Argh! The dreaded author's note!! Hopefully you see this. Not supposed to upload A/N's as a new chapter and all that jazz.
Yeah...if you're wondering why this hasn't been updated in a good few weeks, well, it's because I'm working on something that's kinda important to a story...a plot. I was scanning over it, and the first thing out of my mind was: 'wow, this is crap. did i really write this?'. So until I get a decent plot sorted out and completely rewrite the crappy older chapters, no updates.
So sorry if you actually enjoyed reading this rubbish.
Kasanete
Look! Shameless advertising! Feel free to check out the other fic that I'm writing (hopefully it'll last a bit longer than this one).
Once again, I'm sorry.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything...

Summary: After Itachi's death, Sasuke has been shipped off to go and live with his guardian's friend's adopted, a sucessful author. Sasuke wants to find reason behind his brother's strange behaviour prior to his death, and for some reason, his new guardian seems to have a connection to Itachi.

Hello and welcome to the second chapter of 'A Whiter Shade of Pale'. Yeah, I found this one a lot easier to write - I hate writing in first person. I'll probably delete the first chaper, or end up rewriting it if I can. Never again shall I write in first person. I think this chaper's better than the last (though that's not hard). So yeah...enjoy.

Ages
Sasuke - 14
Itachi - 21
Naruto - 25 (argh! he's all old!)
Kakashi - No idea...guess he's in his mid-30's or something

A Whiter Shade of Pale
Chapter 2

Sasuke sat silently in the back of the car, watching the trees and hedges blur past the window. The radio played softly in the background, droning chords just loud enough to be heard above the humming of the engine.

The Uchiha drew his gaze from the cows grazing in the fields, settling on glaring at the tuft of silver hair that poked above the dark grey headrest.

He couldn't believe his so called guardian. A guardian was someone who was supposed to look after him and help him through life, not dump him on a friend's adoptive son whom he had never even heard of before at the first sign of trouble.

Kakashi chuckled dryly in the front seat as he spotted Sasuke's scowling face in the rear-view mirror. "It's not such a bad thing, Sasuke. At least you're going to live with someone instead of staying in an orphanage."

"I don't see why I can't just be emancipated," Sasuke muttered, breaking his self-imposed silence. It really would be so much easier if he could live by himself. It wasn't as if he weren't mature enough; he had practically lived alone since Itachi's…

The raven stopped himself there, forcing himself to turn to watch out of the window in an effort to block those thoughts out.

"Because you're only fourteen," Kakashi replied curtly as he slowed down, occasionally checking left and right. "And you need someone to look after you."

"And yet you want to send me off to some stranger…"

Kakashi didn't reply, instead turning the car a little too sharply into a gravelled drive on the left. Sasuke was jerked slightly, head almost colliding with the window. He glared at the man for a moment, before sighing in annoyance as the engine was shut off.

As his guardian exited the car, Sasuke looked at the building that they had just pulled up at. It seemed to be a typical, two-story country house made of light-grey stone and creeping ivy crawling up the most sun-bathed wall. Neatly trimmed grass covered the lot, the green only broken by the gravelled drive and the occasional tree or bush.

"Hurry up, Sasuke!" Kakashi called from beside the door and Sasuke noted the slight bite to his voice. He merely shrugged it off before stalking towards the man, hands thrust into the pockets of his dark jeans. As he reached the door, Kakashi pushed the button next to it and the sound of a chime was heard through the wood.

The Uchiha let out a small sigh, slumping against the wall of the house as the two waited.

A blurred figure appeared behind the glass panel in the door as the handle rattled and the door swung open.

"You're late," a voice grunted and Sasuke looked up from his trainers to glance at the man. He wrinkled his nose at the mussed, orange shirt and the plain jeans before continuing his analysis. Azure eyes covered by a golden fringe and a familiar, tanned face framed by messy blonde hair. He looked fairly young – only in his mid twenties at the latest.

Sasuke frowned slightly – he had seen this man before.

"Maa…" Kakashi grinned sheepishly. "Got stuck in traffic."

"Of course," the blond drawled sarcastically before he took a step backwards, allowing the two to enter the house. The entrance was simple like the exterior of the house, wooden flooring and dark skirting to contrast against cream walls. Doors branched off of it and Sasuke peeked through the opens ones, catching sight of other the rooms of the house.

"Is this him, then?" the man asked, turning to Sasuke, as they entered a well lit living room.

"Yep," Kakashi said, laying a hand on the raven's shoulder. "Sasuke, this is Naruto Uzumaki; you'll be living with him for a while."

"Pleased to meet you, Sasuke," Naruto smiled, extending a hand that Sasuke shook reluctantly. If he had to be living with this person then it wouldn't be wise to get on his bad side.

"Likewise," he grunted, stare out of the windows at the view of the garden. Birds sang loudly under the summer sun, darting from branch to branch of the various trees that were dotted around the grass.

"I'll leave you two to get to know each other," said Kakashi as he walked out of the room. "I'll start bringing in your stuff."

"Just leave it by the stairs, okay!" the blond called, not bothering to wait for a reply as he turned to Sasuke "Do you want something to drink? Juice? I think I might have-"

"Just water," Sasuke responded curtly as he sat on one of the green couches that matched with the walls of a darker shade. The blond arched an eyebrow before exiting the room.

Sasuke sighed and slumped into the comfortable furniture; he'd only been here for a few minutes but he still longed to go back home. Why couldn't Kakashi just leave him there alone? It wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself and Kakashi knew this because the man rarely visited to check on them when Itachi was alive.

Hands tightened their grip on his faded jeans, nails digging into the durable fabric as his shoulders began to quake slightly.

"Hey," a soft voice said and Sasuke jumped, whirling around to see Naruto walking towards him, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"

The Uchiha nodded, accepting the glass of water that he was handed. He clutched it in his hands, its coldness calming him somewhat.

"So," Naruto began as he sank into the stuffed chair opposite the teen. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about yourself, Sasuke?"

Sasuke sipped at his drink before answering. "There's not much to say."

"Well, tell me about the things you like. What do you do in your spare time?"

The raven remained silent, setting his glass on a glass coaster in the shape of a leaf on the brown coffee table. "I…enjoy reading…"

"Really?" a bright grin formed across the tan blond's face. "Me too; I have at least a library's worth around this house."

Sasuke couldn't have said that he could have guessed that.

"Most of them are because of my uncle," Naruto continued. "He's a popular author. Even though you're underage, if you've been around Kakashi enough then you must have heard of him."

"Who?" Sasuke asked.

"Jiraiya Sennin." In his mindscape, the Uchiha face-planted. Yes, he had heard the silver-haired guardian obsess over the erotic novelist and his Icha Icha series. This was a good opportunity to find out if the author was as perverted as his readers… "Though to some he's better known as the Perverted Hermit; perverted, because he's a self proclaimed super-pervert and a hermit because he's spent weeks living in tents around the beaches and rivers to watch the women bathe."

"…Oh…"

Yeah, the guy was even more perverted than his readers.

Naruto laughed softly as he slumped against the cushiony back of the recliner. "Despite his unclean tendencies, Jiraiya is still a good author...and believe me when I say that a book of pure smut wouldn't make it as far as his series."

Taking another sip of his water, Sasuke contemplated on what he had just heard. He had heard of the saying 'you mustn't judge a book by its cover', but he had always found his assumptions to be fairly accurate. Snorting light, Sasuke stood up and peered out of the door to see Kakashi dragging a large suitcase towards the stairs.

"Is that it?" Naruto asked as he stepped out of the room.

"Phew," Kakashi panted, running the back of his hand over a sweaty forehead. "It's hot."

"It's summer. What are you expecting – snow?"

"Would be nice," the man grumbled as he left the case at the foot of steps.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto slipped on a pair of flip-flops left by the front door. "Sasuke, you can bring the lighter bags up to your bedroom. The second door from your right, walls are blue."

"Fine," Sasuke grunted, pulling a backpack onto his shoulder and gripping the handle of his laptop bag in his hand, he began to ascend the staircase. He struggled over the last few steps, almost tripping, before stumbling onto the landing.

He glanced around, looking for the door that Naruto had mentioned. He skipped the first one, quickly moving onto the second and yanking it open, eager to drop the bags that were cutting into his skin through the thin material of his polo shirt.

Apparently it wasn't his room, as a female was lying on her front with a book open on the pillow. She looked up and emerald eyes locked with his own.

Suddenly, her pretty face twisted into an expression of anger as she leaped up with a loud screech and, before Sasuke could even react, a fist was hurtling towards him.

A sharp pain ran through his entire face and he felt himself falling, before his vision turning black.

Who could that rather violent banshee be? Any ideas? Really, though, if you can't guess then... And yes, if you couldn't tell, I was desperate for an ending...

Yeah, Naruto's house... It was kinda hard to explain so I think you'll just have to imagine whatever house you want. Hey, at least you can choose whatever house you want which help with the imagination...and stuff like that. Same with the clothes because my mind just went blank when it came to giving them something to wear.

R&R...please? I told myself I wouldn't beg...but promises are meant to be broken, right? Right?