Orange was the perfect color.
That's what his father 's why he bought so much of it. His mother didn't seem to mind as she sewed the Uzumaki crest in every shirt with a smile. And he didn't mind because if his father said it was perfect than surely it was…
His father was strong.
When he showed him cool moves or spared with Jiraiya it was like watching magic. Moving so fast and eyes so firm he was always hypnotized and he didn't mind he wanted to be just like him.
His father was smart.
So many people asked him questions and he always had the answers. He tried to read lots of books too but they always made him tired. But he wanted to be just like him.
His father was cool.
Everyone looked up to him and admired him. All the other kids wanted to be like him too and wanted to spend time with the man but it was him who that man came home to every night. Him that he spent his free time with. And he wanted to be just like him….
Those eyes that looked at him with love and like he was the most important person in the world as he raised him in the air and swung him around. That took the time to teach him after a long day. That hid in the closet with him so they could surprise mom. He was the one that he looked up to….
So when had it changed…?
When had those eyes stopped being so soft?
When he left? But he had begged and pleaded not to be sent away, that wasn't his fault….
Or was it during that moment? that day they called the red sky incident, when he lost control….
He didn't know but it hurt. He wanted the kind father he had before back. He wanted…
But the man wouldn't even look at him….
What would it take? What would he have to do? How strong did he have to be to gain acknowledgement from that man!?
He wanted to be like him so much but he knew how different they were,
He wasn't strong.
He wasn't smart.
He wasn't cool..
But he'd do anything… anything to get that man to look at him!
So how…
Why…
Why was this person saying he was gone…?
He hadn't even achieved his goal yet…
Why was he saying something so…
"No"
Obito missed it, because Naruto had dropped his head and his body began to tremble so he couldn't hear the whisper,
"You're lying"
That he heard though,
"The seals over your mother's grave finally dispersed and when the anbu went in… your father…"
Obito wasn't sure if he could say anymore. Naruto shook even harder and in a split second his head jerked up with tears in his eyes and a hand slammed into Obito's face.
Obito blinked as he realized he was back in the office and there in front of him was Naruto truly falling to pieces. His lips quivered as he drew his hands close as if to protect himself and shook his head as if trying to erase the words. And Obito's heart broke because Naruto the always smiling goofball who never showed how hurt he was couldn't contain this pain..
"Li..ar…"
And Obito wanted to cry again too,
"I'm not"
Naruto's breath hitched and he bolted from the room through the window,
"NARUTO!"
Sasuke called out because he had never seen his friend so broken,
"Obito"
Came the firm command and all turned to see the dark look on jiraiya's face because that was his god child that had run off in tears. And he could count on one hand the amount of times he had seen Naruto cry and even those times were nothing like what they just witnessed.
"What did you tell him?"
Obito looked more worn and weary if possible then when they first walked in and his eyes lowered,
"I told him the truth...Minato is dead"
And Sasuke's heart dropped
"He committed suicide"
Lord Minato?
The 4th hokage?
One of the saviors of the leaf?
And then a wave of childhood memories between him and Naruto flashed through. Wearing orange, spewing he would be better than his dad, smiling. And then he saw broken pictures of kushina, Rin and now…
Sasuke fell on the floor,
"Why….why Naruto?"