AN: New story! New story! New story! To those of you who have read my previous work, you probably are thinking something along the lines of "WTF WHY IS SHE ADDING ANOTHER STORY TO HER PILE?" Well the answer is simple: I have an ADHD mind, so I can't just have one main story. Gawsh. I'm just finishing up Green-Eyed Monster *tear* so I decided to start a NEW STORY :D! This is mainly just a prologue type thing. Kind of a starter, to get you familiar with their personalities. I did make Naruto a little more mature, just because the context of the story is kind of hard to incorporate a fun, endearingly dumb personality into. BUT ENOUGH BLATHER. ON WITH THE STORY! TOUCH YOUR EYES AND READ ON!

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Naruto. But I would kindly appreciate it for Christmas. Maybe not even Naruto. What about Kiba? Kiba I would take. *slips Gaara behind back*

Naruto leaned back in his leather chair, kicking his feet out in front of him. It was a nice, quiet afternoon. One filled with relaxing oceanic sounds and numerous cat naps. Slouching further in his seat, Naruto closed his tired eyes, happy that his brother had finally come home from across seas. He had been traveling the world, a wild, adventurous person at heart. He had returned just yesterday, with a new attitude and longer hair. That was about all Naruto could sum up in the twenty four hours Kyuubi had been home. Naruto wasn't sure how to feel about the new arrival.

There was a flick to his head, and Naruto looked up, grinning. Kyuubi was smiling down at him, his red eyes – due to stage contacts – staring lovingly down at the blonde. His read hair was pulled back in a low pony tail, his chin sporting a five o'clock shadow.

"Hey, Kit. Lazy as ever, I see."

Naruto rolled his eyes at his brother, sliding up in his chair before standing up completely, rising to match Kyuubi's height of 6'2. Needless to say, he had grown since his brother had last seen him. Raising his eyebrows, the redhead smiled, conking Naruto on the side of the head before he walked sank down into yet another piece of furniture expertly arranged around their living room. The Uzumaki's lived a fine life of luxury, one that Minato had proudly given them. Sticking his hand out in front of his face, Kyuubi gazed at his nails for a second before showing them to Naruto. They were painted black, each nail perfectly filled in. Snorting, Naruto shoved his brother out of the way.
"When did you get so gay?"

"I think it probably was around my second or third sex adventure with a man. Maybe my fourth. I think I blamed the alcohol for a while." Kyuubi shrugged, following his younger brother into their overtly large kitchen, where their beloved cook, so artfully nicknamed 'Cook' stood, preparing dinner.

"That's gross, Kyuubi. I don't want to hear about that."

"Then don't ask those questions, Kit!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Cook snapped; her gray hair curled up in its bun bouncing furiously as she waved her soup-covered spoon at them. "It was so quite without you here, Kyuubi. And you, Naruto! Shut up! Just be quiet!"

Naruto smiled charmingly at Cook, who softened her scowl but whacked him on the head anyways. Laughing, Naruto looked over to Kyuubi, who had his hands splayed out on the granite of the counter, his red hair escaping its pony tail and falling slightly into his eyes.

"Naruto, I know I've come to terms on my sexuality, but have you?"

Startled, the blonde looked up at his brother, his face dead serious.

"Yes. I'm straight as an arrow." He replied slowly, as if talking to a child. Kyuubi let out a growl of frustration.

"I'm not a fucking kid, you dumbass. I was just checking. I haven't seen you in about two years, so lots of stuff can change. Hell, take a look at me. Two years ago all I wore were baggy sweatshirts and jeans. Now I'm wearing black latex and a tight red t-shirt."

Naruto glanced down at his brother, taking him all in. He had a certain appearance of 'either sex'. He looked casual and putting it simply; cool. Naruto sighed, biting his lip. Kyuubi always knew how to do things. And how to do them well. Naruto never seemed to do anything well. There was a loud banging on the door, and Naruto turned around in confusion, Kyuubi doing the same. As they watched, their father burst in from their front porch, his shock of blonde hair tumbling through the doorway. He whispered something outside quickly before walking up and greeting his sons with a hearty pat on the back. He wrapped his arm around Cook, who snorted at him.
"Boys, I, ah, have a surprise for you. And Cook, too." The old lady looked up at this, interest in her tired brown eyes. Minato smiled kindly at her before he took a couple backwards steps towards the door, his movements gentle and soft, as if he were to scare off a wild animal at any given moment. Finally reaching his destination, Minato gestured softly for whatever, or whomever, was outside to come in. Seconds later, two young men filed into their grand mansion.

Naruto's first reaction was that Minato was pulling a prank on them. He didn't do it often, but when his father joked, he went to the extreme. But then he noticed the condition of the men. One was slightly taller than the other, with long, matted hair that was hastily pulled into a ponytail, a few jagged strands escaping. He had two lines running down from his eyes, marking his dirtied face. He was wearing rags for clothing, as was the other man. Slightly shorter, the boy had the same, dark, midnight hair as the first, their face structures starkly similar. The second boy was also dirty, although his hair was shorter than the first, it hung around his face in greasy clumps. There were scratches marking the expanses of pale skin that were bare, and they had no shoes. But despite all of this, the thing that gave Naruto chills to his very core was the fact that they were wearing chains. Much like animals, they both had black collars encircling their necks; metal leashes cut unevenly in the middle from what Naruto assumed had been from a tool to cut them loose.

He heard a chair scrap roughly against the polished wood behind him, and then heard Kyuubi say, "What is this?"

Minato glanced over at the pitiful picture, the portrayal of mankind beaten down to nothing. Naruto's stomach rolled.

"You two both know about the slave business, I'm sure."

Naruto nodded. It was a sickening pastime that wealthy people indulged in for the fun of it, like these people were prizes, materialistic things to flaunt. The poor souls who often ended up in the positions of slavery were people who thought they had no hope left. Sometimes parents would give their children away for money when they hit rock bottom. Other times people, mainly people ten through twenty eight, were stolen from their homes and kidnapped into the industry. Many times, however, people with nothing else to live for wound up serving others for no pay at all. Naruto was disgusted with it, just like his father and brother.

"These two young men were forced into slavery when their parents ran out of money. They were sold into an abusive owner. He finally put them back up on the market when he was fed up with their resistance. I was passing by the auction when I spotted them…" Minato trailed off, closing his eyes for a second and Naruto knew what kind of pain he was experiencing again. The memories attacked his mind swiftly and fiercely, but he pushed them quickly back down before they could get control of him. Taking a deep breath, Minato labored on, "I couldn't let them die. I…" Shaking his head, Minato gently touched the younger one's shoulder. "So I took them in."

Naruto released a gust of air, taking in the men with sympathetic eyes.

"Well, let's clean them up, why don't we?" Naruto insisted, stepping forward to take the smaller boy's hand. He looked up, surprised, and Naruto bit his lip. He was beautiful. Wait. No. He was a guy. He was not beautiful. Minato nodded gratefully, sinking onto the counter's barstool. Kyuubi walked gently over to the older man, and Naruto and Kyuubi split up, Naruto taking the upstairs bathroom, Kyuubi taking the main level.

Guiding the wounded man up the stairs, Naruto led him carefully into the gleaming bathroom, setting him down on the toilet while turning the warm water on. He heard a low whimper and looked over. The boy was cradling his arm, where a long, jagged gash decorated his skin. Shoving down a wince, Naruto bent down beside the boy, trying to look him in his dark eyes.

"I'm going to ask you to get into the bathtub, okay? I won't try anything funny, I won't even try to touch you, all that I'm asking is that you take off your clothes and slide into the water. I'll even turn away when you take your clothes off." Naruto said soothingly, and the boy turned to look at him.

He remained silent, his dark eyes flickering over Naruto's face slowly. He inhaled softly, then nodded, standing up. He was unmoving in his silence, but Naruto turned around, listening as the raggedy pieces of fabric fell to the ground. Then there was the sound of splashing water, and, following, a small sigh. Running his hands nervously over his jeans, Naruto peeked over his shoulder.

The brunette's body was hidden under a layer of soapy bubbles, but his relaxed face was clearly visible. His body was slouched in the tub, his tense body posture before melting away seamlessly. His eyes fluttered closed and before Naruto could say or do anything, the boy was asleep.

oOo

Kyuubi stared at the tall man, slightly shorter than him, trying to decide how to approach things. The man had collapsed instantly once Kyuubi had placed him on the counter, dead to the world. But not dead dead. Just asleep. At first, the redhead had thought that the raven-haired man truly had died. He had frantically checked his pulse, and found it, to his relief, beating softly against the skin of the boy's neck. Much like a butterfly's wings. Leaning against the counter, Kyuubi took his selfish time to examine the fine specimen of man in front of him, even in the poor state he was in. In some sick, sadistic way that worried him more than he would admit, Kyuubi was almost glad they had these boys in their possession.

Shaking his head as if to clear himself of the disturbing thoughts, Kyuubi turned on the bathwater, closing the tub's drain so it would fill with warm water. As he prepared the bath – pouring in the bubble mixture – Kyuubi skillfully kept his eyes from straying to the broken down man behind him. Questions buzzed through his head like bees on coffee, flicking from one subject to another. What was his name? Why did his parents give him up? How old is he? Was that his brother down there? How badly did his owner hurt him? Was he sexually harassed? Was he gay? Kyuubi quickly glanced behind him, as if his thoughts were audible.

Biting his lip, the redhead finally walked over to the brunette, delicately sliding him to the floor. Hesitantly he touched the fabric of the rags he wore, afraid that if the man were to wake up, he would assume the worst. Deciding that it was absolutely necessary to get him cleaned, Kyuubi finally managed to drudge up the courage to pull what measly clothing covered the former slave. Tossing it to the side, Kyuubi tried in vain to keep his eyes from wandering over the man's now exposed body, but found he could not help himself. Allowing but one glance, Kyuubi's heart stopped not because of the beauty, but the horror he saw. Jagged, harsh cuts crisscrossed the raven's chest, marring his perfect skin. In some places there were clean, crisp cuts, leading Kyuubi to believe that he had been sliced with a knife. Shuddering and turning away, Kyuubi quickly lowered the man into the soothingly warm water, soon after turning off the faucet when the water rose.

Unable to help himself, Kyuubi took the pony tail out of the man's hair, letting it fall out of its binds. As half of it sank into the water, the tangles loosened, and Kyuubi softly smoothed them out, watching as the dark, midnight locks floated like seaweed through the midst of the bubbly bath. Sighing and leaning against the side of the tub, Kyuubi silently wondered how Naruto was fairing. Then he paused to think about what their lives would be like now, with two new, not to mention extremely attractive, members of the manor. He figured, at least, things would be dramatically different.

oOo

Minato sat in the kitchen with Cook, his head in his hands as the weight of the situation he had brought upon his family firmly rested on his shoulders. He had just brought in two strangers from a slave auction, without any background information other than they had been previously abused. He hadn't been thinking about his boys' at the time. He had been thinking of something else. Turning back to his valued friend, Minato ran his hands over his face.

"Cook, how do we know that these boys' aren't violent? For all we know they could have been mentally scarred by their previous owner… They could act out, or…" He trailed off when Cook gave him a look, abandoning her soup to sit down across from him. This was serious. Cook never left her food.

"Minato. You just saved those two young men's lives. You should feel like a saint. You just brought them into your home, lavish, might I add, for free. You aren't forcing them to cater to your every need, to bow down to you, you're asking them to live peacefully. And after the life they just had, I think they are going to readily accept it. And if not," Cook stopped for a moment, smiling mischievously at Minato. "Well, your boys' are tough. They'll figure it out."

AN: OK, first chapter. I hoped you guys liked it :D! I already have the skeleton down for the second chapter, but I warn you: I'm stupid enough to juggle three other stories right now. Anyways, thank you for reading, and if you want, leave a review :D I love 'em. Much love,

-IC