Chapter Seven; Iruka's Tale
Naruto groaned that afternoon after the exams. "Damn it! I can't believe that I lost to Sasuke, that idiot!" he exclaimed. While he wondered what he was going to tell his father, Sakura came rushing past him in a fit of tears. "Gee, I wonder what's wrong with Sakura." Naruto said as he continued to watch her. That's when suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. Naruto stopped and turned around to see his old friend and the person who had surpassed him.
"Oh now I get it." He began. "But what I don't get is what she sees in a person like you. Listen Sasuke, you may have beaten me this time, but you just wait." He told him as Sasuke stopped and looked up at him. "Sorry, I don't have that kind of time. I have a lot of other stuff to take care of in the next ten years." He remarked. "Grr,.." Naruto began as he gritted his teeth. "Sasuke! I'm going to kick your butt so hard that you won't be able to sit down for months!" he yelled. "Yeah right, I'd just like to see you try. Considering that you can't even do a simple shadow clone jutsu." Sasuke said with a chuckle before he started walking away.
"Yeah you better keep walking!" Naruto yelled when he tried to lunge after him but suddenly felt somebody grabbing ahold of him by his collar. "Calm down Naruto." Iruka told him. "Huh? Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?" he questioned as he heaved a simple and yet heavy sigh. "I need to talk to you. Your father told me what happened this morning, about the fight that you two had." He explained as he quickly let him go.
"Oh and what are you his secretary!?" Naruto yelled. "No, I'm his best friend and he tells me everything." Iruka answered. "Oh so I see, he tells you everything! So that must be why he tells me zip!" Naruto snapped. "Look Naruto, Kakashi loves you. I mean sure you might drive him crazy and be a pain in the butt to him from time to time, but he still loves you. And I knew he would, and that's why I was the one who left you on his doorstep when you were a baby." He explained as Naruto gasped and widened his eyes.
"You mean you were the one who?_" he began as he nodded at him. "And I think that I can give you some of the answers that you're looking for." He said as he told Naruto all about who the Nine-Tailed Fox really was and his father's sacrifice. "You mean my father was the fourth hokage?" Naruto questioned with disbelief before he shook his head. "But that still doesn't explain why my own mother abandoned me." He pointed out.
"You see your mother didn't want you to know that you were adopted in the first place. She loved you enough that she wanted you to think that Kakashi was your real father, but she knew that it would never work when the day would come that you would realize that you didn't look anything like each other. And when you started asking questions your father would have no choice but wind up telling you the truth. She still stayed in contact with him for several years though until she passed away when you were only five years old." He explained.
"You mean she's dead? But why didn't Kakashi ever say anything?" Naruto questioned. "Because he didn't know about it. I'm the only person she talked to. You see, I don't know quite how to break this to you, but after your father died, well your mother remarried and gave birth to a daughter." He explained. "What!? You mean I have a sister!?" Naruto cried. "Yep and she's at the academy. Your mother wanted me to keep a close watch on the both of you." He said.
"But that still doesn't explain why she left us in the first place!" Naruto told him a bit angrily. "It's because she didn't want you to have to grow up knowing who your father really was, putting all that pressure on you, and blaming yourself for his death and the lives of all the other villagers that were killed that night." He explained. "Oh, well in that case, just who exactly is this long lost sister of mine?" he questioned. "You would never believe me if I told you." He said. "Try me." Naruto challenged him as a moment of silence passed between them. "Sakura Haruno."
