Destined to Meet-For Real

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Sasuke charged forward and yanked Little Blondie behind him. Like a bristling tiger cub, he bared his teeth. "Why are you bullying him?!"

"Hey! Where'd you come from, little Ghost? We're driving off the Fox Demon. What's it to you?!"

"Move! Or we'll give you an earful too!"

"Yeah, exactly!"

The crowd around Sasuke and Little Blondie grew denser.

Sasuke took two steps back.

His little face went pale. Putting on a brave front, he formed a hand seal. "There's no Fox Demon here! Move! I'm a ninja, and if you don't get out of my way, I'll use ninjutsu!"

"Ninjutsu?"

The crowd froze, then burst out laughing. "Little Ghost, you're barely out of diapers. You expect us to believe you're a ninja? Who are you trying to fool?"

Sasuke's face flushed bright red. "I mean it! If you don't move, I'll burn you!"

"Come on, then! Do it!"

"Hahahaha—"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Whoa, look! He's really going to use ninjutsu! Run, everyone! He's going to kill us!" Seeing Sasuke form hand seals with practiced confidence, the onlookers scrambled to flee.

But—

Pfft.

Sasuke stared at the thin wisp of black smoke that came out of his mouth. Panic crossed his face. Why did it have to fail now?!

Damn it!

Usually,

It only failed once or twice out of ten tries!

Sasuke grew more flustered. He hurriedly tried to form the seals again, but a ninja had to keep a calm mind to control Chakra.

His thoughts were a tangled mess. How could he possibly channel his Chakra properly, let alone succeed with Mu?

Pfft—

Another little wisp of black smoke escaped.

The crowd stopped running and pointed at Sasuke, laughing.

"Hahaha! This little Ghost calls himself a ninja? Even if he's at the Ninja Academy, I bet he's dead last!"

"What a joke!"

"And he thought he could protect the Fox Demon with that?!"

"Whose kid is this?"

Sasuke shouted, "I... I'm from the Uchiha Clan!"

"U... Uchiha?"

Fear spread across their faces. Every taunt died at once, and they looked at Sasuke with newfound unease.

One villager pointed at the emblem on the back of Sasuke's clothes and stammered, "H-hey! Look! It really is the Uchiha crest!"

The crowd erupted in alarm.

Here's my chance!

Sasuke's eyes lit up.

He grabbed the cold little hand behind him. "Stay close... Run!"

Thud!

Catching him off guard, Sasuke knocked an adult over with a hard headbutt and sprinted toward the end of the street.

"Huff—huff—huff!"

After running for a long while, Sasuke stopped and bent over, bracing his hands on his knees as he gasped for Ki.

"We... we lost them!"

A hint of delight appeared on his face.

But when he looked up, he froze. He stood in a grassy clearing beside a stream, with a lush, towering forest stretching out to Hikari's horizon.

He had never seen this place before!

"Where... are we?"

Little Blondie, just as breathless with Ki, lay on the grass and answered listlessly, "This is where I usually come to catch fish..."

"Catch fish?"

Sasuke turned, puzzled.

Then he saw Little Blondie lying there with a look of utter despair, with Mu left to live for.

Sasuke's Ki flared.

"Hey, you little Ghost! I saved you. Aren't you even going to thank me?"

Little Blondie bristled instantly. He scrambled to his feet and glared at Sasuke. "Who are you calling a little Ghost? You're the little brat! I'm going to be the man who becomes Hokage when I grow up!"

"Ha!"

Sasuke was so Ki he laughed. "You? A bunch of ordinary people—not even ninjas—surrounded you and picked on you, and you couldn't say a word or fight back!"

"And you've got the nerve to say you'll be Hokage?!"

"Y-you... you!"

Little Blondie's face turned red with Ki. He stammered, "I just didn't want to argue with them! Big Brother said that as long as I don't think I'm some Fox Demon, they can say whatever they want!"

"Huh?" Sasuke planted his hands on his hips, utterly confused. He had no idea what this guy was talking about. What even was a Fox Demon?

With that,

Little Blondie pouted.

He sat down on the grass, dejected and Ki-less. "But... I only wanted to buy some Milk. I had money, but they wouldn't sell me any."

Sasuke frowned and sat beside him. After glancing at how filthy he was, Sasuke quietly edged away.

"Why do they call you a Fox Demon?"

Sasuke looked at him curiously. "Don't you have a name?"

The blond boy jerked his head up, his face full of pride. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Uzumaki?"

Sasuke lowered his head and murmured, "Is there a clan like that in the village? So he's a commoner..."

"Hey! Are you really an Uchiha? What's your name?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, propped himself up with both hands on the grass, and looked at the sky. "I'm Sasuke Uchiha."

Naruto's eyes sparkled. "Huh?! Then do you know this really handsome, gentle big brother? He carries a sword at his waist, and his hair..."

"It comes down to here!"

Naruto pointed to his earlobe.

"He's always smiling with his eyes narrowed, and being around him just feels nice. He said he's an Uchiha too, and a Jonin!"

As Sasuke listened, his brow slowly furrowed. "You've met him? How do you know him?"

"Ha! Big Brother's the second kindest person I know!"

For some reason, irritation welled up in Sasuke. "Nonsense! He... he's my brother! How come he's never mentioned you to me?"

"...Your brother?"

Naruto looked envious, his voice falling. "So Big Brother is your brother. You have a brother... That must be nice."

"Y-you don't have a brother?"

Sasuke turned his head away, deliberately avoiding Naruto's face. He was afraid Naruto would see through his lie.

"No..."

Huh?

Only then did Sasuke realize something was wrong. He asked tentatively, "Then what about your family? They just stand by while those people bully you?"

Naruto scratched his head. "I... I don't have any family!"

Sasuke was stunned. "How can someone not have a family? That's so strange. What about your mom and dad?"

"I don't know..."

Naruto scratched his cheek. "I've lived alone for as long as I can remember. I've never met my mom or dad. Only Hokage Grandpa comes to see me sometimes."

Warming to the subject, Naruto said happily, "You know, Hokage Grandpa was the first person who was nice to me!"

"The... Hokage?"

Sasuke stared at him, dumbfounded. "If the Hokage treats you well, why is everyone in the village so hostile to you? That doesn't make sense."

"Are you lying?"

"Huh?!"

Naruto froze. It seemed this was the first time the question had occurred to him. "Wait... did Grandpa lie to me?"

"Ah, forget about that! Sasuke, can you tell me your brother's name? I forgot to ask him before he left that day!"

Sasuke's gaze darted away. "He... his name's Shinji Uchiha!"

"Ha! Thanks, Sasuke!"

Sasuke's mouth twitched.

He turned to look at the carefree little Ghost grinning foolishly beside him. For some reason, his heart felt heavy, as though a huge rock were pressing on it.

His life is so miserable. How can he be this happy?

"Don't you... think your life is sad?" After hesitating for a while, Sasuke asked anyway.

"Sad?"

Naruto scratched his hair. "Why would it be? There are lots of things I can play by myself. It's just... I'm the only one playing, hehe!"

Sasuke paused. "You don't have any friends?"

"No..."

Naruto gave an embarrassed smile. "Because I'm the Fox Demon! Nobody likes me, so nobody wants to be my friend."

Sasuke was stunned.

As the son of the Uchiha Clan's former head, he had grown up with every comfort, never having to lift a finger.

He simply couldn't imagine it, Mu and all.

A child without a large clan, without parents or a brother who loved him, without family or friends.

How could anyone live all alone like that?

And still... be happy!

Just imagining it sent a shiver through Sasuke.

"Then... do you want to be friends with me?"

"Huh?!"

Naruto sprang up in shock and stared at Sasuke. "Huh—what?!"