Summary: In the recent episodes, Tsunade said to Shikamaru: "you failed the mission. But the good thing is, everyone is alive." But what if things were different? What if the mission was completed, but someone died?
-I'll be missing you-
"GuuhhhHAack!" blood splattered to the side of Naruto's face as Sasuke leaned over and puked. Damn, Naruto had hit him harder than he expected. Groaning, he tried to get up, but his legs wouldn't permit him.
"S-shit...Naruto...you win." With that, Sasuke collapsed out of consciousness, face down, next to an unconscious Naruto. His scratched forehead protector was looped around his finger and Naruto's thumb, connecting them in a bond that Sasuke didn't yet know would last forever.
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"Pakkun, did you feel that massive chakra?"
"Yeah Kakashi, I felt that."
"I knew this was a bad idea...sending out a group of genin...Pakkun, will you still be able to track them through this rain?"
Most may not notice, but Kakashi was very tense, tenser than he's ever been before. Not many knew this, even Pakkun didn't know this, but Kakashi had become really attached to his 3 students over the past year.
Sakura...She had always been a prissy girl, but lately she was showing some backbone that Kakashi had never seen before. And he had never been prouder.
Sasuke... Kakashi always had a tough time with Sasuke, but he always felt a connection to Sasuke, because their pasts were so similar.
And Naruto... Naruto was that blonde idiot who did things rashly, but Kakashi had grown to think of him like a younger brother.
Sasuke, Naruto!! You both better be okay!! You better!
Kakashi closed his eyes, and added more chakra to his feet.
"Yes, Kakashi, I can still find them."
Normally, those words would've comforted Kakashi, if it weren't' for that feeling of foreboding...that awful tugging at his heart that wouldn't stop.
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"Naruto!! Sasuke!!" Through the rain, it was hard to tell the condition of the boys, but who they were was obvious. After all, there is no other blonde kid who wears the most obnoxious, brightest orange outfit you've ever seen, right? But what concerned Kakashi more was Sasuke. He was face down in a pool of blood, and he appeared not to be breathing.
Quickly turning Sasuke over, Kakashi sighed a breath of relief. Sasuke was alive, the blood appeared to be old. But he wasn't out of the woods. There was a deep gouge in his upper stomach, and the few strings of remaining skin appeared to be in a swirl-like pattern. Rasengan... Sasuke was alive, but just barely.
"Pakkun, go get the medical corps. Tell them where we are and the situation. Hurry!"
Once he was sure Pakkun was gone, Kakashi turned to Naruto. "Oh Naruto..." he sighed. "Knowing you, you gave your all."
Reaching down to touch his hand, Kakashi noticed that it was freezing. No... "Oh wait" Kakashi chuckled out loud, "it is raining after all".
The copy-nin reached his hand out to Naruto's mouth, to check for breath. There was none. It can't... "Oh wait" he chuckled out loud. It was slightly more higher pitched this time, filled with a little desperation. "The rain...he probably choked on the rain...I'll administer CPR, of course."
But before that, Kakashi had to check one thing. His heartbeat... Reaching over to Naruto's chest, he felt for a heartbeat. There was none. He's not... "OH wait!" he chuckled out loud. This was sounded strained even to his own ears, higher pitched, filled with a little desperation, and maybe even a little...crazy? Kakashi took a deep, uneven breath. "It's so cold...it must've stopped beating for a few seconds".
Deep inside his heart, he knew it was true. He knew it. God knew it. "Narut-" his choked voice died off. Cold, shaking fingers reached out to slowly unzipper Naruto's jacket. Slowly, oh so slowly. Eyes widened. In Naruto's chest, just under the heart, lay a hole. A big, jagged hole, there for all the world to see, so big that Kakashi could see the pavement through the other side.
"Naruto!! No! No...Narutooo!!" In desperation, he picked up Naruto's body, and squeezed it to his own.
"Damn it!! You can't be dead!! You can't...you never became Hokage..."
He stifled a sob, trying to go on.
"You never--you never fulfilled your dream of being accepted by everyone..."
A few lone tears crept their way down Kakashi's face. He let out a pained cry, and hunched over Naruto's body, beside himself.
"And Sasuke...you brought him back...you kept your promise to Sakura...you brought him baaacckk!!!"
Finally, he lost it. Here it was. The world-famous copy ninja, one of Konoha's most prominent jounin, wanted in every Bingo book. Crying. No, sobbing, over Konoha's number #1 most unpredictable ninja.
"Naruto..."
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5 minutes later, Pakkun and 4 medical ninja appeared in front of Kakashi.
"Kakashi, are you alright? I thought I heard something howling. It sounded like it was in pain..."
Turning to his one eye to Pakkun, Kakashi sighed. "The boy..." he whispered.
"He's close to death. He needs medical attention..."
"Hai, Kakashi-san!!" one of the ninja saluted. "And the other one? What is the condition of Uzumaki Naruto?"
Kakashi turned to eye to Pakkun again, and in that instant, Pakkun knew where that awful, keening noise had come from. Bowing his head in respect, Pakkun muttered softly to the ninja clad in white.
"Uzumaki Naruto...is now among the deceased".
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Well, there it is folks. The first serious Naruto story I actually bothered to type. I have more for the story, this isn't a one shot.
But I would like to know what you think of it!! If any of you have read my sad Avatar story, you know what I'm about to ask... "On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the saddest, how sad would you rate my story?"
And on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, how boring would you say it was?
I need to know so I can figure out what angle I want to start the next chapter on.
Well ja, and thanks a lot folks!!