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.
Soba noodles don't really taste all that good anymore.
Shouto pushed his noodles back and forth with his chopsticks, lips curled into a tiny frown and his tiny shoulders hunched. At the age of six and half, Shouto did not have his mother to comfort him or have lunch with him anymore. After what happened a couple of months ago, Shouto hadn't seen his mother.
He hadn't really seen any of his siblings since Endeavour began to train him.
Soba noodles used to taste nicer when Mum was here. Shouto slumped his shoulders, mismatch eyes fixated on the big pot of soba noodles before flickering his eyes to the empty seats around him. Fuyumi-neechan was doing her homework, locked up in her room. Natsu-niisan was out in the park, playing with his friends. Touya-niisan? He doesn't know where he was.
He might be six but Shouto knows there was something weird about Soba. He loves Soba. It was the only meal his Mummy would cook for him. Our little secret, Shou-kun. Your Father can't know I have been cooking it. Shouto loves watching his Mummy cook his favorite meal. There was always a bright smile on her face but things were different now.
Mummy was gone and he wasn't allowed to eat with any of his brothers or even his sister. Why? Did he do something wrong? Why couldn't he eat with them anymore? Soba doesn't taste good anymore and maybe it was because Mummy was gone.
Even when Shouto looks back at the age of fifteen, he doesn't understand why soba noodles didn't have the same taste anymore.
"I'm not going out, Eisuke!" Shouto blinked and straightened his back as Touya passed the hallway, holding his smartphone close to his ear. Turquoise eyes flickered towards him and Shouto looked down at his food. Ever since he started training with that man, Touya always looked at him with weird eyes. Sometimes, he wanted to ask Natsuo-niisan if he knows why Touya looks at him weirdly.
But Shouto is six and terrified of having his fear being confirmed.
"Look Eisuke, I have got to—you little shit head, don't tell her that!" Shouto stuffed his laugh as turquoise eyes widened while his older brother running his hand through his hair. Touya was always calm, nearly perfect as his father would always tell him, but whenever his friend called him then he looked like a frazzled cat.
Turquoise eyes fixated on him and the smile on Touya's face dropped. Why was Touya-niisan never happy to see him? Shouto doesn't understand why he never smiled at him anymore. Did he hate him for training with Endeavour while Endeavour threw him away? Because Shouto hates how Endeavour threw all his toys away from his room.
Touya shuffled closer to the open door of the dining room, slipping his hands into his pockets and turquoise eyes seemed fixated on the seat right in front of Shouto. The same seat Mummy used to sit in. Did Touya-niisan miss Mummy too? He doesn't know. Touya-niisan was always out, out with friends. He has a girlfriend. That was what Fuyumi-neechan would tease Touya whenever they sat around the table.
"What's wrong, Shouto?" For the first time since Mummy left home, turquoise eyes softened and Shouto prayed Touya would sit down with him. He actually wants Mummy with him. But Mummy was gone, left in some hospital, and he was alone. When Mummy was here, he had someone to eat with.
But now all of his meals were alone.
He couldn't tell Touya-niisan this.
"Nothing." Shouto hunched his shoulders and tried to blink away the tears. Heroes don't cry, Shouto! That was what Endeavour always tells him whenever he cries over the little things. That man always calls him a crybaby whenever he cries or vomits over the harsh training. Shouto doesn't want Touya to think he was a crybaby or that he really wished he was here.
His brother raised an eyebrow and his turquoise eyes seemed fixated on the pot of soba noodles that their housekeeper prepared for them. No words passed between them, only sadness leaking out of his brother's eyes and a frown playing on his lips. I guess he doesn't really want to spend time with me. His brother left him alone in this big empty dinning room and all Shouto had was his soba noodles.
Mismatch eyes widened when the door slid opened and Touya comes back in, juggling a bowl and chopsticks. A large smile decorated his face, turquoise eyes shone with understanding and his big brother slid right onto the seat right beside him. His big brother dumped a huge bowlful of soba and began to slurp it down.
From the few memories that Shouto could recall of Touya, his brother had always been the best when it came to caring about him.
"It doesn't really taste all that good right, Tou-niisan?" His brother blinked and looked down on the bowl of soba noodles. Understanding and sadness radiated from his eyes. Shouto opened his mouth, ready to ask him why he was so sad but something stopped him. Touya-niisan was only sad whenever he sees him.
Touya-niisan was always happy whenever he was with Natsuo and Fuyumi.
His brother smiled, shook his head and poked Shouto by the nose. Shouto blinked and touched his nose while Touya looked out to the hallway. "Or maybe you disliked the taste because you are eating it alone. Doesn't it taste better now that I'm eating it with you?"
Shouto rubbed his nose, took another bite of his noodles and smiled slightly at his brother. "Yup! But maybe you changed the ingredient while I was thinking!"
Touya laughed and ruffled his hair. "Explain to me how I could have changed the ingredients while you were thinking!"
When Shouto looked back, he doesn't fully understands why he loved soba noodles so much but he thinks it was because of his missing older brother.
"Here are your orders!"
Naruto grinned as the waitress slid the bowls of ramen and soba noodles in front of them. The smile on her face dropped when the waitress offered a flirty smile to Shouto. Isn't she supposed to be working? She bit her tongue from saying those words out loud even though she wanted to chew the woman out. Taking a deep breath, the blond-haired girl pushed down the boiling emotions and focused on her food.
"I'm starving!" Naruto straightened her back and began to slurp her ramen, closing her eyes. Was this the best ramen she had? Probably not. But it was definitely good enough to not focus on the weird emotions turning around in her stomach. A small groan escaped her lips and the blue-eyed girl blinked, flushing red as several people coughed.
Shouto just chuckled and tilted his head, knitting his eyebrows together as if he was in deep throat.
"What?" Naruto put down her chopsticks, frowning and raising an eyebrow at him. "Is there something wrong with the way I eat? Because I ain't apologizing for the way I eat."
Her friend shook his head, chewed on his bottom lip and stared at her with curious mismatch eyes. "Why do you love ramen so much? You always seemed to eat ramen with so much zeal."
The blond-haired girl blinked, leaned her body backwards and chewed on her bottom lip. Can I tell him about what caused me to love ramen so much? She pushed her lips back and forth, eyebrows furrowed together. Mismatch eyes softened slightly, looking so apologetic for asking the question, and Naruto took a deep breath.
"I guess it was because it was the first warm meal I ever had," Naruto smiled and swirled the noodles around, blue eyes softening as the memories of the past flashed before her eyes. Shouto blinked and the blond-haired girl looked at the smiling mothers with their children. "I was just wandering around in the streets until Teuchi-ojisan tells me to come in, offering me some ramen to eat."
She closed her eyes and smiled, gulping down the lump in her throat. Warm eyes flashed before her alongside the kind, gentle voice of Teuchi as he coaxed her into coming into his ramen stand. A huge bowl of ramen stood before her. Her body trembling as she tried to understand why someone was being so kind to her. A chuckle escaped her lips.
Teuchi-ojisan really did save me from myself.
"And you have been in love with ramen since then." Understanding colored his tone and Naruto bobbed her head. He looked at his own soba noodles, lips pressed into a thin line and Naruto wondered if he found it weird that her love for ramen was because it had been her first meal. She rubbed the back of her neck, eyes now locked on her ramen and she straightened her back.
"It is weird, isn't it? But ramen was my very first warm meal and I think it would have been a meal that my Mum would make if she was alive." Naruto chuckled and offered him a smile. Shouto blinked, leaning his body backwards as if taken back by her words.
After a couple of seconds, Shouto shook his head. "I don't think it is weird."
She blinked and then just stared at her friend. Shouto doesn't offer her a smile, only looking down at his food before looking back at her with wide eyes. It looked like he realized something and Naruto could only wonder what her words made him realize. Did he understand her love for ramen? Because she doubt it. Most people didn't understand it.
"When my mother was sent to the hospital, there was no one who would eat lunch with me." Shouto curled his lips into a frown and his voice wavered slightly, telling Naruto of just how emotional her friend was. The mismatch boy was almost always composed. "And the housekeeper usually make soba noodles. I used to eat it alone but Touya-niisan would come back from high school, see me and then he would eat with me."
Naruto kept quiet, only chewing her bottom lip before placing her hand on top of Shouto's left hand. She rubbed circles around it, hoping and praying it would be enough to calm her friend down. She doesn't know what else to do to calm him down, to remind him that they were here. When she was in Konoha, she acted insensitive to people and their problems.
She doesn't want to do that with Shouto.
"Shouto, is it okay if I asked what was Touya like?" Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and gazed into those mismatch eyes that she might have possibly grown to like. A part of her knew that it was wrong for her to question him, especially when her friend might not be comfortable to answer her question but she wanted to understand him.
Shouto closed his eyes and hunched his shoulders. "I can't remember Touya-niisan all that well, Naruto. I don't remember what he looks like anymore. It might have been five years since he ran away but Endeavour kept distancing me from my siblings as each year passed."
Bright blue eyes widened at those words and Naruto could only stared at her friend. He couldn't remember his own brother's appearance. Her throat clogged slightly even though she doesn't fully understand the pain of not remembering his own siblings. No, what hurts the most for her was the knowledge that he couldn't be near his own siblings. Her hand trembled and the blond-haired girl cleared her throat.
"You must have been really lonely."
Shouto nodded and admitted. "Sometimes Natsu-niisan feels like a stranger to me because of that. Our relationship has been improving for the past few months but—"
"You still can't connect with him completely." Shouto bobbed his head and Naruto chewed on her bottom lip, pushing it back and forth as her mind tried to think of a way to get them to fully bond over something. Was there anything she could do to help them? Anything to make him smile and have a bond with his brother again.
"I can't talk about heroics with Natsu-niisan," Shouto continued, staring down at his food. "And that's the only thing I really know what to talk about."
Naruto picked up her chopsticks, stared down at her bowl of ramen and looked back at her friend. "Why don't you find a hobby that the both of you can do together?"
"A hobby?" Shouto knitted his eyebrows together and tilted his head. Naruto bit her tongue, stopping herself from giggling at the fact that her friend looked so cute when he was absolutely confused. He really does make me act like a girl. She chewed on her bottom lip, uncertain of how to feel about it.
"Yeah, do a hobby together if you wanted to get to know each other." Naruto bobbed her head and cleared her throat. "I don't know much about siblings but you should do some brotherly thing with him."
Shouto nodded, tilted his head and rubbed his chin. "Like what? Do you know what Gaara does with his brother? They are the only people I know that are brothers."
"No idea." Shouto raised an eyebrow and Naruto rubbed the back of her neck, feeling almost uncertain of whether or not to tell her friend about what she knew about Gaara. "Gaara is in the same boast as you but the difference between the two of you is that Kankuro and him work together as a team."
Shouto frowned and knitted his eyebrows. "Really? Are they distant from each other because he is becoming—"
"Kazekage? No." Naruto shook her head and inhaled, pushing her lips back and forth. She wanted to tell him but it would open up more questions and it would lead to her talking about Jinchuuriki. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell him about it, not when there was a chance she could lose this friendship between them. "It is something else but this is Gaara's secret to tell."
She chewed on her bottom lip and hunched her shoulders while Shouto knitted his eyebrows, flickering his eyes everywhere. His eyes lingered the most on the toilet room and he squirmed slightly. Her friend sighed, hunched his shoulders and bobbed his head. "Naruto, if you excuse me I need to go to the toilet."
Naruto blinked and waved her hand, smiling slightly as her friend pushed his chair back and walked to the toilets. She looked down at her food, knitting her eyebrows together as the people around them chattered and giggled over their conversation. Today had been one of the happiest days of her life but how long could this last? She felt closer to Shouto and despite spending the whole day together, she wanted to get to know him more.
But could she get to know him even more when she hadn't told him about her status as a jinchuuriki?
Should she tell him and take the risk?
It shouldn't scare her so much, but the thought of Shouto rejecting her because of the Kyuubi made her whole body tremble. I have never wanted to keep the Kyuubi a secret more than ever. She steadied her trembling hands and inhaled. It had never mattered to her if Sasuke or the other genin found out about it; if they rejected her. Naruto always prepared herself for that day but Shouto was different.
Shouto made her happy and forget the burden of being a jinchuuriki.
"It is so nice to meet you…Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto blinked and looked away from her bowl of ramen, forcing her head to look up at the large dark-skinned man looming over her. Blue eyes widened when she felt the familiar buzz of chakra radiating from the man, hinting to her that standing before her was another shinobi.
It seemed like no matter what she did or how far away she ran, there was always going to be a shinobi after her.
"Kacchan, what should we do? Uzumaki-san looks really distressed?"
Green eyes seemed fixated on Bakugou, pleading with him to think of a plan to deal with the issue at hand. Bakugou pressed his lips into a thin line, red eyes fixated on the dark-skinned man who seemed to be leaning in to talk to Whiskers. Something about the whole situation just made his stomach turned and there was a bitter taste in his throat.
Go and help her. There was a small, nagging voice demanding him to go and charged in there to help Whiskers. It was not the first time he heard this voice, not when the voice spoke to him when Whiskers ended up being kidnapped. He tightened his grip on the menu and grinded his teeth together.
"I don't know." Deku blinked and frowned, not looking one bit pleased with his answer, but Bakugou doesn't care what his childhood friend thinks. The two of them weren't heroes. One wrong move and this would be put in their records. There was no telling if they could handle this problem of someone harassing Whiskers.
"Well we can't leave her!" Deku whispered harshly, green eyes narrowing as the man took a seat on IcyHot's chair. From where Bakugou sat, he could barely make out the words being mouthed between them, but the trembling of Whisker's hands seemed to have gotten worse. If Whiskers had been trembling like a leaf, now she trembled like a willow tree.
"Be smart, Deku!" He growled. Leaving Whiskers alone was a terrible idea but the girl was strong. Unlike Deku and the other whimps in their school, she was probably one of the bravest people he knew. For her to be trembling like this meant that this man in front of them was no joke. That not even Whiskers was confident to go against them.
Even the way the man sat spoke volumes of his strength and Bakugou clenched his hands into a fist, red eyes flickering to the toilets. Where was IcyHot when they need him? Three against one seemed a bad idea. But maybe four against one was a better idea? He pressed his lips into a thin line and darted his eyes around the café.
Most of the customers seemed either interested in their food, partner or pretending not to notice that there was a fifteen-year-old girl, who looked ready to bolt from here. Red eyes narrowed when he caught sight of two teens seated near the door, their eyes dancing with eagerness at the sight before them. Beside them was another blond-haired woman, probably a couple of years older than them.
Not one of them seemed bothered by what they saw, if anything they seemed pleased about something.
"Kacchan, we should—"
"What the hell can we do, Deku? If we get involved then we are getting into trouble!" Bakugou rubbed the sides of his head, lips curled into an ugly scowl as his mind raced to make a plan to help Whiskers. Should they contact the police? No. They wouldn't be fast enough. The heroes? But would they be fast enough to get to Whiskers.
"So what, Kacchan?" Deku narrowed his eyes at him, put the menu on the table and slammed his hands on the table. "Uzumaki is distressed and we need to help her! I know damn well that you can't leave her alone, not when she is distressed over whatever that man is telling her!"
His blood boiled at the accusation tossed by Deku. Deku acts like he knows me damn well! Sparks cracked under his fingertips as green eyes narrowed at him, daring him to refute those accusation. They hadn't been friends for years, were barely friends now, and Deku acted like he knew everything about him. "Don't fucking talk to me like you know me, Deku!"
"But I do know you!" Deku leaned his body forward and green eyes seemed fixated on him. "You think I haven't noticed how you have always hovered around her like a bodyguard? I know you care about her and that you have always cared about her since she entered our lives!"
Bakugou clenched his jaws. "I don't give a fuck about that bitch!"
"Then why come here?" The green-haired boy dug his fingers against the table and narrowed his eyes, his lips curled into a frown. "Why watch Uzumaki and Todoroki while they were eating in the restaurant while everyone else went to the rides to have some fun! Why do you insist that you are going to watch them!"
"Because the others are just focused on—"
"Kacchan, you are a lot of things but you aren't a liar!" Deku straightened his back and clenched his hands into a ball, not caring about the various eyes that seemed fixated on them. "For once in your damn life, admit that you give a shit about Uzumaki!"
He keeps acting like he knows me! Bakugou balled his hands into a fist, red eyes narrowing at his childhood friend before flickering his eyes to Whiskers. The blond-haired girl chewed on her bottom lip, straightened her back and bobbed her head as if coming into a decision about something. She is going to do something stupid again! He slammed his fist on the table, making the spoon and forks jump.
"Fine!" Bakugou growled as Whiskers and the older male stood up from their seats. Deku blinked, almost taken back by the fact that he changed his mind so quickly. We got to help that bitch. Maybe he could hold it against her. "We will follow them but the moment that this whole thing goes to hell, we get the heroes!"
Deku bobbed his head and the two of them stood up from their seats. Red eyes stared at the straightened back of Whiskers before moving down to her balled fist. He stood there for a couple of seconds, watching Whiskers as she trailed behind the large, muscular dark-skinned man. The three people from the table in front of the door stood up, opened the door and just watched as Whiskers dragged her feet.
Bakugou stomped towards them, hands stuffed in his pockets as Midoriya trailed behind him. No time. If they were going to help Whiskers then they needed to be quick about it. Brains was what they needed because something told Bakugou that this wasn't going to be easy.
"Midoriya! Bakugou!" The two teens stopped in their tracks, clicked their heels and like robots turned their whole body around. Red eyes met mismatch eyes, who gazed at them with knitted eyebrows. Oh now he came back from the toilet break. He clenched his jaws while Todoroki darted his eyes between them. "What are you guys doing here? Midoriya, didn't you say you—"
"Instead of focusing on why Deku lied! Why don't you focus on the fact that your damn girlfriend is in trouble!" Todoroki blinked and turned his head slightly, mismatch eyes widening at the sight of Whiskers walking behind a dark-skinned male. "Some old man seemed after her and the bitch—"
"Don't call her that!" Bakugou blinked and Todoroki walked towards him, mismatch eyes fixated on the hunched shoulders of Whiskers. The usual pale face of Todoroki seemed to have grown even more pale at the sight before him. Mismatch eyes hardened but Bakugou could practically see his shoulders trembling. "Focus on helping her! If they are after her then it might be because—"
Because of what, asshole? Bakugou bit his tongue from yelling those words. Not because he was being thoughtful or any of that bullcrap. But because Todoroki shoved him and Deku aside, sprinting after Whiskers and the weird man. Looks like if I want answers then I need to follow him. He grunted and began chasing after Todoroki, never once bothering to see if Deku was following him.
A small part of Bakugou wondered what was causing him to do this.
"You wanted to negotiate with me."
Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and pressed her lips into a thin line, blue eyes darting to the various trees and bushes that surrounded them. From behind the bushes, the giggles, lively chatter and the dragging feet of the pesesterian seemed to pierce through the scenery. Her blue eyes focused back on the man called Killer Bee and his shinobi team.
She couldn't fight them without making a scene, meaning she had no choice but to listen to what they have to say to her.
"I did mention that in the café," Killer Bee declared, smiling at her. You also discreetly threatened to make a scene in the café if I don't with you. She bit her tongue from saying those words, schooling her expression as several eyes seemed fixated on her.
Naruto inhaled and exhaled, pulling her hands out of the pockets of her shorts. Be careful of what I say to them. One wrong move and she might be in trouble. "What does Kumogakure want with me? I'm a nobody. I'm just a poor little genin from Konohagakure."
She needed to play the fool.
The blond-haired woman eyed the whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks and let out a little chuckle. "Uzumaki Naruto, we all know what the Raikage can possibly want from you. You may be a genin but are the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi and a member of the Uzumaki Clan."
Blue eyes widened and Naruto stiffened. Her heart raced and pounded against her chest, ready to leap up to her throat. How the hell did they know what she contained? She clenched her hands into a fist and hunched her back as Killer Bee smirked at her, looking at her like they had her in the bag.
"My brother heard of your hardship growing up in Konoha and knew of the reason that you have been exiled." Killer Bee walked around in circles, his eyes fixated on her trembling body. "A genin that was sent to rescue and retrieve her teammate, only to lose him to Orochimaru."
Naruto clenched her hands into a fist and grinded her teeth together.
"The Hokage banished you for not bringing him back."
She exiled me for six years! Get your facts right! The whiskered teen locked her eyes on the ground, heart beating even harder against her chest as her blood boiled over what the man was telling her. This was manipulation, wasn't it? He wanted to remind her of her failures as a kunoichi. He wanted to break her and make her willing to take whatever offer he had for her.
"Kunonogakure wishes to extend a hand to you and offer you friendship," Killer Bee continued, locking eyes of her hunched shoulders. "You will be treated with respect and kindness in Kumogakure, something that a person of your status deserves."
The blond-haired girl slipped her hands into her pockets and pursed her lips into a thin line. "But in exchange you want me to be completely loyal to Kumogakure, don't you?"
"Of course," The blond-haired woman declared, narrowing her eyes at her. "Generosity is a two-way street."
Naruto looked up at the clear blue skies, inhaled and exhaled, before looking back at the four shinobi before her. "How can I be certain I will be treated with kindness? A jinchuuriki always suffers from hardship. People like me are always treated like trash!"
"Maybe in Konoha but Yugito and I are treated with respect despite our status as the Hachibi and Nibi jinchuuriki." Blue eyes widened as Killer Bee lowered his sunglasses, understanding playing in his eyes. Naruto took several deep breaths as her heart raced against her chest and her whole body trembling like she was on a sugar rush.
"Do you truly believe you can have a normal life here?" Yugito commented, brown eyes locking eyes on Naruto. "No matter how many people you save, you can't ever forget that you are a kunoichi. A chance of a normal life was taken away from you, the moment the Fourth Hokage made you the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. There will always be people that want you for the Kyuubi."
I know that.
But she wanted to live a happy life for the next couple of years.
"Aren't you bold to poach the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki from right under Konoha's nose." Everyone blinked and swirled their body around as a brown-haired man jumped down from the trees. Brown eyes narrowed and the man stalked forward, looking almost like a panther that seemed reach to pounce. "Does Kumo really want to risk a war? Uzumaki Naruto is under temporary exile and has sworn an oath to be a soldier of Konoha."
Isn't that Konohamaru's Dad? Hibiki-ojisan! Blue eyes widened as Hibiki stood beside her, arms folded against his chest and eyes locked on the four shinobi before them. Even though it had been years since Naruto seen the man, the lingering scent of cigarettes and oak trees had been a scent her nose never forgot.
"Sarutobi Hibiki," Yugito curled her lips in disgust and eyed him with twitching eyebrows. "So Konoha has been keeping an eye on Naruto."
Naruto blinked and Hibiki just stared at them, not looking one bit amused at those words. Brown eyes flickered between her and the shinobis before them before going to the bushes behind her. He shook his head, let out a sigh and straightened his back.
"You should leave." Hibiki declared, clearing his throat. "And tell your Raikage that the Hokage would have some words to say about trying to poach one of our shinobi from us. We forgave you of the slight that you made nearly thirteen years ago but take Naruto and there will be war."
Killer Bee eyed them. "Why don't we hear what Naruto has to say."
"You think I'm stupid and desperate?" Naruto cleared her throat, straightened her back and narrowed her eyes at them. "I will never ever join the village that tried to kidnap my best friend during the negotiation for peace between our two villages."
"You will never get an offer like this, Uzumaki Naruto."
Like I care. Naruto bit her tongue and watched as Killer Bee and his team jumped over the bushes, leaving her alone with Hibiki. The blond-haired girl slumped her shoulders, slapped her trembling legs and looked at Hibiki. The man does not smile, did not greet her and the blonde wanted to tell him that she had never been tempted by the offer.
She was a lot of things but Naruto would never betray Konoha.
"Boys, get your asses out of those bushes." Naruto blinked as Hibiki locked eyes on the bush behind them. The leaves rustled and slowly Shouto, Bakugou and Midoriya stepped out of the bushes. Why the hell were they here? How much did they hear? Naruto gulped and stared at the wide eyes of her two classmates before looking at the blank eyes of Shouto.
"Naruto, is there something else that you forgot to mention to me?"
A/N: What do you think of this chapter? What do you think of the second book in general? And of the relationships between the characters? Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter.