'I should go home,'
Home. What a bitter thought, to consider the house with no furniture or picture frames on the wall her home. But that was the place she would be walking into after hours on a train. She reminded herself that she needed to go shopping as well since there wasn't much of anything left in the fridge. She would also have to do her homework for school that they had to assign even though they were supposed to be doing internships that-
'Since when have I started thinking about homework?' Sakura didn't do much of anything when it came to regular classes. While the others thought they were boring for hero course students, they still participated in responding to questions and doing the homework they were given. Sakura didn't bother much with anything. She took the exams with what she knew and what she heard in class, but she didn't touch a textbook or write a single note.
'Maybe I should start looking at another alternative,'
If only she could come up with one, but there was only one person she knew of that could teleport and he was a villain, because of where she stood right now, her enemy. He also worked with that psycho Tomura. If she tried to approach them, she would have to admit to being from another world. And it was no guarantee that it was even possible to open a portal back to her world like this. If Sakura used her chakra to enhance the teleport quirk, then she might have a chance, but she would have to risk exposure. And it was dangerous to do that with an enemy.
Her mind fogged her line of vision, as she stepped in front of her house. She forgot the corners she turned and the roads she crossed to get here, but she was back at that house. It seemed dim, even with the lights on….
"Why are the lights on?" Sakura put the key in and turned, only to find no resistance. "What the hell?"
The door nearly slammed off its hinges the way she pushed it open and there was a rustling flutter of feathers.
"Welcome back," Understanding that this wasn't a home invasion, Sakura's posture slackened almost completely. She didn't want to look at Keigo sitting over by the kitchen counter.
"Why are you here?"
Keigo took out his cell and showed off his call history. "When you don't reply to more than five missed calls and messages, I take that as a cry for attention. Also, you went missing more than twenty-four hours, be glad I didn't drag the commission into this,"
"They'd be on your ass about it not mine," Sakura bit out. On any other day, dealing with Keigo would be a mild inconvenience but this time it was bringing a splitting headache and chest pains. The one lead she had was for nothing and Sakura needed to start thinking of another plan. But she couldn't do that when the number three hero was present, currently taking out a bag of….
"Chicken pasta?"
"I brought dinner. Which has now become a midnight snack."
Sakura huffed, pulling off her hoody and discarding it on the floor, her shoes kicked off before she walked past Keigo and to her bedroom. And soon he heard the shower going on.
The water was almost scorching, but Sakura didn't want to adjust the temperature any further. She stood under and let the water beat down on her body. Extending the length of her hair past her shoulders-she had lost its usual choppy short length but couldn't be bothered to go to a hairdresser. Ino had been the one to manage all of her hair cuts after that first incident in the Forest of Death.
'I should ask her to fix it when I get back,' The thought made her throat burn, as she became more aware of the water splashing at her feet, feeling cooler than what the shower head was feeding her. She was conscious of leaning against the cold wall and sliding down until she was crouched under the water. Her forehead touched her knees easily.
She wasn't crying though.
To her dismay, Keigo still hadn't left after she spent nearly twenty minutes in the shower. He was putting the containers in the microwave to heat the contents. A few cold cans of soda sat on the counter in one of the places she was expected to be seated.
Keigo placed the container in front of her, he was surprised the first time to discover how much she could put away and made an embarrassing comment that Sakura couldn't care to remember now. He shuffled around as if the house was his own, when in fact it wasn't anyone's. Not his nor hers.
"Sure took a while, you didn't even dry your hair." Keigo mocked a huff as if he was scolding her. He put the container in front of her and waited.
"Do you want me to feed it to you too?" She could tell he was grinning, so she just picked up the fork and dove in without giving much thought to the taste. But that wasn't something you could control, only endure. It was good.
A small towel dropped overhead and landed on hers. Keigo called back his feather to his wings and sat at the counter digging into his meal.
"So did you have fun?"
He wanted to know where she went, but he was going in a roundabout way to get the answers. A good method to avoid clashing, a skill taught to shinobi for information gathering. When an argument starts, it's usually caused by accusations, demands and then it becomes a battle over who can talk over who the loudest which means even the simplest language becomes lost in translation from being mixed with aggression.
Sakura wasn't willing to give him the information though, even in her state of disarray, she wasn't vulnerable. "How was working with Fumikage? I silently wished him luck after I heard he was interning with you,"
Keigo gave a short laugh, he was willing to play along. The commission taught him negotiation skills since he was a child and discipline. He had to make sure that Sakura Haruno wasn't considered a flight risk or a threat. Of course, they didn't have that many opportunities for him to try and get close to her. She deliberately kept everyone at arm's length and let them know it.
'Find out everything there is to know about her Hawks, this is a crucial part of the evaluation."
"I didn't pay that much attention, he's got potential but he just couldn't keep up with me through the day. He did tell me more about the Sports Festival and the USJ attack."
'So he turned Fumikage into his carrier pigeon,' It was a shame, because Dark Shadow was incredible power, and reminded her a lot of Shikamaru's shadow ability. Maybe that sentiment made her biased?
He should feel pity for her since he knew what kind of hero she was being lined up to become. The Hero Public Safety Commission almost guaranteed it. This was a necessary line of duty, but every time they would go about finding recruits differently. Of course, the results were the same. So maybe Sakura had the potential to become a hero 'like him, she had no family, no home, no ties and she was a prodigy in comparison to the other students. Even if she deliberately slacked, that just proved she knew where to put her efforts. Otherwise, they wouldn't get results as she had at the entrance exam, or when she fought Nomu, or when she took down the Hero Killer.
Sakura's shoulders were hunched further than her usual manner-less posture, and she looked a shade paler, her eyes were dull but she moved as if nothing was stirring up inside her mind. She wasn't attempting to play victim, but she clearly did something to become like this.
He tried tracking her phone, but she turned it off, and he saw that she had gone to the train station. But rushing after her, when she was only gone for more than a day was too much. And he wouldn't tell the commission this, but if she decided to run off he wouldn't think to go chasing after her. Not everything could be perfectly controlled.
Their conversation didn't continue, and the two just sat in each other's company finishing their meal. Almost no different from sitting next to a stranger at a restaurant. They didn't even comment on the taste of their food but once it was finished, Keigo got up from his seat and left the house with a curt 'See ya kid,' and he was off.
And Sakura was grateful.
There wasn't a reason for her to be late that morning. Sakura couldn't have overslept because she didn't, and there were no incidents where people needed her help. But even after leaving twenty minutes earlier than usual, Sakura was deliberately late. When she went through the gates, the campus was quiet and the hallways echoed with her light footsteps.
And all heads were turned to her when she came into the classroom during Homeroom.
Shouta glared at her. "You're late Haruno."
"A black cat crossed my path. I went the long way around."
"Watch it."
"Yes sir."
She didn't miss Izuku, Tenya, or Shouto's stares when she came in but they were already in the middle of class so no pleasantries could be exchanged anyway. There was no need, it was finished and they were likely making it more than what it was. But she knew looks of pity when she saw it.
"You look like hell," Hitoshi stated bluntly. He watched Sakura chomp on her rice balls and inhale them. He was concerned when she didn't make any comebacks or flash even a glare. Her mood had been so foul that she didn't want to sit in the cafeteria and opted to head out to the back of the school without actually offering Hitoshi to follow, even though he had.
"So how did your internship go?"
"It was fine," Sakura stared mutely at her plate.
"I had Aizawa-sensei, so this internship was fun for me." When Sakura didn't respond, Hitoshi didn't mask his irritation any longer. "Okay, what's going on with you? I'm not going to beat around the bush to get answers, so tell me directly."
So she told him about what happened with Stain, and how the police were having them cover up the event so they wouldn't be punished for breaking the law.
"And now, some of of my classmates are more aware of my past than I want them to be,"
"The vigilantism and breaking the rules?"
"Yeah,"
"Did you see that video of him then?" Hitoshi pointed his chopsticks at her.
"What video?"
Hitoshi took out his phone and scrolled through his videos before showing one to Sakura. The video started with an eerie soundtrack and dark background, and then an image of Stain appeared, splatters of blood smearing around his image as it continued. More pictures of Stain as the police took him away that night, restrained with blank eyes.
"Hero Killer Stain, whose real name was Chizome Akaguro. All Might's debut left a deep impression on him and he set his sights on becoming a hero. He enrolled in a hero high school but was disappointed in the fundamentally depraved views of the heroes taught by the education system. He dropped out in the summer of his first year. Until the end of his teenage years, he called for a return to the old idea of heroes. Making speeches on the street until realizing that words had no power. For the next ten years to fulfill his duty, he studied and trained in killing techniques on his own."
The narrator went on to talk about how he emphasized a return to the 'old ways' heroes were once seen. For those who epitomized self-sacrifice and would not claim a reward in turn for their actions. Stain's disdain for the current system of heroes had become the root of his murders. He wanted to purge the hero's society and reconstruct the concept of a hero.
The screen flashed against and there was footage of the night Stain was arrested, Sakura saw herself in the background with Izuku and the dead Nomu. It looked like they didn't have a perfect cover-up after all.
"Someone must be dyed in blood….I must take back what it means to be a hero! Come try and get me you fake! The only one I'll let kill me is the true hero…..ALL MIGHT."
The video cut there, so Sakura's attack on Stain was at least missed. But it stopped right at that moment when Stain had a crazed look of red, his blood lust at its highest that it froze the heroes in place.
"I still get chills when I see this. It's been taken down like five times already but it keeps getting uploaded again."
Sakura sighed, pushing away Hitoshi's hand. "So stupid,"
"What do you mean?"
She tossed her hair back from her shoulder, "A loudmouth spouting whatever suits his ideals isn't worth all this attention. Especially when he uses it as an excuse to take lives that don't belong to him. Have your own goddamn beliefs if you want but don't think you can force it onto others,"
There was a sharper hitch in Sakura's tone. This video just clarified Stain as someone Sakura truly hated. Those who had such strong beliefs in their ideals and ways of life that they were willing to sacrifice others to push those ideals forward. It happened with Orochimaru, with Pain, with Madara, it was always the same. Someone has a bit more power than others, so they get complexes that make them believe they have the rights over those around them. And that even the lives of others are meaningless. The disregard and after-effects that Sakura and her friends had to endure because of this, still set her heart ablaze. Even Kaguya, who sought to destroy the entire world. Who took her away from hers.
'People like that…..I
"Hate them,"
Her flesh twisted like elastic about to snap in her chest, her muscles grew rigid and her blood felt like shards of ice trying to pierce through her bone. The pain excruciating, threw her forward, as she hit the ground Hitoshi was up. Trying to shake her out of her sudden fit. She was clenching her jaw so hard, it looked ready to crack, her brow began to run with sweat and her breathing was ragged and hard like gravel.
"Sakura! Sakura what's wrong!?"
Hitoshi looked around, trying to see if there was anyone in the secluded area walking through but no such luck at this point. He was going to have to carry her to the nurses.
"Hold on, you'll be alright, stay with me!"
Sakura didn't even feel that she was being lifted. Her only focus was on the sky and the beams of light that hit her eyes as she was shifted. The insides of her ears were filled with water, blocking out all sound. She tried to keep her jaw clenched to avoid biting down on her tongue but still tasted blood in her mouth. She wasn't sure if she was lucid enough to realize everything around her. Until she forgot when she passed out.
".…hasn't woken up?"
"She….don't know…symptoms unusual….."
"What about…..say anything?"
It was sticky, moist, with went fabric clinging to her body like a second skin, it was light but she felt immobile because of it. Her nose itched, as her breath kept hitting it, slight discomforting pressure on her face and light pinch from her finger. She sat up, removing the oxygen mask from her face, and then pulling off the blanket that had been draped over her sweating form.
She only then noticed Chiyo and Shouta standing next to the bed with disconcerted expressions that Sakura realized they must have said something and she missed it.
"How are you feeling dear?" asked Chiyo.
"Fine," She croaked out the lie. She wanted something to drink, and then to stretch out her muscles that felt as if they hadn't been used in a month.
"Try again Haruno," Shouta glared at her, his eyes turning red. She wondered when she would reveal just how pointless that ability was against chakra. A nice thought of distraction for what just occurred. She didn't see Hitoshi anywhere in the nurse's office, but from the way the sun was now shining a bright orange, it was giving its last heat before setting.
'I was out for a few hours then,' And she missed her afternoon classes as well.
"What happened?" She sighed.
"Shinsou, brought you in said you just collapsed during break. At first, it seemed like a panic attack,"
"But you were having a mild seizure," stated Chiyo. She came over to the pink-haired girl, checking her vitals, examining for any signs of damage. Opening her mouth, looking at her eyes, rolling around her neck.
"You seem fine now, but perhaps we should consider taking you to the hospital-
"I don't need it," She said hastily. It was clear that pain originated from her chest, from the wound Kaguya had dealt. Sakura didn't want anyone examining her because of this. Whatever reason, she was being affected by that injury, even after it had healed over. The reason, was something only she wanted to know.
"But you were-
"I feel just fine now, Chiyo-san,"
"Where do you think you're going Haruno?" Shouta demanded, watching her just toss herself out of the bed and head straight for the door without reason or excuse.
"I clearly missed the last bell, and besides I have work this afternoon,"
"You just had a seizure, you honestly believe you're fine to be working?"
"It's my community service, and besides I feel fine now,"
Shouta pulled on his scarf, the fabric extending like appendages. "Haruno, you aren't cleared to leave and I want to discuss the reason this happened,"
Sakura glanced behind her, "I feel just fine, school hours are over Aizawa, and I have somewhere to be. I don't have anything else to say on the subject,"
If it was another time, she would play this more carefully and go around the bush to divert attention but her priority was to leave the school and go about the rest of her day. It wouldn't do any good for her to dwell on what she didn't yet fully understand.
"Haruno, I'm your teacher and I'm not going to just let you walk out after-
She had enough. That was it for her day, if she had to listen to any more condescension from this man, she would have attacked. Instead, she raised her voice in a clear tone Tsunade used whenever she wanted to silence a room. It worked every time.
"Yes you're my teacher, and you're about to overstep your boundaries. I don't need your hovering, save that for your other students,"
The slammed door was enough time for her to get out of sight from the hallway when Shouta opened it again, calling after her.
It was quiet all around her. Not in the sense that her environment was void of noise, she just didn't give herself the capacity to attend to them. She followed her hospital duties as routinely as ever, completely lost on a straight path. Her movements were robotic, as she did her chores with her mind drifting further away.
The shock at least brought her out of her stupor about her teleport dilemma. Another solution had to exist, she just needed to figure it out.
'Yeah, just a setback, that's all,'
She didn't even confirm her theory that using chakra could enhance quirk abilities and to what extent. Other variables needed to be sorted.
'I just can't give up,'
Her phone buzzed in her pocket for the fifth time that evening, Hitoshi wanted to know how she was doing, but she hadn't answered any of his calls or messages. Sakura didn't feel for making excuses or feeding lies to him right now. And she wasn't too thrilled that he brought her to Recovery Girl in the first place, even if she was having a seizure. Which was by far one of the worst episodes she's had to date. There wasn't any reason for her to be having a seizure in the first place, at least not medically. But anything that interrupts the normal connection between nerve cells in the brain could be the reason.
Only right before that happened, she was attacked with a pain in her chest and then the seizure followed. She couldn't explain that to Chiyo without giving cause for insistence to go to a hospital for a check-up. Her emotional state right now was shaky at best and she was ready to cut the line of rationality and become an emotional wreck.
That could set her back even further if she starts making ways with more people.
Although her shift at the hospital kept her busy and would pull her mind away from those deep thoughts that plagued her, Sakura's body was still stiff as hard wax when she was done.
She wanted nothing more than to order her dinner, take a hot shower, and crawl into bed without the covers. By now she should have realized plans don't always work the way you want them to.
The locker rooms were empty when she changed, and Sakura was willing to be engulfed in the silence. But when she came under the night's sky, red and white caught her attention. Shouto waiting at the gate, despite his blank gaze, she could tell he had been waiting for her. With her shift, Sakura had opted to take care of most of the grunt work that didn't involve handling patients, for several reasons. One was that she didn't have the energy to keep a steady demeanor and maintain a calm atmosphere for the patients, which was a must consider. And second, in the back of her mind, the diligent medic with slight paranoia told her to keep well away from stress-inducing situations less she want to suffer another seizure. The chances of it happening again were slim, but even so, she didn't want to experience that again.
It was unpleasant enough to leave a bitter aftertaste.
Shouto must have come to see his mother tonight, he had been moving forward and seeing her as often as he could. Though he didn't feel the need to make up for lost time, Rei didn't feel the same way. She had been void of her son for over ten years.
"Shouto,"
"Sakura, are you heading to the station?"
"No, I'm walking the way," She said, coming past him but Shouto followed after her, a few steps behind. Although silent his presence was certainly vivid, and even though they weren't discussing anything for the next three blocks, Shouto was in step with her the entire way that she caved.
"Why are you following me?"
"I'm going this way too," He said. Shouto's indifference would make him hard to read for most people, and he was often just honest, but when he was lying it wasn't easy to tell. At least for others, it wouldn't be.
"Even so, you have something you want to say to me, so just say it,"
"I don't want to…."
"But you feel like you have to, so go ahead,"
Shouto glanced around, "I heard from Aizawa-sensei you were hurt at school, are you feeling okay now?"
Sakura gestured to herself, throwing her hand up and down, "I was working a shift wasn't I, what does that tell you?"
"You can still feel sick when you work,"
"I'm not sick," That wasn't entirely accurate, but it wasn't a concern for him to have and Sakura didn't want to give it.
"Okay,"
When Sakura did another take, she could see that Shouto wasn't as sharp as he appeared. He was smart and had good instincts in battle, but his indifference was effortless and not deliberate, and he could be naive to some of the more obvious.
"Was there something else?"
Shouto didn't break eye contact when he asked, "What do you like to eat?"
Sakura was like most girls, she appreciated a good-looking guy and one asking her out would've been a highlight. But circumstances soured the situation, and she had declined, but then Shouto asked if he could talk to her at school tomorrow and when she excused that, he asked if she was busy the afternoon and realized he wasn't going to stop until he said what he wanted.
There was a small restaurant several blocks from the train station and in the direction of Sakura's house, so they stopped there. Sakura didn't want to bring Shouto back home for dinner and he needed to take a train to get back to his house.
Because of the size, there were only two rows of tables and behind the counter, you could easily see the chef working even if you sat at the entrance, but it was a well-kept establishment and the time of day meant fewer customers.
"Do they have soba here?" Shouto asked as Sakura was the one looking through the menu.
"Yes,"
"Then I'll have that cold, with a water to drink,"
"Fine," Sakura gave in her order as well, a large bowl of ramen. She liked it enough, though not compared to Naruto who was in love with and would spend the rest of his life eating only that if he could. But it was a comforting and nostalgic meal because of the memories it had accumulated with her friends and her world.
Until the food arrived, neither spoke and when they did, Sakura was more determined to keep her mouth closed by stuffing it with hot noodles and soup. So Shouto had to take the first step.
"Iida and Midoriya wanted to talk to you today too,"
"Yeah?" She muttered but he took no offense and nodded. "What about?"
"I'm not certain but I wanted to know how you were feeling. Then Aizawa-sensei said you had to be taken to the nurse's office and wouldn't be coming to the rest of the classes,"
"I'm fine Shouto you're worrying for nothing."
"Then why did you have to go?"
"Because I had a mild seizure," It didn't matter if she was honest or not. So at any chance, she had to tell a truth that would backfire on her, she would take it. Shouto was just a classmate, and he didn't have the authority to intervene with her.
His eyes became wider after her statement, "Are you okay?"
"You asked me that already and I told you I'm fine," Though he looked ready to jump out of his seat.
"But what caused that?" A seizure was nothing to smile about, and Sakura knew that better than anyone, but what happened to her couldn't have been a normal medical phenomenon. She would deal with the damage by herself.
"I don't know, a lot of different things can cause seizures," She gave a convincing smile, one she had perfected over the years pretending that everything was fine. "It's nothing to worry about though, Recovery Girl already checked me out and I spoke to Aizawa,"
She made it sound like a promise, even though it wasn't but Shouto seemed to buy it at full price.
"That's good…if there's anything you need or-
"I'm fine Shouto, and thanks for asking. I'm surprised that you would though."
He didn't take offense to her statement, he had been cold to her even after she tried to help him and listen to his problems.
"Are you fine with my dad taking for stopping the hero killer?"
Sakura leaned back, silently asking where he came with that suddenly? "Of course not, I didn't want to be credited for that anyway, it would just be more trouble for me,"
When Shouto's lips curved up, Sakura admitted that her heart jumped to her throat. It was a breathtaking expression.
"W-What?"
"I'm glad to hear that. I thought you would be upset later because it was an accomplishment taken from you, and that's why you didn't speak to any of us today."
"I'm not that desperate for attention that I would want recognition for catching a serial killer," She's done that plenty of times already so the premise was dry at best. An aspiring hero would probably want credit for their actions because when it became their career that would determine their paycheck.
"I don't think my dad feels any shame for taking credit,"
She giggled then, so that's why he was asking. He must've been worried that his father taking the credit was making her bitter in connection to Shouto.
"Don't worry, I'm glad it happen. As long you guys were safe."
Shouto nodded, "You're really strong, Sakura."
A chuckle followed, "So I hear."