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

Whoops, supposed to upload this on Sunday but I got caught up in stuff! Sorry...

Little bit of Naru POV sorta thing before reverting back to Sasuke. I thought that I should give some sort of outsiders' views once in a while, no? Would have been longer, but it's one - late, and two - I'm ill (caught a cold at the end of Feb...wonderful)! looking at the screen is making me feel nauseous!

A Whiter Shade of Pale
Chaper 4

Naruto watched Sasuke shuffle into the kitchen early Wednesday morning, rubbing sleep from bleary eyes and running a hand through his hair in an effort to rid it of the 'just woke up' look.

"G'morning," came the muffled grunt as the raven pulled himself into the stool at the breakfast counter, a quick hand from the blonde preventing it from tipping over.

"Not a morning person, huh?" Naruto chuckled softly as he sipped at his mug of coffee, still watching the Uchiha over the rim. The teen was still dressed in his pyjamas – a white shirt and a pair of blue shorts that hung loosely over his slim frame. The blonde set a plate of scrambled egg and toast onto the placemat in front of him.

"For me?" Sasuke blinked as he stared at the food.

"It might be kinda cold, but that's your own fault for not waking up earlier," Naruto said, handing a fork and effectively ignoring the glare thrown his way. Sasuke grabbed the fork before tucking into the plate ravenously. "Well, how is it?"

"Needs more salt…"

Naruto merely shook his head and rolled his eyes as he left the kitchen while muttering about ingrates.

"Morning, Naruto." Sakura was standing at the foot of the stairs, a suitcase in her hand. "Sasame's sick so I thought it would be best if I went home. Shikamaru called last night saying that he's coming to stay."

"Why didn't you tell me this last night?" Naruto pouted childishly though he took p the heavy case from her and dragged it to the front door.

"Because you went straight to sleep," the pink-haired woman answered as she opened to door, allowing the two to exit into the morning air. The birds were already out and singing loudly under the warmth of the rising Sun that hung low in the cloudless blue sky.

The silver car parked on the gravelled drive bleeped as its lights flashed and Naruto walked over to the boot, yanking it open and hoisting the suitcase into it while Sakura clambered into the driver seat.

"I'll see you later," she said, letting the window roll down slowly.

"Yeah…have a safe drive home," he replied, leaning against the frame.

"Take care of him, okay?" Sakura murmured after a short silence. She avoided looking at her friend, instead staring at the black, leather wheel in front of her.

"I thought you didn't like him." Scowling, the woman pinched the blonde's forearm at the slight mocking tone in his voice.

"…I was just thinking that I've been acting a little silly over the past week…but…" Her voice quavered slightly as the volume dropped to a whisper, grip tightening around the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white. "I just miss him, you know? Itachi told us specifically to look after Sasuke if anything-"

"Don't worry, Saku," Naruto beamed. "Next time you get a break from work, come visit us again, okay? I have a feeling that the two of you'll get along life a house on fire."

"Why's that?" she frowned, slackening her hold on the steering wheel.

"I can tell that the two of you are sadists," he shrugged, taking at step backwards so he was out of range of any fists. "You should teach him how to box…beef him up a little."

A short laugh escaped Sakura's mouth that was quickly joined by Naruto as the two imagined the frail-looking raven-haired boy in a ring, clad in a pair of shorts and gloves.

"Anyway, I should leave before Sasame calls again to complain… Take care, okay?"

"You too." The blonde walked back to the front door, waving over his shoulder as the silver car pulled out of his drive.

He sighed lightly as he closed the door being him, the sound echoing around the empty entrance hall and the smile slipped from his face.

...Sakura... What was she doing to herself?

---------------------

Twenty minutes later, Naruto and Sasuke were sat in his dark-blue, pristine car as they pulled onto the country road.

"So…" Sasuke began slowly, initiating the conversation. "Where did Sakura go?"

"Aren't you a little nosey today?" the blonde grinned before answering. "She went home."

"Home? You mean she doesn't live with you?"

"Nah. She just comes to visit me so that I won't get lonely."

Sasuke frowned as he stared out of the window. So Naruto lived by himself; he guessed it would be a little lonely for someone to live in a house of that size by himself. Of course, Sasuke had spent a lot of him time alone but, unlike the blonde, he didn't really crave social interaction.

"Then why don't you get a flat in the middle of the city or something?" he suggested.

"But I like my house," Naruto pouted and Sasuke rolled his eyes.

The two lapsed into silence, the sound of the radio humming softly in the background the only nose besides the muffled droning of the engine. The trees of the countryside had eventually bled into houses and eventually larger buildings as they made their way further into the centre of the town.

Sasuke tugged at his uniform; it was new and stiff, making it uncomfortable to wear. A black blazer fit around his from snugly with a golden leaf stitched onto the front; he assumed it was the school emblem as the same symbol was on the end of his black tie.

He never really liked his old school, if one could even call it that; it was more of a competition of who had the largest amount of digits in their bank accounts.

Of course, few could match the Uchiha and their company and hence he was often looked upon with jealously from many of his fellow students.

Sasuke checked the time on the digital radio; if he calculated it correctly, he had about fifteen minutes to make it to school on time.

"Oh, yeah," Naruto suddenly said. "When you have a chance, you have to go to the reception and ask for the form for the bus pass."

"Bus pass?" Sasuke echoed, tearing his eyes away from a few cyclists on the pavement.

"I'm not going to drop you every day," the blonde snorted. "Even I have better things to do. There's a bus stop only a few minutes walk from the house and there's nothing stopping you from using it."

Sasuke scowled as he shuddered slightly. He had never really liked public transport; between Kakashi and Itachi, he rarely had a need to use it, but it was a nightmare when he had to. Not only were the buses usually late, but they were usually full of people forcing him to be squished into some corner by a mother with her two young children and armfuls of shopping.

"Don't hit the driver!" Naruto barked, as Sasuke flicked his ear to stop the chuckles that escaped his lips at the sour look on the young Uchiha's face. "And we're here anyway."

The teen looked out of the windscreen to see a large building looming up at them; it looked like a typical school, surrounded by grey concrete and students dressed almost identically to himself.

Naruto pulled to an empty side road opposite the school. "I'll meet you here later, okay?"

"Fine," Sasuke grunted, kicking the door open to the annoyance of its owner, and stepped out while throwing his bag over his shoulder. "Where should I go?"

"How should I know?" the blonde shrugged. "Go to reception and say you're new or something or try-"

The raven rolled his eyes, closing the door with a bit too much force than what was necessary. He shrugged his bag into a more comfortable position and walked away from the blue car and towards the large building.

He hurried across the busy road at the pelican crossing with at least a score of other students, the cyclists forced to hop off their bikes lest they ran into any innocent pedestrians. A scowl passed over Sasuke's face as he was jostled by the multitude of teens that walked past him. He never did like being around too many people, particularly when he was in contact with them.

Eventually, he made it to the other side of the road with all his limbs intact just as the bell rang at the school just in front of him. The students that were sitting on the grass in front of the school rose to their feet, still chatting happily about their summer holiday, and began to make their way around the campus.

Sasuke followed one group of teens through the automatic doors of the main entrance, emerging into the main foyer. Without much else to do, he walked up to the curved reception desk, drawing attention to the dark-haired female sat in the chair at the computer.

"Excuse me," he said, loud enough to be heard over the students that walked past behind him.

She looked around from her computer at his voice, a greeting smile spreading its way across her face. "Ah, can I help you?"

"I'm new and I thought that-"

"Oh!" the woman suddenly gasped "Sasuke Uchiha, correct?" The raven nodded. "Ah, please take a seat on the chairs over there, please."

Sasuke followed her finger to a row of seats that were just opposite of the desk; a boy with red hair was already sat on them. He sat on the end as he pulled his bag off of his shoulder and set it by his feet, casting a quick glance at the boy.

As if sensing his gaze, he turned to glare at the Uchiha with pale, green eyes that were ringed in black (makeup or sleepless nights, Sasuke didn't know)… Was that a tattoo on his forehead? There was no accounting for some peoples' tastes.

"What do you want?" the other boy drawled, his voice as flat as the look on his face. Sasuke merely snorted before returning his gaze to the wall opposite – a mural of students work along with pictures of them in various activities, whether it was playing cricket to a musical concert. Random comments that he supposed were supposed to encourage students were printed and stuck on; obsidian eyes rested on one: 'learning is more fun than fun'.

Because that makes a whole lot of sense.

Caught up in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice another person collapse heavily onto the chair next to him. It was a girl this time, with long platinum-blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and stunning blue eyes (an image of a certain blond whom he had left behind crossed his mind). She was dressed in the female version of his own attire: a white blouse, no tie and a grey skirt.

She, too, sensed his gaze and turned towards him while flashing a grin. "Hey, there!" she said brightly and loudly, and all theories of her being related to Naruto were suddenly confirmed. "Are you new or something?"

Sasuke nodded slowly.

"Me too! I'm Ino Yamanaka; pleased to meet you." The blonde-haired girl extended a hand that he shook reluctantly. "I'm in Year 10!"

"Sasuke Uchiha," he responded, edging towards the edge of the chair slightly.

"Uchiha?" the girl suddenly muttered, leaning back in the chair and closing her eyes in thought. "…Uchiha… Uchiha… I've heard that name before…"

His family only a multimillion dollar business, not to mention had been mentioned in the news a good few times…

"Are you new, too?" Ino asked, turning towards the third person sat on the row of seats. The redhead merely turned, glared at her and returned to boring a hole into the wall with his eyes. Ino's bright grin dropped slightly. "You're not too friendly, are you?"

The boy didn't even acknowledge her.

Seemingly growing bored of him, Ino turned back to Sasuke. "So, where did you come from? I came from Iwa High School, moved because Mum had to get a new job."

"Kumo," Sasuke answered.

"Isn't that that really expensive private school?" Ino gasped, blue eyes widening. "Wow! You've gotta be loaded if you got in there! Or maybe a scholarship?"

Before the Uchiha could answer, a woman came walking towards them. Blonde hair was pulled into two ties that spilled down her back and sharp, amber eyes glanced at the trio. However, Sasuke's (being a male teenager) attention was drawn to other things, namely her rather large chest area…place…thing…

"Shizune, is this them all?" she bellowed and the three jumped from her voice.

"Yes, Tsunade," the receptionist called, not even looking up from her computer.

"Good." The woman broke into a wide smile as she clapped her hands together. "Welcome to Konoha High School. My name is Tsunade Sannin, Headmistress-"

Sasuke's eyes widened. Tsunade? Was this the same person Sakura had mentioned the other week? Caught up in his thoughts, he missed some of the 'welcome speech' as the next moment, a piece of paper was being thrust into his hands.

"These are your timetables. Arrive at lessons promptly and in correct uniform with the correct equipment, understood?"

One nod and two small grunts.

"I've brought a Senior Student down to show you all around the school and fill you in on the rules." Tsunade turned to a tall male standing next to her. "This is Neji Hyuuga. Introduce yourselves and get out of here."

"Of course," the teen smirked. The blonde, seeming satisfied with this answer, nodded before walking back towards her office. "If you would like to follow me…"

Sasuke slung his bag over his shoulders before following Neji out of the entrance foyer, Ino and the other boy not so far behind.

Going back and reading this through, I've just noticed that this chapter is completely worthless. Damn fillers... I suppose it's because I was meant to add a little more to it, but cut it off for my health. Hopefully there'll be some sort of semblance of a plot in the next chap. Also, still debating who to have at Sasuke's age and who to have at Naru's...

...Hopefully...

Oh, and the 'leaning is more fun than fun' was ripped from a display in my old school. I have yet to learn what this statement actually means...