I was sitting on a cliffside looking down at the city of Konoha. I watched as the petals I plucked off a flower were dancing in the wind. I watched as they spun around and maneuvered freely without a trace of control in the air until they were too far to see. I rustled through the bouquet of another rose and took it out and continued on. Watching the petals dance again I couldn't help but wonder if Mom and Dad's souls were free like that as well. I wiped the tears away from my eyes that escaped for I was putting on a strong face for today but I couldn't. Tears came running out of my eyes as if I was holding onto them for a year, I might as well have. I felt them hit my black dress pants. The only person that could ever stop my tears was too far to reach, the only person that encouraged me to fight through my pain was gone too.

Why did they have to leave?

Was it my fault, was it because I was born?

If I wasn't who I was today, maybe things could've ended differently.

I'm a sorry excuse as a son, I'm a sorry excuse for a person.

Maybe if I were to leave too, I wouldn't feel so horrible.

Or feel so alone.

My parents were loving people anyone would be lucky to have them. My brother and I, however, didn't get any of those traits though, we were horrible to them. My brother is 18. He always partied hard, came home late drunk off his ass and fought with my parents. He made their lives a living hell but no matter what he did, they always ended his day with an "I love you." After a while Itachi stopped coming home, he stopped answering our calls, he just stopped being a member of our family completely. Everyone felt horrible except for me. I actually felt good, I felt like I could become the favorite now. I never got along with my brother I was always jealous of him and the attention he got I thought that maybe it was my turn maybe I can become the favorite this time if my brother was that horrible and they didn't love me as much does that mean I was even worse than him? My happy dreams turned out to be nightmares after a couple months after my 9th birthday I realized my parents weren't favoring me at all, they were depressed. They missed Itachi so much that they couldn't even function properly without him.

I was mad I felt so abandoned, I felt so angry. I didn't think how about how they felt and I didn't care for that matter. I began to act out in school. I fought students or anyone that came close to me. I argued with my parents hoping they would say something back to me but they didn't say a word they never said "I love you" like they did with him. After months of expulsions, we moved to this city. I noticed my parents seemed to begin to feel better and started to forget about Itachi but as soon as we got here and they started working again they just ignored me completely. I was luggage to them. To feel this way for so long even to know no matter what I tried or how I felt I couldn't get their attention or become happy.

I remember that rainy day like it was yesterday. It was coming down so hard to the point I couldn't see any streetlights. It was Itachi's birthday. They decided to stop celebrating it, instead, we would just go out to any restaurant we saw and acted like a happy problem free family that had only one son. We did what we usually did. We ate in silence, we paid the bill, and then left. It's almost as if we were never there in the first place. I don't know what triggered it. This sudden burst of rage, this urge to break free from this toxic mold. I bolted down the street.

I just wanted to leave, to get far away. I didn't care where I was going. I heard the splashing from behind me, it was my parents. They were running after me and calling my name but I just kept on going.

"Sasuke!" My mother yelled but the tone of her voice was different, almost as if terrified.

I heard a loud horn. A truck horn. The sound of tires screeching and a big thud. Almost certain but in denial at the scene I looked in disbelief. The street was painted a sticky crimson. Horrified I ran over to my parents. My motionless parents.

"Mom! Dad! Wake up! That didn't hurt! Get up!" I yelled at their corpses. I did everything in my power to make them move but nothing worked. I felt the cold stiffness entice their bodies.

I always wished for this to happen, I always thought that I wouldn't care. I always thought it would be the one thing that would make it even.

It didn't.

I felt dead myself.

Wishing for this was cruel but for it to even happen was just sick irony. At the funeral, none of my family members could stand to look at me. They all knew what happened. It was my fault entirely. No one else was to blame but I.

After the service, I wandered aimlessly wondering what to do with my life. I just wanted to vanish. And I ended up here plucking petals one by one watching them fall.

To live.

Or to die.

Counting them and repeating the words as each one danced through the air.

"Oi, what are you doing up there!" A young voice called out from behind. I turned around to see a blonde kid with blue eyes. Is he a foreigner? Couldn't be his Japanese is pretty fluent. I shrugged my shoulders and turned my head. "You have some dad eyes there, you alright?" the same boy sat down beside me.

"... What do you think? I'm holding a bouquet and I'm wearing a tux." I muttered bitterly. His presence was irritating, I wanted to be left alone and spared the interactions with the world and the people in it.

"You're bride ran out on you? That's sad but there's other fish in the sea." He patted my back, I slapped his hand away.

"No, you idiot. I'm only 9-"

"I am too." He cut me off.

"I don't give a shit. My parents died and it's all my fault. I just left the funeral."

Silence came. He didn't talk neither did I. We sat in silence for what seemed like an hour but was really just minutes.

"How did it happen?" He whispered. Why was he even still here?

"It's a long story."

"I'm listening."

It took me off guard. I was hesitant to say, I mean what was really the point.

I didn't know him, he didn't know me.

I went against my senses and told my story and again silence was in the air.

"You're lucky. You really are." He said in a gentle voice.

"How could I possibly be lucky to have killed both my parents after giving them hell their whole lives!?" I was angry, the nerve.

"You're so blind. The chased after you. If they didn't love you they would've let you run. They gave up their lives trying to reach out their feelings for you. For that you are lucky." He said with the same tone.

He doesn't understand.

"You know what?! you don't-"

He cut me off again.

"Don't what? Understand? Of course, I don't know what it's like to have parents. I was born into this world the same time they left. You aren't just lucky because they loved you, you're lucky to have even had them in your life and remember their faces." He blurted out.

Silence again took over.

"So what do you want from me? Do you feel bad or jealous?"

"You have the same eyes that I would have back then. I'm here because I see me in you. How about this, come live with me."

Is he crazy? Why would I? I thought, he would let a complete stranger live with him.

"No. You don't know me, plus you're nine, I don't want to live in an orphanage with you."

"I live alone, I live off my parent's life insurance, they have loaded apparently and left me a lot until I can get a job. Tell me something Mr Moody."

"My name's Sasuke."

"Ah okay, Sasuke. Do you have a job?"

"... No."

"Hm… Can you live with any other relatives?"

"No."

"Did your parents leave anything behind for you to live off from?"

"No. They didn't make nearly that much to put aside for something like life insurance."

"Then you have no other choice, come live with me! Or at least make a deal with me."

"And what is this deal might I ask."

'"Come to my house tomorrow, spend the day and if you like it you can stay with me forever, well until you want to move out."

"That's such a half assed plead for me to stay."

"I'm only nine I don't know that much," he said. "But if you don't like it. I won't ever look in your direction or talk to you again."

That caught me off guard, it also left a sinking feeling in my chest. It was familiar.

"So cold, I just might freeze. I don't even know your name."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, put her there Sasuke." He extended his hand. I didn't reach for him I just looked into his sapphire eyes trying to find any ill intent but failed.

"Can I just come over today?" I asked. I don't know what made me want to as soon as possible. I felt like I needed to. It was too good to be true someone coming for me, just for me.

"That's a sudden change of attitude. Sure, why not? Here's my address come over in an hour." after telling me his address he got up and left. I memorized it as if my life depended on it. For some reason, it feels as if something good can happen from this.

I did what he told me to do to. I went home killed some time and headed over once an hour went by. I still find it hard to believe that a kid like him lives alone. Maybe he made up the whole story so he could have someone to play with. What if he was one of those kids involved in abductions and is the bait for the culprit. Maybe it's a prank. The closer and closer I got the more I began to doubt his words.

After walking a couple kilometers I came upon a small house. It was clean the lawn looked like it was just cut. The orange bricks were welcoming. I went up to the dirt and knocked.

"Finally. Here come inside." Naruto ushered me in. I was a spectacle but I entered his domain anyway. The place was cleaner than I thought. The kitchen was nice and looked pretty pricey. It had all the latest gadgets you would see on TV. The living room was well furnished, there was even a TV with a couple of gaming systems I never got to play. The coaches were black and the walls were plated with dark mahogany wood tiles. The place gave off a really calm atmosphere it was relaxing just looking at it.

"Here come look at my room!" He pulled me by my hand leading me upstairs. I noticed this place was a two bedroom house. One of the roomed was stripped naked. The walls weren't painted, the carpet dug up, not traces of furniture or anything whatsoever. He opened his well-decorated door.,"Tada."

The room was filled with anime action figures and posters. There was an orange bean bag chair beside his bed, a desk full of weird but intriguing objects. Some of them looked like he found it outside others were completely unknown. His room was well colored. His walls were painted a nice sea blue and his carpet was orange. It fit him.

"I gotta say it's a nice room. I'm surprised you live here alone and it looks this clean. You don't seem like the tidy type."

"I have to. Granny Tsunade comes by to check up on me sometimes. If I even left a pen on the floor she'd kick my ass. She's really scary but I love her she's the only family I have." He donned a sad smile. "That empty room we passed by is your room. You'll have to sleep on the couch downstairs for a couple of days. I called Granny Tsunade and told her everything she said we can go furniture shopping when you decide to live here." He smiled. His smile was brighter than the room itself. How is he so happy even though he's all alone? "Let's go play some games. You're not leaving yet I won't allow you to."

For the rest of the day, we played video games. He was talking none stop even though I wasn't responding. He told me a lot about himself. His parents died I'm a car crash, it was a miracle he lived. Ever since then his Godmother Tsunade took care of him until he was eight. The only reason why he had to leave her house was that of the area. He was far from school and the area wasn't the best for a child to grow up in he said. It was filled with older people he didn't even see a single kid there. So using his parent's life insurance he moved in here instead. His Godmother wanted to find a one room apartment but for some reason, Naruto insisted on this house saying 'Watch and see' apparently he was waiting for someone to have a similar situation. His mom and dad were pretty successful people. His mom was a famous chef while his dad was a cop. Other than that he told me what he likes to watch, eat, hobbies, anything that you would ask a person after first meeting them.

This place oddly felt like home, a real home, something I've never had with a real family. Ironic right? I don't think I deserve this though. I've done and said so many bad things because I was selfish. I tried to fight it but I couldn't stop them. My vision was blurry and I could no longer see the game. I tried to wipe away the tears discreetly but Naruto already noticed.

"You can." that's all he said.

"Can what?" I sniffed trying to calm down but failed to.

"You can stay here, this place can be our home."

"Who said I wanted to stay here. I didn't even talk this whole time. How could I? I'll destroy this house like I did with mine. I'll make you miserable, you'll hate me after a while u know it. I have nothing to give you I don't have a job or any money or any good qualities. I'm wasting your time." I began to sob my words were heavy and held my true feelings in them. Naruto was quiet once again. He got up and grabbed my bag I had brought with me. "What are you doing?!"

"If you don't want to stay why do you have a packed back full of clothes." He unzipped my bag and dumped out all of my favorite clothes and necessities. He walked towards me and pulled me into an embrace. I tried to break free but he was stronger than me. "It's okay, I'll deal with all of that. If you have nothing to offer that just means you're holding back. If you have no good qualities I'll bring them out of you. If you destroy this place I'll just rebuild it. You have the same eyes I did back then, that means you deserve the same love I'm about to show you too. You're not alone, and if you move in I won't be either. We'll make our own family. We'll be brothers."

I was a loss for words and strength my dropped my arms. It felt like all my pain was going away like he was absorbing it all. I let out everything I had, through my relentless tears I told him everything I've felt for years even more than what I told him. He just listened in silence his embrace was still so strong.

After that day I became a resident at his house. His Godmother, well I guess you can say she's mine too now legally adopted me. My family didn't want anything to do with me, if I didn't meet Naruto I would've been sad about it but I wasn't. We went furniture shopping like he promised. My dark themed room made me goth apparently. Eventually, I started opening up more to Naruto. It took a while but it happened. We became close, inseparable even.

This is a story of how our bond was shaped through all the years, all our hardships and good times. Everything. I'll tell you the story of how two people that only knew of loneliness came to be.