Welcome to my second foray into the Naruto fandom. This was inspired by my inability to accept Itachi's death (and Sasuke's subsequent moping)— so in all of these chapters, Itachi lives, though—as in this chapter—whether Sasuke eventually kills him is up to you...
Beneath the cool summer sky, two men walked along Konoha's grounds.
Well, one of them walked. The other jogged to keep up with his brisk pace, panting although he was nearly half the elder man's age.
"H-hokage-sama — are you positive this is the best way—"
"Are you questioning my intelligence or my authority?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked mildly, waving at a nearby ramen vender.
The balding man behind him stiffened and began sweating with renewed vigor.
"Neither, of course, Hokage-sama, but—I mean— it's just so sudden! I—"
"Do you believe that he is unfit for this, then?"
"Yes," the man gasped, nearly faint with relief. "That's what I've been saying—"
"All the more reason for this arrangement, then. If you don't believe Uzumaki Naruto capable of socializing—empathizing— with his peers, especially one who can relate to him so closely, then you obviously know nothing of the boy. I only regret that he was left in your care this long."
The orphanage's director — Uzumaki Naruto's primary caretaker — stopped short, obviously fearing a harsher reprimand, or, even worse, a dock in pay.
"H-hokage-sama!" He called desperately, but Sarutobi merely hummed in response.
"He is unstable — he cannot —"
Sarutobi's aura sharpened, and even a civilian could feel the thick killing intent he leveled at the perspiring man.
The director bit his tongue in his haste to shut his mouth, his entire body quaking.
But he persists. "U-U-U-"
"Uchiha Sasuke," Sarutobi filled in for him. "He is Naruto's intended roommate, which is what I presume you meant to say?"
"Yes—that's what I—but I didn't—why?" He manages, finally, helplessly.
At this, the Saindaime Hokage turns, smiling. "Why not?"
Sasuke's eye twitches faintly. It's bad enough to have to share a house — it is not a home, no matter what the Sandaime says; home was with kaa-san and tou-san and him — with the annoying, loudmouthed blonde, but he would not tolerate pranks.
He was the Uchiha Heir, damn it all (he refused – refused – to think about how that used to be his title) and no one was allowed to graffiti his door.
He has to admit, though, in the tiny part of his brain not occupied with inventing increasingly painful ways to kill Naruto, he is surprised.
Ever since the Sandaime had decreed that they were to share an apartment, Naruto had been uncharacteristically quiet — Sasuke's barely heard him speak, on the rare occasions he's been in the same room as the blonde.
And it's not as though he's worried or anything. An avenger has no time for such petty emotions, and Sasuke is an avenger.
(It's not like he wants to have meals with the blonde, or train with him, or even speak to him. It's just strange, is all.
He's not used to a house this quiet)
That aside, the prank is rather below Naruto's (admittedly impressive) caliber. Normally, the blonde would have rigged a trap on the door, so that something – usually something colorful, sticky and utterly obnoxious – would fall on Sasuke's head as he entered – and the message: DIE — which seems malicious (not to mention simplistic) in comparison to Naruto's usual writings — is written not in a vibrant orange, Naruto's signature color, but a dull red color, which Sasuke supposes is to resemble the color of blood.
The Uchiha sighs, crosses his arms and waits.
Naruto should be coming out to gloat soon enough.
Ten minutes later, his patience has worn thin. He raps sharply on the blonde's door.
Naruto exits, rubbing at his eyes, his clothes even more rumpled than usual.
"I was sleeping, y'know," he complains.
Sasuke doesn't respond, though he does note that neither the blonde's hands nor clothes have any traces of red on them—though he's often heard the blonde complain about how hard spray paint is to remove from both.
Regardless, he marches the blonde to the door, and waits.
Naruto blinks at him. "What?"
Sasuke swings it open, keeping his eyes on Naruto's face, waiting for any sign of amusement or guilt.
Instead, Naruto pales rapidly, his eyes widening.
He mutters a low curse under his breath, before he pastes a smile on his face, turning to his roommate.
"Oh, you found this, huh? It's not really one of my best, but—"
"You're lying," Sasuke interrupts sharply. The blonde's eyes shift from side-to-side, his hands twitching by his sides, and his expression – a wide, toothy smile— is completely fake.
Sasuke hates it.
He hates being lied to, hates people who try to fool him—maybe next time, Sasuke— and he wants the truth.
"H-huh?" Naruto's grin widens, and his eyes flicker faster around the room—searching for a way out. "No, I'm not; why would I pretend to prank you?"
"You tell me," Sasuke retorts, taking some small pleasure in the way the blonde's face falls when he realizes Sasuke's seen through him.
"I—it's—"
The Uchiha cuts through his stuttering once again. "Wait. Was this meant for you?"
Naruto's annoying, certainly, loud and exuberant: a headache in human form, but he doesn't deserve this—
The uneven red lettering, almost idiotic in its simplicity, doesn't seem so amusing anymore.
"Why?" Sasuke demands, outraged on the blonde's behalf.
Naruto shrugs, attempts another smile. "I don't know? People just—do it, sometimes."
"Screw them," Sasuke sneers, turning away furiously.
Naruto follows him. "Why are you so mad about this? You don't like me, either."
He sounds—different. Matter of fact. As though this is something ordinary—as though it happens to him often.
For some reason, that serves to increase Sasuke's anger.
"I just am," he snarls, swings open the bathroom door.
"Okay? Wait—what are you doing?" Naruto calls as the Uchiha goes in, opening several cabinets before emerging with a satisfied noise.
Sasuke doesn't reply, merely grabbing a roll of toilet paper off the sink.
"Oi—Sasuke. Hey, bastard—"
Naruto cuts himself off with a strangled noise as Sasuke kneels by the door, squirting some cleaning solution on the writing and proceeds to scrub it off.
He makes another series of strange noises, ending with a squawk so loud Sasuke turns to face him with a frown.
"What's wrong with you?"
"You—you—"Naruto gestures to the Uchiha, but doesn't explain further.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. "What about me?"
"You—you're—don't—" Naruto manages to say, finally.
"Don't what?" Sasuke asks.
"I—the cleaning—I can do it—"Naruto begins, but Sasuke glares at him.
"Don't be an idiot." He may be, as Naruto constantly tells him, a stoic bastard, but even he isn't going to make the blonde clean a death threat meant for him off the door.
"I—" Naruto throws his hands up in the air when Sasuke ignores him, turning back to his work. A few moments later, the Uchiha hears loud stomping, and presumes that that's the end of it.
Of course, he reflects, as the blonde sulks back, his own roll of toilet paper in tow, it's never a good idea to presume anything where Naruto is concerned.
He snatches the toilet paper away before the blonde can press it to the door. Naruto glares at him.
"Hey, bastard, I'm trying to help you, here."
Sasuke shakes his head mutely.
Naruto groans, reaching for the toilet paper.
The Uchiha moves it away from him at the last moment.
Groan.
Lunge.
Move.
Groan.
Lunge.
Move.
Gr—
"Fine. You want to help?"
"Yes," Naruto exclaims, throwing up his hands in exasperation. "That's what I've been saying for the last freaking ten minutes!"
"Sit there." Sasuke points to a spot suitably far away from himself. "And start talking."
"About what?"
"Why this—" Sasuke jerks his head towards the door, "happened, and why you don't seem concerned about it at all,"
Naruto fakes a laugh. "Actually, there were a couple things I needed to do, so—"
"Naruto."
The blonde sighs loudly. "Fine. You want to know? I'll tell you."
Sasuke pauses, turns to face him.
"Okay," Naruto scratches the back of his head awkwardly, "This was easier when you weren't looking at me…"
"Quit stalling," Sasuke snaps.
"People—the villagers—some of the shinobi, all of the shopkeepers, they hate me. I don't know why, but they do. And some of them just look at me like – like I'm a monster—but others, they say things, or throw rocks, or—"
"—do this," Sasuke finishes, his fists clenches. He knows what it feels like to be pinned under the weight of a villager's gaze. To feel yourself frozen in place because of the horror and pity mingling openly on their faces—but for that look to be loaded with hatred— he turns back to the door, scrubbing harder.
"So. Um. If you want to—move out or something—" Naruto begins, but Sasuke shakes his head.
"Uh—okay? Are you su—"
"Yes, dumbass," Sasuke mutters, shifting so the blonde doesn't see his red cheeks. "We need to find out why they hate you, anyway."
"Huh—how?"
"Are you a ninja or not, dead-last?"
"Not yet, you bastard! And—hang on—did you say we?"
"Yeah, but don't—Oi! Get off me, you—"
No matter what Naruto says, he wasn't smiling as the idiot tackled him—not even the second time, when Naruto managed to convince him to make ramen for dinner.
It was a smirk, at most.
Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.