This is a SasuNaru in the modern world.
I do not own anything.
"Would Uzumaki Naruto please report to the President's office? Uzumaki-san, report to the President's office."
Naruto's ears twitched at the sound of his name over the intercom, but he wasn't necessarily surprised. He was constantly being called to the head office for something or another. Sometimes it regarded an overly-done prank, but more likely than not the visit consisted of Naruto being asked whether he'd be joining the family for dinner or not.
The blonde wasted no time in finishing his last document and heading to the stairs. He could take the elevator, but ever since he was young, Naruto had loved the stairs at Uchiha Corp.
When he was young, the orphanage that raised him had no idea what to do with the excess energy radiating from the small boy. Their solution had been simply: take Naruto to the largest building in the city and have him run up and down the stairs until he was too tired to cause trouble.
That building was Uchiha Corp. Every day for a month Naruto would go after classes try to sprint as fast as he could. At first the employees had been annoyed, but few used the stairs anyway, so the complaint went overlooked. Eventually, though, the staff began to recognize the blonde little boy with whisker-like scars and welcomed his warm smile in their mundane work schedule. Suki, on the secretarial staff, would use the new watch her boyfriend gave her to time him. Ryo, a business consultant, took the time to pack an extra water bottle for the Blonde's walk home. Juju, the purple-haired widow with three kids who worked in the colorful cubicle covered in artwork by her children, made sure to bring spare cookies for him when she made them for her family.
In all, by age seven Naruto had become a permanent presence at the office. He would spend his time chatting with the workers on the first twelve floors, easily entertaining them with stories and jokes. It was the higher floors he avoided. Floor thirteen through twenty were where the big wigs worked, and bugging them could only lead to problems. The only time Naruto saw the higher offices was when he was running the stares, and even then he would never open one of the doors.
In the heat of the summer, Naruto became wrestles. One certain 23rd of July had him with more pent up energy than normal. He was bored and most of his staff friends were too overwhelmed with the summer rush to spend time with him, so he decided to take a run.
For the first time since his arrival, the seven-year-old made it all the way to floor twenty without a stop. By the time he crossed the final step, his brow was sweaty and his knees shook with exhaustion. Giving into the weariness, Naruto allowed his small figure to slump against the doorway.
"But Father, you said you'd be home soon," a small voice mumbled.
Naruto sat up and glanced around. No one was there. He pressed his ear to the door, and sure enough, voices were floating through.
"Not now, Sasuke. This is the summer rush. I'm very busy, so please go home and tell your mother not to wait with dinner. Your brother and I shall return late," a deeper voice responded, his tone flat and without room for argument.
"Father…" the little boy's voice started, but a small sniff passed and he restarted his sentence. "Yes Father."
Naruto only barely managed to move to the side before the metal door flung open and a very put-out raven came marching down the stairs, his small sneakers crashing loudly against the metal.
"Stupid Father!" the boy seethed.
"You shouldn't say that about your dad. He must be pretty smart to make it onto the top floor," Naruto interrupted.
The black-haired child swung around, his dark eyes wide in shock at someone overhearing his personal monologue.
"Who are you?" he demanded. "And what right do you have to tell me about my father?"
"No right," Naruto replied agreeably. "Just speaking as someone who has no father, wouldn't it be great to have a dad who was smart enough to be working on the top floor of the tallest building in Konoha City?"
He seethed quietly, glaring his dark eyes at the cheery blonde. "I just wanted him to come home early tonight," he finally admitted, a slight pink tinting his pale cheeks.
"Why tonight?" Naruto pressed, sliding closer to his new companion.
"Because it's my birthday," the raven mumbled. He sat heavily on the stairs and buried his head in his arms.
Naruto absently stroked the boy's back. Birthdays, they meant little at the orphanage. No one really wanted to organize celebrations for 200 kids, so they didn't.
"You know," Naruto said easily, "if you're celebrating a birthday tonight, and there's extra food since some guests aren't showing, then perhaps I should stop by so your mother doesn't feel her cooking is insulted."
"I don't even know your name, dobe," the boy murmured through his arms.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" the blonde replied promptly.
He stared expectantly until the boy lifted his head and said, "Uchiha Sasuke."
"Well Sasuke," Naruto greeted, throwing his arm around the boy's small shoulder and completely ignoring the fact Sasuke hadn't given him permission to call him by name, "looks like we're having dinner tonight. Let's go!"
Sasuke allowed himself to be led by the pushy blonde. He had never been terribly social, so interacting casually with a person his age was foreign ground for him. But Naruto made it easy.
"Why are you here anyway?" Sasuke asked as his new friend took him downstairs.
Naruto explained his annual runs as the boys walked back to Sasuke's house. Being the just-turned-eight year old son of the richest man in town, Sasuke had never made the trip without a limo or escort. Walking with a friend was different and a bit scary, but the Uchiha found it fun all the same.
Mikoto Uchiha simply adored the new addition for dinner. The normally silent meal was full of life and playful banter between the boys, bringing more childishness out of Sasuke than his mother had ever seen. From that day on, Naruto's appearance at meals became a regular ordeal.
The boys became inseparable. Naruto was a constant presence at the Uchiha manor. As they got older and Sasuke spent hours studying at night, Naruto would assist Mikoto in the kitchen or play checkers with Sasuke's older brother, Itachi. On one such evening, Mikoto had questioned the blonde about his family worrying about him. The answer, in all its simple truth, tore at her motherly heartstrings, leaving her no choice but ask the orphanage to let the boy celebrate all holidays and vacations with the family. She would have adopted him right out if she could pull it off, but her husband wouldn't hear of it. Having the boy over to play was one thing, but making him an Uchiha was something else completely.
So the boys grew in their respective circumstances. Naruto introduced Sasuke to his friends at the office, and when they became old enough it was only natural both applied, and were accepted, for internship.
This leading to Naruto's climbing the stairs. His internship was on the lower floor, a normal starting point for someone of his standing, so the trip was always a long one, but Naruto enjoyed the challenge. He made it every day since Sasuke had been assigned an internship with the heads, learning the ins and outs of the company he would one day help run. He was on the 18th floor, and Naruto made the effort to go up and talk to him at least once a day.
So the young intern quickly bundled his things and headed for the upper-floors. It was nearly closing time anyway, so there would be no point in trying to come back down to work.
In leaps and bounds, Naruto raced his way up the stairs. By the 20th floor, he wasn't even sweating, just excited and ready to discuss whatever need be.
"Come in," a stern voice called after the first knock.
Naruto recognized the tone of Fugaku Uchiha's voice immediately. The man was pissed. Making a mental list of any prank he had done in the last week, Naruto quickly made his way into the room.
"You wished to see me, Uchiha-sama?" Naruto asked professionally. The office was not a casual place, and Naruto had been scolded more than once for being too familiar with his employers.
"Sit down, Uzumaki-san," Fugaku ordered. His dark eyes, identical to his sons, pierced through the boy. They were angry, infuriated even, but under Naruto saw a hint of sadness.
That's when Naruto knew it wasn't a meeting about some prank.
"Is something the matter, Uchiha-sama?" Naruto asked cautiously, attempting to test the waters before all hell broke loose.
Fugaku glared at the boy. "Yes, I must say there is, Uzumaki-san."
His explanation of what that something might be was cut off by the door once again opening. The Uchiha heir, Itachi, stormed into the room followed closely by his younger brother. Naruto tried to meet his friend's eyes, but Sasuke kept his attention trained on his father.
"Father this is crazy!" Itachi bellowed, striding right up to the eldest Uchiha's desk. "You know very well that Naruto could have nothing to do with this."
Naruto's eyes widened. He had always gotten along with his friend's brother, but the raw loyalty in Itachi's eyes both scared and pleased him. The Uchiha's really were his family.
"The facts are all present. There's even a witness," Fugaku stated calmly. "Naruto, this morning Hurano Sakura, daughter of one of the men on my private committee, reported a family necklace stolen from her purse on a visit here. You apparently were the only one to handle her coat and bag in the time it could have gone missing."
"I don't understand, sir," Naruto glanced around at the three men. None would meet his eye. "Are you accusing me of stealing?"
"Yes," Fugaku stated bluntly.
"But you know me!" Naruto cried, rising to his feet. "You know I would never steal!"
"Dobe, this isn't a personal matter; it's business," Sasuke interrupted. When Naruto swung around to face him, the boy once again refused to meet his best friend's hurt gaze.
"Why would I need the money?" Naruto demanded. "Why would I risk a secure job for a couple extra bucks?"
"You did buy Sasuke a very nice birthday present…"Fugaku stated mildly. The accusation still hadn't left his voice.
"Naruto saved up for months to buy those seat-covers for Sasuke," Itachi protested. "I can vouch for that since he asked me for extra shifts."
"But even with months an intern wouldn't be able to afford such fine leather and still live in the comfort of a nicely-sized apartment and feed himself. I know the boy's salary, and it's just not possible," the president explained, rubbing his eyes wearily. "Naruto, just give the necklace back. If you have already sold it, just give me the money, and I'll have it returned to Hurano-san."
Naruto didn't turn away from Sasuke as he slowly replied, "I didn't steal it."
"Then how did you get the money?" Fugaku pressed.
Naruto couldn't answer that. He had seen Sasuke staring at the covers in a store, but any such purchase would be seen as frivolous in the eyes of cynical Uchihas. Knowing that if given a present Sasuke would be unable to refuse, Naruto had saved and saved for them, but there wasn't much time before the raven's birthday. In a last minute effort, Naruto had taken the money he had been saving for a trip to visit his father's homeland and bought his friend a frivolous present that Sasuke would never allow himself to divulge in.
But Naruto couldn't tell the Uchiha's that. He couldn't bear the look on Sasuke's face when he explained what he had given up for some silly seat-covers. The true smile on Sasuke's face had made it all worth it, but learning the truth would make Sasuke return the goods immediately.
Naruto wouldn't have that.
"You know me," Naruto said again. He was looking right at Sasuke who had finally raised his head to stare back. "I didn't steal the money. Please, trust me Sasuke."
For a moment there was silence. Itachi and Fugaku waited to see their youngest family member respond.
Finally, Sasuke mumbled a single, heartbreaking, sentence. "Dobe, just pay the damn money and be done with this."
Naruto's heart sank to the very pit of his being. Sasuke, his Sasuke, his best friend, his only real family, had completely betrayed him. The raven didn't trust him. He wasn't going to believe Naruto's word.
"I will not pay," Naruto stated quietly. "I didn't steal anything."
"If you refuse, I'll have no choice but to fire you," Fugaku reminded him. "Don't be stupid Naruto."
"You know I didn't steal it," Naruto replied.
"I will not confirm or deny that, but Hurano-san is from a powerful family. If there is no retribution, we will lose all of their support."
"You would make Naruto a scapegoat?" Sasuke demanded, his eyes wide in shock. "Father, it's one thing if he really did it, but if he's truly innocent…"
"Stop thinking like a friend and start thinking like a business man," his father ordered. "This is an employee. If he will not cooperate with our arrangements, then there is no place for him in this company."
Sasuke shot a quick glance at Naruto only to see the blonde staring blankly at the wall. With a quick bow, Sasuke stepped back, thus revoking his protest.
"Father…" Itachi started, but he was cut off.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you are dismissed from this company."
Sasuke had not spoken a word to Naruto Uzumaki since the day the blonde had exited the Uchiha Corporation eight years before. He hadn't chased his friend when Naruto walked out into the summer rain, and after that day, there had never been another chance.
The weeks after Naruto's departure had been overwhelming for the youngest Uchiha. Sasuke was swarmed with more work than he had ever handled, and extra responsibilities began to pile onto his desk. Before he knew it, a month had gone by before Sasuke ever even mentioned the blonde in conversation.
It wasn't that Sasuke didn't miss Naruto. He did; plenty. Every night, right before he shut his eyes, Sasuke would spare a moment to ponder on the current life of his disappeared friend. Naruto was well loved in the company, and his expulsion was met with much protest, but they never spoke of the events around Sasuke. They knew better.
But a month after Naruto was brought up, and the subject was breached by none other than Fugaku Uchiha himself. Sasuke had been in the office to clear up some technicalities on his paperwork when Fugaku and Itachi began a rather loud conversation.
"So you mean now, after all this time, you found out he wasn't lying and want to hire him back?"? Itachi asked stunned.
"I just received the call from Hurano-san saying he caught his daughter with the necklace," Fugaku explained.
At that Sasuke's ears had perked up.
"Necklace, Hurano-san….are you talking about Naruto?" Sasuke demanded, nearly dropping his documents.
Itachi gave a curt nod. "Yes, it seems dear little Sakura-san faked the whole thing. She confessed to wanting Naruto fired. Apparently, she was under the impression he was the only thing stopping you two from having a wonderful relationship."
Itachi spoke in an even tone, but anger radiated from him. After all that time, Itachi had remained the only person in the upper offices to believe Naruto's plea for innocence.
Itachi had been right.
"So the dobe can have his job back right?" Sasuke asked hopefully, glancing from father to brother in turn.
Fugaku gave his son a sympathizing look. "I have already had Itachi contact Uzumaki-san. It seems he has already left the city and has found a position in another firm."
Sasuke gasped. Naruto had gone; he had completely left Sasuke's life.
He hadn't even said goodbye.
"Itachi, did you tell him the circumstances?" Sasuke asked, his voice as close to pleading as his Uchiha blood would allow.
"Of course I did," Itachi replied exasperated. "I even played the "We are family" card."
Sasuke stared at his brother, waiting for him to continue.
"He said it was not a personal matter; it was business. It seems he has a respectable position in a company he thinks is about to take off. Naruto said he had to think like a business man."
A cold silence filled the office. The words rang true and bit into their skin.
"Smart boy," Fugaku said smoothly.
"Smart boy?" Sasuke cried, showing more feeling than he had for years. "You fired a great person, someone who would have improved this company with his very presence! Naruto was basically an Uchiha!"
"Exactly," Fugaku said with a sad smile, looking away from his children and out the clear glass that portrayed the sparkling lights of Konoha. "He could have been an Uchiha, and he proved that today. Naruto believed in something, and he stood by it. If he had stayed here with the deal I forced upon him, it would be a shadow over all of us forever. Instead, that kid broke free and will rise much higher than I ever imagined."
The subject of Naruto had been dropped after that, but Sasuke thought of his blonde constantly. Business was business, but what had happened to Naruto seemed like so much more. For some reason, remembering the pained look of betrayal on Naruto's once sunny face made Sasuke feel as if he had been the one to frame the boy. But Sasuke was worse, because Naruto had trusted him, and the Uchiha hadn't pulled through.
Suddenly, without Naruto, there was no personal. Everything became business. Sasuke spent every day at the office, working from morning until late in the night. If he went out for dinner, it was to meet a client; should he decide to attend a party, it was only due to the fact his presence there benefited the Uchiha Corporation in some way. That was the way Uchiha Sasuke lived his life for three years after Naruto's departure.
Thus, it was a business deal that took Sasuke to Suna, the city of lights. While Konoha was known for the lush forests surrounding the city, Suna had fame for their constantly shining sun.
Anyone else would have jumped for joy at the prospect at spending two warm weeks at the resort-like hotels of Suna in the midst of Konoha's rainy season, but Sasuke found little joy in the streaming rays of heat as he exited the personal jet. He had dressed in his normal attire: a plain black Armani suit with freshly shined black shoes and a tie with the Uchiha crest. As he made his way to the waiting limo, the dark colors simmered under the bright sky, toasting the Uchiha.
"Uchiha-sama, we are honored to have you here," a man in a grey suit said with a formal bow. "Sabaku-sama has arranged for your meeting to take this place this afternoon, as per your request."
Sasuke gave a curt nod and stepped into the dark car, waiting silently for the man to close the door behind him.
Kazekage Industries had risen to four times its original size in the last two years. Sabaku Gaara, the president and founder, was known for having one of the sharpest business minds in the modern age, and the red-haired protégée had been quick to realize that a deal with Uchiha Corp. was in order.
Personally, Sasuke had no care about any deal. He was perfectly content to leave the new company on its own and focus on the corporation, but Itachi, the new president since their father's retirement, had insisted.
"This company is the biggest thing on the market right now," Itachi had said. "We'd be idiotic not to jump on a chance at a deal. Besides, you're job isn't to just conduct business. Rumor has it that Kazekage Industries has a secret ace up their sleeve. Sabaku-san is a genius, but there's something else holding the strings together over there. You will find out what it is."
Sasuke groaned. He didn't want to wait his time searching for some secret weapon of Suna. In his opinion, it was best to leave well enough alone.
The limo stopped, and the door was opened for Sasuke. He stepped out into the sun once again and gazed upon his abode for the next two weeks.
The hotel was huge. The deep tan color of the walls soaked in the sun, making the place look like a sand castle built on the beach. A pool could be seen off to the side with rows of sunbathing chairs surrounding it. For any vacationer, it was heaven; for Sasuke, the whole place screamed utter annoyance.
"Your suit had been prepared, and a complimentary table has been reserved for you at the restaurant should you wish to have some lunch," the man in the grey suit said as he put the Uchiha's luggage onto a cart. "A car will be sent to pick you up at three o'clock for the meeting."
Sasuke gave a nod and made his way into the lavish building. The inside was just as impressive as the exterior. Dazzling chandeliers hung from the ceiling and lush carpets with complicated stitching covered the floor. It truly lived up to the 5-star rating.
"Uchiha-san!"
Sasuke glanced to his left to see none other than his old classmate Hyuuga Hinata making her way toward him.
"Uchiha-san, what a wonderful surprise to see you here," she greeted kindly. Hinata had always been one of the few females Sasuke could tolerate. She never clung to him for his looks, and her family had enough money that he never worried that she was merely speaking to him to get access to his fortune and status.
"Hyuuga-san, you look well," he replied.
Her pale cheeks blushed at the praise. "Oh Uchiha-san, you flatter me. Please, as old school friends, I insist you call me Hinata. It's only right."
Sasuke nodded once, showing he was willing to comply with her well meant request.
"So what brings you to Suna?" she asked.
"Business," the Uchiha answered curtly. "I am to meet the president of Kazekage Industries at three."
"Oh what a surprise!" she nearly gushed, her clear eyes bright with excitement at some unexpected good fortune. "My cousin and I are also here to meet with Sabaku-san. Apparently he wants to make an alliance between the three top companies."
Although he understood the logic of such a proposal, Sasuke found himself mildly annoyed at the forwardness of the new business owner. He was fond of Hinata, but that was the end of any positive feeling he felt toward Hyuuga Incorporated. The two family businesses had been in constant battle since their creation, and no little red-head whiz kid was going to change that.
"Then I suppose I shall see you at three," Sasuke responded stiffly.
"Indeed!"
Three o'clock rolled around just as Sasuke was finishing his meal in the restaurant. Just as promised, a private driver stood at the door waiting to drive him to the Kazekage building. It was a different driver than before, and they made the short journey in silence.
At exactly three-fifteen, Sasuke walked into a large conference room. Both Hinata and her cousin Neji were already seated at the end of the table. They're heads were lowered in whispered conversation. There was no sign of their host.
"If you would all be seated and help yourself to any refreshments, my employer will be attending to you momentarily. He is just now finishing a phone call with the American Embassy," an attendant said with a bow before exiting.
Sasuke took his seat near the whispering duo and waited silently.
Not two minutes later, a tall man in tan suit and sky blue tie walked in. He was young with cocky grin and possessed a mop of unruly blonde hair. But his eyes made Sasuke's very pulse freeze, for they were bright blue, like the sky, and the young Uchiha would recognize them anywhere.
"Honored guests, both the president and I are extremely pleased to have you here for these negotiations. As vice president to Gaara-sama, I shall be conducting the meeting this afternoon," said Naruto Uzumaki.
Well that's chapter one. If you liked it or have constructive criticism, please let me know in a review. No flames. The full idea for the story isn't totally worked out yet, so if you have a suggestion please let me know.
Peace Out