Chapter-63
"I lost..." Shiori's first thought as her eyes slowly opened, revealing a white ceiling above. She remembered that the Uzumaki still stood even after her last attack. Realizing her defeat, she felt exhausted, her fists tightly clenched as she remained lying on the infirmary bed.
"Are you awake?" Todoroki turned her head to see Recovery Girl caring for her. "You only have a few scrapes and bruises that'll heal with rest," the elderly woman noted calmly as she stood from her seat by the bed. However, her frown deepened when she noticed the bicolor-haired teenager getting up. "You should rest," the nurse scolded, but the girl remained indifferent as she got up.
"I'm fine." Slowly, she stood, realizing she had used her fire quirk during the battle. She had used her right side. Why did she let the Uzumaki provoke her to use it?
"He was right... you have a chance to be the best, but you're not taking it," and "How can you be a hero if you hate a part of yourself? Your left side is your power now, refusing it only makes you look weak and insignificant..."
"Little girl?" Todoroki snapped out of her thoughts when the UA nurse addressed her.
Nodding her head, the girl simply got up and left the infirmary. As she walked through the hallway, a chilly breeze swept through the corridors leading to the stadium's exit. The wind ruffled her hair and the oversized jacket slung over her shoulder. Inspecting it, she remembered that her own jacket had been burned during her confrontation with the shinobi. Judging by the size of this jacket, she didn't need to think twice. "He gave me his jacket..." she thought, puzzled.
She knew that she had been exposed after her final attack, having burned her bra and jacket. Did the Uzumaki cover her to protect her modesty from the onlookers' lustful gazes? Did he remove his jacket to give it to her? Why would the shinobi care about what happened to her? These questions lingered, demanding answers.
"I see you're already standing," Shiori nearly jumped in shock upon hearing a voice behind her. Turning around, the girl found the Uzumaki, now clad in an orange jacket, confirming her suspicion that he had covered her during the battle. "Could you give me my jacket? The referees are asking questions because I have this, and I want to avoid them." The Uzumaki calmly removed his orange jacket and extended it to the girl, then turned his back.
Still perplexed, Shiori accepted the piece of clothing the blonde offered, understanding his intention. She took off her own jacket without being fazed by being exposed from the waist up. After all, there was no one else in the hallway, and the Uzumaki had turned his back to respect her privacy. "Here," once she had the orange jacket on, she handed the UA garment back to the teenager.
"Thank you," Naruto replied, taking the jacket and putting it on before continuing his walk through the hallways. However, he paused when he felt a hand on his arm.
"Why did you say all that during the fight? What were you trying to achieve?" The girl, her grip firm on the shinobi's arm, asked seriously. He gently pushed her arm away, creating some distance between them.
"I simply wanted a real challenge, something to make me feel that old sense of desperation, fighting against someone vastly superior to me... clearly, I didn't get it," his response made Shiori clench her hands and narrow her eyes in anger. "The goal of that fight was to see how much you could unleash, to exploit your inner demons, to release all your frustration, hatred, anger, and rage against me."
Deep inside, Shiori felt awful. She had used her own intimate secrets against herself, and it stung. Maybe because the Uzumaki was one of the few people she had opened up to and shared her pain with, only to have it used against her. But all her thoughts vanished when she felt a hand gently caressing her hair.
"Even though you seem less tense now, it appears you've vented your frustrations... it turned out to be a good fight after all," never once breaking into a smile, the shinobi remained serious yet relaxed as he continued to pat the girl's head. The blonde stopped, revealing a faint smile while looking into the girl's bright eyes. "You possess great power, regardless of its source. How you wield it is what matters." Turning his back to her, Naruto began to walk away. Just before disappearing into the stadium's corridors, he threw one last comment over his shoulder. "By the way, you still have a mother, right? Not just an unhappy father, but a mother as well. You should pay her a visit." And with that, he was gone.
Shiori could only remain silent. She looked down at the orange jacket she now wore and gazed in the direction the Uzumaki had left. Unsure of what to say or do, she wrapped her arms around herself, holding the garment tightly. Strangely, she felt a warm sensation in her chest that had nothing to do with her left-side quirk.
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