The Place We Can Call Home
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters, they are owned by Masashi Kishimoto
Chapter 2: A dim light in the overwhelming darkness
Morning soon came, and Sasuke found himself staring at the ceiling, he had just awaken a few seconds ago, but he still couldn't get the images he witnessed the previous day out of his mind, images that became nightmares of his few hours of rest, he realized at that moment that he was crying, he could still feel the warm in his cheeks, the feelings he thought were buried deep down in his heart arose like roaring flames, he hadn't felt like this since the night of the massacre, for some reason he felt very connected to the village, this pain he knew it all too well, the pain of losing someone important to you.
He turned to his left where he saw that Naruto was not there anymore, he got up and left to meet the others.
"Listen carefully, these are your orders, you are to collect the bodies of the civilians and fellow shinobi and identify them, I want a list of names of all shinobi you find, you don't have to count the casualties. But want you to collect them, we are going to give them a proper burial." Said the silver haired sensei "thank you for joining us sasuke, I assume you heard everything?" continued the jounin startling the other two genin
"Yes I did" replied the raven shinobi
"sasuke-kun are you alright?" asked the pink haired girl
"We should get going I'm sure kakashi has something important to do" continued the raven dismissing the kunoichi and leaving the team
"But sasuke-kun" said the kunoichi as she prepared to follow
"Leave him be sakura, he just needs time, he'll come around" interrupted the jounin
"tch, that bastard I know this is something hard but he…" snarled the blond as he left as well
"Get going sakura, we do have to do this as fast as possible, this is not a safe place to be hanging around" said the jounin
"Yes sensei" replied the girl shinobi "I'm sorry"
"don't be, you are just worried about your friend, and I'm proud of you for that, the truth is, how things are going we are going there is no telling what kind of obstacles we are going to have to face, and the only way we are going to get through them is if we are there for each other when the time comes, now go, I have something else to take care of."
In another part of the village
"What the hell is wrong with you sasuke, why do you ignore her like that" said the blond as he approached his best friend
They had just left the tunnels and were now walking around the village
"It's none of your business, now leave me alone" said the raven
"What?" snarled the blond with fury in his voice "she is just worried about you, bastard, do you know how much you are hurting her?"
"Shut up idiot, haven't you notice the situation we're in, we don't the luxury to be thinking about how each of us are feeling, for all we know someone who is still alive is out there targeting leaf ninja, do you know how dangerous our position is right now?, you better worry about her safety, instead of how she feels" replied an angry raven
"That doesn't mean you have to treat her like a pest" continued the blond
"we need her to focus, and you too Naruto, we'll have time for this later" finished the raven as he turned to leave
Then both of them noticed in the nick of time to evade shuriken that were thrown at them
'The enemy' they thought
Sharingan and nine-tails chakra activated
"fire style: fire ball jutsu" roared the raven as he did the hand signs to activate the jutsu
Soon a giant ball of fire made impact with some of the buildings where the targets were hiding
Naruto and sasuke shared a look, both preparing for the next attack
The bestial instinct of the blond ninja allowed him to evade a swarm of insects that was directed towards him, 'insects?' he thought
"shadow clon jutsu" screamed the blond ninja as replicas of himself appeared in the battlefield with enhanced chakra the clones headed to the place where the swarm was sent from as they approached its target two masses of the size of a human each clashed with the clones, eliminating them with a poof, once more the blond and the raven shared a look as they charged to the targets.
Kunai in hand team seven shinobi approached the target, with the intention of killing or capturing the bastards that did this to their homes
A high pitched sound was heard in the place, indicating the contact of the kunai as they parried
It was then that they noticed who they were fighting against
"kiba?" asked a dumbfounded blond
"Aburame" acknowledged the surprised raven
"Naruto it's you isn't it thank god I thought it was the bastard who did this" replied a shocked boy with pain in his face recognized as kiba inuzuka
"Sasuke" greeted the guy with shades
"damn it's good to see you guys we were afraid of being the only ones who survived this, see sasuke this means there might be others" continued the blond now relieved
"yes, is your whole team secured?" asked the raven as he turned from his blond friend to the newcomers
"Indeed, we were conducting a mission in the land of roots, we just arrived this morning and separated to look for survivors, that was when we found you" responded the guy known as shino aburame
"the overwhelming scent of blood prevented me from recognizing you guys, that's why I thought you were the enemy" apologized the dog boy
"Naruto, Sasuke, what happened?" asked a worried kakashi as he arrived to the site along with sakura
"Sensei you were right, we have confirmed the safe status of team 8" replied sasuke before anyone had the chance to speak.
They were soon followed by kurenai and Hinata they arrived to the side of their team
"kiba, Shino, are you alright?" inquired a very shocked kurenai
"Naruto-kun" observed a very relieved hinata as some tears escaped her eyelids "thank god"
"Hinata, kurenai sensei, I'm so glad you're fine" continued a very moved blond
"Do you know of anyone who was on a mission when this happened" asked the silver jounin to his fellow captain
"Yes…Asuma left with his team a little before us, they should be getting close as we speak" responded a now serious kurenai
"very well, everyone listen carefully, as of yet we do not know who the identity of the one who orchestrated this, however my team found what it seems to be a carcass of the s-class criminal orochimaru" explained the silver jounin, surprising the newly arrived team 8
"We've determined the status of the hokage tsunade as deceased" continued kakashi, further startling the still shocked newcomers "the only confirmed survivors of this event are all standing right here."
"w-hat?" asked a horrified kiba
"No, t-hat's n-ot possible" remarked the now perplexed hyuga "my clan, my dad, brother neji, they… they are really strong, you can't be serious" as a small tear flew down her cheeks
"I inspected the hyuga grounds, as well as the other big clans of konoha, I even used my sharingan to make sure I didn't miss anything" replied the uchiha "I'm… I'm sorry"
He looked away when hinata fell on her knees as she started crying silently, like a broken doll; her eyes betrayed nothing but the empty abyss in her heart, she had already lost her mother, now she lost everything. Pain that was the only thing her mind recognized for the moment, her vision now blurred started to fade, the last thing she saw, were dark pearls, that held the same pain, and sorrow the her own white pearls conveyed
"Hinata, Hinata, are you alright?" asked the female jounin as she held her student, now realizing that she had fainted
"-sigh- this is not good" continued kakashi "kiba, shino I want you to work with team 7 on recovering the bodies, and if possible identify them, I also want a list of every shinobi that has become a casualty, we'll be burying them soon; kurenai take hinata to the escape tunnels in behind the hokage mountain and then meet me at the gate, sakura you'll stay with hinata until she wakes up, try to explain the situation as delicately as possible, we need her calm for this, when you're done, meet the boys and help with the bodies" ordered the silver jounin "sasuke if for any reason you finish before we are back, I want you to send a signal, is that clear"
"Yes" said the raven
"alright, good luck" said the silver as he kurenai and sakura left
"shino, you and naruto go bring the bodies to the village graveyard, kiba and I will dig up the graves, there is still much space left there and we can try to identify the bodies as we leave them in the holes" said the raven genin
There was still no response from the others, who were clearly processing all the information they've heard
"Alright" said shino as he leaned to look at the sky through his shades "let's go Naruto"
"Yeah… sure" replied a still confused blond
And then they were gone, without another word the other two left towards the graveyard
It was now evening, and a young hyuga was just waking up in a room inside the tunnels.
"Hinata, are you ok?" asked a worried sakura
"Yes… I'm fine" replied the hyuga with an apathetic tone "where are the others"
"kakashi sensei sent them to bury the corpses, he said for us to follow once you had woken up" responded the pink kunoichi
They sat there in silence both in their own thoughts until the hyuga heiress broke it with a question
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked the hyuga
No response came from the pink haired kunoichi
"Are you alright sakura?" asked a concerned hinata
"Can we stay here a little longer?" pleaded the rosy ninja "just a little longer"
"Sakura, what's wrong?" asked once more the heiress as she approached the other girl
"I'm…I'm really scared hinata" replied the pink girl "I don't know if my parents were here when this happened, I'm scared to go out and find them in the ground just like the others, I don't want to lose them, I love them, i'm so scared I don't know how much I can take of this" continued as she broke in crying
"it's alright sakura, i'm scared too" said the hyuga as she embraced the other girl
Sakura returned the hug, as they both laid there crying until they had no more tears to shed
It was getting darker and colder by the hour, yet they were still digging up graves for the deceased; neither sasuke nor kiba had any word to speak, for they knew no matter what they said things wouldn't go back to like it was before, there were no words to ease the pain, so they just stood there in silence while they dug
They heard footsteps approaching them, but they did not look up, for they knew it was their blond friend who had brought another body to bury
The silence was broken by sasuke who had a request for the blond before he went out looking for the rest of the people they would have to put into graves.
"Naruto, if you see sakura or hinata, tell them to come here they'll help to dig the graves instead of having to see the bodies"
"Sure, alright" replied with a soft voice and a small smile that didn't reach his eyes
As the blond followed his path he noticed the two young kunoichis approaching him
"hey, sakura, hinata, sasuke wants you to go that way and meet them, he thinks it's best if you help dig graves rather than handle you know" said the blond with the same tone as before
"Naruto-kun…." The hyuga replied softly
"If you don't mind Naruto I want you to come with me, please?" asked a very spaced out pink haired girl
"Alright" said the blond as they left in another direction around the village
They walked slowly and silently each of them too immersed in their own worlds to say a word that is until she saw them
She froze in her place, this was it, not far from there once stood her house, and her parents laid limbless in the street, 'dad, mom' was all she thought as she started shaking, she couldn't handle it, not any more, not when she saw the person she loved the most like this, her legs stopped working, her hands stretched toward them on a desperate intent to held them, in the floor red, it was all she could see blood, the blood of the people who brought her to this world, the people who she loved with every ounce of her being, no she couldn't handle it any more
"NOOOOOOOOO!" sakura screamed with all her might, this couldn't be happening "MMOOOOM" she continued as she embraced herself she couldn't stop shaking "mom, please, don't leave me, please… please" her hope, her light, her mother was no more
A strong pair of arms, surrounded her
"It's alright sakura-chan, I'm here for you, no matter what" the blond ninja said softy
And they stayed there in silence between sobbing and whimper until there was only silence, and then left to finish the task that was commended to them
in the other side of the village more specifically in the cemetery stood three people digging
"Noooooooooo!" a scream was heard from the far end of the village
"sakura-san" whispered the hyuga as she recognized the voice
"I'm going to bring the hyuga now, stay here" said sasuke
"Wait sasuke-san, let me go with you" pleaded the young heiress
"No, believe me, it's best if you don't see them" responded the raven as he turned to leave
"What the hell man, it's her family, if she wants to go see them, you don't have the right to tell her otherwise" interrupted kiba as he positioned himself between sasuke and hinata
"you think you have any idea of what it feels like to see your parents, your family mutilated, and desecrated like animals that just went through the slaughter?" snarled the raven as he caught kiba by his collar "the mere knowledge of their deaths almost destroyed you, how could you possibly believe that seeing them right now is a better option"
"believe me, I wouldn't be telling you this on a whim, if you go, you will get hurt like never before, and that pain I assure you will never leave your heart" concluded the raven as he let go of kiba and resumed his path towards the hyuga compound
It was close to midnight now, they had buried most of the bodies and now sasuke, kiba, shino, hinata, and sakura were waiting for naruto and his clones to bring the last round of bodies.
A young blond walked slowly towards his friends, he was carrying someone with him, he held him tightly, and as he got closer he let himself fall on his knees in front of the next grave. He started shaking as he continued to held the body tightly, he already knew he was crying, but he couldn't help it, he just simply wasn't ready for this. He recalled the memories he shared with this person over and over, the relationship they shared was the first of this kind for him
"Naruto" said kiba as he approached the blond
"it's not fair, it's not fair" he replied "he was just a kid, he was innocent, why?... why?"
"You were going to fight me for the place of hokage remember, you weren't supposed to die, not you" continued the blond " you promised" he said as pools of water flowed through his eyes
"God what happened here, is everyone alright" asked a newly arrived asuma as he and his team approached the other genin "Naruto, who is-"
"KONOHAMARU" screamed the blond "konohamaru, konohamaru, I'm so sorry" he said "I should have been here, i'm sorry, forgive me, forgive me, please"
"Naruto" the silver jounin called with a firm tone as he approached the others with another team following behind
It was then that he noticed asuma, he had let go of his cigar, and the lighter he had in his hand was now on the ground, for him, the world had stopped in that second, his nephew konohamaru rested in naruto's arms with a would on his chest that looked like claws, his blood was already coagulated and his face was pale as a ghost
He knew now, things wouldn't be as they were before
"konohamaru…." Whispered the blond to himself
In all the commotion the others didn't notice the group that came after kakashi until he spoke
"The loss of a young life is always hard to accept, and is even more hard to bear" guy spoke softly
"Brother neji" exclaimed a shocked hinata
"Lady Hinata, thank god you are safe" responded the other hyuga as he embraced hinata "if anything had happened to you, I wouldn't be able to face neither yours nor my father in the next life"
"sakura" ino ran towards her best friend as they both shared a hug
"I can't believe this really happened" said the Nara
"Naruto, it's time to bury him and the others we don't have much time to waste" the silver haired ninja spoke
"Yeah… alright" said the blond even though he was still feeling numb
As they finished burying the bodies, kakashi assembled the rest of the survivors to explain their next move
"I already explained the events after we arrived yesterday to team 8 and team guy" said the silver jounin "we will leave as soon as everyone has packed and said their good byes, I have reason to believe this is not yet over" he continued leaving everyone startled
"Guys" the silver jounin spoke again "from here on, you are the legacy of konoha, and I swear to all of you that what happened here won't go without a pay" – "now go, pack we'll meet in the gates shortly, don't use up too much time"
And when he was done everyone went on different directions
It was a little past twelve, and it was raining, a young blond Naruto stood near a newly dug grave "Hi, Iruka sense, I wanted to tell you this before I left, the truth is… that I owe everything to you sensei, you were the first person to ever acknowledge me, you were the reason that I was able to keep fighting the cold glares of the villagers. The first time you treated me for ramen, I was so happy I thought It wasn't real, nothing in my life was happiness until that day sensei, I finally felt like I mattered to someone, I finally felt like someone cared about me, I always wondered if being with you was like having a father, someone who scolded me when I did things wrong, someone who praised me when I accomplished something, someone who guided me when I was confused, I owe all of that to you iruka sensei, I failed to protect the village, I failed to protect konohamaru, I failed to protect you sensei, but I promise you right now, I will find the one who did this and I'll stop him from doing it ever again, I will rebuild the village and I will become hokage, I swear, and I never go back on my word, because that is my nindo you hear me sensei, that is my ninja way.
Not too far from there laid on her knees was a pink haired girl in front of another grave, she had just put some flowers to show her respect and her love towards them "I always thought that living with your parents was bothersome, because they didn't respect your privacy, or because they made you do things you didn't want to, I thought it would be fun to be like Naruto who had no one scolding him for little things, and could have fun whenever he wanted. I never realized how much of an idiot I really was, to have such amazing parents that cared about me, you supported me in my dream of becoming a ninja, even though you both were scared of what could happen to me during missions, you both gave me resources and education, and most importantly, gave me love and comfort, I wish I'd had the chance to thank you for that, thanks to you I never felt lonely, thanks to you I decided to follow my dreams, thanks to you I made wonderful friends who would give their life for me, I'm sorry mom, I'm sorry dad, I love you both so much, I promise, I will get stronger, and this will never happen again
In another darker part of the village stood a young man with raven hair in front of dozens of graves, the graves of his parents, the graves of his clan, the ones that brought voices from the past, and the ones that awaken the nightmares of his heart
"hey mom, dad, it's been a while hasn't it" spoke the raven "it happened again, and again I was powerless, the uchiha are the fan that extend the fire of the passion to protect our home wasn't it dad, I suppose I disappointed you like so many other times, I keep trying, and trying all over but it seems like it doesn't work, that no matter how much I train I will never catch up to him, that I will never be able to restore the honor of our clan, it's so frustrating, no matter how many techniques I learn, no matter how time I spend, I end up always so weak and useless; not too long ago I almost lost one of my best friends and I tried will all I got to save her but it wasn't enough I was useless yet again, after that not too later he showed up, he was looking for my best friend Naruto, he was going to take him away too, and so I defied him, he once again defeated me like I was nothing, why is it that I can never protect what I cherish mom, why couldn't I protect you and dad, if only I had been stronger, I'm so sorry, It seems at the end of the day I am once again only capable of crying my eyes out, hoping that you will return and tell me that this is just a bad dream, I miss you so much" said sasuke as he let himself cry over his parents graves "keep watching me from afar mother, father, I promise I won't give up, not now, not ever, I will restore the honor of our clan, and I will protect the people I cherish"\
In konoha cemetery was a little hinata kneeling in front her sister's grave "hey, hanabi…. I came here to see you before I left, because I'll probably never be back, I wanted to tell you how much you mean to me sister, from the moment you were born I felt blessed for having you with me, even though father made us fight most of the time, I still looked at you as my dear little sister, you don't know how many times I wanted to go talk to you and spend the day for ourselves, how many times I wanted to invite you to a meal of my making, how many times I imagined us sharing and bonding like a real family, but you were everything I was not, strong, confident, beautiful, smart, and that's why dad decided to keep you away from me, perhaps that might've been the best choice, or perhaps not, but I wanted you to know that I was always proud of being your sister, I wish you were the one who survived this, you had so much talent, and dad was so proud of you, I'm sorry sister, I love you , you don't have any idea how much, and it hurts so much, knowing that you are not with me anymore, I hope you are in a better place sister, goodbye"
A boy and his dog were standing in front of a grave; they knew all too well who it was that was buried there, yet the words wouldn't come out as easily as they'd want to, however the boy decided to speak "hey hana what's up" said a very teary kiba "you really did screw up big time didn't you idiot, you should have called me, but no you always want to do everything out of the pack, I bet you fought earlier than mom, you're so stupid sis" continued the dog boy as he started shaking "you always were underestimating me and picking on me, you should have called me you big idiot, this was not how it was supposed to end for you, and I…I never got the chance to tell you how awesome you are sis, really you're the coolest sis ever you know that?, and I'm going to miss you, yeah yeah, you can laugh at me all you want when we see each other again, but for now I just… I just wanted to tell you I love you sis, I'll get the bastard who did this and I'm gonna give him a run for his money, you'll see" said kiba while clenching his fists "we'll smell you later hana"
Shino, neji, lee, shikamaru, and tenten decided only to wait for the rest as they kept quiet in sign of respect
Choji and ino cried all over the graves of their parents, thanking them for everything and vowing to follow their teachings.
Asuma stayed in front of a grave, the biggest one around with a flame immortalized as the grave of the third hokage "-sigh- hey old man, I came to apologize, you were right, I was only a brat who knew nothing of compromise, and dedication, i couldn't protect the king, and I'm sorry, I don't know what else to say, because no matter what I say, it won't make me feel better, anyway, I wanted to thank you old man even if it's just us now I know they carry inside them the unbreakable will of fire that will rebuild this village and protect all its people once more."
Everyone soon met at the gates to start their journey
"Um sasuke-san?" called the shy hyuga
"Yes" replied the raven
"Uh, thank you, you know for earlier, you were right, I probably would have felt much worse If I had seen.." continued the hyuga
"You're welcome" concluded the raven
"alright everyone" started kakashi "the enemy we are facing was strong enough to wipe out the entire village in less than two days, in order to win, we must first turn you into full-fledged ninja, now more missions, no more games, this time it's hardcore training"