The Monster in My Closet, a naruto fanfic

The Monster in My Closet

Main Stars~ Sasuke U. and Naruto U.

Warnings~ Shounen-ai, dark closets, snow, Christmas, fluff…and more fluff. XD (and some OOC…but they're kids here anyway. ^^")

Dedication~ For Your Silver Lining (Silver~!) and DayDreamer79 =^w^= (also to akabara_gyaru and thegirlwhoflies, two of my other buddies from LJ ^_^ AND—everyone else. *cough* *cough* You know who you are… ;-3)

Disclaimer~ Don't own Naruto in any way whatsoever. XD And no—I don't make any profit/money out of it either—this story was written out of pure (yaoi fluff) fandom for any other fangirls scattered all over the world. X"DDD

Notes from the KIT-chan~

Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays, guys~! w Somehow I've gotten the time to write this uber-fluffy oneshot on the rare occasion that I have now, so…yeah. :3 And I hope you all like chibi Sasu and Naru together here, too. ^w^ (Day—I managed to somehow get Itachi in here, too, for your sake. XD)

*AND after reading Naruto Chapter 518, which totally made me feel so bad for Sai and almost made me cry myself…I added him to this fic as well. ^_^

Enjoy my Christmas present to you all~ ;)

.::.*~Kitsune~*.::.

~o~

As the children sang at that joyful time of year…

Christmas is a time

Christmas is a time to be lo-oved

Christmas is a time

To be loved…

~o~

BANG.

Crash.

…

~o~

~December 24 (early 1920s)~

All Sasuke could remember that time was that it had been snowing outside, but the sky had been so ominously dark. He had also recalled seeing shadowy figures rushing out on the streets, yelling at each other to hurry up or else they'd miss something—a train, from what the little raven had heard that day. And very soon, he would see his older brother making his way towards the door, about to join the large crowd of men…suitcase in hand.

His only brother—Itachi—leaving him behind in the orphanage to join the rest of them…for war.

But Sasuke hadn't wanted his big brother to go that day—especially due to the fact that it had been like this as well before his own mother and father had left him alone, too, never to return later on or ever take another breath of life—and that it was Christmas Eve. Like that fateful day, it had been so very dark outside as well…too dark for the little Uchiha.

As the four-year-old raven followed after his older sibling to the doorway, he had stopped for a moment to overhear Itachi having a silent, but rushed conversation with Iruka—the brown-haired man who owned the orphanage himself and who had been almost like a second father to both Uchiha brothers since the fateful day their parents' lives had been lost in the automobile accident, where he had taken the two of them into his care.

In that instant, Itachi cleared his throat and spoke stiffly in a low voice.

"Iruka…please take good care of my younger brother in my absence."

The brunette paused, then lightly placed his hand on the older Uchiha's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it—he's in good hands."

At the same time, young Sasuke shifted his gaze curiously from one to the other. And both men had noticed him, turning to face him with the best, reassuring smiles they could put on their faces.

Iruka chuckled as the raven absent-mindedly began to extend his arms out towards the older Uchiha, as if he were expecting a hug of some sort. And without a minute of hesitation, Itachi had taken his little brother up into his arms, softly stroking his hair as the younger one calmly rested his head on the other's shoulder.

Sasuke exhaled sharply, closing his eyes as he felt his older sibling's hand on the top of his head. Then he bit his lip and opened his mouth to speak.

"Itachi…I don't want you to go," the smaller raven whined. "I don't wanna be left all alone by myself."

At that moment, the older Uchiha sighed, rubbed the latter's back, then placed him back on his feet, taking both of his younger sibling's shoulders and looking at him face to face.

"Sasuke…" Itachi spoke softly with a slight smile. "Sorry, Sasuke. I don't want to leave you either—you should know that by know as my one and only little brother." He paused, reaching his hand up to pat the younger raven's head. Then his eyes grew solemn, and he spoke again in a serious tone. "…but they need me. We've been through this before."

Before the elder Uchiha could finish his response, little Sasuke pouted and cut in. "But brother…it's Christmas Eve…"

At this, the older raven was silent, his face solemn. But then he continued with sad eyes. "I know—and I'm sorry. Maybe next time, okay? Look on the brighter side, baby brother—you won't even be alone in the first place. You've got Mr. Iruka here with you while I'm gone, the same with the other children here at the orphanage," he finished, glancing up at the brunette next to him, who smiled in response.

Although…Sasuke never did look up, and only moved forward to wrap his arms around his sibling's shoulders. "But it's not the same—"

Suddenly, a there was a whistle and a cry coming from outside.

In that instant, both Uchihas looked up, shifting their eyes towards the nearby street, only to see a big, gruff man with a dark, slightly rough complexion by the name of Kisame. He was waving his hands with his own bags next to him in the snow and calling Itachi's name.

"Itachi! Hurry up, or else we're gonna miss the train!"

Sasuke stiffened, then slowly looked back at the older raven, whose expression was now blank.

And without moment of hesitation, the elder Uchiha stood up on his feet, lifting up the suitcase next to him. Then he turned to face the doorway and paused, the younger raven staring back at him with sad eyes.

"…I have to go," Itachi spoke in a dull voice, slowly shaking his head. He sighed, then walked out to join Kisame in the snowy weather. And all Sasuke could do at that moment was watch despairingly as the two began to advance towards the crowd of men in the distance.

But to the young Uchiha's surprise after a few more minutes, his older brother had abruptly stopped in his tracks, then immediately ran back to the doorway, kneeling down before the little raven.

In that instant, Sasuke's eyes widened as Itachi tried to catch his breath. "Brother…"

At that moment, the older raven exhaled sharply, then raised his head to lean next to the latter's ear and spoke in a soft tone. And the younger Uchiha held his own breath as he listened to his sibling's words.

"I promise I'll be back as soon as I can. Forgive me for leaving you like this. But please…while I'm gone, I want you to promise me one thing for the next time we meet again."

Sasuke swallowed and took a deep breath, a lump beginning to form in his throat. "What's that?"

Itachi paused, then spoke again. "…to be good to Mr. Iruka and to be strong for yourself. Be strong for Big Brother, and be strong for Mother and Father as well. They'll be watching over you every day of your life—always remember that."

The younger raven closed his eyes and nodded once. "Hn."

The older Uchiha sighed. "Oh—and one more thing."

At that moment, Sasuke opened his eyes again. "What?"

Itachi chuckled slightly and began to stand up, looking into his younger sibling's questioning eyes. Then he spoke with a small smirk on his face.

"…at least try to make at least one new friend while I'm away. There's plenty of kids you can play with here at the orphanage. Try to fit in for once so you won't feel so alone all the time."

Almost immediately, the latter frowned in disbelief. "You know I can't do that, Itachi…"

The older Uchiha chuckled again, still smirking. "Just a thought. But really. Try to make some friends while I'm away."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "…whatever."

Itachi smiled, then turned to walk out the doorway again, nodding to Kisame, who had been waiting in the distance with a countenance so disgruntled and so impatient that it almost made him look like a shark. The older raven smirked as he stepped onto the snow.

"Calm down, Kisame—your face will stay frozen in that position if you keep that up."

The younger Uchiha smirked as well as he watched his sibling advance towards his best friend. Then he called after him, waving his hand.

"Goodbye, Itachi! Merry Christmas!"

At that moment, the latter paused to turn around to face his little brother with a slight smile.

"Merry Christmas…Sasuke."

And with those salutations of farewell, four-year old Sasuke Uchiha watched as his older sibling faded into the distance.

In the instant where he had seen that Itachi had finally disappeared from sight, the young raven sighed and hung his head. But that wasn't until Iruka stepped in to try to cheer the latter up for once.

The brunette smiled comfortingly and calmly placed his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder, causing the latter to stiffen a little and look up into the other's big brown eyes.

Iruka chuckled. "It's really cold out here, isn't it? How about we go inside for some hot cocoa?"

At first, Sasuke's face was morose and sullen, but that wasn't a surprise because he had just been separated from his one and only brother. However, the little raven had remembered Itachi's final words to him, and obediently went along with Mr. Iruka back inside the building.

But before he stepped into the warmer halls of the orphanage…he couldn't help but look up at the middle window at the at the top of the place, where a lantern that seemed to resemble the shape of a star glowed with different colored lights that blinked in unique patterns.

Of course…that window had belonged to none other than the very room that the two Uchiha brothers had owned.

~o~

The days after that hadn't been all that bad to young Sasuke himself, what with Iruka constantly coming around to give him his undivided attention every day (or at least more than the other children) and who had so kind as to let him keep the room the two brothers had always shared all to himself. But still…the younger Uchiha had missed his older brother—and nothing could change that. After all…it did hurt for the little raven to come into his room in the orphanage every night, only to see an empty bed beside his own, where Itachi would usually sleep in. Every day, the latter would even keep a calendar above the head of his bed, marking the days he would spend without his sibling.

But years had passed, and there had been no word or news about Itachi at all, which made Sasuke feel upset on the inside. At the same time, he grew yet even more distant from the others around him after he began to hear various rumors that he solemnly believed to be false—about his older brother being kidnapped by the enemy…or about how he may as well have been killed in battle.

And despite Itachi's final request beforehand…Sasuke had never been able to successfully make a new friend out of any of the children in the orphanage, no matter how hard he had tried in the upcoming years.

Plainly because he had usually lived his life out in solitude, for he definitely was one of the Uchiha.

Although later on…there would be one exception—almost six years since that day, when Sasuke would least expect it.

~December 1, 1927~

9:00 A.M.

Thump.

The ten-year-old raven sighed softly, shuffling a little underneath the bed sheets.

Thump.

The Uchiha groaned and rolled over on his side. What the…

THUMP.

Suddenly, Sasuke heard a familiar voice—as annoying as it was—and laughter…carefree laughter. In a room that only he himself should be in at the moment…and no one else.

That was when he had heard a chortle. "C'mon! Is that the best you can do! Higher!"

And in an instant, the raven's eyes immediately fluttered open at the familiar voice, feeling the mattress below him sink abruptly. He stiffened, and snapped his head back to see a fanged brunette about his age, jumping at the foot of his bed and laughing his face off.

Kiba Inuzuka—the most obnoxious human being in this world, if not more than a complete moron, as Sasuke deemed him to be from the very beginning when he had first set foot into this orphanage.

At once, the Uchiha's deep eyes of ebony narrowed. No wonder. Of all times… At that moment, he watched as the latter continued to trample all over his bed sheets. Too tired to even say a word to the Inuzuka, he just waited and waited until finally…the idiot had bothered to notice that the person he was messing with had now woken up.

Almost immediately, the smug look on Kiba's face had faded when he just slightly turned his head to see the raven sitting up in bed and glaring at him with his cold, piercing eyes.

He immediately stopped jumping. "Uh-oh," the fanged brunette spoke, sitting down on the bed.

And then there was nothing but dead silence in the room, Sasuke as irritated as hell.

But that didn't really stop the Inuzuka, who had decided to take the raven's aggravation to his advantage as much as possible. He smirked and drawled at the latter. "Well, then…look who decided to wake up already."

At that moment, the Uchiha rolled his eyes at the fanged brunette, who merely continued in that same annoying, sarcastic tone.

"Good morning, Snow White. Did your dreams come true while you were prancing around in the Land of the Seven Dwarfs?" Kiba chuckled impishly.

But in that instant, Sasuke just decided he'd really have none of it that morning and closed his eyes, letting out an irked sigh.

"Out, dog."

However, this only ticked the Inuzuka off, who frowned and got up from the bed, crossing his arms at the raven. "Hey, hey—now you didn't have to go that far, Uchiha. After all, Akamaru and I did just take a bath."

The fanged brunette closed his eyes and sighed. "Whatever." He turned to wave his hand and whistled. "C'mon, Akamaru. It's obvious that we're not wanted here anymore."

At that moment, Sasuke heard a bark coming from beside his bed and tiny, pattering footsteps advancing in the direction of where the Inuzuka was going—out of his bedroom door.

But that wasn't until the footsteps ceased all of a sudden, and Kiba had spoken again in a more serious tone.

"Oh…right. Can't believe I almost forgot." There was a short pause. "Don't forget to greet your new roommate on your left, who you apparently still haven't noticed yet."

Almost immediately, this made the raven open his eyes wide and stiffly turn his head in the direction of Itachi's bed.

Perched on the side of the bed on his left with the sheets messed up as well, Sasuke could see a blonde-haired boy a few years younger than him, with mussy hair as golden as sunshine and eyes so blue that even sapphires would seem dull in comparison to them. The young blonde, with whiskers on each of his chubby, tan cheeks, had the whole time, been looking at the Uchiha with a curious expression on his face, his head tilted slightly to the right.

At the same time…all the raven could do was stare at the latter with wide eyes—and the usual blank countenance.

However, to his surprise, the blue-eyed boy stiffened after a few seconds of this, and just slightly looked away, his cheeks flushing light pink.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

Suddenly, Kiba cleared his throat and reached his hand for the doorknob. "Ahem. Well…have fun, you two," he spoke, glancing back at the young blonde.

At that moment, the latter stopped blushing and looked up at the Inuzuka, who looked back at him with a slight smile and nodded once before leaving the room.

"Hm."

The blue-eyed boy nodded back with a slight smile and watched the door closed behind the fanged brunette. Then he paused and briefly glanced back at Sasuke, who had still been staring at him unwaveringly in that instant.

The young blonde shrank back and began scratching the back of his head, laughing nervously. "Uh…"

However, the raven just merely tilted his head, his face still indifferent. "Hn."

Suddenly, after a few minutes, there was a knock on the door, and soon it had flown open to reveal a brown-haired man standing in its threshold.

Mr. Iruka.

"Good morning," the adult brunette sighed and looked up to see the two children on opposite sides of the room, his eyes widening when he'd seen the raven awake.

"Oh, Sasuke. I didn't know you would wake up this early." Iruka took a deep breath and calmly stepped into the room, gesturing towards the blue-eyed boy. "I see you've met Naruto Uzumaki, who's going to be staying in the same room as you for the time being."

At that moment, the blonde smiled a big, happy-go-lucky grin that the Uchiha knew for a fact that he would remember for all eternity.

The raven frowned expressionlessly. "Hn."

Iruka chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "I hope you don't mind him sleeping in your brother's bed for the next few days or so. I've tried to find other rooms for him to stay in, but surprisingly, all of them are full except for your room." He looked at the Uchiha. "Is that okay with you, Sasuke? Do you mind sharing?"

Naruto stopped smiling and looked at the raven with hopeful eyes.

And that was when Sasuke had let out a sigh, crossing his arms. "No. It's fine with me." He opened his eyes to stare at the blonde morosely. "He can stay."

In that instant, the blue-eyed boy's face lit up.

Iruka chuckled with a smile and looked at the two children. "Then it's settled. Let me know if you two need anything, all right?"

"Ah," the raven muttered.

The adult brunette nodded once and turned to leave the room. "Breakfast is already being served downstairs in case you're hungry," he spoke over his shoulder before closing the door behind him.

And both Sasuke and Naruto had just stared at the closed door in silence for the next minute.

But that wasn't until the younger blonde had decided to try to break the stillness and turned to start an attempted conversation with the raven.

"So…your name's Sasuke, right? I'm Naruto—"

"Hn," the Uchiha uttered monosyllabically, getting up from his bed with his eyes closed. "You can stay here…as long as you don't bother me—because I won't be bothering you, either. Make yourself at home for now." And with those words, the older raven began making his way towards the door. "I'm going down for some breakfast," he spoke indifferently before stepping out of the room and shutting the door behind him.

After that, there had been dead silence again, and Naruto sat in the room by himself with lonely eyes.

~o~

It was crowded in the mess hall downstairs once all the children had gathered around for breakfast. At the entrance, Iruka could be seen holding the door for the boys and girls that came in before lining up to receive trays of food in their hands and settling at different tables around the large room.

The little ones who had already begun enjoying themselves at their tables were laughing and playing with each other in their various conversations they'd have, most being about the food they had just recently been given (waffles and eggs with bacon), what they wanted for Christmas, which would only be in a few weeks, or even things some of them had brought in for show-and-tell in the afternoon. In less than ten minutes, the room was already filled with a cheerful, light atmosphere.

But then again…our exception could also be seen outside that mass population of joyful children—for Sasuke Uchiha, who rarely ever did converse as much as the others, or even smiled, more or less, had just sat down at an empty table at the corner of the room with a tray of breakfast in front of him, as he usually did every morning, not even bothering to greet any of his peers along the way. He slouched slightly, staring at his sunny-side up eggs and bacon (which were purposely arranged on top of his waffle so that it looked like a smiley face) with an indifferent, morose expression on his face, and let out a sigh.

Another day…another hassle.

The Uchiha frowned, furrowing his brow, then pushed his plate aside to put his head down on the table.

~o~

The day went by with the raven keeping his distance from everyone else, going his own way in the halls of the Konoha's local orphanage and even in the classes the children would take in the afternoon.

Although there had been one moment in the evening where Sasuke had been walking through the nearest hallway, supposedly going to the library to gather up research for the homework he'd just been assigned for the day—when from out the blue something or someone he'd seen from a window he'd just passed would make him stop and turn to stare.

The window that the raven had chosen to look through revealed an outstanding view of the playground outside—not to mention how sunny it was as well. However…out in the distance, sitting on the swing set by himself…a short, bushy-haired blonde could be seen at a glance with his head hung low, melancholia in his eyes. And there had been no other children playing in the area except for the blue-eyed boy himself.

Sasuke frowned. It was, indeed, Naruto Uzumaki—but how he looked now was a lot different than when he'd first met him earlier in the morning. He wasn't smiling that happy-go-lucky grin like he usually did, and his eyes…were as dull as the sky on a rainy day.

Something was definitely wrong here…for it was unusual for someone like the blonde to be spending time all alone, with no friends accompanying him or anything. The raven wondered why no one else was there (despite the fact that Kiba and the other older children in his class may have stayed inside to do homework) and what in the world…could be bothering Naruto himself.

Sasuke sighed and slowly shook his head.

"So…it's true that he's with you now…isn't it?"

The Uchiha stiffened and turned his head to see Neji Hyuga, a gray-eyed boy his age, standing behind him with a frown on his face.

At that moment, one end of Neji's mouth curved up slightly. "How interesting."

The raven rolled his eyes. Of course he would know.

"What do you want, Hyuga?"

The gray-eyed brunette smirked, slightly tilted his head up in the air. "Nothing, actually. Just wanted to see if the rumors I've been hearing today have been real. From your judgment at this point, I can only assume they are." He shrugged lightly. "Good luck to you, then," the Hyuga finished, turning to walk away.

But that wasn't until Sasuke quickly placed a hand on the latter's shoulder, which made him stop for a moment.

The raven's eyes narrowed suspiciously, his grip tightening. "Hn. What do you mean by 'Good luck to you'? Are you patronizing me here, Hyuga?"

In that instant, Neji paused for a minute, then spoke with an unwavering tone. "And why in the world would I stoop down so low as do that, Uchiha? I'm not as cold-hearted as you think I am." He briefly shrugged the Uchiha's arm off his shoulder and turned to glance at the latter with a slight smirk. "It's just that I've been hearing how…how much of a handful Naruto could be at a certain time of day."

At that moment, Sasuke was silent.

"Hm. I wonder how the two of you will handle things here." Upon finishing that last comment, Neji Hyuga continued walking down the other side hallway until he finally disappeared around the corner.

The raven watched after the brunette and closed his eyes, letting out a small sigh. Then he briefly paused to look out the window, where he could now see that the blonde he had been watching was no longer in sight.

And with that, the Uchiha began to ponder about what he'd recently just heard from his…adversary, his face once again holding an expression of utter indifference.

"Hn."

~o~

7:45 P.M.

The window was open when Sasuke had walked into his room, now dressed in his navy blue night clothes.

And Naruto, wearing his orange pajamas and doggy nightcap, could be seen kneeling in front of the window, looking out at the stars in the night sky and probably even listening to the crickets that chirped.

To the Uchiha, it had almost looked as if the blonde were in a trance or something, for the latter had not even noticed his presence in the room at that point. And this…the raven found a bit amusing for some reason—to watch the younger boy's wandering gaze, his ocean blue eyes outshining the stars he'd been looking at, and how his sunshine-golden hair would just flow freely with the light breeze of wind that passed.

But after a few seconds, Sasuke shook his head and shifted his eyes to glance at the light switch next to him. Then finally, he'd opened his mouth to speak in an apathetic tone.

"Hn. Mr. Iruka has just announced lights out."

At that moment, the raven smirked slightly when he'd seen Naruto jump a little and back away from the window to look back at the Uchiha with surprised eyes.

Sasuke chuckled once, then closed his eyes. "Can I turn off the lights now? Or do you still need a few more minutes to get ready for bed?"

In that instant, the blonde paused for a minute, taking the comment into consideration. Then he turned to shut the window and crawled over to Itachi's bed.

"No—it's okay. I'm good," the blue-eyed boy spoke absent-mindedly.

And with that response, the raven flicked the light switch off, causing the room to be filled with darkness (with the exception of the pale moonlight that leaked in from the window), and walked over to his own bed, pulling the sheets back.

Naruto yawned as he lied down on his pillow, stretching his arms. Then he glanced to his right to see the Uchiha shuffle over until his back had been facing him.

After that, it was silent in the room at that point—and for some reason…this worried the blonde a little, because from under the low light, one could just barely see the younger boy lying in his bed with the sheets pulled up to his chin, his eyes frantic and darting in different directions.

It was as if…the dead silence had been frightening to poor Naruto on the inside—especially the darkness enshrouding the majority of the room.

That was when the little blonde had begun to fidget in his position a bit, until finally he opened his mouth to speak in a hesitant tone.

"Sasuke?"

At that moment, the blue-eyed boy heard a shuffling sound from the other bed.

"Ah. What is it?"

There was a long pause.

Then after a while, Naruto shifted over under the sheets and looked up at the ceiling.

"…good night."

At this, there had been yet another of silence…with some slight hesitation.

And then Sasuke had merely replied with all but one syllable.

"Hn."

After that, the two had finally organized themselves to doze off in slumber.

However…this time, the raven himself had delayed himself a little, for when all was quiet and he'd deemed the blonde to have already fallen asleep, he quickly glanced over to see the latter, his eyes now closed.

The Uchiha watched after the younger boy for a moment, slightly hesitant towards the latter in some form, then he looked away and laid back down on his pillow, closing his eyes.

Of course everything's all right.

~o~

11:30 P.M.

Shuffle.

At that moment, Sasuke's eyelids fluttered slightly at the noise.

Probably the wind, the raven thought to himself.

But that was when he'd heard a low cry from the other side of the room and more shuffling sounds.

In that instant, the Uchiha slowly opened his eyes and raised his head to look over at where the blonde had been sleeping.

At the same time, Naruto could be seen fidgeting around under his sheets, his head shaking side to side. Sasuke could also see that his eyes were closed, but the expression on his face looked agitated at that point.

The raven stiffened when he'd heard the latter whimper softly and shake his head even more vigorously.

"No…" he whined softly.

At that moment, the Uchiha let out a sigh and rose to tiptoe over to where the blonde was.

That was when he'd seen that there had been a few sweat drops rolling down the nape of the latter's back, and that the poor boy was trembling.

Suddenly, Naruto opened his mouth to speak again in a frightened tone.

"Don't leave me alone…"

At this, Sasuke's eyes softened a little.

But then the blonde had begun to toss and turn under his sheets, cringing even more.

"He's after me…"

In that instant, the raven stiffened.

Then all of a sudden, Naruto had begun to let out small cries.

"Don't leave me here all by myself… He's gonna get me….!"

And from that point, the blonde had begun to wail, tears rolling down his two whiskered cheeks.

"Please…please don't!"

Immediately, the Uchiha placed his hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

Soon he had even begun to scream, flailing his arms and kicking through the sheets, while the raven had struggled as much as he could to keep the latter still.

Until finally, the blue-eyed boy sprang up from his pillow, his eyes wide open with fear.

"NO!" he screamed.

At that moment, Sasuke did nothing but wait patiently as Naruto began to relax himself, breathing heavily and looking around to see that he was back in the room he had been sleeping in—and to see the raven standing quietly at his bedside, his hand still placed firmly on his shoulder.

The blonde panted, then gulped, his breathing pace slowing back to normal.

The Uchiha paused and slowly removed his hand from the latter's shoulder, speaking in a soft tone. "You were having a nightmare."

In that instant, the younger boy's eyes grew dull and he turned his head to look down at the sheets. "…I was?"

Sasuke pursed his lips. "Ah." Then he shifted his gaze back towards Naruto's face. "Hn. Will you be all right?"

But all the blonde did at that moment was lie down on his pillow again, sheepishly turning his back towards the raven. "Yeah."

However, the Uchiha still remained at the latter's bedside, not convinced by his response. "Hn."

Although the only other comment Sasuke received from the younger boy was a soft mumble.

"No, really—I'll be fine. Sorry I woke you up so late…I promise I'll try to be quieter tonight."

With that…the raven really didn't know what else to say for the first time.

And after that, not another word had been spoken between the two.

~o~

In the time that followed that night, Sasuke had a bit of trouble going back to sleep, for now he had become more conscious of the blonde for some reason, getting ready for when he might have another nightmare. But the night went on, and little Naruto had slept without another problem—although from the other side of the room, the raven had found himself pondering about the latter before him—up until the sun had begun to rise.

~o~

9:45 A.M.

Sasuke yawned softly as he wearily got up from bed to fix his sheets.

Hn. What a night…

That was when he'd heard the door open and turned to see Naruto step inside rubbing his eyes, returning from his short trip from the bathroom. And as the blonde had walked past the raven to grab something from the nightstand between the two beds, the Uchiha couldn't help but picture at the same time the sad little boy he'd seen the other afternoon sulking on the swing set.

With that, he paused for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak.

"Naruto."

In that instant, the blue-eyed boy stiffened and looked up at the raven. "Yeah?"

For a minute, Sasuke pursed his lips, carefully searching for the right words to say. And then he'd spoken again in a dull tone.

"Has there been anything…bothering you at all recently?"

Silence.

Then after a while, Naruto replied in a dull tone.

"No."

At that moment, the raven paused to absorb the comment in his mind and tried to think of a way to expand on the short but rare conversation he'd actually started himself for once.

However, before he could say even another word, the blonde had already advanced towards the door, stepping outside the threshold.

And at the same time, all the Uchiha could do was watch after the younger boy with a blank countenance.

That was when the blue-eyed boy stopped for a minute and spoke in a soft tone, not even bothering to glance over his shoulder.

"I'm going down for breakfast. See you later."

With those words, the latter had shut the door behind him, this time leaving Sasuke alone in the room filled with nothing but silence.

And at first, this somehow annoyed the Uchiha just a little bit. But then again…he couldn't help but break out a slight smirk as well—because for some reason it just seemed like déjà vu to him all over again.

~o~

Of course, like how Sasuke would always (or almost always) start the day, he would walk down to Mr. Iruka's office in case there might be any brief reports on how his older brother might be doing out in the war—or maybe to receive letters that Itachi might have sent to him beforehand.

However, that day there really hadn't been anything new, as the adult brunette had claimed, so he had just decided to cut to the chase and come downstairs to join everyone else in the mess hall for breakfast. Or rather forcibly convince himself of the fact that he needed to eat something for the day, even if it meant having to pass through that sea of…laughing children.

And the raven sighed after just thinking of the very idea as he walked down the main hallway.

However, just by a mere chance, he couldn't help but glance again at the middle window he would pass, the playground in view in the distance, but a bit blurry due to the moist covering the window glass. After all, it was winter—and it really wouldn't be a surprise if snow would begin to fall later on in the week. But that was when the Uchiha swallowed painfully and closed his eyes.

Snow…

And soon, he thought he'd heard screams in his head as well as brakes screeching and glass breaking.

Suddenly, Sasuke gasped after picturing a pair of headlights engulfing him and opened his eyes, panting.

And at that moment, he paused to see a short, bushy-haired blonde wearing an orange hoodie sitting out in the distance on the usual swing set, staring down at the plate of food on his lap.

Just like the first time, there had been no one else in sight, which…bothered him? What the heck?

The Uchiha groaned and leaned his forehead on the cool glass, closing his eyes.

It's really none of my business. So I shouldn't be doing this.

Or so he thought.

~o~

The night on that same day hadn't been any better than the one before it—the same with the others following it. And to be frank, it was as if Naruto's nightmares were worse for every night that passed. Later on, the Uchiha found himself waking up almost three times a night just to calm the younger boy down and finding himself almost dysfunctional during the day, almost falling asleep during his classes, which was extremely rare for him.

Although at times…the raven couldn't help but feel a little…pity(?) for the blonde, especially after he'd begun to hear the latter ask for his parents more often while experiencing his nightmare, next to constantly screaming about being chased by a monster. And to add to that…Sasuke had noticed Naruto sitting out on that usual swing set every day on the playground with no one to play with him or keep him company at all.

This had actually been a time where the raven had actually been concerned about another person outside of his family for once without knowing how or why, and sometimes…without even thinking about it, he'd even go so far as to consistently ask the latter if he was feeling all right.

But as usual, the Uchiha would always get the same answer and in the same indifferent tone:

"No."

~o~

Finally, it had come to a point where Sasuke had found himself in Iruka's office one morning, and he had ended up staying longer than usual.

And the adult brunette had noticed that the matter to be discussed at the moment would definitely not be Itachi Uchiha for once. This had actually surprised Iruka that morning, for the Uchiha actually hadn't been acting like his usual self, as indifferent as he had always been. Now…it seemed that the issue would be more personal this time.

He watched as the young raven sulked through the threshold of his office and sat down in front of his desk, slouching. Then Sasuke had had opened his mouth to speak in a dull tone.

"Mr. Iruka?"

At that moment, the adult brunette folded his hands on top of his desk. "Yes, Sasuke? What is it that I can help you with today?"

For a minute, the raven was silent.

At this, Iruka had been a bit concerned after seeing the dark shadows under the Uchiha's tired eyes.

"Is everything all right? It doesn't look like you've been sleeping well lately. Do you need-"

"Never mind that," Sasuke cut in nonchalantly. He paused, then turned to glance at the window beside the two of them.

The adult brunette noticed this and looked out the window himself, moist all over the glass. Then the raven started talking again in an indifferent tone.

"I wanted to know if it's…wrong of me to suddenly show concern for another person outside of my family—who I don't really know that much about." The Uchiha paused, looking down at his feet. "Hn. I know it's really unusual for me to ask something like this, but I was just…curious, you could say," he finished, briefly shifting his gaze towards the window again.

Iruka glanced at the raven, then walked closer towards the window to get a better view outside. That was when he suddenly saw a mop of bright blonde hair in the distance, out in the playground the children would usually play in. But there was no one present at the moment—nobody except for a young, whiskered boy sitting on a swing.

In an instant, the adult brunette understood, his face growing solemn. "It's Naruto…isn't it?"

At that moment, the Uchiha looked up at Mr. Iruka with a blank expression on his face.

The brunette closed his eyes. "No, it's never wrong for you to be concerned for others. But in this case, there's one thing I want to know first." He opened his eyes and turned to face Sasuke with a serious expression on his face. "Have you and Naruto had any problems with each other recently?"

The raven was silent. "No. Not at all."

There was a long pause.

Then Sasuke had decided to speak again, his eyes closed. "Hn. It's just that…"

Iruka listened patiently for the latter's comment.

The Uchiha let out a sigh. "…for some reason…I always end up looking at him out there through that window in the same day and in the same place, when really I should be minding my own business. I wanted to know if…if there was anything wrong with that." He paused. "As in him being alone for so often."

At that moment, he felt a hand on his shoulder and opened his eyes to gaze up at the adult brunette's kind face.

Iruka chuckled. "Now that's not a problem at all." He smiled, then gestured out the window beside them. Sasuke paused, then peered through the glass to see the young blonde on the swing set.

That was when the brunette spoke again in a calm tone.

"Naruto is…a very special person. Usually he's hyperactive during the day and quick to make friends, but when he's around too many people he's not quite familiar with, he kind of excludes himself from the rest of the pack so he can try to observe his new surroundings a little more. He's probably doing that now since we just took him in here." He grinned. "Why don't you go outside and talk to him for once, so he'll feel a bit more comfortable?"

The raven frowned at the question. "You of all people should know that I don't talk to anyone."

But Iruka merely chuckled again. "It won't hurt at least giving it a try. And I'm sure Naruto will listen to anything you have to say."

The Uchiha was silent. "Hn," he uttered.

"Besides…" the brunette continued. "It would mean following Itachi's request from you."

In that instant, Sasuke let out a sigh, closing his eyes. "You just had to mention that…didn't you?"

Iruka laughed.

At this, the raven slowly shook his head. But then, after a while, he brought himself to glance up out the window again, his gaze focusing on the bushy-haired blonde in the distance.

"Hn."

~o~

Why am I doing this again? Sasuke asked himself as he walked through the main hallway, zipping his navy blue jacket up. He stopped to glance out the usual window once more, only to see that this time Naruto Uzumaki had been gazing back at him.

This made him stiffen slightly. See? Now even he's starting to notice my presence here, too. Those innocent blue eyes just staring back at me like that…

The raven swallowed, then looked away from the glass. Damn you, brother… With that, he disappeared from the blonde's view.

~o~

Naruto sighed. Don't tell me he's looking at me again… He took a deep breath, then raised his head slightly to get a brief glance of Sasuke Uchiha staring out of a nearby window, and at the same time, he ended up looking into a pair of coal-black eyes that seemed…curious of some sort.

And…he is. The blonde slowly shook his head. Man—what's his problem already?

With that, he waited for a moment, captivated for some reason by those deep pools of ebony, but then he felt his cheeks begin to flush a little and he reluctantly looked away, staring back down at the plate of food that still sat on his lap. The blonde paused, trying to keep a blank countenance. Then he absent-mindedly took the fork that lay on the side of his plate and poked at the waffle that he had been given back at the mess hall.

"…"

~o~

It wasn't until after a few more minutes that the blue-eyed boy dared to take another glimpse towards the window to see if perhaps the raven was still there watching him.

However, when his slightly anxious eyes had locked on the frosted glass, the Uchiha had no longer been in sight.

Finally gone.

And with that, Naruto let out a small sigh of relief, then paused for a moment to reach deep into his right pocket to pull out what looked like…a tiny photo of some sort. One that the blonde held gingerly in his two hands, softly gazing down on it.

"…huh," the blue-eyed boy muttered quietly to himself, smiling a little.

At that moment, a couple could be seen standing in the snow in the picture, as lovely as they were together—a tall, blonde man with his darling, red-haired wife both dressed for the cold weather.

…and holding a small child in their loving arms—a boy…with mussy blonde hair just like his father's, as well as chubby tan cheeks with whiskers on either one of them—a tiny face that had been calm with peace.

In that instant, Naruto couldn't but feel warmth deep inside his heart. Then he closed his eyes, bringing the small photo towards his chest, and let out a soft sigh.

At the same time, a mild breeze of wind had blown by, which made the little one's sunshine gold hair flow in the same direction. And then the atmosphere was filled with peace and quiet again once the wind had ceased.

But all of a sudden, there was a rustle from behind the blonde, which made him open his eyes immediately and whirl around to look for the source.

Lo and behold, a short-haired raven with an alabaster complexion sitting by himself under a lone tree with what seemed to be a small notebook on his lap—a sketching pad, to be more specific. And he had been diligently drawing a picture of some sort, his eyes blank but concentrated on the page he was scribbling on.

He had looked so familiar, though…

With that, Naruto flinched. his eyes widening. Sasuke? He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, then gazed back at the young raven that sat quietly under the tall tree. And this time, the blonde had realized that this boy was definitely not the Uchiha.

After all, his hair was much shorter and wasn't all that spiky. In addition to that…the raven he was already somewhat familiar with didn't even look the type to draw—although they did share the same blank expressions on their faces.

But why hadn't he seen this kid before? It's not like he hadn't already gotten to know almost everyone in this orphanage, just that somehow…he ended up missing this one.

The blonde thought for a moment, tilting his head in curiosity as he watched the boy draw in his notebook meticulously.

But suddenly, another gust of wind passed by, causing the pages of the short-haired raven's sketchpad to flutter upward. And Naruto watched as the latter immediately held down the page he was working on, his eyes wide with concern.

After the wind subsided, the pale boy had let out a small sigh of relief and without another minute of hesitation, continued to scribble inside of the book.

At this, the blonde's eyes softened, and he began to contemplate even more, sinking deep into thought.

Although…that wasn't until a stronger breeze of cold winter wind blew in from out of nowhere, causing the photograph in Naruto's hand to fly up a few inches into the air.

Immediately, the blonde's eyes widened in alarm.

"No!" he cried, quickly standing up from the swing to grab the picture before the winds could carry it any farther away. And fortunately, the blue-eyed boy had retrieved it just in the nick of time.

At that moment, Naruto took a deep breath and exhaled sharply. "Phew…that was a close one."

"What was?"

Instantly, the blonde stiffened after hearing the voice that just spoke from behind him and quickly stuffed the photo back into his pocket. Then he whirled around to see Sasuke Uchiha, wearing a navy blue jacket and sweatpants, standing near the swing with an eyebrow raised. And upon seeing the latter shrink back with a surprised look on his face, the raven couldn't help but smirk.

"Yo."

Naruto gulped, still caught off guard by the Uchiha's sudden appearance. Then he began to chuckle nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Eh…oh—hey there, Sasuke. What are you doing out here in the cold? Everyone else is inside—"

"Hn," the raven cut in. He paused for a moment, then sat down on the empty swing next to the blonde and looked at the latter, scrutinizing his face, which had only been a few inches from his.

In that instant, the blue-eyed boy's face flushed a bright pink. "Er…"

The Uchiha pursed his lips. "Stupid. Why are you even here by yourself in the first place, especially when you just told me about how cold it is outside?"

At that moment, Naruto's face became solemn again, and he looked away from the raven.

"…"

Sasuke frowned. "I've seen you…sitting here all alone every day—at every chance I'd get to even glance out the window."

The blonde was silent.

The raven continued. "Hn. I've wondered…what's so fascinating to you out here that's always making you want to spend timein this place?"

No response. At that moment, silence had filled the atmosphere between the two children.

Then a light wind blew by, causing both Naruto and Sasuke's hair to flow in the same direction.

Whoosh.

Finally, after the wind subsided, the blonde had opened his mouth to speak in a low voice.

"Nothing." He hesitated, then let out a small sigh. "I'm only out here…because I don't belong in this place anyway."

The raven stared at the latter with a blank countenance.

Naruto paused, then continued to speak in a soft tone, shifting over a little on the swing.

"At least…that's what I've always thought since…then."

The Uchiha frowned. "What makes you say that?"

Another minute of silence. Then the blue-eyed boy spoke again hesitantly. "Everywhere I've been probably from the day I was born…I've always been a nuisance to the people around me. Most of them would always think of me as a pest because of how loud or annoying I was to them—that I was nothing but a bother."

Sasuke listened patiently.

The blonde frowned, looking down at his feet. "It's been like that for a while now, and I should probably be used to it at this point…but I'm not."

The raven's eyes softened upon hearing the comment. So that's why…

Naruto let out a small sigh. "That's why ever since they took me here, the whole time I've been trying to stay out of everyone's way, because I don't want anyone here to think the same for me. I don't want to be seen as trouble to everybody else, so I just stay here on the playground when there's no one outside."

Suddenly, the blonde paused again, then reluctantly turned to glance at the latter next to him.

In response, the Uchiha looked back expressionlessly.

That was when the younger boy lowered his eyes and spoke again.

"I'm probably being a nuisance to you, too, since I'm keeping you out here for so long in the cold. You should probably go inside now—they're already having breakfast."

But Sasuke only frowned at that last comment. He paused, then looked up at the sky, contemplating with an indifferent countenance.

"Hn," he uttered monosyllabically, leaning back a little on the swing he was sitting on.

At this, Naruto raised an eyebrow, confused at how lightly the older boy was taking the idea.

"Come on—everyone's probably looking for you."

The Uchiha slumped, shoving his hands into his pockets. "So? It's not like I care about that."

The blonde's face flushed red. "Well…aren't you hungry at least, S'uke?"

At that moment, the raven let out a sigh, and reached deep into the pocket of his jacket, slipping out what looked like a bagel filled with ham, egg, and cheese, wrapped in cellophane.

"I'm not dumb like you."

In that instant, young Naruto pouted, then watched as the older boy began unwrapping his breakfast sandwich, its scent…mouth-watering for some reason.

That was when the blue-eyed boy remembered that he hadn't eaten his waffle yet from the minute he stepped out of the orphanage. He frowned and placed his hand on his lap, only to realize that the plate he'd carried outside was no longer there.

At this, the blonde stiffened, shifting his gaze only to see the plate had fallen to the ground along with his own breakfast, waffle and eggs scattered about. Initially, Naruto couldn't believe how this had happened, but then he remembered how the wind had almost carried away the one and only photo he cherished so much…

At that moment, Naruto grimaced, his stomach growling. Great…

That was when half a breakfast bagel had been shoved right into his face.

The blonde shrank back with wide eyes, then turned his head to see Sasuke's hand extended, offering him a portion of his own meal.

The raven's eyes were closed and his mouth curved up into a slight smile. "Here."

The younger boy gulped and looked back at the older boy with reluctant eyes, unsure of what to do at that minute. "Wha…?"

The Uchiha sighed, opening his eyes to stare blankly at the latter. "It's okay. Just take it already."

And with that, the blonde hesitantly took the piece of bagel from the raven's hand and glanced back at the Uchiha.

At that moment, Sasuke smirked and took a bite out of his own half.

At the same time, while young Naruto watched the older boy chew, he finally brought himself to take a bite out of the piece that was offered to him.

After the raven swallowed, he briefly glanced back at the blonde, whose face had lit up after tasting the delicious food. Then he remembered in an instant the very reason he had come out here for.

In that instant, the Uchiha's eyes softened. "Hn."

Naruto paused, then turned to look back at Sasuke.

The raven smiled a little, which was rare even for him. "Tastes good, huh?"

In less than a second, the blonde beamed at the Uchiha, showing off that happy-go-lucky grin of his that the raven hadn't seen since the first day he'd met him.

"You bet!" the younger boy spoke confidently.

And in response, Sasuke chuckled. It worked after all, then…

He watched as Naruto began to laugh again for the first time in a long time, which made the Uchiha actually feel some warmth inside the very core of his heart.

If this is all that it takes…maybe this really isn't so bad.

~o~

After the two children outside had finally finished their breakfast and gone inside for hot cocoa at the raven's offer, their friendship had only continued to grow even more in the next few days.

During that time, both Naruto and Sasuke had grown very close to each other, and it was obvious to the rest of the orphanage because they'd always be seen together as if they were like two peas in a pod, playing with each other outside on the playground or sitting in the same spot of the room during class. In addition, this had been a good sign of progression especially for the raven himself because he'd learned how to understand another person's feelings and actually talk to that person.

In other words…the Uchiha had finally made a friend—his first and best—and of course he knew that, most of all because the blonde had been the only one in the orphanage that ever got him to smile or chuckle at even the slightest. While on the other hand…Naruto had found someone who could actually understand him not as a nuisance but a trusted companion.

Iruka had noticed this change as well, and had been thrilled to see that both children's loneliness had ebbed away for once, knowing that this breakthrough, especially for Sasuke, would definitely be good news for the raven's older sibling to hear.

So you could say that the days that passed had been cheerful for the two of them.

And to make things even better, Naruto's nightmares had also begun to disappear.

But only for a few nights.

After a while…they'd come back again, worse than ever before—and Sasuke had noticed this right away.

He'd often wake up to hear the blonde screaming bloody murder and pleading for his mother and father almost every night, and although they were best friends now…it still wasn't enough for Naruto to tell the raven why he was having those bad dreams, for he was too afraid.

This actually worried the Uchiha himself. However, now that he understood the blonde's feelings, he knew just what to do to solve the problem he was having.

And he would need no one other than Mr. Iruka to help him.

~o~

The next evening, Naruto had decided to go to bed early to make up from any sleep he'd lost from constantly waking up from nightmares—and Sasuke had taken this chance to walk downstairs to Mr. Iruka's office to discuss the situation with him.

However, the raven had forgotten all about it…once he'd stepped into that room.

"Yes?"

At that moment, the adult brunette had been standing in the back, and appeared to be having a conversation with someone on the telephone.

"Uh-huh. Right," Sasuke had heard the latter speak lightly.

But suddenly, Iruka's face became serious, which made the Uchiha feel a bit uneasy.

Not long after that, the brunette's eyes widened, and he had put his hand over his mouth.

"Itachi?"

In that instant, the raven froze upon hearing his brother's name.

It only made things worse when Iruka started to speak with an anxious tone. "What? Oh no…tell me what happened."

It was silent for a moment, then the brunette's eyes bulged again.

"Is he okay?"

At this, Sasuke immediately held his breath and thought he could even hear his heart pounding.

Itachi…

That was when the latter lowered his hand and frowned. "My God."

The Uchiha's eyes widened ten-fold. What was going on? What had happened to his sibling?

At that moment, the young raven literally wanted to grab the telephone from Mr. Iruka right then and there.

But all of a sudden, it got quiet again, which made Sasuke stop in his tracks.

And then…he had heard the adult brunette close his eyes and speak those words in such a dull tone.

"…so he really isn't coming back after all."

In that instant, the raven almost collapsed forward, but caught himself immediately. Now he finally knew…what had just happened to his one and only brother…

Soon, he'd heard Iruka's final words over the phone.

"I'll be the one to break this to him. I'll handle this myself."

Before the adult brunette even hung up, Sasuke already found himself running back up the stairs. And he had fallen to his knees after he'd came around a nearby corner, leaning against the wall and panting heavily.

Brother… he thought to himself, closing his eyes in anguish.

That was when a memory had flashed in his mind. Of that cold, snowy day by the very threshold of this building…

~xXx~

"I promise I'll be back as soon as I can. Forgive me for leaving you like this."

~xXx~

The young raven exhaled sharply, putting his hand over his mouth. Itachi…

~xXx~

"Be strong for Big Brother, okay?"

~xXx~

At that moment, the Uchiha held his breath, clawing at the carpet below him. This can't be happening…

He let out a pained cry, slamming the wall with his fist.

Damn it…

~o~

That night, Sasuke had finally brought himself to return to his room, where Naruto had been waiting patiently in Itachi's bed.

But at that point, the raven's face had been paler than usual and more nonchalant.

Of course, the blonde had noticed this change in the Uchiha almost right away, and this worried him a bit.

So when Sasuke had gone to bed without saying a word to his roommate, the younger boy had opened his mouth to speak in an innocent, concerned tone.

"Hey, Sasuke? Are you feeling okay?"

But the latter had only given an indifferent response. "It's late. Go to bed already."

And after that, there had been nothing more but dead silence.

However, Naruto had still taken the time to wait a little, his eyes filled with worry for his best friend. But later on, after a few more minutes, he finally brought himself to fall asleep.

~o~

(Naruto's POV—1st person)

He was right about it being really late at night because I fell asleep right away.

But the problem was…I was scared at the same time.

After all, I didn't know what was gonna happen next in my bad dream.

And that was when I began to remember what happened that night…the day my mommy and daddy both died…

~xXx~

"Naruto! Where are you?"

"Mommy! Daddy! I'm right here!"

Shouts could be heard in the dark.

"No! Don't you dare touch him, I swear if you—"

At that moment, a piercing scream filled the air, and someone had begun to violently pound on the other side of the door.

At the same time, the little blonde that lay on his bed with the sheets pulled up under his nose began to tremble with fear.

That was when the door finally swung open, revealing nothing but pitch-blackness.

This made young Naruto hold his breath for a moment, his big blue eyes darting around frantically.

But that was when he could just barely see his mother and father in the distance, sprawled on the floor—a bloody mess.

The blonde's eyes widened with fear and he began to shriek. "No! Mommy! Daddy!"

He was literally screaming at the top of his lungs, his hands shaking.

Until finally…the killer came into the room, and Naruto immediately shut up.

He was a tall, burly man, wearing a scarlet-red bandanna over his face, which covered all but his glaring, black eyes.

At that moment, the little blonde gulped as he anxiously stared back at the monstrous figure before him, slowly encroaching in his direction…

"D-don't come any closer! Go away!"

But the killer didn't listen, and only continued to advance towards the young, blue-eyed boy despite his screams for help.

Finally, Naruto gasped when the monster had stopped right in front of him, those beast-like eyes gleaming at him…

And then—the killer had spoken in a cool but sinister voice.

"Worry no more, little brat."

He had chuckled darkly, ripping away the blonde's bed sheets and grabbing the latter's shoulders.

"Mr. Kyuubi's here to make it all better."

Not long after that, screams could be heard from the room.

~xXx~

(General 3rd person POV)

"No! No! Stop it already!" Naruto began to shriek from Itachi's bed.

He groaned, then began fidgeting in his sheets. "Leave me alone!"

There was a whimper, then the blonde began screaming bloody murder again.

"Mommy! Daddy! I—"

Suddenly, the blue-eyed boy was pulled up from the bed and onto his feet.

And when Naruto had woken up, he had seen a very irritated Sasuke Uchiha standing before him and clutching his shoulders.

This scared the blonde a little because he had never seen the raven like this…not at all…until now.

The Uchiha exhaled sharply, then narrowed his eyes. "What the heck is your problem already!"

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then looked down at his feet, speaking in a quiet tone.

"Nothing…"

But all of a sudden, Sasuke pushed the blonde, almost making him fall backwards. Then he spoke again, raising his voice in anger.

"That's nothing but crud to me—like hell I'll believe that now."

The latter really didn't like how the raven was acting at that moment—how he was being so mean to him and all…

Naruto clenched his fists and glared back at the Uchiha. "I said, there's nothing wrong with me, okay!"

But almost immediately, Sasuke cut in, his tone dripping with acid.

"Don't you dare lie to me by saying that there's nothing wrong with you, because there is."

In that instant, the blonde shut up. But then he began to protest again. "How would you even understand—"

The raven only continued as if it were nothing. "You've been having the same nightmare for a week now already." He paused and closed his eyes, exhaling sharply. "If you really miss your mom and dad that much…"

The Uchiha swallowed as he remembered that day, and clenched his teeth. Then he opened his eyes to glare at the blonde. "Don't ever count on them coming back!" He growled, recoiling a little. But then he raised his voice again, which was unusual even for him. "And you wanna know why? Because they're dead, that's why! That's why they even sent you here in the first place, so suck it up, damn it!"

Sasuke paused, panting heavily. Then he swallowed, speaking again in a cold tone, mental images of his parents and his brother flashing through his mind.

"I got over my parents' death a long time ago. You should have done the same already. So get over it. There's no one left."

He exhaled sharply. "Monsters don't even exist in the first place, you stupid idiot. No wonder everyone thinks of you as a nuisance—waking us all up in the middle of the night because you're such a baby." He panted again.

Suddenly, it got silent in the room again, with the exception of the Uchiha's heavy breathing.

Finally, when the raven had brought himself to calm down, he swallowed and looked back at the blonde.

But he was horrified to see that Naruto frozen where he was, eyes bulging and tears beginning to stream down his cheeks.

And then…Sasuke had realized…what he'd just done.

He stiffened. Oh, shoot…

The raven's eyes softened, and he carefully advanced towards his best friend, hoping to apologize and comfort him as he could.

He paused, then began extending his hand. "Naruto, I didn't mean—"

But the Uchiha never got to finish that sentence, for the blonde had immediately sprinted out of the room with looking back.

"Wait—Naruto! Come back! I didn't mean it!" Sasuke called after the younger boy, chasing after him outside of the threshold.

But the blonde didn't bother to respond even once, and ran headlong down the hall.

The raven swallowed. No…what have I done?

~o~

Naruto panted as he sprinted down the hallways of the orphanage.

He didn't understand me after all…I thought he was really my friend…

He closed his eyes, shaking his head while tears ran down his whiskered cheeks.

I'm so stupid…

The blonde sniffled, running even faster.

But suddenly, he bumped into someone and stopped right in his tracks.

And when Naruto had opened his eyes, he saw that the person he'd crashed into had been none other than that other raven with short hair that he'd seen one morning—the one who was drawing in a notebook under that tall tree outside…

At that moment, the two just stared at each other in silence, not knowing what to say to one another.

But that was when the blonde began to hear the Uchiha calling his name in the distance, he voice getting louder and louder as he got closer.

Naruto stiffened, his eyes darting around frantically in different directions.

Then the short-haired raven grabbed the blonde's arm, pointing outside around a nearby corner.

The blue-eyed boy hesitated for a minute, then looked at the latter.

"Come with me," spoke the pale boy.

And when Naruto had begun to hear Sasuke's running footsteps, he followed the short-haired raven without question, hiding around the corner.

~o~

The blonde panted, falling on his knees when they had finally hidden.

That was when a hand of ivory was extended out towards him, and young Naruto had looked up to see the short-haired boy's face.

"I'm Sai," the latter spoke in a kind voice.

The blue-eyed boy took the child's hand, letting him stand up.

"I'm Naruto," the blonde replied exhaustedly. "I've seen you before—"

"Shh," Sai cut in all of a sudden, pulling the latter back and glancing in the direction which they came from.

Naruto swallowed, holding his breath immediately and looking in the same direction as the short-haired raven.

Soon, both could see a very troubled Sasuke Uchiha aimlessly roaming around the nearest hall, desperately searching for his best friend who he'd just hurt.

"Naruto!" the Uchiha called.

After getting no response, he growled in frustration, putting his hand to his forehead and leaning against the wall. "Naruto…I'm so sorry…"

The blonde's eyes softened upon hearing those words from Sasuke, but he still wouldn't budge, for he was too afraid…

Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned around to see Sai pointing towards a tall tree in the distance. "Let's go somewhere where he can't see us for now."

And with that, the two left for the farthest parts of the playground.

~o~

It was calm under the tall tree, and there had been nothing but the chirping of the crickets in the tall grass.

Sai sighed as they both sat down by the tree's roots, placing his book on his lap and beginning to flip through the pages with a pencil in his hand.

"So…what happened between the two of you?"

At first, Naruto was silent. Then he let out a sigh and spoke in a soft tone. "It's nothing. We just had a little fight, that's all."

In that instant, the short-haired raven paused. "Are you sure it was little? It looked as if you wanted to get away from him back there. After all, you looked really sad."

The blonde hesitated for a minute, then lowered his head. "All right, then—maybe it wasn't so small. It's really hard to explain, but…"

Sai listened patiently with a blank expression on his face.

Naruto closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "…he called me a nuisance, like everybody else. I thought he was my friend…"

The blonde sniffled.

But then he felt someone place his hand over his, and the blue-eyed boy looked up to see that short-haired raven was smiling.

"He is your friend. You shouldn't doubt yourself at all."

Naruto wiped his cheeks and stared at Sai with confused eyes. "Whaddaya mean by that?"

The latter paused, then spoke in a careful tone. "What I mean is that…have you tried to understand his feelings at all?"

At that moment, the blonde was silent.

Sai continued. "From what I've been hearing about the two of you, it seemed like you'd finally found someone to care about your feelings more than anything else in the world. And I know that because I've seen you out on the swing set every time I come out here to draw—how lonely you were before this all happened." He paused. "But after you disappeared from the playground and started hanging out with him more, I began to wonder…if you were able to consider how he felt as well."

Naruto listened with wide eyes. "Uh…"

The short-haired raven spoke again in a calm tone. "The question here is…how much do you really know about Sasuke?"

At that moment, the blonde flinched, and he looked down with sad eyes.

"…not really a lot, I guess."

It was silent for a minute.

Then Naruto stiffened and looked up at Sai, who was now continuing his masterpiece.

"But how do you know about—"

The short-haired raven drew a line and paused. "Because…I understand his situation right now, and I can relate to him, actually."

The blonde swallowed and watched as Sai continued to sketch in his notebook. "How?"

The short-haired raven scribbled, then spoke in a low tone. "His brother was stationed in the same place my brother was."

Naruto frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Suddenly, Sai paused, and after a few minutes, he looked up to face the latter with a blank expression on his face.

The blonde listened patiently.

Then the short-haired raven let out a sigh and spoke in a dull voice.

"A few years ago…a war was gonna happen in a place not far from here, and they were taking big kids and grownups from around the country to fight in it because there wasn't enough people at that time." He paused for a moment. "My older brother had to leave me for that, and it was the same for Sasuke that day. It was sad how we had to say goodbye and all…"

Sai closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "But it might have been worse for Sasuke, since he'd already lost his parents even before that…"

In that instant, Naruto's eyes bulged. "What! How…?"

The short-haired raven paused, then looked at the blonde. "A year before that, Sasuke and his family were in a car accident—he and his brother were the only ones who survived, and they were sent here because there was no one left to take care of them. In fact…they were actually the first kids to come to this orphanage. And I guess my brother and I were the second."

The blue-eyed boy's face grew sad. "Really?"

"Yeah," Sai replied softly. "But it wasn't all that bad, because we'd always have our brothers to look after us and play with us all the time—although Shin and I didn't really talk as much to them. We just happened to be in the same place." He was silent for a moment. "But there's one other thing I know, and that's that Sasuke wasn't like this before."

The blonde listened with curious eyes.

The short-haired raven pursed his lips. "Back then when Itachi was still around, you would actually see him smile a lot—and laugh. Almost like how I was before my brother was drafted." His eyes grew dull. "But that was a long time ago. Before Sasuke had decided to walk his path of solitude."

At that moment, Naruto watched as the latter's grip tightened on the notebook.

Sai frowned. "Me…I chose a life similar to his. That's why you don't see me around the orphanage as often as the others."

The blonde frowned, then shifted his eyes towards the page that the latter had scribbled on. "Is that what you've been working on all this time?"

In that instant, the short-haired raven stiffened upon hearing the question, then looked down at his drawing, which was now finished.

He couldn't help but smile a little. "What—this?"

The younger boy nodded. "Yeah—I've seen you scribbling on that page for hours. What is it?"

At this, the latter frowned. "Well…this was actually something I started a while ago when my brother was still around. It's actually a drawing that I wanted to finish by the time he got back and give it to him as a present."

With that, he held it up for the blonde to see, revealing a picture of a short-haired raven that looked just like Sai and an older boy with silver hair next to him (which was probably his brother). They had been smiling, and they were holding hands.

In that instant, Naruto's face lit up. "Wow! That looks really good! Your brother's gonna be really happy when he sees that!" He chuckled, then looked back at the latter.

However, Sai wasn't smiling at all, which made the blonde sad.

"What's wrong?"

The short-haired raven was silent for a moment, then sighed. "It's a shame that I won't be able to give it to him anyway."

At that moment, Naruto tilted his head. "Why not?"

Sai closed his eyes and spoke in a dull tone. "Because…Shin isn't coming back. He's dead."

The blonde's eyes widened. "What?"

In response, the short-haired raven's breath wavered a bit. "Recently, he and Sasuke's brother were sent to one of the enemy's camps to spy on them. But they didn't know that the enemy already knew that they were going to do and already set up a bomb in one of the tents. Mr. Iruka told me yesterday…that Shin was caught when it exploded, and he was killed."

In that instant, the younger boy stiffened. "I'm so sorry."

Sai closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "But the thing is…no one knows what happened to Itachi." He looked at Naruto with serious eyes. "That's why Sasuke's been acting so weird lately."

Almost immediately, the blonde held his breath, remembering the words that the Uchiha had yelled at him earlier.

The latter continued. "He's hurt and confused inside, because he doesn't know how to do or feel about his situation."

The younger boy swallowed.

"It's not that he didn't understand you, Naruto—it's how you didn't understand him first. Sasuke's lost in the dark right now, and he needs you to help him find the light again."

The blonde exhaled sharply and closed his eyes. He should have noticed this from the beginning…and now….what?

Naruto let out another sigh and looked at Sai, who had a blank countenance. Then he beamed at him.

"Thanks—I think I know what I'm gonna do now."

At that moment, the short-haired raven couldn't help but smile. "Well, we should go back then."

He got up, helping the blonde up on his feet as well, then began walking towards the orphanage.

But before the latter could take another step, Naruto opened his mouth to speak.

"Hey…Sai?"

The older boy stopped and glanced back to see the blonde catch up to him.

"What?"

The younger boy smiled, holding his thumb up.

"Don't worry about not being able to give it to your brother, because he'll see it anyway." He gestured up towards the sky.

Sai paused for a minute, then looked up in the same direction as the latter to see a cluster of stars shining brightly up above.

"Heh. Besides…" Naruto continued.

The short-haired raven looked back at the blonde.

The blue-eyed boy winked. "I'm sure that no matter what, your brother will be proud of what you did for him."

And at this, Sai couldn't help but smile at the latter. "Thanks, Naruto."

In response, the blonde chuckled. "No problem."

Both grinned at each other in that instant. But then the short-haired raven's face became expressionless again.

"So."

At that moment, the younger boy stopped chuckling. "What?"

Sai paused, then spoke in a soft tone. "What are you going to do now?"

At first, Naruto was quiet for a minute, but then he turned his head to look in the direction of the orphanage and scrutinized upon the window at bottommost left of the building—the one that had belonged to Mr. Iruka's office.

And with that, the blonde finally spoke in a low voice.

"…something I should have done from the very beginning."

~o~

"Sasuke."

Groan.

"Hey, Sasuke—wake up."

"…"

"Sasuke…"

The raven stirred, then slowly opened his eyes to see a petite, pink-haired little girl with emerald green eyes looking at him with a concerned look on her face.

Sakura Haruno.

The pink-haired girl hesitated for a moment, then spoke shyly. "Hey—are you okay? Mr. Iruka said you nearly keeled over last night in one of the hallways."

The Uchiha yawned, rubbing his eyes. Then he sat up and realized that he had been lying on one of the couches in the foyer of the orphanage.

Not long after that, he'd remembered what had happened before he'd passed out, and pictured the blonde's face in his mind at the moment.

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes, putting his hand to his forehead. "Where's Naruto?"

There was a long pause. "He's gone."

In that instant, the raven's eyes fluttered open, widening in disbelief. And he'd noticed that Sakura had an unsure expression on her face, which made him feel uneasy.

"What? Gone where?"

But the girl before him only shrugged, her eyes sad. "No one knows."

Almost immediately, the Uchiha stiffened where he was.

~o~

In the time that passed, Sasuke had searched the whole orphanage for his best friend—even the playground. But the young blonde was nowhere to be found.

And at the same time, he'd dared to come back to his bedroom to see if Naruto was there. But unfortunately, there had been no sign of him there, either.

Finally, late in the afternoon, the raven had brought himself to explain everything to Mr. Iruka, who had been looking out the window of his office at the moment.

"Where is he?"

The adult brunette was silent for a minute. Then he spoke in a soft tone. "He's sick. Naruto had to stay with the doctor for a while."

In that instant, the Uchiha stiffened. But that was when Iruka had put his hand on his shoulder with a smile. "Don't blame yourself—what happened last night had nothing to do with it. And I can guarantee that he'll be able to come back soon."

~o~

Five days passed, and there had still been no news about Naruto. At the same time, Sasuke began hearing rumors from the children about the blonde being sick.

"It's all Uchiha's fault for yelling at the poor kid…he should be the one to blame here."

"Poor Naruto…"

And as the raven began to hear these words from the others, he felt nothing but guilt and remorse at the very core of his heart, despite Iruka's kind words to him.

His best friend was still missing, and that was that.

Until a couple more days later.

~o~

"Did you hear the good news? Naruto's finally come back."

Almost immediately, Sasuke had heard this from a nearby group of girls having a conversation with each other before going to bed.

"Where is he now?" the raven had asked them.

But they only turned their backs to him in response and scoffed.

"Why don't you check your room already? He's probably there by now, waiting for an apology from you."

Ignoring the attitude he was being given by the girls, he immediately ran up the stairs to his room, pushing the door open.

And there the blonde was: lying on his side on Itachi's bed with his back facing the Uchiha.

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, then quietly stepped into the room and whispered softly.

"Naruto?"

But the latter didn't respond or move a muscle.

With that, the raven tiptoed carefully over to where the blonde was and saw him sound asleep, his countenance serene for once.

But what else was different about the latter was the yellow toad plushie that he now held in his arms…

~o~

The next morning, Sasuke woke up only to see Itachi's sheets folded tidy on his bed, which meant that Naruto had probably already gone down for breakfast.

But when the raven had gone down to the mess hall himself, the young blonde was nowhere to be found. So there had been only one other place to look.

Not long after that, the Uchiha had glanced out the nearest window in the hallway to see that Naruto had once again taken his place alone on the swing set with that same morose countenance. But this time, he was holding that plushie again in his arms as if it were his baby or something like that.

This change in the younger boy had somehow concerned Sasuke at first, but then he realized that the toad might have been part of the doctor's treatment for the latter.

But then again…for what, exactly? Naruto didn't look sick…

The raven sighed, closing his eyes.

Maybe he just needs time like before.

~o~

However, a few more days passed, and Sasuke had noticed that Naruto had changed a lot more than ever.

Recently, he'd go to bed earlier than the raven would without even saying "Good night," as he usually would, and it was the same every morning with the younger boy isolating himself again on the playground, having no one but that yellow toad plushie in his hands.

In fact, it was as if the blonde was avoiding him now, which made the Uchiha wonder.

Then finally, worse came to worst one afternoon when Sasuke had seen a group of three boys ganging up on poor Naruto in the hallway.

And the tallest one of them was holding the toad plushie up in the air, taunting the younger boy that he couldn't reach it and jeering at him.

"What is this!" the older one gibed, waving the toy over the blonde's head.

The blue-eyed boy growled, jumping up to grab the toad from the boy's hand.

"That's Gamatatsu!" Naruto screamed. "Give him back! He's gonna protect me from the monster!"

In that instant, Sasuke froze in his tracks, raising an eyebrow. Monster?

Soon he heard the boys laugh even more and saw one of them push the young blonde to the floor.

Immediately, the Uchiha sprinted over to his best friend's side and glared at the bullies.

"Leave. Him. Alone."

In an instant, the boys grew silent upon facing the wrath of the raven's cold death glare.

But then the tallest bully looked at the Gamatatsu plushie in his hand and began to chortle and snicker again, tossing the toy at the blonde on the floor.

"C'mon guys—this isn't even worth it. Let Uchiha have his fun here."

And with that, the boys walked away with smirks on their faces.

Sasuke closed his eyes, exhaling sharply, then he turned to help Naruto up by extending a hand.

"Hey—are you ok—"

But before he even got to finish his sentence, the blonde had already sprinted away from him and disappeared around the corner.

By this, the raven couldn't help but feel a bit of pain inside and reluctantly retracted his hand, staring into the now empty hallway with a blank expression on his face.

"He's doing all this for you, if you haven't noticed it already."

At that moment, Sasuke glanced behind him to see Kiba Inuzuka walking towards him with a spiky-haired brunette by the name of Shikamaru Nara and a redhead with sea green eyes—Gaara. He frowned, then turned around to face the three with an indifferent countenance.

"Hn. What do you mean by that?"

In that instant, the trio stopped a few feet from the Uchiha, leaving the fanged brunette to advance towards the latter with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Huh—so you didn't see it. I wasn't expecting you to be that cold, Uchiha."

The raven narrowed his eyes, then briefly shifted his gaze towards Shikamaru and Gaara. "Just get it over with, dog."

At that moment, the spiky-haired brunette stepped forward. He paused, then opened his mouth to speak in an unwavering tone. "From what we all know, Naruto's changed more than anyone would ever expect from him—not just physically but his personality, too." Shikamaru stopped for a minute to glance at Sasuke. "You should have realized that by now from the moment he returned."

The Uchiha stiffened, then frowned, lowering his eyes to the floor.

The spiky-haired brunette closed his eyes and let out a sigh, then continued to speak. "From what I understand, the two of you had a fight before Naruto had left the orphanage a week ago. And after he disappeared, Mr. Iruka might have already told you that he'd gotten sick and had to go to the doctor, just like he'd told a select few of us. Am I right, Uchiha?"

Sasuke frowned. "Ah."

In that instant, Shikamaru opened his eyes to look at the raven. "Did you even know what Naruto was really sick with?"

The Uchiha froze. "No." He hesitated for a moment, then stared back at the spiky-haired brunette. "I didn't."

He shifted his gaze from each of the three before him. All were silent.

Until finally, Gaara had opened his mouth to speak with closed eyes.

"A few years ago, everyone had heard of a certain house located at the edge of Konoha, surrounded by the tallest trees in this country. At first, no one even knew it existed because it was so well-hidden by the woods and it was so quiet in that area." The redhead paused, then opened his eyes to stare at the raven that had been listening patiently. "But that was when someone happened to break into it in the middle of the night while everyone was asleep."

In that instant, Sasuke stiffened.

Gaara paused for a moment, then continued in a low voice. "That night…everyone in that house was killed by the man who had broken in…except for one kid. You should be able to figure who that was."

The raven swallowed, absorbing all this new information in his mind. And then his eyes widened when he'd finally realized...

He held his breath, looking straight up at the redhead, whose eyes were closed again.

"No way."

Gaara slowly shook his head. "Naruto's parents were murdered that night…and he was left all alone to deal with the killer himself. God knows what that guy did to poor Uzumaki, considering that it had been dark inside that house the whole time."

At that moment, the Uchiha gulped, his eyes still bulging with disbelief. "So that means…the nightmares he's been having all this time…"

"You really shouldn't have snapped at him," Kiba growled, advancing towards Sasuke. "Especially now when he's at his weakest, thinking of himself as a bother to everyone else." He narrowed his eyes. "Whether your brother's alive or not…Naruto's living and breathing here and now. Why don't you think about that for once—eh, Uchiha?"

Sasuke glared at the Inuzuka, then lowered his head again.

That was when Shikamaru spoke again. "Back then, before we were all sent here, our parents used to be good friends with Naruto's parents. So we've really known him long enough to say that he wouldn't just change his own personality for anyone—more or less even agree to see a doctor." He looked into the raven's eyes. "That means you might just be that important to him, Uchiha. So much that he'd gone so far as to make these changes—to deal with his own fears—all for the sake of not being a nuisance to you."

The latter frowned.

Suddenly, Kiba grabbed Sasuke by the collar and growled. "I'd talk to him right about now, if I were you."

Gaara placed a hand on the fanged brunette's shoulder. "Enough."

The fanged brunette glanced at the redhead, then roughly let go of the raven. "Fix this mess, Uchiha. Otherwise, you answer to me."

And with that, the three boys left.

Afterward, the raven sighed, glancing out the nearest window to see that night was about to fall. Then he closed his eyes.

Naruto…

~o~

Later on that night, Sasuke had returned to his room, he had found the blonde in his usual position, sleeping peacefully on his side with Gamatatsu in his arms.

…presumably, that is.

In that instant, the raven watched for a moment to check if at any given point in time the latter's eyelids would flutter occasionally or if he began to talk in his sleep. But afterwards, he had gone to bed as well, supposedly exhausted for the day.

The Uchiha yawned, rolling on his side with his back to the blonde…and waited in silence.

Until finally…he had heard a faint shuffling sound from the other side of the room and inconspicuously glanced back towards the one that lay on his brother's bed.

And at that moment, he stiffened—when he'd seen the blonde now on his side with his eyes wide open, staring apprehensively in front of him while clutching Gamatatsu with shaky hands.

At that same time, the raven's eyes softened upon seeing this.

Hn. So this was what he's been doing all along. No wonder I haven't heard a sound from him in the past few nights. And of course…the doctor wouldn't be able to cure something like this in just one week.

With that, Sasuke swallowed, shifting his gaze over in the same direction at the front of the room.

But what's been scaring him this whole time?

As he turned to look towards the front, he paused when he noticed a small door, left half-open and partially revealing its dark inside.

That was when the Uchiha's eyes softened upon remembering…that it had been the closet where he and Itachi had used to keep their toys and old clothes in when they were younger—left untouched for years.

But Sasuke did notice the first time around that it definitely was dark inside that small extension…although he didn't really see anything that would scare the young blonde from where he was at that moment.

This made the raven wonder.

~o~

The next morning, the Uchiha woke up to see Itachi's bed made—as expected from his best friend.

At that moment, he crawled out of his own bed, taking this chance to look into the old closet at the front of the room.

And when he opened the faded blue door, he almost smiled to see that everything was still there just as it had been when he had been about four years old.

Board games stacked on one side of the shelves, all sorts of toys and old clothes on the other…

The raven's eyes softened as he looked around from the threshold.

But then he stopped when he came across a suspicious, ragged red scarf hanging on the doorknob from the inside of the closet.

One that Itachi had given to him for Christmas one year, but he rarely ever wore because red had never been one of his favorite colors…

That was when it came to Sasuke, and he'd looked again at the red piece of clothing hanging on the knob.

What if this had been what was scaring the blonde all along?

Upon contemplating on this idea, the raven closed the door halfway again, leaving the scarf on the doorknob. Then he backed away, sitting at the foot of Itachi's bed.

And from there…he could see that the only thing visible in the closet at that point…was the red rag that hung from the inside.

At the same time, all the pieces began to fall into place in the Uchiha's head.

"That's Gamatatsu! He's gonna protect me from the monster!"

"No! Help! He's gonna get me!"

"No…Mommy! Daddy!"

"The monster!"

"THE MONSTER!"

In that instant, Sasuke turned to glance out the window.

And could just get the slightest glimpse of a tired, bushy-haired blonde sitting out on the swing set by himself.

The raven closed his eyes, letting out a sigh.

He had to do something about this…soon.

~o~

11:30 P.M.

The Uchiha opened his eyes, then slowly raised his head to see the blonde in his usual position, staring at the half-open closet door with terrified eyes.

Trembling with fear.

At that moment, Sasuke's eyes softened again. Then finally, he sat up on the bed.

"Naruto."

At first, the blue-eyed boy flinched after hearing the raven's voice, but then he managed to look at the Uchiha, still scared like heck.

And this…was what made the raven get out of the bed in less than a second and make his way towards the half-open closet.

But as he reached for the doorknob…

"No—what are you doing! Don't open it, Sasuke! There's a monster in that room!"

In that instant, Sasuke couldn't help but smirk, lowering his arm. Somehow he was expecting something like this from the blonde, who he pictured behind him, still cringing under the sheets.

He took a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Naruto, there aren't any monsters in here. They don't exist."

Silence.

After a few seconds, the raven glanced back to see that the latter had stopped cringing all of a sudden—and his face was now solemn.

"How…" the younger boy began in a soft voice. "How long have you known?"

At that moment, the Uchiha's eyes softened again. But then he turned to face the closet door, putting his hand on the doorknob.

"Long enough for me to tell you right now…that it's okay."

In that instant, the blonde's eyes widened.

With that, he began to gently pull the door open, briefly glancing at the latter with reassuring eyes. "And it is."

Immediately, Naruto let out a small gasp, closing his eyes and covering his ears when the threshold had finally been revealed, with nothing but pure darkness inside.

Then it was silent for a moment.

"Hn. See? Everything's fine."

The young blonde was silent.

Then after considering the raven's calm tone, he lowered his hands from his ears and slowly opened his eyes to see the latter standing in the doorway, facing him with a blank expression on his face.

And with that, the Uchiha had chuckled lightly at the blue-eyed boy, gesturing towards the inside of the closet. "I don't see any monsters in here."

Naruto still didn't say a word, his eyes still cautious. But after hearing his best friend's words, his body relaxed just a little bit.

Sasuke continued to look around behind him. "Just a bunch of old toys…" At that moment, he came across the red, tattered scarf hanging on the doorknob and took it in his hands, holding out towards the younger boy. "…and old clothes, too."

Suddenly, the raven heard a gasp from the front of the room, and immediately looked up to see the blonde tensed up again, trembling with wide eyes and clutching Gamatatsu in his hands.

But how could Naruto help it? That red piece of clothing was all it took to remind him of…

Of…

"Naruto!"

At that moment, the blonde began to break out in a cold sweat, tears beginning to well up under his eyes as he began to picture that monster in his head. Those cold eyes and that sickening grin…

The Uchiha had noticed in an instant that he had been right after all, for he could see that his best friend's gaze was unwavering towards the bright red scarf in his hands.

But this time, the raven knew better…

"Hn."

Naruto looked up at Sasuke, still shaking.

That was when his eyes widened again after noticing that the Uchiha had wrapped the scarf neatly around his neck, his arms crossed.

Almost immediately…the monster's face had ebbed away, the raven's own complexion replacing it.

At this, the blonde relaxed, closing his eyes and letting out a sigh of relief.

At that moment, the older boy smirked, slightly narrowing his eyes.

"So you mean to tell me…that you've been scared of a scarf this whole time?"

Naruto opened his eyes to face the latter innocently and swallowed. "I…"

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes, taking the rag off his neck and holding it out with one hand. "Hn. Wow, Naruto—I thought it would at least be something more than this." He paused, then looked at the younger boy with a blank countenance. "But even so, I doubt there would be anything scary in this place since I've been here for almost six years now. And I haven't seen anything."

The blonde gulped, shyly gazing back at his best friend.

In that instant, the Uchiha couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, dropping the scarf.

"There's really nothing to be afraid of," he spoke softly with a rare but reassuring smile.

At that moment, the younger boy hesitated a little, but then managed to grin back as well after being convinced by his best friend's words. At the same time, his ocean blue eyes sparkled under the moonlight.

For this, the raven's own eyes softened. Then he opened his mouth to speak. "Don't worry so much. Everything's okay—"

But Sasuke never got to finish that comment, for suddenly, something giant and rounded fell on top of his head, causing him to cry out in surprise.

He swore under his breath and stumbled clumsily.

"What the—I can't see!"

The blonde watched anxiously as the Uchiha began to flail his arms out in front of him, a dark furry mass covering his eyes, and ended up stepping forward onto the red scarf, which caused him to slip and fall back into the dark closet behind him.

There was a crash, the door closing on the poor raven.

And unfortunately getting the door stuck from the inside (which was why Itachi had left the closet door half open in the first place).

In an instant, Naruto's eyes bulged with worry.

"Sasuke!" the little blonde screamed.

At that moment, shouts could be heard from the other side of the door as well as pounding sounds on the wood.

Without hesitation, the blue-eyed boy immediately got out of the bed and sprinted over to the closet door to help his best friend.

But as he reached for the knob, he stiffened and shrank back at the violent pounding from the other side.

This reminded him…

"Don't you dare touch him!"

"Leave him alone—"

Naruto whimpered, holding Gamatatsu up to the door and closing his eyes.

"Mommy…"

That was when he heard Sasuke let out a cry.

"Naruto! Open the door!"

In that instant, the blonde's fear disappeared.

Without even thinking, he dropped the yellow toad onto the floor and took a deep breath, placing his hand firmly on the doorknob. Then he closed his eyes and pulled the door with all his might, causing it to swing open, the raven falling on top of the younger boy and a small photo flying out of the blonde's pocket.

After that, everything had been a blur to the two of them, until eventually they both found themselves panting on the floor….Sasuke on top of Naruto—their faces just inches away from each other.

Then it was silent, and the Uchiha had finally caught his breath and gotten the nerve to look down at his best friend, who was still with wide eyes, his face beginning to flush pink.

After a while, the raven sighed, his cool breath on the latter's face. "Naruto."

And in an instant, he found himself being embraced by the blonde, tears beginning to stream down his face.

Soon, he noticed the latter cringing in front of him, obviously scared half out of his mind.

"Sa…sa…" young Naruto hiccupped.

Sasuke's heart softened and he wrapped his arms around his best friend, gently rubbing his back. In fact, he almost felt like he was Itachi here already.

From six years ago…when he'd used to be the one to calm his baby brother down when the poor kid would have terrible nightmares about the car accident that killed their parents.

At that moment, the raven winced and thought he could hear his own younger self crying to his older brother.

"Itachi…it was so scary…"

Suddenly, the Uchiha began to hear sobs from the blue-eyed boy. "I'm such a scaredy cat…look what I made you do!"

There was a sniffle and another hiccup. "I really am nothing but trouble to you…"

In that instant, the raven closed his eyes, still rubbing the other's back.

"Shh…it's all right…"

He sighed, then turned to see what looked like a tiny picture lying on the ground. And without letting go of his best friend, he reached over to pick it up and saw a couple standing out in the snow—a handsome, blonde-haired man and a beautiful redhead woman carrying a small baby, with hair as golden as his father's, in her loving arms, the child's face at peace and pink with life.

Without a doubt, the infant was Naruto. As for the couple in the picture…

At that moment, Sasuke's eyes softened—remembering the words that Gaara had said.

"Naruto's parents were killed…"

No wonder he wouldn't stop asking for his mother and father.

The raven frowned. "Naruto, you're not a nuisance."

In that instant, the blonde had stopped crying and glanced back with a sniffle to see the latter holding his treasured photo in his hands. His eyes widened, and he backed away all of a sudden, frantically searching his pockets. But they had been empty.

As Sasuke saw how worry had filled the latter's eyes, he spoke in a quiet tone. "These are your parents…aren't they?"

In an instant, Naruto paused, taking his hands out of his pockets. Then his face turned solemn and he looked down at the floor. "…yeah."

Silence.

The Uchiha closed his eyes, lowering his head. Then he opened his mouth to speak again. "I thought so."

He let out a sigh and stood up on his feet, then began walking towards the window beside Itachi's bed, the blonde eventually following behind him with a curious expression on his face.

"Wait—where are we going?"

That was the raven stopped to face the glass, where there had been a tiny rectangle taped to the bottom left corner of the window—the only thing there that had not been covered in moist. He paused for a minute, then reached over to peel the object off the cold surface, and held the rectangle gingerly in his hands.

His face grew solemn. The last time he had even looked at what was in his hands at the moment…was the day Itachi had left five years ago.

Since then, the Uchiha had never laid a finger on it.

Naruto frowned, trying to look over his best friend's shoulder to see what he was now holding.

But then Sasuke turned around with a somber countenance, holding the rectangular object out towards the latter.

In that instant, the blonde carefully took the piece in his hands and turned it over to see that it was another photo…of a family posing in a living room right by a grand Christmas tree.

A brown-haired man with his lovely, raven-haired wife was sitting on the couch, two boys that resembled their mother playing with each other on the carpet, the younger one riding on the older one's back, laughing in the picture.

Almost immediately, Naruto could tell who that boy was, his eyes softening. "Sasuke…"

The raven spoke in a low tone. "Hn. I used to have that picture with me all the time, just like how you always keep yours with you. Back then, when my brother and I first moved here…I'd wake up in the middle of the night, too, mostly because I missed my mother and father. I used to have bad dreams, too." He paused for a moment.

"It took me a long time to realize this, but…" The Uchiha looked at the blonde. "When I first met you, you…you actually reminded me of myself. That's how I was able to connect with you that day—because of that."

The younger boy shrank back, his eyes wide open.

Sasuke lowered his eyes slightly, then handed back the latter's photo. "I'm sorry I yelled at you the other night. I should've thought of how you were feeling at the moment, instead of letting my own emotions get the best of me."

"No," the blonde replied softly, taking the picture from the raven's hand. He paused for a moment, then stared into the latter's coal-black eyes. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I didn't even pay attention to your feelings in the first place. Don't blame yourself."

At this, the Uchiha closed his eyes. "Hn."

Naruto chuckled lightly, then shifted his gaze back at the Uchiha family Christmas photo in his hand. "Heh. You know…I think this is actually the first time I've ever seen you this happy, Sasuke. I mean, look at you laughing in this picture."

At that moment, the raven couldn't help but smirk a little. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." The blue-eyed boy smiled warmly, then lowered his eyes down towards the grinning, older raven in the image.

For a minute, silence filled the room.

"…you're really close to your brother, aren't you?"

No response.

Naruto paused, then looked up to see that his best friend's face had become solemn. At this, his eyes softened. "Do you miss him?"

Sasuke was quiet for a moment. But then he glanced up to see the latter's innocent ocean blue eyes gazing back at him eagerly.

He lowered his eyes again and looked out the window next to him, the glass covered in moist.

"…yeah." There was a long pause. "More than anything in the world."

The blonde frowned.

The Uchiha sighed, then glanced back at the younger boy, whose face had become somber.

Naruto's eyes grew sad. "Well…I guess I can understand that, even though I don't have any brothers or sisters to take care of me." His voice wavered slightly. "I mean…you're lucky to have your big brother to play with you when he's around." He swallowed. "After all…I didn't have anyone to take care of me after my mommy and daddy died." He frowned and closed his eyes. "Nobody but me."

At that moment, the raven's heart softened for the latter when he'd heard those words come out of his mouth.

He might have had it worse, then…poor kid…

The Uchiha winced as the sad thought came to his mind. But then he turned to search for a way to cheer his best friend up again and make him smile.

Coincidentally after a few seconds…he'd found the perfect thing—sitting right by the windowsill at the corner of the room by Itachi's bed.

Another thing that he hadn't touched for a long time…

Sasuke smiled slightly, then carefully picked up the shiny object in his hands and turned to face his best friend.

"Hn. Hey—Naruto."

The blonde flinched and looked up, only to see the Uchiha holding what looked like a big star in his hands, with a wire attached to it.

In an instant, the younger boy's face lit up. "Whoa! What's that?"

Upon seeing Naruto's eyes twinkle with delight under the pale moonlight, the raven couldn't help but chuckle lightly. He smirked, then glanced down at the star in his hands.

"It's called a parol," the raven spoke with a smile. He paused for a minute. "It's a Christmas lantern Itachi and I made out of seashells with Father and Uncle when we went to the Philippines one year for the holidays."

At that moment, Sasuke glanced up at the blonde to see his face light up even more.

"Wow…" the younger boy mumbled softly, marveling at the star-shaped work in the latter's hands. Then he looked up at his best friend with a big grin on his face. "How do you turn it on?"

In that instant, the raven chuckled, then unraveled the wire wrapped around the parol and picked up the plug. "Hn. It's easy. You just have to plug it in with this." With that, he moved closer to the window to carefully hang up the lantern by the hook at the very top, then got on his knees to push the plug into the outlet below the windowsill.

The blonde frowned. "Wait!"

The Uchiha paused, then looked up at the blue-eyed boy, whose arms were crossed.

"I wanna do it…" the latter whined with a pout.

Well, then, the raven thought to himself with a smug grin on his face. After all, this may have been the first time he'd seen his best friend show off his true colors.

He sighed, rolling his eyes, then gestured for Naruto to come over near the outlet.

The blonde laughed and joined his best friend on the floor, taking the plug from his hand.

"Be careful," the Uchiha spoke in an unwavering tone as the blue-eyed boy pushed the plug into the hole in the wall.

As soon as this happened, bright, blinking lights began to flood into the room.

In that instant, Naruto gasped, and both looked up at the star-shaped lantern that shone before them, dazzling red and green lights alternatively shone at different parts of the star's prongs, leaving the middle with a blinking yellow light.

Sasuke chuckled as he glanced over to see the blonde's mouth hang open in awe. Then he shifted his gaze back towards the window and opened his mouth to speak.

"Hn. They say that the parol's light can triumph over the deepest darkness known to man. That's why everyone in the Philippines has one so that it brings peace and happiness to their homes during the Christmastime."

The blue-eyed boy stiffened, looking back at his best friend in curiosity. And he watched as he took the two photos both treasured so much and taped them both to the bottom corner of the window.

The Uchiha paused, then turned to face the blonde. "When I was little, my brother was the one who told me that." His eyes softened. "And when we moved here on Christmas Eve, he'd brought the parol with him so I wouldn't be so scared at night…and he'd put a picture of us with Mother and Father on the window, too."

At that moment, he shifted his gaze over to Itachi's bed, then glanced expectantly at his best friend.

At the same time, Naruto lowered his eyes over to where he'd dropped Gamatatsu on the floor and walked over to pick the yellow toad plushie up before crawling back into the sheets of his bed. He yawned, fixing his pillow and rubbing his eyes.

Sasuke's eyes softened. Then he turned to walk over to his own bed. But as he passed the open door of the closet, he couldn't help but look down at the round, furry object that had fallen on him earlier.

The raven paused to pick it up, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw that it had a face—with a big smile on its face and two large ears on its head that very much resembled a rabbit's.

In that instant, the Uchiha held his breath. Totoro…

That was when he remembered the thing he never got to do.

Before he'd gone down to Iruka's office that day…

But it wouldn't hurt now that he'd found what he needed.

He swallowed, then turned to look behind him and saw the blonde staring back at him with curious eyes, Gamatatsu in his hands.

With that, Sasuke smiled slightly, then advanced towards his best friend with the giant plush in his arms and placed it down next to Naruto, its face grinning at the latter.

The blonde tilted his head. "What's that?"

The raven chuckled once. "Hn. This is Totoro, who I used to have with me all the time back then. I guess you could say he was like a Gamatatsu to me before. You could tell why I smiled a lot when I was little, because Totoro was pretty much the one who taught me how and kept me company at night to protect me from my nightmares."

At that moment, Naruto scrutinized the furry fellow, then smiled his usual happy-go-lucky grin in attempt to outdo Totoro.

Sasuke almost laughed at the sight. Then he spoke again in a calm tone. "You can have him now to stay by your side at night so that you won't have any more bad dreams. I already outgrew him anyway when I got a little older."

With that, the blue-eyed boy laughed, taking the fluffy creature in his arms along with Totoro. Then he pulled his sheets up and placed the plush beside him, leaving the blonde stuck between Totoro and Gamatatsu.

The Uchiha smiled when the latter had finally closed his eyes, then turned to crawl into his own bed.

But the moment he'd finally settled himself down, the blonde opened his eyes again and frowned when he saw his best friend all alone on the other side of the room.

For a few minutes, it was silent.

And then Naruto spoke in a soft voice.

"Sasuke?"

The raven stirred. "Ah."

The blonde hesitated for an instant, but then glanced at Gamatatsu and Totoro and sat up.

"I still can't sleep…can you stay in my bed tonight?"

At that moment, the Uchiha held his breath, his eyes open wide. Then he sat up as well, looking back at his best friend, his sapphire eyes pleading.

For this, one really couldn't refuse the latter's request.

The raven lowered his eyes, then got out of his bed and walked over to crawl into Naruto's sheets.

At the same time, the younger boy took Gamatatsu and Totoro and put them on the other side of the bed, shifting over a little so that Sasuke had room next to him.

The raven yawned, pulling the sheets over himself and his best friend, while the blonde cuddled under the latter's chin and closed his eyes.

At first, the Uchiha froze in surprise, but then his eyes softened when he saw the peaceful expression on his best friend's face, and he wrapped his arms around the little one.

~o~

After a while, Naruto spoke again in a hushed tone. "Hey, Sasuke?"

"Ah."

There was a long pause. Then the blonde shuffled a bit to look back at the parol that hung on the window, its lights still shining.

"…do you think Santa will see us from the sky if we leave the lantern up there?"

In that instant, Sasuke was quiet. He'd already stopped believing in Santa Claus long after Itachi had left for the war.

"I don't know."

Naruto paused, considering the reply, then spoke again.

"Well, then…what are you gonna ask for Christmas?"

The Uchiha lowered his gaze down towards the blonde. "What did you ask for first?"

At that moment, the younger boy laughed. "I already got what I wanted!"

After a few minutes, he was quiet again and smiled. "Back then, I used to ask for my parents to come back every Christmas that passed by. But later on, I finally believed that it would never happen and that it was just impossible." He paused. "So this year…I asked for something else. A friend who'd understand me no matter what and play with me all the time…"

In that instant, he looked up at the raven. "And I got what I wanted."

Sasuke's eyes softened, and he smirked. "Is that so?"

Naruto laughed. "Yeah!"

The older boy chuckled. "Hn."

The blonde beamed at the latter. "So what did you ask for, S'uke?"

The raven was silent, his face solemn. "Nothing. Because I know that I'm not gonna get it anyway. Santa doesn't exist."

At that moment, the younger boy frowned. "That's not true."

The Uchiha rolled his eyes.

Naruto sat up. "Sasuke, you just have to believe he's real—that's all."

The raven sighed. He sat up as well, shifting his gaze over to the other side of the room, towards the calendar that hung above his bed with the past days crossed out in red marker.

And he could see that today was indeed Christmas Eve—Christmas Day in just a few more minutes.

Sasuke closed his eyes. "Then tell me, Naruto…can he bring my parents back? My brother? I've asked for the same thing for a long time now, and I haven't seen the guy give me anything. So why bother?"

Naruto's eyes grew sad. "Sasuke…you just have to wait."

The raven groaned, putting his hand to his forehead. "I've waited long enough."

The blue-eyed boy frowned, looking away from his best friend in defeat.

There was silence again between the two of them.

The blonde let out a small sigh, then turned to look out the window again, glancing at the glass below at the parol.

But that was when he'd noticed dots of white falling behind it.

In an instant, the younger one sprang up from the bed, running over to the windowsill.

His eyes widened when he'd seen that the whole town was covered in white, too.

"Sasuke!" the latter cried in delight. "Sasuke, look—it's snowing!"

The raven stiffened, his eyes widening. At that moment, he got up and advanced over to where his best friend was.

Indeed, it definitely was snowing. The streets were literally covered.

The Uchiha frowned. Just like that day…

But someone was missing.

That wasn't until from out of the blue, bells could be heard jingling outside and Naruto's face lit up.

"Santa!"

Suddenly, the doorbell was ringing downstairs and footsteps could be heard.

Sasuke froze, then immediately shifted his gaze down to where he could see the front porch from the window.

No way…

He'd seen a car, parked along the sidewalk. And one silhouette could be seen getting out from one of the front seats.

In that instant, the Uchiha held his breath and his eyes bulged. Then he got up and sprinted into the hallway, thoughts flooding his head.

Could it really be…

Finally, he ran down the stairs to see that Iruka had opened the door—revealing a tall raven that resembled…

"Big brother!" Sasuke cried out, running towards the threshold.

At that moment, Itachi shifted his gaze and soon found himself being embraced by his younger brother in less than a second.

In that instant, he couldn't help but chuckle, wrapping his arms around the smaller raven. "Sasuke…is that really you? You've gotten so big…"

The shorter Uchiha burrowed his head under the latter's chin. "You're okay…I missed you so much…"

The older one smiled. "I missed you, too, baby brother. But I'm here now."

There was a sniffle from the other. "Merry Christmas…"

The latter sighed. "Merry Christmas."

After a while, the two brothers pulled away for a brief minute, Itachi taking Sasuke by the shoulder and staring into pools of ebony.

But that was when something yellow had caught his eye, which made the taller raven glance over the latter's shoulder to see a short, bushy-haired blonde hiding at the foot of the stairwell.

The younger Uchiha had noticed this as well and turned his head to look over to where Naruto Uzumaki was crouched down, his eyes sad.

At that moment, the nine-year-old's eyes softened, remembering what the latter had told him before.

"I didn't have anyone to take care of me after my mommy and daddy died. Nobody but me."

After a while, the shorter sibling lowered his eyes.

However, Itachi couldn't help but smirk. "Hm. I wonder who that is hiding by the stairs?" He looked at his sibling. "Could he be following you, Sasuke?"

In that instant, the smaller raven stiffened and pouted sheepishly at his older sibling.

But then…he thought of an idea and ran over to fetch his best friend from his hiding place, brought him over to where Itachi was.

At that moment, Naruto shyly glanced up at his best friend's older brother.

"Hn," Sasuke uttered, crossing his arms and putting his hand on the blonde's shoulder. "This is Naruto Uzumaki. He's new to the orphanage, and I let him sleep in your bed while you were gone." He paused to look at the latter next to him with a warm countenance. "So I guess you could say…that he's the one who's been keeping me company for a while now. He's…he's my best friend."

At this, Naruto's cheeks began to flush light pink. "Hi…"

Itachi smirked. "Well, then Naruto…" he began, extending a hand out to the latter. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for finally bringing my brother out of his shell. Welcome to the family."

In response, the younger boy's eyes widened upon hearing the latter's last comment and glanced back at Sasuke, whose eyes were closed, his mouth curved up into a smile.

"Hn."

And with that, the blue-eyed child swallowed and hesitantly took the older Uchiha's hand. But then after a few seconds, he managed to look up at him with a small smile.

"…no problem."

In that instant, the taller raven chuckled and got up on his feet, shifting his gaze towards his younger brother.

"Hey, Sasuke—aren't you cold yet? It's freezing outside."

At that moment, the younger Uchiha paused and shrugged. "Well…"

Suddenly, the blonde shivered, quickly wrapping his arms around his shoulders.

In that instant, both Uchihas laughed.

"That settles it, then," the shorter raven chuckled, placing his arms around little Naruto's shoulders.

Itachi smirked, turning to close the door. "I agree." He locked the door, then glanced over the two children's heads towards the direction of where the mess hall would be.

And for some reason, he couldn't help but smell the scent of piping hot chocolate being made…

"Hm. Why don't we go see if Mr. Iruka has already made us some hot cocoa?"

In less than a second, both boys' faces lit up after smelling the same familiar scent.

"You bet!" the blue-eyed boy cried out in delight.

With that, all three left for the mess hall.

Soon after that, voices filled with holiday spirit throbbed through the halls of the orphanage.

"Merry Christmas!"

At the same time, the parol from Sasuke's room could still be seen shining from the uppermost window, both the raven's and the blonde's family photos taped next to each other at the bottom corner of the frosted glass.

~o~

Notes from the KIT-chan~

Sorry this oneshot was so long… ^^" I tried to divide it up into a twoshot or threeshot but it didn't work out… X"D

But I hope you all liked it anyway. ^_^ Especially the ones who I dedicated this fic to in the first place as a gift. ^_^

And—er…I'll make this short.

-LAWL—if you haven't already heard this from me, I still sleep with plushies in my bed. Yup, that's right—I'm a sap with Sasu and Naru plushies protecting me at night. XDDD

-I have a parol at home too (yeah—I'm Filipino myself. ^_^) but I didn't make it. ^^" The only ones I know how to make are made of paper. XD

-Maligayang Pasko, everyone! (Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!) =^w^=

.::.*~Kitsune~*.::.