The funeral for the Third Hokage was a village wide event. Only the hospital staff and patients didn't attend. I had a front row seat with all the gennin that helped stop Gaara. It was a huge event, even bigger than the Chunin Exams final tournament. Many people cried, not wanting to believe it to be true, not wanting to believe that the pillar of strength they could always rely on is dead.
I am not one of them. My tears are for my family and Sakura.
After the funeral for the Third Hokage, there is a quick speech from the village elders thanking every shinobi who died for their village. They also mention how sad and terrible it is that civilians died from being caught up in shinobi affairs. That's it. A quick three minute speech to remember the civilians. My parents. And the event is over. We're expected to move on, to go back to our duties. I don't know if I can.
I approach my parents spot on the casket line. Namika Mar, Fujita Mar. I'll never see them again.
"That's him? That's the one that stopped the sand beast?" Someone whispers from behind me.
"I heard he ripped a Suna shinobi to pieces. Do you think that's true?"
"Didn't he save a bunch of gennin? He was in the booth with them when the invasion started, I saw a shinobi go in there. Do you think he killed him too?"
"Excuse me, I know this is a bad time, but are you Alvarcus Mar?"
I turn around at the sound of my name. It's a woman talking to me. One with the Nara symbol sewn into her clothes.
"I am." Go away. I want to be left alone.
"I'm Yoshino Nara. I wanted to thank you. You saved my son." Shikamaru's mother. That's who this is, and she's thanking me.
"You're welcome." The words feel hollow.
I turn back to my parents. She doesn't leave.
"If you need anything, you only need to ask. The Naras owe you a debt. You saved our heir."
"I did what anyone would do." Just go away.
"That may be true, but you're the one who did it. There is a debt. I'll leave you to mourn." She walks away.
The murmurs start back up.
"That's Alvarcus Mar, he's the gennin that all those stories are about. What's he doing here?"
"Didn't you know? He saved so many people, but he couldn't save his parents. That's who is in those caskets."
"Oh. Poor kid, no one should have to go through that."
"It's even worse than that, I heard he watched it happen."
"Really? I couldn't imagine that."
"You have my thanks, young one." A deep male voice says. I glance over my shoulder to see a very tall Aburame. "You saved our clan heir."
"No. I merely assisted." I insist.
"Shino believes he would have perished if you did not arrive. I trust my son. You saved him."
"Shikamaru helped. It wasn't just me."
"I'm going to him next. The clan has decided that we owe you a debt. Ask, and you shall receive."
"It would be nice if the people around me WOULD STOP TALKING ABOUT ME!" I yell, more for the bystanders than the Aburame. "I want to be alone. I don't want to talk to you anymore. Not today."
"Of course." The Aburame man bows his head to me. "My name is Shibi Aburame. If you require aide, come find me in my clan compound." He leaves.
I stand looking at my parents coffins. Few people approach me after my outburst. Most thank me for helping someone close to them. Others merely ask if the stories about me are true. A select few stand next to me and pay respects to my parents. Those are the people I respect.
"Alvarcus. Let's go back to my house." Sasuke says. "You've been here for hours. It's time to go."
"You're right. I know you are, but I still don't want to go." If I leave, then it is final. They're gone, I'll never see them again.
"Come on." He places a hand on my shoulder. "I want to say the first day is the hardest and that it gets easier with time. It doesn't, the pain never truly goes away. But staying here won't achieve anything. What would make them happy? What would make them proud of you?"
I think it over. "To achieve my dream. Even if they didn't want me to be a shinobi, they would be happy I succeeded."
"Then do it. Don't wallow in self pity, don't waste away into nothing. Make them proud!"
I wipe my face dry. I didn't know I was crying again.
"I will. I'll need your help. S-rank isn't easy to obtain."
Sasuke smirks. "Please. You think I'd settle for less? If you're going to do it, I won't have a problem with it."
"Alright hotshot. Let's go." We leave my family behind. "First thing is first, we need to get a higher rank. Oh Kami, what if we didn't pass? We might have to do the Chunin Exams again! I don't know if my heart can take the stress!"
Sasuke snorts. "You have spares."
...
The Next Morning, Sasuke's Kitchen
I'm sipping on a glass of milk when Sasuke walks in with a big yawn. His hair is still disheveled from sleeping and he's wearing a very flattering pair of gray pajamas with a ridiculous amount of blue jays flying around on it. I'm totally going to tease him about this later.
"You didn't sleep at all did you?" Sasuke asks me once he is done yawning.
"No. Not one wink."
"That's the second day in a row. You're going to have to sleep eventually, even you can't go on like this forever." He rummages through his cupboard and pulls out a breakfast bar. "Want one?"
"I'm good, thanks."
Our conversation dies off as he eats and I finish my drink. There's really not much to talk about.
"So. What's the plan for today?" He asks me.
"We can check in with the missions department. Maybe they'll have something, probably cleaning up around the village." I'm okay with that, I could use some hard labor to distract me for a few hours.
"Works for me. We'll go once I get ready." He tosses the wrapper into the trash can and goes back to his bedroom.
"Really wish I had a camera. Those pajamas were ridiculous."
...
Mission Department, Hokage Tower
"Wow this place is busy." Sasuke shouts over the ambient noise of people working. "I've never seen it this packed before."
"Well everyone wants to help out. I'd wager Konoha will focus more on patching itself up more than sending us out on real missions for the next day or two. We need to look presentable to foreign clients."
"Fair point. But do we really have to wait through that line?" He points to a long line of waiting shinobi. There's at least twenty people waiting to get a mission.
"I hope not. That would really suck."
"... We could just train for a day?"
"What do you mean I can't take the mission alone!" Naruto's voice cuts through the air. That kid is loud.
"You're a gennin. Gennin can't do solo missions. Get a team and come back." The chunin he's arguing with dismisses him with a wave.
I look at Sasuke. He shrugs. Good enough for me.
I walk over to stand next to Naruto. "He's not alone. We're his teammates. Alvarcus Mar and Sasuke Uchiha reporting for duty with Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto is shocked out of talking. I didn't think this would surprise him that much.
"Why didn't you say you had a team?" The chunin throws the scroll to Naruto who catches it reflexively. "Waste my time why don't you. NEXT!"
Sasuke and I start walking out of the missions department. "So what mission are we doing?" Sasuke asks.
There's no reply.
I look over my shoulder. "Uh... Naruto? You coming?" He's still standing in the same spot.
"Oh right! Yeah let's go!" He rushes to catch up to us.
...
"I think I hate you." Sasuke says in a serious tone. "Out of all the missions you picked this one?"
"It sounded like the most fun! It said search and retrieval!" Naruto defensively says. "How was I supposed to know it meant this?"
"Eh, it wasn't that bad." I casually mention as I pet the feline in my arms.
"That's because you're not covered in scratches!" Naruto points at me. "Why aren't you covered in scratches?"
"Tora loves him. No one knows why." Sasuke says while tenderly touching the new red lines on his forearms.
That's right everyone, the mission Naruto picked was to catch Tora.
"I still can't believe it took three hours to find a stupid cat." Naruto mumbles to himself. "I hope we set a record or something."
"I think we did." I turn to the purring cat in my arms. "Whose a cute little kitty? You are! Aww you're so precious!"
"Really?" Naruto asks with hope in his voice.
"Yeah." Sasuke blandly says. "It's a new personal record for Alvarcus and I. We've never taken this long to get her before."
"This day just gets better and better." Naruto mumbles to himself. "Let's drop the cat off and leave."
"Sure thing 'boss.'" I sass him.