversations."

"You mean you would talk about me?"

"Yep. Maybe I can tell you the story and you can tell me why she was getting all upset about it. Even till this day, I don't know why it bothered her so much."

"Well, let's hear it. What happened?"

~FLASHBACK~

"Curly Brow, come back here," Naruto chased after Nia as she walked away from him.

"No," She refused as she strode forward. "You always do this."

"Do what?" He hopped in front of her, forcing the girl to stop.

"You always talk about Sakura."

"Okay? What's so wrong about that?"

"You're unbelievable, Naruto," Nia growled and took a step aside only for Naruto to block her path again.

"Why're you so angry with me? Why're you trying to leave me again?"

"Because you always talk about Sakura," Nia repeated. "Everytime we have a moment, you bring up how pretty she is suddenly."

"Well, she is."

"Ugh," The girl heavily sighed and attempted to once more leave.

Naruto side-stepped her.

"Move," Nia ordered.

"No."

Nia folded her arms.

"Maybe... Akihiko was right... about you only wanting to hold Sakura."

"Huh?"

"Quit acting so oblivious to everything. It's true, isn't it?"

"I do wanna hold Sakura," He admitted.

Nia's heart sunk.

"Oh, I knew it," Her voice croaked as she lightly pushed past the genin.

"Curly Brow," He grabbed her wrist.

"Let go..." She told him.

"Why're you getting so upset? Talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about, Naruto. You love Sakura. End of story."

"So what's your point? You're just gonna leave cause of my feelings for her?"

"Do... you really not know what's going on?" Nia was bewildered.

"With what?"

"With us," The girl clarified.

"Us?" The blond blinked. "I don't understand."

Nia lowered her eyes.

"Was I... the only one who was... feeling what they were...?"

"Feeling... exactly what, Curly Brow?"

"Love," The girl closed her eyes, feeling a familiar sting in her heart.

"Love?" The ninja still didn't understand.

Nia made a sigh, resting her fist at her heart.

"Curly Brow, you do realize you're important to me, don't you?"

"It sure doesn't feel like it," She expressed.

"Come here," Naruto gave her a hug. "It totally is true, ya know."

Nia's heart fluttered as her hands and the profile of her face rested at Naruto's chest.

"You only think about Sakura," She told him. "And never me."

"I think about you all the time, Curly Brow..."

"No you don't..."

"It's true."

"Then why do you bring up Sakura in every conversation?"

"Because she's pretty."

"I don't wanna hear that," The girl pushed away, only to have the blond grip her arms.

"Stop trying to leave me all the time," He said.

"Let me go."

"No."

"Naruto," She struggled to get out of his grasp.

"I'm not letting you go," He embraced her.

Nia pushed at his chest, but to no avail.

"Be in my arms for a moment," The genin responded.

"N-No, I don't want to," Nia resisted, albeit, with a reddened face.

"But you're about to cry over this. Let me hold you," The blond wrapped one arm around her waist and one hand to press her head to his shoulder.

"I... I don't wanna be held."

"Don't lie to me. I know you like it when I give you affection... especially when you're upset."

"Naruto..." Nia's face burned with embarrassment.

"This whole Sakura thing... why do you keep getting upset when I mention her?" Naruto then rested his cheek atop her head.

Nia's heart thudded at his snuggling.

"I don't like it," She whimpered, giving into his affection. "I don't like it when you talk about her."

"But why?" The blond questioned.

"Because..." The girl was too nervous to say.

"Because of what?" Naruto further questioned.

"Because... It hurts me," She admitted.

"How does it hurt you?" The genin spoke softly and tightened his hold on the kunoichi.

Nia's blush deepened in response.

"Because... It makes me feel like I don't matter to you..."

"That's not true. You'll always matter to me, Curly Brow. You're my friend."

"Yeah, but... I don't want you to always see me as just your friend."

"What do you mean? I want you to be my friend forever, ya know?"

Nia's heart sunk.

"Naruto, that hurts..." She expressed.

"Huh? How? Our friendship means a lot to me."

"It means a lot to me too, but," Nia was at a loss for words. "I don't want it to just always only be that forever..."

"Curly Brow, I can't hear you when you speak that quiet. Speak up, kay?"

"..." Nia shyly hid her face from him.

"Curly Brow?" The blond looked down at her.

Nia could only burn in the face.

"Haah," Naruto then sighed and snuggled closer to her, resting his cheek atop her head once more. "Now back to Sakura... you haven't even met her, yet you hate her already. Why?"

"I don't hate her... I hate... how you feel about her."

"How... I feel?"

"Mhm," Nia tugged at his jacket. "You... love her... and... I can't stand it."

"Hm?" The blond couldn't process what she was trying to say.

"I... don't like... that you like Sakura," Nia confessed. "I want... to be in your heart."

Her words couldn't be anymore clearer, yet this all still failed to get Naruto to understand her feelings.

"You already are in my heart," He would still go on to say despite not having understood her. "No one can ever change that, ya know."

"Oh Naruto," This all made Nia's heart race as she closed her eyes and smiled to herself.

"Curly Brow," He just held her.

For almost a minute they would remain that way — holding onto one another.

"Do you feel better, Curly Brow?" Naruto would then check on the girl.

Nia nuzzled her head against his chest.

"K-Kinda," She answered. "But I still don't like it when you talk about Sakura and how pretty she is. I don't need to hear that."

Naruto sighed. "Curly Brow, c'mon, you're killing me..."

"I said what I said, Naruto."

"Yeah? Well, I'm not going to stop talking about her beauty just cause you don't wanna hear- GYAH!" Naruto screamed when he saw the girl choking up and tears lining up her eyes. "C-CURLY BROW, DON'T CRY! DON'T CRY!"

"B-But," She whimpered and coughed, bringing a finger to her eye as a tear slipped out of it. "You keep... o-only caring f-for Sa-Sakura."

"No... I care about you too, Curly Brow," He reassured her. "You mean the world to me."

"N-No, I don't," The girl sniffled. "Sakura means more to you than I ever will."

"Curly Brow don't say that," Naruto cupped her face, wiping her tears with his thumbs. "You mean a lot to me, kay? Now let's stop crying."

"But... you... just wanna protect her and n-not me."

"That's not true. I wanna protect the both of you."

Nia only kept crying.

"Curly Brow, c'mon," Naruto brought his face close to her's. "Don't cry..."

"Hah," He then held her close to him again and let her cry into his shoulder.

"I... I want to be the one you t-think of," Nia sobbed.

"Hm?" Naruto slightly reddened. "W-What're you talking about, Curly Brow? You... want me to think about you?"

"Mhm," The girl nodded, making the genin squeeze her tighter.

"Do you care about me?" He questioned.

"U-Uh huh," Nia confirmed this to be true.

"Do you wanna be in my arms?"

"Y-Yes."

"Be protected by me?"

"Uh huh," The girl said again, making the blond's heart melt.

"Oh Curly Brow," He nuzzled his cheek against her tear-stained cheek. "I care about you too. I care about you a lot, ya know. Like a lot, a lot."

"N-Naruto," This made her face go red as she felt cared for.

"Say it," He rested his forehead against her's as their noses touched also. "Say you wanna stay with me."

"I... I wanna stay with you," The girl said.

"Now say you care about me."

"I c-care about you."

"And that you want to be protected by me."

"I want t-to be protected by you," Nia sniffled.

"Ahhh Curly Brow!" The young man embraced her. "It's just too cute, ya know! You're being cute!"

"Me? Being cute?"

Naruto nodded rapidly. "You're being extremely cute."

Hearing this, Nia covered her burning face in her hands as her heart pounded in her chest.

"Naruto... thinks... He really thinks... I'm being cute?" She was in disbelief.

"You're being adorable," He moved her hands away from her face and lightly brushed his lips across her cheek.

Nia's face exploded in steam as her eyes suddenly were replaced with black swirls.

"Y-You just... You re-really just-" Her legs wobbled as she stumbled backwards.

"C-Curly Brow, be careful!" Naruto reached an arm around her waist just before she could fall backward.

"O-Oh my goodness," She was in heaven. "W-Wow..."

"Hm? You okay?"

"N-Naruto, you just... You just kissed m-my cheek," Nia nearly passed out as steam still poured out of her bloody red face.

"I meant it when I said you were important to me," He told her, helping her keep to her
feet.

"A-Am I really?" She asked as the blond sat her to the ground, sitting beside her as he did so.

"Yes," He cupped her hands in his and gazed her in the eyes. "You are important to me... Extremely important, ya know."

Nia melted to the ground as hearts floated above her head and a squirmy smile spread across her face.

She was head over heels in love.

"Naruto..." She turned her head away from him only for the genin to cup her chin and make her look at him.

"Curly Brow... do you wanna further our friendship?" He said.

"Uh huh," The girl mumbled. "I'd do anything to further it. Anything."

"Come here," He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, using his hand to rest it on her thigh. "Do you... still have that one outfit Akihiko made you wear?"

"The one with the miniskirt?"

"Yeah, that one."

"Um... I think I do. Why?"

The blond reddened.

"Well," He rubbed her thigh. "Do you mind if you come to my apartment with that outfit?"

"You mean once we get to the Leaf?"

"Yeah. Just bring that outfit with you when you come over. I want you to put it on once you're in my house."

"Well, o-okay. I'll wear it." Nia blushed.

Naruto continued to stroke her thigh, although, with a bit more pressure.

"Naruto..." Nia enjoyed the feel of his hand and cuddled up to him.

'I can't take my dreams anymore, Pervy Sage. I'm just gonna... I'm just gonna follow your advice and get this whole thing over and done with,' Naruto found himself thinking to himself.

"Curly Brow... I need you to visit me late at night, all right?"

"Like at what time?" She questioned.

"Maybe 2:00 AM or something."

"That's... really late, Naruto."

"I know," He embraced her. "But I need to spend time with you at that time, ya know."

"I don't know... I might be sleeping at that time of night."

"Fine, 1:00 AM?"

"Erm..."

"12:00?"

"I guess..."

Naruto grinned.

"Awesome! This will be a great experience for the both of us. It'll bring our friendship to a new ridiculous height, ya know?"

"Will it really?" Nia questioned.

Naruto blushed and nodded his head. "I'll get to show you how much you and this friendship means to me."

"Oh Naruto," The girl melted in his arms. "I'll show up then. 12:00 AM, it is. And I'll wear the outfit too."

"That's wonderful, Curly Brow. I care a lot about you..."

"Mhm," The girl could only fawn over him. "So does this mean you'll start thinking of me?"

"You've already been on my mind, Curly Brow. So let's move past this whole thing, ok?"

"I wanna go to your apartment as soon as possible and further our friendship," She said.

"It'll be amazing once we get there... I'll hold you in a way that I never had done before, ya know?"

"You'll hold me close to you?" Nia wasn't catching onto what was going on.

"Extremely. Even more closely than how I'm holding you right now."

"Oh Naruto," Nia was still melting.

"I just can't take it anymore..." He told her, running a finger down her back. "This whole thing is driving me crazy. Our friendship needs to be furthered..."

"I can't take it anymore either. I want to further it too. I'd do anything."

"Curly Brow, you're so special to me..."

"N-Naruto, don't say that," This made her blush deeply as she turned away from him.

"But it's true," He inched closer to her. "Curly Brow is special."

The girl squealed as she hid her face in her hands.

"You don't mean that."

"I do," The genin cupped her burning face. "And woah, your face is warm! And why are you super red?! You're not catching some kind of fever, are you?"

"I think I'm gonna die," She breathed, waving her hands in her face to cool it down. "So handsome..."

"Huh? What was that?"

"Naruto, what're we going to be doing in your apartment?" The girl asked.

"Something incredibly special," He told her with a wink. "Something that'll make both of us closer than ever."

"Will it really make our bond that incredibly strong?"

"Yes. It'll be my first time holding a girl so tightly."

"You're gonna hold me closer than you would Sakura?" Nia tugged his jacket.

"Don't make me compare, Curly Brow," The blond whimpered. "I can't possibly say who I would hold closer. All I know is that I've decided to hold you in my arms too, ya know?"

Nia frowned, pulled away from him, and crossed her arms.

"If I can't be the only girl in your arms then I don't wanna be in your arms at all!"

"Whaaat?!" Naruto panicked and gripped her arms. "You can't mean that! I need you in my arms, Curly Brow!"

"Only if you won't hold Sakura the way you hold me anymore," She flipped her head dismissively.

"Curly Brow, c'mon, don't be like that."

"I'm serious, Naruto."

"Guuuh, I don't even hold Sakura at all. She would knock me into next week if I dared touch her."

"I wanna hear that you won't hold her."

"You're the only girl I hold, all right?"

"Hm?" Nia was blushing again. "A-Am I really?"

"Yes... You're the only girl I hold close to me," The genin held her hand and squeezed it. "You mean so much to me, Curly Brow."

"Oh Naruto," The girl closed her eyes and smiled to herself as hearts floated above her head.

"That's why I need you to come over to my apartment. So we can make this friendship of ours blossom."

"I will go to your apartment. Anything for this friendship," She then hugged him around the neck.

"Oh man, Curly Brow," Naruto reddened at the thought of it. "You're seriously the best. What a huge relief this whole thing will be for me... No, for us. No more dreams..."

"I want to be held..." Nia told him, snuggling even closer.

"Curly Brow... can I ask you something?"

"Uh huh. What is it?"

"How do you feel... when you look at me?"

"Eh?" This made the girl's heart skip a beat. "How do... I feel?"

"Yeah..." He cupped her face and wiped her tear-stained cheeks with his thumbs. "Like even now as you're looking at me, how do you feel?"

"...Intense," She answered. "I feel a pounding... an overwhelming feeling."

"R-Really?" The blond's eyes widened a bit.

Nia nodded, her face still entirely rosy.

"I feel... strong... peaceful. Like I can take on the world..."

"I see..." Naruto stroked her cheek as the two slowly yet surely gazed deeply into the other's eyes.

Nia, unable to look away from his blue orbs, asked, "Do... you feel anything when you look at me, Naruto?"

"Not really, no," The blond answered as Nia dropped her head and a dark cloud appeared over it.

"O-Oh," She whimpered.

"Well actually," Naruto then backtracked on his words. "I do... feel the need to protect you, ya know."

"Huh?" Nia blushed as she slowly made eye contact with the genin.

"To protect you... that's how I feel... when I look at you," He told her.

Nia's heart pounded.

"R-Really? You really mean that?"

"I want to protect you, Curly Brow..." He brought her back to his chest. "It would be unbearable for me to see you get hurt, so I wanna protect you. I have to protect you."

"Naruto..." Nia buried her face at the crook of his neck, steam rising out of her flushed face as she slightly tugged at his jacket.

"Holding you... it makes me feel... strong," Naruto would go on to say. "It makes me feel good to have you rely on me. It makes me feel good to know you want to be in my arms. To... have you in my arms feels amazing. Especially right now... I have such a strange sensation in my heart..."

"M-Me too," The girl replied.

"I just... don't want anyone else touching you. I don't want another man to hold you like this... To be the one you want to be protected by. If you need any sort of affection, you come to me. If you need to talk, you come to me. If you need anything, come to me. Never to another man, okay?"

"O-Okay," Nia agreed to this.

"I'm the only one allowed to hold you... to give and receive affection to and from you."

"Does... this mean you won't give or receive affection from another girl also?" Nia gazed up at the ninja.

Naruto sweated a little. "Uhhh..."

"Like Sakura and no other girl is allowed to be in your arms?"

"That's... a totally different situation, Curly Brow."

"Huh?"

"You see... It's not okay for another man to hold you, but... it's okay for me to hold another girl like Sakura."

Hearing this, Nia choked up again.

"T-That's not okay..." She whimpered as tears once more brimmed her eyelashes.

"GAH!" The genin continued to cup her face. "No, don't! Don't start crying again!"

"B-But..." A tear slid down her cheek. "You keep... w-wanting to hold... a-another girl..."

"Curly Brow, you're in my arms right now, so don't even worry about it," Naruto squeezed her to him. "And you'll be the one going to my apartment and not Sakura. You shouldn't cry over this. You're going to be the one I hold the closest to me that night. We're going to be completely connected."

The girl sniffled and wiped her right eye.

"Y-You promise? You"ll hold me the closest to you?"

"Yes."

"And w-we'll be co-connected?"

"Of course," Naruto nuzzled his cheek against her's. "We'll be extremely connected. All you have to do is bring that outfit of yours to my apartment, put it on, then we can make the rest happen, okay?"

"U-Uh huh."

"Oh, Curly Brow," The blond was red in the face. "You're the best, ya know. I can't wait to just hold you..."

"And I can't wait to be held by you," The girl replied, holding onto him tightly.

Naruto then rested his cheek atop her head and kept his arms wrapped around her.

This... should finally get rid of the dreams I'm having. Once I hold her for real, it'll all be over and I can move past this entire thing.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

"OW!" Naruto grabbed at his head after Sakura had punched it.

"You lousy pervert," She scolded him. "I can't believe you tried that with her!"

"She agreed to it, so why'd you punch me?"

"Because she didn't know what you were suggesting! That poor girl thought you were trying to be her boyfriend when you just wanted to be friends with benefits."

"No, I cared for her! And besides, we never ended up having her wear the miniskirt and coming late at night to my apartment! We totally got sidetracked by all the other stuff that was happening at the time, ya know."

"You were such a jerk, Naruto. Making her believe she had a chance with you."

"She did. Which is why I invited her to my apartment. She was crying cause she wanted to be held."

"How much of an idiot can you be? She was crying cause she was frustrated over your feelings for me, not cause she wanted you to have sex with her," Sakura explained.

"Huh?" The blond folded his arms and raised a brow. "That's what it was?"

Sakura facepalmed. "You're an idiot."

"So she was crying cause she was jealous? Ahhh, I see now. It all makes sense," Naruto chuckled and walked with his arms folded behind his head. "She really was jealous. Cute. All she wanted was for her hero to love her and only her."

"You're really slow, Naruto," Sai joined the conversation. "I don't even understand emotions yet I was able to tell she was jealous just from listening to your story."

Naruto scoffed. "Great. Want a cookie?"

Sai only smiled in response.

Naruto frowned. "I hate that smile you give. It's so fake."

Sai continued to smile.

"Haaah," The genin would just ignore him. "Maybe I should've brought Nia along?"

"No, that would've done her more harm than good," Yamato replied, walking behind the three. "Remember, an Akatsuki member may be where we're headed. Nia would just be in danger."

"Yeah... you're right," The blond agreed. "It's too dangerous for her."

"Let's just keep moving for now. It's already dark out, so we're gonna pick up the pace."

"Roger!"

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

QOTD:

1. Fave Part?

2. Fave Line?

3. What did you personally feel Naruto was implying to Nia during the flashback? Why?