Hushed whispers filled the warm summer air as shinobi all around stared at the body that was being lowered into the ground. No one spoke higher than the low winds, scared that the wrong words could somehow make the day any more tragic. Eyes filled with disbelief and grief was filled greatly among the crowd. Not for the body being lowered, but for the man standing above it.
A blond haired man stood in the middle of the front row, the leader of the group of people that were gathered. He could do nothing but stare at the deep black hole in the ground as it was being filled by his once best friend. Nothing could prepare him for the sorrow and anguish that plagued his every thoughts and actions.
Nothing could prepare him for this.
Naruto had always believed that if Sasuke was going to die, he was going to die by his hands, and they would go out in a huge explosion together. But his beliefs for once didn't go as planned. Not only did Sasuke die by someone else's doing, he died with no one caring about it. No one was torn apart at the seams, or crying until tears turned raw, like him. And he for once could not think up any words that would persuade them too.
Sasuke was a person who defied all sense of honor and justice, a man who no could really grasp or tame, but that's what Naruto understood the most about him. Sasuke wasn't meant to be bound to just titles or one place. He belonged out in the world always moving from one place to another, needing to see more than one wonder or jutsu that could contain all the mysteries of life.
And that's what Sakura hated the most. He was not bound to her.
Naruto bit his tongue to hold in the scream that wanted to tear so hard from his throat. He wanted the world to hear how much he was suffering. How badly these events have affected him in such a short amount of time.
But his roar would be too mighty to handle.
Instead he shut his eyes tightly as his trusted friends began to pour dirt unto the body. Flashes of the old team seven began to play within his mind like an old movie. How sweet and innocent was Sakura then, how naïve was he, and how cool was Sasuke. A three member team that once so long ago could have held greatness, but now stands in ruin.
Seven holds the number of nightmares of which that has been placed upon the world.
A hysterical giggle almost slipped through his lips as he really thought about all that his old team has been through. He could remember it like it was yesterday how Sakura was bashing him every chance she could get just so she could look good in front of Sasuke, or how every little thing was made into a completion between Sasuke and him. Too many near death experiences between them all. Too many fights and too many tears were shed.
We were foolish children with dreams to big.
A deadly silence fell over the group that was gathered around the Uchiha body. Naruto snapped his eyes open to see what was wrong, and then he glanced right into emerald eyes; eyes that once shined brightly with love and happiness now turned into cold gems of the night. He could feel his hands clinching up without even trying.
Sakura stood among the people around her with an air of pride. She did not shrink away from the stares of horror and surprise her once comrades now gave her. Instead she looked down at the almost filled hole and smiled. She smiled at the man she used to love, but she has now killed. And then she looks back up into the eyes of her Hokage, her best friend one last time.
He gulped down the screams he wanted to use so much, and whispered instead to the shinobi around him.
"I want her dead. Kill her now."
As he spoke those words, men all around rushed towards the pink haired woman as she stood still staring right into his eyes. No sign of fear or regret flashed across her face as she was beheaded right before his eyes.
And he was sure no signs flashed across his face either.
He then turned away from his two dead friends that lay side by side, as if it was meant to be, and strolled back towards his village. On his way back he could hear his friends whisper to one another amongst themselves not aware he could still pick up some of their words.
He could tell it was Ino who was speaking from the light tone in her voice as she spoke to who he assumed was Shikamaru.
She asked, "How exactly was Sasuke killed?"
And before Naruto was out of ear shot he could hear the reply from someone nameless.
"By the lips of a woman"