[FINISHED] The Past Mistake (A SasuNaru FanFiction)

Chapter 020 - Ashes to Ashes

Naruto watched absent-mindedly as the fire burning the specific metal coffin where his lifeless artist was sleeping at. The man had asked him to cremate him and then the ashes must be scattered in the running river. How did he come to this? Time seemed to fly so fast in an instant. He still remembered when Sai appeared at his room in the hospital asking him to have lunch together, and it seemed like it was only yesterday. And yet, here he was, watching the same person who had saved his life was being burned to ashes. The man had saved his life and yet when he had the chance to save the other person's life, he couldn't.

His heart hurt. It was painfully aching watching all of this. This was too much... He sucked a good amount of breath to repel the pain he was having in his heart. This was heart-wrenching... He didn't know anymore how to name what he felt by now. He was feeling a mix of emotions he couldn't fathom...

Naruto knitted his eyebrows. There was a picture popping up in his mind so suddenly, and it was fire. What he saw was his car. And then vaguely Sai's face appeared.

A pain shot his head and he had to hold his head to compose himself by gritting his teeth with eyes closed.

What the hell was that?

He then remembered the night where he crashed his car into the tree of which was his attempt to avoid the car on the opposite of him.

Sai's car.

He fell on his knees. The memories of what happened that night before his crash flooded his brain.

Everything went black.

~o0o~

"Sasuke, have you seen Kiba's dog?" An eighteen years old Naruto asked randomly on a particular evening. The two were standing in front of the running river in Yoyogi park, watching the Sakura petals falling from the trees.

Sasuke smirked at the randomness which was Naruto. "Of all things, why Kiba's dog?"

Naruto shrugged with a smile. "I think it's cute."

"Why don't you adopt one?"

"Uh... Are you okay with that?" Naruto asked because he was sure that Sasuke was not the type of person who liked getting a pet. "I would seriously get one if I were not living with you." Naruto giggled after he said that, which brought a smile on the other person's face.

"As long as you clean after them, I'm cool." Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly.

Naruto shook his head at Sasuke's response with a smile, already expecting that. "I actually have seen that coming."

"Hn."

"I was just thinking that it's cute. I don't plan on having one."

~o0o~

Naruto wiped his tears away as they began to fall down. Here he was, throwing off the remaining of Sai's ashes down the running river, the same river he stood there about years ago when he was with Sasuke. "Of all time, I've finally remembered some of the memories I have of you..."

The scene was from the week after they entered university.

"I'm mourning over someone else, and yet..." Naruto fell down and cried silently. He closed his eyes, trying to settle the growing pain in his head which was pounding steadily. This feeling he felt when he met Sasuke for the first time back at the coffee shop.

He threw the pot he had put Sai's ashes away and tried to pull the blonde locks. Scene after scene came playing in his mind like in the movie. Just this morning back at the cremation area in the hospital, he blacked out from some sort of what he thought as dark memories. Some staffs there saw him and was about to help him when Tsunade entered. He was taken care by Tsunade instead and not long after that, he was up. Tsunade had asked him what had happened. He said that he was just tired and told her not to worry. The staffs from the cremation area came and informed him that the cremating was done and he asked Tsunade that he needed to get going. The head office had asked him to do it tomorrow, but he refused. The blonde woman hesitated but she couldn't help when Naruto had talked her out to not worry.