Okay. Finally, here is the first chapter. Sorry it took so long. I'm also still trying to finish Shadows on the Horizon. By the way, thank you Jodi for the review; it was really encouraging. I appreciate it. I hope you enjoy the first chapter of Foolish Little Brother. A couple of side notes before you start: I am doing this story in somewhat of a feudal-Japan-ish setting so most of the characters' outfits are different. And also, in this story I'm mixing up who's related to whom. You'll figure it out. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Ninja Assassin.

Chapter 1

Rivals

Fifteen-year-old Naruto silently ran down the wooden corridor. He could see the one ahead was lit with oil lamps. He paused at the corner. Using a small, round mirror he checked the dimly lit hall. Three lamps were situated on the walls, two at either end of the left wall, and one hanging from the center on the right wall. Two guards stood at the end of the hall. Naruto smirked. This was going to be easy. However, he stayed still.

His calm, quiet demeanor belied his normally bouncy personality. Naruto knew, like all ninja, that obnoxious behavior could—or rather would—get him killed. Even his clothes were uncharacteristically dark. Being the ninja clan of the forest, the Senju wore clothes that blended with their surroundings: different shades of gray, green, and brown. Naruto's outfit consisted of a long-sleeved, forest green shirt, dark gray pants, brown fingerless gloves, and brown boots. A dark green bandana hid his mop of unruly blonde spikes. Like all ninjas, Naruto had every hem and loose edge of clothing tuck in to prevent anything from getting snagged.

Naruto summoned his wind chakra. Using the mirror to see, he released the wind like a banner. The small breeze whipped from one lamp to the next, snuffing out the flames. The guards glanced around quickly in confused fear. Naruto silently skirted the corner, releasing two shuriken as he did. The small projectiles hit their marks. Naruto flew down the next corridor before the guards' bodies hit the ground.

He stealthily made his way through the luxurious compound. His target was a brigand causing trouble for the lord of a local village. Although, with such a lavish setup, Naruto wondered who was more lord-like. The rest of Naruto's ninja comrades were spread throughout the area, taking out the brigand's men and retrieving anything the man smuggled or stole. The team's captain, the Naruto's older brother, entrusted Naruto with the job of assassinating the crime lord himself.

Naruto finally reached the central room. It served as an anteroom to the bedchamber. Naruto paused. The room stood dark and quiet, no guards in sight. Naruto carefully surveyed the extravagantly furnished space. Nothing. He felt his heartbeat quicken with dread. Concentrating his chakra in his feet and hands, Naruto leapt up and latched onto the ceiling. He then proceeded to crawl like a spider. He paused in front of the double sliders to the bedchamber. Naruto listened for several seconds, but he heard nothing. Finally he reached out and silently pushed aside one of the sliders. The room was just as richly decorated as the rest of the house. However, the large bed sitting in the center was empty.

Naruto swung to his right. A sword point sliced along the ceiling where the blonde had been. Naruto leapt for the right side of the room as the sword flashed toward him again. He landed in a crouch. A sharp clang echoed off the walls. Naruto pushed his katana against his attacker's blade. Two red eyes stared him down as he locked gazes with his enemy. Naruto felt his heart racing. Sure, he'd fought bandits before and other ninja. But this guy was a totally other level. Naruto hadn't even sensed him in the area. The other man shoved against Naruto suddenly as crackling light illuminated the room. Naruto threw himself backward just in time to avoid a mass of lightning being shoved in his face. He grabbed his attacker's sword wrist and used his momentum to bring the other man down with him. Naruto rolled on his back, shoving his right foot in the man's stomach as he went and launching him to the opposite side of the room.

Naruto rolled to his feet and faced his attacker. The other man regained his feet. He regarded Naruto calmly. From what Naruto could make out, the man was no taller than himself. Other than his silhouette though, the only detail Naruto could clearly see were the man's eyes. Deep crimson with three black tomoe surrounding each iris. Naruto's heart skipped a beat. This guy was a ninja. And he was from a rival clan. Not that any of the clans were allies anyway, but these guys were really bad news.

"Uchiha, huh?" Naruto remarked dryly. "Well, this should be a workout."

"You must be a Senju," the man spoke in a calm tenor. He sounded like they might be about the same age.

Naruto retorted, "How do you figure?" He knew the other man couldn't see him very well in the dark.

"The Hyuugas all have gray eyes. Also, because they're the forest clan, the Senju are probably the only ones who would use the ceiling as a way of crossing the room. And I have yet to meet a Hebi clan member who uses a katana," the other man replied easily.

Naruto countered calmly, "So you know what clan I'm from. What of it?"

"Identifying your clan gives me an idea of your fighting style. However, I really have no interest unless you're Naruto, the younger heir of the Senju," his adversary remarked.

"What if I am Naruto?"

"There's a lot of blood between our clans. It's only fitting the two younger heirs fight each other. It's fate," the man said, a smirk creeping into his voice.

Naruto growled, "I take it then you're Sasuke, the second heir to the Uchiha clan."

"Good guess, Naruto," Sasuke sneered.

Without warning, Sasuke appeared behind Naruto. Naruto spun around just in time to block Sasuke's sword with his katana. The boys remained locked in place for a moment. Suddenly Sasuke's sword came alive with lightning. For a brief second Naruto caught a glimpse of the other boy's sharp yet child-like features. He also noticed Sasuke's clothes were black, the traditional color of the Uchihas. Instead of a long sleeved shirt, however, he wore a black vest. Naruto's observations were cut short when Sasuke's sword slid through his katana. Spinning to the side, Naruto evaded the lethal blade. He back flipped away as Sasuke followed through with an overhead slice.

Like shadows the two foes darted about the room. Sparks erupted sporadically while ringing clangs echoed off the walls. Naruto managed to keep pace with Sasuke's movements. However, the Uchiha was no pushover. He handled his sword with finesse rivaling the Senju's elite warriors. Naruto crouched low as Sasuke came at him with another overhead slice. Naruto started to bring his katana up to block, but Sasuke's blade surged with electricity. Just as the sword swung down, Naruto dodged to the side. Instead of slicing straight down, though, Sasuke curved his swing. Still in mid-dodge, Naruto had no chance to retract his left leg in time. A stinging sensation jolted up his leg as Sasuke's blade sliced Naruto's calf. Sasuke's heel smashed into Naruto's jaw. The Senju heir slammed against the wall and slid to a seated position.

Quickly, Naruto started to regain his feet. Sasuke's foot stomped down on Naruto's sword hand, pinning it to the floor. The wounded ninja felt his fingers bruising as the Uchiha ground them between his sandaled foot, the leather hilt, and the hardwood floor. Sasuke's sword pierced Naruto's left shoulder, probably just missing his heart. The blonde boy cried out in pain. The sword point slid through Naruto's flesh into the wall behind him. Warm blood stained his shirt where the sticky liquid flowed down his arm. Face contorting into a grimace, Naruto glared up at Sasuke. A blue glow illuminated the Uchiha's haughty, merciless expression as lightning crackled along the sword. The electrical current raced throughout Naruto's nervous system. The Senju's cry filled the air, his body twitching convulsively. The sword point kept Naruto pinned to the wall. More blood poured from his wounds as his body continued to thrash. Naruto finally managed to bite back his screams, clenching his teeth 'til he thought they'd break.

"I expected more from one the Senju's heirs," Sasuke scoffed, "especially from the White Fang's brother."

Vibrant blue eyes met cold crimson in a determined glare. "You haven't seen anything yet," Naruto growled through clenched teeth.

Struggling to control his jerking body, Naruto curled his fingers loosely around Sasuke's blade. The Uchiha plunged the sword deeper. Naruto forced himself to ignore the pain and concentrated. He felt his chakra gathering and swirling around the steel weapon in his open fist. He honed the chakra, adding wind element to it. He spun the chakra in opposite directions, sharpening it into invisible blades with the sword sandwiched between them. The steel shattered. Sasuke stumbled slightly with the sudden slack. Naruto pressed his advantage and kicked the Uchiha's knee. Spinning with the kick, Sasuke dropped to the ground and rolled away from Naruto. The Senju yanked the sword shard from his shoulder and threw it aside.

Pain surging through his injured leg, Naruto charged after Sasuke. Naruto gathered chakra in his feet and, raising his katana, launched himself above the Uchiha's head. Sasuke lifted his broken sword to block the blow. Naruto, however, used his chakra to step on the Uchiha's blade and flip over Sasuke. As he spun in the air, Naruto swung his katana. He felt the resistance as his blade sliced deeply across Sasuke's back. The Uchiha heir cried out and stumbled forward. Naruto landed, spinning around as he aimed another swipe at Sasuke. To Naruto's amazement, Sasuke recovered enough to duck beneath the swing and drive his elbow into Naruto's chest. Naruto staggered backward, temporarily winded. He tasted a metallic liquid in his mouth and wiped away the blood that trickled down his chin with the back of his hand.

Naruto glanced up when he heard what sounded like thousands of birds chirping. Blue lightning crackled in Sasuke's hand. The flashing light illuminated Sasuke's bloody, angry glare. Naruto knew that jutsu. He'd seen his older brother use it before. Chidori: the sound of a thousand chirping birds. Naruto squinted against the dancing lights as he turned his hand palm up. Chakra began concentrating and swirling into a sphere above his palm. Ideally he'd use his Wind Element: Rasen-Shuriken to counter a powerful lightning attack. However, he couldn't without destroying the whole place. Therefore, he figured the normal Rasengan would have to suffice. Chakra whipped about him. The two boys leapt at each other, thrusting their jutsus forward.

"Chidori!"

"Rasengan!"

A deafening boom reverberated through the air when the two attacks collided. The impact hurled the two boys apart. Naruto crashed through the wall. He flew in the open air for a few seconds before slamming into a boulder and shattering it. The bone-jarring halt left Naruto gasping for breath. Sharp bolts of pain surged throughout his body. As he struggled to gather his ecstatic senses, Naruto felt warm blood soaking through his bandana before spilling down the back of his neck. He choked and spat out the blood pooling in his mouth. He lay propped up against the shattered boulder's rubble. After a minute, Naruto's blurry vision managed to just make out Sasuke's silhouette standing over him.

Naruto barely heard the Uchiha's panting. When his eyesight cleared some he could see behind Sasuke the two openings in the dwelling where the boys must have flown through the walls. In the moonlight Naruto could make out Sasuke's features a little better. The Uchiha was soaking wet. Naruto figured Sasuke must have landed in the large pond on the other side of the building. He noticed blood trickling from the corner of the Uchiha's mouth and down his chin. His eyes were no longer crimson but a deep onyx. Blood dripped and pooled behind Sasuke from, Naruto guessed, the gash across his back. Sasuke no longer had his sword.

Naruto managed to hold onto his katana in the explosion, but now it slipped from his weakening fingers. He still found strength enough to glare at Sasuke. He wasn't about to die here, no way. He tried to move, but pain erupted through him. Even breathing hurt. His efforts resulted in him choking and coughing up more blood. Naruto couldn't die here. He couldn't disappoint his clan…or his brother. He had to complete his mission. But everything hurt so much.

Sasuke carefully retrieved Naruto's katana. He raised the tip to the blonde boy's chin, his arm trembling from the effort. He looked as weary as Naruto felt. Sasuke somehow composed himself as he slowly and steadily drew back the weapon. He matched Naruto's determined glare, all sign of fatigue gone. Just as he was about to strike, another man appeared beside him and restrained his arm. Sasuke snapped his attention to the newcomer. The man wore the same black apparel as Sasuke except his shirt had long sleeves, and he wore black gloves. Like Naruto's outfit, every hem was tucked in to avoid snags. The man's eyes held the sharingan's bloody gaze.

"What are you doing, Itachi?" Sasuke demanded. Naruto's eyes widened. His brother had told him about Itachi. The guy was a legend, the firstborn of the current Uchiha heirs. Sasuke's older brother.

"An heir to the Senju clan is more valuable to us alive than dead," Itachi answered coolly. "We'll take him with us."

Naruto tried once again to move—to run—anything as the older Uchiha reached for him. Itachi gripped the front of Naruto's shirt and hauled the injured boy to his feet. Pain. Excruciating pain shot through Naruto's battered body. He hung in Itachi's grip like a ragdoll. Those merciless, bloody eyes locked gazes with weary azure orbs. Naruto grasped desperately at his consciousness as the tomoe started spinning. But it began slipping like sand through his fingers. Suddenly white light flashed above Naruto and his captor. Itachi's hands released him as the light arced between them. Naruto knew that light: the blade of the White Fang. Naruto felt his body falling. He expected his back to impact rough soil, but strong arms caught him before he hit the ground. The arms cradled him like an infant. His rescuer leapt away from the two Uchiha as Naruto heard a familiar cry.

"Fang over fang!"

The Uchiha brothers leapt back as two funnels smashed into the ground where they'd just been standing. Kiba and Akamaru crouched threateningly in front of the two Uchiha, keeping between them and Naruto's rescuer. A shrill whistle rang through the air, the signal for retreat. An explosion of smoke followed as three more Uchiha joined the first two. They were soon hidden in the smoke screen. Naruto's rescuer whisked away before anymore fighting broke out. The young ninja watched as the trees' leafy canopy flew by in a blur. He vaguely sensed another presence joining them. His rescuer didn't react, so Naruto figured the newcomer wasn't an Uchiha. The man cradling him shifted him so Naruto's head rested against the man's shoulder. As he moved Naruto caught a glimpse of silver hair.

"You're late," Naruto murmured.

He felt a deep chuckle rumble in the firm chest. "Sorry. I remembered I left the cook fire going at home, so I had to go back and douse it," his older brother commented. It was too dark to actually see, but Naruto heard the apparent smile in Kakashi's voice.

Wow, short, right? I think that's the shortest chapter I've written yet. Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Please review. I like getting feedback.