Breaking the Barrier
Song: Hide in Your Shell
Artist: Supertramp
Disclaimer: I am WAY too poor to own Naruto, okay?
Uchiha Sasuke glanced out the window from his seat in the crowded classroom and sighed. The day was, once again, boring, uneventful, and stupid. 'It's not like I have anyone waiting for me at home anyway,' he though, his dark eyes flashing with pain for a moment. It came and went so fast that no one in the classroom noticed. No one, that is, but a certain blonde boy, who had suddenly become quiet and contemplative.
Hide in your shell cos the world is out to bleed you for a ride
What will you gain making your life a little longer?
"Hey, Sasuke-bastard." The black haired boy turned. Ah, yes, the only person who would call him that. The infamous Uzumaki Naruto. 'I'm not in the mood to kick his ass,' Sasuke thought for a moment dryly, before noticing the look on the other boy's face.
"What do you want, Dobe?" He spat at the blonde. It wasn't that he felt like being mean, it was just...that look. He had never seen that kind of a look on Naruto's face. The Naruto he knew almost always had a cocky grin on his face, his eyes sparkling with mischievousness. No, something was seriously wrong with him. His face held no emotion, and his eyes seemed to be only deep, unending blue pools that one could drown in.
Even to the hated name of dobe he remained impassive. "Sasuke, why do you put on an act?" He questioned him, clearly curious.
Heaven or Hell, was the journey cold that gave you eyes of steel?
Sheltered behind painting your mind and playing joker
Sasuke's face flushed. "I don't put on an act, idiot," he said in a low, cold voice. "This is who I am." Even to his own ears it sounded like he was only trying to convince himself, but he continued anyway. "I could ask you the same. You're acting as if someone had just died."
At this a grin cracked across Naruto's face. "Nope, Uchiha-bastard, this is who I am too. No one bothers to see, though." He scratched his head. "And I've noticed no one sees the real you, either. So I thought I would help you out."
"Ch. You're trying to act all suave." Sasuke turned. "But in the end, you're just an annoying, loud-mouthed loser." He began to walk away, but he heard Naruto's low answer as he too turned.
"That's what they say, but it's just because they don't want to admit." And then, more to himself than to Sasuke, "I just want to help those who are like me..."
Sasuke wanted to snap back at him and retort, "I'm not like you, Dobe," but something in his chest stopped him. Was he like Naruto? And in that case, how many people had Naruto tried to help?
Too frightening to listen to a stranger
Too beautiful to put your pride in danger
You're waiting for someone to understand you
"I'm not like you," Hyuuga Neji said calmly, in a disgusted voice. But something in him had broken when the blonde had spoken to him like that. And, watching Naruto walk alone down the street, he wondered how many people he had tried to help.
Gaara of the Sand stared at Naruto with deadly eyes. "I am like no other," he spoke in a growly, low tone. But his heart twisted as he felt those azul eyes bore into him. As the younger boy walk away, and a small voice in his mind thought of how many people could have possibly turned down Naruto's innocent offer of help.
But you've got demons in your closet
And you're screaming out to stop it
Saying life's begun to cheat you
Friends are out to beat you
Grab onto what you can scramble for
Hinata ran through the forests, her lungs complaining from the lack of oxygen. She was useless. Useless! She couldn't do anything. Just moments ago she had overheard a conversation between her father and other members of the council.
"She's too weak."
"She con't be able to do anything."
"They're right, sir. You would be better off to choose someone else as your heir."
She finally stopped at a giant oak tree, and in a fit of torment slammed her fist into its trunk. They were right. All she ever did was whimper or hide, even on missions. Her eyes stung, and she wiped the tears away angrily. 'See? I'm weak! A coward! I can't do anything.' Hinata thought to herself, before sitting down, pulling her knees up to her chest, and burying her head in her arms.
A hand gently touched her shoulder. She flinced and looked up with wide eyes. Naruto down at her, and she ducked her head in her arms again. The hand pulled away, only to become warm arms wrapping around her. Shocked, she heard him say, "It's okay, Hinata-chan. You're not alone. I'll help you, I promise."
Her eyes again filled up with tears, but this time she didn't wipe them away, but let them fall. Letting Naruto comfort her, she buried her head into his chest and began to cry in a way she hadn't in a long, long time.
Don't let the tears linger on inside, now
'Cause it's sure time you gained control.
If I can help you
If I can help you
If I can help you just let me know.
Well let me show you the nearest signpost
To get your heart back and on the road
If I can help you
If I can help you
If I can help you just let me know.
Sasuke gazed up at the stars form his position on the roof, counting them slowly. Why was Naruto the way he was? Was he like Naruto? And did he really need the blonde's help? 'Ch,' he thought with disdain. 'I don't need anyone's help.' But still his questions and the ones Naruto had asked him plagued his mind. "I'll ask around tomorrow," he spoke aloud, as he stood up to spend yet another lonely night in his house.
All through the night as you lie awake and hold yourself so tight
What do you need, a second-hand movie star to tend you?
At the end of the day, he gave up, frustrated. Everyone he had asked had said practically the same thing, and it was very frustrating.
"Yeah, he asked me that once," Kiba had told him through a mouthful of food. "And the more I thought about it, the more I think it's true. I didn't know he asked you, though."
Shikamaru had just stared up at the clouds as he commented, "Naruto's not the kind of person that would lie to you. And apparently he's had a rough life, rougher than we all think or want to think. But he just keeps on smiling, for some reason." He sighed. "It's all too troublesome for me to care."
Ino had just shrugged. "He's insane, that's what he is. One moment he's laughing and pulling pranks, then next he goes all solomn and tells me that if I need any help I could always go to him. I couldn't tell whether he was being a pervert, playing a joke, or being serious."
I, as a boy, I believed the saying 'The cure for pain was love',
How could it be? if you could see the world through my eyes
He rubbed his temples as he walked down the dark street. He had talked to everyone he could think of that had encountered Naruto sometime or another in their lifetime, and they all had the same answer! They didn't truly know Naruto. And it seemed that when Sasuke had asked them the questions, they thought about it for a moment, and then they too began to wonder who the real Uzumaki Naruto was. Hearing voices down an even darker alley, he quietly walked down it, curious. And at the end of the alley he could hardly believe his eyes. There was Naruto, helping an elderly, poor man up from his small shelter.
"C'mon, old man," he could hear Naruto saying cheerfully. "Wow, it's getting cold. Want to borrow my jacket?"
"Thank you, young fella," the old man said in a quaking voice. Naruto took off his bright orange jacket and put it over his shoulders. "You know, I've never met a boy like you. My Rya would've liked you."
"I'm sure I would've liked her as well. Say, you're bone thin! Ichiraku is closed, but the store is still open. I'll get us some dinner, okay? It's my treat!"
Sasuke turned and walked back into the street, just as quiet as he had come, but now his head hurt even more. Why was Naruto spending his hard-earned money on a poor man, who probably drank or gambled himself into debt and poverty? Or mabye Naruto had more money than they knew of, and he just gave some to the old man. It was all too confusing. Stopping, he began to think. 'Mabye I'll follow them. Just for awhile. Just to get some answers.'
To frightening- the fire's getting colder
To beautiful to think you're getting older
You're looking for someone to give an answer
Two hours later, Sasuke heard a loud voice. "Bye, old man!" Naruto said cheerfully to the old man, who was still wearing his jacket. "It was nice talking to you!"
"Thank you so much, young fella," said the old man. Smiling feebly, he continued. "I haven't had a warm meal in weeks."
"Aw, it was nothing," the blonde answered, grinning. "Just remember what I told you! If you need help-"
"-just ask you, I know, I know." The old man grasped Naruto's hand and looked up at him, his eyes warm and affectionate. "To think, a stranger is so nice to an old geezer like me! After that Kyuubi killed my Rya, I didn't know which way to turn, and I ended up on the streets. And here is this young man who gives me a warm jacket and a good meal, the first one that was kind to me in all my time on the streets."
The black haired boy thought he saw a flash of regret in Naruto's eyes, but it was gone in a moment, and he grinned again. "Well, take care!" Humming to himself, he turned and began to walk down the streets in the other direction, his hands in his pockets. Sasuke continued to follow him, and he noticed how every now-and-then he would duck into some alley to say hello to a middle-aged man sweeping up the streets, or an old woman taking care of three big-eyed, thin children, or other people warming their cold hands by a small fire. At each place he stopped and talked to them, the people smiling or even laughing. When he stopped by the old woman, however, he 'left' a bag on the table. Sasuke stopped, curious, to watch the old woman open the bag when she finally noticed it. Inside was a note, a purse full of money, and some candy. Reading the note quickly, the old woman covered her mouth, her eyes wide. The pitiful children saw the candy, and their eyes brightened.
At each place Sasuke stopped to ask the people questions. The group of people around the fire were just the regular street-type, but he found out that the old woman's husband and children had been killed by the Kyuubi, and the children she now watched were her orphaned grandchildren. And now Sasuke was really confused. 'Why does he do this?' he thought numbly. 'And why does he give money and such to the ones that were somehow beggared by that Ninetails creature?'
But what you see is just an illusion
You're surrounded by confusion
Saying life is out to cheat you
Friends are you to beat you
Grab onto what you can scramble for
Don't let the tears linger on inside, now
'Cause it's sure time you gained control
If I can help you
If I can help you
If I can help you just let me know.
Well let me show you the nearest signpost
To get your heart back and on the road
If I can help you
If I can help you
If I can help you just let me know
He had to ask Naruto. He just had to. Why was he like this? Why was he so eager to help everyone? He had to know...unknowingly, Sasuke found himself at the blonde's door. Sighing, he knock once. Twice. Three times.
No answer.
Just let me know
I wanna know
I wanna know you
Well let me know you
I wanna feel you
I wanna touch you
Please let me near you
He heard something drop on the other side of the door, then, a loud, "Shit!" before the door opened, revealing Naruto in a sweaty tanktop holding a box. "What do you want?" Naruto said, annoyed. "I'm kinda busy here."
"Why do you act the way you do?" Sasuke said bluntly, in a cold and harsh voice. "Why do you act so rude and obnoxious around everyone that matters and then go off and be so- so nice to people whose opinions about you will never be heard?"
Naruto's frown deepened. "Because those people who don't count are the ones that have come the closest to enduring what I had too. And everyone who has been hurt, or sad, or lonely has endured it. I don't care whether they supposedly matter or not, I'll treat them with more kindness than I will some high-class, important ANBU who can't get off their high horse." He snapped, hefting the box into a more comfortable position. "And whether you want to admit it or not, you're just like them too. Just like everyone else with their damned pride that refuses to take help. And you know what I found out? That's not pride- it's just being plain stupid."
Can you hear what I'm saying?
Well I'm hoping, I'm dreaming, I'm praying
I know what you're thinking
See what you're seeing
Never ever let yourself go
Sasuke just stood there, his mouth open slightly. Quickly he once more gained control of his cold demeanor, and he glared at Naruto. "Listen, Dobe, all I wanted was-"
"No, you listen," the blonde interrupted him, his eyes flashing. "I try to help you because I'm tired of people hurting me, and ignoring me. And every now-and-then someone appreciates me, but most of the time no one does. So don't you dare try to talk to me like you know me, you got that, bastard?" Naruto snarled. "You're a coward, plain and simple. You keep all your emotions hidden behind a fortress in your mind just so you can be safe. And I've heard the stories about your family, and what happened to them, but at least you have happy memories. I've been through shit, just like you. At least I still have emotion!"
Hold yourself down
Hold yourself down
Why d'ya hold yourself down?
Why don't you listen, you can
Trust me,
There's a place I know the way to
A place there is need to feel you
Feel that you're alone
Hear me,
I know exactly what you're feeling
'Cause all your troubles are withering you
Please begin to see that I'm bleeding too
"If you can bear to leave my presence, I have work to do," Naruto growled. "But don't bother coming back when you realize that I'm right- I won't be here to listen. Find someone else that cares." And with that, the door slammed in Sasuke's face.
He just stood there for a moment, in shock. He had never seen the blonde so angry! Well, that wasn't true. Mabye so angry in righteous anger. What did he mean by him caring? Naruto didn't care about him, did he? And what did he mean when he said that he wouldn't be there to listen?
Love me
Love you
Loving is the way to
Help me
Help you
Why must we be so cool?
Oh so cool?
Oh, we're such damned fools...
It was the next day when Sasuke remembered that, looking through Naruto's door the night before, the blonde's apartment was totally bare, all except for three large package boxes.