A/N - Hey guys 👋 guess what? IT'S NARUTO'S BIRTHDAY ❤️❤️❤️ In celebration of his bday, I'm being you another bonus chapter that I've been working on for a while but never finished till now. It's not related to his birthday but it's a chapter nonetheless.
As always, this takes place while Nia and Naruto are traveling with Jiraiya! Please remember to comment and vote and enjoy ❤️
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BONUS CHAPTER #16: Just The Way You Are
"C-Curly Brow, c'mon! Don't cry! Don't cry! I'm okay! I'm really okay, ya know!" Naruto was trying to calm a crying Nia down as the two were in a room at yet another inn.
"B-But Naruto, I saw you d-die in my dream!" Nia sobbed. "It was horrible! I was so scared."
"I know it made you terrified and upset, but Curly Brow, your dream wasn't real. Your protector is still here with you. He's not dead."
"But Narutoooo!"
"Curly Brow, you're literally shaking," The blond noticed his friend's trembling body.
"Naruto, I love you so much! I can't bear the thought of you d-dying!" Nia looked at him with a torrent of tears running down her eyes.
"Curly Brow..." Naruto just stared at her with slightly widened eyes as the shook a little.
All she had was a bad dream of him dying. It wasn't like any of that was real so Naruto wondered why she was so shaken up about it. However, he reddened when Nia admitted to loving him so much that she couldn't bear the thought of him dying. Just like that, he felt... cared for... loved.
He found himself running a finger down her tearstained cheek.
"It's alright... Curly Brow," He spoke with an incredibly gentle voice before then cupping the girl's chin in his fingers. "Just please... take a deep breath and try to focus on your protector."
Nia's vision was blurred, but she tried to keep eye contact.
"Your protector... is okay," The blond once more told her.
Nia's shoulders continued to heave. Naruto wrapped her in his arms and swung her gently.
"Oh Naruto..." Nia whimpered.
Naruto pressed her head to his chest with his hand and kept it there.
"I can't believe how much you love me, Curly Brow. To be crying that much over me dying in a dream that's not real. You're way too adorable for me to handle."
"I just don't want you to get hurt or be taken away from me," Nia said.
"I know he may not look it, but your protector is really strong. He trains often to protect his friends, village, but especially you," The genin then kissed the top of Nia's head.
Nia felt her heart skip a beat.
"I love my protector so much..."
"And your protector loves his little Curly Brow so much also. He'd do anything for his sweet angel."
"I-I'm my protector's sweet angel?" Nia looked up at her crush.
"Yes..." Naruto then kissed her forehead.
"Oh Naruto..." Nia held tightly onto her friend.
He then sat them both down as they still hugged, Nia sitting in the open space of Naruto's lap, her legs wrapped around his waist as they faced one another eye to eye.
"I don't want us to separate," The girl mumbled as Naruto took his thumbs and wiped away her tears.
"I don't want us to separate either, Curly Brow," Naruto told her. "That's why I try so hard to protect you and to make sure you're safe. Even if it means swatting away any man who tries to steal your heart from me. Only I get to hold you."
"It's because my protector loves me so much," Nia started to smile.
"He sure does," The genin kissed her cheek.
Nia blushed and buried her face in his chest.
"Oh Naruto..."
"Now then... let your protector show you how he's gonna protect not only himself, but you as well," Naruto then summoned a clone and held his hand out as the clone seemed to be rotating something.
Soon, a blue ball of chakra appeared and Naruto had Nia lift her head off his chest and gaze at his jutsu.
"That's your rasengan, isn't it?" She questioned.
"Why, yes it is," Naruto grinned as a wind softly blew at the two. "This is what I'm gonna use to protect you. That and my shadow clones."
"You really mean it, Naruto?" Nia was blushing. "It's really that strong to protect me?"
"Yes, my little Curly Brow..." Naruto gave another kiss to Nia's cheek. "It's very powerful, ya know?"
"Mhm," The girl nodded before resting the side of her smiling face on his chest again.
"My sweet Curly Brow... You said you're attracted to a man who can protect you, right? Or at least, who'll be willing to fight for you if it came down to it, right?"
Nia nodded.
"Yes, I want a man who won't hesitate to defend me or won't cower away when I'm in danger."
"Curly Brow, I'll just let you know right now that... I won't ever hesitate to protect you if you were in danger. I'd protect you with my life," Naruto cupped Nia's chin in his fingers and made her look at him. "I'm not a coward... and I'd never leave you to die or get hurt."
"Naruto, I'm so serious about him being brave that... I'd literally leave a man if he were to leave me to die or get hurt. I hate cowardly men. I mean, if you're afraid, that's fine, but if you don't even try to protect me, it's over."
"I love you so much, Curly Brow... I feel like I'd do anything for you."
"And I feel like I could do anything for you, too, Naruto," Nia was still blushing.
The two friends gazed into one another's eyes. Their pupils were enlarged and they couldn't look away from eachother. Their lips curved into a warm smile.
Their day would be of them having rather romantic moments and they trained later in the day. All day, Nia had smile on her face. She was even lucky enough to lay her head on the blond's chest and be in his arms as they slept through the night. However, when it was morning, she found that he was no longer in bed and had went off somewhere.
That's when something popped into Nia's head. Yes, she was gonna do it. She was gonna get dolled up and ask him on a date. After all, they were having so much chemistry for so long, it was criminal.
For the next couple hours, she would take a shower, brush her teeth and get herself ready. When she finished, she would quickly came to realize there was a problem: Her confidence.
'I totally got this!' Nia was encouraging herself in the mirror. 'Just go over to him, ask for a date, then hope he'll say yes. I mean, guys don't always have to make the first move, right?'
Suddenly, she felt extremely nauseous and her head was spinning.
D-Don't be scared. He's just one guy. W-Who cares if he says no? That's his loss then. You can be a great girlfriend and if he can't see that then that's too bad for him. You may not be as pretty as these other girls, but you can make a better wife than a lot of them! I just know it!
She then placed her hands on the sink in the bathroom and took a deep breath.
I just... need to breathe... for goodness sake, BREATHE! YOU GOT THIS!
However, her palms just started to sweat as well as her forehead.
A-All you gotta s-say is: Hey Naruto, how was your day? Y-You wanna grab a bite to eat or hangout sometime? T-That's all you gotta say, dammit!
With trembling hands, she wiped her forehead.
I'm shaking so bad right now! I need to stop being so scared of him. Have some confidence! Know your worth, Nia! You're not worthless! C'mon! Who cares if seemingly everyone doesn't think you're pretty! Maybe he'll give you a chance? All you gotta do is ask! It's not like he's gonna be like, "Eww, you're ugly.". Besides, he doesn't even have a girlfriend and he's KIND and super adorable! That's rare!
The girl ran her hands down her face.
But just cause he's nice doesn't mean he's gonna say yes to you. What if he only says yes cause he feels bad for you or what if you don't have the potential to be a good girlfriend? He'll probably just think you're boring and uninteresting and a waste of time. I mean look at him then look at you. He has so much life in him and you're just this dead person walking around, then his eyes are big and beautiful and yours is just drained of life and tiny. You have no chance with any guy on this planet, are you kidding yourself? Why even try? It's pointless. You're not good enough.
Immediately, she shook her head.
No, that's just your insecurity talking. I'm worthy too. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and stop letting other people tell you you're nothing — it's not true. I can be a better partner than a lot of them. At least I don't play with someone's feelings then would go around cheating and being despicable. Even if every guy threw themselves at me, I would never cheat on the person I'm with. I would be a faithful, loving, and fantastic girlfriend and wife and mother!
Again, she took a deep breath.
Now then... I tried my best to look as best as possible. I'm dressed up, I did my hair, I did my makeup, I did my nails, washed up really good and sprayed perfume, put some jewelry on, and did everything I could... I just need to be confident, go up to him, then ask him out. Simple!
Even though she tried to build herself up, she still couldn't find it in her to look in the mirror. She kept her eyes to the sink.
There were a few magazines on it with very beautiful women on the covers and insides of it. They were all so perfect: small nose, big eyes; long, luscious hair; high cheek bones, long eyelashes, smooth and flawless skin, big lips, perfect eyebrows, big breasts, curvy waist, perfectly slim, big buttocks, had meat in the right places, killer smile and just drop dead gorgeous all around.
Nia was none of that. She felt like she was just dressing and putting makeup on a pig. All her features were just the complete opposite of the women in the images.
She pinched her nose in the hopes that it would get smaller then pulled at her eyes, trying to get them to widen themselves. When they didn't, she tried pushing up her cheeks so they wouldn't sag so much, but it was all pointless. They wouldn't change their size. Makeup could probably do that, but it was only temporary and what would happen when she'd take it off? A guy would beat her.
The girl stared at her breasts — they weren't big enough. They needed to be more filled out, bouncy yet firm. Then there was her hips: why couldn't they be more curvy? And her stomach and arms... ugh, it was like no matter how much exercise she would try and do and eat better food, they still weren't as toned as she wanted them to be. Why couldn't she just lose a bit more weight? And her bottom, all the lower body exercises she was doing wasn't making it any bigger. Was she doomed?!
"Curly Brow, you in here?!" A knock came at the door as this made her screech. "I've been looking all over for you! Pervy Sage ditched me not too long after you left! A villager told me they saw you come into this inn, ya know? You okay?"
'KYAAAA!' She screamed in her head and had to throw her hand over her mouth to keep herself quiet. 'IT'S NARUTO! I-IM NOT READY FOR HIM TO SEE ME!'
"Hellooo," He repeatedly knocked on the door. "I know someone is in here. The door is locked."
"I... I'm here, o-okay," Nia mumbled as her heart raced.
Her nausea worsened.
"Huh?!" Naruto pressed his ear to the door. "I can't hear you. Is your name Nia or not?"
"I-I said I'm in here, Naruto!" This time she responded louder.
"So that guy was telling the truth!" He grinned. "Come on out! I'm gonna help you with your ninjutsu today! Yesterday, you made a lot of progress! I was impressed, ya know! You worked really hard that whole day."
Though extremely flattered over his words, Nia panicked.
She was dressed up for a date, not a training session for the fifth day in a row. It was a Saturday, she wanted a break!
"Um... do you think we can do that on Monday or something? I wanna do something else today."
"But you were doing great! If you stop now, you can lose the progress you've built up so far."
"Then I'm taking that risk!" She declared, absolutely determined to have her date with the blond.
"Curly Brow, no. Today, we're training. Come out of the bathroom and let's resume where we left off yesterday, 'Kay?"
"But Naruto..." She whined. "We trained all day for the past five days... I'm exhausted. You gotta give your body rest too, you know?"
"And how do you think you improved so much? Cause you were enhancing your techniques." He told her before twisting the door handle. "Now come out here alreadyyy."
"No!" Nia quickly latched onto the handle after Naruto had used something to unlock the door, resulting in the two pushing from each side.
"W-Why the hell are you trying to keep the door closed?!" The genin stuck his foot out, preventing the girl from shutting the door on him.
"Move your foot, Naruto! I'm using the bathroom right now!"
"What?! No you're not! You're trying to get out of training!"
In truth, she just wasn't ready for him to see her in the outfit she was wearing.
With a final push, Naruto managed to best her as Nia had tripped over a magazine on the floor and fell to her bottom just as he opened the door.
"Finally! Now, come on and let's get star-" He paused when he caught sight of the girl's appearance.
"Oww..." Nia rubbed her hip. "That really hurt."
When she looked back up, she shrieked and backed away when she saw the genin kneeling right in her face, staring hard at her face.
Blushing all shades of red, she threw her hands over her face, fearing he thought of her to still be very unpleasant to look at.
"Curly Brow..." He gently took her hands away from her and gazed deeply into her eyes. "You... look different."
Hearing this and seeing the look in his blue orbs, the kunoichi felt butterflies in her stomach when he cupped her face in his hands.
"D-Don't stare so h-hard at me," She shyly averted her eyes as they seemed to slightly sparkle.
Did he think she was pretty? Was he attracted to her? Had her efforts paid off?
She started smiling as hope of him returning her feelings finally raced through her mind.
"It's just.. You look so... so..."
Nia's heart pounded. The way he was gazing into her eyes, the way he was speaking softly to her... the way he was cupping her face. This was it... he was going to call her beautiful and take her on a date.
She was finally going to be loved romantically for the first time in her life. She was going to experience romance!
"YOU LOOK SO OLD!" The genin exclaimed as lightning struck down on Nia and turned her to stone, crushing her dreams of ever being loved. "WHAT'S WITH THE GET-UP AND MAKEUP?! YOU SURE YOU'RE NOT THIRTY-TWO OR SOMETHING?! YOU LOOK OLDER THAN GRANNY TSUNADE!"
Nia's heart had shattered. Without thinking, she slapped and pushed the guy away from her, standing up as tears pushed out of her eyes while mascara and eyeliner stained her cheeks.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU, NARUTO!" She grabbed the magazines from the sink and threw it at him. "Why do I even bother trying so hard?! I'M SO SICK OF YOU! TAKE A HINT FOR ONCE! GEEZ!"
With that, she stormed away and cried into her hands feeling unattractive as ever, leaving the blonde in the bathroom with magazines piled onto him.
"C-CURLY BROW, HOLD ON!" He reached his hand out for her just as one of the magazines slid down his head.
However, his pleas for her to come back failed.
'Man, whats her problem?!' He rubbed his cheek. 'All I said was that she looks older with all that makeup. Why'd she have to freak out like that?'
Meanwhile, having made it outside, Nia still sobbed into her hands, not caring if she were getting strange looks from everyone around her.
I tried so hard! I was in there for three hours trying to look as attractive as possible and what does he do?! Insult me! Why do I bother to try and look nice when not a single guy ever looks my way?! I'm human too! I wanna date also and get married! I wanted his affections! I wanted him to hold me!
Eventually, finding an empty bench table away from everyone, Nia sat there with her head down on it, continuing to cry in absolute frustration.
IS THAT SO HARD TO JUST ASK FOR?! HIS OBLIVIOUSNESS PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH! I CAN'T STAND HIM SOMETIMES! UGH!
It was dark outside and she had secluded herself from everyone else. Except... there was one man watching her from behind a tree.
'Should... I have... just left with Akihiko?' She found herself questioning her decision to head to the Leaf. 'He was attracted to me and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say and what I thought about things; He was very kind to me too and... it wasn't like I wasn't attracted to him either. With Naruto... he's just... so not into me. No matter how hard I try, it's like he doesn't find me attractive like Akihiko does... I feel like... I be wasting my time trying to get his attention. I can't force him to like looking at me and I don't want to. I want him to naturally find me attractive, but he just doesn't...'
Lifting her head up, Nia then placed her elbows on the table and rested her cheeks on her palms, her tears still streaming down her face.
Why should I stay with someone who doesn't feel a connection with me nor whom I can't form chemistry with? I've tried to clean up my attitude with him, my appearance, my skills, and just whatever I could but he still doesn't notice me. With Akihiko, it's so effortless, I don't have to try so hard to get his attention cause he's already fascinated by me for some odd reason. But still...
The girl sighed.
Even though I think Akihiko is a hot ten appearance wise... Naruto's the one who's just got it in general. His personality shines! I don't care if Akihiko's hotter and rich as hell, I want Naruto — he's perfect even if he is irritating, broke, and hard to understand sometimes, but he doesn't want me so why would I not just go for the guy who does? It only makes sense. Besides, this friendzone life ain't cutting it for me... I tried and it's getting to be a bit too difficult to keep being just friends with him when I kinda... no, when I definitely want to go on a date with him and see how things go.
It's gotten so bad, I can't even focus when he's trying to help me with ninjutsu! All I do is keep staring at him when he's instructing me and imagining him telling me he likes me then going on dates with him! I had to keep asking him to repeat himself cause I kept zoning out from thinking about him and admiring those kind-hearted eyes of his! The slightest touch made electricity go through my body and if he dared even got close to me, I started shaking as if I was about to have a seizure! I had to run to a garbage can once to throw up cause I got so nervous when he touched my lower back just a couple days ago then had to act like I threw up cause I was a 800-pound whale doing exercise for the first time in my life! Ugh, it was so embarrassing!
Then I kept stumbling on my words, losing train of thought, kept messing up on combos, had wobbly legs, sweated bullets whenever he wanted to see my progress, and if that wasn't already bad enough, EVEN HE asked me what the hell was wrong with me and that I was creeping him out!
Nia wanted to pull her hair out.
UGH, I'M HELPLESS! I was trying to impress him the whole time, but I just kept flopping. I can't focus on crap when someone as kind and handsome as him is by me. Heck, he doesn't even have to be handsome, I'd still get nervous cause his personality is so attractive! I felt like I couldn't breathe at some points when he started smiling or laughing at my dumbass being clumsy and ridiculous cause he was so breath-taking! He could've put me in cardiac arrest and I had to pretend like I wasn't over there about to pass out and die!
Nia took a deep breath to calm herself.
Ya... there's no way I can handle being in the friendzone forever. This needs to stop NOW!
"I just think pretty girls deserve everything, ya know!'
Words the genin once told her replayed in her mind again and again and again, making Nia pout and lower her eyes.
The more she thought of him, the more stupid she felt. How could she ever believe he'd ever notice her anyway? It wasn't like he was blind — he was only into pretty faces just like every other guy. The same generic pretty face every person agreed on as always. The chicks straight out of the magazines that she couldn't hope to look like.
Yeah... she should just leave him and go be with the guy that thought she was pretty the moment he first laid eyes on her, but then again... it wasn't like the blonde ever called her ugly or anything either.
Nia shook her head.
No, she didn't need him to say it, his actions did the talking itself — He wasn't into her, period.
Despite this, she still felt down. She didn't wanna truly leave him. He was still a very good person and overall extremely kind to her. Friendship meant a lot to him and she knew that, so for her to just suddenly leave without a word would... be absolutely unforgivable. Maybe... just being friends would be just fine? Maybe... she really was just overreacting? Maybe... she could handle him not returning her feelings and still talk to him normally? She cared about him... he was fun, so why not?
'T-There's so many things not to like about him anyway!' She tried to get herself to get over him. 'He's dense, extremely loud, talks too much, has an inflated ego, stubborn, hard-headed, feisty, immature, rude, can be extremely insensitive, impulsive, reckless, quick to start a fight, clueless, irresponsible, and seems extremely shallow! All he talks about is how pretty Sakura is...'
His image then popped into her mind, making her heart yearn to see him smile at her again or say something loving to her. All she wanted was for him to think she was attractive and return her feelings.
"Oh, who am I kidding..." Nia lowered her forehead to the table. "Get over it, Nia... He doesn't want you — He's too good for you. Be with Akihiko — He's too good for you too, but at least he likes you..."
"Curly Brow, there you are!" She then turned her head to see her crush approaching her.
"No," She didn't wanna be bothered and attempted to push away from Naruto's arms when he tried to hold her after sitting down.
"Curly Brow, I love you! Don't push me away from you. Be in my arms!" He struggled to keep ahold of her. "And look at you! You're crying! Let me hold you, ya know."
"N-No! You said I looked old," The girl sobbed.
"You may look older, but you also look..."
"Look what? Too ugly for you?"
"You look... incredibly..."
"Incredibly what? Spit it out, Uzumaki!" Nia demanded.
Naruto only responded by caressing her thigh, making Nia momentarily stop crying and instead made her face burn.
"N-Naruto..." She felt herself getting shy.
"Curly Brow, let's go sit under that tree over there and talk," He suggested, before wiping the girl's tears away with his thumbs.
"It won't do anything..." The girl was hesitant.
"Please, Curly Brow... Let's talk," He then held onto her hand and squeezed it, making Nia's heart thump.
"Well, okay then," She agreed to it and stood off the bench, heading toward a tree and sitting down under it.
However, before she could properly do so, Naruto grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him, separating her legs as he did so that she was sitting on his groin with her legs wrapped around his waist and and so they were eye to eye with one another.
"KYA!" Steam poured out of Nia's reddened face as she realized the position she was in.
She tried to pull away but Naruto's grip on her kept her in place.
"N-Naruto, what're you doing? Look how I'm positioned!"
"Keep in place just like this! It's amazing!"
"B-But why?"
"Because..." Naruto began to kiss on her cheek before giving kisses to her neck.
"S-Seriously, Naruto..." She shyly pressed her hands on his shoulders.
"I love you, Curly Brow... I really do," Naruto continued to shower kisses down her neck.
Nia grew warm all over. Her neck was so sensitive to his lips and she bit her bottom lip.
"N-Naruto, that feels... that feels good."
"Pervy Sage always told me women melt when you kiss and give affection to her neck," The blond then licked all the way up the left side of her neck.
Nia shivered upon the feeling of his tongue. It felt so good to her that she wanted him to keep at it.
Naruto's hands roamed the kunoichi's back, especially the lower part of it. By now, Naruto was sucking on her neck and Nia's eyes rolled up.
Hah yes~ It feels good~ It feels really good~
"Hah man, Curly Brow. These outfits you've been wearing lately are just too sexy, I admit it," Naruto grinned pervertedly as he stared at the girl's deep cleavage.
Nia's eyes shot open and she gawked at him in disbelief.
"Y-You think I look sexy?!"
"You look hot. I can't stop staring at your breasts." Naruto blurted. "Look how much it's showing. It's amazing, ya know."
He then lifted her dress and planted his hands on her bottom, much to Nia's embarrassment.
"Damn, another thong?!" He was shocked, though pleased. "Sweet Curly Brow, why do you keep wearing those?"
"Well honestly, I like being prepared for when you feel like touching me so I try to wear it all the time unless I'm sleeping."
"That's so hot, but you should probably stop doing that. I'm sure they're not comfortable when you gotta train or fight."
"It's okay... As long as it captures your attention."
"MWAH!" Naruto gave a big kiss to her cheek as Nia melted in his arms. "Curly Brow, I'm so sorry about earlier. I hope you can forgive me. You look really incredible right now, ya know."
"Oh Naruto!" Nia was just happy to know that he was attracted to her in her outfit and makeup.
"But Curly Brow..." The tone he said that in worried her.
She looked at him.
"You know... you don't need all that makeup to be beautiful. I think you're incredible even without all the makeup and fancy clothing," He told her.
Immediately, Nia's heart squeezed and her face was as red as a tomato.
That's when Naruto ran his finger down her cheek and grinned a beautiful grin.
"I like you... just the way you are, ya know?"
Butterflies roamed in Nia's stomach and her lips curved upwards.
"OH NARUTO!" She wrapped her arms around him and started to cry. "Thank you... Thank you so much. I love you just the way you are too! I love you more than anything else in this world!"
And just like that, the two felt loved and accepted by one another. Happy... in one another's embrace.
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A/N - FINALLY I'm done! That took way too long but I tried my best to write this for Naruto's birthday lol. I really hope you guys enjoyed! Please remember to comment and vote and have a great rest of your day ❤️
QOTD:
1. Fave Part?
2. Fave Line?
3. What year do you think Naruto was born?