Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ I'm Not Alone Anymore ❯ Introductions ( Chapter 3 )

"Iruka-niisan!" Naruto called, grinning broadly as Haku shuffled behind him nervously.

"Good morning, Naruto," said Iruka with a smile. His eyes flicked over the blonde child to the small boy behind him. "And who is this?"

"This is Haku!" Naruto beamed and pushed said boy in front of him. "And he's my friend!"

Iruka eyes Haku critically, the dark haired child blushing slightly. "G-good morning, Iruka-san," he murmured, eyes on the floor. "It's nice to meet you."

The man's gaze relaxed, sensing the honesty behind the boy's dark eyes. "It's nice to meet you, too, Haku-kun. Where are you from?"

"I, uh…" The boy's already soft voice quieted even more, making Iruka strain to catch it. "I'm from…"

"Iruka-niisan!" Naruto whined suddenly and loudly. "I'm hungry - no one would feed me yesterday!"

Haku, grateful for the interruption and feeling his own stomach growling, closed his mouth and nodded, cheeks reddening even more. Iruka sighed, realizing he would get no information out of hungry children, and smiled.

"Ok, then, Naruto. Why don't you show Haku-kun to the dining room while I get breakfast done, all right?"

"Ok," Naruto chirped before taking Haku by the arm and dragging him away.

Iruka lifted his eyes to the ceiling and shook his head slightly, stepping into the kitchen to quickly fix something up.

~*~

Haku smiled as he listened to Naruto jabber on about something or other involving the Ninja Academy. He looked up suddenly, hearing footsteps approaching and saw Iruka walking into the room, bowls of steaming something in either hand. Cutting off mid-word, Naruto lifted his nose to the air and inhaled, eyes brightening.

"Ramen!"

Iruka grinned and walked closer to the children but continued to hold the bowls above their heads. "Ah, but what flavor?"

Naruto scrunched p his nose for a moment in thought before beaming and chirping, "Miso."

"Correct!" With that, Iruka set the bowls down in front of the two and Haku could see that it was full of noodles with a brown broth laced with vegetables and other things he couldn't quite identify. Taking the chopsticks from Iruka, who then left the room, he murmured along with Naruto's exuberant cry of "Itadakimasu!" and slowly began to eat the meal before him.

When Iruka returned a few minutes later with his own bowl, Naruto was already slurping down the broth and eyeing Haku's near-full bowl. Murmuring his own thanks, Iruka brought the noodles to his mouth and paused, spying Haku's, near untouched, meal.

"Aren't you hungry, Haku-kun?"

Haku gasped and lowered his eyes to the table, stammering out, "I… I didn't want to make -" his voice dropped even softer "- make myself sick again."

Iruka nodded, thoughtlessly pushing his bowl further away from Naruto's sneaking chopsticks with his own, and told Haku, "Well, eat what you can and I'll save (Naruto whined and Iruka ignored him) the rest for you when you can eat some more, all right?"

Haku nodded, still rosy-cheeked, and managed to down about a quarter of his ramen before his stomach began to protest.

~*~

Iruka watched as the two children played happily in the shade of the park trees, both ignoring the looks given to them by others. Folding his arms across his chest, he lightly bit his bottom lip and eyed the dark-haired child.

Haku, he thought, came out of nowhere. Every time he had attempted to gather some kind of information out of the child (be it full name, parental information, where he lived, ect.) there was always come kind of distraction to interrupt them. All he truly knew was that the boy was around Naruto's age and had been practically starved before the blonde had gotten to him.

Bowing his head, but still keeping an eye on the pair, Iruka overheard soft, disgusted mutterings behind him.

"Just what is that doing over there with that child?"

"You would think that her mother would know better than to let her play with it."

"Che. I hope someone decides to organize a hunt soon to -"

Iuka, unable to listen anymore slander on the boy who called him "niisan," stood suddenly, calling for the two children. When both Naruto and Haku were standing before him (much to the disgust of the people behind him), he said cheerily, "It's almost lunchtime, so why don't we go find something to eat?"

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered, grabbing Iruka's hand and nuzzling it before tugging him in one direction. "Let's go to Ichiraku!"

Iruka grinned at Naruto's sweet, yet demanding, tone and looked to the mystery child. "Haku-kun? Would you like to go - it's more ramen."

The boy gave him his standard blush at being acknowledged directly and nodded, saying, "I'm a little hungry now, Iruka-san."

"All right, then. We'll go to Ichi-" Iruka hadn't even finished speaking when Naruto grabbed Haku by the arm and dragged him off, leaving the man to shake his head and chuckle.

~*~

Naruto walked into the house, full and sleepy, wanting no more than to curl up on Iruka's bed and sleep. When said man stepped up to the front door, he turned to Haku and asked, "Haku-kun? Would you like me to walk you home?"

The boy reddened and turned away, tears welling in his eyes. With a shivering breath, he mumbled something too soft for even Iruka to hear. Naruto, Iruka's question having caught his interest, frowned and murmured, "Haku… chan…"

"What… was that?"

"My… my home was destroyed and my parents were killed a-… about a year ago…"

"Oh, Haku-kun…" A year? This poor boy had been without home and family for a year? Iruka felt a tugging on his hand and looked down to see Naruto's orb sof sky surrounded by clouds pleading with him.

Iruka-niisan…?"

The man sighed sadly, but a corner of his lips quirked upward as he turned to face Haku. "Haku-kun? Would you like to stay here?" Those deep onyx eyes widened and Iruka continued with, "I don't mind and Naruto could use the extra company…"

Iruka didn't need to bother finishing as Haku ran at him, wrapping small arms about his thigh, hugging him tightly.

~*~

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Finally! Take that you jerks! I updated!

Naruto: After only what? Five months?

Angel: Hey - shut-up! I had no plot! Speaking of plot, I want to thank every one who donated a plot and team idea. I have already chosen a plot, but the teams are still gonna be weird, for you see - an extra two boys will soon be joining the happy little family. And -- -gnat buzzes by; Angel swats at it; misses- Gah! Shino - take thine bugs away!

Shino: -there for no real reason- … No.

Angel: Please?

Shino: … No.

Angel: I hate you. And you know what - since I won't let you leave unless you take the bugs with you, you have to do the disclaimer.

Shino: I'm not your muse.

Angel: I don't care - say it!

Shino: -sigh- Angel does not own Naruto.

Angel: Excellent. So, till next time! ^^ -gnat passes by- Grrrr….