Matriculate This >.

*Edited*


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Sunday morning dawned rather late for Sasuke, but when he finally awoke he decided he needed to get the hell out of that room, and go off somewhere where his brother wouldn't be able to find him. He dressed hastily and left, wondering downstairs towards the café, telling himself it was because he was hungry, and Itachi never hung around there. It wasn't because that new kid might be down there, not at all, but if he was then Sasuke would just have to say hi, and maybe offer to take him to lunch, and maybe show him around since he was, you know, new and all.

It wasn't until he heard the click of the door shutting behind him that he realized he'd left his key card on his bed. He swore under his breath, great, just fucking great, and the RA's aren't here this weekend. Looks like I'm stuck. He sighed, wishing he had roommates like he'd had last year. With a roommate there was always someone to let you in when you did something stupid like that. He cursed his brother under his breath again, thinking this was all somehow the bastard's fault.

His heart fell a little when he reached the lobby and the blond boy was no where to be found, but he didn't let himself think that for long. Besides, he was probably around somewhere, Sasuke did get up kind of late, so there was no reason why the blond kid wouldn't have left the café already. He'd just have to hang around for awhile.

Sasuke settled into a little table in the corner, once he'd gotten an annoyingly precious little frittata from the counter. He couldn't help but smirk a little. Itachi wouldn't think to look for him in the café, Sasuke wasn't normally the most social of people so he didn't hang out in the common areas much. Normally he'd just stay up in his room most of the time, at least none of those stupid girls that tended to follow him around could get him there.

He heard familiar footsteps coming from behind and he flinched, though he carefully schooled his face so that nothing showed by the time the tall blonde boy had flopped down across the table from him, a cup of coffee in one hand, half emptied. He grinned widely, long hair falling over his face like normal. Shit, he almost looked like a girl, and a decently cute one at that. Then the boy had to open his stupid mouth and ruin the effect.

"Good Morning, Sasuke-kun..." He practically purred before glancing around smoothly, pulling a small flask out of his pocket when he was satisfied no one was actually looking. He dumped about half the contents into his lukewarm coffee, holding it out to Sasuke. Sasuke grunted in reply, shaking his head.

"What do you want, Deidara?" The boy pushed a look of hurt onto his face, obviously fake.

"Now Sasuke-kun, how many times have I told you to call me Dei?" he leaned in closer then, so their faces almost touched. "Your brother calls me Dei... all night long." Sasuke blushed deep crimson at that, and Deidara burst into slightly drunken laughter. Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes while his cheeks cooled quickly. Great, its barely even the afternoon yet and the fuck-head is already drunk.

"Is there some special reason you came by, or do you just enjoy making my every waking moment an unbearable torture?" This only made the blonde crack up laughing once again, and the Uchiha scowled at him.

"That was so angsty and poetic, Sasuke-kun! I thought you didn't have a taste for art." Sasuke bit back a retort, because it was easier to crush his Uchiha pride now than it would be to deal with this asshole for it later. The blond stared off into the distance for a second, before he jumped a little, smiling. "I remember, it was Itachi. He wants you to call him up today, something about ... uh ... Tokyo maybe?"

The older boy was starting off into space then, tapping one finger on his lips repeatedly. Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed. This promised to be a long and trying day. He couldn't help but pout a little though, since he hadn't run into that new kid again yet.

X

Said new kid was busy at that same moment out in the little town that was sprawled along the east wall of the Institute. He chuckled at something Kiba had said. He hadn't really understood it, but he understood that it was supposed to be funny so he laughed. The four of them were sitting in a little diner, goofing off, in no particular hurry to get back home. Well, three of them were goofing off, the other just sat there with an expression on his face that clearly read just try to put me in your stupid conversation, I WILL kill you on the spot. No one doubted his seriousness either.

It was nice, hanging out with people like this. Naruto didn't have many friends back home, there was never anyone around to hang out with. Here though, there were people everywhere, and while it had been a little frightening at first he was used to it after the couple of days he'd been here he found himself strangely attached to the concept. He smiled again. He turned slightly to watch his roommate sipping a cup of black coffee before resuming observation of Neji and Kiba fighting like high-school girls, slinging catty comments, every once and awhile Kiba would stop to pout or brood and Neji went back to checking his perfect nails.

Naruto was worried about fitting in with these kids, they were all from important families, they had lots of money, parents who sent care packages and cooed at them over the phone. He really did want to make friends with these people though, so he resolved to try at any rate.

He had been pleasantly surprised at the ease with which he meshed with them in the end, Kiba being just as much of a crazy bastard as he was, Neji being distant but easily goaded, and Gaara being seemingly amused enough by their antics, every once and awhile. Well, at least he wasn't making thinly veiled death threats any more, and that was a good start.

He giggled slightly as Neji gave up with a huff, throwing a little package of jelly at Kiba's face, the other boy just snickering a little when it bounced off without opening, landing on the table amongst the ravaged plates that had once held their breakfast. A disturbing calm settled over the table then, as everyone went silent. He'd heard the door open and close, but he was seated next to Gaara in the booth, their seats facing away, so he couldn't see who had entered.

He turned when he saw the smile Neji was barely suppressing, Kiba on the edge of blushing. There were two boys standing near the entrance, both wearing something rather close to the Institute uniform, but it seemed off somehow. They were older, but not by much, one was inhumanly tall and built well, with broad shoulders and tanned skin. The other was faced away from them now, but his long hair hung down his back, the broad shoulders and firm musculature were the only thing letting Naruto know he was a male, and probably not someone to fuck around with either. He turned around then, pale skin almost shining in the light, and their eyes caught.

Naruto felt himself blush, as the boy smirked, and there was something familiar about his face, the line of it reminding him of someone he knew but he couldn't quite figure it out. He whipped his head back around when he saw the pale boy move towards him, swearing silently. He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for some superior snide remark, but it never came. The foot steps clicked up to the table then stopped. It was his roommate's voice he heard then, and it was unexpected, making him jump a little.

"Hey 'Tachi, what's up? I didn't know you were back at school yet!" There was a certain distant warmth in the words, something he hadn't been sure Gaara was capable of. He shot a glance to Neji who was smiling full on now, Kiba's gaze still screwed onto the condiments in the corner of their booth, his fingers nervously mauling a sugar packet as he flipped it between them.

"Yeah, we got back a couple days ago, my brother was being a pain, as usual, but I think I fixed him." There was a leer in the smooth, syrupy voice that almost made Naruto's stomach twist. That voice was perfect, deep and smooth, like chocolate melting on his tongue. He blushed again, at that thought. "Hey Hyuuga, Inuzaka, how are you two? And who is this lovely little blond, hm?" It was Neji who answered.

"This is Uzumaki Naruto, he's the new kid in our class, Gaara's roommate. We're showing him around a little, helping him get his bearings." There was a smirk in the tone that echoed the one on his face, and Itachi smiled a cold little smile.

"Well hello then, Naruto-kun. I'm Itachi, and this is Kisame. I suspect we may well see each other a lot in the future." There was a foreboding sound to his words, even as he smiled at them. He shifted a little then, turning to Gaara. "I'm having a party next weekend, up at the Tokyo place, you should come Sabaku. I'd invite the rest you clowns, but I'm sure you wouldn't actually show up." Gaara smirked a little then.

"I'll definitely be up, nothing better to do. You should come, Naruto, give it a chance, it will be no less that awesome, Itachi's parties rarely are." There was quite the pause before he continued, "There's always something ... interesting happening at them." Naruto watched as Neji rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the scene, but still smiling anyways.

"Maybe I will, nothing better to do after all." The older boy's locked gazes for a second, sharing a knowing smirk, and nodded.

"Alright, new kid! See you there..." That voice made him shiver slightly, and he still couldn't place the familiarity of the man before him. He just smiled in return.

X

Sasuke stared at the library clock intently, a book spread out before him that he simply couldn't focus on. He sighed, dropping his gaze to the two idiots sitting across the table from him. Deidara had insisted on dragging him around all freaking day, from one place to another. It wasn't like he had anything better to do really, and he had been nice enough to tell him Itachi was off campus for the day, so there really wasn't anyone around he felt like hiding from. Still, watching Dei and Sasori play tic-tac-toe and read porn was getting old quickly. He just wanted it to be six o-clock already, but that was still more than an hour away.

He knew that someone would be in the Res Hall Office at 6, so he could get back in his room and get back to doing important things. Well, he didn't really have any important things to do, but he could probably find something a bit more interesting than this shit. He sighed again, quite heavily, and it caught the attention of one of the idiots whose company was his dubious pleasure currently.

"Aw Sasuke-kun! Why the angst filled sighs? Are we not thrilling enough entertainment for an almighty Uchiha?" The blond across the table cooed. Sasori slapped him lightly upside the head.

"Let the kid be, Dei. He's still here isn't he? That counts for something." Sasuke snorted at that, but still managed a small smile for the red haired boy, who smiled back. Sasori was the nicest of his brother's friends, the only one Sasuke actually liked, and consequently also the only one he'd ever been with, besides Itachi.

Itachi had some strict rules for him, and he followed them, because he didn't relish getting his ass kicked. It had happened before. Now he knew exactly how far he could push Itachi before he broke, and then no one could stop him. There were some rules Sasuke hated, but lived with anyways, like the cell phone that he had been given, a private line that he was supposed to keep on at all times. Itachi was the only one who knew the number, and Sasuke didn't really call anyone. Then there were rules he really didn't mind. Itachi had forbidden him from sleeping with anyone else, he was a possessive bastard after all, but Sasuke didn't really have a problem with that, because he didn't really want to sleep with any of the idiots at this school. It came in handy at the parties though, when someone would almost always make some drunken proposition, thrilled at the possibility of fucking an Uchiha. One of Itachi's friends was always there though, to deny the invitation. That came in handy really.

Sasuke wasn't sure why Itachi didn't care about him and Sasori. It wasn't a relationship or anything, just a couple nights, months and months ago. Sasuke didn't mind it really, but he wasn't ready to jump in bed with the boy again. Sasori didn't seem like he wanted to chase down the younger boy either, but he stood up for Sasuke a little more now. That was always nice.

Sasori cocked an eyebrow at the boys distant expression, snapping his fingers in Sasuke's face like he was breaking a trance. The boy jumped, then blushed, a pink tinge creeping onto his pale cheeks. He looked down apologetically. Deidara just smirked.

"Sasuke-kun, were you day dreaming again?" He smirked evilly, and lowered his voice to a theatrical whisper. "Was it a pretty girl? Have you finally found a little damsel to catch your heart?" Sasuke blushed.

"No" he snapped, shifting in his seat a little bit uncomfortable. Dei just giggled.

"I knew you had a little crush." He studied the boy's face, taking in the embarrassed but still outraged expression. He pushed a look of surprise onto his face. "Or is it a boy? Are you pining away your lonely hours dreaming about some cute little piece of ass in your class? OOO, bet I could guess which one." Sasuke blushed deeper, and slammed his book shut with a scowl.

"FUCK, I can't get anything done with you talking like that all the time. I don't need you right now, I'm going to go somewhere that I can read in peace." He stood and stormed towards the exit. Deidara's voice lingered in his mind, and it made his guts clench weirdly when an image of another blond boy popped into his head. It made him feel dirty somehow though, so he pushed the thought away.

Deidara and Sasori watched his receding back until the library door swung shut behind him, before they looked at each other and grinned widely. They could tell there was someone new involved, and they both knew Itachi wouldn't be pleased with that.

X

Uchiha Itachi stepped into the cool air of the street. He'd had some business to take care of in town today, and it had taken more time than he had anticipated. Now the last light of dusk was draining from the sky, and he could see the stars above him clearly. Kisame snorted beside him, reaching into the pocket of his coat to dig out a rumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter. His face was thrown into a second of sharp relief in the small flame before the cigarette was lit, taking a long drag while tucking the pack away again. He smirked.

Itachi had been wandering around all day today, and they were both pretty tired despite the early hour. Kisame was looking forward to getting back to the Institute so that he could take a hot shower and hop into bed. Itachi looked like he could stand to do the same, but Kisame knew that he would probably visit his brother when they got home. He was a little bit too protective of the boy really, a little too possessive for family. But the the Uchiha boys were more than family, everybody knew that, but they were Uchihas, and that meant something, so no one bothered them about it.

Their family business was making enormous amounts of money, and the family had many high ranking officials and celebrities on their tree. The name commanded a certain power, even here, where everybody was important in some way. The principle was just looking for a real opportunity to expel them, but they were a little too perfect on paper, and Itachi was exemplary at covering their tracks.

The drive back to the Institute was short, and Itachi was on his phone the whole way back, making arrangements for his party, inviting people and making sure the staff they had in Tokyo sent someone down to get the place ready. It promised to be a good one, then again, Itachi's parties always were.

Itachi clicked his phone shut with a smirk when they entered the gates, packing everything back into his little black bag before parking the car by the Senior residence halls and getting out, Kisame behind him. It was a cool day, colder up on the mountain, but they were both wearing long coats.

Kisame and Itachi broke ways at the door, Kisame heading up to his room and Itachi going to finish up some things. The first person he felt he needed to seek out was Deidara, as Sasuke hadn't called him yet. He'd told the blond that he wanted Sasuke to call him as soon as possible, so he'd sent Dei out to find the boy when he left. The blond was never hard to find though, and when Itachi got there he was still sitting in the back of the library. The blond was laying on the floor in one of the back corners, his head cushioned in Sasori's lap, some big book propped against his thighs, reading things out loud to the other boy every once and awhile. Itachi scowled.

"Hey Dei! Wheres my brother? I asked you to get him to call me this afternoon." His voice was heavy with annoyance, and it made the blonde cringe a little.

"Sasuke-kun was here with us for awhile but then he got embarrassed and ran off because I figured out he was pining for someone. Won't tell me who though, but thats probably good. If you killed someone you would get expelled." The blond was beaming and Itachi felt his head start to hurt.

"Well, where is he now? Do you know?" Deidara shook his head hesitantly, trying to decide if Itachi was going to hurt him or not. He looked up when the boy behind him sighed.

"He was locked out of his room, you're the only one with a spare key so he couldn't get back in. I think he went over to the café to get something to eat." Sasori added, calmly. Itachi glared at Dei, and nodded to Sasori.

"Thanks guys. Hey, you're coming next weekend, right?" Both of the older boys nodded, and Itachi smiled. This promised to be good, now if only he could find his brother.

X

Naruto climbed out of the back of Gaara's car rather nimbly, and it made him smile when both feet hit the ground without him falling on his face, like he had at the diner. It wasn't his fault he'd never been in a sports car before, and the stupid thing didn't have any back doors. It didn't really have much of a back seat to speak of really, but it had wheels and it went fast, so it had been the best option. None of the other boys had a car up there at all, too much trouble to deal with parking, not to mention getting it hauled up here in the first place.

It was almost dark, the sky holding onto day's last light around the horizon, and Naruto had to admit that it had been a rather fun day. He was looking forward to getting back home though, he'd picked up a magazine in town he wanted to read. The boys parted ways at the doors to the school, the Kiba and Neji going to their room, arguing about who would get to be first player. Kiba had gotten a new playstation game, he'd ordered it off line a week back and he'd gotten the delivery message on his phone on the drive back.

Gaara said he had some people to see before he'd be back, and he waved lazily over his shoulder at the blond before running up a different staircase. Naruto sighed, turning down the hallway to the elevators. He was tired, and didn't really feel like walking up the eight flights of stairs that it would take to get to his floor. He stared up at the ceiling while he waited for the car to come.

Footsteps echoed in the empty hallway behind him, and he turned around to look. He didn't know everyone yet, but Neji had introduced him to some new people this morning. He couldn't remember any of their names, but he'd only seen them for a second so he figured that was understandable. The his surprise though, the face was familiar. The dark eyes and pale skin, he smiled slightly.

"Sasuke, right?" The boy started, he hadn't realized there was someone here, he was too busy staring down at the phone in his hand. It was black and sleek, not the one Itachi had given him, but the one his parents had, the one he actually used. Sasuke smirked slightly. He'd been looking for the blond all day, not that he'd admit it.

"Che, that would be me. Your name is ... Naruto?" His sentence turned questioning at the end, and he bit his lip unconsciously. It was adorable, and it made Naruto blush a little.

"Y-yeah, thats it." He didn't know what else to say really, he didn't know too much about the Uchiha, only what he'd heard from his other new friends, and most of that wasn't very nice, and a little too outrageous for him to believe.

"So what have you been up to today, dobe? I didn't see you around anywhere." Sasuke struggled to keep his tone light, wincing a little at the was the last part sounded, a little lonely, a little desperate, a little too much like he'd been looking for the boy. Uchihas weren't supposed to sound like that dammit. But Naruto just smiled, all of that subtext going right over his head.

"Yeah, I went out to lunch with Gaara and Kiba and Neji. It was fun, they showed me around town, we did a little shopping, a lot of sitting around. How about you? What have you been up to? you look tired." Naruto was practically bouncing now, up on the balls of his feet. Sasuke couldn't help but smile.

"Eh, it was boring. I'm locked out of my room, so I have to wait until the woman in the res hall office comes back at six to get back in." Naruto cocked his head to the side for a minute before he answered.

"Hey, if you wanna come up and hang out, you can go to my room. Gaara's off doing something else, dunno what, but he won't be back for awhile so it'd just be us." He blushed a little, quickly adding, "I mean, I know you guys don't get on too well, so he's not gonna be there to bother you or anything..." Sasuke let the smirk leak back onto his face.

"Sure why not? Can't be any worse than wondering around out here..."

X

Itachi was getting annoyed by now. It was well after dark and he hadn't found his brother anywhere, and the phone he'd given the little brat was off. He'd called Sasuke's other phone, but the boy hadn't picked up. He swore under his breath, wishing he'd gotten the GPS tag for that phone when he'd had the chance. He was ready to give up on finding him really, no longer in the mood to be nice, but he kept looking out of a desire to hurt the kid. This was exasperating, and he certainly had more pleasurable things he could be doing right now.

Itachi didn't really need to be on the campus right now, he didn't have classes until wednesday, which gave him another two whole days to do whatever he wanted. He'd only flown down last week because Sasuke was, and the prospect of a week to relax there and annoy his little brother had seemed great at the time. Now he was focused on finding the boy so he could bash his little head in.

X

Gaara thumbed the key card from his wallet to unlock the door to his room. He paused for a second when he heard voices inside. They were muffled and quiet, but an explosion of now familiar laughter assured him one of them was his new roommate. The boy was kind of obnoxious and sometimes he made Gaara wince and roll his eyes at the boys stupidity, but there was something contagious about his smile, and something about being around him that made people feel better. But Gaara didn't smile, so he schooled his face, and swiped the card, pushing the door open.

Naruto was laying across his bed, a magazine open before him that he wasn't paying attention to. His arm was stretched out, laying on the shoulder of the younger Uchiha, who was sitting on the floor in front of him, back leaning on the side of the bed, PSP clutched in his hands, swearing lightly as something blew up on the screen. Naruto's laughter came again as he withdrew the hand.

"I told you that'd happen, 'Suke. you didn't have enough life to go after him like that, it was suicide" The Uchiha just grumbled a little, a small smile on his face anyways, and pressed the re-start button. Neither had notice Gaara until he stepped in, letting the door slam behind him. They both jumped a little, and Gaara was quite satisfied with the re-action, even more so when Naruto's face turned to him and lit up with a smile.

"Gaara! Your back! How was ... uh, what's-her-face?" Gaara shook his head, trying to keep his lips in the same tight line.

"Temari, my sister. Yeah, she was fine." He nodded to the boy on the floor, who was ignoring him with great concentration. "Why's there a little Uchiha on our floor?" Sasuke's eye twitched a little, but he didn't rise to the bait.

"I ran into Sasuke on my way upstairs, he's locked out of his room so he came to hang out for awhile. Thats cool, right? I mean, he didn't go poking around or anything..." Gaara nodded, a little irritated that the boy was in his room, but he could barely suppress the smirk when he remembered how to fix that. He reached into his pocket, flipping open his phone with one hand and leaning back against the closed door, preventing escape. He scrolled through his phone book and pressed send, bringing it up to his ear. He caught the Uchiha's eyes, and his smirk widened to match. There was one ring before an irritated "Hello" was heard from the other end.

"Yeah, 'Tachi. I found your brother, he's up here in my room." Then he closed the phone with a click, watching the boy on the floor tense slightly, swearing silently, fingers tightening on the electronic device still clutched in his hands. Naruto looked confusedly from one boy to the other, shooting Gaara a questioning glance.

"His brother was looking for him, I just wanted to give him a heads up. He was probably worried." Naruto's smile returned.

"Aw, thats nice. I wish I had a brother that cared that much." Sasuke gave a dry, humorless chuckle.

"No, you really don't. It's a big pain." Gaara smirked.

"Mmm, I bet it is." The innuendo present in the last phrase flew right over Naruto's head, as he went back to his magazine, but Sasuke colored from the insinuation. Gaara didn't move from the door, even through Sasuke's slightly pleading looks. He was enjoying this too much. Sasuke seemed to have forgotten who was boss between them, and it was something Gaara was glad to teach him once again. No one fucked with Gaara, or at least, no one fucked with Gaara without living to regret it deeply.

The silence lasted until the sharp knock came on the door, not really that long after the phone call. Gaara smiled down at Sasuke, still sitting on the floor, game hanging loosely from his hands now, palms sweating. He caught the boy's eye and winked. The Uchiha shuddered, watching the other boy turn and swing the door open, throwing the newcomer a smile and a warm greeting.

"Ah, 'Tachi, come in. Hope you weren't too worried or anything?" Sasuke kept his eyes trained tightly on the ground in front of him as he felt the familiar presence of his brother step into the room.

"No, I was fine, but I'm better now that I found Sasuke. He had his phone off, which was a little weird, but I figured it was his obstinacy really." Naruto looked up from his magazine and smiled at the new boy.

"Itachi-san! I didn't know you were 'Suke's brother!" Sasuke turned to look up at the blond with a little confusion, though when he thought about it Itachi had the largest social network of anyone he'd ever met, ever, so it really wasn't that surprising that he'd already met the new boy. It still made Sasuke a little bit queasy. He could feel his brother's gaze turn to him, and he winced slightly. Itachi was mad.

"Otouto, why is your phone off? I've been trying to call you ever since I got back and you didn't pick up once. I couldn't find you anywhere! I even had Dei tell you to call me and you still didn't." There was a pause, and Itachi sighed heavily, his grin barely suppressed. "Come on then, I've got the extra key to your room, so I can let you back in." He held out a pale hand, and Sasuke knew better than to refuse it. He felt himself pulled firmly to his feet, meeting his brother's eyes for the first time. There was something mischievous floating around behind them and it was scaring him a little. Itachi wasn't a good thing when he was scheming. The blond's voice broke the little moment though, and for that he was grateful.

"'Suke, you made your brother worry like that? That's not really very nice at all!" He opened his mouth to defend himself but closed it again right away. Naruto didn't know how things worked yet, and he was sure thats the only reason the boy still hung out with him. He didn't exactly want to kill that so quickly.

He let himself be led to the door, his brother's finger's tightening on his arm, almost painfully. He tried to smile at his new friend though, and gave a small wave. Itachi smirked.

"Thank you, Naru-kun. Will I still see you soon?" He asked, feeling his brother stiffen at the familiarity, and the news. Naruto beamed, missing this entirely.

"Most certainly, Itachi-san. I look forward to it. Bye Sasuke, and you should probably apologize to your brother." With that Itachi pushed him the rest of the way out into the hallway. Sasuke braced himself for the hit before it happened, but even so when his back hit the wall the wind was knocked out of him. He forced his eyes to stay open, and to meet his brother's gaze, as one pale hand tightened on his face, cupping his cheek, steering his face by the chin.

"Don't do that again, Sasuke. You know you worry me when you do that, and I know you know what happens when I get worried." Sasuke nodded, slowly, and tensed at the lips that fell down onto his. The kiss was harsh, teeth nipping at his lips and tongue a little viciously. All the air was sucked from his lungs and he was left panting when Itachi pulled back. He didn't have time to get himself re settled before the harsh tug on his arm almost pulled him off balance and he followed his brother jerkily, rushing as much as he could to keep up.


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A/N: Good? Bad? Ugly? Read Review and Let Me Know!! ^.^ and also, beware, for the smex is on its merry little way!!