Funerals
Mama died today. Or was it yesterday? I don't remember (1). Yashumaru told us today that we'd have to dress up and go mourning, so Mama died yesterday, or the day before that. It's too confusing. All I know is that a small group of people are surrounding a large white coffin, and the priest is saying something about a 'better place' and a 'creator.' Kazekage-sama didn't come. Yashumaru says he's too busy dealing with the new baby. I think his name is Gaara.
I asked Yashumaru when we would meet him, but Yashumaru just looks far away. Grown ups are werid. Oh well, at least we won't have classes tomorrow.
----
We were just about to finish breakfast when Baki-sensei told us Yashumaru was missing. After training, he told us there was a loud explosion in the middle of the night. Nobody knew the specifics, but he heard that someone was trying to assassinate Gaara again. Basically, he concluded that Yashumaru had been involved in the explosion and was now dead. There wasn't much of his remains, but there would be a small funeral for him. Kazekage-sama was too busy to go, so we would have to go instead.
Dressing up in mourning clothes, we stood repectively around the coffin. The priest was saying some thing, but I was to busy digging a hole in the sand with my toe. That soon got boring. It wasn't until Baki-sensei pulled on my arm that I looked up at the priest again, grumpily. Finally the priest finished off and we slowly made our way back to sensei's home.
Yashumaru was nice, it's too bad he had to die. Oh well, at least training is canceled tomorrow.
----
It was only a few days after we returned to Suna that we found out Kazekage-sama was mudered. His body was rotting in a ditch when they found him, but according to our customs the body was brought back. The most honorable thing a Sand shinobi can do for his comrade is to give him a proper funeral, since desert soil lacks nutrient, the dead can acutally be useful and give something back. The decomposing remains will allow for other things to grow, thus helping keep the village alive.
As the Kazekage children, we were expected to go to his funeral.
Gaara said he wasn't coming.
Neither one of us said anything, since we knew perfectly well how much Gaara loathed him, and we didn't want to be the cause to bring back his old tantrums. It was small at first, but Gaara started to change. He wasn't killing randomly anymore and he stopped threatening us. Slowly he was learning how to be human and how to make bonds with others.
I sighed wishing more than anything to get out of the baking sun.
Why did his funeral have to be in the middle of the day, during the time when the sun is scorching hot? The priest is yapping away about how Kazekage-sama was an honorable man that lived for his village and family. Are we talking about the same guy here?
"Would you two like to say a few words?" The priest said so suddenly.
"No." What could we say of a stranger? He didn't care about us, and we didn't care about him.
The priest closed his book shut and everyone bowed their heads respectfully, as the coffin was slowly lowered to the ground. White flowers were thrown to the closed coffin, and it wasn't until the last patch of earth was thrown that people started to leave.
We walked together side by side, stopping every once in a while as people gave their respective wishes.
"It must be so hard for both of you. Kazekage-sama was your last living relative."
"Not really," I responded.
The Kazekage neglected us for so long that we never really thought of him as a father. Now that I think about it, we never once called him Father, it was always Kazekage-sama, or sir. In fact if people didn't refer to us as the 'Kazekage's children,' then we'd have thought we were orphaned at a young age.
Oh well, since we're in mourning, I'll have some extra time to do training. Who knows maybe I'll invite Gaara as well.
----
"Everyone say a prayer," Gaara said saddly lowering his eyes to the ground. The small group of people each closed their eyes, not because it was an order, but because it was something they wanted to do.
Chiyo-baasama's body was motionless, being held up by Sakura. She looked peaceful.
Her body was brought back to Suna and a funeral took place two days later. Everyone from the village came to give their respects, each one of them holding a white flower. The turnout was so much bigger than the funeral for the previous Kazekage, or any other shinobi. It was because she had done something so heroic and noble that she earned so much repect than all the previous Kazekage's combined.
I've gone to many funerals in my life. This was the first time I actually listened to the priest.
"Would you like to say a few words?" The priest had said getting near the end.
"Thank you, Chiyo-baasama," I said stepping forward. "Thank you for sacrificing your life for my little brother. I'm eternally grateful, everyone is for your noble act. I sincerly hope you will be able to rest in peace."
Temari looked at me, probably surprise that I'd actually say anything. Ever since we were kids, I would be the one whining about being going to a funeral. It's funny, my mother died when I was two years old, my uncle died when I was eight, my father died when I was fifteen; but this was the only time I actually mourned for someone's death.
----
The sun shone high when we quietly left the house. We never once visited our dead parents. But for some reason, we simply visited Chiyo's grave when her death day approached.
"You'll be happy to know. Naruto is on his way to becoming the Sixth Hokage," Temari smiled, putting a bouquet of flowers on the tomb.
"We're leading this new shinobi world, just like you wanted us," Gaara said looking at the inscribed markings of the tombstone.
"So thanks for giving us the chance."
I don't know when it became customed for us, but every year we would return to visit Chiyo-baasama's grave.
(1) From Camus, Albert (1943). L' Etranger. Original text, "Aujourd'hui, maman est morte. Ou peut-être hier. je ne sais pas." pp.1
I don't want Temari and Kankurou to be heartless or anything, I was just curious that they don't generally seem affected by their mother's or uncle's death. Oh I has no ownership of Naruto and Camus' novel, its a good book though!
--Mel