Title: of the covenant, of the womb
Pairing/s: None.
Disclaimer: I say it every week but if Kishi touches a hair on Kakashi's pretty little head...
Summary: The war has ended, and Naruto is left to bury their dead.
"You know, I can understand Neji."
Iruka's voice gives all the appearance of being idle, contemplative. But Naruto's known his old sensei way too long to not hear the very badly hidden curiosity, and Iruka-sensei`s never been that great a liar, anyway. Naruto shrugs his shoulders and keeps shoveling damp earth into the gaping hole in the ground.
"Neji belongs with his family. All of his family, not just the Branch. Making the Hyuuga combine their burial grounds was a great idea, Naruto. And Neji-Neji would have wanted to be buried next to his father, I think."
Naruto grunts a little and nearly topples over-wet soil is heavy, dammit. Iruka chuckles and tips him back on balance.
Iruka-sensei's really good at that, Naruto thinks, before dumping the dirt and shoveling up some more.
"And Obito-senpai's burial made sense, too," Iruka continues, scratching the scar on his nose. "I don't remember him much, but I know he was a bit of an outcast from the rest of the Uchiha clan. He never knew his parents, either, so it'd be pretty hard to bury him next to them. I know people put you under a lot of pressure about where he should be buried."
"They said 'just leave him'," says Naruto, and glances up at Iruka. The thought is sad, terrible, cruel. "Obito may have been a real bastard, but all he ever wanted was peace. He was a shinobi of Konoha. He had the Will of Fire."
"'Just leave him'," Iruka repeats. He stares out at the quickly fading sun, and doesn't say anything else.
Naruto goes back to digging. "No one wanted me to bring him back to Konoha, but that's where he belongs, isn't it? He loved this place more than anything."
"Not more than her," says Iruka sadly. "I never visited Nohara-san's grave. I thought she would be on the memorial, but her name isn't there, either."
Naruto points in the direction of the horizon. "Just over that ridge," he says, "in a field. That's where they're buried. At least-at least they're together, you know?"
Iruka says nothing. For a moment, Naruto thinks he's dropped the issue.
Then he says slowly, "But Kakashi-san... I'm afraid I don't understand why you chose to bury him here, of all places."
Naruto gives the damp mound one last pat and stands back, admiring his work. Kakashi's gravestone sits between two others, like a baby curled between its parents. Maybe that's what he was going for in the end, Naruto thinks.
"Kakashi may have had a complicated relationship with his father, but he did love him. His mother, too. And the Hatake clan isn't exactly a minor family-they have their own burial grounds as well, near the compound. Why wouldn't you bury him there?"
Naruto thinks about it for a long moment. Finally he shrugs, drops the shovel, tosses Iruka-sensei a big, dopey grin.
"You know," he says, "Kaka-sensei really did love his parents. But they weren't really his family, were they?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, his mom died before he could even remember. And his old man… well, Kaka-sensei was pretty young when he died, too. They didn't raise him. They didn't hug him or take him out for ramen or scold him or ruffle his hair. They were his parents and he loved them, but they weren't his family."
Naruto looks at Kakashi's gravestone, nestled between the two others. He smiles.
"My dad… he was Kaka-sensei's dad, too, in all the ways that counted. And Mom loved him like-like she would have loved me, I think, if she had the chance. Kaka-sensei deserves to be put to rest with his family, just like Neji and Obito did with theirs. Don't you think, Iruka-sensei?"
He looks up at his old teacher, but Iruka's eyes are strangely bright.
"How do you know Kakashi would want that, Naruto?" Iruka asks softly.
Naruto's grin spreads wide across his face, brilliant and blinding. "I love my dad," he says instead of answering. "And my mom. They were heroes. They loved me so much they gave up their lives for me! But they didn't raise me. They didn't hug me or take me out for ramen or scold me or ruffle my hair. I love them, but Iruka-sensei-if I were to die-"
Iruka hasn't said a word for Naruto's entire speech. He's just stood there with his eyes glittering and his lips pressed in a thin, white line. But at this, he reaches out a hand and swats the back of Naruto's head hard.
"That's not going to happen for a long, long time, Naruto," he admonishes. "You shouldn't even be thinking about things like that! You're seventeen! When did you get so morbid, honestly?" Iruka-sensei sighs. "Come on, I've had enough of digging graves for tonight. Let's go out to Ichiraku."
"Your treat?" Naruto asks hopefully, only to be rewarded with another firm smack.
"No way, Hokage-boy. You can save the village, you can pay for your own ramen. Hah! You have a pretty steady job now, too, don't you? You should be the one treating me, brat."
The sound of Naruto's pouting and complaining almost drowns out the unspoken words that still hang in the air, fearful and unwanted, But the thought seems to chase them down the street, and when Naruto takes his first bite of ramen, they ring loud and clear in the silence:
"Iruka-sensei-if I were to die... I'd want to be buried next to you."
owari