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

I want some food.

Food was a basic right that should never be denied to anyone but at the age of six, Naruto learns that not everyone was willing to give her food. Even though there was some money in her pocket. Real money that the Hokage gave her, not some money that she got through from either begging or stealing from someone else. She thought going to the supermarket with actual money will change things.

The store owners still kicked her out and throw water at her.

I just want to eat some food and feel some more warmth. Naruto shivered and looked at the world around her. With the various snowflakes covering the floor and the blankets of snow wrapped snugly around the buildings, the village looked like a winter wonderland but it held no laughter. She kicked a pebble and her lips curled into a scowl, eyes flickering to the various stands and restaurants at offer.

Her eyes lingers on a small ramen stand and shuffled her feet together. Blue eyes flickered to the various people in the crowds, who seemed to be looking everywhere but at her. They always ignore me. What am I? A fly. She grinded her teeth together and shuffled her feet towards the ramen stand.

She stopped walking when a man walked out of the stand, pushing away the curtains. Black eyes locked on her and it softened which makes Naruto blink. She just stood in front of the ramen stand, hands shoved against her pockets and her nose twitched at the scent.

The man leaned forward to her and the blond-haired girl took a step back, blue eyes narrowing at him. The smile on his face wavered, dropping to a frown. He knelt down and a smile formed around his lips, making Naruto's bright blue eyes widened.

"Don't you want to come in, little girl? I make some really tasty ramen." He informed her. His eyes lingered on her hair and then it moved down to her blue eyes and sadness leaked out of it. For a brief moment, a tear seemed to leak out of his eye but it was gone as soon as it was there. It must have been her imagination.

She blinked. "Ramen?"

Was he offering her a chance to eat some food?

"It is really tasty," the man smiled and patted his stomach before holding out a hand to her. "And I bet it can warm you up."

The smile on his face brought a sense of warmth in her and she steps back. Her blue eyes focused on the outstretched hand that seemed to beckoning her to follow him. Why was he being so nice to me? She chewed on her bottom lip and dropped her head as the wind slapped against her whole body and Naruto shivered.

She darted her eyes to the inside of the shop, where an older girl peaks out with her brown eyes looking at her with curiosity. There was no one else in the restaurant and it made sense to the young girl when she looks at the various families that seemed to be going back home. Her eyes lingered on the smiling wife, scowling husband and their two children.

The smiling wife looked at her and then her eyes flickered to the ramen stand owner. Those black eyes flashed with pain and understanding as if she knew something that she did not know. The youngest son tugged his mother's sleeve and the moment between them was gone. She turned her head away as the woman looked down at her son with her lips curled into a sad smile.

Naruto never noticed that even then Sasuke was always looking at her.

She leaned forward and decided to follow him inside the store. The stabbing coldness in her body seemed to be fading away and the blond-haired girl blinked when the man pulled out a large bowl, filling it with soup and noodles along with various food. Her nose twitched and saliva began to dribble down her mouth.

"I-Is this for me?" She looked at the large ramen bowl and picked it up. It's so huge. She nibbled her bottom lip and looked at the older male, who smiled at her and gestured for her to eat. She took the chopsticks and began to gobble down the ramen, which seemed to stuffle down the growing hunger in her stomach and filled her bones with warmth.

When it came to the soup, Naruto took a deep breath and picked up the large bowl from the table. Her lips touched the warm ramen bowl, slurping it down till her tongue could touch every last droplet of the miso soup of her ramen. Not once did she lower the bowl to look at the kind man that gave her, her very first warm meal in her life.

"How much, mister?" Naruto asked, wiping her mouth with her hands and lips curled into a large smile as the man looked down at her with such sad eyes. There was a funny feeling in her stomach and the smile in her lips didn't feel painful, it felt natural. He smiled down at her and his hand ruffled her hair.

"It's free."

She blinks and the smile on her face grew even larger.

That was the day Naruto met Teuchi and from that day on, Naruto adores the taste of ramen. It wasn't because it was cheap like Sakura or Sasuke believed but because Teuchi gave her, her very first warm meal. A meal that she thinks her mother would have made if she had been alive.

So whenever Naruto thought that a person had become a friend or became close to her then Naruto would bring them to the ramen stand as a way of saying that she accepted them as her friends.

I came here to win.

The flames danced in front of Naruto and blue eyes stared at the mismatch eyes staring back at her. Crowds cheered all around her as if reminding her that this was not just a friendly match between two friends, but also a match watched by the whole world. Her steps grew heavier and heavier as she walked away from the tunnel and towards the arena.

"Starting off the third rounds, she is making a name for herself and making true to her oath, it's Class A's Uzumaki Naruto!"

'I'm going to win the whole damn thing.'

The crowds erupted into even louder cheers as Naruto halted across the arena. Her eyes flickered to the cameras, lips forced into a smile as her hands clenched and unclenched into a fist. If I win this round then I am going to the finals and prove to the whole world that I survived and that nothing can stop me.

She leaned her body forward. "I'm not going to go easy on you, Pretty Boy."

"You don't have to pretend that you are fine!"

Todororki's brow creased slightly at the nickname bestowed on him and he said nothing, only nodding at her words. Naruto darted her eyes to the audience, stopping only at her mentor and her lips twitched into a large smile at the proud look on Jiraiya's face. This was not just her chance to show everyone that she improved, but show the hard work that Jiraiya poured into her.

She looked towards the stands where she knew her classmates sat. They smiled widely at her, giving her thumbs up and a few of her fellow female classmates had a banner with her name plastered on it. They are cheering for me? But why? She blinked even more when she sees Kendou and Tokage taking a seat with the other girls, their lips curled into a cheerful smile.

They want me to win.

She curled her lips into a smile.

"And over here, is the son of the number two hero and a boy that is both hot and cold, Todoroki Shouto! This will be a fated battle between classmates and friends."

"I don't expect you to use your fire," Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and looked around the various, cheering classmates and heroes. "But I expect you to give me a match that can rival the one that Midoriya had."

"Will these two set aside their friendship to give the audience a show that they have been waiting for?"

Todoroki pressed his lips into a thin line and his mismatch eyes flickered to the cameras surrounding them before focusing back on her. There weren't many emotions shining through them. No, those mismatch eyes just reflected back her reflection and she faltered slightly at the sight of her own eyes.

Had my eyes always looked at the world like they expected something bad to happen? Like the world is out to get me?

"Uzumaki." Todoroki's voice bulldozed through her thoughts, crashing and reminding her that this was not the time for her to care about what she looked like. I will fix my eyes later. She chanted those words in her mind as mismatch eyes flashed with concern. It was not long before another pair of milky eyes flashed before her, pleading and begging for her to show her that she was fine.

But had she ever been fine?

She was abandoned as a toddler, abused as a little girl and never fully accepted anywhere. The mystery of her parents still haunted her because Naruto didn't know who she was. She didn't even know where she actually came from and it was now more apparent to her as ever. There was always going to be a void and pain inside of her until she finds out who they were.

Her family abandoned her and the people that was supposed to be there for her, either left her alone to suffer in her grief or were murdered.

"Begin!"

Todoroki slammed his hands onto the ground and a barrage of glaciers erupted forth. Naruto narrowed her eyes and curled her hand into a fist, taking a deep breath and channeled her chakra into her hands. She smashed her hand through the glaciers, cracking and smashing through it. Crystals flew all around as the blond-haired girl narrowed her eyes.

Her friend tensed up, eyes narrowing as Naruto launched herself straight at him. Tricks and all that, those things won't work with him because he always goes for the big, flashy attacks. Her lips curled into a smile as she did a flip, hands grabbing his shirt and slamming his whole body down to the ground.

He grabbed her arm, trying to yank her but Naruto channeled chakra to the soles of her feet and launched the mismatch boy out of the arena. Mismatch eyes widened as he placed his right hand and leg behind him, forming a wave of jagged crystals that propelled him around the arena and in bounds.

This is going to be a fight worth showing.

"He avoids falling out of bounds with an ice wave! Looks like fun!"

Naruto propelled herself forward, right hand curled into a fist and Todoroki snatched her arm. Mismatch eyes stared back at her as if telling her that he really wanted to win this and Naruto hardened her eyes. She grabbed hold of him, small fingers wrapping around his collar and swinging him out of the arena.

'Are you okay?'

His words echoed in her mind as if to remind her that Todoroki had been the first person in this country to notice that she wasn't fine. She gulped down, put her fingers together and channeled chakra into her stomach. Tiger. Ox. Dog. Rabbit. Snake. She put her hands together and breathed out the large air, swirling and whirling straight towards him.

I might have used too much chakra because I didn't want to make a hurricane.

"Wow!" Present Mic shuffled and the microphone fell off as he leaned forward. He picked up the microphone and let out an excited breath. "Now that is one way for Uzumaki to stand out. What can this girl not do?"

Just as soon as he finished saying those words, Todoroki slammed against the walls of the stadium. Mismatch eyes winced and Naruto grimaced, flickering her eyes to Midnight and the woman declared that Naruto won the match. Taking a deep breath, the blond-haired girl jumped off the arena and charged straight towards him.

I guess I need to make it up for him.

"You're awake."

Shouto groaned and he darted his eyes around the infirmary room. The last thing he remembered was a very strong hurricane heading straight towards him along with Uzumaki's guilty eyes. I thought I knew her skills and she surprises me. He blinked when he sees Uzumaki sitting right beside him, arms folded against her chest and eyes fixated on him.

His mind finally processed what she said.

"How long have I been unconscious?" Shouto placed his hands on either side of the bed and he pushed himself up until he was sitting up straight. His head still felt a pounding sensation from the collision of his back against that hard, concrete stadium. He rubbed the sides of his head and stared at his friend.

Uzumaki sighed and flickered her eyes to the television screen, where Bakugou was fighting against that green-haired girl that his friend had in her team. She licked her dried lips and finally let out a small sigh. "Maybe twenty minutes?"

He nodded and looked down at his hands before glancing at Uzumaki. His friend nibbled her bottom lips and she looked everywhere but at him. Was she feeling guilty for what happened during the match? Or was there something else bothering her? If it was the former then she shouldn't feel guilty, she warned him.

"Why aren't you with Midoriya? Or the others?"

Uzumaki chewed on her bottom lip and flickered her eyes around the room, never landing on his eyes. It felt like hours passed until finally his friend looked at him with blue eyes flashing with regret. She took several deep breaths and Shouto knitted his eyebrows. It was not like his friend to act like this and Shouto leaned forward. His hand hovered against her forehead and Uzumaki raised her eyebrow.

"Are you checking that I have a fever?"

He nodded and dropped his hand. "You are acting strange."

"I guess it is because I realize that I don't like how I have been acting to you and everyone in our class," he blinked and his friend took several deep breaths. Uzumaki closed her eyes and looked straight at him. "I owe you an apology…I owe everyone an apology."

Shouto tilted his head and knitted his eyebrows. "What are you sorry for?"

Silence hung between them as Naruto looked down at her lap with her bright blond hair masking the emotions flowing through her eyes. She took a deep breath. "I am sorry for acting like a complete bitch to you when we first met and for not being friendly with everyone. It was never right for me to take out my issues on everyone."

He nodded and stared at his friend. The blond-haired girl rubbed the back of her neck and then took a couple of deep breaths before hunching her back at him. What could he tell her to cheer her up? Nothing seemed to come to his mind when it came to cheering her up. She opened her mouth to say something but then closed her mouth.

"And?"

She raised her eyebrow at him. "You are really milking this, aren't you?"

"No, it looks like you wanted to say something more." He sighed and looked at the clock as a pair of grey eyes flashed before him alongside another set of memory. Ever since his battle with Midoriya and his talk with Uzumaki, the childhood memories that he worked so hard to repress had decided to come out and it made him question what he did know and what he didn't know.

"I guess I'm trying to say that maybe we should try again with this whole friend thing."

Todoroki curled his lips. "I'm not very good at being a friend."

"You can learn." She quirked her lips into a smile and rubbed her chin. Blue eyes flashed with amusement while Todoroki just tilted his head at her, one eyebrow raised at her. If he had to admit that he was a failure when it came to being a good friend then she needed to admit something to him.

"Okay," she sighed. "I don't know how to trust people."

Shouto nodded. "You can learn."

Uzumaki nibbled her bottom lips as the words hung between them, a promise or a vow to overcome their own shortcomings. He tried really hard to be a friend to this girl but maybe there were times when he took things too far with her. Naru-chan was forbidden and he understood why when he recalls the pain in her eyes as she talked about the abuse she went through.

"Ramen," he blinked his eyes and Uzumaki regarded him. "If I want to be serious about this whole friendship between us then we are going out to eat after this Sports Festival and ramen is my offer. Not just the two of us…I guess Midoriya too because he kinda grow on me."

Todoroki nodded and he quirked his lips into a small almost smile. He leaned his body forward till they were only a few centimeters apart. Mismatch eyes focused on those blue eyes and the silence between them grew tense at her words. Despite her words and her desires, Todoroki knew it was not going to be easy for her. Just like it was not easy for him to use his left side, the same could be said for her trust problems.

"Uzumaki, I know that trust takes years to be made and that it is very easy for it to be broken," his friend looked at him and he took a deep breath. His eyes focused on her bright blue eyes. "But I heard from someone that the best way for you to find out if you can trust someone is to trust them. Aizawa-sensei and I will be there for you in every single step of the way."

Uzumaki smiled. "And I think you won't have any problems with the whole friendship thing because you got it down."

He didn't know if his words got through to her but he hoped for her sake that it did.

A/N: There are another two to three more chapters before the first book is done, so I would like to thank everyone for their support for the rewrite. Please do review and tell me what you think about the chapters and the story as a whole, and any questions that you have.