Under The Enemy's Roof

A/N: Wow thanks for all of the reviews, everyone! I'm really happy that most of you have enjoyed the story so far! There seems to be one confusion about what's really going on, however, and I thought that I would help clear that up for you:

Macy said: "hm..very interesting start. i like it. but i was a bit confused about the murders. naruto's parents were with his grandma at the time of the murder? or were his parents killed some years before on another birthday, and then his grandma was murdered a few years after that? anyway, please continue! ^^"

Basically what happened was that Naruto's grandmother had already passed away at the beginning of the story and his parents had inherited the house, and were living there. His parents were murdered on the said birthday (13th) in his grandmother's.

Anyway, thanks for the reviews and keep them coming!

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


Under the Enemy's Roof
chapter ii


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

As it seemed, the Uchihas had also done a bit of moving since Naruto had left for the countryside, opting for a more rural environment instead of the excitement of the crowded city. They had claimed that, being doctors, they had realized the health hazards of living so close to so much pollution, and worried about their children’s health; though, to the blonde, Sasuke seemed to be a bit too healthy for his own good. In addition, they had felt that the city was becoming too much of a distraction for Sasuke and Itachi, whom the young orphan had yet to meet, with its robberies and murders and red light districts, and they suspected that it was having an adverse effect on their education. It seemed to make perfect sense to Naruto, and it was not uncommon for wealthy families such as the Uchihas to move about from one ritzy neighborhood to another thoughtlessly for no other reason than to appease their own whims.

The blonde shifted uncomfortably in his blazer as he stood before the full-length mirror in his bedroom. He pulled awkwardly with one hand at a few golden strands that refused to be obedient to his brush while he tried with the other to loosen his tie. It was the first time that he had ever had to wear a uniform as strict and well-pressed as this one, and it made him nervous as he thought of attending his new school. His thoughts automatically flashed to his earlier days when children would jeer needlessly at him as he sat, dejected and alone, in the corner of the playground with no one to play with. But it was bearable then, he thought sadly, because he still had a warm home to go back to after his long day of torment, with a caring mother and loving father.

“Naruto-kun,” called Ms. Uchiha from the foot of the stairs, “You had better hurry or else you will be late for your first day.”

Naruto swallowed painfully at the thought of first-day introductions, standing alone and exposed before the entire class, and even worse, having to walk down the rows of desks that had become a daily gauntlet for him. He considered telling his new guardian that he was ill, that he had a terrible case of contagious diarrhea. His mind began to run through all of the possible excuses he could come up with to avoid going to school, until he heard a loud bang at his door.

“Oi, dobe, you’re going to make me late,” said a grumpy voice from the other side. Naruto’s eyes immediately darkened as he registered who was kicking at his door. A malicious scowl replaced his previous expression of hesitation as he stalked belligerently to his closed door.

“Teme! Don’t call me that,” he spat, as he opened the door a few mere centimeters as he glared out at his ‘brother.’ Taking the slightest opportunity, Sasuke immediately grabbed what little opening was provided by the blonde and shoved the door open, causing the other boy to fall back onto the soft carpet of his room.

“Tch. Where are your manners? Shouldn’t you be calling me aniki, Naruto-chan?” leered Sasuke as he looked down menacingly at the boy sprawled on the floor beneath him. The younger boy growled upon hearing the other boy’s condescending tone. Scurrying to his feet, he stomped up to the dark-haired youth, standing on his toes so that he would be eye-to-eye with him. This simply made the Uchiha smirk.

“What’s the matter, dobe? Are you afraid of going to school?” cooed the taller of the two. It satisfied him greatly to have the blonde in the same house as him, because it offered him a wonderful distraction from his usual brooding. For once, Sasuke felt as if he could have some control over the situation, like he owned something that was part of the household, even though Naruto was merely a minor and unavoidable addition.

“T-teme! Of course I’m not afraid of going to school! In fact, I bet you’re afraid of me going because all of your friends will see how much better I am than you and forget about you,” cried Naruto as he grabbed his backpack from his chair. Glowering at Sasuke, he made his way out of his room, making sure to articulate each step with a stop that shook the entire floor. Making his way downstairs, he quickly grabbed some toast that Sasuke’s mother had hurriedly put out before rushing her husband to work on time, and proceeded out the door.

He had barely walked past the intricately-designed porch, when Sasuke stuck his head out his window and called.

“Oi, baka, mom’s giving us a lift to school today.”

Turning bright red from embarrassment, Naruto whirled around quickly and gave the best intimidating glare that he could muster in his situation.

“B-bastard! Who would want to ride in the same car as you?!” he shouted back, angrily.

“Tch. Suit yourself, usurakontachi,” grumbled the Uchiha as he made he went back into the house, shaking his head at Naruto’s insolence. It amused him greatly to make fun of the younger boy, but sometimes the blonde was simply too stubborn for his liking. He wondered absentmindedly if this was what normal people meant when they said that they sometimes felt like killing their siblings.

‘No,’ he thought, ‘wishing you had grabbed him from the crib and given him a good shake or two when he was an infant is more like it’

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

Naruto cursed under his breath as he rounded another street. Although the suburbs of Tokyo were significantly less dense than the actual city itself, he still found the maze of asphalt and winding driveways befuddling. He had been wandering for a good fifteen minutes already and still had no idea where the school was. He sighed as he regretted refusing being driven to school by Sasuke’s mother until he found himself thinking of his rival smirking and taunting him. Giving a low growl, he decided that he certainly did not regret refusing the ride, as he continued with renewed vigor in finding his school.

However, being caught up in his frustrated thoughts, he didn’t notice himself walking right into another boy wearing the same green blazer as he was. It was only until it was too late that he realized that he was going to collide with a much larger and sturdy object than himself. Yet, unable to stop, he could only cry out helplessly as he was sent staggering backwards from the impact. A firm hand reached out instinctively and grabbed his jacket to keep him from falling onto the concrete, and then, giving a hard tug, brought Naruto flying into the older boy’s arms.

The strong scent of lilac cologne immediately filled the smaller boy’s nostrils and his face was buried unwilling into the soft folds of the stranger’s clothing. Immediately coming to his senses, Naruto drew back abruptly, almost tripping over himself again. He looked at the older boy apologetically as his mouth opened and closed trying to find the right words to say in his situation. The first thing that came to mind was to turn tail and run before the other noticed what had just happened and came after him with fists blazing with fury. It was rare for Naruto to be so clumsy as to run into an upperclassman, and even rarer for an upperclassman to spare the boy from a good beating when such an astronomical event occurred.

“Are you running from school?” asked the other boy cooly.

Naruto blinked confusedly at the other boy’s question. The stranger’s body was lean and tall compared to the blonde’s short and flimsy stature. He radiated an aura of sophistication and elegance that the boy hadn’t thought was possibly for someone so close to his own age. However, it was the boy’s eyes that immediately entranced Naruto, those pale, lilac eyes that stared back emotionlessly at the world, seemingly capturing everything around him.

“W-what?” sputtered Naruto as he tried to comprehend what was going on. It seemed a miracle to him that he wasn’t on the ground surrounded by the mysterious boy’s lackeys yet.

“Your uniform,” said the upperclassman as he motioned at the insignia on the blonde’s blazer. “The school is that way.”

After running through the sentence again, Naruto finally realized that the boy before him was not going to beat him up, and, even more amazingly, might even be able to show him the way to school. His worried face immediately lit up at the prospect, and he broke out in a friendly grin.

“Ah! I’m new around here, and I was trying to find the school, but I don’t know where to go!” laughed Naruto in relief. He bowed respectfully as he began to introduce himself.

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I’m a first year,” greeted Naruto cheerfully. He beamed when the other boy motioned for him to follow.

The other boy simply nodded and replied, “I’m Hyuuga Neji. I’m a second year.”

Naruto tailed Neji and began chatting animatedly as they passed numerous houses with manicured lawns and gardens. At times the blonde would stop and point at a particularly interesting or lavish extension of a certain residence, usually gaping at the large swimming pool that poked into sight from the backyard or the extravagant gardens that surrounded some of the homes. Once he stopped to gape at a glamourous fountain that protruded from the center of a particularly large lawn, and immediately wanted to run over and wet his feet in the cool water.

Neji refrained from commenting on Naruto’s behavior, though often suppressing a few chuckles at the boy’s child-like sense of wonder. It was rare for someone to be so open in these areas, as most of the residents were jealous and suspicious of their neighbors, each wanting to outdo the other in terms of wasteful displays of wealth. They always made a point to never gawk or express anything other than polite interest in the possessions of others, preferring to maintain a dignified sense of aloofness and superiority.

The brunette found it refreshing to be around Naruto, hyperactive and talkative that he was. However, the Hyuuga soon noticed that his companion was growing more and more withdrawn as they approached the painstakingly polished junior highschool. For some reason, he felt himself frown at this change in the blonde’s demeanor, wanting to hear more of the boy’s childish rants, but restrained himself from questioning. After all, they had only just met, and that certainly did not mean that they were on close terms. In fact, chances were that Neji would never see Naruto again, something that he deeply regretted, but certainly considered as a possible circumstance.

“So,” began the younger boy, “this is it, huh?” Neji couldn’t help but note the nervous tone in the other’s voice. Turning to look at his companion, he noticed that Naruto’s blue eyes were darting about the courtyard worriedly. Those brilliantly sparkling orbs were suddenly guarded and suspicious, like those of a rabbit out in the open and surrounded by predators.

The courtyard was full of people that morning, as it had been the first morning since their short break. Everyone seemed revitalized and overly friendly, talking happily to each other in their respective groups. The girls were giggling happily as they eyed numerous boys scattered about over the space. The boys were likewise also engaged in several interesting conversations, some concerning the breast size of certain female classmates and some concerning the newest Bentley model that had just come out.

However, to Naruto, this scene spelled instant trouble. He could already envision the hordes of boys and girls glaring at him, not unlike a scene from an old zombie movie. He shuddered to think of all the wounds he could possibly receive on his first day at school. He imagined nails raking over his skin, drawing crimson strings of blood from the girls, and brutal punches accompanied by the sickening cracking of ribs from the boys. It was simply all too familiar to him and he felt the intense need to run away, back to the Uchiha residence or otherwise.

Neji noticing the poorly-hidden fear on the other’s face suddenly felt compelled to reassure him. He told himself that it wasn’t out of concern for Naruto as a person, but merely because it would be a shame for the boy to become so quiet and reserved when the community obviously needed such a bright soul to light up the dire mood of the neighborhoods. He sighed to himself, realizing how poor of an excuse he had just given, but still insisted that it needed to be done. Then, placing and uncharacteristic hand on the other’s elbow, Neji gently brought Naruto out of his nightmares.

“Uzumaki-kun,” said Neji softly. “Do you know where your class is?”

Naruto smiled wanly at the upperclassman and was about to reply until he felt an almost painful grip on his shoulders. Turning away fro Neji, he suddenly found himself looking into a pair of very, very upset obsidian eyes.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, dobe?” growled the Uchiha as he dragged the boy away from Neji forcefully.

“What the?!” shouted Naruto as he was manhandled by his supposed sibling. He struggled fruitlessly against the strong arms that kept him in place.

“Keep away from him, Hyuuga,” snarled Sasuke as he continued to keep a flailing blonde in his grasp. “He’s-“

Sasuke stopped short from what he was going to say when he realized that he didn’t quite know exactly what he was supposed to say. After all, how was he supposed to explain Naruto to the rest of the school? It wasn’t as if he particularly cared about what other people thought, but he certainly didn’t want people to think that the blonde was just another student, ready to be pounced on or pushed around.

“What is he, Uchiha?” smirked Neji as he crossed his arms. “Yours?”

The trio suddenly felt a great intake of air from their surroundings as everyone in the courtyard stopped their normal chitchat and gaped at the group. The girls had stopped their chattering on fashion and boys to stare, almost brokenheartedly at Sasuke. The boys had abruptly put an end to their lewd jokes to gawk at the explosive announcement. Even those who normally didn’t care for gossip were enthralled by the turn of events.

“What?!” screamed Naruto as he caught the word slipping from the upperclassman’s mouth and breaking the eerie silence that had come over the school. “I do not belong to that bastard!”

The older boy continued to smile, satisfied by the younger boy’s reaction as well as Sasuke’s purpling face.

Deciding that this was one war that he could not win without much plotting, the sulking brunette turned on his heel and walked away, still towing a protesting blonde behind him. Naruto, still enraged by Neji, who had seemed like a nice guy, and his disturbing assumptions. Furthermore, the blonde was cringing from all the attention he was receiving from his would-be classmates who still stared at him dumbly, though not necessarily menacingly.

‘Fuck,’ Naruto thought. ‘Just...fuck.’