Melancholia

Chapter 4

Naruto walked through Konoha, once again trying his best to ignore the glares of villagers as he headed to the Ichiraku Ramen stand. Along the way, he was brought to a halt by a sudden cry.

"Uwaa...!"

Looking over he saw a young boy who'd fallen and skinned his knee. He was crying. He was prepared to run over and help, but before he could act, a young woman immediately rushed over to the side of the injured boy."

"Koichi...! Are you okay?" she asked, worriedly, as she examined the wound on his knee. Even though it was skinned a little, it wasn't that bad over all.

"It really hurts, mom..." The boy whimpered, tears in his eyes.

"I bet it does. I did tell you stop running... But you never listen to me..." The mother scolded her son. However, after a moment of looking at Koichi's saddened eyes, her expression softened, she made it clear she knew she couldn't stay upset at him. "Good grief, let me get a bandage..." The mother reached into her purse, pulled out a bandage before lightly brushing off the sand around the injury. She then opened the bandage and covered the wound.

"There. All better." She said softly.

"But it still hurts, though..." Koichi muttered, pouting.

"Tell you what." The mother smiled after a moment. "Why don't we go and get some ice cream on the way home? Will that help you feel any better?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah! I want some mint chocolate chip ice cream with extra sprinkles! Let's go now!" Koichi perked up almost immediately after, a bright smile plastered on his face.

Naruto gave a pain-filled smile himself as he watched the young boy grab the mother's hand and pull her off. It was moments like this that Naruto couldn't help but be reminded of his loneliness.

"I wonder... if my mom and dad were anything like that..." He mused, as he headed on towards his destination.

The Third Hokage had never given him a clear explanation of what happened to his parents, who they were or even what they were like, so he couldn't help but ponder it.

"Hey, Naruto, it's been a while! How's it going?" a familiar voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see his old teacher standing there with a smile. Immediately, he wiped the dismayed expression off his face, not wanting to cause any worry.

"Iruka-sensei! Hehe, I was just about to get some ramen, since I'm about to go off on another mission and all." Naruto scratched his cheek sheepishly.

"I see. Well, do you mind if I join you? I was just heading there myself actually. I figure it'd be a great opportunity to catch up, and I'd really like to hear what you've been up to over these past few weeks." Iruka smiled.

A sudden warmth filled Naruto's chest after a moment(the same warmth that he always felt being around Iruka), and without thinking about it, he suddenly found himself returning the gesture, taking him up on the offer.

...

"You and I both have found precious friends, haven't we?"

"Is there... something bothering you...? If there is, you know you can talk to me, right?"

"Stop arguing already! We're supposed to be a team, aren't we?! We're friends...! What good has fighting each other ever done for us?!"

"...Yeah! You're right, Sakura-chan...! We have to stick together no matter what!"

"Rivalry is one thing, but you can't live your whole life comparing yourself and holding yourself to the standards of others. I don't give a damn what anybody may have said in the past, be it Itachi Uchiha himself, but you are not weak. You just need to accept that already."