Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from Naruto
Secret Project: Capture His Heart!
Chapter 1
"Proposal?" asked Nanami to her mother while biting down on her bottom lip to keep herself from shouting in surprise. She had hurriedly booked a flight home from London as soon as her mother had called, saying that there was a family emergency. It had never even crossed her mind that the so-called family emergency was actually a marriage proposal, for her!
Her parents had known of her plans to travel to Scandinavia with her best friends after their finals for months! Such a waste of a good train ticket to travel around Scandinavia that she had bought in advance for the trip. Looks like her plans to travel around Scandinavia is a no-no because once she return to Japan, it will be hard to convince her parents, especially her mother to let her travel overseas again! Who knows when she can go to there again…
"Be patient..Maybe next time…", Nanami tried to convince herself. She was afraid to say the words in front of her mother in case she become sad.
"Demo Kaa-chan! Why do I have to come home so soon? Can't it wait? Just remind me of this "situation" when I come back from my trip to Scandinavia! I'll only be there for a month or so…", said Nanami softly, not wanting to offend her emotional and temperamental mother.
"Weeeeell…If possible, your to be houtei-jou no wanted to commence the ceremony as soon as possible, like next month to be exact!", exclaimed her mother with cheer.
"Huh?..The engagement, right?", asked a dumbfounded Nanami. "Hmm…Why so fast though? Weird! I don't even know who I am going to be engaged to, let alone marry?!" thought Nanami as she sip the tea served by one of the household maids.
"Not engagement, honey…Marriage! You are getting married next month!" clarified a very excited Kushina with a big, stunning smile on her face!
The tea that she was drinking had accidentally gone down the wrong pipe when the statement was out of her mother's lips, causing her to choke. While this was happening, her second eldest sister, Hyuuga-Namikaze Natsumi had the decency to giggle annoyingly behind her traditional blue hand fan. Nanami quickly reach for her handkerchief on the side table and wiped her lips quickly.
"Hontou ni, Kaa-chan?! Kekkon? Next month? Nooooooo!", wailed Nanami pitifully, with her hands gripping her hair tightly while her mother was chattering excitedly and her sister cackling madly behind her hand fan in the background.
A few minutes later…
"Alright, now that everyone has calmed down and you, Natsu-nee, STOP LAUGHING!", shouted Nanami with her lips set in a scowl and her sea blue-green coloured eyes narrowed. "Hmph! Here I am, frustrated while my sister who instead of helping to soothe and cheer me up, is STILL laughing her ass off! Some sister she turns out to be!"
"Why, imouto-chan! I'm just overjoyed that you are going to be engaged to a very handsome and very rich young man soon! Can't I be happy for my sweet and only baby sister, Nana-chan?", Natsumi gleefully told her sister with a very content smile on her beautiful face with a pair of sparkling amethyst eyes.
Nanami just sighed at her aneki's words. Is the guy I'm marrying that great? Or is Natsu-nee just pulling my leg to get back at me for the prank I pulled on her 2 months back? Ugh! This situation is just giving me a terrible headache!
"Who is this supposedly rich and handsome young man that I'm going to marry, kaa-chan? I don't even know him! How am I supposed to marry him, let alone live the rest of my life with him?!". I hope kaa-chan is just joking around…
"It's Miko-chan's son! You know, Mikoto ba-chan?", answered Kushina, pleased.
"Which Mikoto ba-chan? Is she our relative?", asked a confused Nanami while trying to remember who is this aunt Mikoto that her mother had just spoken of.
"Oh you know..My friend from college, Yoruno Mikoto, now known as Uchiha Mikoto. Matriarch of the Uchiha Clan!", added Kushina enthusiastically.
As soon as the words were processed by her brain, her eyes began to widen comically with her jaw dropping. WHAT?! Is this some kind of joke?
"Isn't it wonderful! You're going to be the giri no musume to the prestigious Head of the Uchiha Clan!", added her sister mischievously with a smirk on her face.
Her sister's smile seemed kind of…off. Huh…Natsu-nee is such a tease. Whenever she is around, there is always some kind of mayhem going on..not that I can complain as I am the same but on a much smaller scale…I think…and of course, I will always be her favourite victim when she is in a playful and teasing mood..
"Nana, sweetheart. Your father and I do not care much for the monetary gain although the Uchiha family is respectable and well-known in the business world. Mikoto-chan's family is nice although most of them seem cold and stoic. She herself is a wonderful person! Give her a chance. Once you meet her in person, I'm sure you'll love her! Anyone is lucky to be her giri no musume.", explained Kushina patiently with a fond smile.
"What about her son? Is the person marrying him going to be lucky as well?", thought Nanami while biting on her bottom lip gently. Afraid to ask the questions out loud.
"When are you going to introduce Nana-chan to her to-be fiancé, kaa-sama?",teased Natsumi with a sly smile on her lips, hidden from view by her hand fan.
Aaarg! Natsu-nee is annoying! Why can't she just leave me alone? Nanami pouted cutely at her aneki. She is not helping! Baka no aneki! I'll get you for this!
"Miko-chan had requested her son to pick you up for dinner tonight so that you both can get to know each other! Isn't it wonderful, Nana-chan?", said Kushina with a hopeful voice.
"Kaa-chan! I just got here yesterday, I still have jet lag! Why do I have meet him tonight?",whined Nanami with her lips set in a cute pout.
"Weeeell, you are marrying the guy so you have to meet him!" added her sister cheekily.
"Aneki! Tasukete!", she shouted in her mind. Her sea blue-green coloured eyes turned a watering blue and pleading for help from her older sister. Her sister quickly averted her eyes away and hid half of her face from view with her fan.
"Kaa-chan! I don't want toooo...", whined Nanami and turned her face to face her mother. Her mother was also avoiding her eyes and pretended not to hear her youngest daughter's heart-felt plead.
"You don't want to what? Meet the person or marry him?", teased her aneki once she had regained her composure. Her sister then began to giggle annoyingly again.
"Kaa-chan! Look at Natsu-nee! She is laughing at my predicament! It's not fair that she get to marry her college sweetheart while I have to go through with this arranged marriage!", complained Nanami with her eyes watering once again.
"That's because you don't have a boyfriend during and after your studies! You are too innocent and oblivious, my kawaii no imouto-chan!", added her sister who is trying to hide her snickers behind her fan.
"Kaa-chan! Natsu-nee is so insensitive!". Arg..she is sooo irritating!
"Nanami…Kaa-chan and tou-chan love you so much! It's not possible that we will purposely choose an incompetent husband for you, darling. We are always thinking of what's best for you including your future happiness…that is the real reason we are considering Mikoto-chan's proposal on making you her giri no musume.She was so intent and hopeful on making you her giri no musume that she had even visited your tou-chan and I with her husband, Uchiha Fugaku who is coincidentally an acquaintance of your tou-chan just to ask about you and subsequently your hand-in marriage. Please, darling? Please meet up with Mikoto-chan's son for us? For me especially? Try to get to know each other. But eventually, if you are not fond or taken to him, I will not force you to go through with this marriage and I'll talk to your tou-chan about your decision."
Hearing her mother's hopeful speech made Nanami feel guilty. It is a hard pill to swallow for Nanami because she was a bit slow and oblivious when it comes to the opposite gender but this is a request from her hopeful mother. Who was she to refuse the request of her beloved mother whom had given life to her and provide for her until now?
"Kaa-chan…what I don't understand is that, why is Mikoto ba-sama so intent on making me her giri no musume? Have we met before and I've just forgotten about our encounter before?"
"The first time she met you was actually the year before…during your brother's wedding ceremony last year. Even then, she was already singing praises about you." I wonder who exactly is this Mikoto ba-sama? There were thousands of guests who had attended Naru nii-sama's wedding last year! I don't think I can recall the names of the numerous female attendees…
"Well you how charming our Nanami can be! Isn't that right, kaa-sama? Seeing her once was enough for Mikoto ba-sama to fall in love with our Nanami and requesting for her hand-in marriage to her son, ne~?" , stated Natsumi with a smug smile.
Huh…Among her three precious princesses, Nanami is the least interested in keeping up with fashion trends as she loves travelling around Europe and spending most of her money on train tickets and plane tickets than shopping for clothes and make-up the whole three years she was studying abroad but also the most beautiful among her sisters. The most modern, elegant and Queen-like of her princesses is her eldest daughter, Naomi, who is married to Akasuna Sasori, owner of several famous museums in the world and a famous artist himself. She is currently living in Rome, Italy with her husband and two children. The Yamato Nadeshiko among her princesses is her second daughter, Natsumi, who married Hyuuga Neji, the current CEO of Hyuuga Corp and staying in Kyoto with the Hyuuga Clan.
Nanami was frowning while thinking of the number reasons as to why she was not suitable to be one of the giri no musume to a wealthy and well-known family such as the Uchiha Clan. She was not a traditional beauty like her Yamato Nadeshiko of a sister, Natsumi nor was she a modern, elegant beauty with the grace of a European Queen like her other sister, Naomi! Then, WHY?
" Kaa-chan…don't you find it strange that a woman of Mikoto ba-sama's status wants me as her giri no musume when she has only saw me once?", asked Nanami with her face all scrunched up and her eyes gleam with suspicion.
"Kaa-chan don't find it strange at all because you, my baby princess is beautiful, sweet, caring, golden-hearted, polite and can always brighten up anyone's day with just a smile! I was actually expecting numerous marriage proposal for you by the time you have finished your studies!", answered Kushina with a proud and stunning smile.
"Kaa-chan! I am your daughter so of course you would be bias! Even if I was ugly, you would still say that I am beautiful! Other people might not have a similar opinion…", Nanami trailed off, her cheeks all puffed up.
Kushina smiled softly with a fond look in her eyes when she heard her daughter's comment about herself. Nanami had always been humble and sweet even though she was gorgeous and can give a world-class model a run for her money. But the most beautiful thing about her Nanami is her personality. Nanami unconsciously try to make people around her happy and warm whether it was her parents, siblings, friends, the maids and even strangers. Every time she came home from the United Kingdom, everyone will receive a souvenir or two from her including their maids. Even when she was young, Kushina had always been grateful to God for giving her such an amazing child.
Remembering the marriage proposal from the Uchiha Family, especially Mikoto made her feel sad as well, deep in her heart. Nanami, her precious daughter had been studying in England, London for three years had just finally return home but was proposed to. Thinking that she would finally get the chance to spoil and bond with her but Nanami is going to belong to someone else soon…
"It's alright I guess..I should be grateful that Nanami will marry an adequate person who will take good care of her, Mikoto-chan's son nonetheless! Besides, she will definitely stay in Japan when she is married. I can also see her everyday if I wish too!", Kushina comforted herself.
"Kaa-chan! How can I marry someone who I don't even know? And the weird thing is, how can Mikoto ba-sama's son marry me when he doesn't even know me?! Is there something wrong with him?"
Natsumi was laughing madly behind her fan while her other hand was clutching her kimono sleeves when Nanami's questions were said out loud.
"Nanami! It's not nice of you to say that. Mikoto-chan's son, Sasuke is a polite and charming person! Kaa-chan and tou-chan had met him already! You have to keep in mind, sweetheart that there also a lot of people who are in an arranged marriage. Such as your sister, Naomi. Her marriage to Sasori-kun was arranged by your late sofubo, remember? Your sister is blissful and content, is she not? She even gave birth to your adorable nephew and nieces! What matters are that your tou-chan and I will do what we know is best for you…"
"Nana-chan…why not meet Sasuke yourself? That way, you can get to know him personally. His parents are very good people…there is no way that their son will turn out to be "weird". Like I said before, Sasuke is a polite and charming person! He is also handsome according to Natsumi but good looking enough for you."
"Kaa-chaaaaaan…Don't judge a book by its cover", whined Nanami. "I don't want to argue with kaa-chan but how can I marry someone who I don't even know?"
"Honey! Please", plead her mother with a sorrowful voice.
Oh no! When kaa-chan asks or rather, plead anything with that sorrowful voice, I don't have the heart to object her requests…
"Imouto-chaaaaaan~! I had also met him! He is quite the handsome fellow~", interrupted her annoying aneki. What is this?! Why is everyone so adamant on making me like that Sasuke?
"Oh..Is he even more handsome than Neji-nii?", asked Nanami cheekily.
"Waaaaa?No way! My Neji-kun is even more handsome than Sasuke will ever be!", Natsumi hurriedly reply to defend her husband.
"Then, this Sasuke is notthat handsome then!", Nanami said to her aneki playfullywhile sticking her tongue out to Natsumi.
"Brat! That is your giri no ani you are insulting!", replied Natsumi with an eye twitch while pinching her imouto's cheeks.
"Nee-chaaaaaan, itai yo! Alright…I give up!", Nanami cried out while trying to release her abused cheeks from her aneki's strong grip and keeping her eyes from tearing.
"Hmph! That's what you get you cheeky brat!", said Natsumi while relinquishing her hold on her poor sister's reddening cheeks.
"Nee-chan? Let's investigate Sasuke using the internet!", cheered Nanami after recovering from the cheek pinching session. "I wonder who Sasuke really is? He is Fugaku-sama's son, right? I doubt the fact that he doesn't have a girlfriend and needed his mother to look for one for him…Maybe he is a nerd and that is why he doesn't have a candidate to marry.."
"Yosh! Let's do it~!" , said Nanami delightedly while waving her fan in the air.
"Girls, I have some errand I need to run so have fun, alright? I'll see you both during tea time! Love you both!", chirped a lively Kushina after dropping a kiss on both of her daughters' foreheads before walking out of the living room. Let Nanami see the pictures of Sasuke on the internet! I bet there are numerous pictures of him on the net as he is constantly on the news due to his high position in his family's company, the Uchiha Corps.
After getting her laptop from her room, Nanami and Natsumi diligently search for any news on Uchiha Sasuke.
"Nani? He doesn't even have a facebook?!", shouted Nanami in surprise.
"Hmm…Maybe he is using a pseudonym or something..", guessed Natsumi. "Why not look up his pictures on Google Image?"
"Hai, hai…"
"Ha! There he is! Behold, Miss Nanami! Look and weep!", while talking to Nanami, she was also pointing to a picture of Uchiha Sasuke in a tuxedo, looking all handsome and cool on the laptop's screen.
"Oh." Was the only word that came out of Nanami's lips.
"Speechless are you now, imouto-chan? I told you that he was handsome but you didn't believe me!", said Natsumi gleefully with a smug smile on her face, hidden behind her fan.
"Oh my, he is drop-dead gorgeous…", whispered Nanami to herself softly. Careful not to let her aneki hear the whispered words.
Her aneki was busy fanning herself and acting all smug while she was admiring the picture of the gorgeous man. Her heart had started to beat faster and faster while her face felt hot. He is handsome and …enigmatic! He also has that dark, mysterious and cool vibe..With his bluish raven black hair, dark onyx eyes, devilishly handsome and aristocratic face, lean yet muscled body and porcelain skin…he, is comparable to a Roman God..Oh, dear..This is just his picture..I wonder how he is in person?
"Age: 25. Sex: male, obviously. Occupation: businessman. Hobby: golf, predictable. Education: M.B.A. United States, Ohio. Height:…hmm, taller than the average Japanese male." Who would have thought that Natsu-nee would make a good P.I.
"Nana, is there anything else you would like to find out?", asked Natsu-nee.
"Girlfriend?"
"Woo hoo, way to go, sis! That is the most important piece of information you need to know. Hmm..let's see. Oh? So far, line clear. That is no information available about his relationship with anyone..", Natsu-nee trailed off with a satisfied smirk on her face.
Nanami was trying to hide her blooming smile from her aneki. Eh? Why am I feeling pleased with this information..Could I really have fallen for him just by looking at his picture? Am I even ready for marriage? More questions but no answers! Aaaaa…
A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this story! Sorry if you don't like the story..I'll try harder next time!
Translations:
Demo- But
Kaa-chan- Mom
Houtei-jou no- in-laws
Hontou ni- Really?
Kekkon- Marriage
Imouto-chan- younger sister
Aneki- older sister
Sofubo- Granparents
Ba-chan/Ba-sama- Aunt
Giri no musume- daughter in-law
Baka- Idiot
Tasukete- Help
Kawaii- Cute
Nii-sama/Nii – Older brother
Ne- right?
Yamato Nadeshiko- personification of an idealized Japanese woman/epitome of pure, feminine
beauty
Giri no ani- Brother-in-law
Itai yo- It hurts
Yosh- Lets
Nani- What
Hai- Yes
*P.I : Private Investigator