Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the original character.
A/N: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
What the hell is Eisuke thinking?
Naruto frowned and knitted her eyebrows together as she stared at the red-haired man standing across the room. Her distant relative's green eyes flared up with a mixture of fiery determination and hope, which was directed to the President and the Fifth Hokage. What the hell was going through her cousin's mind? What was his plan? It must be something if he looked ready to shout it out to the world.
From beside her distant relative, Kenji shot an irritated look to Eisuke. "I know you want them to know about your radical idea but this isn't the time and place to talk about it!"
Radical idea? She tilted her head to the side while the heroes and shinobis exchanged weary looks between themselves. What did her mother's cousin mean by radical idea? And why didn't he look one bit pleased by Eisuke talking about it? It must be something really extreme because the man only raised his voice when he couldn't control his emotions.
"Everyone is here," Eisuke explained, tapping his feet against the floor. He darted his eyes to Tsunade and then to the President, who looked almost weary of what her cousin had to say. "And we currently have a really huge issue whether the President wants to admit it or not. An issue that could make the citizens lose hope on heroes."
The President grimaced and shot an irritated glance at Endeavor. Naruto's frown deepened and for a brief moment, she wondered what was the connection between the new Number One Hero and the huge issue. It must had been something big because the blonde doubt that the elderly woman would have given such looks to Endeavor, if it had been something simple.
"You are talking about that Villain, aren't you?" The President asked with a clip tone. She thinned her lips and locked her eyes on Eisuke as if trying to ensnare him with her gaze.
Eisuke didn't flinch. He kept his expression completely blank, not allowing any emotion to break through his face. The man simply clasped his hands together and stared at the wall behind her. Well Naruto guessed he was doing that because it didn't feel like her distant relative was actually looking at her. It felt more like he was in a different place and a different time from the way his eyes became glassy.
"How will the public react once they find out that the member of League Of Villains I caught is also the son of a Hero?" Eisuke finally asked. His voice was calm, maybe even hardened but Naruto didn't fail to notice that the hero balled up his fist. "No matter how you try and spin the story, there will always be a chance that someone will dig up the truth and spill it to the public. Once they find out the truth, then their faith in the system will be shaken."
How the hell did a son of a Hero become a villain? She snuck a glance at Kenji and blinked at the sight of her uncle glancing at Endeavor with hardened eyes. The current Number One Hero didn't say anything, he only avoided the hardened eyes of her uncle and lowered his head. That was odd but what was even weirder was the guilt, grief and absolute sadness radiating from the man.
Those emotions overwhelmed her to the point that it almost clogged up all of her other senses. There was a definite connection between Endeavor and the captured villain but what could be the case? Endeavor had three sons. She knew that much. Natsuo was in university and he did not seem like the type to commit a crime. Shouto had his own moral compass, which meant…
"Do you mean that Todoroki Touya was the villain that you caught?"
Her question rang out in the air and all talk faded as everyone turned around to look at her. Some of the heroes blinked and then frowned as if they didn't know who the hell was Todoroki Touya, while Kakashi and the other shinobis gazed at her with wide eyes. If she considered the fact that they knew her relationship with Shouto then it was natural for them to come to that conclusion.
"I didn't think you would figure it that fast," Eisuke commented with an apologetic smile. He grimaced and straightened his back when Hawks gazed at him with unreadable eyes. Her former mentor snuck a glance at Endeavor, his own facial expression did not break away from the poker face but Naruto felt the growing tsunami of disappointment coming out of her former mentor.
She shook her head. "I just…have a hunch."
"A hunch?" Kenji grunted as the heroes began to whisper to each other. His eyes fixed on her like he didn't believe for a single moment that it had been a hunch that allowed her to figure out the villain in question. Those eyes continued to probe her but she wasn't going to tell him about what gave it a way. There was no need to explain that weird gift of hers, not when it was probably a result of being the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki.
She nodded and looked out to the window. I don't think Shouto knows about this because he wouldn't have been able to talk to me with that level of calmness. Her heart tightened and screamed while her throat began to dry up. Her boyfriend's brother was a villain. Not just any villain but probably a big-time criminal.
How the hell was her boyfriend going to react to such a big news? He is going to be even more upset and he will find a way to blame himself. This was the worst news yet and that was saying something when she considered that he hid a huge secret from her. She paused and shook her head. The fact she compared him to his father was probably now going to make the problem even worse.
The President cleared her throat and all of the whispers died down. The woman's cold eyes scrutinized her as if inspecting her facial features for any clues on how she figured out the truth. The President thinned her lips; Naruto took that as a sign that the elderly woman had dismissed whatever thoughts inside of her head.
"With All Might now officially retired, we cannot have the public lose faith in us and the system," The President commented. She tapped her finger against the cup. The cup shook and some tea spilled out, staining the wooden table. "The Media might write the story that he was spying for us but there are vultures who will find any way to disapprove our story."
Eisuke's face brightened. "So you will agree to what I have to say?"
"I'm saying we will listen to your proposal," The President commented with a grimace. Eisuke grinned and the elderly woman raised one manicured finger at the man. "But that doesn't mean I'll agree to your proposal."
The red-haired man did not look one bit put-off by the comment; he only took a deep breath and scanned the room. His green eyes skimmed through the curious faces of the various heroes and shinobi, lingering the most on Tsunade and Hibiki. After a couple of seconds, his green eyes finally landed on her and Naruto blinked at the sight of the pure desperation in his eyes.
It faded when his eyes moved back to the President.
"Why don't we send those redeemable, dangerous villains to Konoha?" Several of the heroes jolted and Eisuke kept his blank expression plastered on his face. "We can make a prison over there that is isolated from the citizens over there. We can put shinobi guards and educational alongside rehabilitation programs over there. Once they served their determined length of sentence or if they showed good behaviour then they can work over there, and half of the money that they do earn over there can go to the victims."
I get the idea but it isn't exactly safe over there. Naruto rubbed her jaw and clutched her shoulders as Tsunade inspected Eisuke with unreadable eyes. Konoha was perfectly safe for civilians and shinobis but a civilian with a Kekkei Genkei? Well it couldn't be determined. Children with Kekkei Genkei were always treated differently from children without Kekkei Genkei.
They were feared for what their abilities could do or for how radically different their appearance could be.
"Uzushiokage, have you stopped to think of how the civilians of Konoha would feel if they know about this?" The President inquired. "Or the safety of those villains? We had a near kidnapping event due to our Quirks."
Eisuke grimaced and exchanged a dark look with Hawks. Even though she stood across them, Naruto knew from the way her cousin tightened his jaw that he probably recalled what happened with Tomoyo. If it hadn't been for the fact that the doctor had known how to make a message then there would have been little chance of them finding out who had tried to take her.
"We can ensure that no one from within Konoha tries to take advantage of them," Eisuke suggested after a couple of seconds. He took several deep breaths and leaned against the wall. "I can make a contract to ensure that no one tries to breed them or force them into becoming soldiers without their full support."
Kenji narrowed his eyes. "You want to make that kind of contract?"
"It is the best way to ensure that no one tries any funny business," Eisuke pointed out. Everyone flickered their eyes between each other and all across the room, frowns began to form across the room. Mumbles began to fill the room as more and more sets of eyes focused their gaze on the stone-faced man.
Naruto pulled her bottom lip back and then pushed it forward. What the hell was this contract that Eisuke and Kenji were talking about? It seemed to be a very big deal for the head of the Uzumaki Clan to look at his son like he was the biggest fool that he had ever met. But considering the fact he found the idea to be radical, she supposed her relative might be overdramatic.
The Fifth Hokage regarded them. "Are you talking about the security measures that you ensure to make sure no one tries to break the contract?"
"Yes," Kenji replied with a sigh. Everyone leaned their body forward and raised their eyebrows at the red-haired man. "It is a rather new way that I have been doing contracts, but considering what happened the last time my clan trusted our allies; we had to take preventive measures to ensure that people understand the consequence of their actions."
Several eyes widened and Naruto blinked. Did he actually have a new-kind of seal made to prevent what happened to me? Her heart fluttered just a little bit but the whiskered teen shook her head. It was rather presumptuous to presume the man had been doing things because of her experience in Konoha. He might have taught her but they didn't know each other like the others.
"Let us just say that we actually give this program a shot then what do you do if those prisoners don't cooperate?" Tsunade asked. She lifted up her teacup and darted her eyes to Jiraiya. The Toad Sannin had been quiet throughout the exchange, only offering a slight grimace at the idea being presented to them. "For this program to work, we are working under the presumption that they will cooperate. What if we deemed them to be people who doesn't deserve a chance? My civilians will be the ones interacting them if they get out, and I'm not putting them in harm's way."
Eisuke closed his eyes and a line formed on his forehead when the male furrowed his eyebrows together. He twisted his whole body away and rested his arm on the wall before nesting his head on his arm. Naruto didn't need to look around the room to know that everyone had their undivided attention on the man, all of them burning to know what his answer might be.
"I believe in second chances but if they aren't willing to take this second chance then send them back to Japan to be locked up by whatever length of time that the President deemed appropriate," Eisuke replied. "If they don't want to actually have that second chance then it is just better to toss them back here and just extend whatever sentence that they have."
Tsunade nodded but the unease in her eyes told Naruto that the woman had some unease with this suggestion. She couldn't exactly blame the Fifth Hokage for having doubts about it. This was a rather huge gamble despite the fact they could make up for whatever loss that they suffered in the village. Villains had the potential of becoming better versions of themselves but there was always a chance that they wouldn't do better.
And Konoha would be the one to pay for such mistakes.
"Villains have to be punished," The President observed. "This sounds more like a retreat then a punishment. Even if this could cut down the number of prisoners inside of our prisons, the Prime Minister and even the Emperor won't be pleased with your rather empathetic idea of punishing them. Economically, it would be rather preferable…even if we do have to pay Konoha for this service."
Eisuke stared at the elderly woman. "I think being locked up and being separated from their potential loved ones is punishment enough. And like Naruto had pointed out, these villains are human. Instead of focusing on how to make sure their life is hell, we need to figure out how to prevent them from committing the crime again; not for them to learn how to be better criminals."
"Even if this works, they don't know our way of life," Tsunade protested.
They will have the shock of their lifetime if they don't see any cars or trains. The whiskered teen took a deep breath and felt her ribs stretched before she let out her sigh. It had been a huge culture shock for her and Jiraiya when they came to Japan. Those fast-moving machinery alongside the trains above them had made her feel so out of place.
When she learned that it was actually really rude to call someone by their first name, was the day she learnt just how different their cultures could be.
"You can have someone teach them your way of life," Eisuke suggested. Kenji pinched his nose while the President looked ready to smack her head against the table. "The Uzumaki Clan can even ensure that the person keep their origins are kept a secret from the village."
Tsunade and the President exchanged weary glances.
"We…will think about it."
Are you really going to give this idea a chance? Naruto curled her lips into a frown and stared out at the window. Dark night skies greeted her eyes alongside a murder of crows. Their beady, black eyes focused on her as if they were inspecting her. Their beady eyes shone with intelligence and looked at her like they wanted something from her.
Naruto gulped down a lump as the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up.
Something told her that those crows weren't ordinary crows.
Narumi-san has so many books.
Hinata could only stare and scan through the office as Narumi pushed a couple of thick files to the side of her wooden table. Thick and thin books filled up the rows and rows of bookshelves, bringing out almost musky odour to the room. There were a couple of laminated certificates plastered on the wall alongside a couple of awards and a picture of Naruto's grandmother with a middle-aged man, who had a goofy smile playing on his lips.
"You must be curious to know who that old, handsome man might be aren't you?" A voice asked from behind her. Hinata squeaked and spurn her whole body around, only to be greeted with a smiling Narumi. The elderly woman stared at the photo with a sad, reminiscent smile playing on her lips. "That was my husband and between you and me, I can never stop being a little bit envious of how his Quirk allowed him to look younger than his age."
Hinata blinked. "Is he Bakugou-san's grandfather?"
"Yes and he was also Minato's adopted father but to me, Tsubasa was my best friend," Narumi replied. The woman leaned her body closer to the wall and pressed her finger against the smiling ashy-blond haired man's face. "You know Tsubasa adored Katsuki, spoiled him rotten whenever he thinks I wasn't looking, and he probably would have spoiled Naruto even more if he had known about her. He truly loved Minato like he was his own flesh and blood and Naruto would have been no different to him."
The Hyuga Heiress only kept quiet and observed the elderly woman. She could only imagine what was going through her mind as the white-haired woman stared at that photo of her husband and herself. The air around Narumi was melancholy as a tiny rueful smile tugged on those thin lips of the elderly woman.
After a couple of minutes, the old woman cleared her throat and twisted her whole body away from the photo. She offered her a warm smile and waved her hand at the empty chair sitting across her table. Hinata nodded and strolled to the chair tucked across the elderly woman's table. Pulling the chair back with a tiny squeak, Hinata took a seat.
"Well there was a few reasons why I wanted to have a talk with you, Hinata," Narumi explained. The Hyuga Heiress blinked as the elderly woman yanked her chair back. The old woman inhaled and planted herself onto the chair. "First of all, I want to thank you for being there for my granddaughter."
Hinata blinked and reddened slightly before she waved her hand at the old woman. "You don't have to thank me! Naruto-chan is my best friend."
The white-haired woman hummed and crocked her head to the side. Her blue eyes focused on her, analysing her like she was nit-picking every word that came out of her mouth. It almost felt like the time where Neji nit-picked every flaw and doubt that she had inside of her. But unlike her cousin, this woman did not have the Byakugan and had a degree.
"Not many friends would have done what you did for Naruto," Narumi observed. Hinata chewed on the inner corner of her lip but kept her gaze locked onto the welcoming smile of the white-haired woman. "It must have been really difficult for you to observe Naruto when she crashed the way she did."
She froze. "Did Naruto-chan tell you about her episode?"
The white-haired woman didn't say anything. Instead, Narumi picked up a photo from her table and stared at it for the longest time with unreadable eyes. She drummed her finger against the table in a slow tempo, almost luring Hinata to sleep. But the Hyuga heiress steeled herself and pushed away the drowsiness that threatened to overcome her.
"Tsunade and Jiraiya told me," the white-haired woman confessed. "Naruto doesn't feel close enough to tell me what happened to her or rather she doesn't trust me enough to tell me. The best way I can get Naruto to trust me is to try and be there for her when she needs me."
Hinata rubbed the back of her neck. There was a calm and empathy in the old woman's tone as if she could completely understand why Naruto was the way she was. Maybe the old woman could understand why her best friend was the way she was. Then again if she considered the certificates and awards decorated on the walls, it was entirely possible that she did know.
"Naruto-chan doesn't let anyone help her." The old woman should know what she was expecting when it came to Naruto.
The blue-eyed woman nodded and inspected her with careful consideration. "And do you want her to start letting people help her? Or do you want her to rely on you?"
Is there a difference between them? She tapped her finger against her jaw as her heart drummed against her chest with confusion. Did she want Naruto to let people to help her? Or did she want her best-friend to rely on her? If she considered things then it was definitely not the former, because the whiskered teen seemed to be allowing people to help in other aspects of her life.
"I want her to rely on me. She was always helping me but I can never seem to help Naruto-chan," Hinata admitted. A burning, tickling sensation began to form behind her eyes and the teen took one deep, painful breath in. "She voices her doubts but the moment I try to help her when it comes to her bullies, she doesn't let me. I know she wants to protect me but I want to protect her too. If I had just been a little bit more confident then maybe she wouldn't have broken down."
Narumi nodded and inspected her. Hinata placed her hands on either sides of the chair as she tried to stop herself from squirming on those calm, calculating eyes. What did the old woman think of her? Did she think she was being ridiculous for having such a strong desire when it came to Naruto? She knew she had to be less protective when it came to Naruto, but she couldn't help it.
"Freak."
None of the other girls wanted or even tried to be her friend while Naruto never seemed bothered by her eyes.
"Do you really believe that you could have prevented it?" Blue eyes flashed with sincere curiosity as if she actually truly wanted to know the answer. It was rather odd because people usually mocked her for having those thoughts. Her stomach stirred with hope and relief as Narumi continued to look at her with curious eyes.
Hinata took a deep breath and considered the question carefully as her childhood memories flashed before her eyes. "If I had done a better job of building herself up then maybe she wouldn't have crash the way she did. If I just talked back and defended her when it came to those bullies and villagers then this wouldn't have happened. This is my fault."
Well Sasuke too but if she had just tried and find a preventative way then maybe the crash wouldn't have been that bad.
"Did my granddaughter ever blame you for what happened to her?" Narumi arched an eyebrow.
She shook her head and sighed. "No but Naruto-chan never blames anyone."
"So then why do you blame yourself?" The old woman asked with a frown. Hinata pulled her bottom lip and fiddled her fingers together as Narumi scrutinized her. Those eyes probed her and it was not long before the frown deepened. "Did people blame you whenever something went wrong in their life?"
'Your Uncle gave his life for you because you were weak and you can't bring yourself to hurt your little sister!'
Her grandfather's words alongside the whispers of boomed inside of her ears and a pair of cruel, icy eyes flashed behind her eyes. It might had been years, so many years since that day but her whole body still shivered with fear. Her heart hammered with so much anxiety and Hinata swallowed down her thundering heart.
'Sumire-sama was incredibly weak after giving birth to Hinata-sama and now with Hanabi-sama, it will be a matter of time before she has to be hospitalized again.'
Her father had never blamed for her mother's death but he might as well as blamed her for weakening her mother.
'Father died because of you, Hinata-sama.'
Neji-niisan might have been four at the time and he might have made up for his cruel actions, but those words would always lingered on her mind. He wasn't wrong when she thought about it. If she had been just a little bit stronger then maybe she would have known. No, if she had been a better heir then her cousin wouldn't have continued to say those words to her, because she would have been a worthy heiress.
She let out a shaky breath. "How did you figure out that I had people blame me?"
"I can read body language and I noticed from your wording that you have a habit of blaming yourself," Narumi explained. She pulled open the drawer and rifled through the squeak drawers before fishing out a tin. The old woman popped open the lid, revealing crispy brown biscuit. The sugary fragrance brought out a roar from her stomach and Hinata hastily snatched the biscuit from the tin.
The Hyuga heiress chewed on the biscuit and gulped down the biscuit. "You would be really good in psychological warfare."
"Maybe," Narumi picked up a biscuit and eyed it for the longest time before putting it back into the tin. "But I am more interested in helping people and I would like to help you, Hinata."
The blue-haired teen blinked. "And…what made you think I need help?"
"You were 12-years-old when you witness your best friend crash the way she did," Narumi observed. The white-haired woman clasped her hands together and released a quiet sigh. "It is traumatic for anyone to witness but for a 12-year-old? That must have been a memory that you can never forget, especially when it is your best-friend."
Hinata dropped her head. This old woman wasn't wrong. From the moment Tsunade informed her about Naruto's temporary exile, she would have reoccurring nightmares and dreams of the days leading up to Naruto's departure. No one seemed to understand it but then again no one really visited Naruto after Kakashi brought her back.
How the hell can I face her, Hinata? I'm the one that told her to come.
That had been Shikamaru's excuse till this day and Choji always did whatever Shikamaru did. Neji-niisan was in the same boat, except he squirmed with discomfort. And he used to call me weak. She shook her head and pushed the bitter memories to the side of her mind. She locked it up inside her drawers of bad thoughts, before finally letting out a sigh.
"Can you not tell Naruto-chan about this?" Her best-friend might think the worst of her or even blame herself for this.
Narumi shook her head. "I won't tell her but Naruto is a bright girl and she will figure out eventually about your trauma. Despite the lack of parental guidance in her life, my granddaughter probably has one of the highest emotional intelligences that I have ever seen."
"Emotional intelligence?" She furrowed her eyebrows together and tilted her head to the side. That was probably the first time in her life that she heard someone used it and considering the fact that Narumi hadn't raised Naruto, then it was fair to presume that this was a genuine compliment. Then again no grandmother would think badly of their own grandchild.
The white-haired woman bobbed her head. "It means Naruto has the ability to understand, use and manage her emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively and empathize with others. It isn't perfect, mind you but compared to the other children her age? She is practically a genius."
"You are probably the first person to call Naruto-chan, a genius," Hinata commented with a slight smile. Narumi nodded and her eyes softened just a little bit before moving her eyes to the photo on the wall. The smiling face of Narumi's husband loomed over them and even though it was a picture, she could almost feel the cheerful atmosphere that was probably taken at the time.
The white-haired woman let out a tired sigh and shifted her eyes back to her. A weary smile played on the old woman's lips as if those words brought out more grief and the blue-haired teen winced. She hadn't meant to hurt the old woman's comment but the words just came spilling out of her mouth like it was nothing.
"I might be her grandmother but I would never praise my granddaughter if I didn't think it was true," Narumi confirmed. "Intelligence isn't measured by books or whatever shinobi used to determine someone is smart because there are various kinds of intelligence. She might not be what a shinobi called a genius, but she is intelligent in other areas that are just important."
Hinata smiled and relaxed her shoulders. "No matter how much I tried to tell people about her other skills, they dismissed it as me overpraising her, a fluke or not even being important."
"Well not everyone thinks the way we do and you can't forcibly change their minds," Narumi mused. Hinata bobbed her head and picked up another biscuit. Her nose twitched with delight and the Hyuga heiress nibbled on the biscuit for what could have been a second time that evening. The white-haired woman smiled and cleared her throat. "But enough about my granddaughter, there is a third reason for my visit."
The Hyuga heiress blinked and recalled their previous conversation before swallowing down her biscuit. "You did mention that you had a few reasons to have a conversation with me."
"Yes and we are going to be talking about the main reason for my desire to have a talk with you," Narumi admitted.
There was a moment of silence between them as the birds' flaps sliced through the air. Main reason? Those two reasons weren't the real reasons that Naruto's grandmother had come to talk to her? Well she was still lucky the woman had talked to her this much without judging her for being so overprotective over her granddaughter.
"What is the main reason for your visit?" She finally asked, clearing her throat.
Narumi inspected her for the longest time before she relaxed her slender shoulders. "Tsunade believes that you are the perfect person to lead the mental health clinic that I want her to build."
"Me?" Hinata blinked and pointed at herself. "You want me to lead but I'm not a medic-nin."
"And I'm not a doctor," Narumi said dryly. The Hyuga Heiress blinked and dropped her head at that comment. Her stomach ruptured from the embarrassment and if it wasn't for the fact that the woman cleared her throat, she probably would have kept her head down. The elderly woman offered her a warm smile. "You don't need to be a doctor or a medic-nin to do this job but you need to have a desire to help kids and adults like Naruto."
Help kids and adult like Naruto? Hinata clutched her skirt and took a deep breath. When her best-friend crashed the way she did, she didn't have the skills or the knowledge to help her best friend. She still didn't have those skills or the knowledge but if there was a way she could help people, who suffered like Naruto then…
"I will do it!"
Narumi beamed and clapped her hands together. "I'm glad to see that determination but I've one condition for you, Hinata and that is for you to let me treat you when it comes to your own personal trauma."
If it meant that she could help people like Naruto then Hinata was willing to do anything, because she didn't want to see another person go through what Naruto went through.
A/N: So Eisuke told his idea to Tsunade and the President and they say that they will think about it, but will they actually consider it is a whole different story. Hinata and Narumi had a rather lengthy discussion before Narumi tells Hinata about the program.
Do drop a review and tell me what you think about this chapter.