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Chapter two:

Naruto opened his eyes slowly and shifted, wincing at the pain in his back. Damn, he thought. He sighed again before slowly sitting up. Just then, his alarm went off and he quickly silenced it. He got up and went into the bathroom taking a lukewarm shower so that he didn't hurt his back further. When he finished, he slowly and quietly put his school clothes on. He looked at his bed and winced, seeing dry blood stains. He sighed and covered them up with the duvet, hoping his father wouldn't notice, if he did notice, Naruto would get some beating for 'Messing up my clean house'. As if, the man took any excuse to beat him… like yesterday. Naruto opened the door to his room and looked about. He crept into the living room, seeing that his bag was still there. He hastily picked it up and turned to leave and then froze. Then he relaxed when he saw that the man in the chair surrounded by empty liquor bottles was fast asleep.

As quietly as he could, he crept past the slumbering man and towards the door. He put his hand on the door and a voice said sharply,

"Where are you going, brat?"

Naruto winced and turned slowly to see the man staring at him with deathly eyes.

"I-I was going to school."

The man narrowed his eyes suspiciously and said harshly,

"That didn't stop you yesterday, did it, eh runt?"

"N-no."

The man growled and turned away and said sharply,

"Piss off."

Naruto needed no further encouragement as he ran out of the door and down the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he stopped for a few moments, listening. Satisfied, he continued on his way to school, though it did take longer then usual due to the pain in his back. He arrived in time as the bell went as soon as he stepped into the school. He went to his locker and got his books out for Science and English. He shut his locker and turned away, just in time for someone to roughly push pass him, making him hiss as pain shot up his back.

He glared at Sasuke's retreating back as he stopped to compose himself. When his back stopped hurting, he went to science. When he arrived, every one was there, though they didn't notice him. Naruto sighed and sat right at the back, away from everyone else. He got out all his things out and sat down slowly. He hoped that they wouldn't do an experiment. He was too tired, and he felt too warm, though he wouldn't take his jumper off. He yawned, not paying attention as Jiraiya went on about plants and how they respire… not the most exciting topic in the world. When Naruto thought that he was about to fall asleep, the bell rang. He looked wildly about, confused for a second before he got his bearings. He sighed, putting his books away before getting up for English.

"You alright, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked him quietly. Naruto blinked and then smiled.

"I'm ok, a little tired is all." He lied, and getting a strange look from Jiraiya before he moved off. Naruto went out of the room, carefully avoiding people in the hallways. He arrived at English and sat in his usual, lonely corner. He didn't even bother to get out his books; he simply laid his head in his arms and fell asleep.

Kakashi yawned. He had arrived with ten minutes to the end of the lesson, though it didn't matter in the slightest as he had nothing planned…again. Kakashi sighed as he flipped a page on his book and then stopped. Something didn't feel right. He looked about and immediately saw what was wrong. Naruto was asleep in the corner, slumped over the desk. That was unusual as he never fell asleep. Kakashi frowned, noting a slight flush to the boy's cheek. He looked at his watch and noted that there was one minute till the bell went for break so he decided to wake the blonde after everyone was gone.

He waited, his eyes fixed on the sleeping blonde, and soon enough, the bell rang. Everyone got up and raced out of the room, except Naruto of course, who was still fast asleep. Kakashi noticed that Sasuke paused before exiting, his eyes fixed on the blonde.

When the room was empty, Kakashi approached the blonde, sitting beside him. Kakashi frowned, noticing ten very distinct burn marks on Naruto's neck. He paused a moment before shaking the boy to wake him. Naruto jerked awake, saying,

"I didn't do it!"

"Sounds like you have a guilty conscience there, Naruto-kun."

"Eh? Oh sorry Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi chuckled and then placed a hand on Naruto's forehead, causing the blonde to blink. Kakashi sighed, feeling the boy's raised temperature. Naruto pulled his head away, almost afraid. This caused Kakashi to raise an eyebrow. He stood up.

"Come on Naruto-kun, we're going to the infirmary. You have a slight fever."

Naruto blinked and then nodded slowly, picking up his bag. As he stood and slung the bag over his shoulder he visibly winced. Kakashi frowned, getting more suspicious by the second. He smiled at Naruto and led the boy from the room to the infirmary, ignoring the students that glared at the boy. Kakashi opened the door, causing the nurse, Shizune, to look up at them.

"Oh, hello, Kakashi-kun. How may I help you?"

"Nah, not I, but I have a sick student."

"Oh, bring him in then." Kakashi came in and led the half asleep Naruto to one of the beds. He made Naruto sit down and stepped away so that Shizune could examine him. She took a few moments, feeling his forehead and checking his pulse. She then said,

"He has a minor fever…nothing serious. Do you want to go home?"

Naruto shook his head and said,

"No, I'll b-be fine." His voice trembling slightly. Shizune frowned and then smiled sweetly.

"Then you should sleep here for a little bit before going back to class. " He nodded and lay down on his back. Shizune covered him in blankets and he fell asleep almost immediately. She then paused and turned his face so that the burns were visible. She narrowed her eyes and said,

"These are recent. Have there been any fights recently?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I noticed them earlier. He must have run into a gang or something like that…maybe." Kakashi said seriously. Shizune looked at him, startled.

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

"Well, you saw his reaction when you asked him if he wanted to go home, didn't you? He's never acted like that before."

"Are you suggesting-?"

"Yes, I'm going to go talk with Tsunade-sama now. Excuse me." And with that, he exited, leaving a now very worried Shizune. He walked down the corridor and managed to walk into Jiraiya.

"Oh, sorry Jiraiya. Didn't see you there."

"Where are you off to?"

"I need to talk to Tsunade-sama. About Naruto-kun."

"Why, what's wrong with him?"

"He's in infirmary with a fever."

"A fever, is he going home?"

"No."

"No, why not!" Jiraiya demanded.

"He didn't want to."

"That's strange."

"Well, I'm suspicious."

"Oh?"

"Well," Kakashi said slowly, "When we asked him, he seemed almost afraid to go home. He's never been like that before. He also has some very unusual burn marks on his neck."

Jiraiya's eyes widened and he asked,

"What kind of a man is his father? He lives alone with his father…right?"

"Yes… I'm going to talk to Tsunade-sama now on that."

"Ok, I'll go with you."

What the two didn't notice was a black haired teen watching then from the corner. Sasuke frowned as he heard them talk. What was wrong with his dobe? Afraid of going home? What did that mean? He watched as the figures walk away and then he went in the direction of the infirmary. He looked in the half open door to see Naruto asleep on one of the beds, his face flushed from the fever.

Sasuke frowned and then walked away, thinking.

Jiraiya knocked on Tsunade's door, getting permission to enter. He and Kakashi opened the door and entered the office of the well endowed woman. She frowned, looking up at them with a frown, noting their serious expressions.

"What is it?" she asked.

Kakashi cleared his throat and said,

"We need to know. What is the domestic situation of the Uzumaki's?"

She frowned and turned to her computer, typing a few things in before saying,

"To be truthful, I don't know. Naruto's father works for the police in the domestic violence department. Why, what is wrong?"

"Well, Naruto has some suspicious burn marks on his neck. And he didn't want to go home, he seemed afraid to do so."

"Really?"

"Yes. Shall we keep an eye on him?"

"Yes, please do. If it gets any worse, we'll report it to the police."

The bell rang, signalling the end of the day and Sasuke hastily packed his stuff and exited the room before either Sakura or Ino could latch onto his arms. He hurried to his locker and stuffed his bag in it. He then went out of the school, glad that it was the weekend. He exited and he saw his brother, Itachi waiting for him. Itachi was part of the police force, in the drugs department of the force, dealing with things like drug raids. Sasuke approached his brother, who nodded at him saying,

"Had a nice day?"

Sasuke shrugged and said,

"Hn."

Itachi chuckled and ordered,

"Get in the car."

Sasuke opened the door and looked behind him, seeing Naruto walk up the path, his cheeks still slightly flushed as he hurriedly walked home. Sasuke frowned at the sight slightly, feeling worried for the blonde teen.

"Didn't you hear me?" Itachi said from within the car.

"Oh? What? Oh yeah…sorry."

Itachi rolled his eyes as Sasuke got in the passenger's seat.

"What were you looking at?" Itachi asked curiously.

"Nothing."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Itachi started the engine and drove off silently. Something had happened.

"Ne, Aniki, what happened?"

"Nothing. Police business."

"Oh."

The rest of the drive back home was silent and uneventful as there is nothing particularly exiting about Konoha. They arrived home in their large house with a large front garden that was cared for by Sasuke's mother, Uchiha Mikoto, who just happened to be outside at that current moment in time tending a bed of flowers. She looked up when they came out of the car and she smiled widely at them and asked,

"Had a nice day?"

"Hn." Was the response from both males. She sighed and rolled his eyes. Sasuke walked into the house and went into the kitchen; opening the fridge… he was hungry. He grabbed a can of coke and an apple, making his way into the living room to see Itachi talking with his father, Uchiha Fuguko. Sasuke paused, listening.

"So, you may have found another possible drug dealer, eh?" Fuguko said gruffly.

"Yes. We should be doing the raid in about a week or so, when we get the warrant. We don't want to alert the man to our motives as he has close contacts within the police force."

"Ah, a tricky one, eh?"

"Yes, but nothing I can't handle. Hopefully, if out information in correct, the dealer goes around his informants house frequently, so we might be able to bag him as well."

"Ah good."

Sasuke decided at that moment to walk in as he sensed that their conversation was over. He sat down, taking a bite out of the apple and looking over at his father, who smiled slightly at him.

"Are you going to join the police force, Sasuke?"

"Yes! And I'll beat Itachi and be the best!"

At that, the man chuckled, causing the teen to scowl at him.

"Well, you better study hard then, you have a long way to go."

Naruto slowly opened the door to his apartment and stepped inside. He could hear voices, one of them his father's and another gruff sounding voice. Naruto bit his lip, wondering what was going on. His eyes wondered to a briefcase on the sofa and he frowned. Naruto silently as possible shut the door and made his way to his room, trying not to attract attention, but to no avail.

"Oi, prick. Go get me 'nd Spike 'ere a drink." Naruto frowned. The words were slurred meaning that his father was quite possibly far gone in liquor. He sighed, going into the kitchen and retrieving a couple of beers from the fridge, which seemed to have nothing but beers inside.

He went into the living room and put them on the table, not looking at the two men and hurried to his room.

"That's a well trained bitch you got there. Can I buy him?"

"Maybe, I'll think 'bout it."

Naruto bit back a rude comment at that one and entered his room, closing the door firmly behind him. He put his bag on his desk and sat on the bed. He knew the man that was with his Father. He went by the name of Spike, a well known drug dealer… well in the gangs he was. He was 'friends' with his father so, in exchange for good pay, his father would get them information on drug raids etc. Tainted, isn't he? Naruto hated his life and he despised his father. He hoped that this would all end soon. He listened to the men talk and eventually, about half 9, Spike left.

"Oi, cunt, get that fat backside of yours here."

Naruto got up and went to the living room and cautiously approached the man. The man gave Naruto some fresh bank notes.

"Go get supper, will ya? And don't even think about nicking any, I know how much is there. And I want a receipt. Now get! I want McDonalds."

As Naruto shut the door behind him, he realised how hungry he was. He didn't have anything yesterday, or today as he was in the infirmary all day. He sighed, deciding to get something small for himself with the money in his wallet.

He arrived at McDonalds and his father a large meal and he himself something small, which he ate on the way home. As soon as he finished, he managed to walk into someone. He grumbled and then the person turned around to look at it. Naruto cursed. Sasuke.

The raven haired teen blinked when he saw Naruto and then smirked,

"Hello dobe. You alright?"

"Leave me alone."

"Why?"

"I'm in a hurry, that's why."

He went to go around Sasuke when he grabbed Naruto's arm, unfortunately in a particular sensitive bruise.

"Get off!" Naruto cried in pain and wrenched his arm free, running off down the street and out of view.

Sasuke stared in surprise at the retreating back of the blonde and then frowned, wondering what was wrong with the blonde and couldn't help but feel worried. Just then, Itachi walked out of the shop and asked,

"Who were you talking to?"

"Hn."

"Was it a girl?"

"No."

"A bum chum of yours."

"Say wha-?"

Itachi chuckled and said,

"Come on, let's go."

When Naruto came home, his father was in his favourite armchair fast asleep. Naruto bit his lip, thinking on what to do. Should he wake him up? Then he could be punished, but if he didn't, he would be punished anyway. A lose lose situation. He put the bag of food onto the table and the man grunted and jerked awake. Naruto hastily went to go to his room, but the man grabbed his arm and asked,

"What the fuck took you so long?"

"The queue w-was really long."

The man growled and lashed out with a fist, catching Naruto in the cheek. Naruto slammed against the wall and slide down, stunned. The man grunted and walked away, leaving Naruto on the floor.

Naruto shook his head and stood up, glaring at the man that was sat laughing and eating at the T.V. He sighed and retreated to the relative safety of his room. He went into the bathroom and washed his face and then looked at the mirror and winced. He brought a hand up and gingerly touched the forming bruise. That was going to be really visible when he went to school. Damn. There are going to be rumours all over the school that the loser got beaten up in a fight with some gang. Naruto sighed. They always found an excuse to talk about him. Naruto sank to the floor and buried his face in his hands, wishing that it all go away

Naruto sniffed and wiped away the single tear that had fallen, vowing to get his revenge.

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