Life Isn't Fair

Kakashi didn't know what he was expecting to see when they returned to the village. But the moment he caught sight of Iruka waiting at the gates, the scroll, he all but refused to let go off, seemed a hundred times heavier.  

During the short time he spent with Naruto, Kakashi had learned about the bond between Naruto and Iruka. When he first saw them together, Kakashi couldn't deny that he had been jealous of Iruka. Had things played out differently, it would have been him, the one that took Naruto out for ramen. He would have been the one Naruto saw as a brother figure. But instead, he had been forced to stay in the shadows.

Now, Kakashi had to look at Iruka in the eyes and break the news to him. Would Iruka resent him? Kakashi wouldn't blame him, not after having promised to bring Naruto back home safe and sound. 

When they had departed on the mission, he had reassured Lady Tsunade that he would bring Naruto home. But Kakashi had promised to bring Naruto back home, even if it cost him his life, to Iruka after telling him about the mission. Iruka's experience had been blanked, but there had been a glimmer of hope in his eyes. 

"Where's Naruto?"

It was earth-shattering to see a chunni as strong as Iruka be reduced to a sobbing mess. Grief was relentless. It could shatter even the strongest shinobi. 

//\\//\\//\\

"We were able to recover the bodies of Kisame Hoshigaki, Juzo Biwa, and Kakuzu. While we couldn't find the rest of his body, likely, Hidan is also dead." 

"What about Naruto Uzumaki and Gaara of the sand?"

"There were signs of an explosion, Gaara's body was not found, but his siblings were able to identify his sand gourd not too far away from the center of the explosion. As for Naruto, they found his left hand about fifteen feet away from the explosion site. After searching the area, we were not able to find the rest of his body. Suna said they would let us know if they found any of Naruto's DNA on Gaara's sand gourd."

"It would seem they managed to release the Kyuubi and the one-Tailed beast. It's unclear if Naruto and Gaara broke both seals or if they had been altered by one of them." 

"You're all dismissed." 

//\\//\\//\\

Shizune hugged herself tighter as one more piercing scream came from Tsunade's room. While the team was giving Lady Tsunade their mission report, Shizune had been filled with dread. 

She knew that the only reason why Tsunade had managed to keep her composure had been out of pure stubbornness. But Shizune knew that the moment Tsunade had a moment to herself that she would crumble. After all, Tsunade had once again lost someone she held dear. 

Naruto had, without a doubt, weasel his way into Tsunade's heart. Shizune had to thank kami-sama for putting Naruto in their lives after seeing how Tsunade had regained her will to live on. While Tsunade had never really tried to end her life, Shizune knew that the const drinking had been Tsunade's way of not only copping but also a way to kill herself slowly. But Naruto had brought back her desire to keep on living, and for a moment, Shizune thought that she would never have to see Tsunade break down.

That had been wishful thinking. 

Once again, Shizune had to witness the one person she cared the most about in this world be reduced to a mere shell of who they are. 

//\\//\\//\\

After the mission debriefing, Asuma had wasted no time in trying to hunt down his team. In part because he knew that Kakashi needed space to process everything that had happened. But in all honesty, ever since they had found Naruto's bloody hand, Asuma hadn't been able to stop thinking of his students. What would he have done had it been one of their bloody hands? 

Asuma knows that losing a student is not impossible. Sure, as the teacher, you try your darn hardest to keep them alive, but there's just so much you can do. Asuma himself had drilled into his brain not to get too attached because only a handful of rookie teams ever made it past the one-year mark. That plan had been thrown out the window a month after he met his team. 

As Asuma neared the Nara compound, he was struck with the realization that his team had just lost one of their peers. While he wasn't sure how strong their bond with Naruto was, Asuma knew that his death would take a toll on them one way or another. 

When he finally got the courage to knock on the door, Shikaku had opened the door before Asuma could touch it. 

While the rescue mission had been kept a secret, Shikaku had been the one to put together the rescue team. Maybe that's why Asuma was finding it difficult to make eye contact with Shikaku.

"Shikamaru, your sensei is here."

//\\//\\//\\

Shikamaru wouldn't say that Naruto and him were close. Sure they hang out, and occasionally they would skip together, but they hadn't been friends. Regardless of their standing with each other, the young Nara had liked Naruto, mostly because Choji saw Naruto as a friend.

Naruto always had a smile on his face. Who constantly claimed they would be Hokage one day and wouldn't let people say bring him down. But most importantly, Shikamaru had liked how Naruto, without fail, would always take flowers to the unmarked graves and spend hours there because he understood how it felt to be alone and forgotten. 

But they hadn't been friends. Not really.

So why?

"Naruto is dead."

Why is it so hard to breathe?

Dead. 

Why was Asuma sensei crying?

"I'm going to be Hokage one day."

Was his mom hugging him? Why?

What are you doing?

It isn't obvious I'm paying my respects.

But why?

They must be so lonely.

Troublesome.

//\\//\\//\\

Ino, princess, I have something to tell you."

Ino had been ready to dismiss whatever it was that her father needed to tell her, but one look at his face made her sit down.

"As you know, your sensei was out on an S rank mission."

"Is Asuma sensei dead?"

"No darling, let me finish." Inochi sent a silent prayer to kami to give him strength. "The mission your sensei was sent on was a rescue mission. As you know Naruto Uzumaki left the village to train. Lady Tsunade received a message from Jiraiya-sama stating that Naruto had been taken."

"What?!?"

"By the time they managed to locate Naruto, it had been too late."

Ino knew what her father meant, yet it couldn't possibly be true. Who would even want to kidnap Uzumaki? He was just an orphan and didn't have any ties to a clan, so why would he be seized? Even if he had been kidnaped, there was no way he could be dead. Because if he was dead…

//\\//\\//\\

Sakura had been naive. 

Naive to think that everything would go back to normal. Sasuke would get some sense and return to the village, and once Naruto's training ended, they could all be Team 7 again. 

Could she even call themselves a team? 

From the very beginning, the team's dynamic had been unstable at best. His desire for revenge drove Sasuke. Sakura herself had been blinded by her goal to one day be Sasuke's wife to call herself a kunoichi. The only one that seems to understand what being a ninja meant was Naruto, but without the support from his team, there was nothing he could do to improve. 

After the mission in the waves, Sakura had tricked herself into thinking that the only reason why she had been so useless was because it had been their first real mission. The chunin exams had been an eye-opening experience for her. 

Yet, in the end, Sakura had still been hopeful that they could grow as a team. 

"Naruto's dead."

No. 

Sakura knew that Naruto liked to play pranks, but even this was too far for him. Kakashi sensei should know better than to encourage him. 

"Kakashi-sensei, you should tell Naruto not to play such cruel jokes." Sakura placed her hand on her hips. "Where is he hiding anyway? And shouldn't he be traveling right now?"

Kakashi placed a hand on her shoulder and made himself eye level with her. "Sakura, this is a joke. I wish it were. Kami knows I do. Naruto is de-"

With all the strength that she could muster, SakuraSakura pushed Kakashi away. 

"NO!" 

"Saku-" 

"Naruto isn't dead. He promised he would bring Sasuke back. And Naruto doesn't break his promises; it's his ninja way. So he can't be dead. He gave me his word. He's going to be Hokage. Naruto is going to be Hokage someday, so he can't be dead."

Sakura thinks that Kakashi sensei was crying, but she couldn't be sure. Not with how her tears seem to clouded her vision. She also wasn't sure when he started to yell or hit Kakashi.

"Naruto isn't dead. He can't leave me. He can't." 

Someone was hugging her, someone with blond hair. 

Naruto

"I'm so sorry, Sakura."

Ino. Not Naruto; it would never be Naruto. 

Sakura let herself collapse into Ino's arms.

//\\//\\//\\

Akira never understood how her sweet Naruto could love the same village that wished for his death. She had been witness to the hardships Naruto had to face, only to see him come out of it with a smile on his face and bleeding soul.

When Naruto entered the academy, Akira knew that this was just one more hardship he would have to overcome. 

The nightmares started, and Naruto's smile became more strained.

When Naruto told her about leaving the village with Jiraiya-sama to train, she didn't hesitate to let him go. She had hope that time away from the village would help Naruto regain some peace of mind. Thinking back on it now, Akira couldn't help but wonder what would have happened had she said no. 

The outcome would have been the same. While Akira would have been against Naruto leaving the village, in the end, Naruto would have still left. After all, the Hokage's orders were the law. 

Naruto would have still been taken away from her forever. But at least she could have blamed the village. As she sat in Naruto's room, guilt weighed her down. 

She would never again hear Naruto's bright laughter as he danced and sang with the rest of the girls. The sokaiya would never feel like home to her again. 

Akira wished she could have said no, don't go. 

//\\//\\//\\

The village hidden in the leaf did not grieve one of their shinobi loss, quite the opposite. When the news of Naruto's death spread throughout the village, many celebrated the death of the demon. Finally, the Kyuubi were gone; they no longer had to live in fear of the demon attacking again. 

Civilians and shinobi alike took to the streets to celebrate.

Those who knew Naruto watched the celebration with disgust. Had it not been enough for them to dehumanize Naruto when he was alive? Could they not let him rest in peace?

Lady Tsunade had taken matters into her own drunken hands and exposed the truth of Naruto's parentage. How could they keep celebrating the death of the blond brat when he was the son of the very hero they worship? How could they have been so blind, now that their eyes were open, the resemblance between the fourth Hokage and Uzumaki Naruto was obvious. 

In the end, all celebrations had to cease. 

It had taken Naruto dying for the village to realize who the real monster was. 

//\\//\\//\\

Per Naruto's wish, Akira decided that he would be put to rest in the forest surrounded by nature. 

Getting Lady Tsunade to agree that Akira as Naruto's legal guardian, had the right to decide the funeral arrangement. Having never met Akira before, Tsunade and Jiraiya had put up a fight standing that they had more rights to decide where Naruto would rest than Akira. 

Akira was getting a headache just thinking about how the conversation had gone. 

Akira had been all too happy to pop their bubble. Not only had they insulted her by downgrading her role in Naruto's life, but they had made it seem as if it had been the Third who had taken care of Naruto. In the end, Akira agreed to have a Yamaka inside her mind to prove that she had been the one to raise Naruto. 

"Naru never wanted to be a ninja, but seeing as the village refused to lose their weapon, he was forced to become a shinobi." Akira was not afraid of Tsunade. "As his legal guardian, I have the right to refuse to bury him within the village walls. Naruto will be laid to rest in the Forest where he felt the most free." 

Those had been Akira's final words to Jiraiya and Tsunade. 

Afterward, Akira had dived headfirst into planning Naruto's funeral. It was during this time that her friendship with Iruka formed. While they had known each other in the past, they had never really talked to each other. Now, as they mourn the loss of someone dear to them, they found comfort in each other. Iruka would tell Akira stories of Naruto's time in the academy while Akira told him stories of Naruto's home life. 

The day of the funeral had felt surreal. Both Iruka and Akira had refused to let the villagers take part in the ceremony.  Iruka had gone as far as to set up traps around the area where Naruto's future grave would be; only those who knew the way around the traps could get in. Lady Tsunade, Jiraiya, Team 10, and what remained of Team 7 were the only ones aside from Akira and Iruka, who knew how to get through the traps. While Akira wanted to keep them away from Naruto, she understood that they were dear to Naruto. 

The ceremony itself had been simple, Akira had performed Naruto's favorite song and spoke of how the little boy she had saved all those years ago was finally free. Iruka spoke of his little brother, who always had a smile on his face, and how he would have wanted them to send him off with a smile. Nobody else spoke.

Jiraiya, who had all but fought his way out of his hospital bed, was leading on Tsunade. It helped ground them both and reminded them that they weren't alone. Although Tsunade was sure that the moment Jiraiya could stand by himself, he would be leaving the village once again. Tsunade wished she could also walk away, but she had taken an oath when she took on the hat. She was tired of running away. 

Iruka-sensei had asked Sakura to say a few words, but she knew that nothing would come out the moment she got up to speak. What could she possibly say? Most of the time she and Naruto spent together, she had made rude remarks towards him or denied his offer to get to know each other better. Maybe if she hadn't been so focused on Sasuke, things would have been different. 

"You okay?"

Sakura turned to look at Ino. She had been sure that her friendship with Ino had been all but shattered, yet here she was holding her hand through one of the most challenging moments in her life. Ever since Kakashi - sensei told her of Naruto's passing, Ino had not left her side. No matter how many times she yelled at her to leave or threw things at her, Ino never left.

"No...but that's okay." Naruto's death had broken her, but for Naruto, she will find the strength she needs to one day be okay again. It might take a while, but that was okay too. Looking towards Shikamaru, Sakura gave Ino's hand one last squeeze. "Go, Shika needs you too."

Ino knew SakuraSakura was right. Choji had taken to giving her updates on Shika's mental state for the past couple of days. While SakuraSakura hadn't been afraid to let her grief show, Shikamaru had shut down. Asuma sensei had tried to get him to talk, but if Choji couldn't get him to talk, no one would.

After listening to Iruka and Akira speak about Naruto and his dream, his real dream, not the one the third force had on him, Asuma wondered if the price to pay for power was too much. Naruto's childhood had been stolen from him, and due to having been the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, he had been seen as nothing but a weapon by the elders. Shikamaru had been the one to open his eyes to that fact; everything seemed to click into place for the young Nara after Naruto's parentage was made public. Asuma remembered how hollowed his student's voice had been when he had asked him if it had been worth it. If it had been worth letting an innocent child be demonized. 

What was the point in gaining power when the price to pay was children being used as mere weapons? A new genin would soon fill naruto's spot, and with time the village would forget him, which Asuma knew to be fact. 

"Is that all he was? Was Naruto nothing but a weapon to be sharpened and mastered? Choji, Ino, and me, are we also mere weapons?

//\\//\\//\\

Sakura and Shikamaru had never really talked before, while at one point they had Ino as a mutual friend, both had never seen the point in befriending the other. Now, as they stood in front of Naruto's grave, Sakura couldn't help but find this a bit amusing. 

"Akira-san said that Naruto had wanted to be buried in a field of sunflowers, but because of the lack of sunflower fields in the village, she had decided that this would have to do. Tsunade-sama doesn't know that tho."

No response, but that was okay. Sakura wasn't looking for one. 

"Ino said she would ask her dad if it would be possible to plant sunflowers here. Akira-san seemed to be surprised by Ino's eagerness." Sakura wondered if this was how Ino felt when she tried to comfort her. "I was too, but then again, I think this is Ino's way of asking for forgiveness."

Never lose your smile. 

Sakura wondered if it had been Iruka-sensei or Akira-san who had decided what to put on Naruto's tombstone. She also wondered if the reason for that particular phrase was because it would remind those who came to visit. Yet SakuraSakura couldn't help but think that whoever picked it intended it to be a reminder of everything Naruto went through. 

"Since Ino is taking charge, I'm sure there'll be sunflowers blooming soon enough. "

"What do you want, Haruno."

"Choji said you hadn't eaten anything since yesterday. It got Ino worried." Sakura sighed. "Look, I know I can't tell you to stop making them worry, not when Ino refused to let me out of her sight for more than five minutes. But they're your teammates you can let them in. Let them support you through this."

"I never told him that I saw him as a friend."

"No one did."

Saying it out loud doesn't make it any easier, but SakuraSakura hopes that it'll help Shikamaru somehow. All of them will carry the weight of this particular regret with them for the rest of their lives. Some, like Ino, would seek forgiveness through their actions there, like Kakashi-sensei will let grief consume them. Sakura hopes that she could use her grief to grow stronger and live by Naruto's ninja way. 

"They aren't all dead."

Others will seek out revenge, even if it leads to their deaths. 

"Would you bring me their heads, Nara?"

"Akira-san!"

//\\//\\//\\

Three years later

Sasuke was pissed. For the past hour or so, he had been waiting for Orochimaru to show up to start his training, yet there was no sign of that snake anywhere. In the three years that he has been with Orochimaru, he hates most of the sennin because of the little control Sasuke has. While he has gotten stronger, Orochimaru had yet to provide him with any information on Itachi's location. Kabuto, the loyal dog he is, only tells him to be patient and respect Lord Orochimaru. 

If it weren't for the apparent results of his newfound strength and power, Sasuke would have walked away a long time ago. 

Sensing Kabuto and Orochimaru's arrival Sasuke opened his eyes. "You're late. You were supposed to join me this afternoon for some new Jutsu training, Orochimaru." 

"Watch how you speak." As always, Kabuto is defending his master. 

Orochimaru, from what Sasuke could see, was rather amused by the whole situation than angry. "Don't be angry, Sasuke-Kun. I've brought you a present. "

Since they entered the room for the first time, Sasuke let himself see the newcomer in the middle. A ninja from the hidden leaf village. At the mere sight of the headband, Sasuke felt anger surge through his body.

"A shinobi from the leaf, just like you." 

It would seem the leaf village was just as rotten as any other village. Whomever this Sai was, it was clear that their loyalty was not to the village, yet they had made him a shinobi. And by the way that he spoke as if someone had told him stories about Sasuke, he did not doubt that it had been that blonde idiot. Sai was here as a spy. Did Naruto know that there was a spy among them? 

"Do not waste my time, Orochimaru."

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm taking a nap."

Sasuke was sure Kabuto would find a way to get back at him for his behavior today, but Sasuke could care less. 

Once he found the room deep within the hideout, Sasuke let himself have a moment of weakness. It had been years since he had allowed himself to think about Naruto. Over the years, Sasuke had made sure to tune out anything that had to do with the village and Naruto; distractions were not allowed. While he could tune everything out in the real world, his dreams were often plagued with memories of Naruto, and sometimes, if his mind were feeling treacherous, he would dream of growing old with Naruto. On those nights, Sasuke would wake up with tear-stained cheeks. 

Today his dream was different. Sasuke had woken up to Naruto, running his fingers through his hair. Naruto was humming a soft tune, and Sasuke could have sworn he had wings. 

"How did you even graduate when you can't even do a full transformation jutsu."

 Dream Naruto only smiled at him; that was the first red flag. Whether in a dream or real life, Naruto would never pass on an opportunity to call him a bastard, especially after he insulted his skills as a ninja. 

The second red flag came when Naruto started to walk away from him. It was usually hin who walked away, yet he was looking at Naruto's back as he called for him. It didn't matter how fast he ran; Naruto always remained out of reach.

When he woke up this time, there were no tears, only Naruto's name on his lips. 

And he's back to a traitor. 

It seemed the leaf village had sent an assassin this time. 

"You woke me."

Sasuke doesn't remember much of what happened next. One moment he was looking down at Sai. The next thing he knew, SakuraSakura was running towards Sai, demanding to know many more times he would betray them. He had to admit that had it not been for her pin hair, Sasuke would have mistaken her for someone else. 

"Sakura."

Green met black. 

Sakura had known that there was a possibility that they would run into Sasuke during the mission; she wasn't dumb. Her past self would have jumped with joy at the possibility of seeing Sasuke again and maybe bringing him home. Now she didn't feel anything when she looked at him. Was there a small part of her that still wanted to bring him home? Sure, but she didn't love him anymore. Maybe she never did.

"Sasuke." Even his name felt foreign to her. 

"Troublesome." Sakura looked away from Sasuke only to see Shikamaru all but emerge from the shadows to her right. 

Sasuke was taken back by Nara's presence; he had been sure that the next person to run into the wreckage would be Naruto. Yet, there was no sign of the blonde. Subconsciously Sasuke wondered if his dream had been a warning. 

"Assume Kakashi - sensei and Naruto are here too." Both Sakura and Shikamaru stiffen.

"Did someone say my name?" There was Kakashi- sensei; now, the only one missing was Naruto. "I do hope you can forgive us Sasuke-Kun, you see, Team Kitsune is here for Orochimaru."

Team Kitsune? 

Sakura and Shikamaru had relaxed a bit when Kakashi had walked out of the hallway and into the clearing. Sakura had turned to look at Sasuke again. Whatever she saw seemed to have put everything into place.

"It's time for us to make our exit." Kabuto, of course, would use this moment to appear. Sasuke wasn't leaving, not yet. 

"Did the Hokage finally see how big of a mistake it was to let the dead last become a genin?" 

Shikamaru, who up till that point hadn't talked all but snarled at him. "Do not call him that." 

One moment Sasuke was standing above them, and the next, he was in front of Shikamaru. "I'll call him whatever I please, Nara." 

Kakashi was still calm as ever, but everyone knew that Kakashi was ready to act if need be. In the last three years, Kakashi learned a few things about himself, one being that his inability to let the past go was one of his biggest weaknesses. During one of his visits to Naruto, Akira-san had all but told him how he played a part in breaking Naruto. Later that night, Asuma showed up unannounced with the crazy idea of joining their teams. 

It was well known that the Nara heir had taken the death of Naruto quite hard. Rumors had started to spread about the young Nara having been in love with Naruto all along. After all, why else would he be grieving the death of someone who was a stranger to him? Kakashi knew that SakuraSakura found those rumors quite amusing, and she took great pleasure in retelling them all to Shikamaru during training. Ino and Choji were only glad that both of their friends were starting to heal, slowly but were healing. 

Team 10 and what remained of Team 7 were now known as Team Kitsune. The desire brought together team Kitsune for revenge, but it had been what Sakura and Shikamaru needed to keep moving forward. 

Today, as he sees Sakura move to intercept Sasuke's chokuto, he knows that while he can't help but think of Sasuke as his student still, that meant nothing when his Team was in danger. 

"Ah~ Sasuke-Kun, could it be that you're not aware of Uzumaki's passing."

//\\//\\//\\

"You knew."

Orochimaru was rather amused; to think that all he had to do to break Sasuke was to tell him the young jinchuuriki had died. All this time, he had made sure to tread carefully when it came to Sasuke in fear that one wrong step would cost him his new body. 

"I know many things. You'll have to be more specific, Sasuke-Kun."

"Do. Not. Waste. My. Time."

How far could he push before Sasuke finally broke? "If you're asking if I was aware of the death of the nine tail's jinchuuriki at the hands of the Akatsuki, the answer is yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was under the impression that you did not wish to be told anything regarding your former teammates."

//\\//\\//\\

Sasuke never thought he would set foot anywhere near the hidden leaf village, yet here he was. Although, the voice at the back of his head sounded a lot like that man would tell him to stop lying to himself. While Sasuke would have never set foot in this god-forsaken village, he knew that had the opportunity ever aroused that Naruto wouldn't have hesitated to drag him back. 

Isn't that what happened? I'm here because of him.

After Orochimaru confirmed what he had learned during his reunion with his old teammates, there had been a void in his memory. Sasuke wasn't sure how long he had been at it, but by the time Kabuto found him, the training ground was in shambles. Kabuto had said something but Sasuke couldn't comprehend what he was saying, at least not everything. 

Sasuke wasn't surprised at the fact that Kabuto knew where Naruto was buried or how to get past the traps that had been set. He wasn't dumb. If there was a reason why Orochimaru knew so much of what went on, it was because of Kabuto's spy work. Now, figuring out why he had given Sasuke that particular piece of information was a whole different story. 

There will be a price to pay later on. 

No, Sasuke was paying the price right now. 

When he walked away from Naruto all those years ago, Sasuke had been sure that out of the two of them, he was the one that would end up in an early grave. No matter how strong he got, killing Itachi was a suicidal mission, a fact Sasuke had accepted a long time ago. Yet, here he was standing before Naruto's grave.

This was a mistake. Did he even have the right to be here/ To pay his respects?

"You finally came."

Sasuke forced himself not to react; he knew that voice. While Naruto had introduced them to his Aki-nee-chan when they had officially become a team, Sasuke had known of her for a while. After the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke had thought that Naruto was the only one that understood how he felt, at least that had been the case until he saw Naruto walking down the street hand in hand with a young lady. Akira-san had looked at Naruto the same way his mother used to look at him when he would tell her about his day.

Had he been so enraged by the mere fact that Naruto had a motherly figure in his life when he didn't that afterward, he had been nothing but hostile towards the blonde. Then they became teammates, and Akira-san would send him his bento box, which Naruto would always give him. Before Sasuke left the village, he never really told Akira-san how much it meant to him, knowing that there was someone out there that worried if he was eating brought some light into his life. 

"Naru-chan must be so happy." Would Naruto's name bring with it a pang of regret every time he heard it? Or was it the knowledge that Sasuke would have killed Naruto at the Valley of the End had he been stronger; had he been the one to kill Naruto, would Akira-san still welcome him? 

Akira carried herself with grace; every move she made seemed to flow into the next one. Looking at her, Sasuke could help but point out the subtle differences, like how she had cut her hair or how instead of wearing her usual pastel kimono, she was now wearing a beautiful yet simple orange kimono. She would have made a great kunoichi, of that Sasuke was sure. 

"I'm sorry." 

"Have you been taking care of yourself, Sasuke-Kun?" 

Had Sasuke shown up three years ago, Akira was sure she would have at the very least slapped him. Naruto had only left the village because he could no longer stand the memories. Over the years, Akira had realized that Sasuke had been a victim as much as Naruto had been. Seeing him standing in front of Naruto's grave, looking so lost and heartbroken, only managed to solidify that for her. 

"I do hope your silence means you have been taking care of your health. Naru-chan will be sad otherwise." it would seem Akira will be doing most of the talking. "Isn't that right, Naru-chan. And we can't have you get sad, can we? Not with how beautiful your sunflowers are growing. You must have known that Sasuke would be visiting you soon, otherwise why else would you have made so many of them bloom."

Sasuke wasn't sure how long he stood there listening to Akira talk to Naruto's grave as if he was still here with them. At some point, he must have started crying; he hadn't cried since the day he had seen his family slaughter. Back then, there wasn't someone to comfort him as he cried himself sick, but now as Akira took him into her arms and let his tears soak her kimono, Sasuke wished it had been him. 

"Let it all out."

//\\//\\//\\

The Land of Snow had been a relatively closed-off country for a good part of two decades. It wasn't until Princess Yukie Fujikaze took back the throne that the Land of Snow opened its doors again. Of course, the newly named Land of Snow and Spring wasn't blind to the dangers they were opening themselves to, but if they wanted to prosper, they would have to take some risks. 

Tsunade had been intrigued by the Land of Snow for some time now. She remembers when the Land of Snow and Spring had welcomed outsiders into their kingdom with open arms, but after tragedy struck the royal family, its doors had been closed. Even as an outsider, she had known that the King's accident had been foul play.

Now, as she read over the invitation to the Prince's coming of age, she wondered if there had been foul play involved in the death of Doto Kazahana. After all, the late daimyo Kazahana only had one heir; the newly named daimyo Yukie Fujikaze.

Prince Kazuhiko Fujikaze. 

"Shizune summoned Team Kitsune and Team 8.