Naruto and Sasuke

"Sis! Someone's following you!"

"Huh? Oh, you mean... Naruto?"

Chinatsu was a little surprised, though not because Naruto was following her. She was surprised by how sharp Sasuke's eyes were.

That made sense. Even a one-tomoe Sharingan had that much perceptive ability.

"Naruto?"

Sasuke frowned slightly and muttered the name. He had heard it before. Wasn't that the Son of the Fox Demon... didn't that make him really dangerous?!

Seeing Sasuke's expression change, Chinatsu immediately knew he had jumped to conclusions. She rested a hand on his head and explained with a smile, "It's not what you think. He isn't dangerous, and he doesn't mean any harm."

With that, Chinatsu turned toward Naruto, who was timidly hiding behind something in the distance, and raised her arm to wave him over.

Naruto froze, then instinctively pointed a finger at himself. After a moment's hesitation, he emerged from his hiding place and walked toward Chinatsu one step at a time, hesitant and uneasy.

"Sis, what are you doing? He's the Demon Fox's Child."

"The demon fox, huh... looks like I'll have to teach you about this before I teach you ninjutsu." After saying that, Chinatsu added something else in her mind.

I might be third-rate at teaching you ninjutsu, but when it comes to explaining Naruto's plot, I'm beyond first-rate!

Although Sasuke was a little unhappy, he still listened to Chinatsu and stayed where he was. His puffed-out cheeks, however, made his feelings perfectly clear.

Naruto hesitantly approached Chinatsu and Sasuke, his gaze darting from side to side. Finally, he forced a grin and said, "I wasn't following you, miss. My house is this way too..."

"Want to come inside for a bit?"

"Huh?"

"I said, want to come inside for a bit, Naruto?" Chinatsu kept the disgruntled little Sasuke in check with one hand while pointing her other thumb back toward her home, the Uchiha Residence.

Naruto and Sasuke both looked surprised. But with Chinatsu's hand holding him down, Sasuke could only puff his cheeks out even farther to show his displeasure.

Naruto, meanwhile, looked more uncertain than ever. It was the first time anyone had invited him into their home...

"Can I really... come in?"

"Of course. You're very welcome."

Chinatsu held out her right hand to Naruto. His eyes wavered. He desperately wanted to accept her offered hand, but in the end, he still couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Not today. I really have something to do. Next time, next time!"

Naruto pressed his lips together, then lowered his head and walked past Chinatsu, heading off in what was clearly the opposite direction from his home.

Watching Naruto walk away, Chinatsu sighed helplessly. He clearly wanted someone to notice him, to care about him, yet he became so shy whenever someone reached out.

It was just like that scene in the original story. After the Uchiha clan was massacred, Sasuke sat alone by the river while Naruto passed nearby with his hands in his pockets.

The two boys, alike yet different, were both drawn to each other, but neither managed to walk over and say hello.

Not Naruto, and not Sasuke either.

Well, there's still time. I'll look for another opportunity later.

Chinatsu wasn't discouraged. She gently patted Sasuke's head. With his cheeks still puffed out, he reached up with both hands and caught hers. "Stop patting me like that. I'll never grow tall."

"Grow tall? Haha, you're not at that stage yet. Don't worry. You'll be very tall someday."

Chinatsu smiled softly and took Sasuke back into the Uchiha Residence. Setting ninjutsu practice aside for now, she gave him a remedial lesson in "history."

"Sasuke, you really don't like Naruto, do you?"

"He's the Demon Fox's Child... all the adults say he's dangerous."

Sasuke answered with a pout. Chinatsu didn't blame him. After all, that was how the village treated Naruto. Only a handful of people in the upper ranks knew he was the Fourth Hokage's son. Most people believed Naruto was the incarnation of the "demon fox."

Chinatsu sighed, planted a hand on her hip, and became a "teacher" on the spot to give Sasuke his lesson.

"Sasuke, Naruto isn't the Demon Fox's Child. To be precise, there's no such thing as a demon fox. That's a tailed beast—the Nine-Tails."

"A tailed beast?"

Sasuke blinked blankly. It was the first time he had heard of such a thing.

There were nine tailed beasts in the world, each possessing power that even ordinary Kage-level fighters would struggle to contend with.

The One-Tail, Shukaku.

The Two-Tails, Matatabi.

The Three-Tails, Isobu.

The Four-Tails, Son Goku.

The Five-Tails, Kokuō.

The Six-Tails, Saiken.

The Seven-Tails, Chōmei.

The Eight-Tails, Gyuki.

The Nine-Tails, Kurama.

"Sealed inside Naruto is the Nine-Tails, who once wreaked havoc in Konoha. And Naruto's father... was the Fourth Hokage."

"What?!"

Sasuke instantly lost his composure, his eyes wavering. He truly hadn't expected Naruto's background to be anything like that.

His parents had died, and the village despised him. The hero's son had become the Son of the Fox Demon. What should have been a happy life had hit rock bottom.

"He's a little like me..."

Sasuke lowered his head and lightly bit his lip.

"Now that you've heard all that, what do you think?" Chinatsu asked, one hand on her hip as she watched Sasuke hang his head.

"I feel... ashamed. I shouldn't have been prejudiced."

Sasuke felt ashamed of his earlier opinion of Naruto and the way he had treated him. He hated other people's rumors more than anything, yet he had ended up believing those very rumors himself.

Seeing Sasuke reflect on his actions, Chinatsu suddenly felt the same pride a mother might feel upon seeing her son grow up.

Though she wasn't his mother, just his older sister.

Meanwhile, Naruto jogged back to his little home.

At a glance, Naruto's little home was shabby and run-down. Aside from a few bare necessities, there was nothing else.

The refrigerator was especially empty, holding only a few small cups of instant noodles and a large bottle of cheap milk bought on sale, the kind that was nearly expired.

Naruto hurried over to his bed and flopped down with a thud. Hugging his pillow in both arms, he rolled around on the bed.

"Someone invited me over... someone invited me over... someone invited me over... I'm so happy! I should've said yes right away. Next time, if she invites me again, I'll definitely say yes!"

Naruto laughed happily. It was nothing like his usual forced smile. This happiness came from his heart.

A friend!

I'm finally going to have a friend!