You always were like this?

I used to think you were a dope, but now I'm not sure who you are. The little boy who used to wear goggles, pull pranks and dream of becoming Hokage, or the tall guy with the devilish look that tortures me nonstop.

The two of you are the same but different in so many ways. It's confusing.

I wonder… Why didn't I pay more attention that day? If I had been more aware, none of this would have happened and, maybe, my life wouldn't be such a mess.

Feeling scared every day is exhausting…

…the pain is burning me…

I'm losing my mind…

And yet—

Another normal day started, or so it seemed.

Kakashi took team seven to the offices for their daily assignment. They'd been together for a while, so working together was starting to be an easy task. Well, not exactly easy, but Kakashi had his ways of making it all work. Even though most of the time was harder than he would wanted.

"Team seven. A cat went missing two days ago, here's the picture," said the man at the desk without even looking them in the eye, while holding with total indifference the photo of a black-furred cat.

"AAAHH! Another cat?!" Naruto complained out loud. "We're ninjas, not pet finders." The boy shrugged his shoulders and sat down on the floor at once, frowning.

Sasuke couldn't believe once again they've got that kind of mission. However, they must accomplish every task given to them, even if it was something ridiculous as that. On the other hand, he loved to go against Naruto. "Shut up, Usuratonkachi. Every mission is important," the boy averted his gaze from his teammate.

Kakashi and Sakura rolled their eyes. No matter how many times they saw these two fighting, it was always either fun or uncomfortable to watch. But, somehow, they were getting used to this kind of show.

Naruto stuck out his tongue. "If you are so responsible, go and find it for yourself," he replied in a shrill voice. Something he did like almost all the time.

Usually Sasuke was used to this kind of response, but somehow he got pretty upset. "Of course, I don't need any help from you or anyone else!" After saying that, Sasuke left on his own. Something was wrong with him, and he was aware of it.

"Naruto! Because of your childish attitude, Sasuke-kun got angry. When are you going to mature?" Sakura walked out shouting her teammate's name.

No matter how many times Naruto saw Sakura running after Sasuke, that uncomfortable pain in his chest reminded him how painful it was to have an unrequited love. "Sakura-chan..."

A couple of hours later. Sasuke was in the woods looking for the cat, and no matter how much he wandered around, the animal appeared nowhere. Sasuke thought Naruto was right to complain. If they continued with these kinds of missions, he would never be able to get stronger, nor would he be able to defeat the man who ruined his life. "Shit..." he clenched his fist and hit a nearby tree with all his strength.

In that very moment, he could hear something moving in the bushes behind him. It wasn't an animal, it was a person, a ninja. A very powerful one. Sasuke stood still, waiting to be confronted by the ninja. Which would happen at any moment. Their bloodlust was strong enough to send a chill down the boy's back. Sasuke got ready to fight whoever it was. Yet, time ran so slowly the wait began to seem eternal, and only thirty seconds had passed. Though something was off. The more he felt the presence, the more familiar it became.

An overwhelming feeling enshrouded Sasuke's body. It was so intense, that tears began to run through his face nonstop.

"I GOT YA!"

That cry took Sasuke by surprise. It was Naruto, who jumped from the top of a tree landing right in front of him.

Naruto smiled proudly as he held a cat over his own head. "I've beaten you, Sasuke. This proves that I'm a better ninja than—" When he realized Sasuke was crying, he felt a rock sinking his stomach all the way to his feet. "Sasuke… are you–" Before Naruto could finish his sentence, a sound coming from the bushes echoed in Sasuke's ears like a thunder.

Sasuke covered Naruto's mouth so quickly, that some of his fingers ended up inside his mouth. "Don't move and keep quiet." The aura emanating from Sasuke was so threatening that Naruto followed his instructions without a second thought.

The two boys were there, standing in the middle of the woods, surrounded by the presence of that stranger. It was suffocating to be there. "You can feel it, can't you?" Sasuke asked as he looked at the bushes in front of them. Naruto could feel it. A powerful gaze that pierced through those bushes right between his eyebrows. It was the first time he wanted to embrace Sasuke. Naruto felt so terrified, he just wanted someone to save him from that evil and monstrous presence.

"What are you doing?"

Kakashi's voice scared the heck out of Naruto. The boy even threw the cat in his sensei's face as he shouted frantically.

"AAAAHHH! We're gonna be killed!"

Sasuke tried to keep his attention on the bushes, but with the interruption the presence faded away. It was as if no one had hidden there in the first place. Still, he knew for sure what he had felt. So, no matter what, he would find out who was there spying on them.

Night fell. Sasuke was back in the woods. Perhaps it was not a good idea to go alone in the dark, but he had to find out what was going on. The boy moved with dexterity, as he knew the woods like the back of his hand. He was kinda anxious. His skin bristled with every step, and a cold sweat covered his forehead time and again. The one hiding during noon was there spotted his presence in a flash. Is that you? The thought of that person looking for him crossed his mind. However, such a thing was impossible.

Hours went by, the moon was high in the starry sky. By then, Sasuke had lost all his energy. Perhaps that presence was only a thing in his mind, not a real person. Maybe being trapped in a horrible past really does leave you with some serious after-effects, and delusions of persecution seemed to add to the list. That's what Sasuke thought with a desolate hollow smile.

The boy made his way home, as nothing unusual appeared in the woods. In order to get there, Sasuke had to walk through all those empty houses, the ones that belonged to his clan. It didn't matter how many years had passed since the incident, he could still see the corpses and blood running at every corner. He tried not to look at any specific place, but the hairs standing on end all over his body made him experience that horrible night all over again. A bloodbath which refused to abandon his mind.

After a few minutes, he got home. A creaking sound from a dilapidated door announced his arrival. "… I'm home..." a smothered sigh came slowly out of his groggy, tired body.

After only a couple of steps, Sasuke wrinkle his nose, just as always. The smell of death that lingered in his house was horrifying, and yet, it had become his only companion. He took off his shoes and walked directly to the room where his parents had been murdered. He sat down on the floor, and looked at the corpses. Actually, there were only clothes placed in the same position as the bodies were years ago. Sasuke himself placed them in their proper position. He hugged his legs, and sank his face between his knees.

"Mom, Dad. I don't want to live any longer," as he said that, the boy clenched his jaw shut, trying to repress everything that weighed him down.

Morning came, and as usual, Sasuke was awake staring at the clothes on the floor. Recalling over and over the moment when he found their dead bodies. Milky white and lifeless eyes, dried up blood, and… the emptiness of what it used to be a home. The culprit, the very hand he longed to reach, took everything he loved away. The only thing that man left him, was an infinite emptiness in his heart. Which he himself dedicated to fill with desires of revenge and hatred.

A chirping sound made him snapped to his senses. Sasuke looked out the window, it was time to get ready and meet with team seven. The boy took a shower, then went to the kitchen, drank a glass of water, and ate an apple he had cut from his own tree. A tree that his mother used to take care of. For that reason, he treasured it like the most precious thing in the whole world. As soon as he finished, he walked to the front door, put on his shoes, and opened the noisy door. "… I'm leaving…"

The day went by as usual. Girls gossiping around him and smiling for who knows what reason. Naruto being a nuisance and, as always, the pain piercing his heart mercilessly. Just a typical day.

"Sasuke-kun, I... I want to know if you want to walk home with me," said Sakura.

Sasuke turned his head towards her. He looked at Sakura with a blank expression, not understanding why she was so interested in him. Either she liked being ignored, or he just became her personal challenge. Because of that, he couldn't take any interest in the girl. "I don't want to. Stop bothering me," he said with harshness.

"Oi, Sasuke, why are you such a jerk?" Naruto took a step between them and looked at him with disdain. "I can't understand why all the girls are so interested in someone like you."

"Those girls are full of themselves, they only think about what they want. They see me as a mere object they want to possess like I have no feelings whatsoever. That's why I don't give a damn about any of them."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "You self-centered bastard!" He wanted to beat up Sasuke. He was tired of his attitude towards Sakura, but before Naruto could do anything, Kakashi grabbed his fist.

"You are free to go today. There is no new mission." After Kakashi said that, he pulled out an envelope that was in one of his pockets.

Naruto's anger at Sasuke disappeared in one fell swoop. The news about not having a mission was much worse for him."What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei? The other teams have new assignments, why not us? Why? Why?" He asked endlessly as usual.

"Slow down. I was talking to Sakura, you two have a mission." Kakashi handed an envelope to Sasuke.

For a couple of days now, on the outskirts of Konoha, some people had reported a stranger wandering around. Since nothing out of the ordinary had happened, they thought that it might be someone not dangerous, but it was best to take precautions. This mission in itself didn't require ninjas of higher rank, as most times, the intruder had only been a homeless person. That's why the genins were in charge of these kind of missions.

The two boys prepared to leave. However, they both were in a pretty bad mood. The trip wasn't the problem, since it wasn't that far away. What bothered them was the fact that they had to work together, as a team.

Once they were ready, Sasuke took the lead. Thanks to his speed, it was an easy task to leave Naruto behind. He wanted to be alone, it wasn't just a desire, it was a necessity. Since the incident in his family, Sasuke became distant. He didn't want to get attached to anyone, no matter what. The burden he carried on his shoulders was so heavy that if he allowed anyone to get close to him, sooner or later, his burden would crush them to ashes. For this reason, he decided to be alone. Still, Naruto kept coming to his mind, and Sasuke hated to be so aware of him.

A rattling coming from behind made Sasuke halted in his tracks. Someone was following him very closely, though his efforts were unsuccessful in locating who it was. Unable to see anything, he decided to close his eyes and use his sense of hearing. Sasuke focused all his attention on the sounds around him. At that moment, he could even hear the sound of ants climbing a nearby tree.

"This time, you will be mine."

The boy opened his eyes, pulled out a kunai, and activated his sharingan. Nothing was around. His body stiffened so much that all his muscles became sore. The tension he experienced drove him into a state of alertness so deep, he ended up becoming a beast waiting to attack.

"Sasu—" At the sound of that voice, Sasuke threw himself in rage against the person who tried to pronounce his name. But once he saw that it was Naruto, he managed to come to his senses.

Naruto stood up as he dusted off his clothes. "What's wrong with you?!"

Sasuke walked away from him, clenching his kunai in an attempt to recover. The voice he heard before was Naruto's, only the pitch was a little different. Even so, he couldn't tell if Naruto uttered those words, or if it was a figment of his imagination.

Trying not to dwell on what had happened, both boys arrived at the designated point. As soon as they got there, they contacted the leader of the region. The man explained in great detail what had happened. It seemed that things were slightly more complicated than they thought. For that reason, Sasuke couldn't help but thought about the presence he felt in the woods. Was it safe to carry on with the mission? Maybe the best thing to do would be...

"Oi! Wake up, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted in front of him while waving his arms. "Really, what's wrong with you? The old man told us to start there."

The place they were sent to was completely desolate. There were some houses in ruins, even grass was growing on the eroded walls. Sasuke looked at every corner with the utmost care. He felt that something was terribly wrong, as the danger emanating from that place was almost tangible. Someone was there. Someone powerful and threatening. A chill pierced his skin. The boy couldn't control himself. His skin was burning, and his heart thumped all over his body. Without caring about anything else but his life, Sasuke decided to quit the mission.

"Naruto, we have to—" When he turned around to look for his teammate, he almost fainted from the shock.

In front of him was someone who looked exactly like Naruto, but older. The man was carrying the younger Naruto, who was unconscious, as if he were a sack of potatoes.

"Hi! . ."

The older Naruto smiled broadly. A pair of small fangs peeked out from the corners of his lips. That smile was sinister, obscure, something about it looked inhuman. Sasuke's heart leapt up into his throat, panic swept over him. He tried to suppress a shiver, but to no avail. His legs wobbled in fear causing him to end up on the ground, trembling on a puddle of his own urine.

The man approached him, slowly, marking strongly his every step. Imprinting the sounds of his presence in the boy's mind.

"Your face full of dread always turns me on." After saying that, Naruto slowly licked his lips.