A/N: : I would like to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter as well as everyone that added this story to their favorite and follows.
Hours had passed since Naruto killed all those people and only now did Todoroki left her apartment, having only left when Aizawa came to her apartment. Her teacher came into her apartment with his hair a mess and lips pressed into a tight line. Don't leave me with Aizawa-sensei. The words were stuck in her throat as if it did not want her to scream those words out loud.
Naruto sucked in a deep breath. Her blue eyes avoided looking at her teacher and focused on her hands. No blood stained her hands but it still felt disgusting to her. The rust scent that used to cling to her hands disappeared, barely a reminder of what happened, yet her nose still smelt the rust scent. Her blue eyes still see the stains that decorated it, even though Naruto scrubbed herself clean to the point that her hands were no longer smoothed.
'You are a monster.'
Her body trembled but Naruto gripped her fingers, digging it to the point that Naruto felt just pain. Pain reminded her of the present. Forget about her. She chanted those words in her mind as Aizawa took a seat on the sofa. That woman lived in Konoha. Not here. A bitter old woman, Naruto tried to remind herself.
"You are a monster," a voice whispered in her head. "You killed all those people without even thinking of a better way to do things."
"I had to do it." Naruto screamed. "Eri-chan would never live her life to the fullest if I allowed that monster to live."
"Did you do it for Eri? Or did you do it because you wanted the Third Hokage make that bitter old lady pay for all those cruel words to you?"
Naruto's body trembled. The Hokage might be a dictator for Konoha but his actions could not be thoughtless. The Matron cared for the other kids. She gave those kids a home, comforting them when they wanted it. To some of those kids, the Matron was the only mother they knew. Murder her then the smiles on her fellow orphans would disappear.
"Uzumaki, can I talk with you outside?"
Black eyes stared at her bright blue eyes. He flickered his eyes from her eyes to the nails digging her hands. He pressed his lips into a thin line. Did he know? She shook her head. Blond hair fell over her eyes and Aizawa let out a sigh.
"Uzumaki, we are going to have a talk whether you want to do it or not." Aizawa stood up from his spot and looked over his head. Black eyes searched her. Not in intimidation, thankfully, but more in a gentle way.
She didn't deserve it.
Naruto loosened her grip on her hand and pushed herself up from the couch. She walked over to the balcony, where Aizawa-sensei stood. If he interrogated her then a lie must be spoken. The truth must be hidden, never to be revealed to anyone.
Lifeless eyes stared right back at her and Naruto's breath hitched.
"Are you okay, Uzumaki?" Aizawa placed his hands on top of her shoulder and he looked down at her. Not, funnily, in a scolding way. More of a gentle way. "Do you want to talk about what happened? Do you know why you were kidnap?"
Tears burned behind her eyes but Naruto bit her tongue. She heard the question a thousand times today. Are you okay? Why did these people ask? Team Seven never asked her. A nuisance. A bother. That was what Naruto was to people.
Not to everyone. Iruka-sensei and Hinata-chan cared for me. Hinata used to stutter and laugh at all the silly jokes Naruto made. The antics, she made to get attention, always brought a smile to Hinata's face. When all the teachers pretended Naruto didn't exist, Iruka-sensei brought her ramen. Wasn't that care?
She didn't know anything anymore.
Killing bad people was acceptable in Konoha. The job description of a shinobi required they killed. A kunoichi murdered their opponent. People supported it. Here, villains deserved the right to live. No matter how terrible the deeds were, killing them was unacceptable. But what if these villains escaped? What do they do then? No one talked about it here.
Naruto gazed up at the night sky. The wind tickled and nipped her cheeks almost like a mother trying to comfort her. Or what she thinks a mother should do. Would her mother comfort her after what she did? Or would she tell her to toughen up? She doesn't know. The Academy talked like the first kill was something a person could easily get over with.
Her stomach growled. Right. It had been a whole day since her stomach had any food. But dragging her feet to the kitchen was the last thing she wanted to do.
"Uzumaki, please talk to me," Aizawa paused. "I know you injured someone, but…"
Injured? Bubbles of laughter threatened to come out of her lips but Naruto clicked her feet together and swirled her body away from Aizawa. What could be said? Heroes don't kill. She murdered so many people. She blinked away the tears and burrowed her fingers against her skin. Blood seeped out, coating her hands again.
"Uzumaki…"
Don't use that tone. Naruto loosened her grip on her arm and placed her hands over her head. Her breath haggard as Aizawa placed his hands on her head. Blue eyes looked up and Naruto's breath hitched at the way her teacher searched her. Not with anger. Not with annoyance. Just pure concern and the ache slightly eased.
She lowered her hands. "I didn't injure someone."
Black eyes grew large and Naruto tensed. She hung her head low, blond hair falling over her forehead. Blue eyes focused on the balcony. Clear and clean floors, nothing like the blood-stain floors in the Yakuza's compound. Maybe this was just like a bad dream.
"You killed someone today."
Naruto dropped her head lower and hunched her back. "I had to do it."
"Look at me, Uzumaki."
She shook her head. Tears burned through her eyes and dripped down on the floor, staining the dry floors. Look at him and nothing would be solved. What did tears get her? Nothing. Did tears give love? No. Did it give acknowledgment? Nothing.
No words spoke between them, just pure silence decorated them. Naruto sniffed and snuffed, rubbed her eyes till no more tears streamed down her eyes. Her chest was still tight but not like with Todoroki. Honor the dead. But honor the people who hurt Eri? Should she do it? Bile rose up to her throat and Naruto swallowed, wincing at the acidic taste.
She couldn't bring herself to do it.
"Why do you say that? Were they going to kill you?"
Naruto shook her head. She looked up and swirled her head at the sleeping little girl on her couch. Blue eyes took in the sight of the small legs dropping to the side of the couch. The cartoons lured Naruto in. Her shoulders relaxed and a small sigh escaped from her lips.
"You did it for Eri, didn't you?" Aizawa frowned as his black eyes searched her expression. He nodded and pushed himself off the balcony, weaving his way towards her.
Naruto closed her eyes. "It needed to be done."
Lifeless eyes flashed before her and the blond-haired girl turned her head away from Eri. She bit her lips till it bled and balled her hands into a tight ball of a fist.
"You could have told us, Uzumaki." Aizawa placed his hands on her shoulder and he knelt down till both of their eyes were on the same eye level. He inhaled and exhaled. The trembles in his hand stopped. "You didn't need to kill them."
Naruto grinded her teeth. "Didn't need to kill? What should have I done? Go to you or All Might? Heroes imprisoned those assholes! Assholes like Overhaul doesn't deserve to be given a slap on the wrist!"
She clutched her hand, stopping it from punching the glass window in front of them. She breathed in and out as tears streamed down her eyes. Tears dropped to the ground. Her eyes burned again. Why did this happen more often now? Uzumaki Naruto doesn't cry. Only weak people cried. Strong people smiled. No one cared for tears.
She did her duty.
"He wouldn't have been given a slap on the wrist, Uzumaki." Aizawa shook his head. "That isn't how the system works. He would have been given a life imprisonment if the crimes stacked up against him…"
"And if he escaped?" Aizawa blinked and Naruto shook her head. "You can't even answer that question? That bastard had a Quirk that could destroy walls with just the tip of his fingers. Walls wouldn't matter to him! He would just escape from there just by putting his fingers there."
Naruto twisted her head away and rubbed her burning eyes. "Killing him was the only option that I had."
Who was she trying to convince? Aizawa-sensei? Or herself? Her hands still smelt like blood and tears still threatened to overcome her. Always kill your enemy if the enemy threatened to destroy the village. Do whatever it takes to protect your village. The Academy inscribed those words in the book of shinobi law.
"Killing is never the answer," Naruto jerked her head at Aizawa. Her teacher stared at the apartment block that stood across hers. "You could have handle it better."
She stomped her foot. "I know! Damn it, I know there were a thousand things that could have been used! But he hurt Eri-chan. He hurt her and I just wanted to make him pay for his actions! Eri doesn't deserve to get hurt. She should never have a shadow looming over her."
"We don't give money to beggers."
"Monsters like you don't deserve to get comfort or cry."
Her cheeks stung even though Aizawa stood only a couple of feet away from her. Tears erupted again from her eyes and Naruto grinded her teeth. She covered her eyes, took several deep breaths and turned away from Aizawa-sensei.
"This isn't about Eri, is it Uzumaki?" Aizawa placed his hands on her shoulder and turned her towards him. She rubbed her eyes, turned her head away but only for Aizawa to turn her head at him. His black eyes lingered on the tears flowing down her eyes. "This is about you. Did you go through a similar experience to Eri? Did someone abused you? Is this why you think like this?"
Naruto shivered and avoided the knowing eyes of her teacher. She darted her eyes to the shelf, where the photo of Team Seven and the Third Hokage stood. Blue eyes darted back to her smooth, unmarked skin. Abuse meant physical strikes from adults? Only once and even then Naruto ran away not long after that. Why stay? Running away was better.
Always better then staying.
"I never went through what Eri-chan went through." Naruto gulped and stared at the sleeping form of Eri, never once looking at her teacher. Nothing about her words were a lie. Look at her. She smiled and never looked over her shoulder like a ghost haunted her. Eri did that. Naruto does not.
Aizawa sighed and inhaled. He rubbed his chin, black eyes flickering between her and Eri, before finally focusing on the trembling girl.
"I was going to wait till tomorrow to inform you this, but it seems like this is the best time to talk about it," Aizawa relaxed his shoulders, staring at the sleeping little girl on Naruto's couch. Naruto tilted her head, eyebrows scrunched together as the man turned his eyes to her. "I found you a therapist and she agreed to meet with you tomorrow after school."
Naruto blinked and blinked before jerking her head at her teacher. Eyebrows shot towards her hairline as her teacher locked his eyes on her. "W-What?"
"I found you a therapist like I promised."
She dug her fingers against her eardrum before knitting her eyebrows together. Aizawa-sensei was actually serious about making her do therapy? He wasn't joking about the whole thing. She was fine. Perfectly fine. And did he just say after school? But why? Wasn't he going to expel her for what she did? Naruto blinked back the tears and just stared at the man.
"A-Aren't you going to expel me for what I did?" She choked out the words. This made no sense. Murder was murder and no matter how she tried to justified, what she did today had been terrible. Her lips wobbled and Naruto gazed at her teacher. "Why?"
She repeated it again and again.
Aizawa placed his hand on her shoulder and offered a tiny smile. Nothing about the smile seemed like the one-eyed smile Kakashi-sensei gave her. Everything about the smile was awkward but it eased the ache in her heart. She chewed on her bottom lip, looking back at the black eyes of her teacher.
"Are you going to do it again?" He pressed his lips into a thin line and searched her blue eyes.
Lifeless eyes flashed before her eyes and the rusty scent clung to her nose. Never again. Shinobi might be able to kill and lived with the guilt. But not her. A little part of her died today and it should never happen again. Eri-chan was alive but the naïve girl, inside of Naruto, just died a little.
Sasuke might be able to live with murdering his brother, but I can't live with murdering a stranger even if he deserved it. She stilled her hands, nodding and locked her eyes on the knowing eyes of Aizawa.
"No."
Aizawa hummed. "You are on probation and dropping out of school isn't an option, Uzumaki. But there are two conditions for you to continue with the Hero Course."
Dread rolled in her stomach at the word conditions because that never sounded good.
"You take your sessions seriously when you do your therapy and you inform me or the school when you think you or the people around you are endangered," Aizawa sighed. "You might have gotten into the Hero Course but you are still not a hero."
Naruto stared at her homeroom teacher, blue eyes blown up wide as her stomach rolled around. Wasn't he supposed to scold her for her actions? Murdering people were against the law, no matter how cruel and evil that person was. Shouldn't he yell at her? Why does he still believe she can be a hero? Everyone kept saying she could be a hero.
But could she really?
Did she even have the right?
"Why do you have so much faith in me?" Naruto steadied her voice and looked at her teacher. Her breathing became haggard as black eyebrows raised at the question. "I broke the rules. I murdered so many people today. Heroes don't do these things."
Aizawa searched her eyes and nodded.
"Because I trust you, Uzumaki and I also know that you are a good kid, who has her heart in the right place and for now that matters," He pressed his lips into a thin line and narrowed his eyes. "But do something like this again and you will be expelled."
He trusts me.
Naruto stared wide-eyed at her teacher and Naruto thinks that…
Maybe Aizawa-sensei isn't all that bad.
"Shouto! Why did you skip school today!"
Shouto stared at the furious eyes belonging to Enji as he closed the door. He barely entered the house to find his father standing in front of the door way, turquoise eyes blazing with fury, while his brother and sister stood behind him. Fuyumi chewed on her bottom lip, hands reaching forward but Natsuo grabbed hold of her shoulder. He shook his head.
Enji balled his hands into a fist and tapped his feet. Shouto flickered his eyes to his siblings, tilting his head to the side at the sight of Natsuo furrowing his eyebrows at him. Why was Natsuo here? Wasn't his brother suppose to be out tonight? Fuyumi mentioned something about a date or maybe that had been yesterday. Shouto was not sure anymore.
"He actually skipped school?" Natsuo whispered. "I thought he is supposed to be the golden child."
Fuyumi nodded and slumped her shoulders, while their father reached to the wall but only to yanked his arm back. Enji tapped his feet, turquoise eyes narrowed and hands still clenched into a tight ball. Shouto hunched, mismatch eyes darting to the few artefacts decorating their house and flickered back to his father.
"You are not going to talk, Shouto!" His father roared.
Shouto just pressed his lips into a thin line, looked away from those furious eyes and strided to his room. Only to be stopped by Enji yanking him by the arm, pushing him to stand right in front of him. Fuyumi trembled, gasping and reaching out but Natsuo yanked her back. He shook his head at the girl.
"He will take out his temper on you," Natsuo hissed. "He won't be that harsh on Shouto, not when he favours him."
Shouto bristled but took a deep breath, slowing down the pace of his heart rate. He straightened his back, closed his eyes and waited for what was about to happen. Seconds passed and nothing touched his cheeks. Blinking, Shouto looked at his father. Enji breathed in and out, nostrils still flaring, and his hands stuck to the side.
"Why did you skip school, Shouto?" His father hissed, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Don't make me repeat myself!"
Shouto pressed his lips into a tight line, straightened his back before shoving his father's hand off his shoulder. Turqouise eyes grew large while his siblings choked. Shouto inhaled and exhaled as he steadied his trembling body before focusing his eyes on his father.
"Uzumaki didn't come to school." He put his foot forward but Enji grabbed hold of the sleeve of his outfit, shoving him back to him. His feet stumbled but Shouto stabilized himself. His father folded his arms against his chest, turquoise eyes growing from anger to rage at the words spoken. Natsuo knitted his eyebrow while Fuyumi squeaked.
"Is it the same Uzumaki that he brought to the house?" Natsuo asked.
Fuyumi nodded. "She is his friend."
"Since when did Shouto has friends?" His brother muttered and Shouto stiffened as grey eyes looked away from him. Fuyumi pressed her lips into a thin line, slapped their brother on the upside of his head, while Enji took another deep breath.
"You skipped school because of that girl?" Shouto trembled and balled his hands into a fist as his father clenched his hands into a fist. "You should never base your actions on some girl! You shouldn't be focusing on romance! Those things are a distraction! You need to focus all of your attention on becoming Number One Hero and becoming a Hero! Just because Uzumaki is lazy, doesn't mean you have to follow in her footsteps!"
Shouto closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before glaring at his father. Lazy? Uzumaki? Look at that girl. A part-time job to pay for the bills. An apartment that she lived by herself, having no one to help her take care of it. She did her homework on time even though she worked over time to pay the bills.
"Don't call her that."
His father narrowed his eyes. "What? Lazy? Shouto, she is lazy if she can't be bothered…"
Smash.
Silence reined when Shouto smashed his hand against the wall and glared at his father. Turquoise eyes grew large while Natsuo and Fuyumi gasped at the action. A small dent marked the wall on the spot where Shouto punched the wall, but the teen focused his attention on his father.
"Uzumaki is the last person that you can call lazy," he snarled. "She can't afford to be lazy because she works everyday to pay the bills. She lives in an empty apartment and has no one to clean up her mess, so she cleans it up. How does that make her lazy? Explain to me, shitty old man."
His father opened and closed his mouth, gaping like a fish while Fuyumi blinked at him. Grey eyes gazed at him and then to the dent mark on the wall as her lips hung opened. Only Natsuo seemed amused with his lips curled into a smile. Shouto breathed in and out as his heart raced against his chest.
Have you ever shouted at him?
It felt good to get that off his chest.
Have you ever confronted him about your feelings.
The question nagged him. What does confronting his father about his feelings have to do with anything? Look at what it got his mother. A mental hospital and a house devoid of any emotions. No pictures of his mother decorated the walls.
But insulting Uzumaki was a whole different story for him.
"What did that girl do to you?" His father growled. "You never acted like this before you met that girl!"
"That girl has a name," Shouto snapped. "And her name is Uzumaki Naruto. That girl is my friend!"
"If she was your friend then she would have never encouraged you to skip school!" His father glared at him as their voices raised to volumes that even the neighbors could hear. "She is nothing but a distraction for you, Shouto!"
Distraction? He grinded his teeth together as his father ranted about how much of a bad influence Uzumaki was for him. Yes, Uzumaki distracted him. Until that day when Uzumaki took a seat on the chair, Shouto never considered the thought of friends. But Uzumaki opened his eyes about how the world saw him. If that was a distraction then Shouto didn't care.
"If you continue to follow the crowds then you will never become number one hero," Shouto gritted his teeth and Enji narrowed his eyes. "Don't make that expression, Shouto! You should not allow that girl to influence you so much!"
Shouto clenched his hands into a fist and hissed. "Have you ever stopped to think that maybe I skipped school to check up on her? That Uzumaki never skipped school unless something happened? Because Uzumaki got kidnapped in her own apartment!"
He breathed in and out as his heart threatened to leap to his mouth. Empty blue eyes flashed before his eyes and Shouto clenched his hands into a fist. He closed his eyes, breathing in and out as anger threatened to consume him again.
His father unclenched his hands and pressed his lips into a thin line. "Does that mean you decided to break into her apartment? Todoroki Shouto, tell me that you did not decide to break into a girl's apartment!"
Silence reined throughout the house as turquoise eyes searched his mismatch eyes. Shouto straightened his back and nodded. Enji growled, turquoise eyes darting everywhere but looking at him, while his siblings blinked at the answer. Had it been wrong? Yes. Had he been more concern about Uzumaki then the law? Of course. It might have been wrong in terms of law but it seemed right at the time.
Fear build up in his stomach like it did when the hours passed in Uzumaki's apartment and there had been no sight of her.
"Why didn't you wait till her parents open the door?" His father demanded. "You could have waited till tomorrow when she didn't come to school. If something happened then, you informed me or the police! You don't do activities like this! You should have waited till her parents make…"
"She is an orphan so who would make a stupid report!"
Shouto breathed in and out as his heart raced against his chest, drumming against his chest. He straightened his back as furious eyes glared at him. He focused his eyes on his father's hands, steadying himself for the inevitable action.
Enji gritted his teeth. . "Then wait for her guardian!"
"She lives alone." Shouto said quietly. His father pressed his lips into a thin line but his turquoise eyes revealed nothing, not even sympathy. If you are a Hero then why don't you show some care for her situation. He balled his hands into a fist, grounded his teeth but the words were lodged against his throat.
His father took a deep breath and despite the rage in his father's eyes, the man did not make any attempt to give him another ranting.
"Why didn't you contact me to inform me that your friend was kidnap?" His father interrogated. "Did you even call the police or the school to inform them this?"
"Aizawa-sensei came to check up on her and found out about Uzumaki going missing." Shouto admitted.
Enji's eyebrows twitched at his words. "So you did not inform anyone about what was happening? What were you thinking, Shouto! Were you going to wait till her dead body comes back? When it comes to situation like these, you call either me, the school or the police about what happened."
Because I am certain that Uzumaki could outsmart the person that kidnap her. At first glance, Uzumaki did not have a very powerful Quirk. Yes, she could make clones and she might have the super strength going for her, but it did not compare to some of the Quirks he had seen. What she lacked in versatility, she made it up with her brains and creativity.
"With your reckless action Shouto, you might have made it harder for anyone to find…"
Shouto pressed his lips into a thin line. "Uzumaki escaped from her captors so no one needs to find her."
His father blinked and blinked, looking almost surprised that his friend had managed to do it. But then Shouto thinks of the first day of school and how Uzumaki looked almost fragile. Her appearance might fool people but his friend was anything but a weak, fragile girl.
If anything Shouto would say that Uzumaki was the strongest person that he knew.
"Bakugou Katsuki! What is this I hear about you skipping school! What on Earth were you thinking when you decided to skip school!"
His mother's screams echoed throughout the house, loud enough that it could be even heard from Uzumaki's apartment complex. Bakugou grunted, shrugging his shoulders and flickering his eyes to his father. The man pressed his lips into a thin line, shaking his head and jerked his finger to his mother.
Bakugou hunched his shoulder before growling at his mother. "I felt like skipping school, Old Hag!"
"Don't you dare use that tone with me, Katsuki!" His mother snarled. "Just like I brought you to this world, I can take you out of this world!"
Bakugou rolled his eyes and the blond-haired woman's eyebrows twitched. She smashed her hand against the table, cracking and splitting it in half. The two pieces of table crashed to the ground. Mitsuki narrowed her eyes, lips curled into an ugly scowl, while his father trembled.
How the hell did he end up marrying the Old Hag is still a mystery.
"Bakugou Katsuki, tell me the truth!" His mother pressed her lips into a thin line. "Why did you decide to play hooky instead of going to your afternoon class?"
Bakugou snarled. The old hag is not going to leave me alone until I tell her the truth. His mother loved to push and push till he cracked under the pressure, forcing him to spill everything. Sparks crackled under his fingertips but one glare from his mother and Bakugou stilled the crackles.
"Uzumaki got herself kidnapped."
His mother tilted her head and frowned. Red eyes searched his eyes to the point that he shifted in his spot. The Old Hag and Whiskers really look similar. Same nose shape and the same lips too but Uzumaki had sunkissed hair. The same hair as his missing uncle. He flickered his eyes to the photo of his six-year-old uncle and then to his mother.
"When did this happen? How did she get kidnap?" His mother demanded. "Is she okay?"
She looks like crap. The words were on the tip of his tongue but Bakugou swallowed it down. It didn't matter what Uzumaki looked like. She was nothing but a stepping stone for him. Someone to compete against because while his classmate had a weak Quirk, she was creative. Everything else didn't matter. Not her appearance. And definitely not her attitude.
"She is fine." He snapped.
Mitsuki raised her eyebrow. "Does my little Katsuki have a crush?"
Not this again. This was the first time his mother made the comment but it had been a recurring theme in Middle School. Just because he observed his classmate and taunted her, doesn't mean that Bakugou liked her in that way.
"I will never like that bitch!"
She annoyed the crap out of him by judging him for his treatment towards Deku. Uzumaki acted like she was high and mighty, like she had the damn right to judge him. It did not even help that people constantly compared them, saying they could pass for as siblings with their similar looks.
"Well her parents must be…"
"Uzumaki doesn't have parents."
Bakugou does not know why he told his mother this, but it made the woman shut up. Although his father seemed almost heart-broken to learn this news while his mother looked sympathetic at the news that his classmate did not even have parents to care for her.
Bakugou doesn't know Uzumaki. Unlike those side characters in Middle School or Deku, he never had any intentions of getting to know his mysterious classmate. Not when she seemed to make it clear from the very beginning that she does not have any plans of becoming friends with anyone.
But Bakugou knew if they were as similar as people claimed, then he knows how he would feel if someone looked at him with pity. He thinks of how he would feel if someone looked at him with sympathy for having something that he never had. The thought made him feel furious and irritated since Bakugou doesn't like pity.
Uzumaki was not the type to like it when someone pitied her.
"Don't pity her," Bakugou informed his mother. "She is a hell lot stronger than people give her credit for."
He would never say those words to anyone because it would ruin their image of him. If he said those words to Uzumaki then she might think he cared for her, and Bakugou doesn't care. Friendship with her would be a waste of time, even if a part of him felt a form of connection with her. If people knew what he just said, they would think he was getting distracted on his goal. Bakugou was going to get the number one spot.
But his parents were a different story for him.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. What do you think of the small insight on Bakugou? And the interaction between Todoroki with Endeavour? And the relationship between Aizawa and Naruto.