Red Butterfly

Chapter 50, There's A Different Way To Die

"Along the blurry lines of fighting and surviving, two polar opposites were bound to fall in love, if it weren't for fate having other plans. In this farewell, all boundaries were bound to be broken..."

~A

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Four Years Later...

The wind howled and whisked around my face as I kept on a steady face. It was raining mercilessly like it always had, each raindrop cooling down my senses. I pushed away my drenched hair and kept a steady stare ahead of myself. My brows crease as I hesitantly walk up to the kneeling Kakashi.

For the past four years, he'd always come here for a visit. He'd buy flowers and roses from the Yamanaka's flower shop and leave them on Hanabi's gravestone.

I had my fair share of mourning these past four years, before I realized that no amount of tears can bring her back.

"Kakashi...", I say as I extended out a hand. He'd simply looked at my hand with indifference, but took it anyways. I helped him to his feet, as he faltered a bit.

"You know you're always keeping your students waiting", I remark and inspect his exposed eye for any kind of reaction. Kakashi had simply lowered his head in response and said, "I've been here since dawn, I must've lost track of time".

"You're seriously going to train your students under this harsh rain?", I ask a bit hesitant. He simply looks at me with his remarkable eye, his eye bag dark from his sleepless nights.

"I must teach them how to adhere to the harsh altering weathers", he monotonously said. I peer down at the gravestone, where a bouquet of eye-catching white tulips and marigold flowers were draped.

Kakashi's eye darts to my wrist, where the remarkable scar remains embedded there, reminding me of the Final Valley, more specifically, what happened there. I'll never forget the pain of the scar nor who caused it.

Kakashi inspects the vertical lines that run down my wrist with interest. He'd seen them first hand when he was dispatched with a search party to look for me, where he found me unconscious on the edge of the cliff on the border of the Land of Fire. Kakashi was about to inquire something when three standing figures caught our attention.

Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha.

"Older brother?", the now eleven-year-old Sasuke inquired, looking at Kakashi and I intently.

"Hey Kakashi sensei we've been waiting in this drenching rain for hours now, why didn't you show up?", the pink-haired Kunoichi from the Haruno clan complained.

"S-sorry", Kakashi attempted as he smiled.

From the corner of my eye, I spot the remarkable blonde hair and blue eyes of Naruto Uzumaki. My eyes widen as Hanabi's face flashes through my mind again, making my heart clench. Naruto is the only one who's looking down and dull.

Sakura leans in a bit to inspect the gravestone that has fresh flowers on.

"Huh?", she inquired as she scrutinized that carving on the stone, "Hanabi Namikaze?".

At the mention of her name I witnessed how Naruto immediately peered away with tearful eyes. Sasuke had noticed this too, but there was nothing he could do. He'd heard about Hanabi's death and he was sad, but her death affected us all in someway.

"Kakashi sensei who was that?", Sakura points at Hanabi's gravestone. When Kakashi seemed to be too unable to answer I sigh and answer, "She was an extraordinary shinobi from our village".