Of all the things Sasuke could have done in his miserable state of mind, he had to go out and get himself a rival.

If you asked him, he would have said that it was all Naruto's fault.

And he would never ever admit that the rivalry was his salvation.

He had been sitting on the shoreline, abnormally close to the water's edge, gazing dully at his own reflection. The sunset flared a beautiful pattern of reddish hues in the sky, which was echoed by the water's surface. Sasuke spent his days gazing at the lake, brooding, sulking, wallowing in his misery. Never once did he appreciate the beauty of nature, too caught up in his own unhappiness. Yet…he was also content. In a twisted way. At least the old man finally allowed him to venture outside the Uchiha compound without at least ten ANBU guards stationed around him at all times. If Sasuke was getting tired of them, they must be getting plenty tired of him. Not that ANBU would complain, of course.

His brother never did.

And now, he was choking back a sob that threatened to rise out of his throat. Stupid thoughts. They always seemed to venture back into the front of his mind when he was so at peace.

He was fairly certain that the Hokage had sent some disguised ANBU to trail him, despite his outward leniency. There was that one time a shopkeeper had tried to stab him with a giant katana – what kind of shopkeeper owned a katana anyways?! And what kind of a random bystander would have the speed and skill to recognize the killer intent and intercept it with their own freakishly long sword? That purple-haired lady that saved his neck had been an ANBU, he was certain. Even disguised as a civilian, Yugao was unquestionably an identifiable figure.

Besides, civilians didn't kill shopkeepers.

Sasuke smiled faintly. The lady had told him to watch his back. "These are people who are after your life, Sasuke," she had warned, before departing the store with the dead body slung over her shoulder.

"Why?" he had asked, a sense of callous joy coursing through his veins. So he wasn't the only one that wanted himself dead. There were others too. Such a pity the Hokage was bent on keeping him alive.

"When you are older, perhaps…it will be wiser to tell you then."

Sasuke gazed at the sparkling surface of the water, his eyes slowly closing. He knew that if he fell into the lake, someone would catch him. There always was. And if there was no one…then that suited him just fine.

That was when he sensed his presence. It first struck him as odd. The ANBU were skilled shinobi, expert at concealing themselves, they could even hide their chakra signatures. At least, from an eight-year-old kid who couldn't even dream of being a sensor specialist. So why then, could he sense someone's chakra nearby? Surely it wasn't an ANBU member slipping up in his defences. So naturally, Sasuke turned his head. He was an inquisitive child after all.

That kid. It was that annoying one from the Academy walking home from the direction of the playground. He recognized his yellow-blond hair, his bright blue eyes, and his hideous orange attire. He was the same as ever, as irritating to look at as ever. But something was wrong. Something was definitely missing.

His smile.

Because Sasuke had never seen him without that huge, silly grin of his before. It was what annoyed him the most about the kid, that smile. Because what was there to be happy about? He, like him, had no family. He, like him, had lost everything on one, fateful night. So why smile? Sasuke spent his days with a frown fixed firmly to his face like it was glued there.

Naruto made a face at him. Sasuke mirrored it with equal disgust and humph'd, turning to face the water once more.

That kid. Sasuke had heard whispers and rumours that he was all alone. He had always been alone. His parents had been killed in the nine-tails' attack on the village, he had heard. So…he was lonelier than he. But why then…why was he so happy?

Sasuke resolved to find out.

-:-

And he would never understand Naruto. That much he was certain.

"You dobe," Sasuke muttered angrily, pinning Naruto down with ease as the latter struggled to free himself, cursing under his breath. "Why do you insist on sparring with me when you know you'll lose?"

The girls on the sidelines cheered in that annoying fashion of theirs, and Sasuke resisted the urge to shut them up in person.

"Because…" Naruto gasped, trying to push Sasuke away to no avail. "I don't go back on my word. I won't lose to you…every time…just you wait."

Sasuke resisted the urge to shut him up as well.

He stood up, dusted himself off, and walked away haughtily. He left Naruto there, still lying frozen on the ground. He could hear the girls squealing in the distance. But in his ears, he heard Naruto's voice.

"I won't lose to you…every time…just you wait."

Sasuke spun around to face him again, his dark eyes filling with resentment.

"You'll never beat me," he informed Naruto calmly.

It was the first time he had felt anything other than sadness and self-pity.

-:-

"Hn."

"I will beat you-ttebayo!"

"Hn."

Naruto glared at him. The intensity of his gaze wasn't so much anger as it was jealousy. Sasuke glared back venomously out of sheer habit.

"Why don't you say something else, teme?"

"Hn."

Naruto's glare, not matter how threatening, didn't affect him. Sasuke much preferred a scowl over a ridiculously large smile. He was beginning to enjoy their rivalry, because it meant there was someone paying attention to him in a way that wasn't overprotective or murderous. Naruto was just…resentful. And for some odd reason, it made him happy. He found few reasons to be happy these days. It had been…difficult.

There had been more attempted assassinations over the weeks, growing more and more frequent and preposterous. It was as if the one behind it all was running out of funds to hire experienced shinobi to take his life.

The ANBU guards that always seemed to be lurking just out of observable distance always protected him, much to his annoyance. Initially, there had been incidents of samurai warriors who happened to be strolling around the Uchiha compound, minding their own business. Right. Then there were a couple leaf shinobi, which shocked both Sasuke and his ANBU guards. But nowadays, his attackers were ridiculously unprepared. They were armed with weapons, but they seemed incapable of using them. Worst of all, the ANBU insisted on defending him.

"Like I ever asked for your help!" Sasuke had shouted, his temper rising.

The lead ANBU had turned to him and smiled wryly. "The least you can do is thank us."

Then they had proceeded to incapacitate the assailant, while Sasuke watched in annoyance, his hand still on the kunai in his pocket. The Hokage should stop being so paranoid. Sasuke could take care of himself.

"Why?" he had demanded.

"Because Hokage-sama –"

"No," Sasuke had shaken his head and clenched his fists. "I meant, why are these people after my life?'

She had stared at him dispassionately. "I've told you once before. It would be better if you were older."

"But I'm not a child anymore!" Sasuke had yelled. He was sick of the pretences, sick of no one telling him what was going on. The ANBU had then left without saying another word.

The rivalry with Naruto took his mind off his anger and frustration. He could vent his rage through their pointless battles. He didn't know why the dobe insisted on fighting even though he always lost. But no matter. Deep down, he was happy to do something to take his mind off his misery.

Slowly, the hatred and rage in his eyes faded ever so slightly. The only person that ever noticed was neither himself nor Naruto. It was the one watching him in the shadows, plotting Sasuke's death from a distance.

Danzo.

And from the information he recovered from his dwindling quality of assassins and reconnaissance specialists, he confirmed that it was really that demon fox, that Uzumaki kid who was foiling his plans. Oh, the ANBU could protect the Uchiha brat all they wanted. But in the end, Sasuke's anger would be his undoing. He could see that the child had lost the will to live. In due time, he would allow him to find out that Itachi had been the one who killed his family, and that his traitor of a brother was still alive. He needn't know that Danzo was the one behind all this, of course. That would ruin his plans. Sasuke's hatred would ultimately kill him. It was an ingenious, flawless arrangement. Sasuke would be fuelled by vengeance just as Itachi had previously wanted. The brothers would fight to the death, and the Uchiha clan would be out of the way. Forever. He was impressed with his own intelligence.

Curse Sarutobi to the depths of hell. The old man insisted on protecting the Uchiha, what foolishness. Sasuke needed time to fester his anger, so in a way, the Hokage had done him a favour by keeping him clueless. Danzo would be able to feed the Uchiha just the right amount of truth to break him. He felt like a genius, except...that one thing he had not counted on.

Uzumaki Naruto.

But he had figured it out, so early on in the game. The brat was taking Sasuke's mind off his self-loathing, pain, and anger. And he couldn't have that. So of course, he would do what he did best. It had always worked in the past, after all. All he needed was to remind himself of the Uchiha Massacre which had been such a glorious success. He would eliminate that demon fox once and for all. Konoha would be happy to see him dead. And Sasuke would finally focus on revenge. He would send out his best assassins to do the job.

It was time to kill Naruto.

This chapter was seriously so much fun to write. Especially the dark, Danzo-esque ending. Honestly I wasn't originally planning it, but I kind of made him out as the bad guy. So most likely, I'll stick to that. Lots of foreshadowing, hehe. Let me know what you think!