Secrets Untold

Chapter 1

"How are you feeling?" a brown-haired man with a scar across his nose asked, the blonde-haired teen sitting at the table. "You aren't getting sick, are you?"

"No. Iruka I'm not getting sick. I'm just nervous is all." The young man answered. "I've never been away from home for so long."

"Maybe that's a sign that you shouldn't go." Iruka said worriedly. "What if you get sick again? I can't stand the thought of that happening while you are off to University."

"I think, I'll be okay. Tsunade said everything looked okay, and I trust her." Naruto stated. He could understand why his former sensei was so worried, Naruto had had the symptoms of being sick for a long time before anyone figured out that Naruto was extremely sick. It had taken Naruto collapsing at school to realize that he was sick. He'd just happened to be in Iruka sensei's math class, working out a math equation on the board, when out of nowhere Naruto had dropped the chalk and had hit the ground, unconscious.

Naruto had regained consciousness a few hours later in the Konoha emergency room, Iruka standing beside him talking quietly with the blonde-haired doctor. Naruto hadn't understood why his math teacher had been there at the time. It was later on that Naruto that Iruka had been there for emotional support, and he had remained beside Naruto throughout the entire ordeal, because Naruto's diagnosis had been a difficult one. Iruka had ended up becoming one of Naruto's biggest supporters and had gotten really close with Naruto. Since Naruto's parents were dead, had been since he'd been young, Iruka had stepped in and stepped up as a guardian of sorts for him. Tsunade had told him that it was so bad she wasn't sure that much could be done for him, but Naruto had somehow managed to beat the odds and was currently cancer free and had been for three months now. Naruto just hoped that it stayed that way. He didn't think he could through another round of aggressive chemotherapy.

"Earth to Naruto?" Iruka said, interrupting Naruto's thoughts causing the other man to blink up at him in an owlish manner.

"Sorry, Sensei." Naruto murmured. "I was just thinking about how much harder all of this would have been if I haven't had you to help me along the way."

"I wouldn't have had you to go through that alone." Iruka said softly. "No one deserves that kind of hell. I will always be there for you."

"Even if it means the cancer comes back and ends up killing me?" Naruto asked, finally giving voice to his silent fear. He didn't want to die, he was only 17 years old.

"It's not going to come back." Iruka said. "And if it does, Tsunade will find a way to make it go back into remission. Perhaps you should stay here, it would be easier to keep an eye on things."

"I need to go to school." Naruto said. "I need to be able to get away from here and forget about everything for a while."

"You can't forget that you have check up's up to make sure the cancer hasn't returned." Iruka said gently. He knew that Naruto hated being reminded that he needed to get checked up on periodically to make sure that he was still healthy.

"I know that." Naruto said. "And I promise that I won't miss any of my appointments, but this is something that I need to do for me."

"I can understand that. I know that you need to have your own life." Iruka said. "I just want you to keep in mind that you aren't as healthy as you used to be, and it won't take much to get you sick because of the chemotherapy. Your immune system isn't what it used to be."

"I know." Naruto said. "I promise I'll even wear a mask if I have too, but I need to do this."

"I know you do." Iruka said. "And I promise I'm not trying to be overprotective, I just worry about you."

"A little too much." Naruto said, offering Iruka a small smile. He was grateful to the other man for all that he had already done for him. Iruka had supported him when Naruto didn't have anyone to be there for him, and Naruto would forever be grateful for that. Iruka had done things for him that Naruto knew that he could never repay the man for. Iruka had gone out of the way to make sure that Naruto had someone with him just so that Naruto wouldn't have to face cancer alone. So maybe he could partly repay the other man for what he done.

"Don't think about not going to school." Iruka said, seeing the look of apprehension on Naruto's face. "You can't give up your dreams for fear of the cancer coming back. You said it yourself, you have to do it."

"I'm not afraid of the cancer coming back, not really." Naruto said. "I don't want you to have to sacrifice anything else. You've already done enough."

"It was all worth it." Iruka said. "I would do it all over again to just make sure that you wouldn't have to go through it alone." Naruto smiled weakly, he was going to miss the other man something dearly. He had grown accustomed to having the other man around, all the time. School was going to be difficult but Iruka was right, Naruto had to do this for him.

"I'll always be a phone call away if you need someone to talk too." Iruka said. "but I'm sure you'll be making friends in no time, and won't have much time to talk to an old fart like me."

"You're not old." Naruto said chuckling. "I'm not sure that anyone's going to want to be friends with someone who could easily die from a cold."

"That's not going to matter, when you find someone who see your heart." Iruka said. "You have the biggest heart of anyone that I know, and I know that other people will see it as well. You will draw people to you and you will have all sorts of friends."

"One can only hope." Naruto muttered. "But I'm still not sure about it."

"Now whose full of doubt?" Iruka said. "Where's the confidence that you were showing earlier?"

"I'm just worried, about whether I can do this now. I'm afraid of the cancer coming back, and whether people will accept me once they discover that I've got cancer."

"Had cancer." Iruka reminded. "It's gone."

"For now." Naruto muttered as he pushed himself to his feet, after glancing at the clock. He needed to be on the college campus soon, but now he was filled with so much apprehension that he wasn't sure that he could do this.

"I think you'll be fine." Iruka said, "it's normal to be nervous."

"I have more to be nervous about than most college freshman." Naruto said. He couldn't help but worry that the cancer would somehow come back while he was at school. He didn't know what he would do if it did, he didn't think he could do another round of chemotherapy.

"I know I made you nervous about the cancer thing." Iruka said. "But I just wanted you to realize that you have to be careful. Take your meds and go for your check ups like you are supposed to, and realize that at the first sign of the symptoms being back that you need to make sure that you get to the hospital and get looked at." Naruto nodded and swallowed hard, leaving Iruka was going to be harder than he thought. Ever since his parents had died, people tended to leave him alone, treated him like he was some sort of curse. Naruto had been so lonely, before and when he started having some strange symptoms Naruto had hoped that it would be something deadly that would end his life so that he could be with his parents again. At least he hoped that he until Iruka started staying with him during his diagnosis and treatment. Naruto had thought that he had wanted to die, but Iruka showed up and gave him a reason to fight again, Iruka made him see that he didn't have to be lonely anymore. Ever since his diagnosis, Naruto had been staying with Iruka, because Iruka refused to allow him to be anywhere else. Iruka had decided that Naruto needed someone to help him when he was sick and couldn't do things for himself. Naruto was truly grateful that his teacher had been there, because while he was undergoing chemotherapy, he had gotten really sick and had gotten to the point where he couldn't eat anything at all, and he couldn't do much for himself, other than make it to the toilet in order to throw up. Naruto couldn't imagine that he would have done very well without Iruka being there. Perhaps Naruto would have lost the will to live early on and ended up losing his battle. Naruto didn't know and he didn't like thinking about it very much.

"It seems weird that you're finally leaving for college. It seems like yesterday that you were just stepping into my classroom." Iruka said.

"I'm glad to have made it this far." Naruto said. "There for a while, I wasn't sure I would even finish high school. I'm hoping that my luck will hold out and the cancer will stay gone."

"It will." Iruka reassured the teen. "I almost guarantee that it won't come back."

"I hope your right." Naruto said. "I don't think I can go through that again. It was terrible." He'd been sick all of the time, and was so miserable at some points that he had wished he would die, just to be free from his misery.

"I know so." Iruka said as he started towards Naruto, his heart suddenly feeling heavy. He didn't want to let Naruto go, but he knew that he had to let Naruto live his own life. After all that Naruto had been through, first with the death of his parents, and then his cancer diagnosis. Life had been hard on the Uzumaki, but Iruka knew that it could get better, Naruto could find a better life. The one he deeply deserved, even if Iruka had to let him go, he would. He only wanted Naruto to be happy and to be able to experience a full life. Of course, Iruka knew that he wasn't really losing Naruto, he would be able to see Naruto whenever he wanted, and still talk to him. He just wouldn't see him as much as he used too.

"You're more confident than I am." Naruto said as he reached out and pulled Iruka in for a hug. "I guess I'm just nervous about this whole experience. I've never done something like this before."

"You'll get there." Iruka said. "It's just going to take you a little more time to believe that you are okay after all that you have been through. Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the University?"

"I don't want to cause you anymore trouble than I already have." Naruto stated. "besides I'm not sure it would help me make friends if I have you with me." Iruka chuckled.

"I'm sure you'll have no problems making friends." Iruka said. "Once they see your heart, they'll want to be around you all the time."

"I'm going to miss you." Naruto said suddenly, clinging tighter to Iruka. "I really am."

"You're not going very far, so you can always come back home whenever you want." Iruka said, "And I will be here waiting."

"You mean you want me here?" Naruto asked, pulling back.

"This is your home, of course I want you." Iruka said. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I just figured that because the cancer is gone that you would want me to move somewhere else." Naruto said, tears forming in his blue eyes.

"That would be cruel." Iruka said. "And after everything, you deserve some kindness in your life. I know the other kids at school weren't very nice to you because you had cancer."

Naruto swallowed hard, trying to keep the tears at bay. Iruka was right when he'd said the other kids hadn't been nice, he'd been bullied for being sick even though it hadn't been his fault that he'd gotten sick.

"I love you." Naruto said, choking on his tears. "you've been there for me more than anyone ever has and I'll always be grateful."

"You didn't deserve to go through that alone." Iruka said. "No one does. And I love you just as much and I mean it if you get tired of being at school, you can always come back. I know you're taking on a lot as it is."

"You don't know what that means to me." Naruto said. "and I may end up taking you up on your offer."

"The door is always open. I guess if you don't want to be late, you best be going." Iruka said. Naruto sighed and pulled away, he didn't want to leave but he knew Iruka was right. He needed to be able to find his dorm room, and he wanted to make sure that he knew where all of his classes were. He would hate to get lost and end up late on his first day. Naruto was sure that would make him look like the biggest loser on the planet.

"I'll see you later then." Iruka said as he watched Naruto grab his bag and then head for the apartment door. He really hoped that Naruto's college experience would be better than his high school experience. Naruto had ended up being friendless, aside from Iruka, and Iruka's on and off boyfriend Kakashi Hatake. It had been hard to watch Naruto being so sick and lonely, wishing for a friend that wouldn't judge him for being sick. It had made Iruka angry at the kids for being so cruel to someone who clearly needed them to be kind. Iruka couldn't understand why they couldn't see what Iruka saw in Naruto. Maybe college would end up being a good experience for him. Still Iruka couldn't help but worry, if college was anything like high school, Iruka feared what would happen if Naruto was bullied again. Iruka feared that the happy go lucky teenager would end up killing himself and he didn't want that to happen. Iruka knew that Naruto wasn't as happy as he often times pretended to be and that eventually Naruto was going to burst if something didn't change.

"Kami keep him safe, and help him make some friends that will be kind to him when they find out that he's sick." Iruka murmured. He didn't want to lose Naruto, he truly loved the boy like he was his own son, and Iruka would rather die than to see Naruto lose his battle with cancer or the depression that he was trying so hard to hide.

An hour later Naruto found himself staring at the gates of Konoha University. He swallowed hard as he wondered if this experience would be different for him, or if the people would treat him the same as they had in high school. Sighing, Naruto took a step forward, he had to start somewhere he might as well go now, instead of standing there looking like an idiot. That was the last thing he wanted to look like, not after what he had already been through in high school. He knew how cruel people could be to those that were different. He had learned the hard that just because he was an orphan and had gotten sick, there had been no kindness for him. It had him secretly hate his classmates, but no one ever knew that because he wore a mask that showed that he was happy despite his circumstances. The only one who really knew how dark his thoughts were, was probably Iruka, his former teacher was the only one who had even bothered to take the time to get to know him.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Naruto heard someone shout, seconds before he plowed into the back of another dark-haired teen knocking him to the ground. Naruto grunted as he landed right on top of the other boy. He heard the boy hiss in pain before Naruto was suddenly jerked to his feet. He looked up to see another dark-haired man, this one appearing to be a few years older than Naruto, holding tightly to Naruto's bicep, as he reached down and helped the other kid up.

"You okay Sasuke?" the man asked.

"I think I might have broken my wrist." Sasuke replied.

"You best hope that's not the case, my little brother doesn't have time for a broken wrist." The older man hissed at Naruto, turning and shaking the teen in his hands. "Whatever the case may be, you can pay for his treatment."

"Come on Itachi," Sasuke said, turning hateful eyes towards Naruto to glare at him. "We don't have time for this loser, I have basketball practice to get to, and I need to get my wrist looked at." Naruto stared at the two boys as the older one released his grip on Naruto's arm and stared walking off, following after the younger boy.

"You just made the biggest mistake of your life." Someone commented from behind Naruto. "Pissing off the Uchiha's was the wrong thing to do. They can make your life here at KU a living hell if they want too." Naruto spun around to see another teen, this one with red tattoos on his face staring at him. Naruto frowned and rubbed at his arm, he had no doubt that his arm would have an ugly bruise on it.

"What makes them so special?" Naruto asked, already disliking the two boys, for thinking they were so much better than he was.

"How can you not know who they are?" the teenager asked, sounding surprised. "Everyone knows the Uchiha's. their family practically owns Konoha."

"I don't care about that, they're just people. They aren't any better than anyone else." Naruto said.

"And with that attitude you're never going to get along with them." The teenager informed Naruto.

"Just great." Naruto before walking, not even bothering to acknowledge that the other teen had said anything. He couldn't help but wonder if he had already screwed up his college career before it had even started. He seriously hoped not, but if the Uchiha were as powerful as that
teen had claimed, then Naruto knew his life would be made a living hell.

TBC? Reupload because i let someone talk me into throwing away hours of work on the stories I had on here.