The sun was up that following week, however -tarnished, by the overcast which had made a greyed hue amongst the entirety of Konoha. Bleak, and blanketed by their clouds, Naruto was satisfied by the dull atmosphere as no sun burnt upon him under the tone left, rain snuck out by the endarkened area's and he found himself seeking the cooling sensation of precipitation encasing his curly hair, water running down his face as a balm, it made for an ease he would not have sought a year priour. Though, as he followed the unintentioned path of the puddles formed, downturned his eyes did gaze upward; therein, he did not take notice of the fact that they had brought him to the Konoha Hospital. For though it were a place of good faith, of persons surrounded by well made intentions and kind expressions; he as a personal fabricated rule, had a conjunction that wandering nearby the hospice was foolhardy. For though the cool water underneath his foot by the making of a mudpuddle was comforting, it would not in anyway make the area that had denied him service for the majority of his life a simplification to pass; as he remained, forevermore, a demon unto them. Especially, when upon him, though shielded well by the want of ignorance; was the continued weight of guilt ever resting within his chest and upon his shoulders for his friend's worthless death. To pass the hospital, came as a remembrance of Sakura's words; a continuous echo repeating in loud forced shouting upon his ears, never quieting.
~0~
They dropped nye upon him though by force, however, by sight alone he fathomed that the sensation of their sting hit him through every dip upon the soil below. He stood without a fathomable movement as his feet had no direction, his mind had not yet reckoned to action and inaction became uncompromisable; it were a solution. They stood together in the discarded battleground of rocks collided, with rivers unintentionally sown, fire burnt soil and chard remnants of what had been. Their feet implanted within the earth as if it were a balance holding them from a drastic fall, she screamed; to heavens, to holy, to hell, to Izunami herself. Naruto had kept himself by her side, knowing that the torrent was needed for her to be free from her burdening grievance, yet she had turned upon him, a vengeance, a fire alit within such previously tender emerald green irises and she had screamed frightful. The delicacy he had once beseen within her voice left in that moment, it became cracked, crooked, as had the very persona he had seen of her; as she had punched riveting the tree beside his face; breaking down the tree he stood near, it fell with the frightful crackling sound of wood collapsing behind him.
In watch, his eyes had blown wide, mouth agape, horror struck beneath his breast at her blunt action. Had she been merely angered by him, then it was a bile he was willing to harbour at least for a time of sensibility, though the resentment in her punch, the intent clear upon him as it would have shown plain by any eye, it grasped at every emotion he had already made stored in a sudden outcry of mood he could not contain. Tears fell fast and unrestrained; it were not the weakness that harboured the worst moment of that day upon him. It was her words, vengeful, unrestrained, and spoken as if she were carved from Sasuke's goal.
"Its your fault. You caused this. This war, this death, this devastation, the Akatsuki, Jiraiya- everyone, your very life is responsible!" A snarl formed upon her, it twisted her visage from pinkened hair, creamed skin and emerald charmed irises; to be a sight of hardened processed stone, congealed milk, tarnished hair to match the scowl she bore. Her teeth grit together. For but a moment, Naruto would have allowed his own death, for the agreement he held within, to her statement. He wondered if she had barred herself from continuing a list past Jiraiya because she had found it to be too long, or if remorse for all the war's fallen had overtaken her.
~0~
It was a detriment upon him to consider the validation behind her words, just as it were to look upon the villagers and wonder for their hatred; it was neither a reason he could change, nor one he could alter the perception of. In automatic, he tilted his head to gaze upon the buildings and people around him, there were many, often those who walked savouring the peace surrounding them, grinning and joyously conversing. Citizens who knew the calm among them was long lasting, perhaps some who had lost a family member to the fighting but whom attempted to find a calm in their deaths nonetheless. However, there were those he could see without seeking walking much as he did; head dropped to stare upon the ground, fists either clenched or concealed by deep pockets, a scowl or a frown covering their faces, an aura around them so poignant he wondered if he could ever wash himself from the one he carried.
YOU ARE READING
Two Leaf Fires (MadaNaru)
FanfictionIt was an era which one of them knew well. To the other, the ancient past. To both, a place wherein so much was familiar, similar, to what they had known, and yet, the differences were too large -too obstructing to ignore. In this: An analogous real...
