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.
"Eisuke-san believes that there is a shinobi in the stadium?"
Hinata grimaced and rubbed her jaws as Aizawa looked away from his phone. Shizune and Kakashi exchanged glances while Ms. Joke clenched her hands into a fist. It was worrisome. Kenji-san should have put some protection in the stadium, but how could anyone believe a shinobi would be foolish enough to come here? The place was crawling with protection.
She flickered her eyes to the red-haired people hidden in the shadow before looking down at the arena. If there is a shinobi then it would have to be someone that Uzushiokage-sama and his newly formed department can't find. Hinata grimaced. Could the shinobi be Sasuke? She felt her blood boiled and steamed with rage, and the Hyuga heiress shook her head.
"He found a Villain who had one of those seals that Uzumaki's clan seem to be famous for," Aizawa grimaced. "Considering that those seals require chakra, he would need someone who can activate it."
If it's Sasuke then why would he even help a Villain? Why would he activate a seal? The blue-haired teen rubbed her jaws and leaned her body forward. What did he and Orochimaru gain from this? Or was he acting on a whim? It was always difficult to read the blunt boy. The one time she thought she had him figured out and her best friend nearly died.
Shizune inhaled. "What has Eisuke-san done with the Villain?"
"He has Tomoyo-san guarding him," Aizawa replied with a frown. "I don't know if it is a good idea for him to let Tomoyo-san guard him. She is still technically considered a civilian."
I don't know Eisuke-san all that well but he doesn't strike me as someone who would allow his cousin to get hurt. Hinata poked her fingers together and breathed in the crispy morning air. The limited time she saw those two interact told her that the red-haired male cared about his cousin. No, there had to be a reason the male seemed confident to leave Tomoyo alone with a criminal.
"I don't know Eisuke but if his relationship with Tomoyo is anything like his father's relationship with Kushina then I doubt he made that decision lightly," Kakashi commented quietly. Shizune frowned, offering a side glance at her before resting her gaze on the copycat ninja. "Kenji was very protective when it came to Naruto's mother and I see that Eisuke shares a similar trait to his father."
Ms. Joke rubbed her jaws. "I don't know about his father but he might be only 23 but no one in the hero community can deny that he priotize the safety of civilians. Maybe he is certain that Tomoyo-san can take care of herself."
If Eisuke-san is protective over Tomoyo then he would never leave her alone. Hinata nodded and looked down at her hands. Yes, there had to be more important reason for the male to leave his beloved cousin alone with a criminal. Either he had complete faith in her strength or he was certain the criminal was not going to hurt Tomoyo.
It could be either cases but if it was the latter then it meant Eisuke knew who exactly was the villain and their relationship with Tomoyo.
"If there is indeed a shinobi in the building then we need to put extra protection around Tomoyo-san," Aizawa rubbed his jaw and flickered his eyes at her and then moved to the remaining shinobi. "If that shinobi found out that we have his ally then we have no knowledge of what they would do to her."
Hinata closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Shinobis weren't known for giving mercy and if that shinobi knew about Tomoyo then there was a high risk she could either be dead or get taken away. We don't know if Tomoyo can take care of herself. They needed someone to guard them until that criminal was taken into custody.
Kakashi grimaced and adjusted his headband. His single visible eye lacked any of his usual aloofness and showed so much seriousness that her whole body trembled with fear. Hinata took in a deep breath while Shizune regarded Kakashi with a tightened jaw and weary eyes. The black-haired woman took in a deep breath.
"I will guard Tomoyo and your criminal," Kakashi declared with an even and quiet tone. Aizawa blinked while Hinata and Shizune exchanged glances. "Eisuke will need Hinata to locate the shinobi and I'm certain with Shizune by their side then they will have a good fighting chance. In case the shinobi does come after Tomoyo and the villain, I will fight him."
Ms. Joke eyed Shizune. "You're only a medic…can you even fight?"
"Just because I'm a medic-nin doesn't mean I'm incapable of fighting," Shizune said with an even and calm tone. Her black eyes screamed of irritation and Ms. Joke bowed her head before uttering an apology. The black-haired woman thinned her lips and took a deep breath. "And I've been trained by Tsunade-sama and no student of hers is weak."
Physically yes but emotionally, Tsunade doesn't really help. She bit her tongue and stared at the calm expression on the black-haired woman before looking down at the stadium. It was easier to train to be physically strong but when it came to emotional strength and maturity then Hinata had not seen that in her latest student.
Then again she was very biased when it came to the teen, who made her best friend cracked.
We will only know who is the better teacher when Naruto comes back. Hinata grimaced and rubbed her jaws. Right now, it seemed in the eyes of the villagers alongside a couple members of Konoha 11 that Sakura was the strongest female. The whole temporary banishment was for her best-friend to recover and very few members believed Naruto would continue to train.
Recovery means she has to slow down and that she can't train. Even though Naruto showed improvement and new techniques in her Sports Festival, it was probably not enough to convince the others that she was on another league from them. If it had been a training trip then Hinata knew that the perception would be different.
It would have been expected for Naruto to be stronger when it came for a training trip.
"Do you think that the possible shinobi might be Sasuke?" Aizawa asked. Hinata blinked and tore her eyes away from her hands as the black-haired man fixated his eyes on her and Kakashi. "I can only think of him. If he still carries feelings for Uzumaki then it is always possible he was the one to activate the seal, after all this might be his chance to watch her."
"If the villain is associated with the League of Villains then he is the culprit," Hinata replied, grimacing. She glanced at Kakashi and waited for the inevitable denial from him. In the eyes of all three members of Team Seven, Sasuke could do no wrong. I understand Naruto-chan's reason even if I want to slap it out of her. For the longest time, they really only had each other to rely on.
Or rather Naruto took up the role of caring for Sasuke because none of the other girls bothered to get to know the male. It feels like Naruto-chan feels obliged to try and defend him because of the fact they are each other's first friends. Jealously used to wash over her because of that. It was irrational but sometimes she used to feel out-of-place with them.
"C'mon Sasuke, I'm not playing with you if you don't include Hinata-chan!"
Hinata shook her head.
"While I can believe Sasuke would activate the seal, he isn't impulsive," Kakashi commented. The male dusted the dirt off of his outfit and fixated his lone eye on them. "If he came here then there was definitely someone he wanted to meet and he definitely had a goal. The only question was who was he after? Because I doubt it was Naruto."
"Why wouldn't he see her? He was always so possessive over her," Hinata scowled and folded her arms against her chest. Kakashi regarded her while Aizawa flickered his eyes between them. "He could have come here to mess with her or to see how far she has come in these last three years. Unlike everyone in our year, Sasuke always knew Naruto has never been the type to slack off."
He was always watching her. Longing black eyes flashed before her eyes and Hinata clicked her tongue. If she ever watched Naruto trained for an hour then the Last Uchiha would spend hours watching her with those longing eyes. He would always hover around the blonde like a guard dog whenever the blonde didn't notice.
But the male could never show how much Naruto meant to him because of his cowardice.
"Hinata, I might not know both of my students well but I know from Kurenai that you spent years watching Naruto and Sasuke," Kakashi stated. Shizune blinked and swirled her head at her while the whole room grew quiet. "Do you truly believe Sasuke would still come and watch Naruto after nearly killing her? Do you really believe he would mess with her?"
"Unlike you and all the members of Team Seven, I won't act naïve when it comes to him," Hinata answered flatly. Shizune bobbed her head and observed her with curious, concerned eyes. She took a deep breath. "If he hadn't tried to kill her then I wouldn't believe he would try and mess with her, but the Old Sasuke has been gone since the day his brother murdered his family. Frankly, I'll never trust him."
Even if he suddenly saw the error of his ways, she would never ever forgive him for all the hurt that he caused on her family and her best friend.
I'm not that kind.
She couldn't bring herself to hurt Hanabi but she would have no problem putting the final blow on his heart.
"Why the fuck are you following us instead of Deku and IcyHot?"
Naruto's lips twitched into a smile as her cousin threw her a heated glare. From right beside her cousin, Kirishima and Kaminari exchanged nervous glances before fixating their concern eyes at her. Their slacked jaws and nervous eyes only made the bubbles of amusement in her stomach even greater. It almost tempted her to laugh.
Of course if she laughed then her loving cousin was going to bite her head off.
"Well I'm not worried about Midoriya and Shouto not passing the exams," Naruto darted her eyes around the towering rocks and then looked back at the scowling boy. "Midoriya is the typical poster child of kindness while Shouto has enough sense to control his mouth."
Her cousin stopped in his tracks and bristled while Kaminari and Kirishima bobbed their heads in agreement. Naruto tilted her head to the side and licked her dried lips when red eyes glowed with irritation. Oh, so her cousin was definitely that type? She smiled even wider as Kirishima and Kaminari eyed them with weary eyes.
"What the fuck are you implying, Whiskers?" Katsuki growled.
"I think it means Uzumaki doesn't think you should be left alone because of your terrible attitude," Kirishima answered innocently. Bakugou clenched his jaws together as the red-haired teen bobbed his head. "Let's face it, only Uzumaki can keep you in check and you kinda need her if you want any hope of passing this portion of the exam."
Kaminari sighed. "Yeah, you're kinda a dick."
Naruto grinned and nodded her head innocently when her cousin swirled his head at her with eyes filled with annoyance and betrayal. She raised her hands up, flashing him an apologetic smile as their classmates continued to nod their heads. It was not entirely her fault that they were having this discussion.
He had been the one to question her.
"Remember what I told you in USJ?" Her cousin blinked as Naruto folded her arms over her head. "No one wants to be saved by an asshole who screams and insults them every time. I mean can you even be nice? Or charming? Acting like a complete prince is impossible for an asshole like you. Midoriya is definitely going to beat you in that regard."
Bakugou twitched and clenched his jaws while Kaminari nodded his head. Kirishima frowned and flickered his eyes to her explosive cousin before looking back at her with suspicious eyes. She knew that out of everyone in their class, her red-haired classmate was the only one, besides Midoriya, who understood how simple her cousin was.
"Y'know the world will end, the day Bakugou acts nice," Kaminari commented, flashing her a smile. She hummed and chuckled before flickering her eyes at the wounded civilians, who kept calling out for help, before glancing at her fuming cousin. "Can you imagine how terrifying a friendly Bakugou will be?"
"I can be fucking friendly!"
All three teens exchanged glances before snorting at the comment. Bakugou stumbled and then clenched his jaws so tightly that it wouldn't be a surprised if it broke from the pressure. Naruto knew a riled-up version of her cousin could make anyone laugh but there was another factor she had never really noticed until a few weeks ago when Kaminari stated her cousin didn't have a kind bone in his body.
He cooked them dinner after that tiny comment.
Kirishima frowned and glanced at the direction of the cries of help before glancing back at her. He scooted closer to her and lowered his head, red hair tickling her cheeks and eyes fixated on her fuming, volcanic cousin. Naruto schooled her expression into a blank one when her classmate eyed her with curious eyes.
"Are you making Bakugou angry on purpose?" Kirishima asked in a low tone, raising a single eyebrow. He darted his eyes to the scurrying students before looking at the knitted eyebrows of Kaminari and then landed his eyes on the silent, twitching boy in front of them. "You know we need him calm, not pissed off."
"Do you know what Katsu-niisan and me have in common besides having the same grandmother?" Kirishima blinked and shook his head as Naruto curled her lips into a smile. "We don't like it when someone challenges us and we will do everything in our power to prove to people that they were wrong about us."
She twirled a strand of her blond hair against her finger as Bakugou's eyes flared up with determination. I wonder if this is genetic or I'm like this because of my environment. Well it did not matter anymore because things changed, but it did bring a sense of ease that this aspect of her personality could be blamed on her genes.
"I can see Bakugou being like that but you…I can't see it, Uzumaki," Kirishirma said, scratching his head. He glanced at her before looking at the students, who waved their hands at them for help. The blonde's lips twitched when Bakugou straightened his back. "I mean other than that one time in the Sports Festival, I have never seen you being challenged."
"I used to be like Bakugou when I was in Konoha," Kirishima dropped his jaw and Naruto let out a laugh. "What? You find that hard to believe? You should ask Kiba to paint you a picture of what type a person I was back in Konoha."
The red-haired teen frowned. "Shouldn't I ask Hyuga?"
"Hinata-chan is my best friend and there are sides of me that I felt comfortable of showing her," Naruto answered. She licked her dried lips and smiled even wider when Bakugou slipped on a fake smile. Oh, I definitely should have brought a camera for this. "But Kiba and Shino saw the side of me that I was comfortable of showing to the public. I wasn't called a bitch because I was nice to people."
She wasn't naturally a nice person even if Hinata-chan believed that. Being nice was difficult because what did nice people do? That was something that needed to be figured out. Smiling seemed like a good idea but it didn't really help her cause. Keeping her thoughts to herself and not making up rumors would be another thing.
That your parents abandoned you because they knew you were going to be a troublemaker.
A good person would regret for spilling another person's secret but Ino deserved it for trying to break her.
"I think you had your reasons for being a bitch like how Bakugou has his reasons for acting the way he does," Kirishima observed as they made their way towards the other students. Naruto blinked and raised an eyebrows. What on Earth gave her classmate that idea? He did know some people weren't born nice. "It's strange how even someone like you could have this kind of self-esteem problems."
Naruto blinked. "What do you mean someone like me?"
"Well you're strong and you seem to have everything together," Kirishima explained. He flashed her a sheepish smile and stopped once they reached a pair of injured civilians. The red-haired teen flashed a reassuring smile to the young woman, who had a cut on her forehead. The younger teen inspected the civilian. "You have everyone's attention and you can do flashy moves. Honestly, you kinda remind me of Mina in that sense."
The injured civilian eyed them and cleared her throat. "Even though you are inspecting my wounds, I still have to minus your points because you have to focus on the civilians!"
"Sorry Ma'am," Kirishima flashed an apologetic smile and the injured woman rolled her eyes at him. Naruto shook her head and stared at the grinning boy. Everyone can have self-esteem issues. She felt the urge to tell him those words and then swallowed it down. It felt way too personal for her to talk about her self-esteem problems.
Shaking her head, Naruto moved away from Kirishima and made her way to the children. The kids looked like they could be around the same age as Hanabi. Their eyes flashed with excitement, no doubt ready to dock points, before turning into a wounded expression. Fake blood dribbled the sides of their face and moisture leaked out of their eyes.
Naruto-neechan, why did Orochimaru have to kill Gramps?
She took a deep breath and knelt down, knees kissing the gravel as the children regarded her. Even if this was only a stimulation, these children should be treated like any child in this situation. Go against your natural urges. Her eyes rested on the fake blood pouring down the side of their face before moving down to the twisted angle of their legs.
"Everything is going to be okay," Naruto soothed as she flashed them a reassuring smile. She placed her hands together into a very familiar hand seal and flashed an apologetic smile as a loud pop echoed between them. A white cloud formed around them and it was not long before her clones appeared. She touched the little boy's cheeks and grimaced as loud pants came out of his mouth. "My clones and me are going to take you to the first-aid station."
The boy stopped sobbing. "You should ask me if I can walk."
"Your leg has been twitched in a very bad angle," she eyed his leg. "It is clear that you can't walk and you've got a serious injury to the head. The same goes for your sister, so it's better if I take you to the first-aid station."
I wonder if he is going to deduct my marks because I didn't ask him.
It was better for her to presume that the examiners didn't know shit then to expect them to understand her line of thinking.
"So have you made contact with your first love?"
Sasuke thinned his lips and narrowed his eyes at Toga, who leaned against the wall. Her eyes gleamed with curiosity and a sick-twisted excitement before flickering her eyes at the stadium across the street. Several people ran through the gates of the stadium, their eyes filled with weariness as they scanned the area.
Sasuke inched closer to the shadows when he caught sight of Hinata roaming through the gates. Her veins peaked out and he knew that the Hyuga Heiress somehow got wind that he could be in the area. For someone who was so meek, she is probably the only person I know who can keep Naruto in check. There was Todororki but he didn't know the male very well.
Yes to all of your questions.
Serious, heterochromatic eyes flashed before his eyes and Sasuke looked up at the sky. The sun gleamed and glowed as white, fluffy clouds wandered through the sky. Birds flew across in a v-shape formation, singing their annoying song as children giggled and laughed without a care in the world. It was days like these that made his stomach rolled with annoyance.
"It's none of your business," Sasuke stated. He shoved his hands into his pockets and fixated on the single soda can resting on the street. His heart twisted and tied itself with knots as glowing, cheerful blue eyes flashed before his eyes. The cars honked all around them and the 16-year-old boy turned his whole body away from them.
He took a step closer to the alleyway as the gravel crunched slightly. A shadow flickered and Sasuke ducked as a knife slammed into the wall. Of course that insane woman would do this. She was a little bit too happy when it came to her knives and throwing it. Shaking his head, the black-haired male pulled the knife out of the wall.
Yellow eyes gleamed with triumphant.
"Aw, so you didn't go see Naruto-chan!" Toga's shrill voice pierced through the air and Sasuke felt his stomach rolled around with concern at the crazed look on the girl's eyes. Did this maniac girl actually make contact with Naruto? Did she tell his best friend about his whereabouts? His stomach rolled with fear as the blonde smiled even wider at him. "Why didn't you go and see her? She is such a nice person! She let me go!"
Todoroki Shouto, how many did you put?
That had been the first time in a long time Naruto said something with eyes filled with amusement. His best friend had never been happy but then again why would she? Konoha had always been hard on her. On the both of them. If children avoided the whiskered-mark girl because of her behavior and their parents, then they avoided him because they didn't want to get to know him.
'Did you hear about what happened to Sasuke? He is the last of the Uchiha Clan."
None of the children came close to him and even though those stupid fangirls increased, Sasuke knew that they didn't like him. They like the symbol of what he was. The same went for their other teammate. He exhaled and tilted his head upwards, breathing in the morning air. Out of everyone in the village, only Naruto really ever saw him.
'C'mon bastard, we are going to get some flowers for Mikoto-obaachan and your asshole father.'
"We aren't friends," Sasuke said flatly. Toga dropped her shoulders and the smile on her face faded into a ferocious scowl. Rats scurried in between them as yellow eyes glared at him. Did she believe because he came here that they were friends? He came here for his own agenda. He came because this was his chance to see whether Todoroki Shouto was indeed a jerk or not.
It would be easier if the male had been a jerk but he seemed to be a dense fool when it came to social interactions. How did someone like him manage to get Naruto to be aware of romantic feelings was a mystery. But honestly out of all the males I have seen, he seems to be the one I can trust not to pressure her.He tilted his head down as a woman stepped into the alleyway.
She glanced at them before scurrying away from them.
"We like the same person," Toga stated with a large smile playing on her lips. "Between you, me and Endeavor's son…well we are all rivals."
Sasuke snorted. "You want to cut up Naruto and drink her blood."
The words hovered between them and Toga stilted her eyes at him. She clenched her jaws together and puffed her cheeks while Sasuke locked his gaze on the stadium. When it came to rivalry on love then they already lost. I know Naruto and I know how loyal she can be. Her sparkling blue eyes confirmed his suspicion that day.
For the first time in her life, Naruto was in love and the dense boy she loved, also loved her back.
If I accomplish my goals then that idiot will continue smiling and that is probably the most important thing right now. His hand hovered over his left shoulders and grimaced as his shoulder throbbed with a dull ache. Sasuke took another deep breath and snuck one last glance at the stadium before stepping closer in the direction of the main street.
"Oi! Shouldn't we wait for Dabi?" Sasuke stepped aside and kept his expression blank as Toga crashed onto the floor. Blood leaked out of her mouth and the blonde wiped her mouth before throwing a glare at him. "Did you really have to do that?"
"Touch me and I won't be afraid to tell Shigaraki that I gave you a scar," he replied, rolling his eyes. The yellow-eyed teen blinked and blinked before letting out a shrill giggle. His eyebrows twitched with annoyance. Why did that insane woman have to laugh like one of his fangirls? He hated those laughs.
Toga blinked and nodded. After a couple of seconds, she cried. "Aren't you going to wait for Dabi? He might be in trouble because we haven't heard from him! Do you think he is in trouble?"
If he was foolish and interacted with his first love then yes I believe he is in trouble. Grunting, Sasuke took another step forward and stared at the smiling faces of the pedestrians. That first love of Dabi was someone with connections with his part of the world and if the male got caught then he was not going to help him. There was no reason to help him.
"You know that isn't the reason, Sasuke-kun," a voice that sounded so much like his mother whispered into his ear. Sasuke clenched his jaws together as Toga stared at him with curious, worried eyes. "You know that it is better for Dabi to be with people that care about him. You don't see any reason why he has to go on your path."
He wasn't helping Dabi at all and if he could have a chance in happiness then why run away? Japan seemed to have a better justice system then the fucked up system that Konoha had.
"You can wait for him," Sasuke declared. "But I've no business waiting for him when I have accomplished my goal."
He wasn't risking prison until he killed his brother and then once that was done then he would figure out his next steps.
A/N: So this was a short chapter but we saw Hinata's POV and her conclusion on why Eisuke left Tomoyo. Naruto challenged Bakugou to be nice and we see a little bit of bonding between Kirishima and Naruto. Sasuke has made it clear that he has no plans of rescuing Dabi.
Q1: How did you find Hinata's POV
Q2: How did you feel about Naruto and Kirishima's interaction
Q3: How did you feel about Sasuke and Toga's interaction? And his reasoning for not rescuing Dabi?
Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter.
