Gaikokujin

:a whole new world:

Chapter One

Author: shutupandsing

Rating: M

Summary: Backpacking through Southeast Asia with thirteen other strangers wasn't Sasuke's idea of a stress-reliever. Especially after meeting one jaded Westerner who can't seem to accept his own culture. NaruSasuNaru, AU.

Comments: This is something I thought up pretty much overnight. It's an alternate universe or else me throwing these kiddos all over the continents wouldn't have made sense. I don't know much about the Southeastern part of Asia and its countries and I'm pretty much relying on what I've learned in school and the trusty internet. If there's anything I may get wrong, and I'm sure I will, please bring it to my attention so that I may fix it. This is a NaruSasuNaru but there may be other pairings present as well. I'm going to try my hardest to keep on top of this story so it doesn't get run into the ground or forgotten. Without further ado, let's get started on Gaikokujin, shall we?

Mood Song: Meer Sein by Silbermond

Day One

Osaka, Japan - Nha Trang, Vietnam

Kriiissshhhhh

A slow-building tick carefully took residence in Sasuke's left eye. Of course, out of all the luggage he decided to choose as his carry-on, he had to get the faulty one. Sasuke realized it was just probably the synthetic mesh at the bottom of the suitcase catching on the wheel, but no matter how insignificant the problem was, it still annoyed him.

Lately, everything had been pissing him off. For starters, this damn trip. He had tried to convince Suigetsu, his partner in their firm and long-time friend, that a trip like this was not going to relieve the stress that the equally-wealthy businessman claimed he was wrought with. How could a month-long trip traipsing through Southeast Asia, most of the time on foot, with thirteen complete strangers not cause some sort of stress in and of itself?

Besides, he was wealthy enough to be able to afford his own vacation to someplace a bit nicer than the suspicious "adventure of a lifetime" where they probably would have them sleeping in hammocks and eating giant centipedes and other sorts of weird insects.

Sasuke wasn't used to roughing it, having been brought up in a home with a standing income and after his parents died, his inheritance along with the money he got from running his own law firm kept him up there with the big fish. That was probably the reason his luggage counted up to a grand total of seven; there wasn't a chance in hell he was going into this unprepared.

A quick glance at his Prada cell told him that he had less than ten minutes to get through the gate and find a seat before his plane left. After giving his ticket to the attendant at the gate, he made his way down the gangplank and up to first class. There were a few open seats in the middle and Sasuke settled down in the one next to the window after storing his luggage in the compartment above him.

He could hear the rustling and chattering from the back of the plane and wished he had bought earplugs with him. Was it not possible for people to board the plane without sounding like a bunch of apes in captivity?

"Really? I get to ride first class? Suh-weet!" Sasuke heard in English from behind the curtain that blocked first from second. Suddenly, a tall boy came bouncing through, immediately glancing around for a place to sit.

Shit, the seat next to me is the only one that's open. And I actually thought I was going to be able to spend this flight without anyone pestering me.

As if the stranger could read his mind, he scooted down the aisle and plopped himself in the aisle seat, shooting a quick grin at Sasuke. Quickly, like he was a piece of meat in a market, Sasuke sized the boy up. He was probably a year younger than him, if not the same age. He didn't look Japanese, if the tousled brown hair, peach-colored skin and chestnut eyes proved anything.

Yet Sasuke was thrown for a loop when the boy suddenly spoke in perfect Japanese. "You speak English?" Sasuke nodded, hoping that he could get the quick few introductions out of the way and get back to ignoring everyone else on the plane.

"Phew, that's good," the boy sighed, switching back to English. "I've lived in Japan for three years now but the language is still sometimes hard for me t'get. They ran outta seats in coach so that's why I'm up here. Fuck, where are my manners? I'm Kiba Inuzuka," Kiba blurted, holding out his hand.

"Sasuke Uchiha." The boy's handshake was actually firm and confident, something he hadn't expected but then again, after being hit with this kid's personality, he should have known it would be.

"So, where ya heading?" Kiba continued, picking up a magazine that was labeled Kansai Aiport, Osaka, Japan from the seat between them and quickly flipping through.

"Nha Trang, Vietnam," Sasuke mumbled, wishing that he hadn't introduced himself in the first place. The last thing he wanted to do was pretend to shoot the wind and indulge this boy with a conversation. He just wanted to kick back, play around on his laptop, and listen to music.

"Really? I'm heading there, too. It's some adventure trip thing I was invited along to. We're 'posed to be hiking through all of the southern part of Asia--"

"Wait, you're going, too?" Sasuke interrupted, his stomach filling with dread. Looks like he was going to see much more of this boy than he would have liked to. Kiba shot him a knowing look and grinned broadly.

"A whole month. Ya really think you can hold out? You don't seem like the type to get ya feet muddy."

Sasuke knew Kiba hadn't meant what he said rudely, but he was still piqued that a stranger was guessing what he was and wasn't like. "Your accent is annoying; where are you from exactly?" he asked in a very clipped tone.

Despite the obvious insult, Kiba smiled and rolled his eyes playfully. "Alabama. I guess even three years learnin' your language doesn't erase the hick in me, does it?"

Sasuke allowed the ghost of a smirk cross his features until he remembered who he was. Quickly whipping out his palm pilot, he scrolled down the list, making it seem like he was suddenly absorbed in his work. Luckily, Kiba caught the subtle hint.

"Okay, I see that you're a busy man. I'll leave ya alone, Princess," Kiba snorted before removing the headphones from the back of the seat and putting them on, tuning in to the in-flight movie that was playing.

Sasuke cast his eyes sideways, softening slightly when he saw that Kiba's own eyes were beginning to droop in exhaustion. He felt a prick of regret for acting short with the man. After all, like Sasuke himself, he was only trying to get ahead in the world.

And sometimes you just have to be nice.

The first thing Sasuke was hit with when he stepped off the plane was how mild the climate was. He had expected Nha Trang to be sweltering and humid, yet it was cool and there was even a light breeze blowing. He noticed that Kiba was trailing sleepily behind him and he figured it was just as well, he could probably use some help locating the tour guide that was supposed to be picking them up.

Kiba whistled lowly in the back of his throat, eyeing the mass of luggage standing around Sasuke's feet like a little army of black, ready to defeat the evils unknown.

"Are you seriously bringing all that?" Kiba sputtered out, holding up his own three bags of luggage to prove his point.

Sasuke barely paid him heed. "Shut up. Now, who is this person we're looking for?"

"I think his name is Neji, or at least that's what this paper says. He's Laotian…where's that at?"

"Laos…it's one of the places we're visiting, dumbass," Sasuke mumbled back half-interested, finally spotting with relief a man at the other end of the terminal with a sign that read: Welcome Nha Trang Adventure-Seekers!

With little difficulty, he managed to drag his bags towards the tall man, not really paying attention if Kiba was following him or not. Judging by the sounds of the other's heavy-booted footsteps, he figured he was.

First impressions of Neji were immediately dispelled when the man lifted his head to acknowledge the two. Sasuke was hit with how light blue the other man's eyes were, almost edging into a pale violet. It seemed Kiba also noticed because he let out a low whoop next to him, shamelessly gawking at Neji.

"Dude, are those natural? Very cool, man."

Neji regarded Kiba with a emotionless look and turned his attention to Sasuke. Sasuke quickly bowed politely and offered up his name along with Kiba's who settled into an awkward little arch of his back, clearly not accustomed yet to the proper Japanese way of greeting someone.

"We have to wait for four more people to arrive and then we'll be on our way," Neji finally spoke up in English, his accent smooth yet heavy. His long bistre-colored hair gently swept over his sides as he sat back down, and Sasuke thought hair like that must have been hell to keep.

Almost an hour later, Sasuke was awoken from his doze by the sounds of footsteps close to him and Neji greeting them one by one. There were two men, also Japanese by the looks of it, standing near them and Sasuke briefly caught the names that were being thrown around. The tall, lanky fellow with a high ponytail was named Shikamaru and his heavy-set friend, who was currently munching on a bag of airport chips, was Chouji.

A shriek was suddenly heard from across the terminal and everyone turned towards its source.

"Naruto Uzumaki, you better give me back my cellphone this instant!"

Said boy came sprinting into view, a hot pink iPhone held above his head, out of the owner of the shriek's reach. Sasuke's gaze barely flickered over the male but instead decided to settle on the shapely figure of the young woman jumping up to retrieve her phone. Next to him, he could hear the collective murmurs of appreciation of all the men in the group.

She was beautiful, in the cat-walk model sort of way. Long platinum blonde bangs cascaded over her shoulder and the rest was pulled up into a high ponytail. Her cheekbones seemed like they were carved into her face and her Carolina blue eyes were thickly rimmed in smoky coal, playing up the light spattering of freckles across her cheekbones.

"Ah, Ino Yamanaka and Naruto Uzumaki, I'm glad you decided to join us finally," Neji deadpanned, sweeping his arm in the direction of the rest of the group. "Now we can finally get going."

As they collected their luggage and made for the exit of the airport, Sasuke noticed Kiba quickly sidling up next to Ino, shamelessly attempting to flirt.

"So Ino, where ya from?" he questioned.

"I'm originally from Texas but I moved to Sacramento about two years ago," she replied sweetly, flipping her bangs out of her face. "I'm glad I was lucky enough that Naruto was able to come along, too. So, you know, I won't be too shy around all these new people."

Kiba laughed charmingly and shot her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure that we'll all make you feel right at home. Pretty soon, you'll notice that the jungles of Asia start to look a lot like the palms trees of California."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and gave a sharp tug to the only suitcase in his possession that was giving him trouble. The left wheel was jamming up and not spinning, probably due to the mesh plastic he never got around to fixing.

"Here, let me," a voice said from behind him and he glanced backwards as the boy, Naruto he believed his name was, quickly unhooked the mesh from around the wheel and giving it a test spin to see if it worked.

Once satisfied, he stood from his crouch and smiled proudly. "There you go. I can imagine how annoying that must have been getting. That's why I try to avoid anything that has wheels," he continued, pointing to the single overstuffed backpack on his shoulders.

"Thanks," Sasuke mumbled, knowing he had to be polite even though he was starting to get tired of being around all these people. He figured if he was going to be spending the next month of his life with them, he might as well get to know some of them. Naruto was a maybe an inch shorter than Sasuke with bright blonde hair , deep steel blue eyes, and a set of a trio of scars across his cheeks. Aside from that, he was totally uninteresting.

"So, you and Ino are friends?"

"Yeah. Well actually, my girlfriend and her are best friends," Naruto replied, taking his cell phone from his pocket and flipping it open. Set as the wallpaper, there was a picture of a woman lying on a bed, with Naruto resting over her shoulder, his chin on the top of her head.

She wasn't beautiful in the same way Ino was, but she was cute, despite that her hair seemed a chemically-induced shade of pink, her forehead was a bit large compared to the rest of her proportions, and though the picture was blurry Sasuke could see that she was small-chested.

"She's pretty," Sasuke murmured, trying to make it seem like he cared. He quickly flipped over to his own cell phone when it gave a short buzz, signaling a new text message.

Having fun yet? - Suigetsu

Sasuke's fingers clenched around the phone and he shoved it back into his pocket lest he accidentally break it. A month he kept telling himself. Only a month till I can go home and file this little 'vacation' under bad memories.

Two hours later, after a particular bumpy car ride through the backroads of Nha Trang, they arrived at Green Leaf Travel of Southeast Asia. Sasuke stared at the bamboo-covered shack; there wasn't exactly a better name for it. If this was what the headquarters looked like than it also gave him a brief look into how run-down the rest of their accommodations were going to be. Sasuke seriously considered drowning himself in the nearest river for a split-second before he sobered up and remembered he was an Uchiha.

Of course, like Fate has it, the next thing he saw completely slapped the shit off his face. A blur of green came bounding out of the front door, flashing a smile bright enough to produce its own radiation.

Oh, this can not be our tour guide.

Sasuke was taken aback by the tall man, dressed from head to toe in varying shades of green. Large, tight, flare-legged forest green pants wrapped around his legs, complete with an olive tank top and a dark green hiking vest over that.

"Welcome friends!" the man boomed out in a heavy Vietnamese accent. "Are you ready for the adventure of your lifetime, one that will rival all that you've experienced before? This trip will test your limits and your youth and once it's all said and done with, you'll be a better person because of it!"

Sasuke winced at the deep, bellowing voice after the man ended his proclamation of "eternal happiness". The group was quiet, not sure how to respond to the overly-excited guide.

"Gai, chill out. You're going to scare them off," a lilting voice spoke from behind him before stepping into view. A tall Chinese girl ambled down the stone steps that led up to the hut, the silk fabric of her shirt stretched tight over her chest. She lazily ran a thumb through one of the identical buns on the top of her head and sighed heavily through her nose.

"I'm Tenten and aside from Neji, I'm probably the most sane guide you'll find on this trip. Ignore Gai and his son, Lee, they're just overly-exuberant."

Gai pouted childishly at the mention of his bursting personality, turned and called for his son. Sasuke did a quick double-take to see the boy dressed exactly as his father, right down to the flared-leg denim pants. A sharp, twisting formed in his head and he patted his pockets helplessly, hoping he had thought to bring some sort of aspirin.

"They sure are something, huh?" Naruto spoke quietly from next to him, hoisting his heavy backpack higher up on his shoulder. "I overheard a moment ago from Neji that there's going to be four more people heading out with us but one's flight got delayed and the other three are coming in all the way from Thailand. Some sort of royalty, at that."

Sasuke glanced askew at the boy. Despite being someone he could quickly dislike, Naruto did have good observation skills and he knew when to listen when he had to, a trait Sasuke admired in most people.

"So! Has everyone gotten their luggage ready? Just about," Gai barely glanced at his watch, "thirty more minutes and we'll all be ready to disembark on the adventure that will send you through the perilous jungles of Southeast Asia!"

Shikamaru snorted under his breath but the low sound was easily heard after the group once again went silent after hearing Gai speak. "Tch, it all seems such a hassle when you put it that way. If you had told me beforehand, I probably wouldn't have come."

As Gai started to reason with the tall Japanese boy about how beneficial it was to be on this trip, Sasuke sighed heavily and slapped a palm to his face. Naruto noticed the action and chuckled to himself.

"Attention Nha Trang visitors," he announced in a deep voice, "welcome to the green and humid side of Hell."

He smiled behind his fingertips, wondering exactly what he was putting himself through. After it was all said and done, Suigetsu would be lucky if Sasuke never speaking to him again was the most of his worries.

Author's Note: First chapter completed! So, any constructive crit you can give me on this, I'll be more than welcome to take into consideration. More importantly, should I continue this? Because it had hit me overnight, I wasn't sure if I had a plot good enough to build up and work with.