Chapter 389: Shy Determination
"...It's okay, Satsuki. If you really feel embarrassed or nervous, when the time comes... just leave everything to Naruto."
Deep within the Uchiha clan head's residence, in a deliberately locked Japanese-style room, warm yellow lamplight illuminated Uchiha Mikoto's face, tinged with a faint blush. Her tone gentle yet laden with awkwardness, she softly consoled her daughter sitting across the table.
Uchiha Satsuki at the table could practically be described as "steam rising from her head"—her fair cheeks, neck, and even her ears had turned a vivid crimson.
Spread across and stacked on the low table before her were various books and albums of different sizes. Without exception, all centered on certain... "intimate knowledge."
Among them were both rigorously written, conservatively illustrated educational materials on physiology, and beautifully drawn, slightly exaggerated thematic picture books.
Regarding this area of knowledge, the usually intelligent and precocious Satsuki's understanding was almost completely blank.
Thus, on this special night, she had no choice but to begin a race against time, cramming like a student facing a major exam without preparation.
And her mother Mikoto remained here to answer at any moment those blush-inducing, heart-pounding questions her daughter might raise.
Why hadn't Satsuki studied earlier, instead choosing to cram desperately in the early morning hours before the "exam" like clutching at last-minute help?
Only Satsuki herself knew the reason—suppressing the emotions and yearning in her heart daily was already extremely difficult. If she'd contacted this highly stimulating and suggestive content too early, she truly couldn't guarantee whether she could still maintain rationality.
Whether she might immediately do something impulsive that could even frighten Naruto. Only by compressing study time to the eve of action could she maintain maximum control over herself.
"N-no need, Mom..." Satsuki's voice was thin as a mosquito's whine, refusing her mother's suggestion to "let Naruto take the lead."
Watching her daughter's stubborn yet shy appearance, Mikoto felt an extremely complex emotion surge in her heart. Satsuki had only been an adult for a few months—was she really about to experience such an important step in life this quickly?
Unable to even wait for daytime, having to do it in the early morning hours of Naruto turning eighteen...
Thinking that she was only in her forties—could she really be upgrading to grandmother this soon? This thought made even the usually gentle and composed Mikoto feel somewhat dizzy.
She naturally knew her daughter's feelings for Naruto ran deep, but to like him to this degree—immediately taking the initiative to "offer herself" the moment the time arrived.
This plot seeming to walk straight out of a bold romance novel left Mikoto, already a mother, feeling somewhat overwhelmed. She even felt the impulse to roll around on the tatami to calm her emotions.
"Wah... Mom... this, this... you have to use your mouth?"
Satsuki was startled by a scene in one of the instructional manga in her hands. Her fingers holding the album trembled slightly as she turned to Mikoto with a gaze mixing shock, bewilderment, and shyness, seeking help.
"...Th-that... isn't necessary..."
Mikoto's cheeks also instantly turned redder, stammering her explanation. "It's j-just... some little fun to deepen feelings... not a required step..."
Answering such shockingly specific questions was equally an enormous challenge of embarrassment for Mikoto!
"Then... if I did that..." Satsuki's voice carried a kind of stubborn seriousness. "Would Naruto... feel happy?"
"Ah? This, well..."
Mikoto felt like she was about to be roasted by her daughter's questions. "He pr-probably would? But, but you really don't need to force yourself..."
"...Then... I'll try it." After a moment of silence, Satsuki quietly reached her conclusion.
Mikoto finally couldn't help covering her face, trying to pull the topic back to relatively safer territory. "Satsuki! For your first time, you don't need to force yourself to try so many things! You should trust boys' maturity and consideration! Alright, alright, let's stop looking at books. Why don't we go prepare the birthday cake?"
"..."
Satsuki didn't answer immediately. She quietly lowered her eyes. After a moment of silence, she raised her head again, but her gaze was even clearer and more resolute than before.
Looking at her mother, in a tone mixing the innocence of an inexperienced girl with all-or-nothing determination, she slowly spoke what was perhaps the most direct, most bold, yet also most passionate statement of her life.
"I don't want it to just pass by ordinarily."
"For the first time... I want to give Naruto... the most wonderful memory."