Age 7/Year 7

The Sharingan- my clan's strongest weapon. No modern technique, Jutsu or seal can come close to its potential. Those that unlock its rise above the average and gain a significant boost. However, there are downsides just as well. Everyone knows our eyes and they know what to look out for.

"So what is it that you wanted to show us, Sasuke?" my mother is the first to speak. She sits comfortably on a small pillow, her long hair freely resting on her shoulder.

I swallow and calm my racing heart. It's not that big of a deal. Most Uchiha unlock their Sharingan at some point.

But I'm just a child.

"You seem nervous, little brother." Itachi points out.

My father's brow furrows in annoyance. He's been very impatient as of late, but the answer is obvious. I've got just shy of a year left before that happens. What have I been doing? Nothing. I'm far too scared and have no idea how to stop it. Politics and such are way over my head- I'm just a normal guy.

I take a breath and curl my fingers into a small fist.

Ball the anxiety up and then swallow it. Calm down.

"Are children at your school bullying you?" Fugaku asks sharply. The question catches I off-guard.

"H-Huh?" What? Why would he- "No. It's not that." I answer.

He nods and silently stared at me.

"Well, what is it then?" Mikoto asks curiously. "Does it have to do with your little friend?" She smiles.

My mother's changed. She happily accepts Naruko as my friend and even encourages the two of us to play. When Naruko stops by, she even makes her cookies and other treats.

All she needed was a little push. Still, I could see the regret and guilt in her eyes.

Taking one final, encouraging breath, I shut my eyes. Chakra flows through my body, spiralling into those same eyes. When next I open them, a fully developed Sharingan stares back at my family.

Fugaku's eyes widen in disbeleif; my mother's too.

"O-Oh my." She whispers in shock.

"How?" Fugaku's even more bewildered by the development.

Itachi... Itachi simply smiles and praises my accomplishment. His warm show of affection overtakes the fear from our parent's reactions and gives the strength to continue.

"I, umm, unlocked the Clan' special eyes a while back. Been practicing making them better in secret!" I say nervously.

Mikoto looks at my father, a worried look on her face.

"Did you-"

He shakes her head.

"No. There hasn't been anything like that."

Everyone's eyes, including Itachi's focus on me. my father speaks.

"Son- can you please tell us when and how you unlocked your Sharingan?"

And then my nerves explode.

I spoke softly and carefully.

"I-I've had them for a very long time." Fugaku and my mother shared a look of surprise. I spoke the truth, and unless they believe I to be a better liar than trained adults, they have no reason to doubt me.

"How long?" my father asks curiously.

Taking a small breath, I answer.

"I-It was a long time ago- I can barely remember." Was I five? Four? "I fainted and mother was worried."

Mikoto's eyes widen slightly. She remembers.

"T-That was when I first used them. It hurt."

Fugaku sighs.

"You're still a child. Using our Clan's eyes costs a lot for someone your age."

It's the truth. Even though I've focused on increasing its efficiency, I could only keep my eyes open for a dozen minutes at best.

"Brother, your eyes are already fully developed," Itachi noted. He was curious and the silent question was clear for me to see.

"I-I practiced." I answer meekly. "You're a good ninja, big brother. I know you have the eyes too, so I wanted to be like you."

That's no lie. Itachi is really strong and I do want to be strong like him.

Softness flows over my brother's face, lifting his lip into a smile. Is that pride I see in his eyes?

"You've been training with them?" Fugaku asks suspiciously. "How? And why didn't you tell us sooner?"

To doubt his own son, my father really is a good ninja.

"U-Umm, I've just been using them lots." I stutter out. It's no act. I'm very nervous right now. "And I wanted to get them strong like this before saying anything."

Something flickers in my father's gaze. My lips twitch upward as I realize that it's pride. My mother is happy for me too- though, there's also a sad acceptance hidden in her heart. No mother wants to see her child fight. The Sharingan is a boon, but unlocking it this early cannot be understated. I'm going to be a ninja now as there's no way people will let someone with my 'talent' escape service.

Fugaku takes a breath.

"Two sons- both geniuses." He chuckles. To see my father laugh is a rare sight indeed. "Do you think the next will be born with them already active?" He jokes.

My mom giggles and then shakes her head.

"I hope not."

She turns to me, a soft, gentle smile adorning her lips.

"Sasuke, I have something I want to tell you." She calls me over and presses my hand against her stomach.

My heart leaps to my throat.

"We're going to have another baby." Mikoto gives you a hug.

Itachi smiles. He already knew, didn't he?

"That means you're going to be a big brother too."

I suspected this, but hoped that she was just getting fat. Butterflies are dangerous. This is someone that shouldn't exist.

With trembling hands, I rub her pudgy belly.

Everything changed when I was born. The shackles of fate shattered like glass.

"A-Are they a boy or a girl?" I ask nervously.

Mikoto hums.

"Don't know yet." She gently rubs my head, hands sliding between my hair. "Say, since you're so big and strong for awakening the Sharingan- do you want to give them a name?"

My mother looks at Fugaku. He nods back.

"Well? Your father's fine with it?" She turns to Itachi. "Why don't both of you think of a name?"

My brother nods.

"You go first. Pick a girl or a boy's name. I'll choose what remains."

=====

With that done, you clarify a few questions asked by your father.

Sadly, he doesn't buy my lie about being able to see through walls and such.

"I know you're happy, but don't joke about a serious matter." He admonished.

Anyways, when you brought up the prospect of training, he agreed with a happy smile. There were a few 'courses' he could make. It was up to you to choose.

[Reward: Special Training!

+1 Extra Skill Point per year.

+1 Extra Stat Point Per Year

+1 Jutsu Point Per Year

+1 Life Skill Point Per Year

+1 Technique Point Per Year]

=========

"T-Thanks for the help, Sasuke." Hinata says as I help her up.

I smile and give Hinata a small thumbs up. It had taken a bit of convincing, but as a way to make friends, I started an afterschool club. It genuinely blew your mind that those weren't a thing in Konoha.

"Sasuke! Again!" Kiba's sudden shout drew my attention. "I won't lose this time!" He was still on about beating you to become the strongest student or whatnot.

With a smile, I got up and walked toward him. The particular 'club' I made was a football club. A few places called it soccer, though. It was honestly very fun to play, especially with how fast everyone was.

"Alright. Let's give it one more shot." I got up and joined Kiba for a 'shooting' match. Naruko had taken to the goalie position and was basically impossible to score on- mostly because she had no regard for pain and whatnot. She had literally bounced the ball with her face a few days ago just to keep her team in the game. I still ended up beating her, but no more goals were scored that day. Honestly, the whole idea had been great and was making the students closer.

"Shikamaru." Even Shino was into the game.

"Ah, what a drag." The genius boy said as he passed Shino the ball. It bounced off a few tiny rocks and completely slipped by everyone's guards.

"Hinata," Shino whispered as he passed her the ball. Oddly, she heard him loud and clear. His small bugs pushed it just a but higher, and using her Byakugan, Hinata was able to kick the ball at Naruko past the people blocking. Sadly, my best friend smashed her head into it and stopped the shot.

It was a fun game, and there weren't any special rules for it. It was the basics, but Jutsu and other techniques were fair game. The teachers actually praised me since it helped get the students interested in using the basic Jutsu.

If I had a penny for every time a goalie used a clone to trick the shooter, then I'd be a rich little boy.

[Gained 1 Stat Point!]

=========

"This is really hard." Naruko grumbled. She wasn't having a very good time trying to learn the particular fighting style I was teaching her.

I hummed in thought.

"Hey, can we do something else instead? How about eating Ramen?"

If I wanted to get her interested in this, I needed a plan.

Naruko had a strong will, but she was still a child. Sometimes, even I was swayed by my instincts to play and ignore hard things.

"It's important to get stronger." I started. "Being a ninja is... hard."

It all seemed so simple now, but when up against an enemy that's coming for your life, things become so much different. I don't want her to die. She isn't Naruto, and probably never will be. Better to suffer frustration today than suffer death tomorrow.

"But it's so boooring!" Sadly, logic doesn't work too well on kids.

"Alright, alright." I say. "How about I do any one thing if you get this technique down?"

That did the trick. Her eyes sparkled and she immediately got to work practicing the unarmed combat style. After many weeks of training, she eventually gets it down.

Her request is... well, really weird.

"I want you to have a sleepover with me!"

Kids will be kids.

[Naruko Leaned: Hakkyokuken]

=========

A sleepover... I can hardly remember if I had any of these in my past life. Young children love to show things off, play, and be together with their friends. A sleepover is the perfect combination of all these three. Considering Naruko's lack of friends, I'm not surprised in the slightest that she wants to share something like this.

"Sure." I answer, giving her a friendly smile. "Though, ugh, do you mind if we do it at your house?"

There's so much going on at mines that it'll just sour the mood. You're doing this to have fun, not to worry over every little thing.

"Oh-" Naruko blinks, her smile faltering for a second. "I-It's really messy!"

I shrug. That's not so bad, besides, I might be able to help her clean up.

"I don't mind."

Biting her lip, Narkuo nods.

"Ok. Yeah, that's fine." Her smile returns in full force. "B-But you have to give me a bit to tidy up, ok!"

It's not like you have to do the sleepover today.

"Sure. How does tomorrow sound?"

She thought about it for a moment, eyes wildly glancing at the distance.

"Ok! I'ma go now!" Without another word, she turned around and sprinted away, leaving me in the dust.

That... wasn't what I was expecting. Kids can be very unpredictable at times.

Hopefully, nothing goes wrong.

--------------

"A sleepover?"

I gave my mother a small nod.

"Yeah. It's with my friend, Naruko. Is it ok if I go?" I really should have asked before saying yes. Talk about being irresponsible. Here you are, calling Naruko a kid, but you can't even think ahead! Blarg! I blame this childish brain of mine!

Mikoto bit her lip, a worried look pulling at her cheeks. I smiled, knowing this was less about who I'd be staying with and more about going off by myself.

"Why don't you have it here?" She asked softly.

I shook your head.

"Dad and you look a bit tired. I don't want to make you feel even more tired looking after us!"

Mikoto smiled warmly, the droopy expression on her face brightening a bit.

"Honey, I-"

I step up and shake my head. If there was ever a time to act like a kid, It's now!

"Besides, I promised her I'd go to her house." Again, my mother has enough to worry about.

She sighs, lifting her hand up to cup my cheek.

"I guess my little boy's growing up." My mother says with a giggle. "Ok. But I'll go pick you up in the morning, deal?"

It was that easy? Huh.

"Ok." I nod.

Honestly, she's probably just going to send ninja or something to make sure no one tries anything on me. Either that, or she's expecting the ones supposedly guarding Naruko to look after me too.

There's never enough paranoia!

--------------

Naruko's house or 'apartment ' was surprisingly cleaner than I expected. Oh, it was absolutely filthy, but not in the way one would think. I could tell she made an effort to throw out the trash and clean the floor, but all the appliances had a layer of dust she obviously missed. There was also a strange smell that reminded me of soiled food.

Was no one taking care of her?

"Oh, um, there's the nice landlady that comes in and usually cleans stuff every month," Naruko answered with a blush. "S-She's supposed to come by next week."

So this was all the result of a single month's worth of accumulated trash? Either that or something had died in her house.

"The smell? Umm, I don't smell anything."

Of course, she wouldn't. Most people tune out their own smell, especially if they live in it constantly. Good thing I came prepared!

"W-What are those?"

I smiled and pulled out the rare, never-before-seen inventions made by my genius intellect! But really, my Clan had a lot of money! The things they bought and made was surprising. These particular little slips of paper weren't rare, just a bit more expensive than most could afford.

"Just some air fresheners."

Smelling around, I find the spots with the greatest stench and put the small seals nearby. They only lasted so long, but it would freshen up the air a bit.

"What are those?" Naruko asked curiously, poking the two seals I managed to bring along.

"They make the air smell better! It's really hard to make seals, so try not to touch them too much."

She pulled her hand back as if burnt.

"R-Really?" The look she was giving the seals made them seem like some amazing, irreplaceable treasure.

I nodd.

Naruko gulped and moved away.

"Ok." She took a breath and then got back to guiding me through the house.

"There's my bed, the kitchen's outside, the bathroom's to the right, and here's my pet plant."

I moved toward the one that didn't belong. Near her balcony window was a small pot with a tiny sprout.

"What sort of plant is it?" Did Naruto ever have a pet plant? I don't think so. Was this because of my meddling? Or is this just showing that she and he are different?

"Tomatoes!" Naruko replied with a grin. "Sometimes I get hungry and don't want to go out. Choji said that is should just grow my food then."

A small smile spread across my lips.

"So you're getting along with everyone else in the class?"

Naruko shrugged.

"I guess. Anyways, what games do you want to play? Should we stay up all night telling scary stories? What about reading this weird book I found?"

I chuckled. She wasn't easy to handle, but the excited look on her face made me smile.

But before I could even think about staying the night, there was much, much to be done. Bedsheets crumpled, spraying my face with tiny bits of bread and other crumbs.

"Don't just stand there." I huffed. White sheets billowed in the air, showing off faded yellow splotches here and there. Wait... had she?

"S-Sorry!" Naruko moved toward me, feet sliding on the carper, barely managing to hold her balance.

Amusement travelled from my chest, building up in my lungs before exploding outward as laughter.

"Don't kill yourself, alright?" I struggled, biting my tongue to stop the burst of emotion that was coming.

"Hey! Don't laugh!" Naruko crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. Her brow furrowed, and in one swift motion, she was by my side. My back burned as a loud slap echoed throughout the small room. She was far stronger than any seven-year-old had any right to be!

The moment had passed. Frustration vanished and was replaced by something else. Naruko's gaze wandered away from me. Her fingers rose, running along her chin once, twice, and so on.

"S-So, umm, h-how can I help?" She scanned the room, turned to me, and then helplessly continued to look around.

"Well, can you help me move the bed?" The floor was free of dust, but could harder to reach places be as clean?

"U-Under?" The question came with the cracking of her voice and wild, erratic eye movement. She looked everywhere but the bed. "I-I'm sure it's fine, you know?"

...

Naruko was horrible at lying. What had she hidden under her bed? It couldn't be that bad, right?

"Come on. I won't judge."

Golden bangs blocked her eyes as she suddenly found one of the floor tiles more interesting than helping me.

"I.. w. za..."

A mixture of worlds slithers into my ears, fracturing and leaving behind a puzzle without an answer.

"Er... what? Could you speak up?"

Azure eyes snap upward, piercing my own obsidian orbs. Her cheeks burned and her face contorted, making me wince.

"I kinda drop my empty pizza boxes down there..." Naruko shrunk under my gaze, vanishing behind her bed. "And some other stuff too..."

...

How can someone be so messy? It's insane!

"Do you have any pets?" I bent my knees and pressed my right forearm to the floor. Feeling around, my fingers brushed against a familiar texture. "Like rats?" Cardboard rubbed against the floor before, out from under her bed, and to a corner near the window. I'd be making a small pile for now. Hopefully, she had trash bags.

"Do tomato plants count?" I wanted to say no, but glittering blue eyes begged me not to.

"I guess." A breath slipped from free my lip as my fingers brushed against the back of my neck. "Now, come on. We've got a lot of cleaning to do."

I very much doubt the only treasure trove of trash was under the bed.

There's always more.

--------

A mound of bags sat before us, flies swirling above and two children with noses pinched nearby. Of course, those two foolish children were I and Naruko.

"I can't beleive we had to make two trips." She told me she had cleaned it!

Sheepish, nervous giggles hit the back of my head, snapping it around like a squeaky wheel.

"I-I guess I forgot about the bathroom... and the closet."

I couldn't let this stand. A palm slid across my forehead, whipping the moisture from my brow.

"Let's just go back an relax." An angry beast within my stomach roared to the heavens. Naruko skittered away, eyes darting around for a wild animal.

"W-What was-"

I moved, taping her shoulder and walking up the stairs while ignoring any unnecessary distractions.

"I'm hungry!"

Hopefully, she had some food. I wasn't feeling in the mood for pizza right now.

----------------

"And that's how the great Naruko became the Ninja King and no one ever said anything bad about her again!"

...

The awkward silence was suffocating. With frozen lips, Naruko's frozen gaze held me in place. She was expecting an answer.

"An odd story, but it wasn't b-bad?" Why did that sound like a question? Oh, who am I kidding? She shouldn't quite life as a ninja and become a storyteller. That was horrible!

A chill rushed up my spine, and in front of me, Naruko's arms twisted around one another.

"Well, why don't you tell a better story?" She asked, nose rising toward the heavens.

I smelled blood, and like a shark, my lips spread wide. Something better, eh? Well, I've got a lot of interesting stories bouncing around in my head.

"Do you ever wonder what happens to a person once they die?" The bed's sheets shuffled, pushed toward me. "Well, once you die, your 'soul' is forced out." my fingers coiled around invisible chains. "Every soul has a link to their body, and with said link severed, the soul can wander freely as the body dies." I pulled sharply, shattering my soul's 'chain.

Wide, azure eyes gazed up at me.

"Sadly, this 'chain' is what keeps us human. With the link broken, the chain falls apart, revealing the hole within everyone being."

Naruko's throat pulsed, and she shuffled closer.

"If left untreated, a person's hole will grow and consume them." My fingers squeezed softly, making Naruko's eyes widen in a slight panic. It was adorable. "They become hollows."

Her nostrils opened and a steady drumbeat travelled through my hand. Good. She was excited.

"Thankfully, there are warriors than send these hollows to a peaceful afterlife. This is a story about one of those Shinigami. His name was-"

And so, you spoke, captivating your audience with a familiar story. Before you knew it, you found your eyes getting heavier and heavier. You closed them for a second and the next time they opened, naruko was fast asleep on top of me.

I chuckled.

Nothing like a good story to make someone fall asleep.

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Year Seven End

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