Hey everyone, welcome back to another chapter!
As I said before, the chapters are progressing well, but not fast enough unfortunately. I used to have the luxury of writing at work as well, at quiet moments. That's no longer the case and that makes it increasingly difficult to find the time to finish a chapter every week.
I need to change the frequency to once every two weeks…I'm sorry! I don't want you guys and gals to catch up to the latest chapter and then having to wait a long time for another chapter. That kinda puts pressure on me to write faster, which is something we don't want. It will cause more mistakes to happen, and I will get disappointed with myself.
With that out of the way, let's move on to my favorite part of the update!
A big shoutout to everyone who followed the story or my page, or favorited!
Fireyhell, King of things that go boom(BOOM!), UnboundMyth, xX Kelrim Xx, Josl98, Roxas199, Shiraya13, FashionLeMode, KingYamYam, Perseus1803, RaudomGny, Trend breaker, PhenexGundamKai, Saloniagarwal080, cz210803, oneornone, Kakebox, OokamiUzumaki, Drascus
Reviewers:
Dxgrayxman – And a :) to you!
Nithu velu – ah my loyal reader! Good to see you! I'm feeling a lot better, thank you! As for Itachi and Sasuke. All I can say is, their story arc isn't finished!
Naruto and Itachi are definitely outmatched when it comes to Kenpachi. We'll just have to wait how that plays out ;)
KingYamYam: And I'm very happy that you took the time to, not only add this story to your favorites and alerts (including adding me!) but to review as well! My gratitude is immense!
As for whether or not the battle for Konoha is the last one…I can't answer that haha! I wish I could. Sorry that I can't answer that for you!
Also a big shoutout to Sid.P! you're pm's have been a big motivator for me! Same goes for Tigrezztail, Yuzukikuran476, Moonlightdoom and Yuzuki476. I should have mentioned you all a lot earlier! Thank you for your support!
One last thing. There's an upcoming section in this chapter that features memories.
Italic - stands for memories
Italic and underlined - stands for a memory within.
This doesn't really makes sense while explaining it, but I don't want to go into spoilers. When you read it, you'll understand!
Let's get this show on the road! Enjoy!
Chapter 41: Memories
Konoha was in motion. The engineers were working day and night to expand the wall in a similar fashion of Suna's wall. Progress was going smooth and there were only some minor hiccups along the way. Gaara and a few of his civilian architects were assisting where they could.
Even though the scouts hadn't seen movement from Suna, they all knew it was a matter of time before the Reavers would march onto Konoha. The minor nations bordering the land of wind were evacuating all their civilians. Their shinobi were staying behind, setting up traps, exploding tags, ambushes and more.
The daimyo unfortunately wasn't convinced yet and instead preferred to stay in the capital. Tsunade however was certain she would be able to 'persuade' him to retreat to Konoha and left for the capital a few days ago but would be back later today.
Naruto, Micheru and Kakashi were at one of the open training fields where they were waiting for the first wave of shinobi to arrive. They would give them instructions on what to expect towards the upcoming battle.
Naruto anxiously looked at the large screen behind him where his memories would be laid bare to the thousands of shinobi.
"Maa, Naruto we're not getting nervous, are we?"
Naruto grunted in annoyance. "Can't say I like having people go through my memories."
"Not just yours. Ours are just as much on display." Micheru muttered, disliking it just as much as her fellow blonde did.
"I can see you're enjoying it immensely." He sarcastically responded
Kakashi waved nonchalantly with his hand. "Just relax."
As the last of the first group arrived, Kakashi stepped forward, reaching for the small red wires before attaching it to his head. "Good to see you all. I know that this is an inconvenience, but we can't do it any other way."
The crowd slowly went silent and looked at the well-respected Jonin.
"We all know Konoha is next, and our preparations are well underway. To help you all prepare," He gestured towards Inoichi who was operating the device, who turned on the screen. "We're going to show you what you can expect. What you're about to see, are our memories of the events that unfolded at Sunagakure"
Images of Suna flickered on screen before it came to a stop. They could see everything from Kakashi's eyes. The dark swathe of Reavers on the field below, the scared faces of Suna's defenders, everything. As if on cue the image came to life, and it started playing like a movie.
|"Morogosh!
"Unta!"
"Morogosh!"
"Unta!"
Kakashi looked at Naruto, who in turn was looking at the fearful shinobi next to him, his own shaking hands balled into fists.
"What are they chanting?"|
Micheru's shivering voice echoed through the training field as everyone watched silently while fear oozed into the area, causing them to shift uneasily in their seats.
|"Death to all men…And I think Unta means 'louder'"|
The memory sped up, flying past conversations and seeming unimportant moments.
From the crowd, Sasuke was looking at the footage before glancing towards Naruto, looking at him for a split second. He was staring at the footage as well. He still looked unhealthy, and the dark bags underneath his hollowed 'eyes' looked even worse than before.
|"Gar-Gar!"
"This is it!"
"Make them feel fear, boys!"
Siege weaponry on the defensive side started spitting out projectiles, hurling them into the darkness, hoping to inflict as many casualties as possible. Meanwhile their chanting continued. |
The crowd looked at the footage in complete silence. Watching as they saw how the attackers countered with their own siege equipment, only to fail initially. Noticing the siege towers, Kiba quirked an eyebrow. "Why would that be effective, jutsu can easily counter such mechanisms. He whispered to Sasuke, who in turn remained silent. He too had been thinking that.
| "Pathetic!" Cheers and other insults could be heard as they watched how the Reaver's failed to hit their mark.
"Archers, launchers, Fire!" every remaining medium ranged weaponry could be seen firing down below. Hitting dozens upon dozens more.
Kakashi looked over the edge, watching as the Reaver horde tried to climb it, only to be electrocuted seconds later, dropping down on the floor, a mere husk remained.
Another foreign roar could be heard, and the large apparatuses started moving.
"Those are siege towers…" Kakashi shouted as he noted the abrupt change.
"Nothing like I've ever seen before."
The towers started moving forward. Expanding in size as they started approaching the wall.
"That's one way to solve their problem." Naruto muttered under his breath.
"Aim for the towers! The commander roared at the catapults, who swiftly realigned before firing their projectiles once more.
They hit the first towers which came crashing down, killing the Reavers below.
But it seemed the Reavers were prepared for that and started using their red chakra blast to block any incoming attacks. |
Kiba let out a small 'ah' as he noted how the Reavers were protecting their siege equipment, making it difficult for the defenders to take them out.
Ino was standing behind him, the rest of their 'group' stacked together. They were watching with awe and anxiety at the footage in front.
As the machinery inched closer and closer, the archers stepped back, and let the melee combatants take over.
| "What are we?" Kankuro's voice suddenly boomed over the field, causing a wince from various nin.
"We are shinobi!" the defenders roared back.
Kakashi watched as Naruto gripped his wrist tight and let out a shout. "Chakra push!" The attack got blocked.
"Itachi!"
"Amaterasu!"
The tower caught fire instantly, killing all the infantry inside, screaming as they were being burnt alive.
Naruto's attack broke free and hit the tower head on, causing it to topple over and crash into the ground. |
The crowd watched as the toppled tower was trampled by another, crashing through its remains, and this one was covered in a blue defensive layer. It slammed against the wall, lowering its bridge. From the darkness red glowing eyes could be seen. The spectators looked at each other with unease. They had fought against the Reavers. But witnessing such a large-scale attack…It made them rethink everything.
| "fire!"
It stopped the first batch of Reavers, but it did little to slow down the rest as they poured out onto the wall. |
The screen turned dark and Kakashi spoke once more. "Those towers will undoubtedly make a return, along with other siege equipment. It's inevitable that they will reach the wall. We have to make sure we destroy as many as we can."
Kakashi gave a nod to Micheru who took over, attaching the wires to the side of her head. "They will also use other tactics to inflict casualties such as this particular one." The large screen flickered, and new footage popped up.
|Micheru looked at the valley, the wave of Reavers that were waiting to charge into the towers and onto the wall looked endless, despair filled her mind.
The sound of a horn echoed through the valley, her head snapping towards its general direction. On top of the battlements dozens of shifters appeared. grabbing shinobi and taking them down to the village in a mad dash. Her eyes widened in surprise and fear as one appeared in front of her as well, his claw reaching for her face.
She suddenly got shoved out of the way. Naruto had slammed his body into hers. She locked her eyes with his for a mere fraction of a second before her teammate got grabbed instead of her and was blasted off the wall and into the village far below.
"Naruto!" she screamed; her hand outstretched. With horror the Huntress watched as the blonde crashed into one of the buildings. |
The footage paused and a from the crowd small whispers and murmurs could be heard. Naruto looked at the screen in discomfort.
"This tactic was something that we managed to put to a stop relatively fast. Still, they might try this again. It was an extremely effective attack, that the Kazekage managed to counter."
A voice rang out from the crowd. "How did he survive?"
Kakashi looked at Naruto, waiting for him to answer.
In turn he held up his gauntlet. "I have the ability to transfer the powers of the Kyuubi in a similar manner as the Reavers do. This helped me survive the otherwise fatal fall."
Another wave of whispers erupted from the shinobi crowd. Most knew that Naruto once housed the Kyuubi. Yet only a few knew of what really had happened to the Bijuu.
"Show us!" another voice boomed, recognizing it as Ridou.
Naruto narrowed his eye. "Absolutely not."
Kakashi and Micheru continued to explain what to expect while Naruto slowly glanced down at his gauntlet. His demonic ability had amplified his strength, easily doubling it. But it came at a drawback. His body wasn't capable of handling the continued use of the dark chakra. Damaging his body over a longer period of time.
"Which brings us to our last point, one of the biggest threats is their leader, Kenpachi. He has powers that easily surpasses all of the Kage."
There were some murmurs but otherwise people remained quiet. Kakashi gestured for the blonde to take over and with a sigh he stepped forward. He took the wires from Micheru and gave a nod towards Inoichi who in turn started emitting chakra to the device once more.
| Kenpachi turned to him with slight interest. "Don't interfere if you want to live a little while longer."
Naruto let out a low chuckle. "I think you'll want to face me instead of Rome." He looked around, noting the destruction of Kumogakure. People were fighting on top of the broken wall and in the ruined streets. Bodies were laying everywhere, and the wounded were desperately trying to get to safety.
Kenpachi shifted his focus away from Rome and Micheru and towards the blonde. Using this to his advantage he swiftly grabbed the two Hunters with his flash step ability and reappeared a short distance away.
Naruto looked into Micheru's eyes and gave her a smile. "It's time for you to head home. I'll make sure you guys can escape."
She reached for his hand and grabbed tightly, refusing to let him go. "You can't be serious; you won't stand a chance!"
'I want to go to my mom.'
"He won't stop…" Slowly he stood back up, his hand slipping out of hers. Turning around he saw that Kenpachi had followed him.
"Rome is mine, leave now so that you may live for another couple of days."|
The footage got distorted before it cleared up once more, Showing a small-time skip.
The Reaver and hunter disappeared in a burst of speed. Appearing on top of the wall, their speed brought along a blast of air that caused the fighters on top of the wall to nearly lose their footing.
Blocking the blonde's first attack, Kenpachi danced around the attack and countered with his blade, attacking Naruto's exposed back.
Twisting his arm, the blonde awkwardly blocked the blade with his claw and rolled away in his effort to gain some distance, narrowly dodging another attack in the process.
Standing up, he widened his eyes in surprise as Kenpachi gave him no reprieve and charged forward with incredible speed. He pushed the limb to the side and kneed Kenpachi in the stomach and tried to follow up with his blade, in an attempt to cut the Reaver in half.
Kenpachi was faster and wildly slashed with his claw, creating deep gashes in the blonde's chest. |
Naruto blinked as he tried to keep focusing on the memory, he had of Kenpachi but found it increasingly difficult. The fight was something he barely spoke about and kept close to his heart. He looked at Micheru who in turn had her eyes plastered on the screen, taking in all the details of the fight.
| -flipped around in mid-air and managed to land on his feet. He barely had time to look up as Kenpachi appeared with flashstep in front of him, slamming him into the wall. His head dipped low. |
The screen turned black, and everyone turned to Naruto with a questioning gaze.
"What's going on?" Kakashi asked, looking to the screen with confusion.
"During the fight, I uh blacked out for a second there." Naruto muttered, scratching his cheek uncomfortably.
Micheru stared at him with pity before eventually turning back to the screen. She had been curious for a long time about this particular fight. He had been tightlipped and didn't want to talk about it. Looking at the screen, she could understand why.
|Kenpachi grabbed him by his hair and dragged him out of the hole before throwing him into one of the small buildings.
Naruto looked down at his tattered and bloodied outfit. With a pitiful moan he managed to pull himself to his feet. Gripping the side of the wall, he stepped out of the ruined house and glanced about. He let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that Micheru and Rome were gone.
'I'm glad I met you, Naruto.'
Kenpachi slowly walked over and came to a halt a few feet away. He tilted his head, looking at the blonde with interest, more killing intent seeped out of him and surrounded the area.
Blood seeped out of multiple wounds, and he felt his body grow weaker by the minute. "What are you waiting for, big guy?"
"You don't know when to give up, do you?" With every step Kenpachi took, the blonde felt the weight of his killing intent press down on him. With a gasp realization struck him. "You made a deal with the Shinigami, didn't you?"
Kenpachi didn't respond and instead dashed forward. He barely had time to block the blade with his own. But before he could comprehend what had happened next, Kenpachi had already gashed open the right side of his face with his claw.
His mouth let out a silent scream as he fell to his knees, clutching his face. His dark chakra disappeared, and his claw reverted back to a normal hand once more.
Kenpachi grabbed him by his hair and pulled him up, the heavy rain continued to hit his battered body unabated. "Retribution." He blasted Naruto away with a wave of red chakra-|
The screen faded to black once more which was followed by a deafening silence. He let out a dry cough and spoke up. "This gives a brief example of Kenpachi's power. Do not engage this man if you can."
The crowd and Micheru especially was looking at him. She knew what kind of wounds had been inflicted. But to see it happen…It was unsettling. Her thoughts turned to the whimpering voice of the little girl. She knew it was one of the genin he had failed to save.
"Wh-what did you mean with him making a deal with the Shinigami?" a nervous chunin girl asked.
Naruto nearly forgot about that. "He had an aura about him, I never felt before. Looking into his eyes…my mind got flooded with despair and death. No ordinary human is capable of projecting such images."
"But is it true?" Sasuke spoke up as well. He had fought with Kenpachi as well and had barely survived the ordeal. if you could call it a fight.
Memories flooded his mind, and he couldn't block them out completely. The screen flickered alive.
|- He could only scream in pain as Kenpachi broke his outstretched arm before applying immense pressure,"- Push!"
Kenpachi got blasted away once more, earning him a moment of reprieve.
He looked around as he forced his body to keep moving, gingerly clutching his broken arm. His blade had been dropped to the ground. "Itachi….Itachi"
His legs gave out from exhaustion, his head bouncing against the hard concrete. "T-this guy j-just doesn't wanna die-"
The image distorted once more. Naruto was staring ahead as his memories had taken hold of his conscious mind.
"You put up a good fight. But it's time for you both to accept your fate." Kenpachi had picked up the blonde's blade and slowly walked closer. The tip aimed for his heart.
"T-tell m-me. How d-did you get these p-powers." Naruto coughed up more blood. His body refusing to move.
The Reaver inched closer and closer. "What does it matter to you?"
Blood dribbled down and onto his already blood-soaked clothing." C-call it a parting g-g-gift."
Lord Kenpachi came to a stop in front of him and slowly pushed the blade towards his chest.
Naruto weakly lifted his hand and claw, grabbing the incoming blade and stopped it, inches away from his skin and heart.
Kenpachi tilted his head in curiosity. "There isn't a god. There is just death and the entity that reaps us." He slowly applied more strength and noticed the blade moved slightly, cutting open Naruto's hand.
Naruto held on and gripped the blade even tighter. "The Shinigami?" his voice cracked as his body wanted to let go of the demonic power within.
"All this entity…this reaper wants, are souls, all he cares for. And when I offered him what he wanted, he in return gave me this gift. Along with the ability to turn others."
"T-then why not turn everyone?"
The tip of the blade pierced his skin. Naruto desperately tried to push back.
"Prolonged exposure of demonic chakra brings out the negative aspects of our pitiful lives. But you undoubtedly have felt that."
"T-That d-doesn't make sense."
"Demons feed off negativity, it's their strength. If you have had a life with no conflict, your body is not an optimal host."
Realization slowly seeped in, weakly tried to hold the blade off for a bit longer. "So…If y-you had a comfortable and peaceful life, y-you aren't capable?"
Kenpachi sighed in annoyance, sliding the blade in deeper, earning him a cry of anguish as he nearly struck the fatal organ. "You just don't give up do you? Everyone is capable, some just have to be pushed. Just like one of your villages years ago…Irosa."
Naruto looked at Kenpachi with a wide eye. "You?"
"Of course, who else? Goodbye –
The imagery changed and suddenly the face of a young girl appeared. She had brown disheveled hair. Her face was covered in a mixture of blood and dirt. She looked at the monitor...At Naruto with a saddening gaze.
Naruto tore the wires off, and the footage dissapeared. He shook his head as he desperately tried clearing his mind.
"My god, Naruto…I didn't know…you…" Micheru crouched next to him, looking at him in a different way. "Are you okay?"
"How the hell did you survive that?" Kiba asked, a lot more sincere than before, Earning him like minded responses from around him.
"Kiba, this isn't a window into Naruto's private memories where you can just keep digging," Kakashi ordered. "He's shown us more than enough."
The reveal of Kenpachi's true power was something he hadn't spoken about with anyone, save for Itachi. It wasn't something he was planning on doing either. 'Too late now…'
"I caught him by surprise, let's leave it that."
"What about the part about the Shinigami? That's a load of crap!" Kiba pushed relentlessly.
Naruto drilled his gaze into Kiba. "After all that's happened, the Shinigami part is where you draw the line? Should've expected nothing less," Naruto sighed and pinched the bridge of his noise in annoyance. "I believe what he said and I'm acting accordingly. Remember what I said about Kenpachi. Stay clear of the man."
Kiba was about to speak up once more, continue the discussion with the blonde about Kenpachi but was dragged off by Ino, hushing him along the way. "You heard them, Kiba."
"Who was the girl in the end?" Someone else asked, a question that went unanswered.
Further questions were being silenced and a few more points were discussed, along with some more memories. Eventually it drew to a close, and the meeting had ended. The crowd chatted for a short while longer, before finally dispersing. Naruto let out a sigh of relief, reaching for a bottle of water, courtesy of Kakashi.
"Naruto?" Micheru sat down next to him, she too held a water bottle.
He looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
"Who…Was that girl?"
He stayed quiet, somberly staring ahead.
"Did you know her well?" she gently asked, her head slowly dipped low, resting on his shoulder.
He was uncertain how to answer that question. In terms of time, he had only known her for a few minutes. Yet at the same time, it had felt like he had known her well...As a close friend.
The more he thought about her, the more he felt himself well up. "I…I did."
Micheru could feel his breathing becoming erratic and she asked one last question. "Did she?"
He didn't answer. Nor did he have to for that matter, his distant gaze was the answer to her question.
Micheru watched as the monitor ended the footage. She reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry…I shouldn't have pried."
Naruto merely shook his head.
She stayed like that for a while longer. What she had witnessed was something gruesome and heartbreaking. She would try and talk to him once they had a moment alone.
Kakashi quietly watched from the corner. Watching the footage was heartbreaking and he imagined it was only a fraction of it all. 'And only three more of these to go…Kami…'
Looking out over the village as the sun slowly descended, Naruto was happy that the day had finally ended. There were too many questions, especially regarding Kenpachi. Even now, as everyone closed up shop and headed home, he could still hear the sounds of construction all around him.
His hand reached for the eyepatch and slowly traced the edge of the fabric. Kenpachi had gotten his strength from the Shinigami, but he had told him that negative emotions were the driving force behind the demonic abilities. 'That would mean that his past can't have been a pleasant one.'
A man that was in a bottomless pit, with no end in sight would turn to anyone who would help his goal. And Kenpachi had struck a deal with the 'devil'. There wasn't any reason to doubt his words either, He had been at deaths door, Kenpachi wouldn't have reason to lie.
"I see this hasn't changed."
Naruto glanced over his shoulder and saw Tsunade walking over. Letting his gaze linger for a moment longer, he finally broke it and turned his focus back on the village.
Tsunade sat on the ground next to him. "Your presentation went well."
Naruto gave a slow now. "It went fine."
"I was with the last batch."
"I hope you learned something."
Tsunade resisted the urge the whack the boy over the back of his head. "I've already seen and heard everything from Gaara. I know what went down."
Naruto shook his head. "No…You have an idea of what went down. There's a difference." The memory of Jiraiya's goofy head popped up, one that was quickly replaced with the faces of the fallen genin.
'I want to go home to my mom.'
She looked down over the village. "We're going to be better prepared than Sunagakure."
Naruto grew annoyed by the vagueness of her presence. "What do you want, Tsunade."
She didn't talk for a a few moments. She was just simply staring ahead. "How did Jiraiya pass away?"
He closed his eye and suppressed his emotions as best he could. "He died trying to save me."
She let out a silent 'oh'. When Jiraiya had declared he was heading for Suna, she denied the request. But all he did was give her the stupid grin he always did.
"You're going to die alongside them!" She all but yelled.
"Then just bet on me! Your infamous bad luck alone should warrant my survival." Jiraiya cheekily said as he walked down to the courtyard in front of the Hokage tower.
"Don't be stupid! You've seen the footage- "
"He's, my godson. There's no way in hell I'm going to leave him there to die"
From the corner of her eyes, she could feel the sting of her tears. Breathing in deeply she shook it off. "Jiraiya knew for years where you were, didn't he?"
"He did. Visited me frequently."
She shook her head in amusement. "I should've known. He was always too optimistic whenever we talked about you."
"He didn't know I was Ghost. I always kept that a secret. But I always had a feeling he knew." Looking to his right, he noticed the sake bottle Tsunade had brought along. He reached for it and took a large swing from it.
"I miss him…" She whispered.
Naruto's eye twitched, feeling a cold anger seeping in. "Then why did you send him."
Her shoulders slumped and her head drooped a little lower. "He went without my permission. I told him no- "
"Then why didn't you stop him?" Naruto pressed instantly.
"You know how he is. Once he has his mind set- "
"Bullshit!"
She was taken aback by the sudden outburst and leaned back slightly. "What?"
Naruto looked at her with raging anger. "You could've stopped him! You could've restrained him."
"He wanted to rescue YOU! I couldn't change his mind!" she started yelling back, climbing to her feet.
"YOU STILL SHOULD HAVE STOPPED HIM!" He was breathing irregular and forced himself to calm down, slowly standing up as well. "Typical of you Kages to send shinobi- "He was sent sprawling to the ground by an unexpected punch to his face.
"DON'T YOU EVER DARE TO SAY THAT I WOULD WILLINGLY SEND HIM TO HIS DEATH," She yelled at him, a couple of lone tears dripping on her shirt. "HE MEANT EVERYTHING TO ME!
Naruto stared at her and knew he had gone too far. He had felt anger for the death of Jiraiya for a while now. But aiming it at someone who had little to do with it, nor could do little to stop him, was uncalled for. "I shouldn't have said that."
She looked at him with a mixture of pity and anger. "You've become a bitter man, Naruto. "
With slumped shoulders he looked out over the village, barely registering her words. "I guess so."
Her anger evaporated and she reached for the bottle the lay on the floor, with sake slowly dripping out. Naruto had tipped the bottle during his fall. She drank what remained before slowly walking off. "Get some sleep."
Naruto didn't follow, his tired gaze was settled on the village. He felt exhausted and he knew that if he continued down this road he would collapse, sooner rather than later.
Regardless. He didn't move and stayed there, unmoving until the early hours of the morning.
Micheru was dozing off in the living room of their barracks. She had been waiting for her fellow blonde for hours now. At one point she thought that she might've missed him, but a quick check of his room revealed that wasn't the case.
She also wasn't sure what to say to him either. He was going through a traumatic ordeal. While she herself had gone through something similar, she had been young when it happened, and she barely remembered, one of the advantages of growing up, you start forgetting about the details…whether it had been a conscious thing, she didn't know.
Though she still felt sorrow for the death of her father and sister, she never blamed herself for it, nor did she for the death of Raipa. Naruto did, and from their earlier conversation, he wasn't willing to let it go either.
Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around the room, before settling on her cup of tea that had gone cold hours ago. She looked at the time and sighed when she noticed it was 3 in the morning. "Where are you, Naruto?"
She stood from the couch, stretching her arm while stifling a yawn. She let one hand brush through her hair, while the other grabbed the cup of tea, bringing it towards the kitchen.
Pouring the contents into the sink she looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes were half closed, and her hair was a mess, courtesy of lounging on the couch. She tried fixing her hair but sighed when she failed spectacularly.
'Madame Micheru why are you a'ways wo'ried about your h'air?' the voice of Raipa echoed in her head.
"I've seen you with mousse-" She said before realizing that she was talking to nothing but a memory. She bit her lower lip and shook her head, her blonde locks flowing at the movement. She rubbed her eyes, hoping it would clear them from the unshed tears. It did not.
Trying her best to contain her sorrow, her face briefly contorted in grief. Raipa had died alone. And even though he was surrounded by dozens of other Suna defenders…He hadn't been with his friends. 'He should've been with us.'
She sniffled as she tried wiping the tears away, but with little success. She slowly shuffled back towards the living room, pausing in the doorway, her hand on the light switch. "Goodnight, Raipa." She clicked it off and made her way back to the living room.
The temptation to head to bed was there, and she was about to give in, when she heard the muffled voice of the guard outside.
The door clicked open, and Naruto stepped in, his head turned slightly to respond. "Because it's not your business, that's why."
Micheru crossed her arms and gave a half-hearted glare, one that got replaced with concern before he even turned. When he did turn, his eye met with hers. "Hey…"
"Michu-kun. Why are you still awake?"
She said down on the couch. "I was waiting for you."
"But why?"
"Have you looked at yourself?" You barely sleep or eat. It's starting to take its toll on you." She motioned for him to sit next to her, and he slowly made his way over.
"I'm- Are you okay?" Naruto asked as he saw her face still glistened with tears.
She gave a nod, wiping the tears away. "It's nothing…Just thinking of Raipa.
He stared somberly. "I miss him too." He reached over and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
She was glad for the gesture and laid her head on his shoulder. "He died alone…He must have been scared."
"…I wish they hadn't joined us at Suna." He softly said.
She lifted her head and looked at him, but he didn't look back and was just staring ahead, into the dark room. "How are you holding up, Naruto."
He closed his eye and took a deep breath. "I can't get the images out of my head."
"You need to get help. What you're going through- It's too much to take on alone…Talk to me, please."
He didn't respond, his eye glazed over as he continued to stare into the dark room, until eventually it slowly closed, his exhaustion had finally won.
She laid her head back on his shoulder, her eyes slowly closing as well, a frown on her face. Unfortunately, sleep would evade her for the time being.
Naruto suddenly jerked forward; his hand reaching for something in the dark. "Please-please leave."
"Naruto? Are you okay?" Micheru had her hand on his chest, and she could feel the hammering of his heart.
He looked at his hand, and towards the dark corner of the room. Regret and guilt quickly made his way on his face. "I-I'm fine…" She could see, even from the dark that his eyes fogged with tears.
"It's okay…It's okay…" something she had been saying a lot as of late...Something she barely believed herself.
Slowly they drifted off again, but a good night's rest remained elusive for Naruto and when she woke the next morning, she realized she wasn't in the living room anymore, but in her bed, alone.
I'm sorry if the memory section looked messy! I tried to make it as coherent as possible!
I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know your thoughts!
See you in two weeks (hopefully sooner)!