Disclaimer: I own nothing! I am simply obsessed with Naruto characters... This one is based off of episode 275 of Shippuden, with all the beautiful views on Naruto and Iruka's relationship
Iruka thought about Naruto a lot. He knew he had played a large role in shaping the boy into the man he was becoming. If Iruka had not intervened on his behalf against Mizune, Naruto would likely either be dead or under strict guard. He would not have made it onto a genin team, never learned the power of friendship and love, never grown up from the lonely, attention-seeking child that he had been. He would not have saved the Chunin Exams, rescued Gaara, defeated Pein, saved Konoha multiple times, or done any of the amazing seeds he had accomplished so far.
But sometimes Iruka wondered if Naruto ever thought about him. It had been years since his Academy days. Now he had stronger teachers like Jiraiya and Kakashi, and brave comrades like Sakura and the rest to watch his back. Iruka wasn't needed anymore. And yet he still hoped that Naruto thought about him, because Iruka still thought about him. Naruto was like his younger brother, the sibling he never had, a family to replace the one he had lost. But Iruka had never told him this, always too afraid that the boy did not think of him as important at all, maybe Naruto only remembered the days when Iruka had hated and persecuted him along with the rest of the town. No amount of ramen could wipe out those memories.
And yet, when talk of war began among the shinobi, when Tsunade sent him to keep Naruto hidden on the island, Iruka began to think that maybe it was time to share his feelings. There was no guarantee that anyone would survive, regardless of how far from the main lines they were. Iruka did not want to die without ever telling Naruto how he really felt. So he wrote a note. And when he knew that it would no longer be possible to keep Naruto safe and sheltered on the island, he gave him the note and sent him on his way. When Killer Bee came to him and told him just how Naruto felt, Iruka knew that he had made the right choice. Because Naruto knew that he cared about him and he knew that Naruto thought about him. And that was enough for the two orphans who owed so much to each other.