~Mask of Tears~

Jiraiya was dead; Pein had killed him. Naruto felt the tears; stinging hot tears rise up in his eyes, shrouding them in moist sadness. Tsunade held out a hand, gripping his shoulder as they trickled down. Ero-sennin was dead. Jiraiya, the Gama-sennin, of the legendary Three Leaves… had died.

It just didn't seem to compute. Jiraiya couldn't die. Naruto shook with tears, and started laughing weakly. The laughter grew stronger but most people assumed it was shock. Shock and subsequent rejection.

They were wrong. One of Naruto's mask's were cracking. Breaking. Hairline fractures spreading through the stone wall of Tears. All of those years of pretending to be depressed, of pretending to cry over things were all crashing down. Iruka being attacked by Mizuki. Little drops began to drip.

His apartment getting ransacked. The clouds opened up to let rain fall.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage's funeral. The sky itself seemed to cry.

Naruto had never really been sad. Now that Jiraiya was dead, he felt a pang of something he couldn't explain. So he laughed. He actually felt emotion.

A Mask so strong and convincing, even the Heavens themselves cried with him.