For Him
Summary: Alone in her room, Sakura cries and cries.
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Late at night, alone in her room, Sakura is crying. She cries for Sasuke, who left the Village Hidden in the Leaves and will one day lose his very soul. She weeps because she knows that Sasuke could have been the pride of Konoha. She weeps because she knows that he would have become strong. She weeps because he would have defeated his brother one day. She weeps because none of that matters anymore, because soon Sasuke won't exist as anything more than a painful memory.
Sakura cries for herself, for being too weak to stop him in the first place. She cries for herself, for being too weak even to join him on his journey. She weeps because even now, after all the pain he has caused her, after all the tears that she has shed for him, she still loves him, just as she always has, and just as she always will. She weeps because she knows that her love means less to him than his hate, and she weeps because that will never change.
Sakura cries for Naruto. More than she cries for Sasuke, more than she cries for herself, more than she cries for anyone else. She cries for him, because he cannot cry for himself. He is a symbol of all that is good in this world. He is hope incarnate. He changes the lives of everyone he meets. He is hated. He is hated for the demon that is forced to reside within him. He is shunned for being born, for existing. He is beaten for expecting to be treated like a human being, when, to the villagers, he clearly is not. He is hated because, in spite of all this, he smiles.
For all of their beatings, for all of their hatred, for all of their fear, Naruto smiles. He is innocent, and full of hope. The hope that things will get better if he just tries hard enough. The hope that if he just learns this new jutsu, he'll be accepted. The hope that if he just wins this battle, he'll make a new friend. The hope that if he can just become hokage, he will be hated a little less.
But Sakura knows better. She's his teammate, and she is wiser than that. She has seen who Naruto truly is, and it frightens her. The Naruto that takes those who are desperate and despairing, and gives them a fresh outlook on life; the Naruto that inspires people to become stronger, smarter, kinder; that Naruto is dying, and has been for longer than she can remember.
She weeps because the brightest sun of Konoha is going out. She weeps because every day his smiles become a little more fake and a little less bright. She weeps because almost no one else even notices, and even less people do anything about it. She weeps because she is one of those people, and she does not have the strength to change that.
No, she is not nearly strong enough to fix the broken boy that pretends to be happy and optimistic and full of life. All she can do is cry his unshed tears for him. For Naruto must always be happy. He must always be strong. He must always be smiling, because he can help so many people just by pretending to be himself. He has no time for tears. They will only slow him down, and time is crucial in his race to save as many people as he can.
Sakura is amazed every time Naruto saves another soul. Neji, a metaphorical bird trapped in a very real cage, had no dreams, nor any hope. Until he fought Naruto. "Destiny" no longer prevents Neji from flying. Tsunade, the Legendary Sucker, wandered aimlessly in the countryside, gambling her life away. Until she met Naruto. Now she is the fifth hokage. Instead of shirking her responsibilities, she now protects one of the largest and most influential of the hidden ninja villages. Gaara, formerly known as the Demon of the Sand, existed only to kill the many people weaker than him. To him, every person was only a prey or a predator. Until he was enlightened by Naruto. Gaara is now the kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand. He sees people in shades of gray, and protects an entire village.
Sakura cries because all of these people use Naruto to support themselves, even though he can barely stand on his own. Naruto wants to fall down and never lift himself up off the ground again. He is tired of getting up; tired of rising to meet every new challenge that rears its ugly head. He is tired of having to reach deep within himself, deeper than the Kyuubi, to find a strength that he doesn't have, but somehow appears when other people need it most.
Sakura cries because Naruto cannot. She cries because Naruto is hope and trust and happiness and all that is good. He stands for all that is so dearly lacking in the shinobi world. She cries because Naruto is too broken even to cry for himself. Sakura, alone in her room, cries and cries.
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A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever. It's one of the first times I've ever written a story, for that matter. I never considered anything less than 1,000 words to be a "real" fanfiction story. But I've realized just how hard it is to reach that goal. This one-shot is only 865 words long.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I actually don't even want to own Naruto. I'm happy to sit back and let the story take its own course.
I will be putting all of my disclaimers at the bottom of my stories. I want readers to open the page and just read the story. Having announcements and disclaimers at the top of the page ruins the mood, in my opinion.
If you couldn't tell, I write angst. I'm especially drawn to angst about Naruto, and plan on writing a long story about him in the future. However, I wanted to debut with something complete. As a new writer, reviews would mean a lot to me.
Anxiously awaiting your replies,
PIIR-Pierrot