Chapter Two

Naruto groaned as he shouldered open the front door, grimacing as it hit the wall and bounced back against his injured arm.

'Note to self,' he half-whispered, half-growled. 'If a psycho kendo master who misleads you about her skills asks you if you want to spar … you say no.'

He clutched at his shoulder and winced as a muscle under the sizeable bruise on his upper arm throbbed. Yeah, he was definitely not sparring with Tenten in anything other than karate.

Good, solid, hand to hand combat where he didn't have to worry about wooden swords smacking him upside the head. Repeatedly.

Another painful throb, this time from his left temple, made Naruto hiss. Blind spot his ass, she was just damn fast.

He rubbed his palm up his forehead and through his sweat-matted hair.

Ice, he needed ice. Then a shower. Maybe a shower and then some ice. He didn't really know, his shoulders were heavy and his workout bag was trying to drag him down by his neck or something.

Dragging himself away from the door, letting it swing and suddenly slow down just before closing, Naruto tried not to breathe in too much.

He could tell he stank to high heaven as well. There had been one too many people who stopped and stared after him when he'd been stumbling back to the apartment. Plus there was that pretty girl with the dark red hair who had all but dived out of the elevator at her floor.

She should have just been thankful he'd had the common sense to switch into a tank top when he and Tenten started sparring. If he'd been wearing a t-shirt he'd sparred in, she probably would have suffocated from the stink of him.

Normally he'd have grabbed a quick shower at the dojo, it was actually just part of a gym so there were standard changing rooms. But he hadn't wanted to stick around any longer, he'd only just got away from Tenten in one piece.

He'd left the apartment with Tenten for the dojo around five, after a quick rundown on the local shops, buses and bars … the woman had practically dragged him and her boyfriend, who Naruto had a lot more respect and sympathy for after he tapped in as Tenten's sparring partner so Naruto could esca- go home! So he could go home.

It was dark out now and he honestly would have to force himself to not just collapse on his bed. Because the second he lay down, he knew that would be where he'd stay for the night.

So yes. A shower, a very, very hot shower, a bag of ice for his aching shoulder, and then sleep without an alarm.

Or at least that was the plan, right up until he'd walked past the open door that led into the kitchen/living room area of the student apartment. The TV switched on to some kind of reality TV show … The Real Housewives of Kumogakure or some such crap. God why did they put this sort of shit on the TV?

He must have made some kind of disapproving noise because the blonde head of the beautiful woman sat crossed legged on the sofa whipped around in accusation.

'Yes?' She asked with a raised, manicured brow. A dangerous tone sitting neatly under the clipped one. 'Problem smart guy?'

'I mean,' Naruto said simply. Self-preservation be damned, he didn't have to put up with Ino's shit taste in TV like he did his parents and sister. 'Is there even anything worthwhile on that damn show?'

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, because Ino just rolled her eyes at him and scoffed. 'Typical man, just because it's not got fighting or fast cars in it. There's lots of interesting stuff going on between the different women and their husbands and children. Drama Naruto, it's all about the drama.'

'And the sex huh?' Naruto snorted as he dumped his bag down on the floor by the door. 'Yeah, don't try and pretend the shirtless men in it aren't part of the appeal.'

Ino gave his bag a pointed look, wrinkled her nose and stared at him. 'You're not leaving that there are you?'

He waved dismissively at her. 'Don't worry, I'm just getting some ice and then me and my smelly bag will be out of your hair. Watch your show.'

But he was apparently more interesting to glare at than the women on her show, as Ino watched him limp over to the freezer. 'What happened to you?'

Peering up, a wince crossing his face earning him a lessened glare from his gorgeous roommate, he fished out some ice cubes and knocked the freezer closed again with his hip. Pouring the ice into a glass, and then promptly pressing the cooling glass against his arm, right on the shiner of a bruise Tenten had given him, he sighed in relief.

'I met one of our other roommates,' Naruto said as he rolled the glass over his exposed shoulder.

'And he kicked your ass?' Ino leant against the cushions of the sofa. A measured look running over the full sweaty glory of him. She didn't look impressed. 'Did you say something?'

Naruto snorted as he picked his water bottle out of his bag and took a long gulp of water. 'She.'

'She?' Ino smirked. She gestured to his arms and her smirk grew a little bigger. 'Are you telling me, my muscly roommate got his ass handed to him by a girl?'

'Mhmm,' Naruto chuckled. 'And she's your roommate too Ino, I'd be careful. She's a madwoman.'

A light laugh broke the slightly judgy … okay maybe he was being diplomatic because Ino was hot … façade the blonde put up and she shook her head. 'I'll make sure not to steal her milk. Are you alright though? That bruise on your shoulder looks pretty nasty.'

Naruto shrugged, regretting it immediately. 'Ow, yeah I'm fine. Nothing a hot shower and rest won't fix.'

He rolled the glass over his bruise again and winced.

'Oh for god's sake,' Ino said as she got up and moved over to him. 'Go sit down, watching you is painful.'

She guided him away from the freezer, not unkindly, and all but pushed him down onto the sofa. Without a word she held out her hand expectantly for the glass, or at least he assumed as Ino whipped it out of his hand, and bustled around the kitchen as Naruto reclined back into the sofa.

'So go on, why were you fighting our new roommate?' Ino looked back over her shoulder. 'I'm assuming there was a good reason?'

Naruto nodded, not letting his eyes drift down to Ino's shapely hips as she pulled out a dishtowel from a drawer, wrapped the ice cubes left in the glass, and grabbed some more out of the freezer.

'Yeah, she asked if there was a place to do martial arts and I took her and her boyfriend to the gym round the corner?' Naruto explained as he turned to look at the TV. He had no idea who these women were, but they all looked to be somewhere in their early forties and talked like the teenage girls. Though some of them were definitely giving off a MILF vibe.

He really needed to get laid.

'I didn't know you did martial arts,' Ino said conversationally as she walked back over to him, passing him the cool dishcloth and plopped down on the sofa next to him. 'So you guys practiced together or something?'

He nodded and pressed the cloth to his bruise. Smiling gratefully at the other blonde, the smile being returned, Naruto sighed. 'Yeah, and she's really good. She's nice too, I think you'll like her as well. Her boyfriend's a bit of a tool though.'

Ino gave him a knowing look. 'Bit jealous are we?'

Naruto pulled a face at her. 'No, seriously. Wait til you meet him, you'll see what I mean.'

'Uh huh,' Ino said, clearly not convinced.

Naruto decided not to tell her Neji had been a judgemental douche about Kiba for now. Though speaking of him.

'Did that Kiba guy get in touch with you after he left?'

Ino shrugged. 'No, he said something about having to leave to feed his dog this morning and bolted. Don't think I'll see him again, a man picks a dog over spending all day with all this?' She gestured to herself. She shook her head and splayed out her fingers. 'Clearly a moron. I can do better.'

Casting a covert look over Ino, he had to agree. Naruto liked dogs as much as the next guy but if the choices were sex with Ino or feeding a dog? He'd have never left her bed.

Ah well, at least he might actually get a good night's sleep tonight after all. He was definitely going to need it after the way his day had gone. And a repeat of sparring with Tenten any time soon was out of the question. He liked being able to feel things other than pain and the woman was an absolute beast in a gi.

'So I was going to invite you out for a drink later,' Ino started, casting a slightly concerned look over him. 'Y'know, as a get to know you thing for the roommates but if you're this beat up and Tenten?' Ino looked at him expectantly until he nodded. Smiling briefly she continued. 'Right, anyway. I'm gonna guess that Tenten is going to be hanging out with her boyfriend?'

Naruto shrugged, wincing immediately, and his hand holding the wet cloth went to rub at his shoulder, mercifully he'd worn a tank top or he'd be soaking clothes on the shared sofa.

'Yeah, I think we'll give it a miss tonight,' Ino said with a shake of her head. 'Besides, maybe it'd be best to wait for the last guy to show up. The security guards on the door said he'd be arriving tomorrow. Full house and then we go out for a group drink?'

Naruto pursed his lips and inclined his head. 'Sounds like a good idea to me. Though how do you know when the last person is moving in? And how do you know it's a guy? When I asked them about it they told me to fuck off and leave them alone.'

The lighter blonde smirked at him and leant forward, the t-shirt she wore dipping around the collar a little to reveal her collarbones. She inched a finger in her direction.

Taking the hint, Naruto leaned in, keeping his eyes from drifting low yet again, she was his roommate, he wasn't going to be a creep in her home. He wasn't his grandpa.

'I can be very persuasive when it comes to men who have information I want,' she whispered and held her hand to the side of her mouth, as if to keep anyone else possibly hearing them. 'And I have boobs,' Ino said back at her normal volume, leaning back into the sofa with a smug smile.

Naruto snorted, the action making him wince again, but fell back into the sofa with a laugh. 'Yeah, okay, that'll work.'

Ino nodded with a giggle of her own. 'I didn't even try really hard. You'd think a pair of guys who worked on student dorms security would be used to pretty young women flirting with them. They're not exactly bad looking guys, though the bandage across the nose is a bit weird.'

Yeah, Naruto had thought that was weird too if he was honest. But then again his grandpa wore eye make-up and he and his sister had weird whisker-like birthmarks. Weird was relative.

'So go on,' Naruto said as he dabbed at his face a bit more. 'What did you learn about our new roommate with your womanly wiles?'

Ino shrugged, her eyes lingering on him a second longer than she probably meant to when his hand dabbed at his neck, a bit of water running down under the loose fitting tank top. 'Not much to be honest, he's about the same age as us, coming here to study Geography if you can even believe people actually do that, and Politics. They couldn't give me his name though, apparently that's some kind of data protection thing.'

'Bullshit,' Naruto scoffed as he placed the damp cloth down on the coffee table. 'If they were worried about that, they wouldn't have told you anything. They were probably just hoping you'd try to convince them a bit more first. Were probably hoping you'd flash them or something.'

Ino raised an eyebrow at him and for a moment Naruto worried he'd said the wrong thing. Tayuya had always said he was lucky she didn't care what stupid things came out of his mouth or he'd still be a virgin for how much he got in his own way around women.

But Ino just smiled sardonically and shrugged one shoulder. 'They didn't have anything I wanted to know badly enough to go that far. Besides, I'd have probably given them heart attacks if I'd just whipped the girls out for them.'

Ino mimed an action of lifting up her top, pulling an over the top sultry face to top it all off, which was so funny Naruto couldn't take it seriously enough to find even slightly alluring, bursting into laughter as Ino, clutching her chest like she was having a heart attack, collapsed backwards against the sofa cushion, eyes half lidded and her mouth hanging agape.

Before she bounced back and started laughing with him. But it didn't last too long until laughter was starting to hurt, and not in the way that it does when something is just too funny, but in the way like you just got yourself beat up and now you're laughing?! Are you crazy?! sort of way.

He clutched at his ribs, grimacing and growling faintly to himself. 'Shit.'

Ino, whose hand reached out to his shoulder when it looked like he was going to topple over, righted him and frowned cautiously. 'Are you alright? You look like you're seriously hurting.'

Naruto waved her off, ignoring how long her hand stayed on his arm, specifically on his muscled shoulder, and smiled painfully. 'No, no, I'm fine. Long shower and an early night and I'll be right as rain, you'll see.'

He went to stand, Ino just watching him go, her eyes swimming with concern still, and Naruto smiled again. A little less strained this time. 'Do you mind if I leave my stuff here for a bit? I'd rather not lift anything too heavy right now. I'll come get it in the morning.'

The blonde shook her head. 'No, that's okay. If they stink too much I'll just dump them in front of your door or something. Are you sure you're gonna be okay?'

He grinned at her concern, it was sweet of her and it was kinda nice to have her worrying after him, but shook his head. Slowly of course.

'I heal up quick, always have, I'll be ready for a roommates' night out tomorrow. If the new guy and Tenten want to go of course.' Naruto limped his way over to the door with a muffled groan. He hoped he'd remembered to pack painkillers when he'd moved from home.

'Well if not,' Ino said nonchalantly. 'We can always just go out the two of us. Roommate bonding one at a time sounds fun to me.'

Naruto paused at the door and looked back. Because if he wasn't entirely certain she wasn't … he'd think Ino was asking him out for a drink on her own. Like just the two of them. As in a date.

But she was just looking at him with worry, probably half-expecting to have to call an ambulance or something in the middle of the night.

Nah, he was reading into things that weren't there. He was just letting a bit of horny fuelled hope lead him to see things that weren't actually happening.

He smiled and nodded. 'That'd be cool, but check with the others first, don't want them to feel snubbed or something if they found out we went out for roommate bonding without them.'

The woman rolled her eyes but smiled. 'I doubt they'd take it personally but fine, it'd be kinda fun to go out as a big group anyway. I already know a few places we can try. Ooo, I'll check the Facebook page for Freshers to see if there's anything event wise going on tomorrow. I'll let you know!'

'Cool,' Naruto said as Ino's face lit up, her phone being whipped up from the table, the faint glow of a screen lighting up her face. 'I'll see you later Ino.'

'Bye Naruto,' Ino said without looking up at him, waving him away dismissively. 'Go rest up, you're gonna want to be fighting fit if I find something!'

'Can't wait,' Naruto replied, the ache around his shoulders and legs starting to wear him down as he shouldered his way out of the kitchen/living room.

Drinking in a bar where he didn't have to use a fake I.D. or charm his way past a bouncer. That'd be fun.

Plus, he might actually get lucky if there was a heavy student presence. The way Ino had been staring at him … cus she'd definitely been looking at him, he hadn't imagined that part, told him he was probably not too bad to look at and Freshers brought out the more adventurous side of people if Kurama was to be believed.

He seriously hoped so.

He could still hear the sound of Ino and Kiba screwing the night away in the back of his head. That needed replacing and quickly. By someone moaning his name all night. He wouldn't say no to it being Ino if he was honest.

She had sounded quite nice last night after all.

…

'Don't be a creep,' Naruto growled to himself as he shouldered his way into his room, wrestling his keys out of his pocket to unlock the door before all but collapsing onto the floor of his room.

He could fall asleep right here, he really could. But then he'd just wake up even sorer.

Forcing himself up, using the wall to support himself, Naruto got to the en-suite and with some very careful movements, slipped out of his clothes, leaving them where they fell, and into the porcelain tub, water filling the bath with another, less careful twist of his wrist.

Naruto eased back with a groan as the warm water slowly rose around him, letting his eyes drift closed and his aching muscles sing in their relief. He'd just lie here for a bit and soak, let his muscles heal. He had every intention of using them tomorrow night.

They needed to not cause any problems.

His eyes got heavier and heavier until he drifted off right there, the image of bouncing breasts on a moaning woman lulling him into dreamland.

Thankfully for Naruto's back and neck, he wasn't left to sleep in his bathtub for long.

He'd woken up half an hour after he'd dozed off, he figured he must have moved in his sleep and jammed his leg against the tap, because he woke up in a fresh new agony that had nothing to do with his beating from Tenten.

Rubbing at his shin tenderly, Naruto glared at the unmoved tap.

Or, going by the tell-tale chirp of his phone's message alert, he'd been woken up by his phone and the reason his shin hurt was because he had jerked awake and then kicked the tap.

Naruto winced as he retracted his leg back under the water, leaning over the tub to his sweatpants, which he'd just sort of let fall in a pile on the bathroom floor, and fished around for his phone.

Pulling it out of his pocket, the phone vibrate and chirped at him again. He pulled down the alert menu to see who he had to thank for the newest bruise that was probably already forming.

Tenten, fit with a picture for her new contact profile on his phone, was responsible it turned out. Which only managed to add insult to the injuries he'd suffered from her.

He soon forgave her though when he read her message.

Sorry for kicking your ass so bad Naruto! Me and Neji picked up takeout as a housewarming meal for the apartment. We're in the living room with Ino if you wanna come join us after your shower. Ino said you'd looked pretty banged up. Did I mention I was sorry?

Naruto chuckled and tapped out a speedy reply.

It's alright, just don't expect me to spar anytime soon, what did you guys get?

He was just draining the water from the tub to start his shower when Tenten's response came through with one single, glorious word.

Pizza.

A picture of Tenten holding up a pizza box with an over the top pout followed soon after, making Naruto laugh loud enough that they could probably hear him in the living room.

Tell me it's got meat on it.

Duh.

Naruto chuckled and tapped out a final message that he would be out soon and to please save him … his stomach gurgled as he was about to say a couple slices before he decided for half a pizza instead.

Ignoring the phone from that point on, Naruto had his shower, admittedly taking his time as each movement was still stiff. Between getting his ass kicked and sleeping in a tub, his body moving at all was a miracle.

The warm water washed over him and he felt his muscles relax slowly. He lost track of how long he stood under the water, then washing himself, but by the time he was clambering out of the shower his fingers were pruny.

Grabbing a towel from the radiated bar next to the sink, Naruto wrapped himself up and snorted at how small the towel was. He knew he should have brought his workout bag into his room. It had his proper towel in it and now he was going to have to dry himself off with a hand towel.

His sister would be pissing herself if she could see him now.

But with the wafting smell of pizza coming down the hall, and somehow passing through his door, he was spurred on and with a flurry of towelling off, Naruto was dry and slipping on fresh clothes in a matter of minutes.

Scooping up his phone, pausing to see the laughing emoticon from Tenten, Naruto darted down the hall and went through into the kitchen/living room and straight into the amused faces of two women and the raised eyebrows of one feminine looking man.

Which he should probably stop referring to Neji as if he was honest. He wasn't that female looking.

Naruto looked at the brunet for a split second.

Long hair allowed to fall down his back and features that would be described as boy-pretty, by someone who was too insecure in their sexuality to acknowledge that men could be immensely pretty, just naturally.

Men like Neji Hyuuga. With longer hair than either woman in the room. Including his own girlfriend.

Okay, so he was being fair. But at least Neji didn't look like a girl when he spoke.

'Well that was quicker than expected,' Neji said, proving Naruto right with his deep voice. 'We saved you the half a pizza you wanted …'

Neji rolled his eyes as Naruto all but snatched the box out of his hands with a muttered thanks and set to the task of eating the brilliance that was pizza.

'I think you helped him kick up an appetite,' Ino said with a joking nudge of Tenten's ribs, an almost empty glass of wine hanging expertly from Ino's fingers. 'That or just kicked his ass hard enough he needs to refuel.'

Tenten, who was watching Naruto chow down like it was his first meal in months, shrugged. 'Eh, I've seen worse. You wait til you see our friend Lee eat curry. That'll put you off food for a week.'

'No,' Neji said firmly. 'We're not doing that again.' Neji's voice held a note of dread as he stared from Tenten to Naruto, who was taking a break before devouring his second slice. 'Not with the way Naruto eats.'

Tenten smirked and shook her head at Ino's raised eyebrows. Later mouthed quite prominently.

The four of them sat eating pizza, chatting idly, getting a little more relaxed the more pizza was eaten and the more alcohol was drunk … Naruto's supply of beer being shared out evenly … the atmosphere loosened some more.

Tenten was leaning against Neji, her legs over his lap on the sofa, his fingers and hers entwined as Ino told them a story from her time at high school, a fun getting to know you game Tenten had suggested, from her place in the armchair facing the back wall.

'And you've never seen someone go whiter than this boy,' Ino giggled into her hand as she drained her glass. 'The way he stared at his best friend when the bottle landed on him. They'd never thought it could happen. Getting a dude instead of one of the chicks!'

They all laughed, even Neji smiled, as Ino mimed the face of utter disgust and shock of the two dudes who had apparently been made to kiss one another. It was only fair.

The laughter came to an abrupt halt however when there was a polite but forceful knock from the hallway.

'The hell?' Naruto said as he put his bottle of beer down, checking the time on his phone. 'Who dyou reckon that is? It's only a little after midnight and we weren't being that loud.'

Ino was louder last night, Naruto thought absently.

'Maybe you've got neighbours who have early starts in the morning?' Neji offered, with far less judgement now he was three beers deep.

'Nah,' Ino said as she poured more wine into her and Tenten's glasses. 'Classes don't start for another week for anyone. And the front desk guys won't have heard us laughing. Hell, half the people in the dorms have been fucking like rabbits and they've not done anything about that.'

Naruto and Tenten shared a look. Neji, clearly doing his best not to snark at Ino, alcohol made him polite it would seem, shrugged and said quite calmly. 'Maybe the person is annoyed that there's noise coming from here two nights in a row?'

'How do you know there was noise coming from here last night?' Ino asked a little hotly but maybe that was more because she was looking at Naruto accusingly.

'We bumped into that scruffy dude Kiba?' Tenten said to save her boyfriend and Naruto's skin. 'He was on his way out and well … he was kinda blunt about what he'd been doing here when I was moving in. Woke Naruto up on the sofa so he could bail.'

Ino's gaze softened and turned a little sheepish. 'You had to sleep in the lounge?' Ino grimaced with sudden realisation as her hand went to her mouth. 'Were we that … I mean was I … oh God. You must have heard every- oh God.'

The pretty woman blushed and looked like she wanted to melt into the floor. She was probably recounting just how long she and Kiba had gone at it, and with the loosening of inhibitions due to alcohol, Ino looked like she was going to say something else to Naruto that was going to make this conversation a whole lot more awkward.

Which given how awkward it was already, Naruto didn't know if he could stand it getting worse.

Thankfully they were all saved from that as there was another, louder knock on the door, and Naruto all but launched himself from his seat. 'I'll get it!'

Leaving the other three, the mutterings of mortified and consoling tones turning to the quiet throbbing of beyond hearing range noise once the kitchen/living area door was shut, he approached the front door in time for a third knock.

'Alright,' Naruto said to the door, loudly. 'I'm coming, sheesh, we're just hanging out! Chill ou-'

The words died on Naruto's tongue as he pulled open the door to see a guy, a little shorter than him and with muted red hair looking up at him, a purposefully nonplussed expression on his face. Pale green eyes took him in and seemed neither interested nor apprehensive.

'Hello,' he said simply. 'Thank you for getting the door. I was told it was always polite to knock first when you entered an apartment for the first time.'

His voice was measured and calm, but there was something about him that unsettled Naruto. He wasn't intimidated by the guy but well, when you see a dude standing in your front door with a tattoo above his eye that took up a sizeable part of his forehead and black rings around his eyes so dark you'd think they were drawn on … but clearly weren't … you'd pause too.

'You must be one of my roommates,' the man said blankly, holding out his hand to Naruto. 'Pleasure to meet you. Call me Gaara.'