Naruto is not mine, so please enjoy this short, crappy, prologue I wrote out of anger. ( This may or may not be a one-shot, but I'm writing blind, here.

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It had been three years. Three long, painfully quiet years.

A dark head lifted from it's lowered gaze to scan the gathering of black clad friends. Just friends. That's all that could be really said. There was no family. Only friends that had cared immensely for him, and had come to remember. Which was pointless, he thought, since no person there could ever forget.

It had been three years since Uzumaki Naruto had left Konoha village.

The day he was reported missing, Tsunade and everyone else waved the matter off; the blonde must have been training, knocked himself out and was lying in the forest somewhere. He'd come home, irritated that he had lost precious training time, eat his fill at the ramen bar and show up at his mission the next morning. It happened all the time. That's just how things went.

Seemingly, Lady Fate decided otherwise.

On the second day, Sasuke had been ordered by Kakashi to check his teammate's apartment, just to see why Naruto had slept in so late. That happened sometimes. No big deal. Only thing was, Naruto hadn't slept in. The Uchiha had told Kakashi that he couldn't find the boy, but again, it was shrugged away; Naruto was probably with Jiraiya, learning some dangerous new technique. Kakashi had sighed tiredly at the thought.

By the start of the second week, Sasuke was starting to feel slightly anxious. He had no idea why, though. He went through his schedule. Trained to point of exhaustion? Yes. Made sure he had enough food in the cupboards to last the week? Had he not avoided Sakura and Ino enough?

But none of those things had seemed to be the reason to his nervousness. There was a certain sense of… almost… danger. Not quite, but close. It was a soft, insistent churning in his gut that made his glance over his shoulder every now and again, even though he was positive there was no one there. He tried to ignore it, but his instincts got the better of him, he casually told Kakashi that something wasn't how it should be, but the seriousness was evident in his tone.

Kakashi regarded him, queried as to what may have caused that uncharacteristic worry. Sasuke delved into his mind, thought hard. Was it because Naruto wasn't there? He had been absent much longer than this before. Perhaps he was subconsciously concerned that Naruto was becoming stronger, and Sasuke wasn't there to compare his own growth?

Sasuke never admitted that to his teacher. He had answered, he didn't know, really, but there was something wrong.

The older man had said that he trusted Sasuke's judgment, and he would check out Naruto's apartment, if it would help any. He had smiled, (or so Sasuke had assumed) and added that it would be like playing detective. Sasuke had snorted irritably. Kakashi had left. Sasuke went home, philosophizing; the agitated sensation not relieved in the slightest.

Snapped back to the present by Sakura's hitching sob, Sasuke somberly directed his black eyes to the sky. Although it was a funeral, he contemplated, the weather was surprisingly appropriate. The sun hung low in it's nest of pink and orange, a few streaks of midnight dashed already across the canvas. It was a warm day, and the sent of wildflowers and new life carried far into the village. With dusk fast approaching, fireflies danced about like earthly stars, dotting the fields with soft light.

They were at the edge of Konoha, just overlooking it's infamous forests and nature, cutting a fine line between both of Naruto's worlds. Shikamaru had suggested the site. Said you could see the clouds nicely from here.

Sasuke turned slowly at a soft touch on his arm. Sakura's pink hair fluttered lightly in the breeze, her starry green eyes fixed forward, on the Hokage. She held onto his arm, ever so loosely, knowing he hated the contact, and respecting that. But Sasuke didn't make a move to change anything, she needed something to hold onto now; just like everyone here. The Uchiha dared not start listening to Tsunade's speech; it was salt on barely healed wounds. Instead, his eyes wandered to the casket. There was no body.

Up until two months after Naruto's official disappearance, he'd taken a secret hope in that. Just as everyone had. He kept it kindled within the layers of his icy heart, in the part that he discovered was thawed by Naruto's bullheaded attitude and warm smiles. Then an ANBU search team brought back an orange thing that may very well had, at one time, been a jacket. Sasuke had been told of that, before he went to see it for himself. It was just his jacket, that was no reason to believe he had died. He had seen it; the once white fur lining matted with blood and dirt, as was the state of the rest of it. Slashes, obviously from an opposing kunai, rendered the garment nearly unrecognizable. Scorch marks, ripped seams and some other unpleasant residue from a jutsu Sasuke didn't recognize registered before he left to get some air.

Naruto had been in some rough fights, but if that was just his jacket…

But there was still no body.

ANBU teams searched restlessly for Naruto, and it was for a reason that Sasuke couldn't quite comprehend. His instincts flickered slightly, but this time it was easily shoved into the back of his mind; it was something big, he knew, but he didn't bother asking. Hearing Tsunade mutter something worriedly about a demon, Sasuke was sure he did not want to know. Hokage-sama noticed him looking at her. She had ushered him out of the room, like a child in the way of the 'grown-up talk'.

Then again, concerning that 'demon', (which he was still positive involved Naruto in some manner), Sasuke was in the dark as much as any child would be.

His gaze roamed over the small crowd. Everyone here had known Naruto, not one soul had come out of pity. For that, he was glad. He would've beaten the crap out of anyone that did. Sasuke would've done it on Naruto's behalf. Naruto hated pity. He was like Sasuke that way. He was like Sasuke in more ways than Sasuke would've admitted to three years ago.

But that was three years ago.

Shikamaru was there, unusually intense and firm. Iruka and Konohamaru Corps stood together, two of the three new genin wiping at their eyes, Konohamaru glaring at the ground, fists clenched at his sides. They all had their imitation green goggles to signify their respect for their 'Nii-chan'.

Lee was beside Gai, Lee tapping his fingers against his leg, possibly a nervous habit. Gai shared a brief glance with Kakashi before resettling to staring at the Hokage. Neji and TenTen were not far off, a slight frown marred Neji's face before he noticed Sasuke's gaze upon him. White met black, came to an understanding, and Sasuke's eyes traveled back to Tsunade as he ignored Hinata's quiet weeping.

Her eyes were tinged red. She asked if anyone had anything to add. Sasuke hadn't been listening. Remembering was painful, yet it was so hard to forget. He pulled away from Sakura, and stepped behind the platform, his back to the casket that contained the remains of his best friend's jacket. Everyone blinked up at him, all a little curious. From the last three years, you could count the conversations Sasuke had taken part in on one hand. Sasuke took a calm breath, stared past the crowd, past the hurt and past the pain, off into the distance of the trees, whose darkening silhouette scraped at the vibrant sky with leafy fingers. He stared past it all, in a search for what he wanted to say, what needed to be said…

… and something moved.

TBC?

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I hate this so very much. I wrote it under stress and in an hour. So… review if you like. Flames accepted. (THERE IS A PLOT, IF YOU WANT ME TO CONTINUE. I HAVEN'T SEEN MY IDEA USED, SO I THINK IT'S OKAY.) XD

Just this chapter sucks. XD