Interlude: Naruko

Life is strange. Sometimes you feel it's out to get you- yet things can change so fast.

You thought the world hated you.

You thought no one really cared.

In the end, you planned to make them care. You were going to become completely unignorable! They'd have to care, if only because you were annoying the heck out of them!

Yes. That was your plan. You didn't know how to even start it, but it was a plan you wanted to follow through on.

You were just a kid- a no-name orphan like everyone else. Still, you noticed the looks the grownups gave you. Why were they so scared? You weren't some mean old dog that was going to bite them!

Thankfully, your fellow orphans were nice. You played ball and laughed together. But... that changed soon enough. They were either adopted or slowly drifted away. That was one thing that always seemed weird. A lot of people came in for adoptions.

Sometimes you'd see your old friends again, but their parents wouldn't even let you talk to them. It didn't take long for them to start ignoring you too. You grew older and your understanding of the world grew with you.

The grownups fears were being passed to your friends; they could feel and see how the adults treated you like some sort of angry monster. It was obvious your friends would get curious.

If the grownups were scared of you, should they be too? At least, that's what you thought went through their minds.

And so, the last few people you could call friends slowly drifted away.

You were alone, and every day that passed pushed you closer to lashing out and starting your plan.

"I'm Sasuke." Then you met him. He had this stupid hairstyle that reminded you of a duck's butt, except he was a really friendly guy! He played with you, even after all the other kids were pulled away by their moms or dads.

You knew it wouldn't last, as his mother was looking at you with a sad face. It's why you did your best and had as much fun as you could.

When the time came to go, you couldn't help but hope. Maybe he'd be different?

You reached out one last time.

"D-Do you want to be friends?" If he said no, you'd go through with it. You were strong, but there was only so much rejection you could take.

It hurt being seen as a scary monster. No one ever said it, but their eyes spoke enough.

You saw his mother wince and start pulling him away. Your face fell.

What did you expect?

"Is that what you want? Do you wish to be my friend, even if it leads to bad things?"

Your eyes snapped to his. Was he giving you a chance?

"Y-Yes! that's my wish! I want to be your friend!"

You shouted with all the hope left in your tiny body. Would he say yes? Would he leave?

"..."

You gulped.

"Ok." The bright, sunny smile on his face left you breathless. "Let's be friends." He grabbed your hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Behind him, his mother spoke a few words. You didn't bother to listen.

He wanted to be your friend.

Somehow, the young boy had convinced his mother to let you be friends. That's the message you got.

Tears started welling up in the corner of your eyes. You sucked them all up and took one last look at your friend's- at Sasuke's face. His smile was still there; it was a tiny beacon in a dark, lonely world. You held on for dear life and sunk your nails in as had as possible.

You wouldn't ever let him go.

"Well, I have to go now." He said, giving you a small wave.

He'd be one of you precious people, along with the old man.

"O-Ok. Bye!" You answered.

So long as he was nice and a good friend, you'd do anything for him!

"Yeah, see you soon!"

Those words reverberated through your body.

Soon.

You'd be the best of friends. But, if he ever abandoned you- you knew it would be a wound that would take a long time to heal.

But that was fine. You just wanted a friend; Anything was better than nothing.

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

Sasuke wanted to be a ninja. Once, you thought that would be a great idea. Everyone liked ninja, so if you became a ninja, then they'd like you too, right?

That all fell away when you became friends with Sasuke. You were happy just playing with him.

"There's more to life than just being my friend." He told you once.

Who cared about them? They ignored you and didn't want to be your friends.

"I'll become a ninja with you!"

You knew that if you didn't, the two of you might drift away. It wasn't your dream, but if it meant staying friends, you'd do it.

As it turned out, Sasuke was really good at the ninja stuff. You weren't.

He was from the "Uchiha" Clan, which was some bigshot ninja family or something. You didn't have a family, but that stuff didn't mater, right?

Sasuke said your chakra was bigger than his an everyone else's combined!

You didn't punch the hardest, threw the best, or we're all that smart- but you did have one thing no one else had. You were super stubborn!

Chakra control was your worst subject, so you practiced! Sasuke even came and helped you out!

In fighting class, you were usually knocked down, so you got back up and kept doing that until the other kid was so tired you could just push them out of the ring.

Whatever you were missing, you'd make up for it in spirit and determination!

No one would hurt your friend! Not while you were there!

"Hey, wanna stop and eat some ramen?" The people that worked at the small shop were nice. They even gave you discounts and stuff!

Sasuke took one look at the stall before sighing and nodding.

Ha! You'd show him how delicious Ramen was!

Huh?

What do you mean it's really unhealthy? No Way! Food so good can't be bad for you!