Moment of Silence
[Shippuden]
It was about a few weeks after the funeral. Her teacher's funeral.
He was someone that she adored, that she admired for so long. Now…he was gone. Killed in battle, and she was helpless to do anything, other than watch him die in front of her. It had been the most painful thing she had ever experienced.
Watching someone precious to you die like that…you couldn't put it into words, what it all meant, what it felt like. There was an overwhelming sense of despair there, inside of her.
The rain outside fell steadily, heavily, reflecting her mood. There…wasn't anything other than pain at this point. The scene playing over and over again as she closed her eyes.
"…"
Not even enough motivation to speak…nothing to think about other than that time. What had she gotten out of seeing those murderers, those bastards who killed her teacher die? Nothing, really. Especially since she was too weak to do it herself…she wished she could have. She wished that she could have torn them apart, piece by piece. But it wasn't meant to be.
The rain still drove against the ground outside, but she rose up and walked out anyways, nothing but a shirt and pajama pants against the raindrops falling. Her blonde hair was quickly soaked as she made her way forward, and it clung to her heavily with each step she made. The earth was cold and wet beneath her feet, and she noticed it, but didn't bother to stop, to try and find refuge. Instead, she walked on, ignoring the questions and worried looks, along with everything else.
Her arms wrapped around herself as she moved, maybe to defend from the rain, but most likely to cut herself off from the world around her…mentally, emotionally, physically…but one couldn't tell from a distance.
The water continued to soak through her, clothes starting to stick tightly against her skin as she moved along even further into the city.
It was at one particular point that she stopped. Her eyes caught something above her, and she decided to move towards it on instinct. Her feet dragged her towards the village's grand building, where the revered leader would be. She ascended the stairs leading to the building's open roof, the rain still falling onto her, but even harder now. It was cold and it was wet, but she didn't care anymore. Somehow, she didn't, or couldn't, or rather…wouldn't, it seemed.
At the top, she walked to the middle of the roof and looked up at the cliff face in front of her. Several stone faces were carved into it, five to be exact. The third one had a crack over its nose. All except for one of the stone faces belonged to a dead person. A hero, every one.
Her sensei was in those ranks now. The company of heroes.
A few soft steps reached her. Someone else was now standing beside her. She turned her head slightly, and she recognized the face, but didn't understand the reason why that person was there. His blonde hair hung over his face, wet with water like hers was. He wasn't wearing his jacket, just a black shirt and the orange pants that he always had on.
There wasn't a word from him.
He stood as silently as she did, his blue eyes filled with sadness. He let out a short breath, and it condensed in the cool rain, turning into a puff of smoke in the air. She expected him to say something, anything, but he didn't. Instead, he did something else.
He slowly moved one of his arms outwards, his hand dangling in the space beside him. He looked towards her solemnly, and it was then that she truly understood what he was trying to do.
She closed her eyes for a moment, before slowly moving her hand out as well, eventually touching his gently. Their fingers softly reached for each other as their hands came together, wrapped up in a gentle embrace.
The despair that hung over her had disappeared. The sadness that had consumed her became a dull glow in the background. Her feet were cold. Her clothes were soaked through and through, clinging tightly to her body. Her hair was in her face, heavy and wet. She probably looked indecent. She probably looked stupid.
None of that seemed to matter.
She squeezed his hand tighter, the warmth flowing into her. He squeezed back gently.
Finally…a single word from her lips.
"Arigatou."
It was soft enough that only he could hear her. He nodded gently in response and looked up at the sky, with her following suit.
At that moment…the rain finally stopped.