Naruto had often wondered if existence had any purpose; he wondered about it as a friendless and desperate child and he wondered about it as a grown- albeit still a bit immature- man. He sometimes speculated the possibility of purpose of his own life; nowadays, however, those ponderings were few and far between, he was Hokage after all. With the Hokage title came hours of mind-numbing paperwork… Paperwork Naruto was certain had been designed to keep him from thinking. The piles of forms and reports on his desk remained as immobile as ever. Now was one of the few times he questioned the importance of his existence. Paperwork.
Naruto rifled through disorganised piles of paper aimlessly and yawned; it was nearing eleven P.M., he wasn't actually going to start working now. Anyone who thought otherwise hadn't lived in Konoha over the past two decades. All was quiet in the Hokage Tower, so Naruto made his getaway down to Konoha's empty streets.
Once at his home, he emitted a long-suffering sigh as he closed and bolted the door behind him. Silence in the house greeted his homecoming; Sakura and the baby must have already fallen asleep. Naruto took a seat on the couch, warped and flattened from the years, and he leaned back his head to look at the ceiling and once more question the vanity of his existence. A shrill laugh came from the baby's room around the corner, followed by a stream of breathless laughter and an older, deeper, more feminine laugh that soon meshed with the tiny ones. Naruto rose from the couch to investigate.
The door to the baby's room was partially open, a small lamp on the room's only nightstand glowed softly by the miniature bed. Sakura sat on the floor by the nightstand, smiling greatly at the child that lay giggling only a few feet before her. She moved with grace only a shinobi could master and in an instant was tickling the toddler. The child rolled onto his feet with much effort and half ran, half waddled over to a forgotten book on the floor where Sakura had been sitting only moments ago. He picked up the book and waved it triumphantly at his mother, still laughing, no doubt proud that he had accomplished a great feat. The boy's simple amusement only made Sakura's smile melt into soft laughter.
Naruto felt the need to smile with them, a silent observer, enjoying a rare scene meant only for him. Sakura looked up at the doorway and their eyes met for a moment. Naruto could still feel his heart quicken when she looked at him, she could still make him stutter with a quick glance; he didn't know how she still had such power after so many years. She returned her attention once more fully to the child waving the book before her face. The need to smile was too great for Naruto to resist any longer, and for the first time in several stressful weeks, he felt the muscles of his face twinge from disuse as a slow smile spread.
So maybe this wasn't the meaning of life, but seeing two people for whom he cared more than anything in the world laughing in that room- so oblivious to outside pain for those few waking moments- he found himself not caring about the meaning. As far as Naruto was concerned, what he had was better than any philosophy.
End ChapitrePost-Mission Analysis I'm not fond of the first few paragraphs, but something about this chapter made me feel fuzzy and maternal. Chapter eight marks the end of an arc; I won't be posting part two separately, however. It may be a few weeks before I start the second arc. Thanks for the support thus far guys!
Spaz Edit I went back and read the past chapters; so many usage mistakes/abuses, and I'm even missing whole words! Why didn't anyone tell me? Expect edits soon.
