The trip to Naruto's apartment was mostly silent, except for an occasional remark about which way to turn or which road to get on. Naruto sighed for probably the thousandth time that night, his blue eyes peering out the window of the black Camaro. It was hard being in an enclosed space with the person who was the main cause of the bullying during Middle school, without punching him in the face.

There was also the fact that said bully, was once the person you had recently been dreaming about, along with being your old crush. Sasuke's eye twitched as Naruto sighed once more, "Will you stop doing that?" Naruto frowned, "Shut up, it's your fault in the first place! What kind of person bullies their best friend?!" Naruto crossed his arms and turned away in the seat. Sasuke ran a hand through his silky black hair, biting his lower lip as he focused his attention on the road ahead of him. 'I can't tell him.'

After several minutes of being stuck in the late night traffic of a big city, Naruto relaxed and situated himself into a more comfortable position in the seat. He peeked through the corners of his eyes at the teen next to him. Sasuke was patiently waiting for the stop light to turn green, resting his head lightly on his free hand. His face was illuminated by the bright street lights, making his pale skin seem to be almost translucent. His wild dark hair fell lightly on the side of his face, framing it almost perfectly. Naruto's eyes slowly wondered to the downward curve of Sasuke's lips as he waited.

Naruto blushed and quickly turned away once he caught himself gawking at his enemy. 'What the hell is wrong with me?!' He inwardly groaned at himself and shook his head, 'There's no way I can ever like that dick wad, again!' Naruto's mood brightened as he realized they were really only a few more minutes from his home.

Iruka watched from the window of the apartment as a sleek black car pulled into the parking lot of the shabby rundown apartment building. He almost missed it because it blended so well in the night. His anger was fueled once more as he saw his familiar blond son. Iruka quickly opened the window and stuck his head out, "NARUTO!"

Naruto covered his ears at the yell that probably woke the entire building; even Sasuke winced before smirking at Naruto. "Good luck," he said before pulling away and disappearing from the scene. Naruto groaned, he had forgotten about Iruka. He took the stairs, slowly making his way to his grave site. By the time he arrived Iruka was standing in the doorway of their apartment, angrily tapping his foot as he waited.

Naruto gave a small smile as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head, "I, uh, don't have much of an excuse." Iruka looked at the blond before sighing and guiding him into their home. Iruka took a seat at the wooden kitchen table, motioning for Naruto to sit in front of him. Naruto watched Iruka cup his hands together as he took his seat in front of the brunette.

"I want to know exactly what happened today. Kiba stopped by earlier to give you back your schoolbag and some notes, because you left early? What could have possibly made you think that was a good idea?!" Naruto leaned back in the chair, "Look, it wasn't my fault. Some stuff happened with Sasuke and well, I, uh, remember…" Iruka's eyes widened, before he gulped. The older man pursed his lips together, "How much do you remember?" Naruto shrugged, "Most of it? Some parts are a little fuzzy though." Iruka bit the bottom of his lip, "I know you probably remember, but I say it again, stay away from the Uchiha family. They are nothing but trouble! Don't get involved with that corrupt family ever again!" Iruka was practically yelling at this point, leaving Naruto in a state of shock.

Naruto tightened his hands into fists unknowingly, he still felt defensive for the rude rich boy. Maybe it was the fact that Sasuke was his first true friend, and childhood crush that he still wanted to defend the arrogant boy. He had a jumble of mixed feelings about the raven. Naruto rolled his eyes as he recalled them fighting a lot even when they were younger, only Sasuke would usually apologize. Even back then they fought…that thought made him relax a bit, knowing that their relationship had always been filled with fights.

Iruka stared at the boy who had seemingly spaced out during his lecture, "Naruto?" He frowned before slamming his hands down on the table, catching Naruto's attention again. "Listen to me when I'm talking to you! I'm telling you this for your own good, and then you just go and space out on me!"

"Sorry," Naruto mumbled. "I was just thinking, alright?! Since when is thinking a crime, last I checked, never!" Iruka sighed, "Naruto," He pleaded, "just stay away, please?" Naruto frowned, he wanted to know why Sasuke tormented him for years, there had to be a reason.

"Fine, it's not like I like him all that much anyways." Iruka let out a sigh of relief at hearing Naruto's white lie. The brunette smiled at him, "Thank you for listening." For the first time since he arrived back home, Iruka was finally able to release all of his worry over his son's safety and protection. Naruto's heart sunk in his chest as he saw how Iruka visibly relaxed at his words. 'Why is he so against me talking with Sasuke?'

Iruka snapped Naruto out of his thoughts once again when he spoke. Naruto blinked, "Sorry, I totally did not hear a word you said." Iruka's shoulders sagged, it seemed like he was never going to get through to the kid. He sighed, "I asked if you had eaten dinner yet." Naruto shook his head, "No, I didn't have time to. By the time I woke up it was already evening. I kind of ended up fainting earlier," he scratched the back of his head embarrassed. "I seem to be doing that a lot lately, kinda lame actually."

Iruka smiled softly, knowing full well about the troubled past Naruto had. Despite everything that has happened Naruto never stopped smiling, and kept moving forward no matter what. Iruka patted Naruto's head, bringing a goofy grin to his scarred face. He had to protect him, Naruto was his kid and responsibility now, and it's not like the years when he was younger. He had made a promise to his closest friends he would protect the child from their enemies. Iruka had quit his job as a detective, in pursuit for a more stable lifestyle, bringing Naruto with him so he could hide him from that man.

Naruto grinned up at the brunette who was softly running his hand through the soft spikes. He always secretly loved when Iruka did that, it reminded him of his mother. Funny, even after he regained his memory he still couldn't remember who his parents were. They died in a car accident, right?