Summary: "Sometimes I wish I wasn't alone in the beginning. But then I look back on how much I have because of it, and think that maybe it was worth it."

Age: six, then older

Category: little baby Naruto, then team seven and fluffy Naruto and Sasuke interactions. NOT A SHIP FIC AT ALL

Note: I miss Naruto :( Happy late birthday, baby <3

Also, keep in mind that in the beginning, this is when Sasuke's a baby. Two years before the massacre and he got a stick shoved up his butt, so right now he'll just be a bubbly little kid like Naruto. The change happens later on. So it's not technically ooc.

<3

Naruto's birthday wasn't turning out super great so far. A store clerk had tried to take money from him by raising the prices intentionally for him, and a man had kicked him out of his restaurant when all he wanted was to try to buy a cupcake like he'd seen other kids get sometimes for their birthdays. His stubborn smile had disappeared a long time ago. He put his change in his pockets, and sat on a grassy hill by the road, watching the sun in silence, alone.  

Why so they all hate me? He asked himself. He'd thought about this before, and his now six-year-old brain couldn't come up with a reason. He didn't know if he was just stupid, or if all people were just meanies. He couldn't believe that, though, because they were always super nice to each other, so there must just be something wrong with him.

For a moment, the sadness engulfed him because he just couldn't understand what about him made people hate him. They never told him, they just shunned him. Tears welled up behind his eyelids, and he briefly allowed them to slide down his cheeks. Just this once. He promised himself firmly. This once, and I'll make them regret it. His shoulders shook, and he rubbed his hands over his eyes, trying to stop.

"Why're you crying?" Someone asked. Naruto blinked, not having noticed anyone there before. A little boy stood in front of him with a sneer on his face. He had dark, odd shaped hair. His hands were shoved deep into the pockets of his white shorts, and his long sleeved shirt covered him from wrists to neck. Naruto blinked in confusion, wondering why this kid was bothering to talk to him. He frowned when he remembered the bullies that had been trying to hurt that little girl. Maybe he was one of them. "Why are you crying?" The kid repeated, the sneer going away for a moment, and he just looked uncomfortable. "Aniki says shinobi don't cry."

"Yeah? Well, I'm not a shinobi, 'ttebayo!" Naruto returned, crossing his arms over his chest.

The little boy frowned, then drew his arms out of his pockets to mimic Naruto's position. "You don't want to be a shinobi?"

"'Course I do!" Naruto's eyes narrowed, and his cheeks puffed in a pout. "But doesn't mean I hafta start actin' like one now!" He insisted.

The boy frowned a little bit too. "I guess that makes sense. But Aniki always says I have to be ready ta be a shinobi..." he trailed off, like he didn't quite know what to believe anymore.

"Is he a shinobi?" Naruto asked hesitantly, wondering if maybe he was wrong, and crying really was weak at all times.

The little boy's face changed from confusion to excitement in a matter of seconds. "Yeah! He's eleven, and already gonna be a Chūnin!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He wasn't super smart, but be at least knew how the rankings worked, and that was ridiculous. "That's bull. Nobody's that good, that fast."

"My aniki is." The little boy nodded solemnly. "Father's proud of him. I wanna be just like him one day, and Nii-san never cries, so I don't cry either." He said with conviction. He frowned. "Well, I cry sometimes, but I've been trying to cut it back."

Naruto nodded. "Me too. I don't usually cry a lot, but I do slip up sometimes. I don't think Hokages cry." He thought about it. "I've never seen Jiji cry."

"Jiji?" The little boy's eyes widened. "The Hokage's your Jiji?!"

"Nah, he's just an old man that gives me money for food, n' teaches me stuff. He taught me how ta read, and ta talk, and hangs out with me sometimes, but he isn't related to me."

"Don't your real grandparents help you with that?" The little black haired boy tipped his head to the side in innocent confusion.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't have grandparents."

"How come?"

"Dunno."

"You think they died? My Kaa-chan's mom n' dad died before I was born. I don't really see my dad's dad 'cause Kaa-chan says my Tou-sama doesn't get along with him."

"How come?" Naruto asked, surprised. All of the kids he'd seen had gotten nicely with their dads. He didn't think he'd fight with his own dad if he had one.

"Dunno. Ojii-san's not 'round enough and no one tells me stuff."

"Wow," Naruto's eyes widened. Well, he'd learned something new.

"What're you doing out here, anyway?" The little boy asked, looking down at Naruto with a question in his eyes. "Isn't your Kaa-chan gonna worry about you?"

Naruto paused, wondering how he was going to do this. Normally kids were freaked out when he said he didn't have a kaa-chan, but he also didn't really want to lie to the first person besides Jiji who'd talked to him nicely. "Well... I don't really have a Kaa-chan."

"A Father, then?"

"Nope. Jiji said they both died right after I was born."

The little boy looked bothered, but not freaked out, like other kids. "Yeah, that sounds like Shisui's situation..." he murmured, but didn't elaborate on who Shisui was, and Naruto didn't have time to ask. "Well," he went on, sitting down in the grass in front of Naruto with a solemn look on his face. "I'm almost jealous. My Kaa-chan's ANNOYING. She's always tryin' ta kiss me, and make me do my studies, and she's always makin' me eat my veggies-"

"Ew..." Naruto broke in, grinning, because he never had to eat his veggies.

"Yeah. An' she makes me leave Nii-san alone when he has homework..." the black haired boy sighed. "Lucky you."

"Well... not really." Naruto said, his mood a little sour. "I don't have ta eat my veggies or go to bed early, but I'm really lonely. I don't have a family, really. I'm just alone. So I think you should a-" he tried to think of the word Jiji had told him the other day, "apreeshate your mom, 'ttebayo." (appreciate)

"Apreeshate?"

"Dunno, Jiji said it's a word for 'be happy for'."

"You could'a just said that."

"Yeah..." Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"Oh!" The boy's eyes widened. "I just realized, I don't know your name, so you must not know mine either. I'm Sasuke Uchiha." He extended his hand to shake, and Naruto grabbed onto it, giving it a downward tug.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He said, pleased that he now had a name to go with the face.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Hold on, your last name sounds familiar."

A rush of panic went through Naruto. Maybe he'll remember I'm the one the village hates, and never talk to me again... "R-Really? Uzumaki?"

Sasuke snapped his fingers, his eyes lighting up. "Oh yeah! My mom's best friend's name was Kushina Uzumaki."

"Wow, really?!" Naruto's eyes blew up at the idea of actually sharing a name with someone. "That's cool!"

"Yeah. 'Ccept for she's dead, and Nii-san says Kaa-chan always gets real sad 'round this time of year 'cause that's when she died. Pretty sure it was today, too, cuz Kaa-chan was lookin' a little worse today. "

"Wow, my maybe-family died on my birthday. Bummer." Naruto frowned, heart sinking. Sucks to be me for getting my hopes up. Nothing's really going to change. I'm gonna be alone forever. He sighed.

"It's your birthday?" Sasuke asked, looking confused. "So why were you crying, then?"

Naruto looked down, some of the leftover misery punching him in the gut. "'Cause I don't have anyone to celebrate it with."

Sasuke gave him a genuinely sympathetic look. "Tell you what. I'll hang out with you 'till my Kaa-chan calls me back. Sound good?"

"Sure." Naruto beamed, his spirits lifting at the thought of hanging out with his new friend. "Wanna play something?"

"Sure." Sasuke shrugged, himself and the little blonde boy pushing themselves to their feet. They played around for a few hours, talking a little, and running around as fast as their little feet could carry them. They played ninja, and hide and seek, then tag, and a bunch of other games. That was the first time that Naruto had fun on his birthday, he realized later.

A shrill voice shouted Sasuke's name, and he paused in his playing. Naruto paused too, his grin fading. The two had been playing around all day. And the sun was going down. "That's my Kaa-chan..." Sasuke told Naruto sheepishly. "I think I gotta go."

"'Kay." Naruto frowned, before his smile returned. "Well, it was nice to meet you. I'll see you around, right?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, definitely." Sasuke nodded the affirmative, extending a hand to wave at him. "See ya, Naruto!" He shouted, running back to his mom, who was walking up the hill. She was a slender woman with long, dark hair the same color as Sasuke's. Naruto watched them reunite, and the mother affectionately mess up Sasuke's hair. The mother looked up the hill, seeing Naruto, and he gave a halfhearted wave. The woman smiled at him, and waved back.

Naruto's heart warmed with happiness, because it looked like Sasuke's family was just really nice. The woman was able to clearly see him, but still smiled and waved even though she knew who he was. Naruto had never seen her around before, nor Sasuke.

Sasuke watched as his mother waved back to his new friend. They turned around to go back home. As they were walking away, Mikoto opened her mouth and closed it multiple times, looking like she wanted to cry. Sasuke didn't really know what to say to comfort her.

"Sasuke, darling," she began, gaining her son's attention. "Was that Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Yeah," Sasuke said, wondering how his mother knew him.

"Good." Mikoto gave him a pleased smile, looking happy for the first time Sasuke had seen all day. "You should keep hanging out with him, he's a good kid."

"'Kay." Sasuke said, thinking nothing of his conversation.

Sadly, Sasuke and Mikoto wouldn't be wandering into the village for a long time because the day after that, the Uchiha council got into a particularly nasty fight with the village council that kept a lot of Uchiha from going into the village. Sasuke hadn't realized that his clan and the village were so at odds back in his child days. He didn't forget Naruto, he just never got the option to see him again until the Academy, right after his parents and clan were killed. He changed drastically, and no longer interacted with anyone, much less annoying blonde people.

Naruto was just sad he'd lost his one and only friend.

—

Sakura showered Naruto with gifts every year after the war, saying she felt bad for slacking off back when Naruto was gone. Kakashi was also present at whatever festivities Sakura planned. Sasuke was just along for the ride. On Naruto's eighteenth birthday, Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke had decided to take him somewhere pretty. Sakura brought a bunch of food that she had made, (which tasted surprisingly good) and Kakashi brought some books and stuff to do.

Sasuke lead the way in bringing them all to a large cliff that overlooked a wooded forest, with a river directly below it. There was a waterfall a few paces away from them. The four of them sat there laughing, bringing up memories and telling funny stories to each other as they watched the sun set over the horizon. They'd each brought tents and sleeping bags so that they could relax here for a night. Once the sun was really setting, Kakashi disappeared to gather wood for a fire, and his three students were left sitting with their legs dangling dangerously off the precipice, munching on Sakura's food (which had improved considerably from when she was younger- it had become almost impossibly good).

"So far, this is my favorite birthday ever." Naruto grinned, and Sakura wrapped her arms around her friend's torso, briefly, before letting him go. Sasuke huffed, pitching his tent remarkably easily even with only one hand.

"You're just saying that, dobe." Sasuke sighed, taking a seat beside them when he was done.

Naruto still didn't understand why Sasuke didn't take up Tsunade on her offer of a prosthetic, but wasn't going to question his friend's judgement. Sasuke was no less dangerous having one arm. He was adapting and overcoming- and soon he'd be right back to as strong as he had been before- perhaps even stronger.

"Shut up, Sasuke-kun," Sakura turned around and slapped his normal arm playfully. "Let Naruto enjoy his day without the two of you fighting."

"I don't know how Naruto isn't restless, out here in the woods." Sasuke told them, stretching out his legs and looking at his friend. "Aren't you normally hyperactive? Wouldn't you have preferred to go to an arcade or something with big flashing lights and a lot of action?"

"Normally, yeah, ya know." Naruto said, tacking his familiar catchphrase to the back, before he lay back, staring at the stars that were just barely peeking out. The sun's rays were still up painting the sky all kinds of beautiful colors. "But I think... it's better to just spend time with my precious people instead of just doing stuff?"

Sakura nodded. "I get that, Naruto. It's more like you want the company than the party."

"Right," Naruto nodded towards Sakura, stretching his neck out so he could see behind them. Lo and behold, Kakashi appeared out of the woods with a huge stack of wood he must've cut down. "Kakashi-sensei, quit showing off your muscles and get the fire going already." He snickered at their teacher.

Kakashi set the huge wood pile down and flipped Naruto off. "When you get old, I'm teasing you mercilessly for being so cruel to your teacher now."

"I can't believe you even managed to get out of the office to celebrate Naruto's birthday." Sasuke hummed. "What did Sakura have to do to get you here? Swear her firstborn child to Shikamaru?" Naruto cackled some more and even Kakashi let out a snort as he got to stacking the wood.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Haha, you're so funny. I almost liked you better when you were gone."

"Well, I'm back now- if you want to complain to someone, yell at Naruto." Sasuke smirked, poking Sakura in the shoulder.

Kakashi and Naruto exchanged knowing looks, but neither said anything.

"What took you so long anyway, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, narrowing her eyes at her teacher.

Kakashi snuck his little orange book back into his pouch. "Erm... I got... attacked by a wild rhino and chased off the path of life."

All three students groaned loudly.

"I could smell that bullshit from a mile away!" Sakura exclaimed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"I can't believe you snuck out to the forest to read your stupid books on my birthday, sensei!" Naruto chuckled. "Some things never change."

"You got that right." Sasuke sighed.

Kakashi threw back his head and laughed, before coming to sit by them. The students and the teacher talked for a little, about the old days. Finally, when the sun set and the stars came out, they stopped talking and just watched.

"Remember when you and me hung out, that one time, on my birthday, Bastard?" Naruto asked out of the blue when their conversation died down.

Sakura's head perked up in interest. "This one I haven't heard before."

Sasuke looked confused. "When was that?" He asked, thinking back through all of the years of his relatively short life, and not remembering that.

"I don't remember what birthday it was exactly, I just remember that we were really little- like five. I was having a really bad day, and then you came over and started playing with me." Naruto recalled, propping his body up with his arms and rolling his neck back so he could stare at the stars that were just beginning to peak out. "I had kinda forgotten it until today, I think. It's weird."

Sasuke's eyes lit up with recognition. "You were turning six, I think." He murmured, immersing himself in the memory of hanging out with his tiny blonde friend in a field of soft grass. That had been one of his favorite memories when he was little- of course, eventually, he'd forgotten all about it. It had been so long ago.

"I think that was the first birthday I had that I didn't feel alone." Naruto whispered. "I never thanked you for that."

Sakura watched the two of them, head turning back and forth, finally settling on Sasuke to see his reaction.

"You can't thank me for something I did a long time ago- I no longer have control over those actions." Sasuke insisted, bringing his legs close to him and sitting criss cross. "Empirically, it doesn't really make sense."

Sakura rolled her eyes, fighting a smile. "You're being humble in an incredibly arrogant way. I don't know how you do it."

Naruto grinned at that.

Both boys had forgotten about that day until Naruto brought it up in one of his more recent birthdays, and Sasuke was finally refreshed. He told Naruto what Mikoto had told him, and the four of them (Sakura and Kakashi included) reasoned that Mikoto knew exactly who Naruto was and was happy her son had found her best friend's son.

Naruto was pleased that they were second generation friends. Sasuke pretended it wasn't that cool, but he smirked about it occasionally.

Kakashi stood up, wiping his hands on his pants. His three students looked at him with question. He walked over to the bundle he'd put by the fire, and took out a plastic wrapping.

"What's that, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, frowning at the package. Kakashi sat by them and opened the package.

"I thought since it's Naruto's birthday, we should have cake." Kakashi said, pulling out one of those cupcakes that Naruto had wanted as a child. He passed it to Sasuke, who handed it to Sakura.

Naruto's eyes widened at the sight of them, and he took it when Sakura handed it to him. Kakashi passed a couple more down the line, and together, team 7 ate their cupcakes.

"Sasuke, why didn't you eat your cake?"

"I don't like sweets, Kakashi."

"You're such a killjoy."

"Here, Sasuke, have a tomato instead. Give Naruto the cupcake."

"Hn. Thanks."

Naruto couldn't possibly be happier.

—

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Daddy! Happy birthday to you!"

Naruto swooped down, picked up his daughter and kissed her on he cheek. The poor girl squealed and giggled as her father tickled her. He finally set Himawari on the floor and smiled at the group that had gathered at his house. In the crowded dining room, he could see his wife, his son and his friends, Naruto's Konoha Twelve friends and Temari, Sakura, (standing beside her daughter with a huge, proud grin), and Gaara and Kankuro, who had come to visit for 'political meetings' (it was entirely because Naruto's birthday was coming up). Granny Tsunade and Shizune had come too, which was rare because Tsunade rarely showed up for events like this. Naruto's father in law came, but Naruto didn't expect him to stay long. Hanabi, Naruto's sister in law, however, would probably be in on the festivities until someone dragged her away. Iruka-sensei was here too, of course.

Naruto didn't see Sasuke. He knew his friend was busy, he had reports to write that were due soon, but Sasuke was normally excellent at time management, and Naruto had really wanted to hang out with Sasuke free of responsibilities. It felt like it had been forever. Naruto felt his stomach drop in disappointment when he couldn't make out his friends' familiar features by his family. His daughter, Sarada, extraordinarily similar looking had almost fooled him for a second, but alas, Naruto's friend hadn't come to his birthday party.

Kakashi was standing beside Sakura, arms crossed, his stupid Icha Icha novel still in his hand (honestly, didn't Kakashi ever tire of that series?), looking smug.

"I can finally tease you about being old!" Kakashi clapped his shoulder in greeting. Naruto rolled his eyes, but after he hugged his family, hugged his teacher.

"Yeah, dad, you're getting old. Even a dinosaur like Old Man Kakashi says so." Boruto poked his father in the stomach, making Naruto laugh at the ticklish spot, and run his knuckles through the brat's hair.

Naruto rolled his eyes when he let the kid go. Boruto grinned, saluting the old men, before he ducked away into the crowd, finding his friends Sarada and Mitsuki, and whispering to them about something. "You really gave my son more teasing material, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I have endless amounts of teasing material on you, Naruto. Remember the scarecrow of me in your room that you used to throw kunai at?" Kakashi teased, pretending to think back.

Naruto crossed his arms and pouted shamelessly. "If you weren't so creepy and didn't sneak into young boys' rooms, I would've been able to keep that a secret."

"I've done a fairly good job of making sure that Konoha doesn't know that it's Hokage tried to make a voodoo doll of me." Kakashi teased. "But of course... that information could just... slip."

Naruto grinned in amusement. "I assume you want me to get you a week off from work?"

"That would be great!" Kakashi exclaimed, clapping his hands excitedly. "A whole week to stay home and read Icha Icha."

"You're a pain in my ass, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, side-hugging Kakashi quickly with his free arm as he surveyed the place.

"Not as much as you were a pain in mine when you were one of my cute little Genin," Kakashi teased. Everyone in the room was smiling and laughing, speaking with their friends and family, and having a great time. Sakura and Hinata smiled at each other, watching the two Hokage interact playfully.

"I guess Sasuke's not coming," He said, trying his hardest not to sound too dejected.

"Sasuke's a busy man, Naruto. He probably has things to do." Kakashi shrugged, as he too scanned the gathering of friends for the Uchiha patriarch. "But I wouldn't be too sure that your best friend won't make an appearance somehow. Sasuke has always been good at that."

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, though he doubted his friend would come anyway. Parties were never Sasuke's scene. Many people  thrived in parties- Sasuke didn't seem to like the amount of people that were involved in socializing in events like this. It wasn't like Sasuke had been a social butterfly when they were pre-teens either.

Naruto finally grabbed a glass of wine, looking around at the group of friends gathered for Naruro's birthday. "Thank you, everybody, for being here." Naruto addressed all his precious friends and family, crowded into his house and waiting for him to blow out the candles on his cake. Everyone fell into a hush, watching the Hokage as he said what he wanted to say. "As you all know, I grew up basically alone. I didn't have parents or family, or any friends until I was twelve." Naruto explained. Everyone watched solemnly, Hinata wiping a few tears away at the reminder of the Hokage's humble beginnings. "I might've been a brat, as a kid, but I lived a harsh life.  It took a lot of hard work, and determination to get me where I am today, and I did that by telling myself  every day not to give up. Even when things got so hard I couldn't see a way out."

Naruto looked at Sakura, the girl who had quickly become his sister, and found that she was nodding in agreement as she listened.

Naruto reached around and hugged his wife, ruffling his son's hair, and resting his hand on his daughter's shoulders. "When I look around at all your faces, I see the proof that I'm finally out of that dark time in my life- I have a family, I have friends. I've met my parents. I know who I am now. That's such a huge deal to me. And all of you, every single one of you, including a bunch of people who aren't with us today, are part of what got me here. I might've had a lonely beginning, but today, I'm surrounded by so many people who keep my world spinning." Naruto told them, making sure he met everyone's eyes with a grateful look. "I just wanted to say thank you."

Ino burst into loud tears, then, making everyone let out a watery chuckle. Hinata was still crying, and Sakura was standing firm, eyes warm and proud, and only a little wet. Kakashi, Tsunade and Iruka stood next to each other, exchanging proud looks. Naruto's friends high fived each other and laughed. Sarada was looking on with a big grin.

Naruto's own children were looking serious for the first time today. Himawari took her father's hand and squeezed it tightly, as if she understood the emotions swelling up in his heart. Boruto stood close to Naruto in silent support, which meant everything.

"I don't know how things could've been different- if things could've been worse, or better, or how to judge something like that. I just know that today, right now, I'm happier than I've ever been, 'ttebayo!" He flashed his one hundred watt smile. "Though I'd be happier if Sasuke had decided to drag himself out of bed and to my party."

"Tch. Dobe."

Naruto whirled around, finding Sasuke leaning on his window in his cool guy pose from when they were genin, arm crossed over his chest, eyes shut, smirk on his face. He was just smug because he'd managed to sneak into a room full of people, right behind the Hokage, without being noticed. "I wouldn't miss it." He muttered, before standing up straight and walking to Naruto. He clapped Naruto on the shoulder supportively, patting Himawari's head as he passed Naruto's family, heading to his own. He stood by Sakura, who looked happy, and Sarada, who slipped her hand into his. Sasuke squeezed his daughter's hand, before nodding to Naruto.

"Bastard." Naruto muttered, making the entire room start laughing. But Naruto couldn't deny that he was floating- his best friend had come even though Sasuke was behind on a mountain of reports and paperwork from other nations. He'd made time to come.

"Anyway..." Naruto continued, having already forgotten what he was going to say. "I'm happy. Thank you." He said to his waiting audience.

Once their friends quit oohing and ahhing and fawning over Naruto, Sasuke walked forward to deliver his own congratulations.

"Happy birthday, idiot." He told his friend, bowing respectfully before the Hokage. Naruto rolled his eyes, grabbing Sasuke's shoulders and hugging him, like he had with everyone else at the party.

In doing so, Sasuke swiped the Hokage hat right off Naruto's back without the blonde even noticing, playing around with it when they pulled away.

"Hey!" Naruto said, disturbed by Sasuke's completely imperceptible slight of hand. "That's mine."

"It's yours?" Sasuke asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hm. It doesn't have your name written on it."

"It comes with a matching coat that does." Naruto pointed out, gesturing to his cloak with the words Nanadaime Hokage imprinted along the back.

"Huh," Sasuke deadpanned, looking between the cost and the hat as if he'd never made that connection before. "Oh well, finders keepers." He shrugged, twiddling the hat between his fingers gracefully.

Naruto sighed. "Come on, teme, gimme my hat back."

"You're saying you aren't man enough to come get it, ursuratonkachi?" Sasuke asked, stopping the twirling.

"Ooooh," Kiba shouted from Naruto's couch.

Naruto flipped Kiba off without turning around, and sighed. "Alright fine, I guess we're doing this." He waited a moment, before he lunged forward.

In an instant, Sasuke was gone. Naruto turned around, and found Sasuke standing behind him, still spinning the hat.

"Come on, don't tell me old age has made you slow." Naruto's friend teased.

"I'm thirty-three!" Naruto threw up his hand. "Not eighty! You people have problems." But he jumped forward to grab the hat anyway.

Sasuke disappeared predictably, but Naruto was now using sage mode to track him. So when Sasuke jumped out the window and started running, Naruto did too. Everyone crowded around the window, cheering them on as they used their incredible chakra reserves to run across the village at speeds unmatched. The two of them became blurs in the night, playing tag like the old days.

Except they were shinobi- not crybaby little six year olds, playing in the fields on Naruto's birthday. They were so much faster than they used to be. 

But it was the same concept.

"Sometimes I wish I wasn't alone in the beginning." Naruto thought as he sped by and stole the hat from Sasuke's hand, smirking as his friend was now forced to come after him. "But then I look back on how much I have because of it, and think that maybe it was worth it."