Sakura waited for them outside Sasuke's apartment, in which Naruto had been staying ever since they had gotten back to Konoha to « monitor the Uchiha's return » as he put in his own words. She thought of the last time she had to wear the black funeral suit that was to be worn at a ninja's funeral as Naruto walked out of the apartment first. It was one of their last moments as a team though she didn't know it back then. It stroke her how big Sasuke had gotten once the Uchiha stepped out of his apartment with Naruto. Sasuke discretely contemplated her body too. She turned out beautiful, in spite of her pink hair and although the war had made her thinner and perhaps more fragile-looking. He was astonished by the woman standing in front of them. They walked side by side but silently, they hadn't spoken since the night at the camp.
Due to the amount of casualties, the village and Kakashi, as a new hokage, agreed on erecting a symbolic tomb for all ninjas who fought the war and lost their lives. As they got closer to the place, a large mass of black-wearing ninjas appeared in front of their eyes. Sakura turned towards them, and greeted them. She needed to support her friends as Naruto told her. Now, was not the time to deal with what this war meant for the former team seven, their reunion couldn't amount the loss of so many. They all knew it. Heavy-hearted, she parted ways with her team members and joined her best friend, Ino Yamanaka, who was barely holding it together since the war had taken away her father.
"Sakura" she sobbed before falling into pieces in her best friends' arms.
Behind the blond stood two guys with stern expression. In their eyes, Sakura could read that they didn't have it in them to get closer to the stone decorated with the Leaf village symbol. Every step closer to the stone was a step closer to the realization that their three fathers had scarified themselves for the village, a true act of heroism one would say, but a perfectly normal duty for a ninja, as they all knew it was.
Our mothers are over there, Shikamaru said while putting a firm hand on Ino's back. Let's go.
I can't, the blonde responded, holding her grip tighter on to her pinkette friend.
Ino, Shikamaru grounded. Your father didn't die for you to sob like a little girl, jump from arms to arms. You're a ninja, you know that wars make casualties. We need to keep composure for our mothers, at least and honor our fathers memories rather than insulting them by acting like children's
Shikamaru !, a voice called out from behind them.
Kurenai stood there holding her son's hand and her fist on her hip.
Ino, come here she said in a motherly tone, reaching out for the kunoichi with her free arm. Chouji, Sakura, leave him, she ordered.
They all followed the blonde. Sakura scolded Shikamaru with a last glance of disapproval.
« We're all survivors » she simply spat before turning her back on him an advancing towards the stone with Ino and the others.
She knew his attitude was a simple shield. They had lost their fathers in the same war, in the same moment. True, they didn't have to take part in the war effort the way he did, because after his father's demise Shikamaru had become the only strategist the war could use, but that was behind them now. The war was over, and no matter the amount of effort everyone contributed in no longer mattered. They were all survivors, regarded as equals, they had all sacrificed pieces of themselves for this moment: The moment life would matter again. She refused to let anyone ruin that moment for their own good. Shikamaru would have to find another way to mourn than taking it out on Ino or anyone else.
In the assembly, Naruto found Hinata with her family. The Hyuga clan was a political clan before being a clan of devoted warriors. Even in grief, they had to show their unity, the source of their strength. He exchanged glance with the kunoichi, hoping that she would be happy to see him, also hoping that the feelings she expressed on the battlefield would shine through her opale glance. But he only met a fade figure, who quickly turned her back to him.
Give her some time, Kakashi's voice rose behind him and Sasuke.
Sensei
Technically now, you're deem to call me Kakashi-sama,
« I, -we » he corrected while looking at Sasuke « We really wanted to come to your office to see your new look. » Naruto added in an apologetic tone.
« Team Seven will have it's reunion, now isn't the time. Just like you've never been closest to your dream Naruto » the ninja added while taping on his hokage cap. « I came to you guys to let you know that a meeting will be held later tonight regarding you, Sasuke. »
« What do you mean ? » Naruto asked
« He means they're going to choose whether to kill me or not » the dark-haired ninja replied in the most matter-of-factly tone.
Naruto's eyes widened. He shook his head, but as he boiled to retort something outrageous, Sasuke interrupted him :
« It's okay dobe. Now you won't worry that I may steal your spot as Hokage »
Kakashi left without any addition to what Sasuke said. Naruto was looking down, saddened by what his friend had just told him. No one could have understood but him that Sasuke had just explained that he knew the consequences of returning to Konoha. He knew people wanted his head on a pike. He knew people wanted the Uchiha clan and his last survivor to become history for good. He couldn't ignore the death stares that were given to him as he came to pay homage to the people that died in the hand of someone of his own blood, people he had himself swore to execute himself. Sasuke knew very well that a Damocles sword would be hanging above his head as soon as he'd return, it was only a matter of time before someone decided whether to let the sword go loose. Naruto knew that Sasuke knew as soon as Sasuke mentioned his dream of becoming Hokage. It was an unspoken dream of Sasuke's, a dream that he, the hero, was now so close to achieve even if Kakashi had just taken the position. His time was coming. Sasuke's would never. He was the criminal, the exiled, the wanted, the pariah who had returned to the war for his own good and nobody else's. No one in Konoha knew how Sasuke walked out of the war but Naruto. He walked out admitting his defeat, surrendering the hate he had born all those years and finally accepting the possibility of accepting more from life.
After the service, the team seven lunched in Naruto's favorite Ramen restaurant. To his disappointment, the three of them barely discussed anything. Sakura was still contemplating the fact that her best friend had lost her father and that despite the amount of lives she felt slipping between her hands, her suffering would never amount or comfort her friends. The road to the future she had imagined after the war suddenly felt miles away. Sasuke was quietly eating his ramen, savoring it as it might be his last. He didn't dare looking at Sakura, he knew she didn't want his concern. Perhaps, he thought, her reluctance to let him in was a good thing after all. If he was to die, she wouldn't suffer as much as if she had welcomed him back into her life like he had initially expected her to.
« Kakashi said that there would be a meeting tonight. » Naruto finally said, hoping he would get a reaction from the kunoichi
She tilted her head up, and evasively nodded. « That's good. We need to keep going forward. »
« They're going to talk about Sasuke ! » Naruto blurted out
« Naruto, not here, not now » Sasuke quietly said as some glances in the restaurant started shifting
In frustration, Naruto rose and gave Sakura a scornful look. « I thought you wanted this too» he accused her while pointing at their dinner table. He left by slamming Ichiraku's door. Sakura stared at his bowl. Naruto had never left a half-full bowl of ramen behind him until today. She excused herself and left as well.
Naruto was long gone by the time Sakura went after him to apologize. He rushed back to the tomb and angry tears had started piling up in his eyes for all the insults he wanted to blurt out to this world which even in a destroyed state still wanted to take his best friend, his brother, away from him. In the meantime he hated the selfish part of him that had insulted Sakura and walked out on their reunion lunch, their first lunch at home as a team. He knew from the start that because of how different their love for their team member was in its essence, their reaction to his return would be different. Naruto fought for Sasuke and Sakura did too as well, but when it came down to choosing between both, Sakura's choice had always been clear: She would have chosen Naruto in a heartbeat. She had already lost Sasuke and despite her feelings, she was ready to contemplate this loss again rather than being the last survivor of their team. Somewhere along the way, the little girl who once loved a little boy became a resenting young woman with a broken heart. Sakura had outgrown her feelings, while Naruto grew along them. He clung on to his hope for Sasuke's return even more than he clung on to his dream to become a Hokage. He had never doubted the latter has much as he always doubted his ability to achieve the former. He only wished that Sakura had hung on to her feelings too and not decided to move on. He wished he didn't feel like the last member of Team Seven believing there could ever be a Team Seven again one day. In the midsts of all the rage, the frustration and the confusion, Naruto turned around looking at all the people who had lost their loves ones in the war. He felt the urge to bark at them, make them realize that they had once opened their hearts to him, the Nine-Tails kid. He was about to say something and people were observing him, until his glance landed on two brown-haired kunoichi. Hinata lifted her head and looked at him with a misunderstanding glance. From the redness of her eyes that were once so opaque, he could tell that Hinata had returned to the tomb after the family's private ceremony. Her sight soothed him instantly. He slowly approached the kunoichi who was trying to comfort her little sister as they were both sitting on the grass by the tomb. He looked the scenery and realized these were all families from the village, people he had grown up with, that were mourning. And he wasn't sharing their pain. At this very moment, Naruto was only being a ninja for his team and not for his village.
« Can I sit here ? » he asked as he reached to Hinata
She quietly nodded. He sat really close to her and he heard her gasp as his body fell on the ground. He made sure to sit on the side where he would be able to use his arm, it still felt impossible for him that he'd have to learn to live with a limb.
« Are you okay, Naruto-kun ? I couldn't visit you before I left for the village. » she explained guilty
He instantly put his remaining hand on hers, she blushed. He didn't reply to the question but simply gave her the most determinant smile he could pull in spite of his true feelings. She however didn't seem convinced. She went back to rubbing her little sister's back. He could tell that she was fighting really hard not to cry herself. Her lips were trembling, the tip of her nose was getting red.
« Hey» Naruto gently said as he reached out for her chin so that she would look at him. « Neji was a hero you know » And then in an even softer tone « It's okay for you to let it go too. I'm here »
Hinata exploded in a sob that sounded too strident to be hers, too heartbreaking to be true. Naruto bit his lip as he felt his own heart jumping out his chest. Without thinking of it, Naruto wrapped his arm around her waste, dragging her closer to him, enveloping Hanabi into this embrace.
He might have been a hero, he might have been the one that people thanked for putting an end to this war, but he felt like he was powerless when it came to taking away the pain from the girl who loved him. The woman who loved him. Hinata had always been a shy girl that he knew had admiration for him. He had however not ever imagined she could have ever developed such strong feelings towards him. He felt both honored and embarrassed with this situation. Of course, it wasn't the first time a girl confessed to him but it was clear that Sakura had only told him she loved him because she felt the need to convince herself that she no longer had the feelings she once had for Sasuke. Hinata on the other hand had not only confessed for herself, but also for him because she wanted him to know he was loved.
« I'm sorry that I couldn't save him for you » he whispered into her ear
In this very moment, while holding the girl who had reminded him he was loved in what could have been his final moment, Naruto let go of his anger, he let go of his frustrations. It didn't matter that he wasn't Hokage yet, it didn't matter that the village was plotting against Sasuke, it didn't matter that Sakura seemed to care too little about this ordeal. What mattered was that he was alive and loved, alive and well. He was still here, while so many, such as Neji, hadn't had his chance.
Shikamaru was smoking afar from the stone, afar from the sobs, the prayers, afar from people acknowledging what a great man his father was or how bravely he had fought. He swore to himself that he wouldn't pick up smoking again, that this bad habit was a simple way to make the mourning painful in another way. His dad hated it, his mom hated it too, but it somehow reminded him of Asuma-sensei, the first person he had lost, the first person he felt like he had ever failed. Losing his dad hurt just as much, only twice as much, not only because he felt like he had failed his father but he felt like he had failed his mother too, his family, his village by depriving them of a great strategist. He hadn't planned on picking up a bad habit, Shikamaru was generally a healthy person. This time however, he didn't have it in him to find apologies for what bad habits he might pick up, for a bad attitude or for his tendency of isolating himself. This was his way to cope, it was going to get as good as it was presently.
- Regretting that the war didn't kill you ? a female voice behind him said
"You know I like to take things slow" he replied while rising from the bench he was laid on.
He scooped over to leave the blonde some space to sit beside him on the bench. She had never been much of a smoker, but she still mechanically pulled a cigarette from the pack he handed her.
He asked "Do your brothers know ? "
- That I smoke ?
- He looked at her with an obvious look.
"I told them it'd be important if someone from Suna showed up to bid farewell for Konoha's lost ones."
He sighed " I'm so over everyone thinking that the dead are the ones in need of prayers right now."
"Boy for a genius, you really are an idiot," she replied not withstanding her exasperation
- I have my beliefs, he retorded
- I wasn't what I meant. I didn't come here for them. I just figured somebody had to welcome you to the Dead Dad club, she admitted.
He looked up to her, puffing smoke between his thin lips drawn into a weak smile. From the very beginning of their relationship, there had been tensions between the two ninjas. Although they had met at a young age and he wasn't one to usually check out girls then, he remembered having been distracted by her long legs and short shorts. When their villages had come to fight side by side, he grew to appreciate her as an ally, later as a friend. She had something that the other girls in the village didn't have : character. Of course, she could be also be troublesome as Ino and his mother, and sometimes as short-tempered as Sakura. But he viewed Temari as a different kind of girl because she got through him with her no-non-sense attitude and honesty.
- So how long are you in town for ? he asked with a chuckle
- As long as it requires for those in need, she replied with a smirk.
She took his cigarette from his hand, inhaled with her eyes closed and puffed the smoke between her curvy lips into one straight line. The smoke dispersed through the air but she still stared evasively at the world in front of her. Beauty wasn't a concept he really believed in, he was never a shallow guy when it came to girls. In this very moment, Shikamaru thought she looked beautiful. His glance held up to her pink lips, the thought of how they felt travelled through his numb mind.
After the funeral, Kakashi hopped in the different households of important families that had lost relatives. His advisors had to brief him on the different obligations that an Hokage had to live by. After the supper, he headed back to his office, where Tsunade and a handful of ANBU officials had decided to meet to discuss on a topic that he had dreaded for a few years : the fate of Uchiha Sasuke.
Naruto will never accept this, Kakashi said calmly to Tsunade who was accompanied by Shizune
Sasuke Uchiha is a fugitive, a criminal of war and a traitor. He was also a member of the Akatsuki. Kakashi I think if something the last war taught us is that we mustn't underestimate threats, Tsunade said.
She was calm and made very few yet relevant arguments in spite of the heated discussion they were engaged in.
« We drew different lessons from what happened. If there's anything I've learned from this war, I've learned it from Obito and that is to not give up on those who I once called my friends. Sasuke was my student, he is Naruto's friend, Naruto's brother and I believe the entire village knows how the second strongest kunoichi after you, that is, Sakura, feels about him » Kakashi retorted. He was losing his temper.
« Exile or death sentence is our only choice to see this village blossom after the war. The civilians are calling on the end of the ninja order because of the destruction that Madara caused. The people in this village are angry with the Uchiha clan and they don't care for what the clan's last survivor did during the war. »
« They should. If it weren't for him, Madara would have prevailed ! »
« If it wasn't for Naruto » Tsunade corrected.
« If it wasn't for him, Naruto wouldn't have succeeded in his fight against Madara. »
« You were named Hokage at a very tricky period Kakashi. » Tsunade explained « Your decision on the fate of Uchiha Sasuke will determine your reign. »
« Like you, I believe that my role as a Hokage is to make the right decisions to prevent any force to threaten us again. Uchiha Sasuke is probably one of the strongest ninja of our time. Tell me how treating him as our enemy isn't creating a recipe for disaster for the generations to come ? »
Author's note : Yosh ! Thank you for reading this chapter. I hadn't planned on planting the whole « Team Seven reunion arc » on this one, but I figured it would be a perfect introduction for the Naru/Hina pairing. I'll spoil and say it's the pairing I plan on making canon first. Naruto is going to be a bit more mature than in the manga because I want to explore what the war's aftermath did to his character (how does he go from 699 to being a Hokage in 700 basically). Hinata isn't going to be as soft in the rest of this fic, but I needed her to be to spark some reaction in Naruto. He's really angry with the world and she'll be his bridge. As for Shikamaru and Temari, I plan their relationship to be the most complicated because they are my favorite OTP. Whereas the Sasu/Saku's pairing's challenge is going to have to accept the idea of a « together », the Shika/Tema is going to build a together on really fragile and dangerous foundations. Next chapter will focus a bit less on the pairings and set in more the plot of the fic. It'll be up in a few days ! Please review !