A/N: Thank you all for the reviews and support of my first venture into the Naruto fandom! Thank you to my guest reviewers (J) and (Ili). I honestly wish that I could thank you both personally for your support. Thank you Darkside69, for placing this story on your favorites list AND for following. And thank you, lastly, to all those reading and supporting on the sidelines.

For those of you who are reading this work know me, you may see this as a bizarre departure from my normal genera and writing style. And...all I have to say to you is this. Shhh...

"Saskue Uchiha!" This came bellowed out in a high booming tenor as the double doors to the back room came simultaneously flung open. "Prepare yourself for the morning chant!"

The muffled sounds of movement came halted in momentary silence before slowed, shuffled footsteps manifested from the darkness of the poorly lit stockroom and the ominous looming figure of the shadows stepped forth into the small pool of florescent light. Plain black, non-skid work shoes donned feet stilled in their movements, the lean figure moving no further forward. Black slacks came paired with a thick, rebellious black belt lined with large, almost gaudy notches as it came wrapped around a thin waist.

A leather knife sheath came attached to the garish belt that seemed to accentuate the narrowed waist of the thin yet muscularly tone figure. The dark slacks and belt seemed well paired and suited for the look of the tacky, tucked navy blue cotton short sleeved shirt bearing the Walmart logo just beneath the left collarbone.

This whole 'rage against The Man' look was paired and accented with sharp features, pale skin, and jet black, inky hair. Thick, course, and wiry, the back recklessly and almost haphazardly spiked in every direction. The front strands of bangs having been artfully twisted and pulled back, bobby pinned in place out of the way. Away from almost luminously palled skin that came strangely contrasted with the way that the rest of his dark tresses framed his angular jawline. Black hair that almost came to match dark brooding, almond shaped obsidian eyes lined in black liner that now glared at the man who had just dared to enter the darkened back room.

"Lee..." This came low and ominously muttered towards the man who had so enthusiastically entered the inner recesses of the dark, unholy sanctum of Sasuke's stockroom.

...oh yes... The stockroom was his. From the hours of 11:30 pm to 7:30 am. And there was nothing any of them would...or could say about it. Not until he clocked out and left...which wasn't for another fifteen minutes.

"...what have I fucking told you about being so energetic around me...?"

"It simply cannot be helped!" This came joyfully gushing and boisterous, the man not even batting an eyelash or raise of his bushy brow towards the open profanity as Sasuke felt the beginnings of a very real eye twitch. "It's the beginning of another glorious day, and we must rise like the sun itself to meet it! Come, Sasuke!"

"Pass..." This came muttered in flat monotone as Sasuke armed himself with the small work knife attached to his belt. "I'm busy." He turned on his feet in order to return to work in the poorly lit storage room before his toned shoulders were roughly grasped from behind and he was spun around.

"Sasuke Uchiah." Lee's voice came just as fiercely intense and overwhelming as his gaze...and those disturbing eyebrows...as they furrowed along his ensuing words. "It is statistically impossible for you to be unavailable for every morning staff meeting." The man continued seriously as he continued to hold on to Sasuke to keep him from fleeing. "Besides..." This came with a hint and spark of fire the man had formerly possessed when walking into the back room to retrieve the human vampire. "We have new staff members to embrace and welcome into the Walmart family."

"...great..." This came drawn out from Sasuke's taut lips in a low drawl. "Fresh meat."

"That's the spirit!" The man slapped Sasuke's shoulders roughly before turning on his heels. "Onward!" He announced boisterously with the raise of his hand and dramatic jutting of his index finger.

"Fine..." Sasuke muttered under his breath with a sigh as he sheathed his knife once more to follow Lee out the double doors and into the general population. "But I'm not going to fucking chant, Lee. I mean it."

As the two walked towards the small gathering of employees, Sasuke was greeted by yet another exuberant...feminine voice.

"Oh my gosh! Sasuke!" This came squeaked in a high trill and the wave of a hand from the woman with long, cascading blond hair now bound back in a tie. "You never come to these meetings!" She continued to gush as the eyes of the group fell upon the unimpressed stock-boy. "What gives?" And the expression of complete loathing that Sasuke shot the blond was like a palpable slap across the face that effectively silenced the woman.

"Lee made me." Sasuke grumbled in protest with a scowl and the defiant folding of his arms along his chest, his voice coming a cold deadpan from taut lips as the man with unnatural eyebrows winked and gave a thumbs up to the people gathered.

Sasuke stood his ground apart from the crowd. Just outside of the circle. Maintaining a permanent scowl and defiant folding of his arms along his chest, which only showcased the delicate script inked on his flesh, running the length of each of his forearms from elbow to wrist. On one arm was artfully scrawled in breathtaking italicized calligraphy 'Straight Edge For Life'. On the other, in the same beautiful script, it read 'Rise Above The Influence'. And...going unseen to the eye, was a small x placed along the top of either middle finger. On the digit closest to his hands.

"Hey Sasuke." This calmer greeting manifested next to him as Sasuke gave himself over to a small, almost petulant sigh to the sudden rush of attention. "It's nice to see you here."

"Ten Ten..." Sasuke murmured back lowly to the woman who had come to stand next to him just outside the circle.

"But you know..." He heard this whisper laced in a level of terse, almost maternal seriousness. "You might want to think about cooling it with the mean mug around these newbies." The woman continued to lull quietly next to Sasuke, just out of earshot of the others. "Cause it kinda looks like you're deciding which one of us to stab first. They might get the wrong impression about you."

"Funny..." Sasuke mumbled in a quiet drawl as his dark brooding gaze continued to take in the small group with a level of disdain. "...because that was almost exactly what I was thinking..." A small, wicked little smirk twisted along his lips, those deep obsidian eyes slowly drifting to the side to spare the woman a disparaging look before she quickly fled to the safety of the circle.

"Alright, everyone! Pipe down and shut up!" This demand came loud and irritated as it drew the attention of the small crowd. "The faster we get this done, the faster I get to go back to my office."

Shikamaru Nara. The man with a perpetual ponytail of thick spiky hair and chronic laziness that could put the best of sloths to shame. It was a wonder how he had ever scaled the ranks to be promoted to manager. Though this unseemly character trait wore on Sasuke's nerves, the man's extreme apathy and anti-establishment view towards the corporate giant had somewhat endeared him to the passionate non-conformist.

Out of all of the supervisors Sasuke had ever worked for...he hated Shikamaru least.

"Unbelievable that they'd go and schedule this orientation on my shift..." Sasuke heard this muttered under the man's breath as he passed him by. "...what a drag..."

...and this made Sasuke smile...

"Okay...lets get this started and make it quick so we can all get back to work." This came grumbled from Shikamaru's lips. "My name's Shikamaru Nara. I'm the AM supervisor. Since we have some brand new hires in the group today, we'll go around and introduce ourselves." The man fought against an internal gag and roll of the eyes as he continued, as if monotonously reciting a trivial list. "We'll go around, and each person will state their name. How long they've worked here. What brought them to Walmart. Something they like. Something they hate. And something about themselves." His expression laced in a permanent scowl, Shikamaru gave the small, directive nod of his head. "Blondie...you're up." And the young woman singled out gave a small pout and the show of her tongue before beginning.

"Hi, I'm Ino Yamanaka." The woman with long, bound satin stresses stated in a feminine lilt. "I've worked here for about six months, just passing my probation period!" She gave a small smile and thumbs up as Shikamaru continued to scowl, unamused. "I came here because they had an opening with the hours I was looking for." Ino trilled, ecstatic at being the center of attention as she commanded the eyes of the group. "What I like?" She asked, her gaze lingering briefly on Sasuke before subtly shifting away. "I like em tall, dark, and handsome." This produced and audible groan from management and a slightly hopeful look from the man with the strange bowl cut and overgrown brows that was swiftly brushed off for her continued monologue. "And what I hate...is competition." She stated sharply before finishing. "And something you should all know about me...?" Her smile came a mixture of malicious vixen. "I don't give up...and I don't take no for an answer." She gave another unobtrusive glance to the resident stock-boy. "Ever."

"Next..." Shikamaru deadpanned, effectively ending the subtly awkward glaring contest between Sasuke and Ino.

"Hello." The small group's attention was drawn to the only slightly mousier young woman with jade eyes and pink hair. "My name's Sakura." She murmured shyly, her cheeks dusting just a shade lighter than her strange tresses. "Sakura Haruno." This came whispered just a little louder to be heard as she continued in a self contentious stutter. "I just got hired...today will be my first day." This generated a small round of applause from the man with the bushy brows and ridiculous looking hair cut as Sasuke shot him another annoyed glare from just outside of the circle that quickly halted the man's enthusiastic admiration. "I came here because Ino...my friend..." Her jade eyes lifted towards the woman with long blond tresses. "She said that you guys were hiring... And I was looking for part time work to put myself through medical school." The two girls shared a smile as Shikamaru now openly rolled his eyes towards the display of commradery. "I like helping people...but...I still haven't become a huge fan of the site of blood." This caused another light blush of the cheeks as she looked away, continuing. "And I guess...something you should know about me is that I always work hard and try to do my very best..."

The rest of the new recruits followed suit with their pathetic stories. Each one...just as uninteresting and unimportant to Sasuke. Because...he simply didn't care. Not about them, anyway.

"Sasuke!" The harsh call of his name broke him of this insulating cocoon of numb indifference as dark almond orbs narrowed on Shikamaru. "You're up." The two exchanging a small look before a sharp sigh of protest passed through Sasuke's slender nose.

"The name's Uchiha." This came deadpanned from lips as he continued to scowl at the group. "I've been here for over a year..." He muttered as he continued to hold an almost petulant demeanor. "Which is way too long for my liking or my sanity." These words came as cold as his dark gaze and appearance as he glowered at the fresher faces. "I came here because Banana Republic fired my ass." He quipped bitterly.

"Their loss, Sasuke Uchiha!" This came shouted encouragingly from Lee as Sasuke spared him an unimpressed expression.

"Whatever..." This came grumbled as he began to inspect the tips of his black polish nails in disinterest before muttering under his breath. "...dork..." Sasuke continued to take in the slowly chipping polish, avoiding the group as he spoke flatly. "I don't really like much of anything..." These words came cold and grim as his palled expression. "...and I hate a lot of things..." Exotic obsidian eyes lifted to the small crowd through thick lashes accented in liner in a level of disdain. "And what you all need to know about me...is this..." His gaze came intense with the drop of his voice to a low hiss. "I made myself a promise a long time ago... And this promise I made...is that I won't ever break."

...not like him...

"Sasuke Uchiha, everyone." This came monotonously flat through the small, sardonic twitch of a smirk playing along Shikamaru's lips. "Our resident mascot and role-model for embracing the Walmart way of life." This generated a few chuckles, though most of the new staff still stood in slight shock and awe towards the intensely dark young man still standing outside of the group in protest. "And with enough time and dedication to our company, you too, shall become this bitter." He gave a half-hearted gesture to the overnight stock-boy. "Something to look forward to." Sasuke scowled at him, fighting the urge to brazenly flipping the man off in retaliation as the group began to drift off task, chittering in a low buzz of small talk and pleasantries.

"Oh my gosh, Ino..." This came whispered between the two friends as clear jade eyes attempted not to stare. "Who is he?" Sakura murmured to her friend Ino as the other woman gave an almost bitter snort to the obvious interest in Sakura's question.

"That's Sasuke..."

"He's so handsome..." Sakura continued to whisper in overt admiration.

"Please..." Ino scoffed. "Get in like, Sakura... Everyone likes him." This came a breathless hiss of a disgruntled whisper. "But a word of advice..? Don't go wasting your time, girlfriend." Ino spoke in bitter, hushed tones to her friend as she spared the stock-boy a brief look of forced disinterest. "He's Straight Edge..."

"What's that?" Sakura asked, her friend's words doing little to deter her from her interest in this mysterious boy.

"Apparently it's some sort of hard core underground punk movement." She murmured lowly. "They don't party, drink, do drugs..." Ino listed off the details of this lifestyle trend. "They embrace this whole, 'my body is a temple' lifestyle..." She whispered quietly in hushed tones through the buzz of quiet conversation. "It's weird." Ino muttered coldly. "I don't think he even dates." She hissed with a small scowl, her open disappointment coming painfully obvious. "I mean...the guy's so emo and non-conforming that he gives non-conformists a run for their money." Her gaze flitted from the center of their conversation back to her friend. "But honestly, Sakura...how badly can you be sticking it to the man when you work at Walmart...?" She whispered. "It's a bit hypocritical."

"Wow..." Sakura breathed...her friend's words only serving to further her infatuation and curiosity. "...he's so deep..." She spoke like a love sick puppy.

"Please." This came a sharp hiss of utter contempt. "He's arrogant and condescending!" Ino spat. "He has a huge ego complex with a 'holier than thou' attitude."

And in the span of a heartbeat Sakura watched as dark obsidian orbs slowly drifted their way as if pulled to their conversation. A single eyebrow arched in a dangerously hostile show of displeasure at being stared at. Absorbing her friend's harsh, angry words and the way that this guy now glared across the distance in their direction, Sakura finally understood...and the level of shared hostility from both sides now made sense...

Ino had already asked this guy out...and he had turned her down.

Sakura suddenly felt her heart sink as her emerald gaze shyly fell to the floor in dejection. Ino was one of the prettiest girls that she knew. And...if Ino didn't stand a chance with a guy like Sasuke...where did that leave her?

"Okay, time to wrap this up." Shikamaru's authoritative voice drew the small group back to center. "Lee...lead us in the morning chant..." With these unenthused words, Sasuke was immediately fishing for the earbuds attached to his cheaply made knock off phone that had been carelessly shoved into the back pocket of his slacks, stuffing the earbuds into place.

"Yes sir!" This came overly ecstatic from the man with the bizarre brows and hair cut as he raise a hand to salute the morning manager...who simply rolled his eyes with a small exasperated sigh.

"...what a drag..." Those infamous three words were the last thing Sasuke heard before his sensitive ears came violently assaulted with the melodramatic melancholy of some obscure alternative rock as he gave another petulant sigh.

Just another day at Walmart...

Where the prices were always guaranteed low...

The customer was always right...

And the angst-ridden drama of high school never seemed to end.

A/N: Just throwing out some sources and definitions!

Straight Edge:

Originated from the punkrock/hardcore scene. The philosophy/life-choice that humans should have strength, pride, dignity, honor, and self respect; that they shouldn't engage in activities that are a disgrace to their minds and bodies. (such as ingesting and/or becoming addicted to harmful substances for fun, lying and/or being two-faced, and sharing your body sexually with another person when there isn't even a true emotional bond there)

-Urban Dictionary

For some, this (also) extends to refraining from engaging in promiscuous sex, following a vegetarian or vegan diet, and/or not using caffeine or prescription drugs. The term straight edge was adopted from the 1981 song "Straight Edge" by the hardcore punk band Minor Threat.

-Wikipedia