Remembrance
By
RavenFlyer
The three of them came every year, rain or shine. Silently they would work together, one shining the surface, another taking care of the grass and the third arranging the flowers that they always brought. Ino had tried to come with them one year, but upon seeing their companionship and sorrow, had quietly left and instead simply had their flowers ready for them on that day.
Occasionally, when their work was done, they would talk, exchanging tales about them. Kakashi would regale them with their mischievousness, Sakura would remind them about their skill, while Hinata would quietly speak of their love. Sakura was always the first to leave.
Slowly, as the sun set, her tears would start to fall. Hinata and Kakashi would look away out of respect, for truly, she had been the one closest to them. Standing, she would bow her head in prayer and then flee, heading back towards her home and one of the two memories they had left behind. Black haired and green-eyed, many doubted he would ever acquire the Sharingan, for which Sakura was thankful.
Kakashi would leave next, always with a slight squeeze of Hinata's shoulder as he passed her. Sometimes, he would stand for a long moment, his face bared to the wind, with the mask around his neck and his protector in his hands, revealing the gaping hole where his left eye should have been. He'd forgiven Sasuke long ago for that, understanding the shinobi's intentions. The Uchiha clan was gone forever now, with Madara's death and the double suicide.
Raising his mask and replacing the protector, he turned away and left. Hinata was the only one left. She always waited until they were gone before her final words. Sakura and Kakashi had been his teammates, and had forgiven Sasuke for driving Naruto to the end. Hinata though, had never understood it and had carried a grudge for years upon years.
They had been lovers for such a short time before the final confrontation. He had slipped out, his skills having long since surpassed hers. Refusing to let her accompany them, refusing to make her see what would come to pass. She'd never been able to understand that, denying her that last chance to say good-bye.
Kneeling before the memorial, she traced the letters etched into the stone.
"Uchiha Obito. Rin." Kakashi's teammates, who he still mourned.
"Minato Namikaze." Naruto's father, the fourth Hokage.
"Sarutobi." The Third Hokage, who'd given his life to stop Orochimaru.
Oddly, that name as well was etched into the stone, supported by Tsunade and Jiraiya. Hinata skipped it, unable to respect one who had tried to hurt so many.
"Asuma Sarutobi." Kurenai came on a regular basis to mourn him.
Finally, the two names she was looking for. "Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke." She finally let the tears flow, of sorrow and anger. Forgiveness usually came easy to Hinata. It had to, with her family. But to her, this was unforgivable. Together, they had brought down Madara, finally coming to terms with each other and fighting together to preserve the village, the country. Then, Sasuke had returned, had loved Sakura for a short while. It was only for a short time however. The past caught up with him, and he broke down. Unable to face Sakura, Kakashi or Naruto, he'd fled to the forests. Sakura, pregnant with their son, had been unable to follow. Kakashi was gone, on an ANBU assignment. So Naruto had gone alone, following his best friend.
Once word got out, her two former teammates and her cousin had followed. What they'd found was blood and gore. Naruto and Sasuke had fought to their end, Sasuke on the brink of insanity and Naruto unable to let go of him. They'd refused to let her or Sakura see the bodies, had burned them on the site. Instead, all the two shinobi received were a quiet funeral and their names etched into black stone.
It had been kept quiet, Tsunade unable to let other villages realize they had lost one of their most prominent clans and the Sixth Hokage to insanity and personal desires.
Lost in her memories, her sorrows, she started as moonlight washed over the stone. Standing, mute from incomprehension and anger, she turned and walked away.