Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Just the plot. I kind of "borrowed" names from other animes, too.

A/N: This story has hints of shounen ai but only if you want to see it. It also has hints of other couples, but again, only if you want to see them. If you thought of an idea similar to this I'm very sorry but this was all my doing, I didn't steal it from you. And now, on with the story!

Not the Answer

The school day ended in the typical fashion. The bell rung for about a minute but was quickly drowned out by the chatter among the students. Students were yearning to get home quickly way always blocked the main exit. We made our way out through an exit in an abandoned hallway. It was quicker and saved time. I opened and held the door for him. He stepped out slowly, and nodded at me. I suppose it was a quick 'Thank You". He seemed to be lost in thought. Of course, I was oblivious at the time and started rambling as usual.

"Heh, did you hear? Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei were caught together in the boy's bathroom stall during the third lunch shift. It was some first year that caught them. I pity him, knowing he'll be scarred for life." I gave chuckle at my own finding. He just nodded once more and glanced up at me with a vacant expression.

"What do you think death's like?"

"Eh, I dunno. It means 'The End'. I guess. Say, you wanna stop by my place tonight and watch a movie or something?"

"Oh, sorry I can't, I have some dumb project to do.

"Aw, okay then, I'll see tomorrow. I'll call you."

"Okay, bye…"

Those were the very last moments I could recall with him. If only I knew.

"Risa, could you please read the next section?"

"Sensei, that's not fair!" a girl complained, "Risa's already read like five times!"

"No, I haven't," Risa said in a bored voice, "You're just upset Sensei doesn't pick you because you're loud."

"Excuse me? I'm not loud at ALL!" Rin protested, "Besides, what good would it do to have a bore like you read?"

"Girls! I know its Friday but please calm down," the teacher groaned, exasperatedly, "Rin, sit down, Ryo, pay attention, and Ryoma, take your coat off, it's not that cold in here."

Rin sat down, upset, but returned her attention to her book. Risa smiled smugly and began to read. 'The weekend cannot come any sooner,' their teacher thought, sadly.

"Sensei, can I read next?" a boy asked, raising his hand.

"Hey, I asked first!" Rin complained once more.

"Rin, I've already told you, not now!" she snapped, "and Yayoi, we're done reading for today."

Rin shut her mouth quickly to avoid detention. Their teacher turned around and began to write their assignment on the board. "Sometimes I think I'm teaching first grade, not middle school," she whispered under her breath.

Just then, a door opened to reveal a young man looking to be about twenty. He had spiky blonde hair and clear blue eyes. His smile was one of a small child who had gotten a special treat. He was tall but looked rather young.

"Young Rai?" he asked, running his hand through his hair, "I'm here to give a lecture."

"Oh, you must be Mr. Uzamaki!" Ms. Young said, brightly, shaking his hand, "Class, say hello."

"Good afternoon, Uzamaki-san," the class chorused in bored voices.

The man's face fell and he took a deep breath. "Hi, I'm Uzamaki Naruto and I'm here to talk about suicide," he put rather bluntly.

This got everyone's attention, even the teacher. Not many people started lectures like that, but, as they would learn, Naruto isn't many people.

"Now, I assume that you know what suicide is. You've all seen it in movies. Except, it's put in a rather stereotypical format. I'll tell you more about that but let me state this: Suicide is never the answer," he continued, "It makes problems worse and brings burdens to ones you love. It is believed by many that only cowards commit suicide. Though that can be true-"

"Do you lecture on peer-pressure or drinking or..?" a boy interrupted.

"No, just suicide."

"Why only suicide? Is it some odd obsession?" he asked, in a somewhat mocking way.

Naruto smiled sadly. "I don't want you to make the same mistake." The classroom fell silent with confused looks on their faces but Naruto didn't let this faze him.

"Anyways, as I was saying, most people who kill themselves think it's the only answer to their problems. They might have done something really bad or stupid. They might be going to jail. There are plenty of reasons people kill themselves. It might be a coward's way out but if a person knows about someone being suicidal, they're just as much as a coward for not telling anyone. Now, no matter what the reason is, it always doesn't seem to make sense."

"Depression is one reason. People see no point in their life so they end it. Even normal people who are just stressed out kill themselves."

It was late at night. Studying for midterms once more with him.

"Say, you know more about Chemistry than me, why are your answers so off?" I asked peering at his previously marked tests.

"My parents have been on my case about getting good, no EXCELLENT grades. They expect me to be legend like my brother, hell he just copied others. He wasn't exactly a genius, well not like the genius image in my parents' minds. I don't know, when I sit down and try to take a test, my mind gets overwhelmed."

"Don't listen to your parents then, hey, look at me. My parents kicked me out last year and I'm doing just fine. If it's your parents that are making your life hell, then you can crash here."

"Thanks, but it's just not my parents…it's just, I guess everything. I just don't feel like my life can go on. It's just pointless now. I mean, if I died would anyone care?" he gave a small sad smile at this.

"Man, stop joking around like that. It's not funny. You've been saying stuff like for awhile now." I said, as I turned towards him and looked him right in the eye.

"You're my best friend, I would care. Do I count?" I continued staring deeply into his eyes but he didn't budge. His eyes seem interested in the floor. "Do I count?" I asked again. No answer. "Do I count?!" I raised my voice. He cringed at the loudness.

"Yeah…of course you do, look it was a dumb question. No need to get worked up, I was joking. Now quiz me on this." he stated, handing me his Math textbook. I hesitated for a moment but quickly grabbed the book.

How would have things been if I knew it wasn't a joke?

"Don't crazy people kill themselves?" asked a girl, waving her hand in the air.

"Chiyo!" the teacher squeaked, afraid of offending their guest. She needn't have worried.

Naruto smiled. "In a way, yes, mentally ill people occasionally commit suicide but I don't think any of you are 'crazy'," he said, laughing.

Chiyo blushed and put her hand down. The class snickered. Another boy raised his hand.

"Why do people kill themselves when people care about them?" he asked.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, it's Yuki."

"Well, Yuki, they don't realize that everyone cares about them," he said, sadly.

"How can anybody not know people care about them!?" Rin cried from her seat.

"Rin!" Rai-sensei yelled, "This is your last warning! I'll-…"

"I don't know," Naruto interrupted, "I guess they get wrapped up in all the bad things they're going through they forget. It's harder for some people to be loved then others." He had a very faraway look in his eye as he spoke.

Rin sat down and mumbled a quiet 'Sorry'. The boy next to her looked in the opposite direction but gave her a pat on the shoulder. She smiled at him, nodded in thanks, and brushed her chestnut hair out of her eyes.

"Suicide isn't outrageously common but it happens far too often," Naruto continued, "The best thing you can do is stay alert. If someone you know someone, maybe a friend or sibling, who is thinking about suicide, don't let it happen. Talk to them, talk to their parents, join a group, do anything you can. Anyone can save a life."

Everyone seemed to be thinking. Yuki was twisting his snowy hair around his finger. Risa was staring at her desk, completely silent. Ryoma had pulled his coat over his eyes but the teacher didn't even scold him.

Naruto cleared his throat. "Uh, that was all I had planned. Do I have any questions?"

A girl with long, dark hair and glasses raised her hand.

"And your name is…?"

"Yomi. You knew someone who killed themselves, didn't you?" she asked, looking him straight in the eye.

"Smart kid," he mumbled, "Yeah, I lost a friend to suicide. We weren't much older then you."

"What happened?" asked another boy.

"Well, he had always been that quiet, dark type of person. He'd just want to be alone. I was the complete opposite but we were friends for some reason. It wasn't until Jr. High that he started getting worse."

"He would come to school with all sorts of cuts and bruises. He'd always have an excuse but I knew better. Something was wrong. I think he took pills for depression, too."

"After High School started nothing went right. It was about then he started talking about killing himself. At first I thought he was joking but soon I realized he was serious. I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't listen. He said I couldn't tell anyone. I was scared. And then…"

He looked down at the floor. "How did he die?" a girl asked, gently.

"He took too many pills," Naruto said, sadly but quickly recovered, "Okay, are there any more questions?"

"I'm Hajime," a boy said from his desk, "If you're already dying and you kill yourself, is it still suicide? Is it still wrong?"

'Impatient much?' Naruto thought, turning to face him. "That's a very good question, Hajime. Legally yes, but morally I don't know. What do you all think?" he asked turning around and looking at each face in turn.

Another girl spoke up. "They still shouldn't kill themselves!" she exclaimed, "Medicine can do a lot! It can keep people alive for years!"

A boy with red hair leapt to his feet. "There are some diseases that can't be cured!" he argued, "And even if you could be kept alive, your life would suck!"

"That's better than being dead!" a girl interjected.

'I hope Mr. Uzamaki knows what he's doing,' Rai-sensei thought, staring at her wild class.

'I don't think this was a good idea,' Naruto thought, scratching the back of his head. "I'm glad you have opinions but could you keep them a bit quieter?" he said, loudly.

The whole class turned to look at him. At least half of them were out of their seat and one boy even had a girl's hair grasped tightly in his hand. The girl was bent over awkwardly, trying to break free of his clutches.

"Are there any more questions before someone gets sent to the hospital?" he asked as the class returned to their seats. A boy raised his hand hesitantly.

"Yes, what's your name?" Naruto asked, pushing his bangs out of his eyes.

"I'm Hikaru. What about cutting yourself? You know, like with a knife?" he asked.

"Cutting yourself?" Naruto asked, "Well, that's bad too. Sometimes they're actually trying to kill themselves and fail or chicken out. It can be with done without a knife though, if people are addicted to it, they could use anything from a pen to razor. People often do it to relief stress in a way. It makes them forget the emotional pain for a moment. It's a good warning sign if someone gets many unexplainable cuts or injuries. Which reminds me!" He took out a bunch of crumpled papers from his back pocket. "These are flyers on suicide prevention," he said and then looked at their crippled state. "Sorry, I'm not a very neat person."

He handed the papers to Rai-sensei as the shrill sound of a bell entered the classroom.

"That's all the time we have," their teacher said, sounding quite relieved, "Please thank our guest."

"Thank you, Uzamaki-san," the class said together.

Naruto smiled. "Maybe I'll see you guys again sometime," he said, walking out the door.

"Oi! Naruto-kun! Over here!"

Naruto looked up to find a pink-haired girl calling his name from a table in the back of the coffee shop.

"Sakura-chan!" he exclaimed, running over.

"Were you talking to kids again today?" she asked, taking a sip of her coffee. Naruto nodded and sat down. "I don't see how you manage to study, keep your job, and lecture kids about suicide."

"I make time," he said, shrugging but not quite meeting her eye, "It's important to me."

"Naruto-kun, it's not your fault," Sakura told him, resting her hand on top of his.

Naruto looked away. "I still could have stopped him," he mumbled.

"You don't have to feel so guilty," she said, crossing her arms, "His mind was made up."

"But-," Naruto started, turning to face her.

"But nothing!" Sakura yelled, drawing the attention of most of the costumers, "He was a thick-headed ass and you couldn't have stopped him!"

The two glared at each other. Naruto was the first to lower his gaze, his eyes shining with tears. The intensity left Sakura's eyes and she smiled.

"How about I buy you a coffee?" she said, her emerald eyes twinkling. Naruto nodded. "Two more coffees please."

The waitress brought the two cups and set them on the table.

"I just miss him so much," he murmured. A tear fell into the dark brown substance.

"I know, so do I," Sakura said, softly, pouring cream and sugar into both of their drinks, "just chill, okay?"

Naruto looked up and dried his eyes, smiling. "Deal."

A cool breeze blew through the cemetery. Naruto walked pass each tombstone without really seeing them.

"Hey, teme," he said, collapsing in front of a very somber looking grave.

He set a book down in front of him. "I brought you something," Naruto said, grinning, "They found this in some of your old stuff. I didn't know you like D N Angel. I read it on the way here. It's pretty weird."

He laughed and fell onto his back. "I taught another class today," he told the grave, "The kids seem to understand. I don't think any of them will have to go through what we did."

"Oh, and Sakura-chan told me to tell you that she says hi. She's studying for some test. I should be too but I gave up my time to talk to you and bring you manga! Oh well, I hope you like it. Wait, it was yours so you'd better!"

Naruto closed his eyes. That was how he remained for a good half an hour before reluctantly returning to his feet. "I really got to go now. Damn test. Later, teme," he called over his shoulder as he walked away. The grave remained silent. It just gave the same message it always did.

Rest In Peace

Sasuke Uchiha

Beloved brother, Cherished son, Treasured friend

1994-2009

You Are Gone But Not Forgotten