Blazing Empress(Naruto AU)

七(7)Gratitude

A hush was upon the classroom filled with the young genins. The creaks of their teacher's steps as he travelled across the room; Iruka instructed his students on today's lesson. Each of his pupils, seated side by side in groups of three, gave Iruka their undivided attention to his lecture. Except for one little blond at the end of the large wooden desk. Unopened book, pencils at his side as Naruto rested his head on his folded arms on his blank notebook. 

Naruto gazed at the outdoors. Around the land of Konoha, cherry blossoms fluttered in the breeze. They shimmied, swaying to the groove of the caressing wind. He watched them flow gently out of his sight. The pink petals ascended the skies, resting on everything it grazed. The light of day continued to inflame the land in its an afternoon beam, a fresh aroma of nature.

The Uzumaki zoned out from the lesson. His mind drifted away to yesterday's events. Everyone hated him; he was well aware of that fact. However, that particular stranger didn't hesitate to come to his defence. The blond never met or seen that person before, not like he could remember the faces of the ones that hated him that much. They were all the same in his eyes. Yet, her features remained stuck in his mind; her eyes flared.

Her crimson eyes plagued his mind, leaving a striking mark in his memory. They combusted with an intense flame that he couldn't shake off. They drew him in, yet, pushed him away.

Naruto's pupils wandered upwards to the skies. The sun glowed it's rays, his eyelids squinted. The stranger's gaze was like the sun. The sunshine brought warmth like fire, warm enough to please the heart, but they glowed with something more, something darker. He shivered; they were such a cold pair of eyes. Either way, that girl was scary. Whoever she was, Naruto told himself he would stay as far away as possible.

He's pulled out of his train of thoughts as chalk collided with his forehead as he lifted his head, pulling his train of thought. Naruto groaned, rubbing his bruise, his eyes met a glaring Iruka, the classroom laughing along.

"Naruto, stop daydreaming and focus on the lesson!" Iruka scold, hands rested on his hips.

The blond responded with a sour pout. A pink-haired girl, a seat away from him, only gave him a blank while an Uchiha right next to him shook his head. Soon, Iruka dismissed his students to their respective homes. Everyone packed their belongings in their bags to leave. Chairs slid the floors, thuds of the future genins steps, and their voices blocked out from Naruto's ears. He hoisted his bag on his shoulders as he made his way for the exit of the classroom. He halted in his steps; his teacher blocked his path. He looked up and met his teacher's worried gaze.

"You weren't concentrated in class," Iruka said, he fell on one knee, " what's wrong?"

Naruto never understood why his teacher bothered. Everyone hated him; no one thought of him or ever showed a shred of sympathy towards him. Yet, his teacher was always concerned about him. Iruka would treat him to ramen a few times, even though the older male knew he was sacrificing his wallet to feed the boy's black hole of a stomach. The point was Iruka was always ready to listen to his problems, and he appreciated that.

"Well.." Naruto began, unsure of how he can explain the event, " yesterday, there was a fight."

"What! You fought someone" Iruka's eyes widen," Naruto, how many times have I told you to stay out of trouble!" He glared daggers at the blond.

Naruto flinched," It wasn't me!" He shook his head furiously, hands up in surrender" Some guy tried to beat me up, and she came and kicked him." He started to babble on and on, Iruka placed his hand on Naruto shoulders to stop him from speaking further.

"She?" Iruka questioned, "Who's she?"

Naruto sweat-dropped. He never got her name. " Uh, I don't know." He chuckled nervously. Iruka face-palmed, "But I remember what she looks like."