Chapter 2: Emotionally Drained

A certain blonde stood near the burial of a deceased friend. His tears streamed down his whisker cheeks and hit the flowers on the stone that read his friend's name.

"Sasuke..." The young male clenched his fist that rested by his sides, "I'm sorry... I couldn't... I couldn't save you."

"Naruto." A grown Iruka called out to the sixteen-year-old.

Naruto glanced at his former teacher and master, Jiraiya, who stood by one another. The two adult men saw the redness in their student's eyes and sighed.

"I know this may not be the most comforting words to say to you," The man with long white hair placed a hand on Naruto's left shoulder, "but don't let Sasuke's death be the end of your happiness, Kid."

Naruto squeezed his fists even tighter, "Sasuke was my best friend! He was like a brother to me! He growled, "How can I just get over the fact that he's-"

"Naruto!" A beautiful woman with long blonde hair put into low pigtails and brown eyes, made her way to the three men. She wore pink lipstick, a green haori with kanji symbol for "gamble" on the back of it, a no-sleeve grey blouse with a navy blue obi, grey pants, and black high heel sandals with a red polish on her toe and fingernails.

"Tsunade..." Jiraya was surprised to see his friend out of the Hokage office.

"Lady Tsunade, how is Sakura taking this?" Iruka asked with concern.

"Not well." Tsunade answered, "She still hasn't left her house in six weeks now. She's taking this worse than Naruto is for crying out loud."

"I know she had strong feelings for Sasuke, but... six weeks?!" Iruka placed a hand behind his head.

Naruto's eyes fell, "Sakura loved Sasuke with all her heart... She might stay in her house forever."

The three adults said nothing and didn't move. They stared at Naruto as he battled with his emotions.

Seven weeks ago, while on a mission, Naruto, Sakura, and Sai had heard an explosion near where they were at and with Kakashi and Yamato, went to investigate. A massive blue fire had broke out in an opened field. Its flames burned so hot that it took Yamato hours just to extinguish a section of it. After a few days, the fire was extinguished and there, laying at the edge of a field, was a burned skeleton with clothes on it burned and tattered badly but still distinguishable.

Naruto's and Sakura's faces turned blue when they recognized the familiar clothing the skeleton had worn. Yamato and Sai then saw it next and immediately noticed the similarities between the outfit they saw Sasuke wearing when they had first encountered the Uchiha at Orochimaru's hideout.

Sakura fell to her knees as tears forced itself out of her eyes just as Kakashi went over to the corpse to examine the clothing closer.

Naruto was too shocked to move; he looked paralyzed. His heart crumpled but at the same time, hoped that his eyes were playing tricks on him, "T-That could be anyone's..."

Kakashi spotted a logo on the back of the white shirt. He closed his eyes after recognizing the logo.

"This isn't just anyone's, Naruto. It bears the Uchiha crest on it. I'm sorry." He said.

No... Naruto said in his thoughts, That can't-

His heart broke into pieces. His eyes became extremely dull as the thought of his best friend's death gnawed at him. Sakura was in no better shape. Like Naruto's, her eyes looked soulless; there was no liveliness in them.

Her deep love for Sasuke had caused her to suffer greatly in the end. The young woman was so traumatized, she couldn't even think to herself.

Yamato went to comfort Sakura while Sai went to Naruto's side. Neither really responded to their teammates aid. Kakashi felt a deep sense of hurt inside also. He had lost another comrade and blamed himself for not doing better as Sasuke's sensei.

The beads that were wrapped around his waist had broken apart and scattered across the area. The day had ended in tragedy and loss. However, that was only the beginning.

Tsunade, Iruka, and Jiraiya watched as Naruto sadly walked away from the graveyard. The blonde ended up back at his place and sighed at the filth in it. Ramen cups, wrappers, soda cans, and other items decorated the wooden floor. His bed was unmade and the blanket was to the side of it, practically touching the floor.

It's the same as always in here...

Naruto got out a pot and poured hot water into it. He then set it on the burner and turned it on. Once the water boiled, Naruto took out a cup of ramen and opened it up.

Maybe eating some ramen will get my mind off of him for a little bit...

The blonde grabbed the pot off the burner then switched it off. As he made his way to pour the water in the ramen, Naruto's mind filled up with inescapable memories of Sasuke and because of it, his hand slipped and the pot fell to the floor and cracked.

Water poured out but Naruto did nothing. His chest tightened and his throat grew a lump. His mind was so focused on the death of his best friend so much, he grew a migraine.

"S-Sasuke..." Tears once more well up in his eyes. It quickly slid down his face and splattered once touching the floor. "You just can't be gone... It's not real. W-Who's str-strong enough to take you down?"

~~~~~

Sakura repetitively switched positions on her bed. Her restless mind wouldn't quit replaying memories that she believed her and Sasuke shared. The times that he protected her while they were genin and still on team seven, the time he seemed concerned for her well being, the time she confessed her feelings. These were all being reflected by the girl.

As much as she didn't wanna believe it, her dear Sasuke had passed on. Nothing was going to bring him back. Not her love for him, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, or just anything. He was gone...

The kunoichi buried her face into her pillow.

"Sasuke!" She sobbed into it, "I can't believe you're gone!"

~~~~

A/N: Hey guys! Short and depressing chapter I know but I hope I didn't make it too heart-breaking... Chapter was actually pretty hard for me to write without feeling some type of way. Stay with me tho, this story has only just begun hehe. Plz let me know if you guys enjoyed this (or not *feels guilty*) and leave a vote :) LM...GFTL will be updated soon. thx 4 reading!!