Iruka finished his ramen and called for another bowl. Today had been an especially busy day. He remembered the conversation they'd had in the Hokage's office.

"Foreign shinobi?" The Hokage asked.

"Yes. There were nine of them" Kakashi said.

"It shouldn't be possible for them to get so close to the village" Iruka said .

"Yes. It means that someone powerful must've helped them get through the borders" said The Hokage as he stroked his beard. "We'll have to investigate this and improve our security"

"But for what reason?" Iruka asked. "Is it because of Naruto?"

"Yes it's very likely they were targeting Naruto" said Kakashi. "I assume they were going to ambush him and then capture him. They didn't expect Sasuke to come their direction"

"That boy held off nine shinobi. He's strong" The Hokage commented.

"Speaking of Sasuke. I noticed something odd today" Kakashi said.

"What is it?" The Hokage asked. Iruka looked at him with a worried expression.

"When I first saw Sasuke he had some injuries on his chest, his back and on his shoulder" Kakashi said. "But by the time I went back to the genin, half of those injuries...were gone. I know for sure Sakura hadn't healed him yet."

Iruka's eyes widened. "How is that possible? The Uchiha clan doesn't possess such healing abilities" he said.

The Hokage had a glint in his eyes as if he understood something. "Oh...Yes..." he remarked and then chuckled.

"Lord Third?" Iruka asked.

"Hmm...I'm not quite sure yet. I'll have to consult some old files to confirm. But if it's what I think it is, it could be very advantageous" The Hokage said. "If anything happens let me know"

"Yes sir" said Kakashi.

Iruka wondered what the Hokage was thinking. He was especially concerned for Naruto. He always tried to look out for the boy. But Lord Third was always busy so he too was loaded with work. He always regretted not being able to take care of him properly.

Ayame gave Iruka his second bowl of ramen. As he slurped on the noodles a familiar voce said "Hey Iruka sensei!"

Iruka looked to his side. "Oh! Naruto, hey. What's up?" he said.

"Nothing much. I...wanted to ask you something though" Naruto said in a serious tone. Ayame asked for his order but he told her he was waiting for someone.

"What is it?" Iruka asked.

Naruto gulped. He didn't know how he was supposed to explain all of his...thoughts. "Well I've been feeling strange lately" he began.

"Strange. Do you know why?" said Iruka.

"Well..." Naruto felt his heart starting to beat faster at a steady rate. "It's because...because of...of"

"Is it something you did?" Iruka said.

"Well kind of..." said Naruto.

"Is it because of the mission?" Iruka asked.

"No...not really" said Naruto.

"Is it Sakura?" Iruka finally said.

"No" Naruto replied firmly.

Iruka was surprised. So he waited patiently. He had never seen Naruto act like this before.

"It's...a person" Naruto said finally. "I feel something...like... good but weird and..."

"Well the thing is I just don't know!" he said with frustration in his voice.

"And by 'good but weird' what exactly do you mean?" Iruka asked. Though he already had an idea of what it might be.

"Well...Every time this person is near me I feel really happy. But then, my chest starts feeling tight, my stomach feels funny and sometimes I feel like my whole body is buzzing" he said drifting off into his thoughts. "And when they take my hand I feel so...floaty. I like it...but I...don't know why I get this strange feeling around him".

{a/n: yeah go on. diagnose him with gay
in the comments my dear fujo specialists.}

Iruka confirmed his thoughts. He smiled and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Naruto...maybe...you 'like' him" he said slowly.

Naruto widened his eyes and his mouth hung open. His heart ballooned and his stomach flipped. "How did you know it was a guy?!" he whispered.

"Well you stopped using 'they' and you said 'he'" said Iruka with a smile.

Naruto's cheeks started to turn pink. "Huh...I didn't even realize it" he said. "So can guys...like other guys?" he asked.

Iruka sighed. "It's a very taboo subject Naruto. Talking about it is as bad as talking about the nine tails. Guys and girls like each other. That's what everyone considers as normal. But sometimes guys can like guys in a similar way. Or girls with other girls too" he said quietly.

He looked at Naruto with a smile "It's like choosing your favorite color or your favorite food. Everyone has different preferences. But that doesn't mean it's wrong" he explained.

Naruto considered it and his thoughts wandered off to Sasuke. 'Do I...like him?'

"Then how do I know?" Naruto asked. "And...what do I do?"

"Well it depends. You'll have to tell me who it is" said Iruka. He had an idea of who it might be but wasn't sure yet.

Naruto looked at his sensei wondering whether or not he should tell him. His stomach felt like it was trying to jump to his throat and his chest still had that strange feeling ini t. "Well...it's...um...he's..." he stuttered nervously. "It's...someone-"

Naruto stopped. He had just seen something in the distance that made him shut up.

"Well?" Iruka asked.

"You're early" said a voice, as the person took a seat next to Naruto. The blonde looked at him with his eyes wide and mumbled "Oh! Hi. Yeah...um...my house is closer than yours so I just...dropped of my stuff and came here. Yeah"

Naruto's heart had suddenly escalated and started beating so loudly that he thought everyone might hear it.

Iruka realized, he was right. 'It's Sasuke'. He gave a smile and continued to eat his ramen.

Naruto quickly took out his coupons and gave them to Ayame. He sat there quietly which intrigued Sasuke.

Naruto glanced at him thinking about the conversation he had just had with Iruka sensei. It made him feel extremely nervous. 'Me and Sasuke...' he thought.

'Wait what am I even thnking?' Naruto shook his head trying to clear his mind.

Seeing Naruto like that made Sasuke suddenly nervous too. He remembered what Kakashi had said and the thoughts he'd had...

Sasuke mentally shoved away his thoughts. But somehow they kept springing back up, making Sasuke feel even more awkward.

Both of them were silent for a long while. Even Ayame and her father gave them a curious look.

"What's on your mind?" Sasuke finally asked.

"Oh...Nothing. Just thinking about today" Naruto replied hastily.

Iruka decided to speak. "Listen you two. I understand how you feel. There are some times where you might be afraid or not understand what you do, what happens and...how you feel" he said carefully. "It's natural that as you grow up there are some things you won't understand yet. That's why it's important to keep an open mind and be true to yourself" he said.

"Be true to yourself" Naruto mumbled.

Iruka's little romance advice disguised as a pep talk, seemed to move some of the gears in their heads. It was slow but at least something.

'Not that I've ever been good in the romance department' he thought.

And as luck would have it, the reason for that statement was because of the next person that arrived at Ichiraku.