Let The Silence Be Broken
Chapter Seven
Chapter Seven:
Naruto glanced at the looming gates of the school yard and a thread of uneasiness coiled in the pit of his stomach.
In a few more steps, he would be teased unmercifully for losing to those bullies in a fight yesterday and wearing a bandage on his face as proof.
Nevertheless, he would do it all over again to save the transfer student since ignoring someone in need was never an option in his book.
Pushing past the school gates, Naruto held his head up high and trekked to the senior block, meeting stares, giggles and whispers along the way.
Why isn't anyone saying anything to my face yet? This is just too weird. The confused blonde tried to steel his nerves before stepping into the noisy classroom where the bulk of his verbal attacks occurred.
The room fell silent upon his entrance and out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a pink-haired girl following him to his desk.
“Hey Naruto,” Haruno Sakura said.
Attempting to look busy by digging a textbook out of his bag, Naruto solemnly replied to his main tormentor. “Hi Sakura-chan.”
“How's your face?”
The blonde's brows creased with doubt since Sakura would never be concerned about him, she hated him. “It will heal.”
Before Sakura could reply, she overheard some classmates questioning why she was talking to that 'loser' and the unexpected happened next.
“Shut up you idiots!” She whipped around angrily to face them. “He saved my cousin from getting bullied yesterday!”
Green eyes then regarded him with gratitude. “Thank you Naruto for saving Tatsuo.”
Opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, Naruto struggled against disbelief to speak. Just when he
was expecting an insult, Sakura had thanked and defended him instead.
“It-it was noth-nothing,” he choked as his heart raced.
“Are you kidding me? Sure, you didn't land many punches but you kept going at them so Tatsuo could get away.”
“That is something!” She looked at him as if daring him to disagree with her.
Holding his hands up in resignation, Naruto offered her an embarrassed smile which she returned. And at that moment, he finally noticed the incredulous gazes of his classmates who had been watching the exchange.
Moreover, news of Naruto's heroics had spread through the school and for once, he was regarded with respect. On top of that, he could hardly contain his happiness while waiting for Itachi to come home that evening.
"Lots of teachers winked at me during my classes today,” Naruto said while rapping his fingers on the counter top.
“Last night my father promised to teach me some karate moves over the weekend.”
Itachi glanced at the cheerful boy who had been talking non-stop all evening, then he turned his attention back to the sauce simmering on the stove.
Truth be told, listening to Naruto's happy chatter relaxed the Uchiha, especially after having worried about said boy's day at school; fortunately, it had been for naught.
And as strange as it may seem, Itachi's school life had actually been similar to the blonde's. Whereas the blonde was shunned for being an outsider, Itachi was rejected for his highly intelligent and aloof nature which intimidated his classmates. However, only Naruto tried to change his fate.
Sometime later, the blonde strolled into the dining room to find Itachi wheeling a dry erase board towards the table.
“Where did that come from and what's all of this?” The blonde pointed at the stacks of books and English DVDs on the table.
“Those are resources to help you study, we only have so much time before your national exams in June.”
“Oh, right...thank you Itachi.” Naruto frowned, remembering that his time as a secondary school student would end in a matter of months. Therefore, he needed to work harder than ever to gain friends before graduation.
“When can I send you the bill?” Itachi asked, breaking the blonde's train of thought.
“Huh?” I thought you'd pay...” the blonde trailed off, reading the price sticker on a DVD that cost more than his allowance; there was no way he could afford them.
Flashing his sensei a desperate look, Naruto watched the Uchiha's lips curve into a slight smile.
“I can't believe it, you-you're messing with me!” He bounded over to the Uchiha and playfully punched him in the chest.
Blinking in surprise, the older man felt warmth surging through his chest and his smile widened.
“I bet I know exactly what your office looks like,” Naruto remarked as he walked along the empty corridors of the law department with Itachi.
“And how would that be?” Itachi humoured him.
It was a bank holiday and the Uchiha had promised to watch an English movie with Naruto later that evening; however, the eager boy turned up before he could swing by his office to pick up some cases files, so Itachi ended up taking the boy with him to retrieve them.
“You must have a zillion books on the shelves and then there's a world globe, a gavel and a bunch of old newspapers on your desk cause you must've been following court cases for quite some time.”
How do you come up with these things? “See for yourself.” The amused Uchiha paused in front of his office door and unlocked it before disappearing inside.
Following the Uchiha into the carpeted room, Naruto actually spotted an impressive book shelf perched above the counter that housed the office electronics. On the other hand, only a crouching crow sculpture and a telephone lay on the desk.
“Gee, no gavel or papers huh? I couldn't have been more wrong.”
“And you just had to put up your weird art on the walls,” the blonde teased while studying a vibrant portrait that resembled a sunset.
A small bulletin board filled with postcards grabbed his attention next and naturally he fired a question. “Itachi, who sent you all these postcards?”
“They're from former students who enjoyed my courses.” A thoughtful expression crossed the Uchiha's face as he packed up the documents.
Itachi has a sentimental side! Naruto smiled at the discovery and understood why his students had showed him their appreciation; lately his teaching style had changed, it was more engaging and personal as if his sensei knew all of his weak areas and tried to improve them.
“I hope that my students will appreciate me as much as yours do when I become a teacher.”
"Why do you want to become a teacher?" Curiosity burned in Itachi's eyes as he gazed intently at the boy. He had heard the boy mention that career goal before but he had not taken him serious at the time, now he wanted to know what motivated him.
Looking away from the Uchiha, Naruto shrugged, wishing that he was not about to make a fool out of himself with his words.
“Uh, well I watched this movie when I was little. Have you watched Jiraiya's Watashitachi no Sensei before? All the teachers hated his character and they gave him the worst class in the school to teach, just to see him fail.”
“But he showed them! He believed in his students when nobody else did and took them to the top. His pep talks were the best and his teaching style was weird too but it worked!”
Chancing a quick glance at Itachi, the blonde's voice grew softer as he continued. “I hoped to grow up and bring out the best in my own students one day... pretty lame huh?”
“No, it isn't. Inspiration can come from anywhere, Naruto, but what really counts is, how you use it to go forward when life's hurdles get in the way of achieving your goals.”
The Uchiha leaned against the desk and ran his hand through his dark hair before speaking again. “I knew I was going to teach law after reading The Great Shinobi War as a child.”
“But my father never approved of the idea and tried to stop me, yet here I am. And if the high pass rate of my courses and those postcards are any indications, I must be doing something right.”
“Sensei...”
The gravity of Itachi's own words hit him when he suddenly found a touched Naruto standing in front of him. The boy then proceeded to pat him on the shoulder. How did this boy get him to open up?
TBC
A/N: Thank you for bearing with me and reading this far.