Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it.

I do own this particular fan fiction.

Thanks to everyone who read the first chapter. I realize it was short but you've got to review. I am losing inspiration because I think no one is reading. Help a newbie out and give me a few pointers. Thanks. Well, enjoy the second chapter.

'Normal Thoughts'

'KYUUBI THOUGHTS'

'summons thoughts'

"KYUUBI SPEAKS"

"Normal People Speak"

"Summons Speak"

Chapter 2: Friendship.

Eight years have passed since the fateful night that the village of Konohagakure was ravaged by the great fox demon Kyuubi and the village and its people had suffered yet another devastating loss. A week ago, Uchiha Itachi the renowned genius of the Uchiha clan managed to kill off the whole clan in one night, sparing only his little brother, Sasuke.

Sasuke was just recently released from the hospital on account of minor physical injuries and extreme mental exhaustion.This was due to the fact that before Itachi left on that night, he made sure Sasuke watched him slaughter their family multiple times by using the fabled Tsukiyomi, which is an eye ninjutsu that wielders of the sharingan can use once obtaining the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Sasuke Uchiha had always looked up to his older brother because he was a very accomplished shinobi by the age of 13. Master of the Sharingan, and the youngest ANBU captain in the history of the leaf village. The fact that it wasn't a war time promotion sanctioned because they needed all possible shinobi who could lead, on the front lines was astonishing indeed.

But that was not what Sasuke was thinking about at the moment. He was currently sitting on the pier at the back of the main building of the Uchiha estate with his legs dangling right above the water.

After being released from the hospital, Sasuke walked around the Uchiha estate hoping to find at least one other Uchiha alive and waiting for him with open arms. Alas, it was not meant to be so he came to the pier where he had learned his first fire jutsu. It calmed his mind and allowed him to think clearly.

'Why nii-s…..no, he is not my brother. Itachi. Why did you take them away from me?. They meant everything, they were all I had you bastard. They trusted you and taught you everything, believed in you…..and in return you kill them.' clenching and unclenching his fists, Sasuke tried to control his anger.

'I promise, I will avenge you Otou-san….Okaa-san. I will plunge myself deep into the darkness if that is what it will take to kill you, Itachi.' thought Sasuke whilst propping himself on his hands and gathering the strength to push himself of the pier and into the water below.

However he sensed someone behind him and turned to see a kid he went to the academy with. The kid was looking at him with a small smile on his face and an emotion in his eyes that Sasuke could not place properly from this distance…..was it loneliness?

'Ah, I remember him now, he is that kid that always sits on the swing at the Academy at the end of the day….the orphan who plays pranks on people. I remember Jinbou-san (the Uchiha caretaker at the Academy who looked after Itachi and Sasuke) telling me that he was nothing but trouble' thought Sasuke.

'But, I have gone without family for less than a week…..nobody, should have to suffer this kind of pain for so long. Maybe he understands what its like, maybe we can be friends? No, I cannot have friends…. Itachi said that if I want to defeat him, I should hate and live a miserable life….But there have been others just as strong as Itachi that have had friends. Hn, I will get stronger and kill Itachi, my own way' thought Sasuke.

Unconsciously, Sasuke had turned back to glaring at his reflection in the water and didn't even take notice of the person behind him until…

"Ano" Naruto said "Are you alright?"

Sasuke snapped his head up so fast that Naruto thought he had surely torn a neck muscle in the process. Quite a feat indeed. Naruto was assaulted full force with the avenger's glare and took a step back, almost cowering in fear.

Quickly regaining his bearings, Naruto shouted "Teme, someone is bothered about your well being and all you do is glare at them for no reason?"

"Hn…" Sasuke huffed looking away "go away."

'Baka' Gritting his teeth, Naruto tried to look as dignified as possible as he was walking away, but was unable to because the sad look in his eyes returned full force from losing another potential friend.

'Why, why can't I make any friends? Why will no one talk to me? I really thought that it would be different this time' Naruto sighed as he started walking up the hill.

Splash.

"Huh? That damn teme is going to get himself killed!" said Naruto as ran and jumped of the edge of the pier trying to get Sasuke out.

Unfortunately, Naruto never considered that he didn't know how to swim.

"Guurrgg……uhhh, why does it feel like I drank the whole river recently" said Naruto with his eyelids still closed.

"Hn, dumbass you practically did" spoke a voice that Naruto did not recognize. It was said in an almost uncaring tone.

Opening his left eye a fraction of an inch, Naruto spied on the individual who was sitting amiably in the same room he occupied.

'That kid from earlier?' thought Naruto while voicing "What do you care? I'm sure you would like to see me dead just like all those other people who glare at me and try to beat me when I am walking through an alley."

"…….."

Sasuke was shocked, very shocked by the sincerity of this other boys words. Itachi had once taught him how to read peoples facial expressions and mannerisms to a level of low chuunin proficiency at most, but he could tell that this boy who didn't know how to swim, could definitely not hide his emotions like a well trained shinobi.

"Hm, what are you staring at? Do I have something on my face?" said the ever oblivious Naruto.

Sasuke shook his head and motioned for Naruto to follow him. Naruto followed albeit sluggishly from his heavy water drenched clothes. Sasuke took him through the Uchiha clan main mansion and outside to the pier again. Sasuke turned to Naruto and was about to speak before he was interrupted.

"Ano, what were those chalk markings on the floor inside that house" asked Naruto.

Sasuke froze after hearing the question. He had been so occupied in his own thoughts about killing Itachi and maybe making a friend out of this boy who seemed to know of the pain of loneliness. Well, if he was ever going to become friends with this boy and maybe get over his guilt of being so weak when his parents needed him most, now was the time.

"My family was killed by a certain man who I will kill when I become strong enough. To do that I have to be as strong as an Elite Jounin" Sasuke stated, clearly underestimating his opponents strength but getting his point along.

A wave of emotions passed over Naruto's face that Sasuke didn't think could all be displayed in such a small amount of time. There was shock, sadness, confusion, anger, and most astonishingly was regret and determination.

"Gomennassai, I didn't realize that you had lost loved ones…." said Naruto while averting his eyes towards the sky "Hokage-jiji told me that whenever a person dies, they continue to watch those they care about that are still alive…..and we that are still alive should do everything in our power to make them proud."

"……" Sasuke stared at Naruto who was looking at the now star filled sky, before looking towards the stars himself.

After what seemed like a lifetime of looking at the stars, Sasuke looked back at Naruto who seemed to be oddly at ease with the quiet around them 'how can someone so loud….be so….so quiet.'

"Uchiha, Uchiha Sasuke" Sasuke said as he spun on his heel and started walking away.

"Huh" was Naruto's brilliant reply.

"When you want someone's name, you should give your name first" Sasuke spoke as he partially turned to face the boy.

Naruto's face seemed to light up at the opportunity to introduce himself to someone who actually wanted to know who he was. With an ear splitting grin, he said.

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato…..believe it."

It had been a week since Naruto and Sasuke had met each other and two weeks since the annihilation of the Uchiha clan. Sasuke and Naruto had both picked up similar hobbies in during that time. Reconnaissance. When Sasuke was training, Naruto would find a safe spot to watch and get a scope on what the Uchiha was doing to give him the strength needed to kill 'that man'. While Sasuke was trying to get an understanding into Naruto's 'unbecoming' approach to gaining the Hokage title.

Which brings us to Sasuke's current predicament. A few hundred yards away from Naruto's training field, Sasuke lay on the ground, unmoving, watching like a predator stalking his prey. Unfortunately, after almost a week of stalking Naruto, Sasuke was quickly realizing that it was going to be extremely difficult for Naruto to become a shinobi, let alone Hokage.

'He wears bright orange clothes for kami's sake. No, no! That definitely isn't his only problem. He is very loud, he doesn't understand the meaning of subtlety, he can barely perform the academy level jutsus proficiently, he lacks patience, he does not listen, he may not even be able to read……Why am I still watching him' Sasuke wondered

'Oh yeah, because he has had such a tough life, a life of loneliness and neglect. Just tailing him on the streets and seeing all the glares thrown his way….What could he have done to deserve that?'

'And his will to go on no matter what….Amazing, so many would have broken by now if put in his position….Plus his stealth when getting away from the scene of one of his pranks or evading high level ninja is off the charts even for someone who dresses like he wants to be killed.' thought Sasuke.

'If we work together maybe we can achieve or goals and ambitions quicker. But stealth and the strength of will are things I can refine and get better at on my own.' thought Sasuke 'Hn, Whatever. Maybe this has been a waste of my time. I should get back to training'

"Sasuke?"

"……." was Sasuke's reply because he had been to caught up in his internal discussion to notice the blond walking over to him.

"I thought I could sense someone over here but I sensed no ill intention coming from this area, so I let it go" Naruto said "Actually, come to think of it, I could tell there was someone watching me for about a week now."

'He knew I was here all along?' thought Sasuke.

"Ano, I have also been spying on you for about a week now and I realized that I need help in some areas like, like….all of them" Naruto said with a downcast look but quickly brought his eyes up to meet the Uchiha's eyes with a look of pure determination "And I decided that I will ask you to become my sparing partner."

"You wouldn't last long enou…umph" Sasuke's remark was rudely interrupted by Naruto's fist in his stomach.

'How did he move so fast?' Sasuke thought while looking up into Naruto's eyes only to register the shock in those cerulean pools 'Is he amazed by his own speed….I would say lucky shot, but I really need to look deeper into this….later.'

Going with the flow of the punch, Sasuke capitalized on Naruto's shock in a simple fluid motion. He grabbed Naruto's hand and straightened his body out, horizontal to the ground and then pushing off the nearest tree. The momentum allowed him to bring his knee forward, and on a crash course with Naruto's face.

Snapping out of his shock induced daze, Naruto brought his left hand up and blocked the knee but was unprepared when Sasuke tugged on his captured right hand, pulling him forward and out of harms way. Or so he thought. In a feat of agility, Sasuke managed to place both his palms on Naruto's forearm and push himself into a semi-upright position in the air. With his leg still reared back from Naruto's block, Sasuke was able to kick the back of Naruto's head and send him straight into a tree.

"Hn, that was short" Sasuke said with a hint of disappointment as he landed 'I need a strong rival if I am ever going to defeat that man.'

Sasuke was just about to walk away when Naruto fell on his back from his indentation in the tree. Naruto was just staring up at the clouds while blinking every few seconds indicating that he was still conscious.

"So are you going to get up and continue, or not?" Sasuke asked after a few seconds.

"Well, you see….I've been thinking, that we could make a deal. If I am able to last more than 3 hours against you….Will you teach me your taijutsu style?" Naruto asked while looking pleadingly at Sasuke from his position on the ground.

"……" was Sasuke's response as he attempted to weigh all the odds of teaching Naruto the 'intercepting fist' which he himself had yet to fully master.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"Hn" grumbled Sasuke with a nod indicating the affirmative "but only on three conditions. You will follow my instructions to the letter without complaint…." Sensing rebellion, Sasuke stopped and looked at Naruto.

Gritting his teeth at loosing some of his freedom, Naruto muttered a quiet "So long as you don't ask me to do anything embarrassing or stupid, hai."

Smirking slightly while nodding, Sasuke continued "You will involve me when planning your pranks and teach me your ways of evasion."

Naruto took a moment to give a smirk of his own before answering with a subdued "Hai."

'Funny, that smirk actually fits him. Nah, must be the lighting in this forest' thought Sasuke while voicing his last requirement "Lastly, you owe me three chuunin level ninjutsu as payback when we get stronger."

Naruto nodded his head whilst standing up and held out his hand "Deal."

"Deal" was Sasuke's reply.

Once their hands separated, they jumped back to gain some space from each other. Sasuke decided to lay down some rules before they began.

"Only blunted kunai and Shuriken during our fight….Jutsus are allowed and no hiding for more than 2 minutes. I can't have you running away now, can I?" Sasuke said when he saw Naruto's exasperated look.

"That's only a minor setback but I have to admit its one of my strengths….You know, concealing my presence, not running away." was Naruto's proud claim.

"Heh, then show me how strong you are, Naruto"

"I will, I plan on defeating you, Sasuke"

With speed that eight year olds should definitely not possess, Naruto and Sasuke rushed at each other and threw punches. Both boys caught their opponents punch and Naruto decided to take the initiative by kicking Sasuke, but was thwarted when Sasuke raised his leg to block. Both boys jumped back soon after and Sasuke started forming seals as soon as his hands were free.

"Katon: Gōkaikyū no Jutsu" shouted Sasuke as he landed on the ground and breathed out a huge ball of fire.

Naruto's eyes bulged, and he managed to roll out of the way before the fire ball got to him.

"Kuso, I don't know any cool techniques like that and I haven't even mastered Henge no jutsu or Kawarimi no jutsu. How I am going to survive this?" Naruto said.

Immediately, four blunted shurikens whizzed through the air towards him, and he jumped upwards to avoid them.

"Got you" Sasuke said in a calm voice from the ground in front of him.

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked down and saw Sasuke preparing to kick him. Reflexes born from avoiding things people threw at you, Naruto tried too kick Sasuke's head while still in the air. An effective maneuver….if you were faster than your opponent.

Sasuke caught the kick with a smirk on his face, and using Naruto's weight and the force of gravity to his advantage, slammed Naruto into the ground face first. Only for Naruto to turn into a log of wood.

'Humph, in one week of watching him, he never once replaced himself properly…..Well, he is fighting for a taijutsu style. I guess that's motivation enough. Besides, he needs it because his taijutsu is abysmal.' Sasuke analyzed.

Quickly hiding himself away from where he believed Naruto to be hiding, he started planning out his own strategies.

Its not that he didn't want to be Naruto's sparing partner. No, he just didn't want to be the Uchiha who gave out their fighting style to a fool who could not hold his own in a fight.

With two minutes up, he felt Naruto approaching the open training ground. It was time to fight again. Climbing to the top of a tree and running into the training ground from the sturdiest branch, Sasuke jumped into the air and was about to start forming seals for the Katon: Gōkaikyū no Jutsu before his sealing was interrupted by a blunted kunai courtesy of a grinning Naruto.

Sasuke landed and raised an inquisitive eyebrow "Why are you smiling like that? Last I remember, you haven't been able to land a single glancing blow on me"

"Well, you seem to forget that this is MY training ground and I chose it because no one else comes here" Naruto said smirking "the reason I went away, and didn't stay to fight you head on was because I didn't have the techniques you do……And, to activate my training field ultimate trap"

"No, you wouldn't" Sasuke said "you would be caught in the crossfire"

"True, but I have the only substance that can wash away permanent paint mixed permanent glue." spoke Naruto "I intend to laugh a lot today even if you have more techniques than me….And I will last more than three hours too, believe it."

"Then so be it" Sasuke said before charging and setting off a dozen traps on his way to engage Naruto.

It was getting late, and Naruto was found in his usual spot at Ichiraku's Ramen stand getting his fill of his favorite dish. He was talking up a storm to Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku who were watching the multi-color looking boy and his friend who was in the same condition. The Ichiraku's were doing their best to hide their amusement at the antics of the two boys.

Naruto was having the day of his life. He had held Sasuke to a standstill for more than 5 hours mostly to his superior knowledge of the terrain. But who was asking, it was part of being a shinobi after all. He had managed to bribe Sasuke out of his Katon: Gōkaikyū no Jutsu for the ingredient to wash off the rainbow colored paint from his hair, and even convinced him to eat ramen with him. It was almost like having a…..friend.

Sasuke was enjoying himself though he would never admit it. The scowl on his face was proof of that. It had been one of the few times he had human contact after the death of his family. He had met someone his age that lived in daily torment and continually pushed forward. He was reluctant to part with his techniques, but he knew deep down that he had found an individual that would use it wisely.

"…and we landed a punch on each other. I was so tired after that punch and it felt like it had only been about an hour and a half" Naruto said with a rainbow smile "but we had spent more than 5 hours….I am so amazing."

"Indeed you are Naruto-kun" Ayame supplied "but you forgot to introduce us to your friend."

"hehehehe, gomen" Naruto said looking a bit sheepish. "This is Uchiha Sasuke."

"….." shock was apparent on Ayame's face.

There were those eyes again. The ones that held so much pity for him. He didn't need pity, he needed understanding which was why he found a kind of kindred soul in Naruto.

"He does not need your pity Ayame" Teuchi said breaking Sasuke out of his thoughts " he is a strong kid, that's why he found Naruto-kun…..You insult his pride as an Uchiha if you pity him without knowing him." Teuchi added while nodding towards the Uchiha "You are welcome here anytime, Sasuke-san"

"Arigatou, Teuchi-san" Sasuke said while getting off his stool and dropping some bills on the counter and walking away knowing Naruto would follow.

"Sa yo na ra jiji, Ayame-chan" Naruto said while dropping his bills and going after Sasuke.

The two boys walked in silence until they reached Naruto's apartment. Naruto ran up, got a vial of liquid and came back almost immediately handing Sasuke the potion.

"Hehehe, so since you didn't complain when Ayame-chan called me your friend, does that mean we are friends?" Naruto said with barely suppressed hope.

"Hn" Sasuke said while nodding his head.

"I made a friend, I made a friend" Naruto shouted while running around Sasuke in a complete circle.

Sasuke sweat dropped at the display 'Moron….but my heart feels lighter than it has in two weeks….Maybe calling him a friend will not be so bad'

Naruto stopped in front of Sasuke a wide smile on his face.

Sasuke stood in front of Naruto, a small smile on his face.

"Grow strong, Naruto" Sasuke said as he turned and started walking home

"Heh, a future Hokage has to be the strongest." Naruto said with his smile still on his face.

And so the beginning of two friends whose friendship would grow to become legendary.

Sorry if there is not enough action or adventure in this chapter. I planned of finding a way to make them friend immidiately after Sasuke lost his parents so he wouldn't have too much time to brood and would grow up normally. It was an extremely difficult chapter to write and I am glad that it is over.

Please review.

Would also like to know if I put to much detail into the fights, or if I am to vague, or if I do not make the fight last long enough.

Reviews people, reviews.

Hope you had a Great Independence Day.