Bold letters=authors comments

Wednesday came quickly. Naruto skipped school altogether and stayed home with Sosuke and Vixen. The little fox never liked anyone except for the blond boy but he had grown attached to Sosuke and would follow him around. Currently Naruto was rummaging through the pantry while Sosuke was in the kitchen trying to tell the difference between all the pots and pans. They had spent the day watching tv which for some reason intrigued the man. He kept asking if he could take it apart to see how it worked. Naruto had to give him credit though, he only had to explain once how to use an item and immediately Sosuke would be able to do it on his own. He had an excellent memory; Naruto thought it might even be photographic. He was standing on the tips of his toes trying to reach the tomato sauce when he heard a commotion in the kitchen. He almost had it but decided to go see what was going on. The first thing he saw when he peeked out was his best friend, his best friend's ex and her creepy friend.

Sasuke? Hinata? Gaara?!!!" Naruto said coming from inside the pantry.

"Who is this and where have you been?" Sasuke asked.

"He's my friend and put the gun down Gaara" When the red head refused Naruto looked pleadingly at Hinata. Gaara was known as Hinata's bodyguard around school though Naruto had no clue as to what she would need one for. She touched his shoulder lightly and the gun was put away.

"Naruto whats going on?" She was curious now too

"Uhhh…well…I met this guy…"

"You met a guy and you let him move in while your parents are away?!" Sasuke didn't hide his anger

"No! Its not like that"

"Then please explain". Naruto looked again at the brown haired man who was very intent on trying to figure out what the pans did. He then directed them outside the kitchen and started to explain

"I found him in my house a couple nights ago. He was hurt and bleeding everywhere"

"So call an ambulance, make him their problem"

"Damnit Sasuke! My grandmother and your brother are doctors so sometimes calling them comes first to my mind!" He huffed

"You called Itachi?"

"Not this time. Granny lives closer. She said his injuries weren't life threatening and didn't think he needed to be in a hospital though she didn't want to leave him with me"

"I can see why. Has he never seen a pot before?"

"Well about that" Naruto grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head "He kinda lost his memory. He only remembered his name"

"And what is it?" Hinata asked.

"Sosuke, isnt that funny? Its so close to Sasuke!"

"Tch yeah idiot"

"Sosuke" Hinata said quietly "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Hinata" Gaara said from behind her.

"Naruto we need to go! But I'll be back later to check on you "

"Alright, thanks for being concerned"

"Bye Sasuke" She said politely. He gave a nod then she was hurrying out the door. Naruto had always thought Hinata had been too good for his friend. Sasuke had taken her for granted; in fact Naruto had spent more time with her than he probably had when they dated. Once they were gone Sasuke let loose

"What the fuck is wrong with you Naruto?! This guy should've been somewhere else! How the hell will you explain this when Uncle Minato and Aunt Kushina get back?!"

"Sasuke…"

"What?!". Naruto wanted to tell the truth. Sosuke had suggested earlier that he do so but he didn't know how.

"I…they're…" He started to say. He kept his eyes on the floor.

"His mother is dead and his father is in the hospital" Sosuke said from the kitchen doorway.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Sasuke asked "They're in America so she can visit some hot shot zoo director "

"That crash on the news, that big Air Japan crash…they were on it"

"Naruto that was like a month ago"

"I know" Sosuke watched as the pieces seemed to come together for the dark haired boy. His eyes widened slightly as if he had figured everything out. Silence filled the air for some minutes until Sasuke said

"Naruto" Very softly.

"Yes?"

"Look at me". Blue eyes slowly did as they were told. They took in Sasuke's calm demeanor which could only mean one thing, he was beyond pissed. A punch to Naruto's face confirmed that. He stumbled backwards slightly before putting a hand to the side of his face, it hurt. His father had always said Sasuke should've trained to be a boxer.

"You idiot" He said calmly which scared Naruto even more. He could count on one hand the times he had seen Sasuke this angry. "You let all of us think they were still alive, they were our family too Naruto. They were my god parents, what gave you that right? What really pisses me off is that you've been dealing with this by yourself. I remember the crash…" He paused and pulled himself together "And I remember you coming into school the day after that…shit why didn't I see this before? Dad stopped getting calls from Uncle Minato around that time. You told us that they were simply busy…you lied to all of us"

"I know" Naruto sat down on the floor still holding where he'd been punched. Sasuke was kneeling in front of him a few seconds later. Without a word he wrapped his arms around his friend. Naruto at first tensed up then relaxed and allowed himself to cry.

"Oh my…" Sasuke turned his head at the voice to see Hinata standing there with her hands covering her mouth. She had apparently come back for some reason and heard everything "Call Itachi for me please Hinata" Sasuke said quietly.

"He's usually in a meeting on Wednesday, I'll go to his office since it isn't far from here"

"Thank you". She gave a sad smile before disappearing again. Naruto had stopped crying and was now sleeping. Sasuke scooped him up into his arms. Naruto was much lighter than he looked. He was carried upstairs and put in his bed . Sasuke pulled the blankets around him and sat cross legged on the bed, watching him. Sasuke didn't know how much time passed but soon the lights were flicked on. Itachi stood there, still in his white doctor jacket. His hair hung crazily around his shoulders as if he ran the whole way. Hinata was right beside him. Mr and Mrs. Uchiha were also there.

"Is it true?" Mrs. Uchiha asked her youngest son.

"Yes"

"I cant believe this" She started crying and left the room. Her husband was about to go after her but Hinata told him to stay while she went instead of him.

"I knew something was wrong. I got a call from Minato saying they were coming home then I saw that crash…Naruto told us they had decided to stay in America a little longer" He said

"How is he?" Itachi asked.

"I think he'll be ok but he dealt with this by himself for a month" Sasuke answered, eyes still on his friend

"We should've paid more attention! He always smiled as if everything was fine. That day after the accident, he came over remember boys? He was a little distant but we were so caught up in the house renovations"

"He was in denial" Itachi stated. They all looked at him then "I think a part of his was afraid that by telling us it would all be true" He started pacing "He stayed here by himself for so long, there's reminders of his parents everywhere, how did he do it? How did he even take care of himself?"

"Tsunade" Mrs. Uchiha came back leaning on Hinata for support "She never liked our family but I wish she wouldve told us"

"Whatever the reasoning he can't stay here by himself" Mr. Uchiha ran a hand through his hair.

"He wont leave, his father built this house by hand" Hinata spoke up. Itachi agreed with her "She's right".

"Well he cant stay by himself"

"I'll move in" Sasuke had gone back to watching him sleep and had started stroking the side of Naruto's face where he had punched him.

"Two children can't be here alone" Mrs. Uchiha said sternly

"I'll move in too" Itachi had stopped pacing and was watching his brother

"Well I guess its alright then but I want to go see Tsunade. I have a few words for her. You can come too Hinata, I'll probably need someone to stop me from hitting her" She was out the room in seconds with the Hyuga girl right behind her. Mr. Uchiha sighed. He'd have to go after his wife too. Minato was his best friend. He wanted to cry himself but he had to hold it together for his family. He walked out leaving the brothers alone.

"Sasuke, I'm going home to pack some things then I'll go to Mom and Dad's to get your stuff, do you need anything?" He shook his head "I shouldn't be gone more than an hour or so" Sasuke didn't say anything. Once Itachi was gone Naruto shifted and turned on his side but didn't wake.

"You're a good friend Sasuke" He looked up sharply to see Sosuke standing there. There was something about him Sasuke didn't like. "What do you want?" He asked coldly

"Nothing, just came to check on him" They stared at each with Sasuke noticing something with the man's eyes; it wasn't happiness or even kindness. He couldn't put his finger on it but as quickly as it was there it was gone again. "I finally figured out how to use this pot so I'll make dinner" He smiled as he left. Sasuke didn't trust him but he'd deal with that later. He lay down on his side facing Naruto and scooted close until their foreheads touched. He allowed his eyes to close as he tried to sleep.


Naruto awoke feeling better. His face was still sore but he could deal with that. He tried getting up but felt arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Sasuke was sleeping soundly next to him. Naruto groaned. His friend did this from time to time, it was a habit that had started when they both were little boys. Sasuke had threatened him on more than one occasion that he'd kill him if he told anyone. He managed to get out of his arms and had almost made it to the door when Sasuke's voice, slightly deeper from sleeping stopped him

"Where are you going Naruto?"

"Downstairs, I'm hungry stalker. Go back to sleep" Sasuke considered his words briefly before closing his eyes once more allowing Naruto to make his escape. He heard sounds in the kitchen so made his way there. Once inside, he saw Itachi chopping vegetables at a counter and Sosuke sitting at a table off to the side watching with Vixen on his shoulder who upon seeing Naruto hopped off and pranced over to him. He picked up the fox and sat across from Sosuke.

"When did you get here Itachi?"

"A few hours ago, how do you feel?"

"A little better…I'm sorry about everything". He paused at that and looked at Naruto

"Whats done is done, what matters now is taking care of you"

"I don't need to be taken care of"

"Yes you do, Sosuke thinks so". Naruto glanced at the brown haired man who was writing something down, he rolled his eyes

"So you guys are best friends now?"

"Stop being a baby, I brought our stuff"

"Who's stuff?"

"Sasuke's and mine. My mother didn't want you her by yourself so Sasuke and myself volunteered to move in"

"No way! I don't wanna live with Sasuke!" The youngest Uchiha was known as being very messy. Naruto was a neat freak and hated cleaning up after his friend. When he'd go to visit the Uchiha's he would always be compelled to clean Sasuke's room as it always looked like a level 5 hurricane had blown through.

"Too late and go pull some bowls out for dinner"

"What are you cooking?"

"Soup not the canned crap"

"I had started to fix it but it burned" Sosuke said "So Itachi-san said he would show me the right way"

"You burned soup?! How the hell do you burn soup?! It's a liquid practically" Naruto was in disbelief. Itachi smiled and shrugged his shoulders

"Hurry up and get the bowls down, I have friends coming over"

"Itachi you know I think all your friends are weird, why are they bringing their weirdness here?"

"Because they wanted to check on you now get to it"


Thirty minutes later a small group of people sat in the dining room talking. Itachi sat on one side. His friend, Sasori was next to him. Sasori was an up and coming artist who specialized in puppets. His clothes were covered in paint from when he had been working earlier. Deidara sat next to him. He was also an artist but he specialized and clay and sometimes the two would bicker about who's work was better. At the end next to Deidara was Kisame who was pale and had sharp teeth. Naruto thought, despite how he looked, that Kisame was the most normal out of the group. No one knew what he did for a living and it had been joked that he didn't have a job at all though Kisame swore he did. Next to him was Hidan who was known for having a foul mouth. It was rumored that he was in the Yakuza not that Hidan did anything to deny those rumors. He had even told Naruto that Hinata was the head of a powerful Yakuza family. The blond had laughed at that, Hinata as the head of a Yakuza family? Yeah right. Beside him was Konan, the only girl of the group. She was a teacher and spent most of her time keeping the guys in check. Sasuke sat next to her with Naruto at the other end next to him. Sosuke had wanted to go for a walk so he had left a few minutes before with Vixen right behind him. Sasori and Deidara were in the midst of another argument with Deidara resorting to very immature tactics by sticking his fingers and his ears and pretending he couldn't hear the red head. Kisame and Hidan were engaged in a serious arm wrestling match while Konan tried to pry into Sasuke's personal life but asking who his latest girlfriend was, she could never keep up with them all. Naruto grinned at Itachi

"Thanks for dinner, it was really good". He smiled back and sipped some of his water. Itachi had been a model but had given it up to go to medical school. He had graduated two years before his classmates.

"Yes Itach-kun. You're an excellent cook" Deidara added.

"Of course he is, he's also good at fixing a car, cleaning, getting any girl he wants, being a doctor and a model because…" Hidan said

"There's nothing a Uchiha cant do" Everyone at the table recited Mr. Uchiha's family slogan. They broke into laughter; well everyone except Itachi and Sasuke who didn't think it was funny.

"Well I'm off" Naruto stood up and stretched

"Already? I was just getting ready to bring out the alcohol" Kisame whined

"He's underage!" Konan acted horrified

"Never stopped him before" He shrugged.

"I want some air, don't tear up the house while I'm gone" Naruto said

"Sasuke you're not going?" Deidara asked. Sasuke had been quiet and angry throughout all of dinner because Itachi had woken him up by jumping on him. "You two are attached at the hip but maybe I'll go with Naruto instead, he's sooooo cute…OW!" A bowl had just flown into his face courtesy of Sasuke. Everyone started laughing again. Deidara made it known his sexual orientation and would constantly flirt with Naruto knowing it pissed his friend off to no end. "You're so mean Sasuke-kun!" He wailed causing everyone to laugh harder. Naruto rolled his eyes and left the table. He wanted to get some air. He walked outside and decided to go for a walk. It was a bit cool out and he had forgotten to bring a jacket so he folded his arms. He was mentally tired. It had been hard keeping what had happened to his parents quiet. As he thought more about it he realized he had never even thought about telling anyone and the fact that his grandmother hadn't pushed him to do so didn't help. He was so used to keeping his problems inside, in fact his father had told him before they had left that he and Naruto needed to discuss that. It was becoming more of an issue.

"Its not like I mean to keep my problems to myself" He mumbled. Hearing footsteps from off to the side he stopped and turned to look. He had a sense someone was following him. "Who the fuck is there?" He snapped. The street lights kept flicking on and off which didn't help the unsettling atmosphere that had enveloped him. Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes and something jumped out. It was maybe his size but that was where the similarities stopped. It was some kind of monster he was sure of that. Naruto had seen something like it before when he had been with Hinata, she called it a 'hollow'. He didn't care what it was, he was officially creeped out.

"I could sense your spiritual energy, it feels wonderful" He hissed at him. Naruto had no idea of what he was talking about.

"Ummmm ok so that means what exactly?"

"I'm going to eat you! Usually I only eat souls but you're different. I cant resist" Then without warning it shot something at him. Naruto ducked in time "Nice reflexes but I'm an excellent shot with my poison" It shot at him again with Naruto managing to duck and dodge. Deciding he'd be better off at home he turned to run but the hollow gave chase. The boy couldn't imagine how crazy he looked to the few people who were on the streets as he dodged every few seconds. He knew by their faces they couldn't see what was after him, it was just like that time in the park with Hinata. Everyone thought they were acting out a play then. As he rounded a corner he could see his house in the distance.

"Almost there" He told himself when he literally ran into Sosuke.

"Naruto what are you doing out here?" He asked. Vixen yelped in agreement from his shoulder. "Thing…chasing…me" He panted out. He gestured wildly. At that moment the hollow appeared

"Finally human! You gave me some exercise today" He chuckled. Sosuke narrowed his eyes and pushed Naruto behind him. He picked up Vixen and placed him on Naruto's head.

"I suggest you leave now"

"You can see me? Doesn't matter, don't interfere. Your spiritual energy is so low I don't have anything to fear" It prepared to shoot its poison again when it was cut in half. Sosuke held a sword in his hand but hadn't appeared to move at all.

"WHOA! DID YOU DO THAT?!" Naruto exclaimed. He hadn't seen Sosuke move. "And where did you get that sword from?!"

"I'm not sure" Sosuke appeared to be confused "All I know is that I wanted to kill that thing and this appeared in my hand. I don't remember having any experience in using a weapon"

"Well lets talk about this inside and keep this a secret from Sasuke. He'll freak out. He acts like such an old lady sometimes" Naruto turned to go. Sosuke studied the weapon in his hand and very briefly he smiled.

i threw in some references to my other story "the idiots guide to being a yakuza heiress". in that story hinata is the heiress to a yakuza family and also discovers she has strange powers. why do you think sosuke smiled? i know why.....