Author's Note: While I was re-watching Naruto Shippuden episodes 176-178, I can't help but feel terrible for Naruto. I mean, how or why he didn't kill himself, I don't know. He was strong willed, but it was terrible to see him go home and cry at the end of the day...so, I came up with this story. And also, there are a lot of people who actually share Naruto's life but they don't have anyone to reach out to them,it's sad...

Further note: This is during the time when Iruka wasn't very keen on being Naruto's teacher. I can't really say that it's canon. So slight AU.

Summary: When Naruto turns up missing for class naturally no one cares, not even Iruka. However, when the Iruka's feelings get the best of him and he grows worried,he decides to search for Naruto and much to is surprise, he finds Naruto crying in an alley. Upon attempting to comfort his troubled student, Iruka finds out the disturbing reasons behind Naruto's absence. Naruto was raped. Will Iruka be able to step up and be the teacher he needs to be, or will he let his hate for the Kyuubi get the best of him?

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Romance (not between Naruto and Iruka.)

Pairings: Slight KakaIru, Naruto and Iruka (not romantic, more like father or if you squint, a mother XD) NarutoxHinata

Chapter One: Broken

Iruka

As far as the rookie instructor could recall, that day started off as normal as the rest. He woke up at the same time as usual and from the same nightmare. He took his usual warm shower, and ate his usual breakfast. He dressed in his shinobi uniform and then headed to the academy.

When he got to the staff office he noticed that no one else had clocked in which was normal, he was usually the first to arrive. He then made his way to his classroom down the hall and entered. He did his routine of checking every row, making sure there was no trash before finally taking his seat in the front of the classroom and removing his papers from his satchel.

Then Iruka took a deep breath and placed the papers on his desk. He then look at each students records and achievements carefully.

As usual, he sorted students out from highest marks to lowest. It was no surprise that Sasuke Uchia was at the top of the list, followed by Shikamaru Nara, Sakura Haruno, etc. He cringed however, when he reached Naruto Uzumaki's name, as he was the only student that was failing almost all his courses. He was the only student doing poorly.

Sighing, Iruka cast Naruto's reports aside and brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose. He then turned his chair around to face the clock.

He still had thirty minutes until the students arrived, thirty minutes to decide what he was going to do if Naruto's pranks disrupted class. Iruka could simply kick him out, or even embarrass him in front of everyone, but he knew that's all he wanted, so he couldn't give him the satisfaction. He would just deal with Naruto after class and address his grades. It's not like he would listen at all, but at least Iruka was attempting to reach out to him. If he disregarded Iruka's advice, then that was Iruka's fault.

In all honesty, he didn't even want to give Naruto the time of day, but as his teacher, it was Iruka's responsibility to make sure he succeeded.

Sighing once more, Iruka faced the clock once again. Fifteen minutes had passed and Iruka decided to make a small detour to the teachers lounge. The students would arrive in minutes, so Iruka took the time to get the little refreshments he could find.

By the time the bell had rung, Iruka was happy to see everyone of his students sitting down quietly. As usual, he stepped into the classroom and greeted all of them. Inevitably, the group replied back with less enthusiasm, this caused Iruka to laugh inside.

"Class." He began happily. "As you know, we're half week through the first semester."

He looked around at all the curious faces, all but Naruto's it seemed. The stupid boy could hardly keep his eyes open. "It's about time that I hand out all of your reports so you can know where you stand in the class. If your overall grade is below average, then please see me. Today we're going to work mainly on making up work or turning in things that we haven't done. If you're all caught up, then you have a study period."

He saw many of the students grin at each other as he began to call names.

"Sakura Haruno." He announced.

The young girl jumped from her seat and practically ran up to Iruka's desk. He handed Sakura her current report and smiled. "You're one of my brightest students Sakura, please keep it up."

"Yes sir!" Sakura beamed, staring at her paper. "Perfect marks!" Quickly she ran back to her seat and began to show her report off to the boy next to her, Sasuke Uchiha.

"Next, Sasuke Uchiha."

He stood, obviously ignoring the Sakura. He then made his way to the front of the class room and stood before Iruka's desk.

Iruka handed Sasuke his report. "You're also very bright Sasuke." Iruka commented."Thanks." Sasuke flatly replied, walking back to his seat.

Iruka watched as Sasuke passed by Naruto. The angry blonde muttered something to him, causing Sasuke to scowl. Iruka rose an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What was that you said, Naruto?" Iruka called out, gaining everybody's attention.

"Nothin'." Naruto replied.

"Good." Iruka smirked. "You shouldn't insult those better than you." Sasuke smirked and the class laughed. Iruka felt slightly bad for what he had done but figured Naruto deserved it.

"You wanna know what I said!?" Naruto banged his fists down on his desk and glared at Iruka. The outburst caused everyone to grow quiet.

"What?" Iruka asked impatiently.

"I said that there's no way I scored lower on my report than a low life like Sasuke!" He stood up and pointed. "I'm not as stupid as that bum!"

At that moment, a number of things happened.

Sakura, Ino and the rest of the girls either shouted or attacked Naruto, Sasuke crossed his arms and closed his eyes, Hinata blushed a bit and turned away from Naruto and his attackers, then Iruka stood up and walked towards his troubled student with a report in his hand.

"Everyone, quiet down and sit down!" He shouted, walking through the row. The girls scurried back to their seats, leaving Naruto there with a pained expression. He looked up in surprise when he noticed Iruka holding his report, then he smiled.

"Well let's have it Iruka Sensei! Give me my report so I can show off to Sasuke_"

"I don't know what you'll be showing off, Naruto." Iruka sneered, suddenly slamming Naruto's paper on his desk. "You have a forty five for an overall average, compared to Sasuke's ninety seven."

At that moment, Iruka felt his heart shatter just a bit as he saw the look on Naruto's face. It was obvious that he had crushed Naruto inside, and the young boys facial expression revealed that. But still, Naruto had asked for it.

"Yeah...whatever." Naruto managed.

"Whatever? Naruto, I'd be more concerned." Iruka pressed on.

"Why, it's not like I'm the only one failing."

"Yes Naruto, you are the only one failing_" Iruka would have continued on if the other students hadn't begun to laugh and throw cruel insults. Instantly, Naruto's face flushed red with embarrassment and all together, Iruka felt like a douche.

Again, he silenced the class and spoke directly to Naruto. "There's still hope for you Naruto. You can complete your missing work today during the free block or after_"

Naruto stood up and crumbled up his report. "Grades mean nothing for someone like me!" He yelled, looking at Iruka. "I just have to avoid people like you, trying to put me down!"

"Naruto," Someone yelled. "You idiot, sit down so the rest of us can get our reports."

"Yeah you idiot!" And like normal, the rest of the students joined in. Slowly and quietly, Naruto sat in his seat, muttering to himself.

"Naruto, see me after class." Iruka commanded before walking back down the row and sitting in his desk.

He then began to hand out the rest of the reports and as he guessed, every single person wore the look of happiness on their face. Every single person except Naruto.

That day had ended with the students laughing and showing off their reports to their friends.

"Wow, my mom's gonna have to buy me a gift!" Iruka heard one student say.

"Yeah! You can come over to my house, we'll have a party." A friend replied. The two laughed as they left the classroom. They looked back at Naruto and began talking in hushed whispers. Iruka could only imagine, what they were talking about.

When Iruka saw that everyone had left except Naruto, he stood up and made his way to the pre-genin's desk. He held a large stack of papers; it was all Naruto's incomplete work. Iruka wore a smile as he approached the blonde. Naruto on the other hand didn't even look at him. He only sat in his seat and looked at the green chalk board.

"Naruto." Iruka spoke kindly, placing the papers down on the desk. "In order to improve your grade, you have to complete this makeup work. We're going to start from here."

"Hn." Naruto replied, looking out of the window.

Iruka felt the urge to yell at Naruto's ignorance, but he only smiled and continued on. "Look...there's still hope for your grades, and there's still hope for you to excel, you've just go to do the work."

And this time, Naruto said nothing, causing Iruka to sigh.

"Look, if you're still upset about this morning, then I'm sorry. I should not_"

"Save it, Iruka Sensei." Naruto spat with distaste. "I don't need your dumb apology, in fact, I don't even need to be here right now. I know the only reason I'm failing is because you dislike me."

While that was true, that wasn't the reason Naruto was failing. "Naruto," Iruka handed him a sheet of paper from the large stack. "Look at this Naruto, you've hardly answered any questions, and this was a test! The only reason you're doing poorly is because you don't do the work."

"I don't need to do the work, I already know the stuff!" Naruto replied. "You just don't have hope in me!" He stood up.

"Naruto!" Iruka grabbed his shoulder. "Sit down!"

"Let me go!" Naruto found the strength to push Iruka, nearly knocking him over.

For a second, the two did nothing but glare at each other with hate in their eyes. Iruka searched for something to say, while still attempting to remain professional.

"Don't play dumb with me, Iruka Sensei. I can see past that fake smile of yours! You're just like the others!" Naruto yelled, pointing an accusing finger. "Well you know what, you can go and fuck off because_"

At that moment, Iruka lost every bit of professionality in him. He wanted to say something that would hurt Naruto, and when he did, he instantly regretted it. "You're right! It's not like I'd want to help you, but I have to because I'm your teacher. Honestly, do you believe I want to be here? No, but I have to and it pains me that I'm stuck with an unthankful brat like you."

Naruto didn't say anything, he only clenched his fists, turned around and swiped the large stack of papers off of the desk. "I don't need your help!" And with that, Naruto ran out of the classroom before Iruka could even scold him.

For a while, Iruka stood there looking at all the papers he would have to pick up. He was tempted to go chase after Naruto and make him clean up the mess, but instead he made his way to the front of the classroom and shut the door.

Then looking at the paper on the floor, he returned back to Naruto's desk, and began to clean up the mess.

Naruto

Stupid Sensei. He doesn't know anything. Naruto thought as he walked through the village with his head down. He did this to avoid the gazes from those in the village. He had become all too familiar with them and wished, on a terrible day like this, not to be confronted.

In silence, he walked and brushed past numerous people not excusing himself or anything like that. He only wished to get home and go to bed. Deep down inside, his heart was aching and he wanted to burst into tears. He knew that Iruka didn't like him, but the fact that he would humiliate Naruto in front of everyone to such a degree, well...that made Naruto want to...disappear.

True, on the outside, Naruto was able to smile and act all happy, but on the inside he honestly wanted to die. It was one thing for everyone to hate him, but it was another thing for everyone to hate him for no reason. It made it hard, for him to want to continue on every day after being put down by so many people. It made it even harder to want to continue when people he didn't even know yelled at him.

"Naruto..." A soft voice brought him back to reality. He turned around and noticed Hinata standing there with flowers in her hand.

"Oh...Hinata." Naruto replied with less enthusiasm. "What's up?"

"I saw what happened today, in class." She walked towards him.

"Who didn't?" Naruto sarcastically replied.

"Well...I felt bad for you, so I bought you these." She handed him the bouquet of flowers. "They're sunflowers...I got them because they match your hair."

Naruto took them with wide eyes. He looked at Hinata, shocked. "You...you got these...f...for me?"

"Yes Naruto." She replied, softly, looking away. "You see...I...I...sorta, I really want to become friends."

"You don't hate me?"

"N...no! I never have." Hinata admitted. "Maybe we can, go to Ichiraku's ramen. Isn't that your favorite?"

"Yeah! How'd you know?" He asked, smiling.

She blushed and looked away. "Lucky guess..."

"Okay. But, I don't have any money." Naruto admitted sadly.

"That's fine! I have some." She smiled. "It should be able to pay for the both of us."

Naruto's smile widened. "Really Hinata?"

"Really!" Hinata beamed brighter than she ever had before.

"Okay then." Naruto replied. "Let's go."

The two hadn't even sat down when trouble began.

It appeared that when they arrived at Ichiraku's Ramen, there was already a group there. Luckily, there were two seats available. Without really thinking about it, Naruto and Hinata say.

From what Naruto saw, there were three of his classmates and two older guys there. They had forehead protectors, so Naruto figured they were already ninja.

"Ah Naruto!" Ichiraku announced, emerging from the scented steam. "You brought a friend?"

"Yeah!" Naruto replied joyfully. "Hinata!"

"Ah...I can tell by her eyes that she's a Hyuga."

"Yes." Hinata managed.

"Well then, this makes you my fist Hyuga customer! Let me make sure to get you two the best meal, you wait right here."

Ichiraku vanished in the back and began to make their meals, leaving both Naruto and Hinata with the other five customers.

"Don't tell me." One boy said. "It's Naruto Uzumaki!"

"I thought he was staying after school today with Iruka Sensei!" His friend replied.

"I don't blame Iruka for not having him, he's such and idiot."

The group laughed, prompting Naruto to clench his fists.

"Will you shut up already?" Naruto asked loudly.

"No." One boy replied, then pointing. "You see here, these are my brothers and if you're mean to me, they'll beat you up."

Naruto held his breath for a second, realizing the size of the guys then he spoke. "I can take all of you on!"

"Naruto!" Hinata yelped, shaking her head. "Don't get in a fight, please."

He was about to reply, but Ichiraku returned with both Naruto and Hinata's bowls, placing them in front of the two. "Dig in, and enjoy." And like before, Ichiraku vanished to the back. Inevitably, the bickering began again.

"Aww, poor Naruto." One of the older kids said. "Has to have his little girlfriend protect him!"

"Shut it!" Naruto retorted. "Will you!? I'm not messing with you, so leave me alone_"

"Don't you see, you are messing with us by just being here,you low life. Why don't you just go and die, then we'll be happy."

Naruto felt a terrible jolt in his heart and fought back the urge to cry. He wanted to say something to hurt them, but he couldn't find anything.

"Leave him alone!" Hinata spoke, surprising everyone.

"Or what?" One kid asked.

"I'll tell my dad...and you'll be in trouble!" Hinata sounded frightened, but she knew that being a Hyuga, what she said carried a lot of power.

Without saying a word, the boys stood up and left. Both Naruto and Hinata watched them as they walked away and suddenly, Naruto got the urge to laugh.

"Did you see how frightened they looked, Hinata?" He asked, slurping up his noodles.

"Yeah." Hinata replied, calmly eating hers.

The two talked and ate until they were all done. They talked about random things, such as why Naruto didn't do his work and what is was like growing up in a noble clan. Before they knew it, they're bowls were clean and Hinata paid the tab.

"Good bye, Ichiraku!" Naruto yelled as both he and Hinata jumped from their stools.

"Oh, good bye Naruto, Hinata please be sure to come back."

The young Hyuga smiled. "Thank you, I really liked the food."

Without another word, both she and Naruto started to head home. Their plan was to go to Hinata's home first, and then Naruto would continue on home from there. Of course, he couldn't actually step into the Hyuga residence, he would only say good by from outside the gate.

"The sun is setting." He heard Hinata say as she looked up.

"Yeah, we'd better hurry." Naruto was swinging his hands at his sides and suddenly, realized that he'd forgotten something. "Oh crap!" He yelled. "The sunflowers you gave me, I..I forgot them at Ichiraku's! I'll go get them_"

"It's okay Naruto!" Hinata coaxed. "I'll get you some_"

"No, Hinata." Naruto turned to look at her. "You don't understand, that's the first gift I've ever gotten...I'm not going to waste them like they're meaningless." He turned around and began to run.

"See you tomorrow, Hinata!" He called from his shoulder.

"Wait...wait for me!" He heard Hinata call back.

"Good." Naruto said, taking the bouquet from the Ramen stand. "No one took them...but it looks like Ichiraku already left."

"We should get going then." Hinata looked at the sky. "The sun..."

"Yeah, I'll get you home, come on."

The villagers were heading home for the night, which meant that the streets of Konoha had become somewhat vacant. Naruto and Hinata walked in silence as they attempted to get the Hyuga compound quickly. However, in the midst of their silence, Naruto heard someone from behind the two and quickly turned around. Hinata did the same. Much to their surprise, the three students from the Ramen stand before, stood behind them angrily.

"Oh, it's just you guys." Naruto spat. "What do you want?"

"You're gonna pay for before." One of the boys said. "Both of you."

"Yeah, whatever...Let's go Hinata." Naruto grabbed her hand and made way to move, but someone grabbed him by the shoulder and threw him to the ground. Hinata screamed as she was thrown on top of him.

Standing before the two were about four larger men; It was too dark to make our their faces or any features. But Naruto could tell that they were up to no good, by the way they stared down at the two. One of the guys bent over and picked Hinata up by her hair. She attempted to scream, but they covered her mouth.

"So you're the little Hyuga brat that gave my brother's a hard time?" He asked.

"Let her go!" Naruto stood, clenching one fist and holding the sunflowers in the other. Instantly, he was blind sided and kicked to the ground. Then someone grabbed him by the back of his collar and held him up.

"You little shit." The man said, angrily. "It would be better if you just died!"

"No!" Hinata yelled in a muffled voice, attempting to break free. Her captor only brought his hand only Hinata's nose, cutting off her circulation.

"Please, just let her go!" Naruto was getting worried, seeing his friend struggle for breath. "Let her go!" With a spurt of energy, Naruto was able to break free. He then ran for Hinata's captor, jumped and punched the man in the face. Instantly, Hinata fell to the ground and looked at Naruto with tears in her eyes.

"Run Hinata!" Naruto commanded, realizing that he was again, kicked to the ground.

All the while, Hinata stood there, shaking.

"N...Naruto..." For a quick second, Naruto noticed a change in her eyes and then, with an unimaginable speed, she ran towards the man that had kicked Naruto and gently, hit him with her hand.

Naruto didn't think much of it when he saw, but seconds after, he came crashing to the ground in pain. "What did you do?" Naruto asked as Hinata grabbed his arm and began to run. They could hear their captors behind them, but they didn't dare look back. They knew that they didn't have another chance of escaping if they were caught again.

After a few long minutes of running, Naruto saw a familiar area gleaming in the distance.

"Hinata! Your compound is coming up, you need to go, now!" Sure enough, the gates of the Hyuga compound were not too far from them. They could already see the dim light in the distance.

"What about you...Naruto?" Hinata asked as Naruto pulled her closer.

"Me...I'll be fine, trust me! You just need to get home."

He could see the confusion and sadness in Hinata's eyes, but in the end, she ran ahead of him and hesitantly, into the Hyuga compound. Naruto finally sighed a sigh of relief as he turned around and ran towards his small apartment.

However, as he ran, he realized that his captors were still hot in pursuit. Going to his apartment now would be a death wish, so the best thing to do, would be to hide. He had been running for a while, and he was nowhere near the Hyuga compound anymore, but luckily, the Academy was close by, and from where he was he could tell that the lights were on.

"Don't let him get away!" Naruto heard one of the guys yell.

Without thinking, he burst into the academy and immediately started trying to open doors. Every single one that he had tried to open had been locked, in addition, most of the inside lights were off. He noticed that his only chance was a classroom at the end of the hallway, Iruka's classroom.

No way...He thought to himself. I'm not going in_

He heard distant shouting and running from down the hallway and instantly, he paled.

They followed me...they followed me...

He ran to Iruka's classroom door and began to bang on it violently.

"Iruka Sensei!" Naruto yelled with fear in his voice. "Let me in!"

"What...who is it?" He heard his Sensei ask.

"It's me, Naruto!" Naruto heard the group getting closer and closer. "Please, let me in!"

"After your outburst today, I don't_"

"There are people chasing me, damnit!" Naruto shouted.

For a while, Iruka went silent and Naruto thought that he'd open the door, but he didn't. "Get out of here Naruto." Iruka replied, coldly. "There are people chasing you, you say? Probably for good reason."

"I...Iruka Sensei!" Naruto continued to bang on the door, half shouting, half sobbing. "Please..." He begged. "Please..."

It was too late. Someone had grabbed him from his hair, and another person had hit him hard in the head. Within seconds, Naruto's whole world went black.

Naruto woke up in a dark alley, all he could hear were the voices of his captors.

"What are we going to do with him?" He heard one ask.

"Kill him?" Another mentioned.

"No, that's too easy."

They continued to talk, and all the while, Naruto laid on his back and looked up at the starry night sky. They were lucky, the stars up there. They were free and untouchable, they didn't have to worry about being judged or being attacked like Naruto did. They could be happy and they could be a family without having to worry about anything. Naruto only wished that he could join them.

Why do you hate me? He wanted to ask his captors as the discussed his torture. What did I ever do to you_

Roughly, he was turned around and forced to face the cold stone ground. He attempted to struggle but he found no point. He was being held down anyway.

"I've got an idea." One man said. "Get the kid on his knees."

Naruto did nothing as he basically forced to kneel, he only looked at the ground and closed his eyes. He heard the rustle of someone pants falling down, as they stood behind him and he felt someone slip his own undergarments down.

From then on out, Naruto only closed his eyes harder, clenched the sunflowers, and only wished that he could be up there with the stars. Ignoring the pain, or even trying to was pointless, all he could do was imagine himself in the sky, untouchable and safe with a family that loved him.

I really hope that you liked it. This chapter was difficult to write and I have a feeling all the chapters are going to be like that. I realized that Hinata is a bit OOC, and that's for good reason. Like I said, it's AU. So please review, favorite and be honest. Tell me what you think. Hopefully it's not to mature...I really don't want this one to be taken down.

And like always, I don't own Naruto.