Kunoichi amongst Heroes (mha x naruto) (naruto crossvoer) (bnha)

After the villain attack at the USJ, the school had been closed the following day to give students a brief reprieve and a chance for the faculty to talk with the police and look into their security systems. Of course, the news was widespread within a few hours after the incident, it had become the biggest topic next to All Might's teaching at U.A. which was in connection to what happened. It wasn't just the school that was looking into its security.

The same day, Sakura received an unwelcome visit from the Hero Public Safety Commission later that night when she would usually receive her curfew call. Sakura barely gave those calls any base. And now there was an agent in the living room area, questioning her about the event. "We've read the police report and all the student's statements,"

"Alright, then why did you need to come here and question me about everything again?" Sakura asked, folding her arms at the stern-faced agent.

"According to reports, you were battling with the villains leading the attack. Which you have avoided discussing since we began,"

"I stalled for time, and I fought villains like the rest of my class. Nothing stands out worth mentioning,"

"How about injuring the villain's ringleader or your ability to create clones of yourself and your disregard in mentioning that on your forms?"

Sakura didn't flinch. Just starring back at the man. Explaining chakra to people who were mistaking her power for quirks in a world where no one could use the energy was a headache she wasn't looking forward to, nor a discussion she wanted to initiate. They couldn't torture it out of her. Though it seemed that currently, they weren't all that interested in her quirk because the topic was dropped soon as mentioned.

The agent frowned, his eyes harsh. "In any event, with this development, the commission has decided that from now on your curfew will be pushed back an hour early and as for the weekly checks, there will be a supervisor specially assigned to take care of that instead of different agents. They will introduce themselves soon,"

"Wonderful," Sakura frowned. Who were they going to send to babysit her this time?

"And of course there's another matter to discuss,"

"What's that?"

"The U.A. Sports Festival,"

Although Sakura hadn't seen any of the previous recordings, she knew that the Sports Festival hosted by U.A. was a grand event that the entire country looked forward to each year. Hitoshi explained that depending on the results of the festival, it was a chance for students to get transferred into the hero course. Pro heroes also took this as a chance to scout students, for internships and side-kick opportunities after graduation. Sakura received the whole break down of the Sports Festival from the HPSC. Apparently, they were expecting results from her, while she asked if she could skip the event. Her question was shot with harsh criticism. If she wasn't willing to put in the effort they expected, she would have to face consequences, that stemmed

"What's with the sour face?" asked Hitoshi observing the pinkettes scrunched nose and furrowed brow, knitting together. She was closed to stabbing her plate broken with her chopsticks.

"Just thinking,"

Raising a thin eyebrow, Hitoshi asked. "About the villain attack?"

"No, but that has been blown a bit out of proportion,"

"The incident where a big group of villains broke into a secure hero training facility to kill the number one hero and attacked the students?"

"Yes," She answered immediately.

"By chance did the shock from the villain attack scramble your brain?"

Sakura snorted, gulping her soda before she swallowed down four pieces of sashimi. "Oh please. They were mainly comprised of grunts who didn't know how to fight. There were only three that were worth noting,"

"For a first-year class to take on villains though, is still impressive,"

He wasn't wrong, since so many of them were just starting to experience what real battle was. It was praiseworthy that everyone came out with no severe injuries. It was a shame for their teachers though who fought to protect them despite this. It was the leaders who had caused the most damage though. And that Nomu. Now he was someone Sakura found thoroughly disturbing, unchanging eyes, void. Reminded her of the human puppets Sasori made.

"I guess, you're right," Sakura swirled her noodles between her chopsticks, glancing around the cafeteria. "Did your teacher mention the Sports Festival in homeroom?"

Despite being severely injured, and having both of his arms in casts Shouta had come to school today to talk about the Sports Festival with the class. It was an important focus for hero course students because of scouting. It was also a start for creating their image as future pro heroes. Some had voiced their concerns about having the festival after villains attacked, but Shouta assured that they were going to have heavier security and that this was a method to prove to the public eye that their crisis management system was solid.

Sakura didn't know if that was true or if it was just going to be for a showing. Either way, the Sports Festival was going to happen in a few weeks and everyone was given an advance to prepare.

It was all her classmates wanted to talk about after lessons and she couldn't relate. Tenya was even doing a weird dance to shows his excitement and Ochaco was raving with an expression that did not fit her demeanor.

"Yeah, we've had a briefing," Hitoshi said. "Although our teacher didn't seem to think it was anything too noteworthy for general studies students. And my classmates weren't interested either. Well, that's to be expected,"

Sakura slurped up her noodles, looking at him with stuffed cheeks, "You are though. After hearing about the villain attack, are you worried about facing off against the other students?"

"You know my quirk,"

Sakura nodded, "Brainwashing, but do you have any prior combat training?"

"Why would I? That's the whole point of a hero course,"

To be transferred into the hero course, a person would have to make an impression and stand out among the other students to be recognized for their potential but even though her classmates were unfamiliar with real-world combat they were resilient and strong. Not the type to be underestimated. Even though Hitoshi's quirk was strong against people, it wasn't impossible to counter. And if someone figured out how his quirk worked, then he would be at a disadvantage when his quirk was the only arrow in his quiver.

"Then that's something to consider….Want me to help you?"

Hitoshi pulled his lips downwards, "You?"

"Hey!"

"No, I mean what's the point? It doesn't matter with my quirk,"

"I'd say it's the exact opposite," Sakura poked Hitoshi's side, "There are different rounds and you want to make it to the finals don't you?"

"Yes," The games were different each year, but they relied a lot on physical ability and athleticism. Then the finals would pin students against each other one on one. If he made it, that's when he would be able to show off his quirk, but otherwise to get through the other obstacles. "I want to become a hero, it's my dream. And I'll do whatever I have to achieve it, even with my quirk,"

"So? What do you say? Let me help you?"

It was strange. Here Sakura had no interest in being a hero, but she was willing to help Hitoshi to become one. He shared a dream with so many of her classmates, and it may have been that he was rejected because of his quirk and the impracticality of the entrance exam that made her want to help him. And it would give her a reason to look forward to the festival.

Hitoshi smirked, "I'll think about it,"

"Okay then,"

They only ate in silence for a few minutes before, Hitoshi said something that had her choking on her food. "By the way, this afternoon, I'm declaring war on your class."

"That's a bad joke right?"

He didn't answer.

It was like being on the other end of an exhibit; heads peering over the fence or pressing against the class of an enclosure at the zoo. That's the best way Sakura could describe what happened at the end of that school day. Students from different classes crowding the halls and blocking the exit. Curious about the students that survived the villain attack at the USJ. Everything was more or less fine until Katsuki called them out, defining them as 'extra's' and then Hitoshi came to declare war on the class, threatening to steal their seat if they were too arrogant. Sakura didn't wait for the students to disperse not break Hitoshi's rhythm with friendly banter, needing to get to the hospital for her shift.

'Guess it wasn't a joke,'

After the attack, Sakura was excused from her shifts at the hospital for two days. Her supervisors worried about her emotional state after the incident even when she insisted on coming in. The police had taken some time to question the class about their experience and that took up the rest of their day and then the following she was excused as well to 'get herself together'. They couldn't exactly risk any emotional distress from their staff. Even though they needn't be concerned about her.

When Sakura came back, her supervisor called her in and they had an hour-long counseling session to assess if her mental health had taken any damage. And passing with ease, she was able to get back to her rounds. Some of the other staff bombarded her with questions about it until Dr. Takashima came to chase them away. Of course, it wasn't just the staff that was aware of what happened.

"Don't mind them, everyone heard about the attack and they just want to know if the media is hiding any details about the fight," Takashima explained.

"Well, they were telling the truth. The villains snuck in just to try and take down All Might and none of us were injured, thanks to the teachers,"

"I heard you kids were something else. Will probably be the main attraction this year at the Sports Festival,"

Sakura gave a wry smile, "So you watch that too?"

"Of course! It's a highlight. Considering that you need to participate, don't you want more off days?"

If she had a choice, Sakura wouldn't have even thought about attending the Sports Festival. "I appreciate the offer, but there's no need,"

"Mmm, well I'll just give you more off days anyway,"

"You don't have to-

"Sakura," The woman crossed her arms, "You're a first-year in one of the top high schools in the country and you're volunteering at the hospital. Your plate is too full for someone as young as you. And I know this Sports Festival is important for hero course students to get scouted. So you should be allowed to focus on that as much as possible. It's only two weeks,"

When Sakura was training under Tsunade, she had combat training and chakra training, practicing medical ninjutsu and studying medicine, as well as working at Konoha's hospital. And with a teacher that was the leader of the village, she couldn't compromise on her sessions. No matter the time of day or night. There was also a lackluster interest in this festival. She was only attending due to explicit demands. But she decided against voicing this.

"Thank you,"

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"Are you doing alright Sakura?"

"Of course Rei-san, there's no need to worry. Our whole class got away practically unscathed,"

Rei nodded, but there was still worry in those star gray eyes. "I heard from Fuyumi that Shouto wasn't harmed either, but even so you were there…."

"He got away without a scratch," Sakura assured, smiling pleasantly. Explaining from the point where she had been rejoined with Shouto, Eijiro, and Katsuki. She kept out some of the morbid details, only meaning to assure Rei that her son returned from a dangerous situation without difficulty or injury. Sakura already took into account that she was talking to a mother and that facts needed to be displayed as clear as possible to give complete satisfaction.

"Thank you, for telling me this Sakura,"

"Of course,"

When it came to missions, Sakura's parents didn't ask for the details and would just welcome her back. She'd talk about it with her friends, report to Tsunade or Kakashi, but she'd never fully explained to her parents about some of the horrific things that happened on her missions. Ninjas were a regular part of life and she chose to take on the role, her parents accepted that but even so, no parent enjoyed listening to their child coming close to death so many times.

The day before the war, when she had to depart she and her mother got into one of their arguments about her being untidy and her room being in a state of disaster. Sakura had said she would clean it when she got back so easily.

Now they probably thought she was another result of the war. One among the thousands that lost their lives in battle, her name probably carved into a stone another empty grave. That was often the fate of a ninja. When this is the path you choose to walk, an acceptance of death is eventually achieved. Once that barrier is overcome, you won't hesitate because of it. Of course, your death and a comrade can have different standards. As they did for her.

She glanced at the window, out to the sunset. 'I wonder if mom cleaned my room yet?'

It would only be two weeks to prepare for the Sports Festival and everyone was trying to use as much of that period to prepare for it. Sakura knew that everyone wanted to make an impression on heroes scouting, but seeing their determination was something else. Many students spent their afternoons, early mornings, and weekends booking time in the school's gyms, pools and training areas. Sakura decided to use one of her off days to use the forest grounds, dragging a hesitant Hitoshi who had been ignoring her requests to prepare.

The school had different areas, similar to the USJ but on a more expansive platform. The smell of oak, shading canopies, fauna scurrying through the trees, all these ingredients were a mixture for nostalgia. Breathing in, Sakura stretched out her arms, puffing her chest.

"It's nice here,"

Hitoshi looked around, eyes strongly disagreeing with the setting. "Why are we out here?"

"Because I've tried to get you to join me for training three times already and you kept ditching," Sakura deliberately didn't answer the obvious question.

"My quirk is brainwashing, how can you even train that? It's not going to get stronger the more I use it,"

Hitoshi was like a lot of the students here; especially the ones in the hero course. Dependant on their quirks to succeed. With her power, even Sakura could relate to that a lot, but she had more variety with chakra and that wasn't something that people in this world had. A lot of the hero course students were still lacking in basic combat ability right now and that was something Hitoshi would be able to use to his advantage, but as far as physical attributes went they surpassed his own.

"Okay well then, shouldn't you be looking to strengthen yourself? I don't know much about the Sports Festival but it sounds like a lot of physical activity,"

"Yes, and I plan on getting through with my power alone,"

Rubbing the creases on her brow, Sakura said, "You told me that your quirk can only be activated when you get someone to respond to you. If you're going to use that throughout the games, by the time you get to the finals, someones going to figure out your weakness,"

He had already told her this before. When Hitoshi spoke to someone and they responded verbally, he was able to activate his brainwashing quirk, however, if someone wanted to break out it would only take a certain amount of force. That's where his weakness was, his target needed to respond to him and to keep them under his control, they couldn't be hit by outside forces.

At the very least, Sakura wanted to help Hitoshi get ready for this because she had seen her classmates and most of them were aiming for the top. With their first real battle also under their belt, it would be that much harder to make them stutter. Hitoshi wasn't understanding this.

"Look, if someone realizes how your quirk works you're going to be at a disadvantage here. Brainwashing is an amazing ability, but you're not going to be able to display it if your opponent knows its coming,"

"You'd be surprised how easy it is to rile up and get people to respond," Hitoshi shrugged. "I know how to use my quirk Sakura. I won't let my opponent get a chance to strike,"

It couldn't be forgotten that Hitoshi had grown up in this world and it was one that praised the supernatural. It's what made individuals-individuals. And to be able to show that off was like displaying a proud talent only you possessed. However sometimes with supernatural powers came neglect of human's own natural potential. She wanted to show Hitoshi that if you kept swinging with your right, the left wasn't going to get any better. And if you lost the right, you might as well have lost both because you couldn't use the left as well.

"Hitoshi, have you ever encountered someone who could break your brainwashing on their own?"

He shook his head, "That's not possible, an outside force is the only way to counter my brainwashing and you can't do that when you're already trapped by my quirk,"

Sakura nodded, pulling her lips into her mouth before releasing with a pop, "Okay, then let's give it a try,"

Hitoshi frowned, "You want me to use my quirk on you? That's a first,"

No one had ever willingly asked him to demonstrate his quirk. When most people heard about it, they tended to become distant, barely respond with verbal cues, and in worse cases avoid him altogether like he was a leper. Despite their smiles, fear would enter their eyes when they requested him not to ever use his quirk on them. And now there was someone crazy enough to request it.

"Another reason we're in the forest, if you make me do anything stupid there's no one around to see it," Sakura grinned. Her intention is not just to make Hitoshi understand the importance of not relying too much on his quirk, but also to find out if she could be taken in by someone with power similar to Hitoshi's. And if, as a genjutsu type, she was going to be able to break free on her own.

"Do your classmates know their representative is crazy?"

Sakura shrugged, "I'm sure some of them thought it,"

And that's when a fog fell over Sakura's eyes, not realizing that Hitoshi had activated his quirk until she couldn't move her body. The experienced was something similar to trying to wake up from sleep paralysis only to barely jolt before falling unconscious again and repeating the cycle. It wasn't like Ino's mind control because Sakura was still partially awake and aware of what she was seeing. It was just like a veil was thrown over her face and her brain was no longer in tune with her body.

"This is what I meant. Once I've got someone under my control, they can't break free on their own," Hitoshi said, clenching his fist. "It doesn't matter how strong the other students are. I'll reach the top with my quirk, just watch me,"

'I get it now, this haze is something similar…..' Although she wasn't' able to control her body. Sakura was still aware of the world around her and Hitoshi's words. And her chakra was still under her control. Just like when breaking a genjutsu, she focused her chakra on her frontal lobe. Her eyes that were clouded over' filled with light.

"You're right, that quirk of yours is strong. I was worried for a bit," Her voice startled Hitoshi that he jumped and slipped on the forest ground.

"What the-How are you? That's impossible!"

Sakura stuck out her tongue, "Surprise,"

Her friend's face was creased, "I don't understand. How could you break free from that?"

"It's probably that people with a certain mental fortitude can undo the brainwashing. I've trained for a while against abilities like yours and with my powers I'm usually able to break free from them,"

It wasn't a total lie on her part. Hitoshi, like everyone else in this world, didn't know how her power actually worked. Despite considering him a friend, Sakura was still far from confiding in him. She had trained to counter and use genjutsu, which was a type of advanced hypnosis and Hitoshi's brainwashing was much weaker than Ino's mind control jutsu because Sakura was still aware of herself in that state. She was just glad Inner Sakura didn't burst out, or she'd have to find a way to play off the possibility of mild personality disorder.

"You said one of your friends could use mind control too," Hitoshi muttered, tugging at the twigs on the ground and tossing them. Still displeased with the discovery.

"I've gotten a lot of practice you could say," Sakura sat down in front of him, "You don't have to look so concerned. I'm sure that there is a limited number of people who could counter your brainwashing on their own. But the point I'm trying to make is, you can't determine what will happen in the Sports Festival and the environment won't always be ideal for your quirk. That's why having countermeasures is important, especially if you're serious about being a hero,"

"I am! But I'm not going to make some drastic change in just two weeks!"

"Then don't waste this time! Use it to get as strong as you can so you can do as much as you can and show those heroes your potential," Sakura mentally cringed at words. She was basically just paraphrasing what her teachers and her classmates were saying about the Sports Festival. She still would've liked to stay at home that day and maybe watch it on her laptop. Being caught on camera so far hasn't done her any favors.

"You're right Sakura. But even you have to realize how little time I have to improve on anything,"

Sakura gripped his shoulder, "Tell you what; since you're willing to do anything to make it in this sports festival you're free to use me to your advantage,"

"What?"

"Well," Sakura leaned back, "I'm not really into this thing, I don't care about being scouted but I have to attend. So, let me carry you through the rounds whenever you need me to, and for now, you'll train your body to be stronger for the festival,"

"Why would you do something like that for me?"

He didn't mean to sound hostile, but he couldn't fathom any reason for Sakura to go out of her way like this and offer to carry him through when she had herself to think about.

"Because it's your dream to be a hero and frankly you'd appreciate the opportunity more than me,"

As if the forest was moved by her words as much as Hitoshi; the wind picked up to a warm breeze, letting the leaves fall like a gentle rain.

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Three days before the Sports Festival, the anticipation of Sakura's classmates could not be masked. Everyone was looking ahead to this event, determined and anxious. Classes were often filled with silence, due to wandering minds, eyes always glancing at the clock, waiting for the day to end, despite the effort to keep parts in the present. Sakura didn't think she could have felt more out of place. She hadn't done anything special for her training, but that didn't mean she wasn't preparing for the sports festival.

"No, shift your foot like this for balance. You don't have to lunge," Sakura instructed Hitoshi as he attempted to get into a defensive position. The time given to prepare for the Sports Festival was almost nonexistent. While Hitoshi's brainwash was strong, her friend didn't measure well physically against the hero course students. Although they were novices, her classmates were not weak.

Learning more about the Sports Festival, the rounds always consisted of some kind of physical activity until the one on one matches in the finals.

"Why is it so important to get this right again?" Hitoshi felt a drop of sweat fall uncomfortably from his forehead, down his face. He had been going through basic forms of defense with Sakura and had been doing training to increase his stamina with a bit of cardio. Although Sakura told him that the results would be minor due to the time frame.

"This can help you with leverage against a stronger opponent," Sakura started to push against Hitoshi's arms that he held in front of him, with a limited force to demonstrate the strength of his posture. He was still pushed back but he wasn't losing his balance. "Of course there's a limit to how much force you can take. When up against a stronger opponent, speed and agility are good counters. If your opponent throws all their weight into an attack, speed can be a method using that strength against them,"

Hitoshi had stopped asking too many questions about Sakura's training techniques. She had already pointed out to him that physically all of her classmates were superior and that alone could easily determine the outcome of a fight, not even looking at their quirks. If Hitoshi couldn't get some of them to respond, he would have used the only arrow in his quiver and miss the target. So Sakura was trying to help him cover his weaknesses. That didn't mean their sessions were silent.

"I've got to watch out for their quirks too don't I? None of this is going to matter if I can't do that,"

"It's why we're also focusing on dodging and your reflexes," Sakura quipped. It was one of their main focuses, but Hitoshi was still having trouble in that area. He couldn't withstand a barrage, becoming overwhelmed quickly due to a lack of stamina.

In terms of speed, agility, and strength he was lacking compared to the hero course students. Hitoshi had intended to rely solely on his quirk to get him through the obstacles and it was only recently that Sakura proved it wasn't an impenetrable power. One of the biggest weaknesses she pointed out was that he needed the element of surprise to maintain his advantage and the Sports Festival presented a lot of exposure, coupled with the different rounds they needed to pass to get to finals. There would be a lot of opportunities for Hitoshi's quirk to be revealed and his weaknesses exposed.

"Looks like our time's up," Sakura observed the clock in the gymnasium. They agreed to stop at thirty to twenty minutes before homeroom for a break. Because of her schedule, Sakura couldn't give a lot of time to helping Hitoshi after school, so she decided that for that period, she would come to school in the mornings to help him train for two hours.

"Let's go back then,"

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Sakura glanced at the time on her phone. still had five minutes to spare after changing, even though the first bell already went she wasn't in a rush to get to homeroom, unlike Hitoshi who warned her that her homeroom teacher was going to call her out for being tardy. Too bad it wouldn't be anything new.

She sat on the concrete bench offering the most sunlight, bathing in its warmth before she would have to return to a desk. Reading whatever book caught her attention. Most students were already in the building, heading to class so she could enjoy the serene view of the magnificent campus uninterrupted.

Although it didn't last long.

Even from the corner of her eye, it was impossible to miss the distinct red and white head of hair walking past without so much as a glance of indifferent familiarity. As far as Sakura could recall, Shouto would be silently in his desk by now. Rei had continued to ask Sakura about him, but there was hardly any change in the information she was able to share. Having personal information about someones day to day life and actions without actually interacting with them was borderline stalking, and Sakura refused to cross that line.

Shouto was trying to create indentations in the ground despite the brisk speed of his steps. His eyes narrowed, hair casting a shadow over them, his jaw clenched like he was biting into the source of his anger with no intention of letting go.

She followed after him, her footsteps unheard and her presence unnoticed that when she spoke, he jolted slightly, but otherwise didn't even look back or stop to acknowledge her.

"Hey Shouto, are you okay?" By now her classmates were aware that Sakura wasn't calling any one of them by their last names. It wasn't common practice in her world; even her sensei's she referred to by their first names. Despite how some practices in this country and her world were almost parallel. It may have had something to do with the warring eras in her world, where shinobi weren't allowed to give their last names for fear of retaliation outside of combat. That may have been the source of the habit.

He didn't look back, he kept walking forward. Sakura didn't deter just yet though and kept pace behind.

Shouto wasn't excentric like her other classmates, his demeanor was cold and he didn't interact with anyone unless it became mandatory. He rarely had an opinion on anything in class or commented. When a teacher would ask him a question in class, he'd answer and follow up with silence. It was a very similar pattern to Sasuke's behavior at the academy and even as a gennin. But at the same time, he wasn't completely without comment or sarcasm, some form of juvenile quips that were usually brought out from Naruto's presence.

Still, he had that far off look on his face right now. Of someone carrying a heavy load, focused on keeping their shoulders straight, eyes either looking ahead or behind, ignoring the rest of the world.

Again she called, "Hey Shouto, what's wrong?"

This time he stopped, "Why are you following me?"

"We're in the same class," Sakura answered casually although she knew that wasn't the answer he wanted and it wasn't the words he meant to use. In an attempt to hide his discontent, and stop her from prodding was the reason for his question. "What's wrong?"

"Why do you keep asking that?"

"Because it looks like something's bothering you,"

He huffs softly and she couldn't help but think it was a shame that his change in facial expressions had to border on the negative. "It's not any of your business,"

The fact that he was becoming agitated just proved to Sakura that this was something because the first time he faced off against villains he was hardly phased by anything, aside from the ringleaders but he was quick to recover.

"Maybe, but even so we are classmates, and you look upset, so I'd like to help somehow," She couldn't bring up her suspicions for the cause of his sour attitude, thinking it may be family-related. Admitting that you knew about someone's personal, troubling past that they may not want to be brought out in the light for strangers to see, would just throw fuel to that flame. And she couldn't even confirm if that was the reason.

"Don't, I'm not here to play friends. So don't bother me with prying, you're just being irritating,"

With a soft breath, Sakura walks past him, a small smile on her face. "Alright, but if you ever change your mind…"

She doubted he would but when she looked at his downcast eyes, Sakura felt too much sympathy to be triggered with anger. Not like this was the first time the hand she offered was slapped away. And it probably wouldn't be the last.

This wasn't something she'd be telling Rei about though.

After the one night checks up, Sakura would go take on the identity of Nemesis and go to the underground fights for most of the week depending on what type of event was happening and where. She had even managed to get access to the deepest part of the black market and had placed a few shipment orders for herbs and ingredients to start making her soldier pills and poisons and antidotes.

She was using the money she earned fighting rather than her allowance from the commission. With the technology in this world, it was possible to track financial payments, especially from an account.

If she was going to survive, she needed to be thoroughly prepared. That was apparent after her encounter with those villains.

Nemesis was earnestly winning in every underground fight around Tokyo. Every night appearing where the competition was high as were the rewards for tearing through them. And then spending it on medicinal herbs and ingredients as Sakura Haruno. Extensive research had turned into a genuine fascination with this world's medical knowledge and treatments. Most were similar but with the advanced technology and no medical ninjutsu to mention along with healing quirks being a rarity, there were also great differences. Now Sakura had mountains of medical books to occupy her time instead of just studying the regular curriculum for school. Which according to Hitoshi she should do if she didn't want to cram for midterms.

She didn't forget the primary reason for her research. With her ears low to the ground, she was able to find several stores that were selling the herbs she needed. There were a lot of items that she couldn't get a hold of through regular channels as there were many laws and regulations with this kind of trade.

There were always warnings received about being out at night alone and even in Sakura's world, those warnings were heeded. There was a curfew set but she preferred to go out at night. In the city it was a lively world of chaos for the senses, something to distract at every turn, this was the only time you could get lost in your thoughts and with her current schedule, she had limited daytime that equated to free time.

But this was also the time villains would come out of the shadows, as if the night expanded their territory. For Sakura, this was just the best time to go shopping to indulge in her practice as a medical ninja. Even if it meant running into some trouble along the way, by now she knew how to navigate around the vigilante system.

Or so she thought.

Returning from one of the stores, she had been haggling for over five minutes, three minutes that she thought necessary but it was due to the additional advertising for products she didn't need. Both hands were occupied with a plastic bag. Her oversized hoody drawn over her face blocking the cold air.

'Damn those guys were persistent in showing me a bunch of crap,' Sakura huffed.

Even at this time of night, the streets still had vehicles riding around, it didn't stop no matter the time just flowed differently. Still, to keep a low profile, Sakura took the routes through secluded areas, places with roadblocks, high scale renovations, the labyrinths of alleyways that are formed from the groups of buildings and homes, it gave less chance of running into heroes or the police. And more chances of running into villains looking to jump any fool who would wander those areas at night.

But Sakura was no fool.

She was about to take the turn off into the alleyway and that's when the hairs on the back of her neck stood up and a chill ran down her spine. The same feeling she would get whenever she felt like eyes were lingering for too long, but this was sudden, like a shock wave of that feeling. She didn't process what she did until after her body had turned with a quick whirl.

She glanced around, left, right, behind, and in front. There was nothing. Then she looked up, into the blackened sky. Greeted by the tips of buildings, some lit up others dark. But there was nothing.

'Did I just imagine that?'

Instead of lingering to wonder, already realizing it was a mistake to give away the assumption, she took a sharp turn between buildings, stepping over garbage bags, listening to the rats scurry along the sides, keeping away from any source of light. Waiting for that feeling to return.

Unknown to Sakura, that shiver of honed instinct was not paranoia. The distance was far above the skyscrapers, making even the large vehicles look like illuminated ants running in their lanes. The night's wind and altitude provided the perfect sound barrier for the melodious beats of heavy feathers and a plain night sky was hardly anything to look at when the city shone brighter than it.

An amused voice uttered to its lonesome self within that area. "She looked up. Did I maybe stare too hard?"

It was always eerie entering this part of the city, navigating through the maze of buildings to get to the main road, then it was just a bridge cross and a few neighborhood blocks away to get back home. It was a complex journey but it was better than the straight paths, out in the open. The assortment of structures always stilled the wind and made the world fall deaf. Everything seemed half-lit, and usually bereft of noise. However, it didn't stay that way.

Alleyways were like long grass for predators, excellent cover, difficult to escape, and gave more opportunity for ambushes. It wasn't the first time it happened and it wouldn't be the last. She had drawn attention, her size, and the lone figure would do that in this place, clutching a plastic bag in hand. Yet she strolled like she was taking a walk through the park on a Saturday. The shifting tar, stew of litter, and bricks bouncing echoes did nothing to mask the ever-growing footsteps.

Soon she was surrounded. Twelve in total, some with steel or iron weapons glistening in the dim light. It was a bigger number than usual. Most alley-dwelling villains were solo acts. Mostly because of the poor quality of their criminal performances.

"Drop the bag,"

She didn't and that triggered the attacks. One lunges, she pivots and knocks him on the back of his neck, hard enough to put him to sleep for over twenty-four hours. The remaining eleven jump at her together.

But it wasn't possible to hit her at once. Closing in the distance, they didn't seem to even realize that their movements were hindered. Only four to six would manage a hit from all sides. It was the best way to deal with large groups, remain at the center to keep control.

But she didn't bother.

Leaping over their heads, Sakura let the string of attacks continue. Still clutching her bag and careful not to jostle since she had some glass and liquid in there too. This group likely hasn't been together very long, attacking without coordination, as individuals. Making it easy for Sakura to subdue them one at a time.

There were only five remainings, and all were ready to jump at her. Sakura wasn't able to counter because she didn't need to. A flash of red lines, swept through the air hooking into their clothing and pinning them down, small indentations made in the fabric. Sakura looked closer to see what it was.

"Feathers?" Red feathers. She went on high alert to the presence appearing not too far behind, hooking her fingers into two shuriken and throwing them behind.

"Whoa, easy there don't want to attack the hero right?"

The muggers became obsolete compared to the shadow that was looming over her now. Most of his form distorted the light making it difficult to decipher smaller details, but she was certainly caught by narrow golden eyes behind the light reflecting through the shade. The figure held up by massive wings spanning wide that it made the alleyway more confined. Blonde, hair slightly scruffy and while she had been in this world long enough to know this, she still had to give a guess.

"A hero?"

"You have to ask even though I said it?" She heard the amusement in his tone and it triggered her annoyance but she didn't want to give away her identity by acting rash. Not in front of a hero that would report her appearance to the police and in turn, they'd report to the commission, and then she'd get nothing but a long lecture and probably more restrictions. Thus Sakura shifted her hood closer to her face.

"How long have you been watching?"

"From the beginning, since those guys tailed after you,"

"And you decided to just stand back and enjoy the show?" Taking a step back as the winged hero planted his feet on the ground still not quite at eye level.

"Of course not, I was just about to swoop in when you started fighting. Not bad for an amateur,"

Sakura gripped her bag, putting her tone to a higher pitch of empty sweetness "Thank you so much for saving me! But shouldn't you be alerting the authorities?"

"Oh yeah, already called for pick up, should be here in a few minutes," He smirked. Sakura wanted to use the hero's need to call the police for an arrest to allow her to slip subtly away. It seemed this hero was intent on preventing that. The question is why?

'Who is this guy?' She paused, recalling where she had seen those red wings before, articles online, videos recommended based on her researching heroes. She didn't dive into the articles about this person, as he was of little interest to her but she could finally recall the face and put a name to it.

"Hawks,"

"Hey yeah, you finally got it!" He leaned closer and she moved back. He looked at the bag in her hand, as the pinkette clutched it tighter to hide the contents, "Doing a bit of late-night shopping?"

"Yeah," It's not like that was a crime to go shopping. Location was the problem but it didn't have anything to do with the attack so Sakura was certain it wouldn't be brought to attention.

"So where are you coming from?"

Sakura frowned, barely seen under the shadow of her hoody, "The store,"

"Which store?"

"Is that important since I was attacked outside?" Her stomach churned when she glanced into Hawks's eyes. He was smiling, and when she looked at his whole face it seemed to hide that glimmer, like it blended subtly into the canvas of his face, hiding that imperfection to his demeanor. She barely saw it for a second before it was gone, blurring.

Hawks laughed, "Ah, that's true sorry about that,"

Sakura resumed her route, wanting to return home as quickly as possible without anyone discovering her identity. It was bad enough that a hero who shouldn't be in this area had come to her 'rescue' but if the police learned her identity she'd be reported to the HPSC.

It hadn't been that long since she agreed to cooperate under their terms and it was already working her nerves from day one. There were times she even considered moving out of that house and going into hiding until she could find a way back home instead. Sometimes it seemed like the better option.

'Grass does always look greener,'

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'm going home-again that's so much for saving me,"

"Don't you want to wait for the police,"

No, she didn't; nor did she want to stay in close proximity to the hero. If he was going to try and keep her here, she was going to make sure that the police arrived to the villains and a hero laying on the ground.

"No thank you, I just want to get home,"

Hawks sighed, "Would you wait for the police to arrive? Then I'll gladly escort you home,"

Sakura rolled her eyes under the hood, "I appreciate it, but I'd rather get home as soon as possible. If you'll excuse me,"

She could hear the smirk by his tone of voice, "You know I thought you were a bit of a badass for taking on those villains but you sure changed your tone quickly when you found out you were talking to a hero so I guess not huh? Isn't it interesting how quickly someone changes their face and voice when they become more aware of someone's station? All trying to work the system of perception. It's an important part of functioning in society but it's such crap. It's like watching a show; so amusing. What do you think?"

Sakura stopped for a moment, taking in Hawks' words and nearly about to confront them when she realized her mistake before she put a smile to her own voice, "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you're saying. But I really want to head home now, so can I?"

Hawks went back to an overly chipper tone, grinding against Sakura like sandpaper. "Sure thing! You be careful out there now,"

When Sakura was certain she was far enough and that the hero wasn't following her, she took off, leaping from the buildings to get home. Hawks had gotten under her skin so quickly, she wanted to claw and pull him out, so much that she no longer questioned why the number three hero was there when his base of operations was somewhere else?

'That should be the last I see of him,'

Sakura knew about the concept of jinxing, but she didn't give it much attention, although she was beginning to think that in this world she should as it seemed to be attacking her around corners when she least expected.

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With the Sports Festival a day away, everything had been slowed down, like the calm before a storm. Lessons had been short, her classmates were eerily collected, she didn't have a hospital shift and her training sessions with Hitoshi were done so he could rest before tomorrow. That allowed Sakura to order in, and sit in the tub reading until the water grew cold.

She wasn't reading just anything. It was more information on what this world knew about inter-dimensional travel. Sakura was yet to find any quirks on record that would allow a person to travel through different dimensions. There was that warp villain still on her mind, but he only seemed to be a gateway to locations in this world. And there has been no one else on record that could travel through dimensions.

There was however a lot of scientific concepts behind the existence of different dimensions. The way recent studies spoke, it was looking like the world believed that there was the possibility of other dimensions, but it hasn't been confirmed or admitted. She was looking at physics books on string theory and other works to find something that might be able to aid her.

'The world has three dimensions of space—length, width, and depth—and one dimension of time. But there's the mind-bending possibility that many more dimensions exist out there. According to string theory, the universe operates with 10 dimensions. The reason that we haven't been able to experience them is that they are so tiny and feeling that they are unable to be detected. In essence dimensions, five through ten have to do with possibility and include all possible futures and all possible pasts including realities with a different physics than those in our universe.'

Sakura groaned, tossing the book across the bathroom and onto the sink counter. Submerging herself in the water right before her nose. She huffed, making little ripples with air; then heavier ones as she spoke to herself taking in some of the bathwater to her mouth gurgling with words only she would be able to understand as they were tied to her thoughts.

"It doesn't look like science is going to get me back home either. I thought there might be something since this world is so technologically advanced and I can't find anyone with a quirk either….."

Before she could curl into herself as it settled that she was still nowhere near finding an exit to this world, a chime circulating in the house like an alarm, but instead of warning for intruders, it warned her of potential guests. Whoever it was must want her attention badly because they had put a finger on the button and was refusing to let it go.

Even after the five minutes it took for Sakura to get out of the bath, drain the water, comb out her hair, and put on her clothes as well as wait an extra minute in the tub hoping that whoever was at the door would go away. The only visitor's Sakura ever received was agents from the commission (and apparently her teachers were a possibility since they knew where she lived.). Other than that, Sakura had informed no one about her living arrangements.

She would have been in her pj's at five-thirty, but because of the unexpected visit, it was a shirt and tights, which were comfortable but couldn't compare to the loose-fitting pajamas she was going to lay in. She also had her dinner still waiting in its containers on her kitchen counter. Simply put; it was not a good day to expect a hosting from Sakura Haruno.

'Get this over with,' Sakura came up to the door, she didn't bother looking through the peephole with her limited guest count although after she opened the door in full swing, she wished she had. Then she would've known not to open it.

"Hey!" Hawks beamed, cheery with a smile that made Sakura's skin itch in aggravation as if she was being bitten by ants, "I'm your new supervisor. It's nice to-

SLAM!

Sakura listened to the door cut off the man's voice and rattle on its hinges as it met the frame. Sakura just stared in the silence before letting out a pathetic breath nodding her head.

"Yeah, I'm going to have to move,"