Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters.

A/N: This story has been bugging me for a while, and I decided to hold off to update other fics and get more ideas for this one rolling around. So here is this one-the epilogue, which covers Naruto's life from the age of 5 to 18, High School graduation. I hope you enjoy it.

Warnings: These warnings apply to the entirety of this story. Yaoi (boy on boy action), rape, drugs, swearing, violence/blood

Prologue: Monster

"Naru!" Naruto turned his head to see a pink thing racing towards him. He was currently sitting at a lunch table with the rest of the kindergarten students, at the kindergarten that only kids like him went to. That is, kids from the orphanage.

He moved to the side to make room for his best friend. "Sakura!"

"You won't believe what I just found out. The couple that I was with on Saturday are going to adopt me! I leave on Friday!" Saturday. Every Saturday couples-and sometimes even individuals-can come to the orphanage and spend time with a child if they're wanting to adopt. Everyone that Naruto spent time with turned him away, and now Sakura was leaving him, too.

She must have seen the look on his face, for she leaned over to give him a hug. "I'll be going to a new kindergarten school, but we'll see each other in first grade!" He smiled, keeping that in mind. She was right-after first grade they went to the public schools, orphan or not. It wouldn't be forever.

Despite her reassurance, he found himself avoiding her more as Friday drew closer. He'd hide outside during lunch and would wander around the nearby city during the evenings. Wednesday evening he once more sat on a stool at ramen stand, inhaling the ramen with his mouth as the stand owner ruffled his hair pleasantly. He had no money for himself, but he got to know the owner and got free ramen when he wanted, and it was one of the few comforting things in his life. He never knew his parents, he only had Sakura and ramen.

On his way back to the orphanage, he was slinking through a side street when he heard something coming from an alley. Curious, he went to investigate, trying to remain quiet. When he got to the alley he peeked around a corner to see someone on the ground surrounded by a group of people wearing black trench coats with a weird cloud design that was red with a white outline.

Some things were said that Naruto couldn't hear, then a loud bang went off that sent Naruto's brain rattling inside his head. He gasped and tried covering his mouth with his hands while standing flat against the wall.

There was more movement of what sounded like the group of people walking away, and after a few minutes he turned to peek around the corner again. There was the figure on the ground, still on the ground and not moving, and one person from the group standing above him with a hood drawn up, eyes still visible. Their eyes met and the only thing Naruto could think to do was bolt, so he did.

The first thing Naruto did when he got back was find Sakura and tell her what he saw. Sakura looked doubtful, but eventually said, "Well, maybe he was a bad man. Maybe the group was defending someone, or maybe they shot him because he had a bomb and was going to blow Suna up."

"Maybe." He didn't believe her. She wasn't there, she didn't feel the atmosphere. It was scary, and Naruto had a feeling that if he didn't run, he would have joined that man on the ground in a permanent sleep.

Friday morning rolled around, and Sakura and Naruto hugged goodbye, promising to see each other in their new school next year. That same afternoon a smirking long-haired blond boy named Artie came to the orphanage to adopt Naruto.

His new living arrangements were both awesome and weird, and he couldn't help wondering what Sakura's new family was like. Instead of the orphanage in a poorer area of Suna, now he lived in a mansion in the rich area, but with five adults and one other kid. There was Artie, who was now his guardian, despite being young himself.

There was also Tobi, Reaper, Jaws, and Red. There was also Puppetmaster, who looked Naruto's age but acted cold and grown-up. That was another weird thing about his new family-they never used each other's real names, except for with Naruto. They were gone a lot, either outside or in the basement, where Naruto wasn't allowed.

While Naruto went to a new kindergarten as well, sadly it was a different one from Sakura's. There was also the weird rule of never being allowed to bring anyone inside the house, even if it was a friend. Artie also taught him weird things during his free time, like how to pick a lock or move across the mansion without being heard, or pickpocket.

But a family was a family. Weird or not, Naruto had one now and he loved them to his heart's fullest.

FIRST GRADE

Naruto nervously walked in his classroom, and the first thing he saw was a head of long pink hair bugging another boy with black hair. "Sakura!" The pink head whipped around.

"Naru!" She got up and the two ran up to each other to hug. She dragged him to an empty desk next to her's. "Naru, this is Sasuke! Sasuke, this is my best friend Naruto!" The other boy smiled shyly, while Naruto just grinned and reached out to shake his hand, eliciting a laugh from the raven.

"Sakura, I got adopted, too. By this huge family with a mansion, and it's great. What's your family like?"

"My family is amazing! I have a mom and dad and a big sister and a dog that's called a Labrador Retriever. You should come over!" Naruto agree and they hugged again, though he couldn't help making eye contact with the raven boy sitting behind her and smiling. He grinned back.

First grade wore on. Naruto was allowed to hang outside during his free time, which he spent hanging out with Sakura or Sasuke or buying ramen he made from keeping the mansion tidy. Sasuke tried to stay away from Sakura, since even Naruto could admit she was being overbearing, so he rarely hung out with both of them at the same time.

Eventually it got to where he'd hang out with Sasuke more than Sakura. Not that he didn't love Sakura, she was his best friend, too! But something about Sasuke made him feel completely at home, like a missing piece was found that not even his new family filled.

Sasuke couldn't come over and Naruto couldn't go to Sasuke's, since his father was strict, so they'd hang out at the movies or a park or eat lunch, and he'd tell Naruto about his sweet mom, his grade-focused father, and his fun, loving older brother. Second grade would start soon, Naruto would be turning 7, and he wanted nothing to change.

SECOND GRADE

Sasuke stopped talking to him over the summer, and when Naruto saw him in school he wouldn't talk to anyone at all, and he'd spend the class glaring at everyone and being sullen. Sometimes he would yell at someone for small things.

A new member was added to the family as well. He didn't old in body either, but he looked scary and had icy eyes so Naruto tried to avoid him. The one time when he and Naruto were in a room alone together, the new member looked at him, poked him in the forehead, and told him to call him Weasel in a flat tone. Naruto thought he smiled a little, but when he thought back on it later, it was probably just the lighting.

His life got weirder as he kept trying to talk to Sasuke, which would do nothing but result in them insulting each other or rolling on the ground biting and hitting at the other. Him and Sakura grew close again, though he knew she could he was sad at the loss of Sasuke, though she kept flirting with him in the only way she knew how.

Artie started giving him tasks to do before he was allowed in the house or to eat, things that Naruto wasn't completely comfortable with. He'd make sure Naruto's pockets were empty and would then demand him to pickpocket people until he made a certain amount, or he'd tell him to go to a specific house and get a specific item.

He did these things with no complaints. The one time he questioned his orders, Red, who had a short temper anyway, backhanded him. There must be a good reason his family wanted him to do these things, so he did.

THIRD GRADE

One time, Sakura asked him who he liked. He had no clue what she meant, and said he liked her, Sasuke, and his new friend Ryu. She had laughed and said she meant in a crush sense, and if there were any girls that made him feel warm and really happy inside. The closest he felt like that was with Sasuke, and he didn't think she meant it like that, and Sasuke would sooner punch him than hang out with him now.

He went home that day and was in his bedroom counting out the money he took from a house across town with Artie. "Artie, what's it mean to have a crush on someone? Sakura was asking me about it earlier and I didn't know what she meant. She said I'd feel that way about a girl."

Artie had laughed. "Well, not necessarily a girl, mm. It depends on you, and when you do feel that way, you'll want to do things with them, mm."

Naruto scrunched up his nose. "Like what? Video games?"

Artie laughed again. "I'll show you, but only if you be quiet. And it may hurt, mm."

Naruto agreed, and Artie did show him, and it did hurt. He cried, but he stayed quiet like Artie asked, which he was proud of himself for. Afterwards, Artie stroked his hair and said it hurts less after the first time, and that when it's done it means the people care about each other, but he'd only really understand when he got older.

FOURTH GRADE

Ryu was Naruto's best friend right after Sakura, who was right after Sasuke. Both of them called him stupid for thinking of Sasuke as a best friend, when all they did still was insult each other and fight. But still, he was the only one Sasuke did those things with-with other people, he ignored them, grunted, or glared. Naruto was special. Besides, Sakura still had a crush on him, which was just as stupid. He didn't even fight with her.

Ryu and him were passionate about video games, especially an upcoming game where you had to fight for survival against zombies. "Come over today," Naruto said, "I got the game a day early!"

"I thought no one was allowed over?" Naruto frowned, unsure, but then brightened up again.

"Yeah, but they're all out until later this evening. Leave before 5 and it'll be fine."

So Ryu had gone over to Naruto's and stayed in his room playing the game with him. They were laughing when Naruto heard his door open, and he turned around to look wide-eyed at Artie. "Artie! I can explain. We were just playing a game, I got it early."

The older blond remained unsmiling, and Jaws came into the room next, immediately grabbing Ryu by the hair. His friend yelped and Naruto tried to tug him away from Jaws but Reaper came in next, grabbing Naruto by the hair as well and dragging him from the room while Ryu was dragged somewhere else with Jaws and Artie.

"You think you're smart, don't you?" Reaper said, and Naruto froze when he saw a razor pointed at his face. "You were taught to be quick and silent and you think you're a fox, but you're not. We still have a ways to go with you."

There was a searing pain as the razor dug into his cheek, and Naruto could do nothing but scream. Sometimes he thought his screams would echo through the house, but when his thoughts almost became clear enough to question whether it was someone else's screams, the knife would dig in again. Three times it dug in deep on the side of his face, then Reaper did the same to the other side. Reaper grinned and bent over to lick his cheek, and Naruto shuddered and passed out.

When he woke up, he first saw Ryu sitting across from him in a room he hasn't been in before. The basement? Ryu's hands were tied behind his back and he had a gag in his mouth, and his eyes went wide when he saw Naruto was awake. The blond kid shook his head, gasping at the pain in his face.

Suddenly Artie was there, handing Naruto was knife. "What was one of the rules we gave for you to follow, mm?"

"Not bring people in the house," Naruto muttered, unable to speak any louder. Ryu was trying to scream something.

"Right," Artie said. "You broke that. You have to take responsibility, mm, and clean up the mess you made. Maybe after this, the lesson will be learned." Naruto looked at the knife in his head, then at Artie, confused.

"Cut the ropes?"

Artie laughed. "No, Naruto. His throat, mm. Though since you're inexperienced, just stabbing it in will be good enough. You'll be trained to do better after today."

Naruto's mouth had gone dry. "You're asking me to...to kill my friend? No!"

The older blond frowned. "Remember what happened when you last questioned us, mm? It will only get worse the more you do it. And I care about you, so please just listen to us." He reached over and slid a finger down Naruto's face, causing him to flinch in pain. "And if you don't, you put Sakura and Sasuke in jeopardy, too. Put the knife in his throat, and it'll be over, mm. Just don't bring anyone else again."

Naruto looked at Ryu, who was crying and shaking his head. The gag didn't need to be removed to figure out his friend was yelling "NO!" His family or his friend? And if not his family, then it'll be all his friends.

He nodded at Artie and drew closer to Ryu, an image of Sasuke in his mind. Sasuke couldn't be harmed because of him, no matter what. Sakura, too. Artie grabbed Ryu's shoulders as he started to struggle, and the pain in Naruto's face became more prominent as his tears ran across the wounds.

Naruto held the knife with both hands and angled it at his friend's throat. He couldn't let himself think any more, so he slammed his eyes shut, causing more tears to leak out, and said, "I'm so sorry" to his friend right before he plunged the knife down. There was resistance before it continued, and then he felt Ryu stop struggling as he felt a warmth seep over his hands that were still clenched around the hilt of the knife.

Afterwards, Artie showed Naruto again how much he cared for his charge. Naruto cried, but for Ryu. He could only cry and look down at his hands, covered in Artie's blood, and think, "I'm a monster."

FIFTH GRADE

After that horrible day in fourth grade, Naruto did his best to keep up in school. He did a lot of things half-hearted, since he was later told by Artie that he wouldn't go to college anyway, that he'd go straight to the family business. Never before did he ever stop to consider what exactly his family did to get so much money, but he started to have an idea. He also had an idea that witnessing the murder when he was still at the orphanage had something to do with it.

Naruto was gone from school for a few weeks after he killed Ryu. When he did come back, it was with the mystery scars on his cheeks that now resembled whiskers, with the story that him and Ryu were attacked when they were out at night and Ryu didn't make it. He didn't even look at Sasuke for a long time, but he knew even that sob story wasn't enough for his best friend to talk to him again.

Like Reaper promised, his training also took a turn for the worse. Instead of things that didn't harm people like lockpicking or pickpocketing or stealing from houses, he was being taught how to shoot. How to fight, whether it be with his fists or a knife. How to maim someone, and the best ways to kill a person both quickly and silently. Weasel ended up teaching him how to drive years in advance, as the skill could be useful for the group. He said that every member brought a specific skill to the table, and the group decided that sneaking would be Naruto's.

He was eventually told what exactly they did, and what they expected him to do. He was part of a group called the Akatsuki, their symbol being the red cloud with white outline he sometimes saw in his nightmares from years ago. They did a variety of jobs, sometimes for hire, sometimes for themselves, but they had no other goals outside of money and power. Which they had plenty of both. The jobs would range from a theft, to an assassination, to torturing someone for information, which Reaper loved to do, to smuggling weapons. Anything dirty they did it, for the right price. And soon Naruto would be in on their missions.

His first official job as Akatsuki was to kill a man named Ken. When he asked what for, he was told not to worry about it. He was then given an official Akatsuki trench coat, the name Kyuubi in mockery of his scars, and a ring. "The ring contains a pill you must only take in the most dire of circumstances, mm. Like if the Akatsuki is outed and in danger, we take the pill instead of letting them catch or kill us. We handle our own destinies, mm," Artie said. Naruto wore it on his right ring finger.

The job was a success in the Akatsuki's eyes, as Naruto snuck in at night and slit his throat in his sleep. It was both the easiest and hardest thing to do, and he hoped he couldn't be traced through tears left on the floorboard. As instructed, he quickly spraypainted the Akatsuki cloud over the man's bed, signalling to everyone that it was their job, and left. He swore he did it efficiently enough where no blood got on him, but every time he glanced at his hands he saw blood on them anyway.

He went to bed with the number two on his mind. If he was going to be forced to do this for his family, he'll never forget the people whose lives he stole. The next day he got up and learned math with the rest of his fifth grade class like usual.

TWELFTH GRADE

Sometimes he couldn't believe he was still alive. He couldn't believe he pushed against the temptation to swallow that pill that was always with him, leaving it all over. He was always scared for Sakura, who was still the only person he was remotely close to after all these years. There was Sasuke, too, but he still had that stick up his ass, but Naruto still thought of him as his best friend anyway. Even if they weren't in his life he probably wouldn't take it-he was too damn optimistic for his own good.

Instead he indulged in other things that were better than suicide but still pretty unhealthy. He always shallowly cut into his own skin after a job to distract himself from the guilt of the pain he caused a family. The heroine he recently and only occasionally started to do after the worst jobs helped him be happier for a short time, and the drinking helped him forget for a short time.

Graduation was coming up, and soon he wouldn't have Sakura or Sasuke in his life anyway, and all he'd be doing was Akatsuki jobs. They had to let him go sometime, right?

"What are you doing after you graduate, Sakura?"

She grinned at him, a smile he only saw when she was thinking of her love, which was Sasuke. Her very one-sided love. He felt bad for his best friend, really, and the dozens of other girls that constantly swooned over Sasuke. "Both Sasuke and I are going to Konoha University, and he said he could help me find something at Uchiha Entertainment afterwards. You applied there, right?"

"No," he muttered, looking away from her. "I'm joining my family's business, remember?" They ran a small but successful store on the other side of Suna, something none of the Akatsuki actually gave a shit about, but it was used as cover. Sakura wrinkled her nose at the thought of him running a store instead of going to college with her.

"Well you should visit me in Konoha, anyway, even if you won't live there. I'll miss you a lot."

Naruto just shook his head. "It's like an eight hour trip, I'll never have the time to visit since I'll be busy—"

"At the store?"

He twisted his mouth to the side in thought. "Yeah, at the store." He knew she was smelling the bullshit a mile away.

"Whatever, Naruto." After that they talked less, and he knew she thought he was pulling away from her. In a way he was, and he should have done it years ago, but he was always too weak to. Soon all he'd have left was his family, anyway. Or at any rate, Artie. He hated what he did for them, but not them.

Graduation rolled around, and Naruto couldn't help but see it was the most horrible day of his life. The day he lost the two people he cared most for, and the day school was done being a distraction from the life he really hated. Sometimes he dreamed about opening up that ring and swallowing its contents.

The day was over and Artie was there to take him back to the mansion. Sakura hugged him goodbye and kissed him on a scarred cheek, and while she did that he made eye contact with the long lost Uchiha.

Sasuke and him stared at each other for a long few seconds. The raven opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he closed it again and walked away, with Sakura letting go right after and following, promising to email Naruto.

And just like that they were gone, and Naruto knew he'd never see them again.

SASUKE

He hated how his life could go so wrong because of Itachi. One moment his life was normal. He had a best friend who he saw every day and liked a lot, his grades were always on top, his life was on track. He was always on the shy side and tended to be grumpy, so he was immediately drawn to the bright, positive blond on the first day of class. He couldn't help but think of him as sunshine. He was thrilled when he found Naruto was just as drawn to him and they became inseparable, and Sasuke always felt completed when around Naruto.

The next moment, he goes home to see his brother standing over the corpses of their parents and an ugly red cloud thing painted on the wall.

His brother just looked at him, and it was no longer the brother that gave him hell or helped him with homework. "I'm sorry, Sasuke." That's all he said, and then he was gone, leaving his only little brother in emotional hell.

So he closed down. Or, he tried to, but mostly succeeded. He wanted to yell, scream, cry, throw things, break people. And he did do some of those things at first, but later settled for building a fortress around himself. No more goofing around, or making friends. It would only be a distraction and an opening to betrayal. If Itachi would do it, anyone would. Kakashi would take over the business until Sasuke was old and learned enough, then he would take it back. That's what his life meant.

The deaths were never reported on the news, so no one knew why he was suddenly so cold and closed off. Some people eventually gave up on him, while some were just as persistent, like Sakura. Some were even more attracted to him, believe it or not. And one person adapted to it, and that one person was his best friend.

Instead of bothering him about what was wrong, he just flung out a few half-assed insults and let Sasuke vent everything out through his fists, while Naruto gave just as much back. The rest of their relationship went that way, filled with barbs on the outside but warm and comforting in reality. He found it amusing how classmates thought they hated each other, when Naruto would always flash him a smile when no one was looking. Sasuke could never bring himself to smile back.

So when graduation came he at least wanted to tell his best friend thank you. He saw him hugging Sakura, who he respected after she mellowed out a lot and offered a job later on down the road. Their eyes met, and Sasuke felt himself freeze up. Naruto tried to smile, and Sasuke attempted to say something, but in the end all he could do was stare and walk away.

And just like that his relationship with Naruto was closed off forever, knowing he'd be staying here in Suna for his family's store. He patted the pocket that contained his billfold, which held a picture of him and Naruto together back when they were kids and carefree.

At the very least he'd keep his pocket full of sunshine.

And there you have it, the prologue of this new fic! It skips around a lot and is more of a lot of flashbacks, which only goes on in this one. The rest of the story will be written normally. Hopefully it's enjoyable so far, and please review!