Title- Ink Cartridge
By- Envo
Genre- General/Humor
Type- AU Modern
Theme- Office
Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto.
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Take One: Wakeup Call
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The chilling air swirling about the corner of the maze-like office is unmistakable. The normally lively conversations and energetic gossips dull to a low hum of silence under the oppressing atmosphere within the room; all is still. Swift glances of curiosity and bewilderment coming from all four corners of the room are lost upon the tall figure positioned at the exact spot where all the attention gathers.
Scarlet orbs narrow slightly. This is unacceptable.
"It's so quiet here today—Ah! Uchiha-sama, it sure is nice to see you outside of your office for a change." The feminine, cherry tone breaks the silent spell casting over the crowd of more than thirty.
Twin irritated orbs of crimson train themselves onto the newcomer who just rounded the corner that leads from this spacious room to his own private working space. At the age of twenty-two, the woman before him is no different as any other women, however; he is never one to judge a book from its cover, and that is the sole reason why she stands now before him despite the eye-catching, flamboyant pink hair, big, watery emerald eyes that spells innocent and standing at a height that barely reaches his shoulders. Such a… girl does not fit in the harsh working world, let alone working along his side in his family-owned, widely-known company. But after witnessing the first week of her performance, he is satisfied that his ability in judging people has been proven right once again.
"Haruno."
"Do you need something done, Uchiha-sama?" With a clipboard in hand, the petite woman peers over him and towards the blipping and rumbling machine in the background before sauntering towards him, all the while sending a murderous glare to their numerous audiences; said crowd scurries back to work immediately.
Giving one last scowl over his shoulder towards the offending nuisance, he regards the woman coldly. "I am to understand that should there be any malfunctioned appliance in the office, you would be the one to file a report to the General Administration Department. Why have you not?"
"But there is none." Puzzlement shines brightly in the pair of vibrant green eyes as they stare fearlessly into his own piercing eyes.
Wordlessly, he points towards the machine behind him—its previously loud noises quiet down to a low, persistent drone.
Perplexed jade eyes follow his pointing finger onto the appliance in question before meeting his eyes once again. "The printer? It functions just fine."
"Then explain to me as to why it would not properly perform its specific task?" He knew not only his presence, but his voice alone was much like a knife that could easily intimidate any one; yet it irked him to learn that this woman—who knew no fear— had simply blinked up at him innocently when she should have been cringing in distress.
Small, light steps bring the pink-haired woman to his side. He watches quietly as she glides around with the machine all the while murmuring to herself, "Power, check. Paper, check. Connection cord, check. Setting, check—"
"I'm capable of maneuvering a workable printer, Haruno." His words are cold, but it seems to fall on deaf ears as she continues to poke her head this way and that about the machine. He frowns.
His assistant waves her hand and dismissed his comment casually before straightening up, swiping imaginary dust out of her hands and smoothing her wrinkled skirt in the process. "It is good to go and—"
"Haruno." The warning tone in his voice is a clear indication of his mounting irritation as he bits out her name.
A small frown dons onto her face. "I was getting there. As I was saying, it lacks only one last thing for it to work."
He has to physically stop his molars from grinding against each other when she has all but blatantly tossed away his regards to the matter. "Pray tell."
"You forgot the wakeup call."
Inwardly, he sighs with defeat. This is definitely not the time to argue with the most stubborn woman he know; he still has plenty to do before the day ends. "I beg your pardon?"
"The universal, proper wakeup call for all machine appliances. Here, I'll show you."
He is most certainly not prepared for what his newly-acquired assistant does next. The loud 'clunk' echoes about the large room as she lowers her four-inch high heel back to the plain, tile floor. The printer, nearly half of her size, rockes under the sudden brutal assult of said heel before settling down once more. A slender finger reaches out and presses lightly on the 'print' button displayed on the touchscreen. Surprisingly, the machine roars to life before spitting out sheets after sheets of paper with a speed he never seen. In a daze, he can only look at the pair of woman and machine, completely at a loss for words.
Said woman turn to regard him with a mild concerned look.
"I forgot to ask you how many copies you need," a pile of paper thrust towards him, "Is ten enough?"
A/N: This will be the place where I can dump excess plot bunnies that takes form of drabble pieces. Note the theme, genre, rating and type may change, but all will be centered around Itachi and Sakura (OCC-ness intended).
Hope you enjoy. Reviews, ideas and constructive criticisms are greatly welcomed and appreciated!
Envo 04/12