They Try their Best

by xspirit.shinobix

Anime: Naruto

Disclamer: I DON'T OWN NARUTO. D:

The wind blew softly across the boy's blonde hair, his golden locks swaying across his forehead. His sapphire eyes were downcast, and his arms hung on his legs, as if all the power was drained out of them. He sighed.

'I just had to be reminded of him…again…' Naruto thought dejectedly. It had all started today afternoon.

FLASHBACK

Today wasn't a good day for Sakura. In fact, it was one of her worst. She had spilled her boiling water on her outfit, tripped on a rock, causing her to fall flat on her face, and her brutal training with Tsunade didn't help. By the time she met Naruto at Ichiraku's, she was fuming, and was in no mood to be bothered. Another issue had her greatly agitated.

"Tsunade-shishou still has no clue to the location of Sasuke-kun," was her greeting to Naruto as she sat down. He looked at her, startled and confused by her attitude, as she ordered her food.

"Ano…Sakura-chan…are you alright?" Naruto spoke hesitantly after a few moments. He had stopped slurping down his ramen, and instead fixated his attention on her. Sakura turned her head and glared at Naruto sharply.

"Fine, just fine, Naruto." She snatched her chopsticks, snapped it in half, and started downing the contents inside the ramen bowl. Wiping her mouth with a napkin, she squinted at Naruto once again. "And why would you care so much? Maybe you and I should worry more about Sasuke-kun instead!"

Her words struck Naruto like a bomb. His face showing great distress, he tried to calm her down. "Well, I—"

"It's been more than 2 fucking years! Nothing has happened…! I feel so weak…!" she muttered harshly.

"Sakura-chan, you—" Naruto started, but he was cut off once again.

"Just shut up! I don't want to hear your sympathy!" she shot back angrily.

"But Sakura-chan…you know I'm in this as well. You're not the only one—"

But Sakura wouldn't hear any more. She stood up angrily, slamming a hand to the table. Naruto jumped slightly from his chair. "And you! If you're in this, and you said that Sasuke-kun will be back, why is he not?! We don't even know about his whereabouts! I feel like such a damn idiot!" she swore under her breath and put a hand over her eyes, breathing heavily. It was silent, and the only thing that could be heard was Sakura's ragged breaths. Naruto didn't make a sound, but his face explained what he wanted to say. His eyes were filled with fury and despair, and Sakura was sure that a flicker of light died in his eyes. His lips parted a little, as if he wanted to say something, but he closed his mouth. Opened them again.

"I…" he gulped, and he hung his head, his blonde locks hiding his expression. "So you think we're never going to get him? I made that promise to you, but you must think I'll never fulfill it, right?" he stopped for a second before starting again. "You know, I'm trying my best. I don't know if it doesn't seem like it to you, but really, Sakura-chan. I can't control his actions so he'll just walk right back to us. I wish I could, but I can't. But I do try my best. I train endlessly every day so someday I can bring him back, and always annoy Ero-sennin to tell me about Sasuke's whereabouts. I try, Sakura-chan. I really do."

Sakura removed her hand from her face, in shock at Naruto's statement, and realized what she said. She cursed at herself inside her mind, feeling so selfish and horrible. "I didn't mean it…I've just had a bad day…but I felt that I didn't have enough hope, and that we weren't going to bring him back…I felt so far away…" Sakura whispered, to Naruto and herself. "I…I don't know what to do…I…" she took a deep breath and pulled out a wad of money and set it on the table. "I-I need to be alone, Naruto. It's just…" she trailed off, not finishing her sentence. Giving one last guilty glance at Naruto, she ran off.

When Naruto was sure she couldn't see him, he bit his lip and clenched his hand, looking at the table in front of him. "Damn…"

END FLASHBACK

His thoughts were interrupted by a flash of light, then a booming crackle. He glanced up at the sky, noticing the bleak, gray atmosphere. A drop of water fell on his head, then another, then another, and in a few moments, it became a heavy downpour.

"Great, just great. Rain." Naruto muttered, glaring above him. He looked down again, and sighed. "After what I said, Sakura-chan must be furious…she's never going to talk to me…" he squinted his eyes. "Maybe she was right…maybe I'll never bring Sasuke back…what if I break my promise to her…?" suddenly, a picture of Sasuke flashed in his mind. He closed his eyes, clenching his hands.

'Why, Sasuke…?' he thought desperately, the rain soaking his clothes and his vibrant golden hair into a gloomy mop of yellow fuzz.

Suddenly, the rain stopped. Naruto, startled, opened his eyes. 'The rain stopped…? But I still hear the rain…what the…?' he looked up, and was surprised to see the pink haired girl who had argued with him earlier, holding onto an umbrella above him.

"Sakura-chan…?!" he stammered, startled at her presence.

Sakura put a hand to her hip. "You're going to get a cold at this rate." She replied, with a look that said, 'Can you get anymore irresponsible?'

"I-I'm…" he said, lowering his eyes. "I don't deserve…maybe I really did break the promise—"

"Baka." She interrupted, causing him to look up. "I…I didn't mean any of that. I was just having a bad day, and I guess I just looked at everything in the worst possible way." She held out a hand, a warm smile on her face. "We're going to bring him back. You know it. I told you to be strong, didn't I? You didn't do anything wrong. The promise isn't broken yet."

A grin started to grow on Naruto's face. "Heh…thanks, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura nodded; content with his answer. Then she motioned her hand for him to hurry. "Come on, I don't want you to get wet." She said, concern evident in her voice.

"Hai, hai…!" he said, smiling his foxy grin. Then he halted, a blush creeping to his cheeks. "W-wait! The umbrella—" he stuttered like Hinata, moving his arms about. "Isn't it…isn't that…if we both go under the umbrella, then--?!"

Sakura rolled her eyes, embarrassed, her face flushed. "Oh, don't be such an idiot. I just don't want you to be soaking in the rain." She muttered, pulling the anxious Naruto's shoulder under the umbrella. Naruto stood up straight, wiping off the water on his hands, offering to hold onto the umbrella for her.

"Sure, Naruto. Arigato!" Sakura thanked him, smiling.

The two stayed silent for a while, and only the soft patter of the rain could be heard. Suddenly, Naruto spoke up. "Sakura-chan…" he said remorsefully, "I—"

"I'm not mad at you, if that's what you were thinking." She interrupted, her face hidden by her pink bangs. Naruto's eyes widened and looked at her, surprised.

"You're trying your best, Naruto. Trying not to cry, and fight." She turned, and warm tears were trailing down her face, her emerald eyes shining in tears. "I'm trying my best too; it's not your fault." She sniffed a few moments later, wiping off her tears. "What am I doing…crying won't bring him back…I feel like an idiot…" she looked up, and then to Naruto. He was chuckling softly.

"Sakura-chan, you're not like me." He turned to her, with a sad smile on her face. "I'm not crying because I'm too tired to cry. You shouldn't be tired of that. If you want to cry, and if you have to, then cry all you want. Sometimes, it helps you."

"Naruto…" she thought, her face still stained with tear marks. She nodded, smiling. "Alright, then!" she turned her head back forward, grinning now. 'Pfft…Naruto…trying to act tough and cheering me up…' she gave a sad glance towards Naruto, squinting her eyes to stop the tears once again. His face was hidden by the golden locks, but she knew she heard a small series of sniffs, and a small drop of liquid shone as it trailed down his face and dropped to the ground. She turned her head to the other side, her hair swishing, biting her lips to stop the tears. She failed miserably.

'…when he's the one who's suffering…'

The rest of the way to his house, Naruto felt an arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer to the pink haired girl walking beside him.