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Sasuke’s head rests on Naruto’s lap as they sit on the dilapidated pier over-looking the Nara Lake, with Naruto’s fingers playing with the black strands of Sasuke’s hair. “Hey, Sasuke.”
“Hmm?” Sasuke sounds sleepy, and there’s still road dust clinging to his cloak—he returned only a while ago, and they immediately came here to rest for a while. To be completely alone.
“Do you still remember? How we became friends?” Naruto has been thinking it a lot recently, about the days before the formation of team seven. “Before we were even placed in the same team?”
Sasuke cracks open his mismatched eyes and smiles softly. “Of course I do. I wouldn’t forget.”
“Good. That’s good. Because I think it saved us both. That we became friends so early.”
“Yeah…”
The pier is so familiar to Sasuke by now.
Just a few months ago, he spent all his afternoons here, working on his jutsu, hoping to impress his father. Now, he comes here, sits on the edge and looks into the water.
Thinking everything and nothing.
Even though he’s just eight, he knows grief. He knows that this is what ninjas have to deal with.
But it does feel overwhelming, especially like this.
There has been a dull ache in Sasuke’s heart ever since he woke up in the hospital and remembered what had happened. That there’s no one left.
No Mom and Dad. No Auntie and Uncle. No Shisui.
No… Itachi.
Sasuke grits his teeth. Mixed with the terrible, crushing grief is also rage, hatred burning so bright it’s eating him away. He remembers his big brother’s face, his cruel eyes, the way he hadn’t bothered to kill him.
Because Sasuke is just so weak. Pathetic. A disgrace for an Uchiha.
He hears the stairs creak behind him, but he doesn’t turn to look. He knows who it is.
He doesn’t know why, though. He just does.
Soon, Naruto sits beside him, shyly, and pushes a bento box in his direction. “You don’t eat,” he says quietly. “You can’t be a strong ninja if you don’t eat.”
Sasuke glances at him. Naruto is dirty all over, blond hair an absolute mess. The bento box, though, is pristine and clearly fresh from the convenience store. There’s even a bottle of water and a pair of chopsticks with it.
“I don’t have Mom or Dad either,” Naruto mumbles and looks away. “But I just know yours would want… someone to look after you.”
“You’re just a kid,” Sasuke snaps, all his defenses shooting up at the mention of his parents. He wants to lash out, to scream that Naruto understands nothing of his pain.
Maybe he doesn’t, not the exact pain he has, but they’re both alone. Naruto has always been alone. He knows it’s hell.
And while Sasuke knows that he needs to get stronger and that he doesn’t have time for friendships, something about Naruto makes him pause.
Would it be that bad, after all? To share this with someone else? To share the burden?
He swallows and takes the bento slowly. “You’re not eating?”
“I already did,” Naruto says brightly. “That’s for you. I used the last of my allowance for that, but it’s okay—I still have instant ramen left.”
Sasuke frowns at him. “You can’t live on instant ramen.”
Naruto shrugs. “No one cares to teach me how to cook. I don’t have a lot of options. Most of the stores also refuse to sell to me.”
Sasuke has almost opened the box when he freezes. “What? Why?”
“I dunno. A lot of people do that,” Naruto says and scrunches up his face. “People just… hate me. I have no idea why. You see it at the Academy, too, right?”
“I do,” Sasuke says slowly. He doesn’t understand, though. Itachi even told him to be friends with Naruto. What does this boy have that everyone else just hates him?
Sure, Naruto is loud and brash, but he’s not… threatening in anyway. He pulls stupid stunts constantly because he wants people to notice him. Even if it’s in more negative light.
Sasuke has just always admired him about that—his freedom, how he just does thing without restraint.
Sasuke wants to be like that, too.
“Hey, Sasuke,” Naruto says as Sasuke starts to eat.
“Yeah?”
“Someone… killed them all, right?”
Sasuke’s heart jumps in his throat and the agony tears through him again. His parents dead on the floor, so much blood—
“Yeah,” he rasps and almost throws up the food he managed to push in his mouth, but he forces himself to continue eating. He wouldn’t let Naruto’s money go to waste. “Why?”
“You want revenge, right?” Naruto says. “I would, too, if it happened to me. I’m just saying, let me help. We can get strong together. And then we can beat their ass and get justice. What do you say?”
“I—” Sasuke swallows the rice. “He’s very strong.”
Naruto grins. “We can get stronger than him. You’re already so good at everything! I’m sure we could be super strong together!”
“I don’t—” Sasuke starts heatedly, but then he grits his teeth and turns away. His tummy grumbles with hunger so for a moment, he just focuses on eating and ignoring the annoying, bright boy beside him.
“You don’t need to carry all that stuff alone, y’know,” Naruto says after a short silence. “Iruka-sensei always says that ninjas need to work together, remember?”
Sasuke snorts despite himself. “How do you know anything he says when you sleep through all classes?”
“He made me write about teamwork,” Naruto mutters furiously. “That one time when I refused to team up with you when we were supposed to have a practice match against Shikamaru and Choji.”
“Oh, that.” Sasuke remembers. It had been just shortly before… that night. Sasuke hadn’t been forced to write anything because even though he had been annoyed by Naruto, he’d been curious about him, too. Curious to see how they would fight as teammates.
Another silence. Sasuke eats slowly, but leaves a part of it uneaten before pushing the box back to Naruto. “The one who killed my clan was my older brother. Itachi. He’s the one of the strongest ninja alive. If we want to beat him, we need to be more than super strong.”
Naruto takes the bento and grins again. “Oh, we will!”
They become best friends after that day.
“We did get really strong like that, didn’t we, Sasuke?” Naruto looks at Sasuke’s beautiful face, brushes his cheek with his fingers.
“Yeah. We did.”
Sometimes, it’s still not easy. Naruto still has nightmares about the night Sasuke tried to leave, when they fought, how Naruto screamed his voice hoarse.
“Do you ever wonder… how things would’ve been different if Orochimaru had trained you?” Naruto asks carefully.
Sasuke moves his head to meet Naruto’s eyes. “Sometimes,” he admits. Then he sighs. “But I didn’t need him. We got strong enough on our own. I thought it was my burden alone, but you fighting beside me… There’s no better feeling than that.”
Naruto laughs and leans down to kiss him. The angle is a little awkward, but they manage.
“I’m glad,” Naruto whispers, blinks tears from his eyes. “It’s all okay now.”
Sasuke smiles sleepily. “Yeah.”