Hello all my lovely readers! I return to you, finally, with a little something I have been working on for a while now. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it! – Whippasnappa.

These Scars

Naruto walked into the room, taking in the surroundings. His suitcase and three boxes were stacked haphazardly outside the door, he assumed, was to be his. He walked into the communal space. The hallway had a comforting, studious smell of books and old paint. It was nice, and larger than he had been expecting. The kitchen was attached; it came complete with a stove, microwave, oven, kettle and toaster. Naruto realised he hadn't even thought to bring cooking utensils. It was probably for the best; he couldn't cook anyway, and he certainly didn't need the stove for his instant ramen noodles! He opened the first box. It was packed full of instant noodle pots. Claiming an empty cupboard for his own, he began throwing the noodle pots into the cupboard. He shut the door, ignoring the sound of the pots toppling over. Unpacking complete!

Naruto stopped and stared at the door opposite. Had his roommate already moved in? He stopped for a second, listening out for any signs of movement. It was silent. He was obviously the first to move in, then. Naruto took the key that had been placed on top of his boxes and used it to open his room door for the first time. He entered the room, taking in a breath. A Bed, desk and wardrobe silently greeted him as he stepped inside.

"Ah, nice!" he exclaimed, realising each room came with a personal bathroom.

Naruto got along extremely well with most people, yet the thought of sharing a bathroom with a person he had never met felt strange. At least he would have some semblance of privacy. The shower looked nice and roomy, too, he noted. Naruto loved taking long, hot showers and with a bathroom of his own, they would be uninterrupted. He began unpacking immediately, putting his mostly orange-hued clothes away in the wardrobe and making the bed with his bright orange bedsheets. A few more vibrant accessories and the place was already starting to feel more like home.

Naruto swallowed. Despite the troubles he had had there, he did miss his small flat back in Konoha, yet another part of him remained glad he had decided to study in another country. There was something comforting about getting away. Something about putting his past so far behind. He felt safe and excited. An entirely new fresh start! He could shape out a life entirely different to his previous one back in Konoha. He could be whomever he wanted to be. Finally, he placed slightly-worse-for-wear laptop onto the desk and shoved the now empty suitcase under the bed. Naruto stood back, taking in his handiwork. There. This was the place he would call home for the next three years.

He scratched the back of his head nervously as he realised his time here would depend on his progress. He would need to keep to deadlines and pass all his modules. Naruto had great potential, yet study never came easy. He wasn't naturally gifted and he had to work hard. He could only learn by reading the information over, and over. Exams were extremely difficult and in the past he had struggled. He knew he would need to work extremely hard to keep up this year. Yet Naruto also knew how lucky he was to be here. Rasengan University was world-renowned and prestigious. To be accepted was a great honour and Naruto wouldn't waste this opportunity. Chances like this came once in a lifetime and he had grabbed it with both hands. Though Naruto knew his acceptance hadn't been based on his average-at-best grades. They had been due to his fantastically written and heart-warming personal statement which his old college tutor, Iruka, had spent months writing and perfecting. Naruto smiled as he remembered running through the streets of Konoha, his acceptance letter in hand, straight to Iruka. They had gone to his favourite noodle stand, Ichiraku, to celebrate.

Naruto reached out and touched the photograph on his desk fondly. The only photograph he had of his parents, kindly passed to him by his Uncle. His hand drifted towards the other photograph. The edges were crinkled and worn; it was an old photograph, one of the few he had that included both himself and his Uncle, Jiraiya, before he died. The man stood tall, pure white hair gleaming in the sunlight, grinning, his hand resting affectionately atop Naruto's head, ruffling his hair. A moment captured in time, and a moment Naruto would never forget. He hadn't known Jiraiya as many years as he would have liked, but their bond had been fierce and unbreakable.

"I'll make you proud." He promised vehemently.

Naruto jumped as he heard a door click. He raced out into the communal space enthusiastically. He was so excited to meet his roommate! Naruto had always lived alone and his circumstances made sure he hadn't made many friends back home. Other than Iruka, he had left no one behind. Iruka had always told him not to worry; he'd meet his most valuable and life-long friends at university. Naruto had spent a lot of time wondering what his roommate would be like. Would he be similar? Would they like the same things? Would he like sports, or music, or art? He wondered if they would be studying the same; the admissions team had advised, where possible, they roomed students according to subject, so they would already have something in common and a reason to relate. Studying the same subject would indeed be a great icebreaker.

Naruto blinked as he finally came face-to-face with his roommate for the first time. The person he would be living with for the next three years. Somehow, he wasn't what Naruto had expected. Tall, with impossibly dark eyes and stylish dark hair and alabaster skin. He stood slightly taller than Naruto, though his build was slimmer, yet obviously muscular. Sleek but dangerous, like a panther. Naruto beamed, immediately extending his hand.

"Hi! I'm Uzumaki Naruto!" he exclaimed, grinning wolfishly.

The dark figure didn't move or make a sound of acknowledgement. Dark eyes roamed over him, before throwing him a distasteful look. Naruto supposed he was probably homesick and shy. Hesitating, he pulled his hand back.

"It's great to meet you!" he said, still smiling.

Sasuke simply walked away, purposely brushing past as he walked into the kitchen.

"Hn."

The simple, arrogant snort and purposeful shove set Naruto's teeth on edge. Was he not worthy of a reply? The smile had quickly fallen from Naruto's face. Who did this guy think he was? There was no need to be so rude!

"And your name is?" he asked, trying desperately to smooth things over. He refused to waver under the scrutinising gaze of dark eyes.

His head jumbled with all the potential ice-breaking questions. Should he comment on the weather? That always seemed to work. Ask about hobbies? Pets? People always liked to talk about pets. There had been that frog that had followed him to work every morning for six months, did that count?

"Not your business." He replied, breaking Naruto from his thoughts.

The voice was deep and smooth, the accent aristocratic, pronouncing every syllable carefully. Somehow, exactly what Naruto had expected. Naruto bristled; he was so disappointed. His roommate was a complete and utter bastard.

"Not my…?" he trailed off, unable to process the incredulity of the situation. In what world did a person introduce themselves, only to be told an exchange of names was not their business? Did this asshole think they would be living together for the foreseeable future and not exchange names? That they would never speak?

"I can't believe I've been roomed with a complete bastard like you!" he snapped bitterly, arms waving wildly, still enthused with anger that a person could be so rude they outright refused to introduce themselves, by name, to their own roommate. It was unheard of and entirely unexpected. Naruto had been prepared for so many scenarios, yet this hadn't made the list.

Sasuke's eyebrow raised. This guy was unbelievable. He'd never met someone so utterly obnoxious before. And the orange he was wearing was simply offensive to the eyes. Sasuke had been hoping for a quiet roommate, one whom liked to keep themselves to themselves and focused on their studies. Apparently fate had not been kind. Sasuke couldn't stand loud people and Naruto's voice was both loud and annoying. He immediately began to doubt how this Naruto had even been accepted to Rasengan; wasn't this place only supposed to accept the best? Sasuke doubted he could even pass the entrance exam by the looks of him, considering the boy could barely manage to dress himself.

"Yes, well," Sasuke began coolly. "Imagine my disappointment at being paired with a loudmouth idiot like you."

Naruto's mouth hung open at the retort and Sasuke couldn't help but smirk. Winding Naruto up was so satisfyingly easy. Naruto, his face like thunder, stormed from the room. He didn't want to look at the stupid rude bastards face any longer than necessary and getting in a fist-fight in his first few hours as a student wouldn't set the right tone. The face he would be stuck with for the next three years. The front door clicked behind him and he finally let out a loud groan.

"Asshole." He bemoaned.

A head popped around from the apartment opposite.

"Hey, you alright, man?"

Naruto was taken off guard. He laughed, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, realising how weird he looked, standing in the corridor mumbling to himself.

"Ah! Yeah! I…er… I just met my roommate. Turns out he's a complete asshole." He explained.

The other face cracked into a grin as he emerged fully from around the door. Naruto couldn't help but notice the two strange, prominent tattoos on the boy's face. They looked like vampire teeth; bright red, one either side of his face on each cheek. The tattooed face nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

"Yeah, he arrived with us a week back. He seems like an ass," the boy agreed. "Wouldn't even speak to us or nothin'!"

Naruto wasn't surprised, given his experience of the last ten minutes. It took him a moment to realise he still didn't even know his roommates name. Bastard would have to do. The boy came into the hallway. His demeanour was relaxed and friendly. He was wearing a large, oversized hoodie and tracksuit bottoms.

"I'm Kiba, by the way." He said, offering his hand to Naruto.

Almost weak with relief, Naruto took it gratefully. Finally, someone friendly! This was more like the experience he had been hoping for.

"Naruto!" he replied. "Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Like I said, we've already been here for a bit. Got the Xbox set up and everything, man. You wana join? Since your roommate is a dick and all?" he offered.

Naruto's face cracked into a grin, all thoughts of his awful roommate pushed from his mind, regaining his original enthusiasm at getting to meet some new people.

"You bet!"

It was late into the night before Naruto returned back to his own dorm and he had truly enjoyed the time he had spent across at Kiba's. He was friendly, and they had hit it off immediately. It turned out they had a lot in common and the same ridiculous sense of humour. Kiba's roommate was great, too, and Naruto was bitterly jealous he had been stuck with the bastard. He could say with certainty he was roomed with the most arrogant, rude, conceited person on the entire campus. He was very grateful Kiba was across the hall and if the bastard kept up his behaviour he had a feeling he would be spending a lot of time over there. Kiba's flatmate, Chouji, had suggested they take Naruto down to the other flats below and introduce him to the others. Kiba had said they were friendly with some of the guys down there and Naruto had nearly bitten his hand off at the invitation. 'You'll love Shika,' Kiba had exclaimed. 'Though he's a lazy ass! Oh, oh, and Sakura and Ino' he'd added with a wink.

Naruto smiled, full of expectations for tomorrow, as he poured boiling water into his noodle cup. He was starving. They had been playing Xbox for hours, getting to know each other and exchanging stories. It was then he realised dark eyes were watching him from across the room. He jumped, the boiling water spilling everywhere.

"Jesus-fuck!" he exclaimed.

Letting out a whine of pain, he ran his burning red hand under the cold tap.

"Problems, idiot?" came the smooth retort.

Naruto could see the dark eyes illuminated by the light from the kitchen space. He had been sitting in the corner of the communal space in the dark. Naruto hadn't even noticed him when he'd walked in.

"The fuck are you doing sitting in the dark anyway?" Naruto snapped back, irritated, already feeling his good mood starting to be sucked away. Fucking emo bastard. Maybe he was a vampire, or more likely the spawn of Satan, and he fed on the misery of others. Both were reasonable explanations to how god-awful the person standing before him was.

He set the kettle boiling again so he could finish up his noodles. Now he was starving and burned.

"Hn." The figure retreated into his room and Naruto rolled his eyes as he heard the door lock. It was going to be a long semester and Naruto wondered if he couldn't just drag his bed into the dorm across the hall and live in Kiba and Chouji's living room.

"What an arrogant bastard." He reiterated angrily, slurping the noodles, enjoying his first ever meal as a University student. The taste was comforting and familiar, yet did nothing to ease his nerves on how this new roommate situation was going to unfold. What a year he was going to have.