Kakashi sat on a chair as his eyes sifted through the pages of the book in front of him. His eyes may have been going through the motion of reading but his mind was somewhere off in the distance. Several things happened in such a short period of time and he was feeling the stress of the load bearing down on his shoulders. Not only did Sasuke receive the dreaded curse seal but so did Mara. The Jonin let his eyes wonder to the hospital bed where Mara laid.

"He is in a comatose state right now. However, there is something wrong with the heart as if it is being constricted by a invisible force. We think it has something to do with the seal" The doctor said as he stood facing both Anko and Kakashi.

"The curse seal on his neck?" Anko asked as she arched a eyebrow in curiosity. Trying her best to understand what was wrong with Mara.

"No, although it is causing problems all on it's own" The doctor noted before placing his hand on the patients shirt. Lifting he exposed the circular tattoo which had seemed to grow in a weird fashion. "This seal is a forbidden Jutsu. It summons something that should be kept under wraps and for all intensive purposes is beyond my knowledge of how he could get it."

"He was born with it. It is something that has been inter mingled with his blood due to his fore fathers" Kakashi explained but the man just silently nodded as he scribbled something onto his note pad.

"However he got it is not the problem, removing it is. It is trying to kill him though as if to choke him to death on the inside" The doctor said before concentrating his chakra over the seal. "Any attempts to remove the seal are meet with little to no results which makes me think that there may be something special to trigger the release of the seal."

The boy has been in a deep sleep ever since his battle with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. When Kakashi wasn't training Sasuke for the third phase of the Chunin exam he was in the room by Mara's side. The Evil Seal Suppressant has been implanted on the boy's body but Kakashi could see the worry on Anko's face. The white haired man let out a soft sigh as he was lucky to convince the woman to head home to bed only shortly before.

Sudden violent convulsions overcame the boy on the bed as a whine on the machine beeped showing a flat line for his heart. Kakashi went wide eyed in shock before jumping up from his seat to see the motionless boy before them.

"Doctors!"


Anko ran through the raining streets after the news she received. She even had to jump over a few carts trying to make their way through the market. She didn't waste time as she was on the rooftops jumping from roof to roof until she found herself diving for the hospital front door.

"Anko-Sensei, Something has happened at the hospital..."

Dodging patients and staff alike she bursted through the door to see the final act of the doctor pulling the sheet over his head. Kakashi could only give her a small shake off his head before taking Anko in his arms even though she was punching madly.


The next day was bleak even though the sun was brightly shining over the village. A few droplets from yesterday's rain could be seen glistening on the grass. It didn't even matter much to the village as he was neither a Shinobi or even very out going. His name just simply faded from the village roster.

Kakshi and Anko stood over the burial site in their black uniform. They were quiet as the wind blew the grass and distant trees that lined around the grave yard.

"I am sorry Kakashi, Anko." A elderly voice said as the couple turned to see the Hokage also dressed in his black uniform. Before the two could say anything to him the man simply placed his hand up to silence them. "I made the bet that sent that young man to his death bed." The old man tried to apologize for his act in the whole situation. He bent down to lay a single white flower that reminded him of the colour of the boy's hair. White as freshly fallen snow.

"No Hokage." Anko said as she kept her gaze on the grave before her. "You have made him more happy then we could ever have by letting him taking that exam. The wolf was set free for the first time in his life" She explained but in the process let a single tear drop which glided down her cheek. There is one thing the she was mad about however as she stood on the wrong side of the burial ground. They stood where the villagers were buried.

The Hokage just nodded his head in acknowledgement as they stood in quiet remembrance. "You are wondering why he is buried here?" The older man spoke up easily reading the woman's mind through expression and past experience. "It is following of the oldest traditions and rules Anko. I am simply abiding them like the forefathers before me. That however should not tell us to label our dead. Remember Mara Vel' Nuum for who he was"

With those finally words he gave their shoulders a squeeze and a nod of his head before walking off to continue his busy schedule now that the Chunin exam was coming along to it's final stage. Along the way he watched a group of nine youngsters walk towards Anko and Kakshi. They were all dressed in formal clothing along with holding flowers.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura spoke up as the older couple turned to the newest mourners.

Kakashi turned to see not only his team but the other six rookies who entered the exam. Some were still bandaged from their fights. He examined some of their faces and could tell that tears have already been shed, especially Sakura. "Thanks for coming everyone" Kakashi simply managed to thank them as he and Anko moved aside to let them pay their respect to the fallen.

Time had passed as everyone laid their flower until Naruto was the last one. "Kakashi. Why is Mara not buried with the rest of our comrades?" He asked before he would lay down his own flower from Ino's flower shop.

"He was never a Shinobi Naruto." Kakashi flatly answered almost as if he was trying to switch the subject.

"No!"

Everyone turned to look at Naruto whom just shouted, something that seemed taboo for a funeral service. "He was both a comrade and a friend! He deserves to be buried in the proper place!" He protested with knuckles tightened until they turned white. "If I was Hokage I would put things right!"

Kakashi could only sympathize with the boy. If you would look around the grave yard you could see allotments for entire families and clans and then a small space for single burials. Loners. It felt wrong but it was tradition.

"Naruto!" Sakura shouted at him with furious eyes that had been shedding tears. She stopped however as a hand was placed on her shoulders. Looking up she could see Anko-sensei looking at Naruto.

"Mara watched all of you from the side lines. Racing with you but always in the shadow" She started almost choking through her words. "If you want to set things right then honour his death. All he wanted to do was become a Shinobi to protect the village and the people." Anko suddenly remembered the moments when the white haired boy would run around the house with her Hidden Leaf protector around his neck. 2.1He never got his own...2.2

Kakashi sensed his girlfriend's weak position and moved in. "Be the best Shinobi you can be. Carry the will of fire inside your hearts"

Everyone nodded their heads as they left the graveyard. Sakura only gave the solemn place one final look over shoulders before continuing on her way back home.


A year had passed as the village watched suffering and happiness. Life and death. Children becoming adults and the will of fire being passed along for the newer generations to hold. To protect both village and loved ones.

Many have been through hardships and overlooking them all would be the Konoha grave yard which sleeps peacefully under the sky and wind. Today was the one year anniversary of a hard moment for a certain couple which found themselves placing two white flowers below the small headstone. The quiet, all too familiar to the two as they recalled all their memories with the boy that they used to hold or speak to when they were not on missions.

It almost seemed that time had gone by way too fast and before they knew it they found themselves back at this depressing spot. How many times has he done this? How many times did he place a flower upon a grave of both comrades and now family? His duty could be a cruel mistress but a necessary one.


"You understand your mission?" A voice spoke in the darkness as the lone light shone upon the young man kneeling with his head down. The long silky white hair touching the ground.

"Yes my liege" The man simply responded with total obedience and with a voice devoid of life which used to be more vibrant.

"Good" The man chuckled in the dark as he shifted his position in his chair. "Now go and fulfil my will"

A simple nod was all that the young man responded with as he disappeared in a form of mist.

The man leaned forward as his face came into the light to show his pale face and his long tongue tracing his lips. A simple knock intruded his thoughts as a man with glasses and a tray entered the room.

"You have finally used that pawn my Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked while he sat the tray on the stand beside Orochimaru's chair. He began to mix the powder then pour the results into the hot water cup.

"Death would be to easy to endure Kabuto. Konoha will feel my full wrath and what better a reason then one of their own deceased?" He began to lick his lips more in anticipation of the coming events that he had carefully planned out.

"But was it wise to send both Sasuke and Mara?" Kabuto tried to wonder why his lord risked so much for something so simple. "Why not just send Mara?"

"Konoha is in a very precious state right now Kabuto" Orochimaru began as he finished the last of the medicine. "I want to dangle a precious bauble in front of their very eyes and watch them weep in frustration"