Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the original characters mentioned in the story.

Author Note: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.


(Four years ago)

"Why did you do it?"

Naruto could only stare at Iruka as blood dribbled down from the side of his face. She expected a lot of things from Iruka-sensei but this was definitely not what she expected from him. Why did he take that large shuriken for me? He had always been indifferent to her desires. He never treated her fairly so why did he save her?

Why didn't he let Mizuki kill her?

She looked at the shuriken piercing through his body and then back to the blood dribbling down the side of his face. Didn't he expect her to be like a monster? Why did he go so far for a monster like her? What was the difference before? She wanted to ask those questions but the words were lodged in her throat.

I…I killed your parents so why did you throw your body at me? You hate me and I hate you. She clenched her jaws and trembled as brown eyes, for the first time in 5 years, became warm. Wasn't he going to call her a troublemaker? A monster? Did he expect her to not do anything to him because…he hurt her first and if she was a monster, then she should hurt him.

Why did he care now?

"When my parents died, there was no one to compliment and acknowledge me anymore," her teacher coughed out blood and Naruto only stared at him with blank eyes. "I always acted like an idiot to get attention because I wasn't good in learning and doing homework. It was better than being nothing, so I kept acting like an idiot. It was so painful not to have someone acknowledge me."

Naruto stared at him and clenched her jaws together as her blood boiled with anger. If he knew how painful it was then why didn't he acknowledge her? Why did he make her go for drastic actions? Why didn't you give me a fair chance in the parts I did well? The words seemed to enjoy being stuck against her throat because she couldn't say anything.

She gazed at him and curled her lips into a frown while Mizuki rolled his eyes at them. You don't do anything because at least Iruka-sensei is explaining his actions and reason to me. She stared at her bleeding, crying teacher. The story was nowhere similar to her past but there were things that made her heart ache. Things that made her pause and stared at him.

The desire to be acknowledged was greater than anything and a huge lump of sadness clogged up her throat.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Iruka said as blood continued to drip down onto her face. The rust scent clung to her nose but she couldn't bother to tear her eyes away from her sobbing teacher. What was he apologizing for? All those times that he believed Ami? All those times that he nitpicked on my technique while the others got away scot free. "I wasn't a good and fair teacher to you. I should have done a better job of looking after you and giving you a chance. What's happening right now is my fault because I nitpicked on you. Instead of focusing on my pain, I should have focused on yours…because you are in pain."

Naruto stared at him and the rage inside of her faded as brown eyes looked down at her with regret. For the first time, Iruka-sensei was admitting what she had always known. I knew he was being biased. But the fact that he admitted that he had been wrong made her pause as her eyes fixated on the smirking man.

She could always blame Mizuki but that wouldn't be taking responsibility.

I was the one who chose to steal the scroll and that makes me no better than Mizuki.

Her eyes burned but Naruto blinked back any tears that threatened to come out. Instead, she gazed at the man looming over her and then to the shuriken on his back. He protected me and he is taking responsibility of his actions. He acknowledged that I'm hurt. Naruto clenched her jaws and took several deep breaths while Mizuki gazed at the both of them with victorious eyes.

Mizuki didn't know her and Iruka-sensei might not know her but he was willing to admit that he did her dirty.

Her teacher took responsibility to his actions and admitted that he was in the wrong. He understands my pain even if it was different. They might have lost their parents at different ages but her teacher admitted that he had been no different from her. There was a possibility that he might see her as human. That he understood what he did to her was wrong.

The fact that he was willing to take responsibility and try to emphasized with her told her that she should think again about her actions. That if the situation had been different then he would be the one sitting here with blood dipping down on his face. She licked her lips and took a deep breath before running away from him.

She was going to need to figure out a plan on how to defeat Mizuki and to admit to the Third Hokage about her actions, because if Iruka-sensei could admit that he was responsible for what caused her to steal then she had to be responsible for her actions.

(Years on when Toga asked her why she wanted to empathize with them, Naruto looked back on this particular day and how Iruka-sensei tried to empathize with her. He had been the one to taught her the power of empathy and that was why after every fight she had from that day on, she used it because…she was no different from them).


"There are so many people!"

Naruto nodded and rubbed the back of her neck as Izuku and Ochako gawked at the crowd in front of them. Students crowded together in front of the small brown podium that stood right in front of the room. Students in various costumes huddled to the podium with some of them nudging at the other students to scoot away from them. Naruto leaned closer to Shouto and grimaced.

The chunin exams weren't half this crowded and we had people from different villages. She frowned and shook her head. Midoriya brushed against her and Naruto steadied the older boy from stumbling down to the ground. He flashed an apologetic smile before moving away from her. The whiskered teen sighed and eyed the people around them.

Her palms moistened with nerves and her heart raced with excitement when several people gazed at her with smirks on their face. You think you know what I can do but I didn't show everything in the Sports Festival. I know more techniques now. She licked her dried lips and beamed at the boys and girl smirking at her.

They stumbled slightly and knitted their eyebrows together.

Shouto snorted and his lips curled into a slight smile. Naruto smiled slightly and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear before turning her head away from him. She focused her gaze on the side door near the podium. The door swung opened with a bang and it was not long before a yawning, messy beige-haired man stepped into the room.

The chatter began to die down as the beige-haired man trudged his way to the podium. Yawns escaped from the middle-aged man's lips as he placed his hands on either side of the podium. Exhausted eyes scanned the room, inspecting every student in the room. Naruto straightened her back when those tired eyes landed on her.

"Let's begin with the whole provisional license exam," the man declared. He gazed down at the stand and then rubbed his eyes before dropping his head down to the podium. Naruto and Shouto exchanged glances before looking back at the man. The man stood there for a few seconds before jerking his head up. "My name is Mera and I'm from the Hero Public Safety Commission."

Sweat dribbled down the side of her face and Naruto steadied herself when the man slid his face down to the podium. The man rubbed his eyes and shut it for a couple of seconds before jolting again. Didn't he get any sleep? Mera squinted his eyes at them and Naruto tilted her body closer to Shouto until her breath caressed his ear.

"You think he's going to pass out?"

Her boyfriend shuddered and darted his eyes at her. "Not now but it looks like it won't be long before he passed out."

Naruto nodded and tilted her head when her boyfriend averted his gaze at her. His cheeks reddened slightly and the blonde looked at him with lips curled into a smile. Are his ears really sensitive? She grinned. Her heart raced with excitement when those heterochromatic eyes glanced at her lips before moving down to her chest.

He darted his eyes away from her and furiously shook his head.

It seems like even Homeostasis can get distracted by his hormones.

"There are 1540 candidates taking this exam," Mera dozed off and then jerked his head up when a student cleared his throat. He shook his head and settled his eyes on the wall behind them. "We are going to be carrying an exercise to decrease those numbers."

Decrease those numbers? What are you planning to do? Naruto poked her tongue against her cheek and furrowed her eyebrows together. She glanced at Midoriya and Uraraka. Both teens had so much sweat dribbling down their faces. Their bodies trembled as they exchanged nervous glances between them before looking back at the podium.

Naruto grimaced.

"They are going to give you things that you have learnt in class."

Right, this was the only piece of advice All Might and Aizawa gave them. Everything they learnt in class had either been things to do with combat or things to do with rescuing people. That is something we can expect but how many people are allowed to pass the first portion? She rubbed her jaw and looked over her shoulder.

Katsuki had a cocky smile playing on his lips but his red eyes gleamed with a subtle thoughtfulness that made her pause. Is he thinking of the numbers being cut down? Probably. Her cousin was no fool. He was going to calculate the probability and the chances of him failing this portion of the exam. The male was confident but confidence did not correlate with carelessness.

"In today's day and age, we are told that we are living in a hero-saturated society," Mera stated. Naruto twisted her head away from Bakugou and looked back at the podium. The beige-colored haired man rubbed his stubbly cheeks. "However in light of recent events and Stain's capture, the questions being aroused are how strong are our heroes and the sincerity behind their actions."

"Recent events?" The girl, who stood right in front of Uraraka, whispered.

They haven't announced to the other students, have they? Why haven't they done it? Naruto slanted her eyes and fixated her gaze at Mera. The man stared at her with tired, blank eyes. The blonde grimaced and adjusted her black headband. There had to be a good reason for keeping it a secret from the other students.

The government made a new department for goodness sake and a sub category when it came to Quirks after all.

A rough hand gently tapped her shoulder and Naruto twisted her head. Kirishima's red eyes shone with curiosity and concern as he leaned his body forward. The younger boy flickered his eyes at the whispering students before finally resting his eyes on her. Finally, he asked. "Do you think that they are keeping about the shinobis a secret?"

"They have to break the news in portions," Katsuki muttered. His red eyes flickered to the other students before resting his gaze on her and Kirishima. "If they let the students know first before they settled everything then there will be a bunch of people panicking. The pros know about it because of what happened but extras don't need to know about it until later."

Naruto hummed. "Katsu-niisan has a point."

"Don't call me that!" Katsuki grumbled, looking away from her. Kirishima slacked his jaws at them and the whiskered teen arched her eyebrows at the red-haired teen. It was not odd for her to bestow such nicknames to her cousin. It should be expected. Cousins were supposed to tease and be close to each other, weren't they?

Hinata called Neji with a similar title to what she called Katsuki and Neji insulted Hinata way more than Katsuki ever did to her.

"As an individual, no matter what your motive is, you are now expected to put your lives on the line," Mera declared with a tone lacking any emotions. Naruto looked away from Kirishima and stared blankly at the man. His eyes rested on her. Her whole body demanded for her to squirm when those black eyes scrutinized her. "You are now expected not to seek anything from your deeds."

It feels like they are calling out to those heroes that cares only about the fame, but it feels nice to be appreciated.

The point may have been that they shouldn't seek glory but sometimes people just didn't appreciate the actions done by heroes. Then again, we are being paid to be heroes and that should be a form of appreciation. A scowl formed on her lips and the whiskered teen furiously shook her head.

Not the time to consider those aspects of the job.

"What is being tested is your speed," Naruto blinked and scratched her head as Mera cleared his throat. The sound echoed throughout the room like a rather annoying boombox. She threw an irritated glare at the male and clenched her jaws together as her ears moaned in pain. "The first 100 examinees who achieved the required conditions will pass."

So only 6.5% of the people in here can pass the first exam. She scratched her neck and stared up at the ceiling. The probability was too low. This was less than the 33% of the genin exams. It was slightly better than the probability of the chunin exams. But then again, the chunin exams had its probability all over the place.

Naruto nibbled on her bottom lip and turned to her classmates. I don't know what the exam is going to be, but we need to work together in order to pass. She shifted her weight to her right foot. If it was a rescue operation then there was not a huge concern for anyone of them, but if it came down to fighting then there was a problem.

Well, they had two glaring problems if they discarded that particular problem.

"We need to work together," Naruto whispered. Her classmates turned their heads around and fixed their eyes on her. The blue-eyed girl straightened her shoulders and flickered her eyes between Katsuki and Shouto. "We have one significant disadvantage compared to everyone else in the room."

Uraraka crocked her head to the side. "What?"

"The Sports Festival is broadcasted throughout Japan and my part of the world," Naruto reminded her. The others blinked and then dropped their shoulders. Mineta paled and the blonde rubbed her jaws. "If my part of the world knows about your Quirks then you can be certain that they know about your Quirks."

Yaoyorozu grimaced. "If he says that we need to attack then we can be certain that we will be their targets. It is better for them to attack Quirks that they know then Quirks they don't know."

Naruto nodded and tapped her finger against her thigh. We will need to trap and capture them if we want any chance of making sure that we are within that range. She darted her eyes to Shouto and then flickered her eyes to Katsuki. Out of everyone in the class, those two ranked the lowest when it came to teamwork and that means they needed to convince them to help out.

It is a good thing I know what will convince those two to help out if we need them.

"Let me tell you about the passing conditions," Mera continued on, clearing his throat. Naruto straightened her back and stiffened her shoulders before schooling her expression into a blank one. The middle-aged man held up a target and a ball. "Every student in this room will have three targets and you can place them wherever you like, but it must be an exposed area."

If we have a target then that means we will need to throw that ball onto the target.

She flickered her eyes to Shouto and bobbed her head.

"Homeostasis," Naruto tugged on her boyfriend's sleeve and heterochromatic eyes fixated on her as everyone else looked towards the tired man on the podium. "I have an idea on how everyone in the class can get their targets but I will need your help."

Her boyfriend knitted his eyebrows together. "My help?"

Naruto nodded and opened her mouth to explain, only to close her mouth when Katsuki jabbed his finger on her back. Her back grumbled in pain and she threw a glare at her cousin. He grunted and pointed straight to the podium in front of them. Fine, I will pay attention. She scowled before twisting her head back at the podium.

"All of you will get 6 balls each," Mera droned on. "If the ball hits the target then the target will light up. If all three of your targets are lit up then you will fail this portion of the exam. A person who lands the third hit will be credited with take down. You will need two takedowns to pass this portion of the exam."

We definitely need Shouto for this portion of the exam because I can't waste all of my chakra on making shadow clones. I still need to save some of my energy for the other portion of the exam.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto pulled on Shouto's sleeve. Her boyfriend tilted his head down and looked straight at her eyes. Curiosity burned through his gaze. What were you saying before Bakugou returned our attention on Mera? The question shone through his eyes and the blonde wiggled her finger at him, gesturing for him to lower his head.

If they were going to talk strategy then no way was she craning her head at him.

"I need you to freeze all of our opponents legs until I can put a barrier seal around them," Naruto whispered. She rubbed her knuckles and glanced at the others. "I need you to slow them down until I can put it around them and everyone in our class has a chance of throwing those balls at them."

Shouto frowned. "Naruto, if we are in a large group then I can't demonstrate my skill."

"I feel like a hypocrite but is showing off really important right now? All of us needs to work together," Naruto said firmly with her lips pressed into a thin line. Heterochromatic eyes gazed down at her and the blonde straightened her back. "Going alone right now is too much of a risk, especially when everyone has seen how our abilities work. In our situation, we need to group together and capture them. Shouto, we need you now more than ever."

Shouto closed his eyes. "In large groups, I have less leeway."

"I need you to freeze them and I know from our very first lesson with All Might that you have enough control to do this much," Naruto whispered back. She wrapped her hand around his arm and took a deep breath. "Shouto, we have to work together in order to win. If you want to prove your skill then show them this aspect of your Quirk."

Shouto regarded her for the longest time and then bobbed his head.

"Okay."


"You didn't warn them about Yuuei Crushing, did you Eraserhead?"

Aizawa nodded and leaned his body forward as Emi inspected him with curious but amused eyes. Why couldn't she be serious in front of my students? Or even in front of Eri? He shook his head and looked down at the arena. The walls of the miniature building crashed onto the ground and all of the students seemed to be quickly placing their targets on various parts of the body.

I never saw the point of warning them even if I grew slightly fond of them. He exhaled and rubbed his stubbled chin. Fondness for his students did not mean he had to coddle them when it came to this aspect of their heroic life. Villains knew heroes' Quirks while heroes had no clue on what their potential targets had for abilities.

This is the best scenario for most of them to experience what a real hero and villain battle will be like.

"Yuuei Crushing?" Kakashi asked with a tone colored with slight interest. Aizawa flickered his eyes at the man and fixated his eyes on the Hitai-ate covering the side of his face. Now that I think about it, I have never once seen that man removed his hitai-ate from his eye. He thinned his lips and nodded. The silver-haired man tilted his head. "What is the Yuuei Crushing?"

"Yuuei Crushing is a yearly ritual that always starts in the same way," Eisuke answered with a grin. Ah, I remember that his year had been the one with the most of Yuuei students eliminated and if he knew seals like Naruto then I understand how that particular year had the lowest score. Aizawa pressed his lips into a thin line as Emi stared at the young hero with weariness. "All of the schools will attempt to attack the school that shows off their Quirk on national television."

Hinata nodded. "That would be a particular disadvantage."

"Definitely," the red-haired man confirmed. He leaned against the bench and gazed down at the arena. "But this year, Yuuei has the advantage of having Naruto and knowing Koko-chan, she definitely knows that she can't do the same tactics as me and Inei. Even though Koko-chan has a Kekkei Genkei and Chakra, Naruto has her beat when it comes to experience."

Kakashi hummed. "Even though we had her doing mostly D-rank missions, Naruto is also very good when it comes to trap-making."

"Naruto-chan is a prankster and her pranks had always a certain level of skill that went above a normal genin," Hinata agreed. "And with an exam like this, she probably realized that her trap-making skill is going to be beneficial."

I know that Kakashi mentioned it but was her trap-making skill that well-done? He rubbed his jaws and flickered his eyes to the amused eyes of Emi. The green-haired woman inspected the arena. Her eyes locked onto the various running clones before shifting to her own students. Aizawa regarded the calm-eyed woman before looking at what should be the original Naruto.

The original Naruto did not have a single smile on her face when Todoroki froze the arena. I presume she convinced him not to run off on his own and came up with this idea. Ice coated several students' legs as his other students rushed towards them. Out of everyone in his class, only Todoroki and Bakugou scored horribly when it came to teamwork.

His lips tugged into a slight smirk when the clones dropped to the floor of the arena.

I wonder what those clones are up to.

"If we are talking about informing our students then did you tell your students about the newest sub-category of Quirks?" Aizawa asked. Emi tore her eyes away from the arena and raised an eyebrow at him. He rested his head on top of his hand and locked his attention on her. "Did you inform them about Naruto and everyone with the last name Uzumaki?"

Emi rubbed her jaws and stretched her back before letting out a bell laugh. Aizawa blinked and tilted his head as her dark green eyes danced around with weariness and amusement. Oh so she is dropping her humorous routine for the license exam. He relaxed his shoulder. The throbbing headache that was her optimistic self was going to be on a leash.

"Shindo has the most influence on his classmates and he won't believe a word I say without evidence," Emi chuckled. "And since the actual Uzushiokage won't be explaining things until the semester begins, I believed it would be interesting to do things your way. But I did warn him and the others that even if Uzumaki Naruto did that jutsu that she was someone that he needed to be weary around."

Hinata sighed. "I warned Naruto-chan that making that jutsu was a terrible idea."

"It may be a…vulgar jutsu but it is a very good jutsu when it comes to distraction," Kakashi observed. Aizawa pressed his lips into a very thin line and narrowed his eyes at the male while Emi and Shizune stared at him with disbelief. The silver-haired man rubbed his jaws. "I believe she got the idea from some magazines that her teacher had lying around."

Aizawa stared at him. "You sure you didn't give her the idea like how you taught her that it is okay for someone to correct smut work in public?"

The silver-haired man blinked and then dropped his jaw while Emi stared at him for the longest time before bursting into laughter. This is definitely not funny! I thought I had to worry about two perverted boys and I had to learn from Naruto that she has been doing it in public. He pinched his nostrils while Shizune narrowed her eyes at the silver-haired man.

"To be fair, I didn't think Naruto would actually pick up my bad habit when she used to scold Hibiki's son for taking his grandfather's magazines," Kakashi said, raising his hands. Hinata pressed her lips into a thin line and Aizawa groaned. What kind of role model did Uzumaki have growing up? I know she is a kunoichi but this isn't acceptable. He closed his eyes.

Speaking of unacceptable, there was still a need for them to discuss about what she did with Todoroki when the Hokage came over to give her that promotion. If I didn't know Midnight would tease me about this and telling me that it is normal for teenagers to be hormonal, I would make her give the talk to Naruto. He shook his head and looked down at the arena.

This was definitely not the time to think what happened two weeks ago.

Right now, he should just elaborate to Emi about the reason for his silence when it came to his kids.

"Telling my kids about the Yuuei Crushing wouldn't have changed a single thing," Aizawa explained. The laughter died down and Emi quirked her lips into an amused, knowing smile. He folded his arms against his chest and locked his eyes on Naruto. The blonde weaved her hands through a couple of handseals and slammed it down on the ground. "Because Yuuei teaches our kids to go above and beyond their limits. Every single one of them knows how to overcome the odds—"

Wind swirled and began to enclose around the frozen students. Aizawa's voice died down as his black eyes drank in the whirlwinds surrounding them. From down below, his students exchanged glances between them before picking up their balls and tossing it straight through the whirlwind. Aren't they worried about it not missing? Or is there something else that I don't know? He frowned and flickered his eyes to Kakashi.

The silver-haired man blinked and then flickered his eyes to Eisuke.

"Kenji taught Naruto on how to make seals, didn't he?"

Eisuke grinned. "Naruto might be new but no one in our clan can't deny that she hasn't picked up on it quickly. All Dad had to do was give her some general tips and rules on what can and cannot be done with seals."

"If anyone can explain how to make seals then it would be your father," Kakashi commented. Aizawa blinked and knitted his eyebrows together as the silver-haired man regarded the barrier with impressed eyes. The black-haired man glanced at Hinata and raised an eyebrow at the sight of the girl dropping her jaws. "Only an Uzumaki would know the best way of utilizing a difficult art in battle. But if Naruto learnt seals then did she also—"

"—She is an Uzumaki," Eisuke grinned and rested his eyes on the grinning Naruto. "And it is only right that we teach her, her birthright. Besides, the fact that Kushina-obaachan and her husband were masters when it came to seals means that she inherited that very same talent from them."

The ground rumbled and began to crumble as the loudspeaker cried out…

"21 students passed in only two minutes into the exam!"

Aizawa smirked.


Damn, he couldn't let us get out of here in one piece before he decides to separate the students?

Naruto rubbed her butt and scowled as her eyes flickered around the empty earth terrain. There were no people; only rocks and boulders surrounded her. I need to make my way to the waiting room. Her targets lit up with a blue light. From what the people of the Hero Public Safety Commission told her, the blue glow indicated that she passed.

The wind rustled and a ball zoomed towards her. Naruto held her hand out and grabbed hold of the ball. The ball burned her hand as the wind tickled her again. The gravel crunched. Was that the same person who tried to attack her? Or was it a new one? She balled her hands into a fist and tossed the ball to the side before curling her hands into a fist.

Whoever tried to attack her was either an idiot or someone who didn't have any intentions of passing the exams.

"You know if you want to pass the exam then you have to look somewhere else," Naruto declared. Her hands glowed and her chakra weaved together until a chain materialized into her hand. Gravel crunched as the wind tickled her hair. Behind me. She swirled her whole body around and hurled the chain.

Dark brown eyes widened and pouty lips parted as the chain wrapped itself around the girl. Gasps of pain erupted from the girl's lips and Naruto tilted her head to the side. Who was she, again? The brown eyes flashed alongside pink-eyes. Naruto nodded. Camie. That was what the girl introduced herself before she ran off with her distant relative.

Bloodlust radiated out of her and Naruto tightened her grip on the chain.

Camie wiggled and squirmed but the chains did not loosen up.

"You really are full of surprises, aren't you? First a whirlwind barrier and now chains!" The girl cooed with eyes glinting with madness. Naruto eyed her. Sweat dribbled down her neck and her heart raced against her chest. "Is there anything that you can't do, Naru-chan?"

You are a monster.

"Don't call me, Naru-chan," Naruto said flatly. She squeezed the chains and squashed down the rage boiling inside of her blood. I might be considered a monster but it doesn't matter anymore. Her heart slowed down and her blue eyes rested on the fawn-colored hair girl. A pout formed on her lips and the girl tugged on her chains, only to yelp with pain.

The girl jerked her head upwards. "I thought we were friends! Friends call each other by nicknames."

"Naruto-chan," the whiskered teen said with a deep breath. Dark brown eyes gleamed with happiness and the blonde flickered her eyes around the terrain. Nothing. No crunch on the gravel and no loud voices echoed in the silent wind. The two of them were definitely alone. Male voices drifted closer towards them before moving further away. "And answer my question, why did you target me? I already passed. I'm useless to you."

The smile on Camie's face widened and dread crept up on Naruto's stomach. With the sun blazing down on them and the glint of madness in Camie's eyes, it felt almost like a scene from a horror film. If she dropped this chain then the girl was going to attack her. She has no sense of fear. Her stomach churned with concern and Naruto shook her head.

"Because I want too," the girl declared. "I really like you, Naruto-chan and I understand why he carries a torch for you."

He?

I really like you?

Naruto knitted her eyebrows together. The chain loosened and rustled as Camie wiggled and squirmed against the chakra, metal-like chains. Don't lose focus. She clenched her jaws together and pulled the chain back. A yelp of pain pierced through the air. Naruto's heart thundered against her chest as brown eyes continued to gaze at her with a bloodlust that brought bile up her throat.

"I don't know who this he is but I can only be friends with you," Naruto stated. She licked her chapped lips as heterochromatic eyes flashed before her eyes. "And I have a boyfriend so I am telling you in very polite terms that I'm not interested in cheating on my boyfriend. Don't get me wrong, you are pretty and everything but I only like Shouto."

The girl dropped her head and the smile on her face faded before stretching so wide that Naruto's stomach churned and grumbled with concern. I need to stop talking to her but I don't know who this he that she is talking about. The birds sang in the background and screams of frustration sliced through the air.

Carrying a torch implied someone who liked her for a very long time and there was no one in Japan that would have feelings for her.

"Well if you can't return my feelings then can you answer my questions, Naruto-chan?" The girl asked sweetly. The chains stopped rustling and those brown eyes now gleamed with curiosity instead of pain. Naruto blinked and Camie tilted her head to the side. "I came all this way to ask you questions in private."

Raising a single eyebrow, Naruto repeated. "In private?"

"Your cousin was so hard to lose," Camie said, bobbing her head. Brown eyes flashed with slight envy before changing into a glint of happiness. The teen bobbed her head. "I was so lucky that boy made that earthquake or I would never have the chance of sneaking off from her and the others. Now I have you to myself!"

She makes no sense. Naruto shifted her weight to her right side and tilted her head to the side. The ground rumbled again. Her feet stumbled and she yanked the chain, trying to regain her bearing. Camie crashed down onto the rocks. A cut formed on the side of her face. Naruto flashed her an apologetic smile and the girl blinked.

"Sorry," Naruto verbalized before rubbing the back of her neck. "Now can you tell me what you want to ask me? I would let go of the chain but you did try to hurt me."

The large smile on Camie's face faded and turned into a thoughtful smile. The maniac glint still colored her eyes but vulnerability seeped in her eyes. What does she want to ask me that makes her feel like this? Moisture coated her palms and her stomach rolled and churned with concern. It was the wrong time to feel this but…

It overwhelmed her.

"Why did you believe that Villains have actions behind their actions?" Camie asked softly, looking down at her feet. "Heroes believe that people are either born evil or good. Don't you believe that villains are born evil?"

What's happening right now is my fault.

Four years ago, she would have been considered a villain in the eyes of Japan. She broke into the Hokage Tower, stole the Scroll of Seals and learnt from said scroll because Iruka-sensei and been biased. The Hokage scolded her for her actions when she admitted it, but he didn't think she had been evil.

Iruka-sensei admitted that if he had been able to emphasized then she would have never stole that scroll.

"Anyone could become a villain," Naruto answered. She placed the chains between her legs and weaved her hand through a familiar hand seal as brown eyes gazed at her. Her clones ran across four corners and began to inscribe characters. If they were going to talk then it would be a good idea to make a barrier. "One difference between heroes and villains is that heroes don't have circumstances that can make them crack."

"Why aren't they looking at me?"

That time was one of two instances when she could end up becoming like the monster that her village claimed to be.

Camie smiled. "So did you have a circumstance that almost made you crack?"

"I did," Naruto admitted. Camie blinked and the blonde stared up at the floating, swaying clouds. I don't know why I'm telling her this but it seems like she needs it. Blue eyes softened and her throat clogged up with sadness. "But you know that or you wouldn't be asking me that, would you? Tell me the truth, Camie: are you a hero? Or are you a Villain-in-disguise?"

The girl froze. "How did you—"

"Because you asked me why," she whispered as her eyes rested on her. "If you were a normal girl with a normal childhood then you wouldn't be asking me these questions. The questions you are asking are questions that people with a normal, safe and happy childhood would never think to ask. Only Villains would ask that kind of questions and…you ask it in such a vulnerable tone that tells me that no one wanted to listen to you."

The smile faded on the girl's face and Naruto blinked as Camie's features melted to reveal a blond-haired girl with bright yellow eyes staring at her. Insanity still colored her eyes and her lips wobbled slightly. Even though a person can look mentally unstable, they are still people with feelings. She relaxed her grip on the chains and her fellow blonde blinked.

"You loosened the chain."

Naruto nodded. "I'm definitely an idiot but you are in pain and it will be bitchy of me to keep you chained up like a monster."

A giggle escaped the girl's lips and the blonde sat down on the ground as the erected stone walls formed around them. The ground groaned and shifted as yellow eyes continued to stare at her with a mixture of wonder, surprise and amazement. I can imagine Katsuki, Shouto and Izuku scolding me for this. She sighed.

"You are a really kind person, aren't you?" The girl observed. "Heroes would just keep me chained up even though I'm in pain."

The whiskered-mark teen sighed. "Heroes also think that the world is black and white when everything is just a shade of grey. They don't want to see or admit that if they had been in the same circumstances than they could be in your shoes. Anyone can become a villain with the right circumstances."

Do you think the rumors about Uchiha Itachi cracked from the pressure of being a prodigy is true?

Not even his own brother could answer that question because…there had been no signs.

Shaking her head, the blond-haired girl raised her hand up to the sky as yellow eyes continued to stare at her. Her eyes almost burned holes into her. If the girl wanted her to spill her own lifestory then it would never be here. It is way too soon for me to come forward and talk about my past. Talking about her past right now wouldn't make a difference to anyone.

"Then you don't think villains are in the wrong and that they shouldn't be punished then?"

Naruto tore her eyes away from the bird soaring through the air and blue eyes remained unfazed when the blond-haired girl stood right in front of her. Yellow eyes gleamed with hope. Ah, I have to do what Shouto and Sasuke do best…be blunt. She rubbed the back of her neck and pressed against the tight knots on her neck.

"Villains aren't in the right," she said quietly. I could blame Iruka-sensei and Mizuki for what my actions did but I still chose to steal the scroll instead of going to the Third Hokage. Naruto exhaled and held her hand up when the girl pulled out a dagger. The blond-haired girl blinked and then twirled her knife. "Your past can explain what happened but you still acted on your actions. You still chose to do those things and villains need to take responsibility for their actions."

The yellow-eyed girl puffed her cheeks.

"Then what about heroes? Shouldn't they take responsibility for what their actions caused?"

Naruto blinked and a faded memory played before her eyes. Pained brown eyes and bloodied lips flashed before her eyes alongside a large shuriken heading straight towards her. Her whole body trembled with fear and a saddened voice called out to her. It told her:

"I wasn't a good and fair teacher to you."

That was probably the reason that she didn't crack the second time.

"Heroes need to take responsibility for their actions because no one is above the law," Naruto said with a sad smile playing on her lips. Pale cheeks reddened and the girl gazed at her with wide, excited yellow eyes. "If Heroes did something wrong then they have to take responsibility for their actions. No matter how much power a person has, they have to take responsibility. Now is that the only reason you are here?"

The girl shook her head and grinned.

"Well Shigaraki-kun also wants you to join the League of Villains!"

Now that was the last thing she ever expected to hear when she woke up this morning.


Author Note: So there was a flashback of the night that this Naruto stole the Scroll of Seals. We also see Naruto convincing Todoroki to help the others and a proud Dadzawa. For anyone that wants to know why I didn't go into detail with what Naruto did then it is because I wanted to pick up the pace slightly, hence the Aizawa's perspective. We also see Naruto and Himiko discussing the roles and differences between heroes and villains.

Now here are a couple of questions for you:

Q1: How do you feel about the flashbacks? And what do you think of the flashback in the first scene?

Q2: How did you feel about Naruto convincing Todoroki to help them out? And the scene in general?

Q3: How did you feel about the third scene?

Q4: How did you feel about the talk and interaction between Naruto and Toga?

Do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter and what you think that could be improved on.