We'll Hold This World Together

Hello everyone. So I wanted to add more about the Narusasu friendship and more info on why people fear Naruto. However, those will not be fully understood until two chapters from now. There may not be a big section with other children here, but trust me, they all definitely have a role.

Naruto lay on his bed with a two years young Gaara. He had to be at the academy in an hour and he was already dressed, thus deciding to spend a bit of time with his younger brother.

Gaara touching his mouth, prompting for him to speak. The blond chuckled. "You know I need to leave soon, so I won't be here, Gaar."

Gaara squeezed Naruto's finger, and the latter could feel his warmth.

"I have to tell you something." The child stopped and began watching with innocent eyes. "Did you know that you could be anything you want in this world? I bet you don't, but I want you to know that you can be anything.

But, you must never be arrogant. Ever. There is a book which was written by our grandmother, Hikari. Her greatest enemy was the one she loved. He was sent from the sun as well so that the first generation of Namikaze will be pure.

He was sent to the world to be a hero and he left the world as a monster.

He created as scare, Gaara. He made me too. And that is why this village fears me. They think I am him.

"Do you want to know the oldest lie in human history?"

Someone opened the door without knocking and Naruto felt Sasuke's signature chakra. It was a gentle flame like his place in the Uchiha clan. "Don't teach him that, Dobe. He's too young."

Naruto laid his younger brother on the bed. "He's a Namikaze, Sasuke, he needs to know. Pein taught me about it. And you're going to get enough of calling me dobe." He smirked maliciously and walked closer to his best friend's voice.

The Uchiha put a hand on his hip. "You know you can't intimidate me, no matter how psychotic you are."

The jinchuriki growled and tackled the raven, making the latter let out a girly yelp. They rolled around for a moment, unaware of Gaara watching with Curious eyes.

Eventually, Sasuke straddled Naruto to the floor and held a kunai to his throat. He smirked at Naruto's panting, satisfied at the surprised mismatched orbs. "I pinned you." He whispered.

Naruto growled happily and rolled over, the fight starting again. The same actions happened. Sasuke smirked.

He loved this feeling. Being with Naruto made him a kid again. It made him full of life. He didn't need to act serious; he could act goofy like his personality commanded.

With the blond, he wasn't tough; he was vulnerable yet strong. He wasn't mean; he was a sweetheart. He wasn't the prodigy of Uchiha; he was just Sas and he loved that.

"Pinned you again." The raven whispered. Naruto turned his head to the side and smiled sheepishly.

"I have to get Gaara….or he'll fall." Naruto panted out.

The six year old Uchiha stood on his hind legs and helped his friend up.

The blond lifted his younger brother off the bed, who immediately began to touch and nuzzle his face.

This made Sasuke smile. While he and Itachi shared a strong bond, absolutely nothing could compare to the bond of the Namikaze brothers.

They protected one another. They had the minds of each other. They were one and they stood back to back; Pein, Nagato, Deidara, Naruto, and Gaara. Even then, in that circle, nothing compared to how close Pein and Naruto were.

The young Namikaze looked up at his brother, a smile on his face that symbolized how aware he was of making Naruto laugh.

The blond prodigy leaned forward and kissed Gaara's head. "Eskimo kiss." He wiggled his nose against his brother's.

The child titled his head to the side to display his confusion. His birth tattoo was kissed, and his little head was allowed to rest on his brother's chest. Naruto closed his eyes, content with the situation and unaware of his best friend still watching.

"It's love, Gaara." He whispered. Turning to his rival, the blond smirked. "Let's get to school, eh."

It wasn't a good day for Naruto. He tried his best because his mother had told him to make some friends.

But, she didn't understand. He was the great great grandson of Hikari Namikaze.

And Hikari Namikaze was a savior of the world. She had taken her own life just to skew away the danger.

But, Naruto was also the great grandson of Hikari's lover. He had no name, but he made one for himself; Hikari's Monster; light's darkness.

In journals that Pein had found, Hikari described her husband as loving at first. He was a sweet man with a dream to save the world.

But, his dream, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, was to destroy the world. You couldn't create violence if there was no you in the first place.

Kushina had said sometimes Naruto thought that way; like his grandfather, they described.

Naruto, at such a young age, knew too well, knew too much. He analyzed the problems that Kushina talked about when he was younger and came up with ways to stop them. And they were effective, his parents would say, but they weren't how things were resolved.

Kushina sat sowing by the fireplace with a five year old Naruto next to her leg. Minato sat in the chair behind them. The older boys were outside playing in the snow. Naruto, in hopes of hearing one of his mother's great stories, remained.

And Kushina was doing just that; telling her advanced three year old stories that he loved. Ones about heroes turning into bad people when trying to save the world.

She had just finished telling him about a samurai warrior who tried to save his village by murdering the elders. This had made the economy go bad, and the people shunned him. In return he killed them.

Naruto, the boy who would forever see things too much, pulled on his mother's dress. "But, mommy, why did he have to become bad? He was helping them."

Kushina knew Minato had already put down his paper. They were always interested in hearing Naruto's own philosophy. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Naruto."

"But why did they scorn him?" Naruto asked, tears filling his eyes.

Kushina stopped sowing and rubbed the boy's chin. "They thought he became a monster, Naru-chan."

"But, they made him that way. Every monster was a nice human once. But then the elders took away his niceness. So the people shouldn't fear the monster, but the one who made it."

Kushina gasped quietly. Naruto was always like this. Speaking before his years as if he knew everything about the world.

"And wouldn't it be better if there were no humans at all, Kaa-san? That way there would be no wars."

"Naruto…" That was Minato's faint whisper. Naruto looked.

"Yes, daddy?" He asked all too innocently.

The hokage didn't know what to say. Scold Naruto for saying things like that or praising him for his philosophical mind. Kushina shook her head at him, warning him that if he said anything to make Naruto feel bad, she'd kill him.

"You listen too well" Minato settled with that and smiled to reassure him that it was a good thing.

"Is it bad to feel bad for the samurai that turned into a monster?"

Kushina smiled and rubbed her youngest's chin. "As long as you see the good in him, no. It's not bad at all."

"Okay" and the boy went back to watching the fire place, unaware of the proud yet worrying glances of his parents.

"When you act like him, you don't act like a monster. Because the way he did things, he thought it was the right way. Neither cruel or bad, just right."

The blond whispered. It was something he once heard from a villager.

He tried so hard to be everyone's friends, but no one liked him. They hated him.

The very pretty Sakura told him that her parents were scared of him; And then she went on telling this whole story about how Naruto could destroy the whole world.

No one talked to him after that. Hinata blushed at him, Kiba, Shino, Chouji, and Shikamaru smiled at him, but they didn't speak. No one but Sasuke at least.

Sasuke didn't like any of them. At first he said they were boring, but when Sakura and the others began to ignore Naruto, he hated them even more.

This is why the Namikaze respected Sasuke; cherished him. The Uchiha liked him for who he was; even when Naruto was afraid of himself.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and the Namikaze watched as Pein walked in. The ten year old was a bit bruised and he looked tired. "How was school?" he asked instantly.

Mismatched orbs shined brighter and Naruto put a wide smile on his face. "It was really fun, aniki. The best day ever."

Pein raised a brow and sat on the bed. "I bet all the other kids liked you too, didn't they?" When Naruto lowered his head in shame, the orange haired boy sighed. "Hold your mask tighter."

"One of the kids told me my Shukaku eye was weird and they kept asking me about the seal on my neck. Then they made a whole rumor about me destroying the village. At least that's what their parents said."

"Who cares?" Pein asked, removing his shoes and jounin vest. "I hope you don't care."

"But, kaa-san told me to make friends."

"Did Sasuke say that you would destroy the village? Did he call your appearance weird?"

Naruto grew offended. Pein knew Sasuke, so why would he think something like that. "No of course not. Sasuke would never talk about me."

Pein smiled and ruffled the blond's hair. "Then you have a friend and Naruto trust me. I swear that is all you need."

"But, can't I gain trust from the villagers?"

"Of course you can. However, that will take time Naruto. You prove to no one."

The blond sighed. "I know, but if I'm supposed to be a hero like the prophecy says, why do the villagers treat me like an outsider; like a monster?"

"The world doesn't need a hero, Naruto. This world cannot be saved." Pein spoke in a whisper. "Now look. I found something for you and only you. It's a gift for completing your first day at school."

Pein pulled out a scroll and performed hand signs. "Uzumaki Sealing Art."

Out of the scroll came a rolled sheet of paper and when Pein unrolled it, its length was tremendous. Naruto jumped in his brother's lap. "What's this, big brother?"

"It's a summoning contract."

The younger boy gasped. "Like you and frogs."

A chuckle. "Toads, but yes. However, this is a different animal. Made especially for you, Naruto. Do you know how sacred this is?"

"How?"

"This is not a real world contract. This is actually made from the spirit world. Therefore, while other summoning techniques are C-rank, this is A-rank."

"What animal is it? Or is it an object?"

"What is the first tailed beast within you?"

Naruto touched his lower stomach. "Kurama."

"And what is he?"

"He's a fox. He's a nine tailed fox. A Kitsune." Naruto gasped again. "This is a fox contract?"

"You bet. Now look here; If you sign your name in blood, you will not only be able to use Kurama as a comrade, but also be the first to ever have this contract. And the only. I went through a lot to find this."

Naruto's eyes widened. "Summon Kurama." he mumbled.

"Kurama will be as large as you want him to be. It won't hurt when he leaves your body or goes back in. He'll come out as chakra, but eventually form into his physical being. However, there is a downside."

"What is it?"

"When Kurama is out of your body and returns, it will take you more than an hour to get used to it. This means that you won't heal as you always have. Some scars will remain."

Naruto nodded. "What else?"

"You will have a fox that helps with each affinity. I've heard that there is a wood or forest fox, a fire, water, tracker, earth, wind, and yourself as a light fox. Would you like to meet them all?"

"Yes!"

"Bite your finger and sign here."

Naruto did as told, but before he slammed his hand on the floor, Pein stopped him. "Doing this will summon all of them except Kurama. If you want them individually, for future reference, you will have to say their names each."

Naruto nodded and then slammed his hand on the floor.

In the middle of the floor stood several foxes: A red, grey, brown, tan, blue, and white. The smallest, the grey, jumped on Naruto's lap.

"Hi, I'm Kaze. My name means wind. Uncle Kurama told us all about you. I can tell I'll like you."

The fox inside him laughed. "Kaze is the youngest and he has the hardest head."

'I see' Naruto thought.

"Hey!" the blue fox yelled. "I want to talk to Naruto-sama too." She jumped into Naruto's lap. "I'm Kawa, the river or water fox. I like you too, Naruto-sama. I'm only older than Kaze by 300 years."

"Only?" Naruto questioned, genuinely surprised.

"They have longer life spans." Pein explained. "3 centuries to us is like 3 minutes to them."

Naruto nodded and looked up to the more solemn foxes. The red one looked like a vicious monster. "Hello, Naruto-kun. My name is Kasai and I will be your fire fox. This is my sister Mori, the forest and wood fox." She stated pointing her head toward to the white fox.

Naruto smiled and leaned forward to hug both of them. Both snuggled into him. "Cold hearts aren't hug proof." A larger tan fox walked closer.

The blond could tell that this must have been the oldest and widest. "Hello, Naruto-kun. My name is Chikyu, I am your earth fox. I hope you can take care of us all."

"I promise to use you guys only when needed." He looked to the last fox, a brown fox. "And you must be a tracker."

The fox titled his head. "And you knew this because?"

"My senses told me."

The fox laughed. "My name is Yako and you are right. I am a tracker. I rely on my senses. I look forward to fighting for you, Naruto-sama."

Naruto laughed. "First we need to work on your playful side."

"Very well"

"Now that you've met them, I think you should train them later on. But, now I have something even better for you."

Naruto nodded and turned to the foxes. "You can disperse. I will summon you later, I have someone for you to meet."

When they were gone, Naruto turned to his brother expectantly. "What did you give me, big brother? Is it a sword? The rinnegan?"

"None. Something far more precious."

Pein pulled out yet another scroll and Naruto voiced his opinion. "Another scroll, big brother?"

"It's not a summoning contract. It's a technique that will save you in the future."

Naruto opened it up and his senses heightened. His eyes filled with awe and his mind went in all directions.

"No one searches the library like I do. And I'm glad I found it before anyone else. They would have ruined it. This was created by the Sage of Six Paths and I want you to have it."

Naruto touched the lines of the paper, these odd invented hand seals. "Aniki" He whispered. "This is-"

Pein sealed it within a scroll and placed it into Naruto's pant's pocket. "I know. Because between you and I, every single life matters.

"Use it when you're ready, Naruto."

Someone knocked on the door and in walked Nagato and Deidara, who jumped on the blond's bed.

"Rough day at school, Naruto?" Deidara questioned as he laid upside down on the bed.

"It was rough, but I'm fine now. Sasuke and Pein-aniki made it all better."

"Sasuke Uchiha?" Nagato asked in a hushed whisper. "Uchihas are very weird. In school, they say the whole clan is cursed."

"What are you on about?" Pein asked. He didn't like that his little brothers were putting things in Naruto's head.

"Well, Madara Uchiha was a bad guy. So was Indra Ōtsutsuki, the first ever Uchiha." Deidara spoke.

"Some Uchihas are a bit cursed. Everyone is." Pein stated.

Just as Nagato went to ask about that, their father walked in with Gaara and smiled, sitting on Naruto's bed. "Did you have a good day at school?"

Naruto shook his head. "Some of the kids said I'd destroy the world."

Minato sighed. "You don't have to go back." The boys' eyes widened. "I want you to be sure you want to do this. It's hard to be a shinobi, but with the prophecy, you may feel like the world is on your shoulders."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"The world wants you to be a hero, and if you don't, that's okay. I'm your father, Kushina is your mother. It's our job to take you guys' burdens. I don't want anyone of my children to be obliged to anything. You remember our family code?"

Naruto smiled fondly and whispered with his eyes closed. 'You are my mother, brother, father. You are me. As long as you are lost, I am too. As you are happy, so I am. Give me your pains, and I'll be your friend."

Minato ruffled his hair. "Remember that. If you feel like you want to go up in the ranks, I want you to be careful. Monsters don't make war, war makes them. I know you're to be the hero of the world, but remember the last line of the prophecy."

Naruto nodded with a sad expression. "I can also destroy the world."

Minato sighed. He didn't want to get into that with his six year old son. The village could call Naruto what it wanted: sadistic, crazy, happy, cheery, serious, whatever.

He knew his son. It was the idiotic villagers. Minato's eyes widened slightly as he recoiled from his thoughts. As hokage he wasn't meant to degrade the people he protected.

"Anyway, son, I want you to know you will be a hero. They said you would live a long, prosperous life. But, remember the stories of Madara Uchiha and your own great grandfather."

"You either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain." Naruto whispered.

Minato wasn't surprised. He had told Naruto that story when he was only four, but the boy kept it in his mind. "Yes. The thing about that is that heroes have to know when to die. Prolonged life has ruined more men than it ever made."

Gaara touched Naruto's face, but the blond was too far in his own thoughts. Minato hugged his son, unconsciously sandwiching Gaara. "I just want you to know that this family will love you in every decision you make." He stood. "Bedtime is at nine, guys. Remember pun-"

"Punctuality is key." Naruto stated. "I remember the lesson."

Minato smiled and ruffled his hair. "Of course you do. You listen too well." The man left the room, Nagato and Deidara following suit.

Naruto sighed as Pein continued to stare at the wall before him. "I think they're afraid for me, Gaa." He told his baby brothers. Gaara looked up.

"Afayyy?"

"Close enough, but yes. The way our great great grandfather grew, everyone says I am just like him. He looks just like me as well. But, you know what he did, bro? He became a monster. They don't want me to be him."

Gaara looked very confused. "Oh yes, I'll tell you the story of our grandfather when you are old enough to know."

"Kay." and the child yawned.

Naruto smiled at his younger brother. He didn't want this to end. Ever. He wanted to hold his oh so innocent Gaara while he fought sleep forever. He didn't want Gaara to grow up. He didn't want to hear Gaara say he wanted to be a shinobi.

He didn't want to let his tears fall, but they did. He kissed the child's forehead. "You can sleep, bub." he whispered.

Gaara's eyes fluttered and when he finally drifted, he spoke. "cy."

The blond laughed and wiped his eyes. "I won't. I promise."

Pein looked away from the wall, lost in his thoughts. "Don't cry at all, Naruto. It's not you."

"I know. Aniki?"

"Hm?"

"What were you thinking about…..just now?"

Pein looked confident then and his face marred into a stern frown. "What if I told you everything was a lie, Kyu?"

Naruto turned his head in confusion. "Huh?"

"What if everything around you changed? What if everything around you wasn't what it seemed?"

Naruto only shook his head in confusion. He was only six. He couldn't possibly understand his older brother.

Pein stood and squeezed his nose lightly. "I must go meet with Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third hokage, and Danzo. We have much to discuss. Sleep well Naruto, and tell no one where I am going."

Naruto nodded rapidly and went back to watching his sleeping younger brother. Still, his mind kept going back to Pain.

Namikaze Naruto listened to any sound outside his room. Nothing. This meant that it was a bit past midnight.

The boy crept out of the room and walked downstairs. The only sounds were Pein, Deidara, and their father's thunderous snoring.

If he could say so himself, His senses were becoming very keen. He could now walk places in the dark without bumping into things and feel anyone near him. Hence how he found his mother's sweet pot on the counter.

Four dango sticks were wrapped up and Naruto opened the kitchen window to escape.

Upstairs, Kushina rolled over and his her face in Minato's back. "He did it again." She mumbled, wearily.

Minato, without opening his eyes, grunted and clapped once. Three ANBU jumped into the window. "Watch him, make sure he stays safe, but remain a distance behind him. Thanks guys."

And they were gone, following the Jinchuuriki of the Namikaze, who was already at half point to his destination.

Naruto knew exactly where Sasuke's window would be. Finding a small pebble on the ground, he launched it to the upper level. "bastard" he whispered. Another pebble. Another call.

Finally, he could feel Sasuke waking and walking toward the window. "Dobe? What are you doing? It's almost two in the morning."

"I brought you some dango. Let's go to the pond."

Nothing was said for a moment, and Naruto could only assume that his rival was looking behind him. "Hold on. I'm coming down." Shuffling…..feet hitting the ground. "Okay, let's go before someone sees us."

Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hand and made a run for it. When they were a distance away from the Uchiha estate, Fugaku went to close his youngest son's window.

His eyes caught three ANBU. "Minato sent you?" One nodded. "Good. Guard them with your lives."

He walked back into his own room and Mikoto looked at him. "Left with Naruto again?"

"Hai. It seems that Sasuke really needs him. With the Academy and all."

Minutes away, both best friends made it to the pond. Naruto sat sideways and rested his back against the raven's. "Man, I sure do miss this."

"We did this last week, Ruto. May I have a dango stick?"

He handed Sasuke two sticks. "I know that. But, what if things change?"

"We're six years old, silly. We won't change much." the other reassured.

"I guess. Today, Pein gave me a summoning contract. Would you like to meet some of them?"

"Hn"

Naruto executed a few handsigns and slammed his palm to the ground. He could feel each fox's chakra before him.

"Theses are my foxes, Tachi. The red is Kasai, the fire. Her sister is Mori, my white wood and forest fox. The tracker's name is Yako and he's the brown. The tan one is the oldest and he's my earth fox. His name is Chikyu. And finally the last two. They're the youngest. Kawa is my water and river fox, she's the evident blue. Kaze is my grey wind fox."

"Wow" he heard Sasuke whisper. "They're so pretty." The foxes spoke to the Uchiha for a moment getting to know him until Naruto spoke.

"I can transform to a fox using my light ability and I can also summon Kyuubi, making him as large as I want."

"I would like to meet the nine tails."

Blue orbs definitely widened. "You want to meet the nine tails? The most vicious tailed beast of them all?"

"Hai. What's wrong with that?"

"He has told me stories. When within my great grandmother, there were many people who tried to extract him from her."

"They were Uchihas" Sasuke stated,looking at Naruto's sad face. He didn't have to ask. He knew how his clan was. "He hates Uchihas."

"I attempt to persuade him all the time that you're different, but I guess you have to meet him yourself."

Naruto repeated the hand seals again. "Kyuubi; Chīsai." He whispered and slammed his palm to the ground.

Instead of the fox just appearing, Naruto's signature red chakra began to bubble from his stomach until it formed on the ground into the greatest of all kitsunes.

"Kit, you summoned me."

Naruto smiled and pulled the fox into a hug. "This is our first meeting, Kurama. I summoned you to meet Sasuke."

"The Uchiha you blabber about all the time." Kyuubi stated and looked toward Sasuke.

The raven smiled sweetly. "Hello."

Kurama growled and snuggled closer to Naruto. "I'm not fond of Uchihas. But Naruto says you're different. I'll give you a chance."

"Thank you, Kurama." And Sasuke could swear that there was a flicker of surprise behind the slit eyes.

"So, Naruto what do you think about the academy children?"

Naruto smiled and began to stroke his fox's fur. "I like Hinata and Shikamaru. Chouji and Kiba seem okay. Shino too. I don't think others like me much."

Sasuke's face showed sadness and Naruto raised a brow. "What's wrong? They didn't say anything to you did they? I'll fuckin-"

"No, baka." Sasuke stated softly. "It's just, we're meeting new people and I realize you and I are different. You're more social and I'm not very easy to communicate with. Shikamaru, Kiba, Hinata….they might…"

He trailed off and saw that Kurama had just been staring at him. "They might what?" Naruto questioned.

"I don't know. You might find better friends in them then you do me and we might distance ourselves from one another. They might take you from me. And I don't have other friends."

Sasuke didn't like this. This was supposed to be a fun night, but here he was, letting tears fall over something so childish. He didn't want to lose Naruto, his only friend. If Naruto left him, he would die. It would break his fucking heart and he'd be all alone.

Naruto scooted closer to his friend and Kurama crawled into the Uchiha's lap. His obsidian eyes widened and the fox looked away. "Don't look at me. It's annoying."

The blond put an arm around a pale shoulder. "Sas, have I ever told you how weird you were?"

"A lot" he whispered.

"Well, now you're just stupid. Me really abandoning you? I thought you were a genius. Guess what?"

"Hn"

"You're stupid. You're weird. You fail. You're imperfect. But, to me, you're Sasuke. And that makes you perfect. And don't worry about the ways I just degraded you. Most of the time, I'm like that too. That's why we're best friends. We fight, laugh at the dumbest things, and sometimes we cry like fucking babies. But, let me tell you something."

Kurama snuggled up more in Sasuke's lap as the raven began to stroke his fur.

"Namikaze Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke were and will always be best friends. Because they hold the world together. No one else can make Naruto love himself like Sasuke can. And no one else can bring out the best in Sas like Naruto. And absolutely no one can take away one or the other."

"Why?" the raven asked in a whisper.

"Because….Namikaze Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are inevitable. And Naruto wants Sasuke to stay in his life forever because the raven is the best thing that's ever happened to him."

Sasuke smiled and laid his head on Naruto's shoulder. When he spoke, he made sure only Naruto and Kurama could hear. "When Sasuke Uchiha met Naruto Namikaze, he honestly didn't know the blond was going to be this important to him."

Kurama hummed at that. And Sasuke thought for a cold beast, the fox really had a warm heart.

Absolutely loving this Narusasu right now. Sasuke is a bit OOC because his clan will not be murdered here. I've decided to make Itachi one of the good people. YAY! However, there will be much pain in this story. Naruto will face some horrible events in his time. Like one next chapter. It's kind of sad. Right now, it's snowing and I'd like to watch it fall.

So please, friends, review.