Rain… Falling… How did it ever come to this?

Hair matted to his head, Naruto backed away, facing the memorial stone. A few steps in, turning around, the somber student began home. How can things ever be the same again?

Six years ago...

Cheering radiates the area. Parents, holding their kids' hands, leading them to their first day of the Ninja Academy; The first step of their new lives. Lives of necessary danger. Lives of protecting one's family and country.
First days like this are best to experience with a loved one – a family member. What if, however, you had none? No one to be there for you, and no one to accompany you.
The golden-haired boy in the back would be happy to answer if it meant someone to talk to.

With no one to walk him in, Naruto Uzumaki sits on a single swing on a branch, waiting for the crowd to clear.
He's never been one for groups, seeing as the only ones he has come in contact with were revolted by him and acted accordingly. Staying silent and still on the seat, he stares at his feet with a downcast expression.
One gained from years of solitude. He grew past the pain a long time ago, and has replaced it with emptiness.
That's the usual feeling, at least. Today, he was staring down not in emptiness, but in contemplation; anxiety. This was the first day of a long journey towards a
dream. His dream. One of being recognized and acknowledged. His dream of becoming Hokage.

Once the crowd cleared, he launched himself off the swing with a glimmer of excitement. Power-walking in, he quickly found his classmates and followed suit. Leading him to his classroom, he then was faced with the challenge of finding a seat. He didn't want to sit next to anyone who might reject him, or anyone for that matter. Seeing as there was technically no way to avoid people as a whole, he settled for finding a seat in the back, hoping he wouldn't get noticed too often. Looking around him, Naruto didn't see anyone specifically targeting him or eyeing him as the adults do, so he could consider his spot a good one. In fact, he noticed one weird girl sparing kind glances at him for some odd reason. She has short, lavender-ish hair and white eyes void of much color. He'd have to check in to that phenomenon later, for now the teacher walked in.

Much to Naruto's dismay, he immediately noticed the disgusted look his newfound sensei shot him. He could tell this year would be a long one. He just hoped the teacher wouldn't act too much upon his opinions like the other adults often did. Professionalism, right?

"Alright, kids, my name is Hino Kazatime and I will be acting as this year's instructor. First off, we will be taking a pre-test of sorts to determine what you all know as of now. From this, I will arrange my lessons so please try your best. All of you." He said to the class as a whole before giving stacks of paper to each student in the front row so they can pass them back. Once Naruto got the test he eyed it carefully. He had visited the library many times and had spent countless hours studying. You'd find yourself having lots of free time if you have no parents to set any curfew or bedtimes.

Number 1: How many major Elemental Nations exist in the ninja world? What are their names?

This was fairly straightforward. Pretty simple compared to most of the things he studied…

There are five… Land of Fire, Earth, Wind, Lightning, and Water…

Number 2: What are the five major Shinobi villages?

Staying simple, I see… Maybe I over prepared…

Konohagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Sunagakure…

After answering fifteen or so questions, Naruto stood up, noticing he was the first to finish, and walked down the aisle towards Hino-sensei.
He noted that no angry or disgusted glares were received. This sensei seemed relatively indifferent, thankfully.

After everyone finished their papers, the day was called short so the lessons could be prepared. Naruto felt satisfied and proud of himself.
His first day went smoothly, and if the rest of his academy time went similarly, he'd have an easy five years ahead of him.

Exiting the classroom, he couldn't help but to daydream at least a little. What if he kept on having nice days like this? What if he actually made a friend? Could he even do that? Was he capable? Only the future would te- He was broken out of his thought when he bumped into some kid dressed in blue and white.
He noticed the black spiky hair and Uchiha crest on his back.

"I'm so sorry, I was daydreaming" Naruto sputtered in embarrassment.
He didn't was to ruin his first day by making an enemy.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Mistakes happen. I'm Sasuke, what's your name?"

Naruto almost couldn't believe it. Someone was talking to him like a normal person. This wasn't something that happened all too often.

"I'm… uh… I'm Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki." He finally replied a little excitedly. "I guess you're an Uchiha? The whole crest thing gives it away."

"Oh, yeah. Where's your family? I didn't see you with anyone this morning" Sasuke questioned curiously.

Silence… Naruto didn't know how to respond.

"Oh… I'm sorry, I didn't know… So you live in the orphanage, then?" Sasuke felt a little choked up. He couldn't imagine what it would be like without a family.

"No, no… It's alright. I actually live by myself. It's not too bad, I suppose. No rules, right?" Naruto half lied.

"Yeah, I guess so. Well hey, if you ever get too lonely, feel free to stop by my compound. You don't seem too bad." Sasuke joked, smiling kindly. "I should be heading off now. It was nice meeting you!" He said as he began heading home, waving to his new blonde friend.

Did I just get invited over to someone's house..? Did I just make a friend?
Naruto was honestly awestruck. He just made his first friend, and one from a major clan nonetheless.
This really was turning out to be a good day…

A couple of weeks had gone by since that day. Naruto hadn't approached Sasuke again in fear of messing up or saying something stupid.
He didn't know how to exactly deal with 'friends'. It was a new concept to his.
This, of course, gained him some curious looks from Sasuke, but never anything more.

Finally, one day Naruto was lying in bed and his loneliness got the better of him. He left his stuffy old apartment and set out to find the Uchiha complex.
He couldn't help but feel a little nervous, it being the first time he was visiting a friend ever.
What was he supposed to do once he got there?
He wasn't exactly the most social person ever.

After a good while of walking, he made it to the targeted complex. Shortly after arriving to the gate, two guards appeared in front of him.

"Can we help you?" One of them asked.

"Uh… Yes please… I'm here to see Uchiha Sasuke?" Naruto accidentally asked rather than stated.

Looking a little surprised, a guard finally responded after shooting a glare to his cohort. "One moment, please."

Naruto was very nervous now. He wasn't sure if he had said anything wrong or if the guards were simply going check with Sasuke.

Surely enough, it was confirmed to be the latter when he saw his friend approaching the gate.

"So you finally decided to visit me? Took ya' long enough" Sasuke laughed

"Sorry, sorry, I wasn't exactly sure how to go about it… I'm not really used to the whole 'having friends' thing" Naruto blushed.

"You're not some weirdo or something, are you?" the Uchiha half-joked, half-asked.

"Nope er – not that I know of at least. I've just gotten used to being alone." Naruto could feel his nerve easing up. He was getting more and more comfortable.

"Well hey, let's go inside. Wanna spar?

This surprised Naruto. He had never actually sparred with someone before.
Of course he did conditioning and read up on basic fighting style, but practicing with a live person was a different story entirely. Guess telling the truth is the best option.

"I've never actually sparred before. I mean, I've beat up a wooden post before and I know the academy katas but other than that, I guess I suck…" He admitted

"Hey, that is a lot more than anyone else our grade. The only reason I know what I do is because of my last name. Don't worry; I'll help you along the way." Sasuke said sincerely.

The raven-haired boy led his newfound friend to the training field while chatting with him. Mostly small talk but still a lot more than Naruto is used to.

"Okay so… How do we start this?" Naruto was genuinely lost.

Chuckling, Sasuke told him to get into stance and to block or evade his strikes.
He started off going easy on Naruto, not expecting much from him. He threw a right hook towards Naruto's cheek, only to have it slapped away by him.

Deciding to step it up a bit, he feinted a left uppercut and threw a left shin towards his partner's midsection. Naruto leaned right and threw his forearm down, blocking Sasuke's leg.

The Uchiha was slightly impressed. He wasn't expecting this from an ordinary orphan who has never sparred before. His reflexes were sharper than they should be.

Deciding to step it up more, Sasuke threw a right-left combination towards Naruto, followed by a knee to the gut. The orphan responded by ducking, catching the knee, and pushing Sasuke back.

"You can stop going easy on me, man. I know I said I never sparred before but I'm not totally dumb" Naruto complained.

"Alright then, let's kick this up a bit" Sasuke said with a fire in his eyes. He then ran towards Naruto, dropped down, and went to sweep him to the ground, only to have Naruto jump over it. While he was in the air, Sasuke grabbed his leg and threw him forward. Naruto came to a roll and got back into stance.

Sasuke was already on him throwing flat hands towards Naruto's chest. Some being slapped away and some connecting until Naruto caught hold of the rhythm and began slapping away or evading any palm thrown at him.
This alerted Sasuke to begin using more knees. He swiped a loose hand in front of Naruto's eyes as a way of misdirection and delivered a knee straight to the gut when his opponent was distracted.

"Alright I think you're far beyond good enough at blocking and evading me for now, so how about you start fighting back?" Sasuke said between light breaths.

"Sounds like a lot more fun than being your punching bag!" Naruto complained, smiling.

As soon as the actual sparring match began, the two quickly approached each other and began trading licks.
Sasuke had the upper hand at striking while Naruto was far better with his defense.
He kept to closed fist strikes and never really incorporated open hands or legs into his technique.
Sasuke took notice of this quite quickly and decided to say something. He called for a break.

"Hey, Naruto, what's up with you only punching? Do you know how to strike with your legs or a palm?"

"I've never seen it in any book I've read… So no, I guess not" Naruto said, feeling a little embarrassed and tired.

"You've never had anyone teach you? Like a sensei or something?"

"Like I told you, I don't really have many friends. I learn by books and practice…"

"That must suck… Well then let me show you. Mind?" Sasuke asked with a hint of pity in his voice.

"That'd be awesome!" This was the first time someone not only wanted to train with him, but teach him something new. Life was really looking up.

"Alright, well it's all about staying fluid with you movement…" Sasuke began teaching his friend how to better fight.
They didn't have long, however, before it became dark and Sasuke's beloved brother, Itachi who had been spectating the whole training session, told his brother to send his friend home.

While Naruto was a little upset about one of the best days of his life coming to an end, he was also happy knowing that he has made a friend.
Hopefully he can keep this friendship.

I hope he never changes…

"Maybe we can do this again some other time?" Naruto asked hopefully.

"Definitely. I had lots of fun," Sasuke answered sincerely with a friendly smile on his face.

Naruto smiled and took off to his apartment, dreaming of sleep after a long day of training. That was never a bad thing.

"Are you positive there is no other way?" Sarutobi asked in pure dismay. He was never the type to make these kinds of calls.
That's why he never got rid of his advisor Danzo Shimura, no matter how much he wanted to sometimes.

"There is none. They are a volatile clan, and now they are blatantly planning a coup. We must go through with this." The aforementioned advisor advised, or ordered rather.

"He's right, Hiruzen and you know it. Now is not the time for your peaceful solutions. There is none." Koharu Utatane, another advisor said.

Furiously rubbing his temples, the Third Hokage finally agreed to one of the most fateful events in the history of Konoha.
The massacre of the Uchiha clan.
The martyr of this atrocious act would be none other than the noble and patriotic Itachi Uchiha.

Well, there's the first chapter. Let me know what you guys think and don't feel discouraged to tell me what you want to see in this story!

I have a basic storyline set up, but the details remain a mystery. Hope you all enjoyed! Until next time.