Welcome again to the story with the bad title! For the life of me, I can't remember why I picked this title. Stupidity of my younger self I guess!

I'm happy you all enjoyed the last chapter. I want to give a quick shout out to everyone who added this story to their favorites, or even added my profile to their list! A big thank you to:

Saedstuyiu, nm1716, Nachonicolini98, Gaara king of the sand, Patrick Wishart, Majestic Yo-kai Fauntleroy, Cal22794, Leonkennedypr96, Laurajustin, , Skyhunter87, SM1ll3R, Haedris, Blandusername, BewareTheSnow, , Bws5002, RaeSurfs, Maniczzzzzzz, DeadlyOtaku17, A light shining in darkness, Jsnakes13, Zelfra1234, Wolfanarchy, Commandravage, Harllo, Barbok, NarutoJohn,

Reviewers:

Nithu Velu: Glad you've enjoyed the chapter! We'll just have to wait and see, what Naruto will do ;)

Reedz22: And that was kind of what I was going for, setting up, what looks like an unwinnable scenario. A desperate scenario. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

22: We already chatted a bit in the pm's but wanted to give you the shoutout regardless. I hope this chapter will live up to the previous ones!

Burntblood.1982: I've decided to revert back to the original intended pairing. I'm sorry if that isn't really your cup of tea, but it always was the intended plan (to have Naruto engage in a romantic relationship). It in no way will take control of the story. It just adds onto it!

Now comes the uncomfortable part. As we've been progressing the story along, I'm still some ways off from wrapping up the final arc. Work has been keeping me busy and I try to write as much as I can.

Add onto it, that even with the completed chapters, ready to be posted, I still like to read them over and tinker on it. This does take up some of my time.

Having said that, as it stands now, I have roughly 10 chapters that are complete and basically ready to be posted. As part of the plan, I'll keep posting 1 every week. But because I slowed down in terms of writing, I may at one point change posting chapters from once a week, to once every two weeks. This way I give myself some more breathing space. I'm not sure yet if I will. But I rather do this, than have you ladies and gents waiting for weeks before finally posting on.

Also! I wasn't entirely happy about the Akemi section of the previous two chapters. I've changed them a bit and and updated those chapters. There aren't any major changes, but I do recommend a reread of that part. If you don't remember, Akemi was the medic-nin that patched Naruto up in Chapter 37, and Naruto found her dead in the next chapter.

This chapter deals with the aftermath of Suna and how our characters are affected by it. This is a somber chapter and as I mentioned earlier, music can be a powerful tool. When writing this, I listened a lot to Dumbledore's farewell (harry potter ost), Now we are free (gladiator ost) and Gortoz A ran (Black hawk down ost). It helped me out immensily with writing this chapter. I suggest you open a similar playlist for this chapter!

I hope you will like the chapter!

Chapter 39: The aftermath

In the end, Sunagakure had fallen in a single night. The remaining defenders at the far wall had laid as many traps as possible before retreating, hoping it would buy enough time for the civilians to flee.

And it did, but barely. The civilians of Kaze no Kuni had reached the port and boarded the ships. They had survived. Even from the port a day's travel away from Suna, they were still able to see the large smoke clouds that originated from their village. Less than an hour later, the reavers had destroyed the port.

The price they paid for their survival was immeasurable. They had nearly lost all of their military forces, including all their elite Jonin, save for two. Amongst the fallen were Kankuro, Kakuzu, Hidan and Baki. The commander of the Suna forces had been taken out during an all-out assault on their headquarters. Deidera had been killed by Kenpachi himself, shot out of the sky.

The eccentric foreigner, Raipa had been killed as well, when his group got overrun and slaughtered to the last man. He had put up one hell of a fight.

Of those who were killed, the most notable and devastating, were the genin, who had been given the order to retreat but which had been called for far too late. Out of all the genin, only one had survived.

Naruto was sitting up in his hospital bed. Around him lay other survivors who had been heavily wounded during the battle. It was dead quiet with everyone's thoughts far-far way. The medical nin had patched him up as best they could but told him his recovery would take weeks.

The chakra exhaustion he had endured was extreme and the subsequent chakra pills he had taken at a frequent basis had extensively damaged his chakra coils. Not that he cared too much about that.

He was also told that Itachi was going to live but would bear the scars for the rest of his life. He doubted the Uchiha would really mind. Naruto was glad his friend would be okay.

"And how are you holding up?"

Sakura sat down in the chair next to his bed. She was wearing a white coat which somehow seemed off and yet very fitting for the woman. She had insisted on taking care of him, despite his objections.

He stared ahead, giving a fake distant smile, his gaze on his comrades in the other beds. "I'm fine."

Sakura tilted her head and gave him a discerning look. "Your heart stopped when we were working on you, Naruto, you nearly died on us. Twice. You're not fine, you're the complete opposite of fine. I don't even like the fact that you're sitting up in bed."

"How's Micheru?" he asked, ignoring her concern.

"Micheru is going to be okay, none of her wounds were life threatening," She reached for her pencil. "How's the wound on your shoulder?"

"Good."

She gave an annoyed sigh. "Naruto, you've got to be honest with me here. I can't help you if you don't work with me."

He locked his gaze on her, startling her with the empty look he gave her. "Go help someone else."

She slowly stood, taken aback by up, pocketing her notepad and pencil. "I'll check in on you later, okay?"

"Sure."

She gave him a worried look, but noticed that is mind was already elsewhere, She walked out the room and into the crowded hallway.

She had extensive medical experience, but she had little experience dealing with traumatized people. Normally they had specialists that were capable of these situations. But the sheer amount of that were dealing with survivor guilt was…It was too much.

She gave a brief look over her shoulder, towards the blonde that was still staring ahead. She desperately wanted to help, but his trauma, combined with his apprehension towards her, made it impossible for her to get through to him.

With a sigh she flipped the page and looked at her next patient. It was another Suna survivor, but she had expected it. She was worried about the storm that was coming, and whether Konoha would survive it.

Turning right, she walked down the corridor, and onto her next patient.

x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.

The next day Naruto could be seen, sitting on the edge of the roof, looking at the village around him. It was a peaceful sight. In his hand he was holding the camera roll which contained all the pictures the fallen chunin had made during the fight.

Over the course of the past few hours, he had been toying with the idea to just toss it over the edge, having it disappear into dark alleys of Konoha, where it would eventually make its way down a drain and be lost forever.

"Hmm, seems I'm not the only one who likes this particular spot."

"First come, first serve, Hatake."

Kakashi sat down next to him, looking down to the streets where people were going about their day "See anything interesting?"

Naruto shook his head. "And how's Kakashi Hatake doing?"

"Oh, he's doing alright. Nothing some rest won't fix."

Naruto snorted. "But let me guess. Rest alludes you."

Kakashi gave a nod. "It always does at first."

Naruto didn't respond and instead just looked out to the streets below, watching as a group of kids were playing a silly game, oblivious to the dangers that loomed just outside the walls. He knew Kakashi was trying to steer the conversation in a direction he didn't want it to go.

The Jonin seemingly picked up on that and quickly tried changing the topic but found it difficult to do. Instead, he remained silent and just continued watching the villagers below.

They heard the shuffle of footsteps from the staircase behind them. "I found them, Sakura. They're over here."

"We need to find better hiding spots." Kakashi whispered, leaning to closer to him.

Naruto didn't respond, nor was he listening to the approaching footsteps of Hinata.

"She was looking all over the place for you two. You really shouldn't be out of bed."

"Maa, Hinata. Fresh air is good."

"Naruto, you were on death's doorstep just a few days ago. You need to rest." She said worriedly. She reached for his shoulder, to offer some comfort but was stopped when she saw Kakashi shaking his head.

The blonde looked down at the camera roll, contemplating whether he should throw it away. Eventually with a sigh he climbed to his feet and walked over to the Hyuuga, who was looking at him with a mixture of worry and curiosity.

He locked his lone eye on hers before tossing the camera roll.

"What's on here, Naruto-kun?" she asked, looking down at the small object in her hands.

He looked down at it one last time before stepping past her. "A chunin's dying wish." He spoke with a hoarse voice.

She gave him one last glance as he stepped past her, and what she saw startled her. "N-Naruto-kun?" His normally calm facade was nowhere to be seen. In its place was the face of a broken man.

The blonde didn't respond and instead entered the staircase and walked down, his shoulders slumped, and his head dipped low. His hands were shoved in his pockets.

She watched as he retreated inside, clutching the roll in her hand. "He's not alright, is he?"

Kakashi didn't turn, instead he kept looking out over the village. He had a slumped posture as well. "No, he's not…"

x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x

Naruto exited the hospital after having changed into some normal clothing. His body was still in a bad shape but lying-in bed, staring at the ceiling was doing little for his mental welfare. He just had to get out.

Dressed in dark trousers and an equally dark shirt he walked down the street, with no clear destination in mind. Even though he tried his best not to think about the events that happened, his mind always wandered back, along with the grief that followed.

By now four days had passed since their return to Konoha and for over half that he had been unconscious. Ever since waking up he hadn't seen Micheru or Itachi but that was likely due to their recovery.

The survivors had been given asylum in Konoha, where they would continue the fight. The civilians would be given protection all around the remaining nations.

Looking at the ramen stand he contemplated whether he would go for a bowl of ramen, but decided against it, continuing his limp, which earned him quite a few stares.

Eventually he reached the market square and took a seat, ordering a drink. He was sitting there, staring at the bustle of activity but eventually it was a newcomer who sat down at his table that brought him out of his stupor.

"Gaara?"

Gaara let his arms rest on the table, looking at Naruto with a certain amount of intensity he was known for. "I was glad to hear of your survival, Naruto."

Naruto looked at the Kazekage He had held some animosity to the former Jinchuuriki for his actions during the battle of Suna. He decided against voicing it. During war, difficult choices had to be made. "I'm sorry for your loss, Gaara. Kankuro was an incredible shinobi, and a good friend."

Gaara softly spoke. "I feel sadness for the loss of my brother…But not to the extent that Temari has."

The blonde let out a sudden painful cough before nodding in understanding. "That's understandable-"

"I wish it were me." Gaara softly spoke, looking up at Naruto. "I wish I could trade places with him, safe Temari from her anguish."

He shook his head in response. "Then she would've grieved for your loss. Don't think you meant less to her, than Kankuro."

"Still…"Gaara trailed off.

Another series of coughs caused Naruto to lean forward as a sliver of blood made its way down the side of his chin. "I'm sorry I wasn't there to save him."

Gaara looked at him with seeming concern. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault."

The image of a grinning Kankuro flashed in front of him. He shook his head and looked away. "I may not have known him very w-well…But I considered him a friend."

Gaara stood back up. "I know Kankuro felt the same, as do I."

Naruto didn't dare to look up, avoiding eye contact. Instead, he looked at the table.

"Naruto…Thank you for helping us, in our darkest hours." Gaara held out his hand, but Naruto didn't reach for it. Not because of his animosity, but because he felt guilt that he didn't do more. That he didn't save all the people that deserved to be saved.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more." The burning sensation in his chest increased as another coughing fit took hold.

"Perhaps you should return to the hospital, Naruto. You are not well," Gaara lowered his hand. "Please don't lay any blame on your own shoulders."

He shook his head and stood up as well, placing some money on the table. "I'll visit Temari later, offer my condolences."

Gaara placed a hand on his shoulder. "Rest first. She'll understand."

Naruto nearly doubled over as the coughing intensified. He groaned in pain as the burning in his chest nearly became too much to bear.

His vision became blurry, and he had to grasp the table to keep him from falling over.

"Naruto. You should go to the hospital. I see one of your friends is already here, looking for you, no doubt."

Hinata appeared in his line of sight. A concerned look on her face. "Please, Naruto-kun. Everyone is worried. You need to rest."

He pulled his arm out of her grasp. With difficulty he managed to stand up and slowly move down the street. "Leave me be."

"Why are you being stubborn?!" she pushed. "It's clear that your body isn't ready yet."

But he didn't listen and continued moving down the street.

Hinata and Gaara looked on as Naruto limped away and disappeared around a corner. "I don't understand why he's like this."

"Because the hospital reminds him of his self-made failures, unwarranted ones." Gaara answered.

"He didn't do anything wrong, did he?" She asked. Everything in regard to the battle for Suna was still a tightly wrapped secret.

Gaara gave a shake of his head. "He's blaming himself for the people we lost."

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered, her hand clasped together in front of her chest.

x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x

Micheru looked out over the hospital gardens, where other long-term patients were enjoying some fresh air. From what her medical-nin had told her, she could leave in the next day or two, for which she was glad.

"Glad to see you've woken up."

She abruptly turned and saw Hawke walking up to her. "Hawke!"

"Hey kid… He wrapped her in a cautious embrace. "Glad to see you're okay."

She gave an uncertain nod as she stepped away. "You've seen my mom?"

"She had a meeting. She'll be back later. She promised." Hawke took in her figure, quickly noticed the extensive number of bandages that were wrapped around various parts of her body. He moved to one of the free chairs and slid into it.

Micheru looked around before the image of a blond popped up. "Where's Naruto? I haven't seen him…since we got back."

"He's okay. He's around somewhere. He sneaked off when they weren't looking, apparently, he doesn't like hospitals." Hawke answered. He too had been looking for his old pupil, and he had been successful. But he hadn't been in a talkative mood, so he had left him to get some rest, which he was doubtful of.

She really wanted to talk to him, but she was limited in her movement, and she still felt exhausted, despite the four days that had passed. "What about Kitase, and Kakashi?"

"The Ame-nin couldn't stay here and went to find some quiet peaceful spot, away from the others. He'll find you later."

"And I'm right here," Kakashi walked around the corner, standing in front of the patio entrance. "Good to see you're up and about."

She smiled and went to stand up once more before her body locked. With a groan she sat back down "Mistake..."

"Your body is experiencing extensive chakra exhaustion. You've damaged your coils. They need to heal. Along with the numerous others wounds you've received. You're lucky, all things considering." Kakashi said as he took the seat next to her.

"Lucky…" She didn't feel lucky. She felt anything but. She tried masking her emotions and gave a weak smile instead.

"How are you doing, Micheru?" Hawke asked softly.

She thought about the question, before shrugging it off. "I'll be fine. Just need some rest."

The fact that the images of their battle had been permanently etched in her mind was scaring her. She turned to Kakashi, occupying her thoughts with a certain blonde. "You uh guys know where I can find Naruto-kun?"

Kakashi noticed the addition to the blonde's name but didn't call on it. "He checked himself out of the hospital."

"That does really sound like him…" She muttered, contemplating on what to do next.

"He'll be around. I think he just needs some time alone," Hawke said with a smile. "It's Ghost we're talking about. You know how he is."

She abruptly stood up, trying her best to ignore the waves of pain shooting through her body. With a grimace she shook her head. "I really need to talk to him."

Kakashi understood. Naruto shouldn't be alone. "He was last seen heading toward the market. You want some company?"

She shook her head, smiling at the jonin. A smile that neither of the two men believed. "I think I rather do this by myself."

x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.

The sun went down below the horizon, leaving behind a chilly evening temperature that slowly settled into nighttime.

Yet the blonde didn't move from the tree post on his old training ground. In his hands he was absently snapping twigs in half before letting them drop to the ground.

He had been sitting there for a couple of hours now, staring off into the distance, his eye twitching ever so often.

Even though his body was exhausted, his mind would allow him no reprieve and images of the battle continued to haunt him, of those he failed in particular.

Eventually he climbed to his feet and slowly, with his hands shoved deep in his pocket, wandered back through the village and towards the Hunter barracks. Laughter could be heard from a bar to his far left.

"Hey Naruto!"

He turned to his left and saw Anko waving at him, a drink in one hand.

"I need a drinking partner. Don't let me down now!"

He turned back and walked around the corner, leaving an insulted Anko behind. His eye held a dull look as he roamed the village. There were a few people still about on the streets, but most were at home, cozying up in their living room, comfortable and safe. After a few minutes he realized that he had stopped walking and was standing in the middle of the main road, that led to the market square, or the gate, depending which way you wanted to go. Why he had stopped, he didn't know. His mind had wandered, despite his attempts not to.

He took one step, and then another. Slowly he continued his trek, and after a while, he arrived at the double door leading to their barracks. There was a chunin standing guard, who greeted him. He didn't return it and instead walked in, entering the small hallway which had been redecorated to a living room. It used to be bustling with activity, but with the fall of so many hunters and Akatsuki agents, it had become a depressing sight.

Rome was sitting on the couch, with across from him Hawke and to Naruto's surprise, Kia. The man had been in a coma ever since the battle for Kumogakure and they weren't sure he was going to pull through.

Kia and Hitoshi were one of their wildcards. They worked incredibly well together and were unconventional, similar to how he used to be. During the battle of Kumo, they had both fought against Kenpachi, but had failed miserably. Hitoshi had lost his life during the fight.

Kia had light brown hair, shaven at the side, with a knot at the back of his head. He used to have a mischievous twinkle in his eye, but ever since his brother's death it was missing. Instead, he held a cold look.

"There you are Naruto!" Hawke exclaimed, standing up and was about to walk over. "We've been looking for you."

Naruto slowed his pace for a moment and looked at his former mentor. "I've been walking around. See you tomorrow."

"Let's talk for a bit." Hawke slowly rose from his seat.

Naruto shook his head and walked towards the staircase in the corner. "Some other time, Hawke." He ignored the protests and walked up the stairs and down the dark hallway until he reached his room. He stepped in and shut it quietly behind him. He stood there, leaning against the closed door for a while.

The room was exactly as he left it. To his right was a decently sized bed with a nightstand next to it. To his far left was a desk with some papers and other items, laying about. Next to the desk was his closet where he kept his garments. Across from the door was a window that looked out on the streets below. Laying on the sill, underneath the window was a pencil and paper. A crude drawing of Kenpachi's head could be seen laying there.

He sat down on the bed and looked around the room. In his mind the last words of Amari were echoing over and over in his head.

'I just want to go to my mom.'

The emotions that had been bubbling underneath the surface for the last days, broke through. With an anguished roar he threw the nightstand into the wall, destroying it completely.

His body screamed in pain but ignored it. Panting heavily, he slowly stumbled forward and bumped against the wooden frame of the closet. He slid his arm up and leaned against the wooden furniture. The Suna genin haunted him relentlessly. Images of Kamei being thrown into the burning building before it collapsed, or of Kurata's neck being snapped was something he couldn't shake off.

'I just want to go to my mom.'

He slammed his pale hand, through the closet, tearing it apart before turning on his desk, flipping it on its side, ruining both in the process. It felt like the worst moments kept replaying over and over again. He smiled sadly, his eye full of unshed tears as the image of Akemi was floating in front of him. his lower lip quivered. "If you stay here, you'll die…" repeating the words he spoke to her before.

'We all have to at some point.'

His shoulders slowly started shaking as the bottled emotion finally broke free. A quiet sob escaped his lips. Naruto fell to his knees, clutching them as his sobs wracked his damaged body.

A soft gentle hand touched his shoulder and for once he didn't care about showing his emotion as his sobs turning into quiet weeping.

Micheru slowly crouched down in front of him, her own face glistening in tears. She slowly pulled him into her arms. "It's okay, Naruto...It's okay…"

He shook his head as his body slowly gave in to exhaustion, losing grip on his consciousness. Eventually his body stilled as the broken 'boy' finally fell asleep.

Micheru looked at Hinata and Sakura, who were standing in the door opening. They had been looking for him throughout the day.

Hinata looked at the blonde with a turmoil of emotion. Seeing Naruto like that…It was difficult. He had always been the port in the storm. He was unrelenting and unwavering, regardless of his attitude towards them. He was supposed to be unbreakable.

Seeing him there, on his knees, in anguish…It made them wonder what in kami's name happened, that turned the seeming unbreakable Hunter, into a broken man.

Micheru didn't answer. Instead, she silently let her tears flow, gently stroking Naruto's back, hushing the same words over and over again. "It's okay, It's okay."

x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x

Micheru gently laid Naruto down on her bed before quietly stepping back out onto the hallway, closing the door behind her. "Let's go downstairs."

They headed back to the living area where they sat down in one of the lounges. More of Sakura and Hinata's friends were sitting there. They all been worried about Naruto. With a heavy sigh Micheru closed her eyes, rubbing her forehead as she tried to calm her own emotions.

"Could you please tell us what happened?"

Micheru hesitated but nodded eventually. "We had to keep fighting…If we didn't the civilians would be murdered. We could've fled at any moment…but that meant…the death of all innocent man women and children."

"To stay and die was what was asked of us." The newcomer said from behind them.

The group looked up and saw a weak Itachi standing behind them, dressed in dark robes.

"Itachi! How are you doing?" she quickly made her way over to him and pulled him into a hug. She hadn't seen him since Suna. She knew he had survived but wasn't able to find him. He in turned accepted the hug and returned the embrace.

After a moment he stepped back and slowly sat down next to the Huntress. "I'm okay, considering what we went through. What about you Micheru? I haven't seen you since the breach."

"I'm…not okay. But I will be."

The group from Konoha looked at them with sympathy. Despite Itachi's history, he was fighting for their survival and that was something they remembered.

"How's Naruto?" Itachi softly asked.

She took a deep quivering breath, before shaking her head, unable to tell Itachi without cracking herself.

There were looks of sympathy as the group quietly waited until she had calmed down.

Ridou leaned forward after a few more moments. "I heard rumors that you were outnumbered. How bad was it?"

'The dark swathe kept growing and growing. By now they could make out large contraptions, towering over the marching army.'

"Outnumbered doesn't even begin to describe it." Micheru muttered.

"The army that came at us numbered two hundred thousand."

Ridou nearly choked on his own spit. "W-what?"

Sakura had already heard about it but still had trouble imagining the size of such an army. She tried sketching an image in her mind but nothing close came to mind.

"We fought to the very end. Every minute, was another minute the civilians had to escape."

The group fell silent. The others slowly started to understand the sheer scope of what had occurred.

"But you survived…After all that." Ino nearly whispered. "That's gotta count for something."

Micheru locked eyes with Itachi. "What happened with your fight against Kenpachi? We caught some bare glimpses but that's it."

Itachi's lips thinned at the mere thought. 'Tearing off his Akatsuki robes, he looked at the blonde whose arm was limply hanging at his side. They both were beyond tired. The fact they were still standing after losing that much blood was astounding in itself.'

The man in front of them, looked ruffled and slightly out of breath but other than that he appeared just fine. Kenpachi was on an entirely different level.

"We tried. But we were already weakened before the fight. He had a major advantage before we even started, coupled with his strength…We never stood a chance."

Micheru nodded solemnly. "We fought him too. He killed Kakuzu and Hidan, and I think your other teammate as well, Deidera. My condolences to you, and the rest of your group."

Itachi dipped his head in acknowledgement. "To you as well, Micheru. I heard Raipa was killed.

Micheru swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat. "T-thanks."

Ino leaned forward. "I…I heard Kankuro died as well."

The Huntress may not have known the Suna Jonin well, but he had been a great fighter and lifted the spirits of everyone around. His death had hit the remaining defenders hard. "He…uh…Kenpachi killed them all. No one could stop him."

"What about Kakashi?" Ridou asked.

Micheru gave him a glance but shook her head. "Also got defeated. If Naruto and Itachi couldn't, then Kakashi couldn't either. No offense."

Ridou stared at her for a moment. To think his predecessor had surpassed his sensei was hard to believe. But looking at Sakura and Hinata they seemingly agreed with the Huntress.

They continued talking for a short while, but the events at Sunagakure remained in large parts a mystery to the Konoha group. Micheru and Itachi gave vague descriptions and didn't want to go into detail.

Eventually the evening came to a close and everyone went their separate ways. Micheru slowly opened the door to her room and noticed Naruto sitting on the windowsill, looking at the night sky.

"How are you feeling, Naruto?" She asked, closing the door behind her.

He didn't immediately respond and continued looking out the window, contemplating her words. "I don't know."

She slid into the chair next to him. "It's okay to feel like this. We all do. You can't keep it bottled up."

He ticked with his finger against the wooden frame. Turning, he looked at Micheru, His gaze held a grieving mess. "There…were these kids. They helped me out after my fight with Kenpachi. Patched me up and saved Itachi as well."

"Did they make it out?"

'I just want to go to my mom.'

His eyes prickled with unshed tears, he quickly looked back out the window. "They died."

She looked at him with sorrow. "That's not your fau-"

"BUT IT IS!" he abruptly roared in anger.

She leaned back in her chair, taken aback by the sudden outburst.

He rubbed his forehead, his eyes closed as his anger simmered down, only to be replaced by the endless wave of grief that seemed to give him no rest. "They…They died trying to save me. They should've left me behind and ran."

She gently placed her hand on his arm. "That's because they were taught the same way you were. They couldn't bear the thought of leaving you to die."

"They didn't even know me." He hoarsely said. A lone tear made his way down his face.

"Isn't that a testament to what kind of people they were? Despite their age, despite the dangers…They wanted to save you."

He clenched his fist, his fingernails digging into his skin. "You were right, they shouldn't have been there. The genin should've left with the civilians."

"It's too late to think about the what ifs. All we can do now is keep them in our memory. All of them."

Naruto's gaze grew distant, avoiding her eyes. "We say that so people can cope with loss."

"That doesn't make it any less true." She reached for his hand and took it in hers, giving it a squeeze of comfort.

He slowly turned to look at her again. "And it doesn't make the grief any less either."

"It helped me to move on when the Reavers were done killing my family." Her words weren't meant to sound harsh, but they unwittingly were. She stood up and walked to her closet.

Naruto turned away. "I'm sorry…"

She was silent for a moment before she shut the door of her closet. "I'm not offended, Naruto-kun. We all react differently to loss."

Gritting his teeth, he looked down at his hands, resisting the urged to slap the side of his head, hoping it would get rid of the images.

Micheru walked over, holding out her hand. "Let's get some sleep. We can both use it. I doubt you've had any sleep the last couple of days."

He shook his head. "I don't need to sleep."

"Your body is still a mess. You need to rest, or you're going to collapse soon."

Naruto turned his eye back onto the window, staring into the night.

Micheru slowly let her hand drop. "Please, Naruto."

He didn't answer and eventually she slowly made her way to the bed. "If you change your mind, there is plenty of space here."

Once more, Naruto didn't answer. She could see his reflection on the window. His gaze was distant, and she knew his mind was already elsewhere.

She continued to watch him from the comfort of her bed, but eventually she drifted off to sleep. A frown on her face.

Naruto remained on the same spot for the rest of the night, staring out the window as the memories took over his conscious mind.

A different Naruto than we're used to seeing. I hope I did it justice.

In case people are wondering why he's behaving like this. Keep in mind, he witnessed the death of thousands and thousands of people. It would no doubt mess with even the strongest people.

Until next time!