After Twenty Years was named after an old, short-story by an old-English author I had to read in Lit. The stories here and there are completely the opposite, but I still felt the title was perfect for this sort of thing. (and if you look closely, you can see the influence the original had on my writing style and description...) After all, I haven't written any fanfiction for a while. I felt it was time for an ice-breaker.
After Twenty Years is basically a sad, flashback fic where Naruto tells the story of what he'd been doing in the twenty years since he'd last visited his teacher's grave. It's a romance, a drama, and if you squint again, a rather light-hearted story... When characters aren't being killed off, that is.
-Tosa
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I'd rather be hurt to heal than die painlessly alone...
The addictive smell of burnt earth filled the crisp air of the summer morning. The ground had begun to bake in the blinding light, and rarely would one be caught running around at this time when the sun hung direct overhead in the sky...
Naruto found this to be the perfect time to go grave-visiting.
So he hopped lazily down from the small expense of porch that was just outside of his apartment door happily finishing off his pocky, careful not to let the sticky vanilla get on his ANBU uniform.
No leaves were scattered across the pavement; it was bare, and perfectly clean. Unlike when he had last visited his beloved teacher, there was no haunting noise of crunching underfeet, like broken bones slowly crackling to dust...
Naruto stopped as he neared the familiar expanse of trees.
This was it.
It was strange to not see Kakashi there... Not like he was able to visit anymore, the man had died about two years before.
But alas, he wasn't there for Kakashi. He was here for another... Two, actually.
He walked towards the large slab of stone, and (with a grunt only a man of thirty-seven could expense) hunkered down on his haunches.
Naruto squinted his piercing blue eyes at the name carved in the middle;
Umino Iruka
shinobi, teacher, father
He sighed sadly. He had found it.
"Sorry I haven't been to visit you in a while," he said with a good-humored chuckle.
"How long's it been?"
The gravestone remained silent.
"Twenty years... just as I thought."
Naruto let a small, feeling-less smile grow across his whiskered face.
"Hey. How's Kakashi? He dissapointed at the lack of porn heaven has?"
He flicked a speck of dust of the stone.
"Y'know, Shikamaru died last year... Pretty awful. Lots of blood. Poor guy was only Thirty-six... But then again, I guess you already know that."
He sat back, exhaling a large amount of air as the sun beat relentlessly down.
"So... What've I been up to the past twenty years?"
Naruto blinked slowly. It was strange how... good it felt to finally 'speak' with his old father-figure's gravestone.
"Tons happened, actually... Like this," he paused to motion at his uniform, "which happened just a few months before she died... lovely summer's eve, just like this."
A dry laugh echoed through the surrounding shrubbery. What was wrong with him, talking to a rock?
"Oh! And Sakura and Lee got hitched... Sasuke came back, but then again you were there for that... And Hinata married him."
He paused again; he hadn't noticed how hot it... wasn't outside.
"Maybe I should just start from the beginning..."
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It had all been a quick, painless event. In fact, he had been there.
One moment, he and Iruka were talking, his teacher laying back in his hospital bed pale as a ghost. Yet despite this, the laughter seemed to lighten him; maybe make him seem happier, alive.
Naruto had paused only a moment; just a moment.
When he had turned around, the gift he'd gotten for his teacher in hand, he found his head rolled back, eyes closed, looking so peaceful...
Immediately, the blonde had dropped the "free ramen" coupon for Ichiraku's, running to seak Tsunade, or any help he could find.
The funeral had been held just a week later. And all the while, it had rained...
Naruto had arrived home from it so late; he had been listening to 'I'm so sorries' all week and even more today, and he could just puke. Yet when they said nothing, he felt cheated.
Sasuke was being released from the ANBU tomorrow; then everyone could greet him properly.
It was a bit early, but then again, Sasuke had been so horribly injured from the fight, he was beyond repair... It wasn't like he even had the energy, much less the remaing skill to hurt anyone.
Naruto bit his lips, eyes glassy as he stared into space, still in the doorway, not caring if the nice red carpet got soaked in rain water or not.
He let the rain beat down on the nice material of his black jacket... How funny fate worked out sometimes. Maybe Neji was right, and their lives were just already planned; either small, furry animals could live happily ever after in the hole, or someone could shit in it.
He rested his forehead on the cold doorframe.
I wish this woud stop...
He wished his life would slow down for once... Or at least take a turn for the better.
Finally, deciding he had ruined the front interior of his apartment and clothes long enough, he trudged fully inside, closing the door behind him.
The phone ringing nearly gave him a heart attack.
He quickly ran into the kitchen, muddy shoes leaving brownspots on the floor as he grabbed the reciever from the wall; "Hello?"
"Naruto?"
It was good to hear the familiar, feminen voice wafting daintily over the other end. He shook the happy thoughts from his head; She was Lee's now.
"Yeah, Sakura?"
"Uhmmm... H-how was the funeral?"
His face fell. Naruto had been hoping to forget that for at least another day.
"It was fine,"
His voice was dim, shaky.
"O-oh. I Just got back now, I hadn't even..."
The line began to crackle with the obvious hints of her sobbing.
"Sakura, please... Dont-"
"I'm just..!! Hold on a sec!!"
He almost laughed at the sound of her pulling the phone from her mouth as she hyperventilated. One minute ticked past on the clock.
"I'm done."
Silence.
"Sakura?"
More silence.
"Are you okay?"
He was tempted to hang up when out of the blue...
"Lee proposed to me, you know."
"Ah, really?"
"Yes! I was so happy when I was on my way back... Then this happened, and-"
"Oh."
"Yeah..."
Another several minutes of sickening silence. So much for 'happiest moment' of a girl's life.
"Hey. Y'know what Sai told me the other day?"
He could hear her giggle; so she did know what was coming.
"No, what did he tell you?"
"'Every time there's an awkward silence, a gay baby is born.'" he said, mimicking Sai's breezy voice and exact wording.
Racaus laughter broke over the line, flooding his ears.
"Oh my gawd! Did he really?"
"Yes. Then I told him there must have been a looong one when he was born..."
Easily, the conversation had slid from uncomfortable to utterly cozy in mere moments, and immediately Naruto made a mental note to thank Sai the next day.
They spoke for a while and, when Sakura finally had leave (her favorite soap opera was on), the distinct feeling of dread he had had just an hour earlier began to settle in.
Stiffly, he staggered to his bedroom, only pausing to remove his jacket before falling to the soft, linen covers of the bed. He gave a sad sigh.
Slowly, Naruto allowed for the warm hands of sleep to engulf him.