Desclaimer: Fully not mine. [ Yes, not mine! ]
Chapter 1: Family
.
Naruto Uzumaki sat on the Academy's swing, thinking deeply. He knew that the villagers hated him for the lazy-ass fox that was inside of him, but what did that have to do with him? Did they not know the difference between a scroll and the kunai sealed within it? He slid off the swing and went to the heart of the forest, where a lake was that he often found peaceful. After all, it was silent, and the lake acted like a mirror in which he could see the human features that countered the names of "Demon" and "Monster".
Sasuke Uchiha ran to the Uchiha compound, eager to see his big brother. Itachi had promised to train him today, and he was going to surprise him by being able to throw shuriken and kunai straight at the target's centre easily.
But what he saw froze him in place. His aunt, uncle and little cousins lying in the garden, their throats slit. He ran to another house and found Izumi, Itachi's girlfriend, and found her dead too, only she had no wound on her.
Panicking, he ran to his home, looking in horror at the dead bodies lining the street.
"MOM! DAD! BIG BROTHER!" Sasuke yelled, hoping they were alive.
When he entered the house, he froze in shock. His father and mother were lying dead on the ground, Itachi standing over them, blood gleaming in the moonlight on his sword.
"Itachi-nii. . . why did you do it?" Sasuke started crying. "They loved you. Why, Itachi? Why?!" Sasuke sobbed.
"Foolish little brother," Itachi said calmly in a monotone voice. "Hate me, foolish little brother. I killed your family to test my strength. Gain the same eyes as mine, and when you do, go after me and kill me. Live for that, foolish little brother."
And with that, Itachi left the Uchiha compound, his heart breaking with every step as he heard his beloved little brother's sobs.
Sasuke stood up and blindly made his way to the forest.
.
"You little wrench! You vile being! How dare you live while she doesn't!" A drunken, furious man was beating and scolding a small girl who was shivering in fear in a corner. A distinct feature was her bubblegum pink hair.
"Go! Go and don't come back! I don't care about you at all!" The man yelled, picking up the poor little girl by her hair and throwing her into the street, slamming the door harshly.
The little girl rolled and bumped down the empty road, as it was nearly dark now, and stumbled her way to the forest's lake, where she collapsed and fainted.
.
Naruto walked to the forest and saw a little girl who had short bubblegum pink hair, bleeding and bruised on the ground. She was not moving.
"Hey! Hey, are you okay?" Naruto, being the kind-hearted young boy he was, ran over to the girl and crouched down, shaking her shoulder gently. He shifted her head onto his lap after wetting his handkerchief and and lightly wiped the dirt from his face.
"What are you doing? Is that girl okay?" a new voice asked, and Naruto jumped, waking the girl.
Sasuke stood in the trees.
"P-Please don't h-hurt me," Sakura whimpered, hiding in the trees.
"Why would we hurt you?" Sasuke asked, baffled.
"M-My father k-keeps b-beating me. . . h-he says t-that i-it was my f-fault that my m-mother died." Sakura stuttered her way through the story, and when she finished, she was shocked by the warm embrace that was shared by the two boys.
She felt secure for the first time in her life and happy.
"That's awful," the blonde boy said firmly. "No one should feel scared or be beaten in their own home. A home is supposed to be a place where you feel safe and secure, a place where you can go to anytime whenever you need to."
The blonde turned to the raven. "Now what about your story?"
"M-My big brother killed our whole clan. He said it was to test his strength. And when I finally get my Sharingan," Sasuke clenched his fists. "I will kill him! He told me to follow the path of revenge and to kill him when I get the same eyes as him! And I will kill him! No one is going to stop me!"
A sharp slap sounded through the forest.
Sasuke's face was turned to the right, his eyes wide, his cheek red. Naruto's hand was stretched across, his blue eyes angry.
"Why would you listen to a murderer? This is your brother you're talking about! You should be grateful he spared you! You should be grateful you had family at all! Even if it was taken from you, you still have your brother! To kill him would be simply idiotic!"
"You're right. . ." Sasuke looked down. "What do you think I should do?"
Naruto's whiskered face softened. "Track down your brother and ask him what exactly was going through his mind to kill the whole clan. He must've had a reason, and that reason wouldn't be as stupid as testing his strength. And there's another thing you've over-looked. Why would your brother spare you?"
"H-He's always been nice to me before," Sasuke whispered.
"Then the only reason is he loves you."
"W-What?!"
"Your brother loved you too much to be able to kill you. He spared you, and you alone. He was so filled with guilt he wanted the only person he would do anything for to kill him. He would think that was right."
Silence filled the forest.
"Y-You're very wise for your age," Sakura whispered.
"Thanks. My life has taught me a lot," Naruto smiled at her.
"W-What's your name? I'm Sakura."
"Nice to meet you Sakura! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"
"Sasuke Uchiha. What about your life, Naruto?"
"My life?" Naruto put his hands behind his head and looked up at the sky. "My life has been a living torture chamber for as long as I can remember. I have been shunned and hated for something I have no control over. I am the jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that attacked this village seven years ago."
Naruto looked at them and expected to see the hate-filled look. But their faces were only filled with sadness as they brought him into a group hug.
"Don't you hate me?" Naruto asked in surprise.
"Naruto. . . we could never hate you," Sakura whispered.
"You've helped me see the light, Naruto. I think we should start a family," Sasuke smiled.
"A family?" Naruto asked, blinking in surprise. "Yeah. A Uchiha-Uzumaki family."
"Best!" Naruto grinned. "Where do we live?"
Sasuke laughed. "The Uchiha Compound! It'll get lonely without anyone, and it's big enough for all of us! Let's go!"
"Okay!" Naruto and Sakura laughed.
And so, the family of the three pained children began. They learned to rely on each other, but they also knew to protect themselves. They cared greatly for each other, and that love increased every day. But the Sakura and Sasuke loved the most was Naruto, who was like the elder brother, although they were the "same age". This was what sparked an overprotective instinct inside the two older children. Naruto was fun, wise and not being the wise person of the family, he would often pull pranks, acting like the youngest sibling he really was. His brother and sister would normally help in his prank-schemes.
Naruto had saved them from the darkness - Sasuke from the revenge and Sakura from the darkness of not having a family. And Naruto loved them both equally. He always put their safety and health and generally, them themselves before him. Naruto would never let anything happen to his family that he had longed for so many years ago.
