Father's Day

The day had started out fine. And to others, perhaps it still was. Warm, balmy weather on the onset of summer rolled in the past week, and the Konoha residents were out and about, enjoying their lives in their own, individual ways. Today was a good day as well.

It was Father's Day.

There was a sinking feeling of envy and quiet despair as Naruto awoke that morning; as he remembered his quick conversation the day before. He'd asked Sakura if she'd like to train. She'd declined. "Sorry, Naruto. It's Father's Day tom--Um, I'm busy. Maybe the day after, ne?"

He sat in bed for a good twenty minutes, just sitting and staring at the sheets. Another holiday that totally excluded him. He'd gone through this every year, but perhaps it was more poignant this time around. There was no real reason why. It just...was. Like him. Like his breath. He was just there. Breathing day to day the thick, ragged air. Throwing the covers off, he sighed, stretched, and dressed. Today, he'd take his mind off his problems. After all, there was little else he could do. Grin and bear it.

---

"Hnnnyah!" Naruto slammed his fist into a dummy, obliterating it with the Rasengan. He swiftly formed another, and demolished a second hapless figure. The clearing he'd been training in was full of fragmented targets, kunai were scattered every which way, the ground was pockmarked by chakra, and trees tipped crazily from gouging holes in their trunks. And he stood among it all, panting, lines of sweat running trails through his grimy face. Wiping his face, he didn't bother to acknowledge the presence behind him. "I'm kinda busy," he grunted, the added, "Kakashi-sensei." He tore through another dummy, literally tearing it to shreds.

Book in hand, Kakashi's eye grinned at him, squinching up in his characteristic smile. "You seem busy running yourself into the ground, Naruto. Something bothering you today?" He snapped his fingers, as if something had just come to him. "Oh, I bet someone laughed at you, eh?"

There was a silence for a second. Then, "Yeah, that's right," lied Naruto. It was blatant fallacy. No doubt Kakashi had sensed it. From behind him, he could hear the Jonin close the book and draw a kunai. He was barely able to turn before the blade was bearing down on him. Parrying, he managed to cast the older man back slightly. He arched a brow at the copy-nin.

"Sparring. You improve faster when you're up against someone stronger, you know." With a foot, Kakashi nudged a target. "These don't put up as much of a fight."

For the first time that day, Naruto smirked, and swung powerfully at his new opponent. This is how he would deal with his frustration. His resentment. His soft and unspoken sorrow.

He would beat it into Kakashi.

---

Sparring had not turned out well for the blonde, but he'd definitely been improving. Kakashi had said so. Slapped him on the back and called his efforts "admirable", if not good. But all too soon, the fight was over as Kakashi was summoned elsewhere by Tsunade's messengers.

And thoughts quickly turned back to where they were before. The river bank was quiet as he sat against a shadowy tree overhanging the water, its weeping branches just caressing the moving expanse. He watched the water rush by, which was utterly oblivious to the boy throwing rocks idly into its bubbling waves. Sunlight dappled the ground in random patterns, and he frowned. "Too freakin' nice today," he muttered to himself, eyes following a stone as it sank to the rocky bottom. A fish blinked back at him, then vanished like a magician's handkerchief into some underwater weeds. Slowly, he pulled his knees up to his chin, and just sat there, frowning at everything. The water, the tree, the grass. The village beyond. He didn't hate any of it. He just wished it were gloomier. More depressing. To match his mood.

A duck paddled by, quacked at him, and then stared, as if eyeing him up. As if finding him unsuitable for further scrutiny, it began paddling again. Something about that duck annoyed Naruto. Picking up a rock, he prepared to fling it, when a hand grasped his wrist. "Oy, kid, what'd the duck do to you?"

Naruto craned his neck back to stare up at Jiraiya, frowning at his master. "I wasn't going to hurt it, Ero-Sennin." He received a whack for the nickname, and then Jiraiya sat down beside him. He had a fishing pole slung over his back, and a bag of bait and, what else, sake by his feet. The shinobi was here for the long-haul. The blonde sighed, and he began to stand and leave, when the Toad Sage snorted.

"What? You gonna leave me here to clean the monstrous fish I catch by myself?" Pulling out the sake, he took a pull, then grinned. "Sit down. Let's see if they're biting today.

Despite the fact that the old man all ready reeked of alcohol, and the fact that he didn't really feel like cleaning any fish, Naruto sat, watching as Jiraiya cast the pole, caught a tree, promptly swore a blue streak, and went to untangle it.

An hour later, after a ladder, quite a few ineffective jutsus on both their parts, several small children willing to climb a tree for a buck, and a whole mess of swearing later, Jiraiya sat down with his tangled line. The alcohol had reddened his face, and his anger seemed about to boil over the edge. However, quite unexpectedly, he burst out laughing. The Toad Sage, one of the legendary shinobi of Konoha, and one of the most powerful ninja in the world, was sitting under a tree with a tangled line, laughing his head off at the utter absurdity of the entire situation. Naruto himself couldn't help but chuckle lightly, then laugh. His face lit up and his grin split into his cheeks. "You're so stupid sometimes, y'know that?"

Jiraiya calmed down, chuckling, and held up the branch that had been taken with the hook. "Well, sometimes, you have to be a little stupid to get by. Dumb luck never hurt, and a little insanity adds some spice to life." Pulling the branch off, he smiled proudly. "Ain't it a great catch? Now," he tossed the branch at Naruto, stood, and gathered his stuff. "If you clean it, you can keep it." With that, he was gone.

Naruto smirked after the man, then sighed as he stood up as well. Picking up the branch, he glanced at the tree, then at the river, and chucked into those merry waters. "You gotta be a little crazy, I guess," he gazed forlornly after the twig being swept downstream by the currents.

---

Nightfall came swiftly, almost unexpectedly as he wandered into the Konoha streets. Restaurants were full. Families eating, drinking, and being merry. The good life. Naruto couldn't help but peer into one eatery. Inside, people sat around small wooden tables, their food in their plate being eaten slowly, enjoyed as chatter was exchanged, laughs were thrown about, and men were exulted on that one day of the year. One particular family caught his eye. Ino and her father sat side by side, having some sort of eating contest, the normally serious man and harpy of a daughter laughing around mouthfuls, trying not to spew their food back into the plates. The senior Yamanaka won finally, setting his chopsticks down, and grinning, teeth flecked with food. Ino grunted, pouting, then grinned. Congratulations came and went. Naruto turned away, heading down the street, towards the ramen bar.

"Ah, Naruto. Coming in late, I see." The owner grinned, waving towards a chair. "You usually come in sooner."

The blonde made no reply, simply sitting down slowly onto the stool, ordering quietly. Setting his head in his hand, and his elbow on the table, he sighed, staring at the wood grain. It was clean. Shiny. And the fibers were chaotic, yet ordered.

"Someone looks dejected today."

Naruto blinked up at Iruka, and smiled softly. Grin and bear it, right? "Iruka-sensei." That was it. That was his greeting.

Iruka frowned, sitting down beside Naruto. The irrepressible bundle of energy was depressed. He ordered quietly, then turned his attention on the youth. "I heard you trained with Kakashi today."

"Hn."

The frown deepened, but Iruka wouldn't be deterred. He had a good idea why Naruto was depressed. He was in a similar boat. Accepting his ramen, he nodded, and ate. He wasn't going to speak if there wasn't going to be any talking back.

"Iruak-sensei...What's it like?" Naruto finally looked up from the counter, ignoring the ramen for now. "Y'know, what's it like to have a dad?" The normally bright blue eyes were dull, quiet. Tired. And above all, they seemed rejected. In the soft, dim light of the bar, he seemed a wraith of what he normally was. Another person wearing Naruto skin.

The instructor sighed, then tried a smile. "Well, it's been a long time for me too, Naruto." The chef and his daughter had both busied themselves elsewhere, discreetly chopping vegetables, trying not to pay attention. That was part of their job description, after all. "But, it was good. It wasn't always fun though. There's the nagging, the scolding, intermixed with the good stuff." He smiled as he remembered. "He was a good dad, and my mom was good too. They were great ninja though."

His once-pupil sat staring, smiling sadly, then grinned as he tried to imagine it himself. "So, there's good and bad, huh? Do you miss them?"

"Everyday. There's not a week that goes by that I don't visit the memorial to see their names." Iruka grinned as well, glad to see Naruto lightening his mood. "But I don't miss their love. They left that behind just for me, you know." He straightened and then poked Naruto's forehead. "And I'll bet your dad, whomever he was, left that behind too. You just have to look for it. You'll find it somewhere, I imagine."

Naruto seemed to digest the words, then turned towards his ramen. He didn't reply, his mind's eye far away.

They finished the meal and departed in silence. There was nothing more to say.

---

It was quiet on the roof. One of his favorite places to think for that one reason. The noise of the street had petered off, and the moon had risen as the night waned towards morning. But that wouldn't be for quite a few hours more.

He leaned against an air conditioning unit, watching the stars blink and twinkle like diamonds on black velvet. The moon itself seemed bright tonight, the upside down rabbit on the moon's distant plains was especially visible. Naruto couldn't stop staring upwards, and as the night waned, his eyes grew heavy.

And as he plummeted into sleep, he could have sworn he heard his father's voice echoing in the obsidian sky.

-----------

A father, whether enstranged, dead, or right by your side, will always be your father.

Take the chance to tell your father you appreciate him. Because you never know what you have until he's gone.

-Raz