Sasuke's eyes widened at the unexpected question. All traces of anger and disappointment melted away when the Uchiha saw the concern swimming in Naruto's clear blue eyes. For a second Sasuke felt the urge to reach out and assure the boy both physically and vocally that he was indeed alright, but that wish was destroyed when his heart hammered with guilt and disgust once more. That was the reason why all he did was say coldly:

"I'm fine. There is no need to try and pacify me. It will do you no good."

After that Sasuke walked past Naruto, ignoring his head that was beginning to throb. The Uchiha sighed as he heard a rush of footsteps behind him and resisted the urge to roll his eyes when his suspicions had been confirmed – Naruto had decided to run after him and corner him. And by the looks of it the boy was not at all pleased with his teacher's sudden departure and avoidance of his question.

"Why did you do that?" Naruto asked.

"I am afraid you are going to have to be more specific." Sasuke replied curtly to which Naruto only huffed.

"You know exactly what I mean. Why did you stand up for me? Why did you defend me in front of Ibiki when you knew that the victim could've been you?!" Naruto questioned.

"Correction – the victim was supposed to be me but luckily I just happened to have a doctor's appointment this evening and was saved from a fatal accident with…." Sasuke stopped mid-sentence as his brows slightly furrowed before asking, "With whatever Ibiki had on his face."

Naruto chuckled slightly despite the tension that was poisoning the air as he explained, "It's flour. It was supposed to be a harmless joke."

Sasuke sighed exasperatedly before responding, "Exactly! This is why I defended you. I know that you had no intensions of harming me or anyone else in the classroom for that matter. I know that it was supposed to be a joke. I know that you just thinking of ways to test me, to challenge me, but Naruto, you have to understand that sometimes in life not everything goes according to plan and as a result people make mistakes. And I trust that you will learn from yours?"

Naruto's face changed from a pained expression to an astonished one. He was aware that the lecture about his previous behaviour was inevitable, but he had never in his wildest dreams thought that he would get away with it. Perhaps he had not exactly come out of the whole ordeal unscathed, but he had not got punished, he had not been expelled. Hell, he had not even been scolded! He had only been warned not to do it again. With a grateful smile Naruto nodded and said:

"Thank you, Mister Uchiha. . ."

'For everything. I mean it.' Naruto wanted to add, but thought otherwise. He had decided to keep it short and simple because it felt right because sometimes all you needed was a few words and you could be certain that the person they were addressed to had understood you completely. Apparently Sasuke had either accomplished that or was simply in a hurry because only a few seconds after Naruto had spoken his gratitude the Uchiha had smiled and had left.

Now as Naruto was walking towards the parking lot of the school where his mother was undoubtedly waiting, he realised that his teacher had not answered the most important question. With a frown Naruto contemplated for the remaining minutes why Sasuke had not answered Naruto's first question. As time passed and the boy still could not figure out the reason for his teacher's peculiar behaviour he simply guessed that perhaps Sasuke was the type of person that liked to keep to himself and would not answer questions he considered too personal. Plus, there was always the possibility that the Uchiha followed that stupid rule that teachers should not burden their students with their problems. In Naruto's opinion it was slightly unfair because while students could always come to teachers for help the other way around was impossible, forbidden even.

A growl escaped Naruto's mouth as the boy clenched his fists. He could not understand why he was feeling this way. He knew he was supposed to be happy, elated even, that he was not going to be called to the principal's office or worse – have his parents come and find out exactly what he had done. Naruto's face cringed slightly when he thought about his father's reaction. He knew that disappointment and anger would be an understatement. But there was always the possibility that had such a thing occurred, his father would have been far too busy with work to notice that something terribly wrong had happened to his son that needed his utmost attention.

'He doesn't even notice me when I'm at home. He probably would not even if I pulled another prank and ended up harming someone aside from a cranky teacher.' Naruto thought bitterly.

Suddenly a horn was heard. The sound was so loud that it immediately jerked Naruto out of his thoughts. With a yelp the boy did a double take when his widened eyes landed on his mother's familiar blue van. The boy had not even noticed that his breathing had become slightly laboured. Had he really been so caught up in his own little world that he had ended up walking one third of the way of home and had not even noticed his mother's car that had no doubt been following him all the way from the school?

'Oh no.' Naruto thought as his heart started thumping, 'I've got it bad. I've got it really bad.'

The window of the car was pulled down and a familiar voice beckoned Naruto inside the car. The boy complied with his mother's request, though his body was moving on autopilot because his head was filled with too much jumbled thoughts.

Once he was seated his mother's warm hand touched his cheek, brushed it gently and turned Naruto's head towards hers so that he was looking into the eyes that had loved him ever since he was born. With warmth and concern coating her grey eyes Kushina asked:

"What's wrong, honey?"

Naruto only shook his head and surprised her by burying his head into her shoulder, trying to shield himself from the guilt and the confusion and the pain he had been forced to endure throughout the entire day. No tears came, though Naruto was close to crying. He only choked slightly and gasped when his mother engulfed him in the tightest embrace he had received in the past few years. The boy could not help but smile when his mother rested her head on top of his and began to hum quietly as she gently rubbed circles into his back. Those actions had managed to calm Naruto when he was little and his father was ignoring him. Apparently it still had the same effect on him for he had managed to calm down after only a few minutes. Soon Kushina withdrew slightly and smiled at her son as she brushed a few bangs from his eyes. Naruto smiled warmly at her actions. After a few seconds Kushina completely withdrew from Naruto and asked:

"Are you ready to go home, Naruto?"

All the answer she needed was a jubilant nod from her son before she started the car and began driving towards their house.

Soon Naruto was safely back at his home. He and his mother were sitting on the sofa, drinking hot chocolate and talking aimlessly about different things, but soon Kushina could not keep her curiosity and worry at bay and asked her son what had caused his sudden distress earlier this morning. Naruto merely sighed as he put his cup of hot chocolate on the coffee table before he said:

"I screwed up big time."

"How so?" His mother asked, surprising Naruto by going straight to the point and not losing time to reprimand him for using such vulgar language.

"Well…. Remember the new Math teacher I told you about?" Naruto questioned.

Kushina's eyebrows furrowed, but she nodded, nonetheless after which came a second question from her son.

"Remember last year when I used to pull pranks on most of my teachers?"

Kushina's eyes widened as she gasped and asked:

"Naruto, you didn't?! Please tell me you didn't pull a prank on your new teacher so soon."

Naruto put his head down in shame as he braced himself for the upcoming lecture from his one and only true parent. To Naruto's surprise only a tired sigh came before Kushina asked what exactly had transpired during the morning. Naruto raised his head slightly and dared to look into his mother's eyes. He cringed when he saw slight disappointment there, but most of all it was anger. He did not know who it was directed to, but honestly Naruto did not care. All he needed right now was to get this day's awful mishaps off his chest.

After Naruto had answered Kushina's question, he waited with bated breath for her reaction. His jaw nearly hit the floor when after a good fifteen minutes all that came was:

"Did he really say 'challenge accepted' when you pulled that water stunt on him?"

After Naruto's eyes returned to their normal form the boy said:

"Yes."

Kushina's expression did not change even after she asked her second question:

"And did he really manage to foresee all of your pranks after the first week?"

"Yes." Naruto responded.

"And even after all the humiliation, stress and discomfort you put him through, he still defended you in front of that other teacher what's-his-face?"

Naruto chuckled at the way his mother addressed Ibiki, but immediately quieted down when Kushina shot him a glare. That was the reason why Naruto resorted to staying silent and only nodding when appropriate. He waited anxiously as time went by and nearly did a double take for the second time that day when his mother's stoic expression vanished and instead turned into one filled with mirth. Lively laughter replaced the tension the air had previously been fraught with. Naruto could only stare in shock as Kushina's body bent forward, then went back until her back touched the sofa and then forward again all the while choking on loud chuckles. As time passed Kushina managed to calm down. She soon even succeeded in composing herself before she asked:

"Did you really think I was going to be mad for something as trite as this?"

"Trite?! Trite?!" Naruto yelled, but immediately apologized when his mother scowled and reprimanded him for causing so much noise. Kushina then chuckled once more, brought her hand up and caressed her son's cheek before asking:

"But that's not what's been bothering you, has it?"

Naruto's eyes widened slightly before they returned back to their normal size. The boy could only sigh and nod before looking his mother directly in the eyes and saying:

"I'm worried about him."

Kushina's eyes widened slightly. It was unusual for her son to even remember one of his teacher's names( unless they terrified him) let alone care about them or voice it. Either something was definitely wrong with her son's new teacher or perhaps Sasuke Uchiha was a very special man. Either way something told Kushina that this year was not going to be as uneventful as the past ones.

"What has triggered such a reaction from you, Naruto?" She asked as she withdrew her hand from her son's cheek and rested it on the sofa instead.

"His hand… it was covered in bandages that were slightly coated with blood. Plus, he was late and he is never late, never. A-and….his eyes… they were so…." Naruto began explaining but stopped mid-sentence when he envisioned the eyes that had managed to put him under a trance from the very beginning.

"So what, honey?" Kushina asked as she reached out her hand and put it on her son's shoulder, as though she were trying to bring him back to earth.

"So dull… so empty… so broken…" Naruto whispered before his eyes watered.

Kushina gasped slightly when her son's body collided with her chest once more. Her eyes widened when she felt an unfamiliar dampness drowning her clothes. With teary eyes she inhaled sharply as she wrapped her arms around her son and began rubbing circles on his back and humming softly before he fell asleep.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: A huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, favourited and read.

This chapter came out a lot differently than I had planned it to. It was even a bit harder than normal to write, but I managed. I just hope I haven't turned Naruto or Sasuke into a crybaby.

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