I feel like I've been neglecting my stories lately because I've been so busy looking for a new job. I also haven't had any inspiration or urge to write in the past couple of weeks, so I apologize for making all of you wait so long for updates. Thank you to everyone who continues to read my stories. I never hold chapters hostage for reviews or demand a certain number of reviews before I update. It doesn't matter if I get 3 reviews or 30. I write these chapters because I like writing and I want people to enjoy reading what I write.

On to the chapter. This will be the final part of the "Sasuke arc". After this chapter, we'll return to the regular plot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

After running away from the foster home, I spent the next couple of years living on the streets. The first year was the hardest. Having to learn how to find food, shelter and a place to go to the bathroom was a struggle. I had to quickly figure out which areas of town were friendly towards the less fortunate and which places were bent on chasing out everyone that didn't live there. My age also put me at a huge disadvantage. As a 14-year-old, I not only had to avoid the other homeless adults that wanted to hurt me (and believe me, there were a lot of them), I also had to avoid any confrontations with the police, because if they found me, they would put me right back in another foster home. You might be thinking, "But that would give you a safe place to sleep." After the "experience" I had with those people, I made the decision that I didn't want to go back into that wretched system. The system was the reason I was living on the streets. It also took Itachi away from me forever. A couple of days after I ran away, I was walking by an electronics store that had a couple of TVs' in the window. One of them was talking about the shooting at the Tsubaki's house. Once the reporter mentioned that the police found two bodies in the house, I knew that Itachi was gone.

Once I turned 15, I got the hang of things. I knew that there were areas downtown where the police wouldn't bother you and which churches had the most food to hand out and nicest showers. I also learned a bunch of things that no 15-year-old should ever have to learn. For example, never go into a deep sleep if you are sleeping out in the open. This leaves you open to someone attacking you. Also, never leave anything you own unattended, even if you step away for a few seconds. I lost a couple pairs of clothes and a lot of food that way. But the most important rule I learned was the one that I unfortunately broke, which led to my life changing forever: Always be careful with who you hang out with. You never know who their enemies are or how far those enemies will go to get their revenge.

~0~

I met Ritsu when I was 16. He was tall, muscular and had chocolate brown air and green eyes. Like me, he also ran away from an abusive foster home and had been living on the streets for a couple of years. Our first encounter wasn't the friendliest. I was sitting next to a pond at the local park, trying to figure out what I was going to do that day. It was early in the morning, so there weren't a lot of people around. Since no one was around and the normal church I used to take a shower was closed for renovations, I decided to use that opportunity to wash up a bit. Stripping my dirty t-shirt off, I placed it down next to me and started to splash some of the pond water on my chest. Ritsu apparently saw me doing this and walked over to me while I was distracted.

"You know that water you're using to wash yourself with is extremely filthy, right? Or are you trying to get tetanus?" He said. Hearing his voice, I turned around and saw him standing there, a smile on his face. Scowling, I grabbed my t-shirt and stood up.

"Thank you for your concern, but it's not needed. So why don't you run back home to your parents and leave me alone." I started to walk away but his next sentence stopped me in my tracks:

"I would love to do that, but you see, I have no parents or home to run back to." Ritsu said, the smile that was on his face earlier replaced with a frown.

"Excuse me?" I asked, walking over to him. Ritsu nodded his head and glanced at my physical appearance, which wasn't the best. My hair was long, unruly and dirty. My t-shirt was covered in dirt and had a bunch of holes. The jeans I was wearing were tattered and held up by a worn-out belt that I found at a church I frequented for food.

"And judging by your appearance, it seems like you are in the same situation as me. Where are you staying?" He asked. I didn't answer Ritsu right away since I was still skeptical of his intentions. Living on the street taught me to be skeptical of anyone that tries to be friendly with you because nine times out of ten, they would use that friendship to take advantage of you. Ritsu was different though. Looking in his eyes, I could tell that his curiosity was genuine and at the time, I was desperate for any type of interaction with someone my own age.

"Near 18th street." I finally answered. Ritsu gasped.

"18th street?! You are a brave person. I wouldn't have the courage to stay in that part of town. Too many creepy people hang out there." Ritsu said. He was right, the area of town I was sleeping in did have a lot of creepy people in hit. I think I witnessed at least five drug deals and had to listen to countless number of guys using some of the local prostitutes in nearby alleyways.

"Where do you live?" I asked.

"I live on 7th street with a couple of other people. Hey, I have an idea, why don't you stay with us?" Ritsu said in an excited tone, a huge smile on his face.

"You're just going to invite a random person you literally just met to live with you? I don't even know your name." I replied. I then found Ritsu holding his hand out.

"I'm Ritsu. Look, now we're not strangers anymore! So, you gonna take me up on my offer?" He asked. Deciding to trust him, I grabbed his hand a shook it.

"I'm Sasuke. And sure, I'll go with you."

From that day on, I stayed with Ritsu and a bunch of other homeless teenagers. We shared food and information about where to get clothes and other supplies. I also learned more about Ritsu and his past. His situation was worse than mine was. His foster father not only beat him, but sold him for money and alcohol. After putting up with the abuse for 3 years, he ran away one night when his father was passed out on the couch from drinking too much. I learned about the things Ritsu had to do to survive on the streets, like sleep under park benches and steal food from convenience stores. Over time, Ritsu became a really close friend and started to feel like a brother. But of course, some higher being decided that I wasn't allowed to have any happiness in my life and snatched another person I became close to. The events of what happened that night would haunt me forever.

~0~

I was sitting on a nearby bench when I saw the black car pull up to the field Ritsu and I were sleeping in. The other two people that normally stayed with us were sleeping somewhere else that night. Getting a bad feeling, I walked over to Ritsu, who was sleeping on the ground nearby, and lightly shook him.

"Hey, I think we need to leave." I whispered, watching Ritsu open his eyes and sit up.

"Why, what's up?" He asked. Before I could answer, I felt someone grab me from behind. I tried to yell, but I felt a hand cover my mouth. Looking over, I saw a thuggish looking man holding a gun against Ritsu's head as a man in a suit walked over to him. The area we were staying in wasn't very well lit, so I couldn't really get a good look at the man, but from what I could tell, the man was heavy set and looked like he never worked a day in his life. He grabbed Ritsu's chin and jerked his head up.

"I've been looking everywhere for you boy." The man said in a creepy tone that made me cringe.

"W-who are you?" Ritsu asked, his voice showing how terrified he was. The man in the suit laughed.

"Oh come on, you remember me. We had a VERY good relationship, or have you forgotten all of those times I came to play with you?" I heard Ritsu gasp and his eyes probably widened.

"So, you do remember me? That's good. Now, down to business. Your daddy owes me a lot of money. However, when I went over to his house to collect it, he didn't have any. So now all of that money he owed is now your debt."

"H-how did you find me?" Ritsu asked.

"That was easy. With the right amount of money, you can find out all sorts of information, like the location of a homeless teenager." The man stepped closer to Ritsu and started to tug the teen up from off of the ground. During all of this, I was trying to escape the grasp of the man that was holding me in place. I couldn't get completely free, but I found a way to get his hand off of my mouth.

"Ritsu!" I yelled, hoping my yelling would attract some sort of attention from anyone that may be passing by. My yelling must have energized Ritsu because instead of going quietly with the man in the suit, he jerked away from the grasp and started to run away.

The next few seconds seem to pass by in slow motion. As Ritsu was running away, I found away to get out of the hold I was in and started to charge at the guy with the gun, not thinking of my own safety. The guy with the gun then fired the gun one time in the direction Ritsu was running in. I heard Ritsu cry out in pain and then it was quiet. Stopping in my tracks, I ran over to his body. I bent down and put Ritsu on his back, being careful not to move him too much. My hand was covered in blood and the back of his shirt was becoming heavy with all of the blood being soaked up by the fabric. I could tell that Ritsu was trying to focus on my face, but every second became harder than the last.

"S-sas-uke…" Ritsu whispered, his voice raspy. I shook my head, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall.

"S-stop talking idiot. You need to save your energy." I heard footsteps behind me and turned around. The man in the suit and the guy with the gun walked over to where we were. The guy in the suit shook his head.

"What a pity. He would have made me so much money." He then turned towards me. "I guess you'll just have to take his place." Seeing an opportunity, I jumped up and punched the guy with the gun in the stomach, causing him to lose his grip on the gun. Grabbing it, I pointed it at the guy in the suit.

"Not on your life asshole." I angrily said. The guy in the suit only laughed.

"You don't have the guts to use that. Now be a good boy and come with me." He said in a conceited tone. The man made a move towards me and I fired the gun, the recoil from the gun caused me to stumble backwards as the man fell face forwards on the ground, blood gushing out from the bullet hole in his head. When I heard sirens in the distance, I looked around and noticed that the black car was gone and I was alone in the field. Running back to Ritsu, I bent down and shook his body, but he didn't respond. At that moment, I broke down and started to sob, the gun still in my hand. Suddenly, I was blinded by a bright light being shone in my direction.

"DROP THE WEAPON!" A police officer yelled. I dropped the weapon and threw my hands up in the air. I heard another officer approach me and grabbed my hands and pulled them behind my back.

A lot of things happened after that. The police took me downtown to the police station, where I tried to explain what had happened and that I shot the guy in self-defense. Unfortunately, there were no witnesses to back up my story. There was also gunshot residue on my hands and because the guy who originally had the gun ran away, it was assumed that I had the gun the whole time. After looking through my things, they found a small bag of pills that one of the men must have dropped into my bag because I sure as hell didn't have it before. In the end, I was charged as an adult with Possession of a Controlled Substance, Unlawful Possession of a firearm and for both the murder of Ritsu and the man in the suit. The judge trying my case didn't hold back during the sentencing.

"Son, I don't know how you got those pills and gun or why you shot those two people, but I'm not going to take it easy on you because you are a teenager. I'm sentencing you to life in prison, with a chance of parole after 60 years or possibly earlier with good behavior." From that moment on, I learned how cruel the world really was and that happiness was just something I would never have.

And there we go. Now we know why Sasuke was in jail and all of the things he experienced during his childhood. As for the sentence, I had to adjust it a bit to fit the plot. If I gave him life without parole, that would mess up a couple of things. Anyways, I'm going to try and update my other stories this month.

Please review!