Chapter-124

"Hey Toph! Why not come in?"

"…"

"The water is cool, and we can keep practicing so you can learn to swim." The group reached a small river for a break from the trip, enjoying a well-deserved swim.

Sokka played around with a clone of the shinobi, attempting to knock down a water-skiing Katara carried on Aang's shoulders. The boys were at a disadvantage against the waterbenders.

As for the original Naruto, he approached the shore where Toph was, barely wetting his feet.

Toph sensed another clone on the opposite side of the river, running on the water like a motor for water skiing, with a happy Yoru hugging a bark glider.

"I don't want to." She didn't feel comfortable in the water, or at least that was her excuse.

"Come on, don't be boring. You don't have to be afraid; we're all here, and we won't let you drown. I can even hold your hand to calm you. Remember my promise? I'll always be by your side."

Toph's face darkened, and she abruptly pulled her feet out of the water. "Forget you, Naruto."

Naruto didn't wait for her to leave, leaving him alone on the shore.

Before he could follow her, a soft hand touched his shoulder. "Stay; I'll talk to her."

The boy couldn't contradict the waterbender, who, with a soft smile, went after the blind bandit.

In the forest, Toph hit the ground, throwing disks of compacted earth against trees that split in half.

"The trees aren't to blame for your bad temper, Toph."

"I don't want to talk to anyone." She kept her back to Katara, who rolled her eyes.

"Are you really that jealous?"

The rock she was going to throw turned to dust, increasing in force, making Toph snort.

"I'm not jealous."

"Come on, Toph. Ever since that nice family joined, and that girl got Naruto's attention, you've been angrier than usual."

"Why should I care about what the little girl does?"

"Because he's your first friend." Katara knew she was right; Toph seemed to stiffen even more. "He's not just your first friend; he's your best friend. Watching them play and joke, seeing them have fun makes me jealous too. Naruto makes everything more fun and bright."

"…"

"You can't make him focus only on you. That's his way; he wants to see everyone happy. He does it with that mute girl. Have you noticed how happy he is? It's wonderful to see this in such difficult times."

"And?" Stubborn, Toph wouldn't admit that everything her friend said was true. "I just have to watch as he becomes her circus monkey to amuse her. It sounds stupid."

"Maybe, but that's how he is."

"I don't like it."

Sighing, Katara shook her head. Toph was challenging to deal with, even more so than the children she used to take care of at the South Pole.

"Well, what a pity. If you're going to act like this every time Naruto has a new friend, maybe you don't deserve his friendship. This is not something petty; it's shared to make everything easier and more fun."

"…"

"Just think about it, will you?"

"…"

"Okay, I'll leave you alone."

"Is she pretty?"

"Hey?" Katara didn't expect that question.

"That girl is prettier than me, right?" Toph continued to turn her back so her friend wouldn't notice the expression of doubt and worry she had.

"You're a beautiful girl too, Toph."

"I don't know. I could never see myself, I could never see anyone, but even without my sight, I know that in this world, beauty is everything. Friendships and progress, everything is in the appearance of people and the charisma they have. There are those of us who do not have either. Do not understand what it is like to feel different and strange in front of others."

"Toph, you're not sure about that."

"Don't be naive, Katara. Do you think that girl would look at Naruto the same way if he were someone who was very fat or too thin, was ugly, or had marks that made him look grotesque to others?"

"…"

"For me, it would be the same. Why wouldn't I care what he looks like? Why don't I have to see him to know that I like him, I like to laugh with him, I like to fight with him, I like everything about him. You don't understand. You're not ugly."

"Toph, you're not ugly."

"Don't patronize me! Look at my hands; they're as dry and scratchy as a boy's. My feet are dirty, I'm small, and my temper is shit. I know…" She felt her throat tighten and her nerves on edge. She had kept these feelings for a lifetime, and it was the first time she said it to another person. "Who would like to wake up every day and see this?!"

Katara frowned sadly, seeing how the girl raised the bangs that always covered her forehead and eyes, revealing those completely white and empty eyes.

"I would like."

Toph felt her heart almost jump out of her chest when she realized that the Uzumaki was just a few meters behind her.

"How much did you listen?" she asked, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Not much. I thought Katara would have everything under control, but I still wanted to come see if everything was okay. Although I didn't expect to come and hear you talk about your hands and feet."

"Does it bother you that I don't have princess hands?" she muttered under her breath, hiding her hands in her pockets.

"Not really," Naruto answered without hesitation, still smiling. He even took the time to look up at Toph. "It makes you look tougher, and I like tough girls, like you."

"..." The earthbender felt like the whole world was shaken. She didn't thank the spirits that she was turning her back on the ninja boy so that he couldn't see her face and the intense blush on her cheeks.

"Hey?" Katara didn't expect the boy to be so forward, or just unaware of what he was saying, perhaps the latter.

"Oh really?" Toph had found the floor very interesting, her head moving from side to side.

"Oh really?!" The waterbender didn't think she saw a shy Toph in her life, who moved her feet from side to side, feigning disinterest.

"Clear!" Apparently taking hints was not Naruto's strong suit, who, like every man or teenager, was slow to catch the signs that the talk was going out of the context he believed.

"You don't care about this?" she asked softly, stroking the strands of her hair over her forehead, revealing her white eyes to the Uzumaki, who looked into her eyes.

"I don't care about any of that," he shrugged nonchalantly. "They're my friends at the end of the day. If I cared about what they look like or are like, it would be stupid of me."

"Yes, it would be." Feeling calmer, Toph sighed. "I'm sorry for acting foolish."

"Hey, no problem. It's normal to feel jealous. I would be too if a strange boy comes and you become very close to him. I'm mature enough to admit it."

"I don't think mature is the word."

"Don't start, Toph."

Katara, seeing that everything between them seemed to calm down, decided to leave them alone. Maybe they had a lot to talk about, and she didn't want to be in the middle. She slowly returned to the camp while the other two continued arguing.

"You know, Toph, I know what you look like. Don't you want to know what I look like?"

"...?" The girl waited, curious about the boy who approached her to be face to face. She felt tense when he took her hands in a very gentle grip and brought her hands up to her face.

She remembered this for a few seconds. Her mother used to do it with her, although her perception through her feet allowed her to have a 360° vision at distances that the human eye would never reach, and gave her an image in her head of what people were like.

It wasn't the same.

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PAT REON I'D:- Alzero ]