Secret No More

Chapter 7

    True to his word, going to see the Hokage, who was indeed in at that time, was a mini stealth mission. At least for Menma, who was trying to avoid any and all people who might question what he was doing. They were able to get past the Hokages secretary relatively easily, since she and Iruka knew each other. All he had to do was tell her he was showing Menma around, since he was new and Iruka didn’t want to risk him getting lost in the large school. She gave Menma a strange look, but otherwise let them through.
    Guards and the occasional passerby were also obstacles in Men's eyes, but because he was with Iruka, they didn’t do much more than give him passing glances and strange looks. Menma wasn’t sure he liked these looks all that much.
    After a little while the two of them reached the large double doors of the Hokage's office and Iruka knocked on the door. 

    “Enter!”

    Iruka motioned for Menma to stay put for a moment, and popped his head through the door, which was followed shortly by the rest of his body.

    “Iruka-sensei,” Naruto smiled, looking up from the scroll he had previously been looking over, “to what do I owe the pleasure?” Iruka gave him a look.

    “Naruto, i’ve told you before, i’ll tell you again. You're a 32 year-old man and the Hokage, you don’t need to call me Sensei any more.”

    “And as i’ve told you,” Naruto stated somewhat smugly, “I’ll do so if I wish. Adult or not, you are and will always be my Sensei. As will Kakashi-Sensei.” Iruka shook his head but was smiling.

    “Alright fine, I won’t fight you on it. For now. But that's not why I'm here. I actually have a surprise for you before classes start.” Iruka glanced behind the blonde and noticed students starting to arrive. A glance at the clock told him it was nearing 7:45. Naruto perked up in surprise.

    “A surprise? What for? It’s not my birthday.”

    “Does it have to be? Besides, I figured you would’ve liked to see them before they started today.”

    “Them?” Either Naruto was forgetful, or he hadn’t slept much in the past few days.

    Iruka gestured to something behind him and a familiar head of spiked raven hair popped into view. Naruto lit up instantly, standing up and looking much more awake.

    “Menma!”

    “Mama!” Menma rushed over to the Hokage, who picked him up and held him as they embraced. Iruka shut the door and allowed himself to walk over to the desk, sitting himself in one of the chairs. 

    “Hey buddy, are you excited?”

    “Yeah! I’m ready to attend a few classes, graduate and then become a chunin so I can go on cool missions like you and Papa!” Naruto and Menma had matching grins on their faces, and Iruka loved seeing it. He rarely saw the Hokage smile so carelessly anymore, especially with all the work he did and the problems he had with Boruto.
    Iruka knew Naruto well, having taught him for years. So he knew full well that Naruto loved all of his children more than anything else in the world. He would even bet on his life that his love of being the Hokage, going on missions and taking care of people in the village, was nothing compared to the love he had for his kids and taking care of them. So it broke Irukas heart that Boruto and Naruto were having problems. Boruto's a teenager, he’s going through a rebel phase- all teens have one. Heck Naruto, as good intentioned as he was, had one. It was normal. Not to mention the fact that Naruto had to meet with Menma in secret, and rarely, because no one knew of him. The man had way too much on his plate all at once, and Iruka knew it was only a matter of time before it all started tumbling off.
    The three of them sat and chatted while the other students arrived, only saying goodbye when the warning bell rang, signaling that class was about to begin. Iruka and Menma left the blonde, the latter [Menma] a bit sad, to his work. Naruto promised to stop by when he could, and said he was free to come and visit him at the office before and after school if he wished. Menma would definitely take him up on that.
    Iruka and Menma made it to Iruka’s classroom rather quickly, with a few minutes to spare so Iruka could gloss over the class rules. Menma memorized those as best he could. He was well behaved anyway, so Iruka doubted he’d have many problems with him while he was there. Which wouldn’t be long if I planned to graduate with everyone else.