Let The Silence Be Broken

 

Special thanks goes to TheDarkKnight and Itachi Toriniti for the beta. All mistakes are my own.

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Chapter Four:

The sun began to colour the sky as Iruka crossed the street with Naruto’s puppy in tow. There was a contented expression on his face that reflected his eased conscience.

The man had constantly blamed himself for his son's loneliness, since it was a promotion to a high position at a new branch of the bank he worked for, that landed them in this small town. Whereas he had expected a better life for both of them here, fate rendered an unforeseen consequence instead; Naruto was rejected by his peers who considered him an unwanted outsider.

Further guilt racked up inside the man whenever he heard the boy talking to himself in front of the mirror, in attempts to reassure himself after a trying day at school; it was not supposed to be like that. He prayed that someone would finally see and accept his son.

Fortunately his prayers appeared to be answered, for Naruto was more high spirited of late and was even using the telephone, he seemed to have made a friend at last.

Suddenly, the ginger Akita barked excitedly, wagging his tail in a frenzy. Figuring a cat or squirrel had crossed their path, Iruka glanced ahead only to witness a troubling scene unfold.

A black sedan pulled up to the front of his house and Naruto climbed out, exchanging a few words with the driver before heading to the front porch. Suddenly he doubled back to the car then walked away with his school bag.

Who the hell is that? A thread of uncertainty thickened within Iruka, after the car sped past him, revealing a dark-haired man in the driver seat who he did not recognise. He swallowed uneasily, not liking the turn of events.

After marching into the house, the worried father found Naruto in the kitchen heating up dinner in the microwave. He loathed to think the boy was mixing in bad company.

“Hey dad,” Naruto said cheerfully when he saw him standing in the archway. “And there you are Kuruma!”

“I saw you getting out of the car just know. Who was that Naruto?” Iruka inquired, skipping the pleasantries.

“Just my tutor,” the blonde said matter-a-factly, while rubbing the puppy's head.

You went out and got yourself a tutor? A myriad of expressions flashed across the man's face. To think the boy had taken this step on his own, he was finally taking his education seriously. It was the last thing Iruka had expected, especially after scolding and grounding him for cutting school.

Later that week, Naruto was poring over his chemistry textbook and slurping cup ramen at the dining room table, when Iruka dropped two baseball tickets next to his notebook.

The blonde froze for a full minute before flying into his father's arms, knocking his chair over.

“How did you get these dad? They've been... been sold out forever!”

“I have my ways,” Iruka smiled into the embrace while patting his back. “Just keep up the good work.”

The man was overjoyed with the changes that Naruto was slowly making, for he had been waking up early most mornings and reading much more. Therefore, Iruka rewarded him for his efforts; it was his turn to surprise his son.

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The messy state of Uchiha Itachi’s dining room table coincided with a certain blonde's visits on evenings. Today was such an occasion when all the contents of Naruto's school bag cluttered the table.

“Why do we need to know about these prime ministers for anyway?”

The messy-haired boy complained after guessing the last answer to Itachi's pop quiz on the country's leaders; history was not his strong suit.

“Could you believe that I had my hand up in class today and my teacher didn't even want to call on me,” he admitted.

“I'll have him acknowledge me too. Just wait and see!” The blonde exclaimed, pointing at himself.

Although it was disheartening that his teachers, like his classmates, did not take him seriously, Naruto vowed that they would be all looking at him soon enough. Nevertheless, reform was proving to be difficult, especially where studying was concerned.

On the other hand, Itachi was sceptical, doubting the boy's ability to turn all of his grades around, especially this late in his school life. However he was surprised by the blonde's determination, since he had been coming over steadily for the past weeks.

“You must've been really popular in school, Itachi,” Naruto remarked, catching the Uchiha's eyes.

Where did that come from? The older man looked away, creasing his brows at the irony of the statement; a child prodigy in a university was anything but popular.

And naturally, the bad memories surrounding that period of Itachi's life resurfaced as well and he tried to stuff them back down.

''Let's take a break,'' he suggested with a hint of regret in his voice. Somehow the boy had a knack for striking at his past with his random questions.

“Itachi, do you want some juice?” Naruto yelled out from the kitchen, after helping himself to a glass of the juice in question, and the fruit and nut bar that he found in the fridge door.

Jolted from his thoughts by the boy's loudness, Itachi looked around in alarm, before wondering why the boy could not keep out of his fridge.

“No thank you,” the young professor then replied with hesitation, clearing his throat; he rarely spoke that loudly and barely recognised his own voice.

In spite of the Uchiha's answer, Naruto sauntered into the room with the drink, handing it to the older man with a chuckle.

“You sound thirsty,” he reasoned. “Drink up.”

That strange logic again, the older man thought, accepting the glass in resignation. Even though he taught hundreds of students on a daily basis, he was unable to say no to the younger one sitting in front of him. Itachi would eventually learn the reason why.

TBC

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A/N: Iruka can't interfere for now and Naruto only called Itachi because he was grounded. My next chapter will be late due to my busier schedule; however there will be new settings next time. Thank you for reading!