Disclaimer: This is a fanfiction based on the novel Daddy-Long-Legs using characters from the series Naruto. I own not the novel nor the series so, if you please, do not sue me for I own nothing but my computer. Also, tis mild SASUNARU and GAARANARU so beware all ye who dare to read on.

"The Letters of Naruto Uzumaki to Sharingan Rooster-Head-sama"

"Have you heard that Mrs. So-and-so was caught by her husband with another man…?"

"Hey have you seen that new Ferrari…"

"She definitely visited her plastic surgeon recently."

"So I was about to swing my golf club when I saw her winking at me…"

"Darling, have you gained weight?"

Naruto clutched his head and moaned in distress. He tried desperately to burrow deeper into the chair that he had installed in what he had thought was a quiet corner.

"Oi, why are you looking more idiotic than usual?"

The blonde boy glared at Neji Hyuuga.

"Your family's stupid, worthless chatting is torturing me! I don't really need to know how to cheat on your wife by sleeping with her friend!" Naruto muttered sarcastically.

Two Hyuugas near them suddenly stopped talking and glared at Naruto. Neji quickly hauled the boy up and dragged him out of the room to the relatively quiet hall near the main door. Neji slammed Naruto against the wall and grabbed the blonde's collar tight.

"Listen, you moronic bastard—

"Hey don't call me that!"

"—I did not invite you here to prattle off insults against my family!"

"I was just telling the truth! Leggo!" Naruto tried to pry the fingers away but they held fast.

"You should be glad that you're being given this rare opportunity to mix with people who are so obviously above you!"

In a burst of white fury, Naruto shoved Neji away from him and reversed their positions.

"Now you listen," he growled at the dark-haired boy. "I don't know why you invited me to this shitty reunion—"

"Take your filthy hands off me!"

"—If you can remember you were the one practically begging me to come. But ever since we arrived you've done nothing but insult and ignore me."

Black eyes narrowed but Neji didn't refute the blonde's words. Ever since they arrived four days ago, Neji had either been alternating between showing off his wealth while implying that Naruto would never be able to have such riches and ignoring the blonde. Naruto had noticed his classmate was more interested in watching the growing crowd of Hyuuga-Uchihas as if he was waiting for someone. As the days went by, Neji seemed to become more and more frustrated as what he was looking for seemingly stayed absent.

"I don't know what game you're playing Hyuuga but I should've guessed from the start that you wouldn't invite me here if you didn't have something up your sleeve."

"Oh please. You're letting your imagination run wild again."

Naruto slammed him again and snarled to his face, "I may not be a genius like you but I'm not a total idiot! I don't know what you're plan is but I'm not sticking around for you to finish it!"

With that, Naruto let go and sprinted down the hall and out of the house. The cold midnight air that greeted him nearly drove him back inside. But he gritted his teeth and forced his legs to move forward. He braced himself against the wind and focused on each step that took him away from the Hyuuga mansion. He was concentrating so much on his feet that he lost track of time and place.

When he finally looked up, he realized that he didn't know where he was. Plus the street he was on was deserted. A wave of panic swept over him. He looked around wildly and spotted a silver car parked a few steps away from him. In the dim glow of a faraway streetlight, it looked somehow familiar. He debated for a while whether to ask assistance from whoever was inside or to continue on with his journey. A gust of wind decided the matter for him. Maybe whoever was inside would be kind enough to drive him to the train station.

He wrapped his arms around his blue pullover and took a tentative step off the street when a red blur zoomed in front of him. Naruto yelled in surprise and slipped on a patch of snow. He landed hard on his bottom, cursing softly under his breath.

"Oi, stupid, what're you doing sitting on the ground?"

Naruto looked up. His eyes widened. A red car had stopped a few feet from him and its driver was coming towards him pocketing what looked like a mobile phone. Even with his eyes closed Naruto couldn't mistake that voice.

"Sasuke! You bastard!"

Sasuke smirked. A mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. It was so apparent even in the faint light that even the usually oblivious Naruto stared at him as if he had grown two heads.

"So, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto jumped up, wincing a bit.

"Nothing! Just taking a walk. Can't a guy take a walk in Tokyo?"

"In the middle of the night at 10 degrees below zero?"

Naruto fidgeted. He didn't understand how Sasuke could convey his condescension and utter amusement at Naruto's obvious lie with just a small inflection of his voice. A car engine startled him out of his thoughts. Naruto looked in dismay as the car he was about to walk over to drove off. Then it hit him.

He was alone in Tokyo in the middle of the night. He was alone in Tokyo in the middle of the night with no concept of directions. He was alone in Tokyo in the middle of the night with no concept of directions—with Sasuke Uchiha.

He wanted to cry.

"Come on, stupid."

Naruto blinked up at Sasuke. An icy wind blew across the street.

"Unless you want to stay and freeze to death out here, follow me."

Sasuke give Naruto a chance to answer. He grabbed the other boy's arm and dragged him into the waiting car.

"Wha—hey leggo!"

"Look do you want to be kidnapped? Mauled by gangsters? Run over by a car? Do you even have any money with you?"

Naruto shook his head at each question, finally realizing his mortality and his stupidity. He had left his wallet and clothes behind. Shivering, muttering curses, he gave up and settled into the heated interior of Sasuke's sports car. He whimpered in relief. He really hated the cold. He was so wrapped up in feeling warm again that he didn't notice the car move again until the engine was turned off.

"Come on."

Naruto gasped in dismay. He was back at the Hyuuga mansion.

"I'm not going back there!"

Sasuke stared at the blonde in surprise. Naruto resolutely stood his ground.

"Why not?"

"Because Neji's being mean and he's planning something against me," Naruto answered petulantly.

"Neji—" Sasuke began.

"Is mean and planning something," Naruto finished for him.

"Against you…" Sasuke's voice was suddenly low, almost furious. But the anger didn't seem to be directed at Naruto.

Naruto crossed his arms across his chest. Sasuke sighed and tried another tactic.

"So it comes down to this? Uzumaki running away from a Hyuuga?"

Naruto bristled. "What are you saying? Are you implying that I'm scared of your stupid cousin?"

"I'm not implying anything," Sasuke whispered smugly. "I'm saying it plain and clear."

"Wah! Sasuke is a big bastard! I'll show you who's afraid!"

Naruto stomped out of the car and marched towards the main door. He stood beside Sasuke, scowling fiercely at his nemesis. He knew he was being manipulated easily but he didn't care. Naruto Uzumaki was not a scared! Sasuke rang the doorbell and the door was promptly opened by a servant.

"Master Uchiha! We weren't expecting you—"

Sasuke glared at him. The servant lapsed into respectful silence, bowing as Sasuke with a still glowering Naruto entered the mansion. Sasuke led the way to the main room where a cacophony of voices could be heard. He opened the door with a bang. All conversations ceased immediately. Sasuke glared impartially at everyone until his eyes met those of Neji's. The room's temperature dropped to match the coldness outside. Naruto shivered but kept his place behind the Uchiha. He noticed that Neji was unable to meet his cousin's eyes for very long.

"Sa—Sasuke!" Neji's mother exclaimed in a high-pitched voice. "We were not expecting you. How are—"

"I'm staying until next week. Have somebody park my car properly. I'm going to bed. I don't want any noise."

Sasuke yanked the door close and stalked up the stairs. The two were halfway up the stairs before Naruto found his voice again.

"You're a real bastard you know? Even to your family," the blonde blurted.

Sasuke stopped and stared at Naruto. Flinching from the hard glare and realizing what he had just said, Naruto backed away slowly. If the whole clan was scared of Sasuke, didn't that mean that he was in big trouble for saying something so forward?

"Uhm…that's not what I was going to say…I mean that's what I thought but I wasn't going to say it…and it just slipped and…uh…I think I better go to my room now…night!"

He took a step but was held back by a hand grasping his wrist. Once again Sasuke dragged him onward. When he realized just what part of the house they were heading, his protests doubled. Neji had said that that part of the house was reserved for the heads of the clan. He tried to stop Sasuke by digging his shoes into the carpet.

"Wait! That's where the main rooms are! My room isn't there!"

Sasuke pushed open an elaborately designed door and dragged Naruto inside, flicking a switch to turn on all the lights.

"From now on you'll be sleeping here. I'll have your things moved tomorrow."

With that Sasuke let Naruto go and quickly left the room, closing the doors firmly behind him. Naruto stared around the lavish room. Neji had not even dared to show him one of the main rooms saying that only a select few could step inside. Naruto had a sneaking suspicion that even Neji had not been allowed inside.

Not that the room originally assigned to him had been bad. It was opulent in Naruto's opinion. But this, the place was—

"Wow!"

It didn't really sum up what he wanted to say but Naruto couldn't think of anything else at that moment. He walked over to the bed and gingerly sat on it. He stared off in space, replaying what had happened the past few hours. He remained immobile for several minutes.

"Don't think too hard, you're brain might have a meltdown."

Naruto was jolted out his thoughts. He found Sasuke looking at him in mild amusement.

"Bastard," Naruto muttered, the sting of the word glaringly absent.

"I would've thought you'd be sleeping like a log by now," Sasuke commented, taking a sit on a couch near the window.

He had slipped out of his winter clothes and donned a black shirt and white, loose pants. Naruto turned around on the bed to be able to see him.

"How could anyone sleep in here?"

Sasuke's head jerked in his direction, dark eyes wide with something like fear.

"What?" Naruto asked, perplexed at the unusual reaction. "It's true. This room's way too extravagant for me. I'm used to…" his voice trailed off. "You know."

"Hn. It's just the decorations. Ignore those and this is just a room for sleeping."

"Rich people are weird. It's not just the decorations, it's everything! This bed is so soft, I feel like I'm gonna suffocate in fluff if I lay down. And I bet twenty people can sleep on it. Who used to sleep here anyway?" Sasuke twitched at the question but didn't answer. "There's a gigantic television, a fireplace, a refrigerator and expensive furniture and I bet there's a big bathroom behind one of those doors that's the size of five rooms in the Konoha Home! Jeez I'm getting claustrophobic just thinking about the size of this room!"

"It's agoraphobic moron. Claustrophobic is for small spaces."

"Smart ass! You're really a Hyuuga-Uchiha, so full of useless information."

Sasuke chuckled.

"Oh? And what other useless stuff have you learned from my clan?"

Naruto launched an account of all that he had heard occasionally stopping to giggle at Sasuke's snide comments. They continued exchanging quips and barbs until they realized with a start that the light outside the window was turning pink and dawn was breaking. They stared at each other in surprise.

"Gosh! We just spent the night actually talking!"

Naruto clapped his hands over his mouth, his cheeks going pink. Sasuke just smirked and stood up, stretching some kinks in his muscles.

"I think I'll get some shut eye before I terrorize my clan, hmm?"

Naruto blinked. He yawned and rubbed suddenly sleepy eyes.

"If you wake up and feel like you don't want to eat downstairs, just ring that bell," Sasuke pointed to an obscure bell pull at the corner of the bed, "and one of the servants will bring you something."

Naruto stared at the long piece of cloth then shook his head.

"And miss you scaring your relatives, no way! I just wish Tsunade and Jiraiya were here too. Bet they'd get a kick out of seeing you give out The Uchiha Glare of Doom!"

Sasuke grinned and walked away. He looked back when he reached the door and saw Naruto curling up in the middle of the huge bed, one hand stretching out to grab a pillow.

"Night Naruto," he whispered.

"Nnn, morning Sasuke."

January 10

Dear Daddy Sharingan Rooster-Head,

Happy New Year Daddy! Did you like my Christmas gift to you? I'm sorry if it wasn't expensive or anything. I couldn't decide what to give to you and then I remembered that you might like to see how I've grown so I sent you that picture. The blonde one grinning is me and the one I'm hugging is Iruka and the one who's partially turned away from the camera is Neji.

Speaking of that conceited Hyuuga, I gotta tell ya Daddy, those Hyuuga-Uchihas are the weirdest and craziest people I have ever met! They may be ultra-rich but they talked about the most useless things and kept plotting stupid stuff. And Neji is the most insane of them all. He kept insulting me and I just know he was planning something. I was so sick of all of them that I tried to run away but Sasuke–that bastard!–found me and brought me back. And the day after Sasuke arrived Neji looked so smug like he won a bet or something. I didn't confront him about it. I really don't want to know how his mind works.

I think Sasuke is the only sane person there. Or at least the least abnormal in the whole family. Even though he was really rude to all his family they still kept following everything that he wanted and tried so hard to please him. Once a woman said something about his missing white shadow and Sasuke glared at her so much that she fainted. She actually fainted from fright! I kept laughing at Sasuke after dinner when he came to my room. He just smirked at me. He really is just a great big bully.

That's another weird part of my vacation. Sasuke seemed to be everywhere I went to or he'd drag me to wherever he wanted to go. He'd come to my room and talk to me every night before I go to sleep. When I had my yearly cold-weather sickness, he stayed inside my room glaring at the doctor and the servants and then droning on about random stuff. But he actually talked to me instead of just grunting and insulting me. I wonder why…but, to be really honest, I was glad he came. Like I said he was the least insane person there. He actually made sense and he wasn't as arrogant as Neji. And he actually let me stay in one of the main rooms! No one but the heads of the clan could stay in one of those really deluxe rooms. Even Neji wasn't allowed in them. But Sasuke gave me one right next to his room. I don't know if he was being friendly or he just needed someone to harass in the middle of the night or—wait—maybe he finally acknowledged how cool I am and realized that the ordinary rooms weren't enough for my greatness. Ha! That must be it. And that must be the reason why he went ballistic when we overheard one Hyuuga complaining about me being in a main room. You should have seen how that guy crumpled in front of Sasuke and asked for his forgiveness! Really I'm not surprised that bastard's ego isn't as big as the whole world. Everyone would gladly jump off a cliff for him—even Neji.

Well everyone except me, of course. I think I scarred Neji's mom for life when I had an argument with Sasuke about some random matter. I can't even remember what it was about. But the main thing is that I refused what he wanted me to do and told him no to his face. Neji's mom was so shocked she practically turned to stone. She looked so funny that I started laughing at her. Then Sasuke sniggered and I think that was the last straw because the old hag suddenly keeled over and fainted.

Neji said once that I should be grateful that I was given a chance to know what rich people live like. Jeez, if all rich people are like the Hyuuga-Uchihas then I hope I never become rich. I'll settle for becoming a famous but underpaid writer/illustrator instead!

Totally jaded against rich people except you, Daddy,

Naruto

February 14, late at night

Dear Daddy Rooster-Head,

I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience. This has been such a strange day. This morning, I received a big package of chocolates and other sweet stuff from Sasuke. A long letter went with it. It seems Sasuke is touring the whole of Japan right now, visiting all of the companies that he owns. He was bitching about how incompetent his staff is because one company lost a lot of money in some investment gone wrong. Anyway, I was just answering his letter (it seemed the polite thing to do since he did give me a lot of food!) and eating the chocolates when Neji barged into my room saying he needed to borrow my notes on our Literature class. I was about to shout at him to get lost when he saw the box of sweets. He suddenly had this—I don't know how to call it—but a very, very bizarre expression crossed his face. I knew he knew that the food was from Sasuke but he didn't say anything. He just turned around and left saying he'd borrow Iruka's notes instead.

Then later this morning, Gaara came up to me during break, dragged me to a deserted classroom and shared his chocolates with me again. And when I say share, I mean share! He popped one piece into his mouth and used his tongue to transfer it into mine! Arg! Just thinking about it makes me angry and queasy at the same time.

I hit him really hard when I got the chance and ran away from him. I was so upset that I avoided him throughout the day. It was really hard because he's my classmate in almost all subjects. He managed to corner me after school though. He didn't try to touch me again but he just shoved this piece of paper and run off. In his letter he admitted that he likes me in more than just a friendly way. I had to sit down really hard after reading his confession. I mean what would you do if the guy you've been trying to befriend, so that you can get a girl to go out with you, suddenly declares that he has a crush on you? I swear I didn't see that coming, Daddy.

And now I'm really bothered. Gaara has become a close friend and I don't want to hurt him. But I don't like him that way. And every time I think of that chocolate incident I want to punch his face really, really hard. That was my first kiss dammit! The kiss that I imagined Sasuke giving me when I was sick last Christmas doesn't count. I know I was only hallucinating that. Did I ever tell you about that incident? Anyway, I was saving my first kiss for Sakura and now Gaara has stolen it! Arg!

But still, he's a friend and I cherish all of my friends even if they hurt me or do weird stuff to me…what do I do, Daddy?

Confused,

Naruto

February 20

Dear Daddy,

This is just a short line to tell you that I'm studying hard for my finals. It's pass or bust for Uzumaki once again!

Naruto

P.S.

Gaara has apologized to me. He said that I should forget about what happened last Valentine's Day and we should just go on like normal. I was willing to forget what happened but he went and ruined everything by saying that he'll wait for me to realize that I like him too. Meanwhile he'll just continue stalking me like normal. I'm surrounded by lunatics I tell ya!

March 3

Dear Daddy Sharingan,

Finals are over! Spring vacation is here! Neji is going abroad this year. He said something about touring Europe. No doubt about it goods are not distributed evenly in this world. Iruka is, as usual, going to his family's vacation house. And where do you think I'm going? You can have three guesses. Chidori Farm? Nope. The Umino vacation house with Iruka? Wrong again. (I don't think I've gotten over my summer trauma yet.) Last guess now. Nothing? You're really not very inventive. I'll tell you, Daddy, if you promise not to make a lot of objections. It won't make any difference anyway. My mind's made up and nothing and no one can persuade me to think otherwise.

I am going to spend the summer at the seaside with a Mr. Tazuna and his daughter and his grandson, Inari. I'm going to be tutoring Inari who's starting high school this April. I met old man Tazuna through Mr. Umino. He's a stupid geezer who doesn't want to acknowledge how good I am. But he'll change his mind before April comes. He'll be giving me more than our bargained ¥5,000 before I'm through with his snotty grandson.

So, how does my plan strike you? I bet you're really surprised. I'm getting quite independent aren't I? And this will be another adventure for me. I've never been to the seaside before. I'm sure I'm going to enjoy it a lot.

I hope you enjoy your spring too.

Packing up and planning his lessons,

Naruto

"Yo!"

Naruto and Iruka stopped to stare at Kakashi lounging against his car. As usual his face was practically covered by his clothes. A baseball cap was tilted over one eye. Iruka's eyes narrowed and he took a small step closer to his friend. Kakashi sighed.

"I'm just delivering a letter for Naruto," he explained, looking straight at Iruka's suspicious eyes.

Naruto felt cold dread run along his spine. Kakashi's eye curved up.

"Don't worry. I think you'll like this letter this time."

Naruto frowned but held out a hand. "Fine. Give it to me."

Kakashi looked significantly at Iruka. The dark-haired boy glared at him. Naruto looked from one guy to the other before finally figuring it out. He laid a gentle hand on Iruka's arm.

"It's okay Iruka," he beamed at his friend. "He can't hurt me. And if he tries anything perverted I'll just give him a taste of the great Uzumaki spiral punch!"

Iruka chuckled. "Fine. I'll go ahead and wait."

He gave one final glare to Kakashi before walking off. When the coast was clear, Kakashi took out a white envelope and handed it to Naruto.

You don't have to work this spring. I'll send you money so you can tour Europe during your break. Work the details out with Kakashi and he'll make all the necessary arrangements. He can even accompany you during the tour. —Sharingan-sama

Naruto's mouth worked like a fish. He looked up at Kakashi's smiling eye.

"So, what do you need?" the man asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Uhm…uhm…this is just so…uhm…look can you give me some time to think this over?"

"Surprised huh?"

"Yeah…uh…"

"Okay, I'll just come back tomorrow and we can talk then. See ya!"

Naruto dazedly watched Kakashi drive away. When he couldn't see the car anymore he slowly walked away from the dorm towards his favorite place.

He was just finishing his third bowl when a familiar voice interrupted him.

"You're going to get sick eating so much of that stuff."

Naruto looked up to find Sasuke settling down on stool beside his.

"What're you doing here you bastard?"

Sasuke shrugged before placing an order for a small bowl of miso ramen.

"I was in the neighborhood so I decided to see what kind of trouble you've gotten yourself into."

"Wha—I don't get into trouble that often!"

"But you are in one right now, aren't you?" Sasuke met his eyes, daring Naruto to refute.

Naruto stuffed his mouth with noodles to avoid answering. It took another bowl and some dumplings for him to finally start talking.

"I got a letter from my benefactor saying he's going to send me on a tour of Europe," he suddenly declared in a quiet voice. He avoided meeting Sasuke's eyes.

"Isn't that good news?" Sasuke asked, looking over at the other boy.

"Yeah…I've never gone on a plane my entire life and Europe seems so wonderful…"

"But?" Sasuke prompted after a short pause.

"But I've already made plans this spring," Naruto suddenly grinned. "I got a job, tutoring a kid who is about to enter high school. I already promised the kid's grandpa that I'd go. I'm actually leaving the day after."

Sasuke shook his head. "You're really a moron."

"Hey!"

"You're going to exchange a chance to tour Europe and broaden your education," Sasuke continued, ignoring Naruto, "for the opportunity to teach a child you don't know and earn a measly sum? For what? To prove that you can do it? Tell me which part of your reasoning is not idiotic."

Naruto scowled at Sasuke.

"Accept your benefactor's offer. If you ask me he's being very generous. Not many orphans would be as lucky as you to have such a liberal sponsor. Your fellow orphans would fall over each other to be in your shoes right now. Reject this offer and you will be an ungrateful, foolish, irrational, stubborn child who shows clearly that he doesn't know what's good for him."

Naruto abruptly stood up. His hands were fisted against his legs, his mouth turned down in a grim scowl.

"You know," he whispered, "I was beginning to think that you were actually nice. I guess I was wrong."

He suddenly faced Sasuke, his eyes blazing with fury. Sasuke's eyes widened with shock. He had never seen the blonde so livid.

"How dare you try to make me feel guilty for thinking of refusing my benefactor's kindness!" he yelled. "How dare you try to order me around! How dare you preach your high and mighty knowledge at me as if God created you as a superior being! You don't even know what Daddy Sharingan is like so don't make your stupid, arrogant assumptions! I hate you! I wish I had not told you anything! I wish you'd just disappear off the face of the earth!"

Naruto ran out of the restaurant leaving a very stunned Sasuke behind.

ARC: Daddy Long-Legs is by Jean Webster. Anyway, a big, BIG thanks to all who reviewed! I'm sorry if I couldn't update Right Now, Now. I hope this chapter makes up for your week-long wait!

Dragon