No More Tears

Iruka had been impressed by Naruto many times over, but the time he remembers most clearly was the day the boy stopped crying. Drabble, One-shot, Father-like Iruka, Multiple background pairings

This was inspired by the conversation between Kakashi and Inari, during the Zabuza arc. No, Naruto will NOT be majorly abused or anything like that.

Disclaimer

The Naruto Cast does not belong to me, they belong to Kishimoto Mashashi.

Anything that does not belong in Naruto belongs to me, unless said otherwise.

Key

"Word" Talking

'Thought' Thinking

When Iruka first met Naruto, he knew two things, one of which that Naruto held the Kyuubi within him, the demon that had killed his parents. He did not hold the boy himself accountable, because the boy and demon were two separate beings, and should remain that way.

The other was that the boy was a crier. Naruto always cried when someone threw an open insult at him, or sometime even glared at him. It wasn't like anyone actually attacked him, but Iruka was aware of the one occasion, a year ago, where a group of four or five drunkards who had targeted Naruto, who luckily escaped unscathed.

Iruka could not help but pity the jinchuuriki, who had not been given a choice in the matter of the Kyuubi's sealing. When Iruka paused to ponder about it, the Chuunin realized that it could have been any child, not just Naruto. And if it had been someone else, say like that Shino kid, he would have been hated, instead of Naruto.

It hurt Iruka every time Naruto cried, because the villagers blamed him for things he did not do. The Chuunin strived to make Naruto's life a little brighter, whether it was buying him ramen, walking with him in the park, or just saying a hello.

One thing Iruka never saw Naruto cry about was happiness, because the boy would always run off somewhere, but as to where he went, Iruka was clueless. He did not pursue, however; best to let the boy have his privacy.

The children were friendly enough, if not a bit wary of Naruto. The hatred from their parents had been passed down to some of them though, and Iruka was always on guard in case one of them decided to pick on the poor blonde.

And so it went, day after day.

Then, one day, shortly before Naruto was to turn eight, something changed. When he walked into the class room, his eyes had a brighter, more determined gleam in them. And…he was smiling…Naruto hardly ever smiled. There was confidence in his step as he took his seat, and even his classmates sensed this new change and eyed him curiously.

Iruka watched the boy out of the corner of his eye as he taught his lesson. He tensed as he saw Kiruzaku lean over and whispered something into Naruto's ear, malice in his eyes. But Naruto glanced at him, shrugged, and returned his attention back to Iruka.

The Chuunin was shocked. Kiruzaku had most undoubtedly said something mean to Naruto, but he hadn't cried. Even now the student was there, smiling. Increasing his level of observation, Iruka went on with the lesson.

Several more times this occurred, and each time Naruto ignored him. Frustrated, Kiruzaku gave up in trying to make his favorite target cry. He would try again tomorrow, most undoubtedly, and Iruka wondered what would happen then.

When the final bell of the day rung, and the students started to file out, Iruka took Naruto aside by the shoulder and knelt down so he was at eye level with Naruto. The boy look confused, and a bit worried, but there was no sign of crying.

When everyone was gone, Iruka started. "Naruto, I saw what happened today between you and Kirizaku. Care to explain what exactly happened there?"

Naruto frowned. "Why? Did I do something wrong?"

Iruka smiled and shook his head. "No, Naruto….it's just that you're one to…ah, cry a lot. Today you didn't…and I'm curios as to know why."

Naruto grimaced, then brightened. "Because I found something better than crying!" He said, a smile once again plastered on his face.

"Oh?" Iruka raised an eyebrow. Naruto nodded eagerly. "Yup!" "Care to tell me?" Iruka asked.

Naruto once again nodded. "It's smiling!"

Iruka's eyes widened. "And why is that?"

"Because I realized yesterday…that crying isn't going to make the hurt stop, or the people of Konoha to stop glaring and hating, but smiles…make the pain go away. Yesterday I smiled at this girl in a ramen shop, and she smiled back! So…I'm going to smile from now on, so eventually, everyone will smile back!"

Iruka was astounded. Naruto was smarter than Iruka had first given credit forward. The Chuunin smiled and patted Naruto on the head. "Well, Naruto, you can add my smile to your collection."

Naruto laughed and giggled. "I already have Iruka-sensei! You smile at me every day!" Without warning Naruto glomped his sensei in a hug. "So thanks! Now I just have to get everyone else to smile as well!" Iruka laughed patted the blonde on the back. "Good luck on that."

"Don't worry, you'll see! I'll make everyone smile at me, to recognize me!" Naruto smiled and finally wriggled away. Iruka chuckled and followed after him. "Come on Naruto, I'll go buy you some ramen."

"Ooh, ooh! Can we go to the ramen bar where the lady smiled at me?"

"Yes, Naruto, we can."

"Yippee!"

The very next day, as Iruka sat down in his seat, he shot right back up, howling in pain while clutching the seat of his pants.

The class erupted into laughter, and Iruka glanced back at his seat to find a thumbtack placed point up on the seat. There was a tiny smiley face with whisker marks carefully drawn in Sharpie next to it.

Grimacing, Iruka glanced up at Naruto, who waved with his right and hid his giggles with his left.

'Well,' The Chuunin reflected, 'At least he's making people smile…'

But Iruka knew it would take something more honorable for people to truly smile at Naruto, and he was determined to be there every step of the way.

Now, fifteen years later and getting on in age, Iruka could stand proudly next to several other sensei's as Naruto received the title of Hokage. Hinata stood proudly next to him, happily patting her tummy which had started to grow, while fingering her wedding ring that signaled her bond with the man she loved.

Sasuke watched fondly from the crowd, and Sakura was weeping into Lee's shoulder for joy, said boyfriend could hardly contain himself. Kakashi seemed to stand a little taller himself, and once or twice Iruka caught Kakashi squeezing Anko's hand in his before fidgeting in place and letting go.

Shizune herself was leaning heavily on Iruka, openly crying and mumbling into Iruka's shoulder about how she couldn't believe that the cute little blonde boy she had known several years ago was now all grown up. He smiled and patted her comfortingly on the back, barely able to contain himself.

And as Naruto now came to the very front of the top of the Hokage tower, Iruka knew that now, everyone was smiling at him. Naruto had accomplished his dream, and, true to his nindo, kept every one of his promises.

And Iruka had been there for every step of the way.

Hope you liked it!

Constructive Criticism and Compliments welcome, flames and spams will be laughed at.

Tropi