Finding Family | A Naruto/LOTR Crossover

Prologue: Sasuke and the Art of Hiding

Sasuke knew it wasn't going to be a good day when he woke up. He'd been expecting the Pure Lands – his family – his brother. God, he missed Itachi... His hands curled into fists. He'd just been too blinded by anger and revenge to see it. To see that he still loved the boy who gave him those obnoxious forehead pokes and scarfed down dango as if he were a starving man. Tears leaked down his face, wind biting at his cheeks as he sat atop the strange ruins. He wanted to see his family. He wanted his nana. He wanted his brother... he also wanted to see his ada... but not as much as the other two.

He blinked. Nana? Ada? Sasuke froze at the unfamiliar words which had replaced mother and father. And why did he sound like some sort of petulant child? He was an adult, no matter whether it was civilians talking or shinobi talking. Stomping his feet, he stood, proudly looking down from the set of ruins atop the strange hill, only to pause when he realised he hadn't moved that far. His eyes shot down to his feet, staring at the tiny feet attached to his short legs. He held his hands palm up, flipping them over, glaring at the tiny nails, perfectly pink, trimmed to the perfect size. His skin was smooth, unblemished despite all the fighting he'd done.

He was a child.

Again.

Sasuke screamed, his voice high, stones skittering as he stumbled back, falling into the ruins with a loud thud. Not only was he a child, but he also had no idea where he was. He'd journeyed far and wide whilst under the tutelage of Orochimaru. There wasn't a single place he hadn't visited in the elemental nations, and this place didn't belong to any of them.

Plus there was the matter of him dying. Kaguya had cut him down, drained him and Naruto of their chakra... he'd drifted away, like falling asleep, only to wake up on a strange crop of rock alone. He glanced around, some part of him holding out hope that he might spy a mop of blonde hair if only so he could throttle the idiot. Clearly his new situation was a result of his best friend's idiocy. It had Naruto written all over it.

He peered around the ruined fortress, sighing in relief when he spotted the puddle of shimmery water close to where he stood. His reflection might not have been particularly clear, but it did its job. His cheeks were red and round, nose slightly up-tilted, lips large and awfully pink. Long black hair fell down his back, about as long as Itachi's, his brain decided to remind him. Wide eyes of the darkest grey stared back at him from the puddle. There was no mistaking the fact that he was now stuck in a child's body. Worse, it didn't seem to be an Uchiha's at all. He tried to activate his sharingan, heart in his throat as his birth right – his last connection to his dead clan – refused to activate. His eyes remained stubbornly dark, his chakra not even moving in his core.

Sasuke froze, trying to pull on the strange light he could feel where his chakra was supposed to be. That wasn't chakra. He stared at his baby hand, grabbing either side of his head as he screamed. Nothing made any sense. He patted at his ears gingerly, ice settling in his chest when he noticed the points. He had pointy ears... He'd never heard of a clan with pointy ears... His scream echoed around the desolate place, his heart beating furiously as he realised his childish mistake. Who knew what enemies were out there? He'd just let everyone know there was somebody in the ruins. Climbing to the nearby wall, he blinked, eyeing up the forest surrounding his new location. Well, only if there were actually people in the forest. It was looking to be horribly deserted.

Biting his lip, he glared out at the world, gingerly taking a step out of the ruins. First things first he needed to secure food and water. He had his shelter. Only after he'd dealt with those things could he focus on other tasks – like curling up in a ball and lamenting the fact he was friends with one Uzumaki Naruto. Weird stuff always happened around him far too frequently to be natural.

::

Sasuke stared at the pile of edible berries and nuts he'd found. Well, he assumed they were edible, anyway. The thought of killing any sort of animal for food had brought tears to his eyes for reasons unknown. He just reasoned with himself that it'd be troublesome to start a fire for cooking. "Dammit," he muttered, pulling the cloak he wore further around his shoulders. "I'm starting to sound like that blasted Nara."

He sat there for a few moments, blinking at the sound of his voice, before checking his makeshift traps and curling up ready for sleep in his nice safe hidey-hole far away from any other form of sentient life, content to ignore the world around him so long as it ignored him.

He could deal with the oncoming angst in peace and quiet. No need to bother anybody else.