The Great Medic (discontinued?)

4: Moving Along the Path

A/N - Yo, yo! Guess who doesn't have to wait months for another chapter? You all! Because I love you <3 I was just really inspired to write for this story again and couldn't contain my excitement which is why you're getting this chapter only, what, a day after the last one? Maybe two days actually... That's beside the point, though. I have a lot of things planned for this story and... for the first time in a while, I think I'll actually be able to finish something. I know you're all excited to see how the rewrite will go and, frankly, so am I! I'm more active now so I'll be more inclined to hear and talk to you all. Love you all, see you in the next update!

P.S. - Something I'm quite proud of is that this story is well over 17,000+ words even though we're only on the fourth chapter. However, in the original, by the fourth chapter, the story had just barely surpassed 5,000 words. I think that's so crazy and I can't even begin to say how grateful I am to have a better tolerance for writing and knowing exactly where I want the story to go. Plus, I like the chapter lengths staying around 4,000 - 4,500 words.

As summer started slowly encroaching, Iruka had been too busy to really take time to relax. He'd been preparing for the end-of-year exams before his student's summer break. He and Mizuki, the other proctor for the test, kept going back and forth over what the test should entail or what should be taken out from last year's exam. It was exhausting, to say the least, and, on that Saturday evening, work was the last thing on his mind.

He sighed deeply, walking down the street with a to-go bag from the BBQ place down the street from his own apartment. The academy-student teacher was going to visit Naruto for a celebratory dinner of sorts. Iruka could see how hard his student was working and wanted to praise the eight-year-old boy for passing expectations and continuing to grow into a fine ninja.

The man smiled softly, the street lights had started lighting up as the evening progressed, illuminating his journey towards his student's apartment. If you had told Iruka almost a year ago that he'd be going out of his way for Naruto, of all his students, to bring the kid food and check up on him, he'd have told them that they were crazy. It still pains him to think how bigoted he was towards the blond when they'd met only two years ago, sharing the same hateful stare as the other people on the street.

But he wasn't the same person he was a year ago. The person he is now can see how innocent and kind of a person Naruto is, how willing and bright he was to carry on and continue to learn.

Ever since Naruto got hooked on learning about medical ninjutsu all those months ago, his grades had started to sky-rocket. While they were definitely not on the same level as Sasuke's, Sakura's, or Shikamaru's - in that order - the hyperactive blond was no longer being called the dead-last of the class. Iruka could clearly see that the storm cloud that had rested painfully above his head was now gone, replaced by a happier, more leveled Naruto. His temper had even plateaued which was, honestly, a big surprise.

Every change he saw in Naruto was amazing to watch, seeing him blossom into a student that wanted to do better, strived to become a ninja that people would be proud of. Anything promising Iruka saw in his classroom of the kid's progress, he reported it to the Third Hokage. Hiruzen and Naruto had always been close, Iruka noticed over the years - what he used to see as an obligation that the Hokage held after the death of Naruto's parents was actually adoration and love, like a grandfather and a grandson. The older man had been ecstatic about the blond-haired kid's progress when Iruka had reported to him. The Third Hokage even started giving Naruto more money so that he could spend them on books and the likes of.

It was a pleasant change after everything Naruto had been through over the years.

Iruka had finally managed to get to his student's apartment complex. He shifted the bag in his arms to knock on the sturdy, but olden door to Naruto's apartment. There was a startled yelp from inside and the brown-haired teacher couldn't keep his chuckle from escaping. He could clearly hear something falling over, another shout, some mumbling even, a gasp, more things falling for a second time, and finally a hearty laugh before the door clicked open.