It had taken 3 years to find closure, a young man was returning home. His blue eyes a dulled with pain and anguish, his once golden blonde hair now looked dull and dirty. His tanned skin had paled to the point of almost looking normal from his mission. Once bright orange and black clothing faded to dark grey and a blood stained orange. The blonde once seemed to hold to brightness of the sun in his smile, his return from his mission to return a defected Shinobi was not what anyone had expected. It was all the blonde man could think of, it was forever carved into his mind. The day he had returned was the darkest day he could remember, carrying a lifeless body within his arms into the village was like carrying the world on his back. Looking down at the pale body made the blonde nearly break down; the rain had washed all trace of blood from the dead man. Within his body were kunai that belonged to the blonde but also the man that the deceased had finally succeeded in killing, it was almost poetic how he died. When the blonde found him the man was leaning over his slain kin, for years the man swore to kill his own brother. To see that he had truly done the deed made the blonde freeze as if turned to stone.
"I told you, I told you Uchiha Itachi." The man grinned glaring down at the body.
The elder man had his eyes cut out and his hands broken, his was unable to see or use his hands making him dead from that moment.
"Now I can rebuild my Clan." The younger man said running his hand through raven spikes, "I just can't believe it's over." He murmured before he turned weakly to see the blonde.
His eyes widened watching in slow motion as the blonde drew a kunai; it had been over 3 years since he had last seen the blonde, his whisker marks could only belong to his once closest friend.
"Uzumaki?" The raven asked in a whisper, "Is that you, Naruto?" The raven said speaking up.
The blonde gave a slow nod unsure of what the raven was going to do next, to his surprise the raven feel to his knees and smiled. It was not a sane smile but it was a calm and shameless smile, something Naruto had never seen before. Naruto felt uneasy watching the Uchiha get to his feet, there was only a moment before he watched his body move without his mind following and he watched three kunai hit their mark and burry themselves into the raven's throat. With wide eyes Naruto watched as the young man he once considered his friend fall. It was the last time that the blonde could say he was Konoha's number 1 hyperactive knuckle-head. His blue eyes swam with regret and anguish as he picked up the raven as if his body would turn to ash. It began raining as soon as he reached the forests of Konoha; the blonde had walked as if he was walking to his death the moment he reached the village gates. It was there that his will broke, the Godaime Hokage along with his other friends were waiting for his return. The one that the blonde dreaded to see the most was his own team-mate. He could imagine her bright green eyes as she bounced on her toes, but it wasn't with joy for the blonde, it was the dead raven in his arms. The rain was like ice again his skin as he looked up, he couldn't stand the expression on everyone's faces. His team-mate's expression was the worst. Her black gloved hands covering her mouth as tears well up in her green eyes. She was the first to shake her head as her long-time rival in love for the raven stood as still as stone.
"You lied to me!" The pink haired girl yelled, her fist connecting to Naruto's jaw.
Without dropping the raven in his arms the blonde fell back, his eyes dulled further as the girl tore Sasuke from his grasp.
"Sasuke!" The girl sobbed, her face buried in the raven locks as a young man with long brown hair walked to the blonde.
The man looked down with nearly white eyes at the broken blonde before helping him to his feet. The brunette sighed as he looked at the broken blonde, his eyes no longer held the fire that they did when he left. It was never a good sign to see the once lively man in such a state. The blonde didn't move, he had not even uttered a single word, as if unable to handle the events of his mission Uzumaki Naruto moved silently past the crowd at the gate towards Hokage tower. Whispers could be heard amongst the villagers as the blonde walked by, his eyes a dull blue, his wild flattened by the rain, his lip split from the harsh blow from his team-mate. The Godaime Hokage was looking over reports on her desk, her deep brown eyes twitching every once and a while when a certain name appeared in one of them, she sighed setting down the report and running her hand through her nearly white hair. She had heard a faint cry of a name in the distance but wasn't certain until the door to her office opened, the person who walked into the room moved with defeated purpose as he stood before her with his hands at his sides. His clothes were stained with blood as his deadened eyes looked up from the ground; his hands still held the tint of blood as blood from his lip had dried in a line down to his chin.
"Uchiha Sasuke has been retrieved, status deceased." Naruto said; his voice left little room for questions.
The Godaime stood up and walked over to the boy, her breasts just under his chin as she hugged him. Tsunade had agreed to become the Godaime after Sarutobi Hiruzen; the Sandaime had been slain by the hebi Sannin Orochimaru. Uzumaki Naruto and the toad Sannin Jiriya had been the ones to find her and her assistant Shizune, needless to say Tsunade wasn't too happy about leaving her life of gambling and her freedom to lead Konoha. It took Naruto nearly losing control to the Kyuubi to make her return to the village, had she known the quest for the Uchiha would end in such a tragedy she would have never let the blonde pursue the lost cause. After a few moments Tsunade let go and looked down at Naruto, his eyes a dull blue gray, they almost looked defeated. It was not a sight that most Shinobi could say they were used to seeing; Uzumaki Naruto's eyes were always a bright cerulean blue, a defiant joy to the village that caused him so much suffering after the Kyuubi had been sealed inside of him. The broken young man before her was anything but the cheerful gaki she had come to know and love as a grandson, as he turned to leave his movements were mechanical and made without much thought on the blonde's part. As he neared the door it opened and a young man with long brown hair and ivory eyes walked in, for a moment the man seemed to stop. Naruto's eyes did not meet his own with their usual glow but rather looked through him with despair.
"Uzumaki…" The young Hyuuga said softly as the blonde walked past him.
Neji turned to watch the blonde walk down the long corridor then vanish before his eyes; the very sight of what he had seen sent a shiver down his spine. Never before had he seen the blonde move through the world around with such a disconnected grace, like he was merely a shadow in living flesh. Turning back to face to Godaime, he noticed a small frown on her face, Neji had an inkling that it was because of the similarities in behavior that he and the deceased Uchiha had towards Naruto. Tsunade couldn't help but notice the way Naruto froze at the soft tone in the Hyuuga's voice; it had been rare for such a voice to be heard from the young man.
"Is something troubling you, Godaime-Sama?" Neji asked; his head slightly tilted to one side.
Tsunade snapped out of her thoughts with a soft chuckle before Neji gave his full report on the condition of those whom were at the gate when the blonde had returned. Neji couldn't help but mention the reactions of one Haruno Sakura, the young woman had been training under the Godaime for three years but had never let go of her love for the Uchiha. To hear that Sakura's reaction was a violent one made her worry about if Team 7 could be repaired through a new team member or if there needed to be a new Team 7 as well as a whole new three man unit. She watched the young man's reaction to her questions and even opinions of what should be done with some of the people who had started to riot near Naruto's home. It had surprised Tsunade by how fast the village turned on the young blonde, had it been the other way around the Uchiha would've been celebrated for ending the life of their own demonized version of Uzumaki Naruto.
"It is amazing how quickly the people here turn on their outcasts." Tsunade mused, her eyes moving from Neji to the window.
Upon hearing the news of the death of Uchiha Sasuke, a small mob of villagers had formed around the house of the blonde, it had been relocated closer to Hokage Tower due to the amount of threats on his life. Neji couldn't help but look out the window hearing the angered voice of villagers. Outside of the small house had been at least 30 people standing around Naruto's home, they were waiting for him to come out or arrive home, Neji didn't know where the blonde had gone from the tower. With an emotionless expression Neji watched as the blonde seemed to slowly come to a stop in front of his home, his body looked almost as if it was frozen in time. The villagers had surrounded the blonde slowly, their movements almost sickeningly predatory as they struck Naruto with rocks and wooden staffs. It was almost as if they were trying to purge him from the village, yet the blonde never raised a hand against them. He was wounded beyond physical marks; widened white eyes caught the sight of pink hair before Neji moved without thinking, jumping from the tower into the crowd to cover the now bleeding and bruised blonde. The Byakuugan was focused on any and all who dared to strike again.
"You will not touch him." Neji growled, his dark glare threatened death upon the next one to touch Naruto.
With shocked murmurs the mob slowly broke apart and left Haruno Sakura glaring down at the blonde.
"You traitor…. You're a liar." She hissed, "You said you'd bring him back to me, not a corpse." Her eyes narrowed before a small whisper came from the blonde.
"I lost him too…I tried." Naruto whispered, tears forming in his eyes, "For so long I've tried just to have my faults and failures thrown back at me" He said slowly getting up from behind Neji, his head hung low as his body swayed.
"I'm tired of being blamed for what I didn't do when I had no choice." He looked up at Sakura, his eyes filled with self-loathing and pain.
Sakura's eyes narrowed as if she didn't understand.
"You had no choice?" She glared, "You had no choice?!"
Naruto winced at the tone of utter hatred in her voice.
"You should've been the corpse brought back." She growled before Neji decided he had heard enough and charged the Kunoichi.
Sakura gasped and doubled back before running into the trees and vanishing, Neji was going to give chance but there was no point in venting his anger out on a Chuunin. A small sob alerted Neji that Naruto was still there, only now he was on his knees, his face in his hands. Neji could see the tears rolling off of his chin and soaking into his clothes and the soft earth below him. The harsh words of the Haruno echoed through his mind, if he had died maybe Sasuke would've returned his body and the rest of the village could have moved on without the Kyuubi tainting their home. Those thoughts could not stop whirling through his mind. Naruto was lost in a sea of sorrow as Neji walked up to him. For the first time Neji realized how alone and hated the young man was, on the outside there was nothing that Naruto couldn't conquer but on the inside he was struggling to find a purpose and someone to truly care for him.
"I have failed…everyone counted on me to bring him back…and I failed them." Naruto sobbed; his body shaking as he cried, not for himself but for the death of the Uchiha.
Neji had no personal interest with the Uchiha nor did he want to help the rest of the village find the Nuke-Nin, to him it was as if the bad seed had finally left. He had only offered to help in case there was more trouble than the others could handle and because they needed his Byakuugan. Had it been for any other reason he would have said no, the Council would have to deal with the loss of the last Uchiha without his help. Chasing after Sasuke so long ago seemed like a failed mission from the start but Naruto had promised the Haruno girl that he would die trying to bring back the raven she was so madly in love with, there was no changing the blonde's mind. When Neji came to from his near death experience he went to check on everyone else, Kiba and his dog were still confined to a bed, Akamichi Choji and Nara Shikamaru were sore but better than Kiba. The last person he had seen was Naruto, bed ridden and still unconscious; his entire body was wrapped in bandages as the sun shined through a window. The sight had made his heart stop for a moment before he quickly yet quietly walked out of the hospital.
"You failed no one…" Neji said; his voice louder than he thought for he had the blonde's full attention.
"What do you mean?" The blonde stuttered out through tears.
Neji froze at the sight of those defeated eyes, grasping at any sign of forgiveness and affection. He walked up to the blonde and knelt down to be level with the broken young man. Naruto looked at Neji for the longest time, waiting and fearing the answer.
"For the longest time, everyone has watched you struggle Uzumaki Naruto, with sicken joy as you fall." Neji said lifting up the blonde's chin. "No one has tried to catch you for the longest time…" He said, watching Naruto's eyes water further.
Neji was trying to find the right words but he was drowning in the blonde's pained expression, with a swift action Neji brought Naruto closer to him, Naruto stiffened against the Hyuuga but didn't pull back. Neji knew it was from fear, he doubted anyone except for Tsunade had held him in such a comforting way. Naruto slowly wrapped his arms around the taller male, burying his face in the young man's white shirt and clinging to him for dare life.
"For so long I have tried to deny a truth that I cannot run from any longer." Neji murmured to himself.
"I must be the one to hold you up, for you are the one who everyone has failed."