Hmm... things are a bit quiter around here than usual. I wonder what I should do to liven it up a bit? Anyway, enjoy chapter 65.

Chapter 65: Ashes of a life


"Hey idiotic old man," Kisho called out as he let himself in into Jiraiya's apartment.

"Don't call me that!" came the hoarse shout from the bedroom. Kisho grinned. He knew the toad hermit didn't want to be called by that but he did just to irk the latter.

In retaliation, Jiraiya would call him useless brat. But despite the name calling from both sides, they were close. If Naruto was like Jiraiya's son, Kisho was his grandson. He was the one who helped Kisho control his chakra and even helped him create his simple but original techniques.

"Writing that novel again all night?" Kisho asked in annoyance. He didn't mind what the old geezer would write about but he wanted him to rest because deep within him… under his mocking and indifferent façade solely reserved for his teacher, he cared for the old man.

"I'm done. I'll send this to my publisher. This will be my masterpiece," Jiraiya replied proudly, kissing the bound paper in a loud smack.

"Whatever." Then raising the two large bottles he brought, "Got you some good sake."

"And where's that chichiue of yours?" he asked while inserting his work into a brown envelope. "I thought he's going to be here also."

"He will. He's just-" The boy was interrupted by the sound of the front door crashing.

"Spare my door, will ya?" Jiraiya roared as he stepped out from his room. Naruto just grinned at him and took his usual seat on the dinning room. Kisho immediately followed.

Naruto didn't know why but lately, Jiraiya would always invite them to his house for what the toad hermit would refer as 'a little get together between the gods'-gift-to-woman teacher and stupid students' every Thursday night. During those little sessions, Naruto and Jiraiya would drink themselves to oblivion which was impossible for the former because of Kyuubi. And once in awhile, when inhibitions would leave them they would let Kisho drink one or two glasses much to the boy's happiness.

But drinking wasn't the only thing they did. They would use this get together to catch up with each other. It was fun time for the three of them and nobody... nobody except Jiraiya knew that it was going to end soon.

With determination, Jiraiya managed to stay awake and watched father and son sleeping, their faces red. Of course, although he was old the mischief that had been flowing in him since childhood was still there. With a grin and with no guilt or whatsoever, he painted their faces while holding back his laughter. Few minutes later, he stepped back and looked at his work.

Naruto had black stripes on his face and a large X on his nose. Kisho's face looked like a chessboard with X and O filling the little squares. And just as he requested, a photographer came into his house and took picture of the three of them with Jiraiya smiling from ear to ear as if he had found a very precious treasure and he did. His close ties with these two blondes was special too him although he never admitted it to anyone but himself.

"Send that picture to this address," Jiraiya said, thrusting the piece of paper into the photographer's hand together with his payment. After seeing the visitor out, Jiraiya went back to his seat and looked at his two students.

He glanced at the calendar then at the clock then back to those sleeping faces. He smiled before his eyelids fell shut. His last thought was...

It was a good day... A really good one.

-SasuNaru is love-

Kisho had woken up because of the pain in his neck. Mumbling some incoherent protest, he rolled his head slowly before stretching his arms. Looking around, he noticed that sunlight had now bathed almost half of the dining room and he knew it was almost noon. Unable to ignore the headache lingering near his consciousness he stumbled to the kitchen to prepare hot tea for everyone.

Few minutes later, he awakened his chichiue and thrust the cup into his hands. He then went to do the same to his so-called instructor. Usually Jiraiya was a light sleeper especially compared to his chichiue so when the toad hermit remained asleep, Kisho thought it was just to irk him. Annoyed he none too gently slapped his face. It was only then did he realize Jiraiya's body temperature.

With trembling hands, he cupped painted cheeks before he let his hands crept downward and settled on broad chest, feeling for that telltale sign of life. For the short second that his hands had traveled, his mind had work to pray that it was just a joke and at the same time denying the truth that was waiting to smother him with pain.

Sleepiness left Naruto when he noticed his boy's shoulders were shaking and heard soft sobs.

"What's wrong, Kisho?"

Sobs.

"Kisho?"

"He's gone," the boy finally answered. He couldn't say 'He's dead' because it was still too early and too raw. He didn't even register the sound of the cup hitting the floor and its shattering as his chichiue dropped the glass.

Betrayal…

"Gone?" Naruto echoed quietly, never believing because there was no sign… no foreboding. The old man couldn't just leave that quietly. With tears streaming down his face, the younger Uchiha looked over his shoulder and nodded.

To the older blonde, those tears were all he needed. Even with paints on their faces they could never bring themselves to laugh. He approached his mentor and stared at his corpse, no, his sleeping form. Jiraiya had a small and soft smile on his face. He looked like he was just sleeping deeply so he couldn't be dead, right? RIGHT?!

Naruto glanced at Kisho who was now crying so hard. He wordlessly pulled his child into his arms.

Loss…

-SasuNaru is love-

Two days later, shinobis and few civilians gathered together to witness one of the sannin's cremation. At the side, Tsunade was comforted by Sakura and Shizune. But Kisho who had never lost someone even to death was inconsolable while Naruto on the other hand was beyond that. He just emotionlessly watched as the white flames flared upward and engulfed

Jiraiya. Not once had he shed tear even on that day nor was he tearful. He was just rigid like a stone and as lifeless as any statue.

Days after Jiraiya's burial, Naruto was still emotionally hibernating and mentally absent even during office hours. Most of the time, he'd blankly stare into space. Then five days after Jiraiya's death, Naruto just simply disappeared without trace. Naturally his disappearance sent his bodyguards into frantic searching. The guards visited all the places their ward frequented. They even checked the perimeter around Jiraiya's apartment. When they couldn't find their rokudaime, the head bodyguard had no choice but to alert all ANBU members present in the village. Sasuke was one of them.

Sasuke walked into Jiraiya's apartment even though he had been told that there was no trace of Naruto's chakra. What they didn't know was that Naruto had excellent hiding skills when he didn't want to be found and right now the blonde was using those skills. And although his five senses told him that their missing hokage wasn't inside, Sasuke's heart was telling him otherwise and his heart, after years of marriage with the blonde, couldn't go wrong where his wife was concerned. Just as his heart had told him, Sasuke found Naruto sitting in front of the dining table where two cups and a bottle of Japanese wine were placed.

He let out a sigh of relief to find his wife safe. Using his clone, he informed everyone to cease their search and that he would guard the hokage for the time being.

Smiling, Naruto stood up to get another cup. "Ero-sennin would be pleased at the same time annoyed that you're going to join us," he said.

It was clear to Sasuke that Naruto was still in shock and in denial. A part of him wanted to let Naruto be like that as much as he wanted but he knew that in the long run it won't do him good so even if he would hurt the blonde, he had to do it.

"Dobe-"

"And just to embarrass me, he would ask you questions about our sex life," the younger man continued. "So even if he threatens or bribes you, don't you dare tell him about anything especially how you always make me-"

"Naruto-"

Perhaps Naruto knew what Sasuke was trying to say because words started tumbling from his mouth too quickly. "And don't ever believe what he would tell you during my training with him and-"

Slap!

Confused and pained blue eyes stared at Sasuke while Naruto held his stinging cheek.

Unable to bear the look the blonde was giving him, the ANBU captain pulled him into embrace. "He's dead, Naruto." And his reward for stating the truth was a rough shove and a hard punch that made his head spin.

"What kind of a joke was that, bastard?!" the blonde growled. "Ero-sennin is just on what he called as recon mission. And then he would come home probably disheveled because the women he was spying discovered him. But he would dismiss it as a small price for his cause then he would start showing me his new materials while telling me what I'm missing for marrying a man."

"That's enough, dobe," the Uchiha leader ordered before he lunged forward and delivered a punch. He would beat the truth into him.

There were just pants and grunts as flying fists and legs met their target. And like always, their surrounding disappeared until there were just them fighting for what they believed and trying to make the other accept their opinion.

After a long time of exchanging attacks, they jumped away from each other to put a good distance. Sasuke had blood streaming from his nose while Naruto had his lips bleeding and had a cut on his cheek.

Strangely, Naruto felt his sides being tickled. There was a rumble from his chest and then the next thing he knew he had thrown back his head and laughed. Hard. Hysterically.

"Damn you, ero-sennin!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. His chest constricted causing for his laughter to turn into chuckles then to sobs. He collapsed to the floor too overwhelmed with his grief and loss.

He knew everybody was going to die someday but it still hurt. That knowledge didn't minimize the pain he felt nor lessened the void Jiraiya's death had caused.

Jiraiya.

The toad hermit. The peeping tom. One of the legendary sannin. The pervert. His mentor. His confidante. His father.

Jiraiya had done so many things for him and he never had thanked him once for everything. And now the old man would never know how much he appreciated his efforts and presence in his life. Jiraiya would never know. And that made his death worse.

"No, he knows," Sasuke told him with conviction. Naruto didn't even know when did Sasuke sat near him and held his hand nor was he aware that he had voiced out his regrets.

"How would you know?"

"Because you're easy to read. And he's your mentor and your father aside from Iruka-sensei."

Naruto nodded and continued crying.

Thank you, Jiraiya-sensei. Sleep well.

-SasuNaru is love-

"Didn't I tell you to maintain a particular amount of chakra?" Jiraiya asked without looking from his manuscript.

"How would you know? You're not even looking at what I'm doing," a very annoyed Kisho retorted. He wondered if his parents were right in asking this man who was just nothing but an old pervert. He wondered if this man was really one of the legendary sannin.

"Do things right," was the only thing he heard. The old pervert man didn't even dare deny or apologize. So annoyed was the boy that out of wanting to irk the man, he let his chakra flow to Jiraiya's direction. The next thing he knew he was on the ground and Jiraiya was sitting on him.

"It was an accident," he insisted while squirming trying to throw his so-called mentor off.

Jiraiya glanced down on him. "That's why I told you-"

"Kisho?" a familiar voice called bringing him back away from his memory. "Did we make you wait?" Makoto asked his friend who was sorrow personified and he made a note that he would make a painting of Kisho like that.

"No. Shall we go now?" His three friends nodded.

The four of them were asked by the hokage to clean up Jiraiya's apartment and transfer his things to the basement of Uchiha's manor.

Kisho opened the door and walked in. It had been nine days since he had come to this place and his gaze went to the chair where his mentor had died. He frowned when he noticed how the room looked messier than before. There were two or three broken chairs haphazardly gathered in one side of the room. Not only that, but the carpet had blood stains.

"Did somebody sneak in?" Kazushi wondered out loud.

"More like there was a fight," Shigure commented.

"Must be my parents," the blonde muttered. "Let's get this cleaned up."

Two hours later, all of Jiraiya's stuffs were now placed in the boxes ready to be sealed. Most of his stuffs were published books and manuscripts.

"Can't believe he had written this much," Makoto commented, amazed.

"Three of my cousins are die-hard fans of his," Shigure shared. "But their collection isn't complete. Kisho, mind if you-"

"No."

"Did you promise to give them to Hatake-san?"

At this, Kazushi chuckled. "I bet Hatake-san had a complete collection."

Before they could agree, Kisho spoke. And their blond friend's announcement surprised them. "They're mine now. And it doesn't matter if I read them or not."

-SasuNaru is love-

The finality of Jiraiya's death came two months later when his last novel Icha Icha Paradise Golden Glory Ultimate Edition was released to the public, hard bound. On the first page where the summary of the story should be usually found was a handwritten note.

To my two students: Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Kisho.

Why Jiraiya used 'Uzumaki' was anyone's guess but a lot of his readers believe that the reason was because that was who Naruto was when he first met him.

And on the last page of the book was a picture taken few minutes before the Toad Hermit's death. On it was another note.

The cause of my headaches, disappointments and pain. The source of my pride and joy.

That was the only novel of Jiraiya that Naruto bought and to top it off he bought two copies - one for his bedroom and the other for his office to be accessed when he would miss the old pervert. Kisho, on the other hand, had placed his copy beneath his pillow.

TBC

And life still goes on...