Shini Kaketeiru Hikari

Note: This is based in the Naruto world, a few years after the events in Shippuden.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Thunder and lightning roamed across the Land of Water. Waves were clashing violently against the shores and the mist was just about starting to dissipate. Bells could be heard through the misty village, yet everyone was moving around, minding their own business. Most were acting as nothing had happened... acting as if Shou Makoto was still alive.

When he wasn't.

The great man, once a fierce Mizukage... possibly the most fierce of them all... had finally met his end. Lying in a cold coffin, buried up the hills, along with the other Mizukages before him.

No one was visiting him... no one could say they cared. Just one man. The same man that was at the funeral. Teshime Hara, his most promising student, his brother in arms and... his friend, even if Makoto wouldn't have admitted it. Looking down at newly dug grave, Hara sighed. He couldn't believe Makoto was actually dead. The man who he once thought to be indestructible... was after all, just a man.

And he died like a man. Fighting for what he believed and what he wanted to protect, even if everyone thought he was just a selfish bastard. But few people got to know Makoto for what he truly was: a man, perhaps too afraid to show his emotions, but not afraid to do anything to protect his village.

Fate does have its own twist of irony. Makoto dying to protect those he would've killed in the blink of an eye just a few months ago.

~I hope you will be happy where you are now, Sensei...~ Hara thought, seeing Makoto's coffin being lowered into the ground. The priest kept saying the proper prayers, to rest his soul. Many people didn't believe he had a soul to put to rest.  When the ground had covered the hole and the tombstone was placed, Hara closed his eyes.

Tears were streaming down his face. No matter how hard and cruel he was in the past, he was still the first person to accept Hara. He couldn't deny that he was ruthless in training, but people never met him for what he was, just what he appeared to be.

"Why did you have to go... we could've saved you... you didn't have to die like this..." Hara said, staring at the tombstone. He then looked around. No one was there. Not even the ones he saved.

"You did this to yourself, Makoto... You pushed them all away, you made them all think you were the worst man alive. Why, Makoto?" the young man asked, but with no reply. Even if he tried to hold it in, he couldn't. Hara dropped to his knees and cried, as soon as the priest had left. And it was only him... and his sensei.

"You were a fool, Makoto! Pushing the ones that cared for you away!" Hara yelled, tears streaming down his face and onto the hard ground. "You were so damned arrogant and stubborn! Never listening to a word I said! Never taking my advice! and look where you ended up!"

Thunders and lightning clashed and clouds broke apart. A massive rain started pouring down on Kirigakure.

"You are so selfish! Leaving behind all the people that care for you! Everyone! What good did it do now? It ended a war. Like that matters to me! I would've gladly left the war continue just to keep you alive!" Hara kept shouting at the tombstone, the only reply being the ripples the rain made in the nearby lake.

Shou Makoto - Mizukage of Kirigakure. Died saving the village and you will always be remembered the tombstone said. Hara wanted everyone to know that. That he wasn't the selfish man they all thought he was. His village was what he loved. The place he grew up in. The place... that gave his life a meaning.

Hara found the strength to get up. He would continue Makoto's work, keeping the village safe and strong. The weight of the task hung on his shoulders, as much as the blue Mizukage cloak hung from his back. He never asked for this... being the new Mizukage... but it was what Makoto wanted. And that was all he wanted to do: keep Makoto's legacy alive and make sure people knew him as he really was.

"I guess... this is goodbye then, Sensei" Hara said, bowing towards the tombstone. "It was an honor to serve under you. I will not let you down."