"I just... I feel it sometimes. The loneliness." I let my own facade crack, just a little. The genuine loneliness of my childhood, the pressure of being a Hyuga failure. "It's heavy, isn't it?"
He stared at me, his expression unreadable. For a long moment, the only sound was the creak of my swing. Then, he sighed, the fight going out of him. "Yeah," he admitted. "It is."
A victory. A small one, but vital.
"Can I tell you a secret, Naruto-kun?" I asked, leaning closer.
He nodded, intrigued.
"Sometimes... I get angry," I confessed. "Really, really angry. At the people who look at me like I'm glass. At the people who whisper. And when I do, I feel... something else inside me. A hot feeling. A red feeling."
His breath hitched. His eyes widened in dawning comprehension. He knew exactly what I was talking about.
"The Fox," I breathed the words, making them sacred, not profane.
He recoiled as if I'd struck him. "How... How do you know about that?" His voice was a terrified squeak.
"I told you. I understand," I said, my gaze unwavering. "Naruto-kun, it's not a bad thing. It's just... power. A lot of power. And it's scared because you're scared. They treat you like a monster, so you think it is. But it's not. It's just a part of you. A part you need to understand."
He shook his head, denial warring with hope on his face. "No, it's evil. The Fourth Hokage sealed it away..."
"He sealed it in you," I corrected, my tone firm but kind. "Not away. You're its cage, yes. But you're also its warden. Its... friend. Maybe."
I reached out and, very slowly, placed my hand over his. His skin was warm. He flinched, but didn't pull away. "Think about it.
You're never truly alone if it's there, right?"
This was the poison and the antidote, delivered in one breath.
The village had taught him to fear the silence within him. I would teach him to embrace it.
To see Kurama not as a curse, but as the one being who could never, ever leave him. The ultimate, exclusive companion.
He stared at our hands, then back at my face.
A single tear tracked its way down his cheek. He didn't understand the manipulation, the careful crafting of his worldview. He only understood that for the first time, someone was offering him a way out of the darkness that wasn't just "get stronger" or "become Hokage." It was "accept yourself." All of yourself.
"Okay," he whispered.
I smiled, a genuine, radiant thing. The kind of smile I had only ever shown him in my past life. "Good. Now, let's get you some ramen. My treat."
I stood up, pulling him with me. He followed, still dazed, as I led him towards Ichiraku. This was another key. The ramen stand was Teuchi's domain, one of the few places of genuine warmth for Naruto in the original timeline. I would cement it. Make it our place.
Teuchi greeted us with a warm smile.
"Naruto! And... ah, Hinata-san from the Hyuga clan. What a surprise!"
"Two miso ramen, please, Teuchi-san," I said, my voice clear and confident. No stutter.
"You got it!"
We sat on the stools. Naruto ate with his usual fervor, but there was a new thoughtfulness in his expression. He kept glancing at me between slurps. I ate more delicately, but with a contentment I hadn't felt in years. The broth was warm, the noodles were perfect, and Naruto was here. With me. Not at a distance, not watching him from behind a tree, but beside me.
"Hinata," he said, setting down his chopsticks. "How'd you get so strong?"
The question was innocent, but it was a landmine. My old self would have blushed and stammered. My new self knew the answer required a delicate touch.
"I trained," I said simply. "A lot. I had a good teacher." I paused, letting the implication hang in the air. "But strength isn't just about hitting things, is it?"
He tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"It's about knowing where to hit," I said, tapping a finger against my own palm.
"It's about seeing things others can't. About protecting what's important to you." My lavender eyes locked onto his. "I decided... a long time ago... what was important to me. And I would do anything to protect it."
The intensity in my voice made him shift uncomfortably, but he didn't look away. He was captivated. He was mine. The thought was a heady rush, a current of dark, possessive joy that I had to forcibly suppress. Too much, too soon.
"Like the Hokage protecting the village?" he asked, falling back on the familiar.
"Exactly," I agreed, softening my expression. "The Hokage protects everyone. But a shinobi... a true shinobi... protects their precious people. That's their nindo."
My words sank in. I could see it in his eyes. The gears were turning. He was re-evaluating everything. His dream, his loneliness, the monster inside him. And I was at the center of it all.
We finished our ramen and I walked him part of the way to his apartment. The walk was quiet, but it wasn't an empty silence. It was a comfortable one, filled with unspoken understanding.
When we reached a corner where our paths diverged, I stopped. "Goodnight, Naruto-kun."
"Goodnight, Hinata," he said. He hesitated, then added, "Thanks. For... everything."
I simply smiled and watched him walk away. My smile faded the moment he was out of sight. I stood in the darkness of the alley, the warmth of the evening leeching away, replaced by the cold, hard purpose that was my true nature.
I would protect him. From the scorn. From the pain. From the Leaf Village, if it came to that. I would protect him from everyone. Except me. I am the only one he needs.