Their Hearts Don't Beat Like Ours
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Konoha ninja were different from those of the rest of the shinobi world. The fallen of the other villages were just that- fallen, a prayer said. Martyr, civilian, it was all the same. And they knew it, too. Those who knew the way of the Leaf tried to imitate it but they didn't have the most crucial element. They didn't have the Will of Fire. No matter how many people they took down, how many lies they told, how much power they had, or slick shinobi with high rankings and hundreds of A-ranks under their belt they would never be quite like those who inherited the Will. Why? Because those ninja were afraid. Afraid for their lives. Afraid to believe. The others sought out things, they searched for power, for domination, for success. Konoha ninja searched for each other, whether in love or in hate. The Will of Fire burnt in everything they did, every glare, every battle, every declaration of love, and every death. The Will to protect one another, the Will to keep going, the Will to fight, the Will to sacrifice, and the Will to live. And that was why no matter how many times they were invaded or who declared war, Konoha wouldn't perish. They meant it when they said they'd never betray a comrade, and in the Leaf, no matter how outnumbered they were or much strength the opponent had, no one was ever alone.
Sometimes, though, it wasn't easy. And sometimes the world around Konoha was too much. Leaf ninja were extraordinary, and they could change colours in extraordinary ways. With their rainbow truths there were also rainbow lies, a rainbow of blacks, grays, and whites. Konoha's light was blinding and it had the darkest darknesses. The Land of Fire and the Will that shook its grounds created drama of everything, demanded not to be taken lightly. Those of Konoha knew radiance and they knew shadows and getting lost in either was easy. Still, the Leaf was present in their eyes.
The land forgot no one, and no one forgot the land, as hard as they tried. No matter how ugly life became, how hard, how much suffering there was, a Leaf ninja would always be a ninja of Konoha and everyone could see it. Konoha pulsed through their veins, it beat like a heart. The lies were hard to unravel and the truths were hard to accept. Unmistakeably, though, was the burning of every word because each of them was alive. In Konoha, the light fell in love with the darkness. There were no apologies for the flames because black, orange, or blue the flames were beautiful and there would be no questioning that.
To Leaf ninja, memories meant everything. Memories of brilliant things, and memories of the terrible, memories of purity and memories of wicked people. Every single person anyone had ever met changed the air of Konoha, added to the flames. The rest of the world was faded in comparison because the Leaf was undoubtedly the centre. It had meaning. The beginning of beginnings and the end to end all ends, that was Konoha, stained in blood that never lost its red and shining with the light of a thousand suns and an infinite fire. Never would anyone forget, never would anyone be forgotten, never would anyone fade.
A/N: This fic was inspired by the song "The World is Ugly" by My Chemical Romance. Five seconds after I started writing it I realized it'd make more sense to just make it an AMV but... yeah! I'm happy with how it turned out, although it's a little on the repetitive side. It's been cut down a lot from its original, though, so hopefully I managed to reduce that.