Yes, Young Master?

"Maybe when you find out that I'm dead, you'll realize what you did to me."
- from 'Smashed into Pieces' by Silverstein

Key:
-:- denotes going from present time to flashback
*** denotes point of view change
--- denotes that time has been skipped, usually because it has already been described in another point of view

Chapter One: At the Auction


"Why am I here?"

"You know why you're here."

Naruto's voice was emotionless. "I'm just going to do it again as soon as you let me go."

His psychologist replied, "As long as you think like that, we're not going to let you go."

Dull blue eyes turned to meet the doctor's warm brown ones. The blond teen leaned forward in his seat, staring down the older man on the other side of the desk between them. "And if I stop talking like this, but still think like this... how do you plan on knowing?"

The doctor smirked, but did not answer his patient's question. Instead he said, "Why don't you tell me about him, Naruto? Tell me what happened."

Naruto's stoic facade faltered, letting the pain show through in his eyes. He quickly recovered, cloaking the pain in anger. "I told you before," he ground out each syllable through clenched teeth. "He was an asshole. A self-righteous prick that didn't give a fuck about anyone except himself."

The older man sighed, squeezing the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Yes, you have told me that before," the man muttered. "But that doesn't explain to me why you tried to kill yourself." He looked up, making eye contact with the teen once more. "You keep saying how much you hated him, how terrible of a person he was, but you never tell me what he said or did to you that made you feel the need to swallow a whole bottle of painkillers and slash your wrists open. Twice." Naruto winced as the familiar ache returned to his wrists. It had been over a year since his first attempt to take his own life, almost a month since he had attempted it a second time, but whenever he got overly depressed or upset the pain would come back.

"I never said I hated him," the blond whispered. "As a matter of fact, I love him."

The psychologist raised his eyebrows. This was definitely a first. "You love him?" the man asked, surprised. "Present tense, love? Not loved?"

Naruto shook his head. "Present tense."

The other man hummed. "You've never told me what exactly he was to you, this Sasuke character. Was he your friend? Your boyfriend?"

The teen smirked. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." The doctor leaned forward, resting his elbows on his desk and peering at his patient over interlaced fingers.

Naruto broke eye contact, thinking about what he was on the verge of revealing. If he told this doctor the truth he could be sent to prison for the rest of his life, or even sentenced to death. Multiple times, probably. The blond almost laughed at himself. Sooner or later, one way or another, he was just going to kill himself anyway. What did he care if everyone knew where he'd come from; where he'd gone? He leaned back in his chair, locked eyes with the man across the desk, and started to tell his story for the first time in his life.

"It all started about three years ago at a slave auction. Uchiha Sasuke and his older brother were in the market for a new slave, and I was the one they picked. Sasuke was my master."

-:-

The brothers Uchiha were the kind of people who took control of a room as soon as they entered it, regardless of how many people were already in the room. They stood with confidence and strode with purpose, heads held high and an aura of "We're better than you, and we know it." oozing from their bodies. Even up on display on the stage, with his eyes turned toward the ground, Naruto could practically feel them enter the auction house. He watched them through the gaps in his mangy hair as they made their way to the front of the crowd and surveyed the other slaves. A good portion of the slaves on the stage were fighting, straining against their captors, desperate to escape the fate that they knew was about to come.

Naruto saw the brothers talking to each other just in front of the stage. The younger one pointed to him, and Naruto flipped his hair out of his eyes to get a better look at the man. Before he could, however, the younger brother turned back toward the elder brother, long black hair blocking Naruto's view of his face. The older one looked back at his little brother and then at the blond on the stage, cocking his head to the side in thought. Naruto could see the man's lips move as he said something to his brother, and then the two of them were on the move again. Without moving his head, Naruto followed the pair with his eyes as they climbed the steps at the side of the stage and exchanged words with the auctioneer. The younger one pointed at Naruto again, and he turned his eyes back to his feet as the trio started across the stage.

"These men wish to inspect you," the auctioneer said as he untied Naruto from the pole he was tethered to. "Take them to a back room. While you are in the room, they are your masters, and you must do as they say and tell them what they ask you to. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," he replied quietly, turning around and leading the two brothers through the curtain that separated the auction room and stage from the back of the slave house, and into one of the many small, empty rooms of the slave house. Once they were all in the room Naruto turned and faced them, his eyes still set on the ground. The elder brother was the first to speak.

"What is your name, boy?"

"My name is whatever you wish to call me, master," Naruto replied respectfully. "If you are asking for my birth name, however, it is Naruto."

"Na... ru... to..." The younger brother said his name slowly, drawing it out as if he were tasting it. The older brother looked at him, and he nodded. "It is acceptable. Look up at us, Naruto, and let us see your face." The slave raised his head and made eye contact with the younger brother; the one who had picked him out. The young man's eyes widened as he took in Naruto's face. Naruto could only imagine what the men thought of his white skin, blond hair, blue eyes, and facial scars. He had known from a young age that he was an oddity in the world of slaves. No other slave looked quite like Naruto did.

After a few moments of examination, the older brother asked another question. "How old are you, boy?"

"Sixteen, master," Naruto replied.

"Hmm," the man hummed, turning to his brother. "He's the same age as you, Sasuke." The younger one, Sasuke, merely nodded. "Tell us what kind of work you are capable of, Naruto."

"I am capable of whatever my masters ask of me," was Naruto's obviously rehearsed response. The brothers practically rolled their eyes at each other.

"We are well aware that you will do whatever we ask of you," the elder said harshly, sending a jolt of fear down Naruto's spine. "But what I asked is, what you are capable of doing? We Uchihas are not cruel slave drivers, and we will not work you past your limits. Tell us what you are capable of, and if you try to sell yourself short we will know. The auctioneer will tell us anything and everything we need to know about you. So tell us now: what are your strengths, what are your weaknesses, and what are you incapable of?"

The slave swallowed thickly. "I am most talented with household chores, and I am incapable of heavy lifting. Many of my previous owners have complimented me on my cooking, and if I do not know how to make what my masters enjoy eating, I am a fast learner, and it will not take me long until I am able to make whatever you request. I am also good with pets and small children, and have experience in caring for both. If there is anything else that I am needed to do, I'm sure that I can learn how, but I am weak with outdoor work."

"Well, how lucky that is for us. Even if you are lying about being incapable of outdoor work, we only need you for indoor activities," the older man said, his voice having returned to it's emotionless monotone. "I think that we are done here."

"Itachi," Sasuke interrupted, gazing at Naruto in mild curiosity, "might I speak to the boy in private?" Itachi cocked an eyebrow at his brother, silently asking why he would want such a thing. "We have never spoken with a slave this young," Sasuke clarified. "I want to make sure he is still as respectful when his commanding master is his own age."

Itachi nodded. "Take your time, then. I will be discussing with the auctioneer whether or not we can surpass the auction and simply buy the boy." The elder Uchiha left the room, closing the door behind him. Sasuke listened to his brother's footsteps fade away before turning back to the slave, who had resumed staring at the ground.

Sasuke walked over to the slave, using a finger to tilt up the boy's chin and force him into eye contact. Naruto gazed curiously at his new master's face, wondering what kind of questions the other boy had for him. One thin, black eyebrow raised as Sasuke tilted his head to the side, staring into the slave's eyes. He took Naruto's chin into his grasp and turned the blond's head to the side, examining it, then turned it to the other side. Naruto complied willingly, knowing he had no choice. Sasuke turned Naruto's face forward again then dropped his hand, keeping eye contact with the slave to tell him that he was to keep his head up.

"How did you come to be in the slave trade?" Sasuke asked, sounding genuinely curious. Naruto was taken aback slightly; this was definitely a question he had never been asked before. None of his previous masters had cared.

"I was born in," Naruto answered. When Sasuke didn't reply, he continued, "My mother was a slave of the Hokage, and she died in childbirth. The Hokage was killed when I was only a few years old, and I was repossessed by the country with the rest of his belongings."

"I remember Yondaime's assassination," Sasuke nodded. "My parents respected him." He paused for a moment, seemingly trying to decide what he would ask next. "How did you come to be an indoor slave?"

"I..." Naruto hesitated in his reply, swallowing thickly. "I was very clumsy when I was young, and I've never been good at heavy lifting. My previous masters decided it was easier to train me to work indoors than put up with my mistakes outdoors."

Again, Sasuke nodded in response. Instead of asking another question, Sasuke took a few steps toward his new slave. He looked Naruto up and down again, this time circling the boy as he examined him. Naruto felt strangely uncomfortable, for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. After a minute or so of examination, Sasuke stopped in front of Naruto and gave the boy a smirk. "Strip for me," he instructed.

Naruto could feel the blush overtaking his face. He couldn't believe he'd heard correctly, and yet he knew he had. "Y-yes, master," he replied softly, slowly peeling off his shirt. He set his orange rag of a T-shirt on the ground and was beginning to unbutton his pants when the two heard footsteps approaching the room.

"Shit!" Sasuke cursed under his breath. "Quickly, get yourself redressed."

"Yes, master," Naruto replied thankfully. Just as Naruto finished pulling on his shirt, Itachi opened the door.

"All went well, I presume?" Itachi asked. Sasuke merely nodded in response. "Then we have no further reason to be here. Escort the boy to the car while I finalize things with the auctioneer."

The trio left the room and went back through the slave house to the main auction house. Itachi left them to speak with the owner, and Sasuke gestured for Naruto to walk in front of him. The slave obliged, following his new master's directions to where the Uchihas' car was parked. When they got to the car, Naruto went around to the passenger's side to open the door for Sasuke, but Sasuke stopped him by placing his hand over Naruto's on the door handle and pressing his body against the other boy's, pinning him against the car.

"We will finish what happened in that room as soon as I can get you alone," Sasuke whispered into Naruto's ear, causing the blond to shudder. "Itachi is not to know what happened, do you understand?"

"Yes, master," Naruto replied, voice shaking.

"Good boy," Sasuke said, backing away from the slave. "Now let's go home."

***

Uchiha Sasuke checked the time on his watch; he was seven minutes early. He scanned the park, searching for the mystery man who had called him at work the previous day. The only other person in the park on this cloudy, gloomy morning was a man sitting alone on a bench who appeared to be in his mid- to late-twenties with long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. Sasuke approached the man cautiously, still unsure of what this meeting was about.

"Doctor Umino?" Sasuke asked when he got closer to the man. The stranger looked up at the question, his face immediately lighting up with a warm smile.

"Sasuke Uchiha, I presume?" the man asked in response, standing from his seat and extending a hand for the younger man to shake. Sasuke obliged, nodding as he grasped the stranger's hand. "You can call me Iruka. Please, sit." Iruka sat back down on the bench and patted the spot next to him. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow, but sat anyway.

"Well Iruka, if I may ask, what is it that a doctor I've never seen wants to speak to me in private about, anyway?" Sasuke asked, genuinely curious.

"Ph.D.," Iruka corrected. "I'm not a medical doctor, Sasuke, I'm a psychologist."

"Even more interesting," Sasuke replied. "What is it that a psychologist I've never seen wants to speak to me in private about?"

"Your dead slave," Iruka stated, all warmth disappearing instantly from his voice.

Sasuke's physical response was nearly imperceptible, but Iruka had been trained in reading body language and movements. A normal person off the street would have believed the young man when he replied, "The Uchihas have had many slaves pass away, both under our ownership and after we sold them. You're going to need to be more specific." Iruka, however, could tell that Sasuke knew exactly which slave he was speaking of.

"Come now, Sasuke," Iruka admonished. "Surely it's not that easy to forget a slave you were good to for two years, only to have him slit his wrists in your bedroom while you were out at work." Sasuke didn't reply, but his eyes narrowed. Iruka could tell he was getting to the Uchiha. "Especially," he continued, "when word on the street is that you were romantically involved with this slave while in was under your ownership."

Sasuke jolted up from the bench and turned to face Iruka at the speed of light. "Is there a point to this meeting?" he growled. "Because if not, I'll be leaving now."

"Temper, temper," Iruka smirked. "No wonder he put an end to himself. How often did you beat the boy?"

Sasuke grabbed the doctor by the collar with both hands, yanking the older man up from his seat. "I never laid harm upon Naruto," Sasuke seethed, his face mere inches away from Iruka's. "And if you ever insinuate that I did again, I'll kill you." He dropped the man back into his seat, turned on his heel, and began to walk away.

"You really did love him, didn't you, Sasuke?" Iruka called after the Uchiha.

Sasuke turned back toward the man. "Who are you?" he asked, already emotionally exasperated. "Why do you even care about this? He died over a year ago!"

"And yet, the whole village is still talking about him. Some say his ghost haunts the house he died in, which is why you moved out of your lifelong home. Others say... he's still alive somewhere."

Sasuke had taken a few steps back toward the bench. "They're nothing but foolish," he said. "I know he's dead, I saw his body. And any sane person would move out of their home if someone else killed themself in the person's bedroom."

"If he really was dead, then how did his body disappear from the morgue?" Iruka asked, not a hint of instigation in his tone. For now he had to focus on drawing Sasuke back into the conversation and making sure he didn't walk away for good.

"There are mix-ups in the morgue all the time," Sasuke replied. It sounded rehearsed, as if he had been telling himself the same thing over and over since the incident. "All the doctors agreed that his body was probably just mistagged and buried under the wrong name." As he spoke, Sasuke steadily drew nearer, until he was back standing right in front of the bench. Again, Iruka patted the spot next to him. This time Sasuke sat without giving it much thought.

After a few moments of silence Iruka softly said, "What I really want, Sasuke, is for you to tell me your side of the story." Sasuke's head snapped to the side to glare at the doctor.

"My life story isn't something I recite on command for the entertainment of others," he snapped.

"I don't need your life story, Sasuke," Iruka assured. "Like I said, everyone in the village is still talking about Naruto. About your alleged relationship, about his death. I've heard many stories in the short time I've been here, and now I want to know what really happened."

"You never told me why you cared to know," Sasuke said, a twinge of anger still in his voice.

"Call it professional curiosity," Iruka answered. "The consensus among those of us versed in psychology is that people who are born into slavery very rarely kill themselves. There are less than a dozen cases of this in known history. Slaves who commit suicide are ones who were born free and then, for some reason or another, are forced into being slaves. Ones who are born into slavery generally don't question their place in society and therefore aren't upset by it. Definitely not upset enough to kill themselves." He paused, giving Sasuke a chance to catch up. When the Uchiha nodded, Iruka continued. "For a boy like Naruto, who had been a slave his whole life, and had undoubtedly had much worse owners than your brother and yourself, to kill himself under your ownership... It is a very peculiar occurrence. Usually for a person like Naruto to kill himself, something particularly terrible must have happened to him while he was under your ownership."

Sasuke was shaking his head before Iruka even finished speaking. "No," he said softly when the doctor stopped. "No, it wasn't terrible..." He trailed off for a moment, staring off into the distance. The sky was starting to clear up and the park was slowly filling up with people.

"It wasn't terrible," he repeated. "It was fantastic. But I can't tell you the story here."

-:-

It was Itachi and Sasuke's first trip to a slave auction without being accompanied by their parents. Although the boys had been on their own for two years, they hadn't had the need for any new slaves until just recently. The pair made their way to the front of the crowd, standing in front of the stage where the slaves were presented and slowly surveying each of them. Most had dark skin, but there were also a few paler ones; probably troublesome orphans or children of mixed descent. A good portion of the slaves on the stage were fighting, straining against their captors, desperate to escape the fate that they knew was about to come.

"Sasuke," the older brother, Itachi, began, "none of them look like they'll be particularly obedient. Most of them are trying to escape, right in front of their potential buyers." The older Uchiha brother gave the stage another cursory scan with tired eyes.

"What about that blond boy, off to the right a ways?" Sasuke asked, pointing to the boy in question. Sasuke noticed the boy flip his hair as he was pointed to. "He seems docile enough," the younger brother continued, turning back toward Itachi. "And a blond slave is a rare find. Fitting to join the Uchiha household."

Itachi glanced from his younger brother to the boy he had indicated. He cocked his head slightly to the side, studying the blond boy up on the stage. "Come," he said to Sasuke, before turning and walking over to the small staircase that led up to the stage. Sasuke followed, curious as to what his brother's twisted brain had come up with. When they reached the staircase the auctioneer welcomed them, knowing that the Uchihas had always been some of the slave trade's best customers. "Would it be possible for us to inspect one of the slaves up for auction?" Itachi asked.

"Oh, certainly! Which one would you like to see?" asked the auctioneer.

"The blond boy," Sasuke interjected, pointing to the slave that had caught his interest. The auctioneer nodded, and led them over to where the boy was tied to a pole.

"These men wish to inspect you," the auctioneer said to the slave as he untied him. "Take them to a back room. While you are in the room, they are your masters, and you must do and tell them what they ask you to. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir," the slave boy replied quietly. The auctioneer turned and walked back to the staircase, while the blond boy started toward the curtain that separated the stage from the slave house attached to it. He led the Uchiha brothers into a small, empty room, where he stopped and turned to face them, keeping his head pointed toward the ground.

"What is your name, boy?" Itachi was the first to speak up.

"My name is whatever you wish to call me, master," the boy said. "But if you are asking my birth name, it is Naruto."

"Na...ru...to..." Sasuke said slowly, drawing the name out as if he were tasting it. Itachi looked over to his younger brother, who nodded. "It is acceptable. Look up at us, Naruto, and let us see your face." The boy looked up, and instantly Sasuke was mesmerized. This boy, this slave... he had the most breathtaking eyes either Uchiha had ever seen. They were bluer than the clearest summer sky, and appeared to look straight into one's soul. This boy's cerulean orbs were beautiful, and more piercing than either Uchiha's onyx gaze. The boy also had three small scars on each cheek, making it look as if he had whiskers. It gave him a slightly animalistic look, and Sasuke liked it.

Itachi looked the boy up and down, then asked, "How old are you, Naruto?"

"Sixteen, master," Naruto replied.

"Hmm," Itachi hummed in thought, turning to his brother. "He's the same age as you, Sasuke." Sasuke could only reply with a nod, still captivated by Naruto's gaze.

---

It was still only early afternoon when the Uchiha brothers returned home with their new slave. The three of them all sat in the living room, Itachi and Sasuke on the couch and Naruto on the floor, as Itachi explained to Naruto their daily household routine.

"I will wake you up every morning at 5:30, when I get up to start getting ready for work. You will prepare breakfast for the three of us, and when it's ready you will inform me and wake Sasuke. The three of us will eat breakfast together every morning, unless I need to be to work early for some reason. After breakfast you are to wash the dishes, then start on that day's chores. In the kitchen there is a thick binder that our previous slave kept which will help you out immensely. It lists which chores are to be done on each day, ordered by importance to the household as a whole. It also has multiple recipes for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, all of which the both of us enjoy. Lunch for yourself and Sasuke is to be made at noon, or earlier if Sasuke requests. I get home from work around four, at which point we each make ourselves an afternoon snack, and dinner is to be served at seven every night." Itachi held eye contact with Naruto while he outlined the day to make sure that the blond understood.

"Yes, master," Naruto replied, bowing his head slightly when Itachi finished speaking.

Sasuke picked up, "If you ever find yourself done with your chores before the day is over you are welcome to any part of the manor, inside or out. Just make sure you tell me where you're going to be if not in your room."

"Yes, young master," Naruto said with a nod.

"Sasuke," Itachi started, turning to his younger brother, "would you mind giving Naruto a tour of the manor? I'll make us all lunch today." Before Sasuke had a chance to reply Itachi was already standing from the couch and starting toward the kitchen.

"I guess I'll be showing you around then, Naruto-kun," Sasuke said sarcastically once Itachi was in the kitchen, more annoyed at the fact that Itachi hadn't actually given him a choice than the fact that he had to show Naruto around. As a matter of fact, he was pretty excited about showing Naruto the more remote parts of the house. He stood up and Naruto followed suit, and Sasuke led the way across the living room to two doors on the wall opposite the front door. Sasuke indicated the door closest to the right wall of the house.

"That door leads to the downstairs bathroom. For the most part, that bathroom is all yours." Naruto nodded, and Sasuke walked over to the second door. "This will be your bedroom," Sasuke said as he opened the door. He saw Naruto's blue eyes go wide as he peered into the room.

"I've never had my own bedroom before," Naruto said. "Thank you very much, young master." He bowed deeply as he spoke.

"We told you, Naruto, being an Uchiha slave is very different from being an average slave," Sasuke replied. "You won't be treated cruelly here." Sasuke set his hand on Naruto's shoulder in a reassuring gesture. The blond stiffened at first, but quickly relaxed. Sasuke removed his hand and closed the door to Naruto's bedroom, then pointed to the left side of the house. "On the other side of that half-wall is the dining room." Naruto nodded, his eyes following the half-wall that came out of the wall the front door was on. It went about a third of the way across the length of the house then turned, creating a hallway between itself and the full wall that separated the other two thirds of the living room from the kitchen. "You'll get to see the kitchen when lunch is ready. For now let's go upstairs."

"Yes, young master," Naruto replied again. Sasuke led the way around the corner of Naruto's bedroom to the staircase that stood at the tail end of the living room, between the wall of the kitchen and the wall of Naruto's bedroom. The boys ascended the steps and came out in a wide hallway.

Sasuke walked over to the door closest to the top of the stairs, on the right side of the house. "This door leads to Itachi's bedroom," he said, tapping lightly on the door. He lowered his voice so that there was no way of his older brother overhearing and continued, "If you know what's good for you, never go into Itachi's bedroom unless you're cleaning it or he summons you." Naruto's eyes went wide and he nodded in response. "I'm serious, Naruto-kun." Sasuke's voice got even lower, and the blond had to lean in to hear properly. "My nii-san is a very private man. Be cursory in your cleaning of his room, never stay in there longer than absolutely necessary, and make sure not to investigate anything that isn't in plain sight. Do you understand?"

Sasuke could see Naruto's adam's apple bob slowly as the blond swallowed thickly. "O-of course, young master," Naruto whispered, the fear of Itachi evident in his voice. Sasuke thought he had laid it on a bit thick, but it really was for Naruto's own safety. The whole reason they needed to get a new slave was because the last one saw something she shouldn't have.

Naruto backed away slightly when Sasuke stopped talking, fear still readable on his face. Sasuke cleared his throat and moved away from Itachi's door to another one. This one was on the wall opposite the top of the stairs, toward the front of the house. "This one is my room," Sasuke said, his voice still slightly hushed as he opened the door and motioned for Naruto to enter. Blue eyes glanced worriedly into the room but their owner did as he was told, taking a few hesitant steps forward. Sasuke followed Naruto into the room and shut the door behind him.

-:-

A/N: And thus concludes chapter one! I'd like to give a huge thank you to Jen, who helped improve the first draft of this chapter significantly (in my opinion anyway, I sure hope she agrees!). I hope you all enjoyed the rewritten first chapter of my old story, "Yes, Young Master?". I know I sure enjoyed rewriting it. (:

For those of you who read the original story and don't read my other stories, who are probably thinking "What the heck is this?!" right about now, I'll explain again why I rewrote it: The original story seemed very rushed to me. Because I took so long to write the chapters, it felt like I was a lot further along in the story than I was. When I realized that what I was writing for chapter five was something I wasn't planning on getting to until at least chapter ten, I knew I had taken the story too quickly and had to rewrite it. Everything that is going to be in this version of the story was going to be in the original version, I'm just bringing a lot of it to the forefront of the plot a lot sooner than I was planning on doing in the original.

Long story short, if you liked the original you'll hopefully love this. If you didn't like/read the original... you'll hopefully love this, haha. Thank you all for reading, now please review! It hurts my pride to see a bunch of hits and not have any reviews, because it makes me think that nobody liked it. :( Knowing what you guys think helps me put more effort into getting updates to you quickly, and it also often helps in the development of the story! Giving me constructive criticism and/or questioning what the heck I'm talking about will help me more than you guys know. ^^

See you next time!