Author: In all honesty, I'm bored as no tomorrow, so I decided to start this chapter. Feh oh well, lol.
BTW, There is a fic that I read from one of the reviewers with my same problem of low self esteem, problem is, their writing is pretty good. Licht Sieger wrote (and hopefully is still writing) a fic called "Slow Burn", and I have to say, the story is rather interesting. It's an AU about if Orochimaru gave the seal to Naruto instead of Sasuke...odd? Yeah a bit, but his/her style is better than a lot of the stuff I've seen on so. I encourage you to read it when you get done with this, maybe if a few more reviews go in, they'll get on with the next chapter.
Just to let you know, I'm not doing to much for the rest of the summer so, if anyone wants me to read any of their Naruto or Inuyasha fics, I will, just tell me which one, and I'll read it, give it an honest opinion, and there is a chance that I'll offer to BETA it, but we'll see.
Evil Kasumi – I agree with you whole-heartedly, it is such a sad thing to see anyone end their own life. To you, and anyone else who reads this comment, please do not take my laughing approach to suicide in general in such a way that it seems I don't care. Really, I laughed at myself when I stuck my finger in the hot grease at work a week ago, I'm like Mercutio (jokes are my escape) so I laugh at just about anything...it helps me get through stuff. (Not that you sounded to assume differently). Also...giving Naruto Orochimaru resurrection powers kinda sounds like fun [imagines some random body that looks like Ibiki or something acting like Naruto]...well...maybe not. Lol.
Kyuubi-chan – Well, in all honesty, yes it is coincidence...because...well, I'm lazy and don't really feel like having a bunch of unnecessary chapters...because...well I don't like them. Meh, don't forget though, Naruto did float around aimlessly for sometime in between if that really helps at all...
The Shinobi (anonymous) – Feh, really I'm just lazy and don't really know what kind of genre I put it in...so make assumptions if you want, no skin off my back, ne?
Kirin Kage the Shadow Girl – Really, it's nice to listen to random Naruto music when reading Naruto fanfiction, but what I put up are just kinda...well... "I figured their more like guidelines"...heh heh, yeah, I just wanted to make sure everyone is in sync to the way I saw these scenes as I write them, and the music is the same on every comp, so if everyone hears the same thing, then maybe we'll all see it the same way. But then again, they're only guidelines, so you can ignore them if you want to, ALL Naruto music is juicy goodness...especially Orochimaru's Theme/Fight Theme [drool].
One Azn Dragon – I kinda didn't want the last one to be as, well, teary eyed. I agree, chapter 4 was actually my favorite one to write, but this one was fun because I found it amusing, the thought of all the guys just strollin along to Sasuke's Theme. And really, I hate seeing other guys cry, cause well, I hate crying myself. Double standard? Yeah, so sorry if you weren't happy do to lack of heavy drama...maybe chapter 4 was a one time thing...I hope not. Lol.
102 reviews...I'm so happy...I can't believe it, you guys have really made my day. After forcing myself to write chapter after chapter of an Inuyasha fic for 3-5 reviews per chapter...it feels nice to not MAKE myself write though lol.
....97,000 words...I've written almost 100,000...so close...so close...
Oh yeah, I decided that this will be the last chapter in this fic, I'm just gonna add another one to my plan and interject it in before the other one I had planned cause well, things kinda go in a different direction after this, and well, the title only fits the chapters so far and this one so...yeah.
Meh, I think that's it.
Songs Needed:
"Confrontment", Soundtrack 2, Track 3
"Sasuke Destiny", Soundtrack 2, Track 17
"Survival Examination", Soundtrack 2, Track 6
"Sadness and Sorrow", Soundtrack 1, Track 8
"Evening", Soundtrack 1, Track 14
"The Raising Fighting Spirit", Soundtrack 1, Track 7
"Morning", Soundtrack 1, Track 4
"Sakura's Theme", Soundtrack 1, Track 10
"Glued State", Soundtrack 1, Track 15
Chapter 7:
(cue "Confrontment")
"What the..."
Naruto's voice trailed off as his vision began to clear.
"What just happened..."
He looked around to find himself in a forest, the greenery around him was rich and beautiful but not as thick as some of the more wild areas of Konoha.
When he fully came to, registered the fact that he was still floating in mid air, though, where he was and how he ended up here was still a mystery to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a few foot prints on the ground, and marks a few trees nearby that showed they had been jumped in.
At least now he was sure he was still in Konoha.
From behind him, he heard a couple voices, though they were nearly inaudible above the light sounds of the forest creatures.
Before turning to find the sources of the conversation, he glanced up through the trees trying to get a sense of time from the sun. After a moment of a failed attempt, Naruto cursed himself for not dying with a watch on.
He turned his floating body and floated through the trees slowly, forgetting that no one could here him anyway.
He reached a small clearing where he came upon two women.
One was standing in the middle of the clearing, her gaze away from the boy and into the forest on the other side. She wore a light blue robe that was loose all the way around her body, from where Naruto could tell, it looked a bit comfortable even though he wouldn't want to fight in it. The girl had long dark blue hair that went down to her shoulders.
Behind her the other was kneeling, dressed in comfortable black pants that clung to the ankles and a black shirt of the same material with sleeves that cut off at the elbow. She had black gloves on, and she wore a jounin's flack jacket over the top of her shirt. The same color hair fell down in front of her shoulders, and undoubtedly over her face as well, from the ghost's position, it was impossible to tell how long it was.
"Is that all you needed to tell me then...?"
The wind kicked up the hair of both women, blowing it to one side, revealing the latter's hair to be about shoulder length, and putting pleasant waves in the former's robe.
Her voice was a bit cold but at the same time it was confident.
"No...Hyuga-sama I've also come to let you know of a meeting of the clan heads, the new Hokage has requested your presence as well."
The standing woman let out a sound something similar to Sasuke's trademark "hn" before speaking again. Her cold voice was still calm over the now dying breeze.
"Okay then, I will be there, you are dismissed."
(end "Confrontment")
There was a moment, neither moved.
"Is there a reason your still here?"
A hint of agitation could be heard in her voice.
"One more thing Hyuga-sama..."
"What is it?"
"Now that father has passed, I think that maybe you should consider producing an heir...most of the clan heads in the past had already begun teaching their children the Jyuken (A/N: a.k.a Gentle Fist, I don't know how its spelled in Jap-English) by the time they are your age..."
"Keep your head out of the affairs of the clan head sister, my having an heir is none of your concern."
There was malice in the words, she shifted a bit, but other than that her body remained still.
(cue "Sasuke Destiny")
"...but Hinata!"
The action was so quick that had Naruto blinked he would have missed it. Suddenly, the one kneeling was laying on her side, clutching the side of her face, and the woman in robes had turned around, bringing back her outstretched hand. Pale blue eyes eyeing the woman laying on the ground, trying to burrow into her skin and attack her soul.
'Hinata-chan?'
"That's Hyuga-sama! I trust that I will not have to explain to you again Hanabi, stay out of my affairs."
The voice he could not be the voice of the oh-so-timid Hyuga girl that he had known before he died. Hinata was so warm, so kind, it was possible that the girl couldn't be cruel if she tried. Everything about her screamed sweet and shy. This woman before him held none of that. None of that pleasant warmth that Hinata managed to bring, Naruto hadn't realized it until now, but she was a really nice person...but this woman...this Hinata was nothing like the one he knew. She was so cold, so mean, he was sure that if he had been mortal he'd be shaking right now.
Hanabi struggled to her feet, wiping the side of her face that she had just been hit on. Naruto took this moment to make his way closer to the scene.
"Hyuga-sama..."
She nearly spat the words.
"Mind your tone sister."
Hinata's hands dropped to her sides, the robe sleeves fell over them, concealing any motion they may have been making.
"Hyuga-sama, Naruto has been dead for 18 years now. You need to..."
'...18 years? How did I end up all the way here?'
She was cut off when she was forced to jump back to avoid an open palm strike to her stomach.
"Stay out of my affairs sister! I will not give you another warning."
Her eyes narrowed at her sister who was now 5 feet away from her, the veins from her Byakugan were slowly making their way from her ears to her eyes as she seethed at the woman in front of her.
"Hyuga-sama...if possible, you are even crueler than father. I hope that you die without an heir, that way your anger cannot multiply in whatever child is cursed to come from your womb."
Only now did Hinata retract her arm and go back to full stature, she had a bit of a smile on her face.
"If your so angry about it, you shouldn't have lost the rematch we had here 16 years ago for the title of heir. But if your up for another rematch, then be my guest."
The smile on Hinata's face grew deeper as she turned to the side, Byakugan activating after a moment.
Hanabi looked at her sister and her face twisted into a scowl, her Byakugan activated as well.
Naruto looked back and forth between the two women, utterly confused as to who this Hanabi was, and what happened to the Hinata that he had known before. 18 years was a long time...but this kind of change was insane.
There was a puff of smoke signaling the addition of a third member to the party. Once cleared, a figured donning a black cloak and ANBU mask could be seen, standing between the two.
"Hanabi-san...don't."
(end "Sasuke Destiny")
(cue "Survival Examination")
There was no softness in the voice, it sounded cold and harsh upon the stilling air.
Hanabi looked up at the ANBU then back at her sister before the intensified veins on her face receded.
"Fine Neji-san..."
At the mention of his name, Neji plucked away the white mask covering his face. He had definitely grown, but not in a way that you couldn't tell who he was, he still had the headband covering the mark on his face. His eyes betrayed nothing with the distant look capable for only one possessing the pupil-less Byakugan eyes.
Hinata's bloodline receded at the new arrival, she tensed up visibly now that he was here, the smug grin on her face now gone. She held up her hand to what seemed to be a one-handed seal.
"Are you here for any particular reason Branch-member?"
Naruto's eyes widened in shock, Neji didn't so much as flinch.
'Branch Member? Why did she just call him that? If anything, she always seemed sorry about the difference between the Main and Branch House families...that she was only one other than me, when I became Hokage, who would have the power and desire to change that. Why was she rubbing it in his face now? She seemed stronger yes...but there was no way she could've surpassed the genius of the Hyuga she?'
"There is no need to hold this seal over my head Hyuga-sama...I have no intention of fighting..."
Hinata didn't say anything, she remained tense, never letting the hand seal drop.
The wind picked up again, locking their silence in place.
It was ages before any of them spoke, it was only when another presence entered the clearing that any words were spoken, but they didn't come from a Hyuga, they came from the lone man that walked into the clearing all alone.
He wasn't wearing anything special, just a gray long sleeve shirt and burgundy pants. If it wasn't for his face, Naruto wouldn't have recognized the man, well, if it wasn't for what was on his face...
Two symmetrical red streaks ran down his cheeks, still proportionally the same as they had been ages ago.
"Kiba..."
(end "Survival Examination")
Hinata's form relaxed a bit, but she never dropped her hand.
It was odd, the way Kiba walked, Naruto had noticed. He didn't walk with the practiced grace and silence that came with years of devotion to a ninja's path...he walked...like a normal person.
(cue "Sadness and Sorrow")
"...there is a chance that he'll never be able to become an adequate shinobi..."
A pang of guilt surged through the ghostly system as the memory of the doctor's words flew back to the freshest parts of his memory.
The man strolled into the clearing, hands in his pockets...alone...there was a bit of a smile on his face...but part of him was obviously missing.
"Good Morning Inuzuka-sama..."
Neji's voice was as indifferent as the blonde remembered.
"Hey Neji, Hanabi, Hinata..."
The bright look on his face meant to all of them around that the lack of titles was meant to emphasize the informality of the situation, Hanabi and Neji grasped this concept and accepted, Hinata sighed, dropping her single hand, then turned her Byakugan on her once teammate.
"That's Hyuga-sama to you dog-boy, oh wait I forgot..."
Hinata chuckled fiendishly as her words had the desired effect, effectively killing the bright smile on the man's face, it reminded her too much of someone else...she hated to see people smile...
Kiba's eyes hit the ground before bouncing back up again, the mask that he had adopted was falling back into place.
"Sorry about that Hyuga-sama...I just figured that..."
"...Since we've been friends so long it doesn't matter right?"
"Well yeah..."
"You know Kiba...as happy you try to look, you can't fool anyone who can see, it's in your eyes..."
"Huh?"
"Whenever you try to look happy, your eyes shift towards the ground, if only for a moment...it shows that you lying...always lying..."
Kiba tensed up a bit.
"What's that? Your eyes shifted off to the right...let me guess, your trying to convince yourself that its not just an act..."
Kiba stifled a gasp.
"I'll take it by the gasp that I was right..."
A grim smirk, and the girl continued.
"Your eyes widened a bit, paled and lost focus, a memory I believe...just by the slight shuddering...I'd guess it's about when he died..."
Kiba's head tilted and he bit on his lip, a slight whimper escaped his throat.
"It's a shame really, he was a better than you ever were...in the end you were just too weak I guess..."
"Hyuga-sama..."
"The only Inuzuka who couldn't share his chakra to save his dog..."
"Hinata-chan..."
"You must have been miserable, watching him die, knowing that you couldn't help him...that you couldn't save him...it must have been..."
"HINATA!!!!!!!!!...Just...Just SHUT UP!!!"
The man's shoulders were shaking as twin tears made their way down his face, running over the marks, his voice cracking under the sadness.
"Your sister must have some odd faith in you though...handing over her right as the Inuzuka clan head...to a genin nonetheless...a genin that couldn't even save his best friend in the simplest way...the best friend that was supposedly part of him."
Both the man's hands were clenched painfully at his sides. Eyes shut tight, even Naruto could tell that he was reliving a rather painful memory. From the odd angle, the ghost could still see Kiba's white knuckles.
"Y-You have no idea how painful it was...to see him...to see him dying right in front of me..."
Hinata's grin turned into a light chuckle.
"That's what happens when a dog doesn't have it's owner's chakra to sustain it at the end of it's normal life..."
"...I could only watch him die...that was all..."
Hinata gave another slight chuckle in victory.
"Weakling."
By now words were lost on the man shaking before them, completely caught up in the memory of his closest friend's death. Hinata turned to Neji, the grin still on her face.
"Make sure that he is there for the meeting."
With that, she merely walked away, leaving her final farewell hanging still in the air.
"And to answer your question Inuzuka-sama...no, I will not walk with you to the meeting."
She disappeared into the forest, on her way to the Hokage's office.
With a slight murmur and scowl, Hanabi vanished in a puff of smoke.
Neji was left with the crying man, and the ghost who's presence was unknown.
"What the hell?"
Kiba's sobs were beginning to die down. Neji approached his comrade from long ago.
"How could one boy change her that much?"
He wiped away the moisture left on his face before turning to look back up at Neji. His thin eyes quivered with anger as they stared into those of the man in front of him, begging for an answer to why his teammate had become so heartless.
"I don't know Kiba...sometimes I wonder myself..."
His gaze went past the ANBU, his fists loosened a bit, yet remained clenched.
"Its not even like she talked to him all that much...I know how she felt about him...but...this is insane..."
Neji nodded in agreement before grabbing Kiba's shoulder.
"Come on, you have a meeting to attend to Inuzuka-sama"
(end "Sadness and Sorrow")
"Right..."
"You know, you really should stop hitting on her..."
"Yeah, but at least she didn't hit me this time..." Just like that, Kiba's mask was back as a smile crossed his face.
"Yeah...this time."
With that, both men left, walking at a normal pace towards the Hokage's office.
'Wow...that was odd.'
A confused Naruto was left floating in the clearing alone with his thoughts.
'What did they mean by 'how she felt'...how did she feel?'
An image of the girl crying in the hospital over his death came back to his mind.
'Did she really miss me that much? Kiba was right...we never talked, why would she get so upset...and why would she become like...like she is now?'
Naruto shrugged off the questions, curiosity beginning to get the better of him as he remembered that the clan heads would be meeting, maybe he would see a few of his old friends.
Naruto took off straight up into the sky, surveying Konoha from above. The entire town had aged, not too much, just enough to compensate for 18 years. Buildings looked older, some were new, some just weren't there. He could make out a ramen stand or two, and a few other stores he recognized, but for the most part, he didn't care.
The Hokage's office was still where it had been before, and had aged as expected. It was painted a burnt orange now, but the paint didn't look all that recent. Naruto closed in on the building without delay, fazing through a wall and making it to the same lobby he had seen before.
Things had changed a bit, there were a few pictures that weren't there before, the secretary was different of course. Replaced by a brighter looking girl, black hair and sparkling black eyes. Probably mid-twenties, and in all honesty, pretty appealing to the eye also.
'Ero-sennin's eyes would probably fall out ogling her.'
He snickered for the first time in a while at the thought before turning to the room that Tsunade had held a meeting in last time he was here.
The hallway was repainted, but not spectacularly, and the doors looked new.
He made his way through the door to find himself in the same room he had seen before, like everything else, it had been repainted and the table had been replaced with a nearly red one.
Seated around the table were a few people, none of them he could recognize. All at once they stood, facing the entrance and bowed.
(cue "Evening")
"Good morning Konohamaru-sama."
Before Naruto could turn around, someone dressed in Hokage's robes walked right through him before a light, yet mature voice rang out from the mix of fabric.
"Good morning to you too Inaki-sama."
He turned to the rest, acknowledging each member, man and woman alike. Naruto took this moment to snake around and get a look at the brat that had shared the dream of becoming Hokage. His face showed that he had definitely matured, yet at the same time, looked like he was not a day older than 21. His hair was hidden in the outfit's hat, but his eyes shined clearly with ambition and love for this village, though it was odd to see him with a mouthful of teeth for once.
"Let us wait for the other council members to join us before we start this meeting."
There was a bit of a smile on his face. A member before him spoke to acknowledge the order before turning and making small talk with some of the others.
Konohamaru let out a bit of a sigh before turning to the door, just in time to see someone enter.
"Ah, Good Morning Uchiha-sama. Glad you could make it."
Sasuke stepped into the room, suppressing a chuckle at the young leader.
"The pleasure is mine Hokage-sama."
With that he walked over to his seat. His grace and swiftness never leaving him, like everyone, his body and face had matured, though not as lightly as Konohamaru's, most likely due to stress...because the Uchiha was always troubled.
A head full of pink hair accompanied the next guest.
"Ah Haruno-sama, it's a pleasure to see you again."
Emerald eyes brightened the smile of the woman before the ghost, in all honesty, she had matured into a beautiful woman. She had an air of confidence about her also as she walked into the room, not quite the same Sakura as before, but not too drastically different. She sat down in the furthest possible seat from Sasuke as possible.
'Still fighting huh?'
In about 20 minutes or so, everyone of his old comrades had entered the room, each being introduced as a clan head much to Naruto's surprise. All of them looked much older, and for the most part, many were happy to see one another, with exceptions like Sakura to Sasuke, and Kiba to Hinata. Everyone of them adorned in flak jackets or with ANBU masks seated in front of them, with the exception of Kiba who sat there not caring about it.
"Good morning everyone, I'm glad that you could all make it for this meeting."
All small talk was silenced as soon as the young man began to speak.
A very familiar smile crossed Konohamaru's face, stretching nearly from ear to ear. Naruto nearly chuckled again at the sight.
'Some things never change I guess. Glad that you were able to fulfill your dream Konohamaru...sama.'
"I like this job, everyone listens to me. I could get used to this."
He still had a little of his boyish attitude about him, the entire atmosphere just seemed relaxed.
"As you know, this is my first day as active Hokage, thus my first meeting of clan heads."
His expression turned serious.
"This meeting to take care of something long overdue, my friends, comrades, even rivals. This meeting is to not only to make an exception of an old tradition, this is to make an actual hero out of one who was cheated out of his glory."
To Naruto's surprise, every one of his old comrades seemed almost excited as the announcement was being made. Though the years had washed away their childish ways of going about it, their eyes all managed to lift up, even the great, lone Uchiha a bit brightened in anticipation.
"I believe that its time that we acknowledge the forgotten hero of this village...Uzumaki Naruto."
(end "Evening")
(cue "The Raising Fighting Spirit") (A/N: Wow, a...a happy song???)
Konohamaru let the words hang in the air, he opened his mouth to continue but was caught in silence when he saw Sasuke's hand raise into the air.
"My vote is that we do."
There was a smirk on his face.
"As is mine..."
Sakura was next.
"And mine..."
"And mine..."
It continued this way until the 10 hands of what it seemed could now be deemed as officially friends hung in the air. Naruto could only gape in awe, he thought things couldn't get any more surprising, that was until another hand rose...from one that he didn't recognize.
"If both Uchiha-sama and Hyuga-sama feel this one is worth formal honor, than it seems to me that he does. My vote is with theirs."
"Why not, he held the Kyubi in life and killed it with his death...I guess he really was a hero, my vote is in too."
Naruto gaped, Konohamaru suppressed it for all he was worth. Slowly, a unanimous decision was made and Konohamaru surveyed the room.
"Naruto-san, if only you could see this now..."
Konohamaru whispered the words so quietly that Naruto wasn't sure he heard them at first. He looked around the room at all the people in there, all those that seemed to care, friends and strangers alike...and he suddenly felt ashamed.
An invisible frown crossed an invisible face.
"Well, that was easier than I thought." The grin was back. "So then, what should we do for him then?"
(end "The Raising Fighting Spirit")
There was silence in the room as multiple minds began to think.
(cue "Morning")
"A statue...we should build a statue to commemorate his achievements. We'll put in the center of town, for all to see."
None other than Hyuga Hinata spoke, her voice no longer chilled, yet still not again warm. She was confident, not uttering a single misplaced sound.
"That's a good idea Hyuga-sama." Konohamaru looked back over the other clan heads. "Everyone else like it?"
The was a collective murmur of agreement from the group.
"Then the Hyuga clan will personally donate enough aqualite to build the whole structure."
"Aqualite?" A voice rang out. "Isn't that the..."
"Yes...The most recent source of the Hyuga family's wealth."
There was a hush amongst the group before another spoke.
"The Aburame clan will contribute by using the Kikai bugs to drill the dyes into the crystal itself for better coloring."
The man known as Shino stood, making his point before sitting back down.
"Leave the building plans to the Nara clan."
"The Inuzuka clan will watch over the statue while it is being buil to make sure no harm comes to it."
"The Akimichi clan will personally move all the Aqualite from the Hyuga estate to the building site."
One by one, Naruto's friends stood up, volunteering the entirety of their clans for any task needed. Naruto felt a pang of guilt run through him, feeling angry at the Kyubi for tricking him, and ashamed at the fact that he had believed the fox.
He had friends...and now, even when he had given up on them, they still pushed and fought for him. He had people to acknowledge him, it had just been too late for him to realize it.
Once all that had been done, each clan head exited the room, Naruto's comrades were the first to leave, eager to get everything started for the building process.
Once the room was cleared Konohamaru walked towards the door.
"Naruto-san...your finally getting everything you deserve, I'm just sorry that it took so long."
With that, the young Hokage was out the door.
Naruto was about to follow him when a familiar dizziness overtook him.
'Beautiful...I wonder when I'll end up now...'
His vision died away as his consciousness slipped.
(end "Morning")
===============================================================
"Its...amazing..."
( cue "Sakura's Theme")
A voice interrupted the darkness that covered Naruto's eyes. It sounded familiar, he had just heard it little while ago. Soft, confident, caring, he knew it well, he just couldn't put a finger on it.
A hazy blur replaced the black in front of the ghost. He could make out people, quite a few of them...just standing, just standing there.
He blinked away the fog, seeing none other than the comrades from the meeting that had volunteered, seeing none other than his friends.
He could recognize them because they hadn't changed...as a matter of fact, nothing seemed to change, except that it was much colder. Konoha never snowed, but it did get rather cool in the winter...really cool as a matter of fact.
The fact that they were all wearing winter clothes clued him in to the time of the year.
He was about to further ponder the circumstance when another voice broke out.
"Yeah...just like him Sakura-chan..."
Ino turned to Sakura as she spoke, then looked back up, past the ghost. Her eyes shimmered in awe, just like everyone else's there, clan heads and Hokage alike.
Confusion drenched Naruto's face. They were looking at him...well not quite. They were looking past him...but at what?
Naruto spun in the air and was forced to stop as he took in the sight before him.
It was him...
Forever enshrined in a casing of a crystal he had never seen before, colors shining brightly, perfectly matching every detail. Everything to the bright blonde hair, to the bits of blue on his orange jumpsuit was perfect, vibrant, almost lifelike. He was smiling, just like they had almost always seen him, smiling brightly as if there was nothing wrong in the world, his eyes nearly as bright as his hair.
Naruto floated back to get a better sight of the monument, when he noticed there was something else. His arms were crossed and one leg wads raised so that his foot was stepping on something. When it clicked in his mind, he could only continue to gape.
Under his foot, was the pinned down head of none other than the Kyubi itself. Hues of reds and orange colored the fur, it's tails strewn all about, looking so life like that it seemed they would start thrashing about in a moment's notice. Fangs bared, legs bent to pounce, but it's head was pinned under Naruto's foot.
There was a bit of text that Naruto barely managed to notice at the foot of the monument, made up of a solid stone, not nearly as precious as the crystal of the statue, but definitely worth something of sorts. Engraved in the stone were words chiseled neatly and filled with gold.
Uzumaki Naruto
The Conqueror
Friend, Comrade, Rival
Hero of Konoha
Naruto felt his eyes get heavy again as if to release tears that couldn't come out.
Below the engraving was a group of slots, each empty and each a different shape and size.
"I think we should get started..."
Konohamaru's voice pierced the awe filled moment.
"Uchiha-sama...you may go first."
Naruto turned in time to see Sasuke step forward and retrieve a small crystal fan from his pocket, white at the hilt and base of the fan, red making the further parts of the fan itself.
'That's...'
"With this crest, the Uchiha give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
He fitted the crystallized fan into the slot for it, allowing it to shine in light.
"With this crest, the Haruno give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
Sakura came up and did the same.
"With this crest, the Hyuga give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
"With this crest, the Aburame give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
"With this crest, the Inuzuka give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
Naruto wanted to burst into tears of joy as one by one, his friends gathered before the monument, placing crystallized versions of their clan crests into the allotted spaces.
"With this crest, the Yamanaka give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
"With this crest, the Nara give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
"With this crest, the Akimichi give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
"With this crest, the Rock give honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
"With this crest, I Tenten pledge that my clan gives honor to Konoha's fallen hero..."
'You guys...'
"And with all of that done, I, Konohamaru, 6th Hokage of Konohakagure, seal these pacts into the memorial of Konoha's fallen Hero. Uzumaki Naruto, may your soul rest in peace, and may you realize that you are not forgotten."
With a few short hand seals, Konohamaru placed his hand onto the memorial, the result was a puff of smoke. Once it had dissipated, Naruto looked over to see each crest having been firmly melded into the rock at the base. Seeming to glow just like the rest of the monument.
(end "Sakura's Theme")
Naruto floated up to where he could have sat on the head of the monument could he physically touch it. He sighed heavily, his eyes beginning to hurt from the unshed tears.
'I'm sorry guys...I should have never given up on you. Never should have listened to that damned fox. What was I thinking? Giving up so soon, never before had I done such a thing...and the one time I did...'
He shut his eyes tightly.
'...it made me cause pain to friends I didn't know I had...I'm sorry guys...I really didn't deserve friends like you...I never deserved any of this...'
===============================================================
With his eyes shut, the ghost didn't notice his vision blur and fade to black, it wasn't until there was a pounding in his skull that he realized something was wrong.
His thoughts immediately felt jumbled and vague as this head just throbbed where it was. But that wasn't the only thing, as the confusion continued to fade, he realized that something was touching the entire front of his body.
He wearily opened his eyes to find himself looking at a wood floor.
A noise of confusion escaped his lips as he pushed himself against the floor with his hands, forgetting that it wouldn't help. He was surprised when he both realized that, and noticed that his hands were actually making contact with the floor.
Out of confusion, Naruto went to will himself into the air, but found that his body would not lift off the ground. Dazed and confused, the boy pushed himself into a sitting position, looking around what he quickly noticed was none other than his apartment.
"W-what?"
(cue "Glued State")
His eyes continued to wander until they fell upon a kunai laying on the ground, inches from where he had just been laying. His hand moved up to cover his heart to check for the wound that he knew he should have, only to find it wasn't there.
"What the...?"
He reached over and picked up the weapon, looking it over as if it held the answers to his unasked questions before slowly making his way to his feet.
"Was all that...just a dream?"
He gripped the kunai tightly by the hilt in his hand.
'What a cruel dream...to think that people actually cared...to think that I had friends...damn fox...this is probably your fault.'
With a sudden burst of anger he threw it across the room, letting it land behind him without caring where it fell. There was only the soft sound of it hitting the wall behind him.
'Damn fox...damn people...damn dreams...'
He turned back to the kunai, having mind to chuck it once again before something caught his eye. Sprawled out on the floor was an old woman.
Dressed in nothing more than a t-shirt and jeans, with grey hair pulled into twin pig-tails, the woman sat there, unmoving on the ground.
"Huh?"
Naruto ran over to the figure turning her over once he knelt down beside her. On hr forehead was a small diamond.
A custom seal belonging to one person and one person alone.
"T-TSUNADE!!!!!!!!!!"
(end "Glued State")
THE END
Author: Bwhahahahaha, I think I'm gonna take a short Naruto fic writing- ness break. Maybe a few weeks, maybe until Christmas break, I've heard senior year is gonna be really stressful. If you need to reach me during this time, I'll be in witness protection...so
Chaoness .
BTW, I was soooooo tempted to use Orochimaru's Theme for the Hinata-ness scene...but she wasn't THAT evil.
100,000 words BABY!!!!!!!!!