The guardian chronicles : Nirvana (Todoroki Shoto x Uzumaki Naruto)

Chapter 29

"So are we going to talk about the elephant in the room?"

Naruto raised her head from her bowl of ramen, blue eyes blinking as Jiraiya took a sip of his sake. His eyes never left hers as various customers looked up from their menu, their eyes eager to catch a glimpse of her mentor. Even though she knew Jiraiya was famous all over the world for his books, it still makes her blink whenever someone wants to see him.

She shook her head. "What elephant? Won't I notice if there is an elephant in here?"

"That might have been cute when you were twelve but we both know that you aren't dumb," Jiraiya took a sip of his sake as Naruto blinked. A small smile almost played on her lips as the girl stared at the man that she probably could consider her savior.

"I thought I could try."

Jiraiya ruffled her hair. "I probably would have fallen for it if your teacher didn't mention that you got the highest score in your entrance exam to your school."

She nibbled her bottom lip as a pair of black eyes focused on her. No emotions shone through them but from the way he kept glancing at the other high school students, Naruto presumed that he had questions for her. She inhaled a deep breath, straightened her back and waited for the barrel of questions that was definitely going to be thrown her way.

"So you decided to become a Hero," Jiraiya kept his tone light and easy as if they were discussing about the weather then the fact she was drifting away from the path of a shinobi. Naruto chewed on the inside of her cheek, pushing her noodles back and forth as black eyes stared at her with concern.

She gulped down her soda. "I don't know."

Jiraiya blinked and Naruto wondered what he expected her to say. Did he think she knew what she was doing? Did he honestly believe she wanted to remain a kunoichi? She nibbled her bottom lip and waited for him to say something. Was he going to try and convince her to stay a kunoichi? Because it had never been her choice. All the things she done was because of acknowledgment, because she wanted to make her dead parents proud.

"Then why did you join?"

"My teacher thought it would be a waste for me to work in a café full time," Naruto admitted. Jiraiya blinked as the blond-haired girl took a sip of her soda, her lips pushing the glass back and forth. "He says I'm a bright child with a bright future ahead of myself. So he suggested I either become a Hero or a Policewoman."

Jiraiya bobbed his head. "But why a hero?"

"More money I guess," Naruto shrugged. "Maybe because I can fight and rescue people? I don't really know but I just know I like it more than the idea of being a kunoichi."

Silence reined between them as black eyes grew large at her admission. She nibbled her bottom lip as her body tensed up for the words that were definitely going to come. It felt like time was slowing down as her teacher opened and closed his mouth, just staring at her like she was insane. Maybe she was insane but she doesn't want to be a kunoichi.

She never wanted to be a kunoichi for the right reasons.

"You can't stop being a kunoichi, Naruto." Jiraiya lowered his voice and flickered his eyes at the various people coming in and out of the ramen stand. "You might be exiled from Konoha but this hasn't evoked your rights as a kunoichi. If the village is ever in trouble then you need—"

"—And I will," Naruto cleared her throat and inhaled. "But I don't have to be a shinobi to protect the village."

Death to traitors.

That was one of the shinobi rules they were forced to memorize as kids and Naruto knew she could never kill someone. How could she allow herself to kill someone? Even if they were traitors. She sucked in a deep breath as Jiraiya stared at her with concern. Her heart clenched and her throat burned as the deceased Yakuza members flashed before her eyes.