Finding Myself [Rewrite]

Orphans: Short

"Why is it that all three of us are orphans and we're all treated so, so differently?"

The three children sat by the river, one skipping stones, one collecting herbs, and one practicing his fire release techniques. The child collecting herbs raised a question that has been on her mind for a while, but she'd never asked.

The other two paused, one mid-toss, causing a pebble to fall to the ground, and the fire blown out by the second one evaporated into the air.

"Now that I think about it..." The kid throwing stones muttered, watching the river flow undisturbed.

"It is odd, isn't it." The other kid nodded, applying a salve to his slightly charred hand.

The girl collecting herbs put her basket down, letting out a deep sigh, "It's unfair that Naruto has been stuck in the same one bedroom apartment and given an allowance that barely covers food for a week, when his parents literally saved the village from total destruction."

The boy that was training with fire willingly gave his friend his hands and let her work. "Especially compared to us. You got a house, an entire province actually, and everything you buy is paid for by the Hokage himself. You live in this village, and they pay you for it."

"Hey, yeah! Didn't all three of us lose our like, entire clans? Why does Sasuke get a nice two bedroom apartment on the nice side of the village, that gets regular maintenance, and triple my allowance!" Naruto whined, "Not saying you don't deserve it, but it's just so... Unfair."

Sasuke hissed quietly as his burn began rapidly healing itself. "I'm never getting used to that... And yeah, it is. Even if the circumstances were different, the end result was all of us being left alone... My clan was a founding clan, and so was Mina's, and yours, Naruto, so that can't be the reason."

Mina rubbed her fingers over the newly healed area, humming, "Mhmm. It could be the time difference. My clan was wiped out twenty years ago, Naruto's thirteen years ago, and yours just six years ago... Honestly this village should be more concerned about the fact that their founding clans are dwindling." She lightly scratches her cheek, tilting her head to the side.

Naruto rolled his eyes, waving his friends over to him since he was the furthest away. "I don't even know who or what the founding clans are, but they gotta be important if they're being taken out one by one like this."

Sasuke and Mina looked at each other, shocked. "That's the smartest thing you've ever said." They muttered in unison as they both joined Naruto in his spot.

Naruto rolled his eyes, again, and lightly shoved Sasuke's shoulder. "Oh, shut up."

Mina's lips curled into a half smile as Sasuke began to laugh.

"It's true though, you've got ramen for brains and you know it." Sasuke remarked, getting a rise out of Naruto who was just going along with it.

Naruto playfully stuck out his tongue. "At least I know how to have fun, and besides, Mimi likes me more because I am the way I am, right, Mimi?" He asked, turning to his best friend who was trying not to start laughing with them, which she failed at.

"Pfft- you guys are so funny. And you know I like-"

"She likes me the most." A small dark colored lion cut her off midsentance, lifting a fuzzy paw as if he were waving.

Naruto blinked as he gazed at the lion who seemed to materialize out of nowhere. "When did you... How did you.. you know what, I don't care enough." He shrugged.

Mina covered her mouth with her hand, laughing into her palm as her eyes turned a vibrant shade of yellow. "Ren, you're supposed to be with Nao, babysitting Lukia and her pups!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Lukia isn't another bear, right?"

"Please don't let it be a tiger, I'm terrified enough of going to your province at night!" Naruto whined, hugging himself as he could imagine a large cat breathing down his neck.

"Relax, Lukia is a river otter. She lives in my pond." Mina explained, shooing their lion friend away and watching them trot off.

Naruto breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodnes-"

"Hold on, you go to her province at night? Why?" Sasuke gave their friends a skeptical look, folding his arms over his chest.

Mina put her hands on her hips. "He doesn't have enough money for food, which you know, so sometimes I make him dinner, we also sleep together."

"You what-"

Naruto's face became a shade of red similar to ripe cherries and he held up his hands as he shouted, "Hey! You cannot say it like that, Mimi! And Sasuke, you sleep next to her sometimes too, and you cannot deny it."

Sasuke furrowed his brow, sighing, "Yeah, whatever... Anyway. Back to the topic at hand."

Mina was a bit confused, but she let it slide because the two of them seemed fine enough. "Yeah, so, Naruto is the host for the nine tailed beast, which was done to him against his will. And yet, everyone in the village treated him like... Well... Garbage."

"For as long as I could remember... Jerks..." Naruto mumbled, shaking his head. "The Nine tails... What is it anyway? Why is everyone so afraid of it... Of me?"

Sasuke placed a supportive hand on his friend's shoulder, giving it a light grip. "Because people fear things they don't understand. Things they know nothing about."

"Exactly. It's something I detest about this world and mine." Mina said absentmindedly, counting the butterflies overhead.

Naruto shifted his weight to one side, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I guess people are awful everywhere..."

"Unfortunately... But at least... After everything we've been through, we found each other, right?" Sasuke whispered, which earned smiles from both his friends.

Mina wrapped them both up in a gentle hug, holding them as if they were the most precious people in the world. "If I had to go through everything again just to meet you guys, I would. I'm so glad to have you both." She muttered sincerely, with a slight giggle.

Naruto added in the hug, his smile so bright it nearly put the sun to shame. "Me too! You guys are the best, it's too bad we couldn't have gotten this close earlier!"

Sasuke let out a quiet chuckle, letting the both of them hold him, without joining in because he felt a little awkward, even though he definitely agreed with the sentiment he started.

The orphans of the Hidden Leaf Village were few and far between. They each had their own story, their own history, their own strengths and weaknesses...

But they were all lonely, starved for affection and attention, and most importantly, they all craved what they lost, and found some relief in each other.

Misery loves company, after all.