Most people are born with a loving, thriving family. They care for the child until they become old enough to leave the house. Then the child, now a young adult, seeks out a companion for life, and they start a family of their own. The cycle continues.
It always has, and it always will.
However, there are a few select people in the world who don't have a family of their own. Maybe the mother and father were killed when the child was small. Maybe the child was born unto a family that didn't work out, and they disbanded, leaving the child to fend for itself. Or maybe, on a very rare occasion, the mother was killed, and the father separated himself from the child, still leaving the child to fend for itself.
Most stories focus on the child that was fortunate enough to have a family of their own. But what happens to the few select children who don't have a family to call their own?
Naruto Uzumaki.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Both don't have families to call their own.
Neither of them were suffering, though.
Naruto gazed out the window on a dreary day. Rain poured down the streets of Konoha. Hardly anyone was outside on a day like this. The few that did travel the streets traveled quickly, taking care not to get too wet on their way to whatever location they were bustling off to.
The first time Naruto had even thought about rain like this, it was when he sat in the middle of the village, a baby. The chunin furrowed his brow as he sought to remember what happened. There was the nine-tailed fox, and then it was gone. Naruto shuddered as he remembered that the nine-tailed fox now lived inside of him. It was thinking about the same thing Naruto was. Every time he ate, the fox ate. Every time he slept, the fox slept.
Naruto's eyes trembled as he remembered the LAST time he had remembered rain like this. The last time the rain poured down so hard, he was looking at Sasuke's face. Sasuke was looking at Naruto's face. Both were just about to rip the other apart.
However, neither did.
Sasuke aimed his powerful Chidori away from Naruto's heart, and instead pounded his shoulder. Naruto hadn't hit Sasuke in a vital point, but instead aimed for the forehead protector that the Uchiha genin had worn.
Neither of them had the heart to kill the other.
Naruto sighed and rested his chin on his palm. Would the two ever see each other again? He felt a single tear begin to well up in his eye. Naruto HAD to see Sasuke again someday. If he didn't…his life would be a waste.
Sasuke Uchiha watched the rain pour down from the Village Hidden in Sound. He had been left to himself for a few hours. He was happy, too. Orochimaru was such a creep.
For the first time in a long time, Sasuke thought about Konoha. Was the village receiving as much rain as the Sound was? Sasuke shuddered as he looked out of his window. Was…Naruto thinking about the same thing that he was? Sasuke brushed a lock of black hair out of his face.
The first time he had seen rain like this, Itachi had slaughtered Sasuke's entire family. Every single member had fallen victim to Itachi's rampage across the Leaf. And then…those eyes. Itachi's eyes. They had glared at Sasuke. They had cornered him into a wall. And then they whispered to him. About hate. And about how he would never have enough.
Sasuke then gasped out loud. He had memories…of another time the rain fell like this. It was when he and Naruto had cornered one another. As the rain fell outside, Sasuke, overcome by sadness, thudded on the floor, fainted. The last thing Sasuke heard when he fell asleep was this.
We're…we're best friends!
Sasuke…you don't have enough hate…and you know what?
You never will.
When Sasuke woke up, rain still thundered outside.
When Naruto woke up from falling asleep looking out the window, the rain had not ceased.
Sasuke leapt up and glared out the window.
Naruto's eyes flew open as he stared out the window.
"NARUTO!"
"SASUKE!"
In unison, both friends cried out into the rain.
"We're best friends! If I don't ever see you again…just remember that…you're the best friend a guy could ask for!"
Naruto Uzumaki.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Neither had blood relations to call their own.
However, they did have one relation.
They each had brothers.
And those two brothers had just called out in desperation to each other.
When most people think about families, they think about moms and dads, little baby sisters and big, annoying brothers.
Naruto and Sasuke may not have had any of that, but that didn't matter.
Nothing would change the fact that the two, no matter how far away, would never be separated. They had each other to always rely on.
That's what brothers do.