Wanted!
By:
Michiko Kaori
Summary: Do not kiss unless absolutely necessary. Do not mix business with personal emotions. Do not fall in love. Simple conditions of the Das Emergency Escort Co.; rules that seemed easier when Sakura agreed to the contract. Then again, in love, there are norules.
Miss Sakura Haruno,
You are invited to the wedding of Ino Yamanaka and Shikamaru Nara as the bride's maid of honor. Join these two as they prove their love for each other on the 26th of May in Konoha Chapel followed by a reception in K. Royale.
You are also entitled to bring a date of your own.
Sincerely yours,
Ino and Shikamaru
FOREHEAD YOU BETTER BRING YOUR DATE OR ELSE.
Iloveyou! Mwahs.
"So, have you read it yet?" Ino said giddily. Her best friend slash maid of honor sighed as she looked at the elegantly wrapped invitation. She pinched her arm; grimacing when a sensation of pain reached her. It was real; Ino just beat her to the altar. And she was younger than her! My gosh, how did that happen?
She sighed inwardly. "Yeah, I've read it."
"So…?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.
What was she to say?
"So, what?" She heard a cry of frustration on the other line.
Something told her that was not the right answer.
Then she heard a giggle.
Okay.
Now she was freaked out.
"Alright, Ino, what's got your knickers in a twist?" She heard another giggle. Sakura frowned. She was serious about this; a younger friend beating an older friend to the altar was so not a laughing matter. Especially Ino, she knew that she was never going to live this down.
Ino was always the most frequently dated of the two in high school, and she doubted that it changed over the years. She was that beautiful, perky, perfect blonde who everyone wanted to date and be. She was that odd-looking, cute-ish nerd who was only noticed when Ino was not around. But she stopped her insecurities when the blonde started dating Shikamaru Nara when she turned twenty two. The men who kept on chasing Ino went for Sakura. However, they eventually got tired.
"-right?"
Sakura was snapped out of her thoughts when Ino finished the sentence Sakura never knew she was saying.
"Uhm, I'm sorry, what was that?" She heard her sigh.
"I said you don't have to be so unresponsive because you haven't sent invitations yet. I mean, you do have a boyfriend, right?" Sakura nodded. Then she froze when she analyzed what the blonde said.
Boyfriend?
Oh crap.
Her lie caught up with her.
"U-uhm… right. Right." She lied. Not just now, also about that boyfriend thing. It all started two years and two months ago when Ino invited her to go to clubbing with her then-boyfriend, Gaara. Or at least, that's what Ino knew. The red head and the pink-haired bachelorette split two months after Ino left to stay with Shikamaru. It wasn't a hard split, it was mutual in fact. He was too busy being the head of a top-of-the-line company in Suna and she, though lived in the same city, was busy being a full-time nurse.
But guess what, she was apparently also too busy to tell her best friend of twenty years about that tiny little detail.
Hmm…
Maybe a little truth won't hurt?
"Uhm, Ino?" She said nervously.
"Yeah?" She bit her lip.
"I may have forgotten to mention that I broke up with Gaara and—"
"What?!"
Okay.
So technically it didn't hurt her…
But that did hurt her ear.
"What the hey! You guys broke up and you never told me?"
"Well I—"
"You didn't even tell me you had a new boyfriend!"
…and maybe a little lie won't either?
"Uhh… yeah, that's right, I'm sorry." She said rapidly, her heart beat a little faster than normal.
"Well, whatever, just bring him and introduce us in a few weeks. Gotta run, bye, love you."
And with that, the line went dead.
And maybe, just maybe, Sakura wanted to die with it.
-o-
It was a rainy day and Sakura just got off from work. It was ten p.m., two hours later than her usual arrival. The traffic was a killer, but not as much tiring as at work. When they said May was the busiest month of the year, they weren't kidding. Odd as it may sound, but people just get clumsier now that summer's nearing. Really, who knew?
Well, not Sakura.
She sighed and went straight to her couch.
Ohh… How soft you are.
She sighed again and removed her shoes. Usually she would remove them before entering but she felt American right now. Wiggling her manicured nails playfully, her mind traveled to the latter part of work today. She had told a co-worker about her problem, and if she never mentioned it, she would never tell her that they knew a company that let men and women hire escorts for… purposes.
Sakura took the card out of the breast pocket of her pink blouse and stared at the numbers. Picking up her red flip phone from the wooden table and dialed the digits. She pressed the green buttons and placed the phone against her ear.
At the third ring, a woman picked it up.
"Hello, you have reached the Das Emergency Escort's hotline, how may I help you?"
-o-
Sakura adjusted her sunglasses on a humid Saturday while surveying the DEE's building; having second thoughts about this. It looked new enough, normal enough and well, enough. She didn't understand why her co-worker told her not to mention the company to anyone unless absolutely necessary. It blended in with the other sky-high buildings around her. Suna was known to be one of the richest cities in the Fire Country.
She took a deep breath and entered the building. Greeted by the doorman, she was awed by the expensive looking lobby. Chandeliers and all sorts of fancy objects decorated the room—to think it was only the lobby! A light yellow glow cast upon her as she approached the main desk which was guarded by a woman dressed in black and her brown hair tied in a bun. Her equally green eyes looked at Sakura and a smile automatically spread on her glossed lips.
"Yes, can I help you, madam?" She said politely. A smile of her own crept on Sakura's lips.
"Uhm, yes, I'm Sakura Haruno and I believe I have an appointment today?" She asked, a tad uncertain of what to say.
"Ah yes, please wait for Mr. Hatake in room 408. My assistant, Haku, will lead you to your floor. Please have a seat for the mean time while waiting for his arrival." She said softly, motioning for Sakura to take the seat near the coffee table.
As she sat down, Sakura couldn't help but wonder how rich the person who owned this company must be. I mean, really, a desk girl has an assistant? Get out. She was a nurse and she didn't have any assistants! Then again… she was the assistant. Of the doctor that is.
"You must be Ms. Haruno." She looked up and was awed at the beautiful person looking down upon her. Such beautiful brown hair and eyes. She looked absolutely beautiful!
Wait.
Didn't that desk girl just say this Haku person was a boy?
Sakura looked at him again. He caught her stare and smiled as they entered the elevator. He pressed the number four before Sakura spoke.
"Not to be rude or anything but, the receptionist said you were a boy." She said and was stunned when the brunette nodded his head. Her mouth stood agape. This boy—was so much more beautiful than she was! This was not possible.
Ding!
"Mr. Hatake is eight doors to the right. Take care, Sakura-chan." He said, smiling. She smiled and left when the doors closed. She looked for the eighth door and prepared herself for what came after. She was scared. Wait. Scratch that, she was terrified. Her co-worker had told her she wished that a man named Kakashi Hatake would not be the one interviewing her. She said she heard rumors that he was a pervert, a geezer and a tough cookie. He may reject your request without even a blink of an eye.
A deep breath was all it took before she raised her hand, knocked, and entered the room.
It was as beautiful as the lobby, only it was smaller and only a man inhabited the room. He had silver hair that was slightly spiked up with a mask and eye-patch on his face so only his nose and right part of his face was visible. How odd could this company get?
She stepped forward to him but stopped. He was on a couch and reading an orange book she knew all too well.
A blush crept on her cheeks.
"I-Icha Icha Paradise!" Sakura suddenly blurted out. When the man's lone eye landed on her, she covered her cherry lips with both her hands and gulped all too loudly. She knew the orange book, and it was the reason why her eyes were exposed to such erotic images at such a young age. She was eight and Ino took her to a bookstore her mother asked them to go to. While Ino looked for the book her mother requested, Sakura wandered through the… wrong side of the store. And there she saw those books right in front of the cotton candied lass. Curiosity got the best of her, and she couldn't help but let out a yelp when she saw such… provocative text and pictures on the book.
She never went to a bookstore ever since.
"Excuse me?" He said with his baritone voice. She tried to smile, but failed miserable when her face started twitching.
"I-I'm sorry, I'm Sakura Haruno and I'm here for an appointment…?" She loosened up lightly when Kakashi's murderous stare turned to an eye crinkle with a laugh echoing the luxurious room.
"You sound so terrified. Come here Sakura-chan." He said in a friendly manner. Maybe too friendly. Nevertheless, she took the seat opposite to Kakashi, garnering another joyous chuckle.
"D'aw Sakura-chan you're so cute. So tell me, why do you need one of DEE's escorts?" He said as he made himself much more comfortable on the red couch. Sakura shifted nervously.
"Well… I know it seems low but I need a guy to show up with on my best friend slash rival's wedding in a few weeks. What she knows is that I have a boyfriend and she'll never live it down if I show up alone!" Sakura almost shouted, tears welling up around her emerald pools. She was always second fiddle to Ino, her parents even preferred her over Sakura. She was smarter, that fact was no secret. But nobody would really see that at first notice.
Ino, on the other hand, was beautiful and vibrant. She was the ideal girlfriend, daughter, everything. She was always best on things that mattered. Things that contributed to popularity. And for once, Sakura didn't want to be the laughing stock. She wanted to show up with a man hotter than the sun on her arm. She was determined to show Ino that she may not be the first to tie the knot, but her man was way hotter than hers.
Really, who needs a man with hair held up like a pineapple?
She'd rather have a man whose hair was styled like the behind of a chicken.
She giggled inside.
"So you mean to say you really didn't have a boyfriend?" Kakashi asked. This time, Sakura paused before she replied; a deep, weighing feeling casted on her chest.
"I did, but we broke up a few years ago and I never got to tell my best friend about it. And I accidentally lied to her just yesterday when I said I had a new one…" She trailed off with a frown. Gaara, she wondered, how are you these days?
Their break up might've been mutual, but there were times when Sakura just remembers him at the oddest of times. He pops in her mind a lot, especially when she's lonely. It's been three years since they split, but Sakura couldn't help but keep a part of him there in her heart.
"Oh." Was all that Kakashi could utter. Sakura seemed like a very happy girl and he immediately hated it when a frown was sent upon her lips. He smiled and clasped his hands when he stood up and approached his desk. Sakura's eyes were glued on him the while and sent him a look of confusion when he was handing her papers and a single black Parker pen.
As if reading her look, he answered her question. "Those are survey papers; we give them to our clients to determine what escort suits you best, and of course, what you want." Kakashi smirked under his mask when he saw a bright smile replace the frown on Sakura's face.
"That means you accept my request!" She said happily and punched her fist in the air. "Cha! Take that, Ino-pig!"
-o-
Sakura arrived in her condo unit at eight fifteen p.m. After she visited the DEE building this afternoon, she just did a little grocery and fled to her abode. The meeting with Kakashi went surprisingly easy, and fast. When he handed her the papers and pen, she scanned the paper for any suspicious questions. It only asked for her whole name, age, date of birth, sex, weight, height and all other things about herself.
On the fifth page, it got interesting. She was given a series of questions asking what she would want as an escort. There was one where she was asked to check which of the following attributes she would want in her escort. She checked: Handsome, Smart, Tall, Fit, and others. Another was asking what appearance she wanted him to have. She said: black eyes, black hair, pale-ish skin, fit but not skinny, tall but not too tall and etc.
After she left, she had a good feeling about it, especially when Kakashi said he'd take special care of her papers because he wanted her to stop frowning. She was happy, more importantly confident about the fact that she wouldn't be the laughing stock of the wedding.
She took a piece of folded pink paper from her coat. Unfolding it, she read the words written in black ink. Kakashi said it was important that she followed this or else she could get sued. Or something along those lines.
Do not tell anyone about the Das Emergency Escort Company. We would like to keep our business private.
Do not expose your escort as an employee of the DEE Co. This would be in violation of rule 1.
Do not mix business with personal emotions. It is best to keep business with business and separate attraction to your escort, pursuing your escort will lead to violation of rule 1 and 2.
Do not touch intimately unless absolutely necessary. It reduces the chance of violating the rules stated above.
Do not kiss unless absolutely necessary. It reduces the chances of attraction to your partner and mixing business with personal emotions. Thus, violating rule 3.
Do not in anyway feel attraction towards escort.
Do not fall in love.
She almost laughed when she read that last part, what kind of woman did Kakashi think she was? She wasn't some shallow woman who fell for a gorgeous guy. She was definitely a professional woman, not what the rules implied. Oh well, the more she thought it was impossible, the less chances of her getting sued for violating the contract.
-o-
It was three days after Sakura went to Kakashi's office, and the more days that passed, the more she anticipated the arrival of her escort. According to the silver-haired pervert, her escort will be visiting her within five days. She wondered if Kakashi actually stuck to his word, she wondered if he was just bluffing. Her co-worker did warn her about Kakashi, but he seemed nice enough to her last Saturday. Although, Sakura did have her doubts.
How can you trust a man who only revealed one part of his face?
Sakura sighed in her seat in the canteen. Her breakfast consisted of warm milk, crackers and a banana cream muffin. She looked at her red wrist-watch, eight fifteen it read. She was about to take another bite of her muffin when one of her colleagues came rushing to her with a blush spread on her face.
"Sakura-san! There's a man in the lobby waiting for you!" She said, her breathing haggard and loud. A strange look on her face told Sakura that her message was not done. "…And he's claiming to be your boyfriend."
"What?!"
One sentence and it sent Sakura marching to the lobby to tell off this man who claimed to be her boyfriend. If you looked closer, you would see steam coming out of her ears. With her pink brows in a knot, only one thing was on the mind of her co-workers.
Give way, ladies and gentlemen! Hell is about to arrive.
She narrowed her eyes when the sight of her colleagues met her eyes. Not to mention a blush on each of their faces. Her viridian eyes followed the look of the women to a man wearing a white shirt and black pants. From the back he looked lean and fit, and another thing that caught her eye was his hair. His black, black hair held up like the bottom of a chicken.
She stomped her way to him but was delayed when her colleagues crowded around her.
"My gosh Sakura I never knew you had such a gorgeous boyfriend!" One of them told her with a blush on her face. The pink-haired woman's face became even angrier, if possible.
"My goodness, I do not have a boyfriend! Why do I need to repeat that again and again?" Sakura said exasperatedly. Boy was she mad. And stressed. She was about to turn away when she felt a pair of unfamiliar arms wrap around her waist.
"Don't tell me you already forgot about me, Sa-ku-ra." He heard a man utter to her ear, his breath brushing against her pierced ear. With a swarm of giggles, her colleagues finally left to give them privacy. Once they were out of sight, Sakura pulled the man into an empty room without another thought.
As the door clicked to a lock, Sakura sighed and laid her eyes on the man for the first time.
Her breath caught.
He was exactly what she wanted as a boyfriend. He had the blackest hair and matching eyes, and skin pale as snow. He was… beautiful. So handsome she wanted to drop dead then and there.
"Who… who are you?" She asked. With a smirk, Sakura melted.
"Sasuke Uchiha. Your… boyfriend."
*Haha. Bet you're getting sick of me, ne? Oh well, here I am. :)
You might wanna listen to Dangerous by Akon for that last part, I just listened to it and the last part was so great with the chorus and, yeah. :))
I dunno. Might just be me.
Standard disclaimer applied!
To answer some fans' questions, I have not watched Absolute Boyfriend ever before. So don't think I copied it there.
Flames are accepted, whereas con-crits and reviews are loved. :)
--M. Kaori