A/N: Here's Episode 2. Most kdramas have 16 or 20 episodes, but I'm not sure at the moment how many chapters this story will have. They'll be pretty short, so I might go over the mark by a few. Not too much happens this chapter, just setting the stage for things to come. Please read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters in this story

Episode 2

"So this is it! Home, sweet home." Naruto gestured grandly around, kicking off his shoes and leaving them haphazardly in the front entrance.

Hinata looked around with a critical eye. She would have to know this house inside and out, since she would soon be in charge of keeping it clean. And it looked like her work was cut out for her.

It was obvious just from the living room that Naruto lived here. She could see his carefree attitude in the shirts draped casually over the sofa, and the signs of his biggest addiction in the pile of Top Ramen packs lying on the coffee table.

Naruto saw where Hinata was looking, and gave her a sheepish grin. "Yeah, I know I haven't exactly kept the place pristine. I'll buy a few laundry baskets tomorrow."

"Thank you, Naruto," Hinata said. She grinned back at him, and raised an eyebrow. "Is it really necessary to keep your ramen supply on the coffee table? A cupboard wouldn't work as well?"

Naruto shrugged, unrepentant. "Sometimes I get hungry when I'm watching tv. The kitchen is too far away."

There was something wrong with that, though it took Hinata a minute to figure out what it was. Then it hit her.

"But you have to go to the kitchen anyway to cook it, so why wouldn't you…" Hinata trailed off, comprehension dawning. "Don't tell me you… Naruto, that's gross!"

"Nah, ramen noodles are actually really good raw," Naruto assured her, his eyes holding no sign that he was lying. "Just sprinkle a little beef-flavored powder and crunch the pack up, and you have a delicious snack, suitable for any time of the day or night! They're like little noodle chips!"

"Please don't tell me we're living with this cave man," Hanabi whined.

"Watch it, pipsqueak," Naruto said with a mock scowl. "Anyway," he said to Hinata, "that's why you're here, isn't it? To save me from myself? I'm sure you'll have the house spic and span, and me eating right, before the week is up."

"I'll do my best," promised Hinata. "Would you mind showing us the rest of the house?"

"Of course!" Naruto said, smacking his forehead. "I knew I was forgetting something. Come on, the kitchen is through here."

Naruto made an excellent tour guide, Hinata decided. He punctuated his descriptions of each room with funny stories about mishaps that had occurred there, until Hinata felt that she had a feel for the place. She felt bad that Hanabi kept up a steady stream of muttered comments, mostly about how "Father's house was better." But from the sympathetic smile that Naruto shot her over Hanabi's head, Hinata knew her old friend both understood and forgave her sister's rudeness.

The house wasn't large by Hyuga standards, though for two bachelors who lived alone it was more than sufficient. And by Hinata's standards, which were set by cramped dorm rooms with barely enough room for a bed and a desk, it was a palace. The entrance opened into the living room, which attached to a kitchen and a dining room. A small hallway ran along the far side of the living room and the dining room, leading to a bathroom and a bedroom.

"That's my room," Naruto said, pointing to the bedroom. "I won't subject you to it yet, you haven't even gotten settled in."

"Where is Sasuke's room?" Hinata asked.

Naruto gestured to the staircase at the end of the hall, right next to the bathroom. "The upstairs is all Sasuke's. It's about as big as the downstairs. He doesn't come down much, and I rarely go up. It's a weird arrangement, but we make it work."

"Are we going to look upstairs too?"

"Not today, we'll wait until Sasuke's at work tomorrow. He's the kind who needs to ease into any changes. He'll warm up to you a lot easier if his first impression of you is a cleaner house."

Just how grumpy is this Sasuke? Hinata wondered.

"Then, when he gets back tomorrow and you've finished cleaning, I'll introduce you. Don't worry about it, I'll make sure he knows how far back we go. I'm sure you'll get along fine."

That would have been reassuring, if Hinata hadn't been able to see the apprehension on her friend's face. Naruto had always been lousy at concealing his true thoughts.

"But you have told me about him, right?"

Silence.

"Right?"

"Well, not exactly…" Naruto said sheepishly. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission, you know. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Just make this place sparkle tomorrow, and Sasuke will love you."

"Naruto!" Hinata said, extremely exasperated. "You didn't tell him about Hanabi either? What if he's not ok with having two freeloaders? You should have asked him first, before you brought us here!"

Naruto waved his hands earnestly. "No, no, it's ok! I'll just tell him we need two maids instead of one, and the two of you are a package deal."

"Hey, I'm not a maid!" Hanabi protested indignantly.

"Hush, 'Nabi," Hinata said firmly. "Naruto, I can't thank you enough for what you're trying to do. But would you please try not to be such a bonehead from now on? Honestly, you can't just spring surprises like this on the people you live with."

"You're probably right, Hinata," Naruto said, "but maybe a surprise or two will do Sasuke good. He's been really broody lately—ok, he's been really broody ever since I've known him—and I want to shake him up a little. But we have to do it right. Just trust me, it'll be fine."

Hinata sighed, but nodded. After all, what else could they do?

"So that's it for the main house," Naruto said, rubbing his hands together. "The only thing left is the basement. That's where you'll be staying."

The basement was actually a very nice area, furnished just as carefully as the rooms upstairs. There was a guest room with a large bed, and a bathroom leading off from the guest room. Hanabi let out a sigh of longing when she saw the bed.

"I guess that's my cue," said Naruto, laughing. "You two sleep in tomorrow. Soon your job will include cooking breakfast and dinner, but I know you must be exhausted. I'll invent some excuse to leave late tomorrow, and once Sasuke leaves I'll show you the rest of the house and you can start cleaning."

Hanabi wasn't even listening, but had already flung herself face-first on the bed. Hinata smiled at Naruto, wordlessly conveying her gratitude.

"Right, that's about it for me," Naruto said, clearly embarrassed by the emotion in her eyes. "Just a few rules of the house you should keep in mind. First, don't rearrange Sasuke's things without his consent. Second, don't ever go into Sasuke's office. Third," Naruto smiled, hoping to lighten the tone, "don't mess with my ramen. Night, Hinata!"

"Good night, Naruto. And once again, thank you so much. You're a true friend."

"Nah, I'm just glad to have two pretty girls at my beck and call," Naruto said with a mock lecherous grin. He turned and walked up the stairs, giving one last wave before he passed out of sight.

"What a dork," Hanabi said from the bed.

"Please try to keep some perspective," Hinata said to her sister. "Without his kindness, we might still be staying at the hostel. Now you can go to school, and I can start saving up to send you to college."

"Whatever."

They got ready for bed in silence, unpacking their few belongings and stocking the bathroom with their shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes. The bed was big enough to share, but Hinata wasn't sure if Hanabi would want it to herself. She looked at her sister questioningly.

Hanabi looked back at her, this time without an angry quip or retort. Her eyes were pleading, and the message was clear. Don't leave me alone. Hinata didn't say anything, just got under the covers and hugged her sister fiercely. Soon the two orphans were fast asleep, dreaming of the changes that would come in the morning.

oOoOo

Hinata got out of bed reluctantly, wiping the sleep out of her eyes and blinking furiously. She looked around, confused, until she remembered the events of yesterday. She was safe with her sister, in Naruto and Sasuke's guest room, and she had a job.

Damn it! What time was it? Had she overslept?

Hinata cursed when she saw the little clock in the bathroom that read 2:13 in the afternoon. How could she hope to clean the house before her employers got back? She rushed upstairs, glad that Hanabi was still fast asleep. This might be Hanabi's first really good night of sleep since before their father's death.

On the coffee table Hinata saw a note from Naruto.

Hi Sleepyhead! Feel free to explore the house. I'll try and get Sasuke to grab dinner with me after work. Expect us around 8 or so.

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief. There would be time to clean after all. She tackled the living room first, folding all of Naruto's clothes that were lying out in the open. Then she poked around the kitchen until she knew where everything was kept.

The next few hours she spent dusting, sweeping and washing. Thank god I worked to put myself through college, Hinata thought. I'd have no idea how to go about this if I hadn't kept so many odd jobs.

Hanabi came upstairs around four in the afternoon, settling herself on the couch and watching Hinata work, offering the occasional scathing comment. Hinata worked in silence, until everything except Naruto's room was as clean as she could manage without more specialized equipment. She didn't even try to clean Naruto's room, which she was already thinking of as his den. Instead, she went upstairs, intending to use her remaining four hours to impress the moody Sasuke with her usefulness as a cleaning lady.

Upstairs she found a bathroom, a bedroom, and a door to the office that Naruto had said she was expressly forbidden to enter. So Hinata contented herself with cleaning the bathroom, and was already feeling the ache in her elbows and knees by the time she was done. This would not be an easy job. Menial labor took a toll on the body, no two ways about it.

Hinata entered Sasuke's room, apprehensive and a little excited to see where her mysterious second employer lived. She was surprised to find that the room was almost immaculate. Naruto must have been right about Sasuke being finicky; this was the neatest room of any unmarried guy she had ever seen, and she had gone to med school with a lot of neat freaks.

She poked into corners sporadically with a feather duster, but it was really just an excuse to take a look around. The room was sparse, dark. Wall-to-wall bookshelves covered two sides of the room, containing hundreds of large, dusty tomes with leather bindings. A large desk was situated against the only bare wall, directly underneath the only window in the room.

A picture in a delicate frame drew her attention, partially hidden behind a sleek-looking Mac and a desk-lamp. She went over, sliding it a little to the left to get a better look.

It was a picture of a family—a father, a mother, and two boys—standing together, the males all in suits and the woman in an elegant dinner gown. The youngest boy looked around seven, while the other, most likely his brother, was probably in his teens. Hinata looked at the faces, trying to discover what lay behind their still forms. The father looked stern, unforgiving. The mother seemed kind, her hand placed lovingly on her youngest boy's shoulders. He in turn kept one hand on his mother's, and smiled at the camera with the innocence of youth. His brother smiled as well, but Hinata could see the smile didn't reach his eyes. They were cold, and dark.

Behind her she heard the door open. Hinata swung around, coming face to face with the youngest boy from the picture. He was probably close to Hinata's age now, but it was unquestionably the same man. The only difference was his scowling expression, so different from the open smile in the photo. So this was Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke gave her a long look, up and down, and lingered on the picture frame in her hand. Hinata blushed bright red, feeling as though she'd been caught doing something terrible, and stepped away from the desk as if it had burned her.

"Now I know why Naruto was so keen on getting me to go to dinner with him. Would you mind telling me why you're in my room? Or, for that matter, there is a teenage girl on my sofa watching my television?"

"I… I'm so sorry. I'm Hinata. Naruto should have told you about me."

"I don't care who you are," Sasuke said in an even tone. "Please answer my questions."

"Yes, well…" Hinata stammered. "Naruto hired me to be the new maid. We knew each other in high school, and he offered his help after my father died."

Sasuke stared at her, his expression unreadable.

"And the girl downstairs?"

"That's my sister, Hanabi," replied Hinata. She clenched her fists behind her back, not wanting to betray her nervousness with her usual habit of rubbing her hands together. "I'm her guardian now. We can't live apart, so when Naruto offered me the job he knew she would live with me."

"Did he now?" was Sasuke's only response.

After the silence that followed, the loud crash of someone running up the stairs almost made Hinata jump with surprise. Naruto burst through the door, almost running into Sasuke, who had stepped aside just in time.

"Speak of the devil," Sasuke murmured, "and he shall appear."

"Now everybody calm down," Naruto gasped, leaning over with hands on his knees, taking deep, gulping breaths. "Let's just let things marinate for a second."

"I'm calm," said Sasuke in a deceptively mild tone. "I'm just wondering what possessed you to hire a maid without consulting with me first. Especially since it's not just a maid, it's also her sister. We're not running a hostel here, Naruto."

Naruto held his hands out in supplication. "Come on, Sasuke, have a heart. They just lost their father, they have nowhere to go. Give them a try, I guarantee you won't regret it. Come on, don't tell me you didn't see how clean the place is. You could eat on the floor!"

"You frequently do," Sasuke said without a pause. "Hardly a convincing argument." He looked at Hinata for a long minute, silencing Naruto's quick retort with one hand. "Well, we have to hire someone, and it might as well be you. But this isn't charity. You'll do the work or you get fired. Understand?"

Hinata nodded furiously, allowing herself to hope.

Sasuke walked over to his desk and sat down, taking out a sheet of paper from one of the drawers. He wrote quickly, his back to his roommate and his new maid.

"What are you playing at?" Naruto asked indignantly. "We were in the middle of a conversation. You can't just pick up work and leave us hanging like that!"

"I can do whatever I want," Sasuke said dryly, "this being, after all, my house. But as it happens, this is relevant to our discussion."

"Miss Hinata," he said, gesturing for her to come closer, "this is for you. It's a contract, laying down all of the requirements of your job. Fail to comply with any of these, and you're gone. No second chances."

Hinata took the paper, scanning it quickly like she would a medical report. It contained all the details of her pay and the length of her initial employment. The contract was set for one month. Most of the rules were straightforward, and Naruto had warned her already about not going into Sasuke's room. But the way they were written, laid out so aggressively, definitely irked her. She tried to hide her irritation. This Sasuke was an even bigger ass than Naruto had described.

Without a word, Hinata signed her full name on the bottom line. Sasuke took the contract, not even deigning to look down to verify her signature.

"That's that, then," Sasuke said, with the air of someone brushing away a pesky mosquito. "Now please go about your business, both of you. I have business to attend to."

Hinata followed Naruto out the door, stifling the urge to stick her tongue out at her haughty new employer.

She went downstairs, only to find Hanabi staring in the direction of Sasuke's room, with the expression one might see on a hungry wolf.

"That's the guy Naruto was talking about? He's gorgeous!"

Hinata stared at her in consternation, while Naruto burst into laughter.

"He has that effect on most women. Don't know why, though. He wouldn't know charm if it bit him on the nose."

"Who cares about charm?" Hanabi asked scornfully. "Hinata, this place isn't such a dump after all! Not with such a hot guy living with us!"

Hinata just shook her head in despair. Hanabi with a chip on her shoulder was irritating—Hanabi with a crush promised to be truly terrifying.

He'll kick us out before the week is up.

A/N: Things are starting slow, though they should start to heat up soon. The infamous kdrama contract has been signed, and now it's time for the intrigue, angst, and drama to begin.