Hi! It's me again!
Some of you may be wondering... What're the author's reasons behind Naruto's overwhelming emotional response in the previous chapter? Why has Naruto been so emotional recently? As an author, it is important to transmit feelings and actions, guided by the character's personality.
In the future chapters you will see a depth of feeling that some might consider is not in canon. It is very important you open your minds to be able to understand and enjoy the next part for a pregnant Naruto, Kyuubi or no Kyuubi, is most certainly NOT CANON. For Naruto is a boy... his sexuality can be questioned,true, but he is still a boy.
In the past people have said that my Naruto was acting overdramatic, and out of character and that sometimes, it seemed like a bitchy girl, not Naruto was the one talking and I am really sorry for that. Most probably, the blame lies at my feet, be it thanks to poor writing skills or a shabby job at portraying people's thoughts and feelings.
I have tried to make it as close to reality as possible but we are all human. Still, let's look at my interpretation of the facts leading to Naruto's current attitude towards love to see if a really strong emotional response was not warranted, ne?
Surely you have heard his voice (Japanese version) during the time he was talking to a cold and indifferent Sasuke at their fight at the Valley of the End? It was so emotionally leaden that I cringed when I heard it for the first time. His words were truly hard to bear. He was trying to reach his best friend and rival while fighting the tears that threatened to choke him with hurt as he laid out his best arguments. His, was a voice broken by feelings, trembling and anguished: the kind of tone I was aiming for when I wrote that particular scene. Possibly I didn't make it crude enough to transmit that sort of painful sensations.
So far, the themes touched by the series have been friendship, loyalty, disapproval, recognition, betrayal, one-sided-love, stubbornness, persistence, trustworthiness, power and death among many others that I can't include for problems of space and attention issues.
Still, not once has love being directly linked to Naruto in a positive two-lane way. He is unwanted, unloved, rejected and abused but still it doesn't seem to matter. He stubbornly refuses to be broken by the people around him and pushes forward purposefully. He loves passionately, deeply, fully, like he does everything else. He is not one to let pesky details turn him into a brooding mass of pessimism like Sasuke.
Opposed to Sasuke like the sun is to the moon, Naruto is full of emotions, energy and feeling. He jumps out to catch our attention with his antics; he is not one to be ignored. He is hyperactive and does things at a grand scale in his quest for recognition. Small petty issues are not his thing. With time, he matures a bit but the main personality, strident and colorful remains.
Naruto's stubbornness is legendary. He should be called a stubborn ninja not a surprise one. After all there is proof everywhere; first of all he unwittingly became Kyubbi's vessel, grew up loathed by most of Konoha's population, crushed on Sakura even though she despises him with everything she is, was betrayed by Sasuke at the valley of the end but going after him repeatedly to save him, betrayal notwithstanding and now (in my fic at least we don't know how this is gonna end) saved Sasuke from Orochimaru's grasp after a long series of struggles. But do you really think such a person has no insecurities? Do you think he would accept love so easily?
Doubt is a normal human emotion specifically designed to activate our instinct of self preservation. Naruto's characters are able to use chakra and magic but Kishimoto- sensei has made them so human we can all relate to them. We've all doubted at least once during our lives, especially when we are not sure of something.
What proof does he have of Sasuke's intentions? None. We all know what he feels like because I made sure to tell us. But does Naruto? No. He is, after all, a very dense individual. When we are abused by people around us like he's been, there comes a time we don't want to hear what others have to say. We close ourselves off to opportunities and experiences. We become dense.
He is familiar with death, disapproval, friendship, dismissal, betrayal, pain, anger, humiliation, respect, fear, loyalty, protectiveness, stubbornness, one-sided-love and he is a driven individual with a single-minded ambition: Become the Hokage.
He doesn't worry about love because deep inside, he knows he doesn't need the additional excess baggage love would imply. He is also too young by Kishimoto-sensei's society standards.
As a Jinchuuriki ninja, he is expected to willingly sacrifice himself for his peers, but he is not expected to love or be loved. That's why he is a surprise ninja: he does what people around him don't expect him to do.
Every time somebody tells him they care about him, he stops and wonders. He nods and smiles after a while, apparently accepting the feelings as normal but who's to say what's behind the mask? We've glimpsed into his inner demons and fears, his insecurities and anger. We don't know the depths of his love.
Who's to say how would Naruto react if he was subjected to a totally unexpected experience by Sasuke? Who can say he won't become quasi-hysterical after all he's been through? Sasuke's track record is not the best so far, given his penchant for betraying people in his quest for power. Naruto knows this but still loves his friend irrationally and with good reason. His experience with love so far is that for him it is not a commodity, it is a basic need.
By the time Naruto returns from his failed mission to recuperate Sasuke, his feelings for Sakura are almost dead. He only hungers for Sasuke even though nobody names what he feels as love. We don't know what we need until we've had a chance to experience it. So, he is usually not forced too deep emotionally unless his protective, loyal spirit is awakened.
We haven't completely seen his emotional side yet because the series is not over yet. Kishimoto-sensei has a long way to go with his characters. We've seen them all grow but Naruto's love aspect is still curiously empty. He is honor-bound to bring Sasuke back and we all know he will keep on trying until it kills him.
I think Naruto is more than an action bishonen series, given the strength of the emotions between Naruto and Sasuke. We all choke up with pain, impatience, anger, hurt and many others things as he strives to find Sasuke with single-minded intensity. Until Kishimoto-sensei finishes the story and gives Naruto his full dose of angst and love, we won't know what Naruto's capable of when loving.
I am saddened that this portrayal was seen as too overly dramatic because, in my mind at least, I wasn't able to capture the depth of feeling necessary for the whole scene. I will keep on practicing since I am just an amateur scribbler. I am happy to be criticized in a constructive way because that way I can learn and make it better in the future. Hopefully, with this explanation you will know what to expect from now on, for this is my way of the author, nyan. That way if you choose to stop reading because you don't like how the story was going, you will know why it was so.
Please forgive me for this rant, and know that the next chapter is almost done. I will make sure to check for consistency and depth, so you will have to wait a bit further. I will take into consideration this hint as I have taken all the others, nyan. The idea is getting better every day so I am grateful.
About the next chapter, Pregnancy is all about emotions… daddy's… mommy's… Konohagakure's… yeah… VERY emotional… ask anybody! I will take into consideration Naruto's stamina and strength, his stubbornness and his maleness, for he is male even if he is just a bit weird in my story. As Kakashi says, let's look under the surface… ne? So then… see ya around!