Naruto : Uchiha : Chapter 60

"Mito-sama!" the whirlpool heiress heard a shout, pursing her lips she kept the cup of her evening tea aside.

No doubt she wasn't amused at being disturbed in such an uncouth manner during her relaxation times as was evident by her thinly pursed lips that refused to give away her emotions to no one, whatsoever.

She arched an eyebrow when she placed her palms upon her thighs to get up, only for the uncalled guest to come running into the backyard as if the Shinigami himself had placed a hit upon his very soul.

He was a chunin, his vest and the way he puffed as if he had run down a million miles gave that away quite easily to her.

"Yes…" her melodic voice asked the man, who panted and looked at her hurriedly.

"My lady, you must make haste…" her eyebrow arched even further up at his words. "…you're needed at the hospital." he got out in heavy breaths while the woman in question sighed.

So much for some down time…

Oh well, they only called upon her help when the case was out of everyone's abilities, which was once in a blue moon by the way.

Having been trained a lot in the medical arts in her younger days, and having been the wife of the man whose prowess in the field was still unrivaled, she had picked upon a lot of skills that most would give a couple of their limbs for in exchange for the plentiful knowledge she possessed.

"Alright, then just let me go and get changed…" she got out and stood up, going to walk in to get out of her loose robes she usually wore in the house in exchange for one of her formal kimonos. It was unbecoming of her status to look this way in front of anyone.

Her hands picked up the cup and the plate holding her snacks to tuck them in the kitchen while the man looked ready to chew his way out of his lips in a few more seconds out of pure anxiety and nervousness.

Her soft steps echoed throughout the silent estates when the chunin finally decided to say the dreaded words he had been avoiding all along.

"My lady please hurry…" her eyes turned sharply to the man who gulped at feeling her dangerous stare eating away at his very soul each passing moment. "…it's Lord Hokage." he whispered dreadfully and a sharp sound resounded all around the house.

CLINK…CLINK…

The crockery in her grip fell down and shattered into countless pieces while the temperature of the area dropped a couple of degrees.

She gulped down a thick choke, hoping for all the heavens in the world what she had just heard had been a mistake on her part.

"What?" she asked, her stomach having lost it's appetite in but a moment while the chunin's gaze traveled down shamefully to the ground.

"It's Tobirama-sama my lady, he and Sasuke-sama…" his voice trailed off when he looked up, only to see he had been speaking the last word to no one but thin air and lifeless walls.

Mito was already on her way, making straight for only one place that was on her mind right now.

Konoha Hospital…

...

With the events of the previous day unknown to everyone but a select few who were considered worthy enough to be disclosed with such privy information..

Even so, the village still held a solemn air within it's usually bright midst.

The reason being the news that had spread like wildfire among the entire population of the village hidden in the leaves.

The substantial news being - the untimely death of the head family of Konoha's most influential and powerful clan.

...

Konoha Memorial Grounds

Almost the whole village, that is the shinobi half who had been allowed to step in here had turned up and gathered for the funeral proceedings that were to take place in a few moments and offer their condolences to the duly deceased.

The remaining Senju head family, consisting of just Mito, Tsunade, and a little Nawaki clutched in Mito's arms stood up front with the few remaining members of their clan behind them.

Naruto, along with Duy and Sakumo stood aside and quite surprisingly had chosen to be with his friends rather than his clan as was the custom followed throughout the decades.

"Naruto…" Sakumo whispered in a hushed tone, his head held down in respect while the blonde paid rapt attention to his friend all the while glancing at the front worriedly every now and then.

"Sensei isn't here." he whispered, getting a small nod from the blonde who had noticed it as well.

"Tobirama Ji-chan isn't here as well…" the blonde whispered his own musings, and Sakumo nodded already having seen the missing Senju clan head from the get go.

That was the strangest part, Tobirama himself not attending was really bugging the blonde quite a bit. Something big must have happened for their sensei and the Hokage himself being absent from such an important gathering.

He had rushed almost instantly after scouring out a traditional jet black kimono to wear as soon as he had heard the news with Sakumo being his messenger.

They all turned silent when Hiruzen walked up front to be the one who had volunteered to be the one who would pass out some last words for the fallen family.

"Today we are all gathered here for the grievances of some people we all loved and cherished with all our hearts…" his gravely sad voice rang in the empty grounds, while each head bowed down a little in respect for the two coffins in front of them that held the two lifeless bodies within it's cold confines.

"Today the earth had two gentle souls less,

While the heavens hold two more.

Deep within each of our hearts their memory is kept,

Of ones we loved and whom we shall never forget.

Their lives a beautiful memory,

their absence is a silent grief…"

Mito clutched the little boy held protectively in her arms even tighter while doing all that she could to keep herself composed for her little children.

In that moment she knew no mother should go through with the curse of having to bury her own children with her hands while she lived on with the weight of their deaths laid upon her shoulders.

She didn't even have the courage to be the one to speak those last words she was hearing just now.

A mother just couldn't say those dreaded words no matter how hard she might try…

Naruto himself bowed his head deeply to hide the tears prickling in the corner of his eyes from everyone, while the words being spoken stung a deep cord in his heart. A million questions passed his mind in a split second, none of which had any positive answer whatsoever.

Hiruzen continued on after taking a deep composing breath.

"Time may pass and fade away,

But the memories of these kind souls shall always stay.

A cluster of memories sprinkled with tears,

We wish Kami had spared our loved ones a few more years."

The held back tears in most eyes were becoming harder to hold back with each word that passed Hiruzen's lips.

But a small voice broke the small bout of silence, his words doing enough to break most of the dams that were holding back a flood of emotions in their hearts.

"Baa-chan, why aren't Tou-san and Kaa-chan speaking?" a simple question rang in the grounds from underneath Mito's arms and for the life of her, she didn't have the heart to answer it.

Even Hiruzen stopped and gulped down a choke upon hearing the soft voice that had voiced an innocent question, which received promptly no answer from anyone.

Mito merely hid the little three-year-old boy's face in her neck and gave a small nod to Hiruzen to let him continue with the proceedings as was the custom.

After a gentle clearing of his throat, he continued on with his final passing words.

"Partings come and hearts are broken,

Loved ones go with words unspoken.

Never selfish, always loving and kind,

These are memories you leave behind.

Ours is just a simple prayer,

May Kami bless you and keep you in her care."

The younger Sarutobi stepped down from the stage and one by one, each person started coming up and placing down their white camellias in between the pedestal held by the two open coffins with their portraits held in between along with the headstones that were to be placed by their grave-sites in a few moments.

One by one, every person attending the funeral started placing their flowers and offering a last prayer to the two fallen souls with the Senju head family being held back for last.

Naruto stood beside the coffins for a second, his eyes bleeding crimson out of everyone's eyesight to etch the memory of this scene deep within the recesses of his mind permanently.

He kept the flowers and walked away without doing the formality of saying a small prayer like everyone had done before him.

It would only belittle the memories he had of the two in his mind right now. It would give him a reason to move on and forget them, and that was something which was completely unacceptable to him.

Mito gave a small shake of her head to Hiruzen, letting him know she wasn't in any state to go near the cold corpses of her children even for a second.

She knew she would break down if she so much as even glanced at their pale and colorless faces for even a moment.

Nawaki forced his way out of her hug and looked on towards the coffins that were being readied to be closed any moment now. But his innocent mind still craved for answers that he wasn't getting right now.

"Baa-chan why won't they speak?" once more he voiced his question out loud. The four Senju clan members stopping momentarily when they were going to pick up the final lid of the coffins with the Senju clan insignia embossed upon them as soon as his soft voice rang in the clearings once again.

...

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