"Don't worry! I'll bring him back! Promise of a lifetime!"
Maybe it was too good to be true. Naruto was such an annoying twerp! How could he help bring Sasuke back when Sasuke couldn't stand him? All they did was fight and glare at each other.
But...
My thinking was so distorted then. Even though I felt bad for playing on Naruto's own love for me, if Sasuke was going to come back then everything could return to normal and maybe this time he would change his mind about me...
I never noticed the change in Naruto's eternal promise to me. Though he had originally promised to bring Sasuke back for me, the promise became his own to himself. It was no longer about my childhood love for a handsome brooding boy and getting him to notice me before he even so much as looked at Ino. Like he does to those around him, Naruto's own essence became the backing behind the promise. Without fulfilling it, he would cease to be the Naruto that could change destiny, befriend a future Kage or make me love him.