[ I HAVE AN ORIGINAL STORY CALLED: Cursed Beauty!
It's a secret fanfiction of this book. TaniaJanae923 ]

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Chapter 42: Night Of Tension

"Naruto... so to make things clear, you're just sleeping with me in order to keep the rats and spiders away, right?" Nia sat down as she had a blanket over her lap.

"Yeah." Naruto answered as he sat in a cross cross position.

Nia looked at him; he had no blanket.

"Don't you think you'll get cold with no blanket? It's pretty chilly out here, what if you get sick?"

"I'm fine, ya know."

The blond then sneezed, worrying the kunoichi.

"Ah! See look! You're already getting a cold!" She panicked as she put her hand on his forehead which already had the ninja's headband removed from it, "That's not good!"

Naruto scratched his cheek as his cheeks grew warmed, "You really wasn't kidding when you said you liked me, huh Curly Brow?"

Quickly Nia put her hand away and layed down with her covers over her face, "But I didn't say anything." She mumbled.

Naruto only chuckled, "Why are you still embarrassed about it?"

"Because I never said any of that." The girl said too quietly under the sheet.

"I can't hear you, speak up."

"Because I never said any of that." Nia said even quieter.

Naruto sweat dropped.

She's like a mouse now...

An idea then popped up in his mind. He had once tried this with Sakura but she only ended up violently pushing him away from her. Nia was much more softer and wouldn't dare be that aggressive.

Putting his plan into action, Naruto pretended to cough and sniffle a few times which caught Nia's attention in no time.

"Hey C-Curly Brow, actually... I do feel sick..." He then pretended to shiver, "and so cold, ya know?"

Nia then sat up again, "Are you gonna be okay getting back to the Leaf? Aren't there any extra blankets around?"

Naruto coughed, "N-No."

He then continued putting on the act that he was freezing, "Maybe... Maybe we can share your blanket or something, ya know?"

Nia's eyes widened slightly but then she lowered her eyes to her lap and softly blushed, though she seemed a bit perturbed.

"You'd share a blanket... with someone... like me?" She asked with such a self-depreciating tone.

Nia was still learning how to build her self worth after having it utterly destroyed over the years by the opinions and thoughts of others based on her appearance and skill.

Naruto gazed at her, "Do you not wanna be by me then? If I make you feel safe and you like me and all... um... doesn't that sorta mean that uhh-"

He then let his emotions get to him and turned his head, "Maybe I should consider... getting to know you better... or something, ya know?"

"Wait, what do you mean by "getting to know you better", Naruto?" Nia's heart nearly pounded out of her chest as she completely had her mind thinking elsewhere.

"You know..." Naruto said as he scooted closer then lifted Nia's blanket up a little, "Get closer and stuff."

Nia placed her hands over her face again as Naruto actually went inside the sheet.

He doesn't mean that, he doesn't mean that, he doesn't mean that.

"You don't have to be all intimidated by me all of a sudden. I'm not gonna bite, ya know!"

"But you're acting so strange suddenly! That makes me feel really..."

Nia paused for a moment as soon as she felt a sudden burst of butterflies in her stomach and an immense amount of intense emotions running through her being. When she looked at her hands, they were shaking again.

"Shy..." She finished as her pupils once more dilated as they gazed at the young man in front of her, "You make me... feel shy... Naruto."

It was quiet for a few seconds.

"I know." Naruto then grabbed her hand and held it softly in between them, "You're acting this shy now because you like me, right? I'm saying you don't have to be like that around me."

"I know but," Nia became very warm and even more shy, "I can't help it."

Hearing the girl pretty much confirm to having romantic feelings for him made Naruto feel greatly touched. He smiled softly at her.

"This feels sorta weird now..." He then rubbed the back of his head with one hand while the other kept ahold of Nia's hand, "To think you'd go from being all distant and cold toward me to being all shy and completely gentle. You're making me feel so strange all of a sudden. I feel really warm inside and really happy and even relieved, ya know?"

Nia looked down, "I make you feel warm?"

Naruto nodded and smiled even wider. For a moment, Nia could even see him going a little red and his hands were beginning to feel amazingly warm too.

'Oh gosh...' She came to a conclusion, 'Please tell me he's not blushing... there's no way. I'm not beautiful enough for him. This is so embarrassing, I can die.

Immediately, smoke puffed out from Nia's face at thought of someone like Naruto possibly liking her. It was outrageous. It was impossible. He was too good for her. He was too amazing. He was too great and she... she wasn't pretty enough. Not beautiful enough.

"Naruto, your cold must really be getting to you. You sure you don't have a fever? I mean, this is getting pretty-"

"I'm going to keep you safe no matter what." Naruto spoked over his friend, "That's what heroes do after all, right?"

Nia froze but then she became extremely flustered, then scooted away very shyly. Naruto sweat dropped but then followed her and playfully pushed against her right arm.

"Stop." Nia spoked weakly and hid her face in her hands again, "You feel really nice so please stop."

Naruto chuckled.

"Curly Brow, you shouldn't get too far from me, ya know? Otherwise the rats will get you."

A shiver ran down Nia's spine.

"Then please don't leave my side." She pleaded.

Naruto responded by standing and walking away. Nia quickly grabbed his wrist, "Naruto seriously!"

He looked over his shoulder and laughed, "Kidding. I was just kidding, ya know? I gave you my word I would protect you from those rats and spiders so I gotta stay by you the whole night."

"Really?" Nia weakly asked.

"You bet!"

The kunoichi smiled adoringly at the blond but then looked down again when he caught her staring.

Naruto remembered something Jiraiya had did to a woman once while on one of their trips and decided to use that technique on Nia. Taking her fear of spiders to his advantage, He ran two fingers up the back of her neck.

"KYAAAAAAAAH!" The girl screamed and quickly clung onto the blond tightly, "NARUTO HELLLLLP!"

"D-Don't worry!" The ninja said as he pretended to pick up whatever Nia thought was on her neck off and squished it in his hand, "Just hold onto me tighter, I won't let that evil spider hurt you, I promise."

Nia did as she was told and got more closer, "I don't know what I'd do without you, Naruto. Thank you for saving me from that thing. You're my hero!"

Her statement once more excited the genin.

Woah, it actually worked! Something like that would've never worked on Sakura but Curly Brow is a whole other story, Pervy Sage! She's totally clinging onto me. I don't think I'll ever get tired of being called a hero, ya know?!

"Hey, hey, you like me even more now than before too, right?" The genin then pointed at himself, hoping to gain another boost to his ego.

Nia tugged onto his jacket as she hid her reddening face against his right shoulder and nodded slowly. She was too shy at the moment to speak.

Again, Naruto's ego inflated.

I never thought I'd ever say or think this but she feels really good! I wish Sakura would've held onto me like this, but she was always about Sasuke!

"Naruto, is there still bugs crawling around?" Nia asked as she pulled away from him.

"Not right now I think, but..." He then slightly grew red, "maybe you should keep holding onto me just so you can feel even more safe, ya know?"

Nia's heart skipped a beat and she looked away, "But what about Sakura? You like her, don't you? She'll get the wrong idea if she sees us and then you'll lose your chance with her."

"Hm?"

Nia waited for the genin to answer but he only stared blankly at her.

"What?" The girl asked.

Naruto leaned forward, "You must've been jealous of Sakura every time I told you I liked her, huh?"

"...I... I didn't feel jealous..."

Nia then thought back to how the ninja hugged the girl earlier in the day, "But you like her, don't you? Especially since... you know... how you hugged her and everything earlier."

Naruto became serious, "Sakura's really pretty. No, she's super pretty! I always liked her. She was always the girl I wanted."

Nia quickly took this as a sign of rejection. She moved away from Naruto and kept her eyes to her lap.

"Oh," She mumbled, "that's not surprising or anything. I'm used to being turned down because a girl is prettier and just better looking than me. I mean, I was always a bit rude to you anyways and we always ended up arguing over the dumbest things also so I'm not surprised that you don't like me. That was to be expected after all. I'm always being turned down."

"But you make me feel really good." Naruto responded quickly, "You called me your hero, told me I make you feel all safe and happy but most of all... above all else, you.. you...

The young man then had his head in the gutter. He took Nia's hand and squeezed it, "You begged the hell out of me to sleep with you, ya know?!"

Instantly, Nia became immensely embarrassed. She grew warm all over. Her heart beated so fast she thought it would explode.

"Naruto, why are you looking at me like that all of a sudden?!" She asked as soon as she realized the blond was staring at her oddly.

"I couldn't believe you'd really come out and say you wanted to sleep with me, Curly Brow. Do you even realize what you're asking me to do?"

Nia nodded, "Yeah, of course I do. I don't wanna be alone tonight with all these bugs out here. I need someone to keep me company. You promised to sleep with me, Naruto..."

She then held onto him again, "That wasn't a lie was it?"

For the first time ever, Naruto's chest began to throb very hard because of Nia. He grasped her arms and softly pushed her away from him so that they were looking eye to eye.

"Are you sure you want me to-"

"Yes!" Nia nodded, "I do want you to sleep with me."

She then looked down with teary eyes, "Maybe you just don't want to sleep with me. Maybe you don't wanna be my hero."

"That's not true! I'm just surprised you're being completely serious about this."

Her feelings are really intense! I wonder how long she's been wanting to do this with me? Maybe she's not as shy as I made her out to be! She's really aggressive! If she's being this straightforward, then... I will be just as aggressive, ya know! She's not showing me up!

Naruto then unzipped his jacket, "I promised to sleep with you! I've already told you I don't go back on my word cause that's my ninja way, ya know?! You won't be lonely tonight, Curly Brow!"

"Naruto, what're you doing?!" The girl nearly had a heart attack and covered her eyes as blood rushed to her face.

"I'm going to make you feel really good, ya know?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Naruto rubbed up and down Nia's arm, causing her to shriek.

"Don't be shy. I won't be rough, I swear. I'll be gentle so you won't be hurting."

"But Naruto!" The girl began to realize that her words gave him the wrong idea, "I didn't mean-"

"You giving me the acknowledgement you did meant the world to me. I can't say no to someone who sees me like you do and turn them down. I feel too good with you!"

"But... I was saying sleep with me as in, sleep by me so I don't feel scared. I didn't mean to say make love to me..."

"Curly Brow, I can't hear you when you speak that quietly." Naruto missed what the girl was saying.

Nia looked down with a flushed face, "You're really... gonna... do that stuff... with me...?"

Again Naruto grabbed onto Nia's hand then directed it to his heart.

"You told me you like me, right?" He asked as Nia nodded softly.

"I do like you," She admitted very nervously, her hands trembled and her blush darkened, "but this is just... going too far."

"I can't go back on my word! That's breaking my nindo!" Naruto then placed his hand on Nia's left cheek and stroked it, "You're burning up! Maybe you're the one who's actually sick?"

Quickly the girl shook her head, "This isn't right, Naruto. I thought we were just friends. When did these feelings I have for you just show up? I can't even think right right now." Nia closed her eyes as her anxiety took over, "Why am I getting such intense emotions all of a sudden when I'm by you or when I look at you or when you say something that touches me?! I'm so confused!"

"Because you like me!" Naruto answered for her, "Before, I'll be honest, I would've never thought I'd ever feel the way I do for you like I do right now! This is insane! It's completely different than what I feel for Sakura, ya know?!"

"What do you mean...?" Nia asked as she then took off her glasses and placed them on her new crush, "You need glasses. A girl like me can't win anybody over. I'm not pretty enough, Naruto. You're blind."

"I'm not blind!" He got defensive and removed Nia's frames away from him, "I can see you perfectly fine, ya know?!"

"But that's not true..."

"It is, ya know!"

Nia stayed silent. Her mind was wandering.

I'm not beautiful... I'm the complete opposite. I know I said I wanna change how I view myself but I could never just get anyone thinking I'm anything but disgusting.

"Curly Brow... You begged me to sleep with you and I said I would! My nindo is not gonna be broken, so come here!"

Quickly he pulled Nia to him and embraced her. Nia squirmed around, trying to push away from him as Naruto then began to peck her left cheek.

"Naruto, stop! You're sick! We need to get you medicine!"

"I'm not sick! I'm gonna give you what you wanted all this time, ya know!"

"You're crazy! I wasn't begging for this! I was begging for you to protect me from the rats and spiders!"

Naruto layed the girl to the ground as he then threw his jacket off, "There's no changing the story now. What's already been said must be done."

Nia blushed madly upon gazing at Naruto's upper body and covered her face with her hands. She had liked what she saw.

Naruto sweat dropped. Next thing he knew, he sighed then moved away from Nia. When the girl felt that he had done this, she opened her eyes and sat up.

A stab of guilt hit her when she saw Naruto looking disappointed and even sad. He looked really hurt. Almost as if his ego was hit hard.

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

He didn't bother to look at the kunoichi; he just kept looking at the ground as he sat.

"You told me you wanted to sleep with me, ya know..."

Nia felt bad suddenly. If she hadn't said what she did, Naruto would have not taken her words the wrong way.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault." She apologized as she kneeled down in front of him.

Naruto kept his attitude. Nia felt even more bad.

"I said I'm sorry already."

Silence.

"Naruto!" Nia shook him by the shoulders, "Don't hate me! I like you!"

"Mhm, sure you do." The blond pouted.

"But it's true!" The girl admitted before saying her next sentence quietly, "I just wish you'd like me back."

"If that's true, take your shirt off."

"I'M NOT TAKING IT OFF!" Nia raised her voice then calmed down, "You're sort of a pervert."

Why is he acting like this... I thought he was more innocent...?

"Pervy Sage always told me that a woman only loves you if she sleeps with you." Naruto replied as if he were speaking facts.

"A woman can love someone without having sex with them, you know... Geez."

Nia then stared at the ground with a sad expression, "I just wish someone like you could actually want to make love to someone like me..."

"Eh?!" Naruto's eyes widened before he blushed furiously and became overly excited, "If you feel that way, let's do it right here!"

"HUH?!" Nia instantly became shy again and hid her face in her hands, "Stooop! You don't mean that!"

The only thing she managed to do was get Naruto even more excited. He wrapped his arms around her and rubbed his cheek against her head, "Your sudden shyness is killing me! Just come on and let me be your hero tonight already, ya know?!"

"Naruto stooop!" The chuunin tried to shake her friend off but to no avail, "What if someone sees or hears us?!"

"You're worried about that?! Who cares!"

Nia removed her hands from her face and used them to try and push Naruto off, "Quit it! You're making my heart pound like crazy! Stop pranking me!

"It's not a prank, ya know?!"

"Put your jacket back on! You're gonna get even more sick, Naruto! Aren't you cold?!"

The genin rubbed his cheek against Nia's cheek again and had his arms around her waist, "That's why we're gonna keep eachother warm, right?"

This time Nia didn't say anything. She was beginning to give in to Naruto's advances.

"Naruto, are you sure you're okay? You're not like this. What got you like this?" She asked as she softly pulled away from him finally though she was still close to him.

"You asked me to sleep with you... and you were all over my arm. I couldn't really say no to you after hearing how you care about me."

"So then... you'd really... with me?" Nia blushed and looked away.

"Only if you really meant what you said," Naruto said, "About you liking me... and how you think of me as your hero..."

"It's true. I meant every single word!"

The genin smiled as he was hit with a strange feeling. Nia gazed at him then looked down.

He can't be really serious right now.

When she felt an extreme amount of nervousness hit her, Nia tried to pull away but Naruto grabbed her wrist. He then stood up with her.

"If you hadn't told me what you did earlier, I may have never noticed you like I do right now, ya know? But ever since you called me your hero and all that other stuff, I felt happy. Really happy."

"But that doesn't mean you gotta..." Nia paused as soon as she noticed Naruto actually leaning towards her.

"Naruto wait!" She placed her hands on his shoulders, "You like Sakura, not me!"

"But you acknowledged me as your hero. Sakura never saw me as her's" The young man responded as he closed his eyes.

Nia's heart thudded wildly and she began to tremble.

"B-But we're just friends, aren't we?"

"..." Naruto ignored her and softly brushed his lips against hers.

Nia was completely speechless. Naruto was really kissing her! And for what?! Because she told him how much he meant to her? Did that really mean that much to him? For him to hear what she told him?

The kunoichi pulled away from the blond and looked down. Naruto opened his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"... you don't really feel the way that you do. There's no way."

"Curly Brow... I always thought you didn't like me... I always thought I just bothered you and you hated it every time I tried to be nice to you. I thought you didn't really accept me." The genin got all deep suddenly, "You pushed me away a lot and we always kept getting into it over the dumbest things like you said. "

He then grinned.

"But then over time, you began to actually open up to me and became kinder. You'd take care of my injuries whenever Sakura would punch me and you even stayed by me even after seeing my transformation. You didn't think any less of me when I'd make a fool of myself and you laughed at my jokes even when they weren't funny. I found myself beginning to watch over you and making sure you wouldn't get hurt."

Nia listened as Naruto spilled his thoughts of her and placed her closed fist near her heart.

"I knew you were super sensitive and you always seemed lonely and out of place. I always knew what those feelings were like so I tried to be your friend even if you seemed to want time for yourself. So when you told me what you did earlier, I completely flipped out. I was surprised because you always thought good of me the whole time; you were just afraid that I didn't think good of you back."

"The irony." Nia chuckled nervously before she began to smile to herself as she thought about all those times the genin was genuinely kind to her.

"Naruto, you being who you are means the world to me. I'm so glad I got to know someone like you. I wish I could've been friends with you all throughout my childhood. I would've been so much happier. You're so awesome, I swear! I love being by you, you're incredible!"

Upon receiving even more acknowledgement, Naruto blushed deeply.

"Wow, you really think so, Curly Brow?"

Nia nodded.

"You make me feel super happy even when I'm down. In fact I get really giddy just being by you or when I hear your voice or when I look at you. I really like you, Naruto. I like you even if you like Sakura. I don't expect my feelings to ever be returned. That's asking for too much. I don't deserve any of that stuff. Especially not from you. You're too amazing."

Nia was usually a shy girl who couldn't muster up the courage to admit her feelings back in her younger days. However, after growing out of that phase somewhat, she was able to confess though she was still very afraid of intimacy.

"You're so amazing. I know I said that already but haha, I can't help myself," The girl giggled, "I'm able to smile again because of you. I couldn't do that for a long time. I was too depressed. I lost my smile for a long time."

Nia then rubbed her face, "I was so close to losing myself. Ugh! I can't thank you enough, Naruto! I'll never be able to stop! You'll always and forever be my-"

"Curly Brow?"

"Hm?" Nia looked to her crush who then turned to her.

"I sound really important to you..." Naruto pointed out the obvious.

Nia's blush only darkened and she couldn't keep eye contact with him anymore, "Oh uh, yeah!"

She then rubbed her hands together out of nervousness, "You're the guy who I look up to after all. Iruka always told me how you were always the underdog as a kid and that you worked really hard to acquire the skills you have now. That's really amazing. You're so kind too! I like that about you the most. The fact that you're kind, accepting, and empathetic literally saved me from the darkness in my life."

The kunoichi then turned to Naruto once more with so much life in her eyes, "I'm so completely indebted to yo-"

Her sentence was cut off by a hug. Again, Nia was caught off guard and was freaking out inside.

"Naruto, c'mon! You don't gotta do this!"

"That means the world to me, ya know?!" He spoked with so much enthusiasm, "No ones ever told me that before!"

Nia nearly bled through her nose as he held her against his bare chest. It felt good and comforting to her.

Put your jacket back on! You're killing me!

"Naruto..." The girl pulled away from the hug, "Do you... like me...?"

"I don't... really have an answer," He replied truthfully, "But-"

"So then... you don't want anything to do with me...?"

The conversation suddenly got tense.

"Wait, that's not what I meant!" Naruto panicked.

"It's cause you like Sakura, right?" Nia then took her hands off Naruto's shoulders.

"Curly Brow, I-"

"If you didn't like me, then why would you try to... to you know..."

At this, Naruto panicked even more, "Just hold on a sec! I'm not like that, I swear!"

Nia frowned.

"Curly Brow, you gotta believe me."

The girl didn't say anything. She only looked back into his eyes then closed them as she gathered the courage to kiss him lightly. She then pulled away.

"I like you," She said honestly, "I like you cause you're so kind and you're always there for people who need someone. You're incredible. I know you're not a bad person."

Naruto blinked a few times before he sighed in relief. His heart thudded loudly and his face slowly went red as he heard her confession.

Nia tucked a hair behind her ear.

He didn't push me away...

"Naruto..." The girl gazed at thr blue-eyed male, "Can we... do it again..."

"Are you sure you want to?" He asked, realizing that Nia's feelings weren't a lie and was the real deal.

The girl nodded shyly. Naruto still had her glasses in his hand from earlier and placed them back on her.

"Yeah..."

Not too far from them, Kakashi had been looking for Naruto. He found it odd that him and Nia were far from the group and went to check up on them. However when he finally spotted them, his student was kissing Iruka's little cousin with tenderness.

He sweat dropped.

O-Oh... maybe I should head back. They look busy...

The copycat ninja then turned around and went walking back in the direction he came from.

I knew there was something going on, but... in the forest? If Iruka finds out, I may never be able to see Naruto anymore. He won't be able to be hokage. So I guess I'm not saying anything to him...

Kakashi took out his book again and opened to the page he was on.

Wait till I tell Master Jiraiya all this though... I wonder how he'll react?

---
A/N- ... I can't even... this chapter surprised the heck out of me. This WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! 😣😣😣😣😣😣😣😣😣

But then when I was writing it, I couldn't get Naruto to reject Nia. It felt soooooo out of character. I'm gonna be honest, they weren't supposed to be flirtatious in this but then I felt them wanting to be that way if that makes sense.

Oh my goodness, this changed everything lmaooo. You guys got so lucky. Every time I tried to get Naruto to reject Nia, it felt wrong. I felt like I was going against his character because he's so touched when someone acknowledges him so deeply. I literally had to rewrite this whole chapter and this one felt like the right one.

You seriously got soooo lucky 😂😂😂😂😂

Anyway, please tell me what you think and vote! ❤️

Have a fantastic day!