"Lilies and laurels over them we lay, And violets o'er each unforgotten head."
-Richard Hovey-
Sasuke crawled across the cold tiled floor, smearing it with his and Naruto's blood. The pain he should be feeling was numbed by the sorrow that was devouring him inside and out. It was unbearable to see those lifeless blue eyes staring back at him. So many times before they had shown with such life and happiness. Always a light for those around him.
It was too much; the guilt, the sorrow, the anger. Everything seemed to threaten to overcome him, making him tear at the seams of his sanity.
No one should have to see their lover die, not once and definitely not twice. What a cruel, sick, and twisted world they lived it. It was only topped by the evil which resided in it. Lurking in the shadows waiting and stalking. Wanting nothing more than to drain happiness and hope out of everything.
Yet with in this dark dream stood a ray of hope. This was just a moment in the time that they could have together. He would see Naruto again, he knew this above all else. And this time no one would stand in their way.
If fate brought Naruto to him once, even twice, then it could certainly bring them together again. That thought alone brought solace to his heart.
Offering up one last prayer that one day, one life, they would be able to come together again. No matter the distance, no matter the time. Sasuke swore he would find Naruto again, and he knew that Naruto would feel the same.
Laying his head upon Naruto's blood soak lap, it's warmth fading fast. His eye's felt so heavy, it was becoming such a burden for Sasuke to hang onto life. The haunting voice of death was calling him in her smooth wails and chilling calls.
The pain faded and the world around him drifted off. It was an experience that he had lived through many times, the coming end of another life cycle.
With one last calm and resigned breath, Sasuke let his soul leave him. It would fly and mingle till once again it would be born, and with it Sasuke would be brought back into being. His life no longer a meaningless existence bent on revenge.
Now he had a reason to live. He had Naruto, his love, his life, his everything.
||XxXx||
Madara stood in the doorway, amber flames dancing in his indifferent eyes. The sight before him made him sneer in disdain.
Itachi was truly an idiot. Maybe he had placed to high of hopes in his young accomplice. To fall so easily, and by the hands of someone so unworthy, so filthy.
Alas Itachi was just another replaceable piece in this broad game he had started.
He would find another, one more fitting for the duty at hand. Still this would put some hindrance upon him. He would have to repay the young Uchiha the favor one day.
Turning from the sight, he made his way back down the hall towards an unknown destination. His parting words echoing through the empty space.
"Farewell Sasuke Uchiha, may you hope our paths never cross again."
||XxXx||
It wasn't hard to figure out the direction in which to drive. The sight and sound of blaring sirens were a key clue to Kakashi. It wasn't often that you would see such a tragedy that would call for so many emergency vehicles.
The feeling deep within his gut told him that following the convoy would lead him to where Naruto and Sasuke were. The way things were looking, they might already be too late.
Sakura tried to quell the fear that threatened to consume her. She hung desperately onto Ino like a life line. Ino had to be strong for her friend. No matter how worried she was inside, she would never let it show.
Like Ino, Hinata was trying to do the same for Kiba. The young man was looking lost, his eyes staring out into the dark dreary road ahead of him. He had been that way since he learned the full extent of the problem at hand. It was like a horror movie and Kiba was have trouble trying to piece in the fantasy with the reality.
Everything seemed so far fetched. Naruto kidnaped by a crazed vampire out for blood. It sounded like some cheap Hollywood horror movie. The only thing was, it wasn't. It was cold reality, and it scared the shit out of Kiba.
The only thought that seemed to comfort him was the idea that the bad guys always died in movies. After all wasn't this just like that? Everything would be fine. Naruto would be safe, smiling that stupid smile.
Hinata patted his arm in comfort. She hated seeing Kiba like this, seeing him look just the way she felt.
Looking up her gripped tightened as she took in the bright fire that seemed to light the entirety of the main street. The fires licked at the sides of the hotel from one of the higher floors. Someone cursed, the foul word loud in the quiet truck, although she was unsure of who's lips it passed through.
Regardless she found that the situation deserved such language, for no pleasant words could describe the current situation. Nor could it compare to the emotions swirling about in the atmosphere at the moment.
The occupants of the truck watched on in shock as the firemen got to work. Each trying their hardest to stomp the destructive force. Some filed into the building while others aimed the hoses.
Kakashi got out of the truck, making his way over to a police officer who was keeping back the crowd that had gathered to make a spectacle of the matter. It was like some sick enjoyment to see something so destructive, so deadly.
The others soon followed Kakashi, not wanting to be left alone, and not wanting to miss out on the precious information that could be given.
Sakura heard Kakashi's frantic voice. "...two boys, one blond and the other had black hair..." She watched as his hands moved, accentuating his words. "... They both went missing, and some one told us they were seen here..." That was a lie, but Sakura knew it didn't really matter as long as they found them.
The police officer nodded. "All the survivors have already been evacuated, and a team was sent up a moment ago to check the room in which the fire had started." He explained, his face grim. "I don't remember seeing two young men amongst the group, mostly older couples... Lets just hope..." The cop trailed off as his walkie talkie buzzed to life.
"Adrian, you there? Come in..."
The cop pulled the device to his ear, talking in a calm tone. "I'm here... what is it."
There was a sigh and then silence. "Well, it looks like we have three bodies here... what's more, I don't think this was an accident. Might ought to secure the area... This looks like a murder..." The voice trailed off, and the officer looked up at Kakashi who had gone pale.
Ino and the others stood motionless. No it couldn't be, not Naruto and Sasuke. It didn't help matters that the numbers matched up. Three bodies, they were looking for three people. No longer were they hoping to find them here.
"Ok... I see... I'll send someone up to check the scene, and to get those bodies down here. I want to ID them... I think I might have someone here that can identify them... do you have any idea on the sex and ages?" Adrian looked at Kakashi with sympathy. He too hoped that these were not the bodies of the young boys this man was looking for.
"Umm... yeah... all three are distinctly male... as for the ages..." There was a pause, like one would expect in a situation such as this. "Two look to be in their mid to late teens... the other maybe twenties or so..."
Sighing Adrian turned to look at Kakashi once again, all hope now gone. "Can you come with me? I would like you to identify the bodies."
All Kakashi could do was nod and numbly follow.
||XxXx||
-One Week Later-
The day was sunny, not a cloud in the sky. Snow still clung to the cold ground, sparkling white in the light.
Everything was perfect, a beautiful winter day, and that was all the more reason to hate it. It was all wrong, too happy. Shouldn't a day like this be overcast and dreary? Shouldn't the clouds be crying for his loss?
Kiba paced his room being sure to curse anything he saw fit. Which included the weather, that was too bright. He wanted everything around him to weep, but all it was serving to do was to lift his mood.
He was so sure he should still be in mourning, he felt guilty to even think about going out and having fun. What heartless fool could go out with a clean conscious and party when their best friend was murdered only a week before? Certainly not him.
Pink stationary caught his eye. It was something that he had looked at more times than he could count in the past week. Memorizing the words written in messy scrawl. Possibly the last thing Naruto had written, a half finished letter to Kiba.
It was more or less a rant about the gift he had given the blond so long ago. At the time he never thought that the gang gift would ever mean so much to him.
Tearing his eyes away, Kiba picked up his black coat. It was time. This would be the last time he would be seeing Naruto. Well in this life that was.
It really was entirely not fair. Naruto would live again, he would be able to see Kiba again. Yet Kiba would never be aware of it. To him, Naruto had really died.
||XxXx||
Sakura sat brushing out Ino's hair. The two of them had been spending their time alone together, drawing comfort from each other.
Ino reassuring Sakura that all was not lost. To Sasuke and Naruto, this was just another bump in the road. They would have another chance, and another after that. Hell, they had eternity. When Ino spoke of this, Sakura would smile.
"Don't forget, you'll meet them again. I will be sure of it, and deep down you'll remember them." It was times like these that she knew how lucky she was to have a friend like Ino. Someone so supporting; to Sakura, Ino might as well have been her sister.
"I will make it my goal in this life, and the next, to never forget anyone I have met in this time." Ino smiled up at her. She was glad that Sakura had taken the massacre so well. Usually humans took deaths so badly, but Sakura was hopeful and cheery. She was able to always see the good in the bad.
"I am glad to hear that Sakura. Very glad."
The two continued to sit in silence, enjoying each others company. Awaiting the time in which they would have to bid Sasuke and Naruto goodbye, until the next life when they would surely meet again.
||XxXx||
Hinata sat quietly in Kiba's car. She had nothing to say, no more tears to cry. She had learned so much from the incident, more than she would ever hope to know about the ways of the world.
She learned that you should treasure every moment you spend with someone, for you never know when it will be the last.
She learned that love was the strongest power one could hope to obtain.
And above all else, she learned to never take life for granted. You sometimes only get one chance at true happiness, so you better not let it slip by.
That was why she came to her decision, and sat here now. No matter how forbidden it may be, she would let this love she felt for Kiba grow. She did not care if he was human, she would take the good and bad that would come with this relationship.
It was the least she could do after all, to be true to herself. She knew that if Naruto could see her right now, he would be smiling happily at her.
Knowing at least that much made the pain of his loss a little more bearable.
||XxXx||
The yellow light flashed to red, halting Kakashi's onward movements. He hated having to stop, bringing his mind to rest. It was during these times that images flashed like a movie reel through his consciousness.
Clip after clip of grotesque memories, bodies of two boys bloodied and burned beyond recognition. Hair that was once corn gold now stained red, bright blue eyes dim and lifeless. Soft pale skin now cold and hard, raven locks burnt and clumped together with dried blood.
It was hard to think that something so unsightly had once been two of his precious students. Why hadn't he declined the officer. Surely he could have found someone else to ID the bodies, after all another human wouldn't have to live with these images for eternity.
The light turned green, pulling him from his mental hell. The cemetery was only a mile up the road. His drive would soon end and he would be forced to stare as those coffins were lowered into their graves. Only he would truly know the sight that they held within.
Two boys that didn't quite look human, more monstrous than anything due to the destruction they both endured. Then again they were never quite human to begin with, it was only a deception. A mask to hide what they really were.
As he pulled into the parking lot, Kakashi couldn't help to think that maybe they really were all monsters. Monsters obsessed with blood and death, because no matter how much he wanted to deny, to forget, he still could not ignore the hunger that grew within his gut at seeing the blood soaked corpses. Nor could he truly hide the shiver of delight, before being overwhelmed with sorrow and disgust.
Yes he was a monster, but he was not evil. He would never be evil, for that was what separated him from the devil's spawn, Itachi. No matter what, he would continue to walk on in the light, hoping to find his salvation.
||XxXx||
Iruka cried as the priest spoke, praying for the boys souls to find peace within heaven's walls. Kakashi was there patting his back in some form of comfort.
They had decided to bury the boys together. It didn't seem fair to split them up again after all they had been through. It was also to hope that they would always be together, if only in heart.
Everyone spoke, giving kind words and blessings to the departed. Poor Kiba was unable to get half way through before bursting into tears.
Iruka was not surprised that he had taken this the hardest... no that wasn't true. There was one other who's heart wept more.
Turning he watched as a woman walked towards the caskets, tear stains streaking down her drawn and sullen face.
||XxXx||
Kushina Uzumaki walked forwards, an extravagant arrangement of lilies held firmly within her slender arms. The pedals blew in the soft wind, their crimson tips sparkling in the sun as if they had been stained. Stained in fresh blood.
Her grief was consuming, more so than her guilt. She would never forgive herself for the horrendous wrong she had committed as a mother. Could she even be called a mother? What right did she have when she had abandoned her child.
Scared away because of her faith, because of something she did not understand. God must have frowned upon her, or so she believed. After all she had thrown away so much, and now she could never get it back.
She was given no second chance, her son was gone. Never to return to her. She didn't care if he would be reborn. Naruto would never come back to her, not now, not ever.
It was all over for her. She had caused this, somehow. It was all her fault, and she could do nothing.
Kushina fell to her knees, the lilies falling around her in a pool. The red petals standing out in contrast with the white snow. It was as if they were portraying her bleeding heart. Sobs racked her frame, tearing her from the inside out.
In her moment of overwhelming grief, she did the only thing she could. With all her being, Kushina screamed the name of the person she would never see nor hold again.
"Naruto!"
Silence only met her ears. She would receive no answer. It was already too late, even a mothers voice would not wake a dead child's soul.
To Be Continued....