Finding Family | A Naruto/LOTR Crossover

Chapter Two: The Loner of Weathertop

Sasuke huddled inside his cloak in the little alcove of the abandoned ruins. He still had no idea where the hell he was, and he wasn't sure he wanted to, given all the howls and the sheer eeriness of the forest around him. Trees seemed to shift whenever he ventured in, creaking as if they were moving, though Sasuke was fairly sure he wasn't anywhere near the First Hokage. Senju Hashirama was dead, and so was he. The thought brought giggles to his lips. His hands were tiny. Child-sized. Yet he could feel the blood racing through them. He could feel their warmth. That told him he was alive. He was alive and yet he was supposed to be dead.

Nibbling on one of the various berries he'd found, he pulled the worn, tatty cloak he'd found further around himself, snuggling down to sleep for the night as he had many others. No beast, human-looking or otherwise, had dared to come into the ruins, and for that Sasuke was grateful. He could brood in peace. Mourn in peace. He was supposed to be dead. He was supposed to be with his brother. Tears pricked his eyes. He wanted nii-san. Sweet turned bitter inside his mouth, stomach twisting in knots the more he thought about Itachi... and the way he'd killed him. The way Konoha had forced him to. It was their fault. All their fault. Furious, he swiped at his eyes. He was a shinobi, and shinobi never showed their emotions. Teeth sunk into his lip. But he was alone... and he couldn't see any enemies about.

Sighing, he pulled the cloak over his head, sinking into it, closing his eyes as exhaustion finally hit, and it hit hard. He'd never slept peacefully through the night before, so waking up to warm sunlight surprised him. It crept in through the small entrance to the little alcove, warming his face, nearly blinding him when he opened his eyes. They were still sensitive, despite his lack of sharingan. His sharingan was gone. He'd tried every trick in the book, but the chakra pathways which were supposed to be there were not. There were no chakra pathways anywhere in his body, because the strange energy inside him wasn't chakra.

Useless. That was what he was. What good was a shinobi without chakra?

Scowling, he slumped against the wall, trying to become one with it as best as he could. What was he supposed to do? There was no one around for miles. He could tell that much thanks to his surprisingly far-seeing eyes. The weird ruins he was in were the only form of settlement. Was he alone?

Ice flooded his veins. "Is this my punishment?" he whispered, cuddling his knees to his chest. "Where's brother...? I want my brother..." Tears rolled down his face, thick and warm. "Itachi would know what to do..." He wasn't anything like his brother. His shoulders sunk. Konoha had ruined him. It had ruined the Uchiha. He laughed bitterly. "Not that it matters," he muttered in that musical voice of his. The voice of a child. He was anything but a little whinging brat... Sasuke froze, hiding his face in his hands. "Wait. That's exactly what I am right now..." More tears leaked out, dripping down onto the stone floor. "If Naruto could see me now," he said, pushing himself to his feet, ready to venture out into the world yet again, ignoring the slight fear curling in his chest as he made to leave the safety of the nest he'd made. "He'd call me pathetic, no doubt."

He trudged out into the light, skirting his way down through the ruins, nimbly reaching the treeline within minutes. His body was that of a child, and apparently with that came the boundless energy of one. Yawning, he hurried towards the bushes he'd found the berries and nuts before, some childish part of him longing to get back to the alcove where it was safe. Though it might've been the shinobi part of him too. It wasn't good to linger in places unknown.

The bush was at the perfect height, the berries ripe for the picking, just as they had been days before. It was unusual, but Sasuke wasn't about to complain. It was one of the few food sources he had, and he wasn't looking forward to the time when it ran out. Not that it would be anytime soon. He wiped the purplish stain from around his mouth, scowling as he looked at the dirt staining his skin. He'd have to find somewhere to bathe sooner rather than later. He stunk, and Uchiha weren't allowed to stink. Even if they were ex-Uchiha. He doubted there were any others around, and it probably was a name better forgotten. It had brought him nothing but strife. He'd died, for crying out loud. He wasn't even wearing his clan symbol anymore, it was likely lost in death and everything that had happened afterwards, or so he presumed, seeing as his memory was a blank from death to his strange arrival in the foreign lands.

"But right now," he mumbled, turning back in the direction his ruins were. They were his now, seeing as nobody else was around to claim them as their own... besides, he was living there. It was his new home. "I think it's time I head back," he continued, ignoring the creaking of the trees, and the way the roots seemed to shift as if to stop him from going back. His ears twitched, picking up the sounds of murmurs and laughter. Happiness. His newfound childishness urging him to turn around and track down the source of the sound – to join in with it as he should. But how could he be happy alone in a place he didn't know, with neither friend nor family to keep him company?