Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except the plot. I think.

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A Cursed Life: By Naruto Uzumaki

Chapter 1:

"Hey, old man. Wake up. We have intruders." Seconds passed and not even a stir.

"Sensei, wake up. We are under attack!" Nothing. The boy's shrugs did not waken him; or his whispered exclamations. It was the loudest he ever raised his voice. Well, at least that is what the old man was thinking before he went back to sleep. And the boy knew it, too.

"I'm not going to handle this myself again, ojii-sama," demanded the stoic figure.

The old man sighed.

"Sasuke-kun, you worry too much! If you're that worried over a few delinquents then ask Naruto-kun for some help. Lord knows he loves a fight." That was the only answer the boy would ever hear from him that night.

Sasuke scoffed. "Delinquents? Is that what you're still calling them?" His question never got an answer. The old man's snores ended the conversation. Sasuke rolled his eyes in frustration. That always got on his nerves.

"I know that you are faking it old man. Why you always do this, I don't know. But I'll figure it out." And then the boy left.

In the darkness of the room, the old man's eyes flickered with a light long lost from his youth. "Hoo, hoo! This should be much interesting, indeed. But I'm tired so I'll just check on them in the morning."

Silent footsteps sprinted off wooden floors. Sasuke had to run to the other side of the compound. The West side was his destination. Naruto's side. That blonde.

They'd been training together for five years.

Living under the same roof for five years.

Hiding for five years.

Surviving for five years.

If there was anyone who could understand his position it would be him. It was funny to Sasuke that he would ever admit that even if it was to himself. When Sasuke had first arrived to the compound under the old man's care Naruto was two months ahead of him already. It was their tenth year. They each had their reasons for being there, but had not revealed them to the other for two years. Well, at least, what they thought their reasons for being there were. It wasn't until their third year that they began warding off intruders from the property. Violence. That is what brought them together. That is what was going to keep them alive. A cursed life was how Naruto had put it once. As of late, the number of intrusions had been increasing as much as the number of intruders. Or delinquents, as ojii-sama would call them. In the short time it took him to reach Naruto's room, Sasuke was amused with these thoughts.

The human brain truly is amazing, to think about so much in so little time.

But now was not the time for nostalgia. It was time to get serious. Because it wasn't the number of opponents, nor the number of intrusions what mattered. The difficulty was increasing and that was why he bothered the old man. If he could help it he wouldn't even ask Naruto for his help. But he knew his limits. Sasuke cursed out loud.

The door slid open and Sasuke walked in. The pressure of a combat knife against his throat drew blood.

"It's me."

"I know."

"Asshole."

"I love you, too. So are we going to entertain our guests or what?" Naruto tossed him a handkerchief.

Sasuke applied pressure on the scratch. Of course he knew. "Well if we didn't they would consider us bad hosts."

"And we could never let that happen."

"Yeah, what would the old man say?" Sasuke tossed back the handkerchief.

"I'd be more worried about what he'd do to us."

They snorted. That was the closest they ever got to a laugh these nights.

Sasuke finished his artillery assessment. Three kunai. Five shuriken. One dragon dagger. "I've got some extra wire if you need some."

"All I need is this," said Naruto with knife in hand.

Showoff. "Let's do this."

Climbing out of Naruto's window they took off for the rooftop. They headed towards the Northern side of the compound. Sasuke's side.

The first night there was an intrusion only one guy showed up. Pathetic really. The amateur never stood a chance. There was always a pattern. Then it would change. Every month the number would amount to an extra loser. And then another. And another. Last year they started coming twice a night. And they would always come from the North and then the West. The numbers totaled up to twenty-four men a night. Two twelve-man squads. Two years of dealing with this crap. For what? One evening Naruto asked a thug just before knocking him unconscious. The thug's answer was to fuck his momma. That was the first time Naruto killed. He never asked again after that.

Sasuke had his theories. But nothing he could label as concrete. His favorite was that the old man sent them here on purpose. He was crazy enough to do that. The other was that they were after ojii-sama's scrolls which, of course, were in each of their rooms. They were divided amongst the two. These scrolls possessed all of his knowledge and skills. Many were his originals. Some were stolen. Others were passed down from his late master. The last theory was a combination of the two. Ojii-sama would back his scrolls on the heads of his pupils. That's why they'd always come from the North and West. And that is how they were tested – the scrolls as much as the pupils. The old man would never admit to that of course. He'd always say that he would never put his adorable students in peril.

Bullshit.

Sasuke checked his watch. It takes ten minutes to reach the compound from its walls. The alarm sounded off nine minutes ago. One minute to spare.

"So what do you want for breakfast?" Naruto always did all the cooking.

"Whatever you like is fine." That was always his answer.

"Hey, Sasuke. Ever thought that if you combine us into one being we'd be ojii-sama?"

He's been watching DBZ videos again. "God I hope not."

"Skill wise I mean."

"Sometimes, heh. Yeah, we probably would be ojii-sama." It was sometimes refreshing to think of these things. They had been forced to grow up at a time when evading dodge balls should have been their top priority. Not murder attempts.

The clouds stirred, revealing the new moon. Sasuke was keeping watch northwest, so he didn't see what Naruto did.

"Sasuke? I think I'm going to need some of that wire."

"What? Why?"

"They're using guns now."

Sasuke cursed out loud again. Twice. There was no more time for chit-chat. It was on now.

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In a small room sat two men. It was crowded by a very large desk stuffed with folders. Yellow Post-its were everywhere and just as many pens. Many red pens. The editor was looking down at the manuscript before him. He scratched his scalp and peered over his glasses. Lens Crafters. Minutes passed.

"Hmm."

"So what do you think?" asked Naruto, controlling himself. He had already been waiting for a half hour. Another minute passed.

"Hmm."

This was taking forever. Well now I know why they hate editors around here so much. My patience is running thin here, thought Naruto.

"This isn't going to work kid."

Here we go again.

"There's something missing. It's either you're rushing it here, or revealing too much there. You need to find a balance. However, you do write well. But no one is going to accept your work. Your genre just isn't making it anymore these days. I'm sorry. I'll pass your portfolio through if you like, but let's just face the facts here. There are too many action writers and all the good companies are hiring romance authors now. All the little companies are closing by the day so even if you do find a job with any of them it probably wouldn't be for long. You'd just end up back here. A couple of years ago you would have been fighting them off with a stick; but now you'd be lucky if they would even consider looking at your folder."

"Romance," Naruto groaned. That word did not set well with him. He'd heard it all before. We're not looking for your type. Have you tried romance? Sorry, we can't hire you. The economy.

He had tried romance once, but it just didn't feel right. If anything it felt forced and that wasn't what he was about. More to the point, how could you even write about stuff you don't know?

Naruto got up. "Thanks, Mr. Iruka, but no thank you. I guess I'll just try again somewhere else. Bye." He started collecting his things.

The editor rose to shake his hand and sat back down in his chair. "I really wish I could help you out, kid." Naruto let the door close on his way out.

Me, too he thought.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon when Naruto left the editor's office. He didn't get home until six.

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Her head tilted upward as she took in a deep respiration. Chemical reactions from her olfactory sense reminded her of home and the color green. She always loved the forest. Skin receptors told her central nervous system that the grass beneath her was wet and that it tickled her feet. She also loved being barefoot. In the forest.

It didn't matter to her that the sun was not out. The sun got too much attention anyways. Besides, it was the cloud's turn to tell his story. And a sad tale it was, he told her. It had involved a woman. The moon.

She had not visited him for a long time now and this disheartened the cloud. He was in love with her, you see. And the moon had yet to make such a declaration. It wasn't her fault, the cloud said. When he told her of his affections morning came. She had no choice but to leave. The sun approached and saw the cloud. He suspected that something was wrong and listened to his story. Try as he might, the sun could not cheer up his unusually glum fellow. He seemed depressed; so the sun stayed behind with the cloud for an entire day. When twilight was approaching the cloud began to lift. He could see his love now. The moon! Even from a distance she was more radiant to him than the sun. He awaited her with the sun's last rays for support.

An hour passed. She was so close now. He could see the details of her face. He swore that he saw the face of a woman in love. He swore it! On the very sky! She was in fact, this very evening, going to declare her love for him. He just knew it! She was fast approaching now. The sun departed leaving behind his blessing. A smile was evident on her lustrous face.

She could always rely on her older brother. She, too, borrowed strength from the sun. He understood well of the love between her and his best friend. He, too, had been in love once. With the bubbling brook.

She's so beautiful! Just look at her, exclaimed the cloud.

The moon blushed when she saw the cloud. She, too, thought he was quite handsome.

She approached closer still. They were minutes apart now. And then something changed; something in the atmosphere. From the corner of his eye the cloud saw the wind. And a mischievous wind he was. The boy had awoken from his deep slumber and, upon seeing the two, decided to lend his services. He offered to puff the cloud's layers. You would appear more handsome, remarked the wind. There was no chance that the moon would ever refuse you. The cloud respectfully declined the offer, but try as he might was not loud enough in his request. The wind had been especially strong that evening and could not hear with his own breeze about.

The cloud could not believe what happened next. The more that the wind tried to help the more the cloud was being pushed away from the moon. The cloud panicked and fought against the current, but to no avail. Try and try as he could the wind was far too strong. Yelling did not help. The wind only became confused by it and blew even harder. He wanted to do a good job. Since it was for love, said the wind. The last thing heard from the cloud before he disappeared was his cry. My love, I am so sorry. Wait for me, my love!

It was a long time before he returned. Hopefully he would see her tonight.

A sad tale, indeed, thought Hinata.

After letting out his frustrations the rain cloud seemed somewhat relieved, but not entirely. He would continue to wait for her and when they reunited it would be a glorious day! With a smile Hinata wished the cloud all the luck in the world.

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He didn't want to go home. He didn't want to talk about his problems. He just wanted to walk. And walk he did; all through Tokyo. For two hours he thought of all the work he had put in to his story. All the late nights he spent after school. The story had evolved into much more than just words or paragraphs. It became this whole other world that he created. He created! It was his baby. And he wanted to show his baby to the world. All of his professors acknowledged his talent. Some even thought he should send his work to the manga companies. Viz. Tokyopop. ADV Manga. Del Rey. Surely they would accept him. Scratch that. The manga scene was great and all but he never felt pulled into that direction. He wanted to write novels. Series full of novels. He never cared for fame or fortune. He wanted to produce works that inspired. He just wanted to make a difference through his writing, like his father did for him.

Great, now he was fighting back depressing memories.

Don't even think about that right now, Naruto demanded himself. Anyways, he just wanted to fulfill his dream and become a writer.

In order to do that he needed to be the best. To do that, he needed to learn from the best. And the best were always from Tokyo University. Yes he was a Todai student; but not without sacrifice. He worked his ass off to pass the entrance exams only to get denied that first year. He had become a re-taker and loathed it. But he was not going to be a re-taker for long, he declared back then. He would make sure of that. In short, he was accepted that following year. Locking yourself up to only your studies would yield such results.

Getting in felt like the worst mistake he ever made that freshman year. The entrance exams were nothing compared to the work load. Thankfully after that first year all sense of doubt vanished. Like life, all things just take a matter of getting used to. The work got harder, yes; but he got used to it. He did not know, however, if he could handle this current situation. All the criticism and most of the rejection, he could take. But being told that you're a winner at a losing genre was a different story all together – no pun intended. If that were true he didn't know what he would do. He was really intent on starting his writing career. Of course, he could do other things; but they wouldn't be what he wanted to do. He had to fulfill his promise and see his dreams become reality. He needed to. But all that hard work seemed to have been done for nothing right now. How was he going to tell his friends? What was he going to tell his mother? "Hey everybody, I failed again?" Oh no, wait. How about this, "Everyone, they want my story to be their new best seller! No, just kidding. But it was funny, huh? Ha." Naruto laughed bitterly.

It would be nice to bring home some good news, though.

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The scenery transformed as she walked.

From the trees that once rested, tall buildings now surrounded her. From the green grass she felt, she now stood over wet concrete. From the smell of nature to that of car exhaust.

She checked her cell phone for the time. It read five-thirty.

The sound of birds changed to blaring horns. Wild animals turned into wild people. Wait a second. On second thought, maybe that didn't change so much. Everyone was in such a hurry.

That's why they call it rush hour, she reminded herself. Ever since college started she commuted further into the city. An hour both ways. Sometimes it was nice to daydream about other things once in a while. It sure took her mind off things. She even became proficient enough to change her surroundings. She even used some of those daydreams for ideas in her notebook.

Now that the rain stopped she left the shelter of a small bakery throwing away a pastry napkin and the remains of her coffee. It was very satisfying. She looked up at the sky and smiled again. She forgot her umbrella today. And so did everyone else apparently; considering that the majority of pedestrians were all now soaking wet. It must have been the first shower in two months. It caught them all by surprise. Summer is officially over, she mused. Hinata didn't mind. She loved the fall as much as she loved the forest. More colors to enjoy. Dusk was also a favorite of hers. There was something about watching the sun set after a long day. It was a way to end it for sure.

A good one, she thought. For her anyways.

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Naruto was fuming. This so wasn't how he wanted to end his day. He was an hour away from home and he was wet. To top it all off he was rejected again for the third time now. Some charm that number was. Not even the sunset comforted him. It felt like not too many things could these days. The only support he had was from his mother and best friend. Oh and that editor Mr. Iruka, apparently. He was actually kind of nice compared to the others. He's harsher to critique than most; but still. Nice.

So there stood Uzumaki Naruto on a sidewalk, wearing cargo pants and a black t-shirt. A sports jacket completed the ensemble. All drenched. Hair matted down. He stared at his reflection from a puddle of water. "Dressed for success, huh?" He said it bitter. Like his laugh. "How pointless."

He dodged the glances of people rushing by. Pedestrians ran in and between the cars trapped at the light. They murmured amongst themselves.

I'm thinking out loud again, he told himself. Trying to make it look all right he leaned against a light post. He crossed his arms and watched the cars passing by. Mini van. SUV. Mini van. Coupe. Convertible. Mini van with a honk-if-you're-horny sticker on the back.

Someone honked.

Naruto laughed. His grin was so wide that his cheeks ached. "Okay, that was funny." Others who saw the bumper sticker began to laugh with him. It made him feel better.

He scanned his reflection in the puddle. Feeling in higher spirits he thought that his mirror image would have improved. He could see the change in his cerulean eyes, but physically looked so haggard. He was a mess. "I need to change out of these clothes and… A-Atchoo!"

"God bless you," said a passerby.

He smiled at the lady as she strolled on. "… And take a hot ba… ba… A-Atchoo!" Naruto sneezed a second time.

He really was a mess now.

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AN: Well, that's over. And just getting started, baby! This chapter is dedicated to exploring Naruto and Hinata's individual thoughts; or at least catching a glimpse of them. ~ thinks to self ~ I wonder if Naruto and Hinata will meet next chapter? Ha! Well I guess I'll just have to go ahead and write it then, won't I?

Till next time…

- shinobi writer -