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

Chapter 45

"What are you doing here?"

A single blond eyebrow was raised as Naruto took in the sight of Midoriya standing in front of her. The young teen rubbed the back of his neck, lips pressed into a nervous smile as he took a seat right beside her. The chair shuffled back and Naruto just stared at the boy that she saw as both a friend and a little boy that always needed to be protected.

"I guess I want to say good luck," Midoriya quirked a nervous smile. "But I guess you don't really need it since you and Kacchan are both quite strong."

She almost quirked her lips into a smile as the commentary of the third round echoed in the background, reminding her of what was on the line for her. Bakugou's red furious eyes stood out in the television as he fought against a smiling Tokage. The television soon switched to her own match, showcasing her blue eyes that stared at the world like they were out to get her.

'You are just an ugly fox that would be lucky if someone loves you.'

"So who are you going to cheer for: Bakugou or me?" She flashed him a fake smile and pushed back the memories of a childhood that constantly wanted to remind her of what she was.

Midoriya knitted his eyebrows and rubbed the back of his neck. "Can't I cheer for the both of you?"

"You still consider Bakugou as your friend." Surprised leaked out of Naruto's tone as she knitted her eyebrows at him and Midoriya sighed. He looked at the television screen, body leaning forward as a tiny, sad smile played on his lips. He darted his eyes from her to the television and then back to her as a sigh escaped from his lips.

"Kacchan can act like an ass and he is an ass," Naruto blinked and quirked her lips into a tiny smile as Midoriya took several deep breaths. "But he wasn't always an ass to me. There was a time when our friendship was strong but it just came crashing down because I tried to help him up from a fall."

Silence hung between them as Midoriya nibbled his bottom lip, hands running through his curly hair and Naruto looked up at the ceiling. There were no words that she could use to help him because Naruto doesn't actually know Bakugou. Sometimes there were hints of decency in him and other times, she thinks that he was scum.

"Until I offered him my hand, Kacchan wasn't the worst bully," Naruto swirled her head at him and Midoriya nodded. "He did keep reminding me about my lack of Quirk but we still played together...and that was better than what the other kindergarteners did to me."

Fondness leaked out of his voice and Naruto tilted her head. So many words were on the tip of her tongue but it felt like there was a lump in her throat stopping her from talking to him. I guess it is because I can't really talk about his foolishness of considering Bakugou as a friend. A pair of black eyes flashed before her and she knows that bonds weren't easy to be broken.

"You still admire him."

Midoriya scratched his neck and laughed. "He was the kid that could do everything right from the start and the kid that was always grabbing people's attention. It is kind of hard not to admire him, especially when I compare myself to him. He is amazing with his use of his Quirk, probably better than Todoroki-kun and he always had people praising him."

Naruto forced herself to smile at those words and squash down the swirl of ugly emotions swirling inside of her. You are not smart enough to make this score. Her throat itched as the cruel words echoed in her ear, reminding her again of the difference in the childhood that she had with Bakugou. No matter how hard she worked and studied, no one acknowledge it.

"Is it weird that I consider him as a friend?" Naruto blinked as Midoriya looked at her with head tilted to the side and eyebrows scrunched together. "Uraraka and Iida consider me strange to still think of him as a friend even though he humiliated me so many times."