Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
So this is a story that I've had in my head for a long time now, but I refused to write for a long time because it is a SUMMER story. But I am continuously underestimating how busy adult life keeps me, so I was putting this off once again. It is nearing summer, though, so I am determined to get this out.
Onwards with the story!
Prologue
This was all Itachi's fault.
Sasuke could have actually enjoyed this summer. He could have taken the summer off, pretend to 'relax', claim wanting a vacation, and just spend the next couple of weeks being perpetually bored.
This was supposedly the best time to take such an opportunity. Sasuke had just graduated high school. He had already been accepted to his top choice University. He would not be able to sign up for classes until later, thus preparations would have to wait until afterwards. There was nothing for him to do this summer. There was nothing he needed to do.
Itachi, being the duplicitous manipulator that he was, had pointed out that unlike their deceased father; Itachi was not going to pressure Sasuke. He had encouraged Sasuke to take the summer off. "You will never have a better opportunity to relax like this." He said, "You will be busy pushing yourself with extra classwork during University summers, and you are guaranteed employment upon graduation at Uchiha Corps. This is the last summer you would be able to consider a 'break'."
What a sadist.
His older brother knew that by suggesting for Sasuke to relax that he would get too antsy and demand for something, anything, productive to do rather than 'take a break'.
And of course his sadist of an older brother knew exactly what he was doing when Sasuke had approached him asking for summer employment at Uchiha Corps.
"I may be the President and CEO of the company, but I am not in the habit of blatantly showing off our family's history of nepotism." Itachi had told him in his home office looking over another file because work followed him everywhere. "We agreed to wait until after you earned your degree and can prove beyond doubt you earned your position."
"But I cannot spent the summer doingnothing," Sasuke had replied forcefully as he sat in his usual chair next to the bookshelf. Unlike their deceased father, Itachi had always encouraged his younger brother to hang out in the home office since that was where Itachi was most of the time anyways.
"I would not be able to protect you from the onslaught of resentment should it appear you were hired by name only. And I refuse to place the company in a position that suggests we no longer hire based upon merit," Itachi had said in a final tone.
"So don't hire me at Uchiha Corps, but somewhere else," Sasuke had pressed.
"What do you mean?" Itachi had asked, turning his head so he could look properly at Sasuke. The angle of the light had made the bags under Itachi's eyes from working so much overtime seem even darker.
"I mean hire me with one of our affiliates. Uchiha Corps is the parent company to plenty of other businesses. Surely I can work with one of them for the summer without you being accused of nepotism?" Sasuke carelessly waved his hand. When he had been alive, the late Fugaku Uchiha had spent years ruthlessly buying lesser companies out to expand the business empire that was Uchiha Corporations. When Itachi had taken over, he had spent four full days familiarizing himself with just how many companies Uchiha Corps owned. Sasuke had not even bothered.
"Hmm," Itachi's eyes had glazed over as he set his pen down. "That sounds feasible."
Sasuke would deny that he had been holding his breath.
Itachi had then turned back to his desk and started writing on a piece of stationary, "I will make a note of it and look into possible opportunities for you tomorrow."
"I do not want to be stuck as someone's assistant or secretary," Sasuke had said quickly, internally sighing in relief. The hard part had been getting Itachi to agree, and now that he had; Sasuke knew that his older brother would take care of things.
Itachi had turned his head back to see Sasuke. "Oh?" he said, eyes practically flashing with amusement.
Sasuke huffed, "I see no reason I need to demean myself for the summer by following someone around at their beck and call."
"You are seventeen, without a fully developed academic record or work portfolio," Itachi had leaned back in his chair with an amused smirk on his face. "Either one of those equates to 'entry level' job for most people."
"I am not most people," Sasuke had argued back without any spite in his tone; long used to Itachi's habit of playing devil's advocate. "I am an Uchiha, and have been raised since before I could talk to one day hold office within Uchiha Corps. Someone of my standing is above paltry jobs like answering the phone or playing fetch."
"Someone of your standing," Itachi had repeated, his eyes glazing over again.
"Hn," Sasuke had replied, keeping his expression stoic. He had been serious in his intention to be productive this summer, but he would rather face the repugnance of being 'bored' than to demean himself in such a way. Uchiha were leaders; never followers.
He waited until Itachi's eyes focused back on him until Sasuke finally allowed his expression to relax.
"Any other demands, Princess?" Itachi had asked with amusement lacing his tone.
Sasuke would have smirked back, but he kept his expression professional. Despite how this was a conversation between brothers, this was still a preliminary interview, and Sasuke had been raised to take such things seriously.
"No secretary job. No internship. No administrative assistant job." Sasuke stated, then added on, "And a job where I will have time to adequately prepare for University."
Itachi hummed, turning back to the note on his desk. "I might be persuaded to consider these requests."
That time Sasuke did smirk. "Bribery is illegal."
"Bribery is illegal," Itachi stressed the word as he added words to the note. "Telling my currently unemployed little brother to get me something to drink to tide me over through this work so I can have time tomorrow to look for possible opportunities for him is not bribery."
"Hn," Sasuke had snorted in amusement, smirk growing as he saw one forming on Itachi's expression. "Fine, I will get you some tea," he announced as he got up from his chair.
"Irish tea," Itachi called out, returning his attention to the files on his desk, crossing something out and writing in the margins.
"Actual tea," Sasuke had declared back, sending a mock-glare over his shoulder as he made his out of the office. "It is late and you hate feeling groggy after a nightcap in the morning when you have work to do."
He had slipped out of the office before Itachi could reply, though he could have sworn that he had seen his older brother flip him the bird.
Sasuke should have been suspicious when he came back with a cup of Itachi's favorite tea and had seen his older brother smiling to himself. Not smirking. Smiling.
Suspicious.
But Sasuke had not suspected anything when he had cleared his throat to announce his presence back in the home office. Itachi had glanced up and had carelessly gestured with two fingers to place the cup next to him.
Sasuke was not distrustful when he had walked across the room next to his older brother to carefully place the saucer and cup on an empty space next to his stationary. He was only able to catch his list of demands and the name 'Kakashi' underlined before he had felt Itachi poke him on the forehead.
"Gah! Itachi! I told you to stop doing that!" Sasuke had scolded, immediately jerking back and rubbing his abused forehead.
The sadist had chuckled and wrapped his poking fingers around the handle of the cup. He had turned his attention back to the files and said, "As you graciously pointed out: it is late. So go get ready for bed or whatever and relax while you can. I will start looking for opportunities tomorrow."
Sasuke had taken Itachi upon his word, and had not thought them sinister promises of what would come.
He had let his guard down and had allowed his sadist of an older brother to be free to enact his wicked ways.
He had not been suspicious when Itachi had told him two days later to expect a phone call from a family friend named 'Kakashi Hatake' whom he had contacted for job opportunities. When asked how this 'Kakashi' had known the family, Itachi had said that Kakashi was childhood acquaintances with a cousin of theirs and upon moving, had worked on many projects with Itachi.
His brother had said that he personally thought highly of Kakashi and of his work—though did not name anything specific—before needing to focus on his own work.
So two days later, when Kakashi finally did call, Sasuke was not suspicious as he clearly should have been.
"Sasuke Uchiha," Sasuke had greeted on the phone when an unfamiliar number called in the afternoon.
"Yo, Sasuke," a languid voice replied from the other end, "It's Kakashi Hatake. Itachi told you I was calling."
It had not sounded like a question, but Sasuke replied, "Yes, he did," anyway.
There was silence from the other end of the line. The Uchiha had allowed it to for on for a few moments, because despite how improper it was for this to be on Sasuke's personal cell phone, this was still a potential job interview; and Sasuke had been impressed upon from a young age to act professional.
But still. Four minutes was too long of a silence.
So Sasuke had cleared his voice quietly and then asked in a firmer, dull voice, "You had called for a reason, Mr. Hatake?"
"Mm?" a lazy drawl was the reply he got. "Maa, sorry, sorry. I've gotten saddled with a new project recently, so I'm busier this summer than originally expected."
"Hn," Sasuke had replied in understanding. He knew perfectly well that 'summer' did not equal 'break' in the business world.
"I'm actually calling you on my lunch break, so this is going to be an abbreviated interview to see if you're interested in working with me on this project," Kakashi had said as if he were not truly paying attention.
Despite the lazy demeanor on the phone, Sasuke made sure his own tone of voice was professional when he replied, "My brother, Itachi, thinks quite highly of your work."
"High praise, coming from that workaholic," Kakashi had chuckled.
"Hn," Sasuke had agreed; Itachi was a complete workaholic. Though he was better at taking breaks and making time for Sasuke and his own friends, Itachi was still an Uchiha. And Uchiha were workaholics by default.
"So talkative," Kakashi had offhandedly commented, then paused for a moment before saying, "Itachi called me a couple of days ago and asked me if I could find a job for his baby brother, and gave me a list of demands of which this job opportunity absolutely must comply with."
Before Sasuke could righteously defend his honor, Kakashi had interrupted him by quickly saying, "And despite how specific you are about not getting an entry level job despite your age and lack of recorded job experience, I actually have a position open for you."
"…Hn," Sasuke was eventually able to reply. He was caught between the need to verbalize how much of an ass his sadistic brother was for referring to him as his 'baby brother' and the need to be professional because this was a (n abbreviated) potential job interview.
"As I told you, I am very busy," Kakashi had stressed the word as if Sasuke required help to understand. "And as Itachi probably told you; I have known the Uchiha for years. So I already know that as an Uchiha, you were born and raised to be qualified for the business world, and I really don't have time to waste pretending to go through such questionnaires."
"Hn," Sasuke had replied, feeling pleased that someone understood that as an Uchiha he was simply above his so-called peers in terms of qualifications.
"So this call is only going to be giving you a basic description of the job opportunity and see if you're interested," Kakashi had explained in that tone that suggested he was not giving the conversation his full attention.
"I understand," Sasuke had said in a firm manner. He had been completely serious when he had told his brother that he could not stand to 'relax' and do nothing this summer; as long as it fit the requirements he had listed, then the young Uchiha would most definitely be interested.
There was a pause on the other side of the line and the sound of ruffling papers before Kakashi had spoken up again. "Right, so I've only been recently added to this annual project my company holds. And as such, it is being added on top of already existing assignments I'm working on. What I would need you to do is to work directly under me and be my liaison or, if necessary, my proxy."
"Hn." Sasuke had replied. It sounded close to being an assistant, but working directly under someone with Itachi's endorsement should not be a bad way to spend one's summer.
"I've been working on this for a couple of weeks now in preparation, so you are not needed for that," Kakashi had said, "but you will be needed for when the project commences to act on my behalf for when I am unavailable; which would honestly be most of the time with my work load."
"I understand," Sasuke had said mostly to show that he was giving this interview his full attention. He was actually starting to grow genuinely interested, given how much responsibility it was sounding like he was going to be trusted with.
"The project will commence over a period of six weeks," Kakashi had explained, "starting in about three weeks, and ending three weeks before anything school-related starts. The part of the job I would need you for are on-location, but you would have weekends off."
"Hn," Sasuke had replied quickly. The on-location part had sounded questionable, but Sasuke was quick to brush it off; his late father, Fugaku had sometimes gone for months at a time for business trips, and Itachi did as well, though less frequently and for shorter amounts of time.
But this job was starting to sound enticing since it seemed to fit within his demands of time and position.
"You would mostly be working amongst various administrative assistants, BUT," Kakashi had said, cutting Sasuke off before he could vocalize how he would not be lowered to such a position, "I am well aware of the previous demand to not be an assistant and I am giving you my word that you will not be allowed to be considered one while working under me."
"…Hn," Sasuke had petulantly grunted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing to trusting the man's word.
"Like I said, you would be acting as my liaison and proxy for when I am not there," Kakashi had continued to explain, "your job would mostly be to oversee the progress of the groups."
Sasuke had hesitated before repeating, "Overseeing progress?"
"Oh you know," Kakashi had lazily responded, "making sure the underlings are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Keeping people motivated. Ensuring groups meet their goals in a timely fashion. That sort of thing."
"So," Sasuke had paused, "you are offering me a management position?"
"Technically that would be my job," Kakashi was quick to say, "and officially, yours would be my liaison and proxy for when I am not there. Now I am assuming that as an Uchiha, you are qualified to be leading almost any sized groups in their activities and ensure they meet their goals, am I correct?"
"Correct," Sasuke had agreed. The job was sounding enticing again, considering it would basically be a management position that complied with his timeline; all his demands had been met.
"My lunch break is almost over, but I believe we covered the main points today," Kakashi had said.
"Hn," Sasuke was quick to reply.
"You interested in taking the job?" Kakashi had inquired; his tone sounding like he was finally putting his whole focus on the conversation.
"I will take the job." Sasuke had declared.
"Great. Now there are small details to go over at a later time," Kakashi's tone was all business, "but those details mostly involve qualifications, identification, projected salaries, contact information, and various other red tape stuff."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted. He knew these were necessary things for employment, but he was equally aware of just how tedious it all was.
"I agree, so I have a suggestion that might help," Kakashi had said in the flippant tone again.
"What?" Sasuke had asked, somewhat warily.
"Instead of wasting a few hours I don't have to walk you through the paperwork, I'll just send them to Itachi and we will hash it out efficiently while we finish up another joint assignment I'd been saddled with a couple weeks ago," Kakashi had explained.
"That sounds reasonable," Sasuke had agreed, not seeing any danger.
"It would be simpler. Don't worry. Itachi and I will handle it," Kakashi had said as a cryptic end to the phone call.
At the time, Sasuke was not worried. He had just been offered a somewhat managerial position with a respected colleague who had the personal recommendation of his older brother. The job opportunity had fit in with all his demands of not being entry level and fitting in with his timeline for University.
He had trusted that Itachi would look out for him when handling the red tape. As an Uchiha, he felt no particular need to hash out possible salaries since this job would be mostly recreational and a way to stave off boredom.
The job had looked like the perfect way to spend the summer. It was going to be an enjoyable summer, and Sasuke was actually looking forward for this summer job.
Sasuke had not even suspected Itachi when he announced that all the paper work had gone through and Sasuke was officially hired for the summer job working under Kakashi.
Itachi had waited until a week before Sasuke's job started to reveal that 'on location' meant 'Summer Camp'.
Sasuke's face fell dramatically. "Wh-what?" he had demanded weakly.
"Oh? Kakashi did not tell you?" Itachi's stoic expression did not change but his eyes were practically dancing with delight. "He was signed on recently to be an assistant camp director at the summer camp 'Konohagure'."
Sasuke shook his head in a vain attempt to deny what was happening. He went over the phone interview in his head, and was horrified to find that he could not remember any mention of what the actual 'project' was or where 'on location' had meant!
Itachi merely smirked as he had watched the realization sink into Sasuke's expression before confirming, "And you have been officially hired to be a camp counselor working under Kakashi at Konohagure's Summer Camp for Kids."
And that was the chapter.
So! This is going to be a summer camp story!
Like I had said, this story had been in my head for a long time. When I told some people I am finally writing it out, they started telling me their own summer camp experiences! It is a lot of fun to hear about them! Summer Camp is something that many people go through with all kinds of amazing memories and I hope I can do them justice.
Thank you for reading this story, and I hope you will be kind enough to let me know what you think. Subscriptions and favorites are amaze, and reviews are honestly the best form of motivation for any author (especially this one)!