Naruto Fanfic - Prisoner of Nightmare

Christmas Special[-]: Red Christmas

   Uzukaze Naruto stood in sombre silence in front of the ANBU Memorial Stone, reading the names and dates engraved onto the black, obsidian flame. There were dozens, but Naruto read them all one by one, a ritual he created for himself on the twenty-fifth of December, Christmas. It was early in the morning, the sun barely peeking out from the thick, leafless forest surrounding the stone and covering it in soft light.

   The clearing he was in was covered by white snow, the flame having a thin layer of it resting on the top. Naruto knew not many ANBU would come to pay their respects this early in the morning, and he didn't expect them to. They had their days to mourn, this just happened to be his. He watched his breath swirl around for a moment before going back to reading the names, saying small prayers for those he knew and those he did not.

   Naruto was not a religious person, really, he just couldn't be with all of the things he's seen and felt, but he felt it his duty to pray for their souls in whatever afterlife they received. He was in no illusion, he and the rest of his ANBU knew that if there was such as thing as heaven and hell or something similar, that they would be damned for all of eternity.

   He took a deep breath and bowed his head, his blonde locks falling and tickling his forehead. Closing his eyes, Naruto breathed out and placed the bouquet of gladiolus ( strength and integrity ), edelweiss ( courage and devotion ), amaryllis ( pride ), zinnia ( never forget ), verbena ( protection against evil ), hyssop ( sacrifice ), and iris ( wisdom and respect ) in front of the flame, silently thanking Inoichi for explaining the meanings behind certain flowers.

   Soon, he could feel a presence approaching from behind but Naruto made no move to hide his own, instead, he simply straightened up and stared at the names which he knew the best, the names of his old team. They were placed together, the names being organized by date of death. His gaze slowly made its way down, landing on his predecessor, Eto Ai. She was a strong woman, kind as well. 

   Well, kind to everyone else but him. The irony was that she choose him as the next shochō without even being aware that Kenko, was, in fact, Naruto. Her death was hard for most of the ANBU, she sacrificed her life for her team, something that he failed to do. Naruto clenched his jaw in reminder, shoving his hands in his pocket to hide their shaking as Kakashi neared. 

   It was unsurprising that Kakashi would be only other person coming to pay their respects this morning, Naruto remembered finding Kakashi at the other memorial stone, the one made for non-ANBU shinobi. He respected Kakashi's privacy and never pried, even though he knew which names he was staring at, Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin. His team from long ago, when Naruto's father was still alive.

   Naruto frowned tightly as he continued to stare at the flame, his gaze nearly digging a hole through it. Soon, Kakashi was standing beside him, his usual attire on. A standard jōnin flak jacket, dark blue pants, and a long-sleeve shirt, he also wore fingerless gloves with metal plates on the backhand. His forehead protector was covering his left eye and a dark blue mask covering the lower part of his face. His silver hair was oriented to his left side and his black eyes were sad yet curious.

   He was wearing a black scarf that fell over his left shoulder, a slightly tight but warm pair of black pants, and a long-sleeve that was also black. Naruto looked to be mourning, and he was. They stayed in silence for some time, silently saying prayers and remembering the ones who have long fallen.

   Letting out a quiet sigh, Naruto looked at the position of the sun and determined that he has stayed here for long enough, about two hours if his memory serves him right. The ball of light was higher now, large grey clouds coming in from the right, it seemed that it was going to snow. He had duties to return to, even if only a handful of ANBU were working today, of their own volition, he may add.