-The Academy-

-Shortly After Iruka's Collapse-

Naruto had been worried after Iruka's collapse, only for the man to brush him off saying, "Give me a minute, it's no big deal. I just need a minute to think."

He trusted what his teacher had said and got back to reading the book aloud. It was some book on Konoha's history, to his knowledge, it was not one he or his clones had read. Regardless of whether they had or not, it never hurt to review (or learn) what it had in store. Thus, that is what Naruto did, at least, until Iruka got up from the ground.

Closing the book, Naruto watched as the man dusted himself off.

'Hmm, Iruka-sensei seems more energetic today than usual. I didn't think about it before, but when I shouted, he shouted. Between that, and his overdramatic collapse to the floor just before, I wonder what's up.'

Voicing his concerns, Naruto asked of the man, "So, Iruka-sensei…what was the deal with you collapsing? That was kind of weird of you. Same thing with you shouting with me. Normally you only shout at me, not with me."

Naruto watched his older friend, and teacher, think for a moment before sitting down in a chair and sighing.

"Naruto, you don't know much about me, do you? I mean, outside of class and your pranks, we haven't really talked much, right?"

Naruto considered for a moment; he didn't remember interacting with the man outside of those times.

Iruka continued talking, "I can see it in your face, you're probably thinking something along the lines of 'Huh, me and Iruka-sensei really haven't interacted any other times.'"

Naruto was shocked, sure, the wording wasn't exactly the same, but the general idea was there. Naruto opened his mouth to ask how Iruka had done that, but before he could speak, he was cut off by the man.

"And before you ask, I knew because it's the truth, we never really had a relationship outside of teacher and student. Did you ever stop to ask yourself, why is Iruka-sensei helping me? Why does he care so much about what happened to me in the academy?"

Now that Iruka had mentioned it, Naruto was curious. Most people in the village were outright hostile to him, nothing to bad, just glares and curses, but Iruka was different, he was one of the few people who Naruto could call a friend. But why did he think differently from others? What made him different?

Naruto would've asked those questions, but he figured his teacher would just cut him off again, so he just nodded his head. But Naruto felt that deep down, something was different about Iruka, and that it had started when he had first mentioned his troubles with reading that night a week ago.

"It's a long story, but I'd like to start with something that Mizuki said back in the woods that day about a week ago. He said that I hated you, that you killed my entire family. Mizuki's words were true…"

Naruto dropped the honorific as he thought to himself, 'What…what is Iruka saying? It was true that he hated me, but then…what he said in the woods…was that all a lie?! It couldn't be, all the help he'd received from the man, there was no way that was fake.'

Even though logic countered what Iruka was saying, Naruto was starting to lose control, his grip on reality was slipping. If one looked closely, they would see that his whiskers were growing, along with his nails and teeth.

Iruka, as if he did not notice Naruto's state of mind and body, continued speaking, "…until I saw the real you. The Uzumaki Naruto who is my favorite student."

Peace and control was restored to Naruto, as the changes began to revert. He would listen calmly until Iruka finished speaking, and then decide.

"You should already be aware from what Mizuki said that night, but I did have a family that I knew. I loved them very much, and on the night of the fox's attack, when I lost them, everything seemed dark and hollow. On the outside, I was a bright, cheerful boy who loved to play pranks just like you, but deep down, there was hate growing in my heart. Hate that I misguidedly pointed at you."

The man paused for a moment and thought, before continuing his story, "I didn't even know you at the time, and still resented you for something you did not do. My reason to become a teacher for the academy had been in hopes of destroying you. And I would've, if not for the Third Hokage's words to me one day."

Naruto felt that he should be angry with Iruka. The man, despite helping him, and arguably even having saved his life, had hated him for years and conspired to 'destroy' him. As terrible as that was, Naruto could not bring himself to be angry.

"'Iruka, I know you have darkness in your heart, and that darkness has led you to take your current path. Becoming a teacher, a man who will guide the next generation, is purely a means to the end for you. But I beseech you, before you do anything drastic with your position, I ask of you one thing, have you truly seen Naruto for who he is? Or are you really that foolish that you think such a bright boy is the fox in disguise? That the fox had tricked even me into believing it's lies while you saw through them? Think about if that is really the case before you act.' Those were the words he said to me that day."

Naruto knew it was not the time to focus on the specifics of Iruka's words, but he still couldn't help himself. It was the second time he had heard about someone thinking he was the fox. Sure, he had the whiskers of a fox, and maybe that was enough for people to think they were connected, but was that truly the reason for all the hate he'd seen throughout the years? Whiskers? There had to be something more, something else that he didn't know about. But for now, he wouldn't think about it, his friend and mentor was far more important.

"They caused me to hesitate, I didn't consider myself foolish back then for my hatred, but the Third's words had shown me an entirely new perspective. And that's when I began to realize, the people who thought the way I did, they were weak, and they lacked knowledge. However, the Hokage seemed to think differently from us, he was the strongest and most knowledgeable man in the village, how could he not see what we could?"

That question, Naruto knew, was not his to answer.

"It's because he knew more than we did. He knew about the fox, about you, about everything, and once I'd realized that I also realized that I didn't care. That would not stop me, as irrational as my hatred was. The Third somehow knew this, and returned to convince me once more, only this time, he was more direct."

Iruka's voice had gone strange towards the end of his sentence, as if he, himself, could not believe what he was saying. Nevertheless, he continued, "The Third told me this time around, 'Iruka, I'm done with the riddles and cryptic speak. You're a damned fool if you think Naruto is the fox and is somehow sly enough to convince me otherwise. My student Jiraiya and I have both checked, and I can assure you, no fox is crafty enough to trick the two us. And if you think otherwise, go read up on Fuinjutsu for a bit and you'll realize what I'm talking about.'"

Naruto couldn't help but wonder what connection Fuinjutsu had to the fox. In fact, he almost felt like Iruka had let something slip, something that he didn't realize was actually important. It was purely intuition telling Naruto that, but once again, it was something he'd store in the back of his mind. Right now, his teacher came first.

"I never did get around to reading up on Fuinjutsu, unlike you," Iruka chuckled over his own little joke, "And I didn't need to, for through all of the Third's words, nothing had convinced me that I was on the wrong path, my will would not waver from such a small obstacle. The Third's words had an effect he probably did not foresee. They had me convinced, without a shadow of a doubt, that you were the fox, and that you'd brainwashed the Hokage for some nefarious reason."

Honestly, Naruto was left confused, wasn't that the part of the story where Iruka would turn a new leaf due to the Third's influence. Why had it turned into him brainwashing the Hokage as a fox?

"Thus, I hesitated, wary of what you might have in store for any would-be assailants. And so I watched you, I observed you in your daily life. What I saw back then, still leaves me in regret to this day, regret for not helping you."

Iruka paused, if he didn't, he would not be able to stop the tears, nor the choking up of his voice.

"I saw your loneliness. I saw the ridicule the villagers pointed your way. I saw the hate you experienced. I heard every curse, every shout, and every threat that had been aimed at you. And I saw the child that you were. Suddenly, the hatred could no longer exist in my heart. You weren't damned fox out to get us all. Just a child, who despite everything thrown at him, was still trying his best to keep a smile on his face and bring joy to those around him."

Iruka's words brought up bad memories for Naruto, as tears began to stream down his face.

"That's why I help you, that's why I care so much. I cannot change the past, whether its my actions, or those of others. But what I can do, and what I've tried to do since, is make it up to you. I took it upon myself to be the friend you never had, to give you the encouragement you'd never received, to give you the love you'd never experienced. Those curses, shout, and threats, I would replace with praise, cheers, and kindness."

That meant a lot to Naruto, all the doubt in his heart from earlier in Iruka's story had washed away, leaving behind nothing but love and respect for the man who was still his closest friend. He wanted to hug his friend so badly, to tell him it was enough, that everything that Iruka had seen and thought in the past did not matter. Naruto wanted to tell him that he had more than made up for his past mistakes. But Iruka's story still had not ended…

"You're a perceptive kid, I'm sure you've noticed how off I've been since learning about your troubles reading. The truth is, is that I could not stand looking at myself. I'd promised to look out for you and help you where others did not. So, when I learnt about your dyslexia, it had felt like a personal failure on my part, one that I wanted to quickly correct."

"Seeing all your progress in just a week, I thought to myself earlier, that I'd done it, I'd fixed my mistakes of the past. Between your successful graduation and that, I thought I'd finished my job. Only, then you told me about Kozuki…and your clones. Kozuki, I considered part of my failure from my previous apology, I was able to quickly get over it. But your clones, they frightened me at first. That's why I made you make that promise."

"But during my time on the floor, I had realized something. One, that I had really done nothing in helping you be able to read, it was all your own hard work along with your clones. And two, that I had put a time limit, a constraint, whatever you want to call it, the point I'm trying to make is, is that I unconsciously had limited how long I was planning on being your friend for."

"That's when I realized how sick what I was doing was. I wasn't being kind to you out of the goodness of my heart, it was impure, it was kindness with a goal. And that goal was to forgive myself for what I sat by and watched you experience in your youth. It was only today, that I finally realized that I shouldn't be seeking my own forgiveness…"

"…but instead, yours. That's when I decided to come clean, to tell you everything, and let you decide for yourself. I had been selfishly one-sided in my relationship with you, and it was time to let you decide for yourself whether or not this relationship should continue."

"And so once again, I'm pleading with you, Naruto. With all of my flaws as an individual, can you still find it in yourself to forgive me."

That was a lot. Naruto was speechless. The story had had so many twists and turns, and just when Naruto had thought it would end on a positive note, it had become dark and twisted. A relationship that he had thought had bloomed into a brilliant flower from what was once death and darkness, was a false relationship. One that was not based on genuine feelings and emotions, but one that had been planned and orchestrated. An act for a sad man to forgive himself.

Naruto searched deep within himself, could he forgive Iruka. The hate from the past came from a place of ignorance and could be written off. But, to find out his first real friend had been nothing but a fake the entire time, that was soul shattering.

But, that fake friendship, that act, would only remain false if they ended things there. There was still an opportunity, a chance, one that would not be easy, to turn that twisted, false relationship, into something real. And to do that, Naruto would have to take the first step, to be the one to bridge the gap. He would have to forgive everything from Iruka's past.

It was a small price to pay for salvation.

Naruto, smiling, took that first step, "Iruka-sensei, what are you even talking about, of course I'll forgive you. After all, without you around, who'd scold me about all the pranks I pull."

He pulled the older man into a hug, ready to start their relationship anew.

Author's Note: I need some different music to listen to, whatever it is about it, as soon as I start writing, I can't help but think to myself, "How can I write something really sad and dramatic? How can I be a true edge lord?" In any case, literally don't know where this came from, must have some repressed emotions or something.

Also, this was a short chapter, but I hope its worth as much to y'all as one of my longer chapters. Gonna have a really limited amount of time to right until this weekend, or maybe Friday at the earliest. Will still try to get a chapter out per day, but it probably won't be until late at night (in my time zone).

Hope ya enjoyed reading the chapter. :D

PS: Pa-atreon exists. Donate please. That all.