ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

Dilemma p.2

— and would regret it as soon as she said it.

– He's cute. – she mentally said before flushing in embarrassment. Where had that thought come from?!

Kurama was silent for a moment, and Naruko could already imagine the wide grin that was forming no his lips at the moment, no doubt finding immense amusement in her words. Oh, great Kami-sama, please just kill her now and spare her the embarrassment and let the earth open up and consume her entirely!

"I believe I should laugh," he began, causing Naruko to want to cover her face in embarrassment. "I really should, in all honesty — if I didn't find your reaction to be utterly normal for a growing girl like you. You're a beautiful girl yourself, and only an idiot wouldn't see that... one of those idiots is the guy helping you out with your groceries — he's so dense and hopeless in love it's not even funny."

Naruko mentally frowned at the fox with a light dust of pink on her cheeks. Sure, she had entertained the thought of actually dating Naruto when she got to know him better, but that was before she knew he was her brother. Wouldn't people nowadays frown upon incestuous relationships?

Kurama sighed, and Naruko imagined the amused smirk it had on his lips. – Okay, so I had a crush on him. What does this have to do with you wanting to talk to me — besides embarrassing the hell out of me? – she thought irately.

Kurama sighed. "Because I need your help in showing him what being in love, and being loved in return truly means."

If Kurama hadn't said those words with such a serious and somber tone, Naruko would've laughed out loud, let Naruto hear her be damned. It was as if he was stating an undeniable fact — and Naruko was beginning to piece together the image he was trying to portray in her mind.

Naruko only mentally blinked up at the grinning fox, not quite believing what he had said.

While in the physical realm, she was laughing at Naruto trying to balance the mountain of groceries in his arms but failing miserably, forcing him to use shadow clones instead — she also found that Naruto's frustrated pout was adorable on his normally composed features.

"To put it simply, it is only natural for humans to be attracted to the opposite sex — the kit being your brother aside, but I'm a chakra construct given sentience, we don't have those kinds of restrictions." Kurama chuckled, but his mood became somber after that. "Even if it's you, or any other girl for that matter, I need your help in showing him what love is all about."

– A-Are you sure, Kurama? – she replied tentatively, a sudden feeling of anxiety welling up within her.

And feeling the Bijū nod only made that feeling even more pronounced.

On the outside, she kept her strides slow and relaxed, but inwardly her mind was raging like a typhoon. A hundred different thoughts came forth to her mind, trying to see where Kurama was going with his strange request. Did her brother not know about the love of friends and family, or even a lover?

Even though she already knew the answer, she suppressed the involuntary shiver that came from her realization as she asked anyway.

– Why? – she could only ask.

It's the only question she could ask, for she had already known the answer to it even before Kurama decided to explain it to her, fighting the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. The boy's memories had already confirmed it for her.

"Because he's... a special case." He began, "Naruto's childhood is so messed up because of me he craved for every scrap of attention the village could give him, which always got him into uncomfortable situations — pranking being one of them. What's worse, because of his harsh treatment, his entire perception on the word 'love' is so twisted to the point that he couldn't tell the difference between familial and romantic love."

Naruko stifled a horrified gasp as she sped up her paces, unknowingly drawing her chakra to move slightly faster than normal, forcing Naruto to match her pace to keep up with her.

Naruto could tell she was distracted by something, but didn't comment on it in order to respect her privacy — another trait that pulled her towards him.

"Your friend Hinata? The Hyūga Heiress?" he asked. At her mental nod, he continued. "In our dimension, she had the biggest crush on the kit. She would blush and stammer only in his presence and his presence alone. It was obvious to everyone that she liked him — but because of his warped perception, he always thought she always had a fever when she blushed like a tomato around him."

Naruko could only gape in shock.