Here's the epilogue! Hope you enjoy! Not much to say here...I'm eager for your reviews!! xD;

Broken Glass-

Epilogue

If there was ever a more desolate day in any of their lives, they were hard-pressed to think of it. Nothing came close to even brushing the surface of the deep agony they felt. Nothing prepared them for what they would see as soon as they walked through those doors. Nothing prepared them for the suffocating hurt.

Gaara kept crying; he cried hard--the tears came without end. Temari and Kakuro were at his side, protecting him from the world. His hand clutched Sasuke's, but the latter was of no comfort to him.

Sasuke's eyes were fixed on the casket where his brother lied. He wondered vaguely what was going on; how could the world still be turning? He was aware of movement all around him. His father sat on his left, Kakashi on his right. Both never made any move to get up; they would stay with him, one on either side, being his protection, his shelter from the outside world. Somewhere, Sasuke realized that Iruka would probably like very much to at least gaze one last time at the boy that would always mean the world to him. He knew he was always going to be second-best in his father's heart, but he didn't mind.

His brother had meant the world to him, as well.

He was aware of the pain that filled the room; the overwhelming pain that left him wanting to cry and cry and cry. He wished he had the courage to cry. So many others around him were sobbing openly, weeping into each other's arms. They kept sobbing his brother's name, voices catching and breaking. He knew that if he took his eyes off that coffin, he would see nothing but heartbreak and tears. He knew that if he saw that, there would be little from stopping his carefully, painstakingly constructed walls and barriers to come crashing down in an instant, dissolving so easily it was as though they were never there.

Why did so much of his life seem bleak and unimportant?

He wouldn't be able to walk down the hall, into his bedroom without thinking of him. He wouldn't be able to sit down in class without having to stop himself from glancing over and realizing the desk next to his was empty. He wouldn't be able to sleep at night, knowing that should he wake up, there would be no kind voice to chase away the nightmares. He wouldn't be able to go into that little pub down the street for whatever reason, because he knew that he would be waiting for that smile, for that cheer and the cry of, "Come on, Sasuke!"

He would never see his brother again. He knew that, and it hurt. It hurt so much he couldn't breathe. His lungs labored, his heart flailed. His body seemed to be on the brink of a major break-down. His vision was almost gray; he could see nothing but what was right in front of him--the casket. And no one seemed to want to go near it; because what it held was the only evidence of the world that their hearts were truly breaking.

He'd never understood that phrase before; could a heart truly break? He'd scoffed at those words; "A heart can't break! Even if it was physically possible, no one could ever be that upset about something." He remembered saying it with Naruto at his side, the blond reading what Sasuke had read over the former Uchiha's shoulder. Sasuke remembered waiting for the blue-eyed boy to start laughing with him and agree; he remembered Naruto's thoughtful expression, his questioning eyes and his soft, "I guess."

Did he know? Did he believe even then, so long ago, that one could truly experience a pain the likes of which could render one breathless? He had to have known.

I think this is how that author felt. Sasuke's hand crept up to grip the front of his shirt in a tight fist. I think this is what he was describing. He wanted desperately to cry. It hurts so bad... He stood. slipping his hand out of Gaara's. He walked slowly to the casket, gazing down upon his brother's still face. Curled up on his chest was Kyuubi; the fox had died at the same instant Naruto had--they were together even in death. Someone whose job it was to work with the corpse had arranged one of Naruto's hands to be resting on the fox. It was eerie--he'd slept like that a lot. Sasuke reached down and stroked the blond hair back from his little brother's face, feeling his eyes burn.

Why? Why couldn't you have told someone that you were still sick? Your organs were failing, Naruto--your body was shutting down. Why didn't you say anything? You could have said something--you could have let dad know at least. Dad. Sasuke risked a glance back and felt what little was left of his world fall away; Iruka was outright crying now that Sasuke had gone, face hidden in his hands, and Kakashi had an arm around him, head bowed to hide his expression.

He turned away again to save himself from seeing that for even a second longer, to look upon his brother once more. "You were always there for me," he found himself whispering, reaching a hand down to stroke his brother's hair. "I took you for granted, didn't I? I don't know what I'll do now--I don't know whose left..."

"You're an ungrateful little bastard." Sasuke glanced up in surprise, shocked to see Hiro standing over him. "You think you're alone?" Hiro jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "All of the people in this room care about you, and want to see you happy. They know you're suffering, and it hurts them all the more. They're in just as much pain as you are because of that."

Sasuke shut his eyes for a moment, then opened them again; his gaze swept over the crowd. All his friends were there, and all of them--all of them--were crying. He realized suddenly how many people had crowded into the small room; his classmates, his father and Kakashi, Kurenai Ms. Tsunade, Old Man Jiraiya, Cook, Temari, Kankuro, Hiro and Temujin, several children Naruto had known, all of his friends' parents, several doctors and nurses from the hospital...

Blinking because his eyes burned suddenly, Sasuke glanced over in time to see the purple-eyed boy lean over the coffin and gently touch Naruto's face with careful fingers. "This kid..." Hiro said softly, "...he knew about that. He was always smiling, even when he was close to death, because he knew it would hurt his loved ones to see him suffering." The violet eyes pinned Sasuke with an unforgiving stare. "And unlike you, he never once thought he was alone--because he trusted his friends. He trusted us enough to share his smiles with us." Sasuke knew what he meant; there was nothing more precious in the world than Naruto's smile.

Suddenly, Hiro's gaze grew distant, and his expression hurt and lost. "You weren't supposed to die, kid. You were so little." He rested his forehead against the rim of the casket for a moment, not trusting himself to speak. Sasuke remained silent, feeling, somehow, out of place. Hiro must have remembered he was there, because he spoke again.

"He didn't hide his tears because he didn't trust us--rather because he wanted to protect us from his pain." Hiro leaned down and kissed the boy's forehead, before pulling back and turning away; his final farewell. Sasuke had the feeling he'd turned to hide his face; was the older boy crying? Is he protecting me from his pain? "You'd do well to take a leaf out of his book. Naruto was someone you could learn from."

Sasuke felt his world spiral as the dark-haired boy turned away. Everyone had avoided saying his name; everything connected to it laid dormant in Sasuke's heart.

"Hey! Sasuke! Let's be pals, 'kay?"

“Okay, Naruto. You’ll be okay.”

“I was scared.”

"Sasuke, you never answered my question."

"I'll never leave again. I'm sorry."

"He was always alone--like us, Sasuke."

"I can't really explain what love is. It's a feeling that can't really be described with words."

"Family's got to stick together."

"Did you really thing I'd die from something like this?"

He collapsed to the ground, sobbing heavily into his knees. Everything was clamoring around inside his head, and he couldn't sort through it. Naruto's voice was loud inside his mind; his eyes were bright and his laugh was light.

And suddenly, thinking about him didn't seem to hurt so much. He started thinking of all the times they'd shared together, from that moment in the hospital, down to Naruto's dying breath. Naruto hadn't always smiled; there were times when he was downright angsty, but that made his smiles so much more real--none of his smiles had ever been fake. Forced, maybe, but never fake. When he smiled, it was always from the heart; a smile to make himself stronger. A smile to remind himself that as long as he could smile, there was nothing that could ever touch him.

Everything will be okay, as long as people can just smile and let it go. Smile and nod, cheerfully agree, not upset the balance.

Sasuke realized with a start how disappointed Naruto would be in him--and for several reasons. He'd wallowed in survivor's guilt and self-pity for long enough; he stood slowly, feeling the heavy weight of all his responsibilities settle on his shoulders. He glanced briefly at Naruto--no, at Naruto's corpse; the real Naruto was someplace different with his fox--a place where it rained a lot, where Naruto could go barefoot, and run and run and run without a care--for real this time--in the world.

Sasuke's eyes lifted to the ceiling. "Naruto," he said quietly. "I'm sorry. I'll do better this time." And he turned. He was met with his sobbing companions; and suddenly he could understand Hiro's anger with him. But first things first, he sought out the sobbing Gaara, and lifted him into his arms. He shhhhed him for a moment, before looking out over the room. "OY!" he shouted, "all of you! Shut the hell up and listen to me!"

And it had to have been the utter surprise and relief to be back in routine that they all subconsciously felt that made a hush fall over the room.

"Naruto's dead," Sasuke said quietly. He felt the tears in his eyes and ignored them. Gaara rested his head against Sasuke's shoulder, and the raven-haired felt the strength to continue, "We all know that. Tears won't bring him back." He stopped, choking back sobs so he wouldn't be a hypocrite. Be strong. Naruto's voice rushed through him, soothing him. I'm here. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, be he sure as hell wasn't going to question the courage the phantom whisper gave him. He clenched his fists. "He's gone for now--but we'll see him again!" Gaara smiled at his words now; he didn't know exactly what they meant, but they made him feel better. "I'm sure he's waiting for us! He wouldn't go anywhere without us, you know that! But before we see him again, we've got to make sure we live up to our promise." He saw the confusion in his audience's eyes and felt triumph; they'd quit crying for the most part. "When we agreed to be his friend, we were promising loyalty and faith to him...I'm sure he's crying."

Instantly, everyone's eyes flickered up to the ceiling. Sasuke continued, "I don't want to cause him any more pain, now that he's up there." Because if anyone deserves Heaven, it's Naruto. "So let's do our best to live the way he'd want us to live." Sasuke fell silent, waiting for a response.

It came from Hiro, who lounged against a wall with a smirk. "You mean with a good dose of kicking-assness in our daily lives?" He startled a laugh from the majority of the room.

"Sorry, man!" Kiba was shouting now, rubbing his face with a sleeve. "Dude, I didn't mean it!" And everyone too was laughing, and wiping the tears from their eyes, and claiming they'd never cry over his death again because he'd probably come back to haunt them if they did. And then suddenly they were near tears again, because Naruto was so selfless, even in death.

"How dismal," the funeral director, who'd been quiet up till now said. Everyone turned at the sound of his voice. "Rain," he said, gesturing out the large window. "The angels must be weeping."

Rain.

"But the sun was shining a moment ago," Neji's mother said, looking astounded. An awed silence fell over the room; and then Temujin was on his feet and out the door. Sasuke was hot on his heels, dragging Gaara with him. He couldn't get out the doors fast enough; he rushed outside and turned his gaze to the sky to feel the rain on his face.

--

"Pretty big storm, soon."

"Naruto said he likes rain."

Iruka chuckled. "A storm is to him as a lullaby to an infant."

--

The rain fell lightly from light gray clouds. Temujin and Sasuke stood together in the rain, a deeper understanding then they could've ever believed possible flowing between them. Back inside, the rest of class 302 as well as Hiro's gang was clamoring to get outside. Everything was a roar of confusion; Hiro sat serenely in the window, letting the rain fall onto him from the awning. "This is your goodbye, isn't it, buddy?" he said softly. "This is your farewell."

Everytime it rained from that moment onward, from a light sprinkle to a heavy downpour, they were reminded of the one who'd left them behind. No matter what they were doing, a scarred grin would surface in their minds and they would stop their tasks and smile, and usually have to trot out into the rain to sit and be with him. Every year on the day of his death, they would come from miles around to gather together and celebrate his life at his grave. It was usually a big party; the cemetery was never more alive. And every year, without fail, when the last of their group arrived and they were together again and whole, a light drizzle would begin to fall; a warm rain that left them smiling. When the party died down, they'd sit together under their umbrellas and just be silent, listening to the pattering on the leaves and ground and tombstones and sidewalk.

And they would be relieved and content and at peace--because he was with them in the rain.

Owari

A/N: All I can say is thank you thank you thank you! You guys have been great from the start; I couldn't ask for better readers! In fact, if I remember correctly, I think I've only gotten one real flame for this story, and even then, it wasn't just a mindless bashing of my intellect. You were all really patient, and I'm very grateful! E3 I'll miss you!

(Btw, Kyuubi was pushing ten years old. -.- Twasn't a young little foxit anymore.)