His parents sprawled facedown, unmoving in the silver moonlight flooding through the open window. A choked whimper slipped from his lips, his hands trembling as he pushed the door fully open.

The dark figure standing over his parents stepped forward, sandals splashing through the growing pool of blood. The light slowly illuminated the shadow, sliding over grey and black clothes. Sliding over a blade that still dripped with blood. Sliding over eyes that glowed scarlet. The shadow reached for him, grasping at him with hands still slick with the blood of his mother and father-

And Sasuke awoke with a scream, limbs tangled in his sheets, a cold sweat gleaming on his forehead. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe, and the man had been right there, stepping over slumped corpses, reaching for him-

He pressed the heels of his palms against his face, and let out a shuddering breath. He could feel his heartbeat throbbing behind his eyes, and he forced himself to focus and take in a sharp breath. It took him a couple minutes before he could stop panting. He lowered his hands and opened his eyes.

There was no shadowy man here. There were no corpses on the floor, and there was no growing pool of blood. He was alone in his drafty bedroom, the house completely silent except for the quiet rush of a breeze ruffling the trees outside his window.

Because Sasuke was alone. No one else lived in this house anymore. No one else lived in the entire Uchiha clan district. There was only a quiet, pale little boy, the sole survivor of the calamity that had butchered his clan, scurrying every day through the empty streets.

Because even after the apocalypse, the world moved on. And so Sasuke had to move too. He kept training. He kept going to the Academy. And every day, he came back to this empty shell of a home.

He would walk past the entryway, where he had once hugged his brother Itachi so tightly that it hurt. He would walk past the path that led down to the pier, where his father had once told him that he was proud of him. He would walk past the kitchen, where his mother had ruffled his hair and said that she loved him more than anything in the world.

He would walk past all these places he had once shared with the people he had loved, knowing that they were all gone now. His mother and father had died, next to each other, the night of the massacre. And Itachi-

Well. Some things were worse than death.

It wasn't a cave, really. It would be easy to confuse this place for a cave, but through the murk, Naruto could see stone brick walls curving away into the dark. He took a step forward, starting as he realized he was ankle-deep in chilled water. The cloudy water, ash-gray in the half-light, swirled around his feet as he kept walking forward.

A sewer, then. That's where he was. There was a rustling noise, and then a warm, earthy gust swept over him. It ruffled through his golden hair and tugged at his shirt. Curious, Naruto broke into a run towards the source of the breeze. The sloshing of his bare feet through water echoed off the stone walls.

In the distance, giant metal bars came into view. They were in a row, stretching across the span of the sewer and cutting off the path. The bars glowed with an ethereal inner light, and Naruto realized they weren't just a row of bars. This was a cage, and a paper seal in the middle seemed to be the only thing holding the cage shut.

It was hard to see behind the shimmering bars of the cage, but there was a dark shape beyond. At first, Naruto didn't realize what he saw was one figure, because he had never seen something so gigantic. Faintly illuminated by the glowing metal, a figure of titanic proportion lay curled on the floor.

He heard another rustle, and another warm gust washed over him. Not a gust, though-a breath. The thing was breathing. Faced with an unknown creature the size of multiple city blocks, locked inside a giant cage, Naruto did the first thing that popped into his mind.

He yelled at it.

"HEY! Who are you? HELLO?" The creature stirred slightly, sending a knee-high surge of water to rush at Naruto and splash against his thighs.

"I'm talking to YOU! Wake up!" There was a rumble, deep and sonorous, and it seemed like the very walls of the sewer shook with its magnitude.

"HELLO?" The air trembled, and the figure shifted. It rose to its feet, gargantuan head curving down towards the cage door. In the pale glow emitted by the metal, the creature's fur was a dull orange. A single bloodshot eye, the size of a dining table and brimming with malice, slid open and locked its gaze on Naruto. The paper seal on the door bulged out, and a snarl of ear splitting volume blasted through his head.

GET. OUT.

And Naruto woke up, hands clapped over his ears, still reeling. His head throbbed and the skin on his stomach burned, and he pushed up his shirt to stare. Intricate black patterns swirled over his belly, and one portion of the circular design shone bright red. It seared his skin, and Naruto wrenched his hands from his ears and scrabbled at it hopelessly until the pain eventually went away.

The songs of birds filled the silence and gauzy light began to fill the cheap apartment as the sun rose. Naruto sat up on his bed, rubbing his stomach warily as he looked at the time. It was two full hours before he needed to be at the Academy, but he really didn't think he could go back to sleep.

He sighed. Maybe if he were early for a change, Iruka-sensei would take him out for ramen after class. A small smile spread over his lips, and he left bed to get dressed.

At this early hour, the streets of Konoha were nearly empty. Occasionally, Naruto would see a shopkeeper getting a head start to the day, or a newspaper boy cycling here and there. But for the most part, the only sounds that echoed through the city were his feet scuffing on the cobblestones and the melodic chirping of birds.

He preferred it like this, sometimes. Sometimes he just didn't want to deal with the casual shoves, the venomous glares, and the barbed taunts. Sometimes he just didn't have the energy to cope with the fact that the village hated him. Today was one of those days.

The Ninja Academy came into view up the road, quiet and silent this early in the morning. The ridicule was never limited to the villagers. Even the other children in the academy kept their distance, mocking and taunting him. But they weren't here now. As he walked towards the door, he closed his eyes and slowly let out a breath.

And promptly tripped over the boy huddled in the entryway.

Sprawled on the floor, Naruto turned to glare at the person he had just stumbled over. He recognized him, of course. Everyone knew who Uchiha Sasuke was. Dark eyes, rimmed with red and widened with surprise, stared back at him.

"What the hell?" Naruto growled. "Get out of the way!" Those dark eyes narrowed, and Naruto could feel the icy anger pour off of Sasuke.

"What sort of idiot just walks down the street with their eyes closed?" Sasuke shot back, standing up. Naruto glared at him, then scrambled to his feet.

"What did you call me?" he asked, his face inches from Sasuke's.

"I called you an idiot. What, are you deaf too?" Sasuke said, glaring right back at him. Naruto shoved him, sending him stumbling with an almost-comical expression of shock on his face.

"Idiot!" Sasuke snarled, lunging at him.

"Bastard!"

Despite the fact that he was an Academy teacher, constantly surrounded by vicious little ninjas-in-training, Umino Iruka really did love peace and quiet. Every morning, he would take his time as he walked from his apartment to the Academy. This time of year, the trees that lined Konoha's streets budded with dewy green vigor, and the horizon blazed with red-orange splendor as the sun rose.

As he neared the Academy, the chorus of birds chittering from rooftops and trees slowly gave way to another noise, that of yelling and squawking. Iruka sighed as he rounded the last corner, and then nearly froze in surprise.

In front of the locked Academy door, two boys fought. They shouted and pushed, angry voices echoing down the street. The little Uchiha boy was flushed, his face twisted with fury as he grabbed the other boy. Iruka had never seen a single emotion, negative or positive, cross that icy face in the six years he had known him. And yet, there it was.

And the other boy was Naruto. The little blond agent of chaos that had never shown up to class on time, let alone a full hour early, was grappling with the dark-haired Uchiha and cursing. Iruka drew nearer, completely unnoticed by the two boys until he cleared his throat behind them.

Sasuke jerked his hands back, standing stiff and straight as Iruka considered him with one raised eyebrow. Naruto whipped around, and then let out a painfully loud whoop.

"Iruka-sensei!" he crowed, and Iruka had no warning before the boy bowled into him, wrapping him in a fierce hug. He couldn't keep a straight face when faced with Naruto's enthusiastic affection, and he chuckled as he held the boy at arm's length and ruffled his hair.

"What are you two doing here so early?" he asked, looking between the two.

"Couldn't sleep," Naruto said. He looked down at the ground, then continued. "Bad dreams." Sasuke stiffened at that, but stared straight ahead.

"Alright. Well, let me through and I'll unlock the doors." Iruka said, reaching for his keys. He felt like he had just interrupted something important, and for the life of him, he couldn't figure out why.