Let The Silence Be Broken

A/N: Thank you so very much for your feedback and support, as always I deeply appreciate it! I hoped to update earlier but life kept me busy again.

My undying thanks goes to TheDarkKnight for being my second pair of eyes. All mistakes are my own.

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Chapter Three:


Uchiha Itachi brushed the hair out of his face with a soft sigh. He was relieved to be home after a long day of teaching and meetings. Finally, he could unwind and relax for the remainder of the evening.

After closing the car door, he walked up to the doorway, toting his work satchel and a bag of fresh bread which he had picked up from the bakery.

His feet had barely touched the bottom step when Naruto sprang out from the hedges with a cry, startling him and causing his bags to tumble to the ground.

“Boooo!”

Bursting into laughter, the blonde clutched his stomach at the sight of the man’s shocked face. He could not resist playing a prank on an unsuspecting target.

Glaring at the boy in turn, Itachi proceeded to pick the bags up and let them both in the house wordlessly. The situation could have turned out unpleasantly had he been on guard.

“What can I do for you Naruto?” He asked, once they were inside the dining room. There was no reason for the blonde’s return and he hoped he could send him away quickly.

Rummaging through his school bag excitedly, the messy-haired boy then handed the Uchiha his graded assignment with a pleased look on his face.

“I thought you should be the first one to see this, since you helped me.”

The book reports had been returned to the class that morning and Naruto had leapt out of his chair with a shout upon seeing his grade. Naturally, his display of shock had earned him the ridicule of his classmates but he had been too overwhelmed by his ‘B’ grade to care. Tottering between a ‘C’ to ‘D’ average was typical for the boy.

Surprised by the blonde’s thoughtful gesture, Itachi’s face softened and he began to read his work. Soon thereafter, he was impressed by the boy’s outlook on the piece; it was unlike any interpretation he had ever encountered before but no less valid. Notwithstanding, his spelling and structure left a lot to be desired; however with a few pointers he could be a good writer.

“Great work Naruto, this was certainly an-” Itachi paused midway the compliment when he realised he had been talking to himself. Figuring the boy had probably gone to the bathroom, the older man did not question his guest’s whereabouts until the television boomed in his ears.

That kid. It was not long before the Uchiha was gasping at an unbelievable sight. The blonde was reclined on his couch, watching the MLB network; the remote rested on his lap, while his uniform jacket had been tossed carelessly aside on an adjacent chair.

“What are you doing?” He asked Naruto who seemed completely at home in his den.

Looking up from television screen, Naruto apologised sheepishly. “Sorry for starting the highlights without you.”

What? That’s not even the point. Itachi questioned the boy’s strange logic before realising the blonde mistook him for a baseball fan, due to their last conversation.

“I actually have to start dinner now,” The young professor replied in defeat, deciding to use the misunderstanding to his advantage; it would keep the boy out of the way, at least while he cooked.

“Oh...too bad then,” Naruto muttered, turning his attention back to the screen. He would have really liked to have shared the best moments of the game with another fan.

Some time later, the blonde sauntered into the dining room, swinging an invisible bat while mimicking the sound of the bat hitting a ball. Itachi closed the book he had been reading and watched the boy’s performance warily, hoping he would not break anything.

When Naruto’s arms grew tired from batting, he strolled over to Itachi’s side of the table and pulled out the chair next to him.“Watcha cooking?” He asked.

“Vegetarian lasagne,” the long-haired man said coolly, while wondering why out of the four (4) chairs the blonde chose the one next to him.

“Eww!” Naruto interjected, crinkling his nose at the thought of vegetables ruining lasagne. In any case, he could not afford to ruin his appetite by staying over for dinner. His father was guaranteed to take him out to his favourite restaurant for ramen to celebrate his achievement.

“See ya later Itachi!” The boy said hurriedly as he packed up his things quickly, he needed to reach home before his father started dinner.

Vegetables were the trick huh? Perhaps being a vegetarian does have its perks, Itachi thought with a smile, as he waved goodbye. Be that as it may, Naruto was proving to be somewhat unpredictable to him. His leaving was as unexpected as his arrival, yet he would not fault the boy for coming over this time, since he enjoyed the boy’s take on the Great Shinobi War.

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Onward to Friday, the morning bell sounded in the hall way, finding Naruto in the chemistry lab. Normally, he would be now rushing up to the school gate since he was a late riser. No amount of knocking on his door or calling of his name could awaken him on mornings when his school days kick-started with boring classes. However that habit changed whenever practicals were involved; he preferred hands-on subjects.

Slithering into the room quietly, the chemistry teacher, an overly pale man, announced to the class that they would be making soap in groups of three (3). Naruto crinkled his nose at the lameness of the experiment, yet it did not dampen his excitement, since it meant donning the goggles and oven mitts lain out on the table.

“Come on all ready,” the boy grumbled in impatience, as he waited for two of his classmates to join his table. To his dismay, everyone shuffled past him and formed their preferred groups, leaving him alone.

Further dejection rocked his core when the teacher called out to fellow students to join him, to no avail. Once more, he was treated like the outcast of the school. No one ever willingly worked with him or invited him into their groups; he had been a fool to think that today would be any different.

Blinking to keep back his tears, Naruto walked out of the lab with his head turned downward and his shoulders slumped.

Meantime, Itachi was winning his second Shogi match on his tablet. He had started playing in the living room while awaiting the arrival of a package. Figuring it was the delivery man when the door bell finally rang, Itachi opened the front door, only to greet the last person he had expected.

“Naruto,” he said in a concerned tone, taking in the troubled sight of the blonde. His eyes were puffy and swollen from crying, while a deep-set frown marred his round face. Most disturbingly, he was dressed in his school’s lab coat.

Stepping aside, Itachi let the blonde inside, deciding there was a serious reason that drove him to skip school. Moreover, there were worse places he could have probably gone instead, the man reckoned.

Nevertheless, it was a long time before the two young men sitting across from each other broke the prevailing silence. “Itachi,” Naruto began hoarsely, “how do I get other people to recognise me?”

“What do I gotta do?” he rasped in desperation. Perhaps he had sunken to an all time low by cutting school; however he was fed up with being invisible and unneeded there. Most importantly he wanted to know what he could do to fit in.

“What do you want to be recognised for?” The older man probed, answering with a question.

“Huh?” The boy scratched his head, arching his brows in confusion.

“What is it about you that you want others to see?”

“Well um, I-I’m a....” To the blonde’s horror, he was drawing a blank on his redeeming qualities. His pranks and poor gaming skills were as worthless as himself, cementing the fact that he was truly a loser; after all no one associated with a class clown.

Hunching forward in a depressed state, Naruto buried his face in his hands, causing Itachi to lament the harshness of his words; the man’s opinions were rarely consulted outside of academic matters.

“Is there anything you could possibly improve in your life, Naruto?” The long-haired man inquired, changing his approach since he was dealing with a young teen.

Suddenly a light bulb above the boy’s head turned on, causing his hands to drop to his lap in a comical manner.

“Of course!” The blonde jumped to his feet excitedly, finally grasping the elusive solution to his problems. The slacker inside was holding him back and preventing him from living up to his potential. He needed to kick his bad habits to the curb and work hard in all the areas where he was lacking. Providing he did those things, his classmates would be forced to see the positives changes in him and acknowledge his existence!

“It won’t be easy, but at least I’ll have Itachi-sensei to help me,” Naruto mused, flashing the man a grateful smile for his proposed guidance.

Sensei? The stunned Uchiha could only part his lips in reaction to the role he had been given. Once more Naruto had taken a jarring liberty and drafted him into his plans for reform. Furthermore, the boy was rambling on about his proposed changes with a fire, that not even Itachi could bear to see extinguished.

TBC


A/N: There goes a necessary snippet of Naruto’s school life. Thank you for reading this far!