Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Warning: YAOI content – boy likes boy, kind of things.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

To my readers (if I still have any left),

I have great plans for this story. It is going to get crazy! The plot will thicken. Yes, there is a plot! I thank my Korean blood that enables me to think this sh*t up. So, please stick around to find out what happens.

I would also like to thank my recent reviewers, who have inspired to me to continue this story. Hope you keep reading and enjoy.

Also, to all NaruGaa fans, please be patient with me. – (**WARNING SLIGHT SPOILER: Gaara is right now on the down low, but in a few chapters, he's going to be a huge part of the story. Does his evil plan to get Naruto succeed? You will have to find out.)

Cheers,

Kawari-kun

[on with the story~]

Ch. 10

**beeeeeep beeeeeep beeeeeep** (the sound of an alarm clock ringing)

Good morning, Konoha. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like ramen, orange, and the funny things in life. I am sixteen, and had a somewhat difficult childhood, as a childhood goes. Regardless, I have tried to live positively and with a smile on my face. Through luck, I was admitted into Konoha High School, a topnotch school. I thought, finally, things were starting to look up, as I made friends like Nara Shikamaru (yeah, that's him), Kiba, and Chouji. I was actually having fun, you know?

I thought I would spend the rest of teenage youth simply, quietly and happily. I thought it all figured out – until now. This guy sleeping on the couch is Uchiha Sasuke. Just a month ago, I was lunging at him in the schoolyard with my fist ready to pummel his ass to the ground. From day one, we couldn't even have a decent, friendly conversation without it ending it in a non-verbal, violent manner. Something about him (and me to him) that made us clash. In all, I considered him to be my biggest rival and enemy.

In recent events, several things happened- like, getting mauled by a scary red-haired admirer, now friend, making a contract with the devil (Sasuke), and pretending to be lovers with him (...er... you heard me...), being kissed multiple times (all by males ... WHY ME?) and watching Sasuke get beat and kicked out of the house. And now, he has been living in my dingy apartment for two weeks already.

It's a funny thing how life goes... Maybe, from all of this, we might actually be friends.

... Or, maybe not.

...

"Get up or you're going to be late, usuratonkachi," Sasuke said, as he splashed icy cold water on the sleeping blonde.

"GAAAAAAAH!" Naruto shouted, as he shot up from his bed. "GAAAH!" He shouted again as he looked down on his soaked sheets. He looked up at Sasuke, "GAAAAH!"

Already dressed in his freshly ironed school uniform, Sasuke simply gazed down on the overreacting blonde. "Are you going to get ready or are you going to keep screaming at me?" Sasuke said blandly, though he couldn't help the corners of his mouth from curving up. Naruto shot him a death glare as he threw the blanket off and ran into the bathroom.

"I'm leaving without you," Sasuke called from the kitchen, as he grabbed a piece of bread from the fridge and jammed it in his mouth. He was about to get to door when Naruto poked his head from the bathroom with a toothbrush in his mouth.

"Mmffmm mfmdmdm?" Naruto gurgled.

Sasuke looked back. "Mmmf?" Sasuke responded, his mouth full of bread.

"MMffmm mfmdmdmmm!" Naruto said.

Sasuke swallowed the bread, and said, "I can't understand you, dobe."

Naruto spat out the paste. His mouth was ringed with white foam. "You're not going to wait for me?" He said, giving Sasuke the puppy face.

"Of course not," Sasuke said, as he left and slammed the door behind him.

'Tch! Cheeky bastard,' Naruto thought as he rinsed his mouth with water.

"That fucking bastard," Naruto cursed silently, as he was out in the hallway, kneeling as he held a chair above his head. His arms were shaking uncontrollably. Iruka-sensei said, "Sorry Naruto, but you know the punishment for coming late to class." Iruka sensei went back inside the classroom, sliding the door shut after himself.

Naruto glanced through the classroom window and saw Sasuke smiling smugly at him. The sudden impulse to throw the chair at him was difficult to suppress.

...

Itachi sauntered down the hallway. He wasn't in the mood to go to class today. Being a senior had its curses, such as senioritis. Right now sitting in the cramped up desk wasn't his idea of fun as of this moment.

"Playing hooky?" A casual voice called from behind. Itachi didn't have to turn to know whom the voice belonged to.

"Would you like to join me, Kakashi-Sensei?" Itachi said in a mocking polite tone. He turned and gave Kakashi a bittersweet smile. Kakashi walked slowly towards Itachi, loosening his tie. He came up close to Itachi. Now face-to-face, Kakashi leaned in forward, towards Itachi's ear.

"I guess, I could be a little late to my homeroom class," Kakashi-sensei whispered huskily. Itachi's expression hardened as he took a step back from Kakashi-sensei. Kakashi grinned, and said, "Nanchatte (Just kidding)." With a pat on Itachi's shoulder, he walked past him. With a casual flick of his hand, he waved. "Just don't get caught, Itachi-kun."

Itachi watched Kakashi-sensei enter his room. 'Tch, what a joy kill," Itachi thought bitterly, as he leaned against the wall. He looked out the window and saw that the sky was unusually blue today. It reminded him of someone...

...

"Ahh!" Naruto groaned, as he shook his numbed arms. "Worst punishment ever!" Kiba howled with laughter, as he poked at Naruto's arm. "Why were you late today as well? I would think living with Sasuke would at least improve your attendance record."

Naruto pouted and complained, "That bastard loves waking me up minutes before he leaves."

"Usually, you should wake yourself up," Chouji interjected, as he brought a chip to his mouth. Naruto wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out at Chouji, who grinned with chip crumbs slathered on his lips. Gaara sat there silently, his arms crossed.

"Yo!" Shikamaru greeted as he sat beside Naruto, who was now sulking at his un-sympathetic friends. Naruto didn't respond like the others, he had his arms crossed with his lower lip jutting out into a disgruntled pout. Shikamaru looked at Naruto quizzically. "What's wrong with you?" Shikamaru asked, as a concerned look drew upon his face.

"He's just upset from our teasing," Kiba said lightly, as he sat down on Naruto's other side and put an arm around his shoulders. Kiba looked at Shikamaru and mouthed "Sasuke." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. That Sasuke was starting to become a thorn in his side.

After the whole incident at the Uchiha Mansion two weeks ago, the whole school was thrown into an uproar. At least 80% of the students either attended the ball and saw the scene, or had their parents come home and tell them the night's event. Either way, by the following morning, the whole school knew that Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto had a thing going on.

It was a tough first week for Naruto. 'And, all for what?' Shikamaru wondered. If Sasuke really liked Naruto, wouldn't he at least be NICE to Naruto? To Shikamaru, Sasuke was nothing but a total asshole to the blonde.

Shikamaru stared at Naruto, who was now smiling and joking around with Kiba and Chouji. He began to grow concerned for his friend.

Naruto seemed to brush off everything and keep on being his happy, bouncy self. He didn't seem to mind the angry, puffy, tear streaked glares full of hatred thrown by Sasuke's fan club. Nor did he let the disgusted looks thrown by the less forgiving and homophobic crowd faze him. It was almost as if Naruto was used to the cold and cruel treatment by his peers.

What got him really worried was, what if Naruto couldn't take it anymore. What if Naruto was finally beaten down to the point being permanently broken? What if ... What if Naruto stopped knowing how to smile?

Shikamaru shuddered at the thought. No matter what, he vowed, he will always be there for him. He would do anything to protect that smile.

...

"Welcome back Sakura!" Ino cried out delightfully as she ran out and gave her friend a hug. Sakura had taken the two weeks off from school. The shock of finding out about Sasuke and Naruto was crippling. It had taken a few days for her mind to recover back to functionality. Still, her green eyes were still lackluster and dim. It was clear that Sakura was not completely back.

Sakura smiled weakly, as she broke the hug by pushing Ino back. "How has it been?" She asked, as she fingered the ends of her newly cropped pink hair. Ino bit her lip, it was too risky to talk about any news that she knew Sakura wanted to hear about. So, she decided to take a different route.

"I like what you've done with your hair!" Ino said, albeit too cheerfully. "It looks really great on you!"

"Sasuke-kun liked long hair, I thought," Sakura said listlessly, "But, it turns out that he really likes short hair instead." She started to laugh. "The irony!" She cried out, as she shook with mirth. Ino looked scared, her friend was laughing like a demented maniac.

"Sakura... you okay?" Ino asked timidly, afraid that her friend might turn on her. Sakura stopped laughing abruptly. "Yes, I am okay," she said curtly.

"Oh! Just making sure!" Ino said, trying to resume her cheerful voice, "You sure missed a lot! Hinata ... blah blah blah ..."

Sakura nodded at Ino's words but wasn't really listening. Something else grabbed her attention. It was Naruto who was now out and walking with his friends. 'Look at him laughing...' She thought angrily, 'He's laughing, because he stole my one happiness. He stole Sasuke-kun from me!'

Naruto ...' She thought, glaring lividly at the blonde from afar. Her heart was burning with hatred and revenge.

...

Sasuke laid lazily on a particularly cozy nook in between the bush and the grass. A book laid opened on his chest, but remained unread. His attention was everywhere else. His obsidian eyes were open but saw nothing. He was too deep in thought to notice anything else that was happening around him.

"Sasuke," a voice called out. Sasuke blinked and came back to Earth. He saw Itachi standing over him. Sasuke sat up quickly, the book slid off his chest and fell with a dull thump on the grass.

"Oniisan?" Sasuke said in a confused greeting.

"When are you coming home?" Itachi asked. Sasuke sighed. Ever since he left, Itachi had been persistently asking him to come home. In all accounts, Sasuke had adamantly refused. In fact, Sasuke hadn't even told Itachi where he was living.

"Still being stubborn as always, Sasuke," Itachi groaned, as he sat next to him.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said, sincerely. He sighed and was weary. "How is mother?"

"She's worried sick about you. Even if you don't want to see father, you should at least meet up with mother to show that you're at least alive."

"You know I can't do that ... I don't want to keep hurting her."

Itachi sighed in resignation, "You're really serious about leaving the Uchiha name behind..." He put his finger on Sasuke's forehead, and gave him a flick. "My stubborn, stupid little brother." He said lightly with a soft smile. Itachi stood and walked off.

"Tell her, I have a small apartment, and a part-time job! I'm taking care of myself, and that she doesn't have to worry about me living on the streets and starving myself!" Sasuke called out after Itachi. Itachi waved, indicating that he had heard. Satisfied, Sasuke laid back onto the grass.

'I'm sorry, mother, brother. But I am going to carve my own path, ' Sasuke thought with conviction. He reached out towards a sky and grabbed at it. 'Just you wait, I will be more powerful than my father.'

...

"OKAERI! Did you eat yet?" Naruto called from the kitchen as Sasuke entered into the apartment.

"Mngndnng," Sasuke grumbled. He was exhausted. School then a part time job was energy draining. Naruto came into the living room with two cups of ramen in hand. Eagerly, he sat in the couch before the running television, setting the ramen on the table.

"You came back from your part time already?" Sasuke said, as he sat down on the other end of the couch. He was rubbing a sore spot on his nose. Naruto pushed one cup on Sasuke's side. 'Cup ramen, again?' Sasuke thought, as he eyed the MSG laden food in apprehension.

"Mmhmm!" Naruto said, nodding, his mouth full of noodles. He chewed, and then swallowed. "Ano-sa! Did you get today's math lesson? I tried, but it's just not sticking inside my head."

Sasuke gave Naruto a side-long glance and sighed, "I guess it cannot be helped, you being dead-last, and all."

"WHAT?" Naruto said indignantly, as he spat out bits of noodles.

"Bring me the notes, we'll go over it together." Sasuke said, as he leaned back and idly watched the television. Naruto grinned, and downed the rest of the cup noodles and soup. Still chewing, he ran into his room to pull out his notes.

Sasuke stared mutely at the cup ramen on the table. 'I guess it can't be helped,' he thought, as he pulled the lid off, and took up a pair of chopsticks. There was something that Sasuke couldn't place. This strange feeling that was overwhelming and difficult to ignore. He wondered, why did he feel so at ease here? Why did he feel a certain lightness that he had never felt while living with his family? It felt strange. The feeling of happiness was strange.

Was it because he was no longer living under the oppression of his father? Or, was it because he was here with him?

Naruto came running out of his room triumphantly. He was holding out his notes as if he was holding out the Olympic torch. "Here it is!" He said happily. Naruto's stupid grin was blinding Sasuke. Looking at Naruto's smile was like staring at the sun in the sky. Why, Sasuke thought, why would he smile like that at me?

Naruto sat back down on the couch, setting the notes on the table. He began to open the notebook, trying to find the appropriate pages. "Nee! Sasu-" Naruto was about to say, but his next words were stifled.

"Eh?" Naruto gasped. Sasuke had pulled Naruto close and embraced him.

TBC

AUTHOR'S NOTE (PART DEUX): If you're wondering why all these people are all thinking about Naruto, it's because the title of this story is "Naruto Complex." Hahaha, so naturally these people are more Naruto-crazed than any avid Naruto manga/anime fan.

Thanks for Reading!