Unforgiven Sin

Naruto's funeral was an extremely long and sad one. The whole village gathered for it, regarding him as a hero as he should have been in the beginning. And the 25th shinobi rule was ignored for this event. Naruto would have wanted them to display their emotions. Many openly wept over the loss of Konoha's sunshine, a few of them wailing loudly over it; Konohamaru, Hinata, Neji, Lee, Gai, Ino, Sakura, Iruka, and even Ebisu to name a few.

The Kazekage, Subaku no Gaara, had put everything that dealt with his village aside to attend with his siblings. His normally impassive visage was fraught with sorrow, tears making small trails down his pale face as he said goodbye to his first and best friend.

Tsunade was gaunt and pale as she stood in her official Hokage gowns clutching the necklace she's given Naruto a long time ago. The damned thing was cursed, everyone who touched it was in for misfortune. She didn't have any tears left. All those she cared about, her most precious persons, were gone. Tsunade looked out over the sea of people who had gathered to say good bye to the Kyuubi vessel. She couldn't help but resent some of the villagers, standing here crying now when they never had a kind word to spare for Naruto when he was here. She swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped forward to do her duty.

Iruka, after taking a moment to compose himself, picked the small boy, Konohamaru, off the ground and cradled him in his arms trying to soothe him. Naruto had left too much behind, so many things unfinished, so many dreams broken. He glanced up with blurry chocolate colored eyes to watch the Hokage as she spoke.

Tsunade stepped forward and looked the crowd over with tired honey colored eyes. "Uzumaki Naruto was a resident of this village hidden in the leaves. He was born here, he grew up here, went to school and became a shinobi here. Yet most of you didn't know him. You didn't know what a kind, generous, brave person he was. How he could light up a room with his mere presence. Naruto was hardworking, ambitious, and talented." Tsunade had to stop to clear her throat as she thought of what they all had lost when they lost Naruto.

"Several of you only saw this kind young man as a demon, someone to be belittled and spit upon. Naruto was so much more than that. He was the son of a Hokage." She ignored the shocked gasps and whispers that spread through the crowd. "He also was this village's future Hokage, something he never got to know. After the fight with Pein and the dismantling of the old council he had been officially accepted as my successor." Again Tsunade had to stop. She saw all of Naruto's friends crying, Kiba was almost howling and even Akamaru looked like he was in mourning.

"Personally I will never get over this loss." Tsunade continued. "Naruto was like a little brother to me and he was the only reason I returned to this village to begin with, he was a true hero and he can never be replaced nor forgotten. Join me as we bow our heads and pay respect to one of the finest shinobi Konoha's ever had!" As the crowd bowed their heads Tsunade pulled the necklace in her fist and gathered chakra there until she could squeeze it to dust. She let the sparkling blue powder fly out of her hand and get caught in the wind, no one would ever wear that necklace again. Good Bye Gaki...I hope you're in a better place....You will be missed.

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The screams next to him he could drown out. The thrusting behind him, he could pretend that it was Kakashi just being rough with him. The cock in his mouth, one of Kakashi's clones. His hands being bound behind his freshly cut up back was just part of the bondage game that he imagined he and Kakashi had decided to do, in the back of his innermost mind. But the smell...the smell is what told him where he truly was. The smell of burning human flesh that made his stomach turn. Made him want to vomit.

He felt so dirty. The demons that were sexually assaulting him had came several times inside of him and on his body, the sticky residue drying on his skin. This was the 5th time in less than 3 hours they had taken him, and it seemed they would be stopping no time soon.

When they were done with him, he was unceremoniously tossed into a dark empty cell. Naked, dirty, and sick to his stomach he crawled over to the straw laid on the floor that served as his bed. His silver haired cell mate already rested on it. "S-Sakumo-san...are you asleep?"

Bloodshot dark, almost black, eyes opened slowly as if that simple movement caused the man great pain. With jerky movements he got up in a sitting position looking over his new cellmate. His heart bled for the young blond, the demons were always roughest with fresh meat. They reveled in the tainting of innocence and to see how far you could be pushed before you broke beyond repair. He was broken, had been even before he'd ended up here. He reached out a bone thin hand were the nails had been ripped off long ago to try and wipe some of the filth that was covering the blond away.

"Are you alright Naruto-kun?" Sakumo asked in a quiet gravelly voice, he hadn't used it for a long time until the blond showed up in his cell.

"Hai...I'll be alright..." He gave the man a sad smirk, "It's gonna take them a while to finally break me. If they manage to do it." He leaned forward to capture the older man's chapped lips with his own, a gentle yet longing kiss. This was their routine since the blond had arrived, after they had been tortured they would turn to each other for the tenderness and comfort of companionship.

Sakumo kissed back, tangling his hands in dirty golden strands to pull the other closer. Just the experience of a touch that wasn't out to hurt you made what they were doing precious. He caressed once smooth skin, flinching when he felt the gaping wounds on the blond's back caused by whips, claws, and teeth.

"We should try to clean these." He whispered before resting his forehead against Naruto's. "You shouldn't be in more pain than you have to." Again he caught the others lips in a longing bruising kiss. He'd do anything to escape the pain, if just for a while, and his cellmate was like a tiny ray of sunshine. Spreading its light in an otherwise darkened mind.

Naruto only pulled from the kiss to place small gentle and loving ones around the mans stubble face, "I need this first. We'll tend to my wounds after. Please Sakumo-san. Let's pretend for these few moments that we aren't here. Pretend that I'm your wife, and I'll pretend you're my lover. Just for these few moment's, please?"

Sakumo heard the blonds' pleading tone and gave in. He gathered Naruto in his scarred arms and pushed him down on the floor.

"This isn't a hard floor," He said. "It's a soft bed covered in silk sheets, the room is lit by candles turning you skin a wonderful shade of gold." He leaned down and kissed along Naruto's slender neck and down his chest until he caught a small pink nipple. He lavished it with attention making the smaller man moan before moving on to the other one. His fingers caressed every bit of skin he could find.

"Haaaah," Naruto panted as his flaccid member started to swell at the touches, a pink tongue running across his kiss bruised lips, as he panted out in a soft voice, "S-Sakumo...mmm..."

Sakumo went lower kissing the skin as he went. When he got to the navel he circled it with a wet tongue before thrusting in and out of it, mimicking what he would be doing with another body part soon enough. He relished in the moans the other man let out. He wanted Naruto to feel only pleasure. "Does it feel good Naru-kun? Where do you want my mouth next?" Sakumo asked huskily, looking down at the blond with hooded eyes.

"Ngh..." Naruto whimpered when the older man's ministrations stopped, and he glanced down with his cyan blue eyes alive with longing and passion for the man, "Anywhere, Everywhere, Sakumo-san. Your lips, your touches sanctify me."

Sakumo rose up again to catch those sweet lips with his own in a breathtaking kiss before moving down again. He wrapped one hand around the blond's member and tugged it a few times to bring it to full hardness before licking a line from base to top along the veins running down the shaft. He sucked on the head lightly enjoying the taste that invaded his mouth.

He kissed insides of Naruto's silky thighs before he took the cock in his mouth again and swallowed the blond completely down his throat until his nose rested in the soft golden curls above the member.

"Haaah....S-Sakumo..." the young blond moaned out, his hips bucking his throbbing member further into the warmth. "Sakumo-san...please...mmmm...let me taste you while you taste me. You're taste is sweet and I crave it."

Sakumo groaned just at the thought of having that sweet mouth wrapped around his aching cock. He shifted so that he rested over Naruto's stomach with his pelvis over his face as he went back to worship the flesh he had in his mouth. He swallowed around the shaft lodged in his throat a couple of times as he held the blonds' hips down with his hands to keep Naruto from bucking up and choking him.

The young blond made no hesitation to lovingly caress the testicles and place soft and tender kisses along the sides of the hard weeping shaft. He gently ran the tip of his tongue across the slit before taking the head into his mouth and let his pink muscle dance around every crevice before taking the length further in to his warm cavern.

Sakumo had to brace himself not to turn around and fuck the boy's face. That talented mouth felt so good that he was close to coming undone. He had to remind himself that Naruto's pleasure came first, this was about comforting the blond. He increased his suction around Naruto's member wanting to feel the blond release in his mouth. Sakumo placed a few fingers in his mouth alongside the cock already there, wetting them before trailing them beneath Naruto's soft balls and down to the rosy pucker hidden there.

The young boy moaned around the shaft in his mouth, his body automatically pressing down against the fingers nestled between his two firm globes. He pulled from the shaft momentarily to lick and nip at the pale scrotum hanging in front of his face. The man above him was as close to being with Kakashi as he could get, but even though he still loved his scarecrow, he was beginning to love this cloud as well.

Sakumo's whole body tensed when Naruto licked him with that pink soft tongue, his balls tightening up as they were licked, nipped and sucked. The silver haired man pushed one finger inside the blonds' slick tight entrance, his eyes almost rolling to the back of his head as his finger were sucked in. He moved the digit in and out slowly a few times before adding another finger and started a scissoring motion. Since Naruto had already been fucked not long ago he didn't need much stretching but Sakumo wanted to make sure that the blond wouldn't be in any pain when he took him.

"Come for me Sunshine." Sakumo whispered before sucking the cock into his mouth once more, letting his tongue dance all over the heated flesh.

Naruto let the sac which held the older man's seed free from his mouth. His lips parted slightly with a soft groan as the coil of orgasm began winding itself tighter and tighter around the base of his hard length. He gently tugged at the length in his face before taking it into his mouth again, swallowing so he could take it all the way to the base, his tongue stroking the vein on the underside of the shaft as the coil in his belly wound tighter and his scrotum began to tighten as well. Finally he could take no more and the coil inside of him released, and his seed spilled into Sakumo's mouth.

Sakumo let the hot seed splash against the back of his throat before he swallowed it down. Feeling the body under his shudder and spasm turned him on like nothing else. He was so hard it hurt, he needed to be inside that tight sweet ass...Now!

Regretfully he withdrew his cock from Naruto's hot mouth with an audible pop before he shifted so that he was resting between Naruto's firm legs. The head of his cock was pushing against Naruto's entrance and he leaned down to kiss the blond, savoring the taste of himself on the boy's lips.

"Are you ready for me to fuck you Sunshine?" He hissed out between clenched teeth as Sakumo tried to control himself and not just pound the blond through the floor.

"Hai, Hai...Make all this go away, make me feel alive again," The blond purred as he wrapped his legs around the older man's waist and his arms around his neck, his cyan eyes gazing up at the man with longing "and speak to me, tell me you love me. I need to hear it...please."

"I do love you Sunshine! You're my light in this world of pain." Sakumo said as he breached that tight ring of muscles and buried himself inside that velvety heat. "Uggghhhh...You feel so good, you fit so well around my cock!" Sakumo tried to hold still and give Naruto time to adjust but the feeling of being inside the young blond was so fantastic and he couldn't keep himself from thrusting.

Sakumo hoisted Naruto's tanned legs up on his shoulder to get a better angle to hit the boy's prostate.

With every deep strong thrust he whispered.

"I love you, I love you, I love you..." in the blonds' ear.

He wanted to be as deep as he could inside Naruto, so that they would be one. The tight grip of Naruto's canal around his cock felt amazing and he knew he wouldn't last long. Sakumo wrapped a hand around The blonds' reawakened arousal and jerked it in rhythm with his thrusts.

"I love you, I love you, I love...."

Naruto couldn't help but let the tears of relief roll down his whiskered cheeks at hearing those words. He answered Sakumo's 'I love you' with his own 'I love you'. He gazed into those deep obsidian eyes looking down on him with complete and utter emotion...he knew Sakumo loved him and he loved the man in return. And that's what kept him going. That was what kept the demons from breaking him. The love he had with Sakumo.

Seeing Naruto look up at him with those blue eyes filled with emotion and with a few more thrusts he came inside the blond shooting ribbons of hot come. He continued to press against the blonds' sweet spot and tug on his member until the boy came with him.

Losing all his strength he collapsed on top of the blond trying to get his heart rate back to normal. Sakumo managed to roll over so that the blond lay on top of him and he ran his fingers through sweaty golden locks.

"I love you Sunshine...I love you more than you can ever imagine." The voice was cracked and filled with raw emotion. This angel did not belong here and Sakumo didn't know how long he could watch them tear into him any more to see them taint him and rob him of his light.

"Now sleep Sunshine, I'll look after you...I promise." Sakumo said and held his Sunshine tighter.

Outside the pairs cell, Dispair had heard the whole thing, their thoughts traveling to his own as he searched their minds. The boy had also touched him as well with his unlimited amount of love that he shared with others. He knew the boy was comforting the older man, and his love for Sakumo was making the elder strong again. And it was love that kept the demons from breaking the blond. As long as he had love, he couldn't be broken.

The raven sighed as he watched the pair fall asleep in each others arms. The silver haired man was right. This angel didn't belong in Tartarus.

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Iruka hesitated before he walked into Ichiraku's and sat down on one of the chairs. He hadn't stepped foot inside the place since he and Sakura had found Naruto, he hadn't been able to. Today was a Thursday and when he was finished at the academy and on his way home this place had called to him. The gentle academy teacher remembered all the Thursday ramen dates that he and the blond had had. He missed the boy so much, everyday he woke up with an emptiness in his heart. Something important had been lost from Konoha together with Naruto. The spark that had made it seem like anything was possible wasn't there anymore. Life went on but it was a bit colder without the sunshine of Konoha to warm them all. Konohamaru had stopped his pranks and became a very serious boy, he never talked about becoming Hokage anymore and all he did do was train wanting to become the strongest.¨

Iruka smiled gently at Ayame as she placed a steaming bowl of miso ramen in front of him. As he took the first bite of the noodles the memories overwhelmed him and the doe eyed man had to fight to keep the tears at bay. When would this horrible ache stop? He wondered how Sakura was doing, he hadn't seen the young medic in a while and Naruto's death had hit her hardest. First one of her teammates willingly betrayed the village and left on his quest for power, then Kakashi died and lastly Naruto. Only Sakura was left from the original team 7 and Iruka's heart ached for her. He really hoped that she had someone she could talk to.

The teacher finished his ramen in silence and after paying stood up to go home to his dark silent apartment. Tomorrow was a new day, maybe the ache would have lessened then...Somehow Iruka doubted that.

Sakura slowly made the trek towards the Hokage tower. She no longer wore her pink and red ninja out fit, it was too cheerful for her now. Instead she wore the the normal chuunin issue uniform consisting of a navy blue long sleeve shirt, navy pants and her green flak jacket. She no longer had any desire to take care of her appearance, her hair looking as though she had just gotten out of bed though the circles under her eyes were tell-tale signs of lack of sleep. The fervor for life had died when Naruto had taken his life. She was merely existing now. The only reason she hadn't taken her own life was because it would have upset Naruto to know that her death had been because of him and that it had been meaningless. But she felt that the others on the Konoha 12 probably felt the same way as her.

As Iruka turned a corner on his way to his apartment he saw someone on the other side of the street walking in the direction of the Hokage tower. He had to look twice before he saw that it was Sakura. To put it bluntly the young medic looked terrible, her usually shine soft hair looked like a birds nest and the circles under her eyes could rival Gaara of Suna's. She had always been slender but now she was just skin and bones. Seeing her looking so tired and sad... something in Iruka shifted and he realized he wanted to make the girl feel better, to hold her until she felt safe. He crossed the street and hurried to catch up with her.

"Hey Sakura-chan." The chuunin called out.

Emerald eyes glanced up meeting chocolate browns. She stood stalk still for a moment, just staring into those sorrow filled brown eyes before she found her voice and could speak, "I-Iruka-sensei?"

"Where are going Sakura-chan, are you busy?" Iruka looked into those eyes that were greener and more clear than the first leaves of spring. She had really grown up to be lovely, he thought as his heart gave a tiny thump. The sorrow Iruka felt was mirrored in the others and suddenly Iruka knew that Sakura was the only one who could possibly understand how, and what, he was feeling.

"If you're not busy, would you like to join me for a cup of tea?" Iruka couldn't believe how nervous he sounded as he asked the simple question.

A soft hue of rose crossed the pinkette's pale cheeks, and she glanced at her reflection in a nearby store's window. She looked horrible! She knew that Iruka was only trying to be nice and comfort her, probably because he felt sorry for her. She did look like she had crawled from a grave. But still, he was dear to her and probably felt the same way she looked.

"Iie I'm not busy," She smiled softly, "I'd love to join you for tea."

Again Iruka felt surprised at how relieved he was that the pinkette had agreed. He didn't want to analyze these feelings to much because then he had to admit, if only to himself, that he was to old and worn for such a flower.

"Okay then, let's go and I'll put on the kettle." He gave her a gentle smile as he matched his steps with hers as they turned again and walked towards the teacher's home. "How have you been Sakura-chan?"

"I have my good days and bad days," She replied chewing her bottom lip, "You just managed to catch me on one of my bad days. I just...it's really hard...to believe that...he's gone..."

Iruka reached out and brushed rough knuckles across a smooth pale cheek. "I know what you mean, I have them too. The nights are worst though, dreaming a-about when we found him and sometimes I dream that he was still alive when we got there but because I hesitated to open the bathroom door he died before I could save him. I-it's eating me alive."

He didn't know why he'd told her about his recurring nightmares, he didn't want her to feel worse but there's was something about her that made him feel like he could open up and be honest.

Iruka saw that they were closing in on his apartment building and he felt relieved, he wanted to get away from the street and the pitying stares of the villagers around him.

She didn't know what came over her, but suddenly her diminutive hand was holding his and squeezing it reassuringly, "It's okay, Iruka-sensei. I sometimes have those dreams as well and I never sleep well at night anymore because of them. I'm here for you, and we can just be here for each other."

Iruka looked down at the small, slender hand holding his own and he felt a warmth spread through his body, a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe all wasn't lost after all. They reached his front door and Iruka unlocked it with fumbling fingers and then opening it.

"Welcome to my humble abode." He said, feeling nervous that the girl would think his home was too simple, too plain. "Please make yourself comfortable while I get the tea ready."

Sakura smiled gratefully as she walked into the apartment, glancing around at the surroundings. Everything was simple, only the things there that were necessary and some for comfort. It was perfect. The young kunoichi valued the simple things in life, she found out the hard way that wanting more doesn't make you happy. So the older chuunin's home was perfect, "It's wonderful, Iruka-sensei. It feels like home here."

Iruka felt a blush creeping up over his cheeks at Sakura's compliment and he hurried towards the small kitchen so that the girl wouldn't see how he behaved like a foolish teenager. "Please sit down and I'll come with the tea in a moment." He called over his shoulder.

When he got in to the kitchen he put the water on the stove and put the tealeaves in the pot. He had a throbbing headache so he reached up and tugged the hair tie out of his brown hair and let it fall freely around his face and shoulders. Iruka took two simple white teacups and placed them on a tray along with the teapot and some sweet dumplings. Now he only waited for the water to warm to the right temperature.

Sakura sat down on the couch in the living room, glancing around and taking everything in. She smiled wryly, it was no wonder that Naruto and Iruka were so close. Iruka made everything feel like family and home, a wonderful feeling. Her Inner Sakura screamed at her asking her why she had never stopped by there before. She shook her head. Because her world revolved around the Uchiha at the time...she was so pathetic. But now it didn't hurt as much anymore, she had grown out of the Uchiha that she had thought she was in love with. It was merely puppy love for the cold hearted male that she harbored, not real love.

And then she started to develop feelings for Naruto. They were more real, as close to true love as one could get. But at the realization that Naruto only loved her as a sister and nothing more, she had to let that go as well. But Iruka was different. This was someone she could truly grow to love more, because, to be honest, she already loved him. They had gotten rather close after Kakashi's death and even closer when Naruto had died.

Iruka poured the hot water over the tealeaves and placed the pot on the tray. He brushed some chocolate strands of hair behind his ear before lifting the tray up and returning to the living room.

He paused in the doorway as he saw Sakura sitting on his couch in the middle of the room, she looked like she belonged there on his couch, in his home. Iruka shook his head to clear it and smiled at the pinkette. "Here, tea is ready." He placed the tray on the low wooden table in front of the couch, placed a cup in front of Sakura and poured her tea. After making sure that the girl had everything she wanted from the tray, he sat down beside her and he could feel the heat of her body so close to his. He watched her elegant slender hands pick up the tea cup and lift it to soft pink lips and had to force himself to look away. He felt a bit awkward and unsure on what he should do next.

The young Kunoichi felt the older chuunin's stare, and blushed slightly, shyly averting her green eyes as she sipped the tea. With his hair down, the brunette was even more attractive and she found herself feeling butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. Indeed, sitting so close was awkward as she felt her inhibitions slowly slipping out of her grip. She sighed softly as she sat the cup down on the table and turned to him, "Iruka-sensei...do you think that maybe...Naruto...is in a better place?"

The teacher looked at her with wide eyes as he pondered her question. "I hope so Sakura-chan, I really do." Iruka didn't know if he should tell her what he knew about sin and that what Naruto had done was the ultimate one. Finally he decided that he wouldn't tell her something that would only hurt her more, the young medic had already been through so much. He couldn't lie to her either and so he decided not to say anymore on the subject. Again Iruka was met with the overwhelming urge to hold the kunoichi and he grabbed his teacup in a tighter hold to keep from doing so. "What team are you with now?" He asked in a hope to change the subject.

Sakura glanced over at Iruka with her brows furrowed at the way he suddenly changed the subject. This was something that needed to be discussed to get things off her chest. But she would answer the question, instead of ignoring it then go right back to the subject she had brought up, "I'm mainly doing things on my own now, until Tsunade-sama comes up with a good team to put me with. I have a lot of time on my hands so I've been going to the library. I read this book about death because I thought it would ease my mind about Naruto...and I found something really hard to swallow in it."

"Oh, so what did you find?" Iruka asked in a strangled voice. Why couldn't she let this go? He didn't want to tell her about the possibility that Naruto was suffering in hell. He found that he couldn't look directly at her now and he hated the fact. For some reason he didn't want to keep anything from her but he hated the fact of seeing her more hurt too. Bracing himself he turned to look at Sakura again and really listened to what she had to say.

"It said that suicide was a unforgivable sin, and that those who commit suicide are eternally damned," tears were starting to rim the pinkettes eyes, "Naruto doesn't deserved to be damned just because he was in love and he couldn't get over the loss of that love...he doesn't deserve to be damned."

Iruka wrapped one arm around around the teary eyed girl and pulled her close. "I know, Naruto is the last person that deserves to be in hell. I only hope that it isn't so and that he's happy together with Kakashi-san." He could hear the doubt in his own voice even as he spoke and he cursed himself for it.

"So did you read something more?"

"Hai...it told about the tortures of Tartarus..." The pinkette swallowed, "How the souls that go there are raped and humiliated, beaten and starved...an eternity of torture...And if Naruto..." She shook the tears from her eyes, "He's done so much good for the world...and one stupid sin would send him there to endure that? It's unreal...it's unfair."

Iruka felt his own eyes starting to tear up at the thought of his "little brother" having to suffer for all time like that. He couldn't even wrap his mind around it. "How can one mistake weigh more than a lifetime of caring for people and doing good?" He asked in a low tone. "What point is there to try and live life right if one slip up will damn your soul?" He held the pinkette tighter as it felt as if his heart would burst out of his chest. He couldn't live with the prospect that he would never see Naruto again, not even after death.

Sakura wrapped her arms around the man's waist snuggling into his chest as she let out a few soft sobs, "Since when does one evil outweigh a lifetime of good? Does death have to be as cruel as life?"

Iruka hugged Sakura's slender body and felt the sobs that wrecked through it. "I have no answers Sakura-chan, I wish I did. I wish there were some way we could find out for sure where Naruto is and if he's in Tartarus, I wish we could pull him out, save him." He drew a deep breath. "Unfortunately the only one's who know what happen after death are those already gone and they're not talking."

The kunoichi glanced up with shiny tear-filled emerald eyes looking into the chocolate browns of the chuunin teacher, "I wish we could go and save him...and bring him home to us...maybe even drag Kakashi-sensei back along with him so that they can be together with us."


"I wish that too." The academy sensei said as he looked at the slender young woman in his arms. She looked so frail and vulnerable in his arms and yet he knew that she was stronger than most people, both in mind and body. Her mere presence made his heart beat faster and to Iruka, Sakura was the only thing left that proved that there was still some good left in the world.

Sakura’s large emerald eyes were shining with tears and he couldn’t help himself. Iruka leaned down and covered those pink, soft lips with his own in a tender kiss.

TBC...