Kind of a short chapter so...yeah...well, I wouldn't really call it a chapter, more like a blerb. But anyway,

ENJOI


Ari

Five years later, on my tenth birthday, I graduated the Academy with Saya. It was a relief to be out of that school. Itachi and Shisui both graduated two years before we did and were on their way to becoming fine genin.

Because they were so young when they graduated, instead of being placed in the usual three-man squads, Itachi and Shisui were placed on a team together under the instruction of Fugaku. When Saya and I graduated, and in the same situation, we were placed with those two with the intention that we could train with the boys' help and work as two adjoined squads. Because we had always trained together and all got along so well, it didn't take long for Saya and I to catch up, and we all worked together in one functioning unit.

Unfortunately for Sasuke, thanks to the gifted quartet as we were called, the Third Hokage decided to push the entrance age into the Ninja Academy back to seven-years-old, in hopes of keeping students from graduating at too young of an age.

"Alright, alright, everyone gather round!" Mikoto called out cheerfully as she pulled a large cake out of the refrigerator, "Today's is a very special day for two very special reasons!"

We were all smiles that evening. I sat at the dinner table between Itachi and Saya. On the other side of Itachi sat Sasuke, followed by Fugaku, then Mikoto, then Saya's parents, and then Shisui sat on the other side of Saya.

"Alright, birthday girl, make a wish and blow out the candles!" Mikoto cheered. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. I couldn't think of a good wish right off the bat, so I decided I would put my wish off for later and blew out the candles.

"Congratulations, Ari, you earned it," Ita said, patting my shoulder.

"Hey! Don't forget about me, you turd!" Saya barked from the other side of me.

"Don't sweat it, Saya, Itachi's a gentleman and needed to congratulate his girlfriend first!" Shisui joked back. At that we both turned red and Itachi slammed his hands on the table.

"Shisui!" his voice cracked, "She's sitting closest to me, you idiot!"

At that, Shisui let out a laugh, "That's fine, I get it. Besides, I don't think Ari wants to date a prepubescent teenager whose voice shoots up three octaves when he gets nervous!"

"Hmmmmmgh," Itachi crossed his arms and looked away angrily.

"Shisui, be nice to him!" I scolded, "Your voice cracks too!"

"It does not!" Shisui protested, ironically, his voice cracking even worse than Itachi's. At that everyone laughed.

So then I added, "and besides, Itachi's voice doesn't crack when he's nervous, he just grunts like he's constipated or something!"

"Ugh, Ariiii," Itachi groaned.

"See!" I chimed. Joyous laughs were exchanged at Itachi's and Shisui's expense, but I glanced over at Ita and gave him a big smile. He glared back at me, his face red. I frowned and patted his shoulder, "Oh, come on, I was just poking some fun is all," I whispered.

"Am I really that obnoxious with my grunts?" he asked. I shook my head.

"No," I said, "If you were, I wouldn't be making fun of you for it." I winked and Ita let out a light chuckle. He had such a bright smile...

Behind me, Saya started making kissing noises.

I turned and glared at her and groaned, "Whaaaat?"

"So Itachi, when are you going to ask Ari out on a date?" Saya asked ignoring me.

Itachi jumped, his face turning a deep red, "Hn? Uh, but we're just friends!"

"Uh-huh, suuuure you are," Saya smiled devilishly and winked at me. I glared back at her. I couldn't see what her problem was. She and Shisui had been acting like this for the past week, and I couldn't figure out why.

I guess they just knew what was coming even before Ita and I did.

As the night ended, I bid my goodbyes. Itachi asked me yet again if he could walk me home, but as with every time I left their house I declined his offer. I didn't need an escort. Ever since the night Minato and Kushina died, I had been a frequent guest at the Uchihas (either Itachi's place or Saya and Shisui's. But usually the four of us ended up in the same place anyway) but I still kept a two-room apartment to myself that the village paid for. I didn't want to be a burden, another mouth to feed. I was a fish out of water around the Uchiha family. They came from a relatively wealthy background, a powerful and well-loved clan of the leaf. I came from a family of nomads with no place to call home. And really no particularly close ties with anyone. I didn't want to spoil their family dinner with my presence every night.

Because to my mom, family dinner was the most important part of the day.

"Momma, I'm hungry," I whined. Mother sighed.

"I know sweetheart, but Daddy will be home soon," she said, brushing through my thick hair with her fingers. She grimaced, "Tsk, your hair gets so tangled so easily…"

"But why do we have to wait? He always stays out late," I whined.

"He doesn't stay out that late, honey," Mom cooed, "he does it to protect us. And we wait because dinner is a special time of day where the whole family can sit down together. A time where we can forget our qualms with the world or each other and share about our day and what we learned from our experiences. It's a time where we can truly be ourselves around one another and share our unconditional love for each other."

I peered up at her, confused, "Really?"

She nodded, "Yes, the whole family."

"Even my aunts and uncles?"

"Even them," she said.

My lips quivered slightly. I bet all my cousins had bigger and better family dinners than we had. Because they could actually all sit down together, "then why don't they all have dinner with us, Mommy?"

"Well, sweetie," my mom said, "it's hard to explain. There's a lot of things that go on between families. Disagreements and feuds, and right now we're in one of those with our family, but someday, we'll all be able to sit down at a table together, every single Bijuu, Senju, and Uzumaki, and we'll be able to enjoy one another's company."

I smiled, "that sounds really nice. When will that happen, Mommy?"

Mother shrugged, "I don't know, Ari. But that's my dream. A dream of the perfect family dinner."

I sighed, pulling myself out of old childhood memories. Yeah, the perfect family dinner…I had no place in one of those. Sighing, I placed my hands behind my head and kept walking. I walked past the playground on my way home, and a lone figure caught my eye.

Naruto…that brat teepeed my house yesterday, and then kicked me in the face when I chased after him. I still had a bump on my forehead too!

They say that after the still birth of her son, Kushina was killed along with hundreds of other people when the NineTails, my father, broke through her seal. Among those killed were Naruto's parents, and in pursuit of the Kyuubi Minato came across Naruto in his dead mother's arms and with few options, chose to seal the NineTailed Fox inside the boy with the cost of his life. Well, that's what they say at least.

I, however, know what really happened. Naruto was Kushina and Minato's son, born happy and healthy, but someone broke Kushina's seal and took control of my dad. In their last moments, Kushina and Minato decided to make their son the new Jinchuuriki, entrusting the Kyuubi's powers to that infant boy. Being the only family of the couple, Naruto and I each received half of Kushina and Minato's life savings (though Naruto wasn't told where the money to pay his rent came from) and I got the few belongings from the two that had been salvaged from the disaster. Those belongings were given to me in a large box, a box that sat in the back of my closet for years, forgotten. I couldn't bear to look in that box. I couldn't bear to look at Naruto. As far as I could understand, Kushina and Minato had betrayed me. Aunt Mito and Uncle Hashirama had betrayed me. The world had betrayed me. They sealed my dad and my aunts and uncles away inside people for the sake of exploiting their power.

I stared at Naruto, sitting alone on a swing, staring out at the lake. He was a devilish kid, causing trouble whenever he had the chance. The orphanage only took him in until the day he decided to run away and wreak havoc on innocent villagers, at that time the orphanage decided he could fend for himself. He wasn't worth their time. The Third Hokage used his parents' savings and a little funding from the village to help pay for an apartment where Naruto could stay, just like he did with me.

That kid was such a brat…he caused nothing but trouble. And he was weak. It wouldn't take much for someone to come up behind, slit his throat, and unleash my father.

….

Well, he was alone in this world…no one really liked him…and it would free Daddy…

Silently, I swallowed a lump in my throat and treaded toward the playground. I pulled a kunai out of my weapons pouch and held it behind my back. I walked over to the swing set and stood next to him. As I got a closer look of his profile, I noticed tears and snot running down his face.

"Why are you crying?" I asked. Naruto jumped and looked back at me. He wiped his nose and glared at me.

"Your that lady I kicked yesterday…what do you want?" he asked, his voice bitter and defeated, "if you want to beat me up, go ahead. Actually, just go ahead and kill me! That's what the rest of the village wants anyway!"

My chest felt hollow. This was my chance. I gripped the kunai tightly, ready to pounce. But for whatever reason I opened my mouth instead, "I just wanted to know why you're crying."

At that Naruto froze and glanced up at me, his big blue eyes were filled with fear and sorrow, "You mean…you don't hate me?"

"Now how could I hate you? I haven't even met you yet," I answered. How hypocritical of me. And here I was with a knife behind my back.

"But everyone else does. They say I'm a monster," Naruto spat, turning his gaze towards the lake and glaring at nothing in particular, "but they never give me a chance! They don't even know me. I just feel so alone!"

At that I bit my lip. My shoulders sagged. Slowly, without Naruto noticing, I put my kunai back into my weapons pouch. I walked over and took a seat on the swing next to the boy.

"Trust me, I know exactly how you feel," I sighed. Very few people knew about my dad, and those who did in the higher ups never even made eye contact with me. Even the Third Hokage appeared uneasy around me. And those who didn't know what I was could take one look at me, my thick and tangled auburn hair, my wild icy eyes, my abnormal speed, and my devilish temper, and they knew I was different. The girls at the academy all scorned and wrote me off as a freak. I had no chance of ever truly becoming a part of something. A part of a family. I lost that chance when my mom died.

But Naruto was still human. He may have had a demon sealed inside him, but he was still human, unlike me. He still had a chance. And he deserved it.

A lump formed in the back of my throat and I clutched the chains of the swing. Naruto looked back up at me with hopeful eyes.

"R-really?" Naruto asked, wiping the snot from his nose. Gulping away the tears and any hopes of bringing my dad back I stood up and knelt down in front of Naruto.

I held out my hand, "Hi, I'm Ari," I said, "would you be my friend?"

Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief. He then placed his tiny little hand in mine and said, "I've never had a friend before…"

And in that moment, I swore to myself that I would protect this little boy with my life. I don't know why, but I suddenly felt a deep love that I had never known before. And I also felt deep regret. If Kushina and Minato had lived, I would have called him my little brother, but until that night I only considered him a nuisance. But at the same time, part of me felt guilty for not choosing to free Dad…was this how Kushina felt when she met me?

Naruto hopped off the swing and his stomach growled, pulling me away from my thoughts. We both looked down and he rubbed his head, "Oh, man, I haven't eaten since breakfast!"

"You what?" I asked, scolding him lightly, "Naruto that's not good for you!"

"Well, I don't exactly have parents to make me food or anything!" Naruto complained.

At that I sighed and took his hand again, "then how about you come home with me and I'll make you something."

Naruto looked up at me with the biggest smile, tears bubbled back up in the corners of his eyes, "Really?"

I nodded, "of course!"

Naruto let out a giggle and threw his arms around me, "Thank you! Thank you!"

I sighed and smiled to myself. I finally knew what my birthday wish was:

To have the perfect family dinner.