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“And make sure they get home safe!”
Iruka gave a forced smile at the jovial bar owner as he helped the civilian out the door. The drunk man giggled maniacally as he stumbled about, the only reason being able to stand up was because Iruka had one of the man’s arms over his shoulders.
“You know....” Iruka turned to look at Kotetsu, who was holding up his own drunk individual with a small group that was waiting outside for him.
The bandaged chuunin had a deep frown. “When I was forced to work on police duty,” he grumbled, “this isn’t what I expected.”
“Neither did I,” Genma agreed with his own drunk person. “But can’t say I blame them for getting smashed.” He huffed through his senbon needle with a little smirk. “Not every day that you die and then come back to life again. I would do the same if I could.”
“I’ll join you if you bring the alcohol,” Kotetsu chuckled. Only to shrink back when Izumo sent him a sharp look.
“You will not,” his partner snipped as he shifted his own person to look at Kotestu better. “No way I will carry you home if you get shitfaced.”
Genma barked out a laugh. “We know that’s a lie.” He still smirked unapologetically when Izumo turned his glare on him.
“Don’t encourage him, Genma,” he warned.
Genma just raised one hand in surrounder, but there was a teasing glint still in his eyes.
“Hey, hey,” Iruka interjected as he hoisted his person higher. “I would rather be dropping off drunks home than breaking up a bar brawl any day.”
There was a murmur of agreement because sometimes that could be very ugly. Add on top of that the police force was still thinly stretched and the jail hadn’t been rebuilt fully yet, it was just best to just walk drunk civilians home.
All of them began to meander towards the emergency housing district. They managed to wrangle some sort of idea where the men were staying and thankfully one of them had a place just at the entrance of the district.
When Genma handed over his load to the man’s sheepish wife, the group set out to the next closest residence. They staggered down the main road of the district (with Genma laughing at them the entire time) when Izumo announced, “Hey, isn’t that Naruto?”
The three others of the group broke their attention from each other to look down the road where Izumo was indicating. Sure enough, there was a familiar shade of bright yellow hair coming their way. Even from the distance they were, Iruka could see Naruto’s shoulders were hunched over, hands shoved in his jacket pockets, and his face was toward the ground.
The three drunkards they still had immediately rallied with loud salutations as they sloppily waved at the teen. The shinobi group responded by shushing the men so as not to disturb the other residences but the civilian’s shouts had gotten Naruto’s attention.
The teen looked up and immediately began to wave back. He didn’t approach at first but, after a second, he began to run toward them. “Iruka-sensei!” he yelled in greeting.
The chuunin grinned while he hoisted the man he held higher. “Hello, Naruto-kun,” he greeted back when the teen came to stop right in front of them.
Before the blue-eyed teen could even speak another word, the man that Izumo held- the one closest to Naruto- laughed loudly, “There is the hero of the village!” With his free hand, he reached out and slapped the younger’s shoulder in a friendly manner. “Without you, we all would surely still be dead!”
Naruto flinched, which could have been played off at how harsh the man’s blow had landed, but his bright smile and the cheerful light in his eyes dimmed.
Iruka’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t say anything as it would not be the right place for it. He just made a mental note to go find Naruto later when he was done for the night.
The other drunk men were echoing the same thing as the first. Naruto grinned through it all with a dusting of a blush on his cheeks but Iruka could see that his smile wasn’t quite right. Too tight and not as big as he knew it could be. But if no one knew him, it would be able to pass as something natural.
Genma finally interrupted the civilians but interjecting, “So you out for a good walk, Naruto-san?”
The teen laughed a little as he rubbed the back of his head. “Sort of? Was helping some people earlier today and we just finished a bit ago.” He shoved his hands in his pocket. “I was just heading home but decided to take a bit of a long way.”
Immediately Iruka paled a little. “Have you eaten today?” he asked. Naruto may have the stomach like a large cavern but he knew the teen would push himself through hunger pangs to help others.
Naruto laughed. “No worries, dattebayo!” He did a thumbs up with a wink. But his eyes had a dark shadow in them despite his behavior. “Some people I helped today offered me dinner! It was super delicious!”
Iruka sighed heavily in relief and that caused the man he held to slip a little in his grip. He grunted as he hoisted the man up again. What he hadn’t expected was for Naruto to be instantly by his side.
“Do you need help Iruka-sensei?” he asked, already taking the other man’s arm.
Iruka laughed. “No, no, Naruto-kun,” he shook his head. “You should really go home to get some rest.”
“You sure?” There was a bit of desperation in the teen’s tone awhile he looked at Iruka with wide-eyes. “It really might help to have a second person to carry him.”
Iruka bit his bottom lip, chest growing tight, as he studied Naruto’s face. It sort of reminded him of the times when they would part ways after they would have ramen together. Of a little boy who didn’t want to leave his side.
There was a heavy sigh and suddenly Genma got in between the two of them as he grabbed the man Iruka was holding. “Hey!” Iruka protested. “Genma! What are you doing?”
“What does it look like?” the senbon chewing jonin asked as he practically snatched the drunk man from Iruka. Luckily the man was too drunk to care at how he was being manhandled. “Taking your load.”
Iruka frowned. “Why should you?”
His friend sent him a pointed look before he cast a glance at Naruto. Instead of saying anything though about the two of them, he casually mentioned, “Seems like a good idea for you to escort Naruto-san home. Never know who will stop him just to talk and that will make him stay up more.” He shrugged as best he could as he settled the drunk civilian’s arm over his shoulders. “Makes sense to have someone regulate the people so he can get home to rest.”
Iruka’s throat grew tight at the gesture. Genma grinned before he started to walk towards Kotetsu and Izumo. The other two shinobi also wore understanding smiles.
“A-are you sure?” Iruka asked one last time.
“Absolutely,” Izumo encouraged. “And you aren’t skipping out on your duties by escorting someone home.” And wasn’t that just a ridiculous excuse! Naruto was more than capable of handling himself.
Iruka chuckled as the group waved off and began to walk away. When the chuunin turned his attention to Naruto, the teen wore a confused frown as he watched the group move further away.
He looked up at Iruka. “That was... weird.”
Iruka just laughed and reached out to rub the teen’s hair.
Naruto immediately protested to the act. “Hey! You can’t do that, dattebayo! I’m not a kid anymore!”
Iruka shook his head with a soft grin. “So where are you staying right now?”
The teen just glared at him for a second but then smiled happily.
After Naruto gave the location to where he was staying, the two of them set out.
“How have you been?” Iruka immediately asked. “I haven’t seen you much after... well, everything.”
“Great, dattebayo!” Naruto grinned widely. “Everyone has been super great and I love being able to help the villagers!”
Even as he spoke, Iruka couldn’t help but notice that his cheerfulness was a bit forced. Still, he smiled and nodded to play along.
“And what about you Iruka-sensei?” Naruto asked. “How have you been?”
“Busy.” Iruka shook his head. “Ever since the reconstruction of the village started, there hasn’t been a moment to take a break.”
“You’re right,” Naruto agreed. He shoved his hand in his pocket. “But everything is going to be shiny and new when it’s all done!”
Iruka laughed, “That’s certainly very optimistic!” He paused in thought. “Did you hear Ichiraku finally got authorized to be rebuilt?”
As he expected, Naruto lit up like the sun. “Really!? Dattebayo!”
Iruka quickly shushed his shouting and a gentle reprimanding but continued to grin at the teen’s enthusiasm.
As the two of them continued to walk, Iruka couldn’t help but notice that they were actually walking away from where Naruto said he was staying. He didn’t mention it however as they talked about what they were doing during the reconstruction.
Naruto talked a mile per minute, happily regaling of his adventures that he was having in the village, of what he was doing with his friends, and some of the missions that he had gone on. Iruka smiled the entire time as the teen spoke but he couldn’t help noticing that when it came to speaking about some of the details of his adventures- specifically those dealing with other villagers and shinobi- Naruto would frown, hunch his shoulders, and his voice would go quiet.
Iruka’s throat itched the ask what was really going through the teen’s mind but kept himself quiet. He knew if he asked, Naruto would just deny something was wrong and never tell him anything. He could wait; he had plenty of practice.
They continued to walk until they came to a part of a river embankment that had been rebuilt. Without even speaking about it, Naruto went to sit down and Iruka followed suit. They both remained quiet as they sat close to one another.
Iruka sat cross-legged and looked up to the night sky. Yet his attention wasn’t fully on the stars above but on Naruto, who sat uncharacteristically quiet. The teen’s knees were to his chest with his arms wrapped loosely around his legs while he stared at the river.
The two of them remained silent but Iruka could see Naruto opening and closing his mouth sometimes. The struggle the teen was going through was heartbreaking to see but Iruka still held onto his silence.
Finally, in a very small voice, Naruto spoke, “Hey, Iruka-sensei?”
Iruka turned his head to indicate the teen had his attention. Naruto’s head was slightly toward him but wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Have... have you ever felt weird when talking to people?”
Iruka paused. He frowned slightly and offered, “Sometimes.” He raised a hand and counted off. “When I have to give people directions to a place I am unsure of, talking to my doctor about personal problems, when children come up to me with weird questions, when I have to explain stuff to my boss,” he noticed Naruto frowning grumpily at him so finished, “and sometimes when people come to me about their problems.”
The teen raised an eyebrow. “But you always help me!” Naruto protested.
“Because I know you,” Iruka stated firmly while he lowered his hand. “We both have similar experiences, so I know how you feel sometimes. We both lost our parents when we were young, have lived on our own for a long time, and fought to seek to be recognized by the people around us.”
Naruto stared at him with wide eyes. “Then... when you did get recognized, did it feel weird when people that used to shout at you started talking to you?”
Iruka’s heart shattered in his chest as he finally figured out what was wrong. “I admit,” he quietly murmured, “it did.”
Naruto nodded and turned his head to stare at the river. He pulled his legs closer to his chest as he whispered, “It feels weird when people that used to shout at me are now chatting with me.”
He bowed his head. “Part of me feels really happy about it. But another part of me gets really angry. People now act as if what they did in the past didn’t happen.” His hands tightened in the fabric of his pants. “And act as if they have been my friends the whole time. Like me being invited to dinner tonight. When I was younger that would have never happened.
“When stuff like this happens it makes me wonder, if I wasn’t the ‘hero of the village’ would any of this still be happening?”
The question hung in the air between them but Iruka knew he couldn’t answer that question. But he knew something he could do.
He reached out and wrapped an arm around Naruto’s shoulders with his hand against the teen’s head. He pulled Naruto toward him until his head rested against Iruka’s shoulder. As he expected the younger began to squirm but froze when Iruka pronounced with a thick voice, “It is okay to feel that way.”
Naruto raised his face and Iruka smiled down at him. “It isn’t weird to feel like that,” he whispered. “Those feelings of being happy and angry are very valid.
“You have been through a lot- more than anyone should. And those people didn’t help matters. So it’s okay to feel mad when they try to be your friends. It’s okay.”
As he spoke, Naruto’s eyes began to get watery. He lowered his reddening face, hiding it against Iruka’s chuunin vest, while his right hand reached out and bunched into his vest too. He began to shake slightly and Iruka heard a wet, shaky breath.
Iruka swallowed the lump in his throat and pulled the teen closer. His chest hurt at witnessing the usually cheery teen this way and reminded him of darker times when the boy would be sitting dejectedly on the swing that was once in the Academy’s courtyard.
He rested his cheek against Naruto’s hair and went on, “Feeling this way is normal . And you will probably feel that way for a long time. Things like this don’t go away in a night or even a matter of weeks. It could take months, maybe even years, before that anger begins to fade away.”
He heard a wet sob and closed his eyes to fight against the sting of his own tears. “But also being happy about it shows that you aren’t letting that anger control you. You love helping the villagers, having the other shinobi recognize your talent, and watching the village as it will be remade shiny and new.
“Those are the things you should hold on to. To balance out the anger you feel.”
He felt Naruto’s head nod a little and Iruka smiled.
The two of them remained that way until Naruto’s crying was just a few hiccups. When he felt the teen began to pull away, Iruka didn’t stop him but kept his arm around Naruto’s shoulders. The younger used the sleeves of his jacket to wipe his eyes and nose but he was smiling a little.
When their eyes met, Iruka breathed a soft sigh in relief while the knots in his stomach loosened. He could see there was no shadow in the teen’s blue eyes anymore.
Naruto smiled, wide and bright, as he said, “Thank you, Iruka-sensei.”
“You’re welcome,” the chuunin replied warmly and messed up the teen’s hair.
Iruka laughed as Naruto protested and pushed his hand away. The two of them grinned at one another before they looked up at the night sky.
The two of them remained quiet again and Iruka took the time to appreciate the moment of rest. He hadn’t realized how much tension he had been holding in until he felt all of his limbs and joints ache slightly. He rolled his shoulders and took a deep breath.
He debated about laying back on the ground or them going to their residences when Naruto said, “Hey, Iruka-sensei.”
Iruka turned his head to meet Naruto’s bright blue eyes. The chuunin tilted his head to the side and Naruto’s grin grew bigger. “I was just thinking about what you were saying,” the teen announced, “and I also think I know another reason why I’m not so angry at people.”
Iruka raised an eyebrow.
“It’s because I don’t want to disappoint the people that believed in me, dattebayo!” Naruto laughed. He looked at the sky, continuing to wear his smile. “People like the Third,” a flash of pain crossed his face, “or Jiraiya-sensei.” He looked back at Iruka. “Or even you, Iruka-sensei.”
Iruka felt like he had been punched in the gut at the words and he stared at the teen. But Naruto, seemingly unrealizing just how the words had affected the older man, looked up at the sky again and continued, “I keep thinking about all everyone has done and taught me. And I keep thinking: ‘if I am mean to people, that would really hurt the feelings of people that believed before them.’”
Iruka’s throat was tight while his eyes began to sting. Had he really done so much to be recognized like that? All he did was feed and listen to Naruto. He didn’t feel like he taught him anything or passed on any sort of life-changing wisdom. The best he did in that regard was teach the boy some things like reading and writing. He wasn’t a Sannin like Jiraiya or someone great like the Third. He was just an average school teacher who had overcome his own anger and fear of a little boy who reminded him so much of himself.
Before he could stop himself, he reached out and pulled Naruto into another tight hug. The teen let out a loud protest and Iruka laughed with a few tears escaping his eyes. He kept the hug brief and let go to wipe away his tears before Naruto could see them.
“What was that for?” Naruto pouted grumpily.
Iruka giggled as he shook his head. “Because I wanted to.” He then stood up.
“We should really get you home for some rest,” he announced, silently denying that he changed the subject so quickly because he didn’t want to cry again.
Yet when he looked at the teen still sitting down, Naruto wore a frown with the same desperate look in his eyes that he had earlier that night when he had first tried to stay by Iruka’s side.
The chuunin sighed with fondness while he held out a hand. “If you don’t report me,” he said and caught Naruto’s attention, “I’ll cut my police shift short and, if you want, you can sleep in my residence tonight.”
Naruto’s face lit up. “Really!?”
Iruka nodded with a chuckle. “Yep!” He winked. “And we’ll even see if we can help some villagers tomorrow. If not that, at least get lunch together. My treat.”
Naruto laughed as he took the older man’s hand. “Dattebayo!” He practically bounced on his feet when he stood up. He then declared. “And no way will I allow you to pay! I finally got some money from missions, so my treat!”
Iruka laughed. “We’ll see.”
The two of them then walked back toward the residential district with Iruka’s chest warm to see the teen’s usual bouncy energy return. Naruto’s happiness and well being would be alright in this new chapter of his life. Above everything that Iruka could ever wish for, that was the only thing he wanted the most. And as long as that was the case then Iruka would be alright too.