Chapter 1

Decisions

"Did you really come here to gloat, Uzumaki...?" She asked through gritted teeth, her own voice more like a hiss than anything else at the moment.

It was a miracle she was alive right now, let alone being awake, so in the grand scheme of things, the pain she was feeling right now was little compared to the alternatives, she supposed.

It still hurt like all hell though, which she supposed came in hand when someone made you blow up from the inside.

And while he technically wasn't responsible of that, she still found herself glaring at the newcomer, who had seemingly decided to sneak into her hospital room in the middle of the night.

She, of course, expected some sort of reaction from her words. She knew enough about him to expect some sort of remark in return, probably some sort of loud declaration or an honest but dumb comment.

She had actually grown used to those, considering the amount she had heard every time they fought.

To think she had been bested by such a knucklehead...

What she got though, made her eyes narrow immediately, for whoever was slowly walking towards her bed was not the Uzumaki Naruto she had fought. The one that had bested her, just to then try and save from the consequences of allying herself with All For One.

Someone that she could consider, honest to whatever god was out there, if any, a real Hero.

But instead, what she had in front of her had her instincts telling her that she was in danger, that he was dangerous. It was an oppressive feeling, one that even made it hard to breath.

A pressure that only disappeared when her eyes finally met his blue ones, his gaze going down just as air finally returned to her lungs.

What the hell was that...?

"Sorry..." Even his voice sounded different, it was more mellow, like a low rumble. "Force of habit, I think..."

And for a moment, his gaze looked lost, aimed at a corner of the room. It lasted for just one second, however, before he set his eyes on her once more, a smile now present on his lips.

It was a fucked up smile though, almost as if belonging to someone that hadn't smiled once in his life and was now trying it for the first time.

Suffice to say, it looked more than wrong in someone like Uzumaki's face.

"I didn't come here to pick a fight or anything." He spoke, his eyes sweeping through the room in a quick fashion, before zeroing on her again. "I came here to help, in fact."

"Help...?" She couldn't stop herself from wondering out loud, even if just talking was enough to send another wave of pain through her body. Help with what, exactly?

His response though? He slowly took out what looked like a dagger, with three ends on one side, and some sort of...text? Written on the handle of it.

"I have an offer for you, Lady Nagant."

"He hasn't moved at all yet?"

That question sprung her into action, her body rolling on the floor below her just before she adjusted her position, the gun that was her Quirk now being aimed at the person that had somehow managed to catch her off guard.

Then again, that fact alone meant it could only be one person.

"You're going to take someone's eye out with that thing one of these days." But even though he had her Quirk aimed directly at his head, the blonde in front of her still had the gall to simply laugh in her face.

It was moments like this when she felt the most like going back to how they met and shoot off that smile of his from his face.

"Maybe if you stopped sneaking up on me." Truly, the fact that he was somehow able to get close to her without her detecting him was not something she enjoyed, to say the least.

What happened to the idiot that had decided eating a bullet through the chest was a sensitive idea if it meant getting on close-quarters with her?

"I'm just keeping you on your toes." He shot back with a shrug, a smirk now present on his lips. "We wouldn't want you going all rusty in this time of peace, Kaina."

She could only snort at his words, knowing well that everything he had just said was nothing but bullshit.

"Has he really not left his hiding spot at all?" The mirth that had been present in his voice disappeared in less than a second however, his eyes seemingly now glued to nothing as he looked to the side, but she knew he was looking at the direction she herself had been carefully watching over just a few minutes prior.

"Not even for a bit." She replied just as she deactivated her Quirk. "You definitely got him scared though. I've seen him peeking through the window far more often now."

"I see..." He answered, his narrowed eyes still looking at the same direction. She remained studying his face however, another of her many attempts at trying to figure out what was going through that head of his.

You would think that after two years of being associates it would have become easier, but if there was one thing she had learned, it was that Uzumaki Naruto was very good at hiding both his thoughts and emotions.

"Guess I need to ruffle some more feathers, then." His words made her frown, for she knew very well what he meant by that. Not only that though, but the nonchalant way in which he said it, almost as if talking about the weather, reminded her of the type of person she was dealing with.

Uzumaki Naruto was dangerous.

Far more than what they had told her two years ago.

How he had been able to hide this part of himself while being a U.A student, she did not know.

She had made a deal with the devil once already, when All For One had sent her after the man in front of her.

Only to make another one with the person she had tried to kill.

"The Heroes are going to come for you if you keep up this pace." She still felt like she had to remind him of that however, even as he started walking away from her.

"I could use the spar." But he only waved away her words, not even stopping for a second. Then, in front of her eyes, he simply disappeared, leaving nothing but wind and leaves.

She could only sigh once more, her Quirk activating as she did.

Her days of dealing with dangerous individuals were far from over.

"So... you're going with that Torino guy?" He asked as he scooted closer to Izuki, peaking at the sheet of paper in her hand.

"Y-Yeah." She answered with slight stiffness, her own gaze glued to that same paper in her hand. "I think he can help me the most... since he even t-trained All Might."

He made a humming sound, getting her logic but also wondering just what kind of man was the person that had trained the old man. He had never met the man, after all, and the old man sure acted weird whenever he thought about this Gran Torino guy.

And by weird he meant scared shitless.

"W-what about you?" Izuki followed him up with a question of her own. "D-did you decided-ueh?"

"Naruuuuu, help me!" A pair of pink arms suddenly sneaked around his neck from behind his seat, the owner of said arms pressing her cheek to his own just as she cried obvious crocodile tears. "Yaomomo is bullying me!"

"I am not bullying you, Ashido-san." An indignated remark followed right after, just as he saw Yaoyorozu stalking towards their seat. "I just think you need to review each option carefully before making such an important decision!"

"Help me." Mina's response was whispered to his ears only, with her pouting visage making him almost laugh, right before he winked at her. Fortunetly, Yaoyorozu couldn't see that last bit from her spot.

"You already decided where you going, Yaoyorozu?" He asked as he craned his neck back so that he could see their class Vice-President properly.

"Ah, well, t-that's..." He could only look on confused as Yaoyorozu seemingly stumbled over her words, almost as if trying to do her best Izuki impression. He wasn't used to that, to say the least, especially since it had only started after the Sports Festival.

That was weird, right?

"Uwabami, the Snake Hero, is who I chose." She was finally able to answer him after sighing slightly however. "I believe Kendo-san from the other class is choosing her too..."

"Kendo's cool, so at least you won't get bored with her around." He said as he remembered one of the few persons he actually knew from class 1-B.

"I'm going with Selkie." Suddenly, Tsu declared with a ribbit, from her own spot on the dorm's living room. "Since my Quirk can be used for underwater missions."

"T-that makes sense..." He heard Izuki comment to his left, to which he could only nod. Definitely made sense with how Tsu's Quirk worked.

"What about you, Naruto?" It was Sero the one that asked as he walked by, a grin present on his face. "You got a ton of offers, can't imagine actually having to look through all of those."

He actually groaned at that, remembering how Aizawa had told him that he should, at the very least, check on every offer, even when his recommendations had been clear.

"If you need help..." Yaoyorozu walked closer to his seat after that though, where Mina still refused to let him go. "I-I could help you with reviewing them."

"Better you than me..." Mina grumbled into his ear once more, just before she whined a bit as she poked her cheek with his finger.

"Actually, I already picked mine." He said in a triumphant tone as he puffed his chest out, with the look of his friends going from surprised to curious extremely quick.

"Really?" The first one to ask was Izuki, to which he could only nod. He was going to tell her later, but since the topic was brought up, he might as well just say it already, right?

"Is it Endeavor like Todoroki? Or maybe Best Jeanist like Bakugo?!" After his words, Mina had made a move so that she was actually sitting on the couch, on the seat to his right, her eyes sparkling with interest. "C'mon tell us!"

"Actually, she came and gave me the offer personally." He explained as he scratched his chin. "It was weird as heck, and she kept talking about teaching me the real stuff that actually matters, whatever that means, but hey, she seemed strong so sure, why not?!"

"...Maybe we shouldn't have let you pick by yourself..." Yaoyorozu deadpanned tone might be low, but he was still able to hear it, making him pout in response.

Izuki nodding alongside it did not help his mood. He could pick his internship just fine!

"Wait, so what's her name? Sure you didn't get scammed by accident?" Sero snickered at his face, which only made him huff right before taking out a piece of paper from his pocket.

"Mirko, the Rabbit Hero." He read her name out loud, having no idea if she was well known or not. "You guys know her-why are you all looking at me like that?"

Even Izuki had a flabbergasted look on her face. Why, what happened?

Did he somehow pick someone weird?

"Are you absolutely sure about it?"

"Positive. Even those from his class said it was his Quirk." There was someone else that she felt deserved an explanation, a heads up before things turned even more complicated than they already were.

She knew, of course, that a lot of people would say this was a bad move, not only because of the reputation of the woman in front of her, but also because of how personal she knew things could get whenever it came to this woman and Uzumaki.

Said woman was now too busy looking at a wall in her apartment, but even from the other side of the room she could tell how she was gritting her teeth together in sheer frustration, with nothing but fire showing in her gaze.

"What are you going to do about it?" She had to ask, even if she already knew the answer before she had even told her. A risky move, she knew, but she also felt that she needed this.

After all, Uzumaki's disappearance had hurt Mirko far more than what most realized, maybe even herself.

And if this was something that could bring closure then...

Besides, at least like this there wasn't a danger of her going ballistic if she knew no one had told her sooner.

Mirko's response though? She shoot her a glare, her mechanical limb pressed tightly into a fist, right before an honest to god growl left her mouth.

"I'm going to beat the shit out of him."

Well, you guys seem to enjoy it so far so let's see how it goes from here.

If I could put more than 4 characters in the description, Lady Nagant would have been 5th just so you all know.

Thank you all for having read this far!

Next Chapter: Vigilante