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A few days after the Previous Chapter…
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Naruto was sitting by himself on a bridge, resting after recently escaping the vigilant eyes of his 'carer'. Having planned to escape from Kakashi for several days now, Naruto had put his plan into motion earlier that morning, and was now happily by himself.
The peace and quiet of Konoha was surprising, especially with such a heavily populated village. However, that was the joy of the village. Although there are many shinobi and clans within the village, there are much more ordinary individuals which live and go about their business without even considering a shinobi life-style. This meant a lot of the villagers stayed close to the centre, rarely wandering out of the market streets and instead clinging together in tight-knit groups in the heart of the city.
Regardless though, Naruto enjoyed the quiet that the shinobi world gave you. Being able to sit and watch the leaves fall, and float down the river? It beat reading another comic book, or running around town again by himself.
Sometimes, Naruto just felt the need to sit. To acknowledge reality. Sasuke had been right about one thing, and that's that Naruto had no friends. Sure, things could be worse he supposed silently, but sadly Naruto couldn't think of an example, so he just remained aware of his loneliness.
Not matter what Kakashi and Minato said, the pain still burned with a dull ache. Not enough to leave him bedridden, but just enough to be a constant, every day normality.
Naruto continued to stare down at the leaves drifting beneath him, under the bridge and on to who-knows-where the river flows. A blank, yet sad expression was engraved on his face, and though his features didn't move, the movement of his eyes betrayed his thoughts. He was alone.
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Sasuke Uchiha, a young black-haired boy, walked down the very same river. His brother, Itachi, had gone off on a mission and had left him behind, and in his anger Sasuke had begun walking around the village in hopes of calming himself down. It'd do no good to act so emotional and weak in front of his father.
Sasuke barely acknowledged his surroundings, and was just vaguely aware of the river flowing beside him, aside from the gentle sound of running water filling his ears. Growing bored of looking at his feet, Sasuke raised his head to look around and observe where he was, which is when he noticed a signature blonde-haired boy just down the river sitting on the old bridge.
Expression morphing into a smirk, Sasuke called out:
"Oi! Dobe, what are you doing?"
"Huh?" Was Naruto's first reply, before lifting his head and spotting Sasuke down the street. Giving a grumpy pout, Naruto shouted back, irritably:
"What do you want, Sas'ke?" Naruto shouted, though a small smirk grew when he saw Sasuke glare at the butchering of his name.
"Oh nothing. I was just wandering why you were outside. Shouldn't you be hiding in your dad's office or something?"
"Hey, at least my dad has an office! You Uchiha must be some kind of joke"
"You-! The Uchiha are an old clan of the village! We protect the villagers!"
"Oh yeah? Then what do all the other shinobi do?! You're not so special"
"You don't know anything, Dode! I'm from a clan, you're nobody!"
"Nuh-uh. My mum's from the Uzumaki Clan, and so am I!"
"So? I don't know any other 'Uzumakis' "
"Well, maybe you're the stupid one, not me!"
Forgoing their argument, the two boys engaged in a glaring battle instead. After a couple of minutes, Sasuke just gave a single laugh before smirking again.
"Hmph. It doesn't matter. I'm better than you in every single way, and people like me"
Sasuke said, before walking off smugly down the street. Naruto watched him leave with a growl evident in his throat, before huffing and looking back down at the water.
"Yeah, Kami knows why. They think you're so sweet; they don't see the real you"
Naruto's voice wasn't heard by anyone, and instead hung in the air, like a troubled apparition unable to depart.
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A few hours later, at the Namikaze's
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"NARUTO!"
"…Yes?"
"Where were you?!"
"Umm…"
Naruto had just returned home after wandering the village for a couple of hours, and now he stood face to face with his 'concerned' carer. Kakashi Hatake rarely lost his temper, nor did he ever allowed panic to show on his face, but today was a rare exception.
"Naruto-" The adult growled in warning.
"I was out for a walk" Was the blonde's quick but mumbled reply.
"… A walk?"
"Yes"
Silence passed for a few moments with Kakashi staring down at the youngster sceptically, whilst Naruto found his interested attached to the floor.
"… Kak-shi?"
"KA-KA-SHI!" Naruto flinched at the volume and took a few shuffled steps back.
"Um… I'm just gonna go now-"
"YOU. Are not. Going. ANYWHERE!"
If anyone was walking past the Namikaze's, they'd hear the rushing of feet, alongside several bangs and clatters as Naruto ran from Kakashi.
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Meanwhile, at the Uchiha's.
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"Hey Itachi!" Sasuke shouted, his words echoing through the house.
"Oh, hello Sasuke" The teenager responded, smiling down at his brother as he set his shoes to the side.
"You ditched me today!"
"Brother, you couldn't come on my mission-"
"Why not?" Sasuke cut off, tone becoming angrier.
"Sasuke" Sasuke's vision became downcast as he pouted, puffing his cheeks out grumpily.
Itachi scoffed at his younger brother's behaviour, before giving him a playful shove and stepping around him to get into the house. Seemingly his brother had other ideas, as he grabbed on to Itachi's leg and refused to let go, causing Itachi to nearly fall over.
After a few stumbles Itachi tripped over his feet and fell down much to Sasuke's delight. With a cheeky laugh, Sasuke disappeared before his mother or father could come to reprimand him, leaving Itachi to his dues. Smiling at Sasuke's antics, Itachi waved off his mother who'd popped her head around the corner, curious as to the ruckus. Getting up from his fallen position, the teen excused himself to have a shower and plot against his brother.
Around twenty minutes later:
"Sasuke"
"NO!"
"Come on, Sasuke" Itachi nearly sang through the door, his teasing mood fully intone.
"I don't trust you!"
"A wise decision. Allow me to fix that" With an evil grin, Itachi forced the door open and moved to torment his brother, who was currently hiding from him.
The sounds of laughter (from Itachi), screams of torment (from Sasuke) and tumbling over could be heard by Mikoto and Fugaku, who were seated downstairs enjoying a cup of tea.
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Author's Note:
Woooh! Sorry this took so long! I've been working on other projects, and I've been putting off this update because of it. With that in mind, as I have these other projects going on, I'm going to be putting this story on temporary hiatus. Sorry guys, but I'll try to update again as soon as possible!
Anyway, please fav and review if you like everything so far!
Thanks for reading!
Naruto & Sasuke – 6 years old
Iruka – 16 years old
Kakashi & Gai – 20 years old
Minato, Kushina & Shikaku – 30 years old
Mikoto – 35 years old
Fugaku – 40 years old