A/N: I want to thank everyone that added this new version to their favourites and follows as well as everyone that reviewed the rewritten chapter.

Ten Months Later

Laughter and chatter filled the small, bustling café and like the last two and half years, Naruto forced herself to smile and prepare herself for the battle ahead. With a tray of coffee, she glided and weaved through the tables, asking them if they wanted anything else from her. Smiles were directed at her and jokes were made like they were always made. And just like a clockwork, Naruto would make excuses whenever one of the male teens asked for her to sit with them.

Today is going to be one of those days.

There were some days when Naruto could act like she was completely fine and be her old self. Days when she smiled and acted like a ball of sunshine as her boss would like to say whenever Naruto smiled. Days when Naruto could completely feel all of her emotions with so much strength, allowing her to make outbursts and not controlling her emotions. But there were some days when it was a daily struggle to smile, to pretend that everything was fine.

"Don't you have an exam to study for?" Her boss asked when Naruto came to the counter, ready to pick up the next tray of orders. Her boss was a slim young woman with light brown-hair and one of the few people that had warm hazel eyes. "Naruto, didn't I tell you to take the day off before your exam?"

Naruto looked away from the woman's searching eyes, hands reaching out to take the tray of food. There was no reason for her to take the day off for something as trivial as an exam. The written paper had been a challenge for her with them asking questions that she hadn't prepared for. At one point she nearly had a panic attack, which almost always happened whenever she had to do theoretical exams.

She never liked theoretical exams, not when most of the time Naruto didn't have many good experience with it.

"I will pass the exam, Boss. It will be a piece of cake." Naruto shrugged and forced herself to plaster a confident smile. Her boss pressed her lips into a thin line, hazel eyes searching hers to find any source of doubt. The smile didn't waver but the woman shook her head.

"Naruto, I know this isn't my place but are you avoiding preparing for the exam for any reason to do with your home? Do you want to talk about it? You know I consider all my employees as family."

Naruto nodded, smiling tightly and thanked the woman before grabbing the tray of drinks from the counter. Hazel eyes stared at her with concern, silently begging for her to start talking about her life. Her response? She just smiled and walked away from her boss.

The woman didn't really want to know what her life was like. No one really wanted to know what she was like. People weren't kind from the bottom of their heart. People were cruel and hurtful—never kind or warm. Naruto would know; kindness was not something she deserved.

Unconditional kindness was not something Naruto had experienced with, not with the life that she had.

Kindness was earned through good deeds. It was given when she accomplished something that pleased people. A woman like her would never have it.

She didn't deserve it.

"What exams is the Boss talking about, Uzumaki-san?" One of her co-workers asked, sneaking up on her. Naruto twisted her head around, blue eyes locked on the peering eyes of her customer. Excitement shone through those eyes, no doubt with the knowledge of new gossip. "Have you decided about going to high school?"

Her co-workers really did like to gossip.

"She applied for Yuuei High," her boss called out from across the café. All the chatter died down at the announcement. Customers dropped their forks, their eyes growing wide at the sight of her but only one group of table seemed overjoyed about the announcement.

Naruto always tried her hardest to avoid that group of students, which consisted of a blond-haired boy, indigo-haired boy and a girl with lavender blue hair. Those smiles and laughs always made her heart ached. They made her think of Konoha, the last place she wanted to remember.

This really was a bad idea.

"You might become our cute little junior!" Naruto blinked when the girl charged at her, eyes beaming with excitement as both her colleagues and co-workers sweat-dropped at the speed the girl charged towards her. "What is your Quirk? Are those whiskers real? They make you look so pretty! Why are you working today? And why do you always avoid our table? Tamaki…"

Words circled around her and Naruto felt herself growing dizzy at the questions being asked. Was this how celebrities felt whenever those reports asks questions? Because she understood why some of them just went crazy. The endless questions would make anyone go crazy.

Naruto stole a glance to her colleagues. Smiles decorated their faces and their eyes flashed with pity, but if they really felt pity then they would stop the girl from asking so many questions.

"I'm sorry about Nejire, Uzumaki-san," one of the customers answered, grabbing hold of the excited teen. Naruto blinked when the blond-haired boy offered her a bright cheerful smile, his hands pressing the excited teen down as their indigo friend popped right beside them. "My name is Togata Mirio, the excited girl is Hado Nejire and our friend here is Amajiki Tamaki. If you pass your exams tomorrow then we will become your senpai."

Joy and warmth leaked out of his voice but Naruto could only just avoid his eyes, never glancing at his friend Amajiki. Why did you always avoid our table? The answer was simple. Their friend looked like her teammate…her best-friend. The sight of him always brought a heaviness to her chest that she just wanted to avoid.

It was the main reason that Naruto avoided them. The smiles she made were easy to create to her customers, but one glance at the boy and she recalled of what happened nearly three years ago. The walls she created would break, cracked and Naruto would find herself in the same state again.

She didn't want to be in that state…

I am the idiot that thought people cared for me.

Naruto shoved the thought away, forced herself to smile at the customers and blinked when Amajiki flushed a light shade of red. A weirdo. The guy is a complete weirdo. His friend laughed, shaking his head while Nejire opened her mouth to say something.

She needed to escape from them. Drinks needed to be served, customers needed to be charmed so that she could get some more tips. No time for her to think about the strange boy and his eerily resemblance to Sasuke. She bowed before dashing through the tables, handing them their drinks and making so much small talk.

Naruto pretended not to notice their eyes followed her with confusion.

She continued to pretend her heart was not hollow anymore and if there was one thing Naruto had always been good at, it was lying to herself about her feelings and hiding her pain.

(Next day)

Naruto stared wide-eyed at the entrance of Yuuei High, her hands tucked deeply in her jacket as the people around her strolled with confidence to the hall. A quick glance to her side made her realize, she was the only one marvelling at the structure of the building. Was it too late for her to turn her back? She furiously shook her head. No, she was not scared of anything.

I think you have a good shot of getting into Yuuei High.

Her teacher's words echoed in her ear, forcing Naruto to look ahead and take one step forward. She pushed her hoodie up, ignoring the whispers thrown in her direction. Blue eyes glanced rapidly at her fellow examinees. Excitement rolled off them in waves as some of the fellow examinees (most likely they came from the same middle school) wrapped their arms around each other, whispers being exchanged.

"Whiskers."

Naruto halted at the explosive voice directed at her. Her ears rang as Bakugou stood by her side, red eyes flared with irritation at the sight of her here. Flashes of all the cold eyes directed at her flashed before her eyes, making Naruto feel like a small child again.

I am fifteen now, not that five-year-old girl. She chanted those words to herself and pasted a smile on her face. She was no longer a naïve child. Naruto knew better now what those eyes meant. People with those eyes should be treated with a distance, never getting so close to them. Ignore those eyes and maybe things would get better. She took another deep breath.

"What the hell are you doing here? First it was Deku, now you!" Bakugou snarled. His red eyes glared at her, daring her to back down from the exam. Students stopped walking, their eyes growing wide at the exchange taking place right in front of them.

Naruto just smiled and ignored the question asked.

"What the hell are you doing here?" He repeated himself. "Why did you decide to become a damn Hero?"

Because I don't know what I want to do with my life. All those plans she made in her childhood crashed nearly three years ago. She always dreamt big for herself. She longed for the job of being a kunoichi that Naruto never considered a plan B. Plan B meant she doubted of getting the occupation, meant she didn't believe in herself.

She could never tell him this, so Naruto went with the half-truth.

"I had no plans of applying for high school but Sensei wasn't happy with my desire," Naruto clicked her heels together and began to walk away from the short-tempered teen, blue eyes focused on the large building ahead of them. "He wasn't going to accept the fact I am content to not apply to high school or that I have no idea about my future. He suggested I apply here for the Hero Course since it is a better future than working in a café. He thinks I will be wasting my time there."

Naruto doubt the man would suggested Yuuei High if she didn't have excellent grades. With Bakugou and Izuku ranked in the top five in their year, Naruto came third with her grades. There was something about the schooling that made her want to actually try and focus all her energy at it.

Maybe it was because the teachers weren't dicks to her.

"You would have wasted your fucking time, Whiskers." Naruto blinked and the smile on her face wavered at the sudden kind words coming from her hot-headed classmate. She eyed him suspiciously. What was he planning? If he planned to make her give up by using such strange supportive words then Bakugou was a fool. "Why the hell are you looking at me like that?"

"Because you sounded almost nice."

Bakugou folded his arms, lips pressed into a scowl and barked. "What the hell does that mean? I can be nice, Whiskers!"

"People like you can't ever be nice; that's a fact of life," Naruto declared calmly. He gawked, opening and closing his mouth as the girl brushed passed him. Blue eyes hardened and the plastic smile almost broke as thoughts circled around her head, threatening to consume her.

He can never be nice…just like I can never really be a hero. The childish voice whispered as Naruto forced her trembling legs to take a step forward to the future. Heroes were good, honest people that helped people. They opened themselves to people, smiling and giving them hope.

They trusted people and Naruto couldn't bring herself to even trust the sincerest of smiles.

"Good morning, Kacchan! Naruto-san!"

The two teens clicked their heels together, twisting their whole body around to see Midoriya standing behind them. A nervous smile played on his lips, only to be replaced with a flinch when Bakugou growled at him. Blue eyes narrowed at the rude behaviour that was only a slight improvement from ten months ago.

"I'm going ahead." Bakugou declared, storming passed them.

Blue eyes watched blankly at the boy's fading back, pink lips pressed into a thin line. Naruto slipped her hands into her pockets and glanced at Midoriya, who knitted his eyebrows together. It never escaped her notice how much more quieter Bakugou became. He still lashed out against Midoriya but the punches and the furious words faded away.

Was this because Midoriya saved his ungrateful ass?

"What is his problem?"

Naruto blinked and flickered her eyes to find a cute brown-haired girl looking at Midorya and with curiosity. The girl had her body tilted towards them, barely brushing against her classmate. Brown eyes flashed with curiosity at what just happened. She shrugged while her green-haired classmate stiffened, his cheeks growing redder by the minute.

"He is an ass."

That was the only explanation Naruto needed to explain Bakugou.

"I know everyone is nervous but it doesn't mean he has an excuse to be an ass," the girl declared hotly. Naruto smiled politely, blue eyes darting at her stone-faced classmate and the brown-haired girl got the silent message that Naruto wanted to be left alone. "Well, alright then! Good luck with the exam today."

The girl waved and dashed off, leaving Naruto to deal with a frozen Midoriya.

Shaking her head, Naruto lightly whacked the boy on the head.

"Ow! What was that for, Naruto-san?"

"Oh, to check if you were alive."

As her luck would have it, Naruto found her seats to be right next to Midoriya and Bakugou. Her green-haired classmate bounced in his seat while Bakugou scowled at her, still pissed at the observation she made about him. In all honesty, she didn't care one bit. Slumping in her chair, Naruto pushed her hoodie even lower as Izuku snuck a glance at her and their scowling classmate. He raised his eyebrow at him.

She didn't bother to answer his silent question and only glanced at her classmate's sheet. Her lips curled into a frown at the sight of the different letter in his registration card.

Midoriya had B while she had C.

She darted her eyes to the people around her, noticing how people from the same school were seated together and directed her attention to the empty podium. The backdoor opened and a blond-haired man stepped in with a bounce in his steps; his eyes danced with excitement.

"For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my show today!" His loud voice boomed through the hall. Students slammed their hands together and eyes shut tightly at the loud voice. "Can everybody say hey!"

The only response was silence as students glanced at each other, daring one of them to finally respond to the Hero.

"What a refined response," Present Mic shrugged and acted like he wasn't bothered by the lack of response from the students. He grinned at them. "Then I will quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam! Are you ready?"

The room remained silence as the students refused to engaged with the excited man.

Silence broke when Izuku flushed a bright shade of red, green eyes growing wide with joy at the sight. He pressed his hands together in excitement. It looked kind of cute… if her classmate had been a girl. As a teenage boy, it was just plain weird or maybe Naruto just was not used to it.

The only experience she had was Sakura and Ino, even then they hadn't looked cute whenever they gushed over Sasuke.

"It's the Voice Hero, Present Mic! Wow!" Izuku squealed, hyperventilating at the sight of the hero. "I listened to him every week on the radio. I'm so moved. All the teachers at Yuuei are Professional Heroes!"

"Shut up, Deku!" Bakugou snapped; he didn't tear his eyes away from Present Mic. The boy quickly shut up, flinching at his childhood friend's rude words. Naruto flickered her eyes at the blond-haired boy, narrowing her eyes at the harshness of his tone.

Bakugou gave Naruto the middle finger and jerked his head at the podium, signalling her to focus on the exam.

"Naruto-san, are you okay? You have been covering your ears whenever Present Mic talked." Izuku whispered. Green eyes stared at her with concern as he lowered his head to look at her. Naruto forced herself to smile, removing her hands from her ears. I am always going to be fine. Nothing can bring me down. Izuku smiled and as soon as his head turned away from her, Naruto dropped her smile.

She missed the stolen glance from Bakugou.

The screen behind Present Mic came to life, images of robots appeared and a quick glance at her sheet showed that the robots was the same as the flyer. "Alright, my examinees! Let me tell you about how this test will go!"

The bored atmosphere turned to excitement and tension as students gripped their flyers, their eyes flashed with excitement. Naruto could only just stare blankly, almost tempted to pull out her phone and listened to some music. Would it be rude? Yes. Did she care? Not really. There weren't many things that Naruto actually cared about.

She used to care a lot for the people around her, but people were cruel and hurtful little things.

"All of you will experience a 10-minute mock urban battles after this," The man swirled his whole body to the right side of the auditorium, his eyes making sure that the students paid attention. "You can bring whatever you want with you."

The screen lit up and several different boxes lit labelled from A to G appeared on the screen. Judging by the letters assigned to her and Midoriya, she guessed the two of them would be in different battle areas. Was it going to be the same for Bakugou too? It would make life easier for everyone if they were all in different battle areas.

If Midoriya and Bakugou were in the same field, then Naruto was certain that neither of them would pass.

"After the presentation, you will head to the specified battle centres, okay?" Silence reined as students from the same school glanced at each other's cards. Izuku stole a glance at her, a small frown playing on his lips at the assigned battle centre for her, and then glanced at Bakugou's card.

"Oi Whiskers, what battle centre do you have?" Bakugou demanded after taking a peak at Izuku's registration card.

Naruto blinked and answered. "I got C, why?"

Bakugou darted his eyes at Izuku, who gulped at the ferocity that was his best-friend's eyes. "Because it means that they won't let students work with their friends. We got assigned different battle centres. "

"You are right," Midoriya stuttered, he glanced again at the two student's cards. A small frown decorated his lips. "Even though our examinee numbers are sequential, we are assigned to different battle centres."

Bakugou clicked his tongue. "Damn, now I can't crush either of you."

Midoriya gulped and Naruto scowled at the boy for making the comment. The temptation to mock him about his skills was huge, but the knowledge Bakugou would be happy to see her explode was enough for her to hold her tongue. Only the asshole would make her want to lash out.

It was like he made it a habit to make her angry.

"Three different types of faux villains are stationed in each battle centre," Present Mic continued once all the students finished talking to each other. The screen changed to show three figures not so different from the robots in the student's pamphlets. "You earn points for each of them based on their level of difficulty."

The robots faded, only to be replaced by an image of a miniature version of Present Mic attacking them. "Our goal, dear listeners, is to use your Quirks to earn points by restraining the fake villains."

But what about rescuing people? Isn't the main role of a hero to save people? Naruto nibbled on her bottom lip, eyebrows knitted together as the people behind her whisper about how easy this exam was going to be. She probably was the last person to think like this. It should please her, she had a chance to pass this exam with flying colours.

Weren't they going to be tested on how well they save people? What if someone had a good heart, willing to save anyone, but weren't capable of using their Quirk properly? What do they do then? They couldn't just toss the person away.

It wasn't fair.

Present Mic swung his arm and pointed his finger at them. "Of course, attacking other examinees and any other unheroic actions are prohibited!"

"Guess that means you can't kill your opponent, Explosive Head." Bakugou grunted and folded his arms against his chest, almost reminiscent of a cute little child. Well maybe cute little child wasn't the word Naruto would use to describe the angry boy.

A cute, angry kitten maybe.

"Excuse me sir, I have a question!"

Naruto moaned and slumped in her seat, silently eyeing the clock on the wall. There were going to be behind schedule because of that asshole. She didn't want to be late for her shift, today. Bills needed to be paid and every single penny was worth it.

"Okay!" Present Mic pointed to the boy, who stood several meters ahead of them, and a spotlight sudden appeared at him. Nerd was the first thing that came to Naruto's mind when she had a better look at the teen. Nothing really stood out about him, except for those old-style glasses and the fact he looked like he could be someone's Dad.

The rigidi posture spoke volumes of just how straight-laced the boy was. Guys like those were kill-joys; they used to ruin her pranks in the Academy.

"On the printout, I see there are four types of Villains." The boy announced. He held up the printout for everyone to see, pointing at the Villain figure they hadn't seen in the video. "If that is a misprint, then Yuuei, the most prominent school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be shaped into model heroes."

A sense of shame washed over Naruto at the boy's speech. Most of these people desired to become amazing heroes while she was just wandering around, not knowing what to do with herself. Everyday, she woke up doing the same thing: wake up, go to school, go to work, do homework and train.

She always tried to avoid sleep.

"In addition, you over there with the curly hair—" Midoriya pointed at himself, green eyes growing wide with fear as the boy stilted his eyes at him. "You have been muttering this entire time, stop it. It is distracting! If you are here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!"

Midoriya squeaked, covered his mouth and mumbled, "I am sorry."

Not my business. Naruto stood up from her seat, earning frowns from the people around her as Midoriya stared at her with confusion. She was an idiot. This wasn't her fight. The boy was her classmate, nothing else. There was no reason for her to yell at him.

But her classmate looked so sad and hurt at that comment; she couldn't just sit there and do nothing.

"Maybe he is distracting you because you put your mind with him," Naruto said slowly. "He is nervous about this damn exam. Be considerate of other people too, don't just think about yourself. The people behind me didn't have a problem with his behaviour, didn't even tell him to shut up. So deal with it."

Midoriya blinked like he always did whenever she defended him. He opened his mouth, maybe to say an apology but Naruto waved him off. Everyone else broke out in whispers as the boy pushed his glasses against his nose, irritated at her calling him out.

It was Midoriya's fault for calling out her protective instincts.

"Calm down you two," Present Mic said, waving both his hands at them. He gave a thumbs-up to the boy. "Examinee number 7111, thanks for the great message. The fourth type of villain is worth zero points. That guy is an obstacle, so to speak. There is one in every battle centre—an obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. "

The students frowned.

"It is not impossible to defeat, but there is no reason for you to defeat it, either." Present Mic explained. He flashed them a smile and swung his arm up in the air. "I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it."

Naruto raised her eyebrows, lips pressed into a thin line as she stared at the handout. Avoid a Villain? Weren't Heroes supposed to charge after any kind of villains? It shouldn't even matter if it had points or not. She might not be the best example of what a hero should be, but Naruto knew what a hero was.

A true Hero would attack even if the villain might not bring any benefit, might be difficult because Villains were always dangerous. They hurt people, ruined them to the point that they didn't know what was right and wrong and because people's lives needed to be saved. This was the reason people like them were considered Heroes.

They trusted the village too and saw all of its beauty in people.

All Naruto could ever see was just how cruel and evil people can be, and this was the reason she could never truly become a Hero.

She was just too broken for the job, but it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. Please tell me if there is anything that can be improved on, either the characterisation of the characters, interactions between them or if you have any general questions.