October. The Leaf village couldn't be prettier.
And yet Naruto could not see this clearly. His eyes were fogged by tears, which he wiped off quickly with the sleeve of his jacket.
The sun had just come up. It was his birthday. And yet he didn't really care.
He jumped out of his window, leaving the dusty, lousy, empty apartment he lived in behind and headed towards the mountain that could be so clearly seen in such a beautiful but rather cold morning.
He silently jumped from building to building. Finally reaching the mountain, he started running up like every shinobi could, and ran as fast as he could. The cold air cast the tears out of his eyes, wetting his cheeks.
Then he reached it. He slowly walked ahead, until he went to the very edge and sat down, letting his feet hang from the carved head of the Fourth.
Sighing, he let his back hit the ground, not caring to wipe his tears away anymore. He let them pour for a while, gazing at the sky as it changed colors – from orange, to yellow, to a bright blue.
He wasn't sure how much time he had spent like that. At a point he noticed that his eyes were dry, he just didn't have any tears left to shed.
Sitting up slowly, he exhaled.
"Would you be proud with me, father?"
He waited for a response, but no such followed.
"Would you be happy with what I have achieved? With what I have become?"
The morning wind moved through the trees as if only to mock him.
"I miss you," Naruto noted and stood up, turning his back at the city behind him. He clutched the frond of his shirt, feeling pain in his chest. "I really do," he whispered as he headed down.
There were still no people in the streets, it was too early. He walked to Konoha's graveyard park undisturbed.
It took him a few seconds to find what he was looking for. After all, he knew this place by heart. Too many people he cared about lay there.
Kneeling down, he stared at the two gravestones, finding that tears were wetting his cheeks again. He resisted the urge to wipe them off and simply let them wet the ground. He did not have any flowers to offer, his tears were all he had left.
"I am so sorry for what you had to go through for me, mother," he spoke, his voice barely noticeable. "I hope you didn't suffer too much pain."
Reaching in, he touched the cold stone. A painful sigh escaped his lungs. With his other hand he touched Minato's gravestone and closed his eyes.
"I wish things could have been so different."
The city was slowly waking up and he could hear people moving in the streets. Someone would eventually see him. And he wanted to be alone.
Standing up, he patted the dirt off his pants, then stared at the two graves. He bowed, letting the last remaining tears fall on the ground.
"I miss you every day," he whispered.
He turned around, not being able to look at the stones anymore. Breathing deeply, he gazed at the sky again and smiled.
"Your sacrifice made me stronger. It made me fight and value what I have. It made me value each and every person in my life. And one day, when we get to finally meet again, I'll make sure you'll be proud of me!"
Gritting his teeth, he headed back to his apartment. Knowing Sakura and Kakashi, they would soon visit him with cake and ramen, like they usually did on his birthday. And he had to somehow convince them he was happy.
In memory of my father.
Because these 10 years without you were unbearable. Every second without you is just too painful.
