Chapter 53 - Request

Being a "Pro Hero" was far more exhausting than Naruto gave it credit for.

Mentally exhausting.

"How do reporters get to the scenes of crimes so fast?" Naruto complained as he collapsed on the couch in Ryuko's office. It was soft, and comfortable, and while he wasn't facing any physical exhaustion, dealing with so much publicity was just taxing on his mind. A bank robbery done by villains, a burning building with hundreds trapped inside of it, stopping a small time robbery from happening while on patrol, preventing a suicide attempt, helping the police with identifying the cause of death of a murder victim and then tracking down the killer. All of these events had happened, and each time, the second the event was resolved Naruto was suddenly surrounded by reporters who seemed to just know when and where something was happening.

Ryuko sat behind her desk and smiled.

Being in the shoes of a Pro Hero was a lot different than being a Vigilante like Naruto had been doing, where he avoided the press.

"You know, most heroes just have their interns watch from the sidelines." Ryuko pointed out to Naruto as she pressed a small buŧŧon on her desk. What was perhaps her favorite buŧŧon on the desk. She had a point anyway though, if Naruto had interned with anyone else, he would have more than likely been told to just watch as the pros did the work. She knew his skills though, she trained him after all, and she knew he was able to handle most situations. The reason why she wanted him to intern under her, was so that she could give him the experience that he needed. She wanted him to experience a hands on experience... with dealing with reporters and the press in general. Naruto making a debut as a hero, while still a 1st year intern, would raise his popularity by showing just how competent he was as a hero.

It was a waste not to let him do actual hero work, and as long as she was there with Naruto, he didn't need to be a pro hero, since he was her intern.

"Thanks for not being most heroes."

"Don't thank me, your potential would be wasted on the sidelines. If I believe my interns are capable, I will allow them to use their abilities where they can be useful. So, why don't you tell me what has been on your mind all day?" Ryuko asked as the door opened up. She raised an eyebrow when she didn't recognize the boy who was carrying a tray that had two cups on it. She sort of recognized his looks, she had seen a similar guy before. She didn't remember employing anyone that young though to work for her. "You are?" Ryuko asked.

Naruto looked up.

"You're that guy... Gaara... from the Business Class." Naruto pointed out as he saw Gaara walking into the room with two steaming hot cups of coffee on a tray. Naruto recognized him as the guy who gave him a business card, and apparently Momo one as well. He was wearing a nice suit this time though, and his super messy hair was combed very neatly to the side.

"Ah, Rasa's son he asked to allow to intern here. Thank you for bringing the coffee, and I hope you learn much while interning here." Ryuko, in full Ryukyu authority mode, spoke to Gaara as he sat down the coffee on her desk. He took one of the cups, and walked over to Naruto, before handing it to him as Naruto sat up. Gaara stood up straight and looked at Ryuko, before he bowed.

"Thank you for the opportunity."

'So formal... but I guess for those not in hero classes, that is kind of normal.' Naruto started to pour religious amounts of milk into the coffee, and some cubes of sugar. He got up and passed the sweetened coffee to Ryuko, before he took her black coffee for himself. Gaara was already out of the room, door closed behind him. "Guess they didn't tell him you prefer sweet over bitter." Naruto mentioned as he sat on top of her desk, legs hanging off of it.

She raised an eyebrow.

"My question, I would like an answer. I had hopes you would pick me, but I know you well enough to know you wouldn't pick me, if you didn't have an ulterior motive for it. I taught you practically everything I know." Ryuko pointed out as she gave him a small, knowing smile. She enjoyed seeing him try and hide the guilt from his face, seeing as she had nailed the nail on the head with that one.

Naruto took a breath.

Why did she have to know him so well?

"... There is a girl who is suffering in this city, that I want to save. You're office is stationed here, and I knew that you were planning on letting me do real hero work. You were my best chance of saving her." Naruto admitted with a wince. Ryuko was like an elder sister to him, and he felt really bad that he was using her. He felt horrible for using her kindness for his own ends, but he needed to do it. He needed to do anything he could possibly do that would let him save the girl as soon as possible, and prevent anymore horrible treatments to the girl herself. He didn't want to wait until it was too late, or tell the pro heroes and wait for them to get warrants, or try and do their own research into the girl before saving her. "I've been having visions, in my dreams... of the future." Naruto told Ryuko, and he glanced over to her.

Gone was her amusement, and she was pure serious as she looked at him.

"Continue, but how long have these visions been happening, and how often do they happen?" Ryuko didn't doubt Naruto for a second, she didn't know him to be a liar unless it was for the best. She could see it was hard for him to talk about this stuff.

"For a couple of weeks, and they only happened a few times at first, but now they happen every night. I see Eri suffering every night, and every time, I'm unable to do anything but watch. I know I can save her... I know where she is, I know who is keeping her." Naruto stopped when Ryuko raised a hand to stop him.

"You're suggesting kidnapping."

"Her parents are dead, and she is being experimented on and abused by people. She has no family, and she's undocumented. She has no legal guardian, technically. Also, she has scars on her arms. I've already done my research, enough of it that if a Pro Hero were to discover it... then they wouldn't need a warrant to hold a rescue." Naruto hated falling asleep now. So, whenever he would be sleeping, until the point he had to sleep, he stayed awake trying to do whatever it took to find a way to save Eri as soon as possible. He already figured out where she was, which was why he was interning under Ryuko. He had gotten the blueprints of the estate from the public housing records, so he knew where she was being kept in the house itself as well.

But, he couldn't save her.

Even if he was justified in saving her, the second he tried to become her guardian, then he would be admitting to breaking several laws and he would no longer be able to protect her. She would be returned to where she came from, and he could be blamed for hurting her. It would become moot if she was returned to the Yakuza, and all of her injuries were blamed on him. He needed the help of a Pro Hero to save her, so that he could avoid legal trouble, and make sure that Eri would be safe.

Ryuko was impressed, but she was also upset.

"You plan on fighting the Yakuza alone?" Ryuko frowned.

"I'm not going to fight if I don't have to. I want to sneak in, fake her death, and get out with her. I want her out of there, before they even realize she is gone. She's gone through too much, I don't want to force her to experience violence anymore. I want to protect her." Naruto's fists were visibly shaking in anger. Every night, he was forced to witness what they were doing to her. Every single night now, he was forced to watch, but unable to do anything for her other than watch. The girl had experienced far too much violence, so if he could get her to safety without her seeing anything violent, then all the better.

Ryuko looked more closely at Naruto's body language, he had never been good at hiding that, and she could see it. She could see the pure helplessness he felt for being unable to do anything without help. To save this girl, and make sure she actually stayed saved, he was required to get help. Yet, she was still suffering every second Naruto was unable to get the help of somebody he could trust. He felt weak, unable to do anything, and he knew that most heroes would not believe him or put their careers on the line because of a student's "Dreams" as it were. Naruto's closest hero was All Might, but because he was All Might, it was hard for the man to do stealth missions. That was the opposite of what Naruto wanted for the girl, and it would just put the girl in danger if All Might appeared.

To be unable to save a person, it was killing him on the inside.

"... If you want to save her, then go tonight. You'll be more stealthy if you go alone, but I'll write a report saying that I found probable cause, and that I was with you. Save her, and do it without getting into a fight." Ryuko spoke with an air of acceptance. Sooner or later, Naruto was going to snap and lose control of himself and push himself too far to save this girl. He had done so much work, and she already had faith in him as it were.

Anyway, it sounded like this girl really did need saving, and if it was stealth, Naruto was one of the best choices for that if he knew the place as well as he was saying he did.

She had never seen Naruto put so much thought into anything, usually he just rode on instinct.

"Really?" Naruto was extremely surprised when she just gave him the permission.

She nodded.

"I trust you, and since you're my intern, I can give you the temporary legal status of a hero. You better get some rest now, because you're going to have a busy night." Ryuko told him strictly. She didn't want him tired if he was going to be risking his life. "Honestly, you're such a troublesome kid." Ryuko spoke, and she tried to maintain a frown. A smile slipped on her face though. "Please promise me you won't get get in over your head." Ryuko placed her hand on his shoulder. She knew that with or without her permission, he was going to do this.

The only reason Naruto hadn't yet went to rescue this Eri, was because him acting too soon would put her in even more danger.

Naruto gave her a grin.

"You know I can't make that promise." Naruto spoke to her with his grin sad.

He always tried to keep his promises, and he didn't make promises he wouldn't be able to keep.

He had to save her.