"To actually take you directly to the hospital... Naruto, that guy really went too far, didn't he?"
On a tranquil small river at the edge of Konoha Village, a wooden bridge spanned both banks. Kakashi leaned against the cool bridge railing, and after listening to Satsuki's narration, he helplessly scratched his silver hair, trying to express his sympathy for his student and his "condemnation" of Naruto's actions.
Satsuki, meanwhile, clutched the railing on the other side with both hands, desperately trying to suppress the urge to jump into the river and end it all.
Hearing Kakashi's words, she didn't feel much comfort. Instead, she slowly spoke in an unusually flat tone, "Kakashi, that book... do you still have it with you?"
"Oh?" Kakashi's visible eye curved slightly upon hearing this. "You haven't given up yet? Such perseverance! Alright, failure is the mother of success, so I'll give you a few new ideas! That book actually also has..."
Facing Kakashi, who had instantly re-entered "love guru" mode, Satsuki sharply turned her head.
Her eyes, still tinged with redness and unshed tears, were now fixed on Kakashi with an extremely cold, resentful gaze.
"Give it to me. I'm going to burn that wretched book... to ashes."
She paused, then corrected herself: "No... perhaps it's you who should be burned to ashes, Kakashi."
"...Huh?" Kakashi was taken aback by Satsuki's sudden, clearly directed surge of resentment. He instinctively took half a step back and let out a couple of dry laughs, "Heh... heh heh... it's really hard to understand the minds of young people these days..."
He tried to shift the focus, redirecting the blame towards Naruto. "But speaking of which, that kid Naruto is also a bit ungrateful. To have such a cute and excellent girl so infatuated with him, making so many attempts for him, and his reaction is like this, even taking you to the hospital... it really is too much."
However, these words of "shared indignation" had no comforting effect. Satsuki still maintained that terrifying, resentful expression, as if she would fight him to the death any second.
Kakashi could even distinctly feel that while Satsuki wouldn't actually burn him to ashes, her resentment at least wanted to throw him off the bridge into the river.
Kakashi immediately, and wisely, changed his approach. "Ahem... but then again, you don't really need to be so angry, do you? After all..."
"It's all because of your terrible ideas!" Kakashi's words were cut short by Satsuki's agitated interruption. "Now... after all this has happened... how am I supposed to face Naruto now?!"
Kakashi: "..."
He was momentarily speechless. After all that, the root of this girl's extreme resentment, more than her own embarrassment or being treated as mentally ill, was her worry about not being able to face Naruto naturally anymore?
What exactly did Naruto do? Kakashi asked himself a soul-searching question. What kind of spell did he cast on the second young lady of the Uchiha family? To make someone so infatuated?
"So that's what you're worried about," Kakashi said, trying to lighten the mood as he looked at Satsuki's resentful expression, as if the sky was falling. "Just face him like you used to, don't worry, Naruto is very understanding."
Seeing that the resentment in Satsuki's eyes hadn't faded, Kakashi continued to analyze, trying a different angle. "Besides, if you think about it carefully, isn't Naruto always the one who takes care of you the most, and is the most tolerant of you?"
"If it were someone else who made those... uh... rather unusual moves towards him, given Naruto's personality, he'd probably feel very troubled, and might even subconsciously keep his distance. But with you?"
Kakashi spread his hands. "He was worried if you were'sick' at the first moment, and even disregarded your wishes, rushing you to the hospital, wanting to find the best doctor to 'cure' you. This reaction precisely shows that in his heart, your position is unique, and his concern and tolerance for you have long surpassed the scope of ordinary friends."
Though it certainly pales in comparison to your feelings for him... Kakashi silently added in his mind.
However, in the very next moment, Kakashi was surprised to find that the almost tangible resentment and anger in Satsuki's eyes were rapidly receding at a visible pace, replaced by a trace of bewilderment and... faint hope?
"Surpassing... ordinary friends?" Satsuki murmured, repeating the words softly.
Kakashi immediately keenly caught this change and decided to press his advantage, using more direct words to solidify the outcome. "Exactly! In the eyes of almost everyone who knows you two, you and Naruto are practically bound together, aren't you? That kind of special treatment for each other... Honestly, if you two don't end up together, that would be truly strange."
As soon as he finished speaking, almost all the resentment and anger in Satsuki's eyes vanished instantly! Her previous terrifying expression, as if she wanted to throw Kakashi into the river immediately, quickly transformed into a more common, slightly annoyed and awkward girlish demeanor. Although she was still a bit unhappy, she at least looked much more normal.
"Is that so..." Satsuki lowered her head slightly, and her voice returned to its usual tone, though still with a hint of struggle. "Then... then what do you think I should tell Naruto to explain all these... these strange things today?!"
Watching Satsuki, who was instantly placated and began to think about practical problems, Kakashi inwardly grumbled with resignation.
"She's too easy to appease..."
On the surface, he cleared his throat theatrically, adopting a guiding posture. "Alright, it seems the 'channel' between you two is quite special, so those ordinary, roundabout methods won't work."
He gave his final, and perhaps most irresponsible, piece of advice. "Therefore, if you want to completely solve this problem, in my personal opinion... just go and tell Naruto directly!"
"...Eh?!" Satsuki suddenly looked up. "D-directly tell him?!"
Seeing Satsuki's face instantly turn red again and her eyes filled with panic, Kakashi continued, his tone carrying a sense of resigned candor. "Indeed, if we go by your impression as the 'aloof Uchiha genius' in other people's eyes, doing these things today is truly too strange and simply inexplicable. So, beating around the bush will only make it more troublesome."
He looked at Satsuki, his visible eye curving, seemingly with a smile that enjoyed the drama, and offered his final idea.
"So, why not just go to him and tell him frankly, 'The reason I did those strange things is because I like you and want you to notice me more.' How about that?"