**Chapter 13: Bulma’s Invitation**

The furniture was replaced, and the walls got a fresh coat of paint.

The old, rundown single-room apartment now looked brand new.

Over the next few days, Uchiha Hikari started fulfilling her role as Naruto's makeshift guardian, just as she'd promised.

Aside from a few trips with Naruto and Utsuki Yugao to buy daily necessities and a couple of visits to Ichiraku Ramen, she spent most of her time helping Naruto fix his bad habits and teaching him basic life skills.

Living alone for so long with no one to guide him, Naruto's daily routine was a mess. He wasn't big on hygiene either, often ending up dirty and disheveled. Sure, the Uzumaki clan's natural vitality, combined with the life force boost from being the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, kept these bad habits from seriously affecting his health. But Namikaze Minato, his father, was practically beside himself with worry.

**[Eienniita@Nameless: Hikari-san, I've put together a list of recipes based on my memory. They're all simple home-cooked dishes, easy enough for a kid to make. If you could spare some time to teach Naruto, it'd mean a lot. That way, even if no one's around to look after him later, he won't have to rely on instant ramen all the time.]**

**[Nameless: Got it.]**

**[Eienniita: Also, please remind Naruto not to be picky with food. He needs to eat more vegetables and fruits, no staying up late, and he should bathe and change clothes regularly. The room should be cleaned every couple of days—daily if possible—and don't let him forget to take out the trash…]**

**[Eienniita: Kushina and I left behind a decent amount of savings back then. Aside from what Naruto needs for school and food, feel free to use the rest as you see fit…]**

**[Nameless: All received.]**

How to put it…

In her past life, Uchiha Hikari had helped her older sister take care of kids, so she had some experience with this kind of thing.

She'd braced herself for dealing with an absolute terror of a child. From the original *Naruto* story, young Naruto wasn't exactly a model of good behavior. Sure, the villagers' ostracism and prejudice were mostly to blame, but it's not like Naruto himself was blameless. His attention-seeking pranks annoyed plenty of people, creating a vicious cycle of sorts.

But…

When she actually started looking after Naruto, Uchiha Hikari found the little blond kid to be way more well-behaved than she'd expected.

Sure, he'd occasionally talk back a bit, but he took her pointers about his bad habits seriously and worked hard to fix them. He was also putting in real effort to learn life skills like washing clothes and cooking.

Other than being a bit slow on the uptake, there wasn't much to complain about.

At first, Uchiha Hikari was a little puzzled.

But after talking with Namikaze Minato, it all clicked.

For so long, Naruto had lived under the weight of others' bullying and indifference. Aside from the Third Hokage occasionally dropping by to give him a half-hearted pep talk, no one ever bothered to look at him properly, let alone invest time and energy into treating him like a normal kid.

So, Uchiha Hikari's presence filled that void.

To put it simply, Naruto's attitude toward her was like a drowning person clinging to their last lifeline. He was terrified of losing that hope, so even when she asked him to do things he didn't enjoy, he'd try his hardest to follow through.

Hmm…

(*If I suddenly turned on him right now, pinned him against the wall, and pulled an Uchiha Itachi act, would he snap and go berserk on the spot?*)

The thought crossed Uchiha Hikari's mind unbidden.

But it was just a fleeting idea. She was genuinely pleased with Naruto's progress over these past few days, and she wasn't cruel enough to mess with a kid's head like that.

"Hey, Naruto," she said during a quiet moment, a question popping into her head. "In the past few weeks, have you run into a girl with pure white eyes? Maybe saved her from some kids who were picking on her?"

"…Nope, doesn't ring a bell."

Naruto thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Is that so…" 

Hinata was one of the few people who didn't shun Naruto when they were kids, so if he'd met her, he'd probably remember. That plot point must not have happened yet. It wasn't a big deal, though, so Uchiha Hikari let her curiosity drop after that.

A few calm days passed like this.

Then, one afternoon, Bulma pinged Uchiha Hikari in the group chat.

**[Bulma@Nameless: Hikari-chan, my summer break starts tomorrow! Wanna come with me to hunt for the Dragon Balls?]**

**[Bulma: It shouldn't take too long. I've already got one, so there are six left. If everything goes smoothly, we should have them all in about a week.]**

"A week?"

In the kitchen, Uchiha Hikari paused mid-chop, a wry smile tugging at her lips.

Collecting all seven Dragon Balls in a week… what, like they're cabbages at the market?

Still, if memory served, Bulma's first Dragon Ball hunt in the original story wasn't *too* tough. Aside from a bit of trouble with Emperor Pilaf at the end, she'd gathered the first few balls pretty easily. Plus, Uchiha Hikari owed Bulma a big favor after that bomb incident helped her "rise from the grave." No way she'd turn her down now.

**[Nameless: Sure, I'm pretty much settled here. I'll talk to Naruto in a couple of days and head over to you.]**

**[Bulma: Awesome!]**

**[Bulma: Oh, by the way, it's been a while—@IronHeadTanjiro, have you sliced that boulder yet?]**

**[IronHead: I can cut part of it now! Lately, a blond-haired senior brother's been sparring with me every day, and a black-haired senior sister's been giving me pointers too. I should pass Master Urokodaki's test soon!]**

**[Bulma: Whoa, that's amazing!]**

**[Nameless: …Not bad. But I'd suggest you take some extra time to solidify your skills before heading to the Demon Slayer Corps' entrance exam. There's a demon on that mountain, lurking for decades, way stronger than what's normal for the trial. And it'll definitely have its eyes on you…]**

**[IronHead: ?!]**

…

*Demon Slayer* world, Sagiri Mountain.

Tanjiro, who'd just finished practicing a set of Water Breathing sword techniques and was resting on a tree stump, suddenly tensed up.

**[IronHead: Hikari-san, can you tell me more?]**

**[Nameless: That demon's called the "Hand Demon." It was captured by Urokodaki back in the Meiji era, so it holds a grudge against him. It's been hiding in the trial grounds, killing off more than a dozen of Urokodaki's students—ones wearing those "warding masks." It's super cautious, so no one's noticed it until you show up for the trial…]**

"A mask…"

Tanjiro turned his head.

Across from him, a girl named Makomo, dressed in a plum-patterned short kimono with shoulder-length black hair, tilted her head. "What's up?"

As she moved, the fox mask hanging on her head swayed slightly.

The fox face on the mask seemed to smile, but the blue flower pattern painted on its cheek suddenly felt… ethereal. Like the reflection of the moon on water—visible, but untouchable.

…

(End of Chapter)