Watching After You
By Shikamaru's babygirl
He cried and cried, much to the pleasure of the villagers around him; however, sadness was not the only emotion that clouded the young boy's eyes, one other emotion was there, invisible to the world, stronger than any other, or at least in his opinion…hatred.
No one loved him, no one cared, and he didn't know why. He had no parents, he had no friends, and he had no body to come home too… no one to live for. Sometimes he would stop and think: why did he live? What was his purpose? Why was he hated? Why was he called a…demon?
Sometimes he just wanted to go out at night and kill everyone that wronged him. Everyone. However, it was not easy, and he knew that it wouldn't be possible. That was his first intention as he joined the academy, get strong, graduate, and destroy. Even if he was still afraid of the villagers, he knew he could do this, he knew he could accomplish his new goal. He fought away the voice in his head that told him otherwise, and told himself that destroying the village was his goal, even if for some reason, it didn't feel completely right.
Then he met her.
Her beautiful red hair, complimented by her beautiful green eyes completely awed him, but what surprised him the most was her words.
"Would you like to talk? It doesn't seem fair that the other kids get friends and you don't" She said, a warm and welcoming smile gracing her features as she kneeled down in front of him. "So, how 'bout it?" she asked, catching his eyes with her own. He seemed lost in those eyes, those beautiful, loving eyes. Looking up at her, he saw a glint that reminded her of how a mother looked at her child.
He nodded his head slowly, his eyes holding the tiniest amount of hope.
"Sit down, talk to me, tell me what's wrong. Ah, but first, tell me your name." She said, but for some reason, she did not want to touch him.
He pushed away any thoughts that told him that she thought he was disgusting and slowly began to speak. "U-Uzumaki Naruto" He told her, his voice unsure and slightly frightened.
"Uzumaki Naruto, what a nice name." She complimented, her eyes holding a dazed glint. "Would you like to know mine?" She asked while looking down at him, her green eyes full of hope.
Naruto nodded his head slowly, afraid that if he would do something else she would hate him, just like the others. He shook the thoughts away and looked up at her, expecting an answer.
She closed her eyes and gave him a warm smile. "Kushina, Uzumaki Kushina. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Uzumaki Naruto" She said, and as her eyes opened Naruto noticed that they held nothing but love.
He stood up quickly and took his distance between him and the mysterious woman. He tried to put all of his confidence into his next words. "Who are you?!" He demanded, his eyes narrowed into a glare.
But Uzumaki Kushina only smiled, stood up, and walked toward him until she was in front of him.
His glared changed into a stare that begged for mercy.
Kushina kneeled down and smiled at him. "You are not the type to be full of hatred. You are just confused and lonely, I can tell. Please do not be afraid of me, I will not harm you. I promise" She said, her tone honest and sincere.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as he heard this, and he could feel tears fall down his cheeks; Kushina made an attempt to wipe them away, but he could see that a look of disappointment took over her face. Naruto got confused at this and reached up for her arm, but then he realized that she wasn't even real.
His eyes widened in a confusion of fear and surprise. "Is this an illusion?" He thought to himself in shock.
"No, it's not an illusion, it is very much real, even if you cannot feel me, I am still here, and I always will be" She said, as if reading his thoughts.
He looked away in a fake annoyed look. "How would you know? I'm full of hate, I want to destroy the village" He said, not liking the idea of someone knowing how lonely he truly felt.
"Because I'm your mother, and I know that you are not like that" She explained with an honest tone, her expression full of love.
Naruto's eyes widened at this, but she kept going.
"My child, don't give up, you will find a way to earn the villagers respect, but it won't be through hatred. I know that you are not that type of person, don't let me down. I know that I've never been here for you, or at least physically. Remember that you're never truly alone,"
He looked up at her with hope filled eyes.
"because you have me watching over you. Even if you don't know it, I will always be here, watching after you. Please remember this, and take my words to heart. Until we meet again, my boy, I hope you grow into a nice and wonderful person. Goodbye, for now."
And with that, she faded out of his view.
He let out a few tears at this.
"I will mother, I promise, I'll make you proud!" He exclaimed, his voice sincere.
He did not know if it was an illusion, he did not know it was dream, but even so, it helped him realized, that he wasn't being who he was destined to be.
Naruto wiped a lone tear away and smiled warmly at the memory. He was currently at the graveyard, placing a white flower in the vase that was in front of his mother's grave.
"Thank you, mother, those words you said to me helped me realized that I wasn't being who I really was. I kept my promise; I became Hokage, and I am going to be a father very soon. I just wish that…" another tear escaped his eye, "you could be here to watch me." He wiped the tear away and smiled. Then, he stood up and walked over to his lovely wife, Sakura.
She patted him on the shoulder and smiled warmly at him.
Naruto smiled back at her and then they both began walking away, but not before stopping and hearing a few words.
"I will always be watching over you, my son. I am glad that you kept your promise" A voice said in the wind, and both Naruto and Sakura looked back at the grave stone. Naruto had a sad, yet grateful glint in his eye.
Sakura looked up and smiled warmly at him. "Naruto, would you like it if I cooked you some ramen when we get home?" She asked, hoping to cheer him up.
Surprisingly, he shook his head. "I think that some of your salad would be fine, Sakura-chan" He said, smiling gratefully at her.
She smiled and nodded. "If that is what you'll like, then I'll be more than happy to make it for you" She said, and with one last look at the grave stone, they both walked away.
Naruto looked back one last time as he walked with Sakura.
"Thank you for your advice mother. You were right, I did find a way, and I also found out that hatred isn't the strongest emotion there is, but instead it is love. Thank you, for helping me realize that."
End
A/N: This was just a little one-shot that I came up with after seeing that Kushina's name had been added to the list of characters. I hope you all liked reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
I would like to ask one favor, however; please do not complain about why I chose Sakura instead of Hinata. I know that a lot of you like NaruHina more than NaruSaku, but I found it appropriate for Sakura to be Naruto's wife in this story instead of Hinata for some reason. Please review, and as always, constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated.