Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Sandman, or any of the characters in either series.
Warning: This chapter does NOT contain any spoilers for the Naruto manga. Future chapters may; if so, I will put a warning at the beginning of the chapter.
Note: I've made this a separate story from "A Rain of Endless Leaves," because it's less structured. There won't necessarily be a one chapter to one Endless ratio, there may be more or less than seven chapters, and some of the featured characters from the Sandman universe will be entities other than the Endless. Updates will probably be somewhat sporadic, since I'll be working on chapters of this in between other projects.
Chapter 1: Eulogy
Naruto stood at the podium, looking out at the audience. If he were awake, he would have found them an exceedingly strange crowd. Most of his friends and fellow ninja from Konoha were there, but so were people from other villages. He even spotted a few Akatsuki members, none of whom seemed particularly interested in trying to capture him. And he also saw some people that he knew for a fact were dead--Zabuza and Haku were there, and Jiraiya, and the Third Hokage. Moreover, there were people who looked like no ninja or civilian he'd ever seen. A woman with a cat's head, an old man with one eye and a raven perched on each shoulder, a contingent of men in white robes with feathery wings sprouting from their shoulder blades.
Every single one of them was staring at him.
"So..." He scratched the back of his head, took a deep breath, and tried to think of something to say. "I'm not really good at making speeches, but...I'm gonna try, 'cause this guy was really important to me. I first met Morpheus when I was a baby--I don't even remember it when I'm awake. The Fourth Hokage had just died sealing this massive fox-demon into me to save our village. I was laying on the ground, screaming my lungs out because I was terrified. And then suddenly there's this really tall, really thin guy with black hair and dark eyes standing over me. And he picked me up and...he said to me, 'You, child, are the embodiment of the ninja world's hopes and dreams. Follow in your father's footsteps, remain strong in resolve, and you will change the world. Perhaps you will even save it.'"
The audience was watching him silently, engrossed by his words.
"And...it's kinda weird, because even though I don't consciously remember the words he said when I'm awake, in another way, I do. It's like...like my soul remembers them even if my brain doesn't."
Tears were stinging Naruto's eyes. "He inspired me to do all the things I'm trying to do, and I just wish he could have lived to see me succeed. I wish he could have lived to see me bring Sasuke back."
Somewhere in the fifth row, Sasuke snorted derisively and muttered, "Like that'll ever happen." In the seat next to him, his brother poked his forehead. "Don't be rude at a funeral, Sasuke-niisan."
"I wish he could have seen me surpass Kakashi-sensei and Jiraiya-sensei. And...most of all...I wish he could have lived to see me become Hokage."
He sniffed. "I guess that's all I have to say." And he walked back to his seat between Sakura and Sasuke.
A/N: This one expands on a scene from Destruction's chapter in "A Rain of Endless Leaves," although you can understand this chapter perfectly well without having read that story.
I've got a few good ideas for future chapters, but I honestly don't know which one will come next.
I hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday. Happy New Year's!