A/N - Hey guys! It's been a while! I got a new chapter for you, but first... ITS NARUTO'S BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️🎉🎂

I worked hard on this chapter and it's definitely longer than my usual chapters! Please remember to leave some comments and vote and enjoy ❤️

🌹🌹🌹

BONUS CHAPTER #30: True Love

Nia grabbed a pair of chopsticks and placed it in a cup of noodles. She then looked to Naruto, who was sitting at a table with his eyes lowered.

Nia sighed sadly.

He must be... so annoyed with me... so upset over what I done...

"Uzumaki..." she came over, placing the cupped ramen on the table. "I... I made you some ramen."

Naruto pushed it away slowly.

"I... I'm not hungry," he breathed, his voice filled with an ache.

"Baby, you have to eat."

"Sweetheart, please... you just don't understand...." Naruto said.

Nia took a seat next to him.

"Baby, look, I know... you're still upset... about what I done... but honeybun... I was just... trying to save your life."

"Sweetheart," Naruto eyed her, his eyes as sorrowful as ever. "You literally died... You weren't breathing."

"Oh honeybun..." Nia's heart ached.

"Don't you understand how hurt I was about what you did?" The genin asked.

"But baby, I didn't want you to die. I couldn't let you die."

"Beautiful... don't try to justify your actions, ya know..."

"Baby, stop it," Nia responded. "I did what I had to."

"Sweet Nia, it's MY job to protect you! Not the other way around," Naruto claimed.

Nia shook her head.

"It's both our responsibility to protect each other."

"Sweet Nia..." Naruto breathed.

"Naruto, the important thing is that... i'm here. I came back to life, okay," The girl then looked at the kanji symbol on her hand. "Our love... brought me to life."

"Oh sweetheart..." Naruto gazed at the girl.

Nia blushed at his stare.

"Baby... please don't stare at me like that so suddenly," She lowered her eyes shyly.

"But sweet Nia, you're so beautiful."

"Oh Naruto..." Nia gushed.

"I mean it, my beautiful sweetheart," Naruto cupped her cheek in his hands. "You're beyond gorgeous."

Nia smiled to herself, her face reddening even more.

"Naruto, you're just saying that," She covered her face in her hands as usual.

Naruto pulled her hands away and kissed her cheek.

"I'm serious, my sweet Nia. Your hero loves you so much, ya know?"

"Oh Naruto..." Nia turned in her chair and once more covered her face in her hands.

Naruto sighed and smiled, placing his elbow on the table and his cheek in his palm.

My sweet Nia is so shy... She's too cute.

"Uzumaki?" Nia then spoke, glancing over her shoulder.

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Does my hero wanna go on a date?"

"Maybe we can go on a stroll around the village and grab a bite to eat," The blond replied.

"That would be perfect," Nia turned back to him.

Naruto pressed his lips against her's.

"Okay, get ready beautiful."

"Oh Naruto... you're just so sweet," Nia blushed heavily and left the table, heading to where some of her clothing was in the genin's bedroom.

Naruto watched as she left.

If only... I could gather the courage to ask her to live with me. I... don't like being by myself when she leaves. If she were to live with me, I'd be in heaven, ya know?

Sometime later, Naruto and Nia strolled through the village, hand in hand. Nia was flustered as the blond made sure to not lose her in the crowd of people.

Eventually, they made it into a restaurant and took a seat across from one another.

"Beautiful, give me your hand," Naruto instructed.

Nia nodded and Naruto took her hand in his, intertwining their fingers across the table. When the waitress came around, she took their order and left the two to themselves.

"Naruto... this is a pretty romantic restaurant," Nia stared at the red cloth over the table as well as the candle lit between them with a small chandelier above them. "You sure you have the money for this?"

"Of course I do," Naruto smiled and took out his frog wallet with one hand while looking at the prices of what the two had ordered on the menu.

Suddenly, his eyes popped open.

'WHAT THE?!' he saw the prices. 'LOOK AT THESE PRICES! WHY THE HELL DOES IT COST SO MUCH?!'

The blond gulped and sweated as he looked at the cash in his wallet.

I don't got enough money to cover the bill! Darn it! How am I gonna pay for this?!

"Baby... is something the matter?" Nia questioned.

Naruto looked at her and panicked.

"N-No! Everything is fine, ya know!" He chuckled nervously.

"Are you sure? You look scared."

"Sweetie, when does your hero ever get scared?"

"Yeah, you're right," Nia smiled. "My hero is so brave."

Naruto's heart pounded in his chest out of fear.

Damn! What am I gonna do?! Nia looks so happy being here! She even dressed up for her hero! Look at the cute dress she's wearing for me! She hardly ever wears dresses! My sweet Nia is so beautiful... I can't... I can't disappoint her!

"Sweet Nia.... you look so pretty in your dress," Naruto told her.

"Oh Naruto... you really think so?" Nia blushed for the millionth time.

"Yes," Naruto puckered his lips. "Give your hero a kiss."

Nia did so and pressed her lips against the genin's. She then sat down and smoothed her outfit. Even though Naruto wore his usual get up, Nia thought he looked incredibly handsome. She always loved his facial features.

"My hero... you look really nice, too. Really handsome," She told him.

"I'm still wearing my ninja gear as usual, but thanks," Naruto smiled.

It was silent for a few moments.

Nia lowered her eyes to her lap.

"I-I'm sorry... I'm still really awkward with dates," She shared.

"Don't worry about it," Naruto told her. "Everyone had their moments. Besides, we started dating not that long ago and we haven't been on much dates since crazy things keep happening to us, ya know?"

"Yeah, but still..."

"Still what?"

"I wish I knew how to carry a good conversation."

"Sweet Nia... I feel like we connect pretty well, don't you think?" Naruto asked.

Nia nodded.

"Of course... but I feel like I recycle conversations a lot."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I talk about the same things a lot. I don't really talk about anything new or share any good stories."

Naruto had a reassuring smile.

"It's okay... you're just a little awkward. You just need to be more... used to talking to others, ya know? Then maybe you would have things to talk about."

"But baby, it's so hard," Nia said.

Naruto squeezed her hand.

"You can do it. Just keep trying and remember to be yourself, okay?"

"Okay, baby."

As the two conversed, the waitress returned with their food and placed it on the table as well as their drinks. The couple thanked her and the woman went on her way.

"Time to dig in!" Naruto took his chopsticks and started eating away at his food.

Nia watched as he did so and her lips curved upwards.

He's so cute when he eats...

She then dug into her own plate.

Throughout the next several minutes, the couple bonded. However, the closer he was to receiving the check, the more Naruto shuddered with nerves.

Darn... I really need to figure out a way to get this food for free!

"S-Sweet Nia?" He called the girl.

"Yes?" Nia glanced at him.

"Do... you need to use the bathroom by any chance?"

Nia shook her head.

"No."

Naruto leaned forward, pretending to spot something.

"It looks like there might be some food stuck between your teeth, though," He lied.

"What?!" Nia's face flushed with embarrassment and she covered her teeth with her hand.

"Yeah, I think you should go check that out in the bathr-"

"Okay!" Nia jumped out of her seat and skedaddled to the restroom. "I'll be right back!"

'Perfect!' Naruto made a sign. 'I've only got a few moments to do this! Transform!'

In a puff of smoke, the blond had transformed into the couple's waitress. Quickly, he plucked out several strands of her long, brown hair and placed it on his and Nia's plates.

By the time Nia came back, the blond had already reverted back to his original self.

"Naruto, there wasn't anything in my teeth," Nia sat down.

"What?" Naruto acted confused. "I could've sworn I saw something."

"Well, there wasn't."

"My bad, beautiful," The blond rubbed the back of his head. "Let's just continue eating."

"Okay," Nia nodded and picked her chopsticks up again.

However, when she did, she was floored to see that there was hair in her food.

"Ew! What the heck?" She lifted her dinner as the brown hair was attached to it.

"What?" Naruto pretended to be clueless.

"There's hair in my food," Nia made a disgusted face.

"What?!" Naruto then looked at his food and gasped when he "spotted" the hair in his own plate. "YUCK! ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING! THERE'S HAIR IN MY FOOD TOO, YA KNOW!"

His loud voice made others stare at the couple.

"N-Naruto, keep your voice down. Don't attract so much attention," Nia was embarrassed.

"But my sweet Nia, this is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE! Why is there HAIR in our dinner?!" Naruto yelled.

"Baby-"

"That's it! I wanna speak to a manager!" The blond caused a scene.

He then pointed at a male waiter.

"You! Go bring me a manager!"

"Naruto, you shouldn't order a waiter around like that," Nia scolded gently. "That's very rude."

She then turned to the man.

"I'm sorry about my boyfriend. If you don't mind, he'd like to speak to a manager. Would you please bring one over here, sir? Thank you."

"Yes. Right away," The waiter left.

Minutes later, a chubby, average height man came over and stood near the couple.

"I hear there's a problem?" He questioned.

"You bet there is!" Naruto showed his and Nia's plates. "There's hair in our food, ya know!"

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry about that," The manager apologized. "Why don't I have my cooks remake your food?"

"Forget that. I demand we get these meals for free!" Naruto replied.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that," The manager said.

"And why not?!" The blond pouted.

"Restaurant rules, kid. However, I can offer a ten percent discount."

"TEN PERCENT?!" Naruto was disappointed. "THERE WAS HAIR IN OUR FOOD AND YOU'RE ONLY GIVING A TEN PERCENT DISCOUNT?!"

"That's as much as I can offer."

"AT LEAST GIVE ME FIFTY!"

"I apologize, but I cannot do that. If you'd like, i'll be giving you your check," The manager handed a small, black book over.

Naruto opened it as his eyes nearly bulged out of its sockets when he saw the price after the discount had been added.

THIS IS STILL TOO MUCH, YA KNOW! I DON'T GOT THE MONEY FOR THIS!

Naruto's sweating intensified.

"Baby... are you okay?" Nia looked to him.

Naruto gulped.

"Y-Yeah..."

"You know, baby... it really is kind that you offered to pay for this whole thing," Nia snuggled up to the blond. "But I really insisted on paying since it's your birthd-"

"Y-Yeah..." Naruto blushed, yet was freaking out inside.

"Honestly, the only way anyone could get away with free food is if this restaurant was to become infested with rats or insects," The manager then laughed. "But as if that would happen, this restaurant is strict on the cleaning polic-"

"KYAAA! RATS!" A woman suddenly screamed as rodents started running into the building.

Immediately, everyone panicked and they climbed atop the chairs and tables.

"KYAAAA!" Nia screamed at the top of her lungs and jumped into the blond's arms. "NARUTOOO! HEEEELP!"

"N-Nia! You know I can't hold you too well..." Naruto struggled to keep her up. "You're heavy!"

"NARUTO, IF YOU DROP ME ON THESE RATS, I SWEAR I'LL NEVER SLEEP WITH YOU AGAIN!" Nia threatened.

"WHAT?!" Naruto suddenly gathered strength in his arms and jumped atop the table. "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

Many customers stormed out of the building as the rats took over. There were even insects seemingly coming out of nowhere.

Naruto observed how the rats were black and resembled ink and it suddenly hit him.

Wait! These are Sai's beast summoning scrolls or whatever!

From the corner of his eye, he saw as someone was hiding behind a door, spilling insects out of his sleeve.

THOSE ARE SHINO'S INSECTS!

Nia had her arms around the blond's shoulders and her face in his chest as her body shuddered in fear in his arms.

"Just what is this?!" The manager hollered, standing on a chair. "Why are there so many nasty creatures in my restaurant?!"

"Make our meals free and i'll get rid of these nuisances!" Naruto claimed.

"What?! You're saying you're the one causing all this?!"

"No, but I know what's the source of it all."

"Damn you... you planned all this out, you brat."

"Make our meals free and i'll rid of the creatures immediately."

"Fine! FINE! You don't have to pay! Now get rid of these disgusting things!" The manager demanded.

Naruto hopped to the entrance with Nia still in his arms, where Sai and Shino stood and ordered for them to stop. They nodded and did as told.

Soon, the building became free of rodents and insects.

"Sweet Nia..." The blond whispered. "The rats and insects... they're gone now..."

"Really, honeybun?" Nia looked up at him.

"Yes," Naruto nodded.

He then set the girl down. Nia still kept her arms around his neck and the profile of her face at his chest while Naruto wrapped an arm around her waist.

"Mission complete," Everyone saw Shikamaru approaching the group from behind Sai and Shino, with his hands in his pants pockets. "You're welcome, Naruto."

"You guys are lifesavers, ya know?" Naruto grinned.

Naruto? What's going on?" Nia grew suspicious.

"Don't worry about it, beautiful..."

"Uzumaki..." Nia folded her arms, her eyes narrowed on the blond.

"Sweetheart, don't give your hero that look, ya know..."

"But Uzumaki, I feel like there's something going on that you're not telling me."

"Honestly," Sai smiled. "Shino and I made these creatures appear for Naruto so he didn't have to pay the bil-"

"SHUT UP, SAI!" Naruto hollered.

"Baby, look at me," Nia gently grabbed his face in her hands. "Is that true? You had all that happen so you didn't have to pay?"

Naruto nervously bit his lip.

"Nia, I-"

"Don't," She whispered.

"But-"

"Baby, I said it's fine."

"What?" Naruto's eyes grew big. "It is?"

"Yes, I understand how expensive the whole thing was... and I had a feeling you was making a scene to avoid the bill," Nia replied. "The only thing is... why didn't you tell me you were low on cash? I could've paid for it, or we could've done half. I wouldn't have mind on your special day."

"Sweet Nia, no. I don't care if it's my special day... you're still my special woman."

"Oh Naruto..." Nia snuggled up to the ninja.

Naruto wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm sorry about what I did. I hope you're not mad at me."

"I'm a little annoyed about the rats but overall I'm fine. I forgive you, honeybun," Nia smiled.

The others watched as the two kept ahold of one another.

After spending the day together, Nia was now in Naruto's room at night. They were all lovey dovey and Nia had wanted to feel a certain way.

"I... I want to hear you say it," Nia urged, gazing into Naruto's eyes. "I want to hear you call me beautiful."

"Sweet Nia..." Naruto breathed. "You're beautiful.... You're so gorgeous... so beautiful... so pretty."

"Oh Naruto..." Nia blushed and looked down, smiling to herself.

"I wanna be close to you," The blond pulled Nia by the waist.

"Baby, you're so sexy when you're possessive," Nia admitted.

"Sweet Nia, look how red you're getting," Naruto said.

"I can't help it... my hero is just so... irresistible," Nia traced her finger along her boyfriend's chest.

Naruto bit his bottom lip.

"Your hero is looking forward to holding you," He told the girl.

"Oh Naruto..." Nia buried her face in his chest.

"Nia, you want to be held, don't you?"

"Yes..."

"Oh sweetie..." Naruto kissed the top of her head.

"I just love my hero," Nia said.

"Your hero is willing to protect you even at the cost of his own life."

"N-Naruto, don't joke like that."

"Sweet Nia," The blond cupped her chin in his hands and made her look at him. "It's not a joke. I really would die for you."

Nia's eyes sparkled with love.

This feeling... again.

Slowly, she lowered her eyes.

"I just... I just can't get over it," She whispered.

"Can't get over what?" Naruto questioned.

"You..." Nia answered.

"Me?"

"Yeah... I don't know what it is, but for some reason... I can't get over you."

"Sweet Nia, why would you try to get over your hero?"

"I'm not trying to, but even if I did, I couldn't possibly get over you."

"And why not?" Naruto tilted his head.

Nia looked at him.

"Uzumaki, isn't it obvious? I tell you all the time."

"Maybe... I like to hear it," The genin smiled.

Nia blushed.

"You're the first person I fell for for who they are as a person."

Naruto stroked her cheek with his finger.

"No matter what I do, I just.... can't let you go," Nia confessed. "I don't know what it is but it's like I can't ever just get over you. I fall for you every time I see you, hear your voice, am able to see how you react to people and things around you. Literally everything you do and say melts my heart. It's... ridiculous."

"Sweet Nia..."

"Naruto, I can't take it. My heart always melts around you! I always want you with me! I always wanna be with you! It's my ultimate wish to be with you forever and ever! Even in heaven or just somewhere! I wanna be with you! You're the only man I loved and will probably ever love! It's like you're the only person I'm truly in love with! I swear it's like my heart isn't even capable of loving another man! I don't know why but that's just my reality!"

Naruto's heart thudded.

"Sweet Nia, there you go again professing your undying love."

"It's true..." Nia placed her hand on her heart. "It's true that I... it's true that I love you to bits, Naruto Uzumaki! No matter what... no matter what I'll always love you. Deep inside my heart. Even if I were to marry another man for whatever reason, I feel like... you'll always be my true love... my true love, who... I wasn't able to be with..."

"Sweet Nia, i'm sure if you were to marry another man... you would forget about me, ya know?"

"No..." Tears welled up in Nia's eyes. "I know deep down, I'll still love you. Of course I would love whoever I marry, but I know deep down, if I wasn't able to have you for whatever reason, I would always feel a sting in my heart. As if I'm missing my other half. That's how much I love you, Uzumaki. I can't... I can't let you go. Never..."

"Sweet Nia..." Naruto gazed deeply in her eyes.

"You can tell, can't you? About my love? About how i'm truly and madly in love with y-"

Naruto had pressed his lips against Nia's. A tear escaped Nia's eye as she then closed it and deepened the kiss. The blond had her cheek in his palm, his fingers in her hair.

'Naruto...' Nia thought. 'You really are the man I truly love...'

'Nia...' Naruto thought also. 'Your love is so strong... so deep... so powerful. I don't think there's a woman alive who loves me as much as you do. You're forever in my heart, too. And even if for some reason we couldn't be together, I swear... I swear... we'll be together in some other way whether it be in your dreams, through another man who's similar or just like me, or even in heaven... I swear there'll be a way. Just don't get sad over the thought of not being able to be with me. Anything... is possible... believe it.'

Moments later, the two pulled away for air, and Naruto embraced his girlfriend.

"Nia... My beautiful Nia..." He grinned, his cheek rested against the top of her head.

"Uzumaki..." Nia breathed.

"Nia, I love you... and I'll always love you."

"Yes... I'll always love you too, Uzumaki."

"Nia, look at me..."

Nia lifted her eyes. Naruto had a soft look on his face.

"Whatever you do... don't get sad. Don't get sad if we weren't able to be together for whatever reason. I'll be with you in some way or form, just keep... being happy."

"Oh Naruto..." Tears surfaced in Nia's eyes again.

"Naruto Uzumaki... loves a girl like you. You're absolutely... perfect for him. Don't you forget it..."

"Y-Yes... I won't."

"Give your hero a kiss."

"O-Okay..." Nia pressed her lips against the blond's.

"Naruto?" She then pulled away moments later.

"Yes, beautiful?" He answered.

"Happy..."

"Happy what?"

"Happy birthday, my hero," Nia smiled warmly. "The man of my dreams."

"Nia..." Naruto blushed. "Thank you..."

———

A/N - That's the end of that! I hope y'all enjoyed! Please remember to leave some comments, vote, and have a great rest of your day!

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