Upstairs Downstairs

1

Naruto shifted his weight from foot to foot. The silence was intense. He wanted to clear his throat but he dare not make a sound. His trousers itched and he was sweating far too much for his liking. He really needed this. This was his third and final attempt at landing himself a service job. If he failed again, he'll be sent down the mines just like the rest of them. "I know I haven't any experience, but I'm a fast learner a-and I would be grateful for the opportunity"

"He's perfect" replied Mrs Uchiha.

"He only has one reference"

"And, I'm sure it's glowing and bursting with praise" she flashed a smile at Naruto who audibly sighed. Mrs Uchiha rose graciously; she tweaked Naruto's chin and floated out of the room with her skirt swishing behind her. Mr Uchiha followed her out.

"Are you sure about this? He has one reference, strange markings on his face and we know nothing about him"

"Darling," she cooed, "We are all about second chances; this is a fresh start and as an added bonus he's cheap" she smiled at him and placed a small red kiss on his cheek.

"Fine," grunted Mr Uchiha, "You and your feminine charm. Tsunade, please take the young man to be fitted for his uniform and introduce him to the rest of the staff. Also take care of the living arrangements!"

Naruto, of course, heard this and closed his eyes to mutter a quick prayer of thanks to whatever was listening. "There will be no time for that, Brat! I've got a million and one things to do today and you've just made my list ten, no, twenty times longer!" She grabbed his arm and yanked him onto the landing. She pulled him down the intricately carved staircase through a hidden doorway and down onto the Staff Working Floor. "Now, where is that lazy no good butler?"

"Lazy? No good? I think sharp and extraordinarily brilliant would be much better adjectives"

"Kakashi!"

"Do you always have to shout?"

"This is Naruto!" growled Tsunade thrusting Naruto at a man with silvery hair and a bandage over his eye. "Naruto meet Kakashi, he is the butler here at 172 Eton place. You do as he says. He does as I say. He'll be introducing you to the rest of the staff while I run down to the tailors. Now, tell me, what are your measurements?"

Naruto stared blankly at the Housekeeper, "my measurements?"

"Oh for goodness sake!" she whipped out a tape measure and in three quick steps she had all the measurements she needed. "If I'm not back before the masters of the house, you are in charge, don't mess it up!" Tsunade moved away towards the door and had almost left until she quickly popped around the door, "Have Iruka serve pheasant instead of duck. And make sure Sakura behaves!"

In the brief silence which followed, Naruto caught up to himself. He'd had so much information dropped on him that he felt ready to explode. Surely it had only been five minutes since he got the job. He took a deep breath and took in his surroundings. The room was large with several doorways leading off into what Naruto could only assume, as the kitchen, garage, wine cellar, pantry etc. There was a huge iron fire place surrounded with old stools and chairs. In the dead centre of the room an old oak table sat. Looking down at his shabby wool trousers and worn shirt, he couldn't wait for Tsunade to return with his brand new uniform.

"I guess I should introduce you to everyone" muttered Kakashi, his good eye wandering around the room. Naruto watched the Cyclops Butler lift a small silver whistle to his lips and give it a brief blow.

One by one the staff assembled. "This is the chamber maid, Sakura" he waved a white gloved hand in the direction of a girl who was of a similar age to Naruto. "This is the cook, Iruka. Tsunade wanted me to remind you that you need serve Pheasant and not duck at dinner this evening. Finally, we have Sai who is the chauffer. We were supposed to have another chamber maid but now we have you, it seems that we won't. As Tsunade explained, I am the butler while she is the Housekeeper. All of us, except Sai whose room is just off the garage, live on the top floor which is where the servant quarters are. In a moment, I'll give you the linen for your bed and you can go make it. I'm going to assume that as you got the job, you understand what it entails?"

Naruto nodded in reply.

"Good, when you've finished making your bed, you can return downstairs and begin your work. Oh, and before I forget, Welcome to 172 Eton Place!" finished Kakashi jovially as he dumped an arm full of linen in front of Naruto.

Naruto followed Sakura up to the staff accommodation. "'Ere, this will be your room. I'll 'elp ya make the bed if ya want. We'll probably need to flip it, ain't been used in a few years. Probably full of dust mites and bed bugs"

"Woah! Stop it would ya? I'm sleeping on that" Naruto shoved a finger at the cast iron bed, "I'll be sleeping on the floor the way you're carrying on!"

Sakura giggled and sent Naruto a cheeky smile, "I'm just teasing, come on, grab that edge". Together, they flipped the old mattress and started to make it up.

"What are they like?"

"What are who like?" replied Sakura smoothing down the top sheet.

"The Uchihas. What are they like?"

"Hmm, well, Mr Uchiha works for the home office being all bureaucratic and what not. Mrs Uchiha is just glamorous. Everything she does and everything she touches becomes glamorous, if it weren't for I wouldn't be here" smiled Sakura shaking the pillow into its case.

"Me too"

"She's good like that, always helping those less fortunate than herself. And then, there's the masters!" she squealed. Clasping her hands together she sighed and looked dreamily up to the sky. "The oldest, Master Itachi has the most beautifully seductive voice, oh and his eyes, his eyes are maroon and you can't help but do whatever he says. It's like, it's like he has some power over you! He's, just, marvellous! And so intelligent! Oh they both are! Master Sasuke, the younger one, every time I see him, I just turn to a puddle of custard! He's the most beautiful boy I have ever set eyes on. His skin as white as snow. His hair as dark as the midnight skies. Oh and his eyes, his eyes glint like precious stones. He's stunning, you'll see him and forget your own name, I know I do," she snorted. "He's just so darn elegant and gracious. Awfully quiet though, he just appears like he can, I don't know, like he can teleport or something! He must be magic. He's so enchanting! You can't help but be in awe of them both!"

"Oh"

"Oh? That's all you've got to say?" she sent him a stern look of disproval, "You should be worried. The last guy was thrown out because Master Sasuke fell out with him. All it took was one word to Mrs Uchiha who had a word with her husband and he was gone! Poor boy, one moment he was laying the fires the next, he was out on his ear! What was his name? Something like Lee? He works for the Hyuuga family now, it's no way near as good pay as 'ere. Anyway, can't be dawdling like this all day, I've still got a few things to do before the masters get back, that dining room ain't gonna sort itself out"

Naruto was left alone in his new room. It was small but a lot bigger than what he was used to. The cast iron bed, now beautifully made up, was ancient, but again, better than what he was used to. He had a small fireplace to keep him warm in the winter months. He unpacked his few belongings. A silver photo frame was placed on the mantle, inside; it held a bleach photograph of a woman. It was difficult to make out but, when Naruto squinted hard enough he could make out her features. He shoved his small trunk beneath his bed and returned downstairs.

Naruto returned to kitchen. Tsunade still hadn't returned with his uniform so he was stuck doing jobs downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen, he was met with a red faced Iruka. "I know you're new any everything but I needed you down here ten minutes ago! As you can't work upstairs, you can start peeling those potatoes, I need at least thirty of them! Think you can manage that?"

"I'm on it! Peeling spuds is dead easy, I used to do it all the time" he grabbed a knife with one hand and a potato with the other. Standing over the sink, he quickly washed it and peeled. Not before long, he had all thirty peeled and in the pan. "Finished!"

"Already? That was far too quick!" Iruka inspected a few, "these are perfect. How'd you do them so quickly?"

"Years of practice" replied Naruto grinning like he'd won the King's favour, "What you want me to do now? I can't lay any tables or serve any tea, want me to peel something else or wash something for ya?"

Iruka smiled back, "The sink is over filling with pots that need scrubbing"

"Not a problem, I'm on it"

Iruka watched the kid roll up his sleeves and start scrubbing away. He returned to his own work station. Iruka was curious, for someone that young being able to peel so well was a bit of an oddity. With all things considering, wasn't this his first service job? "Where about in London are you from?"

"Well, was born in the east end but have been moving about all my life. If it weren't for this job, I'd be moving all the way to Cornwall and be forced down the copper mines. Bloody hell, couldn't be sent down there which is why I'm so thankful I was given this opportunity. It'd be the worst thing in the world to leave London. Couldn't bear to be parted with it, such a lively city, the only place to be," replied Naruto, "I didn't know my parents, I was moved between Orphanages all the bleeding time, constantly the new kid, so constantly put on kitchen duty, never stayed anywhere long enough to do any of the other chores. Ah but that's enough about me, where you from?"

"Me?" repeated Iruka, he hadn't expect so my detail from Naruto, he'd only asked which part of London he was from. The cook shook his head and smirked to himself, Naruto certainly was a lively one. "Me, I'm not originally from London, I came to learn here, am actually from Lincolnshire"

"Oh, and what's it like there?"

"Flat, dull, it's the countryside, not much of anything there. Left when I was just a bit younger than you. Learnt to cook, became a chef and ended up here, cooking for the Uchihas"

"Did you always wanna do it? Ya know, be someone's cook?"

Iruka had to think about this. He'd always loved food but did he always want to be a cook to an aristocratic family? "No, I wanted to cook but never be someone's cook. Would much prefer eating the food myself but it doesn't work out like that. For people like us, working the jobs we got is pretty good going I recon."

"Better than going down the mines" laughed Naruto finishing the last pan. Iruka let slip a small chuckle.

"If you've done that, there are some carrots which could do with a scrub"

"He's got no time for that!" Tsunade burst into the kitchen with a package wrapped in brown paper and string, "I've got your uniform here. You can put it on and then go get the fires in the drawing room, the dining room, and the bedrooms going. Make sure you're back down here by six thirty ready to serve dinner at seven!"

Naruto quickly changed into his uniform. He looked incredibly dashing in his new black trousers, a crisp white shirt, a black bow tie and a forest green waistcoat. Grabbing a black apron he tied it around his small waist and headed straight up the stairs towards the dining room.

Naruto had cleaned out all the ashes from the fireplaces and had laid them all but the one he was crouched over. The dining room had a grand white marble fireplace with the family crest intricately carved into the mantelpiece. Naruto, down on his hands on knees, was piling in the wood. "First the kindling to get it going, a few bits of coal and two nice big logs on top. All of it resting on a bed of last week's Daily Telegraph. Lovely."

"Do you always talk to yourself?" came a baritone from behind him and startled him. He quickly stood and whirled around to face the man. He bowed slightly.

"Not always" replied Naruto unsure of how to proceed.

"So just when you lay fires then?"

Naruto didn't know how to reply so said nothing.

"Am I making you uncomfortable? I apologise, I've just never witnessed a boy talking to the fireplace before, this, is a first for me. There's something on your face."

Naruto didn't move. He was stuck thinking how bizarre this conversation was, especially as it was with one of the masters of the house. Before he knew it, Master Uchiha had step forward and wiped it off.

"Can't have you serve dinner with soot on your face, most unprofessional" he remarked, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm supposed to be meeting my parents and brother for a welcome home drink in the drawing room," and he left.

Naruto had been struck dumb. Meeting Master Uchiha had been quite the experience. Sakura had been absolutely bang on the money with her description. He let out a breath he'd been keeping since forever and lit the fire. Naruto left the room softly closing the door behind him. His mind ran over the meeting and his face turned the colour of beetroot. Master Uchiha had touched him, wiped soot off his cheek, it was less of a wipe off and more of a, a, caress to get rid of it. "Good Lord" muttered Naruto letting out another breath. It was only the first day and it wasn't even over yet. He still had to serve a five course meal to the family. How would he face them again? How would he face him again? With dignity, he has a job to do, he can go mental later.

Heading back downstairs, Naruto passed the drawing room, where shrieks of delight could be heard. Obviously Mrs Uchiha was ecstatic to have her sons back under her roof. Naruto smiled, he would hope that his mother would have felt the same, if given the chance.

"Brat! Where have you been?" Screamed Tsunade the moment he returned, "I need you to serve the appetisers, they're in the drawing room, here's your tray. Kakashi is already up there with champagne. You are to go up there, place these elegantly on the table and return with Kakashi. Fifteen minutes after that, we'll start serving dinner."

Naruto took a deep breath before taking the tray upstairs. He knocked politely on the door and using one hand opened it. He placed bowed slightly, not making eye contact with anyone, placed the tray on the table and bowed again. He tried to keep his eyes on the plush rug but Mrs Uchiha was determined to engage him in conversation. "Naruto, you haven't met my boys" she said demanding his attention.

"No, mam, I haven't." he replied.

"This is my youngest son, Sasuke, he's currently studying politics and philosophy at Cambridge. He's a first year. We're both so proud of him" she smiled beamed a smile at a young man. This was a different man to the one he met in the dining room. Sasuke was leaner, more foreboding, and more serious. Sakura had been correct about this one as well. "And this handsome man in my eldest son, Itachi"

"We've actually met"

"Have you darling?"

"Yes mother, he was laying the fire in the dining room, so I popped in to greet him"

"Oh Itachi, you're such a polite young man. You're going to make some girl very happy one day; I just know you're going to go very far in this lifetime. I'm so proud of you; you've turned out to be the perfect gentlemen"

"Mother, stop it, you're embarrassing me" commented Itachi.

"And so modest as well," laughed Mrs Uchiha, "Oh and now I'm keeping both Kakashi and Naruto from doing their duties, off you pop, I'm sure dinner will be served soon"

"Of course," Kakashi replied, "Come on Naruto" and ushered him out of the room, softly closing the doors behind him.

Naruto had met them all now. His new employers seemed nice, a little eccentric, but nice. Working here would certainly be a challenge. As he served dinner that night, he couldn't help but notice the intense brooding stare the youngest, Master Sasuke, sent him throughout the evening nor the way Master Itachi's eyes would flick over him. Naruto was so relieved when it was all over. It had only been day one and even then he didn't even begin until the early afternoon, but he certainly felt the strain of the day. All he needed now was a bath but it was just his luck that Sakura got in there first. Sighing, Naruto collapsed on his rusty bed, managing to use the last of his strength to remove his uniform before passing out. All he had to do now was somehow get out of bed tomorrow morning.