Welcome to the prologue of my new story! Dont worry, the actual chapters are much longer than this introductory chapter. Enjoy!
disclaimer: if Naruto were mine, then every fantasy and plot theory I have in my head would totally be cannon. Sadly, that isn't the case. Bummer.
It was just one of those nights. The kind of late night so dark it would be impossible to see two feet in ahead if it weren't for the ambient light of the moon. The village is quiet, just like it has been for the past eight years in the old Uchiha compound. Off in the distance there is the faint sound of hawkers in the marketplace, children running and giggling, and middle aged women complaining about their home lives in the village's many bars. Here, there is nothing but wind whistling through the branches of ivy growing up the walls and through cracks in the fences.
Technically speaking, Naruto isn't supposed to be here in the Uchiha compound. The whole thing was closed off for being a hazard. The buildings have been sorely neglected over the years. This part of town is very old, and its former inhabitants would have had to do major renovation and construction in order to keep everything standing. Without the constant work put into keeping it all safe, many of the buildings have begun to fall apart. A couple years ago there was talk in the village council about authorizing a bigger budget to rebuild the Uchiha compound. After Sasuke left, the discussion ceased. No point in restoring anything when the only legal owner of the land had run off.
Naruto's fingernails scratch absentmindedly on the faded old tile of the main house. Sasuke's former home is the only building that was kept pristine, and it's the only building where Naruto feels safe enough to sit on the roof. Naruto imagines Sasuke, twelve years old, teetering on a ladder doing everything in his power to renovate his own home. He imagines Sasuke laying down new tile, fixing the wallpaper, checking the support beams for water rot, and waxing the floors. The house is big and at that point, Sasuke was just one little boy. He did everything to protect his home, but he had no energy to salvage the rest of the compound.
It has been three years, and even Naruto notices that all the work Sasuke put into his own house is starting to wear off. He stands up very carefully and jumps off the roof and brings two or three tiles down with him. They break as soon as they hit the ground with a loud and clear crash. Naruto runs a finger on a dusty window. The glass is warped. As he attempts to walk up the wooden stairs into the main house to leave through the front door, Naruto's foot falls through the first step. As he leaves, he notices the metal knocker on the door has grown rusty and cannot be moved. Naruto kicks at the dirt as he walks down the road leading back to the main village. He silently pushes on the large wooden Main Gate and replaces the dark orange CONDEMNED sticker on the front.
There is no room here for a missing-nin who lost his way. There is no love. Naruto had briefly considered sharing his apartment with Sasuke once he brought him back, but it's barely big enough for him anymore. What will Sasuke say when he sees how the village let his home crumble and decay? Would he still stay if he knew no one wanted him back enough to take care of his property?
Naruto unlocks his front door and heads over to the corkboard he hung on the wall opposite his bed. He removes the sticky notes of mission reminders and old shopping lists and removes the tacks from his old movie ticket stub collection to clear a space. On a clean sheet of paper, he writes down a new shopping list full of items to be purchased the next day. Sasuke is going to come home someday, but the Uchiha compound isn't ready for him just yet. There is only one solution: Naruto will rebuild and renovate the whole thing on his own. He'll make it so that it'll be like Sasuke never left, one building at a time.