The droplets of water fell off the tips of my hair, making a faint sound every time they fell to the ground. The small towel that I used to dry my hair laid on my shoulder, drenched with water.

I left the bathroom, fully clothed to the brim, with my blue basketball shorts and my plain black hoodie on, to go check on Naruto.

When the couch came into view, I saw Naruto fast asleep, just as he was the last time I checked in on him.

I was waiting for my mother to arrive and pick me up, the 30 minutes shoe told me she was going to arrive in had now turned into 40 minutes.

This usually happened. Despite my mother running some important company, she still ran late to her company meetings and everything else along with it.

I walked over to the coffee-colored couch where Naruto rested, his face as relaxed as ever, and sat down in front of it, my back lounging against the couch.

I leaned my head back and closed my eyes, wondering what my mothers' lame excuse would be this time. Last first time this happened, my mother said that she was busy taking her lion for a walk. I only believed it because I was three.

I felt an unexpected weight lift off my shoulder. Then something grasped the top of my hair. I opened my eyes and turned back. It was Naruto. His eyes still told me that he was tired, yet here he was, sitting up with a towel in his hand.

"Turn," he ordered. I obliged, and I felt the rough towel on the top of my head, as Naruto gently dried my wet hair.

I could feel his tender hands through the thick towel on my head, as he dried my hair, the water droplets from my hair falling on the carpet.

After drying a good portion of my hair, he stopped drying my hair and placed the towel on the floor right beside where I was sitting.

I turned back to face him, to realize that he already went back to sleep, his back facing towards me as his soft and even breaths.

I giggled and looked back towards the front, staring at the dark, blank TV with my reflection inside it, staring right back at me, with the same expressionless face that I had.

My mother was taking too long, seconds turned into minutes, and the minutes began to feel like hours. I realized after some time how quick my heart was beating, and I started to feel my throat closing in on itself.

Panic attack, I thought to myself quickly as I began to take in deep breaths, calming myself down. They began after my father died. He promised me the day he left that he would call me right after landing at his destination.

That day 3-year-old Sasuke, awaited the desired phone call that would never come to him, and instead receive the worst news in my short time of living in this cursed world that was unfair to all.

As I calmed down, I regained the ability to breathe normally once again. My panic attacks weren't as bad as others. It was just a sensation that my throat would close in on me. It usually takes about a minute or two for me to be able to breathe at a normal pace once again.

After calming down, as if time, I heard a small synchronized knock on the door several times in a rhythmic pattern. There was no doubt about it. It was my mother.

I got off the floor, leaving a slightly wet stain of water on the area of the couch I leaned on, and walked to the door, towel in hand.

When I reached the door, I placed a hand on the cold dark oak door, sending shivers throughout the rest of my body. I grasp the doorknob and turn it slightly, opening the door.

And as I expected, my mother stood on the other side of the door. She was wearing a black suit with a dark blue tie. Her hair was down like always and perfect like usual.

"Finally," I sighed deeply, as I bent over to grab my shoes beside the doorframe as my mother watched me put them on.

"Where's your friend?" she asked me out of curiosity. I peered up at her as I finished the lace on my first shoe. "He's sleeping right now," I told her.

She nodded and watched me finish the lace on my second shoe, getting up right after. She walked down past the rest of the apartments on the floor, with me trailing close behind.

My mother's dark hair drifted in the wind as she made her way down the stairs. "Heard there's a festival in town, wanna head there?" she asked me without looking back.

I contemplated for a moment, quickly responding with an answer. "Sure." We walked on the sidewalk, talking about what we had going on in our busy lives.

"Yeah, Itachi's overworking himself again," she said in a weary voice, letting her dark hair fall over her face. I sigh. Itachi did always outdo his own expectations on an unhealthy level.

My mother stared back at me, "How's the Uzumaki hunt going?" she asked me out of the blue. I felt a sinking feeling go through me. The one thing I was hoping to distract myself from just came back to me.

My mother read the situation quickly, "Not well, I'm assuming," she guessed. I shook my head, looking forward again.

It went silent for a couple of minutes. It was an uncomfortable silence that I didn't like. I hear the birds chirp and the happy cheers of children in the distance. They were barely audible. "Do you have any advice?" I ask, breaking the silence.

She looked over at me, "I mean, do you have any idea what they look like? All I know is that he's got blue eyes," I admitted in defeat.

My mom looked back ahead. The silence was present once again, and somehow more uncomfortable than the first time.

I directed my eyes away from my mother, and centered them on the road ahead, looking at the empty streets of Konoha.

"I was friends with an Uzumaki once," my mother admitted out of the blue. I snapped my head towards her. She looked at me with a confident look on her face.

I was astounded. My mother never revealed anything of the sort the first time I asked her about this. "She was a good friend of mine, had a husband and a child,"

My mother rambled on, "I received news of her death, and I was completely devastated. I swore to myself that I would never speak of it again and just move on with my life,"

She looked at me, a sad appearance on her face, "I hope it was worth breaking." I stared at her, visible confusion on my face.

My mother looked back ahead, as she resumed walking at the same pace as before, "She had red hair and an outgoing personality. She was loud most of the time. I didn't know much about the husband other than that he had blonde, spiky hair,"

This can't be leading to what I think it's leading to, "Their son also had blonde, spiky hair like his father, but had his mother's personality and facial features. If you met that boy, you could never forget him, you know," she tells me.

I stopped following her and stared at her. She peeped back at me perplexed and turned around to look at me dead in my eyes.

"Did you happen to catch his name?" I ask, fear flowing through my voice. My mother didn't seem to pick up on it and gave a lengthy and hard thought about the answer.

"N-Naruko, maybe? No, not that, maybe, Natsuki? It's on the tip of my tongue," she told me, snapping her fingers, trying to think of the name that was familiar to her.

With a sinking feeling, I hesitated several times before uttering the words in a small, quiet voice, "Was his name Naruto by any chance?"

She looked up at me instantly at the sound of his name, "That's it!" she exclaimed happily with a large smile on her face.

"God, how could I forget? That boy was so remarkable. Couldn't forget him that easily," she stated, turning to continue walking ahead, leaving me in the same spot with a shocked face.

A/N Sorry this update took so long. I was busy and deciding what the next steps for this story was. Thank you for the support! Another extra thank you to hazelnuttys for the new cover I flipping love it. :)