A/N: This is basically a rewrite of Obscure: Hard to Perceive by Just Subliminal. I have his permission to post and continue this story. However, there will be major changes to the story. There will be a plot. This will be planned out. There will be updates every Monday before noon. And most importantly, I do not own Naruto.
"Uzumaki Naruto! For the death of Uchiha Sasuke, we the council sentence you to public execution!"
Sitting atop the Hokage Monument, these words processed through the blonde's mind slowly, normally expressive eyes becoming dull and unseeing. He thought he'd be hurt, scream in injustice, protest, something...But he couldn't. 'Truthfully,' he thought, blue eyes running over the horizon, watching the sun set slowly, 'I did kill Sasuke. It's all my fault he died. If I'd just let him beat me that first time, he would've stayed in Konoha, he wouldn't have felt like he needed to get stronger from outside sources... I deserve to be executed. And now, I've only got one more day to live... until I die at age 12.'
Been given 24 hours
To tie up loose ends
To make amends
His eyes said it all
I started to fall
And the silence deafened
As he stepped into his apartment, he suddenly felt dizzy and needed to stop to regain his equilibrium. 'I should really clean this place up,' he thought, almost dazedly. Taking a deep breath, he began sweeping everything into a pile, often stopping to stare at small trinkets that he could remember getting over the years. Slowly, he crouched and picked all the important and memorable pieces from the pile, setting them onto his bed before putting all the trash in a bag to be thrown out.
Head spinning round
No time to sit down
Just wanted to
Run and run and run
Be careful they say
Don't wish life away
Now I've got one day
He'd entertained the thought of running once, when he was stripping everything from his closets and walls to put somewhere else. He even felt himself turning towards the door, ready to put on his shoes and run, but then a voice in his head stopped him:
"Are you scared, cry baby?"
It was Sasuke's. He couldn't run now. Just as he was calming, assuring himself that he could do it, something bust down his door and tackled him. He was confused, but then he realized the wailing bundle of heat laying on him was none other than Haruno Sakura, the person he'd promised to bring Sasuke back to. He brought Sasuke back... just not alive.
"Sakura-chan..." He didn't want her to lose two teammates at once...
And I can't believe
How I've been wasting my time
She begged him to run, to leave, to hide... and even though he wanted to do all those things himself, he couldn't. But he didn't want to let her know that and upset her more. Oddly calm, he let her cry out all her tears and allowed her to pack all his clothing and essentials into a bag and stuff it into his arms. Even though he knew he wouldn't use it, that he wouldn't even attempt to run, he still put it on his back to humor her.
"Sakura-chan... if I get caught, promise me that you won't be sad. Don't look for revenge. Don't be depressed. If that happens, you'll be the last of Team 7. You have to stay strong or it'll look weak, right?"
She stared at him with widened eyes.
In 24 hours they'll be
Laying flowers
On my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
Need your blessing
And your promise to live free
Please do it for me
He stood in the Hokage's office, standing next to Tsunade in front of the windows and watching Konoha prepare for his death. A public beheading.
Slowly, he grasped the necklace he wore and began pulling it over his head, only to be stopped by a pale hand pressing it into his chest. "Don't," Tsunade spoke simply, choking on the tears in her throat. "It's yours. It was never bad luck with you. Maybe, just maybe, everything will change if you wear it..." She grabbed him in a hug and collapsed into a mess of tears. "My little brother..."
He wasn't sure if she was thinking of him or her brother Nawaki as she said this.
Is there a heaven a hell
And will I come back
Who can tell
Now I can see
What matters to me
It's as clear as crystal
He went to see everybody. Neji, Lee, Chouji... and after he was admitted into the hospital, everybody went to see him. Tenten, Shikamaru, Sakura, Hinata, Ayame and Teuchi Ichiraku, Shizune, Kakashi, Iruka... There were more people there. More than he could count. He hadn't realized that so many people already recognized him, respected him, loved him. It amazed him that he could be so blind, that he'd still need to reach Hokage when he already had so much acknowledgment. At the same time though, he realized that he was really never going to be Hokage and he wouldn't die an old man like the Sandaime.
The places I've been
The people I've seen
Plans that I made
Start to fade
The sun's setting gold
Thought I would grow old,
It wasn't to be
Again, he sat atop the Hokage monument. 'I guess I should be sad. Hinata-chan was crying so hard... Everybody was crying... for me?' He fell onto his back and copied Shikamaru, watching the clouds, only to realize that it was a perfectly blue sky today. 'I'm going to die.' He'd established that already, hadn't he?
But what did he have left to live for, truly?
No matter how much he boasted his dream to everyone around him, to become Hokage for everyone's acknowledgment, he kept coming to the realization that he had it from everyone that mattered already. All he could really do now was count down.
In 18 hours they'll be
Laying flowers
On my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
Need your blessing
And your promise to live free
Please do it for me
He felt like he was being watched, for some reason. But not by anybody he knew. Sitting on the old swing in front of the Academy, letting the breeze push him back and forth, he couldn't think straight, but at the same time he was processing thoughts rapidly. It was an odd feeling. 'Have I come to ends with everything? Do I have no regrets? Shouldn't it matter more to me... is that how I'm going to die?'
In 13 hours they'll be
Laying flowers
On my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
Need your blessing
And your promise to live free
Please do it for me
He was positive there was somebody there now, even though he couldn't seem to find them. There was no scent in the air, no energies jumping around someone's body, no sounds of footsteps; Unless you counted those of the people building up the pyre where he would be burned in front of the town. When he looked around, all he saw was a group of leaves and flower petals dancing with the breeze, looking carefree.
He didn't care that he was going to die. He just wanted to know that nobody would be beyond sad that he died. He didn't want anyone to end up like Sasuke, caught dead by revenge, and he didn't want Neji to worsen, believing again that your fate was preordained.
Then again, his fate was, wasn't it?
I'm not alone, I sense it, I sense it
All that I said, I meant it, I meant it
And I can't believe
How much I've wasted my time
It wouldn't be long now.
He'd been picked up by a pair of ANBU at the order of the council, led back to the Hokage's office. At the moment, he was dressing in his special robes, just formal white hakama with a short yukata over it. As soon as he stepped out, face eerily calm, Tsunade was before him. She was kneeling so they were eye level, her hands on either one of his cheeks, gently stroking his birthmarks, the whiskers nobody else had.
"Naruto, you don't need to do this. They're doing this because of the Kyuubi, you know you don't deserve death! You had no choice but to kill him if you wanted to keep him from Orochimaru!" She exclaimed, blinking back tears yet again. "Please just run... I don't care if I get in trouble, it's better for you to be out of Konoha than dead!"
She embraced him tightly and he returned the hug, focusing his eyes on the desk in the room, keeping them there for a few minutes before he gently pulled himself from her. "Tsunade. It's fine. Just promise me you'll still do the best you can for Konoha and everyone, alright? You can't be sad about me or get revenge... not like Sasuke did. Promise me?"
She stared at him. "... I promise," she choked out before hugging him even tighter, knowing she wouldn't be able to do it again.
In just 8 hours they'll be
Laying flowers
On my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
Need your blessing
And your promise to live free
Please do it for me
It was weird for him. Before, he couldn't find it in himself to care that he was going to die, but it seemed as if reality had finally hit him. He was going to die in a few hours. Somehow, now that it had penetrated his mind, he was nervous. "I said it was alright... but do I really want to die?"
"Do you really want to die?" A voice came from behind him.
He spun around, but nobody was there.
In just 1 hour they'll be
Laying flowers
On my life, it's over tonight
I'm not messing no I
Need your blessing
And your promise to live free
Please do it for me
So here he was, being led by an ANBU guard up to the stage, townspeople all around him. He could see ninja, but for some reason, he just couldn't see anybody he knew. 'They don't want to see me die...?' He really wanted to see his precious people one last time.
It was only as he knelt with his head bowed and back straight, looking straight at the feet of the executioner that he realized that he was as scared as he should be.
"Do you really want to die?" The same voice from before.
Clenching his eyes shut, not even bothering to look, he answered in desperation: "No! I don't want to die!"
"Good."
And then he was gone.