Chapter 1- Making the Deadline

Naruto felt his scowl deepen as he read through his email messages. The longer he read, the deeper into a pit he sank, and the more weight came to push him underneath the surface.

As a star editor of Konoha Publishing, Naruto had a lot on his plate and his clients certainly weren't helping him out to the best of their ability. In fact, they were the ones who threw him under the bus in the first place.

The deadline for one of his works was at the end of next week and the author was nowhere near done with the chapter. She'd sent an email practically begging for help rather than offering a possible solution to their problem. Naruto knew he couldn't bribe the publishers into waiting another few days, he'd pulled that card too many times before and the trick was wearing thin. The author just wasn't coming through anymore. Excuses piled on top of excuses and Naruto didn't know whether she was simply over her head or really shabby at making deadlines.

He couldn't blame her too much though. The two had a few things in common: they ran late most of the time, their appetites were pretty dynamic, and they were both unreasonably determined. No matter how late the chapters came, the author never failed to get them in. Naruto also found the author to be a very respectable woman.

He had learned his lesson from his rookie days and no longer messed around with his clients, but he would still eat lunch with her occasionally simply to bond over their personal lives outside of the workplace.

However, this particular author was dragging him through the wringer. All of his other authors had come through this month, except for her, and Naruto didn't have time to put up with her problem; he doubted he'd have time for anything at all, ever again.

"Naruto, earth to Naruto."

Naruto glanced up from his keyboard to see his boss Kakashi standing beside his desk.

"Oh, hey boss what's up?"

Kakashi adjusted the allergy mask he always wore and chuckled back at him, the sound slightly muffled. "Sometimes I think your face is going to be permanently set into a scowl…it doesn't suit you."

Naruto couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled out of his chest. He tried to smooth down the creases in his forehead with his hand. "Yeah I'm pretty sure that I'm prematurely aging over here."

"Author giving you grief?"

"Yeah…"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and scratched the back of his head.

"Well I hate to add more to your plate…but I don't have much of a choice. I need you to take another author."

Naruto widened his eyes in horror. "Who?!"

"His name is Sai. He wrote Teacher Student Warfare, Waiting in July, Night Stalker, and a few others."

"Aren't those…crazy erotic mangas?"

Kakashi coughed into his fist and cast a quick look around the room.

"Yeah but I couldn't assign him to anyone else. Kiba's struggling with his four, Lee is nearly having a breakdown when he insists that he can handle more, Sakura is barely hanging on, and the others…well the others…"

"Yeah I get it." Naruto turned his attention back to the computer and began to adjust his calendar. "I got you covered Kakashi."

"You're a lifesaver."

"How's Make Out Paradise coming along?"

Naruto couldn't ignore the high pitch of excitement that touched his boss's voice when he responded in a rush, "The fourth book is making its last rounds through publishing and Jiraiya's already laying down the plot line for the next book, in fact I sat down with him a couple of days ago to help him brainstorm ideas and from what I heard it's going to be yet another best seller that's going to skyrocket his career and bring this company back into the spotlight-"

After a while, Naruto began to tune him out, nodding occasionally to make Kakashi think that he was still listening as he began to stress about his schedule all over again.

There was nothing Naruto hated more than the First Meeting. When he had to introduce himself to the author and start anew, when feelings were still awkward and hesitant as they became acquainted. It was the meetings afterward that Naruto loved; trying to bond with his new client and learning their style of writing or drawing was always an experience that he enjoyed as an editor. But now he had to meet Sai, and from the rumors he'd heard, Sai was kind of weird. Hella weird. And to add on top of that, Naruto had never handled erotic novels before, let along mangas. He didn't know if things would get awkward or if he would manage to do a good job.

Naruto wasn't a genius. It was his hard work that brought him to the attention of the public and the head of their department. However, Naruto was only twenty four and very young in the eyes of the majority of the people working in the building, which also meant that he had limited experience. This was his chance to broaden his horizons and see how he would do in this line of work, but erotic novels didn't exactly sound like his cup of tea.

"Stop dodging the bullet and meet up with the guy already!" Kiba slammed his beer down on the counter with enough force for it to slosh up and down the sides of the can. "You're gonna be spending a lot of time with him in the future, might as well get used to him now."

"But he's creepy." Naruto whined. He couldn't stop turning his drink in his hands long enough to take a sip of it.

"I have to agree with Kiba on this one." Choji shrugged as he plowed through another order of fries. "You're just playing chicken Naruto."

Naruto rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and focused his glare on the hanging lights. Had his friends dragged him to the bar simply for the sake of teasing him? "I don't run away."

"And I never go back on my word." Kiba mocked him with a sneer. "Yeah Naruto, we know. So grow a pair and schedule the meeting."

Naruto groaned. He knew his friends were right. It was only a matter of time before he had to meet Sai anyway. He needed to do it now while he had the time.

"Geez, Kakashi's working us like horses isn't he? I mean, Saturday feels like the only day I have to relax anymore and even that's starting to seem like a temporary luxury." Kiba sighed and dropped his chin into his hand. "I bet my dog thinks I'm neglecting him…"

"I think it's a good way to keep us going!" Lee nodded fiercely from his spot along the counter and took a large gulp of water. "We need to be pushed to reach our full potential!"

"Says the man running on an hour of sleep." Neji muttered over his drink. He watched the others with a subdued expression, his words lacking a bite from his own sleep deprivation.

"See, even Neji can't manage to keep his high quality of sass! He's just as useless to the group as Choji!" Kiba groaned.

"Hey." Choji interjected. "I'm the one who eats the snacks, I'm useful."

Naruto dropped his head into his arms. His friends were just as stupid as he was.

"Hey, you know what I heard? There's someone transferring to our company named Sasuke Uchiha." Kiba lowered his voice to a hushed whisper. "He's coming to our department as a new editor and I hear he's the real deal."

Naruto's head snapped up in annoyance.

"Hah? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Uchiha?" Lee asked slowly, as if he were mistaken. "As in Uchiha Enterprises Uchiha?"

"Yeah I hear it's the president's younger son. The one who couldn't take over the company." Kiba scratched at his growing beard and wiggled his eyebrows at Naruto. "Looks like you got competition."

"Bullshit." Naruto chugged the remains of his beer and scooted away from the counter. "I gotta go."

"Call up creepy guy!" Kiba called after him as he stormed out of the bar. "Tell him I'm a huge fan of his work!"

Naruto ignored him; a surge of annoyance flooded his thoughts. An Uchiha coming to their publishing company? He always believed that Uchihas thought of themselves as too high and mighty to bother with them, let alone the President's son. Something wasn't adding up, and why didn't Kakashi tell him anything? Like hell he'd spend the rest of his career putting up with this guy, there wouldn't even be a competition. Naruto was the best editor in Konoha and he would make sure this Uchiha knew his place.

Naruto stormed his way home, grumbling to himself about how much his life had come to suck, and found himself faced with harsh reality.

"You're late again." Sakura huffed from her book. "Late equals no dinner."

"Sakura, give me a break!"

She quirked a pink eyebrow at him; her face held no trace of a smile.

"Make your own or eat leftovers."

Naruto groaned and dragged himself to the couch to drop onto it like a dead body. He didn't have the energy to cook, let alone walk to the fridge and eat; he could easily go to sleep right here and now. He watched his roommate through one of his eyes; she swiftly turned through the pages of her book with a pensive expression.

"How's studying goin'?" he finally asked her.

Sakura looked up from her book and focused her sharp green eyes on Naruto.

"It's okay. I feel like I'm falling behind since work's being so demanding."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Work was certainly taxing, but for Sakura to be handling work and studying to be a doctor, he had to give her credit for her diligence. She was only working as an editor to pay her way through medical school; hopefully she'd be able to put up with all the stress that came from both.

"You're amazing Sakura." Naruto told her with a yawn as he splayed out on the couch. "I could never do what you do."

"Thanks." Sakura hummed from her spot, before quickly adding, "And no I won't go out with you."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek before the words could tumble out for the millionth time. He didn't know why Sakura was playing so hard to get, all he wanted was a date, nothing else. He couldn't help the fact that he was madly in love with her; her tough exterior and quick wits always kept him on his toes both at home and at work. He just wished that she held a fraction of the affection he felt for her towards him.

"I'm a perfect dating candidate. I'm nice, I'm funny, I have pretty eyes…"

"Is that what the women at the bars tell you?" Sakura laughed from her seat. Naruto frowned. "Do they tell you that your hair is starting to resemble an old crazy blonde mop?"

"Sakuraaaaa…."

"Oh shut up." Sakura closed her book with a loud snap and Naruto heard her footsteps fade away down the hall. "I'm going to bed."

"Night!" Naruto called after her. The only response he got was the slamming of her door. Love you too.

When Sunday rolled around, Naruto found himself pouting in one of his favorite cafés. He had finally gotten around to calling up Sai and setting up a meeting, but as authors usually tended to be, Sai was late. Naruto sat alone at one of the corner tables, watching his mocha latte steam as he waited for the inevitable. The restaurant was relatively empty, so he figured it wouldn't be hard to pick him out of the crowd of customers.

Soon enough, a young man stepped into the shop, his dark eyes darting around the room until they landed on Naruto. He slowly made his way over to him and dropped into the seat across.

No handshake?

"Hello, I'm assuming you're Naruto Uzumaki, my new editor?" his voice was unbelievably soft, making his presence a lot weaker than Naruto expected. To add to that, the guy was unbelievably pale; he was as white as a ghost and it didn't help that the rest of his features were dark. His dark hair and eyes stood out in contrast more than his awful haircut.

"Uh, yeah that's me." Naruto shifted in his seat to sit up a little straighter. "I'm guessing you're Sai then?"

"Yes." Sai's eyes raked over Naruto's appearance. "You're a lot younger than I expected you to be. Are you still in high school?"

"No, I'm twenty-four."

"Oh, well you dress like you're still in high school." Sai shrugged and pulled out a notepad to start scribbling something down.

Naruto chewed on his lip to stop himself from saying something negative. So Sai was the blunt type of guy who didn't care what came out of his mouth…this should be interesting.

"What are you writing?"

"Notes." Sai responded. "I'm thinking about creating a character based off of you. A blonde haired and blue eyed boy who is actually in his twenties but dresses like a horny teenager."

"I'm wearing a flannel and jeans!"

Sai glanced up from his notepad and smirked. "Exactly."

Naruto took a huge gulp from his latte, focusing on the burn in the back of his throat rather than the string of swears that was about to tumble out of his mouth.

"So you write under the erotic category huh?"

"Yes, it's on my resume."

"You don't seem like the type." Naruto decided to test the waters a little, expecting him to get offended.

"People tell me that." Sai didn't look up from his notepad. "The question is, are you experienced enough to properly edit my work?"

Naruto coughed when his coffee went down the wrong way. "Excuse me?"

"You grow your hair out, you dress like a horny teenager, you order lattes, don't tell me you're a virgin too." Sai sighed and set down his notepad to give Naruto a judging stare.

"W-what does ordering lattes have to do with anything?"

"Are you a virgin?"

"N-no, but that's none of your business!"

"Good." Sai picked up his notepad again and scribbled in it, muttering the words under his breath. "Not a virgin. Possibly a prostitute."

Naruto dropped his head into his hands with a heavy groan. He couldn't handle this guy, no way, no way.

"Have you read any of my works?" Sai asked him.

Naruto forced himself back into a sitting position and pushed his bangs back.

"I've read a couple."

"And what did you think?"

"They're very…" Naruto dropped his gaze to the hard wood table. "Very detailed."

"I try." Sai mused. He finally put his notepad away and zipped up his bag. "Well, this was a pleasant meeting, it could have gone better but I'm satisfied with you."

Naruto could feel the beginning pinpricks of anger. "Oh? Leaving already?"

Wait, he's satisfied with me? Who the hell is this guy?!
"I have other business to attend to. Nice meeting you Naruto, I look forward to working with you in the future." And with that, Sai turned on his heels and walked out of the café without looking back.

Naruto stared after him in open-mouthed shock. He was glad that it was over, but geez was that guy a lot to handle. His way of speaking felt almost robotic; the way he'd hand out an insult as easily as offering a compliment was almost too perfect. The guy was weird and Naruto had been right to be iffy about the whole meeting in the first place.

"What the hell am I going to do?" Naruto whined into the last half of his latte, wishing it could somehow offer him an answer.

Naruto spent the next week worrying.

Every day brought him closer and closer to Friday, and the author was still not ready. Naruto was pulling out his hair, fluttering around the office in distress, and running on less the three hours of sleep for the week. By the time Friday rolled around, with the hard copy of the chapter due at two p.m. sharp, Naruto knew it was his death sentence.

But at one twenty, he received a call to meet the author at the library in town to pick up the finished chapter.

"Are you serious? You're sure it's done?!" Naruto cried into the receiver, grabbing his bag as he hung up the phone. He spared no time in rushing out of the office, taking the stairs two at a time instead of the elevator, and rushed four blocks to the public library.

He found his problematic red-headed author in less than thirty seconds, sitting in the lobby with a manila envelope on her lap.

"Karin I'm going to kill you!" he hissed as she handed the envelope to him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry alright?!" Karin adjusted her glasses and put on a scowl. "I got a cold and then really bad writer's block and then‒"

"I'm sorry, but I don't have time to hear it! We'll plan a day to catch up I have to get this in!" Naruto waved goodbye and sprinted back out the library doors and down the street. He dodged people on the street, offering a tired "Sorry" or "Excuse me ladies!" as he pushed through crowds trying to get back to his office on time.

He stumbled into the lobby at one fifty, out of breath and sweaty, and tried to calculate whether it was faster to take the elevator to the seventh floor or the stairs. Naruto decided on the latter and began his ascent up, ignoring the pain flaring in his chest as he pushed his way to the right floor. He threw open the door and raced through the offices, heading straight to the person in charge.

"Neji!" Naruto cried, waving the envelope in the air.

Neji turned to see him coming, his gray eyes widened in horror as he processed what was happening.

"Printing room!" he shouted in response and started running towards the back of the room. Other employees flattened themselves against the wall to allow Naruto and Neji to race by, all of them used to their crazy antics.

Neji snatched the envelope from Naruto's hand and began his work, copying every page for print.

"You better hope she kept your edits!" Neji growled as he collected the final product and slipped it back into the envelope. "Otherwise we're both screwed!"

Naruto only had the strength to offer him a salute and took the envelope back. All he had to do was race back down to the sixth floor and hand Kakashi the final print. He could do it, he only had…Naruto checked his watch and felt his heart sink. He had a minute.

Naruto barreled out of the office and thundered down the stairs back to his own floor, praying he wouldn't trip and fall. He nearly jumped over desks and chairs to reach his section of the floor and stumbled through the archway just as Kakashi was beginning to offer his apologies to his second-in-command Obito, who was also the one in charge of bringing in the final copies.

"Naruto?" Kakashi shot out of his chair, his eyes gleaming. "Is that‒?"

Naruto held the envelope up in triumph. He handed it over to Obito as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Nice work Naruto." Obito smiled and gave Kakashi a curt nod. "I'll make sure this gets in."

Once Obito left the office, Naruto collapsed into his chair in exhaustion. He considered himself a pretty fit guy, but today had a little too much cardio for his liking. He was sweating through his jacket and shirt; looking more like a soaked puppy than a professional.

"You always manage to pull through Naruto." Kakashi dropped a hand onto Naruto's shoulder and patted affectionately. "Like I said before, you're a life-saver."

"I try." Naruto wheezed with a small smile.

"Well now you can relax." Kakashi moved to the front of the office and flipped the large banner they hung on the wall to "END". "This marks the end of the cycle and you all can rest. We have three free days next week before the cycle begins again."

The room offered a low chorus of "yays". Lee had his head on his desk, Kiba had taken a break on the floor, and Sakura had tapped out on the office couch. The room looked more like a crime scene than an office.

He was done. For the next five days, Naruto was free of stress and worry, which was everything he needed at time like this. Well, maybe a shower. A shower would do him some good right now.

"You're all free to leave, catch up on that sleep." Kakashi returned to his desk to grab his bag. Of course he would be the first to leave, if Kakashi was famous of anything, it was being late and leaving early.

Naruto listened to Kakashi's command and stumbled home with Sakura. She went straight to her bed while Naruto dragged himself into the shower, nearly falling asleep in the warm spray of water before he could even make it to his bed. But once he did hit his bed, the soft mattress underneath him felt like heaven.

He burrowed himself beneath the blankets and slept peacefully, until he was shaken awake by Sakura.

"Leave me alone." Naruto moaned into his pillow, but Sakura's shaking intensified.

"Get up you've slept long enough." Naruto could feel the bed dip where Sakura had taken a seat. "Kiba wants to go out tonight to celebrate at Yamato's."

"Go without me."

"I will hit you."

Naruto abruptly sat up and the blankets fell away to leave him exposed to the cool air coming through the windows. He blinked in the dark at Sakura's expression and scratched at his bed head.

"Now hurry up." Sakura commanded and stood up, leaving Naruto in the dark. He didn't bother turning on the light to get dressed; he was too tired to care what he was putting on.

When he stepped out of his room he examined himself in the hallway mirror. He had gotten lucky this time and managed to put on something nice. He wore his black button-up and dark jeans; it was definitely better than the time he wore his bright orange blazer‒Sakura had never forgiven him for that day.

"Brush your hair!" Sakura snapped at him as she examined her make-up in her mirror.

Naruto obeyed, combing through the knots and curls that had taken place in his hair while he slept. Once it finally began to look like it usually did, Sakura grabbed him by the arm.

"Shall we?" she smiled up at him. Naruto smiled back and the two made their way out of the apartment together.

The walk to the club wasn't far, only two blocks away from their apartment, but it could feel unbelievably long after a night of drinking. Sakura and Naruto would hit up Yamato's frequently after the work cycle to celebrate their survival of yet another month.

Kiba stood waiting outside the door and waved as the two approached him.

"Don't you two look like the cutest couple?" he teased.

"He wishes." Sakura laughed.

"I do." Naruto admitted.

They all walked into the club laughing. The loud music quickly swallowed their voices and replaced with a heavy bass that throbbed through Naruto's body as they made their way to a booth. The flashing lights lit up the club in green and red, illuminating the people inside with eerie colors as they mingled around the bar or danced on the dance floor.

"Let's start off with a round of shots." Kiba slid out of the booth. "I'll be back."

Kiba quickly returned with a platter of shot glasses. He set them on the table and dropped back into his seat beside Naruto with a hungry expression. They all picked up their glasses and held them up.

"To finishing the cycle!" Sakura had to yell the toast for them to hear, and they all cheered as they knocked their shot glasses together.

Naruto took the shot with a quick tilt of his neck, relishing in the warm burn it left in his stomach. They proceed to finish their three shots each, giggling at each other's disgusted faces as they did so.

Just as Naruto and Kiba finished their last shot, the doors to the club opened and a group of girls squealed.

"Oh my god." One of them said to her friend. "It's Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Sasuke…?" Kiba mouthed, a wicked smile starting to show on his face. Naruto craned his neck to see the dark haired boy stride in (not walk‒he fucking strides!) alongside a tall boy with white hair. They ordered their drinks first before walking over to an empty booth, not far from where Naruto, Kiba, and Sakura sat.

"So that's the bastard huh?" Kiba sat back in his seat and let out a faint whistle. "I can see why he's popular."

Naruto kept his gaze on Sasuke. He wanted to know what was so great about this guy; he was tall, Naruto could admit that he was handsome, but that was about it.

Sasuke stood up from his booth and shrugged out of his jacket; still talking to the boy he was with. He must have felt Naruto's gaze on him, since he slowly looked over in Naruto's direction and the two made eye contact.

Naruto felt as if he were looking into two black pools; churning with some intense emotion that he couldn't place. Sasuke's face quirked up in a smirk before he broke eye contact and slid back into his booth.

"I don't like him." Naruto declared to no one in particular.

"I'm gonna go get us some more drinks." Sakura smiled and left the booth with a skip. Kiba and Naruto watched her walk past the bar and straight over to Sasuke's booth.

"That traitor!" Kiba hissed.

Naruto watched her slide into the spot next to Sasuke. Even though the room was dark, Naruto could see how red Sakura's cheeks were as she spoke to him. Sasuke made room for her and whispered into her ear with a sickeningly sweet smile that made Naruto shake.

Of all people for Sakura to be interested in‒

"Hey." Kiba put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Let's get outta here, the guy's an eyesore."

It took a bit of tugging and pulling to get Naruto out of his seat, but eventually the two were outside and walking towards a new destination.

"I'll treat you to ramen big guy, so cheer up." Kiba pointed out Naruto's favorite restaurant Ichiraku with a wide smile. "You can get anything you want."

"Thanks Kiba." Naruto let himself be dragged into the small restaurant and took a seat next to Kiba. The scent of cooking noodles and sizzling vegetables dulled the tension building in him and brought a small smile on his face.

"Ah, nice to see you two!" The owner Teuchi smiled at them after he came from the back. He took in Naruto's sad expression and Kiba's wary one. "I know exactly what you need."

"Thanks." Kiba called after him.

Once their ramen was set in front of them, Naruto tried to drown his sorrows in his favorite broth.

"Look, it sucks that Sakura's interested in him, but that doesn't mean anything!"

"He stole her heart just like that." Naruto mumbled around his noodles. "He didn't even say a word to her."

"But he's like that with everyone! I bet once she learns what kind of a person he is she'll be disgusted."

"Nn." Naruto didn't believe that. If it were true, there would be bad rumors about him circling around the village and that was the last thing an Uchiha would want.

"There are other things you have to do anyway; you don't have time for girls." Kiba laughed, but it quickly died. "What about being the next Hokage?"

Naruto slurped his mouthful and set his chopsticks down. Kiba had a point. It had always been Naruto's dream to be the next Hokage, who were some of the most famous writers in their village in history. Their books were outstanding, their messages unbelievably inspirational, and their stories were the most captivating tales Naruto had ever read. He figured his dream stemmed from the fact that his father was the fourth Hokage, and he had always looked up to him for that.

"You always said that you were going to be the next Hokage, a better writer than your dad and the best writer in the village. Did you forget about that?"

"I'll never be as cool as my dad." Naruto let out a bitter laugh. "Let alone write better than him."

Naruto knew his words were out of character, but he felt like they were the truth. He needed to accept reality for what it was now.

"It was all just a stupid ambition I had as a kid. I wanted to be better than everyone at everything. I wanted to be somebody." Naruto picked up his chopsticks again to poke at his noodles. "But in reality I'm probably going to be an editor for the rest of my life, and I'm okay with that."

Kiba stared at Naruto, mouth agape in shock. His bowl was forgotten, and the broth steamed in front of him.

"You're…kidding right?" Kiba tried to laugh it off, but when he saw Naruto's serious expression he stopped. "I think it's just the booze getting to your head‒"

"I'm trying to be realistic Kiba."

"But it's your dream Naruto!"

"It was my dream." Naruto snapped. "Not anymore."

Kiba dropped his gaze to his bowl, but didn't make a move to eat its contents.

"Don't get me wrong, I won't let Sasuke walk into our office and outdo me." Naruto tried to give Kiba a small smile but he knew it looked fake, "I'm not giving up on being an editor because I love my job."

"Yeah…" Kiba finally picked up his chopsticks and scooped up his noodles with a sad slurp.

They ate in silence for the remainder of the night. Kiba didn't offer any jokes, which Naruto appreciated. He didn't want him to feel as though the jokes were flat; Naruto just wasn't in the mood to laugh tonight.

They said their goodbyes after they finished their meals and went their separate ways. Kiba shuffled off with his hands deep in his pockets and Naruto walked off without Sakura. She would simply have to find her own way home, drunk or not. Maybe Sasuke would be enough of a gentleman to walk her home.

Naruto thought work Monday would be relaxing, considering the cycle didn't begin until Thursday, but he knew that was when Sasuke would come in.

Naruto blew out a heavy breath as he turned onto his street. He was ready to handle Sasuke. If he was ready to handle Sai, he was ready to handle yet another asshole in his life. As long as he could keep the growing bubble of hatred in his stomach down and out of sight, he would be okay. Sasuke wasn't going to get under his skin.

Or so he thought.