"I'm sorry. Naruto, you should have known it would never work out between us." The pink-haired kunoichi looked at him with a bored look. She wanted to be with her Sasuke-kun right now, not with an idiot like Uzumaki Naruto.

"But… Sakura-chan… you said you liked me." Seventeen year old Naruto looked at his teammate with hurt and sadness.

Haruno Sakura sighed loudly. "Geez, Naruto. You're thicker than I thought. I just needed to be with someone for the time Sasuke-kun was away. Now, Sasuke-kun is back and wants me to be his girlfriend. I've been waiting for him to ask me that for so long." Sakura glared at him. "Do you not want me to be happy? I thought you liked me."

The blonde-haired man's eyes shifted to the ground. His eyes were now covered by his long bangs hiding the tears that had managed to escape. He spoke quietly with hurt evident in his voice. "I do want you to be happy. I forgot how much the Uchiha meant to you."

"Glad you understand Naruto-baka. Well, I'll see you around. Sasuke-kun and I have a date tonight. I have to go get ready!"

Naruto stood unmoving in the same spot. He should have known. Everything she had done… everything she had said… they were all lies. He had put aside his own goals, ambitions, and dreams to fulfill a promise he had made to Sakura. The promise of a lifetime… to bring back Sasuke.

Sasuke… the cause of all his pain. No. It wasn't just the Uchiha. It was Sakura and everyone in this damn village. He had brought the Uchiha back to Konoha. He had killed Kabuto and aided Jiraiya, the legendary toad sannin, in taking down Orochimaru. Yet, no one acknowledged his feats. The villagers and Sakura had immediately accepted the last Uchiha heir back into their lives. They were all worshipping him as they had never done before. It was as if Sasuke had never betrayed the Leaf Village. It was as if Sasuke had only gone on a long vacation and killed hundreds of innocent people.

Then, there was himself. He had done so much, but he was still blamed for the grief brought upon by the deaths caused by the mighty Kyuubi. He was not acknowledged for any of his feats by this village. He stopped his trail of thought. He was wrong. There were a few people in the village that recognized him and his accomplishments. There was Iruka-sensei, a man who was like his father. There was also Tsunade-baachan, Shizune-neechan, Ero-sennin, and his other friends like Hinata-chan, Ino-chan, Gaara, Lee, and Shikamaru. Even though it was a few people, the fact was there were people in the village that cared for him. But, that still didn't get rid of the fact that he had been betrayed by his two closest friends, Sakura and Sasuke.

The broken young man was broken from his reverie by a gentle hand on his shoulder. However, he did not look up in fear that his tears would once again resume their flow.

"Naruto. What are you doing out here?" asked the brown-haired teacher, Iruka. "Naruto. Look at me." Iruka grabbed Naruto's face and tilted it up. His eyes widened in shock at the sorrow that claimed his favorite student's face. "Naruto," he said with a cracking voice. "Come with me." He grabbed Naruto's hands motioning for the boy to follow him.

Naruto went along with him without protesting. He didn't want anyone to see him in this state. But, Iruka-sensei's presence was soothing and calming. He needed to be with someone who cared for him.

A few minutes later, the two ninjas were in Iruka's apartment. Iruka led Naruto to the couch and went to the kitchen. Fairly quickly, he came back with a cup of hot chocolate. "Drink this, Naruto. It'll make you feel better." Naruto sipped the warm drink and felt it go down his throat. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Naruto nodded his head. "I… It…" Naruto's hand began to shake, and Iruka took the warm drink from his hand.

"Just let it all out, Naruto. I'm always here for you." He grabbed the container of the fiercest demon in a hug.

The warmth of the hug from his father-like teacher made him feel better and safe. That was when Uzumaki Naruto broke down. Tears started to flow down his face at a rapid pace. He tried to stop them but found he couldn't.

"Just let it all out, Naruto." Iruka held the young man tightly. He had never said anything about it, but Naruto was like a son to him. He hated seeing the young man sad. He hated seeing the tears that escaped his bright blue eyes. Why couldn't his son ever find happiness? Why was it that anything that made him happy was taken away? Why was it all snatched right from his fingers?

Several minutes later, Naruto's tear ducts had dried out. "Thanks, Iruka-sensei."

"Anytime, Naruto. I'm always here for you. Don't forget that."

Naruto looked at him with a smile. He was glad that he had someone that cared this much for him. "I know." There was a silence in the room. Naruto wanted to tell Iruka what happened. "I'm ready to tell you now."

Iruka nodded waiting for him to begin. Naruto took a deep breath and recounted what Sakura had said. He let out everything, including his feelings about the village and their treatment of him. All the while, Iruka paid attention.

When he finished, Naruto voiced a question. "What did my father see in this village?"

Iruka said nothing for a while because he honestly didn't know what the answer to the question was. The identity of Naruto's parents had been revealed a few months ago to Naruto himself. The only people who knew were Naruto, of course, himself, Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama, and Kakashi. Naruto didn't want to tell anyone else his origin. He didn't want false recognition. Iruka sighed contemplating how to answer the blonde's question. "I'll be honest with you Naruto. I used to think that this village was great. I thought the people were accepting and kind to all strangers. But, I was wrong. They're all prejudiced. They're all demons."

"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto said with a wavering voice.

"It's true. Only a true demon would physically and mentally harm an innocent, young boy. Whatever your father saw in this village… it disappeared a long time ago. I apologize for not seeing you as a human sooner. I might have been able to help you, but I was blinded by my hate."

"Iruka-sensei… its okay… I…"

"No! It's not okay! After I saw you for the great young boy you were, I realized what people in this village were really like. I thought about leaving the village a long time ago because of that. But, then, I talked to you for the first time… and I couldn't leave. I decided to stay… for you. Naruto… you're like a son to me. I'll protect you always. But, I apologize for not protecting you from the beginning." Tears that Iruka had tried so hard to keep at bay managed to escape.

"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto said looking up at him with teary eyes. "It means a lot to me that you consider me your son. You've always been like a father to me… I'm glad that you didn't leave."

"Me too, Naruto. Me too." Both father and son sat quietly in the room. "Did you know how many times I've tried to officially adopt you? But, the stupid council always refuses."

Naruto's eyes slit in anger. "I hate the damn council. They're all a bunch of biased, old geezers."

Iruka chuckled. "That's true." He hated pretty much all the council members who were against Naruto. "Naruto, don't care about them. Don't care about Sasuke and Sakura either. They're not even worthy enough to be friends with you."

Naruto sighed deeply. He knew Iruka was right. Throughout their whole relationship, Sakura had taken advantage of Naruto's kindness. He was just too blinded by love too notice. "You're right."

A silence once again blanketed the room. "Naruto… I know about your mask of goofiness and clumsiness. You told me about it a long time ago when you were in the academy. But, it has been years. You kept telling me that you would be yourself, but you held that mask in place. Why?"

"You figured it out on your own, and I got used to being myself around you. But, I guess I got so used to my mask around others that I just got scared of getting rid of it. I feel like they'll stop liking me when they see the real me."

"That's not true, Naruto. The members of the other original rookie teams and their senseis' sincerely care about you."

"I know. I know. I'm just afraid."

Before Iruka could reply, someone knocked on the door. Naruto and Iruka looked at each other wondering who it could be. Iruka opened the door and was shocked to see an anbu. "Can I help you?"

The anbu member walked in without being invited by Iruka. Naruto got up and shouted at the anbu. "Hey! You can't just barge into someone's house like that! Don't you have any manners?"

The black clad anbu stood in front of Naruto and shoved a scroll into Naruto's hands. "This is an official summons from the council. They wish to see you immediately." With those words, the anbu member walked out the door and disappeared.

Iruka and Naruto ignored the disappearance of the anbu and just looked at the scroll. Both had one question on their minds. What was the council planning?

Iruka broke the silence. "We should get going. We don't want to be late for a meeting with the mighty council of Konoha."

Naruto snickered despite the worries he had. "Yeah… we should get going. Don't wanna be late. Wait… you're coming too? But, they only summoned me."

"I don't care," Iruka said with a huff. "There is no way I'm letting you go into the belly of the beast by yourself. Don't question me, young man."

Naruto knew better than to try changing Iruka's mind. That tone of voice meant that he was unwilling to budge. "Fine. Let's go."

Rather than run to the council, they decided to walk. It wouldn't hurt to make them all wait. When they were almost there, they ran into all the members of the rookie nine plus Team Gai. Sai was there, but Sasuke and Sakura were not.

"Hey! Naruto… Iruka-sensei!" shouted the young and beautiful Yamanaka Ino.

"Hey guys!" yelled Naruto hiding his previous sorrows and putting on his mask. "What are all of you doing together?"

Iruka looked at Naruto and sighed quietly. There was the mask again. Naruto was still deeply hurt and sad, but he would never let others see his pain. But, if one were to look carefully at his eyes, one could see all the pain and sorrow that burdened the young boy. He was pulled out of his thoughts by one of the green beasts of Konoha.

"Hello Naruto-kun!" exclaimed the exuberant Rock Lee. "How are you on this fine youthful day?"

Before he could answer, Shikamaru spoke up. "How troublesome. Ino here wanted the whole gang to get together and go out for some ramen. We were actually just coming to look for you."

"Cool! What are we gonna be doing?"

"Naruto!" yelled Iruka. "Did you forget about the meeting with the council?"

Naruto blinked and laughed running his hand through the back of his hair. "Oh yeah. I forgot." The others chuckled at the blonde's antics.

"What?" asked Ino. "If you're not there, it's not the same."

Naruto put his arm around the Yamanaka. "Aw… Ino-chan… I had no idea I meant so much to you."

Ino's eye twitched. Sai spoke up before he could get hurt. "You should probably get your arm off of her, Dickless. She looks like she's going to hurt you." He smiled.

"Don't call me that!"

"Call you what?" Sai asked still smiling.

"Why you…"

Iruka grabbed Naruto before he could do anything. "Calm down! We really need to get going now. I think we're late enough as it is."

"I guess you're right."

Kakashi spoke up before they could leave. "What's this meeting about anyway?" Both of them just shrugged their shoulders. Kakashi sighed and put away his favorite orange book. "I'll come with you two. After all, Naruto is my student."

"I'll come as well," said Sai. "Naruto is my teammate."

"I shall come to!" exclaimed Lee. "I must be there to give Naruto-kun my youthful support!"

"Oh Lee! My wondrous student! You have made me so proud! The flames of youth shine brightly in you!"

"Gai-sensei!" exclaimed Lee indicating the start of the sunset routine.

"Lee!"

Before the two green beasts of Konoha could complete their ritual, they were interrupted by Ino. "Why don't we all go? If the council cares, we'll just leave and wait outside. Besides, the whole point of this gathering was so we could all hang out together."

Naruto looked at Iruka and Kakashi. "I guess it wouldn't hurt if they came," said Kakashi.

With that said, the others followed. The other jounin sensei's came mainly because of their curiosity as to what the meeting could be about.

Naruto voiced a question that had been plaguing his mind since he found out about the gathering. "Are Sasuke and Sakura coming?"

Everyone noticed that Naruto had left out the chan in Sakura's name. No one answered him. But, then a timid voice spoke up. "W-we a-a-ll decided n-not to i-i-invite them." Hyuuga Hinata had after many years gotten over crush on the demon container. She realized that all she felt for him was admiration and great respect. She still Naruto to be a wonderful friends though. She hated seeing him in pain. She was one of the few people who could see through the intricate mask he wore. She had spoken to Naruto a few years ago when they went on a mission together. On that mission, she told him about her feelings and how they had changed. That was when they developed a strong bond that siblings might share. She later let Naruto know that she could see through the mask he wore. That had marked a big turn in the relationship. They were more open with each other than ever before. It was then that Naruto persuaded her to pursue her feelings for the stoic heir of the Aburame clan and her teammate, Shino. It was because of Uzumaki Naruto that she and Shino were dating and very much in love.

Naruto looked at Hinata with confusion. "Why?"

Ino spoke up before Hinata. She looked angry. "For one, Uchiha is a traitor. I don't know why he was even accepted back into Konoha. Besides, he's not that well-liked among this group. He tried to kill our friends, including you. Sakura… well… we all know what happened today morning Naruto. What she did was just low. You're one amazing friend, and we refuse to tolerate a blind, love-struck girl who hurts one of our friends!" Ino looked furious. "There is no way we will tolerate them." Then, her expression softened. "I hope you don't mind, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes widened. They all cared about him. They really considered him their friend. Naruto blinked back any tears that might have escaped. "I don't mind. Thank you all."

"Hey now… don't get all emotional. It'd be too troublesome."

"What are you talking about? I'm not emotional."

Before anyone else could add something, they were interrupted by the frantic voice of the Hokage's apprentice, Shizune. "NARUTO-KUN!"

"Shizune-neechan. What's going on?"

"Thank goodness you're here. The council's waiting for you."

Naruto looked at her face. "Neechan… have you been crying? What's going on?"

"It's nothing Naruto-kun. Get inside." However, she stopped him before he could enter. "Just know this Naruto-kun… Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama are doing all they can."

"Neechan… what's going on?" He was worried. The others around him were worried as well. This seemed like it was more serious than they thought.

"They'll explain everything inside, Naruto-kun." She looked at the others just realizing they were here. "It's a good thing you're all here too. You can also help my little brother. He'll need all the support he can get." She ushered them all inside before they could even ask what was going on. This meeting was going to change Naruto's life, and most likely for the worse.

So, what do you all think? Is it good? Should I continue?

I'm not sure about all the pairing yet. But, this is how it looks so far:

Naruto/Ino, Shino/Hinata, Shika/Temari, Chouji/Ayame (ramen girl), Neji/Ten, Lee/OC, Kiba/OC

How's that sound? Also, it will be Sakura/Sasuke together. Normally, I hate those two together unless they're both bad. I'm actually a big fan of Sasuke and Sasuke/Hinata stories. But, I decided to do something different this time. Let me know what you think.

I apologize for any mistakes I may have been made. If I made a mistake with any Japanese words, please let me know. I'm not really used to using them in writing. Thanks.

Don't forget to R/R. :D