A light rain is falling down upon the ninja village Konohagakure; a team made up of four ANBU and one Chunnin was killed in The Land Of Snow. All four ANBU were returned Konoha; they were young but they each had a family of their own that they left behind. The Chunnin, being much younger, had left behind only a boyfriend.
There was only one person in Konoha who mourned deeply for the Chunnin. Tears ran down his face like an endless river. His blonde hair, cut into spiky tufts, was messy. He wore all black with a Leaf Headband around his forehead. His name was Naruto Uzumaki and he was mourning for his dead love: Sasuke Uchiha.
Sasuke Uchiha had been the Chunnin to accompany the ANBU to The Land Of Snow on a mission to release the country from the grip of a King who allowed his ninja to kill anyone they wished. Nobody was told how they were killed, just that they were.
Maybe it was the fate of these five ninja all along; to die in combat. Sure, many people believed that it’s your fate to die a certain way, like in combat, but this fate resembled Hell. The limbs of each of the ANBU had been severed off, their hearts carved out of their chest. Their faces all held the same twisted look of agony and pain, signaling that they were dismembered alive. The body of Sasuke Uchiha had not returned so everyone, Naruto included, assumed that he had been desecrated. Not a single trace of his body had been found, not even a single hair from his head…but they knew he was dead, that they were able to put together from what happened to the ANBU.
Naruto tried hard not to sob, he didn’t want anyone to see his pain from losing Sasuke. Everyone knew it though, it was hard not to see. Iruka Umino, who was standing next to Naruto, put a reassuring hand on his former students’ shoulder.
Naruto looked up at Iruka with tears still in his eyes. Iruka had always been like a father to Naruto and he appreciated it, especially during a time when nobody would even look at him, let alone talk to him.
Iruka smiled at Naruto as he said, “Don’t worry. Sasuke’s with his family now.” Iruka paused then softly added, “He’s home.”
This didn’t help Naruto at all but he looked back at the altar that had the pictures of the five ninja on it; incense and white roses surrounded the pictures. A picture of Sasuke was on the end. He had his black hair as he always did, his bangs chin length with one giant spike in the back. He had on a black shirt and black shorts with black arm-warmers, his Leaf Headband around his forehead.
It was time to set flowers on the altar in tribute to the dead ninja. Naruto was one of the first up to the altar, he paused momentarily to look at the pictures then walked back to where he had standing.
Sakura was nearby, she too was crying, just not as much as Naruto. When Naruto saw her going up to set her flower down on the altar he started to sob. Naruto missed Sasuke so much, it hurt him to know that he’ll never see Sasuke’s face again. Never feel the familiar warmth of Sasuke’s skin, never hug, never kiss him…Not ever again. Years ago Naruto would’ve been happy to see Sasuke die, in fact, he probably would’ve laughed at the funeral. But not anymore; the thing Naruto would’ve laughed about years ago was now what he was sobbing over, Sasuke’s death.
The fifth Hokage, Tsunade, was the last to walk up to the altar. It’s the tradition of Konohagakure: at a funeral that’s not for a former Hokage, the current Hokage is the last to approach the altar.
Tsunade put the flower she was carrying down on the altar and turned to the Konoha ninja. Her eyes immediately found the sobbing Naruto and she felt sad for him. She knew what it was like to lose someone you loved on the battlefield. But she was glad that Naruto didn’t have to witness Sasuke’s death like she had to witness her own loves’ death. Tsunade’s boyfriend was years ago, before Tsunade became a Sannin, she had witnessed it herself and didn’t come back to Konoha until Naruto and Jiraiya came to her and convinced her to be Hokage.
Tsunade cleared her throat and said, “To those truly loved and cared about these five ninja, my deepest sympathy goes out to you.” Tsunade paused to take a quick look at the altar, then said in a softer voice, “I understand what you’re going through. These five souls are in a better place now, I implore you to remember that. They will be remembered and missed.” Tsunade paused and looked at the grief stricken faces of the crowd. “Please, always remember that they gave their lives for other people to feel safe at as we do.”
Naruto looked at Tsunade like he still didn’t understand why Sasuke had to die. Naruto understood that Sasuke loved helping other people, but missed Sasuke so much that he just wanted a straight answer as to why his love was dead.
Tsunade looked around the crowd to see faces that were either, relieved knowing that their loved one died defending other people or faces that were confused about her last statement. Tsunade looked at Naruto and saw that his face was of the confused.
Tsunade sighed inwardly. Will he ever learn that death is apart of life? Tsunade raised her right arm. “Dismissed.”
The Konoha ninja slowly made their way from the top of the Hokage mansion, down the stairs, and to their homes in Konoha.
Naruto, once on the street, didn’t wait for Kakashi or Sakura and ran. Once Naruto was back at the Uchiha estate — Naruto and Sasuke were living together — he walked into Sasuke’s room and sat on Sasuke’s bed cross-legged. He just couldn’t believe that Sasuke was really dead.
A Grandfather clock in the living room ticked loudly, it was the only sound in throughout the entire house.
Naruto laid back and stared up at the pale white ceiling. Sasuke’s bed still smelled like him, and Naruto was happy for that though it wouldn’t last long. Naruto rolled over on his side and started to cry, the entire time, one word was going through his head:
Sasuke...
