A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows as well as reviewing the chapter.


"Why didn't you tell me about Konoha?"

The birds chirped from the outside world. Kenji folded his arms against his chair, his hat pressed down as Kumiko peeled an apple. The television blared with life, announcers discussing about the outcome of All Might's announcement of his retirement. Eisuke leaned against the wall, arms folded against his chest and green eyes fixed on her.

Blue eyes winced at the harshness of his tone. The tiredness and frustration made Naruto feel slightly guilty for not telling her family members about her plans to help her classmate escape. She stole a glace to the other side of her bed where Todoroki sat right beside her. He pressed his lips into a thin line, looking almost uncertain on how to defend her from her irritated Uncle.

"Because she thought she could handle it by herself." Eisuke called out. His green eyes were completely blank despite the annoyance and frustration coming out from his tone.

Todoroki raised his eyebrow at her, mismatch eyes asking her if she truly thought she could handle it by herself, while Kenji pressed his lips into a thin line. The red-haired man stared at her like he didn't know what to do, which made the girl look at her hands. It sounded so wrong when her cousin said it in that way but Naruto really did think she had it under control.

Kenji took in deep breaths. "At any point did you think I wouldn't give a shit about this? Didn't I tell you that we protect our own? If it wasn't for Eisuke then I would never know about this."

Kumiko handed a slice of apple to Kenji, green eyes warning her husband about his choice of words. Naruto nibbled a small piece of apple while she leaned her head against Todoroki's left side. She knew he cared about it but Naruto doesn't want him to tear her teammate and teacher apart. It was bad enough Todoroki scolded Kakashi-sensei for his behaviour towards her, not that Naruto wasn't happy about it.

It still made her smile to know Shouto went that far for her.

"I thought I could do it by myself," Naruto closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. Breath in and out, clear her mind from everything as her therapist suggested to her in the second session. She opened her eyes. "I thought that I was more than capable of dealing this by myself."

"You can't take care of it when they remind you of those bad days," Shouto said quietly, bicoloured eyes focused on her face. Naruto chewed on her bottom lip, blue eyes darting from her family members to the boy that she might possibly love. "But it was clear to me that you can't handle them by yourself."

"What did they do to her, Pretty Boy?"

Todoroki didn't seem one bit fazed at the nickname given by Kenji, his mismatch eyes blanked as he tilted his head at the older man. Bicoloured eyes flickered to her, almost like he was asking her permission to tell him about the truth of what happened. Something about her expression must have indicated her feelings because Todoroki nodded.

"Kakashi asks her to explain why she run away from Konoha and he tried to tell her that he gave a crap about her." Kenji's hazel eyes flared with anger. The man crushed the apple with his fist, splattering it to the ground. The man jumped up, ready to charge towards the other room—only to be held back by a water whip.

Kumiko tightened her grip on the whip, green eyes flared with fury. "This isn't the time for you to go and yell at the man for his actions."

"Kumiko, let me go."

"I actually would like to see Dad tear him…"

Kumiko swirled her head at the two males, green eyes burned with so much fury that Naruto wondered if the woman had a fire Quirk instead of a water Quirk. Those green eyes promised to make their lives hell if the two Uzumaki planned to make life difficult for her teacher and teammate. Kumiko tightened her grip on the whip.

"We are all angry for what happened but we are in a hospital," Kumiko said calmly, eyes fixed on her struggling son. "If you yelled or even try to kill them then it will make the problem worse, not better."

"I don't give a shit! Over my dead body will I allow Naruto to keep contact with those people."

Naruto jerked her head at her furious uncle, blue eyes growing large at the sincerity over those words. Her throat tightened and there was a burning sensation behind her eyes as her brain continued to process what her uncle just admitted.

Todoroki wordlessly handed her a tissue, mismatch eyes telling her that it was okay to cry. Her lips twitched and Naruto took the tissue, wiping her eyes and taking deep breaths to calm down her emotions. Eisuke eyed them, green eyes flashed with curiosity at the exchange. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at her but Naruto just tore her eyes away, uncertain on how to answer his question.

"Do we tell the police about this?" Todoroki questioned.

Naruto furiously shook her head. "I don't want any authorities involved! They aren't criminals and even though I refuse to believe Kakashi-sensei's bullshit…it doesn't mean they are criminals."

"They will become criminals if they take you away by force or by guilting you to go back…unless you want to go back," Todoroki pointed out. His mismatch eyes flashed with discomfort at the thought as if he didn't like the thought of her going back to Konoha.

Naruto blinked and shook her head, fixing her eyes on her dearest friend. Three years ago, I might have been happy to know that they want to take me back and I would have gone back willingly. Now she had family members, friends and Todoroki. They could understand, couldn't they? She might have the Konoha headband but there was nothing really tying her there.

She might have had Team Seven and Hinata but she had more bonds here.

"I am not going anywhere."


"So you are the bastard that failed my niece."

Kakashi blinked as a red-haired man strolled into the room, hazel eyes blazing with anger as he took a seat right beside him. Sakura darted her eyes from him to the man right beside him, looking confused at this niece that the man was talking about. He focused his attention on the long scar on the man's face. There was something about this man that reminded him of someone but Kakashi couldn't remember.

"Sir, I don't think Kakashi-sensei know your niece."

"Naruto didn't tell you, did she?" Kakashi's eyes grew large while Sakura jerked her head. The red-haired man nodded, looking almost unsurprised about the comment. "I am Uzumaki Kenji and Naruto is my niece. I was actually planning to murder you but Kumiko reminded me that it is a terrible idea and I don't think my son is capable of pulling me out for murder."

"Niece but how? Naruto doesn't have any family members! Everyone knows in Konoha that she has no family…"

Kenji nodded. "She has no family in Konoha but she has family here. Naruto might not have the stereotypical looks of an Uzumaki but she has her mother's face and her eye shape."

He knows Kushina-neechan. Kakashi tilted his head down while Sakura stared at Kenji, green eyes trying to find some form of resemblance between Naruto and this man. He felt ashamed for the behaviour he showed Naruto even though some of the things were out of his hand. Naruto didn't seem like she wanted to listen or understand his reasons.

He doubt he could explain himself when that boy was around her.

"I want to fucking hurt you but Naruto still gives a shit about the two of you." Kakashi blinked and jerked his head at the scowling red-haired man. Sakura looked at the man with hope but there was no smile playing on the man's lips, just pure frustration and anger. "That Pretty Boy said you tried to tell her that you give a shit about her and Naruto admitted she had an outburst."

Kakashi pressed his lips as yesterday's events played before his eyes. The anger and hurt in Naruto's eyes still haunted him even now. The words spoken by her boyfriend (the kid had to be her boyfriend with how he stared at her) echoed in his ears. It never occurred to him that it had been abuse. His life had also been difficult but he handled it okay.

Had it been so hard for him to think Naruto was capable of handling it?

"I thought Naruto needed tough love and I presumed she understood why I had to teach Sasuke."

Sakura's eyes flashed with confusion at the words, green eyes questioned him about what happened. Kakashi ignored the silent question and stared at Kushina's relaive. The man's hazel eyes searched him as if trying to see if there were any lies behind his words. The man nipped his finger, blood dripping as he placed it on the palm of his hand.

Rum appeared out of his hand and the man took one huge gulp of it.

"I usually try to avoid drinking rum but I think this calls for it. My wife fucking hates it but well I can't deal with this emotional crap while sober," Kenji admitted. Kakahi nodded. It was a coping mechanism for the man just like the Icha-Icha books were a mechanism for him. "Explain to me what the hell did you do to screw things up?"

"You don't plan to punch me or give me a good scolding match?"

That was what Kushina would have done to him.

Kenji snorted. "I want to yell at you but my wife doesn't know that I am here to belittle the pair of you. If I raise my voice then not only will we have the doctors rushing in here but I have a furious wife to deal with. Do you have any fucking idea how bad life can be when your wife is unhappy?"

Kakashi shook his head while Sakura tilted her head, green eyes flashed with curiosity of the kind of people that Naruto surrounded herself with.

"I focused more on training Sasuke because I was the only one capable of training him with the Sharingan," Kakashi explained. He lifted the headband, Obito's red eye spinning to life. "I have very little patience when it came to Naruto. How can I keep myself calm when she has so many things to be corrected? So during the Chunin Exams, I gave her to someone that had enough patience to deal with her."

"I don't even have patience when it comes to teaching my own kids about seals." Kenji admitted, lips curled into a frown. Kakashi relaxed his shoulders, the wrinkles of his forehead smoothed when he realized the man could be reasoned with. "But why does Naruto seem to think you don't care for her? What did you do?"

"There was a dangerous, psychotic nin in the Chunnin Exams and there was a possibility that Naruto might battle him in one of her matches." Kakashi admitted. Kenji's eyes flashed with understanding while Sakura grimaced, no doubt remembering how terrifying the Kazekage was at the time. His pink-haired student's green eyes grew large as if realizing who else would have been in danger if the matches had carried on like usual.

Kenji took another swing of his alcohol. "Why didn't you train her? You better have a good reason, you little shit or I might just throw this bottle at you."

He really does have a temper. Kakashi sweated while Sakura inched away from the man. He stared at the man's hazel eyes, words swirled around his head as he tried to articulate about why he only wanted Naruto to learn the basics. He didn't have the time to defend himself yesterday. That friend of Naruto made it clear to him about how much he blamed him for the pain Naruto went through.

He doubted that the boy was not actually Naruto's boyfriend, the two seemed too comfortable for them not to be dating.

"Well?"

"Naruto might have been terrible when it came to her basics but she is brilliant when it comes to planning, strategies and being creative," Kakashi explained. "Unlike Sasuke or Sakura, Naruto has shown me time in and time out that she can make creative plans and uses her jutsu to the best of her capability."

Kakashi never emphasised this to his student. He never explained it to her because he always presumed Naruto knew this. He always presumed when it came to the members of his team. He presumed Sasuke had chosen to walk the path of comradeship, not once did he actually stop to think his student would do it. He never bonded with them than what was more than necessary—he never felt comfortable in doing this.

"Do you know what Naruto's problem is?" Kenji asked him. "Words aren't enough with her and actions that contradict what you think makes her think that you don't have faith in her. It makes her think that no one gives a crap about her. Most people don't understand that being a shinobi means that we guard our emotions, that we try and not tell people that we care…but Naruto doesn't fully understand that. Her friends here also doesn't understand it."

Kakashi flickered his eyes to the window, uncertain on how to feel about the man. A couple of minutes ago, he wanted to murder him and now the man was trying to explain his own student to him. He really did mess up when it came to Naruto if a stranger had to explain everything to him.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't Naruto understand?" Sakura questioned.

Kenji took another gulp of his drink. "You have parents, don't you? They must have told you that they love you and gave you hugs and all that shit right? Naruto never had that. My niece is starved for attention and doesn't know the different forms of affection. She knows when someone hates her or if someone is angry but she doesn't understand the subtle ways a person can show their care."

Kakashi could only keep quiet.

"If you really want Naruto to know that you always care about her then show it to her, don't use words." Kenji paused. "I'm telling you this because Naruto cares about you. I want to tear you limb to limb for what happened to her, for the abuse she went through but we are all products of a fucked-up system. It is not your fault that you have no fucking clue how to show her that you give a shit bout her."

The man stood up from the chair, made his way to the door and then twisted his body around to look at them.

"But let me make one thing clear to you: make Naruto cry or even try and force her back to Konoha then the whole Uzumaki Clan will declare war on Konoha. We protect our own."

It was a promise.


"Can we talk Naruto?"

Naruto plastered a smile on her face at the sight of her pink-haired teammate and Kakashi-sensei standing right in front of her. She stole a glance at the clock on the wall, telling her that Todoroki would be back in the next ten minutes. Her friend had never left her side for the past day, hovering over her like she needed to be protected. It made her smile but she was capable of dealing with everything.

"You are going to try and convince me to come back to Konoha."

Sakura faltered while Kakashi took a seat beside her, his lone eye fixated on her. He leaned towards her, looking almost distinctly uncomfortable at the level of closeness between them. Blue eyes widened when the man handed her a cup of instant ramen noodles, not just any instant noodles but her favourite flavour: miso.

"You remembered."

Kakashi nodded. "You used to leave them scattered in your apartment's floor."

I did, didn't I? She fingered the logo of the ramen cup, lips pressed into a tiny smile as she recalled the way Kakashi used to try and convince her to eat her vegetables. She always presumed her teacher never bothered to realize what her favourite ramen flavour was. It always seemed like he didn't really care about what she liked and disliked since he always seemed to be too busy training Sasuke on how to use the Sharingan properly.

"Naruto, do you truly believe I never cared about you?"

"Is this about yesterday?" Naruto sighed and put the ramen cup on the bedside table, alongside the peeled apples. "Shouto was being overprotective about me."

"You thought I didn't have faith in your abilities," Kakashi reminded her.

The smile on her face faltered at the reminder. It had been silly of her to hold it against him when Naruto considered the fact Kakashi had to increase the chances of Sasuke's survival. The man did attempt to teach her the Chidori even though she showed she had no talent for it. It had been so silly of her to say it but it just bursted out of her mouth before she could even stop herself.

"I didn't mean…"

Kakashi shook his head. "I always had faith in your abilities. Out of everyone in Team Seven, you showed that you were the most creative one. Your strategies has shown me even with the most basic jutsu that you can defeat people. I just thought that you understood this because you always have so much self-confidence."

"I was always so good with fooling people, wasn't I?" Naruto handed them the bowl of apples, lips curled into a smile as her teacher and teammate took the apple. "I even fooled myself about a lot of things. I fooled myself into thinking that I can continue to pretend to be happy and that those words didn't affect me when I clearly couldn't handle. I fooled myself into thinking Sasuke loved me like a sister but he loved me."

"You finally realize," Sakura pressed her lips into a thin line. "You really didn't know did you?"

Naruto stared at her. "I never lied to you or those fangirls when I said I never liked him in that way. I love Sasuke like a brother, I always did even if I did a terrible job of showing it."

"Sasuke-kun wasn't very good in showing his emotions to you," Sakura chewed on her bottom lip. "I noticed because…"

"Because you wanted to understand him better and because you want to know him better," Naruto finished. Sakura's green eyes grew large as Naruto took a bite of the apple, lips curled into a tiny smile. She thought of Todoroki and how she tried her hardest to be there for him. Along the way, she came to realize what made him happy, what he loved and even what he disliked.

"Naruto, I'm sorry."

Naruto pressed her lips into a thin line. "What are you sorry for?"

"Everything," Sakura clenched her hands into a fist. "I am sorry for taking out my anger on you whenever Sasuke showed that he likes you better than me. It wasn't right. I am sorry for bullying you and calling you all those words, for making you act like an idiot because I thought Sasuke deserve it more than you. I am sorry for calling you useless."

The sincerity in her tone made Naruto faltered, uncertain on how to deal with the apology. She never thought Sakura would apologize; not when her teammate never apologized for her behaviour before. Her teammate always clung to Sasuke, always belittle her in some way but Naruto knew she cared in her own way. When her period came, it had been Sakura to explain it to her since they had been in a mission.

"Sakura-chan…"

"I called you useless that day because I thought out of everyone, Sasuke would listen to you." Sakura took a deep breath. "Out of everyone in Rookie Nine, I was the most useless one. I begged Tsunade to take me in as a student because I wanted to stand beside you and Sasuke."

"We are crap in telling our feelings, aren't we?"

Sakura nodded and Naruto stared at her team, uncertain about what to say. Could she tell them about her decision to stay here? Was it the right time? Or would they force her to come back? She nibbled her apple piece, blue eyes fixated on her teammate and teacher. It felt almost uncomfortable to be here, should she babble? Why did her babbling only came out around Shouto?

"What are they doing here?"

She jerked her head at Todoroki who stood outside the door. A can of ice tea in one hand, his eyebrows knitted and his mismatch eyes stilted at the sight of her teammate and teacher. Blue eyes narrowed, daring him to cause problems for them. Todoroki pressed his lips into a thin line, strolled towards her and handed her the drink.

"Sakura-chan and Kakashi-sensei just wanted to talk."

Todoroki pressed his lips into a thin line, eyes asking her if she truly was okay with this. Naruto smiled. Just one word from her and her friend would be willing to freeze them in their place. His eyes lingered on her face as if telling her that he was here for her.

She smiled and stared at her teammate and teacher.

"I want to talk to Kakashi-sensei in private."


"You love Naruto."

Todoroki tore his eyes from the phone and stared at the pink-haired girl that stood right beside him. Sakura flickered her eyes from the phone to Naruto, who seemed busy chatting with Kakashi. A small smile played on her lips as her teacher talked to her. Todoroki wished he knew what they were talking about, uncertain whether the man was trying to convince Naruto to go back.

"Does she know about your feelings?"

Todoroki paused and shook his head, mismatch eyes fixed on the beaming face of his friend. How could he tell her? Did he just go up to her and tell her? How could he be certain Naruto loves him back? It would be easy for him to think she returned his feelings but he might be wrong. It was not like he had much experience in this department.

He could ask Midoriya but the boy seemed to be just as clueless as him when it came to girls.

"Naruto doesn't know if someone likes her unless someone makes it obvious to her," Sakura commented. Todoroki tilted his head and regarded the girl. Her green eyes seemed fixated on Naruto, her lips pressed into a tiny bitter smile. "Sasuke-kun wasn't very obvious when it came to his feelings towards Naruto but all the girls can see that he likes her. Naruto just didn't know…we thought she was lying about it."

"She broke down when Yaoyorozu pointed out that Sasuke looks at her like he had a crush." Sakura's green eyes grew large at his words. Todoroki pressed his lips into a thin line. "She felt like an idiot for not realizing it but it isn't her fault."

Sakura sighed. "Did she tell you that I accused her of liking him?"

Todoroki nodded, mismatch eyes not revealing about the anger he felt for her actions. Naruto was furious with him for his behaviour towards her teacher even though he still felt like it had bee the right thing to do. If he broke this girl down then his friend would never talk to him. Despite everything they did, she still held no anger towards them.

"I thought the way she acted around him was just another way for her to get his attention…it is stupid, I know but Sasuke was my first crush and my first love." Todoroki made no comment and the girl continued. "I never stopped to think that maybe Naruto was just being Naruto."

"She doesn't hate you even though you bullied her." Todoroki commented, eyes fixed on his friend. "She keeps defending your actions and said that you only said those cruel words because you were in pain. She thinks your love for Sasuke is genuine, but how can you love him? From how Naruto describe him…he is a terrible person."

"He wasn't always terrible."

I know. Naruto was a lot of things but she admitted to him that Sasuke had been willing to sacrifice himself for her. Could a person be completely terrible if they wanted to do this? It might have been his love for Naruto that caused him to do it but Todoroki guessed there was a part of him that truly cared for the people around him. There was something about Sasuke that made Naruto continue to care for him even after all he had done.

Todoroki just wanted to meet the boy and understand what that thing was.

"Does Naruto hate him? I can't blame her if she is angry with him since he…"

"You know what is the most interesting thing about Naruto? You could do the most shittiest thing to her and she will forgive you," Todoroki's eyes softened, remembering how his friend comforted him. "She will just try and comfort the person instead of mining her own business even when she has her own shit to deal with. No matter what your teammate did to her, Naruto will try and find a way to save him."

Sakura stared at him. "You don't like it."

Todoroki pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. He didn't practically enjoy knowing that his friend still carried some lingering guilt for what happened but Naruto was stubborn. Even if he did try and talk her out of it then Naruto would just ignore his words. It was something he loved about Naruto and at the same time he hated how his friend never think things through.

"If you are worried that I will try and convince her not to bring him back then don't worry." Todoroki focused his eyes on Naruto. "I only want her to be happy and I will follow through with her wishes."

"You really should show her that you love her," Sakura repeated.

Todoroki raised his eyebrow. "Are you saying this because you want Sasuke all to yourself?"

"I am willing to fight for Sasuke fairly if that is what you are accusing me of," Sakura stared at Naruto and pressed her lips into a bitter smile. "Maybe three years ago, that would have been my motive but I haven't been the best teammate to Naruto or even friend. I made her promise to bring Sasuke for my happiness but neither Sasuke-kun nor I did anything to make her happy."

Todoroki raised his eyebrows. "And what makes you believe my feelings would make her happy?"

He had no problem in telling Naruto about his feelings but Todoroki was going to do it right. This was not something that could be done lightly. When it came to his friend, he needed to make it obvious to her that he loves her.

Todoroki wanted her to know that his feelings weren't light at all.

He would even go out of his comfort zone if he had to.


A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter.