Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ Empty Chairs at Empty Tables ( Chapter 18 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

~b~ normal story

~B~ flash backs

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

Konohamaru watched in confusion as the lady next to Naruto's white haired sensei walked back to stand in line. He noticed a number of adults watching her uncomfortably, but he couldn't understand why. He shrugged it off and turned to glance at his friends. Moegi was still crying as two of Sakura's friends tried to comfort her, not that the blond one was doing much good since she was crying just as hard. The brown haired one, he thought her name was TonTon or something equally repetitive, was a bit more successful but even she seemed on the edge of tears. Udon was doing better. He was just a few feet away on the other side of Shikamaru.

Konohamaru was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up at the offender, and then looked down when he realized Shikamaru had knelt down so they were eye to eye. “Your up,” he said nodding toward the makeshift altars. Konohamaru nodded and took a step forward. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Iruka-sensei give him an encouraging nod, but that didn't stop his hands from shaking as he walked forward.

He unconsciously gripped the goggles in his hands a bit harder as he stopped in front of Sakura's picture. He knew Shikamaru and the others in line were just a few feet behind him, but he suddenly felt incredibly alone. Naruto had been one of the first people who saw him as more than the Hokage's grandson. He had told him that there weren't any shortcuts and challenged him. He wasn't supposed to leave them.

XXXXXXXX

“You here for your grandpa?” Naruto asked walking up behind Konohamaru.

The younger boy looked up from his spot in front of the memorial stone and nodded once, before turning back around to gaze at the engraved rock. “Why are you here?” he asked after several moments.

“To think,” Naruto responded lacing his fingers together on his neck and squatting down next to the younger boy.

“Are your parents on there?” Konohamaru asked after several minutes. When Naruto failed to answer, he turned to look at the older boy and found him staring sadly at the stone. “I'm sorry,” he whispered.

“What for?” Naruto asked coming out of his daze.

Konohamaru blinked at him once before whispering, “It was a stupid question.”

“Not really,” Naruto responded shrugging slightly. “I honestly don't know if they are,” he added.

“Haven't you ever looked?” Konohamaru asked in confusion.

“Wouldn't know who to look for,” the blond answered causing Konohamaru to look at him with wide eyes.

After several minutes of silence Konohamaru finally looked back up at his idol. “Then why do you come here to think?” he asked.

Naruto pointed over to the three pillars standing not far away. “I became a Genin here,” he said. “My team trained here while we were still together so I come here when I need to,” he said a bit cryptically.

“The past Hokages are on there,” Konohamaru said pointing to the Memorial Stone.

Naruto grinned slightly in thanks when he realized that the younger boy had changed the topic for him. “Yeah but I like that monument better,” he said turning and pointing in the direction of Hokage Mountain.

“Why? That's just their faces,” Konohamaru replied.

Naruto shrugged and sat down gazing off into space for a moment. “I'm not really sure,” he finally said. “I think it's because that's a monument to their lives and this is for their death,” Naruto added after a brief pause.

Konohamaru looked at him for a moment in shock before he began to smile. He finally began laughing and rolled onto the ground next to Naruto causing the blond to look at him oddly. “What?” he said looking at the younger boy.

“You're weird, Nii-san,” Konohamaru muttered as he calmed down. Naruto looked at him oddly before shrugging and standing up to leave. “See you later,” he said as he walked away. It never struck Konohamaru as odd that the older boy had barely smiled the entire time they had spoken. It never struck him as odd that he didn't seem upset about not knowing his parents. The only thing that confused Konohamaru had been his comment about the monument. How could two monuments with the same intent hold such different meanings?

When he had asked Naruto about it a week later the blond had been with several friends and had laughed the question off. Later that night he had found Naruto again. That time he was sitting atop the Academy looking up at the monument. Without even having to ask Konohamaru received his answer. “At the stone people are only remembered by their names. All we know about them is that they died for us. Up there,” he said pointing up at the mountain, “we can see them. There's more to our heroes then just some name.”

Konohamaru stared at Naruto in awe for a moment before the blond surprised him by standing to leave. “I don't want people to remember me as just a name,” he added as he walked away leaving behind a severely confused eight year old academy student.

XXXXXXXX

Naruto was supposed to become Hokage. He, their Leader, was supposed to become the whole village's leader. Now he wouldn't be.

Konohamaru looked down at the goggles in his hands and a small tear slipped down. He placed one pair of goggles, Moegi's old pair, below Sakura's picture.

If Team 7 weren't there anymore, then Konoha would need new leaders. Konohamaru knew there wasn't anyone else that could handle the pressure.

They needed new healers.

He placed another pair goggles, Udon's this time, beneath Sasuke's picture.

They needed fighters.

He gazed down at the last pair of goggles, his own, for several moments before dropping them on Naruto's pile.

They needed a future Hokage. If Naruto wasn't there to become Hokage, then he'd have to do it for him. He glanced back once at his goggles before turning again and walking back to his spot. He wasn't quite sure why that lady was looking at him oddly.

Shikamaru watched as Konohamaru slowly walked back. He was shocked the kid wasn't crying yet; he could still remember him at his grandfather's funeral. Shikamaru shrugged off the confusion he felt when he saw the woman next to Kakashi watching Konohamaru oddly. She looked like she was about to cry, and he didn't think it had much to do with Naruto. He saw Kakashi-sensei reach over and place a hand on her shoulder; the action seemed to wake her up, and she turned her attention to the front.

Shikamaru mentally shrugged and continued to walk forward.

XXXXXXXX

“Kakashi,” Asuma said as he and his team approached Team 7's training grounds.

Kakashi slowly turned from his perch on the tree and raised a hand in greeting. “Yo,” he said, before turning back to watching his team bicker as they ate lunch below him.

Asuma gave him a poignant look and coughed impatiently; Kakashi sighed and slowly got up to follow him. “Alright brats,” he said to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. “Lunch is over; while I'm talking to Asuma-sensei I want the three of you to work on chakra control,” he said walking over to Asuma.

Asuma turned to his own team and pointed over to the tree Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were now hanging in. “Just wait with them till I'm done,” he said walking away.

Shikamaru shrugged and slowly followed his teammates over to the tree. He sighed and sank down against the trunk of the tree and relaxed.

“Sasuke-kun,” Ino chirped from her seat on the branch above him. Sasuke's only response was to roll his eyes and turn around to face Naruto who had been making faces behind his back. The blond stopped the moment Sasuke turned around, and Shikamaru could hear Chouji chuckle before he continued on with his bag of chips.

“So what have you three been up to?” Sakura asked.

Shikamaru thought she looked a bit pale, but it wasn't his concern. He shrugged and barely listened as Ino went on about a new dress she had bought.

“Is all you do shop?” Naruto asked stupidly, looking at the other blond from his upside down perch.

Ino spluttered indignantly at his question, but Shikamaru caught a small grin on Sakura's face when he looked up at the group. Sensing Ino's rising ire, Shikamaru spoke up. “What did you two do this morning?” he asked Naruto and Sasuke, pointing out the cuts and bruises the two sported.

“Hehe,” Naruto chuckled grinning. “I kicked Sasuke-teme's ass,” he said proudly.

“You didn't win, dobe,” Sasuke responded scowling lightly.

“Did too,” Naruto replied indignantly.

“Did not,” Sasuke replied childishly. Shikamaru watched the two in amusement. Only Naruto could get Sasuke to talk, let alone banter childishly. He glanced over at Chouji and the two shared a grin.

“Kakashi-sensei,” Sakura yelled a moment later catching their attention. Shikamaru watched in confusion as the silver haired Jounin waved her off. “But sensei it's been half an hour,” she shouted again.

“Stay a bit longer,” he shouted back confusing them even more.

“Are you alright?” Ino asked looking up at Sakura. The pink haired girl gave Ino an aggravated look before turning away.

The group lapsed into silence for several minutes until Naruto broke it. “What?” he asked turning to see Sakura tugging at him and Sasuke. She looked up with slightly wide eyes and the two reached out just as her footing slipped. “Kakashi-sensei you bastard, Sakura-chan's out of chakra,” Naruto shouted angrily at his sensei.

Kakashi turned to look at them and gave a small shrug. “You can get down now, Sakura,” he answered before turning away again.

“What about us?” Naruto shouted angrily.

“Stay where you are,” he answered happily.

Naruto and Sasuke lowered Sakura down to the tree branch next to Ino. The pink haired girl grinned up at her teammates and shrugged apologetically. Naruto scowled and turned away grumbling about inconsiderate sensei's.

“Shut up dobe,” Sasuke said after several minutes of Naruto's mumbling.

“You shut up, teme,” Naruto replied.

“Don't tell Sasuke-kun to shut up,” Ino shouted at the other blond. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow when he didn't hear Sakura join. He noticed her laughing silently. “Right Sakura?” Ino said waiting for her friend to back her up.

“Huh?” Sakura said looking at Ino in confusion.

Ino gave her friend an exasperated sigh before glaring back up at Naruto. “Don't yell at Sasuke-kun, he's way stronger than you,” she said finally with a superior smile.

“What are you talking about?” Naruto responded. “I beat Gaara when he couldn't,” he added in his own defense.

Team 10 looked up in relative shock, but Shikamaru saw Sasuke shrug. “I thought Sasuke was the one that beat Gaara,” Chouji said. “That's what all the adults are saying,” he added.

Naruto glanced down frowning, but Shikamaru was shocked when Sasuke was the first to speak. “Naruto beat Gaara,” he stated. “I didn't stand a chance against him,” he added looking down at them seriously. Naruto shot Sasuke a thankful grin and Sakura just shook her head at the two.

Team 10 would have asked more, but at that moment their senseis joined them. “Let's go,” Asuma said gathering up his team. Kakashi grinned at his own students and pulled out a pair of bells.

The last thing Shikamaru heard as they walked away was Naruto shouting, “We'll beat you this time, Kakashi-sensei.”

XXXXXXXX

Shikamaru dropped a flower on each pile after a brief glance at their pictures. Team 7 wasn't what everyone thought they had been. Those pictures meant nothing to him. Team 7 may have been happy once, but they had lost that.

Udon walked up quietly behind Shikamaru. The older Genin had spent the past two weeks with them making sure they weren't bullied or teased too much by the rest of the village. He didn't know why the village seemed to dislike Naruto nii-san and his teammates so much, but for some reason they didn't seem to sorry to see them go. He followed the older boy's lead and placed a flower down on each pile after glancing respectfully at each photo. They had been their idols, and now without their example he wasn't quite sure what to do anymore. He sulkily followed Shikamaru back to where Konohamaru was already waiting.

Neji glanced back at Hinata once before walking forward. His cousin had barely spoken a word since they were told that Naruto and the others were dead. None of them had really known how to deal with their deaths. It probably would have been easier for the others if he and Shikamaru had let more than just Shino in on their conversations. Unfortunately Hinata and Ino had taken it the hardest. Ino had just repaired her friendship with Sakura; losing her so soon afterwards had hit her much deeper than it had the others. Hinata had just begun coming out of her shell and the loss of one of her inspirations so early on would most likely have the opposite effect on her. They would be lucky if they could get Hinata to say more than a few words in the next six months.

XXXXXXXX

“So,” Shikamaru asked, as they walked away from the others.

“They were watching Naruto, and he knew it,” Neji answered.

“Why?” Shikamaru asked.

“I don't know, but whatever the reason it wasn't friendly,” Neji responded.

“You have anything to add?” Shikamaru asked turning around to face Shino.

“Only that this isn't a rare occurrence,” Shino said.

“What do you mean?” Neji asked turning around as well.

“Adults generally don't like Naruto, and they aren't against showing that dislike blatantly,” Shino said.

“Could it have anything to do with the fact that he's been playing pranks since as long as anyone can remember?” Shikamaru asked.

“No,” Shino said bluntly. “He's only been playing pranks since he was a about eight; they've treated him like that for longer,” Shino added.

“Are you sure?” Neji asked.

“I've been taught since I was young to be observant,” Shino said. “Naruto didn't join our class until we were ten, but I remember seeing him before that. Adults have never shied away from glaring at him for as long back as I remember,” he said.

“So, why do they do that?” Neji asked.

Shino shrugged in response. “Why do they continue to insist that Uchiha Sasuke was the one who defeated Gaara?” he asked causing the other two to look at him.

“Good point,” Shikamaru muttered.

“How did you learn he didn't?” Neji asked.

“I spoke with Sasuke not long after the fight, and he told me,” Shino responded.

“So none of the adults are willing to admit it,” Neji said.

“None that I've spoken to,” Shikamaru replied.

XXXXXXXX

He glanced out over the crowd and almost rolled his eyes at the gathered congregation. The only reason half of the adult were there was because they had had the truth about Naruto and the others shoved in their faces. Gai-sensei had told them about the meeting, and even he had admitted that he had been shocked by what he had learned. Those that had little respect for Naruto, or even still held grudges against the boy, had been forced to admit that they had been wrong. If only the rest of the village could be proved wrong.

Hinata slowly followed her cousin forward as he walked toward the stand. He silently placed a flower on each pile before following the others back to stand in formation. She placed a flower on each pile as well before following him. A small tear slipped out just as she stopped next to Neji. She glanced over at him when he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes and quickly turned away. She couldn't stand feeling so weak again.

Kiba watched sadly as Hinata despondently followed Neji back to their row. Team 7's deaths would set her back. After months of steadily improving her self-esteem and fighting skills, she was in danger of losing it all because she had lost one of her favorite supporters. Even during Naruto's depression Hinata had believed he would recover and continued to be inspired by him. After he disappeared, Hinata still had faith that the blond and his teammate would come back. When they learned that he had died, Hinata suffered a major blow.

XXXXXXXX

Kiba and Shino walked slowly back through the village. It had been a week since the Preliminary Matches, and Kiba had spent the week waiting for Hinata to heal and helping Kurenai prepare Shino for the finals.

Surprisingly he was no longer supremely pissed off at Naruto for winning. Most of that had to do with what Shino told him about Hinata's fight. If Naruto could give Hinata the courage to commit to a fight, then quite frankly the blond was alright with him. That didn't mean he had forgiven Naruto for kicking his ass, but still it raised his level of respect for the blond just slightly.

Of course in training Shino, Kurenai never hesitated to help Kiba as well. She went over both of their fights and pointed out errors they had made and weaknesses she had spotted. His list had been much longer than Shino's had been, and Kiba knew the other boy was gloating behind those sunglasses he insisted on wearing.

He felt eyes on him and turned to see Shino watching him. “What?” he asked brashly. Shino simply shook his head before pointing to their right. Kiba turned and saw Naruto walking with some weird white haired guy. He was tempted to go talk to him, but decided not too. “Looks like he's training hard as well,” he said turning back to Shino. “Do you think you could beat him if you fought?” he asked.

Shino turned to study Naruto for several minutes before turning back. “That depends on what he learns from Jiraiya-sama,” Shino replied.

“Who?” Kiba asked in confusion.

“The man that was with him; he's one of the Sannin,” Shino replied.

“The Sannin,” Kiba replied after he finally realized what Shino was saying. “How the hell did he manage that?” he shouted. Shino turned to look at him before shrugging and turning away. “I don't believe it,” Kiba mumbled as the two went on their way. How the hell had Naruto progressed far enough that he had one of the Sannin teaching him? He'd have to speak to Kurenai about that tomorrow. There had to be some sort of rule against it. “Naruto should be stuck training with a regular Jounin, like the rest of the participants,” he muttered.

“Hatake-san is not really a regular Jounin,” Shino responded.

Kiba glared at his teammate as he trailed behind. Naruto was too damn lucky.

XXXXXXXX

Kiba placed two flowers on each pile before walking away.

Chouji followed Kiba's lead and placed a flower on each pile and walking away. He hadn't known Team 7 fairly well. He had known Naruto best, but even so that was all superficial. He had respected all three, but had rarely spent time with any of them after the Academy. Hopefully the Rookies would recover from their loss.

It was a very subdued Genius of Hard work that walked forward to the makeshift altars. He somberly laid a flower down before Naruto and Sasuke's piles before walking onto the last one. He paused for a moment, to gaze at Sakura's picture sadly, before laying down a bouquet of pink roses and walking away.

XXXXXXXX

“Sakura-san,” Lee said trotting beside the girl.

“Lee-san,” she replied with a smile, “how has your training been?”

“Most excellent,” he answered, landing his Nice Guy pose. “Under the tutelage of my most magnificent Gai-sensei, I have flourished and have now surpassed my strength at the time I was injured,” he added happily.

“That's great Lee,” Sakura replied honestly.

“How about you?” he asked. “You have now trained under our wonderful flower of a Hokage, Tsunade-sama, for two months. Have you improved?” he asked sincerely.

“She's says I'm doing wonderfully,” Sakura answered. “I think this is something I'll really succeed at,” she added happily.

“That's most phenomenal news,” Lee said once again taking on his Nice Guy pose. “It is much more difficult for those of us without bloodline limits or family jutsu to find our niche,” he added casually. “You and Naruto have both been flourishing as of late,” he said happily.

“Yes we have,” she said smiling. “At this rate we'll be ready by the end of the three years,” she said gazing off.

“Three years?” Lee asked.

“Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama have said that we have three years before Sasuke-kun will be in danger. Naruto and I should be ready by then,” she said.

“Oh,” Lee responded. “Well if you ever need any help, just ask,” he said recovering a bit.

“Thanks,” Sakura responded happily. “I just want my team back together; hopefully if we bring Sasuke back, the three of us will be able to work with Kakashi-sensei more often,” she said.

“I wish you luck,” Lee said preparing to walk off.

“Hey! Lee,” Sakura yelled after him. “I was going to get Naruto and meet the others for dinner; do you want to join us?” she asked.

Lee looked at her in surprise for a moment before nodding and running to catch up with her. The two walked and chatted the rest of the way to Naruto's training field. When the bouncy blond joined them, the conversation became even more animated and the topic of Uchiha Sasuke wasn't breached again. Lee, however, felt that their cheeriness was false. As they ate alongside Teams 8 and 10, he noticed Naruto's smile occasionally fall and Sakura stare off into space when no one was talking directly to her. As much as he disliked Sasuke for all the pain he had caused the two, maybe they needed their third member back to repair that. Maybe the rest of the Rookies weren't enough to fill the void their teammate had left.

XXXXXXXX

Ino fought to control her tears as she watched Lee walk away. It wasn't fair. She knew being a shinobi was dangerous. Team 7 had known being shinobi was dangerous. She knew shinobi were supposed to control their emotions. She couldn't help it. Team 7 hadn't deserved that. They hadn't reached their goals yet; they hadn't lived their lives yet. Three Genin didn't deserve to die that early.

Sakura had been ecstatic about becoming a Genin. She thought it proved that she had grown up and that she could take care of herself.

Sakura had been ecstatic that Sasuke was on her team. She had thought it proved he liked her more.

Their first big mission had torn the girl apart. Ino knew Team 7 had experienced danger plenty of times. For once it wasn't Sakura in danger; she had nearly lost her teammates. After Wave country Sakura had finally realized that Naruto wasn't completely worthless. It wasn't fair that everything had been torn apart just as it was being pieced together.

She dropped eight pink roses on Sakura's pile. One rose for each year they had known each other. She dropped two yellow roses on Naruto's pile and five red roses on Sasuke's before finally walking away.

Moegi wiped her tears away once more before silently following Ino-san. She placed a yellow rose on each pile before walking back to stand in line. When she got there, Ino leaned down and gave the younger girl a hug. Moegi hugged back knowing that Ino was barely managing to not cry herself.

XXXXXXXX

“Shut up,” Moegi shouted from behind Konohamaru. The jerk they were yelling at was the same jerk that had made fun of Naruto at the demonstrations, and now when Naruto was gone he was at it again.

“What are you three going to do about it? I don't care if the Hokage calls them heroes they were all a bunch of idiots,” he said back smirking as Konohamaru tried to land a punch. The smirk fell a moment later, when someone blocked his backward dodge and Konohamaru's fist hit his stomach. “Who the hell are you?” he asked, when he turned around to see who had blocked his way.

The young Genin who turned around looked at him in confusion. “I'm sorry, were you talking to me?” she said innocently. Moegi thought she recognized the brown haired girl as one of the others from the demonstration; she had fought Hanabi's older sister.

“Yeah, what the hell do you think you're doing?” he asked again causing the girl to blink in confusion.

“Oh, TenTen-chan is there a problem?” a freaky, thick browed boy asked, as he jumped up beside her.

“Not that I know of Lee,” TenTen responded winking at Moegi. “Although, I think he might have been talking about Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke a moment ago,” she added turning innocently to Lee.

Lee immediately sobered up and bowed his head. “That was one of the greatest losses this village has ever suffered,” he said causing TenTen to nod in agreement and the others to look at them oddly.

By this time they had attracted a large number of bystanders, and one of the adults in the crowd scoffed at Lee. “There was no loss in losing a traitor and a demon,” he said; a moment later he yelped in pain and looked down to find Akamaru biting his hand. “Get this mutt off of me,” he shouted looking around for Kiba.

Kiba ignored the man and walked over to the brat from the Academy. “You know I really don't like you,” he said before turning to wave to the Konohamaru Corps. “Oi, they giving you trouble?” he asked. Konohamaru nodded slightly. “Hmm, well Kakashi-sensei told us to mainly target adults because that would get more done, but I don't think he'd mind if…” he stopped talking when the boy he had been talking about took off down the street. Kiba and the others watched in satisfaction.

“You boy, get this mutt off my hand,” the man behind them said.

Kiba pointedly ignored him and instead turned to smile at Konohamaru. “How you three doing?” he asked.

Konohamaru shrugged in response, but Moegi looked up at them nearly in tears. “That man he called nii-san, he called him…” she trailed off in tears. TenTen looked down at the girl before winking at Lee and Kiba. The two boys walked over to the man who Akamaru was still biting. TenTen leaned down and wrapped her arms around Moegi in a hug; the younger girl quickly began balling harder.

“You know,” Kiba said innocently, “the decree is still in place.” The man's face grew a little paler and several of the adults looked down at the two boys in shock.

“You shouldn't know about that,” one of the women nearby said.

“Well we do,” Kiba responded nonchalantly, “and I'm pretty sure the Hokage doesn't want it broken soo…”

“So, keep your mouths shut,” Kakashi said walking up behind the two. The crowd looked at him for a moment before dispersing. “Your friends are looking for you,” Kakashi said to Kiba and Lee before walking away again.

“Come on,” Kiba said when they reached the others. “Let's go meet the others and get lunch.”

TenTen nodded and stood up still holding Moegi. Udon and Konohamaru looked up in confusion until Akamaru yipped at them motioning for them to follow. They looked up at Lee and Kiba and saw both nodding in that direction as well.

XXXXXXXX

TenTen patiently followed Moegi as the little girl walked forward and placed her flowers on each of the piles. She placed one on each as well before turning to walk back to place. She noticed Neji attempting to comfort Hinata and smiled slightly. They would make it through this. If they tried hard enough, they would make it through this. They would make Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke proud. They would protect Konoha and each other just like Team 7 would have done. They'd keep going because a survivor like Naruto would have wanted them to. As long as they didn't lose hope, as long as they kept a cool head, they would be okay.

Shino was the last of the Rookies to go, and he silently followed TenTen through the usual steps. His face was only slightly more expressive than usual, but that may have been because the lower half was actually showing. He slowly placed the usual flower on each pile before turning away and walking back. It was a pity the three hadn't achieved more during their lives; they had held so much promise.

XXXXXXXX

“Naruto appeared injured,” Shino said walking up behind Sasuke.

The Uchiha turned around in surprise and stared and Shino for a moment before recovering. “He fought Gaara,” Sasuke finally said.

“I was told you fought against him,” Shino stated.

“By who?” Sasuke said a bit angrily.

“My sensei,” Shino replied.

Sasuke thought there was a hint of humor in his reply, but one could never tell with the bug user. “Then she was either misinformed or she lied,” Sasuke finally said.

“She would have no reason to lie,” Shino stated.

Sasuke shook his head. “Sure she does. Everyone insists on praising me more than they should,” he answered honestly. Despite the fact that Naruto was his best friend, he would never be this honest with anyone else. Shino was one of the only villagers who would listen and not judge.

“She meant no offense by it I'm sure,” Shino replied.

“Right, but whoever she heard it from probably did,” Sasuke said.

“She may have heard it from your sensei,” Shino suggested.

Sasuke turned around to look at him angrily. “He would never do something like that. He may underestimate Naruto occasionally, but he knows what happened out there. He would never sell Naruto short like that,” he replied.

“How powerful is Naruto?” Shino asked curiously.

Sasuke scowled, but his anger faded as he looked at the other boy. “We may never know,” Sasuke finally answered. “I don't think he'll ever stop getting stronger,” he added sullenly.

“You're jealous,” Shino answered. He wasn't the least bit surprised when Sasuke didn't answer. “Don't let that destroy your friendship,” he said before walking away, leaving behind a surprised and confused Uchiha Sasuke.

XXXXXXXX

Gai walked up somberly and laid a flower down for each of the departed Genin. He glanced once at Kakashi, Rin, and Itachi before walking away. He could still remember how much the three had cared for Naruto and Sasuke when they were children; he knew that they had never stopped caring. When Kakashi received both onto his Genin team he had been pleased, even if he hadn't shown it much. Over the months he had come to care for Sakura just as much as her two teammates. It was a pity he had lost them after such a short amount of time. It was even more of a pity that Rin and Itachi had never been able to rebuild their ties with the two boys.

XXXXXXXX

“So how was your team?” Anko asked curiously. The entire staff room was now paying attention.

“Fine,” Kakashi answered causing several of the other Jounin to groan.

“Do you know how to string words together to form a sentence?” one of the younger Jounin asked him.

“No,” Kakashi responded absentmindedly, as he flipped through his book.

Anko shook her head at the goings on before creeping up behind him. She snatched the book from his hands and tossed it to Genma, before sitting on Kakashi's stomach. “Did they pass?” she asked getting straight to the point.

“Yes,” Kakashi replied.

“You actually passed the Kyuubi-brat,” one of the other Jounin stated angrily.

“Unfortunately for you, Anko took my book so I'm actually paying attention to what you're saying. Uzumaki Naruto is now my student, and as such, I will not tolerate unwarranted insults directed his way,” Kakashi said.

The room remained in rather shocked silence for several minutes before Kakashi stood up taking Anko with him. He set her back down on her feet before he walked out of the room. Anko and Genma walked out after him, but the other Jounin remained behind.

“He passed them because of the Uchiha,” one of the Jounin said.

“It was really stupid to place those two on the same team,” another stated.

“Ahh, my friends,” Gai said graciously. “Kakashi, my eternal rival would not be so giving as that. He also wouldn't do something stupid. Therefore the team deserved to pass and the team was cleverly crafted,” he said.

“Right,” one of the younger Jounin muttered sarcastically.

“I have no doubt that all three of his Genin will flourish under his wonderful tutelage,” Gai said striking the Nice Guy pose.

“That's not actually a good thing,” the same Jounin muttered.

Gai turned to look at him in disappointment before sighing and walking out of the room. It was a pity the poor boy couldn't get a break.

XXXXXXXX

Asuma and Kurenai followed Gai's lead and paid their respects to the fallen Genin. They had both underestimated and disregarded his team. Even with Sasuke's reputation as an Uchiha, they hadn't believed he would prosper with Naruto on the same team. They had been wrong. Without a rival like Naruto, it was likely that Sasuke would never have grown at all. It was pity a Team with such good chemistry had been split so early. Though even individually, the two remaining members continued to grow. Naruto and Sakura's influence on the other Rookies and those around them would never fade away. Konoha would be lucky if they had another team like Team 7.

Kakashi ignored the numerous other shinobi who paraded past them and paid their respects to his former team. Many were there because they realized too late that the three Genin had been vastly misunderstood. Others were there because all three had been apprentices of the Sannin. Some were there simply because Sasuke had been an Uchiha. He didn't particularly care for the superficial reasoning behind their presences. Part of him wished that the service had been much smaller, but he knew that wasn't the way it was done.

It was as the civilians began filing by that he received his first shock. Some of the first to walk past him were Tazuna and Tsunami from Wave Country; he hadn't expected anyone to travel that far for this. When Inari followed them wearing the traditional shinobi funeral garb he wasn't quite so shocked. After all, he had spoken with Tsunami about enrolling the boy; he just hadn't realized it had already been done.

He zoned out a bit as others walked past to pay their respects. He vaguely recognized Ayame and Teuchi from Ichiraku. After they passed by, he zoned out again until he saw Mitsutori walk up. He noticed Anko stiffen slightly as she and Rishito walked forward. Orochimaru's former student leaned over and whispered something to Iruka and Genma, and both did a double take of Rishito. Since the stripes currently showing on Rishito's cheeks were identical to Rin's, it wasn't odd that a number of other shinobi were looking curiously between the two. Rin was skillfully ignoring the glances, and she imperceptibly nodded to Rishito when he walked by her.

Tsunade stiffened slightly when the young woman placed a bunch of blue hydrangea flowers in front of each photo. “Nami,” she whispered and noticed that Jiraiya was watching the young woman as well. She turned slightly and saw the young woman nod once to Rin and Kakashi. Rin turned slowly to look at her, but her gaze betrayed nothing. “Why was she here?” Tsunade whispered, leaning over so Jiraiya could hear her.

He shrugged in answer. “We'll have to ask her,” he finally murmured back.

XXXXXXXX

When the service ended half an hour later the majority of those gathered quickly dispersed. Mitsutori and Rishito quickly made their way over, and Rishito stood nervously in front of Rin. She noticed a number of shinobi still glancing at the curiously but she ignored their stares. “Kakashi, do you know those two?” she asked nodding towards Tazuna and Tsunami who were making their way over.

“Hatake-san,” Tazuna said when they reached them. “We were very sorry when we heard the news. You and your students will always be remembered by our family and those they helped,” he said.

“Thank you,” Kakashi said. He noticed Tsunami watching Itachi closely so he decided to introduce them. “This is Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother,” he said carefully.

“I'm very sorry for you loss,” Tsunami replied turning to Itachi. She was about to say more when several shinobi approached.

“Uchiha-sama, we are very sorry for the loss of your brother,” one of the men said.

Another turned to Rin and bowed almost mockingly. “Welcome back Chiyu-san,” he said sarcastically. “We hear you've been busy while you were away,” he added, glancing down at Rishito.

Itachi fought the urge to roll his eyes; unfortunately as he turned away he caught a number of falsely sympathetic looks that were being shot his way. “Go away,” he said turning back to the shinobi that had spoken to him.

“Uchiha-sama?” one of them said questioningly.

“I'd rather not hear your sympathies if you don't mean them, so go away,” he said glaring at the older man. The shinobi quickly walked away but others began to approach. Itachi sighed and turned to leave.

“Stay here Rishito,” Rin said as she turned to walk after him.

“That didn't look good,” Tsunami muttered.

“He'll be alright,” Kakashi said drawing Rishito a bit closer.

XXXXXXXX

“You alright?” Rin asked walking up next to Itachi. Itachi turned to look at her but didn't respond. “You know it's a lot easier to hold a conversation when more than one person talks,” Rin replied.

“What do you want me to say?” Itachi replied.

“I don't know, something along the lines of `I miss my little brother and I'm not ready to let him go yet',” Rin said causing Itachi to turn and stare at her. “Well?” Rin asked.

“He died hating me,” Itachi said.

“You don't know that,” Rin replied.

“I made him hate me,” Itachi said.

“You were trying to save him,” Rin stated.

“That doesn't make it any easier,” Itachi growled out.

Rin looked over at him, shocked by the outburst. Her face softened when she saw how close he was to losing it. “How bad has the village been lately?” she asked.

“I wouldn't know,” Itachi replied.

“It's hard coming back without him here, isn't it?” she said.

“Hn,” Itachi replied.

“When we're finished with all this, I have something to show you and Kakashi that should make this easier,” Rin said.

“That's not likely,” Itachi responded.

“I promise; it'll get easier,” she said again, “Not all is lost.”

XXXXXXXX

“Let me get this straight,” Tsunade said as Rin, Kakashi, and Itachi stood in front of her. “You're not staying here?” she asked looking at Rin

“Right,” Rin responded.

“Kakashi had me enroll your son in the Academy. Are those plans being tossed out the window?” she asked in confusion.

“No,” Rin responded again.

“Then what's going on?” Tsunade asked leaning back against her desk.

“A friend of mine is moving to Konoha; she offered to keep Rishito with her while he was attending classes,” Rin responded.

“Why exactly aren't you coming back?” Jiraiya asked from his spot against the wall.

Rin sighed and turned to face the Toad Sennin. “I don't like it here,” she said childishly before turning away again. Jiraiya rolled his eyes at her, but he didn't pursue his line of questioning.

“Who is he staying with?” Tsunade asked.

“Nami Mitsutori,” Rin responded.

“Oh,” Tsunade answered, looking a bit disconcerted.

“Is that all?” Kakashi asked after several minutes of silence.

“No that's not all,” Tsunade replied angrily. “One of you needs to explain exactly what you three have been doing, starting with the Uchiha Massacre. There is absolutely no paper work, for obvious reasons, but still,” she said, trailing off when she noticed the three Jounin watching her amusement. “Well,” she said prompting them to begin talking.

“I had been out of the village for almost five years, when Sandaime contacted me and asked me to do him a favor,” Rin answered.

“A favor?” Tsunade asked, “I thought it was a mission.” Her eyes widened slightly when Rin shook her head.

“My part it in this was voluntary,” Rin finally said.

“It wasn't a mission,” Tsunade repeated.

“Yes,” Rin said assuring her. “You look upset about that fact,” she added after a moment.

“If after you left you never took on a mission, it means that I can't order you back,” Tsunade muttered. “What were you three doing?” Tsunade finally asked again when no one else spoke for several minutes.

“I joined the Akatsuki, passed information on to Rin, and passed false information to the organization when possible,” Itachi replied.

“I took information from Itachi, passed false information to the Akatsuki about Naruto's seal, and passed information from Itachi on to Kakashi,” Rin continued on.

“I took information from Rin and passed it onto Sandaime,” Kakashi finished.

Tsunade glared at the three. “You're being purposely uncooperative,” she said.

“What aren't we telling you?” Itachi asked.

Jiraiya laughed out loud and turned to Tsunade. “Sandaime may have spoiled the three of you and let you act as you wanted, but I won't. During this operation a number of shinobi were injured and killed; that number includes the entire Uchiha Clan. Sandaime left absolutely nothing behind, meaning he probably intended to pass whatever information he had directly to his successor by word of mouth. Obviously he didn't prepare for his untimely death, and that leaves me in a bind,” Tsunade began angrily. If she had been paying attention, she would have noticed that her audience was growing angry as well. “I have an entire village, a council of clan heads, and a number of elders that are all asking for questions, and I think they deserve the answers,” Tsunade shouted.

“What answers?” Kakashi bit out.

“Let's start with the Uchiha Massacre. Who killed who?” Tsunade asked a bit tactlessly.

“They're dead, why does that matter?” Itachi asked flatly.

“By whose hand?” Tsunade asked.

“Hokage-sama,” Itachi said as politely as possible. “The reason there is no paper trail was not because of the secrecy surrounding the mission. There was no paper trail because the only person not directly involved that deserved any information about the Clan's end was Uchiha Sasuke. As he is now dead, no one else needs to know,” he finished.

“Are you two going to give me the same answer as him?” Tsunade asked turning to Kakashi and Rin.

“I wouldn't have given you that much,” Rin muttered so that only Itachi and Kakashi could hear her.

“I can't pass that on to the council,” Tsunade replied. “I can't tell them you don't think they deserve an answer,” she added.

“When I was ten I learned my clan intended to give my younger brother to an insane Missing Nin. Eight years later, under the council's misguided leadership, this village did it for them,” Itachi said before turning and walking out.

Tsunade watched him go in shock. “Well that…isn't good,” she finally stated.

“Are we done here?” Rin asked.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at them and waved a hand in dismissal. “Spoiled brats,” she muttered as they closed the door.

XXXXXXXX

“We need to talk,” Rin said closing the door of Kakashi's apartment and looking seriously at the two men in front of her.

“About what?” Itachi said sitting down.

Rin gazed at him sympathetically before slipping out a small piece of paper and handing it to Kakashi. “Senma gave this to me for the three of us. She was grinning that weird grin of hers and before I left I think she said, `you have nothing to be sad about.' I was going to wait to open it, but then I got curious and looked at it that night,” she said.

Kakashi rolled his eyes at his ex teammate's curiosity before finally reading over the letter. His face grew confused at first, but by the end of the letter he looked up at Rin in astonishment. He absentmindedly handed the letter to Itachi.

The Uchiha took and read it through once rather quickly. He blinked several times before looking down at the letter again and reading it at a slower and more thorough pace. “What does this mean?” he said looking up at Rin a bit angrily.

Rin smiled down at him slightly and grabbed the letter from his hand. She blinked in surprise when she heard him mutter, “Ouch,” and grinned when she saw him pout and tend to a small paper cut. “Big baby,” she muttered in response.

“Does it mean what I think it means,” Kakashi said seriously.

“Senma has reason to believe they survived,” Rin said seriously.

“We saw it with our own eyes,” Itachi said shaking his head, “how could they have survived that?”

“There isn't any evidence to suggest that the bodies hit by fire weren't clones,” Rin responded.

“There isn't any evidence to suggest that they were clones either,” Kakashi refuted.

Rin sighed and shook her head. “Then let me tell you why I was late,” she said looking at them. “On our way here we were attacked by bandits. Stupid ones too,” she said shaking her head. “But one of them mentioned something rather interesting,” she said smirking.

“What?” Kakashi asked cautiously.

“Two days before they attacked us they had a run in with several shinobi from Konoha,” she said.

“That's impossible, all Konoha shinobi were recalled after Tsunade sent out the announcements,” Itachi responded.

“I know,” Rin said smiling. “But these idiots even had the names of the shinobi. They were understandably very angry with them because the two kids managed to take out one of their men,” she added.

“Kids?” Itachi asked.

“Yup, they guessed that they were all between the ages of twelve and fourteen,” Rin said. Kakashi and Itachi were both watching her attentively now. “Have either of you ever heard of the Chuuin Clan?” Rin asked.

“There's no such family in Konoha,” Kakashi said. “They must have been mistaken about the village of origin,” he added.

“Actually they only guessed that they were from Konoha because they mentioned that the bandits were in Konoha's territory. There would have been no reason for shinobi of another village to be in that area,” Rin said in response.

“They were siblings?” Itachi asked.

“That's what these kids said. They also mentioned that they were the only ones left,” she said.

“What does this have to do with anything?” Itachi finally asked looking at her incredulously.

“The names they remembered were Maki and Haru,” Rin responded.

Kakashi looked up at her suddenly and Rin grinned back. “Uzu-Maki and Haru-No,” he said emphasizing the correct syllables.

“Naruto and Sakura could have easily made it there by that time,” Itachi said.

“Kami, they're alive,” Kakashi said sinking down into the couch.

Rin grinned at him before realizing what Itachi had said. “Oh, no,” she said catching their attention. “That specifically states that Team 7 is together again; Naruto and Sakura still acknowledged Sasuke as their teammate. That means that all three would have to be together,” she said.

“But that doesn't make sense,” Itachi said.

“Of course it does,” Rin said. “The only reason they knew the three were shinobi was because they had been using chakra to stick in the trees when they were hiding. The idiot that told me this said that the girl looked like she had run out of chakra, so the two boys attacked him,” she said. “It took him a while but he finally remembered that the last one had been named Chi,” she said.

“U-Chi-Ha,” Kakashi said shaking his head before he started laughing.

“Sasuke's alive?” Itachi said asking for affirmation.

“Sasuke's alive, Sakura's alive, and Naruto's alive,” Rin said smiling.

“If the village finds out they'll try to bring them back,” Kakashi said.

“So we don't tell the village,” Itachi responded. A moment later he looked up to find both Rin and Kakashi grinning at him.

“That-a-boy, Itachi,” Rin said sitting down between them.

“Now all that's left is to find them,” Kakashi said.

“We're screwed,” Itachi answered, “those two always won when we played hide-n-go-seek.” Rin and Kakashi both nodded sullenly in agreement.

XXXXXXXX

Though their dreams may be dead, Team 7 is together again. As long as they are not forgotten they will never truly be gone. Their fires will not die, they will protect the village giving much but gaining little. New dreams and destinies will be forged in their wake; the spirit of fire will not die out.

Agent's Spiel:

Just a reminder: Chuuin Maki - Naruto

Chuuin Haru - Sakura

Chuuin Chi - Sasuke

They will be referred to by these names a lot in the next few chapters, but I'll continue to remind you about.

Okay just to let you all know; Anraku, the village that Rin was traveling from, is South East of Konoha. If you've ever looked at a map of the Shinobi countries then you will know that that is near the ocean border of fire country. It's near Wave Country if you've ever a map. This is just to give you a general knowledge of where everything is.