"Boy's Don't Cry"
Naruto weeps for all the times he never got to, but his team prefers that goofy, annoying smile of his.
This is just a short one-shot that came to mind just recently. I don't own Naruto.
Naruto had been taught, ever since he was a child, that boys should never cry. And so he never did. It was as simple as that.
He'd do many things, but crying was never one of them. Not when he was hurt, not when he was scared.
And if he felt that sting of tears about to surface, he'd fight it with everything he had. He'd make sure those pesky tears never saw the light of day. What kind of hokage . . . cried?
Not the strong ones, certainly.
And even then, as just a child, Naruto would have given anything to be considered strong.
And even now, as a teenager, Naruto had prided himself on never having cried, not counting his infant years. He'd gotten close, sure.
He'd almost cried the day Sasuke left, and Sakura begged him to bring Sasuke back. And he almost cried when he failed at retrieving said Uchiha. There were many times when he almost cried.
But not one person in Konoha could truthfully admit to seeing Uzumaki Naruto really crying.
But, there was no need for crying anymore, anyway. Sasuke had come back of his own free will. Orochimaru was rotting in the ground somewhere. All of Konoha's problems had eventually been solved, and the villagers couldn't have been happier.
It seemed every day in Konoha was sunny, nowadays.
And it was on a happy, sunshine-y day like this, that the weeping started.
Honestly, Naruto wasn't sure what triggered it.
He had been walking home, letting the cool breeze move is hair this way and that. The sun gloriously fell onto his face, and hands, and anywhere it could get to, spreading a certain kind of warmth through the Uzumaki.
The birds were chirping, and butterflies twittered this way and that. One even had the gull to land on the blonde boy's nose! Well, before he flicked it away, of course.
And suddenly, as he was reaching his house, it came out of nowhere! That blasted stinging sensation he had learned to ignore.
He hurried into his house, and into his small living room. Rushing to the sofa with one too many loose springs, Naruto practically flung himself onto it.
Sitting cross-legged on a corner of the cough, Naruto began concentrating, with all his might. 'Boys don't cry, boys don't cry,' He chanted. It has been his own personal mantra, and he couldn't even remember a time before he knew it.
Yet, this time, it wasn't working. He was pushing and fighting with all his might, battling the tears he would not let come. But he was getting desperate. These tears seemed unstoppable!
Putting his hands to his face, he continued with his chant, more forcefully than last time. 'Boys don't cry. Boys don't cry! Boys do NOT cry!'
But, much as Naruto tried to fight it, they came anyway.
And suddenly, Naruto was crying for things long past, crying for all the times he never got to.
Crying for the times he was shunned by the villagers. Crying for all the times he was called "demon" or "monster". Crying for the time innocent Haku had died. Crying for the time he didn't make it in becoming a chuunin. Crying for all the pain his mother-figure, Tsunade, had to suffer. Crying for the time his best friend had left him, and crying for the time he was unable to bring him back. Crying for the happiness he felt when Sasuke had returned.
He was crying for many things, some not as big as the others.
But none the less, he was crying. Maybe he had held it in for too long? Maybe the suppressed tears just could no longer be suppressed. And so, endless tears ran down Naruto's face.
And when it rained, it poured.
"He's late! Later than Kakashi-sensei, even." Haruno Sakura was getting frustrated, to say the least. "I'd expect it from someone like you," Sakura glared pointedly at her silver-haired sensei. "But NOT from him!"
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, but that was about all Sakura was going to get for him at the moment.
"Now, now," Kakashi interrupted Sakura mid-tirade. "I'm sure Naruto's got a perfectly good reason for being late."
Sasuke snorted. "Yeah right! That Dobe probably just overslept. I don't know why you find it surprising, Sakura. You know how careless he can be." And with that, he started marching, past the bridge the team was supposed to meet on.
"H-hey! Where are you going, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura scrambled to catch up to the raven haired Uchiha.
Sasuke, of course, didn't even bother to look over his shoulder. "Where do you think? I'm going to go get that idiot, whether I have to drag him by the hair to come train!
Kakashi walked the two of his pupils walk off, before turning his attention to the latest issue of his favorite series, and letting out a perverted giggle.
Before Sasuke and Sakura had even entered Naruto's apartment, they could sense something was amiss. Both had started to develop a bad feeling.
So when they were about to knock on the their teammate's door, but instead heard an odd noise, they didn't bother with the knocking, and just opened the door.
"Naruto?" Sakura called, heading for the strange noise. "Naruto, are you okay?" Sasuke followed wordlessly.
And when they got to the Uzumaki's living room, both were stopped dead in their tracks.
Naruto was slumped into his couch, face buried into knees. And suddenly, Sasuke and Sakura realized the strange sound they had been hearing was crying.
Naruto was crying!
Oddly enough, Sasuke was the first to spring into action.
"Naruto," Sasuke had decided to ditch 'Dobe' for now. "Naruto, look at me."
The blonde did a gesture similar to shaking his head. "GO AWAY!" He shouted, but his voice came out hoarse and unfamiliar. "Just, please, go away . . ." he shuddered, and the crying started up again.
Sasuke was never one to take no for an answer. Moving Naruto's hands, and pushing down his legs, Sasuke grabbed for Naruto's face, and forced the Uzumaki to look at him. "Naruto! What the hell is the matter? What happened?"
Naruto tried to answer, but instead choked on his tears, and started sobbing even harder than before. Snatching his head away from the Uchiha's grip, he cradled himself even tighter, and started to mumble something incoherent, yet strangely resembled 'Boys don't cry, boys don't cry.'
Looking over his shoulder at his pink-haired companion, Sasuke half yelled, "Sakura! Some help!?!"
But she did not move. Her eyes were glued to where Naruto was. "No." She whispered, before saying it again, more forcefully. "No!"
"What?" Sasuke was confused. "What the hell do you mean 'No'? Get over here and help me figure out what's wrong with Naruto!"
"NO!" Sakura yelled. "I SAID NO!" She then slumped her back against the closest wall, before sliding down it. "No, no, no."
Sasuke was furious, now. "NO?!? NO?!? What the fuck is wrong with you? Don't you even care, Sakura? Don't you care?!?" Never had the Uchiha shown this much emotion before.
She couldn't handle it any longer. It was too much for her to bear. Sakura covered her ears and shut her eyes as tight as they would go. "That's not Naruto, not the Naruto I know! It can't be, Sasuke, it just can't be!"
You see, if there was anyone Sakura looked up to, it was Naruto. Sure, she adored the Uchiha, but she found out long ago he couldn't be trusted, at least not like Naruto could be.
The blonde was her strength. He was everything she wanted to be, strong, passionate, and strong-willed. Naruto was Sakura's superman, though she'd never admit to anyone but herself. And it had honestly never occurred to her that her superman might have a kryptonite.
The blonde was a big part of her world, and now, that same world was crumbling down around her. Seeing Naruto like this . . . it defied everything she knew.
Leaving the weeping blonde's side for a moment, Sasuke marched up to Sakura. Grabbing her roughly by the shoulder, he pulled her and stood her on her feet. "I don't know hat the hell is wrong with you, Sakura, but you get over it. Fast. Do you hear me? Right now something is wrong with Naruto, and I don't need you breaking down, too!"
"Don't you get it, Sasuke?" Sakura looked up at the Uchiha with tear-filled eyes. "I CAN'T see him like that. I just can't! He's strong, Sasuke. Not . . . not like this! Seeing him like this, it hurts too much."
"Do you know what I think, Sakura?" Sasuke had not yet let go of Sakura's arm. "I think you're being SELFISH! He needs us right now. He does NOT need you to break down, too!"
Getting fed up with her, Sasuke returned to Naruto, who had still been crying. He was still unable to figure out a way to communicate with him, as the avenger was never one for words. Sasuke decided to just sit there, and be there for him, like Naruto had done so many times for him.
Sakura realized Sasuke was right. She needed to try her best to help Naruto. For once, she needed to be the strong one for him. And then, she told herself, she's help Naruto past whatever he was going through, and he could go back to being her shining light.
The Haruno put he hand and Sasuke's shoulder, and with a small smile, motioned for him to step aside. Sasuke looked weary, but then agreed.
"Naruto," Sakura used her softest voice. "Naruto, please tell us what's wrong. You, you're worrying us, you know?"
Naruto at least looked up, but tears were still streaming down his face. "I wanted you to go away." He whispered.
Hurt, Sakura put her hand on his shoulder. "Why?"
"I," Naruto tried not to choke. "I didn't want you guys . . . to see me like this."
It was true. If there was anyone Naruto had never wanted to look weak in front of, it was his teammates, his best friends.
"I see." Sakura forced Naruto to scoot over a bit, and joined him on the couch. "But you're worrying us, Naruto. We," Sakura motioned to herself, and then to Sasuke, who still remained close by to the two. "We're worried about you, you know? I, we, don't like seeing you sad."
Naruto looked up at the green-eyes girl, hesitated, and then threw himself into her lap, letting out the last of his tears.
Sakura did not protest, and proceeded to run her hands through Naruto's hair. She understood. He did not need words right now, he just needed a shoulder to cry on and the comfort of friends. Words would come later.
Sasuke too, seemed to get this. He remained silent, and brought his hand up to pat Naruto on the back, albeit very awkwardly. He wasn't the best at this "comforting" thing, but at least he was trying.
Ten or so minutes later, the waterworks had finally stopped, and Naruto picked his head up from Sakura's lap.
His face, especially around the eyes, was all red and puffy. He looked at his two teammates, before giving a small, embarrassed sort of smile.
It warmed his friends' hearts to see a smile once again on the face of their companion. Then and there, they both made a vow to try as hard as they possibly could to keep a smile on that face.
"So, Dobe," Sasuke had reasoned that now that Naruto had been feeling better, it was okay to call him that again. After all, it was no longer an insult, but more of an affectionate sort of nickname. "What was all that fuss for? Why the tears?"
Naruto grinned before rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed. "Um, I don't know, really."
"What?" Sakura looked confused. "What do you mean you don't know?"
"Exactly what I said! I don't have a reason, and I don't need one. Last time I checked, it wasn't illegal to be sad!" Yup, Naruto was back to his old, stubborn self again.
"So," Sasuke ignored the blonde's sarcasm. "You cried . . .because you felt like it?"
Naruto shrugged. "Maybe. I guess. I'm not sure. I don't remember the last time I cried . . . maybe I just needed it."
Sakura and Sasuke figured it was a good enough reason. It didn't really matter, anyway. So long as he was smiling again.
"Well try not to do it anymore," Sakura squeezed the blonde fondly. "I'd much rather see that goofy, annoying smile of yours."
And even though none of them knew it, that day was a turning point for Team Seven. From then on, they were closer than ever, each member making sure to keep their friends happy.
And Naruto never did cry again. But not from repression.
It's just that, with his two best friends forever by his side, he never really found a need to.
One, two, three, AW! Okay, this was just a stupid little brain fart I couldn't get out of my head, so I figured I'd just write it already, and get it out of the way. I hope you liked it. Really, the plot kind of came from a dream. I had a dream where Naruto was crying, and it made me sad. And okay, I'm pretty sure Naruto has cried before, but just for the sake of the story, I said he didn't. Anyway, R&R, people!