Naruto’s father had left the family after he had been born, muttering something about not being needed, leaving Naruto’s mother, Uzumaki Kyuubi, all alone with her sister, Uzumaki Nekomata, to come around ever so often to help with the children, Yugito not needing pretty much more attention then Naruto did. Even Sasuke didn’t know about it, and they had been friends since Sasuke moved in into the house next to his when he was three, the two toddlers hitting it off fine… Naruto had a secret, which he hid from everyone around him, save his family. Maybe I should get a job and make some money to support mom when she gets an accident or something like that. There always seemed to be something tired about his mother that made him feel sad.
Naruto looked at his mother, seeing that she was ready to go on one of those tirades about being a woman who didn’t need the charity of someone else to live. We are doing just fine, I have paid off most of the loans I had standing open through working so much, so we don’t need your family’s help, Sasuke-kun.” “Uzumaki-san, Naruto told me that you were working a lot to provide him and Yugito-chan with a house, so I wondered if I might be able to help out a bit… I could talk to my mom.” She looked at him and gave him a look that was so stern that he couldn’t help but flinch away from it. Sasuke gathered his wits and he coughed softly, something which drew her attention. A fly might fly into your mouth and then you’ll choke on it.” “Uzumaki Naruto, close your mouth right now. There was a silence as she looked at him with a raised eyebrow. There was a silence as Naruto’s mouth hit the floor and he looked at his mom with eyes that also seemed to be ready to drop out of their sockets. “Oh, what jokers are you two… Laughing about a poor and unfortunate lady, are you?” there was a silence as they both looked and stared as Naruto’s mother walked up to them, wearing clothing that definitively showed off her figure, making Sasuke gulp softly as he watched the breasts jiggle a bit. You know she hates being called that, but still you do it, teme.” There was a silence as they looked at each other, then Naruto began to laugh, Sasuke joining in soon after. Naruto growled slightly, looking at his best friend with a mock glare. Ever since his big sister moved out, it had been rather lonely in the house, since his mother worked most days, being a teacher at the high school they both attended, making his life in class hell by asking him if he had taken his lunch and if he wanted her to buy him something nice if he had forgotten it, which was the case at times.
Sasuke could feel his heart go out to the boy that sat there on the swing next to him. “Naruto? Is something wrong?” he heard the raven haired boy say to him, looking at him with those blood red eyes that signified the trademark thing that the Uchiha all had, the Sharingan, an eye that seemingly was able to tell the future in ancient legend, but apparently wasn’t of much use to him. He looked at Sasuke who sat on another swing, looking at him with sad eyes. His big sister Yugito also seemed to be somewhat more willing to work lately, since he had spotted her having taken a job at the local burger king, working there for a pay that was very low, but it brought money into the house. He knew that they weren’t living the big life, which is why his mom had to work a lot during the day to keep them all fed. Naruto was sitting on one of the swings, looking over the grassy plain that stretched out in front of him and he sighed deeply as he thought about how hard his life was at the moment. There wasn’t a lot to do in the town, only having a Mall and a few restaurants, and a local high school, which both Sasuke and Naruto attended, together with some of the local youth. He stood around 6’1, which was a bit taller then his best friend Uchiha Sasuke, who was also a nice and lively boy, his elder sister Itachi being the one that was at least a bit saner then most, due to her inherent intelligence, which had landed her a position as a student and the prestigious university not far from town. Uzumaki Naruto was what you would call an ordinary boy. Disclaimer: this is something of a second book, but it’s set in the present time, no ninja stuff, though there will be some mythic things coming in it…