Naruto didn't know Sasuke very well. If you asked him how he felt about the other boy, he would say that he was a decent person- or at least more tolerable than some of the other kids that he knew. The blond didn't know what drew him to Sasuke, as he definitely wasn't the most sociable of his peers. But when he sat next to the Uchiha during class, the boy didn't leave and go to another seat, and sometimes, during lunch when the two sat together and Sasuke saw that he didn't have any lunch of his own, the other boy would give him his own bento. When Naruto would push the offered food away, Sasuke would keep insisting until the Uzumaki ate at least a third of what was there. Sasuke would eat half of that then keep offering the blond the lunchbox until he gave in and finished the food off.
When it was all finished, Sasuke would take it and throw the rubbish away, then return and sit quietly next to Naruto until the bell rang, at which time the Uchiha would get up and silently go to class. When Naruto hesitated at the door, Sasuke would walk back and take the other boys hand, leading him inside quietly, and Naruto would follow without protest. He was definitely nicer than some of the other kids that went to the Academy with him. If the Uzumaki had to choose a word to describe their relationship, then Sasuke could be considered a particularly nice acquaintance. However all that changed one day after the Academy. Sasuke had been absent for a few days, which was strange, since the other boy was almost religious about school, and Naruto wondered what could have happened to him until he had heard some of the other kids whispering quite loudly to one another: "Hey, did you hear about the Uchiha Clan?" one boy asked his friend.
Naruto didn't usually care for gossip, since it was usually about him and not very nice either. However, upon hearing the name of Sasukes Clan in the conversation, the orange and dark blue wearing boy stopped and listened, "yeah," the other boy replied, "my dad said that they were all wiped out by their own Clan Heir- he said that Sasuke's the only one left". Naruto's eyes widened. Sasukes family had been killed? No wonder he had been absent from classes lately. As the blond walked back to his old apartment, he thought about whether or not he should pay Sasuke a visit in the hospital. Soon enough it began to rain. Naruto cursed under his breath and covered his head with his arms to try and shield himself from the storm while he began to run. It was as he was making his way past the Uchiha district, that he noticed something, or rather- someone. Sasuke was standing in front of the gate to the district that was sectioned off with yellow tape.
As Naruto watched, the boy lifted the tape and walked inside. Making a split second decision, the Uzumaki abandoned his plan to run home and began to run after Sasuke instead. As carefully as possible, Naruto climbed under the tape- albeit with a lot less grace than his classmate, and entered the Uchiha compound. The whole place was abandoned, and was as silent as a grave, the closest thing Naruto could describe it as, was ghost town. Looking ahead and straining his eyes, the blond could make out a faint moving figure enter the largest house in the area. Running quickly to catch up with the other boy as well as get out of the rain, Naruto followed where he'd seen Sasuke go into. Upon getting to the house, he saw that Sasuke had taken his shoes off at the entrance. After doing the same out of respect, Naruto entered the house and looked around.
Needless to say it was huge compared to what he was used to. Naruto almost thought that he should just go back home, forget this ever happened and leave before Sasuke found out that he was in his house and threw him out. But suddenly, over the beating of the rain on the wood of the roof, the Uzumaki heard a faint sound. It was Sasuke, crying. Naruto had never seen or heard the other boy cry before- it was a pitiful, broken sobbing, and Naruto immediately wanted to make it stop. It reminded him too much of the times he'd cried the same way, and he couldn't bear to hear Sasuke crying too. It almost physically hurt to hear the other boy do so. So Naruto followed the sound, walking through the empty hallways until he came to a partly open door. When he peeked inside the room, the blonds' eyes widened.
Sasuke was on the floor, curled up into a small ball of misery. His entire body was shaking as he moaned and sobbed. Without thinking about the consequences of his actions, Naruto quickly walked into the room and went over to Sasuke. Kneeling down, the Uzumaki curled his small body around the other boys, wrapping his arms around the other boy and holding him close. Naruto noticed the way the Uchiha's body stiffened at the contact, but he didn't mind. After another moment of silence, Sasuke peeked up at the person holding him. Seeing blond spiky hair, the tenseness that was present in the black-haired boy's body melted away and after another moment of hesitation Sasuke clung onto the other boy and began sobbing even more. Naruto just waited until his classmate's cries fell away to sniffles, and his body relaxed in his arms.
In that moment something strange happened. Bright white light exploded from everywhere at once making Naruto slam his eyes shut. Pain shot through his body, and he could tell by the way Sasuke was shaking again, that he felt the agony as well. The light expanded and brightened until it invaded Naruto's shut eyelids and engulfed the two boys completely.
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Naruto blinked slowly. Everywhere around him was white. For a moment he was disorientated, he couldn't tell what was up, down, or any other way. There was no horizon, just blankness. "Naruto-Kun?" the Uzumaki whirled around, only to see two other boys the same age as him standing in front of him. The one standing on the left was a boy a little taller than he was. He had short brown hair that spiked wildly around his head, a thick wrapping of bandages tied around his forehead, with two bangs of hair framing his face, bound tightly by more bandage to keep it neat. He had almond shaped brown eyes and wore a white robe with a high collar with six black Magatama decorating down the chest area in a 'v' pattern. The brunette also had a black sash around his waist and two black straps that went over his shoulders like one would carry a pack and it was these that kept a sword tied to his back.
Naruto stared at the strange clothes the boy was wearing. He'd never seen clothes like them before. Soon enough the blonds eyes wondered up to the face of the boy. His face seemed genuinely kind, not like the type of people who would be falsely nice to him only to torture and torment him when his guard was down. Next his eyes moved over to the other boy. He also had brown hair, but it was long and looked surprisingly soft. He wore traditional red Shinobi armour- the kind that was made from multiple metal plates attached together and his underclothes were black. He also looked very kind and cheerful, a lot like Naruto himself. Even so, Naruto couldn't help but be wary of the two. "Naruto?" turning to his left, the Uzumaki saw Sasuke standing next to him and instantly relaxed. The Uchiha was standing with two other boys and all three of them looked extremely similar.
The one standing closest to Sasuke had short black spiky hair, and was staring at the long-haired boy in front of Naruto with something of a cross between a mild glare and a pout. He had black eyes and slightly paler skin than the others and he was wearing a blue high-collared, long sleeve mantle that split down the lower half and a simple, light-brown obi and a belt. Wrapped around his ankles were bandages and he wore simple sandals. Next to the first boy was a second one with long black hair that was cut short on top. Two locks of it were wrapped in bandages, and framed either side of his face. His eyebrows were cut short and his eyes had blue markings around them, which were turned up at the corners. He wore a high-collared, light-coloured kimono held closed by a dark sash. The collar of the kimono was adorned with Magatama. He wore a black full-body suit underneath.
His entire aura practically screamed: I'm better than you, bow down to me, however his demeanor was very quiet and refined. While the boy's obvious pride showed clearly, there was also an underlying soft quality to his look. The blond boy looked back and forwards between the four unknown people and frowned. It was a look that many people knew as Naruto's 'serious look'. He didn't use it often, but when he did, everyone knew he wasn't playing around. Now, how, you may ask, could a simple frown convey that? well, it wasn't just the frown. It was that combined with the steely eyes, the set jaw and shoulders, and the way he leveled his face to look directly into the other person's eyes. "Alright, what's going on- I want answers, now if you don't mind?" the way he said it was a question, but the way he posed it was a statement.
The long brown-haired boy smiled slightly, "yes, of course, we'd be happy to answer your questions. But we should introduce ourselves first- ne?" he asked, beaming at the end. Naruto and Sasuke stared at the four other boys. The short brown-haired boy walked up to Naruto first, holding out his hand, "it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Asura Otsutsuki" he said, with a bright smile. Naruto stared at Asura's hand, before, slowly, tentatively, taking it in his own and giving it a shake, "hello, I'm, Naruto Uzumaki" he replied shyly, blushing slightly. Most people kept their children away from him, so he didn't really know how to deal with one coming up so willingly and wanting to talk with him, even though Naruto could somehow tell that none of the four people in front of them were really children.
They felt too- old, too world weary. I mean, yes, maybe he and Sasuke looked the same, but even the two of them weren't as mature looking as the others. The long brown-haired boy now walked up, "hello Naruto-Kun, my name is Hashirama Senju" he said with a bright smile. Naruto and Sasukes eyes widened in shock, "you mean Hashirama Senju as in the first Hokage?" the young Uchiha asked. Hashirama scratched the back of his head, "yep, that's me, he, he" he grinned at both actual children. One of the black-haired boys stepped up, "my name is Indra Otsutsuki, and I am Asura's older brother" he explained. The last boy stared impassively around, before looking at Naruto and Sasuke, "and I am Madara Uchiha, we were sent here to help both of you with an important mission".
Naruto's eyes lit up at the word 'mission'. He was still in the Academy, and he knew that only Shinobi got missions. "What is it?" he asked with childlike wonder and excitement. His enthusiasm caused all four to chuckle, "first you must understand how exactly we are connected- my father, the Sage of the Six Paths wanted nothing more than to bring peace to this world, and on his deathbed, he named me his successor," Asura explained, then looked sad, "however, this caused a chain of events that led to intense hatred between my brother and I as well as our families once they were born," Sasuke looked like he was soaking it all in, however, Naruto looked a little lost. Hashirama smiled, "don't worry about it Naruto-Kun, all you have to remember is that by choosing Asura as his successor, Sennin-Sama made Indra-San so angry with his brother that they fought over and over throughout the years, until they died and were reborn as the next in line" he explained.
Naruto thought for a moment, making sure he understood everything, before he nodded. "After we had been reincarnated as Hashirama and Madara and finally died again, both Indra and I were so sick of all the fighting, that we accepted an offer of our father's- which was to help the both of you, so you could end the cycle of hatred and bring true peace to this world- just like our father wanted" Asura told them. Both boys nodded in understanding. Sasuke turned to face Naruto and both boys walked up to each other. "So, bringing peace and saving the world, huh?" the Uchiha asked. Naruto grinned, "so, uh, brothers then?" he asked, unsure. Well, they were brothers once, why couldn't they be again? Besides, Naruto had always wanted a big brother. But upon hearing those words, Sasukes eyes went wide, his face became furious, and before he could stop himself, he'd already shouted: "NO!" with all his might.
This outburst shocked everyone into silence- even Madara and Indra were wide-eyed. Sasuke stood their shaking with barely controlled rage. Yes, maybe he'd snapped, and yes, maybe he was still unstable around that word- but could you blame the poor boy? Especially after what he'd just been through. "I don't want another brother," he said hoarsely, clenching his fists tightly, "my brother, is a murderer and a traitor- he lied to me, said he loved me, that he'd always be there for me," now Sasuke was panting raggedly, eyes reliving that horrible night, "but it was all a lie- he BETRAYED ME!" he screamed, tears beginning to stream down from his eyes, "why? Why did he do it? why did he say he loved me if he really hated me? Why did he have to torture me by making me watch him kill them? Why didn't he just KILL ME?!" the boy fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably, shaking and trembling, gripping his head, "why did he leave me alive? Why did he leave me to suffer?" he mumbled, curling up into another ball and trying to disappear.
Naruto stared with wide eyes at the other boy, now understanding at least a little of Sasuke's pain. Like he did in the real world, Naruto crouched down and curled himself around the sobbing Uchiha, wrapping his arms tightly around the other child. "Shhhh, it's okay- I understand, and I won't try to force you to be my brother if you don't want that Sasuke," he whispered to the shaking boy, "we don't have to be brothers, why don't we try for something else instead, huh?" he asked, as Sasuke finally calmed down. The black-haired boy rubbed the tears away from his eyes, and sat up again, giving a tiny smile of gratitude to Naruto, who returned it with a bright grin of his own. The two thought for a moment, everyone else staying silent as they did.
"Hmm, how about, just best friends then?" Naruto asked after a minute of thinking. Sasuke stared at him, then turned away slightly, "yeah, that should be fine, I guess" he replied, blushing slightly, as he'd never had a best friend before. The Uzumaki grinned and nodded, "best friends it is then!" he exclaimed happily. Both sets of previous Transmigrants smiled, "alright, well for now why don't we let you two get back to the real world so you can do what you need to do and go to bed for the night, after all you've both had a long day" Hashirama said. Before they could really question it, Naruto and Sasuke were once again blinded by piercing white light, and they closed their eyes.
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When Naruto and Sasuke opened their eyes again, they found themselves curled around each other on the floor in Sasuke's house. Both slowly stood up as they had no idea how long they had been kneeling on the ground for and they didn't want to risk falling over and hurting themselves. Once they had regained their balance, Sasuke led Naruto through the compound. Now that he wasn't so focused on finding Sasuke, the blond normally would have been looking around himself in excitement, however he was too tired and hungry to pay much attention to anything but Sasukes back. Once they were in the kitchen, then came the problem of making dinner, but Naruto knew how to cook noodles, Sasuke had been taught how to steam rice and make Stir-fry vegetables, so they combined their knowledge and that's what they made- Stir-fry vegetables and noodles with steamed rice.
The meal was a silent one and Sasuke was glad Naruto wasn't mentioning his emotional breakdowns, either in that other plain or in the other room. Naruto seemed to sense that his new best friend needed silence to gather his thoughts, and for that the Uchiha was grateful. After dinner, both used the bathroom to wash up and go to the toilet, before the two went into a spare bedroom in Sasukes house. After gathering two blankets and pillows, the two boys set them up on the floor of the room. As they lay in bed, Sasuke and Naruto stayed awake for a while, before they turned to each other, "we can do it Sasuke, I know we can" he whispered. The Uchiha nodded and closed his eyes, unable to keep them open any longer. Naruto sighed and gripped his new friend's hand, "we can and will" he whispered, before he too closed his eyes and let exhaustion claim him.
After a moment, the images of child Indra, Asura, Madara and Hashirama appeared before the bed. "Aww, that's so sweet" Asura said, smiling at the touching scene before him. Madara sighed, "They've already been through so much, just like us" he said sadly, looking at Hashirama. The Senju nodded, eyes downcast, "yes, but at least they look like the children they are when they're asleep- instead of the miniature traumatized adults that we were and saw earlier" he said softly. They all nodded, and Asura looked at them, "we should let them sleep, they've been through a lot lately, and tomorrow's another big day" he told them. All four nodded, and returned to their own Transmigrants mindscapes.
To Be Continued