Tears of the Forgotten (Various!Naruto X OP!Reader)

Interlude #1: Wistful Wishing

        'Once upon a time...'

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        Their footsteps splashed against the pavement as the rain continued to pour. The rainy season persisted with no signs of stopping, only furthering the duo's misery.

        The two walked in silence as the events of the past week ran through their heads. Neither spoke a word, the finality of the situation seemingly finally sinking in, their black clothes drenched in water. A sea of people also wearing black fluttered past them, not a single one letting out so much as a peep. There was an occasional sniffle as their tears began to stop, while others continued to bawl. 

        Akio suddenly stopped, staring forlornly ahead of him and watching the wall of black move past him as they left only the two of them behind. "We had that handled. Why did she have to do that? We could have dealt with the situation ourselves."

        "Anija," Hiroshi spoke softly. "You know we couldn't have done any better ourselves."

        "We could have," Akio insisted firmly, his fists clenching tightly. "We could have."

        "No." Hiroshi's voice remained unwavering. "We couldn't."

        "We could have!" Akio began to sound slightly frantic. "We have to have! Else, what good are we?!"

        "Anija."

        "What good are we if we're weak?!"

        "Anija!"

        "If we can't protect others, what good are we?!"

        "ANIJA!"

        The two fell silent at Hiroshi's outburst. Akio's breath wavered, tears sliding down his cheeks, masked by the rain. They were both soaked from the downfall and were shivering slightly from the cold.

        "Get your heads out of the clouds! THIS is our reality! We don't have powers or strength to help us! We're neither ninjas nor Shinobi! We're regular civilians who can't stand for themselves! GET THIS THROUGH YOUR HEAD! IF WE TRIED TO HELP, IT WOULD BE US THAT WOULD BE DEAD!"

        Akio scowled, his entire face scrunching up. "I KNOW THAT! YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW?! I KNOW JUST AS WELL AS YOU DO THAT WE'RE WEAK AND USELESS, OKAY?! SO DON'T REMIND ME-" He broke off, panting in distress, his head dropping. "Don't remind me that we couldn't have prevented (Y/n)'s death... Please..."

        Hiroshi's shoulders sagged, feeling as if the weight of the sky had been brought upon him. He felt tired, so tired. Hiroshi walked forward slowly as he outstretched his hand toward his older brother. "Anija..."

        Akio latched onto Hiroshi's hand as if it were his lifeline. He collapsed on the wet ground, rainwater splashing everywhere. "I wish she hadn't done that..." he mumbled. "At least, if we were to die, she would still be alive."

        "... Don't say things like that," Hiroshi knelt on the ground beside Akio. "If we were the ones to die, (Y/n) would have been devastated."

        The siblings remained on the sidewalk for a while, paying no mind to the rain that continued to pelt them nor the cars that rushed by them, spraying them with mud water.

        Eventually, Hiroshi stood, helping Akio up with him. Together, they proceeded down the empty road silently, but not before throwing one last fleeting look at the spot in which you were buried.

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        "Tadaima (I'm home now)," Akio called into the void of a home. But of course, as expected, no one answered. After all, how could anyone? The owner of the house was dead.