The sun crept lazily over the rooftops of Konoha, spilling soft gold over the battered windows of the orphanage. Children stirred in their beds, but I was already awake, sitting silently by the window. My small fingers traced invisible patterns on the cold glass, each movement deliberate, each breath steady.
Behind me, the soft snores and occasional murmurs of the others filled the room. Among them was Naruto, my brother tangled in his blankets, a wide, foolish grin stretching across his sleeping face.
Even now, the contrast between us was undeniable.
Where Naruto radiated warmth and chaos, I carried clarity.
Where he sought acceptance, I sought understanding. Power.
Two sides of the same coin, thrown into a world that would never accept us for what we were.
The matron's shrill voice cut through the morning calm, calling us to breakfast.
The other children scrambled, jostling each other, eager to eat.
Naruto laughed as he nearly tripped over his own feet, shouting something unintelligible and dragging me along.
I smiled.
Not because I felt joy, but because it was necessary.
Smiles disarmed suspicion. They made people underestimate you.
I sat beside Naruto.
Before us sat a plate of simple food. rice, a scrap of fish, and watery broth.
Half a serving, less than what the others had received.
Barely enough to satisfy a toddler, let alone two growing boys.
Naruto, of course, didn't seem to notice.
He grinned, grabbing his chopsticks with clumsy excitement, eyes shining as if we had been served a feast.
I watched him for a moment, the way he smiled despite everything, the way his spirit refused to break.
It was admirable in a way. Foolish, but admirable.
I picked up my chopsticks slowly, feeling the familiar weight of the stares around us.
Whispers.
Muttered curses.
Children pulling their plates closer, as if we could somehow contaminate them by being near.
Naruto was oblivious.
I was not.
I met their gazes, one by one.
No fear in my eyes.
No sadness.
The others sneered and muttered.
"Demons," they hissed under their breath.
"Monsters."
Naruto kept eating, lost in his world.
I heard every word.
I memorized every face.