Ghost
previously "Eidolon"
They hold hands, and the water slips off of their skin like sweat.
Everyone stand in silence, their faces wet with so many tears and so much rain that it is impossible to find where either moistness begins. They gaze at the cenotaph, and the crescendo of rain finds a way into the carved lettering.
Thunder echoes throughout the forest, lightning strikes, and all is still.
The leader of the ceremony instructs everyone to place a card in front of the grave with a 'When I was with you' sentence.
"Choose your words wisely," The man says solemnly.
There are a million things Sakura could write. There are a million things she never told him that he should have known.
When I was with you I felt safe.
When I was with you I felt like a burden.
When I was with you I wanted you to know Love.
When I was with you, you scared me.
She settles for "When I was with you I cried."
Haruno Sakura has the only dry face at the funeral, sheltered by Naruto's umbrella and the assurance that Sasuke won't be there to make her cry again. She knows that she will cry later, though. She knows that he will follow her home, that he will still be there even when he isn't. She knows, distinctly, that he will haunt her.
She knows this because he always has.
Fin.
Author's Notes: Number two.
Always, Incognito