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3: Reasons

The road they were walking on was one that could easily be termed as desolate from the world and its inhabitants. Aside from the magnificent green trees, small colorful birds, and the raging stream flowing beside the gravel path, nothing else could be seen on it. No matter how far their eyes wandered around, they couldn't see any sign of human life. It was like they were in an entirely different world right now, which was strange because they have yet to enter the deep jungle of Miyagi.

At first, they had thought it was transient, and eventually, they would see some humans residing beside the river but unfortunately, they were proven wrong when they found no one there. Confused and a little concerned, they then ventured to encounter some residents around but discovered that the place had already been abandoned a few years ago by them. Left with nothing to do, they lastly decided to continue their journey to Obanazawa with whatever they had with them.

'Obanazawa.'

Naruto looked over to his companion and began to contemplate a thought that had been troubling him for a few hours now. 'What's so special about Obanazawa?' His mind still couldn't understand why his companion was so excited to visit that town. As far as he had observed her, Rias seemed to be an introverted person, one who didn't like to visit places filled with people and their gibberish. So when she asked him to visit this town with her, he was mildly surprised.

"I still don't understand why we are visiting that town, Rias?" Finally, after ruminating over it for a while, he decided to give up and ask the girl herself. After all, only she could tell him why she wanted to visit that town.

"Because it's beautiful, and I'm sure you'll like it, Naruto." Rias' crimson hair fluttered gently in the wind as she turned around to face her companion, who was still confused about her plan. A small smile slithered its way to her lips as soon as she saw the confused look on his face. It was amusing, she noted but didn't voice her opinion out in fear of getting scolded by the boy, something that had become a common occurrence ever since they had left that town.

That wasn't a proper answer, not even by a long margin, but Naruto didn't argue against it just for the sake of the smile that was illuminating Rias' face at that moment. It was rare, and he didn't want to ruin it with his stupid arguments. "I see." He whispered, trying his best to sound as normal as possible for her and would have succeeded in it too had he not noticed something odd on Rias's face.

"Do you need water?" Concern sneaked itself into his voice as Naruto stared at Rias' sweat-covered face.

Hearing his question, Rias paused her hike and looked at her partner, confused as to why he would ask her that question. 'Am I looking tired already?' She blinked and gently ran a hand over her face, only to cringe when she felt an ample amount of sweat napping there. Embarrassed, she swung her head down and declined his offer. "No." She whispered under her breath.

"Really?" Rias heard him say, but this time she could notice the surprise in his voice. "You are sweating profusely, Rias. You need to drink something otherwise you will end up being dehydrated." Naruto reached out to his backpack, which she had bought him recently, and pulled out a bottle filled with crystal clear water. "Here," He threw it towards her, hoping that she would catch it but unfortunately for him, Rias wasn't paying attention to the bottle and so, it ended up falling harshly to the ground.

'Thud!'

The sound of the bottle hitting the ground brought Rias out of her stupor and in a blink of an eye she was on her way to pick it up from the ground, a little embarrassed by the fact that she was not paying attention to her surroundings. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to you-"

Naruto waved her worries away as he flung his hands in an uncaring manner, indicating that he was neither irritated nor furious at her. "It's ok, Rias."

Rias nodded and finally returned to her position while holding the bottle in her right palm. It was cold, she noticed as her eyes saw the drops of water flowing down the plastic surface of the bottle. "When did you buy it?" She asked him because as far as she could remember, they had not stopped at any departmental store in the past twenty or something hours. So when exactly did her partner buy this bottle that was still as cold as if it was bought fresh? Her bluish-green eyes wandered over to him and narrowed down when they saw him looking a little lost in his thoughts. "Naruto…" She called him and scowled when he still didn't look at her. 'Is he getting annoyed by my questions?' She panicked, fearing that she might end up being abandoned because of her stupidity.

Just as she was about to drop the subject, her partner opened his mouth. "I bought them from that shop which was located near the place where-" Naruto paused and looked away, making her even more nervous.

"A place where?" She tooted him to continue.

Seeing that she was not going to leave the subject, a defeated sigh left Naruto's mouth. "Where you were pee-"

Every sane thought left her mind as she immediately realized just what he was about to speak. "I remember it now." She politely stopped him and was more than satisfied when the boy closed his mouth. Also, to prevent any further conversation about the sensitive subject, she deliberately opened the lid of the water bottle and began to savor the fluid as if her life depended on it. Well, it did depend on it in a way but at that moment, it was only used by her as a defense to avert any possible chat with the boy.

Naruto, who was watching her from the far, couldn't help but sigh at her antics. Ever since that day when he had seen her crying, Rias had been acting a little bit more relaxed and delighted around him. At first, it wasn't a problem because she had every right to whatever she wanted but soon, when she started to dwell closer to him than needed, things began to take a different turn.

Only two days have passed since that accident and she was already behaving like she was his friend, which she clearly wasn't. For him, she was just a stranger, someone who would leave his side as soon as they enter Fukuoka and that's how he wanted it to be. He didn't want to make friends now, he had no need for them and that's why her constant smiling and sauntering was making him upset. Also, the fact that most of the time they were fake only fueled his irritation because her fake smiles and excitement reminded him of a certain someone.

A boy, clad in nothing but a horrendous orange jumpsuit and a stupid fake smile, running from roof to roof, place to place, and people to people, just to find someone who could appreciate his presence and turn his fake smile into a genuine one.

She reminded him of himself, Uzumaki Naruto.

"Naruto."

Naruto's moist eyes widened a little as they saw her smile at him, but as usual, it was fake. His heart sank even deeper when she began to stretch her body with that fake enthusiasm of hers, acting like she was trying to educate her body about the rough surroundings. "Yes?" Still, he made no effort to stop her because, in the end, everything was going to be useless.

Oblivious to everything that was going inside her partner's mind, Rias gave the last stretch to her body and began to walk on the pebble filled path but not before seizing a quick peek at Naruto. He had been acting a little different since yesterday. 'Is it because of what happened the day before yesterday?' Nah, she didn't think so but still, a small part of her couldn't help but think it was the case. So to calm herself, she finally decided to speak about it. "Are you still uncomfortable with what occurred that night, Naruto? If so, then let me assure you that I was not crying because of you. It wasn't your mistake." Rias whispered and was about to smile at him but couldn't when she saw flickers of irritation lingering on his face. Taken aback by his emotions, she closed her mouth and meekly turned her head straight.

"I'm not uncomfortable, Rias," His words struck her heart in an odd way this time because she could no longer feel a sense of neutrality in them. Now, they sounded like they were intended to hurt her. "I'm just…" His words vanished into thin air as he turned his gaze away from her, considering it useless to even speak to her at that moment.

Silence flooded their path and began to consume everything but before it could devour them too, Rias looked above her shoulder and smiled at him. "Irritated by me?" She asked him and immediately got the answer when the boy refused to glance at her. "I see…" Her voice receded to a silent whisper, a noise so less that even the sound of insects around them began to overwhelm it.

'Chirp.'

Naruto blinked when the melodious sound of crickets chirping entered his ear, melting like warm honey inside him. It was surreal and exhilarating.

'Squeak!'

His feet slowed down when the cicadas merged their calls into the hymn of nature.

'Chirp.'

Blue eyes vanished behind the eyelids as Naruto lost himself in the melody and began to reminisce about his home, a place that he had left behind accidentally, a place where he wanted to be more than anywhere right now. He wanted to feel that bright sunlight again, wanted to breathe that fresh air again, and most importantly, wanted to feel at home again.

'Squeak!'

His heart fluttered in pain and blue eyes glistened with tears when uncountable memories of him wandering around in that village plagued his fitful mind.

'Chirp.'

This melodious song of nature was hitting him right in the heart and he couldn't help but feel sad. The last time he had heard this song was when he was traveling with Ero-sennin and since then he had only dreamed of hearing it again.

'Squeak!'

His eyes twitched a little when the hymn began to sound unnatural to his ears.

'Chirp!'

He clenched his hand when the sound began to turn bizarre. 'What's happening?' He thought with a panicked face. 'How did this hymn become so unnatural suddenly?' He looked around himself to find the answer but got none.

'Squeak!'

"Stop…" It was unbearable now.

'Chirp!'

"Stop!" He found himself lost in that bizarre hymn with nowhere to go.

'Squeak!'

Naruto covered his ears and fell down to the ground, hitting himself with those sharp pebbles lying there. "Stop!" His voice immediately overpowered the tormenting vocals of the insect and in a matter of seconds, the sound vanished from the air like it never existed there.

"Naruto!"

His despair filled eyes opened a little and softened when they saw Rias running towards him. Her face was covered in panic and her eyes… 'Her eyes!' He gasped when he saw nothing but care and concern in them. Were they for him? He couldn't tell at that moment but just a glimpse of those eyes was enough to calm him down. They made him feel like someone was there for him, even if that certain someone was just using him to travel to her desired destination. "I'm fine-"

Her eyes met his eyes and silenced him instantly. "Are you ok?" She asked him as she crouched beside him.

Now back to a satisfactory position, Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm fine." He told her, trying to look as normal as he could.

Rias saw the shivering of his hand and scowled. "Do you need water?" She whispered and pointed to the bottle hanging beside her backpack. It was the same bottle he had given to her earlier about which she had questioned him foolishly but this time, Rias was glad he had bought it somewhere during the trip.

"Sure."

A smile appeared on her lips, a genuine one this time. "Here…" She unrolled the lid and positioned the mouth of the bottle on his lips.

"Umm…"

Rias immediately realized what he was indicating and was about to hand over the bottle to him but to her surprise, before she could even do that, Naruto began to devour the water from it. For the next few seconds, Rias just stayed like that, still and smiling, letting the boy drink as much water as he wanted. She was fine being like that if it meant she could help him.

As he was gulping down the water, Naruto's eyes accidentally caught a glimpse of the smile on her face and for a second his throat went dry, even after it was being drizzled with the liquid constantly. 'It's genuine…' He thought to himself as a strange emotion began to swirl within his mind. The more he looked at it, the more comfortable he felt. It was contagious, just like his own smile.

Soon, a sense of remorse began to settle down inside him as he realized how cold he had been to her for the past few days. While she was trying her best to make the trip entertaining, he was doing nothing but hurting her by shunning her efforts. Now that he thought about it, Rias was just like those crickets and cicadas.

When he had first met her, although she appeared to be weird, she still seemed pretty interesting and fascinating, just like the melody of those insects but as time went on and days passed away, she began to become irritating, just like how that song started to sound unbearable.

At first, he had thought that the problem was with the Rias but now when he dove deep into the subject, he understood that the problem was with no one but him.

After surviving those tragic events of his past, he had stopped celebrating small aspects of life. Things that used to make him immensely happy in the past now no longer made him smile or even crack a grin. It was like he was already dead before dying.

'But it isn't wrong-'

"Naruto."

He gasped when her voice reached his ears and hauled him back to reality. After inhaling a much-needed breath he looked at her and immediately scowled when he saw her still smiling at him. What was wrong with this girl? "Why are you-" He sighed, irritation palpable on his face when she interrupted him for the thousandth time that day but his irritation soon turned into surprise as she placed a hand over his mouth and wiped out the remains of water from there.

"You spaced out again," Rias whispered, looking a little cautious about what she was speaking this time, something that made Naruto even sadder. It was because of him why she was being so hesitant as she didn't want to irritate him further with her words. "And you were looking like a dead-" Her hesitation motioned Naruto to speak out.

"Dead body?" He whispered, appearing completely calm when she looked at him in surprise.

"Y-yes." Rias nodded her head.

"Well, I'll be one very soon, so what difference does that make?" He joked or at least tried to but realized that he failed miserably when the girl stood up from her position and began to walk away, leaving the water bottle in his hand. "Rias." He whispered her name but neither did she turn around nor did she respond. It was like she became angry out of nowhere. 'Maybe she doesn't like jokes about death.' He thought with a sad frown on his face. He shouldn't have made that stupid joke.

"Are you going to sit there all day long?"

Naruto didn't need to be told twice. In a blink of an eye, he stood up from the ground and began to follow her.

-oOo-

Rias was miserable as they walked through the dark and uneven path of the forest. They had been traveling the path for the past hour, yet all she could think about was what Naruto said just before they started walking.

Truth be told, the past few days that she had spent with him were one of the best days of her life. Why? Because with him, she didn't need to act and be all prim and proper like a noble lady. For him, she was a normal girl and that was all that mattered to him. Unlike other people who she had met in her life, he neither asked her about where she came from nor did he question anything about who she was. He just let her tag along, despite knowing nothing about her, and it was with him that she could forget about everything and just be herself.

However, her mind just couldn't stop replaying that single sentence.

"Well, I'll be one very soon, so what difference does that make?"

Although Naruto had tried to pass it off as a joke; Rias knew better. Once they reach their final destination, she knew that Naruto's journey would end forever.

Over the past few days, she had started to forget about the circumstances that she was in. She would even be so bold to say that she had started to feel more comfortable around him and even considered him as a friend. Despite the unusual circumstances regarding their first meeting, he had really started to grow on her. The way that he didn't treat her with any awe or pity really made her feel at ease. It had always been one of her dreams to be treated normally by people, and this boy beside her had done all that she wanted in a mere few days.

'But that won't last long.'

In the end, Rias would still be alone and likely die alone in this world. The only bit of light she had found in this world after so long would leave far before she would be found by those bastards of the underworld.

She didn't like it at all.

She didn't want to see the only person she considered as a friend to die.

Rias didn't know it, but that was the true reason as to why she had wanted to go along with Naruto. The fact that he had chosen to rob her instead of any other easier target made her feel special in a twisted sort of way.

She knew that the neighborhood she was in was a very wealthy one, and she knew for a fact that many of the houses in the area had no security at all. From a single glance at him, she could tell that he was fairly experienced in fighting from the way he held himself. From that, she could easily deduce that he was a veteran robber, and no experienced robber would go after a person who clearly had a guard with them, not when there were so many easier targets with guaranteed payoffs.

The fact that he stood beside her even though she was basically a stranger to him only affirmed her belief that she meant something to him. There was no human robber out there who would stay beside someone who had the interest of the Yakuza. Robbers were first and foremost, people who cared for themselves over anything. That single action massively increased her levels of trust for the man who was walking beside her.

Her goals had now changed. She would no longer wait to be found and taken back to the underworld, she was now determined to make sure that Naruto would not die alone. It was the least she could do for someone who willingly took a stranger like her alongside them, and didn't abandon her even when they were threatened by the Yakuza.

With those gray thoughts in her mind, Rias resumed her walk.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally found what they were looking for. A naturally carved and abandoned road that could be used to reach their primary destination Obanazawa, a place she wanted to visit quite badly because of its natural beauty.

"Rias."

The red haired girl turned her head a little and glanced at her partner. "Yes?" She grumbled, eyes still fixed on the road in front, appreciating its charm. It was a beautiful road, decorated with plants on one side and a river on the other. From the look of it, the river didn't seem to be that deep and was flowing rather gently compared to what they had seen in the past few days.

"Do you need water?"

For the second time on that day, Rias found herself at a loss for words as her partner began to search for the water bottle in his bag. 'Am I sweating again?' She immediately placed a hand on her forehead and sighed in exasperation when beads of sweat tainted her fingers with their moisture. "I-I," She tried to form some sort of response to his question but failed miserably. 'Great, just great! Now he's going to think that I'm one of those rich brats who can't even walk a few kilometers without sweating.' Seriously, why was she sweating so much? She mentally screamed at herself.

Naruto, who was watching her from the sides, was ready to throw the water bottle at her but stopped when he noticed signs of stress and annoyance on her beautiful face. "Are you ok, Rias?" Was the first thing that immediately left his mouth, indicating that he was worried about her health.

"Yes, I'm fine." She grumbled, still irritated by the fact that she couldn't do anything about the sweat. It was making her mad now.

Naruto shook his head, denying her false claims of assurance. She was not fine, he could see that. Her body was drenched in sweat and seemed like it would give up at any given moment. "You are not looking fine to me, Rias." He argued back.

"Really?"

He nodded his head. "Of course, Rias. You are losing a lot of water through sweating and I'm worried that you might end up fainting during the walk." He explained, unaware of what he had just spoken to the girl.

Rias would have argued back but halted her tongue when she realized just what he had spoken to her. "Worried about me?" She whispered, surprised by the fact that he would say something like that to her. He was worried about her, but why? "Why are you worried about me?" Her bluish-green eyes looked at him for an answer.

"Ehh…" The boy closed his mouth and began to look around himself, trying to find something interesting to divert his attention from her.

"Naruto?"

He cursed inwardly when she called out his name again. "Y-yes?" His eyes sauntered to her face and twinkled in discomfort when they saw how hopefully she was looking at him for an answer. 'Damn it!' He cursed his motor mouth for speaking something so stupid for no reason. There was no need for him to say that. "I-I…" his lips quivered in anxiety when she smiled at him slightly. "Where are we going anyway?" In the end, he didn't have the courage to hurt her again so he did what anyone at his place would have done. He changed the subject.

Just like that, the smile disappeared from her lips. "Obanazawa."

"I see."

With that said, both of them resumed their journey to the town of Obanazawa, neither of them daring to break the silence that had fallen upon them after that conversation.

-oOo-

"It's amazing how places like these have still managed to remain safe from us Humans." Rias whispered to herself, taking another jump across the small stream of water.

"Hmm…" Naruto hummed from behind, watching her every step carefully.

Rias smiled a little when she reached the other side of the stream and immediately turned around to see where her partner was. "You said you were hungry right?" She asked him.

"Yes," Naruto murmured as he soon joined her on the other side, a little surprised by the fact that she still remembered his words from hours before.

"Well, according to this map there must be a small restaurant located somewhere around here. So if you want we can stop there and have our lunch."

"Sure." Naruto wasted no time in answering and began to follow her when she started to walk in a random direction with the map flailing wildly in her hands.

After a minute more of walking and wandering around, they found what they were looking for.

Hidden between two huge trees was a small cottage that had 'Food.' inscribed on a wooden board hanging on the top of it.

As they saw the different paintings of delicious foods hanging around the cottage their feet began to move on their own and before their mind could even register what was happening, they found themselves in front of the entrance of the shop.

Looking at each other for one last time, both of them gently flicked the soft flaps of the door and entered the shop.

"Welcome to my small food corner, children!" A grumpy sounding voice echoed throughout the small cottage, startling both of them as they sat down on the empty seats located beside the table. Overcoming their shock, they lifted their heads and saw that the owner of the shop was a fairly old man, wrapped in familiar kitchen apparel.

"What can I serve you today?" The man asked them, sounding as excited as he was before.

Naruto was the first to answer. "Miso Ramen." He murmured, eyeing the picture of ramen on the menu as if it was the most precious thing in the world at that moment.

Rias followed him shortly. "Miso Ramen." She smiled at the old man, ignoring the look that Naruto was giving her. She knew what he was thinking but she didn't care because ramen was one of her favorite foods too.

The owner of the shop returned her smile with one of his own. "Okay, Miso ramen it is."

"He is an interesting man" Naruto couldn't help but notice the happiness that was practically oozing out of the man's face.

Rias agreed with her partner. The old man seemed quite happy for a man his age. "Yeah." She murmured, her eyes fixed on the man who was preparing their food with a contagious smile on his face.

"Why? Why is he so happy? From the looks of it, he seems lonely here, yet he is so happy?"

To say Rias was taken aback by Naruto's question would be an understatement because her partner usually doesn't talk that much to her, especially about themes associated with happiness and loneliness. "Because-" She tried to answer his question but found herself incapable of doing so. She didn't know the old man enough to answer her partner's question and even if she knew, she herself was very unfamiliar with the concept of happiness. It was something that had left her side a long time ago.

"Because?" Naruto looked at her and sighed when he saw her lost in her own thoughts.

"Because-"

"Because I appreciate everything that happens in my life." Both the teen gasped when the old man himself decided to intervene in the conversation and answer Naruto's question.

"Appreciate?" Naruto growled at the old owner, startling Rias who was sitting beside him. What did he mean by appreciating everything? How could he appreciate what fate had done to him? 'Bullshit. This man knows nothing.' He calmed down, knowing that his anger would get him nowhere.

The man didn't even flinch at Naruto's small outburst. "Yes." His weary eyes regarded Naruto with the utmost affection they could muster. "You may not agree with me right now, boy but I'm sure you'll remember my words in the future when everything turns out how you want it to be."

Naruto again scoffed at the man's words, finding no sense in them whatsoever. "Future…" He mumbled, oblivious to the fact that Rias was staring at him and was looking very concerned for some reason. "I don't have any future, old man."

"Huh?" The man stopped whatever he was doing.

"I said I don't have any future here, old man. This world is not for me and it won't be long before I'll vanish from here forever."

A suffocating silence enveloped the cottage within its potent grasp.

'Thud.'

Naruto almost fell from his chair when Rias abruptly threw her chopsticks at the ground and left the cabin, "Rias!" He tried to stop her but the girl ignored his calls and kept walking away. 'The hell is wrong with her?' He thought to himself as he began to pick up their bags.

"I think you have made her upset, boy."

Naruto paused whatever he was doing for a second and glanced at the old man. "I know, I'm not blind." He whispered as he tugged the bags on his shoulders, groaning when the burden of the luggage finally settled on them.

Leaving his utensils behind, the old owner of the shop walked over to his counters and smiled at the boy. Unlike his previous smiles, this smile was filled with nothing but sadness. "She was crying, you know." The sad smile on his face deepened when he heard the boy gasp at his words.

"C-crying?"

"Yes." The man answered. "Is she your girlfriend?"

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but shook his head to deny the case. He didn't know why he even hesitated about it. 'Maybe because Rias was crying for me.' He shook his head to clear his thoughts. A girl like Rias would never cry for a person like him. "Maybe… Goddamnit." He cursed under his breath as he nudged his chair back and strode towards the door, following after Rias.

-Outside the Shop-

"Rias? Rias?!"

Naruto called out desperately as his eyes wandered around the establishment to trace clues leading to his silly companion. 'Where is she?' Even with his experienced eyes, he couldn't see her anywhere, which surprised him a little as it should not be that hard to find someone in this small clearing. But then again, without his friend Kurama, his senses had become a little dull. He was the guy who used to take care of them but that war took him away from him too. 'But it's not about Kurama anymore. Right now, I should be thinking about Rias.' Lost in the ocean of concern, Naruto didn't even notice that he was actually starting to feel something other than apathy and sadness for the first time since entering this world.

"Damn it!" Realizing that she was all alone in the jungle and he wouldn't be able to find her in his current state, Naruto tapped into his chakra and gently closed his eyes.

Soon everything became bright and vivid as a beautiful shade of orange color surrounded his eyes, giving them a surreal look. 'There!' He shouted in his mind as his eyes picked up the unique energy of Rias.

Now that he knew her location, Naruto wasted no time and began to sprint as fast as possible towards the back of the shop where she was sitting alone. "Rias!" He called as he reached his destination.

'Rias…'

His eyes softened a little as they saw her sitting silently on a fallen log while her beautiful hair covered her face from the eyes of the world. After staring at her for a few more seconds, he saw that her body was shaking and it didn't take him more than a second to comprehend that she had been in this state for quite some time. '...' He didn't know what to say as he was feeling terrible because he knew he was the reason behind her current state.

Sighing, he sat down beside her.

"Rias. I'm-"

Naruto didn't get to finish his apology as he was cut short by Rias.

"Can you stop talking about your death so much? I really don't like it."

As soon as she finished her words, Naruto felt irritation rise within him again but this time, it was directed towards himself. If only he had been considerate of her feelings and not made those stupid jokes then maybe he would have never been involved in this situation. "I'm sorry about those jokes, Rias. I'll make sure to not do that again in the future." He apologized but not before adding his own thoughts about the whole situation. "Also, you should stop taking my words seriously, Rias. I'm a stranger to you, one who will never meet you again after this short trip."

As Naruto finished voicing his thoughts, Rias sat up straight, brushed her hair aside, and looked directly into his eyes. "I can't." Her answer was short and simple but not satisfying according to Naruto.

"Why?"

"Because you are not the only one who wants to die, Naruto. I have tried doing it way more times than you but couldn't finish because I'm a coward who can't even take her own life."

"..."

"And I thought I'll remain like that forever but then I met you. You wanted to die just like me and I thought by tagging along with you, I might be able to muster up the courage to do it too." Silence filled the clearing as Rias finished describing her reason for wanting to follow Naruto. "I-I…" Her eyes went wide as she realized what she said in the heat of the moment and her face immediately turned forlorn as she retreated into herself.

Naruto, who was sitting beside her, was faring likewise, speechless at the revelation. 'She has the same goal as I do?' He knew from the moment they met on that mountain, she was almost as broken as he was but to the same extent of wanting to die as well? That was something he did not see coming.

Confused and stunned, he was about to ask her why, but Rias sensed what he was about to do and stopped him by raising her hand in a plea.

"Just… Please don't ask. I don't want to talk about it."

Naruto heeded her request and stayed silent. Now that he knew that Rias was just as suicidal as he was, he thought back to when they had first met and came to some very uncomfortable conclusions. 'Her husband isn't a nice person.' In his old world, he had seen numerous occasions of people almost in the exact same circumstances as she was.

Her wedding ring, her expensive clothes were likely just there for show and her groom, he probably didn't care a single bit about her wellbeing because If he did, she would not be sitting here beside him right now. The more he thought about it, the more he began to feel sorry for her, especially for the cold treatment he had given her today.

Before his thoughts could take any darker turn, Rias' peaceful voice sliced into his thoughts.

"Can you act normally until our trip is finished?" Rias whimpered as she tearfully looked into Naruto's eyes again. "Please Naruto… It's my last wish to at least be happy before I-"

Rias didn't get to finish her sentence as Naruto placed a firm hand on her shoulder and began to speak, something that she wasn't able to hear because she was too lost in his eyes at that moment. They were looking a lot more beautiful than earlier, especially with the orange streaks that were surrounding them. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" She mumbled as her eyes looked away from those mesmerizing orbs.

Naruto blinked at her. "You didn't hear me just now?" He asked her and felt the heat crawl out to his face when she swayed her head in declination. "Umm… I said…" He trailed off as his eyes began to shy away from her.

"Y-you said?"

Knowing that he needed to speak to her, he swallowed the embarrassment and looked back at her. "I said…" He paused for a breath. "I'll try my best to act normally from now on."

Rias felt her sadness dissipating as she heard Naruto's answer, but that loss of sadness was soon replaced by confusion when she saw Naruto squat down in front of her, his back towards her and his arms behind him as though carrying something.

"What… What are you doing?" Rias asked, no doubt surprised by the sudden change in his personality.

In response, Naruto just sulked further in embarrassment."What does it look like? I'm offering you a piggyback ride of course." He mumbled.

Rias felt her face turn red as she started stuttering out denials. 'This is too sudden!' One moment, they were all sad and the next, he was offering her a piggyback ride.

As if sensing her indecision, Naruto started talking again.

"Rias, you wanted your last moments to be happy right? Why not let this be your first? Besides, you look very tired, and I don't want you to walk anymore in that condition."

Rias' red face turned redder as she heard what Naruto said. Indeed, she was very tired and she was sweating quite a bit. Having someone to carry her around did sound nice, and it would be at least one happy memory.

Unseen to Naruto, her face formed a smile as she clambered onto his back.

"Alright…" Naruto whispered as he began to walk away from the cottage, completely oblivious to the fact that they forgot to have their lunch.

-END-