Naruto cautiously spread the bushes in front of him apart, giving him a clear view of his house. He tried putting it off as much as he could, but even he knew that he couldn't avoid coming home eventually.

He was sure that his mother was notified of him missing class today and knew the end result of that scenario would be him seeing her trauma inducing face once again.

I already saw it last night!

However, that wasn't the only reason Naruto was currently hiding.

Right now, all the lights in his home were off. It was the state he found his home when he first returned. Unsure whether his mother went to bed, wasn't home or was just creating a false sense of security for him; the young child figured it would be best to observe his home from a distance for no-.

"Hey, Naruto…"

Naruto's entire body was paralyzed by fear upon hearing that demonic-sounding voice. The child slowly turned around to find himself face to face with the horrifying face he didn't want to see.

"Hey, Mom…" he gulped.

"You didn't go to the academy today…?" Kushina asked.

At this point, it was clear to Naruto what he should do: run. But as he tried to do so, he tripped over his feet and tumbled out of the bushes.

His body was heavy, not because of the pain but because of the demonic pressure emanating from his mother as she slowly approached him.

Each step she took sharply increased the dread he felt inside. I'm so dead.

"So… What do you have to say for yourself, Naruto?" Kushina growled.

"I didn't mean too! I was just helping some people I know!" Naruto desperately explained.

He knew it was probably pointless to explain this to her, but he had to take the chance.

Kushina tilted her head. "Is that so…?"

Naruto violently nodded his head. "Y-Yeah! Yeah!"

Suddenly, Kushina's face softened.

"Okay," she said with a smile.

"Okay?"

Naruto could only stare at his mother, shocked by her nonchalant response.

"Can't really be mad at you for helping out around the village," she answered with a casual shrug.

Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was sure that his mother would have reacted in a more negative way.

"Still… I feel like you need some kind of punishment for trying to sneak pass me," Kushina continued.

Naruto silently groaned as she crossed her arms.

Should've known I would still be in trouble…

A bright smile soon filled Kushina's face, frightening Naruto. What kind of twisted punishment could bring about such a smile?

"Here's what's going to happen: One day, when I feel like going out somewhere, you have to come with me no questions asked," she declared.

Naruto could only imagine what kind of nightmare the place his mother was referring to was like. It had to be something he wouldn't like if she was using a punishment as a way to force him to go.

"Got it?" Kushina asked.

"Yeah…" Naruto muttered.

Like I have any choice…

Kushina dropped to her knees and playfully ruffled her son's hair.

"Hey, no pouting. What I got in mind isn't nearly as bad then where my parents took me whenever I got I got in trouble," she assured him with a soft smile.

"Where'd they take you?" Naruto asked.

"Um…"

Kushina's face soon sported an uneasy look.

"Best you don't know, ya know…" she chuckled nervously.

Naruto didn't know what to say and could only watch his mother continue struggling to give produce a nochalant laugh.

What happened to mom as a kid…?

He then reached forward and placed his hand atop Kushina's head, ruffling it just as she did his.

"Looks like you need this more than I do right now," he sympathized.

…

Naruto let out a loud yawn as he rubbed his full stomach.

I still hate veggies…

Stumbling into his room, the child could feel the weight of his eye lids grow more and more heavy. Everything was beginning to go dark and the only thing he could manage to make out through it was his bed.

Diving in headfirst, Naruto reflexively shifted his body and looked up at the ceiling. The last thing he saw before closing his eyes shut was the covered-up hole in his ceiling.

He was soon surrounded by nothing but darkness until a faint light suddenly cut through it. Despite not knowing where it would lead, he felt a strong urge to go to it.

But he couldn't on his own power. No matter what he did, he couldn't muster up the strength to move an inch.

All seemed lost until he felt a strong force begin to slowly push him towards the light.

It was painful. It felt like ever inch of his very being was being crushed as he moved forward.

He felt the urge to cry as the pain grew to become unbearable, but something else happened.

He felt a wealth of power enter him. Power was pouring into him at an unbelievable rate, giving him the strength to make it to the light himself.

He had to escape now before he went crazy. Dragging himself forward, he fought through the pain and forcibly crossed through the light.

Everything was soon engulfed in that bright white light. He was now free from the pain.

That should be the end of that, right? A demonic roar proved that thought wrong. Bloodcurdling screams soon followed, each one growing more and more painful to listen to as they grew in intensity.

"Naruto, don't!"

Naruto's body jolted up; the young boy panting heavily as he looked around. Sunlight was now spilling into his room.

"Not that weird dream again…" he yawned.

What else could he see it as? Constantly having a dream where he saw nothing but a faint light and heard random screams was both confusing and a little unnerving. But it was mostly confusing.

But like always, Naruto shrugged it off, got ready for the new day and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Morning, Naruto," Kushina greeted.

"Hey, Mom…" Naruto yawned.

"What's wrong? Didn't get enough sleep?"

"No. I had a weird dream again…"

"Weird dream?" Kushina eyes lit up curiosity. "Was it the one where you were a girl named Naruko? Or the dream where you had a twin sister named Naruko?"

Naruto shook his head.

Minato stole a glance from beyond his newspaper. "Was it the one where you and your friends were teenagers and went to a school for normal citizens?"

Naruto shook his head once again. "No, it was that weird going to the light dream again."

Naruto started the ponder the weirdness of that reoccurring dream, leaving him unable to notice the quick exchange of uncomfortable glances his parents shared.

"Well, you know how dream can be, Naruto; they really can be really, really…" a look of abject horror fell on Kushina's face. "… really strange at times."

"Like…?"

"Please don't ask," Kushina solemnly requested.

"Okay…"

With a small pout, Naruto jumped towards the kitchen window and opened it. He looked back at his parents and grinned. "I'm off to the academy now!"

"Hey, what about breakfast!?" Kushina shouted.

"I'll get some on the way!" With those parting words, Naruto jumped through the window and took off.

"Does he really have something against going through the front door in the morning?" Kushina wondered with a sigh.

"Well, at least it visually adds to his enthusiasm to get to school," Minato defended.

"I just think he likes to make an exit."

"That too."

Minato looked back down at the article he was reading. He didn't continue reading it, he was just using it as something to keep his eyes on.

"By the way, what dream di-?"

"Please don't ask."

"Okay…"

…

Naruto gingerly rubbed the cut on his right cheek. He didn't really mind the cut himself, it'll most likely be gone after a good night's sleep.

What really bothered him however was how he got it. He couldn't believe that the shuriken he threw ricochet around so much that it ended up coming back for him.

Sneaking glances at his fellow students as they left the school, Naruto could tell they were talking about his latest blunder.

"Hey, Naruto."

Naruto immediately turned towards the voice that called him. Standing behind him was Sasuke.

"I'm going to work on my shuriken throwing after school; want to join?" Sasuke offered.

"Why are you practicing?" Naruto questioned. "You already get them all in the center."

"I kinda know from experience that mine could be a lot better. I have to get it to where it's comparable."

Naruto shot Sasuke an annoyed and envious glare. Having the best student in class say he needs work made him feel even worse than before.

But was he really mad at Sasuke or himself?

His face soon softened, and he nodded his head.

"Hey, is your mom gonna make us some brownies?" Naruto queried.

"Why would she? She doesn't know you're coming over today," Sasuke pointed out.

"Could you ask?"

"I don't even know if we have any of the ingredients. Probably don't."

"So, we gotta go shopping, huh?" an eager grin crossed Naruto's excited face. "Alright, let's get thos-!"

"Do you even have money?" Sasuke calmly interjected.

Like a balloon rapidly losing air, Naruto felt his sense of adventure quickly leave him. He sheepishly scratched his right cheek as he considered Sasuke's question. "Um… No…"

"Why don't we forget the that and hit my usual spot?" Sasuke suggested.

"No way!" Naruto loudly rejected. "I'm not in the mood for senbei."

"Come on, they're the best in the village."

Despite agreeing with that, Naruto was refused to give in. "Still not in the mood."

"Let me guess what you are in the mood for: Ichiraku Ramen?" Sasuke said, sarcastically sounding surprised.

"Well, since you suggested it!" Naruto approved.

"Your parents okay with you eating there all the time?"

He didn't know how he did it, but Sasuke once again robbed Naruto of his excitement.

"…Dad doesn't mind…" Naruto sheepishly answered.

"And your mom?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto awkwardly turned away. "…Dad doesn't mind…"

That was the last thing either of them said. Realizing that they were stuck in a stalemate, Sasuke came up with a proposition he knew Naruto would agree to. "How 'bout this, we'll settle this with rock-paper-scissors."

Naruto's expression lit up. "Alright, you're on!"

Keeping their firm eyes on each other, the two children drew their dominant hands to their sides. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as they prepared for their immediate showdown.

"You ready?" Sasuke confidently questioned.

"Always," Naruto boasted.

They clenched their fists and called out, "Rock! Paper! Scissors!"

…

"You cheated…" Naruto moaned, taking another bite from his senbei.

"Did not," Sasuke denied.

"You did that Uchiha trick to beat me."

"It's called using the Sharingan and I don't have it yet. Just accept that you lost and enjoy Auntie's senbei."

"I know they're good, but I still prefer Ichiraku…"

Naruto eyes scoured the surrounding area. He's been to the Uchiha District enough that he was familiar with most of the locations he considered noteworthy, but even before then, there was one burning question that he has yet to get an answer to.

"Hey, Sasuke, why do the Uchiha get their own part of the village to themselves?" Naruto asked.

"I don't really know. Maybe we're just being like the Hyuga clan," Sasuke theorized. "Have you ever been to their estate?"

"Yeah, it's huge," Naruto said, stretching his arms as wide as he could to emphasize his point. "I didn't expect Hinata's house to be so big."

"You know that's not just Hinata's place, right? It's for all the Hyuga who want to live there."

"I know, but it doesn't change the fact that their place is really big. Looks a lot fancier than your clan's place too."

Sasuke awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well… At least we have a more important role. Not to mention we have something they have."

"The ability to shoot fire out of your mouth?"

"That and most importantly: my big brother."

Itachi Uchiha. That was a name Naruto heard a lot whenever Sasuke was in the vicinity. He didn't really know much about him at first, but by the way everyone talked about him, he had to be a skilled shinobi

What little Naruto saw of him since then, he could see why he was talked about with such reverence, at least a little.

Still isn't better than my dad though.

Content with that conclusion, Naruto followed Sasuke into his residence.

"I'm home!" Sasuke announced.

After taking their shoes off, the two were approached by Sasuke's mother.

"Welcome back," Mikoto's eyes were drawn to Naruto. "I heard that you caused quite the ruckus at the post office, Naruto."

"They were making things really tough on me for no reason," Naruto complained. "I just wanted to pick something up for someone I knew."

"I'm surprised Father let that go so easily," Sasuke admitted. "Speaking of which, is Father home?"

"No," Mikoto said, shaking her head. "He said he had a case to investigate."

"Oh. I wonder what cool case he's working on."

"Maybe it's a case issued by Lord Hokage himself. Could you imagine both of your fathers working together on something like that."

"I doubt it," Naruto rebuffed. "Dad spends most of his time in the office. Isn't it weird that the strongest guy in the village is stuck in an office all day?"

"There's more to being Hokage then fighting, Naruto," Mikoto explained. "Heck, it's the same for Fugaku and other leaders too."

"Mom says the same thing, but I still don't really get it."

"I'm sure you will. I bet you'll be a leader yourself one day."

"Leader…?"

Hearing that sent Naruto's imagination into overdrive. He could see himself being respected by all even if he screwed up.

"Yeah…" a bright smile stretched across Naruto's face. "That would be awesome!"

Sasuke slowly shook his head, amused by Naruto's reaction. What Mother said about there being more to being a leader went over his head.

"We're going to be out back practicing our shuriken technique," Sasuked explained.

"Okay, just don't work yourself too hard," Mikoto advised.

"It's just shuriken training. No way, it'll tire us out," Naruto boasted.

Later that evening…

While what Naruto said was true physically, mentally he was exhausted.

"Why…?" Naruto's body trembled as he let out a violent scream, "WHY CAN'T I HIT ANY PART OF THE TARGET!?"

"Maybe because you have a crazy throwing arm and a crazy throw." Crawling out from under his house, Sasuke looked on in stunned silence. Shurikens were littered all over their immediate vicinity. "Seriously you have a really crazy throw."

"I'm throwing it like everyone else!"

"Not really. You're kinda just doing it in a way that makes everyone worried it's gonna slip out of hand, mid-swing."

"That only happened five times…" Naruto admitted. "Besides, it's just throwing shuriken; why is so hard?"

"You know, I asked my brother the same thing," recalling that specific memory, Sasuke gave Naruto an unyielding stare as he mimicked Itachi's tone of voice. "He said, 'What you hold in your hand, Sasuke, is something that will define you. Depending on how it's handled, this can be the used to save the lives of you and your teammates or doom you all. That's why it's important to keep training so it's always guaranteed to hit your intended target'."

"…That's kind of weird way of saying to train to get better," Naruto said, perplexed.

"Yeah… But at least he told me that instead of poking me on the forehead and saying, 'Sorry, Sasuke. Maybe another time'. Granted when I asked him to help me after, he said that."

"You really look up to someone who leaves you hanging a lot."

"Yeah, well… he's my brother."

"Some brother," a third voice chimed in.

A figure soon dropped in front of the two. It was someone Sasuke knew very real. "Shisui!"

"Yo," he greeted with a smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was in the neighborhood and nearly got hit with a shuriken."

"Come on, you're just making that up," Naruto fumed.

A nervous smile formed on Shisui's lips as he drew attention to the cut on his sleeve. Naruto felt both regret and annoyance, so much that he could only mutter a quiet, "Man…"

Shifting his gaze to Sasuke, Shisui exchange his nervous smile for a more playful one. "Anyway, I gotta agree with Naruto. It's pretty incredible how you still look up to a guy that constantly leaves you hanging. You think you would begin to idolize someone more worthy to idolize."

"Like who?" Sasuke questioned.

"Like me."

"No way!"

To say Shisui was taken aback by Sasuke's immediate and steadfast response would be an understatement. "Why not?"

"Why would I?" Sasuke questioned back

"I mean, there's the fact that I'm stronger than Itachi," Shisui answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

"No way!" Sasuke angrily denied.

"It's true. Check our record of wins for our sparring matches. I currently have more wins."

"He was probably just having an off day!"

"You're seriously going to say my wins were because of 'off days'?"

"It's the only explanation. There's no other way my bro would lose to you."

"Really? I mean I'm older…"

"Age has nothing to do with being a ninja. My brother would never lose to you."

"Well, I got the Sharingan…"

"He has it too and he got it before you."

"How would you know?" Shisui argued, baffled by what he just heard. "You don't even when I unlocked mine. Plus, I got several Sharingan abilities he doesn't."

"Doesn't matter. It still wouldn't be enough to beat my brother," Sasuke stubbornly continued.

"Man, it's like arguing with a brick wall…"

"Still better than arguing with my ma," Naruto chimed in.

"Oh yeah… Was that the reason she was chasing you throughout the village the other day; You two had an argument?" Shisui queried.

"Yeah… She wanted me to eat some vegetables."

"Wait…" Shisui took a moment to try and stifle the laugh he felt coming up. But he couldn't. "You mean you two ran around the village, several times, because you didn't want to eat your vegetables?"

"I hate veggies!" Naruto raged.

"Well, I give you points for actually doing what every kid would do when first faced with veggies," Shisui consoled. "Extra points for doing it despite your mother being… Well, your mother."

It was always incredible how talking about Kushina always led to Naruto seeing people become scared if only for a moment. Not that he could blame them at all.

As much as he loved her, her scary side is just too scary.

"By the way… Shisui, do you know why the Uchiha and Hyuga have their own parts of the village to themselves?" he asked.

"Probably because we're considered some of the leaf's strongest clans," Shisui looked around before drawing the two closer to him. "Though personally, I think that it's because most of us are loners."

"Loners?" Sasuke said, perplexed.

"Think about it, why else would we willingly seclude ourselves in some of the corners of the village? It's because we're loners and not good with people," Shisui hypothesized.

"Then why is the Police Force further into the village?" Sasuke questioned.

"So people don't come to our doorsteps."

"Shisui…"

"I'm joking," Shisui joshed. "Still, I don't really know the real reason. Maybe it's a nobility thing."

"Nobility?" Naruto repeated, confused.

"Like I said, everyone thinks that the Uchiha and Hyuga are some of the most powerful clans in the village and I'm sure the clans themselves agree with that too. So maybe us being holed up in our own little section gives us a bit of nobility."

The ever present confused look on Naruto's face made it clear to Shisui that what he was saying wasn't getting through as well as he hoped.

"It's like this; we have our own piece of land and no one else does. It's the old school thinking of control of land space=nobility," he explained further. "Of course, of all the things we compete in, when it comes to looks, we've pretty much lost. The Hyuga's pplace looks much fancier."

"That's what I said," Naruto said, smiling upon receiving validation of his earlier comment.

"Does anyone really care how fancy our place looks compared to the Hyuga's?" Sasuke groaned.

"If we have another party involving the head of states again, where do you think the Hokage will host it at between the two of us?" Shisui quizzed.

"Neither," a fourth voice chimed in. "That is, if they ever become worried about spending time in the far corner of a foreign land."

Another figure landed in front of the three.

Like Shisui, it was someone Sasuke was happy to see. "Big brother!"

"Speak of the devil," Shisui nonchalantly greeted.

Itachi looked around, taking note of the plethora of shuriken surrounding them. Once done, his serene gaze landed squarely on Shisui and Naruto. "Shisui. Naruto. What are you doing here?"

"Working on Naruto's shuriken throwing skills," Shisui pointed to the cut on his sleeve. "He could really use some more work."

Itachi took note of the shuriken surrounding them once again. "I see."

"Big brother, you think you can help us practice?" Sasuke requested.

With a small smile, Itachi motioned his younger brother to come closer. Sasuke eagerly approached his brother only for him to have his forehead jabbed as usual.

"Sorry, Sasuke, another time," Itachi softly apologized.

"This is exactly what I'm talking about, Sasuke. This is why you should idolize me instead," Shisui beseeched.

Sasuke violently shook his head. "No way!"

"Wait, what's this about idolizing you?" Itachi inquired.

"I'm just trying to get your little brother to realize that I would be a much better person to look up to," a sly smile stretched across Shisui's face, one Itachi interpret easily. "I'm more personable, I'd be around more, plus, I'm stronger than you."

"No, you're not!" Sasuke turned his fiery gaze to Itachi and demanded, "Big brother, tell him you're the stronger."

Itachi could only respond with an awkward smile.

"His silence says it all," Shisui continued. "I'm stronger and he knows it."

"Big brother, c'mon, say you're stronger then Shisui!" Sasuke angrily pleaded.

As the brothers continued their one-sided conversation, Shisui kneeled next to Naruto and whispered, "You see, Naruto, this is one of the rare ways you can genuinely trip up the normally stoic Itachi."

"He doesn't look like it…" Naruto doubted.

"Trust me, it's all about the subtle stuff. You'll learn to read things like that at the more you train," Shisui assured him with an encouraging grin.

Naruto nodded his head in agreement. He had to keep training in order to be a great shinobi like Shisui, like Itachi and like his parents.

"You know…" Shisui turned his gaze back to the Uchiha brothers. "I kinda admire the relationship those two have. It's the kind that even if you're not a part of, you want to protect with everything you have."

Shisui's words resonated with Naruto. He didn't really understand how Shisui came to feel that way but he did respect the determination behind his words.

It wasn't just that though. Watching Sasuke and Itachi, Naruto felt something he didn't understand on a conscious level.

He was overcome with a sense of longing.