Only Weaklings Cry- Naruto Oneshot by (ME!)
The bright lights of the busy booths were almost blinding, making the millions of stars above tremble in jealousy. In the bustling festival of Konoha; children were giggling and running around, obviously having fun. Adults were laughing and drinking while shinobi and kunoichi were thankful for a break from their normal busy schedules. Uchiha Sasuke hated it.
Why the village celebrated the day their fourth Hokage died was beyond him. Some thought Konoha to be optimistic and respectful for their leader's sacrifice in honoring this day, but Sasuke only saw it as another excuse to set up silly booths and fireworks.
He had always loathed festivals; he hated seeing other people laugh away without a care, when they had not experienced a single pain or grief in their lives. He originally did not want to come when Sakura told him of Team 7's short meeting, but Naruto had recently been surprisingly quieter the past few days and Sasuke, although would never admit it, was worried;just a tiny bit.
He scanned the large crowd for his teammates; unconsciously hoping the annoying bubblegum stalker wouldn't show up so he could properly ask Naruto what was wrong. Ironically though, he saw a pink ball of hair in the middle of the mass, shuffling her way up to Sasuke as he allowed a sigh to escape.
"Saaaasuke-kun!" Sasuke flinched at the dreaded screech.
Sakura was dressed in casual clothes, different from her usual attire, but Sasuke couldn't care less. Sakura beamed at him and batted her eyelashes clearly trying to get a comment out of the stoic boy. Sasuke only let out an annoyed "Hn" and asked where Naruto was.
Sakura's expression of disappointment lit up; "Kakashi-sensei said that we should just enjoy today so he'll let us off on this boring meeting, and Naruto said he didn't want to come. Which means it's just us tonight". She shyly murmured the last part, but Sasuke was already walking away.
"Wa-wait, Sasuke-kun where are you going!" she pestered, not wanting to waste the chance to be alone with her crush, but he disappeared into the crowd far too fast.
Sasuke walked along the empty streets; the sound of the chatter and laughter slowly faded into the background. He didn't really feel like going back to the empty compound that was his home. So instead he walked the opposite way, not bothering with where he would end up.
A thought nagged at him as he walked away from the festival. Naruto loves celebrations and would never miss out on any, but why did he tell Sakura that he didn't want to come? The more Sasuke tried to dismiss the thought, the more he had to know. Sasuke wriggled out of the battle inside his head, whether to go find Naruto or not and decided against it, when an empty ramen packet flew pass his feet.
He glanced over at where it came from and realized that he was in front of Naruto's apartment. He peered inside the wide open door, but it was too dark to make anything out. As Sasuke gave in to his curiosity, he walked over to the door and knocked. There was no answer.
"Naruto?" he called out. Silence.
Sasuke reached in and turned on the lights beside the door. What he saw gave him an unsettling shiver down his spine. The small apartment was a living hell. It was as if a war had taken place right there in the cramped space. There was bloody red paint flung everywhere; on the ceiling, over the walls and on top of the few dead furniture that was there. The floor was an ocean of rubbish and dump; ones you'd normally only find in garbage trunks. And the glasses of the windows were lost in the rubble of trash; only the remains of the sharp claws on the edge of the rim proved that they were once there.
Sasuke felt mortified. He knew Naruto to be reckless and unorganized and figured that his apartment would be as 'uncombed' as his ridiculous blonde hair, but never did he think it to be this…messy. Clearly someone had done something to it, but why? This was far too cruel to be a mere prank.
Sasuke dodged the rubbish as he walked to the narrow hallway that faced him. On the left wall of the hall dangled an aging door. Sasuke pushed the door open careful not to unhinge the rest of the little metal that was holding the door up; there was an eery creak as he did so. Almost as if the night had demanded silence he stopped and decided to squeeze in through the opening instead.
In the small corner of the space was a tiny bed; its sheets torn and ripped to shreds. Sasuke noticed birthday cards splattered all over the remains of the bed sheets. He picked one up and saw that it was dated October the tenth; today. He hadn't known that it was Naruto's birthday.
Sasuke reluctantly opened the card, surprised that Naruto would get this many, but Sasuke thought wrong. The words in the cards were far from wishing Naruto a Happy Birthday. They cursed him, called him a demon and told him to never have been born. It confused Sasuke more than it raged him. Who did this and why? He decided to get to the bottom of this.
Sasuke searched Konoha for a sign of his blonde teammate. He searched all the possible training grounds, the ramen stalls and parks, but there wasn't a trace of Naruto. Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh as a soft breeze blew his way.
He let his face lift up to the breeze and feel its cool hands brush his face, when he noticed a silhouette on top of the Hokage monuments. Naruto?
He was right, when Sasuke reached the top of the monuments he was relieved to see Naruto, but the way he was crouched there, without saying a word or acknowledging Sasuke's presence made him tense and uneasy.
As he stood above there he could see the lights of Konoha and the lively festival. The air was cool and fresh but the silence was unnerving.
"What are you doing here dobe?" was the only thing he could muster out. Sasuke expected a counter of insults to be thrown back at him, but instead Naruto turned around and flashed his goofy grin.
"Oh, hey Sasuke! Didn't see you there! Haha"
Sasuke noticed a birthday card in Naruto's hands as he folded his arm behind his blonde mess of a head to scratch it. Naruto must have already seen the condition his apartment was in. Without thinking he asked Naruto if he was okay.
Naruto stood up and widened his already large grin. "What are you talking about? Of course I'm fine! Hahaha, Uzumaki Naruto the Great is feeling better than ever!"
But Sasuke saw it; the flicker of nervousness in the back of Naruto's cerulean eyes. It was there for only a second as it was quickly replaced with the usual emptiness that filled the deep ocean pupils accompanied by the fake smile.
"I saw your apartment." He stated flatly.
Naruto's eyebrows twitched as his grin faded. There was silence but Sasuke could feel the tension and anger building up somewhere inside Naruto. Sasuke heard Naruto clutch his fists and saw the punch coming; he didn't dodge.
Sasuke fell on his back with a thud, as Naruto got on top and grabbed the collar of his shirt with both hands; crinkling the fabric. "Shut up Sasuke, mind your own business and go back to your mansion!"
Naruto's blue eyes darkened and filled with anger as he glared at the Uchiha. But Sasuke saw it; the flicker of pain in the back of Naruto's cerulean eyes. "Only weaklings cry", Naruto whispered in hoarse breathes as if reminding himself of what he said years ago.
"That phrase is outdated dobe," Sasuke replied, then quickly added "its okay to cry sometimes."
Nothing was said as only the distant sound of the festival played in the background. Words were unnecessary; Sasuke understood.
Naruto loosened his grip on the creased shirt as Sasuke felt the warm drops of tears wet his cheeks; one by one, more and more. Naruto sat there, on top of Sasuke and cried for the first time since he was a little kid. And for the first time Sasuke saw truth in Naruto's eyes; not a fake smile; not emptiness; just pain and the relief of releasing all the emotions that were locked away for far too long.
Sasuke decided the least he could do was help Naruto clean up his apartment and offer a room in his house during the time. He watched the night sky, as the fireworks were set. The brilliance of different colours exploded into stars, but it was nothing compared to the peaceful face of his blonde friend.
"Happy Birthday…." he murmured.
A/N:
I was sooooo tempted to make Sasuke say "real men cry" instead of "its okay to cry sometimes" *sigh*
ThAnKs FoR rEaDiNG! :D