A/N: I want to thank everyone that reviewed the last chapter and everyone that added this story to their favourites and follows.
"Did you get the acceptance letter from Yuuei?"
Tying the apron, Naruto twisted her body around and raised her eyebrow at her boss, who had his arms folded against his chest and an expectant look on his face. Why did he always seem to care about her life? Ever since she began working for him, her boss had always asked about her school life. He was happy when she did well in school, which was weird because she wasn't his kid. He was more interested in her future than his own kid's future or so his daughter complained.
"I got my letter," Naruto admitted, taking out her notepad from her bag. "But what makes you think I got accepted? They could have rejected me for all you know and why do you care?"
Her boss curled his lips into a smile. "I care because I don't want to see you wasting your time here. You have so much potential that it would be a waste for you to end up working here all your life. Now as for what made me think that you got accepted because Yuuei would be insane if they don't accept a kid with a heart like yours. They accept kids that have stupid reasons for becoming a hero but if they don't accept a kid that is willing to save someone instead of going to their job on time, then they are insane."
What should she say to her boss? Should she smile at his compliment or deny the fact that she was late because she was helping someone? Why couldn't he be cruel to her? Naruto really had no idea on what to do when people acted kind to her. She should know by now but the blonde still wasn't used to kindness. She should thank him but how could she thank him when her reason for becoming a hero was also stupid.
She only wanted to join Yuuei because she wanted to prove that stupid Bakugou wrong.
"Yuuei isn't insane," Naruto finally answered, forcing herself to smile at her boss. "I got in, just like you thought I would."
Her boss grinned. "If that is the case then you should take the day off. You should go out with your friends and celebrate the occasion! Not everyone could claim that they got accepted by one of Japan's toughest schools."
"I will go out with my friends later," Naruto dismissed, taking out her pencil. "Right now, I just want to focus on my work. I might have gotten in but I still have bills to pay, and now a school to pay for. I can't have the luxury that you are offering me. It isn't like I have my parents paying for my school fees."
The middle-aged man grimaced at her words and the blonde almost felt bad for saying those words to him. She didn't want to make him feel guilty about her lack of parents, but he needed to remember that she could never be like the other kids. Other kids have their parents waiting for them at home. Other kids have a choice on whether they want a part-time job or not. She couldn't have that luxury because she didn't have parents.
Her boss knew that too because Naruto once yelled those words to his daughter when she acted like a spoiled brat and declared that she hated her father. That had been a year ago and till this day, the man had looked at her with pity. Till this day, her boss thought how terrible it was that she lost her parents, that she had no one to rely on but herself.
Her boss might see it as a pity but Naruto couldn't miss something that she never had.
"Naruto! Naruto! That boy is here again!"
Twisting her body around, Naruto blinked her eyes as one of her fellow waitress came rushing into the kitchen with an excited gleam in her eyes. Why was her co-worker excited about some boy asking for her? Shouldn't she be disappointed or angry about this? That would be Sakura's reaction if some guy kept coming here. In fact that was her friend's reaction if Sasuke even showed some interest in her.
"Which boy? And why are you excited?"
"That boy from Ketsubutsu Academy!" Her co-worker said, grinning. "And why shouldn't I be excited? He was disappointed to see that I was the one to give him the menu and not you. Do you know what that means?"
"That he doesn't like you?" Naruto asked, raising her eyebrow at her co-worker. In the corner of her eye, she could see her boss shaking his head at them and muttering something under his breath. Okay, what was this about? Was there something that she didn't understand? Why did it matter that a boy was disappointed not to see her? And how did it relate to her job? Honestly, she really didn't understand people.
"Well yes but it means he wants to see you," her co-worker declared, giving her a smile. "Now I said to him that I was going to get my notepad, but I think it is a better idea for you to take his order."
She raised her eyebrow at the older teen. "Why? You are the one serving him."
The older teen blinked and blinked her eyes at her before giving her a look that made her feel stupid. Why was it such a big deal that the boy had been upset not to see her? He had only been coming around for the past few weeks. It was not like she always asked to take his orders but since most of her co-workers were taking a break from their job, she had been the one stuck doing it. He could handle not seeing her face.
"I really pity that boy," her co-worker said, shaking her head. "Naruto, I really need to go to the bathroom so can you please just take his order for me? I owe you big time if you do this favour for me."
"You always say that," Naruto muttered, nodding her head at her co-worker who laughed at her words while her boss blinked his eyes at her words. Frowning, the old man shot a warning look to her co-worker, who just shrugged her shoulders at him. Ok, was there something that she was missing? She knew it was weird that the teen had suddenly decided to go to the bathroom, but it really shouldn't warrant her getting that look from their boss.
What was the big deal that she was going to take this guy's order?
"Naruto, if you don't want to take the boy's orders then you can let Hina take the order," her boss said to her when her co-worker rushed towards the bathroom. "That girl barely works when she is here, it would be a good idea if she takes the customer's order."
"Why? It isn't like that boy is going to bite me."
Why did her boss make it seem like it was bad idea to let Hina go to the bathroom? It wasn't like she couldn't handle some boy. She only questioned her co-worker because the teen just suddenly decided to go to the bathroom, it wasn't like she was complaining about it. She was used to doing all the work. In Konoha, she had been the one to pick all of the plants because Sakura hated getting her hands dirty.
Why would she think that this place would be any different?
"U-Uzumaki-san, I didn't know you were working today!"
Naruto blinked her eyes and stared at the black-haired boy, who seemed to avoid looking her in the eyes. His friends snickered at the boy, nudging at each other before giving her a smile. Several things run through her head as she stared at the boy and his friends. Why were his friends acting like weirdo? Why was this boy acting strange? And why was his face so red? The weather outside was so nice that the boss had opened the doors to let some fresh air inside.
"Is there a day where I don't work?" Naruto asked the boy, giving him a smile. She tilted her head when the boy turned an even brighter shade of red. Shaking her head, she continued. "Actually to answer my own question, the only times when you don't see me working here is on Sunday but that is because the old man thinks I need to get some rest. What made you think I don't work today?"
The boy rubbed the back of his neck. "Um, I didn't see you around the café? It is a nice weather that we are having."
His friends slapped their heads at his words and looked at him like he was stupid for making that comment. Why did they think he was stupid for talking about the weather? It was a little bit strange but Naruto was used to the fact that this nice boy was just a little bit strange. One time he ended up asking her if she liked chocolate when she brought him a chocolate cake, which wasn't all that strange since she had been wondering if the cake was really that good.
There had been another time when he asked her if she had a boyfriend, which had been completely weird because it had been out of nowhere. If she was in Konoha, she would have asked Shikamaru about why he asked that question. She could have asked Hinata but her friend had her own problems to deal with. Ino might claim to be an expert on boys but considering her failed attempts to get Sasuke's attention, she would have to skip the girl. Sakura would have been a big no because she always jumped to conclusions.
In this world, Naruto had no one to ask.
"Yup, it is a nice weather today," Naruto said, flipping open her notebook. "So, what do you guys want?"
The boy blinked his eyes and said. "Well we all want the house special today."
Bobbing her head up and down, she glanced at the black board and wrote down what the house special was for the day. Why did she even bother asking him? He always ordered the house special when it came to food. Not once had he ever tried their drinks, which she couldn't really blame him. As much as she loved her boss, the drinks that they made were terrible. It was just a miracle that they had customers flooding in and out.
"I heard from Yo that you finished Middle School," Naruto blinked her eyes and the boy's friend smiled at her. "If you don't mind me asking but which high school are you planning to go?"
His name was Yo? Why did she think his name was something else? She asked herself as the boys looked at her with curiosity in their eyes. Also why did he remember that she finished middle school? Only once had she told him that she finished middle school. In the past, it would take her a long time to get people to remember facts about her. The only way she had people remember when her birthday was, when she made her pranks or when she complained loudly.
This boy remembered such a small detail about herself.
"I got into Yuuei High's Heroic Department," Naruto finally answered, smiling at them. "I just got my letter so in two weeks, I'm going to start my first year there."
"It is amazing they accepted you," Yo said and the blonde frowned at him. "I don't mean that I didn't expect you to get in…I mean it is amazing that you manage to get it…no, what I mean is that…"
"He means that you are amazing because it is really tough to get into Yuuei High," another friend translated, snickering at the black-haired boy, who groaned and nodded his head. "Only the brightest and strongest people can get into Yuuei High's Hero Department."
He thinks I'm amazing? Naruto asked herself, staring at the blushing boy and then to his friends, who all seemed to have a smirk on their faces. Why would he think she was amazing? She might have entered the school but it didn't mean a thing. How could she be amazing if she couldn't even find a way back home? Would he still think that she was amazing if he knew that she only entered the school because of some stupid bet? And why her? Why did he think she was amazing?
What was so amazing about her? It wasn't like she could speak several languages. It wasn't like she had seen the world. It wasn't like she was as smart as Sakura or Shikamaru. She didn't have the same chakra control as Sakura or the same talent as Sasuke, so why did he think she was amazing? If anyone was amazing then it was her teammates. She was the idiot. She was the girl that had been stupid enough to get herself stuck in another world.
There was nothing special about her.
"I'm sure that you would have gotten into Yuuei High too, Yo," Naruto said, rubbing the back of her neck. "If I can get in then it should be easy for you to join."
Yo shook his head at her. "I applied two years ago but I didn't ace the written portion of the exam. Yuuei don't just accept anyone, Uzumaki-san. If they accepted you then they thought you are really something because not everyone can get accepted. I think you are going to do well there."
Why was he being so kind to her? Why did he seem happy for her? Shouldn't it annoy him that she got into the school that he had been aiming to go to? Naruto asked herself as she made her way towards the kitchen to give the order. If it had been anyone else, they would be demanding about how she got in.
'Baka.'
'How can you not understand something so simple, Baka!'
She had used her clones to study but sometimes her clones were never enough when it came to her exams. Sometimes her clones liked to rebel. They liked to play around with her phone instead of studying for the exams and when they did that, Naruto was forced to study. If someone like her could enter such a hard school then why couldn't he? She knew from Bakugou constantly declaration that it wasn't easy to enter a Hero school.
If an idiot like her could enter Yuuei then, why couldn't he enter? What made her different from him? As Sakura would like to say, she was the idiot who didn't know a damn thing. She was the kid that needed people to explain to her multiple times just so that it sunk into her head. Maybe Yuuei made a big mistake by letting her enter. If only the brightest could enter then they made a big mistake.
She was the idiot.
"Brat, what happened? Did that brat harass you?" Her boss demanded, snapping her from her train of thought.
Naruto shook her head. "N-nothing happened. What made you think someone harass you?"
"I can feel your pain from all the way here," her boss said, looking at her with concern. "You forgot that my quirk allows me to feel people's emotions. I can feel you hurting from the bathroom. Do you want to talk to me about it? You know I don't like seeing my employees hurt, right?"
"I'm fine," she lied, straightening her dress and smiling at her boss. "I just remembered something sad…that's all. Yo didn't say anything to me that hurt me, he said the opposite."
"You sure? Because you know I have no problem kicking that boy out of here," her boss frowned. "You know it is okay to talk to people about your problems right, kiddo? You have been working here since your first year of middle school and unlike everyone else, you have never talked to me about your problems."
Because she didn't want to be a burden to her boss. When everyone else refused to give her work because of her young age, her boss had taken one look at her and agreed to let her work. He didn't ask her why she wanted a job so badly, didn't even try to tell her that she needed to focus on her studies. Her boss had just offered her some food before asking her if she wanted to work for him.
With all those things, how could she ever consider telling him about how she found it weird that people treated her nice? How could she tell him that she didn't know how to deal with compliments? How could she tell him that she felt like a failure for not being able to bring Sasuke back? Her boss could never understand her pain. He couldn't fathom what it was like to be in her shoes.
"Boss, I'm fine."
Her boss sighed. "How many times are you going to lie to yourself, Naruto? No matter how many times you tell me that you are fine, I won't believe you. For as long as I could remember, you only felt sadness, pain and confusion. Those aren't the emotions that a kid, your age experience."
"Don't worry about me, Boss," Naruto said, shaking her head. "I'm going to be fine…I'm fine."
She forced herself to smile at her boss but the man just pinched his nose. Maybe if she smiled large enough than the man would believe her words. Maybe if she repeated those words loud enough then he would believed her words. If she kept telling herself that she was fine then maybe he would stop asking her to talk to him about her 'so-called' problems. If she did this with enough persistence than the blonde might just believe in her words.
"You can't keep running away from your feelings," her boss called out to her.
There was some truth behind her boss' words but Naruto was not in pain and she wasn't sad.
How could she be sad if she was smiling?
Her boss was wrong about her.
A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter.