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HinaNaruFAN987: Sorry ' I had to….
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Sakura passed down the street, the shadows of once proud houses casting a dark tent over her body. She had been searching through ash and debris since early that morning. Occasionally a body would be found and she would be called to that part of town. Now with Tsunade gone she was in charge of medical help, she was happy the past Hokage taught her, her forte before the disaster which took her life. Hinata had help with the minor wounds, but she didn't have the deep knowledge she did. Sakura planned to teach Hinata some of the basics; she would need all the help she could get.
Reaching the top of a hill Sakura gazed over the ruins of her town. She never knew where she was anymore. There was no friendly reminders of what use to be there, no sign marking a shop, not even a mark placed there by mother nature herself. She walked a little more and reached the side of Shino. He was silent as usual but something was off. She gazed at him and finally said, "Have you found anything."
He took a deep breath in, "No, nothing…."
She smiled, maybe he was fine… he always had short answers, never wanted to talk much. Then thinking of other living creatures who would have been hit hard by the fire, Sakura asked worried, "The insects…. Are they alright?"
He looked at her slightly stunned that she would even remember the small creatures residing in his body while so many people were in pain. He smirked slightly and replied, "Insects are strong… they know how to survive, live in disasters. They lost a few, but most survived."
Sakura smiled brightly, "I'm glad to hear it."
She began to walk away when Shino's deep voice sounded again, "The people… how many did not survive?"
Sakura gulped, she didn't want to speak of the deaths, but as it was her job she replied, "So far about 100 were found dead, children, men, and women alike were in the wreckage. Some ninja even didn't return."
Sakura began edging away from him; she wanted to stop the talk of the fire. But he spoke too fast, "Sakura things will work out," a butterfly flew by Sakura and circled her and then landed on Shino's finger, "Life is everywhere."
Sakura smiled and continued down the path, further away from the village. Hinata then ran quickly past her, running in the opposite direction. "Hinata?"
She turned and ran back, she breathed heavily, "I didn't worry, nothing happens to him he's strong. I never thought…."
Sakura held onto Hinata's shoulders, "What happened? Who is he?"
"Neji! I never thought…. I didn't worry about him, and now, and now…" Hinata's voice was soft and weak from running.
"What happened? Where is he?" Sakura was worried, but yet at the same time convinced that it was just a miss understanding.
"He and Tenten went to the river in the forest of Death to get water for the fire and the civilians that made it out. They never came back; I didn't think anything about it. Neji is always okay, but… but they just found their buckets near the edge of the river… they weren't there." Hinata calmed a little.
"Are you sure they just didn't leave them there?" Sakura asked.
"Why would they just leave them there if they weren't in trouble? Besides, the fire surrounded the river for miles. They wouldn't have been able to get out."
"Come on, let's tell Naruto." Sakura pulled Hinata towards the town.
--
"Ino.. We can rebuild." Shikamaru reassured as the blonde fingered her beloved rose that was crispy and burnt.
Ino wiped away dirt on her face, she smiled and stood. "We can, everyone can. We'll be the strong nation like before."
"We will, and Naruto will lead us well." Shikamaru thought for a moment. "Yes, I think he will."
Ino smiled, "If you think he will, I believe he will too. After all he has grown a lot in the past few days."
"We all have, disasters will do that to you." Shikamaru replied.
Ino hugged Shikamaru and he recoiled a little. "Thank you, sometimes you do come in handy."
Shikamaru turned away from her and blushed slightly. "Girls are so troublesome."
Chougi swallow a few gulps of water, "About time."
Kiba looked at him for a moment, "Yea I guess you're right, as Kurenai-sensei said 'Opposites attract….'"
Akamaru gazed at the two men watching Shikamaru and Ino, he barked at the stupidity of the two and cantered off.
Kiba watched as the dog padded away, looked at Chougi with a grin he stood to chase after the dog.
Chougi continued to drink what was left of the cool water, and watched as Sakura and Hinata walked quickly to the edge of town. The others noticed the two and caught up behind them. "What's up Sakura?" Ino walked up, she didn't have the energy nor the patience to fight with her.
"Come with us and you'll find out." Sakura pulled Hinata a little faster.
Hinata had small tears in her eyes and the look of worry was painted over both their faces. Ino, confused, agreed to walk with them, along with her team, to the place Naruto had been working most of the day.
"Naruto, we need to speak to you." Sakura said glaring at the random group of civilians crowding around them.
Naruto turned and looked at the group, then at Hinata. His happy mood that had been building throughout the day quickly shattered at the distressed look on her face. "What happened?" He asked as he took Hinata into a hug.
"Neji and Tenten are gone." Sakura said quickly noticing the return of sobs emerging from Hinata's mouth.
"Gone where?" Naruto, still slow on matters, asked completely oblivious to the horrible meaning in her words.
Sakura shook her head, he on all people should know the meaning of 'gone'. "From what we know at the moment… their dead."
Naruto seemed to be hit by a door. "Dead?" he looked at the woman huddled in his arms, "How can… no it can't be right."
"Neji is strong, so is Tenten… how could they… die?" Ino said, the word 'die' struggled to emerge from her mouth.
"They may be strong, but their human Ino. If their dead, we must accept it." Shikamaru replied.
Lee had entered the large group just to hear the word dead, "Must all our conversations be about death?"
Lee was smiling and happy as ever. Had no one told him the horrible end to his team mates? The group was quiet, none of them willing to break the news. Naruto summoned up his courage, gave Hinata a squeeze and said, "Lee, Tenten and Neji… their-"
"dead." Hinata interrupted, knowing Naruto didn't want to accept the truth.
Lee's face hardened and the 'youth' his sensei always treasured seemed to slip away in seconds. Distracted by the words that hurt more then any wound he ever had taken, he forgot to reply or say good bye to the group before leaving. He slowly marched away, quieter than anyone had ever had thought possible for him.
Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, "We will need something to replace the memorial stone… until a new one can be made."
Sakura smiled slightly. "A new beginning calls for changes from the past Naruto. Perhaps to remember everyone, not just Ninjas we make a memorial wall," she pointed to the base of the mountain with the Hokage's faces on them. "instead of a stone."
Naruto nodded, and began to carve words in the mountain.
"To remember the past, we must change for the future."
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I know, the first few chapters will be boring. Try to stick with my story and I'll try to make it worth your time. Please review, any encouragement or predictions will be greatly appreciated, who knows; maybe I'll work in some of your ideas! Thank you to all readers! I do not own Shippunden Naruto or Naruto at all.
