Motionless

Written by: Memory's Nightmare

1.29.08

It's morning. Sun rise glows through the streets and buildings, casting away the darkness of the night. It's a sight to see since the storm passed on. A glorious light shine through the window and reveals a young boy, sitting in the corner of his bedroom; tears flowing from his eyes. He's weeping, curled up with his knees held close to his chest and his head buried. He hits the floor violently, his arms trembling. "This can't be happening. This can't be happening to me. I've already lost so many. This can't be happening…not again," he says aloud.

He stands to his feet, wiping the tears away from his eyes. Throwing off his shirt, he searches his room for his outfit. When he finds it, he retreats to the bathroom to shower up. He turns it on, letting the lukewarm water pour down his skin as he stands there. From his head down, his body feels numb from anger and hurt. His blond hair hangs over his ocean eyes. He becomes nostalgic suddenly. He turns off the shower, covering his wet body with his towel and standing in front of the mirror. He wraps a wound on his arm, squinting slightly from the pain. He wraps another bandage around his wrist and knee, finishing off with a bandage to cover his left cheek. He looks in the mirror. His bitter, cold eyes stare back at him. He looks away for a moment, dressing himself in an all-black outfit. When he finishes, he looks in the mirror once more. "What's wrong with me? I'm normally the strong one yet today…I just feel so weak." A knock at his door interrupts his thoughts. He walks over to open it. "Are you ready to go, Naruto? Tsunade wanted us to be early," the young girl says to him.

How could a person be ready for a funeral? How could anyone be ready to lose a person forever? It's not something most people are ready for, especially him. He's already lost so many in his life; how could he even be ready to lose someone else for good? Naruto shuts the door behind him, grabbing his keys to lock it. Sakura reaches for his hand, holding it tight in her hands. They walk together, down the stairs and out into the city. Both teens never say a word the whole way to the funeral. How could they?

The sun hides behind the clouds, dimming the already depressing scene. A couple people chat with each other. A few others remain silent, unsure of what to say about this loss. Naruto spots Hinata sitting in the front row, Kiba and Shino close by her side. Her hands are trembling and nervous. Tears drip down her soft cheeks. Her purple hair hangs in her eyes. She looks back at Naruto. He could see the hurt in her eyes. It was almost too overwhelming. Naruto sits next to Kiba in the front row. Sakura separates herself, walking towards the coffin. Her hands trembling nervously as she looks. The body of Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuga lie in the separate coffins. It's almost too unreal for her. Naruto stands up, walking towards her and standing by her side. "I don't understand why this has to happen. Especially to someone like Sasuke. Why did it have to be Sasuke? It just doesn't make any sense," she cries out, burying her head in Naruto's shoulder.

Naruto holds her close. He couldn't make of it either. It just didn't seem right to lose someone like Sasuke. He's nearly about to cry again. He tries to push the tears away. He wants to remain strong for Sakura and Hinata, no matter how hard that seems right now. On the inside however, it felt as though his world was crumbling under his feet. "Why did you push me out of the way, Sasuke? You saved my life at the expense of your own and I'll never know why. You didn't have to protect me like that. You've already saved my life more times than I admit. You shouldn't have pushed me out of the way. I should be dead, not you. It just…I just…I can't deal with this Sasuke. I can't deal with you being gone for good." Sakura could tell from his trembling arms that Naruto was about to give in to grief. She rises from his shoulder, looking in directly in the eyes. "Naruto, you're allowed to cry. You can't remain strong when you had to watch him die," she replies. "It must be so much harder on you than it ever could be on me. It's ok that you cry."

"But I can't cry Sakura. It's not the time to cry. I…I'm afraid to cry right now. I cried enough while he was in the hospital. I cried enough when they announced he wouldn't make it through the night. I cried enough when they covered his body with the white blanket. I can't myself cry here. It would just prove that I'm weak."

Sakura nearly loses her grip on her emotions. She finally can't hold back. She slaps Naruto hard across the face, crying harder. "How can you even say that Naruto? That doesn't make any sense at all. It's probably the cruelest thing I've ever heard you say."

Naruto loses control. He finally feels all the bent-up emotion cast over his body and his control fall through his fingers. "You didn't see him die Sakura. You didn't watch him save your life at the expense of his own. He died trying to save me. I didn't even deserve to live and he pushed me out of the way. When I finally got the enemy away, he was barely alive. You didn't see me screaming at him, asking why he did that. You didn't hear him say…" Naruto pauses, not wanting say Sasuke's last words to him. He swallows hard, looking away from Sakura's almost horrified gaze that stared back at him. "You didn't hear him say that he couldn't imagine life without me. He couldn't have me die in his arms. He couldn't, after everything he had gone through already, let himself live while I died. He just couldn't life with that kind of suffering in his life. He was already going through so much more than he let people know. You didn't hear him admit that. I did. That's why I can't cry anymore; I have to remain strong for him. It's all I can do."

The young girl's hand shakes. Her body becomes numb. She didn't know any of this. She'd only heard what had happened when she arrived at the hospital. This was all new information to her. She walks away from Naruto, sitting down on the chair. She doesn't cry; right now, it seemed even impossible to cry. Her whole body felt like a brick; unable to move or breathe. Naruto sat beside her. A sudden sadness ran through her skin. She was acting like this and Naruto had witnessed this. He was there when it happened. She felt like a complete brat for being like this. Letting the final tremor run through her body, she reaches her hand out and grabs Naruto's. Naruto holds it tight as the funeral begins. A full crowd sitting behind him, not one face seemed to have emotion. "We gather here today to honor the life of Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuga," Tsunade begins, standing in front of the crowd. "These two boys were amazing ninjas, both having abilities and skills well beyond their age. They had talent that was almost unreal and hardships that would so often cast a shadow over them. The other ninjas wish that I not share this, but I think it would be a mistake not to. These two ninjas died in the line of duty, trying to save the ones they care about." She pauses, signaling for Naruto to stand to his feet to speak on behalf of Sasuke.

The young boy could feel his heart beat race against his chest. Tremors ran through him once more. His palms sweaty and shaky; his eyes avoidant. As he stands in front of the crowd, he thinks of what he should say. Clearing his throat, he begins to speak. "Three years ago, I was assigned to team 7. When I first met Sasuke, I didn't really like him. He was a lady's man with a huge ego and this almost annoying calmness towards him. On our mission to the Village Hidden in the Mist, I realized there was more to him. As we spent more time together, I became closer to him and realized there was more that meets the eye when it comes to him. He's lost his entire family, he had to learn to take care of himself at a young age, and he holds the last name Uchiha, something he wasn't always proud to carry. Not to mention his ordeal with Orochimaru. He's stronger than me when it came to it, and it pushed me to become stronger. He was my friend and my rival. I don't know why he saved me, and I don't think I ever will. I'm not sure I would've done the same myself. But I finally realize something; he's been there through it all. It hurts more than anything because now, I don't have that anymore. That's what hurts right now; more so than I can admit. I guess, even if I deny this to myself, I'll miss him more than I'll be able to understand. I think everyone will though." When he finishes, a sudden applause starts up. He smiles, though not feeling the gratification he thought he deserved. He didn't think he deserved any at the moment.

As the funeral finished up and the bodies placed in the graves, people began clearing out. They said their apologies to the remaining team members and family members, then made their way home. Naruto and Hinata were the only two remaining once everyone was gone. They stood at the graves, a silence building between them. "I don't think this will be an easy thing to heal from. Probably one of the hardest things to experience in my life, and will remain the hardest," Hinata suddenly replies, her voice meek and timid.

Naruto nods, agreeing with her. It had to be hard to lose Neji. He was her cousin; he was part of her family. To say the least, that would be hard to lose. Naruto lowers his head. He feels a hand within his own. He looks down. Hinata holds his hands, her fingers intertwined with his. He looks up to her face. She's crying and blushing but doesn't seem to care right now. It just all seemed unreal to him right now. He grips her hand tight, smiling at her. She smiles back as she embraces him in a hug. "We'll get through this together," Naruto whispers in her ear. "I promise."

The two teens walk away from the graves together. In the darkness of the surrounding tree, Itachi Uchiha sits on the branch. He waits for the coast to be clear. When the teens are out of sight, he jumps out the tree and stands in front of his little brother's grave. Several graves away lies his family, the remnants of his haunted past. Now his brother's grave lies under his feet; the one person he thought would live through the whole ordeal and actually make the successful revenge against him. A small tear drips down his eyes. Now, he was officially alone. Removing his necklace, he places it on his little brother's grave. "You win," he says.

As the dark of night comes to the skies, Itachi rests his body against his brother's grave marker. Removing a kunai knife from his pouch, he traces the blade with his finger tips. He cuts it slightly, letting the blood drip down his skin. It was almost unsettling for him to actually feel like this. It was as though he felt more hurt than he ever thought he could. It ripped at his skin. Angling the blade towards him, Itachi lunges it towards his chest. The blade pierces through his heart. His eyes widen as death seeps into his body. Blood trickles through the wound and down his clothes. He takes a final look at Sasuke's grave and smiles. "You finally win," he manages to say. He breathes in his final breath and closes his eyes, death finally outmatching life. Under the full moon sky, the dead ninja lies against the grave of his brother. The Uchiha's final remaining members are dead. The Uchiha clan has come to an end. And in the darkness of the night, death can be felt through the city as it creeps on the skins of the living. It's poison leaving behind lasting affects.

The End

A rather grim first story but I guess I thought it would be a good starting point for me. I had this idea playing in my head for some time and I thought it would be a sad story to write but something that I wanted to write. I hope you like it when you read it. It took me nearly three hours to write this down. I know there are a few errors but all in all, it's not that bad…is it? Reviews are always nice to read. Please give me your opinion on what you thought. This is my first story so I'm kind of anxious to hear what you have to say about my work.

Please and thank you!
Memory's Nightmare