B r o t h e r

•3•

Now twelve years old, the two siblings raced each other to the park. Bright smiles lit up their faces as they ran through the streets, both excited to meet their friends. Upon reaching the park, Naruto spotted a familiar raven haired beauty and ran over to her, tackling her into a hug.

"Hinataaa!" He shouted, the Hyuga was now blushing Scarlet.

"Dobe." Sasuke said, pulling the boy of the swaying girl by the back of his orange hoodie.

Sakura caught up to them and leaned onto her knees, panting for a bit before straightening up to greet her friends. Kiba was supposed to come later on with Akamaru and Chouji, a boy who moved to their town not too long ago. Ino and Shikamaru were coming as well, hopefully dragging Shino along too. Overall, they made a great group of friends in the past years. Sakura and Naruto have become inseparable, never leaving each other's side. They were still working on their brother-sister thing, but overall, life was good. After meeting up with everyone and playing in the park, a place that held so many bad memories to Sakura and Hinata, they split up to head home. Naruto, however, turned to his sister.

"Sak, if i asked Hinata to come with me to get ice cream, do you think she'd say yes?" He questioned, hope filling his eyes.

Sakura grinned, her lil' brother was growing up. "Of course she would! Go get 'er!" She said, gently shoving him in the direction of the dark haired girl.

Naruto grinned and gave her a thumbs up as he ran towards the girl, Sakura watched him with soft eyes. Hinata had told her a year ago that she had feelings towards Naruto, and Sakura couldn't approve more. Hinata was quiet and Naruto was loud, they would balance each other out perfectly. Just as she was about to turn and head home, she felt a shove and was thrown onto the grass. Green stains covered the girl's clothes, looking up, she met a familiar pair of brown eyes.

"Ami."

"Hey Sakura~! Miss me?" The girl sneered, stomping her shoe onto Sakura's foot.

Sakura but her lip as a stinging pain shot through her foot, this wasn't the worst that's happened before. It's been like this ever since her little brother came, he would go out somewhere and that's when Ami and her friends would come out. Sakura never told Naruto about it, especially since he told her about what happened to his parents. He's been through enough, and having to deal with his sister getting picked on would just be another problem thrown into his life. Picking herself off the ground, Sakura turned around without sparing a single glance at her bully.

"This is getting old, Ami. Don't you have better things to do?" The pinkette said as she walked away. The brown eyed girl growled but turned around nonetheless, she would get her another day.

Sakura continued her trek home, passing by familiar streets along the way. As she stepped into her home the familiar feeling of loneliness washed over her, she was alone now. For the first two years that Naruto was here, Sakura had forgotten what loneliness felt like. But now that he's been getting popular in school, he's barely home, just like their parents. Sakura shook the thoughts away and walked into the kitchen, planning on making a sandwich. Naruto was her brother, and she would love him no matter what.

-

Naruto grinned at Hinata as he watched her walk into her house before setting off to his own. Not a day goes by that he doesn't miss his real parents, but now he has another family to fill the gap. Of course, they didn't fill it all the way but Naruto was okay with that. He had great parents to look after him and an awesome sister that had probably already made him a sandwich for lunch. With that thought in mind, he sped up his pace. As he walked, Naruto passed by a red haired woman and a blonde haired man, both were holding the hands of a young boy who was about the same age as he was when the accident happened. Naruto's bright mood became dull and gloomy, as he began to reminisce all the memories he had with his real parents. Much to his dismay, the memories were fading away as he got older, but the feelings he had towards them would never change, and neither would the slight loneliness he felt when he saw other families walking by.

-
Sakura turned around at the sound of the door closing, she had just finished eating and was washing up her dishes. On the counter next to her was a plate with a sandwich on it for her younger brother.

"Naruto?" She called as she dried her hands on the kitchen towel. Receiving no response, Sakura decided to go and investigate.

Sniffles caught her attention and as she rounded the corner to the front foyer, she saw her brother with tears running down his face as he furiously tried to wipe them away. Without saying a word, Sakura embraced Naruto in a tight hug, which caused the boy to sob even harder. This wasn't something unusual, in fact, it happened all the time. Naruto would come home crying after having a flashback from the accident or seeing a family that reminded him too much of his own, and Sakura would be the one to comfort him as soon as he stepped through the door.

Of course, you'd think Sakura's parents would be the ones to comfort him, but because of their work hours, they're almost never home. However, despite the lack of parental comfort, the two have learned to depend on one another more than anyone else. They've both become the light in each other's gloomy lives, and they couldn't ask for more.

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I'm really liking how this is turning out! I hope you all do too :) anyways, how are you?