Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto only my oc.

Warning: Yaoi, don't like I don't care.

-888888888888-

Chapter 6

Iruka POV:

Iruka stretched his arms as he walked down the road.

He had just finished grading all the exams at the academy and was very tired and hungry but he didn't want to cook today, so after a quick thinking, he decided to eat dinner at his favorite ramen shop.

Ichiraku's Ramen was on the same main street as the academy, just a couple blocks away. The walk there was very quick but cold. Even with all the snow already melted, the weather was still chilly to be considered anything but above 10 Celsius.

Iruka welcomed the warmth as he entered the shop but immediately stops at his tracks at the sight before him.

There, sitting at the far corner of the bar table was Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, eating a bowl of ramen. He couldn't see his face but he recognized him by his gray hat that he always wore.

He couldn't help but start wishing he ate at home tonight.

Don't get him wrong, it's not like he had a problem with the kyuubi container. Not at all. He just preferred to avoid as much contact with the kid as possible.

He knew deep down that he wasn't being fair to the child, and Naruto was just a child.

A child who carries a heavy burden and being blamed for it by the people that put this heavy burden on him in the first place.

But even when he knew that, he couldn't help but remember that night.

The night, with the huge monster like fox and it's scary red chakra. The screaming of the people as they ran away from the looming beast. How his mother hugged and kissed him for the last time while promising him that she and his father will come back for him…..

.

.

.

.

…. and of course the day after the attack, the ruined village, the smoke, the dead bodies being collected by the shinobi, the smell of burning flesh as he waited with all the other kids, waited and prayed that it was all a bad dream, that the Yondaime didn't die, for his parents to come already and take him home.

He held for this little hope as he stood in the midst of tears and sorrow.

.

.

.

.

...only to find out he was an orphan.

He kept away from the kid at the academy.

It wasn't that hard. The kid did his homework, answered the questions he was asked and overall was a good above-average student, one that didn't need a teacher to explain a problem or give him extra attention in class, one that was easy for Iruka to ignore.

So, with one last look at Uzumaki's back he was about to turn around and leave but Before he could so much as move, Ayame, the chef's daughter, called out loudly for him in greeting.

"Umino-san is good to see you again." she smiled at him.

Naruto, who was in front of her and heard the greeting for sure, didn't turned around to greet him or even to just stare at him.

Instead he just continued to eat him meal.

Iruka was just frozen in his place by the door, not daring to make a sound in fear that his student will turn his way.

"What are you doing, standing there Iruka-kun? Come on, get in." The ramen chef, Teuchi, called out while waving with his spatula.

Acknowledging that their were no escape for this, Iruka just sighed deeply and sat by the table bar, not too far but not too close either from his student.

"Today we are having a sale Iruka-kun, with all the ramen people eat nowadays I'm sure i will become the richest ramen chef in all Konoha." Teuchi-san laughed at his own joke.

"So, what will it be today Umino-san? The usual order or do you what something else?" Ayame asked.

"The usual, thank you" Iruka said in a low voice, still feeling awkward to sit next to the Kyuubi container.

Teuchi and Ayame didn't seems to notice it, as they were back to prepare his order.

There was silence between them except from the slurping of the noodles as the child next to him was eating his ramen.

Iruka would admit that he was curious as to what the kid looked like without his mask, but he was still distracted with his mini panic attack to look his way in fear it might spark a conversation.

He had probably spaced-out because he was startled when Ayame put his ramen in front of him.

"Here you go Umino-san, one miso ramen and a half boiled egg."

"Thank you Ayame-san." He said hastily.

"Oh it's nothing" she giggled "And how about you Naruto-kun? Would you like seconds?"

Iruka teansed up again and glanced to his left.

The kid already had his mask on as he took out money out of his pocket to pay his bill.

"It's okay. I'm done for tonight. Thanks for the meal Ayame-nee-chan, Teuchi-oji-san" and with that the kid was gone.

After staring for a second at the, now, empty space, he went back to look at his meal with a thoughtful look on his face.

"..no-san..mino-san... Umino-san… Umino-san!"

Startled again, Iruka looked up to see Ayame looking at him worryingly.

"Oh I'm sorry Ayame-san, can you repeat it? I was not listening." He couldn't help but blush in embarrassment.

"Oh it's fine,I asked if you wanted anything else. You didn't even touch your ramen." She asked politely.

"What's the matter, Iruka-kun? Is something wrong with the ramen?" Teuchi looked questioningly at him.

"No, no! The ramen is delicious as always. It's not that..." he said while trying to find the right words.

"So what have you looking so agonizing?" Ayame asked as Teuchi came to stand near his daughter, to have a better look at him.

"It's just… well, I just wanted to ask umm.. If.."

"Well Iruka-kun?" Teuchi asked.

The Chũnin instructor sighed, rubbing at his eyes with his fingertips before asking, "Do you know the kid that just left? The one with the mask."

At their blank looks he quickly added "You see, he is one of my students so I was wondering how come you two know him, you seemed very close to him." He said while scratching the back of his head, trying and failing not to feel awkward about his question.

"Oh! So you are Naruto-kun's sensei" Ayame smiled and clapped her hands, looking very excited from the news.

"Can you tell us how Naruto-kun is doing in classes?" She asked, this time leaning a little closer to him. "He never says anything about them, only that they are ok." she stared into space for a moment looking disappointed before turning back to him with a curious look. "Ne.. ne.. Umino-san can you tell us? pleeeease..." Ayame begged.

Feeling a little cornered, he answered "He.. well.. He is a good student, a little quiet but very smart. He does all his homework well and answers the questions to the best of his abilities when asked." And yet the boy never offered up his hand when questions were asked, never volunteered on his own to demonstrate something in class. Iruka had discovered this early on – if Uzumaki were going to contribute to class, Iruka himself would have to call on him to do so. Not that he did, most of the times he just avoided looking in his direction or asked Aburame Shino that sits next to him.

"He is befriended Aburame Shino I believe, and sometimes hangs with Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji at lunch but I don't think they are as close to him as Aburame-kun is." He continued to tell them about Naruto as both the cook and his daughter looked very eager to listen.

Iruka never noticed how much he paid attention to the Kyuubi-child as he just kept talking, surprising even himself about the things he knew about the kid.

At one point he looked up and saw the happy smiles of Ayame and Teuchi, feeling self-conscious he immediately stopped talking.

"I'm so happy Naruto-kun doing well at the academy" Ayame said while smiling softly.

Besides her Teuchi nodded "Yes, it's good thing that this time he has a good teacher like you Iruka-kun. I don't believe the previous one was as…. " he posed for a moment, " well-educated and professional as you are."

At this comment Iruka can't help but to sink a little at his site.

He didn't feel like continuing this conversion after that, so he quickly ended the talk and went back to his cooling meal.

He only remembered on his way home that they didn't answer his question about how they met Naruto.

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry to all of you that I didn't update for a long time but I had some stuff in my life to deal with.

I hope you like the new chapter

See you next time.

Please review.