Chapter 21
Sakura smiled a faint smile, and with her hands clasped in front of her, she bowed to Aizawa politely. "I'm sorry sensei, but I don't know what you're talking about."
"Sure." Aizawa turned his back to her and began to walk back to the main building.
He hadn't expected her to openly admit she was a shinobi, or that she could use chakra, he wasn't even sure if his hunch was right or not, but he had read the old stories, had seen the way she moved and had felt the power behind her blows.
For him, there was no other explanation. It was just as his great grandfather had said, they really did exist once and maybe, he watched her watch him, they would again. "Go home Haruno, get some rest. The real challenge starts tomorrow, for your classmates."
"Right." Sakura watched him walk away, took note of his all too casual body language and his slightly elevated breathing.
"Oh and Haruno." Aizawa turned back around to face her. "Try not to use your chakra too much, at least until you can get a better handle on it. You didn't mean to break the ground apart below us did you, during your second evaluation, it was an accident wasn't it?"
Sakura bit the side of her tongue to prevent herself from taking his bait.
"I felt it, barely, but I felt the pulse before the impact. It isn't safe for the other students. Get your chakra under control." His hand rose in farewell.
She wasn't sure how long she stood there alone, staring at the empty space where Aizawa had been, but it must have been a long time. He could feel her chakra? That made two, two people here who could feel or sense her chakra.
"Sakura, what are you doing? Are you done with Aizawa?" Shouto stood before her, that look of concern on his face again.
How long had he been standing there? Sakura shook herself to awareness, how foolish of her, anyone could have attacked her while she was lost in her own head. It had been years since she had made such a rookie mistake.
"I'm fine. Let's go." Sakura took his hand, let him pull her to his side, and bowed her head so her hair hid her face. "I think tonight, I want to go home. I'll eat dinner with you and Fuyumi tomorrow night, Shouto."
He wanted to protest. She was pulling away from him. It was obvious she was upset about something, shouldn't she turn to him at times like this...not pull away from him?
"Hey." He stopped walking and pulled her hand up to his chest so she would stop with him. "You don't have to stay for dinner but let's go back to my house, just for a little bit." He waited.
"No one's home right now." He added.
"Okay." She gave in. She really just wanted to be alone right now but… "Just for a little bit."
Sakura let Shouto hold her as they lay on his bed, let him run his fingers through her hair over and over, her eyes closed as she enjoyed his gentle touches.
"It's okay not to talk but I hope, someday, you'll tell me why you're so distant sometimes." Shouto rubbed the soft skin on the back of her neck and kissed the top of her head.
"You don't even know me." She whispered into his chest. "Not really." He only knew what she had allowed him to know, seen what she let him see.
"My mother and father dated for a month. My dad courted her for a week after that and then they were married. They had my oldest brother a year later." Shouto told her. "I know enough."
No, she pulled away from him in her mind, you don't.
"I wonder why Aizawa didn't have you participate in the quirk assessment test, was it because you had already had a second quirk test before school began?" He voiced his question out loud. "What did he want you to stay after class for?"
"He wants me to be careful with my quirk, so I don't hurt anyone." She rubbed her cheek against his chest, enjoying the heat rolling off his body as she lay half on, half off of him. "He's right, I should try to figure out why my energy spikes at random when I try to use it. It can be really dangerous."
"I'm going to go. I don't want to be here when Fuyumi gets back. If I'm not staying for dinner it could get a little awkward so…" Sakura sat up and scooted to the end of Shouto's bed.
"Okay." He watched her smooth her shirt down and stand up. "Can I...come see you later after dinner? In the forest?" He asked her.
Shouto had never asked her where she lived, he knew she lived in the forest but he had never asked her specifically where or if he could visit her there. Tomura knew where her cave was, had dusted her seals, but Shouto didn't and she kinda liked it that way.
After Tomura had helped her home that day, after breakfast, she redid her seals, infusing them with chakra so he couldn't dust them anymore. She didn't want to come home one day to find him in her cave unannounced. He still knew where it was of course but that small gesture afforded her a little added protection.
Protection she wasn't sure she needed anymore, at least not from Tomura.
"Maybe. I'll text you okay?" She got up from his bed, bent over and kissed him. "You don't need to get up, I can let myself out."
Shouto watched her side his bedroom door open, he knew he should say something, she looked so sad, but he didn't know why, or what was the right thing to say to her to make her feel better.
"Sakura." Shouto called out to her before she could close his bedroom door. She turned back to him, her green eyes met his. He said the first thing that came to his mind. "I love you."
She wanted to cry.
He watched as her whole body seemed to droop. He had said the wrong thing again. He clenched his fists at his sides. Damn it, why was this so fucking hard. How come he never knew what to say to her. Why was he so bad at this? He was good at everything else, above average but this? Her?
"I can't Shouto." Sakura turned and left his room, leaving him sitting on his bed alone.
Their walk to school the next morning was quiet. She texted him goodnight the night before but nothing more. He had responded in kind. They walked through the front gate of UA in silence.
Classes in the morning were regular academic classes. English, History and Science class as well as Government, Quirk Laws and Regulations and Home Economics. The afternoon, their last class of the day was Hero Training.
Before the school year, those accepted to the Hero course were required to submit costume designs, for costumes that would enhance their quirks and set them apart from all of the other Heroes out there.
Sakura had chosen something simple, something similar to the way she usually dressed. Two pouches were standard issue for medic nin but Sakura had always wanted something larger, one large pack that fit around her waist in the back not at her sides, so that's what she requested.
Instead of her red top and pink medic skirt she wanted a long sleeveless white shirt that covered her black biker shorts as one piece. She would still need somewhere to put her shuriken and kunai, which is why she had added an additional, smaller pouch to her right leg, as well as the needed leg wraps that would hold the pouch in place.
Now that she was older, she wanted to look a bit more feminine, so instead of a belt to hold her medic pack around her waist, she chose a wide black band that resembled an obi more than a belt, with red lace ties in the middle with tiny pockets she could hide her battle seals in for convenience.
She still had her open toed knee high boots and her chakra gloves. The boots could be replicated but her gloves, she was hesitant to give them to the costume consultants at UA. If something happened to them, they couldn't be replaced.
As annoying as Aizawa was, he wasn't wrong. She needed to control her random spikes of chakra when using it in battle. When making the layouts of their costumes, Shouto suggested she ask one of the teachers in the support course for help, he thought they might be able to make her new gloves or at the very least replicate the ones she had without damaging them when she told him they helped focus her inner energy.
Sakura thought it was worth a shot after Shouto's insistence, so she submitted a request to the support course teacher when she submitted her costume design.
It was the last class of the day. Sakura could feel the energetic hum of the rest of the students in her class, they were excited. No one knew what they would be doing for their Hero basic training class, or who would be teaching them.
A deep voice rang out from behind the closed door of their classroom. "I am here!" All Might burst through the door, his arms stretched out behind him holding the door frame, his chest thrust outward in front of him. "Coming through the door like a Hero!"
Sakura burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. He looked ridiculous! Shouto gave her an odd side look but remained silent as the world's number one hero entered the room strutting like a rooster.
Sakura listened to the kids around her oohing and ahhing over the man and rolled her eyes. He looked like a show pony to her, nothing special. Was this guy even for real? Is this what a hero was? She was starting to understand Tomura's disgust with the man as he continued to strut in front of the classroom.
"Is that his silver age costume?" A short haired blonde with a huge tail spoke in front of Sakura. "He looks so cool!"
"I can't believe it! He really is a teacher here!" The only other pink haired girl in the class made googly eyes at the obnoxious man standing in the front of the class.
She wanted to gag.
All Might cleared his throat. "Welcome to the most important class at UA high, think of it as hero-ing 101! Here you will learn the basics of being a pro and what it means to fight in the name of good! Today's lesson will be fight training."
Sakura yawned as the rest of the class broke into cheers.
"...but one of the keys to being a hero issss….looking good!" All Might told the class as several vertical shelves popped out of the walls holding cases that had numbers on them. "These are the costumes you submitted to our designers before school began. Get dressed and let's get going!" All Might ran out of the room leaving the class alone.
"One of the keys to being a hero is looking good?" Sakura turned to Shouto. "Is he for real?"
"Yeah." Shouto rose from his seat. He knew she'd be like this. She was barely interested in designing her costume. It had taken every ounce of his patience not to throw her choice of costume away and submit one for her himself. "I'll get your case for you."
"Get out of my way, loser."
Sakura watched the blonde Bakugo shove the green haired kid Midoriya out of his way, so he could grab his case first. Their eyes met as Bakugo turned back around, he grunted, then walked out the door to change into his costume.
"Here." Shouto held Sakura's case out to her, the number 7 on her case. "I'll wait for you outside of the girl's locker room."
Sakura nodded, took her case and followed some of the other girls out into the hall, down the hall and into the locker rooms. Her class seat was 7, like Team 7, and 7 the number of new beginnings.
How ironic.
Sakura set her costume case down on the last bench in the last row, in the corner of the girl's locker room. Opening her case she pulled her top out and laid it on the bench.
"That's pretty, really traditional. Do you come from an old family?" A brown haired girl asked Sakura.
It was the girl who had been speaking to Midoriya the first day of class.
"No, but I like the look." Sakura made just the right amount of small talk without inviting the girl to ask anymore questions that were needed, or so she thought.
"I know a lot of our classmates tried to stay away from white because it gets dirty so easily, but white is the color of innocence and purity so you know?" The girl smiled at Sakura, not at all put off by her short replies.
"I guess." Sakura pulled out her black obi like belt and the red lace ties.
"Oh black and white, very sharp, but the red, it's pretty but…" The girl hesitated. "It reminds me of blood." She laughed and rubbed the back of her head self consciously.
"I know, that's why I picked it as an accent." Sakura pulled her shirt off over her head and untied her white skirt from her waist. She needed to remember where she came from no matter where she was now. She needed to ground herself.
"An accent of blood?" The girl frowned. "What are you doing now?"
Sakura sighed. "I'm taking my things out of my pouches to put in my pack." Sakura dumped her pouches into her large black medic pack.
"Are they support items?" The girl asked yet another question.
Sakura bit her tongue to keep herself from snapping at the girl. "No, they are part of my uh costume, but I always have them on me no matter what I'm wearing." Sakura pulled her white shirt over her head and tied her black obi on, complete with red lace ties, then pulled her boots and gloves on.
"Excuse me." Sakura sat down on the bench making the girl take two steps back.
"Are you wrapping your legs?" The girl watched Sakura wrap her right leg, slip her kunai and shuriken pouch on, then finish wrapping her leg down to just above her knee on her right hand side.
"Just the right one." Sakura looked up at the girl, noticing the uneasy look in her eyes for the first time. She tried to smile. "It's what I'm used to."
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't trying to scrutinize you, it's just…" The girl trailed off. "We were wondering, some of the other girls and well me too why Aizawa asked you to stay after class yesterday, was it because you mouthed off to him?"
"You should ask him if you want to know." Sakura folded her clothes up, set them in her case and then placed the case in the locker. "I don't know if I'm supposed to tell anyone." She lied.
"Oh, okay. I understand." Ochako Uraraka smiled at the pink haired girl. She was really hard to talk to for some reason, but none of the other girls seemed inclined to approach her so… "Hey, want to walk out together?"
"Oh, um…" Sakura took in the girl's costume. It looked so odd to her, the way people dressed here was just so weird. "My friend is waiting for me outside, I should probably hurry." Sakura bowed politely, then walked out the door without a backward glance.
"Okay." Uraraka waved to the pink haired girl. "Oh no, no wonder she was so short with me, I didn't even tell her my name!"
Shouto was waiting for her by the door as promised. His hands behind his back as he leaned up against the wall.
"You look nice, Sakura." His blue and slate eyes looked her up and down. "Rather traditional, it suits you."
"You look um, is that a light in your eye?" Sakura pointed to the red light coming out from behind the ice-like exterior of Shouto's costume. "Why are you covering up your left side?" She asked him.
"I never use my left side in battle, so I don't need it accessible." He told her.
"Hum." Sakura glanced at him from the corner of her eye, as she looked over the other student's costumes. "Hey, is she allowed to wear that?" Sakura whispered pointing to a girl whose shirt didn't close in the front, her cleavage showing.
"I assume so, I mean, they made it for her." Shouto looked at the girl, then back at Sakura. "I like your costume better."
Sakura looked down at her chest. "Well, it really isn't a contest, I mean, I could never pull something like that off." She laughed at her lack of cleavage.
"I'd never allow you to wear something like that in public." Shouto assured her as they joined the rest of their class.
"Allow me?" Sakura raised a pink brow at her boyfriend who merely stared back at her. "Shouto…" She began in an even voice, but was cut off by the blubbering baboon they called All Might.
"Looking good!" He stood before them with that stupid grin on his face he had used in their classroom. "Let's go to training ground beta and start our fight training!"
Sakura and Shouto walked together behind the rest of the class. Shouto reached out and touched her fingers gently. "Are you nervous?" He asked her quietly.
"No, are you?" She asked him, ignoring his comment about 'Allowing' her to dress a certain way or not, in preference to walking peacefully to their outside class location.
"No. I've been training for this since I was five. I'm not worried." He told her.
Sakura was looking at the open grass fields and the trees that lined the opposite side of the street when she heard his voice change. It was hard. Sakura took his hand fully into hers and softened her own voice.
"Maybe I'm a little nervous. I don't know what to expect and I have been having a hard time adjusting my energy lately." She could meet him halfway.
"You'll do great. Maybe we can work together if there is a group activity." He squeezed her hand, then let go as they met up with the rest of their class.
Right, she laughed to herself. Like he would let her team up with anyone but himself.
Ten minutes later...
Sakura looked at her partner and her partner looked back at her.
"You're that idiot who jumped out in front of moving traffic." Bakugo's arms hung at his sides.
"I am." Sakura crossed her arms over her chest. "So I guess you're always that rude huh, not just to me."
Bakugo snorted, turning his head away from her, smirking with his teeth showing.
"Damn." Sakura looked up at the building before them, surveying the entrance and the exits, the windows and the basic layout. "...and here I thought I was special."
Bakugo's head snapped back to the girl beside him. "Got a mouth on you don't you?" He grinned.
Sakura rolled her eyes. "You have no idea."
"Who's that kid, he hasn't left your side since school started? He your boyfriend or something?" Bakugo pointed openly at Shouto who was standing beside his partner, the guy with four muscular arms and weird hair.
Sakura turned around to look at Shouto. He was watching her. He nodded and she waved.
"Kinda, I guess." She turned back to Bakugo. "So I think we should scout the place first. We need to find out where the weapon is, then we can take them out."
"Don't you mean capture?" Bakugo looked down at Sakura who shrugged. "It's usually me being told to calm down or to play nice." He muttered.
"Yeah, whatever, immobilize them." She amended. "With as little force as possible."
"Huh? Why hold back? Are you scared or something?" He taunted her. Why was she changing her tactic now?
"No." Sakura looked him in the eye. "I don't want to kill them by accident."
Bakugo grinned down at her, his teeth flashing sharply. "You're not as bad as I thought you were going to be. Like that wet blanket Deku." He snorted.
"Deku? You mean Midoriya?" Sakura looked over his shoulder at the green haired boy. "Why do you call him Deku?"
The blonde looked down at her, then looked away, his jaw tight. "...because he's useless. I can't wait to fight him for real. I'm going to murder him." Bakugo punched his left fist into his right, grinning madly, sparks flying around his fingers.
"Hum." Sakura took a deep breath. "I was told very specifically not to murder anyone, maybe you didn't get the memo."
Bakugo gaped at her, then burst out into a loud raucous laughter. "You're alright."
Sakura smiled. "So are you, even though you come off as a huge asshole, you're not really that bad, are you?"
Bakugo shrugged. He didn't answer her. Sometimes it was okay not to talk, he wasn't one of those people who always had to have the last word and he thought with this chick, maybe that was alright.
"You'd better not hold back. I want to win this. If I have to, I'll beat you up too." Bakugo told her as they entered the building before Deku and the brown haired girl that had spoken to Sakura in the locker room.
"Sure, you do whatever you want. I don't really care, this isn't what I'm here for." Sakura walked up the second flight of stairs to the top. "I'll heal you after, but try not to get too beat up, okay?
"Whatever." Bakugo adjusted his gauntlets. "Come on Deku, I'm going to blow you apart!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.
Sakura laughed. At least he was motivated, if not a bit violent, but violence had never bothered Sakura, not after her mission to the Land of Waves.