Thank you for the positivity I was met with in this fan fiction!

I have problems with replying comments privately so I'd be doing it in chapters if you don't mind.

Lila08: I am glad the story turned out better than the blurb put it for you. There was a lot more I wanted to say in the blurb but I reached the word limit...

This was not proof read so pardon the errors, please.

Enjoy...

"Ahre? Did you get locked in yesterday?" A voice woke Naruto up from his sleep. Groggily wiping the sleep crust from his eyes, the vulpine blond sat up on his makeshift mat and blinked at the man in front of him. Like him, the man was tanned and had brown long hair tied into a ponytail. A scar ran across the bridge of his nose but that didn't obscure the man's good looks.

His brown eyes widened in recognition and Naruto sighed, packing up his makeshift mat and ready to leave. Everybody was the same, judging him before even knowing him. "Na-Naruto?" The man stuttered.

"I'll leave very soon so chill." Naruto muttered and got up, slinging his bag over his shoulders and preparing to leave when the man stopped him.

"Hold on, you slept here?!" He asked incredulously. "No that's not the point. Is this how you've been living? Have you been sleeping here?! How have you been living?!" All these questions were simulated by the bag Naruto carried and his worn out clothes.

"Who are you mister?" Naruto asked curiously. This man didn't detest him like most people did, instead he acted like he knew him from somewhere other than newspapers.

"You don't remember." It wasn't a question.

"No."

"I guess not. I am Iruka, Umino Iruka, it's nice to meet you." The man, Iruka, introduced himself.

"Uzumaki Naruto...although you know that already." Naruto added dejectedly and started walking away when Iruka called out to him.

"I am sure you haven't eaten breakfast yet. How about it? My treat." Naruto turned around to scan the man's face for any ill contempt but all he found was warmth and nostalgia. It was impossible, the blond decided, for this man to kill a fly.

"I want ramen." He dictated and Iruka laughed heartily.

"I was expecting you'll say that. Freshen up and let's go, okay? How does Ichiraku sound?"

"Ichiraku?! Hell yes!" Naruto yelled and bounded off to the changing room to freshen up. Iruka laughed at his antics, the laughter which died down to a sad smile.

"Naruto... How have you been?"

•• symphony ••

Iruka and Naruto made their way to Ichiraku's making small talk which was mostly the older man asking the younger questions. Ichiraku was a small and comfy shop with warm red and white walls with brown wooden chairs. Teuchi, the shop owner and chef, beamed at the sight of his two best customers while Ayame, his daughter waited on them.

"Hello Naruto, Iruka, what are you having today?" She asked as the two took their seats.

"Miso ramen." Naruto ordered.

"Beef ramen for me please." Iruka politely ordered and took a sip of some water which was offered to him. "So what about school?" The brunet asked the blond teen as they waited for the ramen.

"Dropped out." Naruto spoke but was interrupted by Teuchi who dropped a bowl of ramen at his and Iruka's front.

"Thanks for waiting." The man grinned and resumed his work.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto exclaimed and proceeded to dig in. Iruka thanked for his food in a quieter tone than Naruto did and slurped neater than he did too.

"You dropped out of school?" The older man asked, wanting to continue the previous conversation with the teen.

"Yeah." Naruto gulped down some ramen. "A lot of things happened so I couldn't enroll into one." His blue eyes dimmed with sadness ever so slightly before lighting up again. "Another serving please!" He yelled to Teuchi before grinning sheepishly at Iruka. "It's okay with you, right?" He scratched the whiskers on his cheeks, a nervous habit that he had.

"Eat as much as you want!" Iruka smiled and ordered a second bowl for himself. He watched as the foxy boy ate bowl after bowl of ramen and smiled nostalgically. He remembered the incident vividly and never believed anything the press said but he was the only one that seemed to believe that the boy was innocent. After that he searched everywhere for Naruto but couldn't find him. It was nothing short of shocking to finally find the child he was looking for, except the child had grown into a fine young man.

A few moments with Naruto was all he needed to know that the teen's big smile hid many things. The loneliness eating him from the inside and the despair gnawing at his heart were obvious through those blue eyes that were subtly begging for help. After his sixth bowl of ramen, Naruto finally laid off of Iruka's wallet and gave a hearty belch.

"Mind your manners." Iruka softly reprimanded. "I have a proposition for you." He announced.

"Eh? What is it?" Naruto asked, a questioning look sprawled across his face.

"I have a free room in my home which is just lying waste. Do you want to live with me?" Iruka asked. Naruto's questioning look morphed into one of suspicion.

"What is the catch?" The whiskered boy asked.

"It must be a hassle looking for a place to sleep every night or do you plan to be locked in that cold studio till it opens at noon everyday?" Iruka asked. Naruto weighed his options and decided that there was nothing to lose anyway so he agreed to follow this nice stranger home. "That's great! We have to buy you new clothes and shoes and furniture I think, come now."

They bid their farewells to Teuchi and Ayame and left for the mall. Naruto was frightened that Iruka would max out his card on him but the man assured him not to worry. After some hours of shopping, Naruto had a closet's worth of new clothes and shoes, a new phone and laptop and basic things a teenager needed. The teen wondered why the man was going all out to cater for him but Iruka left no room for question.

It was evening by the time they were done shopping. They took a taxi to Iruka's home which was in a decent apartment building. "Welcome home." The brunet greeted as he ushered Naruto in. The place had cool mint green walls and warm brown linoleum floors. The ceiling was white along with brown patterns to match the floor and brown couches were seated in the living room. The place reminded Naruto of ice cream in a way.

"It's cozy." The boy commented.

"Thank you, now follow me." Iruka led Naruto to an empty room. The walls of the room were bleach tan and brown with sparse furniture, hence the need for new ones. "Make yourself comfortable for this is where you would be staying from now on. The bathroom is down the hall and my room is across yours. Unpack while I get dinner ready." With that Iruka dropped the boxes and bags he was carrying and left the room.

Naruto looked around the room in awe and sat on the soft bed. When last did he sleep on a bed? He got up and started unpacking before the depressing thoughts got the best of him and by the time he had finished, Iruka had prepared dinner for them. The blond marvelled at all the rice and side dishes that this stranger went all out to prepare for him.

"Dig in." Iruka encouraged with a smile.

"Itadakimasu." Naruto thanked and took a chopstick full of rice and meat. The food was delicious and warm, something he hadn't felt in a long time. Nostalgia crashed through him in waves, manifesting themselves as tears in his aqua eyes. Iruka saw them and instantly freaked out like the mother hen he was.

"Eh?! Is the food alright?! I am sure I cooked it well, is the meat undercooked or the rice?! Are you allergic to bean paste?! Is..." Naruto interrupted his rambling with a shake of his head.

"It's delicious and warm and...why? For me, why?" Naruto sobbed. "I am just a stranger to you." Iruka's brown eyes softened at that.

"You are not a stranger, Naruto. Eat up and I will show you something." Iruka said and picked a piece of fish with his chopstick and put it in Naruto's rice. The latter smiled genuinely, his first in years, and ate the food with no restrictions.

After the hearty dinner, both men went to the living room after that Iruka had gone to fetch something in his room. The brunet came back with a big wine photo album and set it in front of Naruto. "I was a kindergarten teacher before I went for my masters and upgraded to an highschool teacher." Iruka spoke as he opened a page. "Look , it's you!"

Naruto looked at the picture and the person Iruka pointed, it was indeed him. It was a picture of several chibis clinging on to their teacher which was Iruka. "You were my teacher?" Naruto asked.

"More than that. I guess you really do not remember." Iruka said softly.

"I don't remember my childhood." Naruto's eyes dimmed over but Iruka changed topic before the atmosphere could change further.

"I suppose you were given education in the juvenile centre?" Iruka asked and Naruto nodded.

"I am not good at studying though."

"Don't worry! I have a school in mind for you to begin highschool with. As luck would have it, we are entering a new academic year and a new school system is in place so entering KSA would be no problem..." Iruka was once again cut off from his rambling by Naruto who had a freaked out look on his face.

"Wait wait wait! Did I just hear KSA?!" The boy shrieked. It was understandable. Other than the terribly high school fees, the score standard for acceptance was nothing to sniff about. It was a school for rich, genius and snubby spoilt brats, he could NEVER fit in!

"I did." Iruka said as if he were discussing the weather. The man noticed the look on Naruto's face and chuckled upon realization. "Don't worry about my pocket or your brain." He reassured. "While there are scholarships for smart people, the new principal, Senju Tsunade has given opportunities for those with talent. I have seen you dance before and I know you have talent so you shall participate in the talent hunt." Iruka declared.

"Talent hunt?" Naruto's eyes sparked a bit but dimmed over again. "But what if they don't accept me just because of who I am?" His voice was small and cracking.

"You do know that your mother attended this school right?" Naruto nodded. "You want to make your parents proud, right?" Another nod. "Furthermore, you want to clear your name right?" Naruto nodded again. "Well then, I don't see anybody listening to what you say if you are a commoner. I want you to be the best, clear your name and show everyone that they were wrong about you."

"Iruka..." Naruto wailed and hugged the man. There was a feeling of familiarity between them that Naruto could not place his fingers on. "Thank you, thank you so much!" He sobbed into Iruka's shoulders.

"There there." Iruka rubbed soothing circles on the boys back until he calmed down. "Now let's sign you up for the talent hunt." He spoke.

"Hai!"

Xxx symphony xxX

The next few weeks found Naruto practicing hard for the KSA talent hunt. He worked out the best song to use, which choreography to use and what he wanted to tell through the dance so he was confident by the time the auditions came.

His jaw dropped at the sheer size of the school. The maroon brick walls of the place was beautified with different colours of bougainvillea along with beautiful horticulture. A big black gate marked the entrance of the school, leading to a big front lawn which had a sculpted seraphim as a fountain.

Perfectly mowed carpet grass stretched out en masse, being separated by cemented walk paths with ornamental shrubs on either side. The building itself was brick brown with white pillars and big golden letters spelling out 'KONOHA SCHOOL OF ARTS' and the leaf symbol of the school engraved beside the letters.

"Is this a school or a mansion?!" Naruto rasped in awe.

"Don't worry, it's a lot bigger than it looks." Iruka's attempt to calm him down only made him giddier. The school was bustling with activity. Different streamers and banners decorated the place but not as much as the amount of costumes. There were so many people with so many talents, it was impossible for him to pass!

They were given number tags according to their registration numbers and were told to wait for their turns in a hall. The auditions were streamed on a screen in the hall for the participants to watch. It was amazing. Naruto's seat was beside a girl's.

Her chestnut brown hair was in two distinctive buns on her head which was something Naruto noticed first about her. The next thing he noticed was her clothes which consisted of baggy cargo shorts and a red baggy hoodie. She also carried an old eighties' radio which Naruto vaguely wondered if they worked.

"Hello ladies and gentlemen, you are welcome to Konoha School of Arts first talent hunt, I am your host Shiranui Genma and I would now introduce the judges." A voice spoke from the PA system which belonged to a man wearing a bandana over his head with a toothpick in his mouth.

Naruto wasn't really paying attention so he only got the judges names. The woman among them with black layered hair and red unique eyes was Yuhii Kurenai, the man in green was Might Gai and the man with a beard was Sarutobi Asuma. The blond was proud of himself for even remembering their names.

"You need two approvals from the judges in order to pass this audition but don't rejoice yet, you still have to be shortlisted by the judges in order to be enrolled. Those that made it would be informed via email. So then, let's get the auditions started."

There were lots of performances, some were good enough for the judges approval, some were good to Naruto but not to the judges, some were just bad, some were boring and some were funny. Some people went off key in singing while others forgot the lyrics in nervousness. Some dancers fell in the middle of a stunt, some instrumentalist forgot how to play, some were too confident and when they ended up failing they started hounding the judges for impartial judgement.

"Contestant #59, Nara Shikamaru."

After a few minutes of waiting and no Nara appeared, they made the announcement again. That was when a sleeping dude in front of Naruto was startled awake by the guy beside him. "You're number 59 dude!" Said boy yawned and muttered something before dawdling to the audition room. Naruto sweat dropped at the boy's attitude. It was like he didn't care at all.

"You are Nara Shikamaru?" Judge Kurenai asked.

Shikamaru, a teen with jet black long hair packed up in a ponytail which reminded Naruto so much of a pineapple and droopy brown eyes, responded. "Hai." And he sighed. "What a drag."

"What's with this dude?" The girl beside Naruto asked nobody in particular. "It's like he doesn't want to be here." Naruto couldn't agree more.

"So Shikamaru, let's hear you." Gai said and Shikamaru started his presentation.

"Beautiful maiden, tall and fair

Endowed with grace, glory and flair

Nobody hears your cry of despair

Nobody knows that life was not fair

While yet in your innocence you bask

Deceitful forces around lurk

To bring an end to you was their task

And with foreign riches you, did they lure

Like a rose trampled on the floor

Dejected and shameful they found you at last

You, oh beauty, whom all adore

Is the talk of all nations, of lands which are vast

You should have done what a woman does, beautiful maiden

But are no more for shame buries you

You should have done what a woman does, beautiful maiden

And let all lies become true."

By the end of Shikamaru's sorrowful song, the auditorium was somber with some people crying. His voice was soft, sullen and smooth, reaching out to the depths of people's hearts as he sang. Naruto felt the song especially because it seemed like Shikamaru was singing to him. It was wonderful. It was no surprise that the lazy bum got a golden buzzer which meant that he was surely going to be enrolled.

"HOW WONDERFUL AND YOUTHFUL WAS THAT PRESENTATION!" Some kid yelled at the back but Naruto could not bother to see who it was. The next contestant was an Inuzuka Kiba and he was a dancer. Red triangle marks decorated his cheeks but it suited him so Naruto couldn't comment. Besides, he was the one with whiskers here for crying out loud.

Kiba danced to an indie rock song which told of the story of unrequited love in a boy's point of view. The wild looking boy was unexpectedly good at dancing to the mild tempo of the song. Kiba's body motions and emotions which attracted the crowd to him. The girl beside Naruto scoffed defiantly but he knew that she was impressed by Kiba's dancing. The wild looking boy got three pass buzzers after his performance.

"Yes! Thank you! Yes!" Kiba jumped and practically skipped out of the audition room. The next few auditions were nothing special to Naruto except one of two girls who sang a cappella for a gospel song and passed. Then after a series of performances, it was the turn of the girl beside him.

"Contestant #76 Tenten."

"Hello Tenten, I see you have no last name." Judge Asuma commented curiously.

"Hai." Tenten replied curtly and dropped her old radio.

"Wow, that's a pretty nostalgic radio!" Judge Gai said enthusiastically. "I am guessing you dance!?"

"Yes."

"Well then Tenten, let's see your performance." Judge Kurenai offered.

An old hip hop song by Rick Ross started playing and Tenten moved like she owned the music. She was boyish in her dancing but managed to add some hip sway. As she break danced, her eyelids fell closed to let the music carry her and become her feet. The baggy clothes she wore did nothing to hide the seemingly spineless way her body moved, it was awesome. Tenten got three pass buzzers for her amazing dance.

"Contestant #77 Uzumaki Namikaze Naruto."

As Naruto expected whispers immediately took over the waiting hall due to the revelation of his identity.

"Namikaze?! That Namikaze?!"

"What is he doing here?!"

"Does he really think the judges would accept him?!"

"I thought he was in jail?!"

Naruto ignored the whispers, having being used to it already, and walked into the audition room. He expected to see hateful glares from the judges but was met with quite the opposite.

"Uzumaki Naruto? So what do you do?" Judge Gai asked like he did to other contestants.

"I dance, 'ttebayo." Naruto replied.

"Just like your father I see." Judge Asuma muttered before giving him the go ahead. "Well let's see what you've got."

Electronic music started playing as Naruto moved to the rhythm.

I was a human breathing, and thinking, eating and drinking, philosophizing.

I was a human before you killed me and ripped my heart out, I knew what love was.

Now when you ask me, I just reply slow and sound like an iPhone, I do not know love. I am a robot.

As Naruto danced memories came flooding into his head unbidden. They were memories he tried gravely to erase but couldn't. He remembered the blood, he remembered the ghastly faces, he recalled vividly how his mind became blank, the mistake he made and realized a little too late that he did, his verdict, the hatred from people, the prejudice, everything. Tears flooded his closed eyelids as he channeled his emotions through dancing.

His feet were gliding as though they were in the air and his body moved in flawless synchrony with the music, effectively capturing his audience.

For I had a fire, blushing and desire. Now all I require are sockets and wires. Inside was an ocean of solemn emotion, then you cut me open and all that I know is I am a robot.

Naruto finished his choreography as the music faded to a stop and wiped the tears on his face away as if everyone watching hadn't seen it there before. Judge Gai gave him an enthusiastic standing ovation while judge Asuma clapped on his seat and judge Kurenai wiped her tears.

"He's pretty good." The girl that went before Naruto commented to no one in particular after seeing the performance on the screen in the waiting auditorium. She blew a bubble with her gum, eyes fixed on the wild guy that danced to indie rock before her. "He's pretty good too." She said with a smirk. Oh how she loved competition! The three of them were break/pop dancers and she was looking for a challenge.

Naruto got three pass buzzes and smiled to himself. The rest of the auditions were a blur to him. He only paid attention to a few other people which included a chubby guy whose song gave Naruto the impression that he was singing about chocolate truffles. That or this ordeal was making the vulpine teen really hungry.

Iruka was waiting for him by the time he decided that he'd seen enough funny auditions. The older man tousled his hair affectionately, causing the people that were staring at them (Naruto) to instantly break into whispers and gossips which had Naruto worried that Iruka might not want to be seen with him in public but apparently, the older man wasn't bothered in the slightest. (Longest sentence I've written so far. Lol)

"You got three buzzes!" Iruka praised. "We shall have something special to celebrate, yeah?"

And Naruto threw his worries into the wind. Iruka was sincere about wanting to take care of him, that much he'd figured these past months and the man had begun to grow on him too.

"Can we have ramen?"

"Ramen again?" Iruka sighed.

"Ramen is awesome dattebayo, and you can't deny it!" Naruto defended the food sent from God (to him) and crossed his arms defiantly to make himself seem serious which he was.

"Hai hai, since you got three buzzes ramen it is. Ichiraku, ja?" Iruka chuckled at his antics.

"Ichiraku ramen is the bomb! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Naruto started bouncing on his feet as excitement to eat the heavenly Ichiraku ramen fueled him.

"Hai hai." Iruka smiled and picked up his pace. Suddenly it felt like Naruto was eleven again begging his parents for a dope new video game after he had managed to pull off a C in an hard test. Naruto was glad he met Iruka in that dance studio at Shippuden street. Otherwise he didn't know how he would turn out.

Song used in the chapter:

iRobot - Jon Bellion.

Thank you for reading. Please review, it serves as inspiration for me. I don't own Naruto! See ya!

-Star.