It's chapter 2!!!!
Uzumaki Naruto was what one would consider a street rat. His parents had died when he was very young and he had been living on the streets ever since. He had made friends with one of the men of the village, Iruka, and did various chores and errands for him in exchange for food, shelter, clothing or money. Iruka was a very kind man and Naruto sometimes imagined what it would be like if Iruka was his father, but he never told the older man about those thoughts.
"Iruka." He called as he walked into the brunette man's house.
"Ah, Naruto." Iruka smiled when he saw the blonde. Naruto smiled and went into the kitchen to see a large pot on the stove and a box filled with different foods on the table.
"What is this?" He asked looking through the box.
"Oh, the village on the other side of the mountain caught fire and half the village is gone. They ran out of food and medical supplies. I was going to take some supplies to them." He explained.
"Oh, I'll do it for you, Iruka. It's a long way and I'd hate for you to go through the mountains, they're especially dangerous this time of year." He smiled. Iruka smiled.
"Thank you Naruto. But you don't have to." He shook his head.
"No, it's okay I'll do it. The mountains are dangerous and you have school and stuff." He smiled. Iruka laughed.
"Fine, you can take everything." He smiled.
"Great. What can I do to help?" He asked. Iruka handed Naruto a ladle.
"You can stir the soup." He smiled. Naruto saluted with a laugh and did as he was told. "There's supposed to be a bad storm hitting the mountain later tonight so as soon as the soup is finished you'll have to head out to miss the storm."
"Yeah, yeah." He rolled his eyes.
"Naruto, I'm serious." Iruka snapped.
"I know, Iruka. I promise that I'll hurry so that I don't get stuck into the storm." He smiled and nodded. Iruka smiled as well.
"I just worry about you, Naruto." He smiled.
"I know. You don't have to worry so much, Iruka, I can take care of myself." He smiled. Iruka smiled sadly. He knew Naruto had been alone for most of his life so the boy knew how to handle things himself, but it didn't make the older man worry any less. He cared deeply for the young blonde and thought of him almost like a son.
"I know, I know. Pour the soup into the thermos and put it in the box. You need to head out soon." He said. Naruto nodded.
"Yes sir." He nodded and started ladling the soup into thermoses while Iruka finished packing the box. Naruto put the box on his bike and wrapped his scarf around his neck before looking at Iruka. "Well, I'm off. I guess I'll be back in a week." He smiled as he got onto the bike.
"Be careful, okay? Don't get caught in the storm, Naruto." Iruka told him.
"I won't. I'll see you soon." Naruto smiled as he rode off. He was wary of the black clouds that seemed to follow him towards the mountains. It reminded him of a story he had read once, not that he read much. It was about a greedy prince who was turned into an ugly beast and then on a stormy night an old man trespassed in the castle and was captured by the beast then his daughter came and traded places with her father and eventually she fell in love with him and broke the spell. Naruto laughed. "It would be cool if stories like that actually happened." He mused as he started up the mountain. "Didn't the prince use to live up here before he mysteriously disappeared? Maybe I'll find his castle and he'll be a cursed beast and then we'll fall in love and live happily ever after." He joked with himself. Fairytales were called fairytales because they weren't real and could never happen. When he was little he use to wonder what it would be like to live a fairytale life, but he always knew it was never possible. He had no delusions about his life, he knew he was destined to be a nobody with no parents and he was okay with that. He could hear thunder rumbling above him. "Shit." He cursed under his breath and started going faster, hoping to beat the storm. Of course his luck wasn't that good and it was only a few minutes before it started pouring on him. As he was driving he found a man on the side of the road.
"Excuse me, I'm headed towards Uchiha castle, would you be so kind as to give me a ride?" The silver haired man asked. Naruto smiled and stopped.
"Sure. Um, let me move this box so you can fit on the back." He smiled as he moved the box for the man to sit down.
"Thank you very much." The man bowed as he sat down.
"So you're headed to the palace?" Naruto asked, making small talk.
"Yes, I'm Kakashi, Prince Sasuke's butler." He answered.
"Prince? I thought he died or something. No one's seen him for years and there's a rumor that some wolf attacked him or something." Naruto said.
"Yes, he still lives there still. Very well, in fact." Kakashi informed the blonde boy. Naruto nodded.
"I see. That's good I guess." He smiled. Kakashi smiled as well. They made it to the castle and Naruto dropped Kakashi off.
"Please, come inside for some tea." The silver haired man offered.
"I'm sorry, I have to take these supplies to the village on the other side of the mountain before the worst part of the storm gets here." He shook his head. Kakashi grabbed the box from the back of Naruto's bike.
"I insist. As thanks for the ride I can also offer a room. You will not be able to make it over the mountain before the worst of the storm reaches you so please stay here until the storm has passed." Kakashi insisted. Naruto sighed and looked at the black sky.
"I guess it would be okay if I stay for the night." He said still somewhat apprehensive. Kakashi smiled and bowed.
"Follow me, please. I shall show you to your room." He said motioning for Naruto to follow him. Kakashi carried the box and lead Naruto into the castle. "I will show you to your room and place this box in the kitchen."
"Um," Naruto started.
"Kakashi." Shizune called as she came running into the hallway. "Master Sasuke is in one of his moods. He won't eat and is demanding to speak with you about," She looked over at Naruto, "him." She said. Kakashi sighed.
"Very well. Shizune, this is," He started but realized he hadn't learned the blonde's name.
"Uzumaki Naruto." He introduced himself.
"Yes, Naruto is a guest here. Please show him a room and find some dry clothes for him to change into while I deal with the master." He said. The brunette woman sighed and nodded.
"Yes, sir." She said.
"I will bring your dinner to you when I am finished, Naruto-san." He smiled and bowed as he left.
"Thank you, Kakashi-san." Naruto smiled. Kakashi laughed and left. He went to the kitchen and set the box down.
"Where did you get that box?" Choji asked.
"We have a guest. Please prepare something warm for him to eat." Kakashi said. Choji looked confused.
"A guest? Does Master Sasuke know?" He asked slightly worried. Kakashi laughed.
"Unfortunately. I have to go deal with that and will be back to take our guest his food." Kakashi said with a sigh before he left. He walked to Sasuke's room and found the beast pacing and growling.
"What the hell, Kakashi?" Sasuke growled angrily. Kakashi sighed and bowed.
"My deepest apologies, Master Sasuke. He picked me up on the road and I offered to let him stay because it would have been rude to leave him out in the rain after he offered me his services." He apologized.
"What have I told you about bringing guests into the palace?" Sasuke growled, his fur bristling. Kakashi sighed.
"Yes, I apologize. He will leave tomorrow; please do not worry too much about him." He said. The young lord growled.
"Make sure he doesn't wander around and is gone tomorrow morning." Sasuke snapped.
"Yes sir." Kakashi bowed and left the room. He went to the kitchen and got the food for Naruto before going to his room. "Naruto-san." He knocked on the door and entered.
"Oh, Kakashi. Thank you for the clothes." Naruto smiled as he showed the clothes he had changed into, even though they were too big.
"It was the least I could do. You would have gotten sick if you had stayed in your wet clothes." Kakashi smiled and set the tray of Naruto's food down.
"They seem a little big for you." He said. Naruto laughed.
"I'm used to it so you don't need to worry about it." He smiled.
"If you are sure." Kakashi said. Naruto nodded.
"I'm fine, thanks though. And thank you for the food, it looks delicious." He smiled. Kakashi smiled.
"It was my pleasure to serve you." He bowed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other duties to attend to." He said.
"Oh, yes. Please don't let me keep you from whatever it is you need to be doing." Naruto smiled. "Thank you for everything, Kakashi-san."
"My pleasure, Naruto-san." Kakashi smiled and bowed as he left. Naruto smiled and began eating, not noticing a pair of crimson eyes watching him from a hidden chamber. After Naruto finished his meal he went to sleep. Sasuke went into Naruto's room to take a closer look at the intruder. "He's cute, isn't he?" Kakashi asked. Sasuke growled and looked at the man standing in the doorway.
"Don't you have work to do?" He snapped.
"I was going to help you prepare for bed but I found your room empty and began looking for you." The silver haired man explained. "It's almost time for you to change back to your human form. I have prepared a bath for you."
"Good." He nodded and looked down at Naruto again. The blonde stirred and his eyes slowly opened. Blue locked onto black and he smiled softly.
"You must be the prince." He mumbled before his eyes closed again. Sasuke gasped softly and looked at himself in the reflection of the window. He was human.
"Kakashi, it's time for my bath." He snapped and left the room. Kakashi nodded and followed the prince to his washroom. "Why did you bring that boy here, Kakashi?" Sasuke snapped.
"It's been 4 years since anyone has come to the castle, Sasuke. Do you really want to stay cursed forever?" Kakashi asked as he helped Sasuke bathe.
"I don't want to stay cursed, but we all have resigned ourselves to live this life because we know realistically the chance of someone coming along and lifting the curse is very small." Sasuke growled.
"Yes. But perhaps this time will be different?" Kakashi said hopefully. Sasuke sighed and didn't say anything. He wanted Kakashi to be right but he knew it would probably end up like every other time someone came to the castle. After his bath, Sasuke also went to sleep thinking about the blonde visitor sleeping down the hallway. He really did want him to be the one to lift the curse. With that thought, he fell asleep.
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