Naruto Uzumaki didn't hate much; in fact, she had a very short list of things that she absolutely despised. Number one on that list:high school. She was convinced that it was really just some secret government institution with the sole job of brainwashing and torturing teenagers so that they can fit societies standards of "normality". Ok, perhaps she was spending a little too much time with Gaara. But that's besides the point; high school was evil, and it should be illegal to force children to attend.

So, when her foster sister Temari barged into her room one mid-summer day, only to announce that the family would be moving from desert-hot Suna to always-perfect-weather Konoha, Naruto was not too pleased. She had spent enough time cultivating a fearsome, not really, reputation at Suna High, which will all go to waste now that she was being forced to move. This brings her to the second item on her list: moving.

Technically, Naruto was born in Konoha. But being an orphan with no known family members makes it easy for the foster system to move you around, so for the first twelve years of Naruto's life, she's lived everywhere, but never really finding a home. Until she met Gaara.

Gaara Sabaku was quite honestly the single most terrifying child Naruto had ever had the pleasure of meeting. He had bright red hair and teal colored eyes, that shone brightly thanks to all the eyeliner he wore. Naruto had been living in Suna for a total of three weeks, staying with this creep of a foster father, while attending the local middle school. During lunch one day, every single table was full except for one all the way in the back. There was only one boy sitting there, and all the students made sure to give him a wide berth. But Naruto was never scared of anyone, she was a twelve-year-old orphan who had stared down the toughest street rats known, she would not be scared by some creepy looking kid. So, she promptly took a seat at his table, and introduced herself with a toothy grin. A few death threats later, curtesy of Gaara, he let her stay. She intrigued him, no matter what he threatened, she always came back to their lunch table, and proceeded to spend the next hour of lunch talking his ear off.

It took two weeks before Gaara started to respond to her. It took three more weeks after that for him to actually acknowledge her as his friend. A month later, he brought her home and introduced her to his family. The month after that, he realized her foster father was nothing short of neglectful, and it was only a matter of time before she'll have to move away once more. It took two minutes for Gaara to persuade his parents to take her in, and even less for her to agree.

Now, four years later, on the cusp of Junior year, Naruto could gladly say that she is a part of the Sabaku family, having lived with them for so long. It did not mean she was happy about this move, however.

"I still don't see why we had to move." Naruto complained, for the thousandth time today as she dragged yet another box into their new home.

Kankuro groaned in exasperation, "Dad got a promotion here in Konoha, so we all had to come along. Now shut up and help us with the boxes."

"But Temari isn't helping!" Naruto cried, gesturing to the short-haired blond who was currently sitting on the kitchen counter, swinging her legs and playing games on her phone.

"That's because I'm a girl, it's really not good for me to carry all those boxes, you see?" Temari justified with a smirk.

"I'm a girl too!"

Gaara scoffed as he crossed into the foyer, setting a box twice his weight down, "I think we all disproved that fact after you joined that underground fighting tournament. For men."

"I won, didn't I?"

"You did." Gaara admitted, "And since you proved that you could throw fully grown men across the rink, surely that means you could handle a few measly boxes."

Naruto huffed in annoyance, "I prefer the days when you didn't talk so much."

Gaara laughed, "You only have yourself to blame for this Naru-chan."

Naruto flicked her best friend the middle finger, before making her way to the door, "Screw you Gaar-bear. I'm going to go see if I can find a grocery store in this hell-hole. I'm starving."

Slamming the door behind her, she could still hear the barking laughter coming from the three Sabaku siblings. Bastards.

It was official: Naruto Uzumaki was lost. She had found her way outside the neighborhood easily enough, but now she was just walking in circles looking for anywhere to buy some food. The Sabaku matriarch, Karura, worked full time as a surgeon, so she wasn't exactly ever readily available to do all the shopping. Not that Naruto minded, she loved shopping for groceries, and her foster mother was the absolute best; she was just busy. Rasa, the Sabaku siblings' father, was a lawyer working for some big-time firm. The promotion he had just got, which caused them to move to Konoha, will be keeping him busier than ever. It sort of sucked that both parents were always busy with work, but they always made sure to let the children, Naruto included, know just how much they love them. They were a family after all.

Anyways, the other three kids were horrible cooks, Naruto had to literally ban Kankuro from ever entering the kitchen, so that left the Uzumaki to do all of the shopping and cooking. She actually really enjoyed it. When she could actually find the damn grocery store that is.

Which brings her to her current dilemma of walking around in meaningless circles until she finds one. After walking past the same tree for the third time, she let out a growl of frustration, which according to the deep chuckle resonating behind her, was probably a tad bit too loud.

"You okay?" Asked the mysterious chuckler. Turning, Naruto found herself staring at a man somewhere in his mid-twenties. He had spiky orange hair, too many piercings to count, and tattoos that covered every inch of skin she could see, bar his face. He was wearing what appeared to be a fishnet shirt, with a leather jacket on top.

"Woah, cool ink man." Naruto exclaimed, practically drooling at all the cool artwork displayed on his arms.

"Thanks. You a fan of tattoos? You don't really look the type." The stranger remarked, eyeing Naruto. It was true, she really didn't fit the stereotype. Her waist-long blond hair was kept down, and she was wearing jean shorts and an orange tank top. In all honesty, she looked like one of those California beach girls.

"I actually worked in a tattoo parlor back in Suna." She confided.

The stranger's eyes widened, "Really? For how long?"

"Two years. I worked part-time while going to high school. Now that I moved here, I was actually looking for employment. Know any parlors that are hiring?"

"Yes, actually." The stranger said, "I actually own a parlor a few blocks from here: Pain's Parlor. Whenever you get settled in, just stop by with a few sketches of your best work. Impress me enough and you got the job."

Naruto grinned, "Really? Thanks man! Are you sure you're cool with hiring a high schooler though?" She asked, knowing most places aren't too keen on hiring a girl so young.

"Nah, your age is fine. We actually have another high schooler who works with us; been there for the last two years as well. If you get the job, you two will cover the afternoon shift right after your classes."

"That'll be perfect! I'm Naruto, by the way. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Nice to meet you Naruto. The names Nagato."

"Say, Nagato, do you know where the nearest grocery store is?"

Nagato had pointed her to the direction of a well-placed convenience store only two blocks from her new house. Only. Two. Blocks. Naruto didn't know whether to cry in relief or to scream in frustration.

The convenience store was actually really stocked, full of food and other necessities. It contained a porch right outside with a few tables with umbrellas, making it the perfect place to eat the ramen she just bought. Which brings her to the best part of the store: there was an entire wall of cupped ramen! Naruto was in heaven.

Buying the shrimp flavored one, along with several groceries needed to cook dinner tonight, she skipped onto the porch and took a seat at the table to the far right. If offered her the view of the entire porch, along with the street below.

Sipping on her broth, she missed the approaching figure until he cleared his throat. Setting her cup down, she looked up to face the person who was interrupting her special ramen time. The boy was about her age, tall, with raven dark hair and piercing onyx eyes. His dark clothing helped draw attention to his incredibly pale skin, and high-oh so very high- cheekbones. He was holding onto a steaming cup of ramen, while wearing a scowl on his face that really shouldn't have been as attractive as it was. In short: he was hot. But he interrupted Naruto's ramen time… no one interrupts Naruto's ramen time.

Lifting a single blond eyebrow, Naruto asked, "Can I help you?"

"You're in my seat." His voice was deep and melodious, hot enough that it sent shivers down Naruto's spine. Until she processed that absolutely absurd sentence.

"Your seat?"

"Yes. My seat."

"Well then, sit somewhere else. Can't you see it's occupied?"

"I don't care. Now get up."

"Hell no! I was here first!"

"And I said, I don't care."

"You'll have to force me Teme." If Naruto were being completely honest with herself, she'd admit that this was a really childish conversation, and that perhaps she could get up and just avoid the confrontation. But Naruto was stubborn. So, Naruto stayed seated.

"Sorry Dobe, but I draw the line at hitting girls. Not that you're much of one with that loud mouth."

Naruto scoffed, "Wow, and that's coming from the most effeminate guy I have ever seen in my life."

"You think I'm effeminate?"

"You're too pretty to actually be a boy."

The moment those words left Naruto's lips, she regretted them. The pretty bastard just smirked in response, "Huh, so you think I'm pretty?"

"No! You're a teme!"

"Yes, but a pretty one."

"Oh, fuck off."

"Tsk tsk, what foul language dobe."

"Stop calling me that Teme."

"Only when you admit you find me gorgeous."

"Never going to happen Teme."

"Well then dobe, I'm sorry I couldn't have been in any service."

Naruto exhaled in exasperation, standing up and grabbing her bags, "I'm done with my ramen anyways. Dealing with you isn't worth the headache."

The dark-haired bastard smirked, taking the seat Naruto just got out of. Tilting his head, he spoke, "Why thank you dobe, you certainly made my job easier."

Naruto flicked him off, muttering, "Damn you, Teme."

As she stalked off, she swore that she could hear his deep chuckling. Now, there were three things on Naruto's most hated list: 1) High school 2) Moving and 3) The damn Teme.

Dinner at the Sabaku house was always an interesting event. All three Suna kids had very different tastes, and they'll always fight at the dinner table. The one thing they all agreed on: Naruto was the best cook ever.

For tonight, Naruto had made steak tacos. Of course, Kankuro took this as a sign that he should start pelting his older sister with chunks of steak. As Temari held her brother in a choke-hold, Gaara turned to look at his best friend, "So how was your day?"

Naruto took a bite out of her taco, before replying, "Well, I sort of got lost looking for a place to buy groceries. Which I'm actually thankful for, since I got to meet Nagato."

"Nagato?"

"Yeah! He owns the tattoo parlor a few blocks down, and he offered me an interview. I just have to show him a few of my original pieces. Which reminds me, mind if I take a picture of your forehead? I'm quite proud of that one."

A few months previous, Gaara made Naruto give him a tattoo in the corner of his forehead; a red kanji symbol meaning 'love'. Obviously, it made Gaara look even creepier to the students at their school, which he loved by the way.

"Of course you can. When do you plan on going in for the interview?"

"Well, Nagato said I could stop by whenever I'm settled in. But I don't want to take so long, only for them to have filled the position. So I was thinking of stopping by tomorrow, you know, to let him know I was serious."

"Sounds like a plan. Anything else happen today?"

"Nope. Boring as usual." For some reason, Naruto wanted to keep her interaction with the dark-haired bastard to herself. Plus, it wasn't like she was ever going to bump into the Teme ever again.

The next morning found Naruto skipping towards Pain's Parlor, with an album filled with her previous work. The Uzumaki was an artist at heart, and she'd worked at a parlor long enough to become really good at her job. She found the parlor only four blocks from home, tucked away in an alley. The door was painted black, and the sign was written in white letters. Entering, she heard the small bell go off. At the reception desk sat a woman with purple colored hair, around Nagato's age. She was chipping off some of her black nail polish in boredom, and when she heard the bell of the door, she drawled without looking up, "Can I help you?"

Naruto approached the desk nervously, "Hey, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Ah, I met Nagato yesterday and he-"

The receptionist cut him off, "Yeah yeah, I know. He told me. I'll get him right now." The moody woman got off her seat, and entered through the curtains behind her desk, presumably to get Nagato.

As Naruto stood their awkwardly, she was surprised to hear a familiar voice behind her, "Well well Dobe. Stalking me now, aren't we? I mean I know I'm pretty, but this is a little too far, no?"

Naruto quickly turned, only to find herself face-to-face with the smirking teme from the day before, "What are you doing here?"

"Ah, Naruto!" Nagato called, emerging from behind the curtain with the purple-haired receptionist in tow, "I see you met one of our best artists. He's the high schooler I mentioned yesterday, the one you'll work with if you get the job."

If possible, the teme's smirk widened even further at the revelation, "Well, it looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other then. Sasuke Uchiha. It's a pleasure."

Shaking the bastard's hand, Naruto bit out with forced politeness, "Naruto Uzumaki. Believe me, the pleasure is all mine."