A/N: It seems as if I'm doing pretty well when it comes to writing at the moment. I don't know how long this smooth sailing will last. I have to start working on the essay I have due in a week, as well as study for that exam coming up on Wednesday. And then after that, I have one more paper and two more exams before I finish school. TT

I'm pretty pleased with how the story's going and how the chapters are looking. I have a general overview of what happens, so right now, I'm figuring out the details with each chapter I plot out. I am open to suggestions of what you want to see in regards to Naruto/Sasuke's relationship (That's not plotted out yet so pile me with the fluff, if you really want it. I am completely open to ideas of what they could do to each other to get on the other's nerves… there's only so much creativity I can chug out for them so please help.), other relationships (Do you want to see everybody and their mother chasing after Naruto or do you want distinct other pairs?), and other details (Any events you want to see, such as parties, clubbing, or class time etc.?). It would be so nice to hear what you guys as readers would like to see in the fic and I'll work that in. I'll give you full credits, of course.

Disclaimer: Don't own. Dammit.

Warnings: Un-beta'ed.


Undercover Babysitter

Chapter Two: Meet the Kids


The rest of the morning in room 406 continued on in stormy silence with both Naruto and Sasuke sporting identical bruises on their left eye. Although the fight was inevitable, what they did not expect was for the other to be relatively skilful when it came to hand-to-hand combat. At the first skilful block, Naruto's blue eyes widen and Sasuke's smirk grew. But Naruto also flawlessly blocked Sasuke's oncoming punches and both boys were left surprised. Sasuke was quick, however, and took advantage of Naruto's surprise to sock him in the eye. Naruto's next onslaught of offensive eventually landed an identical injury on Sasuke's face before the two were pulled apart by Kakashi.

"Maa maa," He drawled with an amused look as the two glared heatedly at one another. "I know you two are eager to get physical with each other, but can't you wait until you at least unpack?" He teased with a smirk, watching with satisfaction as the two sprang apart even further and tossed immature glares at Kakashi for his unneeded implications.

"Che," scoffed Sasuke, brushing off dust from his pants gracefully. He eyed his guardian disdainfully, "Why are you still here?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled, "Eager to be alone with Naruto?" He quickly dodged the shoe Sasuke launched at his head and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, I'm leaving. Your food crate is outside, Sasuke. Later." And he disappeared promptly around the corner, leaving Sasuke and Naruto in bitter, uncomfortable silence.

"Bastard." Naruto snapped as he touched his eye gingerly and made his way over to the freezer where he got out an ice pack. He placed it over his eye before marching back into his room, slamming the door behind him.

Sasuke's voice was heard through the thin walls, "You better get your boxes out of the kitchen soon; you're blocking the stove." Naruto answered by throwing his pillow hard at the door.

The silence that Sasuke was expecting to dwell in peacefully for at least a few minutes was ruined when music blasted out of Naruto's room, the bass of his speakers pounding heavily in the floor and walls. Sasuke gritted his teeth, trying to decide if he rather strangle the moron or slowly rip apart his limbs one by one. Never had he met anybody as infuriating, as idiotic as this roommate of his – and they haven't even been together for more than an hour! He needed a roommate change – now.

The brunet stomped over to Naruto's door and began to pound on it furiously. "Oi, moron, turn it down!" He yelled. There was no way Naruto could not hear him, even through his deafening bass. But of course, as predicted, Naruto ignored him, even though Sasuke was quite sure he heard him just fine. Wait, did he just turn it up even louder? Sasuke narrowed his eyes before gripping the doorknob, turning it, only to find that the idiot had locked the door. He rattled it uselessly a couple more times before kicking the door furiously. He was really tempted to kick the whole door down, but he didn't fancy the large bill that would come with it if housing found out.

Feeling extremely frustrated, Sasuke stormed away from the blaring noise and went out to drag the food crate inside. As he stocked up the fridge with his food, the boy found himself unconsciously nodding to the beat of Naruto's music. It wasn't something he usually listened to, finding the music uncomfortably loud and the occasional screaming unnecessary, but it wasn't bad. Sasuke grimaced when he caught his foot tapping to the bass and immediately he stopped. He was still angry and irritated and no stupid idiot's music was going to make him relax. Grumbling under his breath, Sasuke pushed aside Naruto's boxes and pulled out the frying pan, ready to make his first meal away from Kakashi.

Aside from meeting his spoiled, stuck-up, and downright mean roommate, Naruto was having a good morning. The grin on his face widened considerably when he heard Sasuke banging on his door, complaining about his music. He was pleased to hear that he was successfully pissing off his roommate and there was nothing Sasuke could do about it. Revenge was sweet, oh yes. Casually, Naruto tossed the ice pack onto his bed, now done with it. His eye was swelling down and the bruising was fading away. Ever since he was a child, he always had been a quick healer. He didn't understand it – it was almost unnatural. Tsunade couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, which said a lot as Naruto thought Tsunade was the best doctor in the world.

Sasuke stopped trying to break down his door and Naruto smirked triumphantly. The score was currently Naruto – 1, Sasuke – 0. Unless you count the bruises: then Naruto – 2, Sasuke -1. But then again, Naruto's bruise was fading anyway, so Naruto – 3, Sasuke – 1. Heh. Victory was sweet.

The blond quickly changed into a comfortable set of clothes, tossing the towel he had used to dry his hair onto the bed. He was about to pull out that file on Sasuke (he had to get around to reading that some time soon) when a shrill beeping sounded from outside, piercing through his blasting music. Fearing the worst, Naruto threw open his door and peered around the messy kitchen frantically. "What happened?" He yelled over all the noise.

No flooding, no fire, no evil thugs breaking in; the only thing Naruto saw that was unusual was the figure of Sasuke fanning the ceiling with an orange binder (Naruto's obviously). Sasuke turned to Naruto and scowled darkly, "Will you turn down your fucking music?" He snapped as he continued fanning. Naruto's eyes trailed to where he was sweeping around the air: it was the smoke alarm.

A knowing grin stretched over his face, "You set off the smoke detector?" He asked.

"Music!" Sasuke ordered as the beeping finally died. He threw the binder onto the floor and stomped back to the stove where he turned on the fan.

Naruto grinned and raised his hands, "Alright, alright." He stepped inside his room briefly to turn down the volume before joining Sasuke in the kitchens. "So… I didn't realize you were a bad cook. What did you burn?"

The blond could practically see Sasuke's pride being beaten up by his mockeries. "I didn't burn anything." Sasuke replied, gritting his teeth as he flipped his scrambled egg, skilfully adding in a pinch of salt and pepper. "The stupid thing is sensitive. It started beeping when the oil began to heat up." (1)

"That's what you get for cooking." Naruto retorted as he filled up the hot water boiler and set it to boil on its stand.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. He was visibly restraining himself from jumping the other boy and pummelling his head in. Strangling him would be really satisfying right about now. "What are you eating for breakfast then, moron?"

The older boy grinned and fished out a ramen cup from his cupboard and waved it in front of his roommate's face. "Ramen" He replied simply.

"That's not breakfast, idiot." Sasuke replied, scrunching up his nose disdainfully.

Naruto shrugged, "It is to me." He ripped off the plastic wrapping and prepared it just how he liked it.

Sasuke continued to eye him critically, "Where's your bruise?" He asked with a frown. His own eye was still smarting and swollen, but Naruto's eye looked nearly healed.

"Oh, I heal fast." The blond replied with a grin. The water had finished boiling by then and he poured it into the bowl and covered it. Then he turned and smirked superiorly at Sasuke. "See? At least I don't set off the smoke alarm."

Naruto – 4, Sasuke – 1.

Something inside Sasuke snapped and his eyes flashed furiously as he leaped towards Naruto with a fist. The blond hastily stepped aside to avoid getting punched again before grabbing a fistful of the other boy's shirt, pulling him back. Sasuke twisted around, lacing his arms under Naruto's shoulder. He kicked the back of his knees so that they buckled in and forced them down on the floor. The two grappled and wrestled furiously on the floor of the kitchen, each trying to roll on top and hit the other in the face. Sasuke managed one hit in and Naruto's nose began to bleed. "Oh don't worry, you heal fast." He snarled nastily. Naruto – 4, Sasuke – 2. Furious, the blond bucked his hips and threw Sasuke into the chairs before getting up and pouncing right back on top of him.

Too busy with their tussle, neither of the boys heard the sharp knock on the front door nor the voice of Neji calling out Naruto's name. It was only when Neji stepped inside and sharply called them to attention did they stop. "Naruto!" Neji shouted, instantly putting a pause to the fight on the floor. Both looked up; Naruto was currently straddling Sasuke's hips and both of them were gripping the front of each other's shirts tightly. Naruto's bloody nose had already stopped dripping. "What's going on?" Neji asked coldly.

Before any of them could reply, Lee popped in and took one look at them. "Oh how beautiful young love is!" He shouted with a hand over his heart. "Naruto, I knew you were the type to openly show your love! Can you not feel the springtime of youth in this cozy kitchen, Neji?"

"It's autumn, Lee." Neji replied, bluntly.

"What love?" Naruto added, snappishly, glaring harshly at Sasuke who only returned the glare, "I hate this guy!"

However, the smell of burning and the shrill beeping of the alarm interrupted any chance of the fight restarting. Sasuke cursed under his breath and threw Naruto off of him while Lee grabbed the same binder on the floor and began to fan the smoke detector. Sasuke rushed over to the stove and moved his frying pan to an unused stove ring. He peered under his eggs with a spatula with a scowl. "Dammit, moron, you made me burn my eggs."

Naruto scoffed at this, "I didn't make you! You're the one who decided to jump me first!" He rushed over to his ramen bowl and gave a small wail. "Aww, you made me let my noodles get all soggy!"

"I didn't make you; you're the one who provoked me first!"

"Yeah? Well… you're a bastard!"

Neji sighed and massaged his temple. He hadn't expected his morning to start out so noisily. In fact, he was hoping to be able to sleep in a bit before meeting some of the new residents moving in today. However, the noise that came from Naruto's apartment completely dashed away all hopes of sleeping peacefully for at least a half hour more. The screaming and yelling was one thing, the music only added on to the massive headache that was forming, but then the beeping of the alarm just about crossed the line. His irritation was even worse when he had entered the kitchen to find that he would have to play peacemaker with the two boys.

"Look." He said in a tired voice. "Can you guys please just eat your breakfast quietly before I kill you both?"

Sasuke and Naruto stopped their bickering to eye Neji warily. "Who are you?" The brunet decided to ask, crossing his arms stubbornly.

Neji sighed, "I'm Neji, your don." He held out his hand politely to Sasuke who shook it.

"Sasuke."

"I'm Rock Lee! I'm the don for the floor above you!" Lee piped in, flashing Sasuke a thumbs-up and the same blinding grin he seemed to give everybody. Now that it was lighter, Naruto now could see Lee more clearly. His hair truly was bowl- shaped cut and his clothes were all a deep green (and a little tight). He also had extremely thick eyebrows. Sasuke nodded stiffly at Lee before turning back to his charred egg. He dumped it out in the garbage and began to start again. Naruto grabbed a pair of chopsticks from the drawer and began to wolf down his soggy noodles with practised skill.

Neji eyed the silent pair for a moment, "There are two other people who are moving in later this afternoon so if you two aren't busy, would you help them move their stuff in?"

"Sorry, I'm busy." Sasuke immediately cut in, his back to Neji.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, bastard – what could you possibly be so busy with that you can't lend a helping hand?"

The brunet glared at him, "I have my own things to sort out here."

"Che, so do I. But that can wait, can't it? Come on, it'll be fun meeting new people!" Naruto continued pestering his roommate. He had to stick close to Sasuke anyway, whether he liked it or not.

"I'm not going!"


Sasuke didn't know how Naruto had managed to drag him along, but he did. Naruto – 5, Sasuke – 2 (he was losing dreadfully), and soon, he found himself carrying some heavy boxes and suitcases up to the fourth floor with the other three guys who had somehow conned him into being helpful. He tried not to grumble; instead, he squeezed himself into the corner of the elevator, glaring icily at anyone who tried to engage him in meaningless conversation, like that blonde girl who had immediately latched herself onto him once Neji introduced them all to each other.

The other guy who was moving in was like Naruto: aggressive in actions and personality, but had a much more obnoxious and egotistical attitude. He also had interesting red triangle tattoos on his face. Sasuke couldn't remember their names and the introductions, and he didn't bother to try and find them out. Both the girl and the guy were too obnoxious and annoying for him to care.

"Oi, dog-breath! Where do you want this?"

Of course, Naruto and "dog-breath" had already become such good friends that they didn't bother using their real names anymore.

As Naruto and Lee helped out "dog-breath" with his luggage, Sasuke and Neji carried the girl's things to her room, which was only two doors down from Sasuke's own room. The blonde unlocked the front door and allowed the two boys to follow her inside. "Ino, where do you want your boxes?" Neji asked politely. Ah, a name, finally.

Ino waved her hand casually around the kitchen, "Oh, anywhere is fine, Neji. Thank you so much!" She gushed. Ino had a lot of baggage and half of it was still waiting downstairs for them to bring it up. Her dad was following closely behind with a couple more suitcases. Sasuke mutely stacked his boxes on top of the one Neji just set down. "Thank you, Sasuke! You're so kind."

"Hn." He replied, turning away and heading outside. He might as well start bringing up the other half of her crap. He walked sullenly past "dog-breath's" room where he could hear Naruto talking loudly to the other boys.

"He's such a jerk! You'd think someone would at least have the decency to introduce themselves properly to each other, but noooo, he just had to be a bastard. I hope you get better luck with your roommate." Naruto complained loudly, and Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. Did the guy have nothing else to complain about except for him? Not that Sasuke could really blame him; he hadn't been a good roommate and the two of them had gotten off to a really bad start. Not that he cared either. Sasuke continued walking, ignoring Naruto's obnoxious voice (or at least ignoring it as best as he can). Unconsciously, he began to speed up his pace when he heard Ino calling out after him.

Naruto waved his arms around dramatically as he explained to Kiba all about Sasuke and how he was the biggest jerk in the world. He had bonded instantly with the boy, finding somebody who he could finally relate to (and complain to). It was nice to finally have real friends (okay, not counting Sai, supposedly…) and Naruto was really having a lot of fun just hanging out with people his age. The blond dragged another luggage inside the kitchen and dumped it by Kiba's door. "By the way, Kiba, aren't you hot or anything?" He pointed to the thick white coat Kiba was currently wearing, zipped up with the hood up.

Kiba grinned uncertainly, "Ah ha, no I'm fine!" Lee sneezed and rubbed his eyes, looking extremely sick. The other two boys looked at him worriedly. "You okay, eyebrow man?" Kiba asked, patting Lee on the shoulder.

The boy shook his head and sneezed again. "I think I'm allergic to something here." He said miserably.

Naruto frowned and was about to speak when the front of Kiba's shirt moved. Both Lee and Naruto sprang back in surprise when the bulge began to wiggle and bark. Kiba grumbled and reluctantly unzipped the top of his coat, allowing the head of a cute, white dog to pop out from underneath. "Gaaah, what is that?" Naruto yelled, pointing at it accusingly.

Lee backed up even farther, "A dog! Oh no, I'm allergic to dogs!" He cried tragically. He raced out of the room.

"Kiba, you can't bring that here!" Naruto whispered furiously, watching as the dog barked happily and began to wiggle some more, obviously wanting to get out of the coat and run around.

The dog lover glared at Naruto, "Well, why do you think Akamaru's under my jacket?" He hissed back. "I can't leave him behind – he's like my other half!"

"Animals aren't allowed here! And Lee's allergic!"

Kiba looked so torn and upset and Naruto backed off, chewing at his lower lip hesitantly. "If he was a rodent or a fish, he'd be easy to sneak in and be kept a secret, but that thing's a dog! It's impossible to keep him!"

The brunet hugged Akamaru protectively, burying his nose in the dog's neck. It really looked as if parting with his pet would tear his soul apart and Naruto was starting to feel really bad. But he should have known beforehand about the no-pets rule or else he should have just moved into a house off campus instead, not into residence.

"I'm sorry, Kiba, but Naruto's right." Both boys turned around to face the voice. It was Neji, looking in from the doorway. Kiba turned his face away sadly.

Naruto clapped a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder, "Hey, cheer up. You can always go home and visit him on the weekends or something, right?" Kiba nodded sullenly, still hugging Akamaru tightly, "C'mon. Let's hang out tonight and have some fun. Your dog will want you to have fun here!"

It took a few more convincing words to persuade Kiba to say goodbye to his dog. Once the group of students moved in the last of the luggage, Ino and Kiba said some tearful goodbyes to family members before their parents (and dog) drove off disappearing out of sight. The group made their way back upstairs and began to idle around casually in the hallway. Lee joined them shortly afterwards, his eyes still swollen but looking relatively better. He steered clear of Kiba though, as the boy still had plenty of dog hair all over him.

"So how about we bring out the booze and get drunk tonight?" Kiba suggested.

Naruto cheered, "That sounds awesome! Neji said there's a liquor store about 5 minutes away from here so we can stock up!" Sasuke rolled his eyes and began to walk away. He didn't get far before Naruto snagged him by the back of his collar and dragged him back over. "Get back here, bastard! You're hanging out with us tonight!"

The dark-haired boy wrenched himself out of Naruto's reach and glared coldly at him. "Not interested."

Ino latched herself to his arm and pouted, "Aww, come on, Sasuke! It'll be so much fun!"

"I'm under-aged." He said stiffly as he tried to pry himself out of her clutches in vain.

"So am I." said Kiba and Ino at the same time, not looking like it bothered them at all.

They all turned and looked expectantly at Neji. He sighed and shrugged. "Well as long as you guys are responsible, I really don't mind." He smirked at the betrayed look Sasuke shot at him before continuing on, "But no drinking in the hallways. We'll have to be inside a room." (2)

"I'm not going." Sasuke snapped, finally managing to twist his arm out of Ino's grasps. He whirled around on his heels and stormed away.


He didn't know how he did it again but somehow, Sasuke ended up going anyway. Naruto – 6, Sasuke – 2. He didn't understand Naruto – one minute they were bickering and arguing, saying they hated each other with a passion, and then the next, Naruto's dragging him along to hang out. Why would he do that with someone he hated? Sasuke thought that he'd try and avoid him instead of always making him come out, but no, Naruto insisted on being unpredictable. It was infuriating how the blond couldn't seem to make up his mind as to whether or not they were enemies or friends.

So there they all were, sitting in Neji's living room (as his place was the biggest), drunk off their ass after several drinking games. Sasuke felt stupid when he fell for Naruto's taunts, grabbing the beer that was offered to him. The blond had teased him when he first refused. "I guess the pretty boy can only handle the girly drinks," he had leered with a superior smirk. And now, several shots later, his head was spinning and his speech was slurring. Sasuke was afraid of what might come out of his mouth (be it some foolish talk or vomit) and so contented himself in sitting mutely in his chair, observing.

Kiba and Ino were completely wasted already, both laughing loudly and swaying dangerously on the couch. Lee was a lost cause too. He wasn't supposed to drink any alcohol and Neji wholeheartedly agreed that he was better off sipping on his juice. Apparently, the boy was not a good drunk; Sasuke could see why. Kiba thought it was funny to pour a shot of Smirnoff into Lee's juice and he immediately regretted it moments later. Neji only nearly saved his apartment from getting trashed. It was just about impossible for him and Naruto to tie Lee down into his chair, but they managed it eventually. Now he was singing obnoxiously about springtime and youth, his face flushed and his eyes unfocused. Neji was pretty tipsy himself; he hadn't had a lot to drink but it seemed as if he couldn't hold his liquor in as well as Naruto could. The blond probably had the most to drink out of all of them, but he still seemed extremely sober. It wasn't fair.

"Narutooo," Ino called, waving her hands to catch Naruto's attention. "Why does Sasuke have a black eye? Did you beat him up? That's meeeean, you know."

"What? He started it! I got punched in the face too and he gave me a bloody nose!" Sasuke smirked as Naruto looked at her indignantly. Naruto – 6, Sasuke – 3.

The girl simply giggled and waved off his protests, "That's silly; your face looks perfectly fine!" Ino curled up on the couch, her head on Kiba's lap, and sighed dreamily. "I think I'll go to beeed," and with that, she promptly passed out.

Kiba whistled appreciatively, "Makes me want to feel her up with her right there!" He said mischievously, a groping hand wavering over her butt.

Naruto reached over and slapped it away, "Don't you dare, dog-breath." He bent over to scoop her up into his arms causing Kiba to yell out in protest (something about not being fair). "I'm putting her to bed. Kiba, you look like you're going to pass out next, you should come along." Kiba whined and complained but after a few shoves from Neji, he complied and followed Naruto out the door.

Ino was snugly tucked into her bed minutes later. Naruto had a lot more trouble getting Kiba in bed as the guy insisted on following him around like a dog. The blond was tempted to tie the guy to his bed, but eventually just allowed him to follow him back to Neji's room. Getting Lee to bed was difficult. Both Neji and Naruto were hesitant on releasing the ropes that were binding him down. Sasuke suggested knocking him out and Kiba offered to do it.

Neji eventually jabbed at several of Lee's pressure points so that he could neither walk nor move his arms and Naruto heaved the boy onto his back. Staggering, the blond began to head up the stairs (Kiba stayed behind to bug Sasuke and Neji some more). As the two made their way onto the fifth floor, Naruto spotted someone about to head down the stairs. He had bright red hair and looked extremely young, but the serious air about him made Naruto reconsider his actual age. The boy stared at the duo and Lee grinned, "Sasori!"

Sasori continued to stare blankly before shrugging, "I was going to check what all the noise was." He said as the corner of his lips pulled down slightly to show his disapproval of the drunken display.

Naruto grinned apologetically, "Sorry about that, man. I'm just tucking the kids into bed now so things should quiet down." Lee giggled before slumping, completely knocked out. The blond eyed the don in annoyance, "Aw, now I don't know where his room is."

The redhead held the door for Naruto before he turned and began to walk down the hallway. "I'll show you where it is then." He glanced over his shoulder at Naruto and the blond began to follow with a wide grin stretching across his face. They arrived at the door of Lee's private suite and with some difficultly, Naruto managed to fish out the keys from Lee's pockets. Sasori took them from him and unlocked the door. Minutes later, Lee was also tucked in his bed, sound asleep.

With a thankful smile, Naruto held out his hand to Sasori. "Thanks so much, I'm Naruto. I live downstairs in 406." They shook hands and the two began to head back down the stairs. "So what program are you in?"

"I'm in my fourth year of Fine Arts." Sasori replied, swinging open the door that led to the fourth floor, following Naruto lead towards Neji's room. There were loud noises coming from behind the door and Naruto frowned, hearing Kiba's voice yelling noisily. When he pushed the door open, he saw a rather amusing sight. Kiba was up on his feet, beer bottle in one hand and his other pointing accusingly at Sasuke, who was sitting quietly in his seat, slumped over and looking like the brooding drunk Naruto suspected he was. It seemed as if Sasuke had managed to do something to piss Kiba off (like Sasuke pissing anybody off would be a surprise). Neji, on the other hand, was now laying sprawled out on the couch, looking too drowsy to care about the other two.

"Oi, the baby sitter says for you all to go to sleep, kids!" Naruto bellowed, his hands on his hips, drawing the attention to himself and Sasori.

Kiba childishly pointed a finger at Sasuke to Naruto and complained loudly, "Narutooo, your roommate is an asshole!"

Naruto grinned, "I know that already, dog-breath. Now scram, Neji wants to sleep." He turned to the redhead, "Do you want to put Neji to bed?" And at the look Sasori shot him, he chuckled, raising his hands up in mock surrender. "Yeah, I get it. You don't even know the guy." He sighed and headed over to his friend's side, gripping his arm to raise him onto his feet. Who knew that taking care of a couple of drunken friends proved to be so troublesome? He never had to do it before and although he had gone out a couple of times with some of the adults from the force, it definitely was not the same. Seeing as he was the soberest one out of the group, Naruto took the responsibility of looking out for the rest of them. At least he had Sasori to help him out now, even if the redhead was rather reluctant.

Once Neji was in bed, Naruto went over to fetch his roommate, pulling him roughly onto his feet. Sasuke complied but swayed dangerously on the spot before stumbling forward. Naruto caught him hastily and slung one of Sasuke's arms over his shoulder, clutching at the thin waist tightly. "Che, I didn't know you were such a lightweight, bastard." The blond murmured as Sasuke's head slumped into his.

"I 'ate you…" came the slurred speech. Naruto chuckled and he wondered what on earth Sasuke had said to Kiba when he couldn't really speak coherently anymore. The dog lover, on the other hand, although smashed beyond beliefs, was still able to walk and talk properly without support. He followed Naruto, Sasuke, and Sasori out of Neji's room (which Naruto locked before closing it).

"You really shouldn't be drinking anymore, dog-breath." Naruto said as he watched Kiba take a long swig from his beer bottle. He finished it quickly, smacking his lips tastefully and grinned at the blond.

"You fuss a lot, fox-face." Kiba replied, staggering as he made his way to his room. He swaggered through his kitchen, setting his bottle on the edge of the counter. It teetered dangerously before it fell crashing to the floor, shattering into pieces. "Aw fuck," cursed the brunet, about to pick up the pieces.

Naruto pushed him away though and Sasori helped Sasuke into a chair (who made a fuss and had tried to get to his room by himself) as Naruto went to take care of Kiba. "No way, man, just go to bed. I'll take care of this."

Kiba clasped the blond heavily on the shoulder and gave him a toothy grin, "Thanks man!" He made a face before he stumbled into his bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Moments later, the sound of retching was heard.

Bending down, Naruto began to pick up the large pieces of glass, throwing them into the garbage can. He jerked his hand back and hissed when he accidentally grazed his palm against a sharp edge. "Shit!"

Sasori was by his side in a minute. "Picking up broken glass by hand isn't the smartest of ideas, you know." He said in a monotone voice, eyeing the injury. It was a deep cut and blood was dripping freely out of it.

Naruto snatched his hand back and laughed nervously. "Yah, stupid me, heh?" He went to the sink and hastily washed away the blood, shielding the wound from Sasori's curious eyes. The blond watched through the running water as the cut began to glow, letting off a bright red light. Little by little, the wound began to close itself up, starting from the outside edge and working its way to the centre. The skin sealed itself up and soon the only evidence left that there was a wound in the first place was an angry white scar. Naruto turned off the tap and tugged off a square of paper towel from its roll, wrapping it neatly around his hand. "There, it'll be fine now."

The redhead narrowed his eyes at the injured palm. It had already stopped bleeding, which was curious. It had looked like a deep cut and would have required a lot more attention than what Naruto had given it. And yet, instead of bleeding into the towel like it should have, the only thing soaking the towel was water.

Sasori pursed his lips but said no more, much to Naruto's relief. The rest of the beer bottle was cleaned up by the older man. Kiba threw open his bathroom door and stumbled out. "Hey, thanks for your help Naruto, stranger. I'm okay now."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Go put the asshole into bed, blondie."

Satisfied, Naruto and Sasori bid Kiba a goodnight before the exited his apartment, Sasuke once again slumped against the blond's side. Naruto turned to the redhead and smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks so much, Sasori. This one's my roommate so I can take care of him."

Sasori nodded, "Goodnight then, Naruto." And with that, he turned around and headed off towards the stairwell.

Naruto watched his retreating back for a minute before steering Sasuke towards their apartment. The brunet allowed himself to be pulled along gently and Naruto found himself thinking that if the two weren't always fighting, Sasuke was relatively nice company. He still teased him, mocked him, and put him down, but he also challenged him and made him think.

"I 'ate you." Sasuke mumbled again as Naruto opened his bedroom door and helped his roommate into his bed. Naruto can only imagine what Sasuke was thinking right now; maybe he was furious with himself for needing to rely on his hated roommate since he was drunk. It was most likely another blow to his pride. The final score of the day was Naruto – 7, Sasuke – 3.

Sasuke's eyelids were drooping heavily and it wasn't long before he fell asleep. Naruto grinned, pulling the dark blue blankets over the sleeping body. "I hate you too, bastard." He replied, smirking. The blond left the room, tossing the drying paper towel into the wastebasket.


(1) My friend lived in a residence like this and this happened to her.
(2) I lived in residence and my don was completely okay with those who were under-aged to drink, so long as we were responsible. I tried to get away from drinking, like Sasuke, with the under-aged line and alas, people were just like Kiba and Ino. I'm going to say the drinking age here, is 20, as it is in Japan… I think. The three of them are only 18.

A/N: So what did you think? Do you think Naruto was in character for this? I hope so; I do see him as the kind of guy who would take care of his friends if they were too drunk to do so themselves. I'm slowly introducing all the characters. There's so many so it's going to take a while. I had to get this chapter out of the way before I start doing my mass studying and essay-writing. Please review (don't skulk around, D: it's not nice)! They make my day and I really appreciate all of them. I do reply to them all. Like I said in the beginning, feel free to tell me what you want to see in the fic! Thanks so much to all those who have been reviewing, you're the best!