They Come in Threes

Chapter 1 - Bidding Farewells You Don't Wanna

Chapter 1

"Bidding Farewells You Don't Wanna (But Then What Choice Do You Even Have)"

As Naruto's funeral came to a close, the rain, too, as if on cue, began to weaken. The sky remained a pallid gray, an ominous kind of hue, but the scent of petrichor only grew stronger. Sakura stared at the sky with a kind of emptiness, a strong feeling of melancholy, and a burning determination still lingering from weeks ago.

Her umbrella dropped limply to the side, splattering the stagnating mud, rolling around a few times before stopping completely. The pinkette accepted the rainflow shower against her face. She needed a cold shower-- a moment's rest, perhaps, too cool off from the stress of today.

"In life, Naruto Uzumaki was a rash individual..." Tsunade had read his obituary, face wavering from emotion. This had been the third time the flame of hope within her had been put out, which was three times too many.

A boy with no purpose... but in death, though he had yet to become a man he was still much more than that. He was somebody Sakura had loved dearly; her greatest friend, her closest ally, and yet even though she was so sure it would've been her who would've died first, leaving to let Naruto pick up the pieces, in an unexpected turn of events it had become the opposite.

But that isn't to say she was glad she was the one left behind. She wasn't— she would trade places with him in a heartbeat, because of how much it hurt to know that the months of life between them would only be farther from here on out, and his face— eventually, even that inspiring, sunny smile would be a recollection much too blurry to remember. Naruto was someone she refused to forget, but she knew, the healthy thing would be to come to terms with it.

But she had promised she wouldn't and she would try her damn hardest to keep that oath. One day, she would become that somebody who even Naruto or Sasuke, as distanced from life as they were, wouldn't be able to phase out of their minds.

Ino was the first one to break her silent reviere. "Sakura.. your umbrella. It fell," she stated the obvious, clear pupils falling onto the matchingly depressing-onyx of the gadget, and she leaned forward to pick it up, lines forming a capital H around her mouth. "Forehead-girl, what's gotten into you?"

"... I know it fell. Just let me sulk in my misery," she pursed her lips into a train-track of lines, eyes shut to embrace the constant flurry of water sprinkling from the sky. "I guess, ...it's because I need to cool off?"

Enough tears were shed already— even before the ceremony there had been cries of despair and anguish, which only began to cease as the quiet, memorialized part of the funeral had started.

Since Naruto had no living relatives, it was rather debated on where exactly he would be buried. The Uzumaki lot was confidential— it was sealed off after Kushina's death, and the Namikaze were no fancy Clan and only housed the gravestones of Naruto's grandparents and their sole son. Eventually, Shikamaru volunteered to open up space in his property, as the new patriarch of his Clan, to bury Naruto in. But no— of course, ever since the Edo Tensei disaster the Shinobi nations declared their deceased be cremated no matter what, so it would be the ashes of his corpse which would be six feet under. During his wake ritual, Sakura had been present— she was the one who had washed his corpse, and as she had done so many times before (but now with a different purpose) padded his mouth, his ears, nose with gauze before sealing him back into his coffin. As much as it was difficult to fathom, she only felt it was appropriate. While Sasuke's cruel scowl had been the last face he had seen, maybe the hands of another treasured comrade would be suited to his final moments. He was brought into this world with hatred, so why should he die without love?

May the destination be solemn and fruitless, it was the journey which really mattered. It was the resonance he left on others that made this already tragic event to become unequivocally crushing.

And about Sasuke...

Sakura didn't want to miss Sasuke. But she whole-heartedly did, perhaps even more so than Naruto. And she hated that 'perhaps' (the fact it was even a consideration) with every inch of her being. Maybe it was the closeness— the sullen joy from the thing she had longed to receive from him finally being granted to her, even if it were only the mellowness resulting from a weakness derived from his physical state. Or, rather, did it stem from her pre-existing, undying passion for Sasuke? Was that what her heart really wanted her to feel, even despite all Naruto had done for her? To love a damaged criminal who had killed her best friend, threatened to take down the Shinobi nations and would've succeeded if he had just been a little stronger than Naruto? If he had gotten that small, near-insignificant edge, then that would have been it. Sasuke Uchiha would have won.

Even though it seemed so wrong to love him, another voice in her head cleared her worry. Loving him didn't mean she condoned what he did, nor did it mean she was inept of judging character. It didn't mean she thought he was a good person, nor did it mean she was still a delusional fangirl. She didn't even want to be with Sasuke- she just wanted the best for him, that was all, even if it meant giving up on ever pursuing a relationship with her former teammate. Loving him meant she was willing to help him, wanting to support and grow alongside with him... even though it would never happen now, that was what it had meant.

There was no redemption for Sasuke in the eyes of the public, but Sakura saw first-hand how the Sasuke of his final breaths was. He wanted to repent for his actions, and he was.. truly... something he had never been before... 

Sorry. 

And yes, he wasn't forgiven, even to her, but she felt as if Kami was cruel for not letting him have a choice- perhaps even a chance to rebuild a life with her, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei... not a real family as he would've wanted, but a family nonetheless..

A pained sob escaped her lips as her chest shook from the harrowing rush of breath. The waterworks, as customary in life's school of grieving, soon followed, and Sakura began to tremble, knees weakening as her left hand groomed her face, covering the soggy wetness left from her eyes.

"Forehead... cheer up some, right? I'm too emotionally drained to even continue crying," Ino smiled sadly, her head cocked to the side slightly in an inviting manner. "Naruto wouldn't want you to cry so hard out in the pouring rain that you catch a cold," she pushed the umbrella's hilt into Sakura's unclasping limbs, forcefully shutting her fist close while balancing her own in the shut between her neck and sub-claviculars, and held it there as she awaited a response from her pink-haired friend.

"Yeah, Ino, but he's dead, so why does it matter," she bemoaned, her head retreating towards her sternum. "Because according to you, you don't care. Naruto's dead, pig. It's not like he's injured, he's dead." While instantly regretting the malice she put into the stubborn retort, she didn't apologize. She really didn't want to admit she did anything wrong.

Because it was, like usual, the worst feeling.

And right now she didn't want to feel any worse than she already was.

..

Mourning made quick work of many of the shinobi, despite their code of conduct regarding the lack of emotion necessary for a successful mission. Their motivation, which ideally should be at peak condition in order for a smooth recovery, was dwindling. 

Hinata was one such kunoichi. She lay in bed without much words, and the last time she had been outside was when Naruto's funeral had come to a close, back at the Nara property. The whole week was dedicated to him- and now that the events had finally propagated some closure (of course, not a proper compensation from the trauma of war, but at least some kind of mental repair was done) she had felt as if she was alone on who to confide in. 

Neji-niisan was dead, and so was Naruto. But unlike her brotherly cousin's, she felt as if she had no right barging into Naruto's death. She wasn't his teammate, she wasn't a lover or even a close friend. 

But at the same time, so many others were carrying the burden of their own losses, and that's when she realized she barely even knew Naruto. She didn't have the right to mourn over him.

So maybe it would be for the best if she bid his memory farewell. As the memory he deserved to be, pristine and inspiring.