Chapter 3:

Iruka

"And ever since then, I've been coming to this place everyday," Naruto finished as he concluded his story.

"Wow…" said Ayame in awe. "I never thought that it was because of that chance meeting a few years ago that you chose to keep coming here."

Naruto gave a light chuckle. "Well actually, Ayame-neechan, it wasn't really because of that chance meeting with the old man. The truth is…" Naruto said as he leaned in closer, "It was actually because of you that I really started coming here everyday. You're smile was what did it for me, Ayame-neechan," Naruto finished with a wide smile on his face.

Ayame flushed pink with embarrassment at Naruto's comment. "N-Naruto-kun…"

Naruto couldn't help it anymore and gave a big, hearty laugh at the young waitress' reaction. "I-I'm sorry… Ayame-neechan… I couldn't… help it…" Naruto said in fits of laughter.

"N-Naruto-kun! That was a very mean trick to play on me!" Ayame exclaimed, her face still pink.

Teuchi seemed to join in on the fun a second later and laughed along with Naruto.

"Sorry again, Ayame-neechan…" Naruto told the young waitress a minute later after all the laughter finally settled down.

"Hmph!" was Ayame's only reply as she turned around, her back facing Naruto.

"I said I was sorry, didn't I?" Naruto asked, trying to get Ayame to talk to him again.

"…Fine… I'll forgive you…" the waitress sighed as she turned around and faced Naruto once more.

"R-really?" Naruto asked, clearly relieved that Ayame was not angry at him anymore.

"If!" the waitress exclaimed, "If! You tell me why the villagers hated you so much…"

Teuchi, surprised at Ayame's request, could only turn his head away from the two of them and remained quiet. It wasn't his place to say anything; plus he was forbidden to tell her, or anyone else for that matter, about it anyway.

There was a moment of silence before Naruto finally decided to break it. "Ummm… I...umm…w-well, Aya—"

Naruto was saved from explaining everything to Ayame, however, when someone suddenly pulled open the curtain and stepped inside the tiny ramen stand.

"S-sorry… Did I come at a bad time?" the tall man said as he sensed the tense atmosphere in the room.

"I-Iruka-sensei!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped out of his seat to greet his former teacher.

"Ah! Naruto-kun!" Iruka greeted Naruto happily. "I guess you couldn't wait anymore and decided to come here before me, huh? Sorry…"

"That's alright, Iruka-sensei… because, you know, I was just reeeeaaally hungry and with you taking too long to dismiss your class I decided to continue on waiting for you," Naruto replied sardonically.

"Sorry…Sorry…" Iruka said apologetically.

"Ah! I'm just kidding with you, Iruka-sensei! I swear, you're too serious sometimes!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.

Iruka grinned back.

"So, care to explain what I just walked into?" Iruka asked Naruto as they both took their respected seats at the counter.

"A-ah…yeah…sure…" Naruto replied.

Naruto proceeded to tell Iruka about the recent events that had happened before he interrupted them.

"And so, Ayame-neechan asked why I was hated so much by the villagers, but I couldn't really think of a way to explain things to her, and then you came in," Naruto finished with a sigh.

"I-I see…" Iruka said, looking at Naruto's downtrodden face. He then turned to face Ayame. "Ayame-san…" he said softly.

"Y-yes?" the waitress asked. She knew she was going to get yelled at, she thought. She knew she shouldn't have requested that Naruto answer her question, but it was too late now.

"I can answer your question…" Iruka replied.

"E-eh?"

Ayame was surprised. It looked like she wasn't going to get yelled at after all.

"…But it's more complicated than it seems," Iruka finished.

"What do you mean?" Ayame asked, curious as to what Iruka was talking about.

"You see, there was a law that was passed by the Third Hokage that forbade anyone to talk about it. Do you know anything about that law?"

"No…"

"Well, I guess it's because you were still young when it happened. So, I'm not surprised you haven't really heard about that law. But, anyway…that law pretty much forbade anyone to talk about what happened in the past. And as you can pretty much tell, that law had something to do with Naruto."

"But why?" the waitress asked, "Why was the law made in the first place?"

"Well, generally, the law was supposed to help keep the young ones from ever finding out what really happened…but the law was also supposed to do another thing… It was supposed to keep Naruto protected."

"Protected?"

"Yes… protected… Protected from the insults; protected from the hatred… It was supposed to protect him from all that…With that law, Naruto was supposed to be seen as a hero, instead."

"Naruto-kun? A hero?" Ayame asked, surprised.

"Yes, that's right… Did you know that Naruto-kun, here, saved the village once, when he was younger? But, you see, that's why he was hated. The people refused to see him as a savior, and instead blamed the whole cause of the incident on him."

"But why?"

"Be—"

"Because I'm a demon…" Naruto interrupted.

"Naruto-kun! You're not supposed to talk about it!" Iruka exclaimed.

"I don't care about some stupid law! All I know is that they deserve to know more about me! Friends are supposed to be honest with each other… aren't they, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto finished softly, looking up at his teacher's face.

"Y-yes… that's right, Naruto-kun," Iruka replied.

"Then that's why we should tell them the truth!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Naruto-kun…" Ayame whispered.

"…If that's what you really want, Naruto-kun…" Iruka reluctantly said.

"That's what I want, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto whispered.

"Then go ahead and tell them the truth," Iruka told him.

Naruto gave his teacher a nod.

"We're friends right? Old man? Ayame-neechan?" Naruto asked quietly, turning towards Ayame and Teuchi.

"Of course Naruto-kun!" Ayame immediately replied. "Why would you even ask such a thing?"

"I know why…" Teuchi responded to the young woman's question. "You're afraid that we might change our minds and hate you once we hear. Isn't that right, Naruto?"

Naruto remained silent.

"Well, I guess I'll just go ahead and say it. You worry too much Naruto. I've known who you really were ever since you told me your name."

Naruto looked up towards the owner.

"That's right. I was there when it all happened, so I know about the law…and about you."

Teuchi noticed Naruto looking over at Ayame.

"And as for, Ayame," the old man began, "I doubt she'll change her mind about you. She's known you for many years now."

"That's right! I wouldn't just immediately change the way I think about you Naruto-kun. You said we were friends. And part of being friends is also being able to trust one another," Ayame said, agreeing with her father.

"Besides…if she does change her mind, then I know that I have failed as both a friend and as a father," Teuchi told Naruto.

"D-dad…" the young woman whispered, looking at her father.

"Thank you… old man… Ayame-neechan…" Naruto said softly.

And so Naruto proceeded to tell them the truth about what he really was: a container, or vessel, for the nine-tailed fox demon known only as Kyuubi. Ayame was shocked and cried, but Teuchi was there to calm her down. Silence reigned over the tiny stand as Naruto finished his story. He was getting pretty anxious. Did they think differently of him now that they knew, Naruto thought to himself. It wasn't until Naruto heard Ayame speak, that he began to calm himself.

"I-I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun…" the young woman said, "I never knew…"

"It's alright, Ayame-neechan," Naruto told her, relieved that she did not change her mind about him after all. "I'm just glad that you understand."

"Oi, Naruto! Didn't I tell you not to worry so much?" the old man said with a grin.

Naruto could only smile at him. "Yeah… yeah you did old man."

"Do you see now, Ayame-san? This is why the villagers hate him. This is why the law was created… The adults have hated him for a false reason. It wasn't Naruto who was the cause of the incident, it was the Kyuubi. But even today, the adults refuse to see that. Because they are blinded by revenge and anger, they only see him as the demon-fox. And because of their attitude towards Naruto, their kids picked up on it as well. In the end, the adults hated him because of the Kyuubi; and the kids hated him because that was the way they were raised and taught to act in front of him," Iruka explained to the young woman.

"That is why you hold no malice against Naruto, Ayame. That is why I said I would have failed as a father and a friend if you had changed your mind about Naruto. I knew the real Naruto before you met up with him. It was during that day, so many years ago, when Naruto first came to this shop. It was on that day that I saw the difference between a demon and a child… And what I saw in front of me was nothing more than an innocent child wanting to be accepted. And so I raised and taught you not to hate him…because I knew Naruto didn't deserve it, not one bit." Teuchi told his daughter.

Ayame could merely nod at both her father and Iruka as words seemed to fail her.

A couple minutes of silence seemed to pass as everyone seemed to be digesting everything that had happened between them.

Ayame was the first to break the silence. "Iruka-sensei…" she suddenly called out.

"Hm?"

"I was just thinking… if everyone hated Naruto-kun because of what happened; because of what they really knew, then did that mean…you hated Naruto-kun also?" Ayame quietly asked.

"Of course not! Iruka-sensei has liked me ever since he met me!" Naruto laughed. "He was one of the first people to actually accept me. He would never hate me! Right, sensei?" Naruto asked, looking at his former teacher.

Iruka only looked away, guilt invading his body. He could not look at Naruto.

"Right?" Naruto asked again.

Iruka remained quiet, the guilt becoming overwhelming.

"Right, Iruka-sensei? You would never hate me, right?" Naruto whispered quietly, afraid and anxious because of his teacher's silence.

"I-It's not entirely true Naruto-kun…" Iruka softly said.

"W-w-what do you mean sensei?" Naruto asked with his eyes wide.

"…There was a time… when I… when I didn't like you…" Iruka finished in a whisper.

Everyone in the room was surprised at this revelation, Naruto the most of all.

"When I was little, I actually hated you… There were even times when I actually wanted to kill you…but then I met you in the academies... I disliked you then, but the more I got to know you through the years, the more I began to like you as a person…" Iruka explained.

"But why!" Naruto asked vehemently. "What would have made you hate me so much! What would have made you want to kill me!"

Iruka remained silent.

"The fox…" Naruto whispered, "It was because of that damned fox wasn't it? It was because the fox was inside me… that's why you hated me… just like everyone else…"

"Yes!" his teacher exclaimed. "I mean, no! It's just that… It was because of what that demon did! I wanted revenge, Naruto-kun… I wanted revenge for something that the Kyuubi took away from me… I was young and naïve; and I didn't even know who you were…" Iruka finished, a few tears flowing down his cheek.

"Iruka-sensei…" Naruto softly whispered.

"I guess I should tell you what happened, huh? What made me hate you; what made me want to kill you… I should tell you everything. You deserve to know. You are a friend after all. And you said friends are always honest with each other, right?"

Naruto nodded in response. "That's right…"

"Then I'll tell you…from the very beginning…when it all started," Iruka said.

As Iruka composed himself, so as to be ready to tell his story, Naruto turned to face Teuchi.

"Hey, old man… mind serving some ramen for my friend and me?"

A/N: Alright, looks like another chapter is done. This means that it's bye-bye present time, and hello flashbacks. The next two chapters will deal with Iruka's past. So be on the look out for them.

Oh, and also one of my reviewers posed a very valid question:

Q: "What age is everyone supposed to be in the present time?"

A: Actually, I left that out for a reason… and I'm sorry to say that you won't find out why until in later chapters. All I'll say is that you will find out the age for one of the major characters later on. And with that one piece of information, you'll be able to estimate everyone else's age. Until then, please be patient with me.

Hint: If you have read my chapters carefully, though, then you might have already guessed what I have planned for that "age thing." I did leave clues after all…

Well, anyway, thanks for reading. 'Till next time!

This chapter has not been beta-read.