The Toughest Lesson

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Naruto stood in his black suit. Rinni was on Kakashi's hip. Neither of the two of them cried. Naruto frowned as he looked around the funeral home. His place was by Kakashi, to give comfort to the man he loved, but he couldn't do that. There were too many people there for Naruto to do this simple act, and it angered him. There were several faculty around, and many students, to pay their respects to the sensei. Naruto couldn't even go up and pay proper respects. Rinni would blow it. Frowning, he looked at Kakashi again. Turning, Kakashi caught Naruto's eye and nodded. Naruto nodded back. Standing, he went to sign the visitor's book so Kakashi would know he was there and walked out.

Heading across town, Naruto went into the other funeral home. Reading the sign, he walked into the small room. Sasuke, Itachi, Sasuke's mother, and three people were in the room. Walking over, Naruto sat by Sasuke. Sasuke looked over at Naruto, eyes vacant. "Hey, teme." Naruto said quietly, noting that Sasuke still had his ring on.

"Dobe." Sasuke choked out, staring back at the casket. Naruto just sat next to his friend, saying nothing. After a little while, they heard some movement and Naruto saw Jiraiya approach the casket, paying his respects. After that, Jiraiya went and sat down. Finally, the official came in and said that they were closing the casket; for people to say their final goodbyes. Everyone got up but Sasuke. Noticing this, Naruto sat back down by his best friend.

After everyone left, Naruto looked at Sasuke. "Do you want to go up and say goodbye?" Naruto asked quietly.

"No...because then he is really gone." Sasuke choked out. As the sobs wracked his body, Naruto could do nothing but hold his friend.

**********

Slipping back into the house that evening, Naruto went into the living room. Jiraiya had agreed to let Naruto stay one more night to help Kakashi before Jiraiya said Naruto had to come back and stay with him. Sighing, Naruto frowned at the scene in front of him. Kakashi sat there, a half empty whiskey bottle by him. Rinni was nowhere to be seen, so, presumably, she was asleep in her room.

Naruto walked up, kneeling in front of Kakashi. Kakashi was looking rough. His tie was off, his dress shirt unbuttoned, his mask off. His eyes were bleary. Looking up, he gave a sad smile to Naruto. "Hey." He whispered. Naruto just laid his head on Kakashi's knee, grabbing one of Kakashi's hands and holding it. Taking the bottle, Kakashi sloshed some more whiskey into the glass, taking another drink. Naruto sat in silence, giving Kakashi the time he needed.

Taking another drink, Kakashi let out a bitter laugh. Naruto looked up. "You know what the worst thing is?" Kakashi said, staring off in the distance.

"What?" Naruto asked quietly.

"The mother of my child is lying dead in a coffin. Rinni isn't going to get to know her mother. Rinni won't get to know how much Rin loves her. And all I can think of is..." Kakashi finished the drink. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes and whispered, "...how thankful I am that it was Rin in that coffin instead of you." Dropping the glass, he put his head in his hands, sobbing quietly as Naruto leaned up, pulling Kakashi into a hug. Eventually, Naruto led Kakashi to the bed, the younger man holding the older until he fell asleep.

**********

Naruto went home the next day to Jiraiya. Walking in, he looked at the white haired man sitting at the kitchen table, staring into the coffee mug. "Hey Jii." Naruto said, sitting down across from his godfather.

Jiraiya looked up. A small smile was on his face. Boxes sat all around the house. Jiraiya sighed. "Naruto, we need to talk."

"Uh, okay." Naruto frowned, looking at his godfather.