This is to make up for the lack of update this week.

Standard disclaimer applies. Unbeta-ed

Chapter 5- Sunset

His heart pounded loudly in his chest that he thought he could hear it beating in his ears. Pushing himself forward more and more, the small feet of an 8-year-old child ran as fast as he could on the school wooden floor.

He was aware that the other boy was quieter than usual, but then his expression was stone cold. He even asked the other boy if something was wrong, but the boy gave him a smile, shook his head and had somehow diverted his attention on something else. Cusses on you for knowing me so well! Somehow, he could feel tears prickling in his eyes.

The school had finished and he went to help sensei to arrange some books for tomorrow's lesson. That was when the teacher asked how the other boy was holding up. With a puzzled face, the blond asked what was the teacher was talking about. It was still recent news, so not so many people knew about it. But it would soon bound to be heard all over the town- with the news of when the funeral would be taking place.

Short feet abruptly stopped in front of the music room with an old piano inside. On the stool, the other boy leaned onto the piano, head resting on the hands that he placed on the piano keys. No sound was made- it showed that he had been in that position for quite some time.

No movement was made- his heart suddenly picked up speed as his imagination ran wild- what if the boy has stopped breathing?!

Panicked, he walked gently, yet in fast pace to stand next to the unmoving boy. He let out a loud relief breath as he saw tiny movement of breathing. This boy was still alive, thank God!

"Sasuke…" he whispered softly as his hand touched one shoulder. The other boy made no movement of recognizing the one whom had touched his right shoulder gently. "Sasuke…" he whispered louder. Panic setting in again.

"Sasuke, please!" he said in desperation, hands shaking the shoulder he was touching. Random tuneless sound of the piano was heard as the boy was being shaken.

"Please, look at me, please Sasuke!"

The said boy finally sat up but his body still slouched, making long bangs of his hair covering his eyes.

Thump thump
Thump thump
Thump thump

His heart was beating loudly again as his tanned hands gingerly cupped the fairer boy's face and turned it upwards. A tear made its way down his tanned cheek unconsciously as he saw the tear and pain streaking face of his dear friend. The other boy's eyes were already red, and seeing his friend cried for him, he suddenly shook with more tears.

Naruto sat next to the boy, suddenly hugging the raven haired into his chest while wrapping his arms around the badly shaking shoulders. Arms limping in his laps, the boy cried again and again.

It was a couple of hours when the shaking and sobbing stopped, but the two boys were still in the same position. Naruto rubbed the other boy's back as gentle as he could. With a loud sigh, Sasuke moved his body from Naruto, eyes looking at the pale hands in his laps.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered brokenly. Please don't be sad… it hurts me too…

The other boy swallowed audibly, probably swallowing another lump of tears in his throat. He lifted his shaken hands on the piano keys and suddenly played a piece from his memories- a gentle, soft, soothing song reverberated in the room.

"Father had always liked me and Aniki playing this song. We always played that for him on Saturday morning…" For the first time, Sasuke spoke, voice still hoarse.

Naruto touched his hands when the other boy finished playing. He didn't really know what to say.

"And now… Now… Now we don't have father to play it for…" his hands started to shake again. Naruto quickly gripped the paler ones tightly in his tanned ones.

"You can play it for me," he said, hopeful that it would make the boy calm.

Sasuke shook his head. "It's not the same…" There was a minute of silence.

"Why did you keep it away from me, Sasuke?" Naruto asked, deeming it was a suitable time.

The other boy was quiet at first. "I don't know…" he stated at last.

"But you're hurt… here…" he touched Sasuke's chest. "And that will make me hurt too… Friends shared everything… including hurt…"

"But he's not your father!"

Naruto's eyes showed pain at Sasuke's statement. "It doesn't matter… We made a promise back then… You think it's for nothing?"

Sasuke quickly shook his head. Naruto retreated his hand from Sasuke's chest.

"I was afraid… I guess…." He said finally.

"Of what?"

"Of being an orphan… If I keep on denying it, it will not become true…"

"That's a childish thinking."

"I know…" Sasuke said after a moment, embarrassed.

"Are you afraid of being teased for not having a father?"

Sasuke was quiet, blushes tinted on his fair cheek and ears. Trust Naruto to read him well.

"I'll protect you!" Naruto announced loudly, determined.

Sasuke looked at Naruto. Intense black clashed with azure blue. His distance memory replayed one scene in the past. It was almost like a sense of déjà vu.

"But then I'll be weak! You said so back then…" Sasuke complained.

"We said if it's okay, we don't need each other's help… You need one right now. It doesn't mean you're weak." Naruto reasoned, his mind also replaying the same scene.

"But I'm already weak…" Sasuke's voice dropped. "I cried in front of you… Boys are not supposed to cry. It's a sign of weakness. I'm weak…"

"Sasuke," Naruto pulled the ivory hands in his again. "Everybody will cry if a person who they love die. It's okay to cry if it's really bad."

"But Aniki didn't cry last night when that man came to tell the news!"

"Maybe he did… just not in front of you."

Sasuke's eyes widen. He didn't think of that. After a moment, he looked into Naruto's eyes again. "Will you… not tell anyone about today?" he asked, unsure of Naruto's reaction.

"Of course I won't," he placed his hand in Sasuke's in a handshake-like grip. Sasuke tightened the grip.

"Thank you, Naruto. I-I want to at least pretend to be strong in front of Mother…"

"I'll stand behind you… I'll help you to be strong for real, Sasuke," Naruto shook his hands again.

And for the first time, Sasuke actually gave a true smile- albeit weak; Naruto thought it would be alright.

Because smiling Sasuke was the best after all.

The funeral took place that weekend. Mining activities were stopped for a while to let people clean the accident place up.

Since that moment on, Sasuke's mother had to find work to support her family. She did all sorts of work, just to put food on the table and pay the bills. Itachi, who was 13 at that time, had to assume the role as head of family; so he cut all his extra-curricular activities in order to do odd jobs to find money. Itachi stopped playing piano and stopped going to piano lessons. They could not afford to pay for two people now; but their mother had wanted at least a son who could play for her at odd times.

But the biggest sacrifice the two brothers had to make was to sell their upright piano- the one that their father bought as present to the two boys in the house. It was a really good quality piano, hence the price was high enough to support Sasuke's lesson and exam fees for another couple of years and to support for other stuff. The younger son agreed, guilt lacing inside him for not helping his family more. He could go and practice at the school anyway.

000

Iruka stepped into the class. After he assigned the class' assignment at the end of the class, he closed his planner and tidy up his things for the next teacher to come in. But not before he called up upon one of his student. "Naruto, please see me after class. Ami, you too."

Sasuke nudged Naruto, head tilting, asking silently what have the 9 years old boy done now. But Naruto's puzzled face and a shook of head answered it.

"You want me come with you?" Sasuke asked. Naruto shook his head, "It's okay. Probably something to do with the Orphanage, since Ami is to stay too."

"Okay."

After the last class, Naruto and Ami both went to look for Iruka-sensei. "You wanted to see us, sensei?"

Iruka looked up and gave a signal for his two students to sit opposite him. They did.

"Naruto… Ami…" Iruka started. "I'm sure that both of are aware that Rock Lee is going away with his adopted parents this weekend, right?" The two students nodded. "And that will only leave you two here. Ami, the family I told you two nights ago is coming tomorrow. If things go well, and if you like them, you'll go home with them next week."

"Really?" Ami asked, excited.

"Yes. And Naruto… if the process with Ami's adoption goes well, that will only leave you in the house. I'm afraid to tell you that if we donn't find foster care for you by next week, I'm afraid that you still have to go to Bridgetown." Naruto's eyes widen at this.

Greenbushes didn't have a lot of population and majority of the town people are miners and old people. Therefore, when most of the orphans grew up, being adopted or sent to other nearest towns, the Orphanage in Greenbushes was going to be closed down. They would only maintain one in Bridgetown because the Council of Bridgetown-Greenbushes Shire didn't think it was practical to have two Orphanage houses in two near towns. And since it was closing down pretty soon, the caretaker of the orphans in the Orphanage had left two days prior, in search for a better job elsewhere. That left Iruka to look after them until the house was officially closed down.

Ami looked at her fellow classmate. She knew he didn't want to go to Bridgetown. Heck, if she could help it, she didn't want to leave Greenbushes to. She liked it here. But the prospect of having a family thrilled her.

"I'd just like you to know that because I just had a phone call from the Council regarding this matter. Naruto… if you have any family here that you'd like to live with, maybe we can discuss it back home. And Ami, I'd like you to stay to discuss with you further about your meeting tomorrow." Ami nodded. "I'm sorry, Naruto…"

The blond boy walked slowly. He didn't want to leave! This was not fair!

"Naruto," Sasuke called him that evening when he saw Naruto walking down the street. "What's wrong?" he asked the blond as he looked at the distress face his best friend had.

Naruto looked deeply into the intense black. It seemed like they grew up with hurdles coming in from everywhere.

"I… I probably will be sent to Bridgetown next week…" he started and proceeded to tell Sasuke about the situation. Sure the town was only half an hour away by car; but for 9 years old, that seemed far away.

"But I'm sure it will be alright," Naruto said at the end. Sasuke was about to protest when the blond added, "Iruka-sensei said if I could find a family to be my foster parents, I can stay." He said it with such conviction that now, even Sasuke was convinced that it would be alright in the end.

"Hey, why are you having so many dogs with you?" Naruto was so in distress just now that he didn't realize the 3 dogs with them. Now that he had let his worry out, he was back into his bubbly self.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm walking them," he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah… but why?" The blond scratched his un-itchy head.

"Because I need to save money, idiot!"

"What do you mean you have to save money?"

"That's what I mean. I need to save money to take piano exams."

"What happened to the money you said that was put aside? You know, from the piano that you sold last year."

Sasuke sighed. "We need to put it aside for emergencies. Aniki got sick last month and that took quite some money. I think, by stopping piano lesson and saving my money for the exams, I'll be fine. I can learn it myself, so there's no problem there."

"Will it not be hard? To learn by yourself, I mean?"

Sasuke shrugged. "5th Grade is not that hard. The teacher said I was improving a lot faster than she thought, so I can definitely learn on my own. If I save enough money, I can take the exam this year."

"Uh… okay… But if you need any help, come and find me, okay?" The raven haired nodded as he agreed.

"What about you? What are we gonna do now?"

"Well…. We're gonna have to think of finding a family who will take me in," Naruto said simply. The two boys decided to sit under the shade of a tree to discuss the important issue.

"I'm going to ask Mother if I can… but… we are having some financial difficulties at the moment… I heard adoption takes quite a lot of money…" Sasuke said with guilt in his voice.

"I know… that's why I didn't ask you. Although… it would be fun to live with you, Sasuke," Naruto smiled. The other boy smiled too.

"What about Iruka-sensei?"

"But he's not married."

"Not married people can't take you as their adopted son?"

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know… I don't think so… I think, if they have a family, like a child, their chance is better."

"Oh…" Sasuke frowned. If Iruka-sensei could take Naruto as his adopted son, it would solve their problem.

"What about Kiba's family?" Sasuke said after a moment.

Naruto shook his head. He actually had been thinking about the Inuzukas and in the end, he didn't think it was a good idea. As much as he liked Kiba as his good friend, he couldn't possibly go and live with his family.

"What do you mean no? Of course you can. He's a friend."

"But he lives on the opposite side," Naruto whined.

"Opposite side?" Sasuke pulled one leash when a dog tried to run away.

"Opposite side, away from your house. It's too far from your house. Besides, if I live with them, I will have to follow their family rules and if they said no evening soccer, it means I cannot come and see you," Naruto explained, cheeks pink from embarrassment.

Sasuke was stunned. That made sense. He didn't want Naruto to be taken away from their free time and meetings too.

The two sighed. There was no other way, huh?

"Naruto-niichan!" There was a sudden yell. Both boys looked up. Little Konohamaru with shaggy brown hair and a large goggle perched on top of his head was running towards them. "Naruto-niichan! You said you're going to play soccer with us!" Konohamaru pointed accusingly.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. He had honestly forgotten about that…

"Come on!" Konohamaru tugged on Naruto's arm, but it didn't budge. Sasuke glared at the 5 years old as Naruto laughed guiltily. "I'm having a serious discussion here, Konohamaru…"

Konohamaru pouted and let go of his hands. "Liar! You just want to spend more time with him!" he pointed to Sasuke accusingly. "You're always spending your time with him…!" the little boy complained. The taller guy scowled lightly. So what if Naruto liked spending time with him? He's Naruto's bestest best friend anyway.

He ignored when his mind scolded him about the grammatical error. Who cared? They were just a bunch of kids.

"No, Konohamaru, I'm telling you the truth, I swear!"

"But you said you're gonna teach us the Uzumaki Naruto's Special Lion's Kick!"

At this, Sasuke was actually stunned and looked at Naruto funnily. "Naruto's Special Lion Kick, huh?" he said, rolling his eyes.

"So what? I changed it a bit. Unlike you, you copied it exactly like Lee-sempai did his Lion's Kick." Naruto defended.

"Mine's not exactly like Lee-sempai's," Sasuke snarled.

"Come on, Naruto-niichan! I don't have all day. Jii-chan wants me to be home before 5!" Konohamaru tugged at Naruto's arms again.

At that, both boys suddenly looked at each other.

'…..'

Sarutobi-jiisama!

"Sasuke…. Are you thinking at what I'm thinking right now?" Naruto asked slowly.

Sasuke only nodded his head. "I think so…"

"It will be a good idea, don't you think? I mean, jiji has a family… and he's looking after Konohamaru… which only proves that he can take care of me… right?

And… his house is just 2 houses away from you… I can come and play with you at any time…"

Sasuke nodded. Konohamaru looked confused. Naruto grinned. "I told you it's gonna be alright!" he cheered. "C'mon, Sasuke! Let's go see Iruka-sensei and tell him about this!" now he's tugging on Sasuke's arm.

"Naruto-niichan!" Konohamaru yelled, sounding hurt at being ignored. Naruto stopped and walked towards the boy. Bending his knees so that he was on the same eye level as Konohamaru, he said, "I'm sorry, Konohamaru…. I really have a really important thing to tell Iruka-sensei… I want to ask him if I can go and live with you. So I'll come and play with you tomorrow, ok? It's a promise," he held out his right pinkie finger.

Konohamaru looked at it wearily at first. But then knowing unless something important came up, Naruto never broke his promises. "Okay…" he hooked his own finger with the elder one.

As the two boys walked quickly to the school to find Iruka-sensei, Sasuke spoke, "You know… we should have done pinkie-promise when we were smaller… Instead, we pretended like we're adults and shake hands."

Naruto looked at him with incredulous face. "You want to do pinkie-promise?"

After a while, Sasuke shook his head. "Nah! We're older now." That made Naruto laughed. "We're 9 years old, Sasuke. We can still do pinkie-promise."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Don't treat me like I'm 5, Naruto."

"Yeah yeah… C'mon, walk faster! This is important.

And struggling as he was with 3 dogs, they raced towards the school.

TBC
Next: Growing Up. Next chapter will be longer than this. Promise.

Reviews? More will make me uber happy and update faster! ♥