Chapter 50:
Funeral
AN: Last chapter. Enjoy.
It must've been two— no three weeks since everything happened. Since he vanished. I almost can't believe it myself. If I think too hard about I start to cry, here comes the tears... The funeral is...
Sakura clapped shut a pink, similar to her own hair color, notebook. She took a deep breath in, then exhaled.
"You ready to go home...? Oh, are you okay?" Ino asked, brushing away her blonde hair from her face.
Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji were sitting in the booth of a "in the table" grill restraunt. They all were happy to be reunited when they first saw each other again, but now it was just like before, they were sick of being around one another.
"Oh, no I'm fine. I guess I am ready to go..." Sakura wiped away the tears that hardly begun.
"You don't have to go." Choji barely managed to say as he filled himself with small steaks and the contradiction of boneless ribs. "You can stay... and eat!"
"Don't worry Choji, if Sakura leaves you can stay and eat." Ino smiled then looked at Sakura's torso. "Besides... Sakura could lose a few pounds, I don't th-"
"Ino-pig!" Sakura grabbed Ino's nose and pulled it up. "See!"
Ino pushed her back and covered her own eyes. "Ugh, billboard brow... It's sooo bright..."
"Why you—!" Sakura and Ino continued arguing like children.
"Alright Choji, time to leave." Shikamaru tossed out some ryo onto the table. "I paid for your ridiculous share too."
Choji sighed. "Ok." He grabbed as much food as he could before getting up and stuffing his face. "Thanks Shikamaru."
Shikamaru sighed to himself and dropped some more money onto the table. "Almost time for the funeral." His words dug Ino and Sakura out of their bickering and seemingly silenced everything. "S'go." He signalled at Choji to follow.
Ross sat in the corner of his room, hooded by his white jacket. "You died. Naruto-sensei.. I swear that I will never forget you. My teacher for a day, a war hero, and one of the greatest ninjas that ever lived."
Good. One less defense for you. It will be easier to take you over. You will become mine.
The Zerobi growled. It's disturbed voice frightened Ross.
I decided to keep this- er 'diary' for recording my life. I guess it's like a historical document for my life from here on. Just in case I am captured by an enemy or if I ever have a child and they are curious about me. Plus I just really like writing about my life... Is that weird?
Sakura closed the notebook and got up from the comfort of her reclining chair. "Less than an hour..." She took of her flak jacket, revealing a tight ninja vest with meshing under it. The entrance of the small house she lived in rattled as Sakura pulled a black garb from the hook on the door.
"Dammit! Get over it!" Kiba stomped his foot while yelling. Hinata fought the tears that streamed down her face, whispering "sorry" to him. She knew that he was only handling the sadness with anger.
They sat on a bench just outside a large staircase, leading to a large crowd of people, garbed in black. Flowers and pictures of those who died laid along a platform in front of the crowd.
"Sorry, Hinata... Didn't mean to yell. I just can't believe that blonde idiot had to go and die!" Kiba shouted at the sky.
"I'm here." Shino silently arrived at the bench. "I am so sorry, Hinata."
"Thanks... Shino..." Hinata struggled to say, then smiled.
"Let's just go mourn the lost..." Kiba got up off the bench.
"It's almost... Ugh. This black is so ugly. I can't get over it..." Ino complained, fashion still hovered around her mind. Shikamaru and Choji walked alongside her, all of them wearing the black garb.
"No one cares. No one." Shikamaru yawned. "So please be quiet. It is too late for you to have so much energy."
"Uh... Shikamaru you always complain... And the sun hasn't even gone all the way down." Choji cut in between them. "We're here..." They stared up the stairs.
Rock Lee helped Tenten up the first step. "Be careful." He caught her as she tripped off the step.
"S-Sorry." Tenten was still recovering from the beating Sasuke caused nearly two months ago. She needed crutches to stay on both feet, the Hokage said she was lucky to have even survived and that recovering was going to take a longtime. "So much happened since I have been gone, huh?"
"Yeah." Lee slowly helped her up the stairs. "I am so glad it is over."
"He is really gone?" Gaara stepped onto the first step.
"Yeah." Lee turned to reply.
"This is truly horrible. He is the one that made me into what I am today." Gaara was struck with incredible sadness, yet his face was still emotionless.
Neji walked up to the other side of Tenten and continued to help her up the steps. "Come now. Let's go."
Kakashi took a deep breath. "So much has happened." He looked down at the Memorial Stone, near the training fields. The stone had many more names carved into it from both the Fourth Ninja War and Jastin's attack, heroes of Konohagakure.
"Yes." Mighy Guy stepped out from a tree that he barely attempted to hide behind. "Seems like I missed a lot after being killed. Although I never thought that I would be revived..."
"Shouldn't you be at the funeral?" Kakashi looked back at Guy with his peripheral vision.
"I can make it... The question is why you aren't there. He was your student, as a sensei you should attend." Guy took a few steps towards the direction of the funeral.
"I will be there." He barely spoke.
"Right. See you there." Guy vanished in an instant.
Kakashi sighed. "Now I only have one student... Look what you did." A smile stretched across his face as he turned and walked away from the stone.
Tsunade walked onto the platform, wearing an exact copy of the Hokage cap and gown, only black. The barely audible crowd of people silenced completely. "We are here today...to mourn those lost in the horrors of Jastin and his minion's attack." She projected her voice so that the entire crowd of people as well as the enormous amount of people around the surrounding buildings and streets.
"I must honor one person specifically—Naruto Uzumaki. Not only did this individual revive all the people slaughtered by Jastin originally, but he, with the help of many other brave ninjas, defeated Jastin." Tsunade chuckled. "Give him a round of applause! Never forget this ninja!"
The people instantly responded to her with cheers of happiness. Almost everyone was eager to forget the past and move onto the future. Only a small amount of people didn't applaud, including Sakura, who instead smiled joyfully and the raven haired girl, who had an angry face but only a very subtle one.
"Give it up to Naruto and the brave lost souls!" Tsunade successfully made a funeral happy. "Always re-"
A human figure tumbled down through the sky, crashing into Tsunade, sending her into the floor. "What the hell!" She slammed her fist into the person's face. "Get off!" The anger vanished instantly and was replaced with a smile.
"Sorry...sorry!" It was a male voice. "Woah... Why...is everyone...so sad?" A very weak voice.
Sakura exploded into emotion. "Naruto!" Tears quickly formed in her eyes. "Your alive!"
"Heh... Yeah." Naruto barely managed to scratch his head. "I guess...so."
"You are such a loser." Sasuke landed on both feet, his arm wrapped once again. Both of them were covered in healing wounds, Naruto's much more severe but Sasuke's weren't too much better.
"We made it back!" Naruto attempted to jump into the air, but fell off the side of the platform before even fully standing. "Ow! Owwww! Ow ow ow ow owww! I...I think I broke something..."
Sasuke stabbed the God Katana into the stage and leaned on it. A dark blue light covered him, transporting him away. As he teleported, he laughed. "Loser. Do you even have any bones left to break?"
The funeral was surprisingly really happy... Naruto always makes everything a lot of fun. I can't believe he is alive... That dick made me worry for nothing. What the hell took him so long?
