A/N: This idea had been bouncing around in my head for a while, mostly because it is my favorite of Naruto's abilities: the ability to make people better by beating them to a bloody pulp. Particularly inspired by Neji's comment during the search for Sasuke that "Sasuke is lost in darkness," and by Gaara's comment to Lee "I owe the leaf a great debt," said while thinking of Naruto. Assume for the sake of the fic that Sasuke actually had a brain and returned to Konoha when he was supposed to.
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters; I only try to make them behave every once in a while.
The True Extent
"Do you think he knows?"
Any of them could have said it. The dark-haired genius locked in a destiny he could see no way to fight; the monster in human form rejected by his village; the prodigy so steeped in hate it was all he saw. All of them were trapped, had been trapped so long they had forgotten or never known what it was like to feel free, had forgotten that they had any choice in the matter.
And then he had come along.
No one could understand: the fear, the pain, the loneliness, the rage. He understood. No one knew what it was like to have the future decided for you before you had any say. He did.
And he had taken the rage and the pain and the fear and welded it into a weapon to break down the walls that fate had raised around him and forged a new path, boldly barreling through everything in his way.
They knew; they had all stood there at some point in time, arms crossed, pushing back against him. Too naïve, too gentle, too weak, they told him. No one could achieve those dreams with willpower alone. And so they stood in his path to teach him the same harsh lessons that life had taught them, never to trust, never to touch, never to care; the lessons they lived by and cherished and built their worlds around
And then they watched as one by one he shattered every certainty they had until he was the only thing left, battered and bloody and blazing with determination. Living proof that belief was enough to change the world as long as you believed hard enough and worked for it. Their own private ray of sunlight, piercing through their respective darknesses until they too remembered how to dream.
"Do you think he knows?" Neji asked.
The three of them watched as Naruto collapsed on the ground panting, only to stand up again a minute later and resume his battle with the rock pile as if it were Kakashi himself.
"We know." Gaara leaned back against the tree.
Sasuke looked down at the bright figure dashing around in the clearing, smiling and shouting and clearly unaware of his watchers.
"It's enough."
A/N: I hope you enjoyed it, please review if you are so inclined, I would love to hear what you think. Thanks.