CHAPTER ONE

"Care to explain this?" The cop in front of him held up his roll of hundred dollar bills.

"Ahhhhh… No not so much." Naruto answered. Christ, can't a guy get a brake. Kyuubi was never going to let him live this down. A thousand year old half demon and I can't even avoid the cops.

"Alright you're coming with me. We'll sort this out at the station" The cop handcuffed him and shoved him in the back seat of the car.

Naruto thought about his options. 1) Give the guy the slip by using a jutsu, 2) go along with the cop and have them call Kyubi to come get him, or 3) play dumb and disappear later.

Naruto really didn't want to explain to Kyuubi why he had been arrested. He actually had been innocent! This time. And using jutsu was out because he could never tell who might be watching so that left playing dumb. Ah well, no hardship there, he thought. Stupid dumb luck that I had to be fingered for that liquor store robbery, it'll never stick, even with that cash.

At the station, his prediction played out. The surveillance camera showed that the crooks were all much taller than Naruto and none of them had blonde hair. But that still left the problem of what to do with the boy. They could find no record of him anywhere, and the only thing he had on him was the wad of bills.

"Give him to social services," One cop offered, and since no one could think of anything else to do with the irritating blonde that's what they did. I might just stick around a while. Eternity needs a little spice every now and then. I've been pretty bored lately and it's not like I'm expected anywhere. I'll call Kyuubi later. Naruto gave them his trademark fox grin and laughed. This might even be fun.

Then again, he thought as he looked at his new accommodations, I've been wrong before. he thought as he looked at his new accommodations,

The foster home his case worker has pulled up to was a small three bedroom box that looked vaguely like a house, surrounded by a hundred other boxes that looked exactly the same.

"You're kidding right?" He asked the impatient woman in a cheap suit, who was walking up to the door.

"Be grateful, Kid. Most kids don't get foster homes this quick."

"Naruto." He said.

"What?"

"My name is Naruto." She shot him a look of disgust and impatience. Naruto grinned. He hadn't seen that look in a really long time. He sighed in happy nostalgia. Well. Lets go meet the new roomies.

Turns out it was a school day and the house's other occupants wouldn't be home for a while. The supervisor was a fat balding guy who had a burned out cigarette hanging from his pudgy lips, who was introduced as Joe. Naruto thought all this was incredibly amusing. After all the paper work was signed, and the case worker left, the fat man turned to give Naruto a once over.

"What's so amusing, toe-rag. Think its funny being a useless waste to society? Think it's a joke to waste other people time?" Naruto couldn't help it, he burst out laughing. The older man turned an odd shape of purple and started to take a swing at Naruto's head. Not finding this at all amusing, Naruto grabbed the fist aimed at him and started to squeeze. Before he got very far, though he heard two people come in the front door. Letting go, Naruto smiled pleasantly at Joe "These must be my new room-mates."

Gaara walked beside his brother Kankuro, lost in thought. I hate school. I hate the home. I should kill them all. It had been typical day. The student body was just that, a body with no mind attached. Idiotic teenagers obsessing over idiotic lives. As if it mattered. Gaara didn't care, he didn't care about anything. So he didn't understand his peers' strange actions. Maybe if he cared…

But he didn't. Ever since their parents had died, he, his brother and their sister had been in care. Their sister had been adopted a while ago but no one wanted the strange red haired boy with the symbol on his forehead. No one, not even Gaara himself knew what the symbol meant, only that his uncle had put it there before he had dumped them into the system.

Walking into the kitchen Gaara was jolted out of his thoughts by the sight of a boy about his age smirking up at Joe, and Joe looked almost… afraid? No imposable. The new boy was a little shorter than Gaara with short gravity defying blonde hair that stuck up in spikes. He was well built with compact muscles showing clearly under the rumpled tank top and baggy pants. He had odd whisker-like markings and when the boy turned to look at the newcomers he saw that his eyes were a surprising shade of clear blue. Eyes that were currently widening in what looked like shock.

GAAARA?! WHAT?! HERE?! HOW?! Naruto could do nothing but stare at his old friend in shock. He looked exactly the same as when he had first met him before the chuunin exams almost a thousand years ago, minus the big gourd across his back. Say something you idiot, Naruto thought furiously but was struck dumb at seeing the dead walk. Fortunately he was saved by Mighty Joe, who snarled an introduction and took himself out of the house. "So," Naruto said weakly. "We're going to be room-mates." Naruto could do nothing but stare at his old friend in shock. He looked exactly the same as when he had first met him before the chuunin exams almost a thousand years ago, minus the big gourd across his back. Naruto thought furiously but was struck dumb at seeing the dead walk. Fortunately he was saved by Mighty Joe, who snarled an introduction and took himself out of the house. "So," Naruto said weakly. "We're going to be room-mates."
The new kid was looking very uncomfortable. Gaara couldn't figure out why but decided that he must be just like everyone else in thinking Gaara was a freak. Turning to leave the room he said, "Come on, I'll show you, your new room." The room where the three boys would sleep had two beds and a mattress on the floor. The new kid, Naruto his name was, was looking at the room with a blank expression. Slowly it turned to amusement and he cracked up laughing. Taking by surprise Gaara and Kankuro, who was stretched out on one of the beds could only look in confusion at the blonde who was still now trying to hold in snorts while shacking his head. Great, thought Gaara, We have a lunatic for a room-mate.
Naruto knew he was getting looks but he couldn't help it. Two nights ago he was sleeping on cotton sheets, in a penthouse, with a demon for a room-mate and room service at his beck and call. Now he was sleeping on a tiny mat in a small room that looked like it might fall down around them at night, with two other boys, both of whom had been psychos in their past lives, and he wouldn't trust anything Mighty Joe prepared, if he could prepare anything. It certainly was a change. He noticed the two brothers exchanging looks. This made him grin. This really would be fun.

"So what does a guy gotta do to get fed around here?" Gaara glared at him and ignored the question. Kankuro answered, "Get a job, earn some money, buy food and prepare it." Naruto looked at the boy in surprise. "Joe doesn't believe in food, he lives off beer and cigarettes."

"Well, screw that. Come on guys lets go find something to eat. My treat." He pulled his cash out and left the room. About to leave the house, he turned and waited. Using his demonically enhanced hearing he heard Kankuro ask Gaara whether they would follow. After a moment Gaara answered, "If that idiot wants to throw cash around he can throw some our way. I'm not going hungry again." Naruto grinned happily. This is great. I wonder who else is around.

Auther Note:

I started this fic ages and ages ago. I have a few chapters, but unless I get some good ideas for where it'll go, it will probably be updated very varely. Whenever I get bored I pill out this fic but it'd very slow. So please review.