Forget Me Not
By The Ambitious Blank
Disclaimer- Naruto still doesn't belong to me.
Comments- Lalala. Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. I save my fanfictions on AOL, and.. we had to reinstall it, therefore the file was lost. e.e; But, I managed to work up the motivation to rewrite what had been lost. I'm so sorry This is the second to last chapter, by the way.
........it won't let me use my little as little section separators anymore. Fuck.
Chapter 5- White Poppy, "Consolation"
Naruto staggered back from the mirror, staring dumbly at the reflection that stared back at him. Sharingan eyes.. two dots swirling around the outside of his pupil, exactly like Sasuke's. For a moment, he could see a flash of the dark-haired Uchiha, his cold, battle-ready gaze looking back at Naruto, before it vanished, returning back to Naruto's own dumbfounded expression.
Sharingan eyes..? Impossible..
//Is it..?//
He glanced around again, searching for the source of that familiar voice, surprised at how heightened his sight and notice of movement was. He spotted a spider slowly crawling up the wall, and as soon as the thought crossed his mind that it should be let outside, his hand shot out and caught it mid-step. It sat still for a moment in his hands, confused, and Naruto carried it out into the cool night air, releasing it on Sasuke's porch, then returning to the bathroom.
The heightened sight had faded on his way back, and sure enough, when Naruto looked back into the mirror, the Sharingan were gone, his bright blue eyes confused.
Sighing, Naruto turned to head back to the bedroom.
I'm probably just seeing things 'cause I haven't gotten any sleep. I couldn't have Sharingan eyes.. it's just.. impossible.
Shrugging the event off as mere illusion, Naruto struggled off back to bed.
-------
The day of the funeral arrived. Everyone was gathered on the open platform beneath the cliff face where the faces of the Hokage were carved into the rock. It rained hard, as though the entire world was sobbiing for the loss of the Uchiha clan. The rain mingled with everyone's salty tears, and puddles were formed everywhere, mixtures of salt and water. Naruto kicked at one idly, then looked around at the people surrounding him.
Ino and Sakura were standing together. Sakura was sobbing hard into Ino's shoulder, and Ino was doing her best to stand strong. The Yamanaka girl caught Naruto's gaze and gave him a sympathetic smile. Naruto guessed Sakura had shown her anger to her friend, and that's why Ino had that look on her face. Naruto turned away, barely able to face how upset Sakura looked.
Hinata was crying silently, clutching Neji's sleeve. She stood with the rest of the Hyuuga clan, and for once they'd ignored the seperation of the houses, so Neji and Hinata stood together. Neji, for once, wasn't being completely coldhearted, and was letting Hinata cling to him, not saying a word. He nodded to Naruto. The Uzumaki looked away again.
Shikamaru stood firm, his Chuunin vest on. He looked so serious, and his mouth was set in a firm line. He'd lost one of the few Genin that he'd actually had respect for.
Everyone here had lost a piece of themselves, though a lot of the people who'd showed up were just paying respects for the lost clan. For a brief moment, Naruto felt slight anger. A funeral was supposed to be people who loved and cared about the person who died. He could understand most of the Genin being here, but some of the other people were just random families, or people from other clans who didn't know him at all.
In fact, none of them knew him as well as Naruto. Had anyone besides himself actually cared for Sasuke? Even Sakura and Ino didn't really deserve to be here. All Sasuke was to them was some stupid crush.. they'd get over it. It was just some stupid girl thing. Naruto's fist clenched at his side.
A hand rested itself on his shoulder, and the shadow of a black umbrella fell over him. Naruto looked up. Iruka stood there, a gentle smile on his face, but the solemnity of this entire procession still wore lines across his face. Naruto still couldn't help but feel the same anger for the people here.
None of them have any sympathy.
The Uchiha were now completely annihilated, gone without a trace, without having passed their bloodline on. Naruto stared at his hands.
What I saw last night had to be an illusion. I mean.. how is it even possible for me to have Sharingan? I thought it was a bloodline limit.. I didn't think it was in his chakra.
Naruto glanced around again. Everyone was dressed in all black, except for the Jounins and Chuunins, who were all standing near the front, with the exception of Iruka. The solemn looks on their faces all almost exactly the same. Naruto looked up at the front, where Tsunade was still speaking to everyone. Naruto was aware he stuck out like a sore thumb. He didn't really have any official funeral clothes like everyone else did. It made him feel even more out of place than usual. His bright, spiky blonde hair didn't help much either.
Not to mention the fact that I'm the one who killed Sasuke. He thought miserably, shifting on his feet as he stared at the ground. Iruka looked at him, concerned. Naruto said nothing, but shrugged the man's hand away from his shoulder and turned, stepping out into the aisle and leaving the area. He felt eyes on him the whole way, and ignored them as he quickened his pace until he broke into a run. He dashed past the rows of people dressed in black.
Have to get away..
He couldn't stay there. That place only meant pain. The knowledge that he was responsible was surely shared by everyone there. Everyone knew he was a murderer. Everyone knew that he'd killed Sasuke. It was all his fault. He just couldn't stop killing people. The stairs were getting nearer, but just as he was about to race down them, a voice shouted to him.
"Naruto! Naruto, wait!"
Naruto whirled around too quickly. His sandals slid on the wet stone and he felt his ankle twist sharply, pain shooting up his leg. He cried out as he fell backwards, catching glimpses of everyone staring at him as he fell down the stairs.. there was a brief moment of horrible pain as he felt his head connect with the stone steps, his body beginning to slide and topple uncontrollably down them.
Everything went black.
Naruto opened his eyes painfully. The first thing he knew was pain.. pain that shot up through his entire body, ending in his head, sending white across his vision. Or maybe that was just the ceiling.. he couldn't tell.
Waitasec.
Ceiling?
Sitting up quickly was a mistake, he could tell as soon as he jerked up. More pain shot through him, and he put a hand to his head, thinking it might split open at any second. The door opened, and Naruto noticed how even sound seemed to affect his injuries. He winced. Shikamaru poked his head through the door.
"Hey, idiot, you alright?" He asked, his tone low and sarcastic as usual.
"It was you who yelled at me, wasn't it?!" Naruto demanded in lieu of a greeting. "You made me slip."
"Y'shouldn't have been running on the slippery stone in the first place, moron." Shikamaru said, half-glaring. "..besides. I wasn't about to let you walk out on Sasuke's funeral. Tch, if I'd known you would've been stupid enough to fall, I would have gone over there and dragged you back myself."
"You could use a little more sympathy for your friend with the concussion!" Naruto snapped in reply.
"You could use a little more sympathy for the friend who died for you." Shikamaru answered sharply, his eyes narrowing a tad, the devil-may-care attitude dropping.
"No one there was there because they loved him! Not like me!" He glared at his "friend", the anger from the funeral rising up again, a painful ache in his chest. "No one understood him like me!! But who the hell is there to give me their condolences?! I lost more than all those people out ther--"
Smack!
Shikamaru slapped Naruto hard across the face and glowered at him furiously.
"How dare you, Naruto! I'm not here to be your goddamn pity party, so don't you fucking DARE expect me to drop everything I might be feeling to devote my entire life to you!" He shouted. Naruto drew back, surprised. He'd never seen Shikamaru as anything but.. well, lazy. Even when he was in a fight, he seemed always calm, collected, and.. bored. But now, that expression had changed.
"You want me to be a good friend to you, Uzumaki?" The Nara boy continued, still with narrowed eyes. "You shut the fuck up about how you lost the most. Even if that might be true, the rest of us all still lost part of ourselves with Sasuke. You should be grateful, if anything! He offered his life to save us all, but it your ass, mostly, that he did it for. Sasuke wasn't someone to do something without careful consideration beforehand. He did this for the good of the village, and especially for your own sake. The entire village lost Sasuke, not just you. I can't believe you'd be so selfish."
Naruto stared at Shikamaru, finding no words coming to him. He was struck dumb.
S.. Sasuke.. did this for the good of the village. And here I am, sounding like a little brat, whining like I lost my toy or something..
"Look, I'm sorry I yelled at you, Naruto." He sat down next to the blonde, patting him gently on the back, careful to avoid touching any of the bandages. "But seriously, man. It's not like you to be this selfish, I figured I'd better snap you out of it before you go and try and kill yourself again. Really, you're such a troublesome friend to have."
Naruto managed a weak smile. He realized how lucky he was to have the friends he did, even if the closest one was someone as lazy as Shikamaru. How lucky he was that one friend loved him so much that he'd died for Naruto's sake. Naruto felt his heart wrench painfully, and he raised a hand to his chest, wincing as it touched his bruised ribs. It was like his heart had turned to lead, and was sinking down into the pit of his stomach.. it hurt, so bad. Shikamaru sighed and reached out, hugging Naruto gently. The blonde winced at the pain, but didn't pull away.
"I know it hurts, Naruto.. I mean, aside from me hugging you." Shikamaru drew back, releasing him. "I know what it's like to love someone, y'know..? Have it all unrequited and whatever." He sighed. Naruto tilted his head curiously.
"You do?"
"Yeah. I've liked Ino for a while.. I thought I told you that." The Nara blinked, and the Uzumaki managed the first laugh he'd been able to cough up since Sasuke's death.
"Nope. You were probably too lazy to." He said, grinning. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, but smiled back.
"Yeah, yeah. But you really are lucky, Naruto. I envy you.. I mean, I figure.. if Sasuke was still alive and all that, you two wouldn't have cared what people thought of you being together, right?"
If Sasuke was still alive..?
"Well.. yeah. I never thought about it, I guess." Naruto blinked and shrugged. Shikamaru sighed.
"It's hard getting a girl like Ino to notice you, y'know? I mean.. especially since she obsessed so much over another guy. I didn't stand a chance compared to Sasuke." He chuckled weakly. "Maybe I'll be able to get her to at least acknowledge me as something other than a teammate now."
"Hey, man. Good luck with that." Naruto said, patting his friend on the back. Shikamaru nodded.
"Thanks. Hey, I'll leave you alone now.. I figure you probably need sleep. Sorry about making you fall like that." He rubbed the back of his head and turned to leave the room. Naruto fell back on the pillows, Shikamaru's words still echoing in his head.
If Sasuke was still alive..
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Naruto slept a thankfully dreamless sleep that night. When he awoke next, Kakashi was sitting in a chair next to the bed. Naruto stared at him, and Kakashi looked up.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty." He said, teasingly, though Naruto could hear the tiredness in his voice. He'd probably been harried by the other teachers.. all offering their apologies for losing one of his students. One of his only students. Quite possibly the best one.
Naruto sighed. Wow, his thought process wasn't helping much.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said sullenly. Kakashi tilted his head, reaching over and patting Naruto's head, a habit he still hadn't grown out of, so to speak.
"Still upset, huh? Well, you and I have something in common now.. we both have close friends who have died for the village.." He said. Naruto glanced at him, twitching slightly. That hadn't helped much.
"I know they must've been really close friends to you, Kakashi-sensei, but.. did you ever love any of them?" He asked. Kakashi lowered his eyes, becoming a little more serious.
"Yes.. one of them. His name was Kiyoshi, a great friend of mine." Kakashi gave a soft, almost bitter chuckle. "A great friend until the end. I'd held feelings for him for a while.. and right before he died during a stealth mission, he kissed me and then went ahead before I could say anything."
[ A/N: This is total BS. I'm making up stuff to progress the story. ; I don't think Kakashi ever had a friend named Kiyoshi, and if he did I'm gonna be scared. ]
"Kakashi-sensei.." Naruto murmured, staring. Kakashi smiled at him (as best he could with his mask still on), and reached over, mussing Naruto's hair again.
"That's why I like Iruka.. he reminds me so much of Kiyoshi.. personality-wise, anyway. But, I think the point of me telling you that was that you shouldn't be too sad, Naruto. I know Sasuke wouldn't want you ruining yourself over him. I mean.. he died so you could live, right?" Kakashi winked at him. Well.. sorta, but one eye was covered. "So if you give up on life and die.. or just become depressed for the rest of your life, which is almost the same as dying, maybe worse.. then his sacrifice for you wouldn't have meant anything, right? He left you alive because he loved you, and he wanted you to be able to live your life and fufill all those dreams in your head, despite how crazy some of them sound."
Naruto stared, and again, Kakashi mussed the blonde's hair. "I made a vow to become one of the most powerful Jounin after that mission because I wanted to make sure that nothing happened to my fellow ninjas. I wanted to be sure that Kiyoshi would know the village he'd died helping to save would be safe in the hands of the person he loved and cared about. Now, the question is, Naruto.. can you do the same for Sasuke?"
Naruto found himself speechless. His mind had barely registered everything Kakashi had just told him, though he knew it was all perfectly true, and made total sense. Sasuke had died to keep him alive.. and he'd almost killed himself right after. That would have made Sasuke's sacrifice worth nothing. He really had been selfish.
I have to change that.
He threw himself into his sensei's arms, hugging Kakashi tightly. The Jounin smiled and patted Naruto on the back.
"Recover fast, then. I tell you what, I'll personally start helping you and Sakura train up once you get better."
"Right!" Naruto grinned widely, and Kakashi nodded to him and left the room. Naruto leaned back onto the pillows, staring up at the ceiling and smiling.
I'll become the greatest ninja in the world. I'll make sure Sasuke's sacrifice for me is known throughout once I become Hokage.. and then, Sasuke, I know you can be proud of me.. and we won't have to regret anything.
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Kakashi blinked as he closed the door behind him, looking up at the figure that was standing only two feet in front of him.
"Did.. you mean that?" Iruka asked, shifting on his feet. Kakashi blinked again.
"How long have you--"
"Long enough." Iruka interrupted, shifting again, nervously, a blush painting his face. Kakashi smiled inwardly.. Iruka really was cute when he blushed like that. The flustered Chuunin quickly tried to explain himself.
"I.. I.. I came out here to check on Naruto, you know.. I was worried, and I couldn't get away from my duties for a while, so.. so.. and when I got here, you were already inside, so I waited, and.. I heard everything you told him. I don't think I can do much better than that, so--"
"Hey, I get it." Kakashi said, smiling. Iruka looked up, giving a quiet smile in return, though he was still blushing furiously. Shaking his head, Kakashi wrapped an arm around the Chuunin's waist and began dragging him down the hallway.
"Let's go get some food."
"B-but! What about Naruto..?"
"He'll be okay. He still has some thinking to do. You can come see him tomorrow."
"A.. are you sure he'll be okay?"
"Positive."
To Be Continued..
One more chapter and I'm puttin' this thing to rest. Sorry for slow update-age. ;;;
TAB