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

Izuku was in awe, that was obvious. His star-struck gazes when looking at heroes or observing anything that made his heart burst with excitement were always clear as day, the way his eyes shone with curiosity and fascination to decipher and learn every detail of the object of his interest.

There was a new training facility set up the size of the gymnasium with equipment, created by the support course. It was their group assignment to create new training gear for heroes to stay in shape and for their lesson today, and the hero course students would be allowed to test out the top three projects. Similar to what happened for the physical test, they were going to be given points that would be totaled.

And Shouta had to assure his class that this time they didn't have the threat of suspension. But last place would receive a lot of extra homework.

"I don't want anyone pulling back on this, you're allowed to use your quirks if it means a higher score but do not destroy the devices," Shouta gave an especially stern glare to Katsuki.

Now, Sakura Haruno was lackluster in the classroom, she didn't answer the teacher's questions, she barely handed in assignments, she wouldn't read her out loud because she didn't follow the material and yet when it came to their hero lessons, physical training she was always on top of everything. She never missed a step, she never made a mistake, she was never out of breath nor did she break a sweat.

The first machine they were testing was meant to work on their reflexes and mobility within small spaces and how quickly they can adjust their bodies. The contraction was simple in appearance with wooden platforms standing with stills through them and when powered on, they would spin in different directions, the objective being to get across the platform without being hit.

"It's so fast, how are we supposed to get through that?!" Exclaimed Mineta.

Eijiro was beaming at the start, "This is gonna be awesome!"

That was not an as easy task, everyone who went through, eager at first had been thoroughly knocked around, it was like being attacked from every direction. When Izuku went ahead, he was only able to keep pace for about five seconds before he had taken one hit and then a chain reaction followed because he wasn't able to get his footing back. Even Katsuki wasn't able to maneuver well through there, with small explosions he managed to get through with a few hits. Even Shouto, using his ice to glide across had problems because he couldn't react fast enough to change direction.

Ochaco came back around after her turn, she was rubbing her lower back, having taken a lot of hits. "That's not as easy as I thought,"

Tenya threw his hands out, "It's difficult to quickly adjust your body to such a small space at that speed,"

Aizawa sighed, "Remember this isn't a race. Haruno, you're up,"

Sakura stepped forward, but she didn't rush the platform like many of her classmates. For a minute she just stared, still.

"GET A MOVE ON ALREADY!" Katsuki shouted, crossing his arms with impatience but Sakura didn't even respond. She watched a little longer, took a breath, and raised her hands, tucking her arms close to her side and stepping through.

Sakura was like water parting where a stone stood, she moved, her feet glided more than stepped, she kept her arms close to her sides and was shifting on the soles of her feet. The change in direction of the different planks meant that you would have to sometimes turn your body to face the other side, that was in the direction of the class. When Sakura turned, Izuku saw that her eyes were calmly shut, but she was still moving through the boards. Until she reached the end, not even the slightest nick.

"That's it," Shouta said with a droll tone, he turned to the rest of the class, "You have to move with the boards, and you can't allow yourself to panic and lose focus."

'I think that's as close to a compliment as I've gotten with him,' After Sakura's firm confrontation with Shouta, he didn't mention it or approach her again. Keeping his distance by putting the other students between them, and she found it preferable. Even if he meant well; there was too much he didn't understand about her to realize what he could say.

"Nice one Haruno!" Eijiro complimented when she came down, he held up his hand for a high five, and though hesitant, she reciprocated the gesture with an awkward smile. Next to him, Katsuki was just glaring silently at her. Izuku silently hoped he didn't have the same problems with Sakura as he did with Izuku. That would be unfortunate, and not something he wished on anyone else.

"How'd you get through them so easy?" asked Ochaco.

"Yeah those gates totally smacked me around in all directions," sighed Sero.

"You have to flow with the movement of the gates and to be able to switch direction in an instant. You have to keep a clear mind to do that, and feel the directions changing, without relying on your sight alone," Sakura explained clinically.

"Alright next round," Shouta clapped his hands.

There was a metal platform, set with three circles, like an archery target, and lined around that circle were six contraptions mimicking large guns on stands with no trigger to pull and too big and clunky to move by hand. Shouta pushed a button on the remote he held and everyone watched as the rings lit up on the floor and the machines turned on with a whirring noise that ran through the spine.

"The way this works is, you have to stay inside the circle without touching the rings, or you'll receive a small shock. It's nothing dangerous, just a feeling similar to one when you pull the end of those prank gum strips. So you'll know you stepped on the boundaries and that's when you're out. You're allowed to move around the circle and over the lines still. These guns will shoot tennis ball-sized spheres made of rubber, the longer you stay in the circle, the quicker they will be launched. If you still manage to stay in at the ball's top speed, the boundaries will begin to move to divide your attention but that's only if you get that far. You can use your quirks to either evade or deflect, but don't try to destroy the machine,"

Izuku looked at the platform, holding his chin as he muttered. "So we not only have to worry about the projectiles but also the shifting boundaries? It's tough because it tests our reflexes and ability to divide our intention equally in battle,"

Sakura patted Izuku's shoulder, "That's right, sometimes when we fight we're not always on solid ground and we have to keep paying attention to that or it can shift the tide of a fight,"

Izuku listened well, after his training with Gran Torino, he was finally able to use One of All as something more of his ability than All Might. He wanted to be able to control this power perfectly and he would take help anywhere he could get it. And Sakura was one of the best fighters in their class. The way she moved, was better than Katsuki and he would have liked to study her fighting style, but even during the Sports Festival she rarely showed her ability and mostly kept her feet on the ground.

He wanted to know more about her quirk, and what it was capable of, but he already learned that Sakura was not open about her abilities.

"Alright, line up."

Again, Sakura waited at the back of the line for her turn. She observed as Mina was the first, eager to step forward on the machine. It started with a clank and whirring of engines running. The projectiles started at a slow speed and only one after the other, allowing time to find where the next one would come from next. Mina was one of the more agile students, she had taken up dancing when she was in junior high and that meant she carried her body well. With her acid quirk, she was able to glide along with the floors or melt the projectiles before they reached her.

"This is fun!" She exclaimed cheerily.

"Focus," Shouta reprimanded. He couldn't allow his students the slightest leeway or they'd start performing, just as on the first day. Reminded once again that Sakura actually missed that and had gotten 'expelled'. He was maintaining his distance in regards to her personal life, only because Chiyo had requested to give her space.

'I've learned a few things about the girl during the internship Aizawa, she has a brilliant intellect and she's a delight when unprovoked. You know what really happened with Stain right?"

Shouta stared down the hallway where Sakura had rushed off, "I understand that it was the heroes acting as the student's guardians that were reprimanded and punished for their actions,"

Chiyo sighed, "She has a heroic spirit Aizawa, I won't condone what she has done. But I am certain that she is far more capable than any first year I have ever seen. Perhaps she's just been through more than we realize. We never did get the full story on how she ended up in that condition,"

"Because she won't tell us," He argued. She was tight-lipped about many things involving her past especially. No details on how she was hurt, how she had no documents or guardians.

"Just give her some distance, I believe she's a good kid."

He wasn't too sure he could agree, but she was skilled at least and she had an acting guardian for the time being that was keeping an eye on her. So long as she didn't step out of line or anything drastic happens, then he would have no reason to intervene.

Returning to the lesson, Mina was soon taken out by a projectile. While agile, she lacked control of her quirk and her reaction time wasn't something that she could maintain. That was the point of this, to help hone instincts and reflexes.

The rest moved swiftly, as usual, the students with the best mobility were able to hold on the longest, they were also the ones with long-ranged attacks that gave them an advantage. If Shouta looked at his class currently, he could determine where most of them would rank for these tests already. Rikido Sato and Eijiro Kirishima were two of the physically stronger students, for this test however they showed their weakness in stamina and endurance, as well as their reflexes that could become sluggish because of their quirks. Then there was Mezo Shouji, who had physical strength and his quirk could make up for his reaction time by extending it with his scouting ability. Of course, even his body couldn't keep up with the demands of the more advanced levels of the machine.

Though Shouto Todoroki had a stronger quirk output than most of his classmates, he was too reliant on it. Even with this test, he simply put up his ice to barricade himself from the projectiles and used his flames to get rid of the remaining but when the platforms started to move, he couldn't keep his head long enough.

'If you can't handle their strength, remove their footing,' He had still gotten further than most of his classmates.

Katsuki Bakugo was more of an all-rounder and jack of all trades than anyone. He was quick on his feet, too confident to second guess or doubt himself, had excellent reaction time and reflexes. He was balanced well in terms of speed and power too. He only needed a bit more training before he would be better than most heroes. When he stepped onto the platform, everyone went quiet. His classmates wanted to watch him because his performances were the ones that could put you in awe.

Even during the entrance exam, he would've had first place had it not been for her. In fact, Shouta would've ranked out his student's performance bases, weaknesses, and top strengths perfectly if it wasn't for Sakura Haruno that continued to prove to outrank them.

Shouta smirked, he was realizing that his students became more fierce after the Sports Festival, and it was because of Sakura Haruno. She had unwillingly driven them to get to the point she was at, where you would be able to do the bare minimum and still outrank those around you.

"DAMMIT," Katsuki stomped off the platform, although he was further ahead. He wasn't satisfied with his results. Before he was very cocky about his achievements.

Katsuki only fell out because he was misstepped on his landing and the platform's lines touched the tip of his foot. He was the second to achieve that level and the one who came close was Izuku.

He had shown to have the most growth after his internship. Of course, Shouta had his doubts with Izuku first arrived, he had come far from last place on the quirk assessment test. He could hone his intuition and learn quickly which could make up for his shortcomings, but that wasn't enough to be a hero. Shouta wanted his students to be as well-rounded as possible and not to fall because of their weaknesses but to find ways to make up for them.

Izuku had somehow learned to use his powers more constructively than before. It was as simple as that, he improved his mobility with his quirk and was no longer breaking bones in the process which gave him more opportunities now. Shouta wouldn't openly praise his students in detail knowing that he had to temper their egos. It was dangerous to get confident and could result in a hard fall, especially in their line of work.

"Haruno, you're finishing,"

Sakura came up, Shouta wondered how someone that had a seizure was able to come back so quickly? If she was going to stay at home, he wouldn't have pushed the issue, but she was in good shape. At least that's how it appeared, but he was keeping watch for any signs of complications. He asked Recovery Girl if it was possible she had some underlining health issue, but from the hospital records, Sakura was perfectly healthy, her only flaw was the scar.

'It looks as if she was impaled straight through, but that would mean her heart had to be hit as well. If that were the case….I'm not sure you could survive such a thing,'

Shouta didn't miss the sight of blood around that region when he found her, and there was certainly traces of blood from the area he moved her, but she has healing abilities that's why he assumed she healed herself. But when he considered what might have been the extent of the damage, he thought this couldn't have been the result of some accident. But again, Sakura had refused to speak a word about that issue.

She was on the platform, and when it began again she showed off her quick reflexes and speed. Her demeanor was different from the other students though, she was completely calm and had no adrenaline rush. Her eyes were steady, and she moved fluidly, even when the projectiles came at her with increasing speed.

She wasn't hyper-focused on one single gun, but she wasn't scattered either. Sakura was swift and flowed like water. That was the only way to describe her movements. Gentle, controlled, and minimal, conserving.

Even the close calls she was able to avoid because she was deliberate in her movements. She waited for them to get close before she decided to move. And she wasn't stepping far either, barely taking any distance.

'It's as if her thoughts are tied to her actions,' That wasn't a simple accomplishment, Shouta knew how many years of training and experience it took to reach that level of ability. Even he hasn't mastered it.

But for someone whose main quirk involved super strength, her agility was something a hero would only strive for if their quirk put them at a disadvantage regarding defense. At the very least, it seemed that Sakura was willing to put more effort into her hero course classes, the practicals anyway.

The speeds were picking up and the barriers of the platform were moving, she stepped accordingly while avoiding the projectiles. The platform rings moved in a sequence pattern and Sakura had already figured that out. She watched it for only a few minutes before she was focusing on the projectiles again, stepping without having to look.

'She already knows where she would fall,'

Time went by with routine, a disaster point for Sakura who wasn't able to find any new information about leaving this world. No matter how many quirks existed, none could relate to the Sharingan's teleportation ability nor the rinnegan. Chakra wasn't even utilized the same in this world. It was as if quirks took the manifestation of only physical energy to become a physical ability but at the same time, it was more lacking than with chakra. Sakura could feel that physical and spiritual energies were not combined to create a quirk's ability, it was more like a human's new evolution of sorts. A variant. Though in this world she would be considered the variant.

That made things difficult because she was less likely to find someone who could take her back to her world. It was unlikely that anyone here believed in other dimensions, all just theories in physics.

'What can I do to get out of this place?'

There were more times like this as of late, and Sakura chose to fill that void with training. Advancing her techniques over the months that passed. Felt like the only useful thing she could do in this world. It's why she had become more taken to the hero course training when it wasn't focusing on the rules and technicalities.

She was realizing that something had happened to her because of Kaguya. She felt off at times and out of nowhere, it'd be like her heart decided to stop beating. So far there hadn't been any more fits out in public, but some nights Sakura would find herself afraid to fall asleep, being consumed by darkness, and would spend hours just training or meditating.

When she came to school she was barely able to contain her temper, school work made her head hurt, she just started sleeping in class, going out at night to the underground fights were slowing as it began to feel more of a useless chore than a means for funding and information. Indulging this world was all she could do to keep herself afloat.

Like now for this training, honing in on her senses as the only positive light of her recent misfortune could shine. The projectiles were slow in her eyes, and she could feel them as they passed by her, she sidestepped another remembering the sequence of rings shrinking, expanding, and moving below. The balls were being released quicker now, Sakura decided to go on the offensive. Pulling two kunai knives from her pack, she slashed through.

"She's really good bro!" said Eijiro.

Izuku had to agree, the way she was moving she'd probably be able to land a hit on Gran Torino.

"Okay, that's enough," Shouta said, turning off the machine after almost ten minutes had passed. "At this rate, we're going to fall behind,"

Sakura stepped off the platform, breathing collected and steady. Izuku couldn't help himself, he had to rush over to her. "Wow, Har-Sakura that was amazing. I knew your maneuverability was good but it's something else to see it in action! How are you able to do that so easily?"

Sakura pressed her hand against her chin, "It's not that hard if you're able to pick up the pattern of attack. The guns were going off in a certain sequence and so were the floor lanes, after that, I just had to remember the pattern to determine where to step and when to duck or deflect."

"Really? During all that?" asked Ochaco, shaking her fists. "It was super tough just to keep my focus on dodging forget figuring out a pattern!"

Tenya pushed up his glasses, "Indeed even my speed put me at a disadvantage with all the sharp turns I needed in that small space,"

Tapping Tenya's forehead, she said, "With your speed, you should work on your reflexes to tie your thoughts to your actions. It'll improve your maneuverability if you're able to think as quickly as you move. This kind of exercise would be especially useful to you, maybe try setting up a course to run that would force you to make tight turns too,"

"Understood!" Tenya straightened. He had been diligent in taking Sakura's words like they were gold. After their fight with Stain, he changed his tune towards her. But she wasn't complaining, however, her classmate's choice to treat her wasn't affecting her so long as no one tried to make way with her.

"What about mine?" Izuku asked quickly before he realized what he had done, Sakura hadn't been an open arms kind of person. At least on her matters, and she didn't offer up advice like this either, but after what she told Tenya he couldn't resist the urge to extract some information out of her, especially when it came to their quirks and training.

"Well, Izuku it's obvious you're not used to this new ability of your quirk. You just need more practice in spaces that will force you to maneuver in complex directions and against gravity too since you used a lot of jumps. The forest or factory training grounds would help you work on your agility. Especially if you wore weights. Dodging and deflecting, you would do better to train with someone, sparring to work on your fighting style. That's the easiest way to sharpen your combat intuition."

Izuku's eyes sparked, "Ah! So can you tell me what's the main weaknesses in my full cowling? Like do I need to be giving larger movements or shorter bursts of speeds? Is it fine if I'm not as flexible to do certain aerial attacks? Because I wanted to try this thing where I-

"SHUT UP" Katsuki exploded. "QUIT YOUR YAPPING NERD, I'M SICK OF LISTENING TO THIS SHIT."

"Then don't listen to conversations that don't concern you," Sakura remarked calmly. It was one of the easiest ways to get under Katsuki's skin, complete indifference.

"YOU-

Shouta stepped in, eyes glowing red with a warning. "Enough wasting time. Let's get on to the last test,"

Katsuki huffed but listened, shoving his hands in his pocket.

..

..

..

The last machine looked similar to a training dummy, but it was bulkier with four arms, one with normal boxing gloves and the lower pair with wider padding. Its chest and head were also made of padding while the rest of its body was stern metal. The head and chest had ring targets on them though but only one.

"Listen up, this machine is simple. You earn points by hitting the targets on its chest and head, but you have to avoid the attacks that will come at you. Switching between offense and defense in close quarters is an important skill to learn if you ever find yourself in tight spaces with a villain. The environment can always affect the outcome of a fight, it's your job to make sure you can adapt to it."

Denki slumped, "Great, the power types are gonna have the edge on this one,"

"No actually," Shouta stated folding his arms, "The goal isn't to destroy the dummy, just hit the targets, and you can't hit the arms that aim for you, only dodge. The dummy will announce your score based on the number of hits you manage to make and whenever you get hit that's two points off."

"So one point earned and two points taken? That's kinda unfair," Muttered Mashirao.

"A hero will always face unfairness, and you need to be able to combat as much of their unfairness as possible. Villains will resort to any means to win, which includes doing whatever they can to turn the tables in their favor. No matter the cost. Heroes won't always have that resort, so you have to be prepared to fight in the worst conditions."

The machine was not like a regular punching bag, it simulated a professional close-quarters fighting style, with almost no openings, and could continue to pick up speed. A lot of class A found that out the hard way. It was a simple matter for them to use their quirks to get out of situations but this time, it was proving to be harder because of the no damage rule.

"Try visualizing the machine as a real opponent, that might help with your reaction,"

Mina had some of the best reflexes next to her classmates, but she didn't have much experience in close quarters combat because of her quirk, so although she was able to avoid getting hit she didn't get a lot of land ins herself. Then there was Ochaco, who had trained for that week's internships with the hero Gun head, and he had taught her his martial arts style. But she was still new to it and couldn't keep her form subconsciously and that delayed her reaction time in avoiding the machine's punches. Out of all the girls in class A. Tsuyu also had good reflexes and her tongue let her attack from afar, but she also didn't have that much combat training. At least that's how it looked to Sakura. The boys were more or less well-rounded in that sections and those who haven't had their quirks to make up for it.

'But the girls are a bit behind.' And she wasn't just thinking about the exercises. They weren't pushing yet.

Even in Sakura's world, kunoichi was still looked down on but that was their motive to train and become stronger. Because they were always going to have to compete. Ino, Hinata, and Tenten all admitted to struggling to keep up with the boys, but they didn't let that be the reason for them to slack off. Once they accepted their talents and utilized them to their fullest. Whether it was a matter of getting ahead or keeping up, they were willing to push. Sakura took a while before she was able to accept her shortcomings and realize that she needed to make drastic changes or she couldn't consider herself a part of the team.

Tsuyu hopped down, "The machine's so fast, it's difficult to keep up between dodging and attacking with so little distance, kero,"

"That's the point of close quarters, it's the easiest form of fighting to attack with but defense can be difficult if you have to jump between the two at a moment's notice," Sakura explained.

"I get that, I mean even I have trouble dodging at close range," Admitted Izuku.

Tenya nodded, holding his chin. "Even with my speed, it's difficult to react to such close quarters. As we remember," now he was referring to the fight with Stain.

Sakura smiled, "Well it's not that hard once you pick up on your opponent's pattern. A real person will always have their weak points, it's just up to you to snuff them out. That's why dodging close range is an important skill if you want to figure that out quickly. There's another trick,"

"What?" Izuku chided.

"As Aizawa said, visualize an enemy,"

Eyes crawled on her back, as Sakura stepped forward but she began to wipe that feeling away. A weight fell onto her as she stared at the machine, listening to the mechanics and cogs turn together, and the sound of steam releasing. Her head fell and she couldn't stop the thoughts creeping into her mind now.

'Who should I imagine?' She thought but that brought her on an unwanted rail. All this time, she had been withholding, putting on smiles, erasing her intentions. Even as she came up with no solutions or results that could bring her closer to home.

Like a damn after the heaviest of storms, the drops of rain had slowly collected over these months and it was beginning to push against the walls. Wanting to crack it open until everything flowed out and destroyed all around it.

There was the taste of sand in her mouth and the scent of blood in the air.

Sakura made the first strike, ducking to keep from the machine's hits and then striking three more times before avoiding a left hook. Her body was rigid, not affecting her skill but showing she had lost the water-like movements from before.

Shinobi with bodies running cold as they were rushed through the infirmary. The cries of soldiers as they lost their loved ones. Her friends and teachers with their eyes ringed as they were wrapped up in the branches of the giant tree. Taken into a world unreal.

Her fists were dead straight as were her arms with the punches landed, her eyes were hard now though, in unusual aggression that she had not shown before. Not even when she fought the villains. She then started to land kicks on the target, raising her legs high and straight. Giving more distance when dodging.

"Whoah!" Eijiro exclaimed, watching Sakura pick up her speed. "Look at her go,"

Shouta frowned deeply, watching her. She wasn't using her quirk, or the machine would've certainly fallen apart by now, but her movements were becoming more and more aggressive. She was losing her form but kept going.

Her strikes were becoming blurring, and yet Shouta was certain she wasn't using her quirk to accomplish this. It just meant she was able to produce these results without using her powers. Even so, she was still looking furiously at the machine, as if metal was flesh and bone that she wanted to tear through with her bare hands. She grunted and released a few cries to show her anger but it was still somewhat contained for her.

The monster known as the ten tails, its body towering over everything, its cries as it released its terror and attacks, killing thousands at a time.

The wails of her friends when Neji died.

The way she had to hold Naruto's heart in her hands as she tried to keep him alive, having to ignore the terror that threatened to overtake her, and the agony at the thought of losing him.

Kaguya's eyes, the Rinnegan and the third with the Sharingan mocking her, denying her the keys she needed to open the doors home.

"CHAAA" She screamed like she was crying out in agony as she gave her final hit before the machine's whirring slowly began to fall silent as the cogs slowed and the machine began to turn off.

Sakura panted softly, her eyes free of tears but full of frustration as if she wanted them to flow but they refused. Like something had been shut off within her.

"Enough Haruno," Shouta called before she gave one more meaningless strike to the machine. Turning away quickly to stomp off. Sakura held the side of her head, feeling it pounding as her chest grew tight. But she shook her head of her expression, wiped all signs of emotions from her eyes, and came back with a hallow smile to her classmates.

"See, visualize and you'll do more than you thought possible."