~ Twenty: Am I Never To Be Loved? ~
Naruto cried silently to himself where he was perched in the upper branches of a strong tree, his blue eyes tearstained and red around the edges. Sasuke sat beside him, offering no pointless words but instead rubbing gentle circles on his friend's back.
They'd just got word that Tsunade and Jiraiya were missing, presumed dead, and that both Iruka and Kakashi were KIA when the Akatsuki attacked Konoha.
Naruto mumbled something, and Sasuke missed it.
"What was that?"
"I said, am I never to be loved?" Naruto repeated, lifting his head and looking at his one source of support. "Everyone in Konoha who loved me is gone. Kakashi-sensei saved me when I was little, you know. I tried to kill myself when I was four. He took me to the hospital and made sure someone fixed me up. Then Iruka-sensei helped me with classes, and Tsunade-baa-san and Jiraiya-sensei cared about me too. Why does everyone who I love and who loved me get hurt?" Sasuke didn't hesitate for a moment – he pulled the small blonde onto his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around him.
"Not everyone, Naruto," Sasuke murmured, holding tightly to the one person he trusted with his life. "I'm still here. I won't leave you." Naruto didn't reply, and just cried into Sasuke's shoulder as he mourned the loss of his remaining 'family'.
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~Ashuri