A/N: I would like to thank everyone that added this story to their favourite and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the last chapter. For everyone that have been alerted about the deletion of chapter 17, please scroll down to read the explanation.

(9 years ago)

"Sasuke! Sasuke! I know what I'm going to become when I grow up!"

At the age of six and half, there was only one person Naruto wanted to tell her dream of the future to and that person had been Sasuke. She bounced in her spot, a bright smile playing on her lips as Sasuke tilted his head at her. There was no one else in the park, then again no one knew about this secret hideout of theirs.

It was a secret hideout to hide from those weird girls who looked at her friend like he was some kind of toy.

Sasuke grabbed her arms, trying to steady her and his black eyes glinted with curiosity. His eyes seemed to look at her weirdly, not as weird as those girls in their class but it made her want to wrinkle her nose. Not that she would do it. The Hokage told her about how it wasn't cute for a girl to do it. Instead she just raised her eyebrow at him.

"Are you going to tell me, Blonde!" Sasuke demanded, scowling and blushing as he looked away from her. The sight of flushed cheeks made Naruto knit her eyebrows. Because it was a hot day. Then again, Sasuke had always been a little bit weird to her. Unlike most of the kids, her friend hadn't even turned his back on her when most of the kids warned him about her.

A monster. That had been the word one of her fellow orphans used to describe her to Sasuke, trying to save him from her. But she wasn't a monster. She had five fingers in each hand, and five toes in each feet. So that couldn't make her a monster. Then again, the Matron hated her and never stopped her former friends of spreading the rumors of her being a monster.

Sasuke didn't even blink an eyelash before declaring to her fellow orphan that he was an idiot.

(That was the Sasuke she missed, the one that did defend her at times and not the one that acted like an absolute asshole).

"Well are you going to tell me or not!" Naruto blinked as Sasuke folded his arms against his chest. Irritation and curiosity shone through his dark, growing stronger and stronger as each minute passed.

"I'm going to become the Hokage! The best Hokage that this village had ever seen! Even better than the Fourth Hokage!"

Sasuke blinked and blinked before raising an eyebrow at her as if asking her if she was sure about this goal. Because Naruto never really hid her dislike of shinobis to him when they first met, and now she declared she wanted to be the leader of them. She acted like she didn't know his problem, scratching her neck and giving him a goofy smile. She could pretend she forgot how she hadn't been happy with becoming a kunoichi.

She became so good at pretending that she fooled herself into thinking that this was what she wanted for herself.

"Why Hokage?" Sasuke asked and Naruto blinked at the question. She never really considered her friend asking her this question, so Naruto just knitted her eyebrows and poked her tongue against her cheeks. Her eyes fixated at him, trying to think of what to tell him. But the confusion and innocence in his black eyes made her realize that Sasuke couldn't really understand her dream or desires.

Because he would never fully understand the desire to prove to people that you were so much more than what a bunch of whisker marks were, or understand the desire of making her parents proud.

So she told him a little white lie.

"Because the Hokage is the most powerful person in the village and everyone acknowledges them." She explained, smiling widely at him. It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the complete truth. Acknowledgement had been in her mind alongside the desire of making her parents proud, but a small part of her just wanted to change things.

To make a system fair for outcasts like her and to ruin everyone's perception of her.

Sasuke stared at her for a good couple of seconds before looking up at the sky. There wasn't a single cloud drifting along the sky, making the sky look even more blue if that was possible. The birds flew away, free as Naruto wished she could be, and it was not long before her friend looked back at her.

A smile decorated his face and Naruto just blinked. So much warmth shone through his smile, almost making him look like a cute little puppy. He was one at times, but not with her. No, the puppy-like behaviour was left to Itachi and only Itachi. But still the smile made Naruto falter, because Sasuke rarely smiled in public.

He smirked and laughed but smiles were for when they were surrounded by his family.

(His smiles went away after the whole clan was murdered, only becoming a hazy memory in Naruto's mind).

"If you become Hokage, then I'm going to become the head of ANBU!" Sasuke declared, looking at her with a cocky smirk that Naruto had grown to hate so much. But that cocky smirk with those words also brought a smile to her instead of her usual scowl. "Someone needs to protect you."

The smile on Naruto's faded once her mind processed what her friend had just said to her and was replaced with a scowl. The little girl folded her arms against her chest and glared at the smirking boy. "I don't need you protecting me, bastard!"

When Naruto looked back at this day at the age of eighteen, she found the irony in Sasuke's words. The boy who wanted to protect her and thought she needed saving, was the same boy that pierced her chest with the Chidori. But siblings fight and like a good little sister, Naruto planned to reverse the roles that Sasuke originally intended for them.

Because how could she be a good friend or even hero, if she couldn't rescue her friend from his own mistakes.

But no one could really understand the bond between them and if only Naruto knew she had to elaborate her bond to Shouto when she was fifteen, then maybe Shouto wouldn't question the relationship she had with him.

"So what are your plans for today?"

Naruto looked away from her soba noodles and stared at Jiraiya. Her mentor gazed back at her with black eyes shining with curiosity before flickering to Gaara. Her friend wrinkled his nose, tilting his head and flickering his eyes for her. Right, she invited him here so she needed to tell him about the invitation they got for the Gala.

A gala that Naruto was still uncertain of going to, even if her friends and boyfriend were going there.

She chewed on her bottom lip and pushed the noodles back and forth. Blue eyes focused on the long line of people lining up for the buffet of breakfast. So many cuisines were on display from Western breakfast with their pancakes and waffles, to the Asian breakfast with their rice and fishes. She poked her tongue against her cheeks and slumped her shoulders.

"Gaara and me will be going to the Gala," Naruto admitted. Both black eyes and teal eyes widened at those words. I know this was the last thing they expected to hear from me. She slumped her shoulders and closed her eyes, trying to imagine of what was going to happen tonight in the Gala.

All of her friends were going to see her in the dress Nejire-chan told her to bring for the Gala. How would they react? Mineta would be a pervert, not caring how it would look, and the same goes for Kaminari. Bakugou might taunt her, telling her she doesn't look like a girl but it was the girls that worried her.

What if they called her a monster in a dress?

Tonight would be the real test for her about her femininity. Was she really as pretty as Nejire and Itsuka reassured she was? Or had Ami been right about her? She inhaled and exhaled before forcing herself to smile at Jiraiya and Gaara. Both males glanced at each other before frowning at her.

"Naruto, is everything okay?" Jiraiya asked. He put down his chopsticks and gazed at her for a good couple of seconds. So much concern and worry flashed through those eyes almost making Naruto falter at the level of concern being shown to her. It wasn't often her mentor would show this much concern for her, not when he knew she could take care of herself.

She steadied her trembling arms and nodded. "Of course, everything is fine. Why wouldn't everything be fine?"

"Because you are going to be wearing a dress in front of people that you don't know." Jiraiya deadpanned. Naruto jolted and raised an eyebrow at her mentor while Gaara knitted a non-existent eyebrow at her. "You might try and act like a tough woman, Naruto but I know when you aren't feeling confident about your clothes."

"I'm wearing a dress right now." She pointed out, gesturing to the flowy red dress. It wasn't like she wanted to deny his words but how could he figure it out? Nejire only knew about her dislike of dresses after she confessed to her feelings about it. But Jiraiya was never this observant when it came to her dressing habits.

He never made a complaint about it, except to tell her to tone down the orange.

"You might be wearing a dress but your eyes don't lie about your feelings, Naruto." Jiraiya explained. He rubbed the back of his neck, wrinkling his nose and pulling his lips into an awkward smile like he didn't feel comfortable about talking about this. Not that Naruto felt comfortable about things like dresses and confidence to him.

She actually had to dig her hand on the chair to stop herself from squirming at the topic.

"So what if I don't feel confident about wearing a dress? I'm going to conquer this." Naruto smoothed the wrinkles of her dress and focused her eyes on her mentor. Jiraiya's eyebrows raised to his hairline and it was not long before chuckle rumbled out of his chest. This only earned frowns from the two teens.

"Conquer huh?" Jiraiya shook his head and snorted. "You are starting to sound even more like your old self."

Gaara bobbed his head and took a sip of his own orange juice, teal eyes flickering to her. Naruto could only smile as her stomach fluttered slightly at the praise and compliment given to her. That was what she hoped to hear from him. If he could see a little bit of her confidence coming back, then maybe she could become the girl that she always pretended to be.

A girl that was always confident in her goals.

"Since you are confident you are going to be fine with wearing a dress, then do you need some money to get a dress?" Jiraiya asked, looking very interested in his scrambled eggs. Did he actually offer to give me some money to buy clothes? Naruto pinched herself before gawking at the Toad Sannin.

The man scowled. "Don't do that! This is a once of the lifetime opportunity!"

"Well it isn't like you made a point of offering to buy clothes for me!" Naruto retorted, folding her arms against her chest and scowling at the white-haired man. "It's your own fault for making me react like this! And to answer your question, I have a dress for the Gala."

Was it a great dress for the Gala? She chewed on her bottom lip and rubbed the back of her neck. Nejire reassured her before she left that it was great. But there was always a lingering sense of doubt, telling her about how the dress might not be the perfect dress for her. Naruto let out a sigh.

"I think the bigger concern is me." Naruto blinked and swirled her head at the red-haired boy. Gaara stroked his chin and pressed his lips into a very thin line. Those teal eyes flashed with uncertainity and discomfort and the blonde could only blink. This was the first time Gaara ever showed those emotions to her.

"What do you mean?" Jiraiya asked.

Gaara hesitated and took a deep breath. "I don't think the formal wear from Suna might fit in here. While I was with Yaoyorozu and Jirou…I noticed that the merchants wore some suits."

Jiraiya hummed, knitting his eyebrows together and glanced at her like she might have an idea of what to do. I might have some idea. She chewed the inner corner of her cheeks, her hand reached into her pockets and pulled out her cellphone. If Gaara relied on her to pick his suits then he might be a laughing stock.

God knew she wasn't known for her fashion set.

But who could she get to help?

Naruto scrolled through her contacts as Jiraiya and Gaara continued to stare at her. Bakugou? He must have good fashion sense because of his parents, but he might just pick a fight with Gaara. Not what they needed right now. Kirishima? Friendly but he did ask for advice from Bakugou.

Midoriya?

The image of his first hero costume flashed through her mind and Naruto crossed him out of the mental list. Shouto? As much as she liked his fashion, something nagged at her that it might be a terrible idea to have him help Gaara. Kaminari? No, he might just ruin Gaara's mind. The same went for Mineta.

Maybe she should ask the girls? But most of the girls were either uncomfortable with Gaara or didn't know him all that well. She chewed on her bottom lip as her eyes fixated on the only other girl her friend seemed to be comfortable with. Her fingers waved over the number and taking a deep breath, she began to type out of a message.

"What are you doing?" Gaara asked, leaning closer to her. His teal eyes took in the image of the contact before darting at her. I don't know shit about fashion and I'm not going to let you look like a fool. She straightened her back, clicked sent and turned to look at her friend.

"Yaoyorozu probably knows what will look good on you." Naruto slipped her phone back into her pocket. She took a small slip of her milk, not looking at her friend or mentor, and turned the glass of milk around.

Gaara pinched his nose. "I don't want us to bother her about—"

"It won't be a bother to her." Naruto straightened her back and flashed a confident smile to Gaara. "Shopping is one of her hobbies so she might have a better idea of what a guy should wear to these things. Beside, I trust her sense of fashion."

The older boy blinked, chewed on his bottom lip and rubbed the back of his neck. Those teal eyes darted everywhere from the many foods before landing on a couple of kids, and Naruto frowned. What was there for him to worry about? It wasn't like Yaoyorozu was going to bite him if they went to a store to get some clothes. She bit her lips and sighed.

Yaoyorozu did like him after all, so there was nothing for him to worry about.

But in the back of Naruto's mind, something nagged at her about how it should be her that needed to look over her shoulder. Something told her that things was going to change and Naruto could only knit her eyebrows. But was it for the better or for the worse? She chewed on her lips and took a deep breath.

No, today was going to be a good day for her.

"You are Todoroki Shouto, aren't you?"

Shouto stopped walking in the corridor and his mismatch eyebrows knitted together at the sight of a single, gray-haired man with onyx eyes staring at him. There was no one else in the corridor of his floor, which wasn't strange when Shouto considered how it was still 7am. Most of the guests must still be sleeping.

But none of the guest would know his name. He schooled his expression, not willing to show any emotion to the man eyeing him like he was a science experiment he wanted to dissect. How did this man know his name? He darted his eyes to the paintings surrounding them, ready to move to the side from the man.

But there was one thing he wanted to confirm.

"Do I know you?" He asked. Have they met in one of those parties his father forced him to go? Sweat dripped down Shouto's face when the man chuckled. Not a kind, warm laugh like his classmates but a forced laugh. Did he insult him? He couldn't recognize faces from those stupid parties, but voice always bring a hazy memory out.

He should remember a voice as friendly as the man right in front of him.

"Don't worry Todoroki-kun, you haven't met me before." The man reassured him. A small chuckle escaped from his lips and Shouto pressed his lips into a thin line. His laughs are really fake. It was as fake as the fake teeth his grandmother used to use before she passed away. "But Naruto-chan knows me. You can even say I'm an old friend of hers."

An old friend? Shouto stitched his eyebrows together and eyed the man standing before him. But wouldn't his girlfriend mention if an old friend was here in I-Island? Maybe she didn't know he was here. He tilted his head to the side. If the man claimed to be a friend of Naruto then why visit him?

"Are you, Sasuke?" The man quirked his lips into a smile and let out a laugh. Shouto raised an eyebrow. What was so funny? Hinata was a girl from what Naruto told him. Sasuke was the only option. Except her best friend had black hair and black eyes, while this guy wore glasses, had gray hair and black eyes.

Several minutes passed before the man shook his head. "No, I'm not Sasuke-kun…but I'm surprised Naruto-chan told you about Sasuke-kun."

Those eyes mocked him with the way his eyes shone with pity and humour. Shouto's stomach began to turn around like it was in a roller coaster ride. Why wouldn't Naruto tell him? Sasuke was an important part of her life. He is my best friend. That was what Naruto told him. But those eyes said differently.

Those eyes looked at him like he was a poor fool.

"Why wouldn't she tell me?" Shouto balled his hands into a fist and eyed the man standing in his way. A frown played on the gray-haired man's lips, tilting his head at him. Stop looking at me like that. He clenched his jaws together, trying and failing to keep the temperature of his body in control.

One side heating up till it felt like he was in a sauna while the other side of his body cooled down, almost like he was stuck in an ice-blizzard.

"Well Naruto-chan and Sasuke-kun were just so close." The man answered, smiling widely like he had him in a trap. So close. Those two words shouldn't make Shouto twitched but those eyes hinted the closeness wasn't one between friends. Those eyes alongside those last words implied a relationship like the one he had with Naruto.

He grinded his teeth. "Yes, Naruto and Sasuke are the best of friends."

"Best friends?" A loud laugh escaped from the man's lips and the white-haired man held his shoulders up. He shook his head and let out a series of tuts, looking at Shouto like he was a naïve fool. Shouto bristled. "Is that what Naruto-chan told you?"

Shouto clenched his jaws tighter together. What was that supposed to mean? Naruto and Sasuke were the best of friends, having grown up together but was that the only thing to their relationship? Naruto never really talked about her male best-friend. A forbidden topic he never really broached with her.

He took a deep breath. But there was a reason Naruto didn't bring him up. Sasuke was like Touya. A brother that brought up a lot of pain. I believe in Naruto's words. She had no reason to lie to him or to alter the truth. But she didn't tell him about being a kunoichi. She had her reason of course. He knew the reasons too, so nothing should shake him up.

"They are best friends."

"That isn't how people see them." The man commented, smiled widely and shaking his head. Shouto froze and his heart stopped as those onyx eyes glinted with pitiness. The older male placed his hand on his shoulder and chuckled. "If anyone ever saw Naruto with Sasuke-kun, you would never think of them as best-friends but an old-married couple. Everyone knows they loved each other."

His inside froze at those words. No. If Naruto was in love with Sasuke then she wouldn't be with him. That wasn't how Naruto works. But those black eyes shone with sympathy, looking at him like he was a poor fool to be in a relationship with Naruto. He wasn't an idiot. His girlfriend was loyal, too loyal to be in a relationship with him if she had feelings for someone else.

"I just thought you should know this fact about your girlfriend's past." The white-haired man chuckled and patted him in the back. "After all you are just her replacement for Sasuke-kun. If Sasuke-kun was here and hadn't done the thing he did, maybe she would be with him instead of you."

Shouto blinked and the man turned around with his back straightened. Am I a replacement? He shook his head as the man walked away from him. Touya was almost perfect. But he had been a replacement before. When Touya failed to be the perfect tool, it had been him that Endeavour chose to replace Touya as his tool.

"Oh!" Shouto jerked his head up as the man clicked his heels together. He turned around and offered him a wide smile. "Tell Naruto-chan that Kabuto says hi and that Sasuke-kun is doing wonderful with Orochimaru-sama."

With those words, the man called Kabuto strolled off and Shouto had only one lingering thought in his mind.

Was Naruto really using him as a replacement for Sasuke?

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. What do you think about this chapter? I didn't plan for the flashback but it felt right to include it in this chapter. What do you think of the interaction between Kabuto and Shouto? Can anyone guess why Kabuto is doing this?

**New Author Note: Chapter 17 was deleted because after rereading the chapter and thinking about the contents that happened in this chapter, I wasn't really happy with it. So chapter 17 will be completely rewritten to have a different content inside of it. It doesn't meant that the content that happened in the original chapter 17 won't happen but it will appear again in a different context. I apologise for what happened and I will try to update the new chapter as soon as possible.