A/N: I want to thank everyone that reviewed and added this story to their favourites and follows.

For as long as Naruto could remember, she had always admired the Fourth Hokage.

Out of all the Hokages, Minato Namikaze was the youngest person to reach the status of Hokage. He killed a thousand men in just one night and had the most powerful jutsu. He was also the man that sacrificed his life to save the village, sealing a demon inside of her. They say that even though his regin had been short, he had shown the villagers that he was more than capable of being a leader.

It was ironic that the man she admired was also her father. Her father chose the village over her, chose to seal the monster inside of her and asked the villagers to see her as a hero. She wanted to hate him. She wanted to think he was a monster but Naruto could not bring herself to do it. If she had to choose between saving a group of people or her own child's happiness then she would have chosen the village. Her father swore to protect the village and for that she could not fault him.

What she could fault him was the fact that he thought it was a smart idea to tell the villagers that she was the jinchuuriki.

"I want you to read this book and summarize everything in here," Naruto blinked and stared up at her smiling cousin, who dropped a huge book on her table. She raised her eyebrow. Wasn't he going to teach her on how to be a professional hero? What does a book have to do with anything?

"Read the title," Eisuke encouraged. The blonde picked up the bright red book and turned to the cover. Bright blue eyes widened at the name of the title. Sealing for absolute idiots. Was he trying to encourage her to learn the art of sealing? Or was he implying that she was so dumb that a book like this was useful for her? She chewed on her bottom lip.

"Why are you giving me this book?"

"Dad said that he won't teach you until you read the book," Naruto raised her eyebrow and the red-haired boy sighed. "He came to the conclusion that it will be more difficult for a half-Uzumaki to appreciate the art of sealing or understand it, so he wrote this book. To be fair, he jumped to this conclusion because our cousin and I struggled to learn the art. Akane has no problem with it."

"So he thinks I might be an idiot?"

Eisuke shook his head. "He doesn't think you are an idiot…he just thinks that you might have the potential to be like me."

Does that mean his own father think he was an idiot when it came to seals? Naruto looked down at the book and traced the contents. She should be pissed off with the title but before Jiraiya and Kakashi, there had been no one that was willing to teach her. This was unorthodox way to teach her but she was unorthodox. If she could learn the shadow clone from a scroll then she could do this.

"When do I meet your Dad?"

Her cousin grinned. "Probably next week. Right now he is in Hosu with Mum since she needs to handle funeral arrangement with her sister."

A week. He was giving her a week to read this book and understand the complications in sealing. She tilted her head. This would be easy for her. All she had to do was have the clone read the damn book while she focused on her internship. There was no way she was going to have difficulty understanding the book. If she could survive and understand physics then sealing was going to be a piece of cake.

"Are you going to take me out for a mission?" Naruto slipped the book into her bag and stared at her cousin. She was happy with the book and despite the incident with Best Jeanist, she did enjoy the patrol. It was nice to walk around the streets and beat up some asshole that tried to rob a store with their quirk.

It was nice but she wanted a challenge.

Eisuke raised his eyebrow. "You didn't like the patrol? Personally I thought my way of doing things is better than your part of the world. Didn't they make you do meaningless jobs like capture some lost animal or babysit some brat?"

Naruto grimaced and stared out at the window, where the sound of the laughing children could be heard. He was right. When she first started out as a genin, the Hokage would give her team some missions that did not really feel like ninja missions. It was to improve your teamwork, Kakashi-sensei would try to reason with her whenever she wanted to yell at the Hokage for a better mission.

It might improve their teamwork but those jobs were meant for children that were in the Academy.

"I like patrol but I just want some action."

Her cousin ruffled her hair and the blonde could not stop herself from blinking at him. Not many people ruffled her hair. Jiraiya, Iruka-sensei and even Kakashi-sensei had been one of the few people who did this to her. The others would just smile or ignore her actions. Some people would scold her for her words; they would remind her that she was still a beginner.

"You are not the only one that wants some action," Eisuke grinned. "I remember when I was an intern, I begged Best-Jeanist for some cool jobs to do but he always make a point to tell me that patrol is important. When action happens then take action, don't go looking for it."

Naruto nodded and stared at her cousin. Was that why he was not looking for the Hero Killer? Wasn't he interested in finding him? If he wanted to save people then why was he not searching for him? The heroes needed saving too. Iida's brother got hurt and so many others…wasn't it a hero's job to attack the people that endangered their lives.

"You look thoughtful," Eisuke tilted his head. "What are you thinking about?"

The blonde chewed on her bottom lip. "A hero's job is to save people right? So why aren't you searching for the Hero Killer? He already hurt so many heroes so why aren't you looking for him?"

Eisuke grimaced while the other sidekicks now looked at them. Most of them stared at her cousin with curiosity as if they were also interested to know why he was not looking for the man. A hero should save people those were her cousin's words and it seemed like he did try to save people, but it made no sense on why he was keeping quiet.

It made no sense why the other heroes were keeping quiet.

"Stain is elusive," Eisuke rubbed his chin and pointed to the map of the city that was hung on his wall. "His pattern of attack are always at the alleyway and the people that he attack are heroes. I know this much but I don't know who his next target will be or why he targets them. At first I thought he is out for revenge since some of the heroes he attack are well-known in the industry for being there for the money and not for the heroics. Now I don't know."

"Why?"

"Ingenium," Naruto blinked her eyes and Eisuke grimaced. "Ingenium is a great hero and there is no denying the fact that he cares about saving people. Why attack him? What did he do? I don't understand what his end-goal is. Once I figure out why he attacks the good heroes and his pattern of attack then we can attack. Once we have a better clue on how he is able to attack the heroes and how he does it then we can attack."

"But the other heroes are going to be sacrificed until you can figure it out," she pointed out.

Her cousin frowned. "Yes but there is also a potential that another hero can stop him."

What was the point of being a hero if you were being cautious? The more cautious you were, the more likely that more innocent people would get hurt. She chewed on her bottom lip. How could he just sit there and not do anything about it? It was wrong.

It was just wrong for her cousin to do this.

Eisuke could only rub the back of his neck and stared down from the building. He flickered his eyes towards his young cousin—her blue eyes shone with excitement. A kunoichi she might be but she was still a teenager. It seemed like no matter what occupation you had, you still had the characteristics suited for your age.

"So what am I going to do?"

"I attack the criminals and you get the hostages out," Eisuke informed her. Blue eyes shone with even more excitement and he felt his lips curled upwards. It seemed like it was the right decision to let Naruto in with the action. She might be having some kind of funk but it seemed like she was willing to forget it for the mission. "If you get spotted then kick their asses but make sure that none of the civilians get hurt."

"What if I get caught?" Naruto asked.

His lips twitched. "You are a kunoichi right? Isn't it your job not to get caught?"

A wide smile appeared on her face and Eisuke was reminded of the photo that his father had of a little red-haired girl with the same smile. His father knew immediately Naruto was his cousin even before Eisuke suggested the idea to him. He refused to tell him how he knew, only just say that the girl was an Uzumaki and that was it.

Maybe the girl looked like she could be the child of Kushina.

"If I get caught then I won't be Naruto Uzumaki!" She boasted; her blue eyes glinted with so much confidence and mischief that Eisuke was reminded of Akane. His younger sister was the prankster in their family, always playing pranks on her teachers to his mother's annoyance. His father never scolded his sister, always telling her that she should plan her pranks better.

He rubbed his chin and stared down at the building. From what his clones had gathered, there must be around ten guards that were guarding this place. A few of them carried guns while others had dangerous quirks which could destroy the building. Out of the ten, he would need to first target the criminals with the dangerous quirk. He flickered his eyes to Naruto, who was already preparing herself for the jump down.

"Naruto…"

His cousin turned her head to look at him, eyebrows raised up with curiosity. The desire to save people shone in her eyes as well as the desire to prove herself. Who did she want to prove? To him? To their clan? He chewed on his bottom lip. What did her village do to her? There was no need for her to prove herself to him or their family. She was worthy of their last name even if she wasn't related to them.

"Yes Uzushiokage?"

"Be careful out there, Guardian." The blonde blinked her eyes. Blue eyes softened and the surprise in her eyes told him that she never expected to hear those words. She might have skill, might have the drive to be a hero but Naruto was still his cousin. He would care for her and guide her until his father came back from Hosu.

"I will, Uzushiokage."

With those words, Naruto jumped down from the building and made her way towards their targets. Maybe he should ask her why she chose orange as her superhero outfit, Eisuke mused, jumping down from the building. Shouldn't shinobi wear dark colors? Or was his old man pulling his leg when he told him that all ninjas wore dark clothes? He shook his head.

It was time to get the job done.

Naruto channeled her chakra to her ears and stared at the door opening, where she could see the hostages being tied up. Being a hero was definitely better than being a ninja, she mused to herself as her eyes locked on the hostages. These type of jobs were considered B-rank in Konoha, jobs that genin should never be allowed to do since it was out of their skill range.

Uzushiokage was giving her the chance to prove to herself that she was able to do these kind of jobs.

She flickered her eyes towards the walls and made a mental note of the location of the windows. Eisuke hinted he would not be pleased with her if she got caught by the villains or intentionally try to engage in a fight with them. The window seemed to be large enough for her and her clones to carry the hostages out. Now she figured out her exit, she would just need to figure out how to get inside without alerting them.

She slipped her hands into her pockets and made a mental note of the good hiding areas. The outfits that the guards wore also told her that they probably did not want the hostages to know their faces. It was a smart decision in the long run, but it was quite stupid too. All she needed was to henge herself into the average guard and they would never know the differences.

"You think we are going to get our ransom money anytime soon?" One of the guards asked as Naruto weaved her hands into the familiar handsigns of the henge. The tone in his voice spoke volumes on his frustrations for guarding the hostages. She chewed the inner corner of her cheek and slipped into the shadows, keeping her breathing and her footsteps light. One wrong move and everything might be over.

"Who knows!" The other guard replied, waving his hand. His dark eyes flickered to her hiding spot and for a brief moment, Naruto felt her heart stopped. She chewed on her bottom lip. His eyes lingered on her hiding place and the way his eyebrows were knitted together made her wonder if he knew she was here. "I think someone is here."

"What do you mean that you think someone is here? Doesn't your quirk allow you to sense if someone is here!" The other guard snarled as Naruto tip toed towards the hostages. He glanced around the room, no doubt trying to spot if she was here. "What the hell is wrong with your quirk?"

"There is nothing wrong with my quirk! I can smell a new scent among us but I can't pinpoint where it is coming from!" He growled. The man stared at the hostages, who were managing to hide their hope from their captors. If it was not for the fact that Naruto could see the subtle clues then she would never know. "It smells like a fox."

"You think there is a fox in the room," the other guard asked as Naruto crept closer to the hostages. He stared at his collegue like he was an idiot. "How the hell can we have a fox in the middle of the city? And why here? Have you ever stopped to use your head?"

Naruto bit her tongue. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe someone spend a lot of time with foxes? She felt her heart rate increased when the other guard twisted his head to look at the scene. Did the bastard sense her? There was no way he could sense her. She was hiding in the shadows, making sure not to be anywhere close to the moonlight that seemed to lit areas of the room.

"There is a girl in this room," The guard commented, strolling around the room. He knitted his eyebrows together. "I can hear her mind but I can't detect her presence."

His colleague smirked. "I told you that there was someone here! Do you think she has an invisibility quirk, is that why we can't see her?"

'Or maybe you are idiots that can't see properly,' the Kyuubi said; his tone hinted of his annoyance with the lack of brains that the guards had. Why was the damn fox talking? Was he trying to get her caught? She knitted her eyebrows together when the guard looked around. Did he hear the Kyuubi? Was that why he was looking around? She shook her head and stepped closer towards the hostages.

"Can you pick up another scent?" The colleague asked his partner. His dark eyes looked around the room, no doubt trying to pick up any differences in the room. He frowned.

His partner shook his head. "I can't smell anything new."

"Let us search the area and bring our intruders," The guard said, walking closer to the door. Naruto chewed on her bottom lip and grinned. She took another step closer to the hostages and released her henge. The two guards swirled their head at her direction but it was a good thing she was crouching underneath the crater.

She might have been caught if it wasn't for that.

This mission was definitely more fun than capturing a stupid cat.

~X~

"You look like shit."

Bakugou could not stop himself from making the comment as he stared at Whiskers, who had her hands on her pockets as they waited for the train that took them back home. His fellow blonde looked physically fine but those stupid eyes of her looked like they were in hell. Just when the shitty girl started to make sense, she just had to make him confused. Shouldn't she be happy that her mentor trusted her? He should have wished that Uzushiokage made an offer instead of Best Jeanist.

If he knew Uzushiokage was more hands on then he would have chosen him.

"Didn't your mother tell you that you should compliment a girl, Explosive Head," his classmate drawled; she picked up her suitcase and swung it over her shoulder. "And what the fuck are you doing here? I have never seen you take the train."

He scowled. "I missed the first train and now I am stuck waiting for the next train."

Whiskers nodded and her blue eyes were fixed on the train rail. Was this really the girl that claimed to have a monster inside of her? A kunoichi. He knew the girl since their second year of middle school and nothing about her screamed ninja. Her hair was too damn bright and the outfits she wore when she was not in school were just too eye catching. The only damn thing which supported the idea she was a kunoichi was the times when she had no emotions on displayed.

"So…how is your internship?" Bakugou scowled at the reminder. "I heard from my coworker that Best Jeanist isn't the most relaxed mentors."

He snorted. "The bastard is the complete opposite of your damn mentor. He keeps lecturing me about what it means to be a damn hero like I don't know what it means."

"You don't know."

Was she going to lecture him too? It was bad enough he had to hear the damn thing for the last two days. The bastard even had the nerve to tell him that he did not like him. He chose him because he wanted to change him, because of his damn behavior. If it was not for the fact that the bastard was in the top five then he would never choose him.

"I should kill you for making that fucking comment."

His classmate stared out at the dark train rails. "You are an asshole, Bakugou. Everyone knows that and I don't understand why the hell you chose to be a hero when you don't like to comfort people. Being a hero isn't just fighting, it is about saving people and being there for them."

"You of all people should not lecture me about what a hero is," Whiskers blinked her eyes and Bakugou hated the clueless look on her face. This was the girl that defeated him! The girl that didn't even want to become a hero until their homeroom teacher told her that she was wasting her life to work in some café. "If it wasn't for that stupid teacher then you would never become a hero."

Whiskers kept quiet at his words. Those blue eyes did not look put down by his words—not that he expected it. He could swear at her and the girl would just ignore it like it was nothing. He threatened her and the blonde would never blink, always acting like she was better than him. She was not better than him. She just had more experience but as soon as he gained enough experience then he would win.

"The Sport Festival made me realize why I want to be a hero and how stupid I was," Bakugou raised his eyebrow. "I didn't think I was meant to be a hero until then. A hero should never give up. They should be willing to work hard…and I was not like that. There were things in my past that made me think I can't be a hero. I couldn't save a boy that I saw as a brother and because of that…"

She shook her head and smiled. Bakugou chewed the inner corner of his cheek to stop himself from telling the girl he knew about her past. Whiskers did not deserve to know he knew a little bit about her past. He would not give her that satisfaction. He did not know why frog girl never told her but Whiskers didn't need pity.

He acted like himself.

"I thought it was because of half and half bastard," Whiskers blinked her eyes and Bakugou stared at the clock. Five more minutes and their conversation could be done. "You liked the bastard and it hurt you to know that his father was an asshole."

"Of course it hurt me, he is my friend."

A friend his ass, Bakugou thought, scowling at the blonde. The way she blushed around the bastard was enough for everyone to see she liked him. You would have to be blind not to notice she liked him. The fact she babbled like an idiot was enough clues about her feelings. The half and half bastard liked her too. It was not obvious like Whiskers but the damn bastard kept looking at her whenever he thought no one was watching him.

The fact that the bastard lost his cool when he saw Naruto was injured was enough to show he cared about the girl.

"Did anyone tell you that you are bad liar?" Uzumaki made a sound of protest and Bakugou rolled his eyes. "I don't give a shit about your relationship with the half and half bastard but if you want the bastard to realize that you like him then make it more obvious to him."

"I don't like him!"

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Sure you don't like him and I am a fucking idiot."

Why did he even bother with her? It was none of his business about who the damn bitch liked. He was going to become the number one hero. What his two blind classmates do was none of his business. Now if there was a bet going on then it was a whole different story.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. Was Bakugou too out of character?