Sasuke POV
Did I feel regret? Yes. Somewhere deep down I in my pressumed heartless shell of a body, I felt a twinge of remorse. I mean sure Sakura was annoying but, she didn't really deserve to die, did she?
And the look on that dobe's face. I'd seen him angry before. Angry at me. I've seen him hurt befre. Hurt over me. But this, this was something new, something different.. I cold just tell, you know?
Sigh. Back to Sakura... Funny how it's easier to think about her, now that she's dead. I wanted to ask, should've already asked for her forgiveness, before she died in the end. But the rain distorted her face and I..
Ok, who am I lying to. I knew it was her. And yes, I had time while she sat there in suspended animation on my arm. How ironic that the only I wanted at the moment though, was her heart. The one thing Naruto wanted the most, and could never obtain...
I should probably apologize. I mean, I'm actually slightly afraid of the reprecutions. But it's not like I could just walk into Konoha and attend her funeral, right?
Kiba POV
I haven't seen Naruto since.. since that time he had come home with.. an then the ANBU took him. They said no one was allowed to see him. He was different. He changed. But how? I guess the death of a teammate could change anyone. But he'd be ok, right? Konoha needed Naruto. WE needed Naruto.
Only Tsunade and Kakashi were allowed to see him. Only they could see the horror that everyone just knew that the ANBU were talking about. You see, Naruto had been put on the utmost of restrictions. Even the jonin and most ANBU were no longer allowed to see him. You had to be an ANBU captain just to be qualified to see the guy. But what could possibly make a 17 year-old kid so dangerous?
I found out, I found out soon enough, and it was all too soon.
Shino POV (Day of The Funeral)
The funeral today was three days late. It had been continuously postponed. They made excuses on top of excuses, but we all knew the real reason: they wanted Naruto to attend. They wanted him to be fixed so tha he could mourn hr death properly. Then he could move on with his life. or this, Shizune, kept the body from decaying too much.
Nobody blamed them. We all wanted for Naruto to get better. But that was then, only 5 hours ago. 4 hours... 3.
But he wouldn't. Not soon, anyway. Maybe even never. How did I know? His eyes. I saw it in his eyes. The eyes Kiba saw and pretended not to notice. They had let Naruto attend the service, though surrounded by ANBU as if it were the chuunin exams all over again. I saw it in Kiba's face, he had expected Naruto to break out of this already. To be normal again.
But he wasn't.
It rained today, the gods applause of the death of a great shinobi. The ultimate sign of ninja respect. But it was wrong, eerie.
Naruto wore a black silk dress shirt, that he left untucked outside his dark blue jeans. He wore his hitai-ate on his forehead, only slightly crooked. Should've known then. Should've. Naruto would never, ever wear hs headband crooked, or let it slant sideways: it was the ultimate symol of his life, his greatest dreams and hopes made physical, ready to be manifested into something greater. So we should've known. I think Tsunadae knew, and Kakashi too. But how could they stop him? They couldn't I guess, not relly.
The rain fell, getting a bit heavier and heavier, but shinobi refused to leave, even after the civilians, even after her parents, the shinobi stayed. It was understandable because Sakura had saved most of their lives, probably more than once. Naruto stayed so ANBU stayed. Kakashi disappeared but I doubt he left.
The rain continued to fall, and the ater pushed Naruto's hair forward, so that it hung over his hitai-ate. His eyes were closed and I saw his tears mingling with the rain drops. I wanted them to be tears like Kiba wanted them to be tears. Like Hinata wanted him to be ok... but they weren't.
Naruto raised his head and pushed his hair back, sat there,soaking in the rain in unadultered glory, it seemed.
And then his eyes opened, only slits at first, but it was enough. I saw his eyes, and the were painless. Painless and blood red. He turned around and looked all of us over. Then he paused, looking somewhere in the distance, to where Kakashi was, I suppose.
Then he was gone, high in the air. His civilian clothes fell off, far, far, to the ground. Underneath, we found he had on ANBU uniform. He landed on the stairs beneath the Hokage window, opened a secret hatch I never saw, and pulled out a blade and a mask. An all black mask. His transformation was complete, as he sheathed his katana unto his back. Then he disappeared.
I shook in my boots, shook in my fear. And... so this is what it felt like. I had never felt this before. But of course, I didn't share this. I had to be strong for Hinata, who had broken down now. Completely.
Konohamaru POV
The world was ending, wasn't it? It had to be, because everything was over. This was no hypothesis, nor was it theory. It was plain solid fact. Naruto ad been kidnapped and replaced by a fake, and we were just all too caught up in the death of Sakura to see that thats where the signs wre pointing.
Or at least thats what I wanted to believe.
But I knew it was Naruto. Andhe had spent a week in ANBU interrogation. We all knew it was him. But we all denied it.
I couldn't stand with him at the funeral, ANBU wouldn't allow it: Hokage's orders. But I was right behind him. I saw his eyes shift from the body and look backwards, right at me. Or was it through me? No, I was sure it was at me. In that moment I could swear that he pleaded with me and for me, with only those eyes that only Naruto-sempai's soul could create, and he left everything to me too. He leaned his head back, eyes closed, and pushed his hair back, soaking in the rain. Then his eyes slit open, his challenge to the heavens finally declared.
Then he was gone. I never even saw him move, though I wa staring right at him. Thats when I realised that he was already gone, and I never had seen him leave, even as I stared into his eyes.
I didn't cry, as I thought I would. Iruka-sensei did, Moegi and Udon too, but not me.I don't know why. But I do know, that Naruto wasn't dead inside, just lost. He was lost in the darkness again, and I had to go find him.
And save him.
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