Author's Notes: Chapter 1 of my new story, An Unexpected Friendship. Sorry if it seems too short. (Obviously I do not own Naruto, or this would not be a FANFIC.) Please Read and Review!! :D
The small raven-haired boy stretched hazily, letting out a yawn as he slowly parted from his dreams. The cold, crisp air bathed his skin, sending a shiver running down his back. Wait...why was it cold? His eyes snapped open quickly, adjusting to the glare of the sunlight. He was startled to find that he was sitting inside of a rickety little carriage being drawn forward to the clip-clop of horses' hooves, instead of in his bed. What was going on? His two suitcases knocked against his side with the motion of the carriage. Then his memories rushed back to him in a flash, nearly bowling him over.
Blood. Parents. Dead. Clan. Lost. Itachi. Screams. Gone. Nothing... Nothing. Emptiness.
Sasuke gasped, his head reeling from the shock of seeing his parents' death replay in his brain. He shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself for warmth. It wasn't fair. He didn't want to live at a stupid orphanage, watched over by people he didn't know, inspected like an animal by strangers considering adoption. A sudden burst of hatred rose up in his stomach, clouding his thinking. Itachi...Itachi would pay. Somehow, he would have his revenge. Even if it cost him his life. With that thought firmly planted inside his mind, he decided that from that moment onward, he would do all that he could to become stronger.
His father, had he been still alive, would have said to step back and let the ANBU handle it. After all, there was no point in throwing life away to try to change something that was already done. Killing Itachi wouldn't do anything to bring the clan back from the dead. But these seemed like trivial details, and the boy was far past the point of caring about them.
Sasuke realized that they had stopped moving. A hand reached out hesitantly and took his, assisting him out of the carriage. It felt limp and cold in his own, like the person it belonged to was reluctant to touch him. That was understandable, especially considering the situation, but it didn't stop Sasuke from resenting it. He stepped off the footplate, belongings held by his free hand, and down through the empty air. His feet landed solidly on the ground, and he immediately jerked his hand away. Seeing as the footman clearly did not enjoy the concept of coming into contact with him, there was no reason to prolong the experience.
Seemingly startled, the footman blinked, then relaxed slightly. "Sir," he began in a clipped voice. "We have just arrived at our destination."
"Obviously," Sasuke muttered under his breath, wondering at the man's apparent abilities to state what was in plain sight.
"My name is Okhirre, and it is in my greatest hopes that you will enjoy your stay here at Woodgreen Orphanage. It was in your parents' wishes that you would come here if they became unable to care for you..."
At that point, Sasuke stopped listening and simply headed for the front door of the white-washed building, pausing along the way to catch his breath while he adjusted his grip on the too-heavy suitcases. His escort hurried after him, looking rather peeved, though he didn't say anything about it. Okhirre shouldered the Uchiha's luggage with a grunt and pushed open the door, then walked down a little corridor, at the end of which he rapped on the door to what looked like an office.
The door was instantly answered by a lady with curly red hair and a pair of neatly polished glasses perching on the tip of her nose, her lips creasing in a welcoming smile that looked as if she had been trained especially to perform it. On the front of her sweater was a nametag which read -Moriyeta Ranfiten.- "Hello, welcome to Woodgreen Orphanage!" she said rather cheerily, ushering them inside and motioning at the row of chairs against the back wall before sitting in a chair on wheels behind her desk. "Please, take a seat. How may I help you?"
"By bringing my clan back," Sasuke said sarcastically, but his voice was too low for the other two to hear him.
"This is Sasuke...Uchiha Sasuke," Okhirre told the overly-friendly receptionist, motioning to the boy in the chair next to his. "He should be on your list of new arrivals."
She flipped through a thick stack of papers on her clipboard, pulled out a paper, and ran her eyes over it for several seconds before seeming to have found what she was looking for. "Ah," she said, making a checkmark on the page with a ballpoint pen and scribbling a stream of additional notes. "Yes, here it is...Uchiha Sasuke. You are expected in Room K2, on Floor Three."
Okhirre eyed the long flight of stairs to the next floor with some apprehension. "Erm...there wouldn't happen to be an elevator, now would there?"
"You don't have to come," Sasuke said hastily.
"Yes, I do," Okhirre argued, jerking the suitcases out of reach.
"Actually, we do have an elevator," Ranfiten informed them quickly, pointing down the hall. "Of course, it's for visitors only. The children never use it; they learn to get used to the stairs." She flashed them another smile and a little wave, which was their cue to scram.
The two plodded down the hallway, each carrying a suitcase - Okhirre had been too tired out from carrying them to argue. They reached the elevator, and Sasuke hit the little red button on the wall that made the doors to it slide open.