A/N: I've been working on Sarafu's story so much, that I can't write any of my other stories, without getting off topic. Its fun to read my story. Don't you agree?

Disclaimer: Don't own them.

I Hate Funerals

I let out a tired sigh as I kicked off my dress shoes. I plopped into the nearest chair and stretched my legs with a yawn, wrinkling my formal, black kimono. I rubbed my weary eyes. They were red, but not from crying. No, I was past weeping. Now, all I wanted was a good night's rest to meet the new, and obviously, difficult day ahead. The last of my strength was spent on trying to keep my suddenly heavy eyelids from shutting, but my strength left me. My eyes closed and-

a loud knock. I jump up into a straight position, alert to everything around me. "Ryushin," I sighed with relief, as I melted back into my chair. I took deeper beaths to try and calm my racing heart.

"I'm sorry," the white-haired boy smiled with chagrin. "Did I frighten you?"

I waved my hand at him lazily. "No, no. My nerves are just weak, at the moment. What is it?"

He walked in and closed the door behind him gently. Then he took the liberty of seating himself in the chair across from my desk, which I was sitting in the massive leather chair behind. He looked at me with that content smile of his. "Nothing, really. I just thought you might need some company after Yoko-sama's funeral." His smile widened slightly. "I'm glad to see that you don't appear to."

I let out a chuckle. "Yeah, well after standing in a dense crowd for a few hours, I'm a little sick of people. I hate funerals. They always miss the point. Make you feel bad about things. Feel bad for the dead." I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh at this, which baffled Ryushin. "Lucky dogs have no more worries. Although Yoko didn't get to finish his dream, he's probably lounging up there with no stress at all, knowing that I'll take everything from here. Now I know what that stupid smile of his was about." My smile softened and I fought the burning in my eyes. No! You're past tears, remember? Don't cry for that little jerk!

Ryushin's smile turned to one of awe. "You never really thought of him as a little ten year old, did you? You always treated him as an equal." It was more of a statement than a question.

I just shook my head. "It was him who treated me as an equal. Half the time, I could barely keep up with the kid. He was a genius. No, I always treated him as more of an older brother."

Ryushin nodded in understanding. After that, a silence passed between us, each remembering pleasant memories of Yoko.

I was the first to break the silence. "Ryushin," my face turned serious, "I know you don't belong here. You were-or more like you are a jounin for Kumo. When we reach Earth, I will allow you to return to your village. Ours will no longer be a secret."

He merely stared at me in shock. I stared at him, no emotion playing on my face. Although, the night before (the night of Yoko's death) I had been debating furiously with myself on this issue. Now, Ryushin was my only friend. The only person I could trust. Without him, I might be devoured by the Sky Village, but I couldn't force him to stay here. It would only hurt me more, knowing he wished to be somewhere else. I still hadn't decided fully. Part of me wanted him to stay with me forever, but if I was going to be Sorakage, I needed to put other people's thoughts before my own.

He was silent for the longest time, his face never changing from that shocked expression as though he wasn't thinking at all. Then, he closed his gaping mouth and knitted his eyebrows. "What do you mean 'when we reach Earth'?"

A gave a slight sigh of aggravation. I wanted to know what his decision was. But nevertheless, I answered. "It was Yoko's wish to bring the people of Sora back to the ground. You may not know our history, but like all humans, we started on the Earth. But after a terrible Demon-" I stiffened. Ryushin didn't know about me and the Moon Dragon "-destroyed our little village, we used our advanced technology to first live in the mountains away from it, then we moved up into the Sky. We are cowards, Ryu, cowards. It's a disgrace to call ourselves ninja. I plain to strengthen my village by making it face the perils of the Earth. But once this happens, I no longer need to hide. We will be announced to the world, finally. Then, you can leave and tell your village all about us. I will no longer hold you prisoner."

Ryushin smiled. "I'm hardly prisoner, Sarafu-sama."

I smiled back. "But you still can't leave. Until now."

Ryushin's smile dropped. He glared at the floor, thinking. Then he lifted his head and gazed defiantly at me. "I'm staying."

My eyes widened. Partly with glee, partly with surprise. I was so sure he would leave. "What?"

"I'm staying." His gaze never wavered, but he smiled gently. "I want to stay by your side. After all, it seems like your gonna need all the help you can get."

I smiled widely. I couldn't contain myself. I leapt out of my chair and tackled him with a hug. "Oh, thank you, Ryu! You don't know how much this means to me!"

When I pulled back finally, his face was glowing red with embarassment. "Ah. . .Y-you're s-so. . .happy." He turned away at his stuttering. Apparantly, he'd never been hugged by a girl before.

I giggled and stood up, facing him, my hands on my hips. "I've got every reason to be happy. After all, I've got a friend."

Ryushin smiled through his blush. "Yeah."

My spirits high, I left Ryu to go check up on my jounins, and see what was going on. Not much. That was obvious. 'Not much' happened in Sora all the time. It was a very boring place. Yoko's death just might have been the most exciting thing out of the entire year. I sighed, knowing that I couldn't count on people to cure my boredom so I got up and looked at the calendar, hoping that a coming holiday just might give me reason to party. Actually, it was nearing the end of summer, but not that the heat ever affected the people of Sora. They barely got any weather up there. It was always cold. My lips curled into a smile.

The Summer Festival.

The seasonal festivals always happened at the end, so that everyone could look back on their memorable times of those few months. The City of Sora would decorate the town like they would on ground if they actually had heat. There were barbeques and cook-off's at the beach. It was a little ritual to remind us the great things of the Earth we abandoned. Sometimes, it was painful to some people, realizing that other people had this all season, while we only got it once a year. But, in my case, that was a good thing. If I am to bring these folk down to Earth, it will be useless if they just go back up. I need them to want to stay.

I continued on, with a new motive. Unfortunatly, when I began to ask for preperations on the Summer Festival, people treated me as if I meant disrespect to the Dead.

"Have you no compassion for poor Yoko-sama?" One lady gaped at me in horror.

I merely said, "More than you do." Which didn't help. Well, for now, I was gonna have to wiat out the funeral day. Everyone was still 'grieving.'

...to be continued.