Chapter 1 – The Bar That Never Sleeps
Naruto handed a weeping girl a few tissues and leaned forward slightly onto the bar top, getting ready to listen to the girl's story – no doubt about her cheating boyfriend.
She sobbed a bit before taking a sip of the whiskey that was infront of her. "H-He cheated on me… with another man" She sobbed even harder as Naruto winced, that was a hard one to deal with. "I turned someone gay, how is that even possible? I thought people are born gay!" Naruto nodded in understanding and gave her another shot.
"On the house, you need it. There's plenty more deserving men out there, don't worry" She smiled at him, eyes red and slightly puffy. "You're a pretty girl, just pull yourself together and go get 'em" He grinned and mock saluted her, watching as she seemed to grow in confidence.
She grasped her bag like her life was in it and walked out of the bar with a new spring in her step. It was moments like this that Naruto really valued his job – he was a people person and he loved helping them, no matter the situation or the character. "Another broken heart, Blondie?" Naruto nodded and turned to look at Deidara, who was cleaning some of the wine glasses behind the bar.
They worked at 'Akatsuki' – a restaurant/bar during the day, and a night club after dark on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only. It was owned by Pein and Konan (who rarely ever showed their faces), but ran by Itachi.
Kakuzu and Kisame were bouncers and general security at the night time, but sometimes came in during the day to help out with odd jobs. Deidara, Hidan and Gaara worked in kitchen and occasionally helped out at the bar during the night. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were the bar tenders for day and night, and there were some students working as waiters on their days off.
"Nothing I haven't heard before, she seems to be feeling a little better now, after some amazing advice from an amazing person" He winked jokingly at the other blonde male who snorted a sarcastic laugh and walked back into the kitchen, shouting at Hidan as a pale hand groped his bum as he walked past.
Naruto took a moment to glance around the bar, it was 6pm and business was starting to pick up – no more than usual for a Thursday. A few regulars sat in their usual seats drinking their usual drinks alone and it made Naruto frown slightly, did they really have no where better to be?
"Oi Dobe, stop staring at customers and come help Sakura with this group" He glanced over to Sasuke, who was looking rather dapper in his black fitted button up and dress pants, a red tie neatly around his neck as he cleaned up a spilled drink at the bar.
He nodded and slipped past the elder male, moving to stand next to Sakura, flashing the group of girls seemingly on a hen night, a brilliant smile; it never hurt to try and get a few extra tips.
"Evening ladies, what can I get you?" Some of the girls giggled, drinks already in hand and apparently a few more already in their systems.
"Um, another bottle of rosé for the bride-to-be?" One petite girl asked him, leaning flirtatiously onto the bar so that her cleavage was showing. Sakura turned around to grab it and Naruto didn't miss the roll of the eyes, as annoying as it was being hit on all of the time, he couldn't help but be flattered.
"Coming right up" He grabbed 6 glasses as Sakura uncorked the bottle and placed it in a bucket of ice on the counter and letting Naruto pour out the glasses. "So who's the bride-to-be then?" One of the more tipsy girls with bright orange hair grinned and raised her glass, her whole body swaying slightly until one of her friends stopped her from falling any further.
"Well I hope you enjoy your night, if you need anything, just give me a shout" He grinned a cheeky smile and moved back over to the busier side of the bar, fixing his tie a bit as he went – it was a somewhat nervous habit of his that he had picked up over time.
"Get any numbers then, hotshot?" Sakura chuckled and grabbed the ordered beer from the fridge behind her, turning and handing it to a customer.
"Not yet, I think I'm going to try and steer clear though" Sasuke made no comment, just sent him a look that said 'Good'.
He and Sasuke had a strange relationship, they weren't together, but at the same time, they weren't seeing anyone else. Sakura said it was a commitment issue that stopped them from actual saying they were dating, but they were happy with the way they were and that was all that mattered to them.
"Calm down Ice Queen, Naruto isn't going anywhere" Sakura laughed and dodged to tea towel that was thrown at her head.
"He knows that. So, what are we doing for this month's theme?" Naruto asked, moving to grab a box that had just been delivered with new shot glasses in it. The bar hosted a themed night every month, to give a bit of variety to the bar. Last month was cops and robbers, the one before that, strippers and pimps.
That was when Itachi strolled down from his office, with a clipboard in hand and a concerned look on his face. "I heard something about themes…" He muttered before glancing at the trio.
"Yeah, I was thinking maybe devils and angels" Itachi nodded at Sakura's suggestion, making an approving noise. "Naruto, I'll get the costumes. Will you sort of decorations and stuff?" She grabbed her coat, her shift was over for the day and no doubt she would start looking for costumes ASAP as she had a lot to get.
"Sasuke will come with me, right Teme?" The elder man made a grunt in acknowledgement and disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Naruto to finish dealing with the last of the night's customers.
