BXBX NOVEL Chapter 31: Chapter 31
"Okay, here we go," Kurenai says, giving him the signal before she disappears like a mirage in the desert; a jutsu of beauty in Naruto\'s opinion.
Naruto steps into the kitchen, and immediately forgets he isn\'t supposed to speak. "Hey Hinata-chan!" he says with a bright smile, causing the girl to squeak and hop back.
Looking around, Hinata can\'t help but ask, "I-I-I-I- th-th-thought h-he wasn\'t g-g-going to-"
"He wasn\'t," Kurenai says from nowhere with a little more force than she intended, and quickly covers for the blond\'s slip up. "I only wanted to shock you a little, by doing something you didn\'t expect.
And look, you haven\'t passed out, so you\'re getting better already." Hinata can barely look at Naruto, her index fingers poking each other nervously, but it\'s true. At least she\'s conscious. "He\'ll stay quiet now, if you want to walk around him."
Hinata takes her time, moving close to him, always avoiding eye contact but at least trying to look directly at him. After several minutes of Hinata observing from several paces away, Kurenai can see Naruto start to fidget.
He never struck her as a patient person, and she can see he\'s starting to become antsy. Hoping to avoid another blunder from the boy, Kurenai suggests, "why don\'t you do some housework together. That might make it feel more normal."
For the next two hours, Hinata and Naruto do chores while Kurenai observes her pupil under the unseen cloak of her genjutsu. Though Naruto wanted to help Hinata-chan, he couldn\'t help but feel this is a complete waste of his time.
He\'s big enough to admit he doesn\'t understand much more than tricking Hinata into thinking he\'s a fake-Naruto when he\'s actually real, but he can\'t believe this is the only way to cure the girl of her shyness.
\'Maybe Kurenai-sensei hasn\'t tried everything,\' he thinks, \'because this is barely better than a D-Rank mission.\' He hopes there\'s something else Kurenai can do because he can\'t see himself just doing housework for two whole hours with a girl who can barely look at him every single day.
\'Better than the glares,\' another part of him mentally admits. As previously discussed, Kurenai alerts Naruto to be ready for a quick and stealthy exit. The Raven-haired sensei had already left the door open for him so he can wait outside for her before Kurenai\'s voice ends the session.
"I think that\'s enough for tonight," the beautiful sensei announces, materializing out of thin air. "Hinata-chan, before I dispel Uzumaki-kun, would you like to say anything to him? Remember, he\'s only an illusion."
Hinata looks from her sensei to the general vicinity of her long-time crush. She opens her mouth to bid him goodnight, but little more comes out than, "g-g-g dd n-n-n-ni t-t."
She takes a breath, exhausted for some reason as Naruto-kun smiles at her, replying, "Night, Hinata-chan!"
The girl\'s sensei places a gentle hand on her shoulder and has a proud smile on her caring face.
It reminds Hinata too much of how her late mother would be with her and overcome with emotions of gratitude, acknowledgment, and affection, the indigo-haired kunoichi couldn\'t help but hug her sensei dearly; for what she did, for what she\'s doing, and for believing in her when no one else does.
Hinata feels as if she\'s discovered someone who seems to genuinely care about her, regardless of her clan or ability. It\'s as if her sensei sees more in her than she can in herself and Hinata hasn\'t felt anything like that since her mother\'s death.
Until now, she hadn\'t known how much she missed that feeling. Holding her sensei tighter, as if to make sure the feeling doesn\'t disappear, Hinata is comforted by the woman\'s warmth.
It\'s slightly scary, but Hinata feels as long as her sensei is a part of her life, she could amount to something even she would be proud of.
\'This is why it\'s all worth it,\' Kurenai thinks as she holds her brave pupil. Dealing with the arrogant Hiashi, the Kybi container, even having to bear witness to Asuma escorting Princess Tomoko by his manly arm.
At this moment, nothing mattered but the compassionate girl giving her one of the most appreciative hugs the red-eyed Jnin\'s ever felt.
Kurenai felt euphoric gratification by helping a girl who was in desperate need of it, by the good that may come of her growth in the future, and by the next generation that might inherit her Will of Fire.
\'Yes, everything is worth this,\' the devoted sensei easily determines as she lets out a comforting exhale. After a few more minutes of embrace, Kurenai pats the girl on her shoulder, suggesting, "why don\'t you get ready for bed. We have an early day tomorrow."
Stepping away, Hinata bows respectfully. However, before she leaves, she shyly asks, "will we be doing more of these training sessions?"
Kurenai smiles at the girls reddening cheeks, neck, and forehead, and answers, "yes. Every day until you see that there\'s nothing to fret over." With a final nod, the girl goes to get ready for bed, while Kurenai quietly slips out the door.
The impatient blond was on the porch, restlessly waiting with his arms crossed and fingers tapping his clothed bicep. "What-"
Kurenai quickly put her hand over his mouth, lifting an index finger over her full cherry red lips, silently telling him to be quieter. Ignoring his question, she whispers to the blond genin, "be by Hokage Tower same time tomorrow and I\'ll come get you when I can."
"Isn\'t there another way," he quickly asks. "This is boring! And I have a lot of training that I have to do."
"No, this is the best way," Kurenai quickly shuts him down. The last thing she wants is to lose a handle on him when Hinata made more progress in two hours than the past two weeks with her. "You\'re doing okay, just try to pay more attention next time.
Good night." And with that, she turns and leaves him.
Upset, angry, annoyed, Naruto felt each one of these emotions until he returned to the excessive mess of his apartment. The exhausted-looking clones were still working on trying to pop the rubber ball and Naruto became even more upset that he couldn\'t be here with them.
Naruto felt the first stage was very difficult, but attempting to amplify the volume and density on chakra spinning in multiple directions immediately sounded impossible.
Even with Naru-nii\'s tips, it doesn\'t look like there\'s been any progress, but as he grabs a rubber ball and moves to the last spacious area in his one bedroom apartment, he\'s determined to take the challenge on, even if he has to work on it throughout the night.