Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I'm just borrowing the world and its characters.

I

Born three months before the Kyuubi attack, Namine Rie doesn't know her birth parents. She has no recollection of their warmth or their scent. She can't piece their features together no matter how many times the caretakers of the orphanage patiently explain their looks to her—even when they remind her that she looks just like her mother. All she knows are facts and second-hand information. Satou Hikari was a chunin with waist-length black hair and dark blue eyes. Namine Shin was a jonin with messy brown hair and matching eyes. Her mother, her father. One had a cheery deposition while the other was incredibly serious…but to what degree? Nobody can tell Rie exactly how her parents were. All they can do is just relay what they know—biased knowledge, and from the information she collects, Rie narrows down the similarities to draw out acceptable answers.

"Rie-chan! Rie-chan! Do you want to play?"

Looking up from her book, Rie discovers an excited Akio looking at her expectantly. He is six, which makes him two years older than her, and a second-year academy student with a lot of friends inside and outside of the orphanage. Though, despite the age gap and the surplus of friends, he never fails to find her and ask that very same question. Shaking her head, Rie rejects his invitation. It's the answer she never fails to give but Akio doesn't give up. He can't give up, even with all the other children at the orphanage telling to do so.

The blond boy's cheeks begin puff up into a pout, but he soon sighs and brightens up again seconds later. "Okay then, I'll just stay here with you, Rie-chan! What are you reading?" He sits on the ground beside her.

It's a break from their usual routine and Rie's childish visage portrays her confusion. "Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?" Akio's eyebrows furrow. "Isn't it obvious?"

The little girl shakes her head, the waterfall of straight black hair swishing with her movements.

"Silly Rie-chan, I want to be friends!"

A pleasant warmth blooms inside her stomach before she swiftly squashes it down. Rie cannot allow that feeling to appear. She cannot allow herself to grasp at happiness and hope for she would only lose it again in the future.

"No," she shakes her head, slightly narrowed blue eyes completing her stern expression. "We can't be friends."

"Ehhhh, why?" Panic flares up within Akio's being as he waits for an answer. Did the other children tell her to stay away from him? The adults wouldn't do something like that, right? It's the other children! They shouldn't have done that, especially since he's been working so hard up until now just so he can—

"Because, happiness is something I cannot know."

And, all the little boy can do is just sit there, watching the younger girl stand up before leaving him alone. He doesn't know what to make of her words. He doesn't understand how her eyes can be so full of sadness—like two pools of eternal sorrow. But, the one thing he is sure of is that he won't be giving up no matter the amount of times Rie rejects him, be it in double, triple, quadruple or more digits. As orphans, they have no one but each other yet Rie won't even accept them into her life. Akio cannot agree with that. He doesn't like how cold and closed-off Rie is. He doesn't like how it feels like she is an adult trapped in a child's body. Akio will not allow Rie to shroud herself with solitude because being alone is the scariest thing ever.

.

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Days grow into weeks that soon become months and Akio has yet to succeed in convincing Rei to provide him a chance. Though, the little girl hasn't exactly scorned him either. Rie has no need for hatred or contempt, not when she doesn't allow herself happiness and all those positive feelings people should experience. The caretakers at the orphanage are also steadily voicing out their concerns for her silence and solitude, but Rie pays them no heed. She will turn five in a month and will therefore, be eligible to enrol into the Academy (the orphans are all provided with a fair chance) should she wish to do so. If she becomes a legitimate genin, she would technically become an adult and can move out of her present home, no questions asked. However, if she fails…she would have to remain until she can obtain better lodgings and a steady pay.

"Are you going to be a shinobi, Rie-chan?" Akio asks. Rie had refused to play koi-koi with him more than thirty minutes ago and he has been walking with her through Konoha since then, doing his best to keep his attention on the quiet girl beside him despite wanting to stop on multiple occasions to check out some stores.

"Mmm…" Rie pauses from her book. "Maybe."

Indefinite as her answer is, Akio still beams because his plan is working. Rie is answering more of his questions—she's speaking to him more and more! In his excitement, he launches off into the many possibilities that could occur, along with his own experiences in the Academy. He talks about his classes and classmates, the instructors and the possible job choices for a shinobi. Rie pays half her attention to him, though she's trying not to do so at all. She has long realised that she likes Akio's persistence and insistence in befriending her, and that she is now used to his presence. However, that doesn't mean that she will give in into temptation. Her resolution to remain by herself still stands…even if it has crumbled a slight bit.

The new book in Rie has been reading flies out of her hands as she finds herself on the ground after being run into by someone else.

"AHH, I'M SORRY!"

The loud voice bellows, its owner not realizing that their close range would perhaps leave Rie deaf. Wincing, she is about to wave the apology off when Akio's following words causes both her and the other person to freeze.

"Watch where you're going, demon!"

Demon. Demon. The boy who had run into her is none other than Uzumaki Naruto. Rie isn't sure if Akio knows that Naruto is the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki (not that it's difficult to put together or that it's a tight-lipped secret) or that he is only obeying the words passed down to him, but she no longer finds him as likeable as she previously did.

"I'm not a demon, 'ttebayo!" Naruto counters, visibly angry but Rie can see that he's hurt. The son of the Fourth Hokage (Rie had put that together as easily as she did with him being a jinchuuriki) is lonely. He doesn't know why people shun him and all he longs for is companionship. He isn't an open book to Akio but Rie sees all that he hides within his brightbrightbright blue eyes and all of a sudden, she doesn't find herself agreeing with the idea of him having nothing but sorrows and pain because of something he had no hand in. She can't pinpoint why or the cause of the foreign emotions swirling within her but she knows that she finds his ability to maintain an optimistic outlook and his sunny deposition admirable. (It isn't difficult to cross paths with Konoha's jinchuuriki. His voice is often heard over the other sounds in the streets and his pranks are escalating to legendary status.) So, although she has sworn to allow herself no relationships further than acquaintances, she reaches out and wipes away the dirt on Naruto's cheek, not missing that brief flinch of his while she does so. Her heart clenches at that sight.

"Do you know how to play koi-koi?" Ignoring Akio's sputters of indignation, Rie's hand does not leave Naruto's cheek which is steadily growing red beneath her touch.

"Huh?" Confused sky blue eyes gaze into her dark blue ones.

"Koi-koi, do you know how to play? I'll teach you."

Rie knows that she will regret her actions. Just by looking at the jinchuuriki boy, she foretells that her already-soft resolution will crumble down until she finally gives in. He is stubborn and set in his ways—much like Akio. However, she cannot leave Naruto alone either. Should Akio wish to stay, he will need to make room for another orphan, another child who has lost his family to the Kyuubi attack.

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When Rie turns five, enrolments for the Academy have already begun and today will only be her very first day as an Academy student since Naruto had already joined a year earlier. White fluffs drift down from the heavens and snow crunches beneath her shoes. By her sides are two blond boys, one taller with emerald-green irises, the other shorter with whisker-like markings on his cheeks. She walks towards the building filled with children and adults, swinging her hands that hold onto one of each boys'. She doesn't care for the judgemental or apprehensive looks. She only grasps Naruto's hand tighter so he is assured that she will never abandon him.

Within the single month she has spent with Naruto so far, Rie has learnt of the reasons why she cannot shun herself away from him. She has learnt why Naruto is a beautiful child—so much different from Akio and even more from herself. He isn't tainted in sorrows so dark and possessive. He isn't just a boy who believes that everyone deserves chances and happiness. No, Naruto has the sun within him. Naruto is bright and beautiful. He is orange and yellow and that isn't in the most literal sense since the boy's hair is the latter and he sometimes wears clothes with hints or is entirely of the former.

Naruto is fire, burning bright and passionate. He cannot be tamed, he is overwhelming but he is also loyal. He brings warmth for those who seek it—whether knowingly or not, and consumes them so they see goodness and positivity. Then, he illuminates paths previously hidden and sets the people he is helping towards a greater future.

What Rie has foretold in the past is now reality. With each passing day, her resolution crumbles and breaks. Naruto's fire feeds Akio's initially reluctant embers and together, they almost forcefully burn away her shadows. Nevertheless, Rie is still scared of happiness. She is fearful of hope. The boys' sway over her is frightening but she doesn't put out their flames. She already has a taste of those wonderful emotions and she doesn't want to let them go. Rie wants more, even when logic tells her she shouldn't. Though, she counters by reminding logic that the future is something she cannot control. No matter her choices, she will still lose or gain something. So, if she loses Naruto and Akio through wrong choices, she will mourn and weep because it's her fault for allowing them to invade her sheltered home. But, that is the future and now is the present.

Akio parts from the black-haired girl and the jinchuuriki at the entrance of the former's classroom (the latter's is just next door), telling them that he will come and get them during recess so they can eat together. He knows that being together with Naruto might cause Rie to be shunned as well but he is fine with that because they won't be alone anymore. Within the short amount of time spent together, the three of them have grown so close together that it's difficult to find any of them without each other's company anymore. At first, Akio had been reluctant to let Naruto join them. He had been jealous of how Naruto bonded and brought Rie out of her solitude quicker than he himself ever could. Most of all, he had been afraid that Rie would abandon him for the other blond boy. For more than a year he tried to befriend the girl, only for someone else to swoop in the moment rough waves began to calm. Now, though. Now, is different. He has realized what Rie realized and he witnesses sorrow steadily release its clutches on Rie. Rie is no longer as cold or as closed-off, and Naruto has become irreplaceable. Nobody is allowed to call the younger blond boy a demon or any derogatory term whatsoever in their presence. Nobody is allowed to treat Naruto less than a human. The three of them have each other and their friendship is worth more than a million flimsy ones. They are brothers and sister to each other.

They are family.

A/N: Hello! This is my first attempt in writing a Naruto fanfic and it's been sitting in my folder for exactly two years today. I figured that if I posted it here, I'd at least be able to motivate myself into finally choosing a direction for this fic. What I've been certain since the beginning is that this is a subtle SI/OC fic about friendship and family. I'm not sure if I want Rie to (in)directly influence the canon, but I guess I'll figure that out later? Feel free to share your thoughts on this, though! Also, if there are any mistakes (English isn't my first language), feel free to point them out! Constructive criticism is always welcomed.

PS: Rating might be bumped up in the later chapters cause violence can't really be avoided in Naruto.