Sasuke's sword was instantly at the attacker's throat. Sneering at the man, Sasuke pressed the side of the sword against him, causing a trickle of blood to flow down.
"Any last words, you fucker?" The man laughed out loud, turning terrified eyes to coal black ones. "Shouldn't you be more concerned about your little friend there?"
Cursing, Sasuke grabbed the guy's arm, teleporting him to another area without as many witnesses. Naruto sat in shock as he eyed the body on the floor. The knife's hilt was pressed up against his chest, piercing a hole right through his heart.
Sakura was already by his side, fingers pressed up to his wrist and emitting a faint green glow. Voice trembling, Naruto asked, "Is he?"
Sakura frowned and shook her head. "It went straight through his heart. Not sure how he managed it, since the way he jumped in front of you would have made it incredibly hard to get a clear shot."
A lone tear slid down Naruto's cheek. "No. No no no. Not again. How did this even happen? Why would you jump in front of me like that? I would've survived. I'm strong enough to withstand a blow to the heart. You- you..."
Sakura turned sad eyes toward the blonde. "Naruto..." With a soft buzzing sound, Sasuke returned to the crime scene. He glared down at the body on the floor, kneeling down and pressing a hand next to the knife.
"You idiot." Sasuke whispered. "Didn't I specifically tell you not to die?" Sasuke turned to Naruto, the gears turning in his head. He knew what he had to do. "Naruto we should arrange a funeral for him."
Naruto nodded, wearily staring at the younger blonde's body. "Alright. Yea, let's do that."
~°~
The skies were grey, matching the mood that's fallen over the crowd gathered. There weren't many people there, only the couple that knew the man when he appeared out of nowhere a while ago.
Naruto was staring solemnly at the grave, Sasuke right next to him. Sakura was a couple of yards in front of them, placing lily flowers near the edge of the stone slab sticking up out of the ground.
In the back, Tsunade and Kakashi were mutely watching the whole ordeal. Gaara stood on Naruto's other side, offering a silent comfort.
Hiding in the trees, Neji stood gazing at the crowd, eyes continuously sliding to Sasuke. A few seconds later, Sakura spoke up, the rest of the group turning their heads toward the pinkette. She smiled at the grave.
"Hello Boruto. You know, you were a good friend. I didn't know you that well, none of us really got a chance to before you..." She trailed off before quickly gathering herself together. "But you really inspired us anyway. Without you I think I might've actually married Sasuke."
She let out a light laugh at the thought. "We would probably start a family together. But it would've been a loveless marriage. Our children would have been miserable. So thank you for helping me realize Sasuke is a piece of shit that doesn't know how to communicate."
Behind her, both Sasuke and Naruto let out a snort. She grinned behind her back. "I'm right aren't I? You were prepared to marry me solely for the sake of starting a family. I deserve better, you know?" Sasuke let out a soft smile.
"Sure."
With a sigh, Sakura stood up, walking to Sasuke's side. She looped her arm around his, watching as Naruto walked up to the gravestone. The blonde slowly brought his hand up to the engraved words, silently running his hands over them.
"You shouldn't have died. I should've taken that shot. I should've taken it and survived. We may have only known each other for a little while, but you should've realised that a shot to the heart is nowhere close to enough to bring me down."
He sighed at the gravestone. "You know, I don't even know your last name. You were always so secretive, though I guess you probably didn't know your name either. I hope you live a good life, Boruto. Thanks for helping me realize Sasuke's an emotionally retarded prick who likes me."
Naruto hesitated, before continuing. "He's dead you know. The guy who killed you. Sasuke didn't show any mercy. Which is good because otherwise I would've finished what he had started. His comrades are dead too, including the guy who first attacked me."
Naruto scowled. "The cowards killed themselves the moment they were brought in for questioning." A moment of silence passed, Naruto solemnly looking down at the grave. "I just thought you should know."
Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand when he returned, interlacing their fingers with a soft smile. Sakura exhaled sadly, a soft smile on her face. "You know, it's kind of sad that only a couple of people knew him. I bet he would've liked it if more had come."
Naruto groaned. "I'm going back to the house. I want to mourn in silence. Sasuke you coming with?" The raven gave him a soft smile. "No. I'm going to stay a while longer. Besides, you need some time to yourself."
Naruto nodded at him, smiling. He brought his hand up to Sasuke's chest, pressing a kiss to his lips. "Don't stay out too long, neh?" The Uchiha nodded, ignoring the way the blonde's actions sent fireworks exploding across his chest.
Sakura smiled at the two interacting. With a grin, she let go of Sasuke in favor of grabbing Naruto's arm, the two of them leaving together. Upon seeing two of his former students leave, Kakashi turned towards the forest as well. Today was a long day for all of them.
Gaara frowned at Naruto's back. The blonde certainly wasn't ok. He'd lost a lot during the war, and losing another person must be hard on him. The redhead turned away, sighing. He would get through it, he always did.
The Kazekage turned towards the trees, smiling at a familiar chakra signature. With a couple of hand signs, he appeared behind the brunette, tapping him on the shoulder.
"Hello, Neji. What brings you here?" Neji scowled at him. "I wanted to see if Sasuke was ok." Gaara's heart dropped to his stomach. Of course. Even though they had agreed to date after the drunken kiss, Neji couldn't squash his feelings for the raven.
But that was ok. Because in time, he believed the brunette will grow to love him more than Sasuke, even if he would never truly get over him. For now, though, he would have to settle. And that was fine with him.
"I believe Sasuke's ok. He most likely would appreciate a bit of privacy though. Would you like to go get some dinner?"
Frowning, the Hyuga gave Sasuke a wary glance. He seemed ok. And Neji could always talk to him later. "Alright then."
He muttered, jumping down from the tree. With one last glance at Sasuke, he turned his back, heading towards the village. Gaara quickly followed, matching his pace to the Hyuuga's.
Back down in the clearing, Tsunade stepped up to the grave, ignoring Sasuke's skeptical look.
With Sasuke's eyes boring into the back of her head, she leant down, whispering to the grave. "Naruto was wrong, you know. I didn't tell him, but the knife that killed you was laced with poison. Okari poison. It was even stronger than the last, and designed to kill, not just block chakra."
Tsunade sighed, dropping her eyes to the ground. "If you had not interfered, Naruto would have died. The poison might've taken longer to kill him then you, but it would've killed him nonetheless. So thank you, Boruto. Thank you for protecting him."
With that, Tsunade stood up straight, turning around and giving Sasuke a slight nod. She walked away from the clearing, leaving Sasuke well and truly alone with Boruto's grave. The raven walked up to him, placing a hand on top of the stone.
He spread his chakra, checking to make sure no one was eavesdropping. When no one was detected, he let out a light breath of relief, smiling down at the grave. "Boruto. I'm going to assume that you are currently in the future, laughing with Naruto as I fill you in on what happened after you left."
He turned his head towards the trees, listening to the whistling of the wind. "I believe you're still alive. After all, no kin of Naruto would fall so quickly without a fight. The jutsu should have brought you back, even if you died before the time limit. But there were other conditions, weren't there?"
Sasuke lowered his eyes as he recited what Boruto told him. "You said that either Naruto or your mother would have to have a child in order for you to exist. I don't know your mother, and though I have a clue on who it may be, I can't risk it. So my only option is Naruto."
The man took a deep breath. "I'm going to make sure he has a child. Even if it means I can't be with him." Sasuke smiled at the stone. "You're a good kid, and you'll grow to be a great man." With that, Sasuke left, his cape fluttering in the wind.
~°~
The door of the Uchiha house opened with a click. Almost instantly after he closed the door, Naruto was on top of him, burrowing his head into Sasuke's neck. "You told me you wouldn't take too long." Sasuke shrugged. "I had quite a bit to say."
Naruto snorted, pulling back and looking at Sasuke. "I thought you hated Boruto." The raven shrugged again. "I never said that." He took off his cape, throwing it atop the couch. The blonde rolled his eyes. "Yea but you implied it."
The teen threw him a smirk, sinking down onto the couch. "Says you." Naruto huffed, "Bastard." He crawled onto the couch, turning his body so that his head rested on Sasuke's legs. His voice softened as he brought up another topic.
"Do you think he's ok? Boruto?" Sasuke leaned his head on the back of the couch. "Naruto we need to talk." Naruto frowned at Sasuke's serious tone, looking up at the raven. "What's wrong?"
Sasuke took a deep breath. He ran his fingers through Naruto's blonde locks, enjoying how the other seemed to lean into his touch. His heart dropped to his stomach as he said the words he dreaded. "Naruto I think we should break up."