Light In You || Naruto Uzumaki Love Story ✔️

BONUS CHAPTER #22 - Naruto's Epiphany

"I don't know about all that..." Jiraiya replied.

Nia looked at him.

"What... do you mean?"

"I'm saying... I think there's a chance he might love you back already."

"WHAT?! REALLY?!" Nia gasped excitedly before realizing how loud she was and covered her mouth before whispering, "Really? Is this foreal? My protector might feel the same way about me?"

"I think he does love you..." Jiraiya shared, getting Nia's hopes up before saying, "He just doesn't realize it yet."

Nia then started blushing at the thought of her crush returning her feelings despite feeling as though he was out of her league in every way, shape, and form.

"Jiraiya-sensei, please don't mess with my heart right now. Are you serious? You think Naruto might like me back."

"I know he likes you back."

"But I'm literally super ugly, fat, and disgusting. How can you be so sure that he likes me back? I mean I'm literally just... this hideous, revolting creature."

Jiraiya sweatdropped.

"You sure do have low self esteem, huh?"

"Well, I try not to think of myself as such, but just the thought of someone as amazing as Naruto liking and accepting someone like me is..." Nia lowered her eyes again. "Very impossible."

"Don't you know that anything is possible? Even having the guy of your dreams falling for you is possible."

"But-"

"There's no "buts", you need to keep working on your self esteem."

"Well... okay," Nia said.

"Anyway Nia, I think... you're very special to Naruto."

Again, Nia blushed.

"I mean, I would like to be very special to him."

"Your special to him cause you're the one person who accepts him for everything he is and loves him despite his flaws. Not only that, but he realizes you're incredibly vulnerable and thus, feels the great urge to keep you safe and protect you. He literally transformed after seeing you hurt when you two were in that chakra sapping cave, let's not forget.

Nia's blush deepened.

Hearing all that Jiraiya told her, made her feel special and important to the blond.

"He feels such a bond with you cause he understands what it's like to be treated like trash, ignored, and be hated. He knows how it feels to want others to accept him... to love him. You two aren't that different. Sure, you may have been treated wrongly for different reasons but the fact that you can bond over having had suffer from the disdain of others makes him feel close to you. He feels as though he can relate to you to a certain extent."

"I... I feel that bond too," Nia replied, placing her heart on her chest. "I do feel like I can relate to him to some level which is part of the reason why I fell for him. The only difference was that he didn't let everyone put him down or make him depressed like me, he was strong and strived to show everyone he wasn't just some monster, that he was more than just a host for the Nine-Tails. I admire... his strength. I want... to be strong like him."

"How cute..."

"Jiraiya-sensei... it's really not that cute. I really am obsessive, creepy, and weird."

"Nia..." The sannin sighed. "Quit putting yourself down like that. Seriously, your low self esteem is ridiculous."

"It's... all the way down to hell," Nia replied. "But even so... I'd... like to change that... one day. I'd like to believe in myself and like myself. I don't... wanna be depressed forever."