I don't own Naruto. Masashi Kinomoto does. All respect and credit go to him. Anything you recognize is not mine.

Huge thanks to celeste carla, pattie mayonnaise, PeaceForEternity, KibaShikaNejiNaru . Luvr , Finnick Odair In His Underwear, and ShikaInoInuKikIchiHime36 for the support! :)

[Chapter 2: Roommates]

Uchiha Sasuke, as the name implied, was a man of wealthy stature. He had the perfect Adonis body — toned muscular body, chiseled features, shiny raven black hair. He embodied the beauty that many, if not all, Ancient Greek artists sought, admired, and reproduced. He looked perfect; but in all honesty, he had no choice in the matter. He had to be perfect, for he was an Uchiha, and not just a common Uchiha, but the heir, the heir to the name that influenced the country both economically and politically.

So why was the seemingly perfect Adonis-like heir practically speeding towards a restaurant as if it were the last restaurant in town? A long, well thought-out reasoning could be given, but in the end, simply two words would suffice — Uzumaki Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto was a friend in a weird sense of the word. The two met in a playground, and immediately, they disliked each other, perhaps even borderline hatred. That much was expected. They were complete opposites like water and oil. He was brooding, arrogant, selfish, and quite frankly, not a very approachable kid, while Naruto on the other hand was always hyper and upbeat, with an almost permanent grin on his face. They repelled each other, but out of this common animosity grew friendship, surprising as it was. Their friendship was, in a word, ironic. They hated each other, and yet, they cared for each just the same.

Despite knowing that Naruto would be attending the same university and that he would be living in the residence hall just as he would, Uzumaki Naruto's arrival to Uchiha Sasuke's dormitory was unexpected, to say the least, and despite their unconventional friendship, his arrival was not at all welcomed; the Uchiha was under the impression that he would have no roommates. It was, after all, one of the conditions that he specifically informed the university. As an Uchiha, he was allowed to have these "conditions" except, as made apparent by the blonde's arrival, the no-roommate condition.

To clear the obvious misunderstanding in the situation, he called the administration office. A young voice answered, who transferred him to another line. Finally, he was talking to the director, who verified Naruto's right to be in that room — the room in which he resided.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, but I cannot accommodate your request. Konoha Universtiy is a great and prestigious university that has a long history of fairness. The approval of your no-roommate request will entail special privileges, privileges that not every other student have, which endangers the long history of fairness that this university has been known for."

With that, Uchiha Sasuke was stuck with Uzumaki Naruto, much to both their chagrins, especially Sasuke because he knew that he was bound to get dragged by Naruto to his little outings. Such is an example.

"Hey, hey, did you see that?" asked Naruto as he excitedly pointed out the car window. "I think a turtle just passed us" he added somewhat sardonically as he sulkily leaned back against his seat.

"Tch, then why don't you take your car, huh? Oh, that's right" Sasuke smirked, "you can't."

Naruto straightened, completely irritated. "Shut up! It's not my fault I can't pass the fucking driving test."

"Driving test?" sneered Sasuke, "You can't even pass the driver's permit test!"

"You're so fucking annoying! Just drive faster; Choji's shift is ending" he sulked.

Akimichi Choji was the second-best cook the restaurant has seen, second only for the sole reason of having the habit to occasionally eat the food he had prepared. He was indeed a skilled cook, and perhaps it was thanks to his abundant experience in eating and tasting food that made him so, for Choji was indeed an excellent eater. He could eat anything and everything edible, and from experience he knew what was good and what was not so good (it was still good, just not as good, for there was no food that was bad). Perhaps his cooking skills were inherited. Both his parents were chefs, very skilled and accomplished chefs; therefore, he grew up eating five star gourmet meals. As heavenly as his childhood may sound, it was not at all good, however.

In consequence of his parents' great cooking, Choji grew to be larger than average. He had not minded in the beginning; after all, his parents were also larger than average. He had not minded until it was made into his realization that it was hateful to be larger than average — he was supposedly slower and weaker, and had in consequence, been teased and isolated. A dark cloud hovered over his childhood, but as he was soon to find out, every cloud had its silver lining. The silver lining took its form in Nara Shikamaru.

Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji's friendship blossomed from the day Shikamaru defended Choji from their playmates with the former's logic. They were playing "ninja," a game that was a cross between hide-and-seek and tag. Many excluded Choji from playing for aforementioned reasons, but Shikamaru nonchalantly pointed out that they could not possibly play without Choji, for playing with odd number of players was not as fun. The others did not yield, and Choji left with a heavy heart. His heart was not alleviated of its burden until Shikamaru came to him just moments later, out of sheer coincidence it would seem. Apparently, Choji was sitting in Shikamaru's favorite cloud-watching spot (for the boy did love watching the clouds). Choji promptly moved to the side, and Shikamaru invited him to join him. In return, Choji shared his chips, and from then on, their friendship was born.

It was because of Nara Shikamaru that Akimichi Choji accepted and held pride in his current self — larger than average. It was also because of Shikamaru that he continued to eat, for such bullying would force any other kid who was not lucky enough to have a Nara Shikamaru in his life to turn to anorexia, especially if that kid had a Yamanaka Ino for a friend.

Yamanaka Ino would often deride Choji for eating so much. "It isn't healthy!" she would say. But more often, she cited aesthetics to be the reason. At first, he was deeply hurt, but because of Shikamaru, Choji accepted his appearance and accepted Ino's somewhat distorted views, though he disagreed with them. Speaking of Ino, she was soon to come, and he was very much excited to see her (even her derisions). He was about to take his apron off (for his boss said he could leave early) when a blonde and a black haired stoic male entered. Choji knew them well. The blonde was his number one customer, after all.

"Choji! You're still here! I thought you left already 'cause this guy over here drove like a freakin' grandma!" the blonde immediately exclaimed from the door.

"Hey, you whippersnappers! Don't go insulting us old people!" an old man who was conveniently seated next to Naruto (who was also conveniently yelling as was expected from his hyperactive nature) scolded. "Kids these days have no respect!"

Sasuke elbowed Naruto for his rudeness, and Naruto winced in pain. "GrandMA, I said grandma. It's not like I insulted him!"

"Sorry, guys, I'm about to take off" informed Choji from behind the counter. "My friend's coming today and — "

"What?" Naruto immediately ran to the counter and looked like he was about to jump over it to shake some sense into the skilled cook. Thankfully, Sasuke restrained him just in time, for which the cashier at the register who understandably feared for his life was most thankful. "Your shift hasn't ended yet!" Naruto desperately pointed to the clock.

"Boss said I could leave early" Choji shrugged.

"But Choji, you're like the best cook here! I'm serious! It could even rival Ichiraku — "

Naruto's accolade was interrupted by a gasp, immediately followed by quick footsteps, and not a moment after, Naruto was faced with a surprisingly teary-eyed Choji. He grabbed Naruto's shoulders from across the counter, "N-Naruto, d-d-do you really mean that?" he looked like he was about to burst into tears at any moment.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the absurd scene, "So fucking typical."

Near the entrance, the old man was still muttering about the respect, or lack thereof, of "kids these days."

Naruto put his shoulders on Choji's and looked at him squarely in the eye. He had the most determined look anyone could wear, and after a moment of intently and dramatically staring at each other, he nodded. "I do."

Naruto's affirmation broke the dams in Choji's eyes, and the latter's tears spilled, and he enclosed the blonde into a hug. "Oh, Naruto, that's the nicest compliment I've ever gotten! I'll cook for you! Anything! I'll cook anything!"

Naruto's eyes brightened. "Really?" After Choji's nod of affirmation, Naruto turned to Sasuke as much as he could (he was still in Choji's clutches) and happily exclaimed, "Hear that, Sasuke? He'll stay!"

Choji was so happy that he ignored his vibrating phone in his pocket. He knew who was calling even without looking. There was only one person who would call him at that time, after all. Sorry, Shikamaru, but I'm sure you and Ino still need more time catching up.

Shikamaru threw his phone to his side in frustration. Akimichi Choji knew that a certain Yamanaka Ino was coming that day, and he knew how troublesome that Yamanaka Ino was. Most definitely, Choji knew how much a certain Nara Shikamaru needed him, and yet Akimichi Choji was nowhere in sight. "Troublesome," Shikamaru complained.

"SHIKAMARU!" he heard a shriek, and immediately he knew what was coming. As expected, a certain platinum blonde marched towards him, and stopped conveniently in front of the television he was watching. He closed his eyes. Maybe if he pretended it didn't exist, it would go away. "Shikamaru," it growled, and he suppressed a groan. It was definitely staying.

"What now, Ino?" he sighed as he finally opened his eyes to look at her, only to get an eyeful of her exposed boobs. She was wearing a V-neck, and by law of gravity, the V fell downwards when she bent down forwards to his level, exposing what it was initially supposed to cover. "Nice bra" he smirked.

Ino abruptly hit Shikamaru in the head, making the latter fall sideward onto the couch he was sitting on (he was too lazy to offer any resistance). "You're such a fucking idiot!" she straightened up, a bit embarrassed as evident by little redness of her face. "Anyway, stop changing the subject!" She ominously put a hand on her hips, and the other pointed towards the kitchen to her right. "Your kitchen!"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered (which thankfully it didn't hear) before sitting upright. He looked up at Ino, "What about it?"

Her eye twitched. "What about it? Can you even call that a kitchen? Your fridge is empty, your sink is like a fucking dumpster, and your trash is like a fucking dump truck! Is Choji okay with all of this?"

"Look, we had a big dinner last night that's why fridge is empty. Too tired to wash the dishes. Went to bed. Woke up late. Choji had work and I had to help you move. No time to clean. There, case closed. Now can you go to your apartment and unpack?"

Ino ignored his request and in exasperation, she dropped onto the couch beside him. She leaned her head back and put a wrist on her eyes as a sign of definite exhaustion. "Ugh, I feel like I'm getting white hairs just from dealing with you guys. And it hasn't even been a day!" she complained.

"Yeah?" asked Shikamaru, amused by the irony of her statement. "But seriously, go unpack and put some pants on."

Ino dropped her hand from her eyes and looked at her friend with an expression that was a cross between amusement and bewilderment. "What are you talking about? I'm wearing shorts."

"Those are shorts? That's smaller than fucking underwear"

"Have you seen my underwear?" Ino suggestively asked as she leaned towards him just as seductively.

"Please, Ino, don't put such horrible images in my head" he griped as he leaned his head back on the sofa, his head looking up at the ceiling, but not for long, for he was pushed sideward yet again. "Goddammit, I'm not a fucking daruma."

"Yeah? Well you're a fucking jerk" she sulked as she leaned back against the couch. Then, in a completely bipolar move, she smirked. "You better enjoy that image, though, because that's as far you'll see."

"Thank god" Shikamaru sighed as he pushed himself upright again, only for Ino to push him back down. "Goddammit!"

Ino stood up from the couch, completely irritated. "When is Choji coming?" She looked down at her lazy friend who hasn't even made the effort of getting up. After she regained her composure with the help of a few deep breaths, she sat back down and looked at his still lying figure. "Call Choji."

"Why me? Call him yourself."

"Because I'm really irritated and I feel I'd explode on him and I don't want to explode on him because I haven't seen him in a week!" her voice was getting tenser with each word.

Shikamaru really had no choice but to comply unless he wanted an early death (and death at Ino's hands was not at all pleasant). Thankfully, his phone was just beside him. After a few rings, the perpetrator finally answered. "Hey, where the fuck are you? What?" his eyebrows knotted in annoyance as he finally stood upright. It was awkward talking while lying on the couch. Ino was a bit alarmed by his expression and her irritated expression was replaced by concern. "I thought you said you'd be able to leave early?" Shikamaru sighed, "So what time are you getting out then? Okay, you have got to be fucking kidding me. Hello? Choji?" he pulled his phone away from his ear. Choji had hung up. "Goddammit."

"What'd he say?"

"Said he'll be stuck at his work for a while. Lots of customers, apparently. Tch, what a liar."

"Don't judge him! He could really just be busy" Ino admonished.

"Yeah, busy with what? Serving two, maybe three or four, people?" seeing Ino's confused face, he elaborated. "The voices on the phone, it didn't seem like there was a crowd since I could perfectly make out the conversation in the background and there were only about three voice, including Choji."

"That damn liar," Ino growled. She stood up. "Alright, if he won't come to us, then we go to him."

"Tell him I said hi" said Shikamaru nonchalantly as he turned his interest back to the television program. Sensing Ino's stare, he looked up at her (despite every rational part of him saying otherwise). "What? I'm not coming with you" he answered her unasked question before turning his attention back to the television.

Ino moved her body strategically so that she blocked his view. "Yes, you are. I don't know where he works. You do. We'll use my car. I'll drive. Deal?"

"Seriously, you need to wear pants, or longer shorts at least" said Shikamaru, ignoring Ino's proposal. "It's like you're asking to be raped."

Ino smirked. "Jealous you won't be my first?" she morbidly teased, but Shikamaru would have none of it.

"That's not something you should be joking about, Ino" glared Shikamaru, looking genuinely irritated.

She was taken aback by his sudden hostility. "Well, sorry, I didn't know I was talking to daddy" she sardonically replied. "Anyway, are we going to Choji or not?"

Shikamaru looked up at her. "If I say no, is there even any chance at all that you'd leave me alone? No? Ok, yeah, we're definitely going."

"Oh! I should ask Sakura to come along. More order equals more food to cook. That'll teach Choji" said Ino deviously as she fished for her phone from her back pocket.

Haruno Sakura, still drunk from the beautiful sight of the beautiful raven-haired young man who went by the name of Sasuke, entered her dorm in a daze. He was indeed beautiful, and the pink-haired female could not help but blush at the mere thought of him. It wasn't until sometime after that she noticed a set of suitcases on the other side of the room. She moved from her side of the room to examine them. They weren't of cheap materials, Sakura noticed upon close examination.

"Wow, this chick must be an heiress" she commented and sighed as she moved back to her bed. "Great, now I'll probably be stuck with a stuck-up, snobby, rich-ass daddy's girl." Sakura regretted that Ino wasn't moving in with her, for though Ino was a bit overwhelming, her presence was very much preferred over the stuck-up, snobby, rich-ass daddy's girl heiress that was her roommate.

Sakura was so tempted to take Ino's offer of eating together just so she could avoid any confrontation with her roommate, but in the end, she chose to decline. She had a lot of unpacking to do as evident from the boxes around her. Apart from that, she really did not want to eat at a restaurant, much less at a restaurant in which a certain Akimichi worked. She was well-aware of how tempting his cooking could be, and she knew that she would end up overstuffing herself as usual, and that simply would not do. She was trying to lose weight, for heaven's sake. It was not that there was a need for it, but she knew that she was not so skinny either. She needed to look perfect for Sasuke.

Her fantasies pertaining to the said young man was interrupted by the opening of the door, and Sakura immediately braced herself. Smile and be nice, she constantly reminded herself. It became her mantra. Smile and be nice. Smile and be nice. Smile and be nice. But to her surprise, instead of a high maintenance girl that she was expecting, an innocent-looking one entered. She exuded an aura of gentleness and every other word associated with innocence.

"Hi!" she stood up from her bed and walked closer to her new roommate. The girl jumped in surprise. It seemed she was also in a daze when she walked in. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Haruno Sakura" she smiled as she extended a hand.

The girl shook her hand with a smile, a smile that was just as gentle. "Nice to meet you, Sakura-san. I'm Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hyuuga, huh?" Sakura's eyebrows rose. "That explains the expensive suitcases." Surprisingly, (but it shouldn't be surprising at all taking her appearance into account) instead of bragging about how expensive they were, Hinata blushed and seemed to get flustered in embarrassment. She immediately started explaining how she didn't want to buy those but that her teacher made her get them. Sakura was genuinely surprised by her reaction, and upon getting over her initial shock, she just had to laugh at the situation at hand. "What are you getting flustered for? That's not something to be embarrassed about!"

"B-but Sakura-san, you must think I'm really haughty and conceited for buying those" Hinata couldn't look at Sakura in the eye in fear of Sakura's inevitable affirmation.

Sakura paled, for she really did think that. She hid her embarrassment with a nervous chuckle. "Oh, psh, no, I don't. What made you think that?" Hinata picked up her head with a smile of relief at Sakura's words. "Anyway" hastily continued Sakura, "You're a really nice girl. You know, if it were any other girl owning those suitcases, they would've totally shoved it in my face. I'm glad you're my roommate"

Hinata smiled as well, "I'm glad you're my roommate too, Sakura-san."

Sakura smiled. She really was relieved. If her roommate turned out to be any other girl other than Hyuuga Hinata, for Hyuuga Hinata was possibly the only heiress who was sweet and gentle, Sakura would have moved out immediately of the dorm (for transferring rooms were near-impossible) and moved in with Ino. And though Ino was indeed a good person, Sakura would not want to move in with her for selfish, and maybe even irrational, reasons.

Yamanaka Ino sneezed.

"Hey, that's dangerous, you know" her passenger casually commented. "As if driving in heels isn't dangerous enough" he added as an afterthought.

Yamanaka Ino smirked in reply, "I can't help it. Someone must be thinking of me. And, really, who could blame them? Don't say a word" she warned her passenger. She knew that he was about to burst her bubble. She could already see his pin, his pointy and sharp pin.

"I —" Ino clicked her tongue in interruption, and Shikamaru heaved a heavy sigh. The girl can be so troublesome. "Look Ino —" she clicked her tongue again, and his eyebrow twitched. "Goddammit, Ino, fucking listen to me!"

"No! I know you're just going to put me down again. You know, Shikamaru, you should be thankful I still have the level of confidence I do now seeing as I'm forever your victim of harsh words and all" she ranted.

"Yeah, yeah, as much as I like spending time with you too, you just passed Choji's workplace."

"Goddammit, Shikamaru, why didn't you say sooner?" she complained, and the object of her irritation heaved a sigh as he looked out his window. Troublesome.

Finally, after a couple of turns, they made it to Choji's workplace, much to both of their reliefs. "Finally! And it's so near too! You're a sucky tour guide, by the way" Ino commented as she got out of her car. "I mean, seriously, this trip should've been ten minutes, tops"

"Troublesome" Shikamaru sighed as he walked ahead of her. He tried his earlier strategy again. Maybe if he ignored it, it would go away. "ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?" he heard. Troublesome.

"Anyway, just so you know, you're paying" Ino casually stated as she caught up beside him. Her statement caught him by surprise, she knew, since the latter stopped in his tracks. "What are you surprised about? Duh, you're the guy, so you pay! Besides, it's not like I'll be eating anyway. I'm still on my diet, you know. I'm just here to order food, so Choji would have lots of cooking to do. Serves him right for ditching us."

Shikamaru just sighed as he started walking ahead of her. She was indeed so troublesome.

Once they entered the restaurant, however, all of her irritation towards anyone and everyone disappeared as she caught a heavenly sight. It wasn't Choji chatting with a blonde. It wasn't the blond chatting with Choji. It was the raven-haired male, stoically eating his meal. He was just so beautiful.

"Choji!" she called, her voice dripping with happiness and cheerfulness as she practically skipped towards the said man, who abruptly stood from his seat, fear apparent in his face. "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while!" she hugged him.

Choji looked at Shikamaru with wide eyes, confused and downright scared. Shikamaru, however, looked just as confused as he was. "I-Ino, I am so sorry. Please don't kill m—"

"What are you talking about, silly?" Ino pinched his cheek, though a bit harder that she should. "Anyway, who are these people?"

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naru—" but before the poor blonde could even finish his introductions, Ino waved him off, "That's nice, but what's his name?" she pointed to the beautiful man across the blonde. "Oh, him? That's just Sasuke" the person named Naru replied offhandedly. Her eyebrows rose. No wonder he was so beautiful, he was an Uchiha. Ino sat in the seat beside him and introduced herself somewhat seductively, "Hi, Sasuke-kun, I'm Ino."

And in the background, Choji was confused, but more importantly, relieved that he had survived Ino's wrath. Shikamaru heaved a sigh. It was so troublesome. Naruto shrugged his shoulders at the scene and just went back to his eating his wonderfully scrumptious food. The scene before them was typical, after all.

[Chapter 2 End]

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