Just a one-shot on Naruto being unappreciated.

Repayment

He had given so much to them, taught so much to them, all of them.

Hinata he gave courage.

Sakura he gave determination.

Sasuke he taught teamwork.

Shikamaru he gave friendship.

Chouji he gave ramen-time.

Gaara he taught the importance of protecting loved ones.

Neji he taught choosing destiny.

Shino he gave camaraderie.

Kiba he gave companionship.

Lee he taught endurance.

He was the one who had given each and every one of them a lesson, a thing to learn, something they needed…but most of all, he gave them his protection.

He had sworn to protect his precious people, and he could die in place for each and every one of them.

He with the blonde hair and azure eyes, he with the happy-go-lucky personality, he who never-said-die, he who never gave up, he who had done so much for others, his dream was to become leader of his homeland, his place of origin, his roots, In order to protect all his people, his precious people..

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Yet, what had they given him?

Friendship, comradeship, and perhaps equality.

True, true. They were not bad. They were things some people want. But for him, it was not enough.

He needed acknowledgment, recognition. He wanted respect, and most of all, love. It was obvious that Naruto would kill (A/N:no pun intended) for his pink-haired teammate's affection.

It was just as obvious that Sasuke, the object of her affections, would never turn around and accept her.

For every bit of denseness he had, if Sakura was so blind as to not see the depth of his love for her, just how much he would be willing to sacrifice for her, then she would be many more times denser than he would ever be.

And Sasuke, the one whom Naruto viewed as his rival, his equal, had been so foolish as to betray the village and defect to the Snake Sannin. He had to chase after him and also got himself hurt in the process.

Naruto was one friend anyone would kill to have. He could do anything, sacrifice anything and everything he had, including his life, just to protect his loved ones.

Yet none of them, the ones who mattered to him, had actually bothered to repay him in the way he desired, even after all that he had done for them.

Heheh...the last part kinda sounds like what my parents used to say...