In Memoriam
A Naruto fan fiction by Iapetus
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
This is dedicated to my good friend The SOC Puppet, who was my beta for this story.
WARNING: There are spoilers for the end of the Chuunin Exam in this story, as well as for who Tsunade is. Everything past the Chuunin Exam is AU.
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The sun rose with unexpected brilliance, pouring light into the young Jounin's bedroom. Birds twittered to each other greeting the morning, oblivious to the people's wish of sleeping in. The room was simple, almost as if no one lived there. The single bookshelf against a lone wall, however, was packed with dozens of scrolls varying in size. The only other signs of life in the room were the pictures on his dresser.
The Jounin was already awake and dressed. He smiled at the pictures as the rays of light sparkled off the glass of the frames. Walking over, he picked up a picture of a young boy grinning, standing next to an elderly man. It was one of the few photos he had of the elderly man when he was outside of his armor, and he treasured it as a portrayal of who he really was.
The aging photograph of Sarutobi and his only grandson was set back on the polished wood surface, and Konohamaru moved to leave. He hated being around crowds this time of year – he simply needed time to himself. He had needed sympathy as a child, but his concerns were different as a grown man.
The Village's streets were bare, and Konohamaru knew that the people would need as much rest as possible. Occasionally a ninja would pass as he walked towards the forest, nodding as their paths crossed. All of Konoha's ninja had been recalled to herself for the important task at hand. Konohamaru shook his head of the thought. He needed pay his respects first, and then worry about the rest of the day later.
Coming close to the Clearing, Konohamaru pulled a small scroll out of his pocket. Double-checking to make sure it was sealed, he stopped on the path and stared at the scroll. Whispering some choice words, small scroll dissolved into a fine dust. Cupping his left hand around the powder, he finished his walk to the Memorial.
Konohamaru was mildly startled when he realized that someone else was already there. Cursing himself for being so clumsy, he made no attempt to hide his presence – the ninja would have already realized he was there anyways. Was he truly so mentally occupied that he'd neglect the skills he worked so hard to perfect? Instead, he accommodated himself by watching the man who had beaten him to the Memorial.
Crouching low to the ground, the man's fingers traveled down the list of names, occasionally pausing to rest on a particular name. It wasn't until his fingers had stopped a fourth time that Konohamaru began to understand the pattern. The other shinobi seemed to hold his hand at the fourth name longer than others, but eventually continued down until he reached the recent addition to the list: Tsunade.
The man's fingers had stopped at the names of all the previous Hokages of their Village. Konohamaru was mildly surprised – he had never suspected that Uzumaki Naruto would be so sentimental about them. Hadn't he once claimed that he would surpass them all? That their names would be nothing compared to his own? Konohamaru smiled and realized that his fellow Jounin was truly acting like himself. The Naruto he knew, despite being changed slightly by years and responsibility, would never show such sentiment out in public. He just didn't know how to express those feelings in ways that others understood.
Had he had more time, Konohamaru would have left his friend to reflect by himself for a bit longer. However, today was an important day, and he would probably not get a chance to come by later. Gripping the powder in his hand, Konohamaru continued to walk towards the memorial. As Konohamaru reached the front, Naruto finally turned to face the younger Jounin.
"Came to pay your respects?" he asked quietly, stepping out of the way.
"Yeah." Taking a step closer, Konohamaru held his clenched hand out and released his grip on the powder. When he was little, Konohamaru used to burn his letters to his grandfather in front of the memorial, but Ebisu had stopped that practice soon after it began. Konohamaru knew that continuing the tradition was childish, but in the way it helped him cope with his pain. While his other friends got to grow up with their grandparents, he had lost his while he was still at the Academy.
His father and mother were ninjas as well, and were often on missions. Whenever they would leave, he would stay with his grandfather. While the Hokage was the highest position held by a shinobi in the Leaf Village, it was rare that one would actually leave Kohona. It was their duty to protect the Village from danger, and that involved staying there a majority of the time. Because of this, Konohamaru almost always had someone to spend time with. Sarutobi had become more to him than a grandfather, he was like a second father. The Third's death had ripped something precious away from Konohamaru's being – something he knew he'd never be able to recover. In the chaotic months that followed, he had been lonelier than he had ever been in his life. Was this loneliness kindred to the kind that Naruto had felt? Konohamaru could never be sure, since it was too painful to describe the feeling. He also had the feeling that Naruto didn't like talking about the subject.
Even as a child, he had never been mad at his grandfather for dying. The alternative world he had had nightmares about without Sarutobi's sacrifice was too horrible to imagine. If Orochimaru's hands had not been sealed away when they were… He could not describe it, only that he knew it had been his grandfather's time to die.
"I never knew that you came here in the morning, Naruto," Konohamaru said quietly, blowing the remaining powder off his hand.
"I always come," the blonde-haired man replied, still staring at the memorial. "Always at dusk." The two Jounin fell silent, as the younger man understood why it was now that his friend broke tradition. They would most likely be busy today at dusk, never mind later that night.
Tsunade and Jiraiya had finally managed to kill Orochimaru a week before, but at cost of their own lives. While the village celebrated the death of their greatest enemy, they mourned the loss of the other two Sages, as well as their Hokage. The Council had conferred to discuss who would be most qualified to become the 6th, and could not come to a concrete decision on a single person.
The primary evaluation of a Hokage candidate sought to explore the ninja's character, morality, judgment, as well as their integrity. Finesse shown while on missions as well as strategy was also looked at. Only Jounins were examined as possibilities.
As a result of the tests, eight ninjas were picked as candidates. They would compete in a fight similar to that as the Chuunin Final, and make their decision based off of performance. Konohamaru reminded himself that a victory in the fight did not guarantee the position of Hokage. In Naruto's first Chuunin exam, Shikamaru had been one of the ones to loose his fight, and yet he was the only one picked to become a new Chuunin.
Konohamaru had been honored when he had been called before the council and asked if he wanted to try to become Hokage. It had been his dream since he was a child, and he had immediately accepted the offer. As part of regulation, the names of the candidates were not released to the general public, as well as the other Hokage-hopefuls. He had not doubted that Naruto would have been summoned as well, and now his thoughts were justified. The elder Jounin would never break tradition on something so important to him unless there was an important reason for it.
"Do you always do that?" Naruto asked as he watched the powder blow away.
Konohamaru simply nodded, and looked back at the List of Names. "This is the last time, though."
"Why?"
"Because I am twenty years old now, and I promised myself that I would stop when I considered myself a proper ninja."
"Proper ninja?" Naruto said with interest. "What were you before, improper?" He chuckled at his own joke. "Or does it have to do with the fact that you are up for Hokage?"
Konohamaru was shocked. "How did you know?" He had only been a Jounin for two years, and on an Anbu Squad for six months. True, his peers said that he had a natural skill and genius for his art, but that was only AFTER he had gotten serious about his training. When he had been disillusioned as a child by the Hokage title, he had been stupid enough to trip over his own scarf, and even "camouflage" himself as a square rock. Naruto, on the other hand, had been a ninja much longer than he had, and was considerably more powerful.
"Remember?" Naruto grinned. "We agreed a long time ago that we'd someday fight for the Hokage name. I knew that you wouldn't back down on your promise."
Konohamaru smiled. "Why did you look so sentimental?" he challenged. "It isn't like you. You once said that you'd become greater than them all, and that their names wouldn't matter."
He could sense Naruto grow nostalgic as the two stared at Sarutobi's name. "I said a lot of stupid stuff when I was young. I thought that your grandpa was simply a pervert who could be defeated with the Sexy no Jutsu, who gave my team stupid missions like weeding gardens and walking dogs. Then when he died at that bastard Orochimaru's hands…" rage seemed to grow behind the man's eyes – as if he wished he had taken down the missing-nin himself, "I realized there was more to the job than that. I was an idiot who didn't know what I was getting into when I took the Exam."
The silence returned. Something was still eating at the back of Konohamaru's mind, and he couldn't hold the question back any longer. "Naruto, why did you want to protect a village that hated you when you were so young? I know you wanted to prove yourself, but you've done that already."
"So you're wondering why I still want to be Hokage?" he asked suspiciously. "The reason hasn't changed. There are still some old farts that I need to prove to that I'm not the kyuubi, as well as a few… others." Years ago, the story had come out to the younger generation of ninja about the sealing of the Nine-Tails inside the village prankster. It had come as a shock at first, but most eventually accepted him for who he was.
It had not been easy for the blonde-haired ninja to gain the respect of their village. About two years ago, Tsunade had lost the ability to regenerate the cells in her body by will, making her more prone to attacks. The Fifth could now only heal as fast as a normal human being, and she was also not as young as she used to be.
Naruto had found out about an assignation attempt against Tsunade, and was able to head off and hold the three Sound Jounins until reinforcements had arrived. While he had not won or lost, the village started to look at him in a different light. This ninja who risked his life for their Hokage was more than just the Kyuubi.
"I want to protect my friends. Even if I only had one friend in this village, I'd still want to be Hokage so I could protect them." From the distant look in his eyes, Konohamaru knew that he was deep in thought. Some of those thoughts would be aimed at his best friend and greatest rival Sasuke. Others would remember his first love, Sakura, and how he was able to get over her and eventually become as close as siblings. Most of them would be of his wife, Hinata, however. The couple was Yin and Yang personified, and helped each other become better ninjas by their own personal strengths.
"Every Hokage we have had has died protecting the village in some way," Konohamaru pointed out. "Are you ready to die for the people who hated you?"
"When they choose me to become Hokage, then I must be ready," Naruto said with a small laugh. "That is why I've been set on proving myself to them."
Konohamaru nodded in understanding. It made sense. If the village could get over their grudge against the man that was the seal to the kyuubi, then his carefree friend could do the same in return.
In an unvoiced agreement, the two men turned away from the monument and headed back to the village. Konohamaru suddenly wished fleetingly that his friend would gain the title. He grinned at the thought. It was only a fleeting moment, however, nothing more. No matter how skilled the ninja he faced was, he wouldn't give up on his dream. Glancing to his left, he smirked at Naruto as he silently braced himself for the upcoming fight. He had always known that the path to Hokage would be difficult, and now the task seemed almost unattainable. Did he have what it took to overcome the resolve of the great Uzumaki Naruto? Shaking the doubt out of his head, Konohamaru stared resolutely out at the path in front of him. He would put his heart and soul into these fights – hoping that the Village could see how much he wanted to protect them.
Well, if he wasn't to be picked as Hokage, he hoped that Naruto would – but that didn't mean he was going to give up. He would never give up.
Fin
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Comments and criticisms appreciated! If there is interest, I might just be inspired to continue to write for the Naruto fandom.
-Iapetus