This fanfiction is loosely based on the Taiwanese drama, Autumn's Concerto, but I have taken many liberties and only included what seems best for the story as well as some of my own plot. In order for the story to work, the characters may behave out of character but I will try to keep them as close to the originals as I can. I'm not sure how long this fic will be yet but there'll be at least 20 chappies.

Warnings: mild sexual abuse, mpreg, narusasu.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to the wonderful Kishimoto.

Chapter 1: Homecoming

Returning to Konoha was not exactly what Sasuke had expected when he found out that his foster parents were moving, and thus, he along with them.

Karin had vaguely explained in her usual snappish tone, which she reserved specially for Sasuke, that Orochimaru, her husband and Sasuke's foster father, had rekindled connections with former acquaintances and suddenly decided that they were packing up their lives and leaving Oto. Having managed to secure her bento business a space in the cafeteria of Namikaze Academy, the most prestigious school in Konoha, Karin had been ecstatic for days. Granted, anything relating to the prospect of bettering their financial standing would have her bouncing around the walls with dollar signs practically coming out of her eyes.

Nevertheless, Sasuke was, least to say, not nearly as excited at the idea of returning to his former hometown. His parents had died in an accident when he was six, and not a few weeks later, Itachi – his brother and last remaining family.

Left entirely alone, Sasuke was vulnerable to the clutches of those who did not mean well. The orphanage, to where he had been sentenced, crowded and understaffed as it was, had used the opportunity to rid themselves of yet another profitless expenditure by offering him to Orochimaru, kingpin of the underworld in Oto, on one of his regular visits.

Sasuke could still remember the way the other children had looked at him when Orochimaru had taken special interest in him.

Jealousy was certainly not one of them.

With Orochimaru and his wife, Karin, steering the reins of his life, the remainder of Sasuke's childhood had not been particularly enjoyable. He was set to work the moment he stepped foot into their home and had to 'earn his place' within the household.

And that had been his life for the next eleven years.

Now, sitting in the backseat of the car, staring through the window and watching the world flash past as Karin jabbered on without anyone paying any attention to her, Sasuke absently wondered if his life would be any different in Konoha. How would he feel being 'home' again? What would it be like seeing his old house … with all the memories, both happy and painful and everything in between?

"Oi! Drive faster Four-eyes!"

Broken from his thoughts, Sasuke looked up just in time to see a hideously orange car whizz by them on the freeway, carrying a bunch of hooligans who were leering at Karin and her slow-paced driving.

"Fucking retards!" she screamed after them while Orochimaru merely chuckled as they vanished into a speck in the distance. "Kids these days are the spawn of the devil, I swear," she said acidly.

Sensing a long-winded rant on the way, Sasuke pulled his headphones over his ears and turned his music up until he could no longer hear the outside world. It was stupidly sentimental of him, but he somehow felt closer to his family whenever he did this. The headphones and Walkman had belonged to his brother.

During the entire drive he tried to ignore the pair of yellow eyes watching him closely through the side view mirror.

-xXx-

When they arrived, Sasuke could hardly recognise Konoha anymore. The once-relatively modest village had turned into an industrial city. High-rise buildings and towering apartment complexes overshadowed the aesthetic greenery which Konoha had previously been well-known for. He supposed it was to be expected. Konoha was now the wealthiest and most thriving city of all the major nations. Perhaps it was for the best that Sasuke's former home had been demolished and replaced by a lavish shopping plaza, or that the old playground where Itachi had taught him how to throw a punch had been turned into a basketball stadium.

At least now he didn't need to worry about ghosts coming back to haunt him.

"So fancy!" Karin squealed in delight, her foul mood instantly vaporising the moment she caught sight of the designer clothes and accessories donned by nearly every single person in sight.

In her mind, this clearly translated to the pinnacle of sophistication.

Or in Sasuke's opinion: indulgence and ignorance.

Their new house was a cramped, two storey affair. Though it was by no means the kind that could only be accessed via a dingy alleyway like their previous lodging in Oto, it was nowhere near the extravagant complex Karin had evidently hoped for. Despite her husband's line of work, Orochimaru tended to spend his earnings on more unsavoury investments, such as a lab for his 'research', often leaving Karin to carry the weight of the bills with her bento business.

Orochimaru was a negligent husband in every sense of the word, which often led Sasuke to question why they were even married in the first place.

Crestfallen, Karin turned to her husband. "Is that it?"

"It would seem so, my dear," Orochimaru replied absentmindedly, typing away on his phone.

"If I'd known that we'd be living in this kind of place I wouldn't have agreed to come so easily," Karin accused, her face sullen. "You said our lives would be better here."

"And so they shall."

Whining, Karin pouted, "But you said that we'd-"

"Careful," Orochimaru warned, effectively cutting off the moping redhead. She was clearly trying his patience and he seemed not to be in the mood to accommodate her on this occasion. "You wouldn't do anything as silly as doubt me, would you?" he asked.

Having the grace to blush under her husband's slight reprimand, Karin directed her humiliation towards the only person she could – Sasuke, who was already in the process of climbing out of the car to escape the oncoming tantrum he could see approaching from a mile away.

"What are you still doing here? Take the boxes inside," Karin snapped at him. "Don't give me that face! Make yourself useful. I've been driving all day while you've had your ears stuffed with that awful racquet."

Throwing a look of utter contempt in her direction, Sasuke began unloading their trunk with as much force as possible, not caring if he damaged its contents. They were likely his insufferable foster mum's anyway. Most of their effects had already been transferred to their new 'home', or they had been left behind in Oto.

Personally, Sasuke didn't have any possessions that he particularly cared about. Except his headphones and music player. Naturally.

"Hurry up and take the rest inside then get us some lunch," Karin demanded, dismounting their car as a queen would.

About to reply with a shrewd insult that she would be too dim-witted to understand and therefore catch, Sasuke opened his mouth but was interrupted when Orochimaru stepped in front of him. "Don't worry about the rest. I'll finish here," he said silkily to Sasuke, brushing against his arm as he took the box that Sasuke was carrying and placed it on the ground.

The hairs on Sasuke's arm bristled and he clenched his jaw.

"Whatever." He spun on his heel, only too happy to get away.

"Wait, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke grit his teeth. "What now?"

A wide smile appeared on Orochimaru's face, but Karin was not so obliging of his behaviour.

"What an attitude! Show some respect. We raised you," she shook her head in anger. "Honestly Orochimaru, I don't know why you're so soft with him. You're spoiling him."

If there was a bigger lie out there, Sasuke would willingly sell his soul to the devil.

"Why don't you go inside and rest, dear?" Orochimaru suggested. "You must be tired, no?"

"I suppose you're right," she sighed grudgingly, as though she was kind enough to want to stay and lend assistance.

Once Karin had left them alone, Orochimaru pulled a few bills from his wallet.

"I saw a ramen establishment a couple of blocks down. Get yourself something too." He smiled and placed the money in the back pocket of Sasuke's jeans, hand lingering.

Sasuke twisted his head away. "We're in broad daylight," he said.

Lightly chuckling, Orochimaru took a step back. "I suppose you're right. Run along then."

Quickly turning, Sasuke walked away before his foster father could think of another reason to harass him. He dragged his feet for as long as he possibly could, stalling for time. Eventually he reached a large sign which read Ichiraku's Ramen, indicating his destination. A bright orange car was parked right outside.

Sasuke immediately recognised it from earlier. He could not have missed it even if he had tried. Everything about the atrocity simply begged for attention. No doubt the owner was an attention-seeker. They had even ignored the parking lines and placed their car dead centre in the middle of the road, not caring that others would have to go around them to pass.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Sasuke dismissed both the car and its owner as he entered the restaurant.

The interior was rather attractive. Cosy-looking booths were lined up along the walls and unique lanterns shaped like strings of ramen hung down from the ceiling, emitting a soft light that bathed the place in a perpetual illusion of dawn.

The number of patrons, however, was extremely unattractive. Sasuke, by nature, disliked people, and consequently, he hated crowds and lively spaces. This was both, and more. He could already feel his energy seeping from his pores. The queue was also atrociously long.

He could either wait or find another food joint, however this also meant that he would be back sooner.

Choosing the lesser of two evils, Sasuke headed towards the counter and took his place at the back of the line.

As he waited, Sasuke noticed that he was receiving curious looks. He was not sure what about him warranted their attention, but he could hazard a guess.

From young, Sasuke had always been praised for his looks. It was as though one could control their appearance and he had somehow done a good job of it. The notion was preposterous. In Sasuke's opinion, by some unlucky draw of fate, the features of his face just happened to be arranged in a way the general human populace deemed 'attractive' and therefore, 'desirable' - an unhappy fact of life that had caused him more grief than it was worth.

Or perhaps Sasuke was underestimating them. After all, he had yet to see a person here who was not above-average in the looks department. With all the money and time on their hands, they could have as many surgeries, facials, manicures, pedicures and whatever other superfluous activities people did to beautify themselves.

No, now that he thought about it, he was quite certain they were staring because of his clothes, which were not rags, but also did not resemble in the slightest what they themselves were wearing. Sasuke didn't possess the knowledge to even begin to attempt to describe the range of fabrics and cuts that mauled his vision.

Regardless, he couldn't care less of their judgements and criticisms. He was not made of money and Sasuke was most definitely not ashamed of it. He would much rather remain a pauper for the rest of his life than turn into one of those empty-headed, plastic-looking, superficial dunces.

A girl seated near the left of him was not even trying to be discreet as she stared open-mouthed at him.

Sasuke glared back until she realised what she was doing.

Immediately, the girl dropped her gaze in embarrassment and nudged her friend next to her, sulking as one would when caught passing notes during class by a very strict teacher.

Satisfied, Sasuke put on his headphones. They were always kept safely around his neck. That way, if he ever lost them, that would mean that he was headless.

And most probably dead.

He turned on his music again, but was immensely disappointed when even the highest volume did not block out the piercing noise of chaos that surrounded him.

A particular booming laugh was invading his ears and Sasuke irritably clamped his hands over his headphones, pressing so hard that the headset was literally squashed against his head like pancakes.

But the laugh continued.

And continued.

Eventually surrendering to the noise, Sasuke dragged his headphones back to his neck as he scanned the sea of heads for the source of such an annoying sound.

And as soon as he saw him, he knew he had found him.

The owner of the car.

Until he had see him, Sasuke didn't think it was even possible, but the guy was even more attention-demanding than his car. Everything about him: from his spiky blond hair, the bright blue eyes, those gaudy orange clothes, to the six curious scars on his face, screamed 'notice me'.

"Excuse me, sir? Sir!"

Realizing that he was being addressed, Sasuke turned back around and saw a brown-haired girl behind the counter. "You're next in line, sir."

Disturbed by his lack of attentiveness, Sasuke gingerly approached the girl and placed his order. He was not particularly a fan of ramen, so he did not bother to buy anything for himself. He did not feel like eating anyway. It was also his own way of defying Orochimaru. Though it was childish of him, whenever Sasuke could get away with it unnoticed, he would do the exact opposite of what the scheming man wanted him to. Even if Orochimaru never found out about it, the act of rebelling against him was one of the few things Sasuke deliberately sought.

Just as his order was about to be made up, an unnecessarily loud voice belted right into his ear, "Make me up another four bowls of miso ramen, stat. And gimme extra pork too!"

"H-Hai!" the girl stuttered. She shot Sasuke an apologetic look, and he was certain that he looked murderous, because her eyes flickered between him and the loudmouth, petrified. Sasuke could almost see the cogs spinning in her brain trying to determine who she was afraid of the most.

In the end, Sasuke could tell she chose Loudmouth by the heavy blush on her cheeks and the beads of sweat forming on her brow as she looked at him.

She hurried off to tell the cooks the change of order.

Sasuke turned to face whoever had the audacity to skip the queue after he had waited almost an hour in the overcrowded noise-fest to be served. The person needed a crash course in etiquette and Sasuke was only too happy to oblige.

Of course.

It was the blond punk.

"You."

The blond glanced at him as though he had just realised that Sasuke was there.

"Huh?" he asked with a stupid expression on his face.

Definitely a dimwit, Sasuke thought.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sasuke asked quietly, dark eyes hidden beneath his bangs.

The blond looked perplexed. "Er- Ordering more food?"

"I'm not sure if the confused look on your face is a testament to how stupid you are, but just so you're clear, this if the front of the line."

The bewildered expression deepened. "I know," the blond replied. "That's why I came here."

"What are you, a moron? When you enter a queue, courtesy dictates that you go to the back of the line. Tch. Usuratonkachi."

Well, at least the loser understood when he was being insulted if the deep frown on his face was anything to go by.

"Look, asshole, I own this place."

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" countered Sasuke.

"Now who's too dumb to understand anything?!" the blonde remarked, clearly furious. "I can have you thrown out of this place in an instant!"

"Go ahead!"

They now had the entire restaurant as their audience, but Sasuke didn't care. His temper, which he normally quashed to the minimal snide comments, was steadily rising and would soon approach boiling point. Something about this guy just pissed Sasuke off in every way possible.

"Ayame!" the blond yelled, eyes trained fixedly on Sasuke.

It took Sasuke a moment to realise that he was referring to the girl at the counter.

"H-H-Hai?" she squeaked.

"Don't serve anything to this teme. Ever. You hear me?" the blond growled, pointing directly at Sasuke's face.

Sasuke was not a violent person, but he was filled with a sudden urge to hit the moron.

"H-Hai!"

The blond sneered at Sasuke smugly, self-satisfaction and triumph plastered across his annoying face. It was as though he had won a game despite having cheated. How someone could be so childish and irritating was beyond Sasuke, but this was someone he most definitely refused to lose to.

"It's people like you that I hate the most," he sneered. "People like you, who inconvenience others and abuse your power for the sake of your own selfish amusement. 'Own this place'? Please. I doubt you've worked a single earnest day in your pampered life. What do you know about 'ownership'? What do you know about anything? You're just a spoilt brat who doesn't live in the real world."

Deadly silence.

Sasuke knew that every single pair of eyes was on the two of them. It was as though their spectators were hoping for more drama the way they had all stopped eating, leaning forwards in their seats to get a clearer view.

Well, he wasn't going to give it to them.

Huffing angrily, Sasuke walked out the door without another word, leaving everyone, including the insufferable blond, staring after him in shock.

Thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated!