Author Notes: I know, I know! I have other fics I need to work on, and it's "Another Nartuo Fic". I'm sorry, but this was an idea that was screaming to be written about. Naruto and Sasuke are both orphans, right? All family for both of them, completely gone, right? So what if someone adopted them and made them brothers? What kind of chaos could the prankishly clever Naruto and the intelligent, quick-thinking Sasuke get into? But first: How did them come to live together in the first place?

One last thing, as I've said in other fics, this is a starter chapter, it sets up the world and initiates the plot. So, if you want to get to the good stuff, you got to wade through this and go to the next chapter. Just thought I'd clue you into the fact that first chapters tend to suck, or at least mine do. meh...

It was raining hard and Naruto was so cold he was numb, but that didn't matter. Neither did the fact that Konoha was buzzing like a nest of angry, disturbed bees. Nothing mattered to Naruto save for one thing: his Okaa-sama was missing.

Naruto vaguely recalled something about her being sent after that recently orphaned, kidnapped Uchiha boy, but he'd heard that days ago and she had been missing since this morning. And for whatever reason, the fact that she was missing gave Naruto a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

So here he was, a six-year-old boy, out in the pounding rain, running into the thickest part of the forest surrounding Konoha because that same feeling in his gut told him to go there. Or he was running until something red caught his eye. A big something red. His mother Larania.

Naruto ran up to her and then stopped a few feet away, staring in horror. She was covered in deep, freely bleeding wounds, slumped against a tree trunk and curled around something; seemingly unconscious. That something was the Uchiha boy, and from the looks of it he was caught in the throes of terrible fever.

"O-Okaa- Okaa-sama..?" Naruto called tentatively. His back was hunched not against the cold or the rain now, but against the fear that she wouldn't respond. Even at a mere six, Naruto knew what those wounds could mean, and what death was. But the kind, dark eyed woman raised her head and smiled at her adopted son with bloodstained lips. She coughed slightly and more blood spilled out. One eye was closed and bleeding. Naruto feared it would never open again. He feared a lot of things right then actually.

"Naru-kun…" She called out in a faint whisper, "I brought… him… your brother…"

Naruto rushed over to her side, "Brother? What do you…?"

"I didn't get… the chance to… tell you… I adopted… Sasuke… so you… would have… someone… to play with… to grow… up with…" Larania whispered at him, "You need… to take care… of him… for a while… He needs… someone… to be… with him…"

"But you can do that, right?" Naruto asked franticly. There was so much blood, her skin was so cold, he didn't know what to do. "You'll be there for him, right? You promised-!"

"Sor..ry, can't… keep… it… know…" she said in so faint a voice that the child could barely hear her over the rain. "Take… care… of… Sasuke… and… tell… him… he… needs… to… care… for… you… to…" Her eye closed and her head slumped forward as she sighed softly. And didn't take a new breath. Naruto clutched her arm and shook it slightly.

"Okaa-sama?" He asked fearfully shaking her arm harder, "Okaa-sama! Okaa-Sama!" Tears spilled down unheeded as the truth sank into his brain, but his heart refused to acknowledge it. He backed away slightly and stared at the figure that kept blurring unless kept he scrubbing at his eyes. But when he did, a scent reached his noise; the bitter scent of blood. His hands were covered with it, deep crimson, so deep that it filled his vision entirely with red…

Naruto lurched up out of bed with a silent gasp and sat there panting for a bit as he told his heart that no, it didn't need to pound its way out of his chest, it was good right where it was, thanks. That accomplished, he took in a deep breath and scrubbed at his face. How long has it been since I've had that dream? Over a year at least, I think. The youth gave himself a shake, trying to throw off the spell the nightmare had cast, then looked down to his right.

Naruto gave a quiet snort at the sight of the blanket ball next to him there on the futon; Sasuke wasn't what you could call a morning person and had responded to the evil onslaught of sunlight by curling up under his blankets like a wounded caterpillar. I know that pose, that's the 'I Will Not get up for another hour, go away' pose. Naruto grinned now, the most popular boy in their age group lay there, and if any of his groupies knew about his lethargy…

The blue-eyed boy stood up and stretched, snickering slightly. If any of the Konoha girls knew of any of Sasuke's domestic habits, they might not sigh so often over him. Nobody's perfect, but will they hear any of it? No, nope, nu-uh, 'specially not from me. Morning stretches completed, Naruto bounced over to the kitchen area to make breakfast. That was the other domestic skill that Sasuke didn't do so well in. 'Do so well in'? The more truthful answer would be 'lacks entirely'. How he can boil an egg for an hour and gets it to turn out half burnt, half raw, I will never know.

But somehow Sasuke had managed it, and also had managed to turn instant ramen into an inedible, congealed mass. And what he does to tea and toast… Naruto shuddered in unfeigned horror over the cooking scrambled eggs at the thought, no, better not think about that while I'm cooking. Naruto on the other hand, while he didn't like to get up with the sun, would actually be functional within five minutes of rising. And while I don't think I'll ever be a gourmet chef, all the food I produce is edible. A memory of a smoking oven wafted to the fore of his mind in rebuke. Okay, not all of my attempts end in success, but I at least know what I did wrong there! How was I to know that the timer didn't work and that the oven was a hundred degrees hotter than the dial said? Not my fault! I blame that one on the equipment!

The eggs were done and so was the sausage. The toast dinged up from the toaster and the tea had been brewing while Naruto had been cooking. Time to wake the other diner. Oh. Joy. A B-class mission before breakfast. Just what I always wanted. Naruto stalked over to the futon stretched out on the floor in the bedroom.

Both boys suffered from nightmares on a regular basis and years ago had found it easier if they slept right next to each other. The presence of another person was somehow soothing to both of them, and if a nightmare woke one of them, the other would be there to reassure the sufferer. Try explaining that to Sakura though. Naruto winced at that particular memory, man, does she know how to pitch a fit or what? Maybe I should call her in, see if she can wake Sasuke up? Nah, she'd enjoy that too much. Oh well. Naruto prodded Sasuke in the ribs with his toe. At least, he thought it was his roommate's ribs, it was hard to tell. The blanket ball shrunk as Sasuke curled up tighter and a sound could be heard.

"Breakfast is ready." Naruto said, loudly. Another noise issued from the blankets. Was that a grunt or a moan? Maybe I'll ask Kakashi-sensei.

"I'm going to eat your share if you don't get up." Another mystery noise. Naruto shoved the ball hard enough to make it rock, and the noise made this time was definitely one of protest. But somehow the ball shrunk further accompanied by another grunt.

"Ah, c'mon, wakey wakey Sasu-chan. Sun's shinin' and day's a-wastein'." A sound that may have been an insult, had it been discernible, rumbled out. Naruto growled and latched onto the blankets.

"Alright, that's it, time- oof- to- arg- get- erk- up!" Naruto was able to wrestle half of the blankets away from a very resentful Sasuke which enabled him to see that yes, Sasuke was still under there and hadn't been replaced by a changeling. But Naruto had guessed that from the moment he woke up. A changeling probably wouldn't have put up even half the fight that Sasuke was.

"Give- grr- me- umf- back- ack- my- erg- blankets!" the dark eyed genin snarled, somehow coherent after all his efforts to remain asleep.

"No- ouch- way! It's- rawr- way- grar- to late- ow- for that! Leggo!"

"No way! You leggo!" And things degenerated from there into an all-out brawl. Just like every morning.

Stupid training program, Sasuke silently groused as he attacked his eggs, forcing people to get up at unholy hour. Stupid Kakashi, making us get up before the sun, then making us wait! Stupid Naruto, making- hey wait a sec. The dark-eyed youth looked up at his roommate, who was listlessly poking at his eggs.

"Alright, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked. Naruto was acting in a very un-Naruto like fashion.

"Huh?" The blue-eyed nin asked, staring blankly at Sasuke. While staring blankly was a usual thing for Naruto, it wasn't what he did after being questioned by Sasuke. Adopted brothers they might be, but Naruto still got all defensive if Sasuke questioned him. Or perhaps especially if Sasuke questioned him.

"I haven't had to tell you to shut up once this morning and usually I've had to say like five times at least by now." Sasuke pointed out. Plus he's not inhaling everything in sight, plus he's not forcing me to fight for my food, plus he's not harping me on my sleeping habits and cooking abilities. Something is definitely up with him. "Something's always wrong with you if I get to eat breakfast in peace. What is it? You sick?"

Naruto shrugged, "No. I had a dream about Okaa-sama."

Oh. "Ah, I see." Sasuke fell silent after that and just watched Naruto with concern. Larania was a sore subject for the boys, but Naruto especially. Sasuke didn't have very many memories about the woman how had offered to adopt him and give him a home after his clan's destruction, but all of them were good. Like her holding me while I cried myself out, all the while reassuring me that I wasn't being a baby. Or her promising that she wasn't going to force me to call her Okaa-san because I already had an Okaa-san, who could never be replaced. And a whole lot of other things.

But for Naruto, it was different. Sasuke had had a family, but Larania was the only family Naruto had ever had. That she had been taken two years after she had been found was a very cruel thing. It doesn't matter that it was six years ago, Naruto isn't going to forget or get over it. I'm just surprised that he accepted me. It was kind of my fault that Larania-dono was killed.

Sasuke stared down at his plate, the memories of the past still fresh and sharp-edged. His brother Itachi had annihilated the Uchiha clan, sparing only Sasuke, then had fled. Larania had approached Sasuke a week after the only survivor had been orphaned and offered to adopt him. Sasuke had accepted without really knowing why he did so, but before anything could be officialized, Itachi had returned briefly, to take Sasuke. All of Konoha had risen up in protest and had sent out her top Jounins, Larania among them.

Many had returned, unable to find anything; a few had disappeared without a trace. One had returned, dying, with the thing that they had all been sent out to find; Larania. Naruto had been the one to find her had led the other Jounins to them with his crying. When the others had arrived, Naruto had been cradling Sasuke trying to keep him warm and Larania was dead.

Supposedly they got a lot of information out of Larania-dono's body. Gods know they didn't get anything out of me. Sasuke literally had no memory of what happened from the moment that Itachi had grabbed him to the moment that he woke up in the Konoha hospital. The intense examination that had followed had not been able to find the cause of the terrible fever he had been suffering from, nor what had happened to him during his capture. The only thing that Sasuke knew after he had awakened was that the only way that the adults were going to pry Naruto away from him was with a crowbar.

Naruto had spent every day that Sasuke had in the hospital by his bedside, not talking much, just keeping company. Sasuke had craved that constant company terribly; it kept him from having to think about anything. Each time he let his thoughts stray they led back to the Massacre. It had been at that point that Naruto and Sasuke had declared each other brother orphans, and had sworn to never leave each other. We still keep to that oath, mismatched as we are. Funny that.

Naruto gulped down the last of his tea and rose, taking his dishes to the sink. Sasuke watched him quietly and noticed that Naruto was staring at the calendar on the kitchen wall over the counter.

"Oh, so that's why." Naruto said frankly, as if everything that had ever happened in history had just been explained. Sasuke glanced at the calendar as Naruto walked over to the door, and winced when he noted the date. The 10th day of Spring; the day that Larania had died. Yeah, that would be why Naruto's out of sorts. I can't wait to try and explain this one to Sakura and Kakashi-sensei.

"I'll be back later." Naruto called over his shoulder.

"Right," Sasuke acknowledge and then went over to wash the dishes. He wouldn't have to meet the rest of Cell Seven until ten a.m. Plenty of time to try and figure how to explain why Naruto won't be showing up today. Sasuke thought cheerfully, then slumped with a sigh. Yeah, right, sure, who'm I kidding? Dammit, Naruto! Why do you always leave me to clean up your messes! He thought furiously as he scrubbed at the dirty frying pan.

The meeting time had been set at 9:30 a.m. Sasuke and Sakura didn't bother to show up at the training grounds' meeting point until 10. Kakashi didn't show up until 10:45, using some lame excuse of helping an old lady

"You're Late!" Sakura yelled crossly. It was bad enough that Naruto never showed up, so that she didn't have someone to feel superior over, but Sasuke was even quieter than usually today. So Kakashi-sensei's usually stunt of appearing hours late was chafing more than usual

"As is per usual." Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes, "I really need to remember to bring my own book."

Kakashi chuckled at that fair jibe, then glanced around. "Where's Naruto?" he asked, staring straight at Sasuke. While Naruto was the one most likely to ditch, none of Kakashi's students were at all truly likely to skip out on a mission. Sasuke and Sakura were too serious (plus Sakura would rather chop off her own hand than sacrifice any time that she could spend with Sasuke), and Naruto loved going on missions then messing around.

Sasuke avoided Kakashi's stare and cleared his throat nervously as the stare turned into a fierce glare at the youth's evasion.

"Well?"

"Er, um you see- I don't really- Well, it being the 10th- I'll go get him!" Sasuke lamely answered, darting off. He kept forgetting that Kakashi-sensei could be scary if he wanted to be. The 'Scary Person' and Sakura exchanged confused glances after watching the retreating youth disappear. Then Kakashi smacked his fist into his palm, making Sakura squeak in surprise.

"It is the 10th isn't it?" He said, "Huh, I'd forgotten."

"Forgotten what, sir?" She asked. She had never seen Sasuke act like that before, ever. He'd acted positively undignified, something that was unheard of for Sasuke. Not that he acted in the manner that she thought he should whenever he was around that Naruto, but still!

"I'll tell you a bit on the way," Kakashi said, interrupting his student's thoughts, "I think I know where they are." The Jounin set off, the young Kunoichi in tow. Sakura listened to the story of the boys' past in shock, and was even more surprised when she and her sensei ended up on the bluff above the cemetery. It wasn't a spot she thought she'd ever see Naruto, but sure enough, there he was staring at one of the gravestones. Sasuke was sitting next to him, talking. It was too far away for Sakura to hear, but whatever he was saying wasn't having any affect on Naruto that she could see.

"Every 10th of Spring," Kakashi said softly, "Naruto has a habit of coming here to pay his respects to his mother. I saw him once, a couple years ago. I thought it was weird that a kid would be out here all by himself, all day. He's never failed to show up, and Sasuke usually spends time here too, thanking the woman who died to save his life."

"But why?" Sakura asked, confused, "It seems so… morbid."

Kakashi turned to lean his back against the rail fence on the bluff, "I can see why. If someone gave you a gift as great as the one she gave those boys, it'd make an impression that would never leave."

"Gift?"

"Unconditional love." Kakashi said, "Larania-san was sterile, she could never have kids. Those two are orphans, they will never see their birth-mothers' face again. A mother without a child, two children without a mother. She adopted Naruto first, and I've seen true mother-and-son pairs with less love. She was willing to take in Sasuke, when there was a nasty rumor about a curse on the Uchiha house after the Massacre. No one else was willing to care for him after that; except her." Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to the two still forms sitting in front of one particular stone. "She gave those two her heart. How can you forget, or not honor a gift like that."

Sakura didn't reply at first, just looked down and mulled over what she'd been told. "The mission for today is canceled, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I think it is."

A.S.:Okay, there's part of the back story, from here I'm planning on showing the past, ie: what these two got up toin their childhood.

Sasu, Naru: NOOOOO! (pounce A.S., tie her up, lock her away and throw away the key)

Sasuke: Do to unexpected difficulties, this fic will not be continued. We apologize for th- HEY!

A.S.: (storms out of cell, radiating fighting aura) Did you forget that I'm the Almighty Author and that I can do whatever I want?

Sasu, Naru: EEP!

Naruto: Run away! Run away!

Sasuke: Don't leave me alone, you coward!

Naruto: Then hurry up! (Both scamper off to hide behind a pile of sandbags and slam on pith helmets)

A.S.: Sigh, in spite of what I just said, don't expect this fic to be updated that often. I'm a full-time college student taking twelve units, plus I work part time, Plus I'm VP of the anime club I founded (I stepped down as Prez, do to stress) Needless to say, I'm busy and an update a month will be a miracle. Not to say that this puppy won't be updated, I despise abandoned fics and will not do so hear. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this and see you next time.

Sasu, Naru: NOOOOOO! NO Embarrising tales of our childhood! Oh the Humanity!

A.S.: Shut up you two! It's call humor!