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

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


(10 years ago)

"Did Endeavor make you train again? I thought you told me and Eisuke that he stopped training you now that Shouto showed his Quirk!"

Tomoyo clenched her jaws and felt her eyes moistened as Touya collapsed in front of her hallway. Her father was currently at work and Haruto was spending the night over at a friend's house. If her mother was still alive then she would have been sent over to Uncle Kenji's house because her mother never did believe in the idea that a young child could stay at home by themselves before the age of 13.

Her father didn't have the same belief because he didn't mind the fact she wanted to stay at home, even though she was nearly thirteen years old.

I really hate Endeavor even though he saved me from that Quirk Ring. Tomoyo rubbed her eyes and fell down to her knees as her violet eyes took in the slight red scarring around his arms. Those were new and it seemed like the old scars seemed to be healing nicely. Then again, her father's use of chakra meant that he was a better doctor than most of the doctors in Japan.

The lack of bruises brought a tiny frown on her face because whenever Touya trained with Endeavor then he would get bruises. This is from training. That was what he would always tell her and Eisuke but Kenji-ojisan had never bruised Eisuke whenever they trained. Her mother would say that it could be their Uzumaki genes showing because there was something in their gene that made them a little bit more battle resistant.

Tomoyo would like to think that it was just proof that her cousin had been born with a hard head.

"He didn't make me train, Tomoyo," Touya admitted. Tomoyo eyed the sullen boy and then darted her eyes to the burnt marks around his hands before placing her hands over the marks. Turquoise eyes gazed up at the ceiling. "I did this to myself."

Violet eyes fixated on the unwavering turquoise eyes of her friend and worry and concern crept up in her stomach. A part of her wanted to accuse Endeavor. He had always been the type to push Touya over his limits but those turquoise eyes never looked away from her. The reluctance of his tone told her that her friend was sincere.

For the first time, Endeavour hadn't been the direct cause of his injuries.

(It won't be the last time that Touya injured himself and despite what Natsuo, Fuyumi, Shouto and even Eisuke believed…the oldest Todoroki hadn't gotten all of his injuries from Endeavor).

"Why?" Tomoyo asked, dropping her shoulders. Her throat clogged up with grief as turquoise eyes looked at her with pain, confusion and resignation. She hated this. Her friend should never be this broken. Even though Endeavor used to hurt him, he was usually a happy and excited person. But that side of him was fading every single year if you asked her. "If Endeavor stopped training you then you don't need to do this! You are free!"

Only Touya could make her want to tear her hair out and only Touya could make her want to cry with frustration and sadness.

The gray-haired girl closed her eyes and steadied her breath as a slender hand grasped her hand. Touya squeezed her hand as if trying to reassure her that everything was going to be fine. That he was going to be fine. But he was never going to be fine. The fact Endeavor was not the cause of his injuries meant he would continue to injure himself.

Her stomach rolled and churned with concern.

"If I don't become a hero then what can I become?" Touya asked in a soft tone. Tomoyo stared down at those blank turquoise eyes and allowed her hand to comb through his hair. She paused when red hair dye coated her hand and violet eyes widened slightly at the sight of the white hair peeking out. "I was born and praised because he thought I could surpass him. Natsuo and Shouto were born because I was weak! Why did he change so much when my limitation came out? Why did he stop paying attention to me?"

His voice broke and Tomoyo hugged the older boy and felt her throat drying up. She didn't understand the relationship between Endeavor and Touya. Fuyumi didn't understand it either. Eisuke seemed to have some idea but then again her uncle had always been hard on her older cousin. No one seemed to understand how this boy could love and hate Endeavor.

Most days it looked like Touya hated Endeavor, his representation and the things he had done to him and siblings while there were few days when her friend seemed to love the man.

"It must be really painful to not know why he is doing this to you," Tomoyo whispered as her eyes fixated on the tears welling up on Touya's eyes. Her heart cried and mourned at the pain and confusion radiating in his eyes. Her friend's body trembled and the 12-year-old hugged him even tighter. What could she do? How could she help him? She took a deep breath. "But you can be whatever you want to be. You keep telling Eisuke that heroes only hurt people so…isn't this a good thing?"

The birds sang their evening song as Touya sniffed and hugged her with a strength that made her heart pound against her ribcage like it was in the middle of the battle. Well she had never been in battle but adrenaline was known to make the heartbeat faster. She took in a deep breath and began to hum a small tune as her friend continued to tremble.

"I used to be father's biggest fan," Touya admitted. Violet eyes widened as turquoise eyes looked at her with both bitterness and fondness before moving to the photo of her smiling parents. "He…was good to me, Mum and Fuyumi. He used to be fun and training with him was a time that I looked forward to. It was our time."

Tomoyo kept quiet and stopped humming as Touya gently pushed her away. He turned around to face the door and Tomoyo sat beside him as her hand rubbed his back. I can't say anything or even try to argue against it because Eisuke only knew Touya when they entered kindergarten. She stared at the quiet boy and then looked up at the ceiling.

"When did it stop being fun?"

Her friend smiled ruefully and exhaled. "The moment he found out that my Quirk causes me to get injured. The training stopped being fun and he just started to push me even harder and harder as if he didn't want to believe that it happened. I'm a dud."

"You aren't a dud," Tomoyo declared, shaking her head. "It isn't your fault or anyone's fault. Every Quirk has a limitation."

Even Chakra had limitation as her father would explain to her and Haruto whenever it came time to train them. Their genetics mean that it was difficult for them to get to that limitation. Every Uzumaki descent are born with large chakra reserves. That had been her father's explanation on why Haruto found it easier to perform the Kage Bunshin over the regular Bunshin jutsu.

Tomo-chan was born with perfect chakra control like me, Haruto and that's why your sister has no problem with performing either jutsu. You have, unfortunately, taken after your grandmother and uncles.

Her brother hadn't been happy with that piece of information.

"I'm a dud because why was Natsuo born? Why did he even have Shouto?" Touya asked, closing his eyes. "I love Natsuo and I love Shouto too even if I'm a little bit jealous of him, but was I never good enough for him? Am I not good enough for him? What do I have to do to get his attention again? I thought if I just go passed my limit and overcome my weakness then he will look at me again. Why is he throwing me away?"

She didn't know but she did know that Endeavor was an amazing hero but he was horrible father. Why did he have to put her friend through this? Why did he neglect Fuyumi when she revealed her Ice Quirk to him? Did none of his children matter to him? It felt that way because Touya always seemed to get hurt.

If not physically then he was getting hurt emotionally as well.

The hallway grew quiet and Tomoyo stared at her friend. His turquoise eyes fixated on her, almost revealing no emotion except for an apology shining through those eyes. She raised an eyebrow and then felt her cheeks burned as Touya pulled out a hankerchief from his pocket. His cheeks burned red and the gray-haired girl felt her lips twitched into a smile.

"Touya?"

Her friend cleared his throat. "I didn't mean to make you cry but I can't tell this to Eisuke and I don't want Natsu-kun or even Shouto to know about my feelings. I'm their big brother and I have to protect them, even if it is from my own feelings."

"But keeping those feelings bottle up isn't healthy either," Tomoyo stated. Her eyes locked onto the white stands before flickering her eyes to the staires. Touya stared at her and the gray-haired girl took a deep breath before relaxing her shoulders. "You are getting stressed and that's why your hair is turning white! At this rate, you are going to be an old man!"

Touya chuckled and Tomoyo swirled her head at him. How can he find it funny? He is going to push himself to the limit again! She clenched her jaws together and curled her hands into a fist before relaxing her shoulders. This was definitely not the time for her to cry. Crying was not going to make Touya feel better and it was definitely not going to make her feel better.

She already cried too much when her mother died from the overuse of her Quirk.

"It would be nice if I can blame him for the cause of my white hair, wouldn't it?" Touya mused. Tomoyo blinked and the turquoise-eyed boy pulled his legs closer to his chin and looked out to the door. "No, my hair started to change from red to white because of my Mom's genes. It started long before that shitty man started to take things too far in my training. But does stress really make hair go white?"

Tomoyo bobbed her head. "They call it the Marie Antoinette Syndrome. I read it in one of my cousin's books."

"Well either way I'm going to look like an old man by the time I'm 18," Touya mused as his hand touched the bits of white hair. Tomoyo snorted and the older boy flashed her a little amused smile. "Your cousin will never stop teasing me if he finds out about my white hair, which was why I started to dye my hair."

Tomoyo sighed. "You know Eisuke means well and even if he calls you an old man, you can always tell him that at least you look like a handsome old man."

Touya blinked and the gray-haired teen felt her cheeks burned with embarrassment. It was well-known that the older boy was good-looking but that was to be expected. There was not a member from the Todoroki family, who wasn't good-looking. Even Shouto showed signs that he was going to be a good-looking male when he grew up.

It was logical but she didn't know what made her open her big mouth to say those words to him.

"Don't tell Eisuke that I was the one to give the idea."

"Don't worry, I won't tell him. I know he won't stop teasing the both of us so we are going to keep it our little secret," Touya said with a smile. Tomoyo blinked and then smiled before bobbing her head. It was something her cousin would do because he was always the type to tease her about her worries when it came to Touya. "But will it be okay if I stay here for a couple of hours before going back home? I don't think I can go back and look at Shouto without feeling a little bit of resentment."

Tomoyo's eyes softened and the gray-haired girl nodded her head.

(Whenever Tomoyo thinks of why she couldn't stop caring and loving Touya then she would look back at this memory alongside so many other memories. When she realized that Touya had turned to a life of crime, she knew it should have been the time for her to give up on him. But it was difficult when she knew underneath that man of anger and hate was still the same little boy who wanted to know the cause of his birth).


"Wow! I don't even have a scar on me!"

Tomoyo quirked her lips slightly and shook her head as the boy looked down at his healed legs. With the exams at full swing, the gray-haired woman had seen so many boys and girls walking through these doors with some minor or major injuries. I wonder what the chunin exams would have been like. She shook her head and smiled slightly when the boy bowed and quickly made his way out of the temporary infirmary.

The teen stumbled and Tomoyo let out a sigh at the sight of her smiling cousin. Eisuke flashed a smile at the stunned boy and the teen looked from her to Eisuke before looking almost heart-broken. Why do people always mistake our relationship? Even her own co-workers mistook her relationship with her cousin to be one of romantic love.

Then again, if word got out that Eisuke was her cousin then her co-workers would try to get her to set him up with one of them. Even, if I didn't know he was actually serious about his newest girlfriend, I still won't set them up. She sighed and shook her head as the teen ran away from them. Her cousin snorted and closed the door.

"It seems like you are getting another fan, Ice Queen," Eisuke stated. Tomoyo's eyebrows twitched and the red-haired male raised his hands up as the chatter of the students filled the hallway. "Hey, I'm not the one that gave you the nickname! You can blame Haruto for telling me about the infamous nickname that the boys from your high school gave you."

"They gave me that nickname because they can't take no for an answer," Tomoyo said, rolling her eyes. Her cousin grimaced and leaned against the wall as the gray-haired woman looked at the empty beds. She flickered her eyes back at him. "And what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be watching the students and seeing ways that they could improve?"

Eisuke sighed. "Well I would do that but Naruto made sure that everyone from her class passed."

"Father did state that Konoha believes in the idea of teamwork," Tomoyo commented. Eisuke wrinkled his nose while the violet-eyed woman took a seat on the chair sitting in the corner of the room. She rested her head against the wall and exhaled. "It make sense that she would do everything in her power to make sure everyone passed."

Her cousin bobbed his head and inspected her with thoughtful eyes. I know that look in his eyes means that he wants me to do something again. She sucked in another breath and cracked her knuckles as green eyes shifted to the windows before looking back at her. It would be a matter of seconds before her older cousin was going to make a request.

He was always that predictable if you asked her.

"So there is this guy—"

"No," Tomoyo said with a cold tone. Her cousin didn't flinch and only pinched his nose as the chatter from the outside world tickled their ears. He only looked at her with disappointed and frustrated eyes. "I'm definitely not going to go on one of your blind dates! Why can't you understand that I don't need to date to be happy? I'm content with being single."

"You have never given anyone a chance," Her cousin said slowly, sliding down the wall. Tomoyo looked down at her hands as green eyes continued to flash with concern. "When Touya ran away, I gave you space and tell Asa-ojisan that he didn't need to worry about you burying yourself in your studies. Then you entered medical school and you keep saying that you need to focus on your career. I'm honestly worried about you, Tomo-chan."

Tomoyo exhaled. "I'm fine and I don't need to date someone to be happy."

"I don't want you to date someone in order to be happy but I want you to move on from Touya," Eisuke said. Tomoyo blinked and the red-haired man rubbed the back of his neck. He frowned and locked eyes with her. "You can't wait for him forever and you have no obligation to wait for him. For all you know, he might have found someone else."

I know that is a possibility and I will be happy if he found someone else. Her heart twisted with sadness and the gray-haired woman schooled her expression into a blank one. Even if she did have some feelings for Touya, the boy probably did not hold the same feelings that she had. Hell, he was under no obligation to return her feelings.

She knew she had to go on a date eventually but there was another factor that stopped her from going on those dates.

"How many times must I tell you and Fuyumi that nothing had been going on between us?" Tomoyo asked. "Like I told Fuyumi, my feelings for Touya was strictly platonic. Nothing more and nothing less."

The last sentence tasted so bitter against her mouth but she took in a deep breath and locked her eyes on her cousin. Did I know things about Touya that not even his siblings know about? Yes but that doesn't make me special and it doesn't mean we had something going on. She dug her nails against the palm of her hand as green eyes observed her.

"I know you, Tomo-chan and I have seen the way you looked at him," her cousin said flatly. Tomoyo blinked and gulped as green eyes inspected her from her head to her eyes. "You think I don't know that your feelings for him have been growing since you were four? I know when it comes to Touya that your feelings are anything but fickle. I know you love him but I don't want you to end up like Tsunade or every woman from that place."

They never move on from their first love.

Tomoyo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I love him but he isn't the reason that I'm not going on dates. The idea of putting my life on hold because I love him is pathetic and illogical, but I'm not like you or even Azumi."

"What does that mean?" Eisuke demanded. "How am I anything like Azumi-neechan? She changes her boyfriend every two weeks! I have been with my girlfriend for six months now!"

The gray-haired woman rolled her eyes. "Until you met your girlfriend, you kept dumping your girlfriend after a week of dating. I don't know what the hell happened for you to be committed to a relationship but I'm not like you and Azumi. I can't just date anyone because they look good or whatever reasons that you two have."

Her cousin sighed. "If we are known for being a serial dater than you are known for being a loner."

Loner was one of the title that their older cousin used to describe the three type of people in the dating world. The loner was the people who don't believe in relationships because they thought they were too good to date while they were working together. Tomoyo found the title to be fitting when it came to her situation.

"I need to get my shit together and I would rather be a loner than a serial dater like Azumi," Tomoyo stated. "Out of the three descriptions, our cousin used to describe the three people in the dating culture…I prefer loner. At least, I won't be doing everything in my power to make my life revolve around a person or fool some poor guy into thinking that I want them and then change my mind the week after."

It was fine for Azumi and Eisuke to do it but the idea of dating someone because she was in love with the idea of love was just wrong. Mom and Dad weren't each other first loves but Mom told me that relationships wasn't a game. That if I date someone then I'm dating them because I really do like them. That had been one of the few advices her mother had given her before her untimely death.

The other advice was to keep her actual Quirk a secret.

Shaking her head, Tomoyo turned to the door and then blinked at the sight of a blond-haired, turquoise-eyed man. His eyes looks exactly like Touya and that man I picked up from the side of the road. The man was probably just slightly shorter than Eisuke by an inch or two, which probably made him around five foot, nine inches.

'I'm a dud.'

Touya's voice echoed in her ear and her throat tightened as pained turquoise eyes flashed before her eyes. She took a deep breath and looked back at the turquoise eyes that kept flickering between her and Eisuke. His whole face seemed neutral. No emotion flashed through his eyes and for a brief moment, concern began to crept up in her stomach.

Your Mom wouldn't want to see you sad, Tomo-chan.

Why did those turquoise eyes seem to make her remember Touya?

"Are you one of the attending physicians?" Tomoyo asked, clearing her throat. Eisuke frowned and darted his eyes between them. The frown on his face deepened and his own green eyes inspected the male closely. "Did I make a mistake with one of the students? Or does the head physician want me to look out for another student?"

The male shook his head and just flickered his eyes between her and Eisuke. Turquoise eyes fixated on the katana around her cousin's belt before moving to the empty beds and then landing back on her. His eyes really does look familiar to me. They really are the same eye color and shape but…his appearance is completely different from Touya. Touya's jawline had always been slightly rounder.

This guy had a square jawline.

Touya always had some form of scars from his training with Endeavor alongside a couple of self-inflicted injuries. This man looked like he had never been injured a day in his life. But this nagging feeling isn't going away. She licked her dried lips while her cousin flickered his eyes between them.

"Is it okay for your boyfriend to be here?" The man asked. Eisuke spluttered and turned a sickly shade of green while Tomoyo only tiled her head at him. She allowed her eyes to remain fixated on his eyes. He is curious but amused at the same time? What was he curious about? Her relationship with her older cousin? Or was he curious to know why her cousin would be here?

Her cousin finally said. "I'm not her boyfriend! Do you know how weird it will be for me to date my cousin? Tomo-chan is like my little sister."

The man didn't smile or blink at this piece of information, but the corner of his lips tugged almost like he was trying to suppress a smile. A pair of smiling turquoise eyes flashed before her eyes and Tomoyo felt her heart sobbed again. It always did want to cry whenever she thought of the happy days between her, Touya, Eisuke and Fuyumi.

The fact he didn't look one bit surprised made her frown.

"Well it is hard to believe that you wouldn't date a pretty woman like her," the man stated. Tomoyo blinked as turquoise eyes locked onto her. "It will be an even bigger surprise if someone as beautiful as your cousin was still single."

Tomoyo blinked dumbly and then ducked her head as her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Her cousin blinked and raised an eyebrow at her but the gray-haired woman cleared her throat before schooling her expression into a blank one. This is ridiculous! How can a single man make me blush like this! He isn't the first male to tell me this. But his words were genuine.

Every other male who made the same comment lacked sincerity and looked at her like she was some kind of prize to be won.

"Wanna date Tomoyo?" Eisuke asked.

Tomoyo blinked and swirled her head at him as her violet eyes darkened with irritation. "Am I so undesirable that you have to go and ask a complete stranger to date me?"

Her cousin blinked and vigorously shook his head while the blond-haired man snorted. Tomoyo blinked and then swirled her head at the male, who held his hands up in defense. Is that a seal? Her violet eyes widened slightly as her eyes took in the character of the palm in his hands. The frown on her face deepened and the young woman knitted her eyebrows together.

How could this man use a seal if she couldn't feel any chakra coming out of him? Maybe he has a chakra suppression seal? That could be a possible explanation for why she couldn't sense any chakra from him. But which village? And should she inform the shinobi? It would be a good idea.

It would be the logical idea except those turquoise eyes reminded her of Touya.

Tomoyo licked her lips and flickered her eyes to Eisuke. The smile on her cousin's face faded and his green eyes turned cold as they locked onto the seal in his eyes. He realize as well. Her cousin pulled out his katana and pointed his sword at the blond-haired male as his eyes fixated on the seal in his hand.

"Who are you and which village do you belong to?"


For someone studying to be a hero, you don't seem to have a problem killing people.

It had been easy for her to push Overhaul's words to the back of her mind. It had been months since Uzumaki Naruto killed the man and his goons but looking down at her hands, she could still remember the blood that coated her hands. She took in a deep breath and allowed her eyes to fixate on the screen, holding back the bile that threatened to spill out of her mouth.

It had been necessary and no matter how much I want to be a hero, I'm still considered a kunoichi. Naruto took a deep breath and steadied her hands. Heroes wouldn't kill villains unless it had been the final resort. Could there have been a better way of handling Overhaul? Probably but her actions had been necessary.

It needed to be done to secure a better future for Eri.

But will people ever see my actions as necessary? That someone like Overhaul should never be given the chance to live? Naruto closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her head. Things had been easy in Konoha. Killing the enemy was what they were taught to do in school. It was expected and the civilians understood that the life of a shinobi was one filled with blood.

The world was grey but it was getting easier and easier for her to forget the more time she spent here. If people knew about the offer I got, then would they think if I go to the League to hear their story that I'm with them? She closed her eyes. That would be the logical line of thinking even though the idea of joining them was laughable.

Everyone is going to accept you so why don't you join?

If this had been an offer made when she had been twelve then she would have joined within a heartbeat. But things are different now. I've friends, family and Shouto…why would I give that up? Her heartbeat slowed down to a soft beat and Naruto exhaled. Nothing could make her want to give them up, not when this was the first time in so many years that she was happy.

Don't you wanna hear our story?

Their stories could never justify their actions because people made good choices despite having went through shit. Naruto took in another deep breath and licked her dried lips before gazing up at the ceiling. A life story explained what drove them to be the way they are but it could never excused their actions.

But if I go there then what do I do? Kill them? Naruto tapped her finger against her wrist and grimaced. That would be the logical plan but was it really the right action? Killing Overhaul made her want to hurl out her lunch and the idea of adding more bodies to the list made her stomach roll with disgust. Her throat clogged up as various bodies flashed through her eyes.

"You didn't need to kill them."

Locking the League of Villains wasn't a good idea either and killing them would make people question her own line of thinking. If word ever got out then her friends would look at her differently. Besides, some villains could change. Gaara was proof of the idea that with a listening ear that some people could change.

Villains were people too and they should be given a chance to reform if they desire. The problem with Japan is that they don't see that because once you are labelled a criminal, your prospects are over. She licked her chapped lips and took another deep breath. There had to be a way to ensure that if villains did want to change then they could do so freely without judgment for their previous actions.

"Uzumaki, are you okay? You have been really quiet since Kacchan, Mineta and Kaminari went off on you and Todoroki."

Naruto blinked and jerked her head up as Izuku slid to the empty seat right beside her. His green eyes shone with concern as a tiny frown played on his lips. His eyes travelled from Shouto to her scowling cousin before landing on the scowling purple-haired teen. The frown deepened and Naruto allowed a little snort to escape from her lips.

"It was my fault for not fixing my clothes properly and leaving behind proof of what we did," Naruto commented. The green-haired male flushed a bright shade of red before looking away from her. "But no, I'm not upset with them. I guess I have been thinking a lot now that we have some time to relax."

Izuku frowned. "What have you been thinking about?"

"Who should heroes save? Should we only save civilians and fellow heroes?" Naruto asked, leaning against her seat. Her blue eyes focused on her blank-faced distant relative as green eyes widened slightly. "Should we also try and save Villains too? Don't they also deserve to be saved? I have been having those kind of thoughts."

Her friend blinked and frowned as Naruto turned her attention to the screen. The chatter in the room seemed to be growing louder but the slow, mournful beat of her heart seemed to be drowning down the sound. Heroes saved people. Villains were people too. Gaara might have chosen to kill people but his circumstances lead him into becoming that person.

When the world found out about the shinobi world then what would they label shinobi? A shinobi was a soldier, who murdered people by the request of their clients and fought through wars. There are shinobi who had committed crimes against humanity. Itachi was one of them while three villages ganged up on the Uzushiokagure in order to commit genocide.

But no one really judged and demanded for justice from those villages for what they did and Itachi, strangely enough, had been able to run away and didn't have a kill warrant on him.

Now that I think about it, it is weird that the ANBU didn't even try to kill Itachi when he came in. It is weird that the council didn't try to hunt him down when he entered the village. Naruto's frown deepened as suspicion began to fill her stomach. Itachi had been able to find her in the space of a few days, yet the ANBU never went after him.

Jiraiya should have told the council and since they seemed willing to lock me up in the village to protect me…why haven't they gone after me when Itachi appeared?

Something was not adding up.

"They committed a crime," Izuku finally said. "You can't let a criminal go!"

The blonde blinked and shook her head. That is the last thing I want but saving someone doesn't mean letting them go. Naruto took in a deep breath and stared down at her feet. People were saved physically but what about psychologically? Circumstance led to villains being born. How could someone prevent a villain being made? And whatever issues that a villain had…shouldn't they get it treated? She exhaled.

"I'm not saying that by saving a villain that you are saying to them that they are justified and that they can walk with civilians," Naruto stared at the smirking faces on the monitor. "Villains are people too. They are human too and nine out of ten times…they have been in circumstances that led them to become the villains that they are."

Izuku stared at her. "Are you saying that with a tragic backstory that everything is forgiven? Naruto, there are people out there that have been through horrible things but it doesn't justify their actions. They aren't in the right."

"Trauma can lead people to do horrible things," Naruto said softly, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not saying that the villains are in the right or that they have every right to do the things they did. What I'm trying to say that villains are human too and humans can break under certain circumstances. When you are filled with so much hurt, anger and hate then you decide to take it out on people. Some people don't do that while other people do that."

Izuku frowned and repeated. "They still chose to do it and the law will never lighten any sentence just because they have some sad backstory."

"Japan is definitely less forgiving than the shinobi world," Naruto observed. Izuku blinked and furrowed his eyebrows as the blond-haired girl leaned her body forward to look at the smiling teens surrounding them. "Do you know if Gaara had been born here and did the things he would have been executed under the Japanese Law?"

The green-haired male froze and then gulped. "Naruto, the only thing that could lead to a person being executed if they had done serial murders. Besides, doesn't your occupation mean that you kill people? Why would Gaara be executed? He seems like a good person from the one time that I met him."

"If you have met Gaara three years ago then you would never think he was a good person," Naruto commented. Izuku blinked and curled his lips into a frown as blue eyes began to fade slightly. "A jinchuuriki's life is difficult depending on where you were born. Despite the fact that Gaara was the son of the Kazekage and he was born because his father wanted a weapon."

Izuku stared at him. "Doesn't it sound similar to Todoroki-kun's story?"

"If Endeavor praised Shouto then the Kazekage tried to kill Gaara," Naruto stated. Izuku turned green and wobbled as blue eyes fixated on her stoic boyfriend before moving to Yaoyorozu. "His father isolated him from his siblings and never once tried to reassure Sunagakure that Gaara was an innocent little boy, who had been given the task of being a human weapon. The only problem Gaara had was controlling the sand."

"I don't understand how Gaara ended up being a serial murderer," Izuku stated, furrowing his eyebrows together. "It sounds bad but his circumstances doesn't exactly explain his actions."

Naruto sighed. "Gaara may have been isolated but he was raised by his maternal uncle. If the Kazekage never showed him any love then it seemed like his uncle did love him. From what I could guess from the story that Gaara told me, he seemed to have loved his uncle a lot. He probably saw him as a father figure because everyone else in his village either hated him or were terrified of him."

"But he was a little boy," Izuku commented with a frown.

"I know," the blonde bobbed her head and cracked her knuckles before letting out another sigh. "He was just a little boy who wanted someone to tell him that he wasn't some kind of monster. Gaara believed he found that person in his Uncle but even his own Uncle tried to kill him. His own Uncle told him that he volunteered to kill him and that he hated Gaara for being the cause of his sister's death."

Green eyes stared at her with horrified eyes and Izuku's jaw dropped open. Naruto patted his back and looked up at the ceiling before looking back at the green-haired boy. Had it been right for her to tell the story? No. Did she tell him the story to prove a point? Most likely. She exhaled and cracked her knuckles as Izuku's face began to turn green.

"He went through all that?" Izuku asked.

Naruto nodded. "Knowing this can you understand what led him to kill people? If even that one person you love, hated you and called you a monster then wouldn't you hate the world? It is almost impossible for anyone not to hate the world around them when the world around you hates you and refuse to acknowledge that you are human too."

"But you are a jinchuuriki too and—"

"There were two times when I could have ended up like Gaara," Naruto admitted. "Loneliness and pain when left untreated could fester and make you consider actions that are horrible. You don't blame yourself because society forsake you first. You will blame society instead of yourself because you feel that society abandoned you."

Izuku frowned and grew very quiet as his own green eyes looked down at his hands. I wonder if he is thinking of the chances of him becoming a villain. Society had been cruel to him when he was Quirkless but not once did his eyes ever shine with hate. Maybe that was the benefit of having such a loving mother and a good support system around him.

Not everyone could claim to have that system.

"No matter what happened, it doesn't mean what Gaara did was right or that he was justified," Izuku stated. "There is always a better option than just killing people."

Naruto nodded. "I know that and Gaara knows that too or else he wouldn't keep reminding me of what he did."

"How could his village just—"

"The shinobi world values strength before anything and Gaara is the strongest person in Sunagakure," she explained. Izuku blinked and tilted his head to the side as the whiskered teen folded her legs together. The blonde shook her head and quirked her lips slightly. "Gaara doesn't ask for forgiveness but the fact that he wants to protect Suna and does what he can to atone for his actions means that he is taking responsibility for his actions."

Izuku frowned. "How do you know that he is taking responsibility for his actions?"

The blonde dropped her legs and twisted her back before fixating her eyes on the curious green eyes of her friend. How did she go about explaining the reason? From the regret in his tone or that those teal eyes were different? No, it would not be the most obvious clue. She quirked her lips slightly and fixed her gaze on Katsuki.

"Because he admitted that he chose to do what he did," Naruto answered. "He could blame Suna for his actions or even his own father and uncle but Gaara would always admit he had no excuse for what he did. The first step for taking responsibility is owning up to your mistake."

Shouldn't heroes take responsibility for what their actions caused?

Himiko's words echoed in her ear and Naruto rubbed her jaw as her eyes rested on Izuku before moving onto Shouto. I wonder why she picked out the heroes? Why does she want them to take responsibility? Most heroes, except for Endeavor, didn't do anything that would require them to take responsibility. So why did she signal them out?

If Himiko came as a representative for Shigaraki then it meant that he and the other members of the League had some belief that heroes needed to be responsible for something.

All Might-san should be here.

Naruto glanced at Izuku and then looked out to the window. Now that I recall, Shigaraki and his gang have been targeting All Might in our very first meeting. Maybe there was a story behind it. A story that All Might hadn't told the Media because someone like Shigaraki wasn't born. Someone like Shigaraki was made.

Maybe I should ask All Might if he knew Shigaraki and tell him and Aizawa about the fact that I had villains approaching me.

She was definitely going to get an earful from Aizawa about letting the girl go and for being insane enough to try reasoning with them.


"So you are the guy dating the winner of the Sports Festival."

Shouto tore his eyes away from his plate and blinked as a white-haired teen with red eyes stared at him. There seemed to be no emotion flashing through those red eyes and his tone was neither filled with disbelief or envy. If he had to describe the male's tone then neutral would be the tone that he would describe it.

A frown tugged on his lips as their fellow candidates snuck glances at them before walking away from them. Shouto flickered his eyes to Naruto and his frown deepened at the green expression coloring Izuku's face. What are those two talking about? It couldn't be anything good if their friend looked like he was ready to puke.

"Did you come here to tell me that I don't deserve to date her?" Shouto asked, flickering his eyes back to the white-haired teen. The red-eyed teen looked at him for the longest time like he found the idea to be absurd. Absurd was definitely right word to use. If he continued with that line of thinking then he could never date her.

But he could become someone that she deserved to have.

"She chose to date you," the man answered, folding his arms against his chest. Shouto looked away from the male and allowed himself to relax his shoulders. "The only person who has the right to believe that is your girlfriend and judging from her interaction with you, she doesn't seem to have any second thoughts with you."

He talks like he knows Naruto. Shouto's frown deepened and the male poured himself a glass of water as red eyes continued to inspect him. That tone seemed to be laced with familiarity, which was odd. His eyes drifted to Naruto and his girlfriend's blue eyes lit up before she waved her hand at him.

Her blue eyes flickered to the white-haired male and the blonde smiled even wider before gesturing for him to return back with his conversation. Should I really continue on talking to this guy when it looks like you have something bothering you? Her smile wasn't her usually sincere smiles but the fake smiles that she would give whenever she wanted to reassure people that she was fine.

"Do you love her?" The teen asked. Shouto blinked and spit out his water before swirling his head at the white-haired teen. His red eyes locked onto him as several people glanced at them. The heterochromatic-haired boy felt his cheeks burned with embarrassment. This was definitely not the kind of topic that you talked about in public.

He exhaled and looked at his smiling blond-haired girlfriend before looking back at the stoic teen. Do you love her? That was a rather difficult question for him to answer. He cared about Naruto. She wasn't just his girlfriend but she was also his friend. She was the first girl who really grabbed his attention and the first person to call him out.

She supported him through everything and made him feel at home with himself. The affection he had for Naruto was different from the affection he had for Fuyumi and the other girls in their class. When he thought of home then it was the image of his smiling girlfriend but was that love? He didn't know.

"I don't know," Shouto admitted. The white-haired male regarded him and the heterochromatic-eyed teen picked up a sausage roll from the table before looking at Naruto. "Love isn't an emotion that I'm very familiar with and it isn't the kind of word that one could use lightly. If I say I love her after nearly two months of dating then isn't it too soon?"

The white-haired teen stared at him and his red eyes flashed with slight understanding before looking at Naruto. Shouto felt his eyebrows twitched and his stomach rolled with suspicion and concern at the way those red eyes seemed to soften. It might be my imagination. There was no way a complete stranger could like his girlfriend in that way.

Didn't Hinata say that Sasuke gave the same eyes as me?

But if this was Sasuke then his girlfriend would have been alerted by now. Shouto inhaled and relaxed his hands at the sight of Naruto walking up to a scowling Bakugou. Bakugou is definitely not going to be talking to either of us because I couldn't control myself. His eyes returned back to the white-haired teen.

"Some people can confess their love despite spending so little time together and not even dating," the teen observed with calm red eyes and a rather blank tone. "And there are people like you, who spend so much time together but can't figure out whether you are in love with someone or not."

Todoroki frowned. "But don't you think it is too soon to say it when you don't know what love is?"

"Will you hate anyone who hurts her?" The male asked. Shouto leaned back on his foot as the white-haired teen continued to focus his attention on him. Curiosity leaked out of his tone as his red eyes fixated on him. "Will you hurt the person that hurt her? Do you feel pain whenever your girlfriend is in pain? Will you do everything in your power to make sure that she is happy?"

The questions came out of bullets and Shouto flickered his eyes at Naruto. He wanted to hurt Sasuke and he definitely despised the Uchiha for what he put Naruto through. How many times did his girlfriend blame herself for not seeing the signs? How many tears did she waste on her childhood friend? It had been far too many if you asked him.

"Yes to all of your questions," Shouto finally answered as his eyes rested on his grinning girlfriend and her scowling cousin. "But what does that have to do with love? I don't see the connection between them."

He turned around and knitted his eyebrows together when he realized that he was now standing alone next to the food table.

Where did he go?

Shouto sighed and shook his head before making his way to his girlfriend.

If they meet again then he would ask him that question.


Author Note: So Touya and Tomoyo's past had been revealed slightly. Tomoyo and Eisuke realized that Dabi has a seal on him. Naruto and Izuku discussed about Gaara's past and Naruto begins to wonder about All Might and Shigaraki's connection. Sasuke and Todoroki talks about whether he loves Naruto or not.

Q1: How do you feel about Tomoyo's flashback? And the glimpse of the bond between Tomoyo and Dabi?

Q2: How did you feel about the second scene?

Q3: How did you feel about the discussion between Izuku and Naruto? And how do you think Naruto will react if All Might decides to tell her about the connection between him and Shigaraki?

Q4: Why do you think Sasuke decided to talk to Todoroki about his relationship with Naruto?

Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter and what could be done to improve the story.