Disclaimer: The following is a story made using elements not belonging to the author. Such elements belong to their respected owners. Any similarities with other stories from other authors, either living or dead, are purely coincidental.
A/N: Hindi ko nap o itutuloy yung Tagalog bersyon ng kwentong ito. 'ala kasing nag babasa, e.
Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee stood in front of Tsunade's desk. The occupants of the room were sad and quiet. It had been an hour since they returned to Konoha with the traitor Uchiha Sasuke…
…and the cold dead body of Uzumaki Naruto.
"What happened, Shikamaru?" the Hokage asked.
"We don't know the details." The chuunin answered, "We were already too late. Orochimaru was gone and Sasuke was alone when we got there. Naruto was already…"
"Thank you, Shikamaru. That would be all."
The young man stood back. The woman's rage and sadness could be clearly heard in her words. The chuunins did not wait to be told twice. They quickly vacated the room.
"Leave me." Tsunade said to her assistants.
They too complied quickly. The fifth Hokage was left in a dark quiet room. After a few moments she did what anyone who lost a loved one would do…
…Tsunade cried the entire night.
The village of Konoha was celebrating that night. They weren't celebrating a victory or any reason that merits celebration. They were celebrating the death of one of their ninjas.
They were celebrating the death of a hero.
In the entire village, there were only a few places were the people mourned. In the small Icharaku ramen stand, three people could be seen grieving the loss.
"I could still remember the times I treated him here after I would punish him." Iruka said sadly.
"He was my most loyal customer. Everything's gonna change now that he's gone." Said Teuchi, the shop's owner.
Ayame kept silent. She hasn't said a word since she found out that her favorite, loudmouth customer was dead. She had been quite smitten by him.
"Here you are, sir Iruka."
Hatake Kakashi sat down beside the chuunin and ordered something to eat. Silence reigned for a few moments.
"Why was he alone?" The chuunin said "Why was he allowed to go alone to Sasuke when we all know that how dangerous it was."
"He wasn't allowed to go alone." The jounin answered "He left even before a proper team was assembled. We all know Naruto. When it comes to certain things he's far too reckless."
At that moment a group of drunkards went by the small shop.
"Hey you there! Come join us. Let's drink and be merry now that the monster is dead."
Iruka quickly pulled out a kunai to finish off the one who spoke but was stopped by Kakashi.
"Don't. You'll only get yourself hurt."
Iruka tried to break free but the jounin's grip was too tight. A few moments later the group left, and Kakashi released the chuunin.
"Why did you stop me? I couldn't just stand by and let them soil Naruto's memory."
"If you did that there would be a fight. Besides, if the Hokage found out that you attacked civilians, you'll surely be punished."
Iruka remained silent. He put the kunai back and put his head on his hands.
"Your student fell in battle." Kakashi continued "I know how you…"
"You don't know how I feel!" shouted Iruka "Not once did you consider Naruto your student. That boy was like a son to me. To you, they were nothing more than soldiers. You yourself told me that."
The small shop went silent. Iruka was shaking in anger while Kakashi remained passive.
"Perhaps you're right." Kakashi said, and then turned away from the chuunin.
"I did treat them only as soldiers. Right from the start I didn't take teaching them that seriously. Often times I would only focus on Sasuke, as if Naruto and Sakura weren't there. I got caught up with being Sasuke's teacher, when I should have been the teacher of Team seven.
My father and the fourth taught me to be fair in all things. Now I know that I've failed them. I've shamed my father, my teacher, but most of all, I shamed myself because I had favorites. I owed Naruto a lot.
But you, sir Iruka, you were a fair teacher when Naruto was still learning under you. Naruto learned a whole lot more from you than he had from me. You were like a father to him. That's why I can't let one of his most precious people get into trouble.
I owe him that much."
At this point, Iruka couldn't do anything anymore. He began to cry where he sat.
The next day…
In one of the training ground of Konoha, three ninja's were waiting for their teacher. Lee was diligently kicking one of the large tree logs, Tenten was shining her weapons, and Neji was leaning on a tree and sulking.
This was the ordinary routine for Team Taijutsu, except for a few things…
…Lee was silent…
…Tenten had tears in here eyes…
…and sadness was evident in Neji's open eyes.
With a great cry, Lee broke his tree trunk in half. The young man's irritation was evident.
"This shouldn't have happened!"
"We can't do anything now. What happened has happened. No matter how much you shout, it won't bring Naruto back." Neji answered.
"I also can't believe it." Tenten said "Naruto died, and at the hands of Sasuke. I can't believe things had to end this way."
"No matter what we believe, it won't change the truth. Uchiha Sasuke killed Uzumaki Naruto. Nothing will change that."
"Are you saying that what happened was their destiny?" shouted Lee.
"I'm not saying that, Lee." Answered the young Hyuuga.
"Liar. You're saying that it was their destiny to fight each other even though they were friends, and that one would die in the hands of the other. Don't deny it, Neji."
The Hyuuga's eyes narrowed. "Are you challenging me, Lee? Well then I accept."
Lee smiled. "No problem. I'll make you remember the lessons you should've learned from Naruto."
Tenten stood up. "Stop it, both of you. You're teammates. You shouldn't be fighting. Please, Neji, don't. You've just recovered from an illness. You shouldn't have gone with them in the first place."
The two young men didn't listen to her. In the blink of an eye they were racing towards each other.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The two immediately stopped. The three chuunin turned to see their teacher, Maito Gai.
"You'll only hurt yourselves with what you're doing." Shouted the jounin.
"But sir Gai…"
"Lee, shut up!"
Lee went silent. The jounin sighed and continued.
"I know that you're mad that you weren't able to help your friend. It is a great tragedy when the flame of youth is snuffed out, especially when it is a friend.
But whatever we do, we can't bring back the past. The flame that has been put out cannot be brought back. All we can do is to remember the warmth and light that it gave to us.
Lee, Neji, Naruto was your friend. Do you think he would like it if he found out you were getting hurt because of him?"
The young men kept silent.
"We don't have a mission today, and by what I've seen you won't be able to train properly. Why don't we just go home and cool our heads off? We'll meet each other again in three days."
"Sir Gai, what will we do in three days?" Tenten asked.
Gai turned to her. "In three days, Naruto will be buried."
Shikamaru was lying on top of a hill and watching the clouds. In the past, he loved doing this. It made him forget all his troubles. But now, it only reminded him more of it.
'I failed.' The chuunin said to himself.
'I failed to save Naruto. That troublesome idiot just had to run off by himself. The Hokage already told him not to search for Sasuke alone.'
A cloud shaped like a pig floated overhead.
'If the time comes, will I be able to defend her? Will I be able to save her from the enemy? Will I be able to protect…'
"Shikamaru!"
'How troublesome.'
Shikamaru turned his back to the origin of the voice, Yamanaka Ino.
"Here you are, Shikamaru."
"Ino, I don't have time for your loud mouth right now."
This surprised the young lady. "Well aren't you stingy today. I just came by to see how you were doing."
The young man kept silent.
"Shikamaru, are you okay?"
"What do you think, Ino?"
The young lady sat beside her teammate.
"It's not your fault. It's not every time a ninja is successful in a mission."
"You don't understand."
Shikamaru sat up. His back was still to Ino.
"My mission was to save a friend from eminent danger. This isn't just some random guy. This is a friend we're talking about. And I failed.
We weren't able to save Naruto in time. We weren't able to prevent his death. He was expecting back up, but we didn't get to him in time.
As the leader, it's my task to make sure the mission is successful. But instead I failed the Hokage, our friends, and most of all, Naruto.
I wasn't able to save him. What more if the people more important to me are in danger? What if I fail them?"
He turned to the young lady. Ino could see the tears welling up in Shikamaru's eyes.
"What if I fail you?"
Ino couldn't speak. She could say anything to lighten Shikamaru's burden. All she could do was to take the young man in her arms and mourn with him.
At the foot of the hill, Chouji and their teacher, Sarutobi Asuma, were watching the events unfold.
"I've never seen Shikamaru like that before."
"Shikamaru is going through the most painful thing a ninja could go through." The jounin said.
"What's that, sir Asuma?"
"For some ninjas, the success of the mission is the top priority. For others, it's the well being of their comrades that's more important.
Shikamaru failed to prevent the death of Naruto. And because Naruto died, the mission was a failure. Because of this he is feeling both the pain of failing a mission, and the greater pain of failing to save a friend."
Asuma lit another cigarette.
"The worse part is he's letting it affect him. Now he's thinking he can't protect the people important to him anymore. His confidence in himself has been completely destroyed. His afraid he might fail again since it could be Ino he would lose next.
He needs to get past this. If he doesn't what he's afraid of might just happen."
The jounin started to walk away.
"Chouji, I'll leave you tell them about Naruto's funeral."
The fat ninja turned back to his friends.
"I never knew Shikamaru had feelings for Ino."
In front of the Hyuuga compound stood two young men. One wore a grey parka with a small dog riding on the hood. The other wore a large, high collared coat and shades. Kiba and Shino were in front of the home of the most powerful clan in Konoha to check on their teammate, the Hyuuga heir, Hyuuga Hinata.
They were soon ushered in by a branch house member and was lead to the home of the main house. As they walked through a garden, they passed two quarreling kids. One was a girl with straight brown hair that went past her shoulders, and white eyes that were unmistakably Hyuuga. She was arguing with a boy the same age as her, sporting a green pair of goggles and a long scarf.
"I thought I told you never to say that name in this house!" the girl shouted
"What's the matter with you?" the boy shouted back, "What's wrong with me remembering my dead big brother."
"What's wrong? WHAT"S WRONG? YOU'RE BROTHER TOOK MY SISTER FROM ME!"
With that, the girl stormed out of the garden.
"Wasn't that Hinata's sister, and the third's grandson." Kiba asked his teammate.
"I believe so." Shino responded.
"Man, I thoughts ours were the only Hyuuga affected by what happened, but it looks like there's another."
"So it seems."
"Ahh, that idiot! He just had to go on alone like that. Didn't he think of the people who would be affected if he got killed?" Kiba snarled.
Shino remained silent.
As they came close to the house, they saw their instructor, Yuuhi Kurenai. The red eyed woman was talking to the Hyuuga head, Hyuuga Hiashi, the father of their teammate. The two's conversation ended as they got closer. Hiashi dismissed the branch house member and went inside the houses, leaving the jounin to talk to her subordinates.
"I'm sorry you two, but Hinata can't talk to you right now. She's…not feeling well."
"Wha…why? What's wrong with her."
"I'm not at liberty to reveal that, Kiba. For now, she just needs to be alone. Don't worry. I've told her father what will happen in three days. He'll pass the message."
"He will?" Kiba asked, "Doesn't he have any problems with Hinata going to Naruto's funeral?"
"Surprisingly, no he doesn't. He even said he'll take her there personally."
Even Shino was surprised by this news.
"Since when was he considerate of Hinata's feelings?"
An old man walked briskly trough the Hokage tower. He had long, spiky, white hair tied into a ponytail and a large scroll hanging down his back. He quickly mad his way to the Hokage's office.
As he neared the door he was met by a young woman holding a pig.
"Thank you for coming after such short notice, Jiraiya."
"No problem. What's wrong, Shizune?"
"She's been in there almost the entire day." Said the jounin as she looked at the office door. "She hasn't even come out to eat. I'm getting worried."
"Alright, I'll take care of it."
Jiraiya opened the door. Inside the room Tsunade was bent over her table. Surrounding her were several bottles of every kind of wine and liquor available. It was obvious from her state that she was drunk.
"Oy, Tsunade!"
The woman looked to him.
"Ah. Jiraiya, it's you."
From were he was standing, the old man could smell the liquor emanating from the woman's mouth.
"How is the information gathering?" Tsunade asked.
"Things are going fine." Answered Jiraiya. "I've gathered quite a good amount of info."
"And what brings you here? Perhaps you want to include me in your research?" the woman said, then winked as she showed off her chest to the man in front of her. (AN: She's drunk after all.)
"I…er…Maybe some other time." Said the blushing Ero-sennin.
"Suite yourself. Come on, drink with me."
Jiraiya's face tuned serious.
"Tsunade, I think that's enough liquor for today."
"What are you saying, Jiraiya? I'm still good for another round."
"Tsunade, you've been at it for the entire day. Aren't you planning to go to work?"
"Bah! I'm the Hokage. I can do anything I want."
"This isn't how a Hokage acts." Jiraiya almost shouted.
The room fell silent. After a few moments Tsunade's laughter could be heard.
"Hahahaha. You know how a Hokage acts? Hahaha. By the way you speak you think you know how to be a Hokage. Hahahahaha. Well in that case…
…WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE THE JOB?"
Tsunade slammed at her desk, causing it to turn to dust. She tried to punch Jiraiya but because of her drunkenness she couldn't hit him. After a few more punches the old pervert was finally able to grab on to the Hokage's arms. The woman started to struggle.
"You bastard! Let go of me, Jiraiya!"
"Tsunade, that's enough. Stop this now."
"Shut up! You talk like you know the pain I'm going through. The pain you caused."
"You're drunk. You don't know what you're saying."
"I know what I'm saying. If you took the job, then you wouldn't have been sent to bring me back. If you weren't sent, then we wouldn't have met that day. If we didn't meet then, then I would never have met…"
At that moment the woman stopped moving. She fell to her knees and began to cry.
"Why, Jiraiya. All the people close to me have died just because they wanted to be Hokage. Why? Is this position cursed? Is this Hokage's necklace I give them cursed? Am I cursed that all of the people I love must die?"
"That's nonsense you're talking about. You're not cursed." The old pervert said as he held the Hokage. Tsunade just put her head on Jiraiya's chest and kept on crying.
They were like this the entire night.
Naruto's burial…
A small group has gathered in secluded part of the forest. Tsunade chose this spot with the help of Iruka so no one could defile Naruto's last resting place. Iruka chose this place as this was the place where Naruto became a ninja.
The group was comprised of what was left of the Konoha twelve, except for Sasuke. Also present were the jounin professors, ninjas who have known and worked with Naruto, and other friends and admirers. Also present, to the great surprise of all, was Hyuuga Hiashi.
Almost everyone's attention was on the Hyuuga heir. Ever since she found out about the death of her lover, Hinata imprisoned herself in her room and there stayed for the entire three days. The young lady has changed dramatically during this time.
It was obvious that she was getting thinner. She was paler than she usually was. Her eyes were still red from crying. Inside Hinata was in far worse condition. Her source of strength was taken from her. Her light and happiness was no more. Her reason to live was gone.
Tsunade presided over the ceremony. Some of the people who attended said some words about Naruto and how he has affected their lives. After very long speech by Lee, who spoke of the flames of youth and how his friends death was a great tragedy, the Hokage stood in front once again.
"There is still one more who wishes to speak. I would like to ask everyone her to please not do anything rash."
The people were confused about what Tsunade said, until they heard the rest of what she had to say.
"You may come forward, Uchiha Sasuke."
Everyone turned to the back. There, surrounded by an entire ANBU squad was the traitor. All of the eyes looking at him were full of anger. All except Sakura, whose eyes were full of uncertainty, Hiashi, who was looking at his eldest, and Hinata, who was shaking in anger with her head bent down.
He walked up to the Hokage.
"It would be better if you would hurry up. I can't ensure you're safety here."
"No problem, master Hokage."
The young man walked to the coffin.
"How are you, dobe?"
Everyone gasped at what they heard. Hiashi laid a hand on Hinata's shoulder to calm the girl down, and just in case she did something.
"I'll make this short. We both know everyone here wants me dead. I don't have any right to be here, after what I've done to you. I just want to tell you something.
I owe you a lot. You've been a good comrade and friend to me. You don't know this, but you were the one who pushed me to stronger even before I got the cursed seal. You were my inspiration. Not only that. You saved me from the darkness. You promised to save me even if you died trying, and you did. Thank you very much.
I know this is too late, but…"
Sasuke placed a round object on top of Naruto's open coffin…
…the crest of the Uchiha clan.
"From now on you are now part of my clan. May you be happy wherever you are…
…Uchiha Naruto, my brother."
Everyone was surprised by what he said, but they were taken back more when somebody shouted.
"YOU BASTARD!"
In a flash Hinata disappeared from her father's side and reappeared behind Sasuke. Even before the young man could turn around he found himself flying towards a tree. He hit so hard that it almost snapped in two.
Everyone looked at the Hyuuga heir. This was the first time they've seen the usually quite girl shaking in rage. Everyone could feel the killing intent from the young woman. Even her father wasn't able to move from where he stood.
"How could you call Naruto brother when you were the cause of his death.
You're a worthless person, Uchiha. So many people admire you, but you cast them aside. There's a woman who loves you with all her heart and soul and has never left your side, yet you pushed her away. You had a friend and comrade who would do anything for you, but you betrayed him."
HInata's tears began to flow.
"Naruto promised me. He promised that when he got back he would marry me. We would live out our days happy and together. But you, you stole my happiness. Because of you my beloved is dead."
Sasuke didn't move from where he was.
"What are you waiting for? Kill me. Avenge the death of your beloved and my brother."
This only fueled the young woman's rage even more. She began to expel white chakra. It surrounded her like Kyuubi's charka surrounded Naruto when he used it. You didn't need a Byakugan to know that, with the amount of charka she was using and the intensity of her killing intent, Hinata had no problem turning Sasuke's innards into soup.
"DIE, UCHIHA!"
Hinata went straight for Sasuke. Only Sakura tried to stop her, but she already knew she was too late.
"SABAKU KYU!"
In an blink of an eye Hinata was covered in sand and was now floating in the air. Everyone turned to the back and saw Gaara, Kazekage of the village of Suna. Flanking him were Kankurou and Temari. They were accompanying their brother to the funeral of one of his closest friends.
"Lady Hyuuga, please calm down."
Hinata didn't stop struggling.
"Sabaku no Gaara, let me go."
"Lady Hyuuga, you won't bring back your lover this way."
"I don't care. I'll kill him."
"Hyuuga Hinata, do you really want Naruto's death to be in vain?"
Perhaps it was the way the Kazekage spoke, or perhaps it was because she heard the name of her dead beloved, but what ever the reason, Hinata stopped struggling. She couldn't do anything else but to cry.
Gaara immediately released the young woman. Her family quickly went to her side.
"Master Hyuuga, it would be wise to take your daughter home. This is not the place for her to be in right now."
"Thank you, Kazekage." Hiashi said.
With that, the Hyuuga left the area.
Gaara walked up to Sasuke.
"Are you still alive?"
"Yes." was the young man's only answer.
"Good."
Sasuke had no time to be surprised. A hand made of sand wrapped around him and slammed him into another tree.
"Gaara, what are you…"
Temari was cut short when she noticed something about the sand. It had black markings all around it. She recognized the arm of sand.
"Shukaku?"
Gaara's head turned to Temari.
"Don't worry. You brother is still here. I only want to give this boy some advice."
He looked back at Sasuke.
"Boy, it would be better for you not to show yourself to these people ever again. To tell you the truth, my container and I both want rip you limb from limb. But we will hold back. For the sake of the boy you put in that coffin."
The sand released Sasuke and Gaara went back to his former self. He turned away from the young man and went to Naruto's coffin. He looked inside it for a few moments and cried.
That night…
Sasuke was sitting on his bed. The council of Konoha decided to put him under house arrest while he waited to be tried for his crimes. Two ANBU squads were watching over the Uchiha estate at all times.
The young man looked at the object in his hands. It was a forehead protector full of scratches and cracks. It was Naruto's forehead protector.
He thought of what had happened that day. He knew what he did was suicide. Perhaps, that was what he wanted; to die at the hands of those who were true friends to his brother.
"I'm worse than Itachi. He let me live, while I killed Naruto. There's no denying it anymore. I killed Naruto."
Sakura hugged Sasuke. Because of what had happened, she began to think of all the wrongs she had to her fallen comrade and friend. The times when she brushed aside his attempts to ask her out on a date. The many instances when she would strike at him whenever he would pester her or Sasuke. The wish that Naruto vowed to fulfill even if he died doing it…
…which he did.
"No. You didn't kill him.
We did."