Watching Yugao's figure disappear from sight, Naruto finally withdrew his gaze.
The reason he occasionally trusted her was largely because Yugao knew her boundaries. She never asked unnecessary questions or brought him unnecessary trouble.
…
Hokage Tower.
Kakashi sat in his seat, gripping a small ornament on his desk as he stared blankly, seemingly lost in hesitation and unease.
Shikamaru, who is sitting nearby, glanced up at him several times, wanting to speak but holding back each time.
When the boss was preoccupied and hadn't spoken or even looked his way, it was best not to say anything unnecessary.
Knock knock knock.
The sound of rapping on the door broke the silence.
Kakashi almost jumped up from his seat, and before the door was completely opened, his whole figure floated over in an instant.
Naruto, who was about to open the door, was startled by Kakashi's sudden movement. He didn't know what kind of madness had gripped Kakashi.
"What's…"
"Let's talk outside." Kakashi cut him off mysteriously, dragging Naruto out before he could protest.
"Hey! I still need to talk to Shikamaru about…"
"Can't that wait?" Kakashi gave him no chance, then pulled him all the way to the end of the hallway before he could finish his words.
With a rustle, Kakashi slid open the window, then a cool autumn breeze rushed in.
Naruto stared at Kakashi's conflicted expression, half-expecting him to suddenly light a cigarette and mutter something like, 'How about becoming my son?'.
"What's the matter?" He asked tentatively.
"Well… don't get the wrong idea. It's just… I have a friend who..." Kakashi scratched his head, mumbling something barely audible.
"Did something happen to Guy-sensei?" Naruto blinked in surprise.
"Uh… him… well, he recently ran into an old friend, and then… some things happened." Kakashi coughed and cleared his throat. He was about to continue but Naruto cut him off again.
"Male or female?"
"…Female. But that's not the point."
"Not the point?! Guy-sensei has a girlfriend? No way… I have to go tell everyone!" Naruto's jaw practically hit the floor as he turned to bolt.
"Wait!" Kakashi stopped him and said in a slightly speechless manner, "This person is not Guy, but... actually..."
"Who?"
"Me."
"Tch. Kakashi-sensei, you should've just admitted it from the start. You made me put on this whole awkward act." Naruto rubbed his stiff cheeks and took a breath of cold air, "If you'd kept denying it, I might've been disgusted to death by my embarrassing acting."
Kakashi: "…"
He suddenly realized that there was a reason why this guy was so annoying, 'You really deserved to die, Uzumaki Naruto.'
"My friend... No, I… yesterday, I walked Rin home, and then..." Kakashi tried to reorganize his words, but was interrupted before he finished.
"It already happened?"
Kakashi: "…"
"Alright, alright, I'll shut up." Naruto felt guilty and waved his hands repeatedly to indicate that he would not intervene again.
After what felt like the time it took to smoke a cigarette, Naruto finally pieced together the whole story. First, he stared at Kakashi in shock, then glanced away and asked, "So… Kakashi-sensei, why did you come to me?"
"Well, this is a bit… uh… embarrassing. I don't have much experience in this area." Kakashi scratched his face awkwardly and said, "You're probably more skilled in these kinds of things, so I wanted your advice."
"If this keeps up, things might get really awkward between us. Would it be too deliberate if I avoid her?"
Hearing this, Naruto's eyelids twitched. He never imagined he'd see Kakashi acting so flustered.
"Why not just break that barrier and express your feelings directly?"
"That won't work!" Kakashi frowned, and his hand unconsciously pinched his chin as if thinking, "It's too straightforward, so it's easy to be misunderstood. I don't have those kinds of feelings for Rin… or maybe I do, but… I can't really explain it."
"It might just be my imagination, and emotions can easily distort thoughts. In fact, I probably just don't want Rin to get hurt again. I promised someone I'd take good care of her, but I ended up breaking that promise. I thought there'd never be a way to make up for it, but who knew I'd suddenly get another chance now."
"Too many things piled up all at once, leaving me no time to think or reflect. And now... most of my focus is on Rin. It's obvious, and that's why it's such a mess, you get it?"
Kakashi spoke with restraint, pausing countless times in between.
It was clear he didn't really want to talk about this with anyone. Not to mention that Naruto is still his student, so this can be said to be a completely socially dead choice. But Kakashi had realized he needed a solution.
The only reason he'd risked coming to Naruto was pure, desperate trust in Naruto's… professionalism.
"Is there a better way?" Naruto looked at Kakashi, patted his shoulder hard in a teacher's tone, and said earnestly, "Kakashi-sensei, honesty is the ultimate weapon."
…
After leaving the Hokage Tower, Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes.
'Kakashi is so lame!'
'I thought he was looking for me for something serious, but he was wanted a romance advice? If he wanted that, he should've gone to an expert! What did I know about navigating ambiguous confessions or crafting heartfelt monologues to win a girl over?'
'How the hell would I know how to play hard-to-get to deepen a girl's impression of me?'
'Who even falls for that kind of playboy crap anymore?'
Reaching a secluded alley, Naruto summoned the Gate of the Underworld, whistling as he completely dismissed Kakashi's troubles from his mind.
With a single step, he crossed into the gate, and the coordinates are set for Sunagakure.
'Time to go find Gaara.'