First off, I want to say, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR REVIEWS! I never thought you would like this story so much! I never thought I did THAT good of a job on this, but wow! Thanks a lot, all of you!

Let's see how Naruto handles his newly found sadness and how everyone else is doing.
-Eccentric Samurai

(1)

It was early nighttime and people were tending to their night activities. Most people were indoors preparing dinners, or at restaurants. A few, mostly younger people, were out in the fields and forest with each other, doing whatever it was that people did on nights like this when the stars were out and the moon was bright. A few shops were still open, but most of them were closed. The day was almost done.

Among the buildings of Konoha, two boys were walking with each other. One was a tall, skinny looking boy wearing dull colored clothing with his hair in a topknot. His face bore a tired, rather slack expression that suggested he had a rather apathetic view on the world. The other was a chubby, cheerful looking boy with frizzy hair who was happily munching away on a bag of potato chips.

"Aw, come on Shikamaru, it was just a bowl of ramen!" Chouji whined as he popped another chip into his mouth.

Shikamaru sighed. "That's not the point Chouji." the slothful boy replied. "It's bad enough to take somebody else's food, but you took the food from Asuma-sensei."

Chouji pouted like a child who wanted candy. "My ramen bowl wasn't as full as the rest of yours were! I should have gotten a free bowl of ramen, but nooooo! The shopkeeper just scolded me for being 'ungrateful'!" His voice did a very poor, sarcastic imitation of the shopkeeper.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Chouji, you can be so troublesome sometimes. Your bowl was only less full by a centimeter. That doesn't make any bit of difference."

Chouji's eyes flashed fire. So angered was he that he dropped his bag of chips. "Doesn't make any bit of difference? Doesn't make any bit of difference? I'll have you know, that I can't survive on such piffling meals, Shikamaru! I need true, rib tickling, succulent meals to fill my stomach! How dare you suggest that I could survive on such mediocre amounts of food!"

Shikamaru sighed again. Honestly, Chouji was the only person who could spot a one centimeter difference in the amount of ramen in a bowl. He ate enough as it was, and sometimes he would ask others to share their food with him. Sometimes he would even try to take food from them. But this was a new all time low for him. Next thing you knew he would be trying to take food from enemy ninja during missions.

As Chouji continued his rant about how his body required "just a little more food than some people" and that he would "shrivel away to nothing" if he didn't get his fill everyday, Shikamaru closed his eyes and tried to remember how this whole fiasco had occurred. Actually it was quite easy to remember, given it had happened earlier that day! Ah, the memories…

(2)

It had started innocently enough. The Ino-Shika-Cho Trio had been training under the eye of Asuma Sarutobi for the day and had later retired to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop for a well deserved meal. All four of them had ordered ramen and had chatted leisurely until their orders had arrived. After the ramen had cooled down the appropriate level, they began to eat.

And then Chouji noticed that his was only slightly less full than the others were.

The effect was immediate. Chouji had screamed in horror (people would later report that they had heard a little girl shrieking from Ichiraku Ramen and had thought a murder was being committed) and had demanded that the shopkeeper give him another bowl for free for the "lousy service". The shopkeeper had been deeply offended by this and had told Chouji that he ought to show more gratitude to a person who slaved in a hot kitchen all day to make other people happy.

Defeated, Chouji had eaten the ramen, but he still wasn't satisfied. He clutched his stomach and whined that he was still hungry. He looked longingly at Shikamaru and Ino, but they were already finished. Shikamaru probably would have given him some had he had any left, but he normally finished while Chouji was still admiring the taste still in his mouth, and Ino probably would have just told him to get another bowl if he was so hungry. It seemed that he would just have to "go hungry".

Then Chouji noticed that Asuma was out further away smoking a cigarette.

And his bowl of ramen was still there, uneaten.

Generally when people are faced with such temptations, they must make a difficult moral decision: did they take the apple, or didn't they? Well for Chouji, whose stomach was beginning to cramp up with hunger, there was no moral battle. He made up his mind immediately. He got up from his stool, walked casually up to where Asuma had been sitting, then turned toward Ino and Shikamaru and shouted something to catch their attention.

"Hey look! It's Sasuke and he's naked!"

Shikamaru's expression became one of raw shock and, because he was so startled and could not think in his moment of shock, grabbed the soggy ramen bowl and threw it over his face. The idea of seeing another guy naked in public repulsed him to no end.

Ino on the other hand, had a much different reaction. The moment she heard those words, her eyes bugged out like something in a children's cartoon and she leaped out of her stool, her head swiveling in all directions, seeking out Sasuke's presence, wanting to see this beautiful sight. Chouji didn't see this, but a look of maniacal lust had passed over Ino's face, although perhaps it was better he did not see this.

As his two friends had their reactions to this, Chouji snatched up Asuma's ramen bowl and gulped down the ramen with amazing speed, not bothering to use chopsticks. He had never eaten anything so quickly before, but he didn't care. It felt good and his hunger was satisfied. Well, it was satisfied for the next hour or so. And it wasn't like Asuma would care. Ramen wasn't his favorite food anyway.

"Enjoying your second course, Chouji?"

Chouji froze as Asuma's hand fell on his shoulder. He slowly rotated around to come face to face with his sensei who had a warm smile on his face.

"Um, hi Asuma-sensei, I was just, um-"

"I see one bowl of ramen wasn't enough for you Chouji. How was mine?" Asuma didn't sound angry. He sounded quite amiable in fact.

Chouji shuffled his feet nervously. "Um, heh, heh, it was… really good! Better than mine, that's for sure!" Chouji chuckled, trying his best to sound confident. He was praying to all the Gods that existed that Asuma wasn't angry.

"Oh really?" Asuma said. "I'm glad to hear that Chouji. I was sure hoping to eat that ramen for myself, you know. I mean, I just went for a pre-lunch smoke and I find that you've eaten my lunch. Quite a surprise, don't you think?"

Chouji began to sweat a little. "Y-yeah A-Asuma-sensei, quite a s-surprise!"

Asume was about to say something else when a very angry Ino suddenly marched up to Chouji, fists raised, and shouted at him, "You chubby liar! Sasuke wasn't even there! I'm going to knock your teeth out!"

Shikamaru meanwhile, had taken the ramen bowl off of his face which was wet and small bits of noodle on it. "I can't believe I actually fell for something like that. How troublesome." he said with a sigh.

Chouji flashed a nervous, meaningless grin at Asuma. "Ah, well, you really aren't angry at me Asuma-sensei? I mean, that was your ramen I ate!"

Asume chuckled. "Oh don't worry Chouji. It was just a silly bowl of ramen. I can always get another one."

Chouji breathed a sigh of relief. And here he had been worked up over nothing. How foolish of him!

Ino grabbed Chouji by his shirt and dragged him forward to gaze into her wrathful eyes. "You listen here buster, don't you ever, ever, lie by saying Sasuke is here when he isn't! Do you hear me?" Ino yelled into Chouji's face, beading it with flecks of spit. "You ever do something like that again, and I'll rearrange your face!"

Asume raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, Ino?"

Ino turned to Asuma and said, "We were about to leave when Chouji shouts 'Hey look! It's Sasuke and he's naked!' so I turned around to look while Shikamaru flipped out and put the bowl on his face! I can't believe Chouji would pull a stupid stunt like that!" Ino huffed.

Asuma turned back to Chouji. He was still smiling. "Is this true Chouji?"

Chouji twiddled his fingers. "Well, I… guess its sorta true…"

Asuma clapped his hands, making everybody jump. "Alright then, everybody back to the training grounds. I'm giving all three of you a crash course." he said.

All three of his pupils exclaimed "What?" in unison.

Asuma chuckled again. "Chouji, you distracted Ino and Shikamaru and Ino and you stole my ramen. And Ino and Shikamaru, you two fell for Chouji's words, which is not bad, but you did let your guard down, which a ninja must not do, which is bad, so I'm giving all three of you another two hours of training. Now let's get going."

"Aw man…" Chouji whined as he followed Asuma down the road to the fields.

"This is really, really troublesome." Shikamaru sighed.

"Thanks for nothing Chouji!" Ino yelled, bopping Chouji on the head.

(3)

"I'm just saying, there's nothing wrong with eating, but to take food from a sensei? Don't you think that's going a bit far?"

Chouji picked up his bag of chips, which was still quite full despite having fallen on the ground wide open. "I'm sorry Shikamaru, but I was hungry! What I was I supposed to do?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and said "Oh I don't know. Maybe you could have just eaten the bowl you were served and then asked for another?"

Chouji grinned sheepishly. "Oh gee, I never thought of that! Thanks for the advice Shikamaru!"

Shikamaru smiled slightly. "No problem Chouji. You wanna see if Ino's up for anything tonight?"

"Nah, not tonight, I have to go eat dinner, unless you want to join me Shikamaru! Tonight is all you can eat barbecue at the Yakiniku restaurant!" Chouji said, a too happy smile creasing his mouth. He licked his lips in anticipation of the delicious meat.

"Eh, I appreciate the offer Chouji, but I'll pass. I just ate dinner a little while ago. Besides, my mom is gonna kill me if I come home any later." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

"Aw, alright then, see you later!" Chouji said as he ran off down the street toward his favorite restaurant.

Shikamaru inhaled the night air and began to walk down the street at a snail's pace, taking in the scenery. Chouji was troublesome, but he was a good friend to have around. Ever since he had stood up for him those many years ago he had been good friends with him. Sure, Chouji was a glutton, a little bit of a coward, and not very attractive, but he was a nice guy at heart, and that was what mattered.

Ino was troublesome too, with her obsession with Sasuke and her rivalry with Sakura, but she was still a good person in general. Shikamaru did wish she could stop being so crazy about Sasuke though. He just didn't see what she saw in him. The guy didn't even seem to care about her or any one else, so why did she harp on him? Feh, women, they were all so troubleso-

Strange sounds in the wind.

Some sort of moaning.

Shikamaru wasn't somebody who liked to pry into things, but he was curious as to what this noise was. It sounded like a wounded animal, or maybe it was a person, although it didn't have a human quality to it. It seemed to be coming from one of the apartments. So he followed the road around the corner and down another road until he came to a large apartment building.

The moaning was slightly louder and Shikamaru's curiosity grew. He went around to the other side of the apartment and glanced up at the windows, which were all pitch black. He couldn't tell whether people were living in them or not. However, one window was bright with light. Shikamaru approached it.

He could hear it now. It wasn't moaning. It was somebody crying, and very loudly at that.

Shikamaru thought he knew that voice.

Shikamaru followed the path he had already come by and went into the double doors that lead into the apartment. It couldn't really be called an apartment since there was no check-in service or elevators to take you up or down. It was really more like a guest house of sorts, although Shikamaru didn't see anybody there.

He went up the nearest set of stairs, following the mournful voice as it reverberated through the halls. The further up the stairs Shikamaru got, the louder it became, a dreadful sound of bawling intermingled with hiccups and choking sobs. He couldn't imagine what could make somebody cry like that.

He took a right turn down the first hallway at the top and approached the door at the end of the hall to the left. The mournful noise was coming from behind there. He was shocked to suddenly realize it was Naruto's voice. But what could make Naruto of all people cry like this? The kid was so optimistic, cheerful and energetic. Even when he got angry, he was back to his normal self soon enough. So what could possibly…?

Shikamaru considered just going home then and there. Whatever was happening to Naruto must be pretty bad, and it probably wasn't any of his business, whatever it was. Besides, he had only talked with Naruto a few times, so they weren't exactly friends, or even companions, so what good would it do? He would just be butting in.

Still, another part of his mind told him that he should at least ask what was wrong. He never understood why the villagers were always so cold to Naruto and he had never had the nerve to ask anybody why, not even his own parents, but he had seen enough of their treatment toward him to know Naruto didn't have many friends. Not to mention Sasuke was pretty chilly toward him as well (but then he was like that with everybody, wasn't he?) and Sakura was either berating him or bashing in his head. It was wonder how the kid kept up his attitude.

Shikamaru suddenly realized that he had never questioned Naruto's demeanor in the face of all the social and emotional adversity he faced on a regular basis. Not one single time had it occurred to him that this attitude was not natural, but merely a coping mechanism for… for… what? He did not know and perhaps did not want to know.

"Forget it." Shikamaru muttered, giving his head a little shake to clear his mind. Great, now he was talking to himself. Not a good sign.

Naruto's miserable cries were growing louder in decibel level, the sounds of an animal caught in an inescapable trap.

He couldn't take it anymore. Shikamaru stepped forward and knocked on the door to Naruto's apartment.

(4)

"Naruto?" Shikamaru asked. "Are… are you okay?"

He didn't get any response. All he could hear was more bawling.

Shikamaru knocked on the door a bit harder. "Naruto, can you hear me? Are you okay in there?"

A loud series of hiccups, followed by loud sobbing.

With an irritated sigh, Shikamaru knocked even harder and raised his voice a little, trying to sound diplomatic. "Naruto, come on, at least answer me!"

This time, there was a reply. At first it was impossible to understand because Naruto was bawling so hard. Finally, Shikamaru was able to understand him.

"G-g-go a-awa-y…"

Shikamaru considered doing just that-again, his mind told him this wasn't any of his business-but something compelled him to dig deeper.

"Naruto, are you okay?"

"P-please… Leave m-me a-lone…" Naruto's voice was raw and hoarse from all the crying he had been doing.

"Jeez Naruto, how long have you been crying for? You sound like a soap opera."

That was the wrong thing to say. Naruto began bawling all over again, his voice a pitiful tirade of sorrow and misery. Shikamaru almost had to cover his ears it was so dreadful. Even Gai and Lee after accomplishing something in the name of youth couldn't cry this hard, and that was saying something! Then again, they were happy when they cried, so it didn't quite count.

Shikamaru knew he couldn't just knock on the door this time, Naruto was crying so loudly. He balled his hand into a fist and pounded on the door with all his might. "Naruto, won't you at least tell me what's wrong? I know it's probably none of my business, but if something's wrong, you should at least tell somebody!"

Naruto grew silent and Shikamaru thought he would say something, but those thoughts were dashed as Naruto began to howl even more loudly than before. Shikamaru was getting worried. People only cried like that when they were hysterical… or worse. But Naruto wasn't the type of person who would have a breakdown.

Right…?

Shikamaru could only think of one person to go to who could talk to Naruto. He wasn't sure if he would be at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop now, but it was the only thing he could think of. He turned around and hurried off down the stairs, Naruto's incessant howls reverberating throughout the building.

(5)

"One more time Shikamaru, you're absolutely sure about this?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "For the last time Iruka-sensei, Naruto's having some sort of breakdown! I don't what's happened to him, but he sound's like it's the end of the world! You know him better than me, so maybe you can help him."

It had been a wise choice on Shikamaru's part. Iruka Umino, who had been the first person in Konoha to show kindness to Naruto, did know Naruto better than most people. After leaving Naruto's apartment, Shikamaru had gone to Ichiraku Ramen in hopes of finding the Chunin. Luckily, Iruka had just been about to dig into a scrumptious bowl of ramen when Shikamaru had come calling.

Iruka had been more than a bit peeved when Shikamaru had insisted he come with him this instant, but when he saw how worried Shikamaru looked, he had taken time to listen. Shikamaru said that he had been with Chouji until he had left to go to dinner. Around that time he had heard strange moaning sounds from one of the buildings and had followed the sound to one of the apartment buildings. He had gone inside and had discovered that the sound was Naruto's voice which had been crying horribly as if he were having some sort of emotional meltdown. He had tried to ask Naruto what was wrong, but Naruto had just asked to be left alone and then had started crying harder than ever. That was when he had come looking for Iruka. He said it sounded like Naruto had broken down or something.

Iruka had grown more than a bit concerned. Naruto having a breakdown? That made about as much sense as Hinata Hyuga being dominant and aggressive. Naruto had been through a lot of stuff because of the villagers. They had taunted him, alienated him, cold shouldered him, and done pretty much everything except beat him up. Iruka had seen Naruto get angry over this, shout how he would become Hokage one day, he had even seen Naruto cry a few times, but a full fledged breakdown? No, that just didn't make sense. If Naruto was going to have something like that, it would have happened years ago, given all the abuse he had suffered.

Iruka had asked Shikamaru if he was sure about this, but even before Shikamaru had said it was true, he only needed to look into Shikamaru's eyes to see the sincerity. Shikamaru didn't look scared or nervous, but there was a deadly serious look, the look a ninja has when they were about to strike down an enemy or spring a trap. That was all he needed to assure him that what Shikamaru said was true.

And now here he stood at the door to Naruto's apartment, listening to the mournful sounds coming from behind the door.

Iruka approached the door and knocked on the door, just like Shikamaru had done. "Naruto, are you okay?"

Iruka had more success than Shikamaru did as the boy responded immediately. "I… Iruka-sen…sei? Is that… you?"

Iruka gave a reassuring laugh. "Of course it's me, Naruto! Who else would it be?"

"G-go aw-ay…"

"Come on Naruto, won't you let your sensei in? I just want to talk to you." Iruka said jovially.

Silence, soon followed by another "Go away…"

Shikamaru was getting tired of this. Before Iruka could stop him, Shikamaru blurted out, "Jeez Naruto, what's with you? You're acting like the whole world is against you!"

Again, that was the wrong thing to say…

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Naruto resumed his bawling fit and Shikamaru became very nervous as Iruka towered over him, glaring down at him with a look that was raw, icy anger. He suddenly wished he had never opened his mouth.

Iruka pounded on the door as hard as he could, as it was the only way he could get Naruto to hear him. All the while Naruto continued to bawl and wail piteously like there was no tomorrow. Shikamaru covered his ears. The two sounds together was not a good combination.

"Naruto, please open the door! I only want to help you! If you will at least tell me what's wrong, I can try to help! Now please, at least tell me what's wrong!"

Silence.

"You won't Iruka-sensei… You're just like the rest of the v-village. Y-you just w-want to… You just w-want to… hurt me… You'll never understand…" Naruto's voice was choked with anguished sobs.

Iruka suddenly understood what Naruto meant.

"Shikamaru," Iruka said, "I need you to leave right now. You shouldn't be hearing this."

"Leave?" Shikamaru asked. "Iruka-sensei, what are you talking ab-"

Iruka's voice rose to a half shout, making Shikamaru jump. "Just go! This isn't any of your concern!"

The boy considered pressing the matter further, but the look of cold anger on Iruka's face told him to do so would be a mistake. He turned to go, but before he did, he asked one last question.

"Gomen ne, Iruka-sensei, but could you at least tell me why I can't hear any of this?"

Iruka's expression softened a little and he sighed. "I can't be too specific Shikamaru, but I will say if I told you what Naruto's so upset about, I'd be arrested for violating a law set by the Fourth Hokage. You might be too if you learned about this information." He said.

Well that was incentive. Shikamaru's eyes widened and he all but dashed down the stairs and out into the night, leaving Iruka alone outside of his pupil's door.

"Are you going to open the door now Naruto, or do you want me to break it down?" Iruka tried to sound like he was joking, but his voice was nervous. Naruto had never sounded so miserable, so desperate. Tonight, he sounded almost… almost…

No, he wouldn't think like that.

There was the sound of locks being unlatched.

Iruka slowly took hold of the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door, stepping into Naruto's room.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Yeah, cliff hangers suck, don't they? Well, I'll try to get the update ready soon. Again, thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! I never thought you would like this story so much! I really appreciate your support! Well folks, until the next update, adieu.
-Eccentric Samurai