Chapter-44

He had used his left side.

He had lost control and unconsciously used it; that was something he couldn't let go.

Shiori watched the shinobi of her class from a safe distance, sitting on a bench and resting. With a somber expression, she ran her hand over the burn on her left eye.

"Of course, brat, of course..."

Clenching his fists, he could only growl at the memory of the Uzumaki's audacity, treating her as if she were a mere little girl. Just remembering his smile when he caressed her hair made his blood boil with rage. His mother was the only person who did that, and now that he did it, it only brought back bad memories.

"Girl, unless we're playing hide and seek, you don't need to hide." Todoroki tensed up instantly upon hearing the shinobi who was still sitting on the bench with his back turned to him. Seeing that being at a distance was of no use, he approached to face the bench. At the same time, the shinobi stood up. "Do you have something to say?" He asked calmly, looking at the teenager with mixed hair.

"Yes... I have to talk to you," putting aside all traces of emotion on her face, Shiori stared at the boy in front of her. "I have to say that you are the only one my age who has surpassed me. Your strength, speed, agility, and Quirks are the things that make you better than me. That's why I must surpass you and beat you at all costs." Naruto felt curious at the look that the redhead was giving him. Beyond defiance, he felt rage and anger, difficult to know if it was against him or someone else.

Shrugging his shoulders, the Uzumaki was about to turn around and leave. He was not the least bit interested in the threat and challenge that the girl sent his way. However, before he could leave, he heard the girl speak again.

"Endeavor is my father, something that I'm sure you already know... like everyone else," the Todoroki girl revealed, something that Naruto already knew, but until now he didn't give it much importance. "...and I'm also sure that you know that he's been stuck as the number 2 hero for a long time. So if you are connected in some way with the number 1 hero, All Might, that means I have more reasons to defeat you." Before the teenager could continue, she was interrupted by the shinobi crossing his arms.

"I have no relation to All Might and much less do I plan to be a hero in the future," commented the blonde lazily, letting out a heavy sigh. He was not in the mood after the argument he had with his prisoner. However, he could not vent his anger and frustration against the girl in front of him, so he just let her continue to say what she had to say.

"But you are here now, and from how I saw you performing in the second stage of the festival, it seems that you are aiming for first place." At no point did the teenager look away from looking at the Uzumaki. Gaining a more somber expression, she continued speaking. "My father is an ambitious man. He wants first place." She began to explain, taking her gaze away from Naruto's and observing the boy's winged wall with interest. "As a hero, he forged his position and his name with brutality and overwhelming force. But even so, he was not able to overcome All Might. No matter how hard my father tried to surpass All Might, he was in another league... so the Symbol of Peace is a living example of his greatest failure."

The shinobi remained silent, listening, and noticing the tension and rigid posture of the teenager. It was obvious that this topic seemed to affect her more than it should.

The girl with heterochromia lowered her gaze to the ground and squeezed her left arm with her right hand. "But my father never gave up; he still tries. His ambition is to surpass All Might in one way or another... Have you ever heard of Quirk marriages?" Todoroki asked with doubt in her voice.

"Quirk Marriages?" Naruto repeated doubtfully. He knew the basics of that subject, which was too similar to marriages aimed at obtaining multiple Kekkei Genkai in the Elemental Nations. In those lands, such unions were rare due to the clans' reservations and strict control over their offspring. The chances of an Uchiha and an Uzumaki having children together were slim, as well as those of a Hyuuga and a Senju. The reasons for this rarity were simple – nobody knew what kind of formidable or unstoppable being might result from the union of two Kekkei Genkai.

"They were a problem after the first generation of people with powers, once Quirks became the norm. Some individuals specifically sought partners based on their Quirks to strengthen their own abilities and create powerful descendants. Many people were coerced into these unions, thinking they were just traditional marriage arrangements from ancient times. But it was clearly unethical," Todoroki explained, while Naruto nodded, absorbing this new piece of information that wasn't surprising to him. He already knew that people driven by power would do anything to achieve their goals.

"But my father was a man of influence, and, above all, he had the means to solve his problems," she continued. "He bought my mother's parents and thus gained control of her power, believing it to be the essential piece for his plan... to create me, in order to fulfill his goal... to produce a hero capable of surpassing All Might." Todoroki finished her revelation, causing the shinobi to become completely serious. It was expected that Endeavor's ambition would be so great that he would resort to something as unpleasant as forcing someone into a loveless marriage just to achieve his desire to surpass All Might.

"But there, it's even more true, Shiori..." the shinobi thought with some sadness. Since arranged marriages often involved forced relations, it was possible that she might be a product of such a situation. Breathing deeply, the blonde could only feel empathy for her, even if he kept an impassive and serious exterior.

"It's really annoying," Todoroki said, hardening his eyes and closing his fists in annoyance. "He refused to make me the tool of that scum," she continued, her voice filled with conviction and hatred. "In all my memories, my mother is always crying," he spoke while his gaze fell on his left hand. Slowly, he brought it to the left side of his face, revealing traces of a long burn. "'Your left side is an abomination.' I remember what my mother told me one day while she was pouring boiling water over my face... I remember her look, she feared me, she hated me, she felt disgust for me. My own mother wanted me dead... I am only her daughter because my father forced her to do it."

Taking a deep breath, she passed her arms over her eyes, wiping away the small tears that were forming. As the seconds passed, the girl calmed down and regained her composure, giving the shinobi a cold look. "The reason why I want to fight you is to show him, my scum of a father, what I can do without needing to use his damn Quirk." She expressed her determination, her fury growing when she saw that the Uzumaki remained emotionless. "You wouldn't understand..." she growled, intending to leave, but she didn't get the chance before she heard the blonde speak again.

"Maybe not, I always felt the love of a father and a mother... but when I lost my father when I was a child, several things changed, I made wrong decisions, but at the same time correct ones for the greater good... but my mother... "Frowning, the teenager opened his jacket and exposed his upper body. Shiori was paralyzed for a moment when she saw the dozens of scars that the blonde had on his torso and chest, but the one that stood out the most was a deep diagonal cut. that reached from the right shoulder to the last rib on the left side of the body, "The last time I saw my mother... she did this to me, she tried to kill me and this scar was the last thing she left me..." he spoke calmly pointing to the scar bigger than I had.

"She…?" The teenager, filled with doubt, took a step back. Seeing such severe scars was foreign to her. She hadn't expected the Uzumaki to share this part of his past – a mother who had attempted to kill him with a sword. She couldn't help but wonder if he still held affection for his mother after what she had done. This question left the Todoroki girl lost in her thoughts.

"She looked at me with hatred, anger, sadness, fear, and... disappointment. I remember everything that happened when I was 14 years old. The last thing she told me was that she had lost her son... We all have turbulent pasts, Shiori. Some more than others. But what sets us apart is how we deal with them..." Retrieving his suit jacket, he put it back on before walking past the white and red-haired teenager. But not before using his right hand to gently caress the girl's hair. "See you around, brat..." With his hands back in his pockets, he calmly left and returned to the stadium. It seemed that the third and final stage was about to begin.

Left behind, Shiori remained impassive as she passed her hand over her head, in the same spot where the Uzumaki had caressed. Frowning, she turned and made her way back to the stadium, her thoughts consumed by what had just transpired.

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