A/N: Read this note, would you kindly?
Apologies if this seems short. Worked hard o it.
Update on my job/health situation; I still have one...for now.
Yesterday was a little strange; feels like I'm for the other shoe to drop over at work.
Submerging my leg in ice tends to help, but that's a temporary measure at best. Still, it provides some semblance of relief.
As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story...well...I'll not be able to continue it. With two jobs and rent to pay, my free time is...at an all time low. I can't afford to write stories that no one enjoys. So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
I'm absurdly busy, and I'll be busier yet as the holidays creep ever closer. Feedback, no matter how large or small, keeps me going in these dark times.
Only a few questions this time. Had a blast writing this chapter~!
Q: Update schedule?
A: Running to the Edge should be next. Health and time permitting. I'll try to live up to your expectations.
Q: Did Naruto just kill Lady Nagant?!
A: Scared her half to death, but kill? No, no, no. We all know Naruto doesn't kill unless he's given good reason.
Q: Will Endeavor be a problem in the future?
A: Read and see.
Q: Please don't make Naruto a Hero or a Villain. Let him stay true to his roots. Let him be just a shinobi.
A: Well it IS in the title card.
Q: Ze plot thickens, no?
A: The plot thickens indeed, and so does the harem, though Naruto doesn't realize it. Granted, he's not quite oblivious in this, but I don't think he realizes just how much his antics are going to truly influence Rei...and others...
Alright, I've kept you waiting long enough. As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes!
Not a wit or a one. They're merely tributes to legends far greater than I.
And finally, a warning. Spoilers. Goes without saying, I suppose.
Heeeeeere we go~!
"Endeavor was defeated?!"
"Absurd! To think he lost to such an oaf!"
"Suppress this! Quickly! The world must never know!"
"Its too late! All Might and the others heroes are already...!"
"For the Number Two Hero to be bested so easily...measures must be taken."
"If the public learns that a Hero was beaten within an inch of his life, their faith will falter! We cannot allow this!"
Hero Public Safety Commission (A.K.A. Band of Fools)
Just a Family
"This is your home?!"
Rei Todoroki performed a little spin as she took it all in, trying to make sense of the manor all at once and failing. Tenko didn't miss the awe in her eyes as she stumbled about the living room. Good. Awe implied respect and respect meant she wasn't likely to betray them anytime soon. Dad deserved someone who was loyal. After all they'd done for Miss Rei, she'd sooner cut off her hand than turn on them.
"Its so...large!"
Tenko couldn't help but preen at that. "It is, isn't it? This is one of the smaller safehouses."
Toya's mother rounded on him, eyes practically bulging. "He has more than one?!"
Ransacking villains brought a sizable payday. Dad was loaded.
He'd been happy with their meager life before, but this...maybe this wasn't so bad. Kinda nice, really. The idea of having a family again had never occurred to him, nevermind someone like Toya. But now that he had one...he wanted to cling to this feeling. After all, they had more than Toya to look after now, didn't they? Nevermind Toya's siblings; he was Fuyumi, Natsuo, even young Shoto, only a few years old.
"Where did your father go?"
He shrugged. "Dad said he had a spy to deal with. He took Toya with him to keep an eye on her."
Rei quirked a pale brow. "Did he now? Whatever for?"
Tenko shrugged a shoulder. "Dunno."
"Well, I suppose he knows best." Then her gaze narrowed upon him. She frowned. "My, your hair's a mess. When was the last time you bothered to brush it?"
Here at last, Tenko felt the ghost of a smile touch his face. "I don't."
"Whyever not?"
Memories. He remembered. Him and dad laughing, combs stuck in their hair, the mess they'd made.
"Dad ain't any good with a comb. Last time we tried, the house was messy for a week."
"Isn't." Rei booped his nose with one finger. "You should speak proper. Properly."
"Sorry." he said. "He's not the best with grammar, either.
"Clearly not." She huffed. "Well that changes now."
"...?"
As he looked on with mild confusion, Toya's mother sat on the sofa, reached into her handbag, and drew forth a comb of her own. She brandished it like a blade in one hand and:
"Sit."
Tenko blinked. "Eh?"
"Did I sutter?" Rei gave her lap a brief pat with her free hand. "I said sit. I've already put the little ones to bed." A small, almost tentative smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "I may not be the best at it these days, but I'd like to think I have some experience being a mother." It faded a moment later, her facade faltering when he didn't budge. "Would you rather I not...?"
Something deep inside Tenko gave way.
'Ah.' a sudden pang of realization hit him, causing his eyes to widen. 'I remember this feeling. Its just like...
His legs betrayed him as surely as the air in his lungs; a short, sharp burst of breath left him in a little gasp. He clamored over and hopped up into Rei's lap before she could think to rise. She stiffened for all of an instant, then gently laid one hand down on his shoulder to steady him in place.
Her eyes glimmered a bit. "...hold still."
With painstaking gentleness, she set to the comb to his scalp and went to work...
.
..
...it didn't hurt.
Against all odds, Tenko found himself leaning into it, luxuriating in the simple, familiar feeling. When she found knots she gently tugged them apart with painstaking care. Within moments she began to humming softly, a strange nameless melody he couldn't quite recognize.
It felt gentle. Nice. Safe.
Rei patted his head. "Good boy."
He'd experienced this feeling once before. Before everything went wrong. Before his quirk manifested.
His head drooped. Lips parted before a single word. "Mom...
Miss Rei absolutely squeaked. Tenko didn't hear her, lost in his own thoughts as he was.
He tried not to think about his...mistake these days. About the past either; because if he did, he'd end up dwelling on it, and that brought nothing good. The past was painful, but you can't let it define you. Best to focus on the present dad said, or better yet, the future.
Right now, the future was looking bright.
This was his family now. If anyone, ANYONE, hero or villain, tried to hurt them, make them sad, take them away...no.
He wouldn't lose his new family. Never again.
He would protect them at all costs.
That was what shinobi did.
(.0.0.0.)
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead~!"
"Nooooo...
Lady Nagant didn't want to. Kaina Tsutsumi certainly didn't. Her bed was nice and warm and it was too damn early to get up; she groaned something to that effect and burrowed beneath the blankets. Strange. What was that clinking sound she'd just heard? No, not important right now. Ignore it. She was far too sleepy to deal with this.
Soft. Cozy. Mine.
Everything must've been a bad dream after all.
A finger flicked her face. "C'mon, lady. How long are you gonna make us wait?"
Kaina didn't recognize that voice. Her eyes snapped open. Realization swam up from the murky depths, bringing with with it a sudden, startling realization. This wasn't her bed! These weren't her walls! That wasn't her ceiling! The room was a pale pastel blue color, utterly bare of decoration but for the futon in which she found herself. Memory rushed back in.
No.
She tried to sit up.
No, no.
Couldn't now; because she he was bound to the bed, arms shackled behind her back.
No, no, no!
Her vision focused. There was a boy leaning over her jabbing her. Toya Todoroki. Her mind rattled of the name.
"Good, you're awake." he continued to beam at her. "Dad asked me to watch ya while you were resting.
"And a good job you did."
The door swung open, revealing the man in question. Naruto Uzumaki. Her target. The man she was meant to kill. Kaina glowered at him. He'd shed his prior garb for an orange turtleneck and black khakis though those heavy boots of his remained still. She could still see the scorch marks etched into them from his fight with Endeavor. He had one hand hidden behind his back, holding a gun in hand no doubt.
'Oh, right. I tried to kill him. No wonder he's angry...
He'd caught her. Scared the daylights out of her. Now he'd come to finis what he'd started.
"Thanks for watching her, Toya." Naruto flicked a glance the boy's way, diverting her attention once more. "You can play with Tenko now. I'm sure he's feeling lonely by himself."
"Eh? I thought he was with mom."
"You're the only one he really knows here, Toya."
"That'll change." the boy grinned. "I'll introduce him to my siblings. He'll love 'em~!"
"I'm sure he will." he tousled the boy's hair. "Run along now. I'll come by to tuck you in later."
...right." Color hit his cheeks. "You better keep your promise, old man."
Naruto quirked a blond brow. "Have I ever let you down before?"
The wild boy kicked at the floor, scuffing it. "No...
"And I never will." The blond patted his head, mussing his hair. "Run along, now. You've got training tomorrow."
It was like flicking a switch; the little flame-wielder practically scampered out the room, barely pausing long enough to close the door behind him.
"There." the smiling man beamed at her anew as the boy's footsteps rapidly receded. "We're alone. Now then, where were we...?
Dread gripped Nagant's heart in a vice. She felt all the color drain from her face. This is it, then. He's going to kill me. He'd sent the boy away so he wouldn't see it. Was it all an act? Was he pretending to be a family man when he was secretly a killer at heart? She tried to move, but the chains wouldn't allow it. She could barely sit up, bound as she was.
He sat beside her, still not revealing his hand. "Did you sleep well?"
She glared bloody red daggers at him. "If you're going to kill me, get it over with. Don't torture me."
"You've got an awfully fatalistc outlook on life, ya know?" Naruto tilted his head. "What would you do if I told you I was going to spare you?
"I'd call you a liar."
"Ahhh, but is this a lie?" he swept his hidden hand out, drawing a flinch from her. "Tada!"
Kaina creaked an eye open. That wasn't a gun in his hand at all. In fact...
"Is that...?"
"Ramen." he offered the steaming bowl to her, chopsticks nestled against the udon within. "Made it myself. Figured you'd be hungry after a scare like that."
Lady Nagant lifted her chin. "As if I'd accept food from an enemy...!"
Her stomach growled.
.
..
...well?" Naruto waved the bowl beneath her nose. "If you promise to behave, I would mind unlocking your arms an' letting ya eat this."
"How do I know it isn't poisoned...?"
"Don't be paranoid." He chortled softly. "Would I really go to all that trouble?"
Naruto laid the bowl atop her thighs and fished out a key from his belt. Laid it in the lock, now. A quick twist of his wrist and she found her arms freed.
...thanks." she muttered, rubbing her aching. wrists.
"Don't mention it." his smile was disarming as ever. "I treat my prisoners humanely. Go on." he gestured to the bowl still nestled in her lap. "I'll wait until you finish"
Kaina knew she could've shot him then and there. She should have. At such close proximity he wouldn't be able to dodge, surely. No matter how fast you were, there was just no way you could evade a bullet -certainly not one of hers!- at point blank range. One shot. One kill. She could nail him here and now while his guard was down. She'd be praised for it. They'd call her a hero...
Grrrmble. Her stomach complained.
In the end hunger won out over duty and she attacked her bowl with vicious vigor. The ramen did not survive her assault. It was a massacre, plain and simple. She scarfed it down. Relished the taste. Oh gods. He was a good cook. The noodles were soft yet filling, and broth melted on her tongue; to her shame, she almost found herself moaning, eyes fluttering shut in half-lidded bliss. She could get used to this...
"See?" he beamed as she polished off the last of her meal. "We don't have to be enemies."
Kaina set her bowl down, unwilling to rise to the bait before her.
"We really don't." Undaunted by her silence, Naruto dared to scoot closer.
"..."
"You tried to kill me earlier." His words stabbed at her very soul, a dagger biting into her inch by a bitter inch. "I'd like to know why."
She looked away, not trusting herself to meet his eyes. "I had orders. You were deemed a threat."
"I figured." he bobbed his head. "You seemed really...sad after you shot me."
Her head snapped toward his with an audible crack. Could he sense emotions? Crapbaskets. That was going to be a problem. Just how versatile was this quirk of his?! Or did he have more than one? No, that shouldn't be possible. It couldn't be possible.
He laid a hand atop hers. "Would you be willing to tell me about your superiors?"
...I can't tell you anymore." she tore her hand free. They'll kill me."
He scoffed, utterly unfazed. "Not if I deal with them first."
"You can't." she glared back at him. "Its impossible. Even for you."
Her words drew a low peal of laughter from him. "Something's only impossible until someone does it."
"This is reality!" The words sounded hollow, even to her ears; she barely believed them. "That's the way the world is!"
"Reality, huh?" His gaze narrowed, sharpening into sapphire slits. "This so-called "reality" you're so keen on would've left Tenko to rot in the streets. Toya's family was on the verge of becoming something horrible when I stumbled into him. If I hadn't happened along, they might've become monsters." He leaned forward, face dominating her vision. "Tell me, is that the justice you espouse? The justice you believe in? That you strive for?"
Was it?
She knew the answer.
Blood on her hands. So much blood.
Kaina squirmed in her chair, thighs rubbing together. "No...
"What was that?" He set one hand to his ear. "I didn't hear you."
Her head snapped up to glower at him. "I said no, alright?! But what else can I do?!
"You can trust me." He offered his hand with a smile. "Or," and here said smile faded as his gaze strayed down to her unbound arms. "You can shoot me again. I won't force your hand. But you'd best be prepared for the consequences of your decision-
Click.
He didn't flinch when she pressed the barrel of her now-transformed arm to his temple.
His eyes met hers. "Oi. Think veeery carefully before you pull that trigger."
Duty demanded that she ignore him. She was a cog in the machine.
Cogs did not think. They did not feel. They simply acted.
And yet...her arm began to tremble.
"I've killed so many people...
"So have I." his admission, the frankness of it, chilled Kaina to her core. "You talk about killing like its something that needs to be done." he reached up and grabbed the barrel of her arm, locking it in place. "Me? I've taken out plenty of people. Not because I wanted to, not because I took pleasure in it, or even because they left me no choice. Some people...?" he blew out a sigh. "Some folks just need to be dealt with. Sometimes that means swaying them, sometimes sealing...and sometimes, you just gotta end 'em."
"That's what I've been saying!" she shouted at him. "There's no choice!"
"There is ALWAYS a choice!" Naruto growled at her, teeth gone sharp, eyes blazing red. "You choose how to make the world right! Morals? Society? Bah!" he snarled at at her, fangs flashing mere inches from her lips. "You decided what your justice is! Not me, not this society, and certainly not those stuck up bastards who made you their gun!"
"...!"
Her heart was beating so damned fast right now; Lady Nagant could hear it pounding in her ears, like the drums of a wild hunt. How? He'd seen the true nature of this world, been alone like her, and yet he hadn't lost it as she had. If anything it seemed to have made him even stronger. Her eyes began to sting. Water now. How long had she waited to hear those words? For someone to offer her a helping hand...?
"Its too late." she heard her voice warble, felt the first tear roll down her cheek. "You can't save me...
"Who decided that? You?" his fingers bit down on her arm. "Stop doubting yourself."
She could just imagine them now. The voices. Her superiors.
"You are our tool. You will obey."
A fracture etched itself into her facade.
"Your right arm shall bring about true peace."
A crack, now.
"Kill him. Execute justice."
A fissure.
If she killed Naruto now, those boys of his would be alone. Not just Tenko. And the Todoroki family he'd just saved...what would become of them? She knew the answer. They'd be swept under the rug, just like all the rest. There would be questions of course, but the HPSC would silence those, too. Just as they did all those who stood against them. Was this justice?
.
..
...she knew it wasn't.
Her arm went slack. "I can't do it...
"I know." he let go of her rifle-arm and leaned over, wrapped an arm over her shoulders, then drew her head into his chest. She didn't resist him. "Its alright. You'll never to take another life if you don't want to. That said, I have a proposal for you right now. Wanna hear me out?"
Nagain nodded.
He told her what he wanted.
Absurd. Absolutely absurd. Was that really all he wanted?
"For a reason such as that?" Kaina hiccuped a little, scarcely able to believe what he'd just heard. "You'd go this far?" Such a mundane goal. He didn't want to rule the world, or even burn it down. Laughable. Utterly, truly laughable indeed. The HPSC had been wrong about him all along, made an enemy of him for nothing. Her fingers bit down into his shoulders as she held tight to him. "Idiot...what kind of hero are you? Or are you really a villain after all?"
"Neither." he hummed into her. "Just a Shinobi. And I swear, you'll never, ever feel like this again. I never go back on my word."
Kaina whimpered. He was hitting all her weak points, damnit. Every bit of trauma she'd tried to suppress.
This blond bastard...he tore right through it to reach the real her. It was too much.
"So go ahead...release it all. Let it all out. I'm right here. I won't say a word."
The dam of her heart finally crumbled with a wilting wail.
Lady Nagant buried her head into his chest.
She bawled like a baby.
A/N: Proposal? Oh. Oho? Ohoho?!
Well? Whaddya think? Should this continue? Should it be a story? I await your feedback.
As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story...well...I'll not be able to continue it. With two jobs and rent to pay, my free time is...at an all time low. I can't afford to write stories that no one enjoys. So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...
...Review, Would You Kindly?
Here, have some juicy previews.
Well, future ones at least.
Potential ones, too..
(Preview(s)
Rei tugged at his sleeve. "Might I...have a moment of your time?"
"Sure~!"
"You mentioned disguises. I'd considered growing my hair out, maybe dying it blue...
"Well, with your ice power you'd certainly be unrecognizable...
EDIT: Kudos if you get the reference.
Shigaraki kicked up his feet. "Well, I always wanted a big family...
Toya scoffed. "Big, he says. Ain't even scratching the surface there, buddy..
"Oi. What's that look in your eye?"
Nagant pounced on him.
"You can't hit me."
"Then what do you call the last five minuuuuugh?!"
Naruto lowered his smoking heel, flat blue eyes regarding the now-hero-shaped hole in the road.
"Pity." His deed done, he walked away with a merry whistle. "Alright, Tenko. Lets get going before someone like All Might shows up. Don't wanna level the neighborhood-
The girl held up a broken, bloody little bird in her hands. "Isn't it pretty?"
Naruto frowned. "What's your name...?"
She grinned at him.
"I AM HERE!"
"Aw, bugger. Book it~!"
"Look, I'm not out to start trouble. I just want to stay true to my roots. Do good where good needs doing. Stop evil where I see it. That sorta thing.
"Yo." a low, feral growl echoed behind him in the dark. "So you're the schmuck that messed with Lady Nagant's head."
They froze. "Lady Nagant? I haven't the foggiest idea who you mean. Why would I be interested in a failed-
Gold light flashed Blood spattered the walls. A squealing shriek followed.
"Her name was Kaina." Red eyes blazed in the gloom. "And she's not here to stop me right now. I ain't in the mood for your brand of bullshit...
"You fiend! You won't get away with this! You won't win!"
...I already have."
In the end, it was a matter of perspective.
How did the saying go? One man's trash is another's treasure.
She hummed softly. "That was sweet of you.
Warm lips graced his cheek.
"You have my thanks."
EDIT: Hey, you made it! Congrats! Thanks for taking the time to read this!
As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story...well...I'll not be able to continue it. With two jobs and rent to pay, my free time is...at an all time low. I can't afford to write stories that no one enjoys. So by all means, speak up! Every bit of feedback, big or small, matters here! Truly, it does! That's no joke!
Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!
~Nz.
R&R~!