Chapter Text
4 AM was way too early for Sasuke to be standing in the middle of his room with a suitcase in his hand. Not that it made a difference, he didn’t sleep all night. How could he when he was about to do something so reckless? There was a reason he was working his ass off every day to save up as much as he could. And finally, the day came. He’s going to leave this fucked up house for good. He won’t suffer ever again. That’s what he kept telling himself over and over to keep the little courage he had from slipping away. It will be over…I’m doing it. Right now. That is, if everything works out and he leaves unnoticed.
As if on cue, Sasuke’s phone buzzed, and there it was.
04:03 AM
Suigetsu: “I’m at the spot”
Sasuke stared at the message, knowing there was nothing holding him up any longer. Nothing except the fear that’s eating away at his entire body. The cold stare of his father lingered in his mind. The hard hand that left him bruised more times than he could count still ached under his skin. He took a deep breath and tried not to think of what could happen if he got caught. Sasuke pushed through the fear and left the room. The suitcase was clutched in his trembling hand. He’s never been this quiet in his entire life.
Somehow, he managed to get to the entrance. Now the worst part, he thought, ready to unlock the door he knew damn well was anything but quiet. Heart pounding, Sasuke twisted the lock. In the quiet of the night, the sharp click sounded unnaturally loud, and he knew better than to stay even a second longer. He wouldn’t risk getting his last beating or being dragged back to the cold house. So he bolted.
He ran as fast as he could to the place where Suigetsu was waiting to drive him away from this hell. “Fuck, fuck! Where is he?!” Sasuke looked around, panicked, and finally, his eyes caught the familiar car. He didn’t know if anyone had run after him or if anyone had even noticed his absence. He could only imagine his father’s rage in the morning. He felt kinda bad for his mother, staying with this monster, but on the other hand, she never did a thing when he or Itachi were the objects of her husband’s abuse. She always just stood there and acted like nothing happened, cold as ever. Sasuke forced the thoughts about his mother out of his mind as he rushed to the car. What had happened in the house was none of his business anymore.
“Drive,” Sasuke said the second he dropped into the seat. The door closed behind him as he looked urgently outside the window just to make sure nobody saw him get here.
“Hello to you too, Sasuke,” Suigetsu noted, starting the car immediately. “You really did this, huh?” Sasuke didn’t answer, just slowly breathed out the air he didn’t even realise he was holding as the familiar streets started leaving his sight for good. He wondered if that’s how Itachi felt when he left. When he disappeared from his life and Sasuke stayed in this awful house all alone. Did he even think about him? Was the promise he made a lie right from the beginning? Flashbacks of that day crept back into his mind as the streetlights blurred past the window.
~
“What.” Sasuke couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His heart sank as he looked at his brother crouching in front of him. “Why… Are you just going to leave me here alone, Itachi!?” The young Uchiha’s voice broke.
The older one kept their hands close together, trying to calm his brother. “Sasuke, you know that if there was any other way I would take you with me in an instant… but it’s not that simple, father gave me no choice.” Itachi kept a calm and steady voice, but Sasuke could swear that in his eyes, he saw something broken.
“I promise, the second I’m done with my studies, I'll come get you.” The older one took Sasuke in his arms and held him tight. “I swear.”
From that moment, all that kept Sasuke through the horror of what was his life was that promise. Without Itachi around, no one protected Sasuke from the abuse anymore. It was so much worse. His father resented him right from the beginning, since he wasn’t as smart as his older brother. Wasn’t as talented, as brilliant. Fugaku always repeated that he needed more discipline, more beatings, maybe then he’ll grow up to be something. Itachi always stepped in when their father raised his hand on the little one. With him gone, Sasuke felt hopeless, and the only way to cope with the abuse left him with only more marks on his skin and soul.
~
As the years passed, he started to realise that Itachi’s words were all a lie. ‘He would've come back by now.’ His mind was crowded with the memories of the false promise, twisting at his heart. His father’s screams echoed from downstairs, still in a rage after the boy ran to his room, somehow getting away with only one punch to the gut for not getting a perfect score on some stupid test. Sasuke’s breath came in sharp gasps as he looked around for something, anything at all, that could drown out the familiar suffocating weight building in his chest.
His eyes landed on the bathroom door and in the haze of panic, a desperate idea started to form… And then, Sasuke discovered a new kind of quiet. When the red welled up, it felt almost comforting, calmed him down. As he sat there in silence, he promised himself that someday he would leave too… He’d be free from this awful life as the son of the Uchiha.
“We’re almost there.” His friend’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “You know, everything’s gonna be different now, better, I mean.” Suigetsu said, glancing at Sasuke. “We’ll live close to each other,” he smirked, “Karin and Jugo will be there too, so this should be fun.”
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “Thrilling,” he said sarcastically.
“I know you like them more than you say, no need to lie.” Suigetu’s face got more serious. “And… your old man won’t be around,” he checked for Sasuke’s reaction.
“Right,” Sasuke answered with a flat tone, not showing any of the emotions that stormed through him at the thought of his father. After a moment of silence, he added, “Thanks for getting me away from there,” feeling genuinely thankful for his friend at this moment.
Without him, he wasn’t sure if getting away would be possible. After all, Fugaku believed Sasuke wasn’t good enough for college. He often reminded him that all he deserved was a punch to the face. It was a miracle he even let him work in the Uchiha Real Estate.
“Don’t mention it, really.” Suigetsu smiled at him, knowing how rare it was for Sasuke to say something like that. “Alright, we’re here,” he said as they arrived at the campus just past 6 in the morning. Suigetsu cut the engine and stretched his arms. “Our new home now, you ready Uchih-”
“Don’t,” Sasuke cut in sharply, “I don’t want to hear that name more than I have to.” His voice heavy with bitterness at the name.
“Alright, whatever you say.” His friend answered with understanding. He pushed the door open, “Well, let’s go, sunshine.”
Sasuke shot him a cold look, but didn’t bother replying. Instead, he got out of the car and the chilled air brushed against his face. He didn’t care about fun or making more friends, his only goal was to get away from the Uchiha family and focus on his studies, in hopes of building a life as normal as it could get.
N
“Naruto!” The screaming echoed through the house. “Are you planning on making Shikamaru wait?!”
The boy turned to the other side on his bed, pulling the pillow onto his head to muffle the annoying voice. He just wanted to sleep a little longer. He could feel how early it was. Why would Shikamaru come here, especially at this hour?
“You do remember what day it is, right?!” This one particular sentence made the blonde momentarily open his eyes in a panic.
“Fuck!” Naruto jumped out of his bed, tripping over a stack of half empty water bottles standing next to it. Did he forget to set up the alarm?! He took his phone and looked at the time in horror, 6:46 AM, fuck, Shikamaru was supposed to come here at 7 AM.
“Shit, shit, shit!” Why did the move-ins have to close this early?! Naruto rushed out to the living room and saw Jiraiya sitting casually on the worn out couch, watching the TV like nothing was wrong.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?!” He asked, not knowing what to do to make it in time. Should he eat breakfast or not? Should he double check his bag to make sure he has everything?
“I did, I was screaming for like 10 minutes, you know?” The man said with a suspicious look in his eyes. He saw how stressed his boy was, so he decided to cut him some slack. “It’s okay, Naruto, you have plenty of time,” he added with a smirk.
“How?! I don’t!” Naruto answered, running through the room, grabbing things he thought would be useful in college. “Shikamaru will be here in literally 10 minutes or less, I’m fucked!”
He stopped running when his eyes landed on the breakfast prepared on the table. He cursed himself for not being able to eat it. “I’m so sorry, old man… You did this for me and I-”
“Shikamaru will be here in like half an hour, Naruto,” Jirayia said calmly, still watching the TV with a smile. “You think we don’t know about your oversleeping habit?” He snorted, looking at the young boy, noticing the change on his face.
Naruto could feel the panic fading and chuckled in answer, “Of course you do… I should have known,” he said with a grin on his face and sat at the table to eat his breakfast.
His heart was still pounding, but he tried to ignore it and let his eyes linger over every corner of the apartment. After all, he didn't know when he would be able to return. This place and Jiraiya were his first real home, and now everything will be… different. New place, new people. Naruto tried to keep his anxiety from taking over, but after living most of your life bouncing between foster houses with people making you feel like an outcast and having no one who actually cares, no one who will welcome you with open arms, it’s hard not to expect the worst.
He noticed Jiraiya getting up from the couch, “Naruto, I suppose that, as your guardian, I should tell you to study hard or not get in trouble,” the older man sat in front of him and looked him in the eyes, “But what I actually want for you is to have fun and live your life to the fullest,” he encouraged, his voice firm but kind.
“You’ve been through enough already, so I don’t want you to stress for no reason.” He added with a warm smile.
Naruto gave him a smile back as he replied, “Thanks, old man, I just can’t wait to get there, you know?” He giggled as he finished his breakfast. “I’ll have my own room, with, I hope, a cool roommate,” Naruto said while putting the now empty plate in the sink. “Plus, Shikamaru will be there too, and we’ll definitely make a ton of new friends, so I’ll have plenty of fun for sure!”
He looked at Jirayia with reassurance. “So you don’t have to worry, I definitely won’t!”
Naruto knew that his guardian still saw right through him, but he didn’t say that just to keep him from worrying. He said that because he wanted to believe that as well. He wanted to make it a reality and go to college with ease, make lots of friends and not let the past keep him from starting a new chapter in his life. He has Jiraiya now, and Shikamaru is always there for him, so there is nothing to be scared of. This isn’t foster care, he’s an adult now, this time he’s not alone.
“I’ll try,” his old man promised, “And you better try to get yourself some hot girl in there!” He advised, “College is a perfect place for that, it’s crowded with beautiful young women waiting for you to come up, so look around when you get there!” Jiraiya added with a smirk, being his usual self.
“You old perv, of course that’s what you’d do on the first day,” Naruto said teasingly and went to get his bag.
~
Later, when Naruto was ready with everything, the doorbell finally chimed. He went to open the door, knowing that his friend had arrived.
“Hi Shika! Packed everything?” He grinned at the sight of his friend.
“Yeah, it was a drag but I managed,” Shikamaru sighed, “Hate to rush you, but even I came a little late, so we gotta go now,” he added and yawned right after, clearly his friend wasn’t a morning person.
“I have everything so we’re ready to go,” Naruto showed Shikamaru the bag in his hand and they went to the car.
They packed their bags in the trunk, and before they got in the vehicle, Jirayia ruffled Naruto’s hair, “I’ll be here when you get back, kid.”
Naruto hugged him tight in response. “I’ll call you when I’m done moving in,” he reassured. “Thank you… For everything.”
Jiraiya just gave him the biggest smile in response. He really changed his life for the better and pulled Naruto out of his lowest. He became his true family, the most important person in his life.