The Tales of Team Seven (Naruto Various x Reader)

32 - A Surprise Entrance

As soon as we arrived back in the village, we heard something that saddened us all and brought us back to reality. We had won our fight, perhaps, but Lord Hokage hadn't.

He was killed in battle, and not one person was able to break the barrier to help him.

For the next week or so, the people around the village were frantic, melancholy, and depressed. The adults were all stricter, and the younger children got scolded much more than usual.

The academy shut down for the next few days, until the funeral. This was the most grief-stricken part of it, because it would be like letting go of him. No one in the village wanted that. There was also the matter of getting a new Hokage put in charge, which was a very pressing and important thing that needed to be done as quickly as possible.

The entire village was present for Lord Hokage's funeral. No one was late, in fact, everyone came early. The clouds started to gather in the sky as we all made our way to the place of the funeral, and once there, the rain started.

The sky is weeping as well...

"We will begin the memorial service for the Third Hokage, who lost his life in this battle, as well as the other victims of this battle."

As everyone started to place flowers atop the casket, Konohamaru started to sob. Remembering the day I had lost my mother, and also remembering how close he was with his grandfather, I knelt down next to him and embraced him, leaving him crying on my shoulder.

Shinobi, in no situation, should show their emotion. I closed my eyes for a minute, waiting for my turn to bring a flower. It's almost like a secret vow that we've all committed to without communication–to never shed a tear in any situation.

I let go of Konohamaru once my turn came and went up in the line. As we got closer, my steps seemed to get shorter. Of course, like the rest of the village, I was one who had been helped by the Third Hokage more times than I should have been.

He had taken me in, from a completely different land, a different ninja village, which was pretty much against all rules. He had kept me and trained me, assigned me to a class in the ninja academy, then assigned me to a family that I grew to love.

Then, after everything went wrong, he offered to assign me to a whole new family, which I refused. Since I did, he then started to take care of anything me or Sasuke couldn't handle on our own.

Those were just the major things. If I would tell you really, honestly how many things he had done throughout the years and what they were, it would never end.

As I reached the casket, I glanced up at his picture and set a flower on it. I closed my eyes, thinking.

You'll never be forgotten. You lived an honorable life, and you died an honorable death. Everyone in this village loves you, and knows you, and will continue to tell your legacy even though you may not be with us anymore. We all have the Will of Fire in us, and it was you who taught us it. Picking a new leader will certainly be a vexing task.

I bowed and headed back to my original spot. I saw Naruto looking up at the face of the Hokage. I knelt next to Konohamaru again. He had stopped crying, but I felt like he would still need comfort for a long time.

"(Name)?" Naruto said softly, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear.

"Yeah." I said in a whisper, not even meaning to.