Chapter 1 : Good Night
I don't own Naruto.
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"Itachi-nii…"
A raven-haired teen stopped in his tracks, his hand on the door. He let out a sigh and the boy hiding around the corner smiled. The sigh was their language. It meant that he was considering if the younger boy could come along.
"Ano sa…" The young boy looked at the ground and then fidgeted with his hands. Itachi had to smile. His little brother was wearing slightly traditional Uchiha clothes, probably persuaded by their mother; Blue shorts that were just above his knee and a khaki shirt with a slit on the collar, held together by string. The Uchiha emblem adorned his back.
"Kaa-san did that?" He smirked.
"Oto-san." Sasuke corrected. He looked up at his brother, begging with his eyes to be taken away from that place where their parents wanted to use him as a dress up doll.
"Kaa-san wants to find out if my festival clothes fit. I know they do, so please…" He trailed off. Itachi smiled at the seven-year-old boy and nodded, "Hayaku."
Sasuke beamed and slipped on a pair of sandals, quickly following his brother out the door.
"Aniki, chotto matte, kudasai." He called. Itachi paused, a little annoyed at having been told to wait, and said "Sasuke." Ignoring the annoyance in his brother's voice, Sasuke latched on firmly onto Itachi's arm, hugging it to his chest. Sasuke smiled at Itachi's sigh.
"I have to practice my shuriken exercises, so this time, please stay in the same spot."
Sasuke rubbed the back of his head and smiled, a blush adorning his face, "Gomen, aniki, But that was too cool!" The boy flailed his arms out for emphasis.
"You started school." Itachi said, "How is that going?"
Sasuke smiled and enthusiastically waved his hands, just as any kid would do, "It's a lot of fun! I do great in all my studies and people say I'm cool and stuff!" He beamed again. Itachi had to smile and asked, "Well, have you made friends?"
Sasuke's arms dropped and he said, "People tend to avoid me for some reason. The girls bug me a lot though."
Itachi let out a laugh, steering them off to the right, "What do you do then?"
Sasuke scowled, "This." Itachi pat the boy on the head, "If you do that, no wonder people avoid you."
"So have you made a friend?" He asked again. Sasuke paused and shrugged, "Not really…a friend."
"A crush then?"
Sasuke jumped up and furiously shook his head, "N-no, Aniki, I can't have a crush on a boy." He quickly dismissed it. The elder brother let out a small chuckle, "Have you tried being friends with him?"
Sasuke shook his head, "He's alone most of the time, but he's surrounded by people at the same time…does that make sense? Most people in my class avoid him. They all hate him. I don't know why though."
Itachi smiled slightly, "What do his parents say?"
Sasuke only responded, "…he walks alone most of the time…"
"Most prejudices are passed down from parents to children." Itachi began, "Maybe his parents aren't so popular. Maybe he only has one parent to take care of him." He paused and then muttered, "He might be an orphan."
Sasuke's shoulders dropped, "H-he might be…I don't know him that well…he's weird nonetheless."
"Well, does he have a name?" The elder brother asked. Sasuke nodded, "Mhm, Uzumaki. Uzumaki Naruto."
Itachi raised a brow, "Uzumaki, ka? I've never heard of that name before…must be a small family."
The two stopped talking as they arrived at the training ground. Itachi gave a sigh and then spoke, "Well, in order for you to stay out of trouble…" He placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and made a hand sign with his other hand. Both disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to reappear on a high tree branch.
"You stay here, I don't want you moving. I almost hit you last time because you didn't stay still." He then disappeared, leaving Sasuke stranded on the tree branch. The slight boy glared before he figured he might as well sit and watch, "Nii-san, you're so mean…"
He stretched, letting his legs dangle from either side of the branch. He leaned back and watched as his brother became a mere blur. Itachi had hit all the marks twice before he reappeared. Sasuke caught a small glance of his Sharingan before his brother's eyes melted into their original onyx color.
"Tell me more about your friend."
Itachi's voice made Sasuke jump. He tilted his head, confused and then he snapped his fingers, "You mean Naruto-kun?" Itachi raised a brow when Sasuke laughed, "He'd kill me if he knew I called him that."
"Indeed." Itachi rolled his eyes before going back to his practice.
"He hates me."
The simple statement caused Itachi to miss the dead center by a centimeter. He paused then looked up towards his brother, "How can you say that. He doesn't even know you."
"Everyone avoids me." Sasuke muttered before leaning back and closing his eyes. Itachi sighed and then went to retrieve his Shuriken.
Sasuke opened his eyes slightly to look up at the leaves. They rustled slightly before he whispered, "He was crying though…" It was so soft, his brother didn't hear.
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Useless and mundane. That is what Sasuke thought of education so far and he had been in school for two whole weeks. He shuddered slightly, thinking of the pink haired girl that had started to stalk him two days into the school year.
"Gah, she's seven, how can she be thinking about mushy stuff? Gosh, girls are so weird…" he muttered.
"Ahahaha, you stupid moron!" Sasuke paused slightly and looked towards the playground. He saw four of his classmates as mere silhouettes against the setting sun.
The first boy stood up from the ground and laughed loudly, boisterously. Sasuke recognized him and let himself hide behind a tree, watching the event play out.
"Uzumaki…" He muttered as he saw the boy's laughing face. He glanced at the other three and muttered, "Inuzuka, Nara, Akimichi." The heavier boy rubbed the back of his head but followed Nara as he told them it was time to go.
"Great time hanging with you morons, but my mom will be pissed if I'm late for dinner. She sure is weird." Akimichi lightened up at the word 'dinner' at which the other boy said, "Yeah, okay, you can come. She won't yell at me if you're around."
Inuzuka laughed, "All girls are weird. They're all harpin' over that Uchiha kid, like he's some prodigy. I'm betting on some girl parts inside them pants."
Uzumaki groaned, "Jeesh Kiba, do you need to get fixed? That's the third time today you've mentioned the inside of anyone's pants."
"Seriously!" The dog-boy flailed his arms, "He's such a girl! I bet he slaps like one too!"
"Kiba, he's got higher grades than you." Naruto rolled his eyes, "I really don't think that a kid who can throw a shuriken like that will hit like a girl." They waved goodbye to Chouji and Shikamaru.
"He's got higher grades than you too, baka. Why you defendin' him? Don't tell me Sakura and Ino got to you…I wouldn't be surprised if Hyuuga-chan likes him too."
"Hinata?" Naruto, "That's the weird girl that's always blushing, right? She's weird."
They both laughed until a woman waved Kiba down.
"Hey, you want me to wait with you for your parents."
Sasuke noticed how Naruto flinched, "Don't worry about it, just go and eat dinner, I'm bettin' you're a starvin' mutt."
"Eat those words, Uzumaki!" Kiba shoved the boy who caught himself before he fell.
Sasuke followed the younger boy until he sat on the swing in front of the academy. Sasuke always noted that it was the place that he spent most of his time. He watched as the boy sat. It must have been an eternity, but Sasuke found himself standing before the boy on the swing.
Naruto looked up, a slight tint of red under his eyes, dried tears at the corners of his eyes. They just stared at each other, transfixed by the situation.
The Uchiha reached a hand out, not quite sure what he was going to do yet. He noticed that Naruto flinched, closing his eyes as if expecting a blow.
Did he really think Sasuke was going to hit him?
Naruto's eyes snapped open as Sasuke softly patted his head. He closed them again, enjoying this new sensation of actually getting attention. It made more tears come to his eyes.
Sasuke stepped closer, intent on asking the younger boy the cause of his distress, when Naruto leaned forward, burying his face into Sasuke's chest, clutching onto his blue shirt with the feeling that if he let go, Sasuke would vanish and he would be alone again.
Sasuke tensed at first. Then he let himself relax, letting go of the mask he had placed the first second he walked into school. He had told himself before he didn't want to make friends. He didn't want to have something so close to him be ripped away. He had almost lost his brother on more than one occasion, and that was enough.
Everything changed when he saw Naruto. He had wanted to befriend the boy, recognizing the mask immediately. If they both put up a mask, they must have been similar.
Small hands gripped his shirt harder and Sasuke wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulders, holding him in a protective embrace. He didn't notice his fingers softly combing through Naruto's hair, helping to calm the younger boy.
It felt so right to hold the other boy, offering his comfort. He bent his neck, letting his head rest on top of Naruto's. He saw strands of his hair mix with Naruto's and he saw how different they were. He tucked his own hair behind his ear and continued to sift through Naruto's hair, taking in how soft it was. He inhaled a scent that was uniquely Naruto and he felt like he'd never want to let go.
Who was comforting who?
All too soon, Naruto pulled away, using his sleeve to wipe away any evidence of his tears.
"Go home." He said softly. Sasuke froze in his place, not understanding one bit.
"W-what about you? You should go home too, your parents will worry." Again Naruto flinched and Sasuke understood.
"I…I'm sorry…do…do you want me to walk you home then? It's dangerous at night and…" Sasuke trailed off, tripping over his own words.
"It's dangerous all the time." Naruto muttered softly, "In broad daylight, there are always shadows…" Sasuke shuddered slightly, not understanding what Naruto was talking about, but just knowing it couldn't be anything good.
"Go home, Sasuke." He repeated and stood. He started to walk away and Sasuke reached out a hand to the younger boy's back, "N…Naruto…G-good n-night." He muttered. Naruto paused slightly and then lifted a hand, "Oyasumi, Sasuke."
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"Sasuke."
The boy opened his eyes, rubbing sleep out of them. Itachi held up his sandal and Sasuke noted that the only one left on his foot was barely on his toe.
"I…fell asleep." Sasuke stated. He moved slightly and the sandal slipped off, landing on the ground.
"Well, I was thinking that you should invite Naruto to come with us to the festival. Shisui is going to tag along with me, and I think you'll get bored with us really fast."
Sasuke stretched out and then snatched the sandal from his brother, "He won't listen to me…I just have a feeling that he won't."
Itachi picked up his brother and made a hand sign and they both appeared on the ground. The elder brother picked up the sandal and then made another hand sign. They were now in front of the Uchiha compound.
"Little brother, how high up were we?"
Sasuke thought back and responded, "Don't know, and is this really relevant?"
"Yes, now at least take a guess."
"25 meters?"
Itachi pat his head, "Good, you got that right, now as your reward go find that boy and invite him with us."
Sasuke scowled as Itachi disappeared and then muttered, "Butt-munch." Before jamming his hands in his pockets and beginning to walk.
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A/N lol, Sasuke called Itachi a butt-munch! Ha ha, Itachi is a mean older brother. Bossing his little brother around. Aww, I love cute six year old Naruto! Yes, Naruto is six and Sasuke is seven. It's in than one part of the year that they're not quite the same age. Sasuke is older! I wikapedia-ed it! That's so not a word…lol. Review Please
It's Japanese Translatin' Time!
1. –Nii is used between brothers
2. Ano sa is like 'hey' or 'um'
3. Kaa-san means 'Mom'
4. Oto-san means 'Dad'
5. Hayaku means 'hurry up'
6. Aniki, chotto matte kudasai means 'brother, wait for me, please'
7. Gomen means 'Sorry'
8. Ka is used as an article. When Itachi says "Uzumaki, ka" he is basically saying "So, his name is Uzumaki."
9. -kun is used for little boys or a masculine a term for endearment.
10. -Chan is used for little girls or a feminine term for endearment
If you find any more be sure to let me know. Ten review means new chappie! i swear, i have it all typed up and everything!
Edit: I didn't realize that when i imported it, that all the italics and lines got taken away. Thank you for pointing that out Alley-Oop! oh and thanks to: Konaha Uchiha, penguin, mistress0of0sin, Ryou-la-lune, Draco MalfoyGirl 16, Kayvy, and Cherry Jade for Reviewing on this chappie!