The Last Rose (Naruto Fanfic)

The Tea Shop

Sora had put herself in a fix.

She didn't even have to look at Naruto to know that he kept glancing at her from where he sat, on the further end of the classroom. She cursed herself in her head silently. Of course she had to go and defend him. Now he probably thought that they were friends or something. He had that stupidly happy grin on hs face as he hummed to himself and for a moment, Sora felt a sharp twinge of sympathy for the boy. He never seemed to have any friends, or anyone to talk to, and now that he thought that she could be that person...

She met his eyes and he grinned at her, waving eagerly.

No.

No way in hell.

She forced down her feelings of sympathy, turning her head away from him and resting it on her hand instead. Friends were a luxury she could not afford. What would happen if anyone found out where she lived? What if they came inside? What if they found out about her mother and—

"Sora!"

She blinked, turning her eyes to Iruka in the front of the room, who was looking at her disapprovingly.

"Honestly, if you're going to bother coming to class, you might as well pay attention!" He snapped and Sora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. They were literally going to graduate tomorrow. There was nothing more he could teach her now.

"Were you saying something?" She asked, and though she tried to make it sound polite, the look on Iruka's face confirmed that she had totally failed. His eyebrow ticked in annoyance.

Well it wasn't her fault.

"Nevermind." He sighed, no doubt finding her a lost cause.. "Alright, class dismissed. Your only homework is to prepare for your graduation exam tomorrow. Especially you, Naruto!"

Naruto responded with a determined smile. "I'm going to pass this time! Believe it!"

Sora slung her book bag over her shoulder quickly, eyeing the door. She had to leave before he came up to her and tried to do something really stupid, like talk to her or something. Besides, she had work right after class, and she couldn't afford to be late. She hurried down the steps, freezing when Iruka called her name.

"Sora, if you could just please hang back for a minute."

Her body went rigid. "Sensei, I really can't—"

"It'll only take a minute, Sora." Iruka answered calmly, sorting through some papers. "I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait."

'Not really,' She thought to herself, but obliged, waiting as the rest of her classmates filed out of the classroom, some giving her strange looks as they passed. She sighed, her fingers twitching anxiously at her side.

Iruka smiled over at her. "You can come closer, I'm not going to hurt you."

'But Wing definitely will when I show up late.' Nevertheless, she took a step forward.

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble or anything." He assured her, folding his hands over his desk. "I just—Well, I just wanted to thank you."

Her eyebrows rose. "I'm not following."

"For sticking up for Naruto." He clarified. "I know that you lied about not seeing him this morning. The kid is always by himself, you know, so it's good to know that someone like you is by his side."

"I wouldn't have to stick up for him if you weren't about to completely sabotage his grade and his confidence." She snapped automatically, and then bit her tongue. But Iruka's grin only grew wider, and she felt the horror dawn on her.