Here it is boys, another chapter.

I don't own diddly darn Naruto

Warning: Some fluff, Naruhina moment, mildly disturbing part at the end.

"A genius, huh? What does that mean? Genius? So I was not born with a whole lot of natural talent, not gifted like Neji ... but I work hard and I never give up! That is my gift...that is my ninja way" - Rock Lee

Yawning, I looked up as Iruka reprimanded Naruto for being late- again. It had been about half a year since Shisui had disappeared, and I could feel the tension in the air at home getting worse each passing month. I idly wondered what Shisui was doing right now, lips settling in a smirk when Naruto was told he had detention for pranking somebody, again. The bright-eyed boy dragged his feet and plopped down into his seat next to me with a huff, crossing his arms and burying his head in them. "If it'll make you feel any better, I'll stay after to help clean." I offered, earning a beaming grin from him. "Thanks, dattebayo. Aft'r all, you're the one who helped set that prank up."

I mirrored his grin, "hmm, can't let you take all the credit for it, dobe."

He huffed again, failing to cover his mirth, "Sasuke-teme."

"Hn," I replied, tapping my pencil on my open sketchbook, suffering from an aggravating case of art block. All of my attempts at people were just sad, and my hand just didn't have the usual steadiness today that it usually had. On the upside, I perfected my fireball jutsu a week ago, much to my father's delight, or well, satisfaction. I still think he was disappointed that I hadn't gotten it as young as Itachi had. I tore my eyes away from the blank page, opting instead to scan the faces of my peers.

I pointedly ignored Sakura's blushing face when we made eye contact. It's not like I hate the girl or anything, it's just that I'd rather put off dealing with anything like a crush as long as possible. Maybe it was stupid and childish, but I'm a child dammit! I can afford to act like one. At least Ino didn't have it as bad as Sakura, and was tolerable, surprisingly.

"Oh mary, contrary, how does your garden grow?" I murmured quietly in English, having the song stuck in my head the past few hours. "Come with me, and you'll be, the seventh maid in a row." I sighed and hung my head in defeat, closing my sketchbook and stuffing it back into my bag. Nestling my head into my arms, I stared out the window, contemplating what to do after school. Well, besides helping Naruto clean up the prank I had a hand in making. We targeted one of the teachers that purposely left Naruto out of things, and gave him harder tests. You'd think that adults would try to understand or at least tolerate the kid, especially the ones' who are ninjas. Damn fools.

As I found a bird circling around in the sky very entertaining for my bored mind, Naruto borrowed my pencil to write down the notes that Iruka wrote on the blackboard, sticking his tongue out in concentration. "Hey, Sasuke," Shikamaru called softly, making me look over my shoulder at him. "Hn?" he rolled his eyes, propping his head up with his hand. "Are you ok? You've been off lately." I raised arm eyebrow, "How so?" Shikamaru gave me a knowing look, "You seem nervous, anxious. I didn't want to ask since It'd be too troublesome, but it's starting to worry Choji."

Smirking, I propped my own head up with my hand, gazing at him with half-lidded eyes. "Aw, you really do care Shika-chan." he groaned, before narrowing his own eyes at me. "If you wanna keep changing the subject because you don't what to talk about it, whatever. Just know that we're your friends." And we're here for you. My smirk wavered, "You're too smart for your own good Shikamaru." Shaking my head, I returned to looking out the window. It's not like I can confide in them about the massacre, or the clan, or Shisui, or hell, Danzo. Not yet at least, besides, talking about it wouldn't exactly help things as they are now.

There's also the matter of anyone who would be listening in, and the safest place I know about I'm forbidden from entering, so, that's a no-go. Other than all that fun stuff, my birthday is coming up in a month, and we're starting spars in Taijutsu class. With Shisui unavailable, I'd taken to harassing Genin and Chunin to spar with me, so I didn't fall behind. I could give most genin a run for their money, winning quite a few matches, which fueled my ego, so that's always nice. Although I'm being turned down lately, meaning I'll have to secure a partner soon. Maybe Lee? Though I've only spotted him a few times over the past months. I'd have to track him down somehow…

Some of our classmates laughed when Naruto made a fool of himself while answering a question, but I had stayed silent and didn't comment on it.

Taijutsu class rolled around, making everyone a bit antsy. We all stood outside a makeshift circle in the dirt, Iruka off to the side. He began explaining the rules, while Mizuki stepped up beside him, smiling disarmingly at all us children. Iruka finished, and stepped back and let his supposed friend take the lead.

"The first match is…"

I looked up sharply, eyes narrowing at Mizuki-sensei. The man had been getting more and more involved with this class, the fact he was Naruto's first villain was something I didn't dare forget either. Wasn't he a spy for Orochimaru or something?

"Uchiha Sasuke vs. Uzumaki Naruto."

I forced my muscles to relax and met Naruto in the middle of the ring. We did the required seal for spars, backing off a few feet from each other. Offering him a smirk, I resumed my Taijutsu stance. The closest comparison would be Itachi's or Shisui's, but I also adapted it with some offhand kung fu moves from my past life. I smirk-grinned at Naruto as he tensed his muscles and assumed his own stance. "Make this interesting Naru-chan." I said, tilting my head to the side innocently. He scoffed, "I'm going to beat you Sasuke-teme." he said firmly, then pointed at me, grin turning ferial. "Don' underestimate me dattebayo!"

"Begin!" Mizuki shouted, bringing his hand down abruptly.

Needless to say, it was pretty much a one-sided massacre.

Naruto charged headstrong into the fight and aimed a sloppy punch at my face, which I ducked and retaliated with a kick of my own. He let out an 'oof', but managed to keep his ground and not fall over. I narrowed my eyes and aimed a rapid succession of punches towards his solar plexus and chest. He managed to block a few with his arms but doubled over, out of breath from my last hit. I went in for a high kick aimed for his head, but he managed to grab it, making my eyes widen a fraction. I twisted my leg out of his grip and kicked him in the stomach with my other, sending him skidding a few feet back, stumbling. Naruto just wasn't at my level, and wouldn't be for a while. Somehow that thought saddened me, I really enjoyed fighting… Perhaps a bit too much.

"Match over, Sasuke wins!" Mizuki called, making Naruto snapped his head up towards him. "But I'm not done yet!" Mizuki gestured to his feet, and, sure enough, he was out of the ring. He gaped like a fish before scrunching his nose at my arrogant smirk. "That was dirty dattebayo." I snickered, shifting out of my fighting stance and shrugging, "Perhaps, but shinobi don't play fair." We locked our fingers in the seal of reconciliation, Naruto meeting my eyes with a determined gaze. "One day I'll beat you." I smiled in return, "Hn." he squinted at me as we walked back over to our group of friends. "Oi, don't go all Uchiha on me." I rolled my eyes playfully before sauntering up to Shikamaru, slinging my arm around his shoulder.

Locking my eyes on Hinata as she approached Naruto with a small container in her hands, I nodded towards them. "Observe," I said in a mysterious tone of voice like we were watching two particularly fascinating species of animals in their natural environment. "N-naruto-kun, I-i was learning how t-to make healing ointment t-t-the other day. Let m-me treat your b-bruises for you." She flushed, looking away shyly and clutching the tiny container to her chest. Naruto smiled at her, "I'm fine, don't worry Hinata-chan. I'm tougher than I look." He pointed a thumb towards himself, "Besides, if I couldn't take a few weak hits from Sasuke-teme, then how could I become a strong Hokage?"

Her eyes shifted to her feet in visible disappointment, but she was also inspired by his impromptu speech, so, it was a weird combination. "O-ok." she replied quietly, while Naruto patted her on the shoulder, making her freeze up. "You're a very nice person Hina-chan, but you can still test the ointment you made if any of our friends get hurt dattebayo." he beamed, and Hinata's whole face turned red before she began to stumble, fainting into his arms. I motioned towards a distressed Naruto who handed the girl off to Ino, before meeting his eyes expectantly.

Shikamaru raised a brow, making me give him a flat stare. "Do you think we should interfere?" I asked. He yawned in response, "Too troublesome."

"Everything is troublesome for you."

"Hm."

"Just a normal day for wizards in training."

"What?"

I waved him off, "Nothing Shika-kun. Anyways, it will probably be your turn soon to spar." He groaned, "You're going to jinx it." Smirking in response, I replied, "Good."

"What a drag."

The sun was beginning to set when we finished cleaning the classroom. Naruto had to write, 'Pranks will result in detention' fifty times on the board then had to erase it when Iruka gave his approval. We wiped down the desks, swept the floor, and wiped the blackboard until it was spotless. Iruka came back into the classroom a few minutes after we'd finished, nodding to himself at the state of the classroom. "Hm, since you've learned your lesson, how about we go to Ichiraku's?" Naruto nodded enthusiastically, cheering and fist-pumping the air.

He turned his attention on me, tugging on my sleeve. "Sasuke. Wanna come to get ramen with me?" Naruto asked, giving me a hopeful look. I shrugged, I doubted my family would mind if I was a little late. "Sure, I've never been to Ichiraku's." He gaped at me, before setting his lips into a grim line. "You definitely need to come then," he said with utter seriousness, before basically dragging me out of the classroom and all the way to the iconic ramen stand.

We promptly sat down on the stools, Naruto between Iruka and I immediately chatting away with the old man. He looked at me quizzically, "Is this your friend you keep talking about Naruto?" said boy in question nodded rapidly, laughing out his reply "Yeah, Sasuke-teme and I hang out all the time, but he's never been here dattebayo! So I had to bring him here-" while the old man nodded away and offered a comment now and then to Naruto's enthusiastic recounts of our adventures, his daughter turned to me with a small smile. "Good evening Sasuke-san, what would you like to order?"

"Three bowls of Miso ramen", Naruto chirped his order out, while I motioned to him with my head. "I'll have the same. Only one bowl please." as they worked on our orders, Naruto turned to me, grin becoming more resigned. "Hey Sasuke, are you ok?"

I blinked at that, staring at the jinchuriki, my eyes narrowing. "What do you mean?" Naruto huffed and rolled his eyes, "You've been kinda different lately teme, and I was worried cause' we're friends." I sighed, my lips curling into a rueful smile. "I've just got a lot on my mind is all." was my quiet response. He pursed his lips, "You can tell me anything dattebayo." I inwardly groaned, first Shikamaru and now Naruto? Am I really that easy to read? Seemingly reading my mind, Naruto shook his head with a soft smile. "I can tell when somethings bothering you y'know. And I don't like to see you worrying so much." This time I sent him a small smile in return, "Guess it's harder to keep things from my best friends than I initially thought."

He stilled, then beamed at me. "Yeah, I just don't want you to handle all your problems on your own, it hurts to see you trying to shoulder everything like that." I shook my head, eyes crinkling with my smile as I looked at him with a certain fondness. Teuchi took this moment to hand us our bowls, smiling good-naturedly at us with a warm, "Dig in!"

We ate our ramen in relative silence. I'll say this; Ichiraku's ramen is the best I've ever had, and I've only had storebought ramen once or twice in my past life. As I slurped up the broth, I felt the happiest that I've been in a long time, all my worries melting off my shoulders and replacing themselves with a fondness for my friends. I felt warm, inside and out. We finished our bowls and thanked them, before leaving the stand in higher spirits and laughing about the pranks we've pulled in the past.

"I think it's time I saw your apartment," I said on a whim, keeping pace with my friend. He rubbed the back of his head, "hehe, I guess. It's only fair dattebayo." despite the years I've known him, he only came over to the compound for a sleepover, and consequently, I've never been to his place. He squinted at me, "But won' your parents get mad at you for being out so late?" we both shuddered at the memory of Mikoto's reaction the last time she was displeased with me. I waved him off, "I'm already late, what's a few more minutes?" I grinned at him cheekily.

We made it to the complex in record time, Iruka waving us goodnight and heading to his own home. Naruto dug around in his short pockets for his apartment key, before retrieving it and unlocking the door. The place was… a mess to say the least. Ramen cups scattered haphazardly around, trash bags near the front door, ready to be disposed of. The wallpaper was peeling, and it looked like he tried to paint it over with bright orange, to hide the cracks and dents. His bed was disheveled, blankets were thrown on the floor in haste to make it to the academy before he was late. Which was almost every day.

I gave him a deadpan stare, while he started sweating bullets. "It's not that bad-" I pointed to the kitchen, dirty dishes stacked up in the sink, and large stains on the tiles. I sighed, running a hand through my hair spikes, and got to work immediately. I made his bed, took out the trash and ramen cups, wiped the kitchen floor clean, did the dishes, and washed the wooden flooring all in record time. By the time I was finished, Naruto had taken to sitting on his couch and watching me in morbid fascination. I pulled off the rubber gloves and deposited them in a cabinet under the sink where I found them, wiping the sweat off my brow, and leveled my unimpressed stare at the whiskered boy again.

"When I come over for a sleepover in a few days, this place had better be as spotless as I made it." to emphasize my point, I focused (my admittedly weak) killer intent on him, cracking my knuckles. He nodded rapidly, holding up his hands as if to calm a wild animal. "D-don't worry Sasuke." satisfied, I nodded then checked the time on his alarm clock.

9:34

"Oh shit, I'm late." I breathed, then bolted out the door, throwing a goodbye over my shoulder and praying Kaa-chan shows me mercy and doesn't skin me alive with a rusty butter knife.

There weren't many other people out tonight, though when I reached the gate it was eerily silent, unlike any other night before. My footsteps slowed, my heart leaping up into my throat when I smelled it.

Blood.

'Fuckfuckshitdammitdanzothatbastarditstoosoon-' I sprinted down the street, freezing in place when I came upon my aunt and uncle's bodies. I stared at them numbly, the dark pools of blood shimmering in the moonlight. I forced myself to keep moving, choking back the gags that didn't help my already ragged breathing. I tuned out the bloody corpses I passed, people that I knew and spent the last three years with. Cousins, those kind old ladies that used to give me candy, the gate guards- twins. Haru-kun and Haruka-chan, who were stern but still joked around with Shisui and me when we would spend time together-

My heart was threatening to burst out of my chest by the time I yanked the front door open. It was too quiettooquiettooquiet-

I stumbled my way over to my parent's bedroom, hands trembling and slipping onto the door's handles and pulled.

Today was supposed to

be a good day.

It started out ok, it became so good. So warm-

Everything is-

I choked back the tears already falling from my eyes, vison turning sharper when I gazed at the still forms of my parents. Mikoto, Fugaku, It-

He stood over them, turning towards me slowly.

He was crying, the Mangekyo Sharingan spinning wildly in his eyes.

They widened open seeing me, this horrible scene burned into my memory.

"Otouto," Itachi said barely above a whisper.

I fell onto the floor, my knees giving up on me. My bangs fell over my eyes, obscuring my tears. Itachi appeared in front of me, Sharingan met Sharingan. "Nii-san," I replied, screwing my eyes shut.

They burned-

Everything is-

My own special hell.

Those eyes, red from crying, iris' boasting a shuriken pattern. I idly noted.

I felt myself starting to lose consciousness. Genjutsu?

A pair of arms stopped my head from hitting the floor.

The last thing I heard was a shaky, "I'm sorry, forgive me Otouto." before drifting off into unconsciousness.

You are working for your justice and I for mine. We are just ordinary people driven to revenge in the name of justice. But if revenge is called justice, then that justice breeds yet more revenge. And becomes a chain of hatred. Living within it, aware of the past, predicting the future. That is what it means to know history. We cannot help but know that people cannot understand each other. The world of ninjas is ruled by hatred." - Pain

"Hey, you spiky, ale vera bastard!" - Naruto to Zetsu.

Well, aren't I a stinker? Thought it was gonna be all happy and fuzzy then BOOM massacre. Yep, Sasuke couldn't prevent it.

Don't you all love me right now?

Sad boy hours.