Disclaimer: I own Naruto. Yay!… No I'm not Kishimoto but… No I don't have any contracts with anyone… but you said… then why do I have to write a disclaimer if I don't own Naruto!? I'm using his ideas… but… can't you see I'm not a Japanese man half way across the world? You have to have me write it for legal purposes? Why? That's like someone being stupid enough to do something like sue McDonalds for being burned by hot coffee… there is someone who has done that? What… rules like these were made because stupid people need to see everything in print? Alright! Fine! I'll write it for all the stupid people out there who think I'm an awesome Japanese top notch manga writer instead of an American female college student! I do not own Naruto.

HUGE AUTHORS NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO SOUND SHINOBI COMING TO GET SASUKE IN THIS FIC. I'VE ERASED THAT EVENT FROM THIS STORYLINE.

IT IS OF MY OPINION THAT THE MOMENT SASUKE GOES TO OROCHIMARU THEN THE ABILITY TO WRITE A STORY WITH SASUKE IN IT IS LIMITED TO A VERY FEW PLOTS AND IDEAS. SASUKE STILL HAS THE MARK BUT OROCHIMARU HAS BRAINS IN THIS STORY AND THUS KNOWS HE WON'T GET SASUKE'S BODY FOR THREE YEARS SO DOESN'T PLAN ON GOING AFTER HIM FOR THREE YEARS. WHO THE HELL TRAINS SOMEONE JUST TO BE KILLED BY THAT PERSON BEFORE YOU TAKE OVER THEIR BODY? WHY WOULD YOU EVEN TRAIN SOMEONE THAT YOU PLAN ON TAKING OVER ANY WAY? DOESN'T IT MAKE SENSE THAT YOU WOULD NOT MAKE THE PERSON STRONGER THAN YOU SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO THROUGH WITH YOUR PLANS?

Anyway... Sasuke still needs to get through his dickliness before he can be a good character, he's not gonna be automatically nice even if I'm staying away from canon events after Tsunade arc.

Windschild8178: Okay. Exam week and I've only got like 15 minutes of a break for this. I will be unavailable for the next five days. Cheerful Regression's got the same problem. Fortuna16 beta'd alone these last two weeks so I'd like to give a huge thanks! Any who. I'm putting this up now cause I won't have time later. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 12: Brother

"Naruto-kun, I just noticed the pup is not around, where's Guruko?"

"He's asleep on my bed, out like a light."

Shizune nodded as she piled white rice onto a plate, placing a decent amount of curry on top, before setting it in front of Naruto.

"Hey Shizune?"

"Hm? Yes Naruto-kun?"

"Thanks for helping me and all, I know I don't really deserve it."

Shizune sat down slowly into her own seat, staring as Naruto pushed his spoon into the food and gingerly, almost cautiously, took a bite. The preteen stared down at the food, eyes not really seeing anything at all.

"What would make you say something like that?" Shizune asked worriedly. Naruto looked up at her, the blank look in his eyes clearing a bit to show her confusion.

"What would make me say what?" He asked, a frown forming on his lips. Shizune folded her hands over each other with an elbow on either side of her plate, becoming slightly weary and concerned.

"Why would you say you don't think you deserve help?" Shizune asked.

Naruto looked away. Shrugged. Took another bite. Swallowed. "Just… it's not like I've ever done anything to help you or for you to even like me. If anything, all my pestering for books on herbs and medicine has probably driven you up the wall with annoyance. So for you to come and make me dinner like this, to have stayed all night with me yesterday, to check to make sure I'm not sick, or how you promised to help me with my heart problem. It's extremely kind of you, especially since you know I don't have anything or anyway to repay you for it all." Naruto mumbled out, shame quite evident on his face as he admitted the last part. Shizune inwardly scowled. Yet again Naruto's past reared its ugly head. He expected people to take from him until there was nothing left and then leave. The confusion and surprise on his face when she helped him with anything was enough to break her heart.

"You've never annoyed me at all! I've enjoyed helping you and your company is greatly welcomed. I love Lady Tsunade as if she were my own sister, but that woman could give even a monk a headache. You're the only one I know who calls her on her behavior. It's a great relief. Not to mention…" Shizune said standing up and leaning over the table so that her and Naruto's face were only a foot apart. Naruto blinked in surprise, leaning back a bit. "You're like my little brother. I could no more allow you to be hurt than I could let Lady Tsunade!" Shizune said, grinning widely. Naruto blushed horribly.

"Your brother?" Naruto asked quietly, more than a little stunned. Shizune nodded her head.

"Good as blood." Shizune answered.

Naruto bent his head down further, allowing his too long bangs to fall in front of his eyes as a horrendously large blush dominated his face. Shizune burst out in laughter, putting her hand on his head and ruffling the soft hair playfully.

When dinner ended and Shizune had to leave, the woman carefully placed her hand on Naruto's forehead, feeling the cool surface. There were no signs of a high temperature. Shizune smiled. "If you so much as feel hot or nauseous, I want you to come staight to the Hokage's office so I can help you out. If I come tomorrow and find you sick you're in trouble!" Shizune said. Naruto nodded and gave her a large grin as he walked her to the door. The moment Shizune turned the corne,r Naruto closed the door and slid down against it till his bottom gently hit the floor. Taking a shaky breath Naruto pulled up his long blue sleeve that he'd put on just before Shizune arrived. As the soft material was brought up all the way to his shoulder bandages with specks of blood over the area revealed themselves to icy blue eyes. The memory of only a few hours ago guiltily seeping its way into the front of his mind…


The entirety of his mind was focused on one thing. The deep red lines that grew longer with each slice of the razor. It was the only thing that could keep the memories at bay for a short while. The only thing that temporarily made his heart stop hurting for a moment. It was the only thing that kept him from breaking further than he already was. He wanted… no he needed the feeling of that sharp pain to drown out everything. As long as he could have it for a few minutes each day, he could handle whatever people threw at him. And thanks to the Bijuu inside of him, it wasn't even dangerous, no matter how deeply he cut, it was always fully healed by the time night came. Sure he felt a little dizzy afterward when he did it, and perhaps he'd blacked out a couple times in the past when he'd been extremely upset and tore his arms and legs to ribbons, but those things could easily be overlooked. The blade was like a godsend for him despite how he was introduced to the habit.

He remembered it perfectly. It had been a rough month. The Chunin who was suppose to give him his orphan stipend didn't show up for the third time in seven months so all he had to work with was the money he worked for at the shipping job. Almost all of it went to rent, leaving him starving. He had resorted to stealing five times that month alone. Naruto made sure not to steal more than he absolutely needed, mostly to go against the dark voice that always whispered in the back of his mind that told him to do horrible things.

Back before he knew about the fire Bijuu being sealed inside of him, he'd thought that dark voice that spoke to him of horrible things was a part of him. He thought that he was a horrible person for thinking such things and did everything he could to do the complete opposite. As a child the voice terrified him, but now Naruto knew how to locate the chakra thread that was the mental link between him and his Bijuu and could temporarily disconnect it. When the kitsune fire spirit first found himself cut off from his Jinchuuriki, he was furious beyond belief and raged inside his cage enough to cause the seal on Naruto's stomach to burn and bleed. Safe to say Naruto only cut the link when he absolutely could not take the Kyuubi's dark murmurings anymore.

The nine year-old pinpointed his next target with ease, a young man of eighteen or nineteen years with blonde hair and gray eyes, who just left a grocery store with three large bags. He wouldn't be able to do much if Naruto just nicked a little something from his bag and ran. Those were the best targets. So Naruto moved in slowly, bending his head so that his possession marks were invisible to the crowd, and expertly slashed a whole and grabbed a can of pees in one go.

Apparently he wasn't fast enough though because a hand grabbed a hold of his upper arm. Stunned he looked up to see the young man bagless and angry. Naruto quietly looked around to find that the bags were neatly on the ground and noted with a cringe that the grip that held him was stronger than any civilians. 'Fuck. A Shinobi.' Naruto instantly surmised. The young man knelt down in front of him and as the older blonde caught sight of Naruto's face the man. Naruto cringed and looked away, anywhere but at his face. The young man looked at his bags, an idea forming in his mind, before the anger in his eyes focused into a hard icy glint. The grip tightened.

"So the monster is stealing now, ne?" The young man's grip tightened further and Naruto screamed.

People stopped and looked worriedly around, some even looked scared, until they caught sight of who it was being hurt. Then they turned and walked away. Naruto bit his lips as a few tears escaped. The man's grip tightened further until the sound of something cracking filled the air and let out another scream. The man had broken his arm. The grip loosened and let go. Naruto fell to his knees instantly, nursing his broken arm and bending his head forward in an attempt to hide the tears that were falling. Still, no one stopped to help. The man smirked, picked up his bags and left. After a few minutes Naruto left as well, legs shaking badly, hiccups from repressing a sob causing his chest to hurt.

Three weeks later a middle aged man named Wie came to the academy to test the mental stability of the students to see if they would be able to continue next year. It was done at the end of the school year for precautions against a second coming of the incident with Itachi Uchiha the year before and would continue each year after. When it was Naruto's turn the boy had been blown away by how nice the man was. He talked to him warmly, asked him about himself and in return told Naruto about his own life. It was the first time in his life that someone had simply asked him: 'How are you?' 'You can tell me anything.' At that point Naruto had been so desperate to talk to somebody who would be nice to him that he spilled his guts to the man, telling him about everything that was bothering him, begging the man to tell him what was wrong with him and why everyone hated him no matter what he did. He wanted to know what it was that everyone hated about him so that he could fix it.

The man had nodded in understanding and a sad look on his face. Naruto had fallen for the act without a second thought. "The Hokage has been very concerned about you and asked me to talk to you about how to handle your situation. I'm not allowed to tell you why everyone hates you…" At this Naruto's face had fallen, but the warm hand on his back and the reassuring smile from Wie had caused him to feel warm inside for the first time in a long time, so Naruto listened. "I know how I can make you feel better though, it's a special therapy that I only recommend to those with particularly bad childhoods, such as yourself." The graying middle aged Wie dug into his bag and pulled out a set of razors. The man sat in front of Naruto, dark brown eyes level with his blue, and gently placed the pack into Naruto's small hands.

Naruto had been so desperate to feel any kind of relief that he'd simply nodded as he stared into the man's eyes. Trusting him completely, after all, why would the man be nice if he wanted to hurt him? The man had told him that small cuts relieved mental pressure on a person and that bigger the cut the more a person felt better. The man had warned him that it was a dangerous therapy and that he shouldn't do it too much. Years later Naruto knew the man had depended on the fact that Naruto would 'do it too much.' The man had 'suggested' that if Naruto 'wanted' to keep his 'therapy' a secret from his classmates that he should wear long sleeves after cutting until the marks were healed. Wie had been well aware of Naruto's desperate need to be accepted and knew that the boy wouldn't get caught.

Years later Naruto knew what Wie had done, understood the manipulation, and silently, fiercely hated the man. He'd tried stopping on his own before on several occasions, but by the end of the week he was desperate for that feeling of numbness and freedom that cutting supplied. More than anything else though was that he didn't want anyone else to know about his weakness. He didn't want anyone to see how much their jibes and hits hurt because he was afraid that they would simply use it against him as everyone that had ever seen him weak had done.

The children and caretakers at the orphanage.

The foster parents that temporarily took care of him.

Wie the academy psychologist.

Mosh his old landowner.

Syne and Fajan his current apartment landowners.

Even the third Hokage had deeply hurt him by not telling him the truth, by constantly lying to him, and leaving so many gaps in the few answers he gave. So Naruto would never admit that he cut to anyone because to him it was admitting he wasn't nearly as strong as he wanted everyone to think. Admitting that he was weak was like admitting that he wasn't good enough to be around them, to be their friend.

So Naruto was struck with absolute terror when the sound of the doorknob twisting rang through his ears. His hand paused in the cut he was making, blood dripping from the razor edge. The door swung open and there stood Guruko, the sharp toothy grin on his face turning into one of shocked horror, a look that Naruto was sure he mirrored. Naruto watched as the dawning of realization came to the dog's eyes as he understood what he was seeing. The blade slipped from Naruto's hand as the tips of his fingers turned blue with chakra. Before Guruko could so much as blink two glowing fingers touched a furred forehead and the dog's body crumbled to the ground.

A simple sleeping jutsu that the third had taught him. Naruto had spent months in the hospital before the operation took place and in that time the third would visit him as much as his job allowed, about once every three or so days. In that time Sarutobi found out about Naruto's nightmares and would put him to sleep using this jutsu. It placed the person in a deep dreamless sleep and depending on how much chakra one used you could put someone to sleep for a few hours or a few days. He had begged Sarutobi to teach him it for weeks before the old man relented. He remembered the large smile on the man's face that day when he laughed excitedly at finally getting it after several hours of working on it. Naruto had packed enough chakra into those two fingers to knock Guruko out for at least a day and a half.

Naruto breathed hard, willing his heart to calm down before it exploded in his chest. He truthfully thought the pain there had been caused by Syne's torture seal so Shizune's announcement that his heart was still damaged had been a shock and scare for him. Naruto coughed, the quick movement combined with the blood loss causing him to be extremely dizzy. He'd never actually been forced to move like that while cutting. Naruto had to keep both hands on the ground to steady himself, the steady stream of Kyuubi's chakra healing his cuts already, and excess blood dripping warmly down his arm.

What was he going to do? Guruko knew his secret. The dog knew almost all his secrets now. What the hell was he supposed to do now? God, why couldn't the damn dog keep his nose out of his business? This… he knew that he could no longer get Guruko to stay quiet. He couldn't keep the dog asleep forever, he had a day and a half before he woke up, what the fuck was he supposed to do? It was getting harder to breath. Naruto slowly moved his body against the bathroom wall, trying desperately to keep the panic attack at bay, to keep himself from doing something stupid that got himself killed.

Naruto looked at the sleeping dog, biting his lip, before looking around the bathroom. There was a trail of blood on the floor from his open wound, blood on Guruko, blood all over his clothes. Shizune would be there in less than forty minutes. Control. He needed to control this situation. Clean up the blood, put Guruko to bed, and smile for Shizune. He would deal with the rest of the world after that. Naruto shakily got to his feet.


Naruto continued to stare at his arm, his eyes once in a while wandering toward the bedroom where Guruko was lying safely on his bed, in a deep sleep. A part of him felt guilty about what he'd done, but another part of him knew that it was the best way to handle his current situation. There was something else he needed to do, he needed to go see Syne tonight, but he didn't want to do that after stuffing his face like that at dinner. Syne would be able to tell, she always could, and then his bargaining chip for getting off until after Tsunade did the check up would be shot.

Naruto unsteadily got to his feet and made his way back into the bathroom. Leaning over the toilet, Naruto forced a finger down his throat, forcing himself to vomit up everything he'd just eaten. Naruto coughed harshly as some of it got caught in his throat, the disgusting half digested food unwillingly to come back up, another heave finally getting it all out. Naruto spit, the awful taste of acid and food still in his mouth, before rinsing water in his throat and spitting again. Guilt nagged at his conscious, Shizune's face coming to his mind, but he quickly batted it away. He didn't understand why she wanted him to eat so much anyway. Naruto flushed the toilet.

For the next two hours Naruto sat on the couch, eyes glued to the clock on the wall, willing it to slow as the time neared. He had promised to meet her at eight. It was irrational to be so terrified of what was about to happen. It had happened often enough and while the pain was unbearable at times he always lived through it. He should be used to being used and insulted and abused, but still he was afraid. It was always a nightmarish horrible experience that left him sobbing. Sobbing like a weak, worthless, useless little brat. So what if someone hurt him. So what if he was treated like trash. So what if someone raped him. So what if she had the power to kill him at her whim at any given moment of the day and manipulated that over his head to get what she wanted. That was life, the weak are used and thrown away at the strong's leisure, if you were weak it was what you deserved. He'd learned that at a very young age.

Was that really the truth though? In the past year he'd been questioning that. Iruka. Kakashi. Haku. Jiraiya. Tsunade. Shizune. Hadn't his time with them proved otherwise? Didn't they prove that to protect those that are precious to you is what makes you strong? He proved it to himself against Neji and Gaara of all people. Memories of the past year was warring with a lifetime of events and people that all spoke to him in whispers. Iruka's smile fought against a thousand sneers. Kakashi's reassurance of safety fought against every instant of fear. Haku's few words fought to be heard over the constant dark words of Syne and so many others. Jiraiya's willingness to teach him fought against all those who claimed he was too stupid to teach. Tsunade's strength of heart fought a battle of wills against all those that wanted to tear his own heart to pieces. Shizune's help fought against all those who screamed that he didn't deserve it, that he should be killed for being born. This small group of individuals was all that stood in the way of an ocean of darkness that threatened to drown him.

Naruto shakily stood up from the floor of his kitchen/living room and began to go around his tiny home to water his plants. His fingers softly touched each leaf or petal as he moved from one to the other. The beautiful large white patch of flowers that blossomed from a single dying bud he had rescued one stormy night; an aloe plant he'd bought a year and a half ago as a birthday present to himself and what he used for much of the healing ointments he made; lilies that sat directly in front of the window, because they were his mother's favorite, according to Jiji in any case; the Horehound flower for medical herbs that he sold to young women at the hospital under henge; the dracocephyllum tanguticum with purple spiky flower and pointy leaves used for teas that he found growing on a mountain peak in one of his earlier excavations of the village. The spearmint leaves, chamomile flowers and bergamot, collected over the years, were used for teas as well. These were all his favorites from the two dozen or so types of plants he housed in his little apartment. Most of the teas he had own were of his own making as well as the medicine.

As the last plant was watered, part of the cup spilled over the pot and across the floor. Naruto's hands were shaking as the cup was placed beside the plant with a loud thud that echoed throughout the empty apartment. Naruto kneeled, using the tiny side table to keep himself balanced as he tried to reign in the terror that enveloped him. He needed to go. If Syne discovered that people were close to finding out, she would kill him. He needed to cover everything up quick. He would deal with Syne today, Tsunade on Monday, and Guruko somewhere between those two somehow. Naruto stood up and took several deep breaths, steadying himself. He needed to be relatively in one piece to deal with Syne.

Naruto looked at the clock. It was time to go. He walked into his bedroom, sitting on the bed for a moment, hand stroking the head of the fast asleep dog that lay there. He liked talking with the dog, liked the company that Guruko provided in his home, but he would be gone. Kakashi would be back and Guruko would leave. He probably wouldn't ever see him again. And… and he needed to somehow keep the dog quiet about everything.

Perhaps he could pay off a Yamanaka to erase the dog's memories of him? He knew at least one such person within that clan who was greedy enough to do it. Erasing the memories would hurt a lot, it would be essentially erasing his friend, because afterwards Guruko would know of nothing but the smiling idiot again. Could he do it? Before Guruko the third Hokage was the only person he was completely and totally himself around and he rarely got to see the aging man. Even when he was with Shizune, there was still this glass wall between them, distorting his image enough that she didn't see him clearly. Could he erase the first friend to see him completely for who he was?

The answer was yes. Naruto had been making decisions such as this all his life. After all, if Naruto was dead, Guruko being his friend wouldn't matter anyway. Erasing his memory was the best decision, and besides that, Guruko would be better off without ever knowing him. Guruko would continue to be loyal to Kakashi and he would transfer to solo missions once he made Chunin. It would hurt, he knew, but most decisions he was forced to make were painful.

Naruto got up and walked slowly out of the room and exited his apartment. He stilled his shaking hands, not wanting her to see his fear, not wanting her to see his weakness. Her door was not far from his own, on the same floor even, and the walk to the other end of the building was shatteringly short. Rather than knock Naruto simply placed his hand on the door, unwilling to go all the way with the act, and standing in the hall outside her door. His chest ached terribly and for a moment he thought she had activated the torture seal, but soon came to a realization, it was his heart.

Just standing in front of that wretched woman's door was causing his heart to ache with pain. Naruto briefly wondered, as his forehead leaned forward and gently tapped against the door, if it was truly possible for your heart to give out from terror. All the pain he felt at the moment couldn't possibly be from the small damage Shizune had described within the tiny chamber of his heart. The door his body had begun to lean against gave way and Naruto barely stopped himself from falling forward. A soft hand gently took his chin causing Naruto to flinch and turn away from the touch.

"My precious little demon why do you stand out in the hall? Come in." Syne whispered. Her long fingers softly gripped Naruto's shoulder and pulled him inside her home. Naruto stayed quiet, his feet stumbling into her domain, this was the first time in a long time that he had not been forcefully dragged screaming into the home. Her husband, Faju, was out, more than likely drunk in some secret whore house beneath a bar. He felt cold inside as she pulled him into her bedroom and shoved him onto the bed. She placed her hand on his chest, unknowingly causing the pain to intensify, causing Naruto to dig his nails into the bed. He refused so look at her as her fingers played with his clothes, taking the jacket off first, and then his black shirt. Her hands pressed gently against his thin stomach, smiling at the gentle rise of skin where his ribs were, Naruto still refused to look at her. Burning shame and hurt raced through him and he fought against tears. She leaned down against his body and put her lips to his ear.

"Bring out some of Kyuubi's chakra."


In the early hours of the morning, a mere half an hour before he would normally be up, Naruto stumbled through his door and let himself fall to the wooden floor. He stayed there, quietly sobbing, until he was left completely numb and worn out. Unlike last time, Guruko's comforting form wasn't there, he would have to get used to that again. His body ached all over, he knew he would be limping, and he'd have to find a way to hide the numerous bruises. Never before had it been done on a night that he had to meet his team the following morning. He couldn't just lay here like he normally would after such an encounter. He needed to get up, get ready, and act normally. As normally as he usually did anyway.

Konohamaru Sarutobi was mad, no, more than that, he was furious. Yesterday was the day that shinobi parents were supposed to come to the academy and explain the responsibilities and duties of being a shinobi. His mother had told him nearly a month ago that she wouldn't be able to come in because of some political conference in Cloud she had to attend. Instead he'd asked Naruto to come as his big brother to talk, Iruka had even agreed to allow it, and he'd been so excited about it. Naruto promised him that he would come. Promised! Konohamaru hadn't seen Naruto for a couple weeks, but he had had all the faith in the world that Naruto would remember to come. The blond genin had never let him down before. The big day had arrived though and Naruto didn't show up.

It was especially aggravating because Shikamaru and Chouji had come looking for Naruto at the academy because Iruka told them that he would be there. The two didn't know where Naruto lived and had been trying to find the blond for a couple days now for some reason or another. Konohamaru had opened his mouth to tell them where Naruto lived when he realized a very important fact. He didn't know either. It had sent the already mad and disappointed youngster over the edge in anger. Naruto knew where he lived, the blond came by on his ninth birthday to give him a present, so why didn't he know where his big brother lived? And then he realized that he had known Naruto for a year and a half yet Naruto's birthday never came around. There was no talk about it whatsoever by anyone. He'd missed his big brother's birthday without even knowing it!

So Konohamaru was furious, but he wasn't sure if it was at Naruto for missing the big day at the academy, or himself for not knowing the basics about his big brother. Konohamaru wondered if maybe Naruto was mad that he hadn't said happy birthday to him on his birthday, but quickly dismissed that thought. Naruto wasn't someone who got mad about stuff like that. Besides Naruto had PROMISED to come which meant that Naruto would come unless something was stopping him from coming. Konohamaru's anger deflated a bit, but that didn't mean that he was going to let Naruto off easily.

Every day Naruto passed the big fountain in the market place at 6:30 in the morning. Many a times Konohamaru would get up early and meet Udon and Moegi at the corner of the main street and then meet Naruto in time to walk with him to his team meeting place before heading to the academy. Due to the academy being rebuilt after the Sound and Sand invasion they hadn't been able to walk with Naruto lately though. He forgot to mention this little fact to Shikamaru and Chouji. Oops. Oh well, they'd talk to Naruto sooner or later, eventually. Today Naruto was running a little late, which set alarm bells off in the youngster's head, something was off. Konohamaru ordered Udon and Moegi to go ahead to the academy so they wouldn't get in trouble with Iruka sensei.

When he finally saw the bright yellow mop of hair and orange jacket walking down the street he took a big breath to start reprimanding the blonde. Instead of yelling though, he froze, and stared. Konohamaru knew, as did Udon and Moegi, that their big brother figure was the smallest of Konoha's rookie twelve. Even though Naruto wasn't the strongest or coolest looking of the rookie twelve he was still their hero and idol out of all of them. That was because no matter how busy Naruto was, he always made time for them. Naruto always would sit down with them and help them with whatever problems they had, whether they were big or small.

Naruto had taught each of them valuable life lessons, taught them shinobi tricks, and even taught them things outside of shinobi skills. He taught them a lot about cooking and herbs, about what areas to avoid in Konoha and what to do if you were in a dangerous place. He even taught them a lot of different card games one rainy day. More than that though, Naruto taught them about hard work and dedication, about loyalty to your friends, and the importance of keeping your humanity in the life of a shinobi. To him Naruto wasn't just a brother figure, but his brother.

So when he saw Naruto he was struck with a great deal of fear. Konohamaru could tell that Naruto had lost weight, his clothes hung on him looser than was natural, and his cheek bone showed where it hadn't before. Naruto was incredibly pale as well and dark rings sat under dull blue eyes. Even though the air outside was only a little chilly for November Naruto hugged his orange jacket to him as if there was a snow storm raging outside. When the blonde walked it was stiff, as if his body ached, and Konohamaru thought he saw Naruto's face twitch in pain when he walked.

"Naruto!" Konohamaru called as he ran up to the blonde, eyes filled with fear. "What's wrong?" Konohamaru demanded. He felt a chill run down his spine as Naruto's eyes focused on him with a great deal of difficulty and confusion. Konohamaru grabbed onto Naruto's coat and pulled him to the fountain. "It's me, Konohamaru, are you okay big bro?" He asked quietly, all thoughts of yelling at the blonde for missing the big academy day gone. Recognition flooded the older boy's eyes and then guilt. Konohamaru winced when Naruto grinned down at him and shook his head.

"Sorry, sorry, I've been sick the last week or so Kono and I'm still recovering. Sorry if I didn't recognize you for a minute." Naruto explained softly, his voice sounding a little hoarse. Konohamaru sighed softly in relief.

"Big bro, if you were so sick why are you out of bed already?" Konohamaru demanded. His small hand went up to Naruto's forehead to check his temperature, feeling the cool forehead there, before scowling at Naruto. "You don't have a fever, but you look horrible." Konohamaru stated as if Naruto was the nine year old who'd done something obviously stupid. "You should go straight to bed and sleep till you're all better! You need to eat stuff like soup and drink lots of water!" Konohamaru continued, naming stuff his own mother had told him he needed to do when he was sick. Naruto smiled at him and ruffled his head of black hair.

"I will, but after my team meets for a few missions today, they're only D rank so it won't be too bad." Naruto said softly. Konohamaru frowned. Naruto obviously wasn't up to doing anything today. He wondered if he should stay with his big brother to make sure he would be alright. "Kono… it's nearly 7:30. You should have been in class half an hour ago." Naruto said more sternly. Konohamaru gave a guilty start and laughed nervously.

"Come on big bro, Iruka sensei's teaching another boring history lesson, it's okay if I'm late." Konohamaru said and then muttered to himself… "or don't go at all." Naruto heard him though and gently tapped the youngster on the top of his head.

"Go to class Kono, you don't want to end up being an idiot like me, right?" Naruto asked teasingly, though Konohamaru frowned anyway. Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon never called Naruto stupid like all of Naruto's friends did. They could tell it stung Naruto to be called that and didn't like it when others did it. Naruto would never normally say something like that though. Naruto must have been really sick and must be really out of it to admit he thought he was stupid.

"You are not stupid big bro." Konohamaru said quietly, but sternly. Naruto just grinned at him again and pushed Konohamaru off in the direction of the academy. Konohamaru glanced back at Naruto, eyes worriedly taking in the sight of his big brother's tired form, before waving his arm and heading in the direction of the school. "If you don't get better soon I'll sic Moegi on you, you hear me Naruto?!" Konohamaru called behind him. Naruto just waved back weakly, a smile tugging at his lips, before heading on his way.


Sasuke Uchiha was fed up. He was angry. He was frustrated. He was unbelievably jealous. 'Naruto keeps get stronger and stronger, almost abnormally… Compared to our ninja academy days, when he was called a failure… It's virtually unbelievable progress. When I watch him up close, I can tell… He's got some massive power hidden inside of him. Sometimes I even feel afraid. Uzumaki Naruto what in the world are you?'

"I know he's the one you're really after."

"To take Naruto with us is the supreme order given unto us by the Akatsuki."

'Why Naruto? He's nothing but an inept loser! Why would my brother go after him? Naruto is completely incompetent and stupid and yet it was him my brother saw worthy of going after? I… how can I get stronger?' Sasuke thought as he went at the training stump again. Sakura had family business to attend to today so it would just be him and Naruto. If Naruto hadn't decided to skip out on missions the other day he would know that, but thanks to the idiot he was standing there waiting for him to come to inform him of that fact.

Sasuke angrily smashed at the stomp again and again as his thoughts continued to center on the blonde. The fight they had… the giant holes in two tanks… Naruto having done far more damage than him… The trunk smashed to bits. Sasuke stared for a moment at his hand, which had a tiny wisp of smoke smothering from it, and then at the training stomp again. He'd unconsciously performed the chidori without realizing it. That's when he noticed it. The curse mark was retreating back up his arm. Sasuke inwardly snarled in anger.

The raven haired young teen stomped over to the next post and repeatedly slammed his fists into the bark. The curse mark was always screwing everything up for him. In the forest of death, in the prelims, fighting Gaara, the damn thing always left him paralyzed and open to any attack. And it was Naruto who saved him from Gaara, if not for Naruto, he would be dead. How had Naruto done it? How had he been able to improve so much in so little time? Sasuke slammed his fist into the training stump again, his knuckled coming away slightly bloody, his anger felt as if it would consume him if he didn't find a way to let it all out.

"Sasuke? Are you okay?" Naruto's voice asked hesitantly.