Here's the next chapter. The pace may be a bit slow since I'm still trying to flesh out Naruto's character. I forgot to mention that I will be switching between Naruto and Sasuke's viewpoints throughout the story, and sometimes within a chapter, but hopefully it will be clear enough whose POV it is. Warnings and disclaimer are in the first chapter. Enjoy!


Chapter 2: Not that guy

"You're dumping me?!" Ino shrieked.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto leaned back against the comfortable leather of his seat, posing as though he were shooting a scene straight out of a movie. "Don't act so surprised, babe. You knew this would happen. I am the most despicable guy in Konoha, after all. Now please get out of my car." He winked at the fuming girl and snapped on his shades. Since he was feeling slightly nicer today, he had even stopped right in front of the bus stop so she would not have to walk.

"You jerk! Drive me home at least! You know I don't ride on public buses."

Naruto sighed. So vexing and predictable. Didn't she realise that screaming and kicking up a fuss was making her look even more unappealing than she already was now that Naruto was done with her?

Females.

This was why he preferred breaking up with guys, they were at least gracious about it. Of course, they were also much easier to lure into bed. Girls liked to play a game called 'hard to get', which never failed to excite him. Ino had been a decent player. She had lasted nearly a month, which was certainly longer than any male and most female lovers he'd had.

But after he had had her and she had started to grow clingy, Naruto thought it was a good time to cut her loose.

Yeah, he was a total heartbreaker.

And proud of it.

"Babe, I would take you home, but…" Naruto pretended to look at his name-brand watch, "I've got to be somewhere in five. You're a busy girl, I'm sure you understand."

The blonde girl glowered at him through narrowed eyes. "How can you treat me like this? I really liked you!"

Snorting, Naruto looked away. "Lots of people 'really like' me."

"Eugh! You're going to regret this, I swear!" she screamed, stepping out of the car and slamming the door with unnecessary force.

"You keep telling yourself that, babe," Naruto said sweetly, inwardly wincing at the abuse the love of his life was suffering. It was such a terrible feeling to see his beloved Kyuubi treated so badly.

Ino stalked off, turning around only once to give Naruto the finger in a rather aggressive motion.

"That's a first," drawled a voice that belonged to none other than one of his closest friends.

"Shika!"

Turning to face his friend, Naruto gestured for him to get in the car. "I didn't know you were planning on dragging your lazy ass out of bed today. Must be a special occasion. What gives?"

Shaking his head at the invitation, Shikamaru replied, "I thought I'd better do some damage control. Otherwise I'm going to get it from mum later."

"If I knew Ino's friendship meant that much to you, I wouldn't have gone after her," Naruto said seriously. He liked to think that his undying loyalty to his friends was one of his few redeeming qualities.

Shaking his head again, Shikamaru shrugged, "Nah, it's nothing like that. Anyone who knows you and goes out with you deserves what's coming to them."

"Oh really? I'm so hurt," Naruto grinned. "And I'm just a blameless bystander in all of this?"

Snorting, Shikamaru reached into his pocket and withdrew a cigarette, placing it between his lips. "I would hardly say that," he muttered as he flicked on his lighter.

Naruto laughed at him. "Gee, thanks. Anyway, I'm gonna swing by school later. You skipping again?"

Shikamaru blew out a long stream of smoke and gave Naruto a pointed look that clearly said 'Do you really need to ask?'

"Figures. You never go unless there's a test." Naruto had always found the level of Shikamaru's IQ to be disgustingly unfair.

"Truancy is a beautiful thing."

"You know it's been so long since you last went. Everyone may have already forgotten your face," Naruto teased, and for the sake of it, he added, "Especially Temari. I hear she's interested in some guy a year above us."

"Did Gaara tell you this?" Shikamaru said sharply, showing an uncharacteristic amount of interest wherever the blonde Suna-exchange girl was concerned.

Snickering at his friend, Naruto turned on his engine and shifted into gear.

"I dunno," he said, feigning ignorance, "Maybe you should come to school and ask him yourself. Since he hardly bothers to answer his phone and all…"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, taking a final drag and throwing his finished cigarette on the ground and crushing it between his shoe. Normally they would have been fined for littering, but being who they were, the relevant authorities knew better than to try pressing charges.

Pushing himself away from the car, Shikamaru started up the sidewalk in the direction Ino had gone.

"So you're coming to school right?" Naruto yelled after him.

Without looking back, Shikamaru raise his middle finger in an imitation of the girl he was going after.

Sniggering, Naruto shook his head and drove away. Shikamaru was like that. Though he complained about everything under the sun, was extraordinarily lazy, even by Naruto's own subpar standards, and hardly took an interest in anything, he was a pretty good guy.

Despite his badgering towards Shikamaru, Naruto didn't feel like going to school yet, so he headed to the nearby arcade. It was one of his favourite haunts. The games they had there were the latest and thanks to ground-breaking technology, even a special virtual reality room had been installed that allowed multiple players. It was like being in heaven.

When Naruto arrived, Kiba was already there and going at it hard with Lee.

Air hockey, that is.

"Yo," Naruto greeted, walking to stand where a small audience had formed to watch the game unfold. He was not very fond of that particular game. It was so out-dated that it was a wonder why it was still so popular.

"Hey, Naruto."

"Hello, Naruto-kun!"

His friends barely looked up at him, too focused on their competition. Naruto rolled his eyes but said nothing as he watched them play.

Not two minutes later, he was beginning to grow bored and scanned the sea of spectators until a brunet boy across the table caught his eye. As though sensing the gaze, the boy looked up and turned red when he realised that it was Naruto who was observing him. He quickly glanced down, but seemed to regret it because he raised his eyes to meet Naruto's again.

Too easy.

Gesturing with his head to meet him by the side, Naruto disentangled himself from the onlookers.

The boy was already waiting for him, eyes filled with anticipation.

"What's your name?" Naruto asked him.

"Sarutobi Konohamaru."

"Sarutobi Konohamaru," Naruto repeated, tasting the words in his mouth. The boy's cheeks reddened. "You know who I am?"

"Uzumaki Naruto."

"Good," Naruto murmured as he leaned down and took a whiff of the boy's hair. Chocolate and bananas? Interesting.

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

Naruto hesitated. "Have you… Done this before?"

The boy shook his head, looking up at Naruto with wide-eyes.

Sighing, Naruto pulled away.

"Never mind then."

Young and inexperienced. A major turnoff combination.

"Wait! No!" Konohamaru cried and latched onto Naruto's arm with the two of his, imploring. "Please. I want it to be you. It has to be you!"

Turning back to face the brown-haired boy, Naruto considered him.

"Why?"

"Huh?" Konohamaru responded blankly.

"Why does it have to be me?"

The brunet look stumped for a moment, clearly not expecting that question, before he said, "Because you're Uzumaki Naruto!" He spoke with such conviction, as though he truly believed that that was a sensible answer.

"Is that it?" Naruto laughed.

Konohamaru's face fell.

Taking pity and privately enjoying the blatant yearning in those innocent eyes, Naruto pulled the unhappy boy into his arms. "I can't say that I'm flattered, but for that, I'll give you something."

Leaning down, Naruto grabbed a fistful of brunet hair in one hand and captured the boy's lips with his own.

Naruto was not a romantic person. He took what was his due without apologies or sugar-coating. And his kisses were the same. He was forceful and aggressive. Something that all his previous lovers had yet to complain about. Indeed, his dominating nature seemed to be something they craved.

Eyes shut tightly and hands fisting Naruto's shirt, Konohamaru's amateur talent was more than obvious as he tried to keep pace with Naruto until he had to break for air.

"You're cute in your own way, I suppose," Naruto said offhandedly as he looked down at the gasping boy. "Come back to me in a couple of years though. Then maybe I'll give you a little more."

Dumbfounded, the brunet's already red face deepened in colour.

Naruto laughed. "See ya later, Konohamaru," he said in mock salute, leaving the boy befuddled and staring blankly.

Returning to the air hockey table, Naruto was glad to see that Kiba and Lee had finished their match. Kiba had managed to scrape the win with a two-point lead and Lee was now completing push-ups as some form of absurd self-punishment that Naruto would never understand.

"When Lee's done here let's go to the VR room, I want to play the new ninja game that came out." Naruto said to Kiba as they amusedly watched Lee struggle on the ground.

"Sweet! I didn't know that it was released already," Kiba said excitedly. He was as much of a hard core gamer as Naruto was. In fact, Naruto could safely say that Kiba loved games more than anything or anyone in the world, except perhaps his dog, Akamaru.

For a good few hours, Naruto, Lee and Kiba monopolized the use of the virtual reality room until a queue had assembled outside and steadily grew longer. Naruto didn't care though. He had spent good money having this arcade renovated and it was only because on his recommendation that this facility was here at all.

Thinking about the line waiting outside though, Naruto couldn't help but be reminded of the haughty dark-haired boy he had encountered yesterday afternoon. He looked to be around Naruto's age, but he undoubtedly was not from Konoha. He was probably just a commoner passing through from one of the minor villages. It was unlikely he'd see that bastard again.

"Oi, Naruto! Pay attention. You're HP is nearly out."

"What? Dammit!" Naruto growled as he desperately tried to dodge the shower of shuriken before his green bar ran empty.

"Shit!" Kiba swore as 'MISSION FAILED' flashed all around them followed by 'GAME OVER'.

"I suppose it's for the best. It's already lunch break at school. We can meet the others there," Lee said.

The three of them headed to Namikaze Academy in their respective cars. Naruto's father, Namikaze Minato, had been founder and dean of the school until his untimely death. Naruto's mother, Uzumaki Kushina, had followed him soon after. Having never met his parents, Naruto could not say that he mourned the loss of them, but he did grieve over what could have been.

'Family' was something he didn't know.

Both of his parents had been born of high social standing. Some would say the gods had been feeling unjustly generous towards them, because both Kushina and Minato had been gifted with exceptional talents. And once combined, the Namikaze-Uzumaki union was practically royalty. They were untouchable. They had influence in all things in Konoha, from politics, economy and education to entertainment and international relations and business. It was predominantly due to them that the city was now bathed in wealth. As the only heir to their fortune, assets and thus, power, Naruto had been fought for amongst the top aristocrats of Konoha. Danzo Shimura and Utatane Kimura had emerged victorious, claiming Naruto as their prize.

It had been a lonely and loveless childhood.

Naruto looked at himself in the rear-view mirror, tracing the self-inflicted scars on the side of his face absently with one hand.

As he had matured, Naruto's forte for leadership and enterprise surfaced. When it was obvious that he had inherited the talents of his parents, those who had previously shunned and disregarded him tried to draw him into their inner circles.

Of course Naruto told them all a few choice words that had them reeling in anger but they were unable to rebuke him by that point because he had suddenly been elevated to the top of the food chain.

-xXx-

Gaara and Neji were already waiting for them by their usual meeting spot under the Sakura tree at the school gates by the time Naruto, Lee and Kiba had arrived.

"You took your time," Gaara commented tonelessly, arms crossed. Though he was as impassive as usual, Naruto could tell that he was annoyed. The redhead disliked waiting.

"Yeah, yeah, we're here now, aren't we?" Naruto looked around briefly. "Where's Shika? And Shino? Chouji? Sai?"

"Shikamaru is currently speaking to my sister, Shino is searching for a specific beetle for his collection, Chouji is already at the cafeteria, and I strongly suspect Sai is in a meeting with his art dealer. And before you go off listing the rest of our friends, might I remind you that I am not a walking news channel that receives updates concerning the whereabouts and activities of everyone." Having said his piece, Gaara stalked off ahead of them.

"What's got sand in his pants?" Naruto said curiously to Neji as the four of them followed along after Gaara.

Neji gave him an amused look. "Shikamaru gave him an earful about not keeping him informed about Temari, and Gaara said that if Shikamaru couldn't be bothered putting in the effort to pursue his sister properly, then she could do better."

"Ouch," Naruto said.

"And how are you?" Neji asked, turning those bizarrely white, pupil-less eyes on him. "Has your bruised ego recovered from the tongue lashing you received yesterday?"

"Nope," Kiba responded for him, ignoring Naruto's indignant 'hey!'. "He called me and was obsessing over the guy until past midnight. I swear, my ears were numb after all the shouting. I think I might need hearing aids."

"That's ridiculous," Naruto scowled. "And I was not obsessing."

"Yeah, and I'm a real ninja," Kiba muttered.

"Shut up, mutt-face!"

"You know, Kiba," Neji said thoughtfully, "You could have just hung up."

Kiba stopped walking in his tracks and looked as though he had been momentarily struck by lightning. "Fuck, I'm stupid!" he groaned and slapped his forehead in exasperation.

"That's not a very nice thing to suggest, Neji-san," Lee said, finally deciding to throw in his two cents. Naruto was inwardly thanking him until he added, "Naruto may have cried himself to sleep if Kiba hadn't been there to listen to him."

"I would never do something like that!"

They all laughed at him.

It was a wonder why Naruto's so-called friends enjoyed ganging up on him so often. Although, perhaps they knew that they were the only ones who could get away with it unscathed and used that knowledge to their full potential. But despite all their disagreements and differences, each one of them had played some integral part in his life, or he in theirs, at one point or another.

"Joking aside, it would have been entertaining to witness your encounter. From the gossip I've heard, it was quite a spectacle," Neji commented lightly.

"Yeah, well it wasn't as fun for me. That bastard was so arrogant!" Naruto clenched his fists. Just the memory of that guy was pissing him off.

"Arrogant?" Neji smirked, "Perhaps it's time you tasted your own medicine."

"Are you picking a fight with me?" Naruto growled.

"It might actually be good for you, Naruto-kun," Lee nodded in genuine agreement.

"You guys are all hopeless," Naruto grumbled, feeling sorry for himself.

-xXx-

The cafeteria was more rowdy than usual as students stood outside waiting for a table. Still in a bad mood, Gaara had already charged inside and disappeared from sight by the time they had arrived.

"I wonder what's going on here," Lee said aloud as they approached the lively throng.

Not particularly caring, Naruto followed Gaara's lead as the students naturally parted like the Red Sea to make way for them, calling out Naruto's name in hopes that he would look their way. By now, Naruto was used to being treated like a beloved king at his school, but he would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy every second of it.

"Hey guys!"

Naruto was slightly startled when his vision was suddenly blocked by a pretty face and Chinese buns.

"Tenten," Neji nodded mildly to his childhood friend.

The brunette beamed at them. "I've been looking for you guys everywhere! You've got to try out the new bento place, it's delicious. And the guy serving there is a total hottie!" she giggled girlishly and the group of boys resisted rolling their eyes.

"Is that why this place is so packed?" Kiba said, growling as a lowerclassman accidentally tripped and treaded on his toes.

Nodding, Tenten pointed to an area where the crowd was densest. "It's there. But it's not just popular because of the bento. Everyone's trying to get a date with Mister Gorgeous."

That caught Naruto's attention.

"What did you say?"

Smiling knowingly, Tenten leaned forward as though indulging a secret. "He's totally frigid. He keeps rejecting everyone. Girls and guys."

A slow, languid grin stretched broadly across Naruto's face as he thought of the possibilities.

"Sounds like my kind of guy."

"Please, not this again," Neji said disapprovingly. "You just broke up with the Yamanaka girl."

"Hey, it was you who said I wouldn't be able to get in her pants," Naruto retorted hotly. "You said, and I quote: 'she's a proper lady and too classy and smart to be seduced by a man-whore like me'."

"I do recall that conversation," Lee supplied helpfully.

"Whatever," Neji said curtly. "I'm going to find some food."

Naruto watched his long-time friend go. He knew that Neji was tired of his antics, but what could Naruto say? He loved a challenge.

Turning to the rest of his friends, Naruto cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Let's go check this guy out," he said, winking at Tenten.

"You got it!" she replied cheerfully. Tenten always found his little conquests entertaining.

As they made their way towards their destination, Naruto heard Kiba grumble to Lee, "Why do we have to come along? I'm not even into guys. And the dude's probably just gonna let Naruto bang him as soon as he sees who he is and then it's sayonara."

"I'm glad you have so much faith in me," Naruto said sarcastically.

"I guarantee that's not going to happen," Tenten assured. "He's over there, see?"

Following the direction her finger was pointing in, Naruto's gaze landed on a pale face and dark hair.

Oh, shit.

It was that guy.


Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated!

A/N: To Puppyluv (guest): Thank you for your support and kind words xx.