If I owned Naruto I wouldn't be sewing my own costumes together, and living off of dollar store food.
So, in simple terms, I do not own Naruto now, and I doubt I ever will. .
Dying Inside
Chapter Six: Danced with the Sun
"Kyuubi? What's going on?" Naruto asked, looking around the shimmering room. He was sure he'd be dead by now, but, instead, he seemed to feel healthier than he had in years.
"We're not dead yet, that's what's going on," the demon panted, exhausted by the never ending find she was engaged in.
"If I destroyed the seal, you could escape, as long as you promised not to hurt Konohagakure," Naruto smiled weakly, waving his hands at the bars of the iron cage, "It would only be fair payment for having to deal with being inside of me all these years."
"You stupid brat, don't you think I wouldn't have found a way to escape after being captive for so many years!? I'm not leaving you to die alone like this!" Kyuubi roared, Naruto smiling and closing his eyes.
"Thank you, Kyuubi, you're my best friend," the blonde whispered, falling into a deep sleep.
"And you're my only cub," the demon replied, cuddling his shaking form closer to herself.
.
"Sasuke, get back here, Kakashi-sensei told us not to run off on our own!" Sakura shouted, dashing after the bobbing head of black hair exhaustedly.
Almost immediately after Kakashi's departure the teenager had taken it upon himself to run after his friend, leaving Sakura to hurriedly pack up camp and follow after. He could only hope that they wouldn't run into their teacher burying their teammate half way home.
"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted, her voice ringing angrily through the woods.
"I thought I told you to stay back at camp," Kakashi growled, grabbing the boy viciously by the back of the neck, and hauling him off the ground, Sakura appearing behind him, panting heavily.
"Where's Naruto, how is he!?" Sasuke demanded immediately, ignoring the anger flaring through his teacher's eyes.
"I have some things to explain before I let you see your teammate," Kakashi sighed, putting the boy down. It would be better that he get the how and why questions out of the way now, before they got to the hospital. It would give them more time to say good bye, Kakashi knew.
"He's not dead yet, is he?" Sakura asked meekly, tears coming to her eyes as she collapsed to her knees, exhausted.
"You have to understand, Naruto has been very sick for most of his life," Kakashi began, "And it's been a miracle that he lasted as long as he has. Just be happy that you two were able to be his friends when an entire Village refused that honor."
"If he's been so sick then why did the Hokage let him become a ninja!?" Sasuke demanded, wiping away the tears that were springing to his eyes.
"Because it was what he wanted. All his life he wanted to become a ninja, to save others from his fate, to keep them from suffering like he had," the jounin smiled sadly, kneeling down and handing Sakura a handkerchief, "You see, when Naruto was very young, he was... attacked. That's how he became sick, he has Hepatitis B. Afterwards, he swore that he would become a ninja, and become strong enough to stop other people from hurting children like they had hurt him."
"Hepatitis!? But that's a sexually... oh god, Naruto!" Sakura sobbed, realizing what the blonde must have endured the entire time, what pain he must be suffering now.
"Can't we at least say good bye?" Sasuke asked, finding it very hard to talk and control his emotions at once.
"Follow me, we're only a few hours away from the hospital," Kakashi whispered, jumping into the trees overhead.
.
"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto wheezed, looking up at the ceiling above him, his eyes cloudy and unfocussed.
"Shh, Naruto, save your strength for getting better," Iruka whispered, wiping tears out of his eyes as he clutched the boy's hand tighter, trying to reassure him that he was not alone.
"That's okay, sensei, I'm not afraid of dying anymore," Naruto smiled, turning toward his teacher.
"No, that's not true! You're going to get better, you're going to beat this, and become Hokage, and be the most infamous ninja ever to exist!" Iruka sobbed, shaking his head, stroking the blonde's soft hair.
"Don't worry, Iruka, it doesn't hurt anymore," Naruto whispered, his eyes closing peacefully as he began to struggle for every breath.
"Naruto, please, wake up! Don't die, please, don't die!" Iruka screamed, squeezing the boy's pale, cold hand as he begged and sobbed, doctors rushing into the room as the heart monitor began flat lining.
.
"Don't worry, Kyuubi, you can go now," the blonde whispered, stroking the demon's soft fur, "Thank you for being my friend."
"Don't worry, kit, it won't hurt, I promise," Kyuubi cried, nudging the boy's silent form with her nose as the walls that had held her captive for so long caved in around her, freeing her from the prison that had kept her trapped for twelve long, all too short years.
.
"Iruka, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked, coming to a stop suddenly in front of Naruto's room, looking over the sobbing man.
"He, he," Iruka sobbed, shaking his head as the tears escaped his eyes, making him completely incapable of speech.
But he didn't need to speak for the silver haired jounin to know what was wrong. The only reason his lover would be sobbing outside of his student's room would be if it was too painful to be sobbing inside of the room.
Because that would have to mean Naruto was dead.
"Iruka-sensei?" Sakura asked, looking between the two men questioningly, "Is Naruto okay?"
"I'm sorry, Sakura, but it seems we arrived too late," Kakashi whispered, placing a hand gently on her and Sasuke's shoulders, even as the pink haired girl collapsed in tears.
"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, his eyes wide as his body began to shake, "He's just playing a bad joke on us, he can't be dead. He can't die before he achieves his dream," Sasuke muttered under his breath, his body going pale as a thin layer of sweat began to form.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" Kakashi asked, kneeling at eye level with the boy, letting Iruka take the sobbing girl.
"He's probably just playing a bad joke," Sasuke explained, looking at his teacher, "He's always playing bad joke on everyone, you know. He's a dobe that way," the Uchiha insisted.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but this isn't a joke. He's dead," Kakashi insisted, knowing that the boy must be going into shock, "You have to accept that."
"But why did he have to die?" Sasuke asked, looking through his teacher, tears streaming down his face as he collapsed under the strain of the past three days.
.
The weather was sunny, so much like the small boy that they were lowering into the ground, the few people attending the graveside ceremony weeping openly. The gathering, a small collection of the infamous rookie nine, and a few teachers attending as well, but the opinion of the villagers had remained the same the entire time.
The village did not mourn, the weather did not cry, only a few young children would remember the sunny disposition of the blonde.
"... and we all mourn for such a boy, who's candle burned so brightly for so long," Tsunade whispered, tears streaming down her face as she tossed a white carnation onto the casket.
Kakashi was there, supporting a sobbing, inconsolable Iruka. Sakura beside him, crying as well. But Sasuke was unable to attend the funeral. He had been asleep since he had collapsed outside of Naruto's hospital room three days before, the doctors claiming the stress of losing yet another person close to him overwhelming his mind.
But they assured everyone that he would be fine, given some time to rest. Just as they had assured everyone that Naruto would be fine.
.
Sasuke tossed and turned in his bed, sobbing and crying out in his sleep for his family, screaming for his mother as the darkness turned a shade more sinister. But it was in vain, his house was empty, and no one would come to his call, or light a candle to stave off his nightmares.
"Naruto, please, no!" Sasuke shrieked, bolting up in bed, his eyes open and unseeing.
"Don't worry, he isn't gone," a voice whispered, a brief orange glow circling the boy and purring into his ear, "He'll never be gone as long as you remember."
"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, tears coming to his eyes as he became aware of the environment around him.
"One who will not forget about a little blonde boy who danced and laughed in the sun," the voice replied, echoing around the Uchiha's silent room.
"But I miss him so much, it hurts so much," Sasuke whimpered, curling up and hiding from the world.
"It will hurt, and the pain may never go away, but at least you'll remember your best friend. And if you remember the good times, he'll never truly leave you," the voice giggled, crisp and clear, dancing around the crying boy.
"How could I forget my best friend?" Sasuke sobbed, the voice smiling as it looked down upon him.
He would hurt and cry for now, but he would get better, and he would remember the one who had sent her. He would remember Naruto, her little cub, and his memory would live on in the next Hokage as a good boy, and a good ninja who fought for Konoha, and died in honor.
.
Owari.
.
Authoress' Note:
Yay, it's finally over! Okay, so it was a horribly sappy ending, but I needed to end this story, and this was the first way that came to mind. Well, the details were the first way that came to mind, I had always intended for Naruto to die. The specifics surrounding his death were always a little blurry.
Well, Kumori Con was last weekend, hence the lateness of this story. I had food poisoning and a high fever the entire weekend, but I still worked 12 hours a day, and helped out as Night Manager of Security! . So, if you were there, you probably saw me running around and helping out! .
On , in the Kumori Con 2004 section, you'll see a LOT of pics of an entire Naruto Cosplay groupe (Bakazoku included . ) that was having fun running around. I was there as well, as Temari, but I had to leave my Gaara plushie at home. I was unable to re-sew his costume. ;-;
Here's to next year, and an even BETTER Kumori Con. (Oh, many apologies to everyone who was turned away at the door. We had 1251.5 people attend, that's three times the size of the previous Con. It simply came down to a safety issue about letting people in, not a personal one. Next year we'll have a LOT more room, rest assured! . )