Through My Lying Eyes

32 - Memorial

Two weeks. That's how long Naruto has been missing now. Some shinobi wanted to go try and find him but Fuu was there to stop them every time. She didn't know if he was safe to be around yet, and Chomei couldn't contact Kurama right now for some reason.

Naruto's house was now torn down fully, with nothing but dead grass where it stood. That, and a grave site. The grave didn't have a headstone right now, but it will soon.

Fuu looked at the site in front of her. She couldn't stop thinking about what Shibuki had said about not wanting to kill Yui. For some reason, she doubted it. She walked away from the area and went to the front gate.

The guards always ask if she's OK, and what happened at Iwa, but Fuu froze every time, not wanting to bring those memories up. The guards remembered when she first arrived back at Taki. She had a makeshift splint on her arm and was extremely tired, so they took her to a hospital. Ever since then, she sat at the gates whenever she wasn't helping those around the village.

Fuu sat and waited with the gate guards most of the time she was free. Since she was helping those around the village, she didn't have a whole lot of free time, but when she did, this is where she would spend it. She has sat in that same spot, right on the edge of the gate everyday, waiting for him to return.

Around this time was when people started getting upset about not having any leadership in charge right now. They wondered where Shibuki was right now. This was also a reason Fuu stayed away, so she didn't have to hear them talking about Shibuki.

Now the two weeks have gone by without anything special happening. She didn't want to give up though, surely he would at least send something, a messenger fox at least. But so far, nothing. Her head was laying on her knees when she heard footsteps from the distance. She looked up, and her heart almost stopped.

Walking up to the village gates, was Naruto. His clothes were ragged, and holes were everywhere. His arms swayed lifelessly as he took each step. His walking was slow, and he had dark bags under his eyes, it looked like he hadn't slept in days. His eyes...you couldn't even tell they were blue anymore.

Naruto stopped several meters in front of Fuu, just staring at her. His vision became blurry, and he passed out right there. Luckily, Fuu caught him before he hit the snow-covered ground.

-Next morning-

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, and all he saw was white, a familiar sight. 'I hope I'm dead this time.' He thought to himself. His wish was denied when he looked around and saw he was just in a hospital room, and the only one in there this time. "God dammit." Naruto wanted to cry, but his tears had run out on his way to Taki.

He heard the door slowly open and saw that Fuu walked in. She froze as she saw that Naruto's eyes were open. She was instantly by his side, only letting a few tears fall. Naruto didn't respond to this, but he eventually spoke.

"Did I do the right thing? I know Onoki and Shibuki deserved it, but did the rest?" He asked. Fuu looked up at him and hesitated to answer. "Their blood's on my hands now, and I can't wash it off. What I did...I regret." He squeezed her hand in his, but his face remained emotionless.

"I can't stomach the fact that I killed so many women and children. All of whom didn't deserve their lives to be taken away like that. And that brutally, too. I can't sleep without having nightmares. I understand if you're afraid of me."

"I'm not, nothing will make me afraid of you, I'm not leaving you." Fuu said. "Are you OK with being with a monster?" "YOU'RE NOT A MONSTER! You wanna know how I know you're not a monster? Follow me." She said, almost dragging him out of bed.

They walked through the city, and Naruto noticed the people looking at him, but not like the people of Konoha, these were looks of pity and sadness. "These people admire you, you know." Fuu commented as they walked. Naruto recognized the path they were on.