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

He should stop acting so broody.

At eight and three days, Naruto longed to have the old Sasuke back. The Sasuke, who constantly plays with her and tries to show off how much he liked tomatoes. He acted like he was the only one to lose his parents. She lost her parents and so did a couple of kids in their class but none of them acted like assholes.

Naruto did not want him to stop grieving because she still cried at night. Every night before she sleep, she was reminded the kind Mikoto-obaachan was gone, buried in the cold, hard ground like her parents and a river of tears would overcome her. But Mikoto-obaachan and Fugaku loved Sasuke and Naruto doesn't think they want to see him like this.

Mikoto-obaachan never liked it when either one of them was sad. See? A smile looks better than a frown. That was what his mother would tell her whenever she felt upset with Sasuke and his mean behaviour. His mother used to tickle them in the stomach, telling them that they needed to get along. I don't want to see either of you crying or frowning, you understand me? Mikoto will be upset with Sasuke if he continued to act like this.

"Stop moping!"

Sasuke looked up from the pier and flickered his eyes to her. The warmth and innocence in those eyes were gone, replaced with eyes that Naruto had always seen directed to her whenever she goes to the grocery store to buy food. Her throat dried up and her hands began to tremble as her heart raced against her ribs like it always did whenever she saw those cold eyes.

This wasn't Sasuke.

Her friend scowled and his grinded his teeth together. "You make it seem like it is easy!"

"Because it is easy!" She raised her voice, put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him. "You think people give a crap that you lost your parents? You think the other kids give a shit! They don't care. You aren't the first orphan!"

When Naruto looked back at this day, her heart clenched and a flood of grief overcomes her because those were not the words she should have spoken. But at the age of eight and a few days, Naruto pulled her hair and growled like a dog at him. She went through the whole process and no one seemed to care about them.

No one really cared about orphans.

Sasuke clenched his hands into a fist. "Naruto…"

"Don't Naruto me! You think your parents would have wanted to see you act like a brooding baby!" She just wanted him to stop scowling, to stop giving people those cold eyes because her whole body was always shaking at the sight of it. Every day, a little piece of that warmth that Naruto cherish seemed to be fading and seemed to be replaced with just pure cold eyes.

His black eyes glinted with even more coldness and his lips twisted into a scowl reminiscent of Ami. Dread pooled into her stomach but she straightened her back, blue eyes filled with annoyance and defiance for what was going to be said to her.

"What the hell would you know what they want! They weren't your family!"

Tears welled up in her eyes but Naruto clenched her hands into a fist, blink back the tears as Sasuke took several rapid breaths. His eyes looked almost apologetic but it was not enough to ease her clenching heart. Not enough to stop the burn she felt in her throat.

She never liked Fugaku but Naruto always consider Mikoto to be like her mother.

Naruto never cried because tears were for the weak.

"I thought Mikoto-obaachan as my mother!" Naruto took several deep breaths and stopped herself from slapping Sasuke. Ami and all those bullies could get hurt, but Sasuke was and will always be her friend. "And I know she wouldn't want to see you become some kind of zombie."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "She might have been like a mother to you…but she was my mother."

That was the start of their many fights and just like every fight they had, it would take a couple of days before they patch things up. But things were never the same ever again and Naruto wondered if maybe she should have pushed him harder.

When Naruto looked back at this day and learnt the truth about what happened that night, all she thinks was that was the day Sasuke began his slow descent into the darkness.

She blamed herself for not trying to help guide and support him because that was what Mikoto-obaachan would have wanted from her. So three years later when Naruto see another friend suffering, she decided to do what she should have done with her friends in Konoha.

She tried to be there for them and support them in any way that she could.

Naruto could only sigh and clasped her hands against her head as Todoroki gazed at her with blank eyes. The moment his father walked away from them, her friend dragged her into the nearest empty waiting room and locked the door. It was quite a shame because Naruto wanted to see Kendou's match against Tokoyami live…not in the television screen of the waiting room.

"Why did you say those words? Why didn't you do like my father wanted?"

Todoroki's words hug in the air without any accusation but the slight raise in his tone spoke volumes about his curiosity. Naruto slowly dropped her hands, blue eyes fixated on her friend and her throat began to dry up. Nothing about Todoroki seemed to have really changed but his eyes always held some kind of shine in them. Something to tell her about his feelings but his eyes seemed to be completely blank.

She nibbled her lips and tucked a strand of blond hair against her ear. "Because he needed someone to yell at him."

Todoroki nodded. "And his desire?"

Naruto inhaled and rubbed the back of her neck, fingers pressing against any knots in the back of her neck. Why did she always get knots in the worst of times? Todoroki gazed at her with such expectant eyes that her back started to feel less rounded up. She exhaled as her eyes dropped slightly but she does not smile at him.

There was nothing to smile about.

"Because it is your choice to use it," Todoroki nodded and the blond-haired girl locked her eyes on her friend. "And I can't convince you to do something that you don't want to do. I never understood why you never use it until I learn you talk to Midoriya."

The temperature in the room dropped and goosebumps began to form around Naruto's arms as Todoroki's eyes flared with fire, hinting of just how furious he was with her. She fiddled with her fingers, avoiding his furious eyes as her cheeks burned up. Gotta learn to keep my mouth shut. This was going to become messy, she could feel it in her stomach.

As much as Todoroki was calm and rational, her friend still had a temper that could almost rival her own.

"How much did you hear?" His tone was low and there was no rumble in his voice that indicated that her friend was going to lose it. She straightened her back, nibbled her bottom lip and stared at those blank eyes.

"I heard about your mother throwing boiling water at you."

Todoroki clenched and unclenched his hands before smacking the table. "You shouldn't listen in conversation."

Blue eyes glinted with fire as mismatch eyes narrowed at her. She grinded her teeth together as Todoroki took several deep breaths, looking at her like she betrayed him for listening in on the conversation. Naruto clenched her hands into a fist, willing for herself not to be tempted to punch her friend on the face.

"I wouldn't have listened in if you didn't act like a complete ass!" She stood up from her seat and slammed both her hands on the table, causing it to rumble as Todoroki stood up from his own seat. He narrowed his eyes at her, jaw clenched and…it had been a while since they argued like this.

"That was my personal business."

"I know but you were acting so weird for the last couple of days." Naruto blew a strand of her blond hair and blue eyes fixated at him with irritation. Todoroki stared at her. She fixated her eyes on the burnt mark that decorated his face. He tore his eyes away from her as the silence between them grew to the point that she was shifting in her seat and rubbing the back of her neck. He kept his eyes fixated on her.

Todoroki gazed at her. "And you thought listening in on the conversation would help you?"

She flinched before slowly nodding her head, her head lowered and her blond-hair hid her eyes. No words spoke between them but Todoroki's eyes seemed to be rested on her. She raised her head, focusing her eyes on the burnt mark that decorated his face. It sounds stupid when he says it in that way.

He frowned and she decided maybe she needed to keep her tone down.

"I just wanted to know why you wanted to ignore our friendship," she kept her eyes fixated. "You were just acting like an ass and that made me frustrated. I didn't want to be your friend because I was afraid this would happen again."

'She was my mother."

It started with something harsh and then it fester to the point that they lose sight of their original friendship. She took a deep breath as Todoroki settled his eyes at her before he released a sigh. Naruto looked up, bright blue eyes wavering as he settled his eyes on her.

"I'm sorry," Todoroki said quietly and Naruto blinked. "For what I said but I thought if you were pissed or focus on something else then my father would get the wrong impression of how friendship."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "You could have warned me."

"I should have," Todoroki agreed.

The only sound that seemed to be heard between them was the sound of the television. Todoroki inhaled and exhaled as his eyes fixated on her. "The way I want to reach my goal doesn't warrant the way I treated you. I shouldn't have tried to break our friendship for just a day and tell you about what's happening."

Naruto chewed on her bottom lip and Todoroki settled his gaze on her. "It showed that I lack restraint and with my frustration with my own father, I took it out on you."

"That wasn't the problem."

Todoroki's gaze lingered on her but Naruto kept her eyes fixated on the television screen. Blue eyes faded and she flickered her eyes at him. "You can lash out at me and I will argue right back…you know I can scream right back at you. But I don't want you to just shoulder the burden of your Father."

"You have a lot on your plate," Todoroki said quietly. "Telling you about my problems would have given you more stress."

Naruto nodded and her fingers began to trace the pattern of her necklace. Todoroki stared at the television screen, eyes growing blank and lips pressed into a thin line as Tokoyami's Dark Shadow crashed Kendou against the ground. She looked at him, blue eyes lingering on his face. It lingered the most on his left side, fixated on his turquoise eye and red hair half.

"It wouldn't have given me stress because we are friends," Todoroki swirled his head at her and Naruto rubbed the back of her neck. "I know I don't talk to you about my problems but that's more in line with me thinking that I can handle it."

Todoroki gazed at her. "You can't handle years of abuse by yourself."

You don't know a thing. Those words were on the tip of her tongue but Naruto held herself back as her blue eyes fixated on him. She took a couple of deep breaths, hands rubbing against the back of her neck and fixated on him. She could not tell him about what she endured, not when he probably would never fully comprehend what it was like but she could tell him something else.

"Do you know that speech I made in the Sports Festival?" Todoroki nodded and Naruto took a deep breath. "Hinata-chan was there for me in every step of the way, always supporting me and helping me forget those painful days. I probably would have cracked if it wasn't for her. She helped me endure it just like I help her endure the constant bullying she faced from her own family."

'Did they make you cry again? Let me beat up that stupid Neji!"

She should have allowed her to hit him.

'Naruto-chan!'

She inhaled and exhaled. "And I let her down by just closing myself off from her. She was my support system throughout those years of pain and instead of reassuring her, instead of picking myself back up…I crashed. Wasn't there anyone in your family that was like that to you? Someone that supported you and helped you endure."

Todoroki kept quiet and nodded. "My mother."

His hand hovered over his left side and Naruto grabbed the television screen remote, switching off the television as Todoroki's eyes lingered with grief. She poured boiling water on my left side. Naruto inhaled and exhaled as she bit back the harsh words that seemed ready to come out. Gentleness wasn't something she was used to, but her friend needed it.

"She was wrong about you," Todoroki lowered his hand and Naruto looked at him. "You aren't your father and you don't look anything like him. Maybe when you are angry but your Dad looks like he has a stick up his ass 24/7. It is kinda common with all assholes so it is an asshole's trait…which you don't always have."

Mismatch eyes flashed with confusion as Naruto rubbed the back of her neck. They say being honest does wonders with a friendship so I guess I need to be honest with him.

"You probably take after your Mum because you are a lot more gentle and caring than your Dad," Todoroki blinked as Naruto took deep breaths. This is harder than I thought. "So you had to take it from your Mum and she must be really pretty because your good looks probably came her. I mean you probably look better than Yaoyorozu if you were a girl! And you look like a damn Prince which is kind of not…"

She wanted the word vomit to die down, but the sadness in Todoroki's eyes and the pain that he seemed to be enduring was making her want to speak more and more. Her cheeks burned up as more and more words spilled out of her mouth like how nice his mother must look, along with how warm he actually was. Silence seemed to be his response and she wanted to know what went through his head.

Her word vomit began to fade away as her blue eyes took in the expression of her friend. There wasn't a smile decorating his face or even a smirk. There wasn't even a look of annoyance about how much she semed to be talking instead he just looked at loss. He looked almost confused at what to say or do.

"Thank you."

Blue eyes softened slightly and Naruto fixed her eyes at her confused friend. So many emotions flood through those eyes, emotions that were making her tummy feel almost kind of weird and making her cheeks feel like they were on fire. She stared at him and somehow she knew that he was being completely sincere with his gratitude.

"I'm always going to be there to support you," Naruto paused and looked at him. "But you know? You might associate fire with your Father but fire was what gave me warmth in the cold winters in my village when I never had a home. I guess what I'm trying to say is that fire can save people too…not just ice. I don't expect you to use it but I just want you to know that fact."

She wondered what made her reveal that small fact about her to him.

(Years later, Naruto learnt that it was because she began to trust him not to break her faith in him).

"Making a weird face despite his excellent performance, it's Midoriya Izuku from Class A." Present Mic yelled. His voices bounced off from the stands as the crowds surrounding her roared their approval. "Going against, sorry but this guy hasn't really done anything to stand out yet! It's Shinsou Hitoshi from Class C."

Green hair flew in the air as Midoriya offered a shaky smile. Shinsou rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes looking bored. Naruto took a deep breath and leaned forward, blue eyes fixated on the boy who had come so far now and she blinked when she felt a pair of hands on her shoulder. Blue eyes widened at the sight of her.

"What are you doing here? I thought Tokoyami did a number on you."

Kendou rubbed the back of her neck, lips playing into a bitter smile as she touched the scratches on her face. "Recovery girl is amazing when it comes to healing, but your classmates is really strong. Man, it makes me think that I just need to train even more."

"You don't seem to be upset about it," Naruto commented.

Kendou looked at her and raised her eyebrows at her. "It was a great fight for me and there is always a next time for me to defeat him," she puffed her cheeks and folded her arms against her chest as a smile broke out of her face. "But I really wanted to fight you."

Naruto blinked and almost quirked her lips but her eyes focused on her nervous friends. She tucked a strand of her blond-hair, lips pressed into a smile and gave a thumbs-up when Midoriya's eyes landed on her. She punched her hand to her fist, causing the boy to smile at her.

The smile faded and Midoriya turned his attention onto the purple-haired boy, hands clenched into a fist as he shifted his body into the standard kata that was taught to the Academy students in Konoha. Be quick, Midoriya. She prayed Shinsou did not plan to rile him up.

"That monkey was going on about his pride," Shinsou grinded his teeth and eyes fixated on Midoriya. Her friend froze, eyes growing with rage as he clenched his hands into a fist. You are suppose to act the opposite of me and Bakugou, Midoriya! We're the ones that flies into a rage…not you.

She nibbled her bottom lip.

"Start!"

He flickered his eyes to the stadium. "But don't you think he was dumb for throwing away his chance?"

"What did you say!" Midoriya sprinted and Shinsou smirked as Naruto slammed her head against the stand. Kendou swirled her head at her, eyebrows knitted together as her hands patted her in the back like she knew why she would be upset. Midoriya knew there was a chance Shinsou would make him talk but instead of holding in his temper, he decided to charge right in there with an answer.

"He hasn't done anything, Uzumaki." Kendou reassured her. "He only badmouthed your classmate."

Naruto shook her head. "Yes but Midoriya answered him. Shinsou's Quirk works by getting his opponent or target to answer him. The bastard must have been observing us the whole time and realize our negative traits…he must have known that Midoriya can't control his temper when someone insult his friend or classmate."

"Answer him?" Kendou knitted her eyebrows and then her eyes widened. "My classmate did mention that he wasn't fully aware what was happening when they worked together. He told everyone that it felt like he was being brainwashed."

Midoriya stopped running, body frozen in his spot as green pupils faded and his lips seemed to be parted slightly. This is just like with Sakura again. She nibbled her lips as her eyebrows knitted together, trying to formulate a plan for her friend to get his own fighting chance. Would words be enough? But what if that wasn't enough? She needed something else.

God damn it, she really should have insisted Todoroki came with her so he could make some ice for her to throw.

"He is just frozen," Kendou knitted her eyebrows together. "Is there any way for him to break out of it?"

"This is why I say the entrance exam wasn't logical," Aizawa-sensei's voice bounced off the walls of the stadium and the blond-haired girl could only picture the man sighing at the clear differences of Quirks. "Since Shinsou also applied for general studies, he probably knew this would happen."

Only silence could be heard as Aizawa-sensei shuffled through something with his white scarf occasionally hitting the mic. Kendou and Naruto glanced at each other, eyebrows raised together as if asking each other if they understood what the man was talking about. They flickered their eyes to the Press Box and Naruto could make out her teacher reading something.

"His Quirk is very powerful, but the practical exam consisted of fighting fake villains," Aizawa-sensei sighed. "Shinsou wouldn't have been able to rack up any points with his Quirk."

Frustration. It would be frustrating for Shinsou to see everyone with Quirks that allowed them to fight, which allowed them to be seen as heroes while he was stuck in the background. Naruto's fingers traced her necklace, ignoring the knitted eyebrows from Kendou. It was not fair but life was never fair.

"Sorry Naruto but you failed. There is always next year."

The next year happened and she would fail again. It did not matter to anyone she could pass the written portion of the exam, could do absolutely well in the taijutsu but because of that stupid clone jutsu…they failed her. And then it turns out I had more chakra then I know what to do with. Naruto grinded her teeth again.

'For the ninjutsu portion: make a clone."

They always tested me on my worst jutsu. Naruto took a deep breath as her blue eyes focused on the determined eyes of Shinsou, lips curled into a thin line. But she never gave up hope on passing the exam. There was always the thought that it wasn't impossible for her. So she trained and trained even though it seemed futile.

People taunted her and the teachers looked down at her, but Naruto never allowed something as small as a clone jutsu stopped her dream. If Shinsou wanted it so badly then why didn't he train himself? Why didn't he try to give himself a fighting chance?

It made her want to grind her teeth and pull her hair out.

Shinsou tilted his head, his eyes focused on Midoriya. "Turn around and walk out of bounds."

Fight it!

"He's turning around," Kendou sweated as everyone leaned forward to have a better look. Naruto pressed her lips into a thin line as Midoriya took another step forward. It's going to sound stupid but I want to become a Hero. Naruto grinded her teeth together and inhaled as Midoriya walked closer and closer to the out of bounds.

I can't see him lose his dream.

"No! Midoriya!" Kendou swirled her head at Naruto as the blond-haired girl slammed her palms against the rails and everyone stopped to look at her. Blue eyes flared with anger as the camera zoomed straight at her. Her voice echoed throughout the stadium but Naruto didn't care. "Take another fucking step forward and you will ruin all that hard work you put in those days of training."

"Is Uzumaki trying to snap Midoriya out of Shinsou's Quirk?" Confusion leaked out of Present Mic's voice as rumbles erupted from the crowds. Shinsou looked at her like she was a fool but Naruto only focused on the boy that seemed to be taking another step closer to his doom.

"You spent hours and hours trying to get a hold of that Quirk of yours," she clenched her hands into a fist and stared at the purple-haired boy. "Losing now will only be a disgrace to all that work you put in to the weeks leading up here! You will be losing to a boy with a lame haircut and a shitty attitude to our classmates!"

Midoriya twitched and his body seemed to be slowing down as if his brain seemed to be trying to fight the effects. Kendou turned to her head, eyebrows knitted together as Naruto tightened her grip on the rails. Her blue eyes flared with worry.

Wind seemed to swept throughout the arena and Naruto narrowed her eyes at the sight of a strange light overcoming his fingers. He stopped just in front of the white line, eyes growing wide as he gulped in a couple of deep breaths. Silence hung in the audience as they processed what just happened.

The one thing that definitely stood out to Naruto was the bruised fingers. Bruised fingers that she never caused and fingers that she was certain had been just frozen a couple of seconds ago. Did my words break him out of it? She shook her head. That sounded ridiculous even to her.

Something happened for Midoriya to break out of it, someone must have interfered and break him out of the spell.

I'm glad that they did it because it would have been a waste for him to lose here.

"Thanks to my Quirk, I've been behind from the start!" Shinsou yelled, beating his thumb against his chest as Midoriya turned his head with eyes blazing with fury. "Someone who's been blessed like you can't understand, can you?"

'I know it sounds stupid for a Quirkless person like me to want to become a Hero…but I can't help it.'

If anyone understood how Shinsou felt then it was Midoriya. She understood all too well because it always felt like the world was against her. Always the same stupid test and every time the same result. When the whole world is against you, you just wanted to hate it.

It made you resentful of the people around you.

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. What do you think of the development of Naruto compared to the original Nirvana?