Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the original characters.
Author Note: I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and follows as well as everyone who reviewed the last chapter.
Previously:
Naruto sighed. "I will read it."
Now:
Naruto took the book from her mother and stared down at the novel. What was the whole point of showing my memory of that horrible memory? And why would Akane want us to see the future? Is something bad going to happen? She poked her tongue against her cheeks and looked at the screen.
Maybe because if the future was good then why make them read the future? Wasn't she afraid of changing things? It could become a parallel universe or a multiverse. That could make sense because there was no reason for them to do this. Naruto took a deep breath and looked down at the book.
She grimaced.
Why aren't they looking at me?
It was a question Naruto asked after a year of living in the streets. A question that haunted her as she stared at the passing people. All of them ignored her. None of them bother to look away from the streets ahead and put even a simple coin in her jar. If they ever glanced at her then their eyes turned cold as ice and they ignored her.
"You really weren't exaggerating about the fact that you were on the streets," Ino said. Her pale blue eyes regarded the screen with concern. Her mother and father exchanged glances and looked at her with concern before throwing a glare at the Third Hokage. Her grandmother put her hands on her face while her Aunt and Uncle looked at the screen with horror.
Naruto sighed. "Why would I lie about the fact that I was on the streets?"
"So that you could get attention," Ino stated. Naruto's eyebrows twitched and the blonde blinked when her mother snatched the bat from her grandmother's hand. Blue eyes widened when Kushina smacked Ino's back with the bat. A loud yelp of pain echoed and the blond-haired teen gulped at the sight of furious purple eyes. "S-She asked and I answered."
"You think that my child would lie about living in the streets for attention," Kushina hissed. "When your father dies, I will make sure to tell him that he raised a wonderful, thoughtful daughter. It seems like my child has more manners than you!"
Ino winced and her mother turned around to glare at the Third Hokage. Should I continue reading or should I tell her that I didn't spend all my time on the streets begging. It was tempting for her to let her mother grill the Third Hokage for his actions while another part of her wanted to continue the story along.
She did want to go back to work so maybe it was better for her to continue the story along.
Naruto didn't understand. She cradled her legs close to her body, tucked her head on the top of her knees and wished for some warmth. The box she used as shelter, was not warm enough for the winter ahead. It was pure luck that she survived the last winter. She does not even remember how she survived that cold winter.
"You lived in a box!" Ashido cried. "Wasn't there any homeless shelters?"
Naruto shook her head and her father closed his eyes before looking at the Third Hokage and the Fifth Hokage. I doubt that if there had been any homeless shelters that I would be allowed to stay there. She rubbed the back of her neck and raised an eyebrow when Todoroki flickered his eyes from the screen to her.
"We can thank the Kyuubi for keeping you alive," her father commented, dropping his head. His voice trembled even though his eyes held no emotion. Her mother bobbed her head and rubbed her eyes while her grandmother snatched the bat from Kushina's hands. "The winters in Konoha are terrible and for you to be homeless at that time was the worst time. A whole year without shelter."
Naruto tilted her head. "The forest was actually a very good shelter at—"
"You were in the forest!" Her mother screeched. "Kakashi! Third! You have some explaining to do!"
The blonde shook her head. "Can they explain after we finish the book? There are several books in that pile, so we can take a break in between them and you could hear them make some excuses or give some valid explanation on why they didn't find me."
"S-Some money! Just some money!" Naruto asked. She felt her fingers trembled as the cold wind nipped the bones of her finger. An old lady stopped and her hand reached down to her bag, pulling out a wallet. She perked up and thinks that maybe people were kind.
"I have a really bad feeling about this," Mitsuki whimpered. Her husband nodded while her half-cousin looked at her with wide eyes. Naruto pressed her lips into a thin line and looked up at the screen. You would think being an old person means that they should be kind. She sighed and shook her head as everyone else continued to gaze at her with wide eyes.
Ashido stared at her. "How aren't you insane?"
"You are going to find out," Naruto replied, stretching her back. She flickered her eyes to Sasuke and tilted her head when he gazed at her with unreadable eyes. She darted her eyes to Mikoto and shook her head at the tears pouring out of her eyes. Her lips twitched when Fugaku awkwardly patted his wife's back, black eyes not shining with any emotion.
The lady froze at the sight of her and the warm smile faded from her face. The gentle features of her face turned sharp and hard as her eyes fixated on her whisker marks. Why are they giving me those looks? She forced herself to keep smile even after the lady turned her nose away.
Snow began to fall down, touching her face and it should have been a beautiful sight. But all Naruto could feel was fear. Am I going to survive the next winter? The trees won't be a nice place to feel warmth. She took a couple of deep breaths, prayed to God and began pleading again for some more money.
"Could you please stop?" Sakura cried. "Why are they showing us this? And why the hell did you never talk about your experience?"
Naruto stared at her. "You think I want to read this? If it was me, I would have preferred to keep all of you in the dark about what happened to me as a kid because you will look at me with pity! And the reason why I never told you, Sasuke or even Hinata-chan about this is because I don't want pity! I don't want you to say…poor Naruto! Look at what she has to go through! And anyways, why should I tell you anything?"
"Because we were—"
"Teammates? Sakura, I never felt like I mattered," Naruto said flatly. Her parents gazed at her with horror and sad eyes, and the blonde closed her eyes. This was why she didn't like the reading because it made people feel hurt. Her parents were hurt and she couldn't do anything to reassure them. "If I told you about it then you would be nice but for what reason? Sympathy? You should be a nice person from the beginning, not because you feel bad."
She knew she could always hunt but winter was coming and the waters would freeze. There would be no fishes for her to catch and Naruto knew the restaurants would never give her food without money. She saw them a kicking a man out because he didn't have money. Naruto didn't want that for herself.
A nice, young couple walks by and Naruto grabbed their clothes.
"I have a very bad feeling about this," her grandmother muttered. "I want to pray that they helped you out of it but knowing your luck and the way you are, I doubt that they gave you the money."
Naruto only looked down at the book while her future classmates and fellow shinobi gazed at her with eyes filled with trouble. You only care now that my life story is being blasted for everyone to see. She rubbed the back of her neck and flickered her eyes to the Third Hokage. His hat tilted downwards but the blonde could feel the sadness radiating from him.
How was he supposed to know she spent most of her time in the forest?
'S-Some money. Can I have some money?" She wanted them to help her. To give her some money so she could get some food. She wasn't asking them to give her food. She didn't want them to adopt her. All Naruto wanted was for them to treat her with some kindness and give her the money needed to eat.
The man pried her hands away from the woman's skirt. "We don't give money to beggars.'
She steadied her voice and stared blankly at the screen as her mother and father placed their faces on their hands. Her grandmother took several deep breaths while her Aunt and Uncle looked at her with horror. Naruto flickered her eyes to her other classmates and blinked when the girls looked at her with tears in her eyes.
"You were five," Izuku said quietly. "You were only a kid. They can't treat you like that! You were starving…how could they do this?"
Naruto snorted and stared at him. "Don't you know Midoriya? Humans are cruel people and they rarely want to acknowledge the fact that the child carrying the Kyuubi is a little orphan that is trying to survive in the world."
"How didn't you crack?" Gaara asked quietly. "What you went through is just as bad as I went through."
Naruto stared at Gaara for the longest time while everyone flickered their eyes between them. The other members of her future class gazed at her with troubled eyes while Aizawa flickered his eyes from her to Gaara before landing his eyes on the other two members of the Sand Siblings. She took a deep breath and stared at him.
"There were two times when I could have cracked from the pain," Naruto admitted. Her father closed his eyes and opened his mouth but the blonde shook her head. She gazed at the Third Hokage before looking back at the troubled eyes of Aizawa. "The first time I was going to crack was this event and the other event was when I was 12."
Sasuke eyed her. "Was it that time?"
"I couldn't keep pretending that I'm fine with having a teacher being biased to me," Naruto admitted. Sakura and the other chunins blinked while Sasuke nodded. Aizawa frowned and narrowed his eyes while the Third Hokage shook his head with a grimace. Gaara and the Sand Siblings exchanged glances. "He should have passed me when I was 10."
"You tried for the early graduation test," Fugaku stated.
Naruto nodded. "I was certain that I wasn't going to crack like your oldest son. You pressured—"
"—I never pressured Itachi," Fugaku said sharply. The other shinobis exchanged glances while Todoroki and the other heroes gazed at them. Mikoto bobbed her head while Minato and Kushina exchanged glances. "Was I proud that my oldest child was a prodigy? Yes. Any father would be proud that their child was going to surpass them but I never made him do things that he didn't want to do. When Sasuke entered the Academy, I understood his reason for turning down a chance to do his missions."
Naruto stared at him. "Then why did you and Mikoto-obaachan had to die! Why did he have to kill you and Mikoto-obaachan? Why did he kill the whole Uchiha clan?"
The words hovered between them and several gasps echoed the room. Mikoto sighed and exchanged glances with her husband before flickering her eyes at Sasuke. The black-haired teen had his hands covering his face. Why is he glaring at the Third? What am I missing? She frowned and looked at the two Uchiha.
"If the book doesn't explain then I will have Mikoto explain it to you," Fugaku answered. "But Itachi was in a hard place and while I wish he chose a different path…I understand and accept his reason."
Naruto blinked.
She falls down and hits the hard ground. Blue eyes turned completely blank as the couple brushed away the dirt from her hands and whispered to each other. Why is she still alive? Naruto doesn't understand why those adults asked that question. She doesn't understand why no one wanted to be kind to her.
"Because they are assholes," Bakugou growled. Naruto blinked and quirked her lips slightly before schooling her expression into a blank one. Her parents frowned while Narumi shook her head at her. I'm not going to show people that I actually like the fact that Bakugou is being nice to me. She took a deep breath.
She wanted someone not to hate her.
Naruto looked up at the grey skies and the white clouds floating through. There had been someone nice to her. There had been a kind old lady who had been kind to her. She doesn't remember what her name was or what happened to her. But Naruto thinks she remembers the warmth that old lady gave her, the smiles given to her and the love in those eyes.
"Keisuke," Minato commented. "She really loved you."
Naruto stared at him and took a deep breath. "What happened to her?"
"Keisuke never told me or Kushina what happened," her father explained gently. Naruto nodded and her mother pressed her lips into a thin line while Narumi regarded them. The Fourth Hokage took a deep breath and rested his eyes on her. "But I swear to you that Keisuke never ever wanted to leave you, not when she knew that you only had her to rely on."
The image is blurry and Naruto hates how she was forgetting who that old lady was.
Maybe it was her imagination and maybe she was a monster. Monsters didn't get treated nicely. They were the bad guys. Bad guys hurt people and since they think she was a monster, then she could hurt them. She wants them to pay.
"Y-You weren't going to hurt them, were you?" Sakura stuttered as her green eyes looked at her with horror. The other chunins gazed at her before flickering their eyes at Gaara. Teal eyes looked at the screen like he understood what was going through her mind. The pink-haired girl clenched her jaws. "Naruto, were you really going to hurt everyone in the village?"
"Yes," Naruto answered, shrugging her shoulders. "Why wouldn't I hurt them when I was five? I had no one to teach me right and wrong. I was homeless and had no one giving me any money. Every single person would look at me like I'm a monster. You think at the age of five that I have the mental resilience to handle it? Children have no control over their actions. Why should I be nice when no one bothers to give me kindness?"
Narumi regarded her. "How did you go from having destructive thoughts to becoming someone like this? With a society like yours, it would be easy for anyone to fall through the cracks."
"You are going to find out," Naruto stated.
"What happened to you, child? What are you doing here in the streets?"
Naruto looked up and blinks at the sight of a sad, elderly man standing right in front of her. He looked kinda of funny in the eyes of the six-year-old. He wore long white robes and a strange hat. But what really stood out was the warmth and sadness shining through his eyes.
"Did you know that Naruto was going to be there?" Minato asked the Third Hokage.
The Third Hokage shook his head and took a deep breath while Naruto blinked at this piece of information. Kakashi relaxed his shoulders and her parents relaxed their shoulders. Her grandmother eyed the elderly man before looking at the others. Finally the Third Hokage said,"Hibiki told me that he finally spotted Naruto and that if I don't hurry then she is going to disappear again."
"I didn't disappear," Naruto grumbled. "Not my fault that none of your ANBU were smart enough to look through the dirt in my hair or even try to find me in the forest."
She eyed him, rubbed her scratched cheeks and darted her eyes to the robes. She thinks there were some words behind his robe but Naruto couldn't read yet. The one time she tried to teach herself how to read, the matron threw a fit and told her that she doesn't deserve how to read.
Aizawa eyed her. "Uzumaki, do you have any reading difficulty?"
"When I begin the Academy, I couldn't read well but Mikoto-obaachan quickly corrected and helped me when it came to reading and writing," Naruto answered. Sasuke nodded and Fugaku sighed while her mother hugged Mikoto. Her grandmother clenched her jaws and fixated her eyes on the very silent Tsunade.
Her grandmother cleared her throat. "Hokage-sama, would it be too much if I request that you throw that woman in the streets or the very least lock her up for the rest of her life? Abusing a child and telling her that she didn't deserve to have the basic rights, should be considered a heinous act."
"I am already making plans for when it comes to that matron," Tsunade commented. Sakura twisted her head around and gazed at her with wide eyes while everyone else bobbed their heads. "That woman had nearly caused Naruto to crack and Konoha has witnessed what happened when someone like Naruto is unhinged."
Gaara winced.
Naruto waited for him to leave but the man just continued to stare at her with horror.
'Why do you care, Old man?'
The man frowned and looked so sad by her words. No one ever looks at me like that. She fluttered her eyelashes and feels just a little bit of hope stirring at her.
"You were very malnourished," The Third Hokage commented with a sigh. He looked at her for the longest time while her mother and father continued to stare at her. The Third Hokage took a deep breath and looked down at his hands before looking back at her. "And your eyes was just really…broken. How could I not be sad? I remembered how Minato tried to make a seal to alter your appearance to that of a boy."
Naruto blinked and twisted her head around. "Really? Why?"
"Your father didn't want any boys going after you," her mother answered, shaking her head. Fugaku snorted while Mikoto held back a laugh. Kurenai and Asuma exchanged glances before bursting out in laughter. Kakashi shook his head. "Honestly your father had the worst case of overprotective instincts when it came to you."
Her father shook his head. "I do not."
"You glared at Sasuke and warned him to stay away from our daughter," Kushina stated with a dry tone. "He was an innocent baby and you already decided that he was the enemy. Then there was Itachi and you told him if he laid a hand on her then he would go through hell. Don't let me get started on how many times I had to explain to people why the Fourth Hokage glared at anyone below the age of six."
The blond-haired girl blinked and tilted her head. "Why only the boys? For all you know I might be attracted to females as well."
"Are you—"
"I don't know," Naruto shrugged. "But I do know that you shouldn't be presumptuous to think that I only like boys."
"Because you are a child of Konoha."
It wasn't the exact words Naruto wanted to hear but it was better than nothing. When all those adults kept ignoring her existence or shooting her those hateful looks. The man stopped and showed her an emotion that made her feel warm.
She wanted to feel more of that warmth.
"Naruto-chan," Hinata whispered. Naruto forced herself to smile at her best friend before looking down at her hands. I can never ever forget just how much that small action affected me. She rubbed her knuckles and flashed a tiny reassuring smile at her best friend while Shikamaru frowned and flickered his eyes at the screen.
Shino cleared his throat. "If the Hokage saved you then shouldn't you have been the one respecting him the most?"
"I never said or did anything that indicated that I don't respect the Old Man," Naruto reminded Shino as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry if I don't have your manners but I found it to be way too weird if I went from saying Old Man to Hokage-sama! It is a mockery to the bond that I have him."
The Third Hokage nodded. "It would have been very odd if you suddenly changed your behaviour around me."
"Because you are a child of my village." The man repeats again and again. It surprised her when he knelt down and hugged her so tightly. It didn't give her the protection Naruto wanted from the winter, but the ache in her heart eased slightly. She breathed in his scent as the man repeated those words again and again to her.
"It meant that much to you?" Kirishima commented with a furrowed eyebrows. He glanced at the other future members of their class before looking back at her with curious eyes. Naruto paused and then bobbed her head. That small act of kindness went a huge way for me. Without that kindness, there was no telling of what she could have become.
She took a deep breath. "Yeah and it might not look like it but the Third Hokage in my eyes was my hero. He might not have been the best but he rescued me before I could make things worse."
"He still should have done a better job of taking care of you," her grandmother growled.
It had been so long since someone called her a child.
She thinks that the last person to call her a child was the kind, old lady. The kind, old lady used to give her the name Naru-chan and called her, her little maelstorm. She wants that old lady back. The old lady left her all alone with those mean people in the orphanage.
She wants to find her again but Naruto can't remember what the old lady looks like.
"I still can't remember her," Naruto commented with a shrug. "But I guess I shouldn't compare myself to my 5-year-old self."
Hinata frowned and tilted her head. "Naruto-chan, your younger self seemed to have like it when people call her Naru-chan, so why do you hate that nickname so much? You didn't seem to hold the nickname with any kind of hate at that time and this was after the orphanage."
Everyone frowned and nodded their heads as they rested their eyes on her. Naruto licked her lips and smoothed her white blouse before taking a deep breath. Should she tell Hinata-chan? She could have told her in private but if she only told her then everyone would think that there was something wrong with her.
There was nothing wrong with her.r
"Because Naru-chan is a weak little girl who ran away from the orphanage and never looked back," Naruto finally explained. Her parents and grandmother blinked while the Hokage looked at her with knowing eyes. "When the Old Man explained what my name means…I decided to live up to what it means and that is to be someone strong. Naru-chan was anything but strong."
'Do you want to come with me to get clean up? The winters here are going to be cold and I will take you to a nice place.' The man pushed himself up and offered a wrinkled hand to her, encouragement shining through those eyes.
Naruto hesitates. "I don't wanna go back to the mean, old lady and those mean kids'
Black eyes turned cold but it was gone, replaced with warmth that was for once directed at her.
The Third Hokage grew even more quiet and tilted his hat downwards as everyone else looked at her with wide eyes. Naruto clenched and unclenched her hands before taking deep breaths. Out of everything that happened to her, a part of her could never ever forget the kindness that the old man had given her.
"Where did you take Naruto?" Kushina asked.
The Third Hokage took a deep breath. "At first, Naru-chan stayed with Hibiki and Kotone until I could find a decent apartment for her. If it was not for the fact that Danzo has been trying to find every opportunity to undermine me, I would have let Naruto stay with Hibiki. But Danzo would always find a way to twist things until he could get his way when it came to Naruto."
"You are exaggerating, aren't you?" Narumi stated. "You are making excuses for what you did."
The Third Hokage pinched his nose. "Why would I lie? Do you know how hard I fought with Danzo over every matter that concerns Naruto? He wanted to make your granddaughter a living weapon when she was 5! I was lucky that Danzo never found her or you would be dealing with a granddaughter who was trained to repress her emotions. I don't know how Danzo never found her before me."
"Better the Third Hokage found her than that old hawk," Fugaku commented. "It wouldn't even surprise me that all of Naruto's tragedy started with him. He was always power hungry."
Minato eyed him. "You think he was the one—"
"I wouldn't put it pass him," Fugaku stated. "Keisuke was the one person standing between him and Naruto. It was also rather convenient that someone spilled the secret to the civilians and made your step-mother even more excluded."
Naruto blinked. "What do you mean?"
"He means that until you were six months old, your grandmother could walk with you in the streets without having dirty looks thrown at her," Mikoto explained gently. Naruto blinked and threw a look at her father, who clenched his hands into a fist while her mother thinned her lips. "Danzo has always wanted to take control of the jinchuuriki and used them as a weapon, but if he can't get his way then he could become petty."
Kushina clicked her tongue. "Bastard didn't let me fight in the war because my grandfather outright refused his offer and warned him of what the consequence would be if he tried anything on me and any upcoming jinchuuriki."
'I will find you a better place to live but you need to take my hand. You need to take a shower, Naru-chan.'
That was the day Naruto took the Hokage's hand.
She never questioned how he knew her name, only caring at the fact that someone acknowledged her as a human being.
That was also the first and last time an adult offered a hand to her.
"That is a very sad way to end the memory," Asui commented as her green eyes landed on the screen. Naruto shrugged and picked up the book before making her way to the mini-fridge in the corner of the room. If she was going to read this book then she was going to need a bottle of water.
She pulled opened the fridge door and snatched the water bottle before making her way back to her seat. She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow when everyone continued to gaze at her with curious eyes. Their eyes flickered from the book and then back to her before looking at the screen.
"Are all your memories like this sad?" Kaminari asked.
Naruto shrugged. "I don't see them as sad or happy…so I don't know. Besides if we were to talk about how bad my life could have been, it could have been worse. I could have had mobs attacking me and calling me demon child but that obviously didn't happen. We could even have a competition on who had a more crappy life. Sasuke would win hands-down as Sakura and Sasuke would say everytime."
"Naruto-chan, your petty side is showing," Hinata called out with a slight smile.
The blonde sighed. "Sorry, Hinata-chan. I will try to tone it down for everyone in the room especially for Mr. Sensitive over there and Ms. I-only-care-about others-when-it-suits-me."
Sakura gawked at her while Sasuke flinched.
"How was the second day of school? Did you make any friends?"
Shouto pulled down his shoes and looked at his smiling sister. A hopeful smile played on her lips as she darted her eyes around the corridor. What do you think of your classmates? That would have been his father's question if he knew he returned back home. The fact he didn't hear the question told Shouto that his father was still out.
Naruto frowned and knitted her eyebrows together. I know that Todoroki has been abused but the fact that his sister is nervous tells me that no one has been safe from his father. She rubbed the back of her neck while the others flickered their eyes to the quiet heterochromatic-haired boy..
"Your sister seems like a caring person," Mikoto commented. "But the question that your father would ask…sounds problematic."
Fugaku nodded. "Not the kind of question that a father should ask."
"Fine." His sister sighed and slumped her shoulders down. Shouto paused, almost feeling uncertain on what to say to Fuyumi. How did he go about asking about Natsuo? Did he just spring it on her? Or did he ease her into it? He was never the type to do things gently.
"Fuyumi, where is Natsuo?"
Grey eyes widened and Fuyumi just stared at him before pinching herself. He frowned. Was he not supposed to ask his question like that? Shouto knew he was not the type to ask about his older brother. The two of them had never been close despite the three-year age gap between them.
"Your situation is really different from Sasuke and Hinata," Naruto commented. Todoroki blinked and twisted his head around while everyone else looked at her with curious eyes. The blonde darted her eyes to her two friends before looking back at them. "They have an even bigger age gap between their siblings but they are really close to each other."
Todoroki paused. "I'm close to my sister."
Endeavour never allowed him to get close to either Natsuo or Touya when he was a child, and Shouto didn't even know how to talk to his brothers.
Mikoto frowned. "Why wouldn't he let you get close to your brothers? The only reason me and Fugaku didn't have a child between Sasuke and Itachi was because I wanted to continue to work."
"Brothers should be close to each other," Fugaku commented. Minato and Kushina bobbed their heads while Narumi regarded Todoroki with thoughtful eyes. Mitsuki frowned and rubbed her jaws while Naruto only stared at him. What could she even say at this point? They didn't know each other and this was not her area of expertise. "Why on earth would your father not allow you to get close."
Naruto sighed. "If he is anything like on television then he is an asshole."
Todoroki stared at her and then looked away from her. She blinked when the corner of his lips twitched at her comment. Was he actually going to smile at my comment? She paused and then furiously shook her head. There was absolutely no way in hell that she could get someone like Todoroki to smile.
"Natsuo is finally out on a date from some girl that he met in his university," Fuyumi paused. "But why are you asking about Natsuo?"
They walked into the living room, taking seats on their respective seats and Shouto glanced again at the study room. If Endeavour knows about his concerns for a classmate then he might throw a fit. There is no time for distractions, Shouto. Those were the harsh words Endeavour would say whenever he wanted to go out to play.
"He really does sound like a dick," Naruto commented, shaking her head. Todoroki snorted while everyone else bobbed their heads in agreement. Sasuke flickered his eyes between them and the blue-eyed girl raised a single eyebrow at her childhood friend. "What is the whole point of being a child when he doesn't let you play."
Everyone nodded.
"You must have been really lonely," Mikoto commented, shaking her head. She flickered her eyes to Fugaku and Naruto blinked when the man rubbed his jaws. He darted his eyes to Sasuke before closing his eyes. "I don't know what is worse, your father taking you away from your siblings and making you train or Fugaku having the brilliant idea of taking our son into the battlefield when he was four."
Minato sighed. "I told him that it would traumatize his son."
"I wanted to make Itachi mature," Fugaku stated. "I needed him to mature because we were at a time of war. I put all my hopes onto Itachi because he was the oldest and my heir. If we had been in a time of peace like when Sasuke was born, I wouldn't have taken such extreme measures. But I did not push Itachi not to interact with the other kids and I encouraged him to be friends with Shisui."
Time was spent on training and friends were nothing but a distraction.
Naruto frowned and looked down at the book before looking back at Todoroki. The heterochromatic boy raised an eyebrow and the blonde shook her head. What can I even say? His father sounds like Sasuke. She darted her eyes to Sasuke and the black-eyed teen gazed at the screen with blank eyes.
Shaking her head, she skimmed the next line and blinked. He really is going to go through with it? He is really going to be butting in on my business? She clenched her jaws together and then paused. Could she really be angry with him? Her future classmate didn't have it easy either. It would be difficult for her to maintain her anger when she knew that he had a difficult childhood like her.
"I want to ask him about what to do with a classmate."
His sister perked up and leaned forward, grey eyes twinkling with joy at his words. Shouto knitted his eyebrows and tilted his head. Why does she look like that? He might just go to his room and start doing some of his homework. He would just wait till night time and ask Natsuo about it.
Todoroki frowned. "Why is she looking at me like that?"
"Your sister has her woman's intuition," Kushina declared with a bright smile. Naruto raised an eyebrow and looked down at the next line before knitting her eyebrows together. What does my gender have to do with anything? She shook her head and looked at her mother, who seemed to be eyeing Shouto with hearts in her eyes.
Her father looked torn between glaring at Todoroki or groaning at her mother's behaviour.
"Is your classmate a girl?"
Todoroki blinked and nodded. "How did you know?"
Fuyumi ignored his question and just stared at him with wide grey eyes. Why did she look at me like that? He raised his eyebrow but chose not to say anything. The less he say, maybe the more his sister could act just a little bit more like her normal self.
"Your sister is jumping to conclusion," Hinata answered with a slight smile. Naruto blinked and raised an eyebrow at her best friend while Todoroki tilted his head to the side. Her mother smiled even wider while her father furiously shook his head at Hinata. Fugaku snorted and looked at Mikoto before looking at Sasuke. "But to be certain, do you have a habit of talking about your classmates to her?"
"No," Todoroki answered..
Naruto frowned and skimmed through the next line before flushing a deep shade of red. Her best friend giggled while everyone else blinked at the sight of her reddened cheeks. I can't read this line! It sounds shallow and if it came out from my voice than people are going to jump to conclusion. Temari eyed her.
"Aren't you going to read the next line?" Her fellow blonde asked.
Naruto reddened. "Give me a few minutes to collect myself!"
"C'mon Naruto, tell us what is the next time!" Ino demanded. "It can't be that embarrassing for you! Out of everyone from our graduating year, you were the one with the mouth like a sailor!"
"Is she pretty?"
Shouto blinked and looked out at the window-door leading out to the gardens. The skies had been blue when he left the school, reminding him of his classmate's eyes. It was probably one of her prettier features and a couple of the boys in their class did find Uzumaki to be very attractive.
Naruto covered her face with her hands as her mother looked at her with a smile on her face. Ino and Sakura blinked before swirling their heads at the boys of Class 1A. The girls of Class 1A giggled and chuckled while Todoroki blinked. The boys from Konoho alongside Kankuro gazed at her with wide eyes.
"What?" Naruto demanded. "You think it is easy to read that!"
Shikamaru gazed at her. "You are blushing like a girl! The world has definitely ended if you can blush this red!"
"I'm a girl!" Naruto reminded him with eyebrows twitching as the other males looked away from her. She folded her arms against her chest and clenched her jaws together. "And why wouldn't I blush? How would you feel if I read a girl's thoughts about you and she described your haircolor? Wouldn't you be embarrassed?"
Ino stared at her. "Is that what you are focusing on? I want to know how the hell they can see you attractive when you don't act anywhere the ideal woman!"
Her mother and grandmother stood up and Naruto blinked when a pair of chains went chagrining straight to her family members. I think it is activated by genuine killer intention. She bobbed her head and gazed at the eyes of her disbelieving former classmate. She darted her eyes to her thinned lip father and twitching Aunt.
"Jealous that I have people who admire me?" Naruto asked sweetly as her blue eyes darkened. "Are you jealous that I don't have to do anything to get boys to like me when you have to pretend that you are some sweet girl? It must really kill you to know that I don't have to do anything to get boys to find me attractive. It seems like the ideal woman that the village wants…isn't the ideal woman that every man wants. Maybe Sasuke wanted someone like me instead of someone like you and Sakura."
Ino glowered. "The moment that they see how much of a bitch you are, they will stop liking you."
"You know what is the difference between me and you, Ino?" Naruto asked. Ino blinked as the smile on Naruto's lips widened. Her parents exchanged glances while Narumi regarded them with curious eyes. "I never ever tried to be something I'm not. If I'm a bitch then I'm proud of it because I won't sugar-coat things so someone would like me. Did pretending to be nice and sweet get you anywhere with Sasuke?"
Mineta made it a point to tell the boys that Uzumaki was also terrifying.
"She is."
His sister hummed and pressed her hand against his forehead. A teasing glint shone through those grey eyes "She must be really pretty for you to notice her or maybe you must be sick."
Naruto flushed a deeper shade of red and groaned while Todoroki gazed at her with knitted eyebrows. Her mother bobbed her head and smiled even wider while her father and half-cousin exchanged glances. Her father stood up from his seat and plopped himself down between her and Todoroki. The blonde frowned.
"Are you acting like a wall between me and Todoroki?"
Her father stared at her with absolute seriousness. "Naru-chan, if you don't become a hero then I will have Mom take you to the shrine and have you become—"
"—I want grandchildren!" Kushina snarled. "And Todoroki seems like a nice boy!"
Naruto blinked and then dropped her head while Mikoto giggled at the woman's antics. Her grandmother shook her head and walked over to Minato before pulling him away from her. The whiskered teen blinked and tilted her head as her grandmother pulled on her father's ears and muttered something into his ear.
Her father opened his mouth and her grandmother narrowed her eyes at him.
"I am fine." He knew in an objective sense that Uzumaki was one of the prettier girls in their class. Bright blue eyes and blond hair that must have been what sunshine would look like if it was an actual item. But it was the fake smile and her words that brought him, his attention.
He knew Uzumaki was suffering from something like his mother had been.
Naruto allowed her voice to quiet down as her blue eyes rested on the very quiet boy. He really loves his Mom. She poked her tongue against her cheek and took a deep breath as her grandmother stared at him with wide, sad eyes. Kushina frowned and flickered her eyes to Minato. The irritation in her father's eyes died down.
A part of her wanted to be angry with him but a huge part of her couldn't be angry. It is hard for me to remain upset with Todoroki when you learn these kind of things about him. He might look and act like an asshole but he was probably in a lot of pain. The fact that he was even trying to help her spoke volumes about the kind of person he really was.
"So what about her?" His sister questioned, leaning forward slightly. "I think I can help you better than Natsuo. He struggled a long time to get his date to notice him…"
Shouto shook his head. "She reminds me of Mum."
The smile dropped and Shouto rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding those concern grey eyes belonging to his sister. He focused his attention on the green grass of their garden. Whenever his siblings had been too busy playing games with each other, Shouto would either train or cling to their mother's skirt.
"It must have been bearable when you had your mother around," Gaara commented. Todoroki stared at him as Kankuro and Temari exchanged glances with each other. His teal eyes rested on him before looking at her. "When my father separated me from my siblings, I only had my Uncle and then I lost him."
Todoroki stared at him. "But you seem like you are close to them now."
"That's because our Father is dead," Kankuro commented, shaking his head. "And we are on the same team. Gaara was only allowed to play with us a few times before our Father decided to focus all his time training him."
'I am okay, Shouto.'
Their mother had never been okay. She flinched whenever her eyes locked on the fire side of his body. His turquoise eye made her flinch and Shouto knew how ugly that side of him was. He hated how much the mere sight of him brought her that kind of pain.
Her grandmother gazed at Todoroki with eyes filled with so much horror while everyone else frowned at the younger boy. Naruto rubbed the back of her neck and stared down at the notebook. It almost hurt for her to read this part of the book to everyone. This is definitely way too private and if I ever see that Akane, I'm going to yell at her for this. Her pain was one thing but this was a classmate's pain.
He deserved to have some privacy.
"Todoroki-san, why does your Mom—"
"I think it is better that we don't ask," Naruto said flatly. "If you can't read behind the lines then there is no need for anyone to vocalize it. This is his business and his pain. We shouldn't make him talk about something that he is not ready to talk about."
"I want to help her."
'Assholes don't seem to give shit about other people.'
Those words echoed in his mind, never letting him forget about what he might look like to other people. Those blue eyes looked at him with resentment like he was one of those people. It bothered him. It made him want to question whether or not he was one, because Shouto was just too focus on not being Endeavour.
"Look I might have been judgmental," Naruto said flatly. Sakura and Sasuke exchanged glances before looking at her with wide eyes. Her classmates blinked and knitted their eyebrows together while the other members of Konoha gawked at her. Kurenai swirled her head at Asuma and Kakashi and both males only frowned. "When my future self said that then it is because I'm taking out my…anger out on you. I was judging you because of Sasuke and Neji."
Todoroki stared at her. "So you don't think I'm like Endeavor?"
"I don't know," Naruto answered truthfully. "But we can see though this book if you are anything like your father."
Choji stared at her. "You are being really mature."
"I can be mature," Narurto declared, shaking her head.
He didn't think what people saw when they look at him.
"You blame yourself for what happened to Mum?"
Shouto kept quiet and the only sound between them was the sound of the bird singing their songs. It was his fault their mother became that way. If his father had never been so focused on his training then their mother would never be like this. If that fire side never existed then their mother would be here with them.
Narumi closed her eyes and rubbed the sides of her head while Aizawa closed his eyes. No one spoke a word as they looked at Todoroki and the blue-eyed teen took a deep breath. If I can't say anything to bring comfort then I will continue the story to prevent Todoroki from being questioned by the others. She took a deep breath and bobbed her head.
That was the best thing for her to do.
He resented that side of him.
That side of him that made him like his father.
Fuyumi wavered and then ultimately decided to go over to him. He tensed up when his sister wrapped her arms around him, trying so hard to give him comfort. No matter how much Fuyumi hugged him, the discomfort Shouto feels never faded.
He stopped liking physical comfort after the incident and Fuyumi's hugs didn't offer any comfort.
Sasuke nodded. "After something distressing, it is hard to feel any form of comfort."
"Really? Then why do you seem to like it when Naruto hugs you?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow. Naruto rolled her eyes at the jealous tone while Mikoto clenched her jaws together. Kushina narrowed her eyes and her grandmother stared at the pink-haired teen with irritated eyes. "You never ever put much of a fight when she does it."
Sasuke stared at her. "Because unlike you and Ino, Naruto respects my space and does it when she needs comfort. You were always pushing your feelings onto me while Naruto has never been that type of person. A hug from Naruto doesn't mean I have to worry about her misjudging my intentions while a hug from you is another way for you to assert your dominance."
Mikoto eyed him.
"Sasuke, has she been harassing you?"
He sighed.
"Is it harassment if I'm forced to work with her when I'm on the team? And I have to worry about Kakashi telling me that I can't break a girl's feelings when she has low self-esteeem?"
His mother nodded.
"Then yes, I was harassed."
"Maybe you should talk to your homeroom teacher about your concerns," his sister let go of him and offered him a tiny smile. "They have a better knowledge of what to do when it comes to your classmate and know how to approach her about her problems…you might just scare her off. Natsuo might be studying to be a counsellor but he won't know what to do just yet."
Shouto nodded. "But how do I get her to see that I am not like the person that hurt her?"
Sasuke winced and then looked down at his hands while Naruto only stared at the boy. He really wants to be there for me? She knitted her eyebrows together as her mother nudged her father. Minato eyed them for the longest time before shaking his head and dropping his shoulders. His grandmother looked faintly amused.
"It is difficult to dislike him when he seems to genuinely care for Naru-chan," her father grumbled under his breath. "Mom just had to point out that if a boy genuinely care for her then he wouldn't hurt her."
Naruto blinked and flickered her eyes to her smiling grandmother.
His sister offered him a smile.
"Just prove to her that you do care about her— your actions can speak a lot louder than words, Shouto."
"Or maybe the book can just try to change my mind," Naruto commented. Hinata giggled and looked at her with knowing eyes while the other girls gazed at her with smiles. Todoroki blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Hey, I'm saying that the book might change my mind about you but that doesn't mean I'm going to be your friend now."
Todoroki stared at her. "We are going to be friends."
"Why do you say that?" Naruto asked, puffing her cheeks. Her mother snorted and shook her head while Mikoto flickered her eyes between Minato and Kushina. Fugaku sighed and flickered his eyes from her to Sasuke. "What on Earth gave you the impression that we are going to be frirends? For all we know, we might end up mortal enemies."
Shouto gazed at her. "Because we are learning each other's secrets and friends know each other's secrets."
Naruto blinked and then spluttered. "I'm not telling you this because I want too! You really have no idea of friendship, do you?"
"We are going to be friends," Todoroki repeated.
I don't know whether to tear my hair or to laugh at his determination.
In the end, she decided to do neither.
It was the end of her shift and Naruto could only feel a numb pain in her cheeks. It had been a terrible idea for her to keep smiling for so long but she wanted more money to pay for some items for school. The money in her bank account was enough for now. It would be enough to pay for the items, but there was no such thing as too little money.
"Maybe it should have been too much money," Narumi stated, shaking her head. Jiraiya rubbed his jaw and bobbed his head while the others exchanged glances between them. The blue-eyed woman inspected her. "But you really do know the art of working in a business like hospitality without having anyone teaching you."
Naruto hummed. "Well I had someone to copy from and some of it is just basic common sense for me. No one is going to give extra tips to anyone who doesn't smile or who acts very rude and since most of the customers are boys…well I had to flirt with them. It's difficult to flirt without smiling."
Money made the world go round was a saying that Naruto heard one of the tourist saying to her boss.
"You can't do anything without money," Uraraka commented. "Our basic needs means that we need money."
Naruto nodded.
She tried to use the excuse on her boss to extend her working hours, but the woman did not laugh one bit. The older woman puffed her cheeks, folded her arms against her chest and told her that she needed to stop working so much.
'You will never get a boyfriend if you work this late.'
Naruto knows she would never get a boyfriend. Time was valuable and precious. Love was for people with no ambitions or who had all the time in the world. Every minute she thinks of falling in love or finding a boyfriend was a minute wasted on making something for herself. It might not be her plans to become a Hero but she would make something out of herself.
"My intuition about you was right," Kushina said, bobbing her head. Naruto blinked while Mikoto laughed and shook her head. Minato let out a laugh while Kakashi blinked. "I had the fear that you were going to be like your father and be a workaholic. Of course I was worried that you were going to be mischievous like me and cause problems before saying that you want to be Hokage. I was worried that you will be dense like me and will need someone to spell out your feelings and that you would act out."
Mikoto chuckled. "Kushina, I can safely say that Naru-chan has all your worries."
"Mikoto-obaachan!" Naruto cried. "I'm definitely not dense and I'm not a workaholic!"
Shouto stared at her. "The book says that you are definite workaholic if your own boss is not taking advantage of your work ethic."
Her father bobbed his head in agreement while everyone looked at her with frowns on their faces. Why are they looking at me like that? I have never been a workaholic and I've no plans of becoming one. It was not like she was working because she enjoyed it. Working was her way of coping with things.
"I have one question," Ashido commented with a frown playing on her lips. "Why do you think love is for people with no ambition? Love is a beautiful thing! You can have ambition and want love. You don't have to give up your ambition for love."
Naruto sighed. "I'm sure the book will explain things if they keep talking about my memories but if you want an explanation then you only need to look at Ino, Sakura and every other girl in the Academy. They never really dreamed big after our first year in the Academy because they all developed crushes on the Bastard."
Temari sighed and eyed the two girls.
"I can understand what gave you that impression."
She would be someone, god damn it.
Naruto blinked when she felt a small body collided against her. Blue eyes grew slightly wide at the sight of a little girl falling down on the ground with a gasp.
"Are you okay?" Naruto knelt down and looked at the girl. At first glance, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary but something nagged at her to keep looking for wounds. She paused when red eyes grew large at the sight of her, fear shining through those eyes.
Aizawa frowned and stared at the trembling white-haired girl on the screen. Naruto took a deep breath and gazed at those fearful eyes on the screen. Someone is definitely after her. She took a deep breath while her grandmother closed her eyes. The Third Hokage pressed his lips into a thin line.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Hinata commented. "Those bandages doesn't mean anything good."
Naruto eyed the girl. "She is being abused and someone is trying to cover it up."
Everyone paled and eyed her with shock as the blue-eyed teen frowned. Once we are done with the book, I will go and rescue her. The exam wouldn't bother her too much but not rescuing that girl was going to weigh on her mind. She cracked her knuckles as Hinata and Sasuke exchanged glances between each other.
Naruto knew the girl was scared of her and was about to go her own way, when her eyes caught sight of the lack of shoes and the bandages wrapped around her hands and legs. She fixated her eyes on the bandages and flickered her eyes to the girl.
Something was not right.
"You know when most people look at you, they won't think that you are that observant," Shikamaru commented. Naruto clicked her tongue and the black-haired male inspected the screen before darting his eyes to the others. "But we can clearly see that you notice things that most people won't be bother to wonder."
Naruto stared at him. "I have to observe especially when I'm in Japan! Do you know how many times I have to stop some thief because everyone waits for some hero to save them? Too many times for me to count! And after that memory, you should understand my need to observe."
Shikamaru sighed.
"Is everything okay?" She asked.
The little girl blinked and those red eyes stared at her with uncertainty and fear. Naruto wavered and sucked her breath. I really am an idiot for asking a stupid question. Nothing about the girl screamed she was okay. Bandages on her body, fear shining through her eyes and the way she wanted to run made it clear that the girl was hurt.
"You aren't going to abandon her, are you?" Hagakure asked as everyone exchanged glances between them. Naruto blinked and raised an eyebrow as the invisible girl leaned her body forward. "Most of the time people would wait for a hero to help her, because that is what people expect you to do in a situation like this."
Naruto stared at her future classmates before looking at Aizawa. The black-haired man fixated his eyes on her before looking up at the screen with blank eyes. I wonder what is going through his mind. Does he think that I should abandon her because the law forbids me from using my Chakra? She should lie but…
"If we wait for heroes to save her then nothing could get done," Naruto answered, shaking her head. "If I have been homeless in Japan then I would have waited even longer to get help."
"Eri, there you are! You should stop just stop running!"
Naruto looked up and narrowed her eyes at the sight of a tall, muscular man in a suit, wearing some kind of beak-shaped mask over his face. Nothing about that man screams warmth. She hugged the girl and dropped all smiles at the sight of the man.
"He doesn't seem like he is even a nice person," Yaoyorozu observed with a frown playing on her lips. The other girls bobbed their heads while Tokoyami rubbed his beak. Naruto pressed her lips into a thin line as black eyes regarded her. "What do you think you are planning to do in this situation? You said that you aren't going to abandon her but you might need to do it because of the potential danger."
Naruto shook her head. "Living on the streets is the worst thing in the world and there is no way that man isn't hurting her. If I was to think of danger then this girl is never ever going to be free. I would rather be sent to jail for doing the right thing then to be out of jail and knowing that I allowed someone to get hurt."
"The bystander effect is very much prominent in our society," Narumi agreed, shaking her head. Kakashi and the other jounins exchanged glances while Bakugou and the others grunted. Fugaku and Mikoto shook their heads. The blue-eyed woman rubbed her jaws. "Even I'm guilty for that effect but the appearance of heroes makes it difficult to know when to intervene with certain things."
The man clenched his hand just a little and Naruto could feel the waves of irritation pouring off of him. "Sorry if my daughter bumped into you but we need to get going. Come on…"
Naruto felt the trembles of the young girl. She is terrified. She knew what a young girl being terrified to go near an adult meant. Terrify meant beatings for things that was never their fault. To be scared of an adult meant constant ridicule and insults and to feel like you were never good enough.
"Naruto, how many times did the matron beat you?" Tsunade asked sharply. Her parents swirled their heads at her while everyone else stared at her with wide eyes. Aizawa regarded her before flickering his eyes to the Third Hokage. The old man closed his eyes and tilted his hat downwards as honey brown eyes continued to stare at her.
The blonde exhaled. "It was only one time."
"You are not being honest," her grandmother stated. "You aren't looking Tsunade in the eye. Naruto, did the neglect turn into physical abuse as well as mental abuse?"
Naruto shrugged. "Is it still physical abuse if I ran away? I wasn't abused because I wasn't a good kid and if I was being mentally abused then I can reassure you that it wasn't just the Matron. After all, the villagers wanted someone to take their anger out and I was the person that got the brunt of their anger."
Aizawa closed his eyes and rubbed the sides of his head.
'You are a child of Konoha.'
She never wanted the Hokage to say those words to her. She didn't know what she wanted the Third to tell her but Naruto knew she didn't want to hear that explanation. Naruto took a deep breath and forced herself to smile widely at the adult.
"Well then you are a shitty father because fathers don't hurt their kids!"
Todoroki nodded while Minato flinched. I guess I can see why he feels hurt by my comment. She poked her tongue against the roof of her mouth as her mother patted her father's back. Masaru shot a look of pity to her parents before patting his wife's back. Naruto took a deep breath and looked at Hinata.
Her best friend closed her eyes before flashing her a reassuring smile.
The man narrowed his eyes at her. "Mind your own business. Eri, come with me. Boss won't like it if…"
Eri froze at those words and Naruto felt the girl sucked in a deep breath, hunched her back and tried to inch towards the man. She held the girl, not allowing her to go near the terrible man right in front of them. It would be wrong for her to let such a young girl go near the person that hurt her. Naruto didn't want to see the little girl suffer.
"Why would she want to go back?" Kurenai asked, frowning. She exchanged glances with Asuma before focusing all of her attention onto the blond-haired girl. Naruto frowned and tilted her head to the side. If I was Eri, why would I want to go back to the place that hurts me? She furrowed her eyebrows and then relaxed her shoulders.
She exhaled. "Because she is worried that I'm going to get hurt. If his boss wants her then that means he is the culprit of the abuse and if he was anything like the Matron then I can imagine the thoughts going through her mind."
"So you will admit that you are affected," her grandmother stated.
The blonde shook her head. "I'm not affected by that old bitter lady!"
She wanted to protect the little girl.
You are getting on my nerves." The man growled.
Naruto hugged the girl tighter and narrowed her eyes. I am not going to stand by and let a kid get hurt. She might not know which parts of her was real and which parts of her was fake, but Naruto knew one thing about herself. She could never let someone suffer. People always needed to be saved from their suffering.
"You have a very funny way of showing that," Sakura stated with bitterness. Naruto schooled her expression into a blank look as green eyes flickered from her to Sasuke. "Whenever Sasuke was hurt and in pain, you never ever supported him. It was always about you when it came to your relationship with him."
Naruto stared at her for the longest time and slid the book to Todoroki before marching her way to the pink-haired girl. I'm done. I'm actually done with all of this. Several eyes widened as the blond-haired girl smacked Sakura hard on the face. Gasps echoed and Hinata's lips twitched into a smile. Her grandmother looked torn between scolding her and praising her.
Her mother grinned.
"I'm the one that went with Jiraiya to get Tsunade or did you forget Sakura?" Naruto hissed as her eyes darkened. "I'm the one that could never be allowed to show care and support to her friend because you and every other girl in the village claimed that I want Sasuke to myself! I'm the one that nearly got herself killed to save him! What the fuck did you do? You only cried. I did shit!"
Sakura narrowed her eyes. "You insulted him and his clan—"
"Because Sasuke was irritated that he couldn't beat Lee. He was being arrogant and fool of himself to think he had a chance against him," Naruto hissed. Sakura raised her hand and the blonde kicked her in the leg before twisting her around. She slammed her into the ground as Ino and the other girls looked at her with wide eyes. "I tolerated you when we were in Team Seven because Kakashi-sensei made it seem like I have to be the reasonable one! But let me remind you: I'm the one in charge, and you are arrogant if you think you are good enough to take me on. Unlike you and Ino: I will never stroke a person's ego."
She twisted her arms even more before kicking her back and then walking away. Ino gawked at her while Aizawa regarded her with guarded eyes. Her grandmother made no comment while everyone else gazed at her. Todoroki kept quiet and handed her the book. The blonde eyed the stunned audience and fixated her eyes on Ino.
"I'm the Head Bitch In Charge and that means I will remind you of what happens when I'm angered," Naruto smiled. "After all, didn't you call me a monster? Well this monster just showed you, why you should be on her good side."
Mineta gulped and clutched his balls while Ino paled.
It was a belief that Naruto had for as long as she could remember.
He raised his hand at her and flames danced around his fingertips. "Give the girl back to me and I will forget about you."
"After seeing that, I'm worried for his balls," Kaminari commented as he eyed the groaning Sakura. The blond-haired male shuddered and looked at Naruto with fear shining through his eyes. "I always wanted to see two girls fighting but definitely not in that way. That was absolutely brutal! Now no one wants to be on her bad side."
Hinata hummed. "Naruto actually has good control because this is the first time that she ever actually hurt her. I would have thought that Naruto-chan would have hurt her after being on a team with her but she kept control. Sakura, on the other hand, was the one that actually hit Naruto."
"And you let her!" Kushina yelled at Kakashi. The silver-haired man opened his mouth to explain, only to close his mouth when the red-haired woman grabbed the male by the sleeve. Naruto stared blankly as Kushina smashed her hand against Kakashi's stomach. She glanced at her father and raised an eyebrow when the male picked up a kunai.
I have a feeling that Kakashi-sensei is going to lose his balls.
Naruto put her fingers together in a familiar hand-seal and summoned a clone. Smoke enveloped the area and the blue-eyed girl handed Eri to her clone. Red eyes stared at her with confusion and hope, but the blonde focused all of her attention on the furious man shooting flames in random directions.
"Take Eri-chan a safe distance away!" Naruto barked at her clone. "And wait with her till I come back! If anyone asks what happens then tell them that we were playing a game of tag."
She knows that the adults of this part of the world should be told the truth, but people were cruel. Orphanages were even worse. Kids betrayed each other. Matrons acted like cold-hearted women and a child-like Eri didn't deserve it.
"Will you still say that you aren't affected by what happened to you?" Her grandmother asked.
Naruto paused. "…Maybe a little bit."
"I will take that as a win," Narumi declared.
The clone nodded and dashed away, keeping Eri close to her chest as Naruto launched herself at the man. She ducked as balls of fire shot towards her. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as a the man held both hands up to form a huge fireball. She squatted and jumped. The soles of her shoes singed a little, coming just in close contact with the fire.
"You are really rusty," Sasuke commented. Naruto held up the middle finger and Kushina sighed before walking over to her. The blonde pouted when her mother gently whacked her on the head. The black-haired teen snorted and then winced when Kushina whacked him on the head. "I'm stating the truth."
Kushina smiled sweetly. "You don't have to say it outloud.'
"Your Quirk can make you jump high! Well I can…"
Naruto smiled tightly when her feet touch the ground. She channelled her chakra to her legs and launched herself at the man. No chakra was gathered for her next attack. There was no need because the man was not even worth it. She smashed his cheeks, blue eyes glowing with fury as the man was launched a couple of feet away.
"That is one hell of a punch," her father praised, flashing her a smile. Bakugou nodded and Naruto smiled before flickering her eyes at the others. Her future classmates gazed at her with wide eyes. Ojiro and Tokoyami exchanged glances while the other girls looked at her with wide eyes. Naruto frowned and raised an eyebrow.
Jirou cleared her throat. "We can all agree that was one badass move."
Naruto blinked.
"It's really cool!" Uraraka cried.
He crashed into the next building. Slabs of concrete broke and crashed hard onto the man's body, drilling him down to the ground and piercing him through the abdomen. He can't survive an attack like that. Naruto knows she should call the ambulance and let the man get healed.
It would be the right thing to do, the heroic thing to do.
But Naruto was no saint and she could never forgive anyone that hurts a child. People like them deserve to die. It might be childish of her and maybe she should act in a more moral high ground, because Heroes don't do these things.
"Maybe it is childish and morally, it is wrong," her grandmother commented. "But you are still a traumatized child that didn't get the help that you needed. There are victims out there that want their abusers punish and since a certain someone here, didn't do the job…you may feel like you have the duty of doing this."
Aizawa thinned his lips. "You better hope that no one can connect this to you because you will go to prison if you get caught."
Naruto nodded.
Naruto was also a kunoichi and things like morals were discarded when it came to people like them.
She walked through the streets, blue eyes darting for any signs of Eri and her clone. A relieved smile lit up her face when Naruto caught sight of her clone sitting on the hard, cold ground and trying to play with Eri. Hands trying to touch each other but Eri was not smiling, only looking around like she was afraid.
"If I go to prison then I won't mind," Naruto declared. Bakugou and Midoriya blinked while the blond-haired girl regarded the white-haired, red-eyed little girl on the screen. Her parents gazed at her while Sasuke and Todoroki stared at her. "Because if I made someone like Eri-chan safe then it would be worth it. She could be happy."
Her blue eyes softened and then Naruto blinked when a pair of heterochromatic eyes stared at her. She cleared her throat and looked away from Todoroki as the people from the shinobi part of the world continued to look at her with wide eyes. This is why I'm uncomfortable with being soft in front of people. She looked down at the book.
"Boss is here!" Her clone declared.
Eri looked up and stared wide-eyed at her. Naruto smiled, not one of the fake smiles that she gave to her classmates and co-workers but an honest smile. Her clone waved and popped itself out of existence as Naruto took her place right in front of Eri.
She knelt down again and offered her a hand. "Everything is going to be okay now, Eri-chan. I took care of that bad guy and I promise to take care of you."
"Whiskers, you aren't actually thinking that you can take care of a kid!" Bakugou demanded. Naruto stared at him as her grandmother and Aizawa exchanged glances. Kushina looked at her with sad eyes while her father placed his head on her hands. "Saving her is one thing but taking in a kid is a whole different set of responsibilities."
"I can take care of her," Naruto declared, narrowing her eyes at him. "Why wouldn't I be able to take care of her?"
Her grandmother stared at her. "You are way too young to do this! You are going to be facing so many issues when it comes to raising that little girl! I know you believe that orphanages are horrible but you can hand her to a hero and have them—"
"How do I know that they won't harm her?" Naruto demanded. "How do I know that they won't abandon her when she needed them the most? She is in such a delicate state that I can't simply hand her to just anyone."
The little girl stared at her hand and softly asked. "Why did you help me?"
'Why do you care, Old Man?"
"Because you are a child of Konoha."
Naruto never wanted the Third to say those words to her. She knew even at that time that those were never the words she wanted to hear. It was not the words that a child like Eri or her deserved to hear. She hugged the girl and took a couple of deep breaths.
"Naru-chan, what did you want me to say to you on that day?" The Third Hokage asked. Everyone blinked and turned to gaze at the solemn man, who now had his eyes fixated on her. Naruto only stared at him as brown eyes continued to stare at her. "What would you have wanted me to say to you? What could have I said to reassure you? To make you feel happy."
That I deserve to have people care about me and that I didn't deserve that bullshit.
"I wanted you to say that I deserve to be treated like another kid on the street who had parents," Naruto answered. "That I deserve to know that there are people out there that cared about me. That…I was never unwanted."
The Third Hokage grew even more quiet while everyone else gazed at her with quiet eyes. This is probably the worst situation that I have ever been but at least the worst memory is over. Things could go back to normal and people would look at her with fear in their eyes and not pity. Pity was the last thing that she wanted.
"Because you are a little girl that deserves to know people do care about you."
She wanted so badly to have the Third say those words to her.
Naruto knew she should take Eri to the police and have her questioned about the abuse. But the police would never know how to properly take care of her. They never actually cared about the children that went through hell. No one ever actually cared about them. They don't know the hell that each day of living meant.
"Coming out from experience like yours, it is easy to see how you ended up having all those issues," her grandmother commented as Kushina and Minto closed their eyes. Blue eyes focused on her before moving to Bakugou. The blond-haired teen was stone silent and could not meet her eyes. The white-haired woman inhaled. "Growing up the way you did meant that any form of weakness will get you hurt. Trusting people to be kind isn't in your nature because of what happened."
Naruto stared at her. "So you think I'm right?"
"I understand your reasons," her grandmother stated. "But in no way did I think you did the right thing by keeping her with you. You aren't emotionally stable and already have a lot of things on your plate. If you take care of a kid then I'm afraid of what this is going to do. Your step-grandfather and me struggled at times and we were emotionally-stable adults."
"Maybe I will do a good job of taking care of her!"
She was going to give Eri a chance to live the life that Naruto wished someone would have given her.
"That's the end of the chapter," Naruto declared. "Who wants to read the next chapter?"
Izuku raised his hand. "I will do it."
Author Note: For anyone that dislike Naruto hitting Sakura, let me remind you that characters have been written to their extreme at some points. The same goes for any bashing done during the fic because it isn't meant to be taken too seriously. For the guest reviewer who wants to know why Mineta hasn't made any mention about Tsunade's chest, the simple reason is that he is terrified of her. Now here are a couple of questions:
Q1: How embarrass do you think Naruto and Todoroki are going to be from a scale of 1-10 when they see their current selves interacting throughout the book?
Q2: Do you think that Naruto in the guardian series is actually a soft person and isn't as tough as she tries to make herself to appear? And how did you feel about the shinobis seeing her softer side?
Q3: How do you feel about Todoroki insisting that Naruto and him will be friends and Naruto denying it? And how did you feel about the reactions to the Todoroki's perspective?
Please do tell me of your thoughts on this chapter.
