Sakura’s home-cooked meals were delicious, and her parents were also…
Little Naruto crouched in the bathtub, the lower half of his face submerged in the water, the steam reddening his skin.
He remembered how, when he entered the house, he had encountered Sakura’s parents. Their slightly startled expressions made him freeze in his tracks immediately.
Afraid of being kicked out.
But Sakura happened to be walking right behind him. When he stopped, blocking her way, she kicked him straight through the doorway. Naruto covered his head, howling, thinking he was about to crash into the wall.
Instead, a pair of warm, dry hands caught him and placed him on the sofa. It was Sakura’s father who had caught him.
Then Sakura’s mother exploded, “Sakura, how could you just kick someone like that? Are you okay, kid?”
Sakura drifted in like a wisp of a ghost, “Mom, I’m hungry.”
Mebuki immediately dashed into the kitchen, shouting, “If you get hungry, bring more snacks to school! You know your stomach is so small—if you eat too much, you can’t handle it, but if you eat too little, you get hungry again quickly.”
Naruto looked up at Sakura. So, Sakura couldn’t eat much? And she got hungry quickly?
No wonder she always carried a bunch of candies with her. When they went to eat ramen together, she always gave half of her noodles to him first.
Sakura ran to the kitchen door and yelled, “Mom, do we have any fish cakes?”
Mebuki was bustling around cooking. “Yes, do you want some?”
Sakura: “Yeah, add more. And more pork too. We’re growing.”
Mebuki’s cooking was fast-paced, and she couldn’t afford to be distracted, so she replied without thinking, “Okay, okay, go set the table.”
Sakura tossed her backpack and everything else by the sofa, then pulled the still somewhat nervous Naruto along to set the table and arrange the dishes. In that moment, Naruto’s last bit of unease vanished.
Meanwhile, Kizashi Haruno watched his precious daughter with some distress as she dragged the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox around. He had known for a long time that his daughter was hanging out with this kid.
He had once told her not to play with him, but Sakura punched a hole in the floor, her face darkening as she said, “Dad, if you interfere with my freedom to make friends today, will you interfere with my freedom to choose a boyfriend tomorrow? And the day after that, will you interfere with my life decisions? And the day after that, will you crawl out of your grave to tell me the pattern on my coffin isn’t good enough? How could you be such a bad father—restricting your child’s freedom, forcing them to obey, and making them lose their way in life?”
Mebuki exploded, pounding Kizashi’s head repeatedly. “Let her make friends! Do you want to spend the rest of your life paying off repair loans? Husband!”
Sakura’s parents had long been stripped of any bottom line by Sakura, especially since she had actually wrecked their house before.
Thinking about the repair costs that would follow if he didn’t let his daughter make friends freely, Kizashi suddenly found the demon fox rather pleasant-looking. He immediately flashed a bright smile at Naruto.
Naruto was arranging the dishes when he saw that smile. His heart raced, and he glanced at Sakura, only to find her already carrying a steaming pot of soup out of the kitchen.
“Naruto, move aside. You might get burned.”
Naruto fell silent for half a second before breaking into a radiant smile. “Okay, Sakura.”
Sakura’s home was so warm.
Naruto glanced around the bathroom. It was covered in pink cherry blossom patterns everywhere, even the little yellow duck floating on the water had a small pink cherry blossom design.
He couldn’t help but gurgle bubbles in the bathwater—Sakura’s bathroom was so cute too.
Naruto walked out of the bathroom drying his hair with a new towel and saw Sakura lying on the carpet, playing with a red string in her hands. Her soft, pale fingers moved so quickly that the string formed a new pattern every half second.
Naruto’s eyes were dazzled by her speed.
He walked over and sat beside Sakura, watching intently as she played with the string.
Sakura glanced at him, then set the red string aside. She tired quickly and simply rolled over, resting her head on Naruto’s lap.
Naruto felt her hair scattered all around him and couldn’t resist reaching out to touch it. It was still slightly damp, but mostly smooth and soft to the touch.
So nice to stroke.
Sakura lay there resting for a while until both their hair was completely dry. Struggling, she finally climbed onto the bed, tossing one pillow to the foot of the bed and another to the head. They were just children, and the bed was big enough for them to share.
He was a guest, so she let him have the head of the bed.
After arranging the pillows, Sakura pulled Naruto onto the bed, pressed him down, and tucked him in, earnestly warning him, “Don’t hog the blanket, okay? There’s only one, and if you take it all, I’ll catch a cold.”
When she was asleep, her Chakra wouldn’t automatically circulate to keep her warm, so her body temperature dropped significantly while sleeping compared to when she was awake.
Naruto immediately nodded nervously, “Okay, I won’t touch the blanket at all.”
Sakura pinched his tense cheek to help him relax, “Just don’t hog it. The blanket is big enough for both of us.”
She turned off the lights, leaving only a small bedside lamp glowing like a clear, bright star.
Naruto and Sakura Haruno lay at opposite ends of the bed. Perhaps due to overexertion that day, she felt her nerves were still a bit overexcited and was trying hard to calm down, maintaining her normal routine as much as possible.
After all, a healthy foundation during childhood was crucial, and she aimed to grow up with balanced nutrition and good health.
Finally, drowsiness set in. In her half-asleep state, she faintly heard Naruto softly call her name.
“Sakura…”
“Hmm?”
“Why are you so nice to me?”
“Because… we’re friends,” she mumbled, turning over.
Truthfully, before she crossed over, she had been a fan of his. Later, she became a fan of Sakura Haruno, then of NaruSaku. After he got married and her favorite ship sank, she resented him and stopped being a fan.
But in the end, he was a 2D character she had once adored, so being kind to him came naturally.
Meeting and interacting with a 2D character she had once loved was truly an incredible and wonderful thing, wasn’t it?
After all, it was all part of her lost youth.
The reasons were actually quite simple, but the process was complicated—after all, she had crossed over. And since he ended up with Hinata, all she could say was, she had loved him once, but now they were just friends… sob.
Her NaruSaku ship…
If she could erect a tombstone, it would be engraved with the blood of Kishimoto, that old scoundrel, feasting on popularity. He wasn’t even as good as Togashi—at least chasing his work only tested your lifespan, but chasing Naruto to the end shortened the readers’ lives.
Recalling these sad memories, Sakura Haruno pouted and bit the blanket, but still fell asleep obediently following her body clock.
Much later, in the starlike glow, Naruto whispered softly, “Can I be your family, Sakura?”
Sakura was asleep and didn’t hear him.
Naruto knew, which was why he dared to say it secretly.
“Thank you, Sakura.”
I’m really lucky to have met you.
He quietly tucked most of the blanket over Sakura, then lay back down with a blissful smile, determined to protect her.
But when Naruto woke up in the morning, he had unconsciously rolled up the blanket in the middle of the night due to the cold and even kicked his foot onto Sakura Haruno’s face. As expected, he was kicked off the bed and also earned a solid knuckle thump on the head.
Naruto’s wish to protect Sakura still had a long and challenging road ahead.