Alright, so you guys are very sharp. Yes, Sakura's mother died, I know, and you shall have your question answered.
Chapter 3 up. Enjoy.
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F a t h e r F i g u r e
Summary:AU Uchiha Sasuke, CEO of Uchiha Enterprises, finds a little girl, unconscious in the middle of the road. Little does he know, the little girl can bring him and his new pink-haired personal assistant together. (SasuSaku, NejiTen, ShikaIno, NaruHina)
Rating: T (PG-13)
Genre: Romance/Drama/Humor
Standard disclaimer applied.
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Chapter 3: CinderSakura
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Last time on Father Figure:
Before Sakura could answer, Naruto (that idiot) ran up. "Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Oh – hey, Gaara! Didn't know you were here."
"Yes, Naruto?" Sakura asked.
"Oh, right! I was passing by your desk, and the phone rang, so since you weren't there, I answered."
"Who was it?" Her bright eyes looked up inquisitively up at the blonde.
"Well… the person on the other line says that she's your mother…"
The reactions were immediate.
Temari and Gaara's eyes narrowed.
Kankuro let out a vicious swearword.
And Sakura's eyes widened, her hands clenched, and her whole body became rigid.
Naruto was clueless, but Sasuke noticed. 'What now?'
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Sakura seemed to have frozen. Slowly, however, she gained her composure. "Alright… thanks, Naruto. I'll go get it."
She left unsteadily, Fumei still holding her hand because she was still kind of blinded. Naruto bounded off as well, going to go meet Hinata.
Only the Sand Siblings and Sasuke were left.
"Listen, Sasuke, you have a phone that's interconnected with Sakura-chan's, right?" Kankuro asked hurriedly.
The Uchiha nodded suspiciously. "Why?"
"C'mon," Temari said quickly. "Take us to your office."
He found it quite irking that the three were inviting themselves to his own office, but complied anyway.
After all, Uchihas liked to be well-informed.
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"Sasuke-kun! About that secretary of yours–"
"No one gave you permission to be in my office," Sasuke said coldly to Namanomi, who had been waiting for him in his office chair. "Leave."
"But–"
"Didn't you hear Uchiha?" Gaara said menacingly. "Leave."
With a 'hmph' and a flurry of her ultra mini-skirt, Namanomi left. It was obvious that even though Namanomi was a bold and demanding woman, she was still afraid of Sabaku no Gaara.
"I don't even know why you're engaged to her," Temari commented mildly after the tinted glass door closed shut.
"Hn," Sasuke grunted.
"Alright," Kankuro rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Let's do some sleuthing."
The four fell quiet as Sasuke lifted the handle of his phone and punched the speaker button.
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"Haruno Sakura here," Sakura said quietly, carefully. Fumei sat on her lap, looking up at her inquisitively but staying silent.
'That smart girl,' Sakura thought fondly.
"Sakura-chan!" The pink-haired woman grimaced at the sound of the high-pitched voice.
"Hello, mother," She answered politely.
"How are you doing, honey?" The voice was coated in fake honey, and Sakura tensed. What did that woman want… "How long has it been, two years? Three years?"
"It's been five," Sakura answered back shortly. "I have work, mother, please. Get to the point."
There was a short silence, someone breathing heavily through the line. She knew that her mother was trying to contain her anger. "Well, yes, I know honey!" the woman answered. "You work for that handsome young Uchiha man!"
Sakura's green eyes narrowed suspiciously. 'How…' "Yes," she answered cautiously. "Why?"
"Well, to be blunt, I'm afraid that your sister and my financial situations aren't going too well right now."
Then realization dawned on Haruno Sakura. She stayed silent but the woman kept on talking.
"So I was wondering if you can loan us some money," the voice asked hopefully.
"I lent you the equivalent of one hundred thousand American dollars six years ago," Sakura replied coldly.
"Yes, well time goes by!" the woman tittered, a silver of anger finally entering her voice.
"Good-bye, Mother," Sakura said flatly.
"Sakura-chan, what are you–"
But the pink-haired woman had already hung up.
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Temari shook her head in pity. "And I was finally starting to think that Sakura-chan was finally free of that old hag."
"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked. "I thought her parents were deceased."
"They are," Gaara said softly. "The woman that Sakura was speaking to is her stepmother, and the woman who almost became our mother as well."
"Y'see," Kankuro said, "Sakura's mother died when she was six.
"Sakura's father thought that she needed a mother figure around so he married Katsumi – that's her name – quickly. Katsumi also had a daughter named Ami, and both of them made Sakura's life hell.
"Sakura's dad worked as a banker and he did a lot of business overseas. When he was gone on his long trips, they used to work her like a dog. And her father, though he was cared for Sakura, never really found out.
"Then, when Sakura was ten, Sakura's father died. He left her quite some money, and nothing to Katsumi and Ami. However, being Sakura's legal guardian, Katsumi took control of Sakura-chan's money and spent it all on herself and Ami.
"After they ran out of money, Katsumi took Sakura and Ami to Suna.
"We met Sakura at the playground, where Gaara nearly choked her to death."
"What?" Sasuke asked harshly, narrowing his eyes at the redhead, who shrugged.
"But she punched the living daylights out of him," Temari chuckled. "She was probably the only girl that made him cry at that age."
Gaara scowled.
"Anyways," Kankuro continued. "After the playground incident, we became really close. We protected shabby little Haruno Sakura at school from Ami and her cronies and we stuck with her. She really was a delight to us, even Gaara. We even took her home once, when things got a bit hairy at her home, and introduced her to our father. Even he took quite a liking to her.
"Then Katsumi found out about her friendship with us.
"That twisted woman knew that we came from a powerful, rich, and influential family. She used our friendship with Sakura to get to our father and made up a whole sob story to get our father on her side.
"Katsumi and our father would have gotten married but we talked him out of it. We opened his eyes to the truth.
"Our father almost used the law against Katsumi and her abusive ways toward Sakura, but Sakura talked him out of it. Being such a kind-hearted person, she didn't get Katsumi into trouble, and they moved out of Suna again.
"We haven't met face to face until now. Sakura sent us a couple of letters from Konoha Medical University where she had a scholarship, but then the letters suddenly stopped and all ties to her were cut off.
"It's quite a joy to see her again, though the part with Katsumi kind of pisses me off," Kankuro finished.
"A scholarship to KMU?" Sasuke repeated slowly. Konoha Medical University was a prestigious med school for aspiring doctors, where the legendary doctor Tsunade was headmistress.
"Yeah," Temari said. "She studied right under Tsunade. But we're guessing that Katsumi, that bitch, made Sakura drop out. And I was really thinking that Sakura would've made a great doctor."
"Aa…" Sasuke muttered.
"CinderSakura," Gaara said cynically.
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The whole Sakura-Mother phone call incident was soon to be forgotten, for the HaruHanabi fashion show was coming up soon.
Sasuke and his board of trustees (K4, their female counterparts, and the Sand Siblings) were currently picking out models that were going to strut down the runway wearing the HaruHanabi fashion line.
"They're all so ugly!" Ino complained, thumbing through pictures. "The modeling world has gone to the dogs!"
"That one's hot," Naruto said defensively, pointing at a redhead.
Neji coughed.
"Of course, Hinata-chan's hotter!" the blonde said hastily, pecking the blushing Hyuuga on the cheek.
"No, that's not what Ino means," Tenten said, furrowing her brows. "They don't radiate that… aura. That 'rebirth', 'innocence' kind of thing. Something that they're supposed to represent in this show."
"Sasu-nii!"
A dark-haired flurry glomped the Uchiha, and he leaned forward and caught Fumei. "Yes, Fumei?"
"What're you doing?" the little girl asked curiously, looking at the scattered photos of various potential models.
"We're picking out people to wear our fashion line, Fumei-chan!" Naruto explained, just as bouncy as the young girl. "Wanna help?"
"I'll help too!"
Silence.
"N-Namanomi-san…" Hinata acknowledged politely. "I-I thought you were going on v-vacation…"
Namanomi slid into the empty seat next to Sasuke's and wrapped a thin arm around him. "Sasuke-kun, I'm going to be in the show too, aren't I?" She pouted.
"No," Sasuke replied blandly. "Get out."
"Please?" She whined. "What's so bad about being the main model of your fashion line?"
"The main model has to be a kid, Namanomi," Shikamaru sighed. "The essence of innocence and carefree is childhood."
"Like… like… Fumei?" Naruto asked blankly.
"…for once, the dobe's idea isn't that bad," Neji said.
Naruto stuck out his tongue at the male Hyuuga.
"Hey, hey, back to moi," Namanomi snarled, hogging the limelight. "Pleeeeeeeeease, Sasuke-kun?"
A muscle jumped in Temari's jaw and Gaara gave his sister a warning look.
"If you get out, maybe," Sasuke said coldly. "Now get out."
That was all it took. Namanomi leaned in closer to Sasuke to kiss him, but he moved away.
"Hmph. Well, ta-ta!" Namanomi waved to Ino.
Ino twitched as the doors slid shut. "As head of the modeling department, I refuse.""We'll see," Kankuro said genially.
"Sasu-nii, why are you engaged to someone like that?" Fumei asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Honestly, I have no idea," Sasuke grunted.
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"Yes, that's it Fumei, you're doing great!"
"My back hurts," the girl groaned.
"No talking!" Ino sang.
Fumei was walking down a long runway, a meter stick tied to her back and a stack of books on her head.
"Porker, are you sure you're not going to hard on her?" Sakura asked, entering the large hall after Sasuke.
"Nonsense, Forehead. This is standard training. Oh, hey Sasuke." Ino switched the CD of the boom box to something faster. "Alright, Fumei-chan, walk faster now!"
"Save me, okaa-san!" Fumei wailed in mock misery, walking perfectly.
Sakura laughed. "C'mon, Fumei-chan. I'm sure it's not as hard as you're making it out to be."
"…Forehead, are you serious?" A dark aura of menace seemed to cover Ino. The blonde looked up with an evil glint in her eyes.
"Uhm… porker, chill."
"GET BACK HERE!!!"
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"My back hurts," the woman groaned.
"I told you so!" Fumei said victoriously, watching from the side as Sakura, in three-inch heels, walked down the runway with a meter stick strapped to her back and a stack of thick hardcover books on her head.
Sasuke chuckled.
"Don't trip down the aisle!" Ino shouted. "Strut, dammit! Be graceful!"
Sakura's eyes narrowed. "Geez, porker. Fine."
With amazing grace, Sakura set her face into a slight pout and strutted down the runway, flipping her hair at the end.
"Happy?"
Ino stared, as did Fumei, Sasuke, and the whole Konoha and Suna group that had just entered to get the final preparations ready for the fashion show the next day.
"That was… sexy," Tenten gasped.
Sakura blinked. "Ehr?"
"I didn't know that you were a natural-born model, Sakura-chan!" Temari whooped.
"Che, whatever," Sakura said, blushing. Carefully removing the books and meter stick from her, she turned to Sasuke. "Uchiha-san, you have a meeting in two hours. With the lighting department."
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This was it.
The show.
Businesspeople and celebrities were all there, sitting in their seats, waiting. The runway was pitch-black and quiet, only a couple lights seemingly driving the shadows away.
However, backstage was a different story. Models were running around everywhere, receiving their clothes.
"This is going to be a success," Gaara observed. "There are a whole bunch of people here."
"Aa," Sasuke said. "We're going to bring in a lot of money."
"Ugh! Sasuke-teme, we have a problem," Naruto ran up to Sasuke.
"Hn?"
"It's Fumei…"
"What about her?" Neji asked sharply. "Is she not here?"
"No, she's here," Tenten appeared next to Naruto, all dressed in her first set of clothes. "It's just that… she refuses to work with Namanomi."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru groaned. "Who else is she going to work with?"
As if on cue, Fumei ran up to Sasuke. "No! You can't make me!"
"C'mon, Fumei-chan," Sakura panted, catching up to Fumei. "It's just walking down the runway once with Namanomi-san, just the finale."
"She called me a snot-nosed brat!" Fumei burst out angrily.
Sakura stopped. "I'm sure she has her reasons," she said soothingly. The pink-haired woman looked up to Sasuke. "Uchiha-san…?"
"You can't make me!" Fumei cried as Namanomi walked up to the gang.
"Sasuke-kun, the brat won't listen," Namanomi snarled in irritation.
Sasuke stared blankly and turned to Ino. "When was Namanomi part of the finale?"
Ino stared back blankly. "She told me that you gave her permission."
"Heh," Temari chuckled. "You sly girl. Get out of those clothes," she told Namanomi. "You're not the main co-model."
"Then who is?" Namanomi demanded. "Obviously, I'm the only one. The others are backup."
Kankuro smirked. "I nominate Haruno Sakura."
The rose-haired woman blinked. "But I have no modeling experience," she said slowly, backing away.
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"GET HER!!!"
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The lights intensified, and Sasuke stepped out to the stage and was greeted by applause.
"Good evening, my name is Uchiha Sasuke, as you may all know. Welcome to the HaruHanabi fashion show, where you will learn the true meaning of 'dynamic'. Uchiha Enterprises and Hyuuga Designs are proud to present to you…"
Then everything went pitch-dark.
A small speck of light, and crackling screens in the background.
The large screens came to life, showing a close-up of Ino's face, her blue eyes hauntingly standing out.
"HaruHanabi."
Ino stepped out and started strutting down the aisle in perfect sync with the upbeat music. On the screen, her lips were moving with the words of the music, as if she were singing. The real Ino had reached the end of the stage, flipping her curled hair sassily. She twirled in her purple halter dress and walked back, never tripping once in her black, thigh-length leather boots.
Applause and hoots of satisfaction.
The screen flickered to an image of Tenten, who was running through darkness, her lips forming the words of the song.
The real Tenten, at the back of the stage, winked. She started walking confidently in her flip-flops and cargo shorts, the hood of her sleeveless red hoodie falling back to reveal her thick, braided hair.
Indeed, the show was a big hit.
Even Hinata seemed to lose all her inhibitions as she walked out and basked in the light, her dark blue sequined top and denim skirt sparkling in the light. She never messed up once, even offering an intense glare to the audience before turning around and retreating. Her screen self was in a cathedral, kneeling and mouthing the words of the song with her eyes closed.
However, the finale was really something else.
The screens flickered once again to images of a sakura tree and the spectators were awestruck as sakura petals began falling from all directions.
The sakura petals were only holograms being projected by projectors in various places, strategically placed by Nara Shikamaru. However, as the sakura petals made contact with anything, the disappeared in a flash of light.
And Fumei walked down the aisle. She was dressed in a light pink spaghetti-strap dress, the ruffles bouncing off her knee. She raised the brim of her wide hat, which was pinned with flowers and smiled dazzlingly. She walked gracefully in her toeless, ankle-length sandals.
Halfway during the journey down the runway, Sakura appeared, a small blush on her cheeks. Dressed in a thigh length, short-sleeved black kimono-like top with pink accents, she glided down the runway in her skinny jeans and flats. A small charm with the Uchiha symbol, an uchiwa fan, dangled off her red obi.
Fumei waited for Sakura to reach the end of the runway, and both females walked back together.
After Sakura and Fumei disappeared from the audience's eyes, everything went dark. Only the sakura petals kept falling.
And everyone stood, clapping and whistling in approval.
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"You were great, Fumei-chan!" Sakura hugged the girl, who hugged back.
"You were great too, okaa-san."
"GOOD JOB, EVERYONE!" Naruto shouted to the crew, the models, and the gang. "You know what this means…"
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"PARTYYYYY!!!" Ino and Naruto screamed at the same time.
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The after party was indeed hectic.
Sakura steered clear of the crowd, only looking after Fumei and sticking by Sasuke's side. As his PA, she had to stay with him at all times.
However, in all the confusion, she and Fumei had lost the raven-haired Uchiha and were now looking for him.
"I think he's there," Fumei squinted and pointed in a direction.
"Alright, let's go," Sakura sighed.
They eased through the crowd, apologizing as they stepped on various people's toes.
"I told you so," Fumei said smugly as they saw the familiar hairstyle of Uchiha Sasuke.
When Sakura saw the person Sasuke was talking to, she gasped.
And both Sasuke and the person turned to her.
"Sakura," Sasuke greeted, looking a bit bewildered at her expression. "Do you know…?"
"Sakura-chan, it's been a long time," the man beside him said smoothly. "How have you been?"
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Ehr. Not even 3,000 words. I kind of got rusty, ne? Sorry.
I hope that everything about Sakura's family has gotten cleared up.
And… yeah. Let me just establish that this is the real world (kind of). Which means I'm using real countries like Japan and the US for the setting. This takes place in Japan, obviously, near Tokyo. Konoha, Suna, Mist, all those places, they're just going to be considered districts. Mhm. Yeah.
The songs I was listening to when typing the fashion show scene was 'Audition' by Younha and 'Brightdown' by Nami Tamaki.
Thanks to M.J.Kay, onyXcherry, animeloverxoxox, Pyra Opal, Rae Ahn Mae, BuBBly CaNis luPus, Ribs On The Run, Cookie Yuki, QuicksilverWitch, Dolphinbreeze, NinjaNitaRamenChan, Roses of Sharon, BrokenHeartedCherry, ramenlova610, kitkatkitty435, Patamon Cutie 13, Sakuraangel1327, SwiftWolfgirl44, KoolKittyKat256, xokatherine229, Winter Thunder, KawaiiUsako, Flyingone911, mak0-ch1, gladdecease, xXCherry-BlossoM-FaNXx, Sakura-Girl 2005, PowerfulMiko, hizmit12-waterlilly3721, sakura725, Luffly Emi, ihearttoast09, xXbunnyholicXx, princessa-luv, asianangelgirl, tomorrowisjustanotherday, yourdarkdesire, Chibi-Penguin-Chan, deedee2034, Melon-Cauli, Shinkutsuki, Da Cute Snowbunny, DJ HiHi Kimiko, it'sher, Beating Heart Baby-face, inurdreams21, sasusaku143, Poet of the Moon, Amiee15, fleeting thought, Lioness Of the fire, 93addict, SakuraRoxMySox, Frank Was Not Like Other Sheep, alexthegreat123, SasukeandNejicuties, prosopagnosia, XXDragonheart6XX, amaryllisstar, Purplecherry5, Little Minamino, Depressing Truths, Pink Shinobi, Kawaii IceCream, gaarafaves, chakra spirit, J.a.M.i.16, ninja-kyoko, Breanna91, AzNwitBra1Nz, STEVEO 352, furryhatlover2543, TakemenowTish, Blackblossom93, Kairi-Sama, Angelsorceress, xXstardust401Xx, Monkeyluv4646, pinkcherryblossom225, Haine-chan, 7nmelz, missysillivan, darkpetaltaki, Phantasm Whisperer, zenbon zakura, TaniHime, silverymoonfire, eleanaleone, Sagitarious Devil, Sexy.Black.Neko, lolsuzie, -my-name-is-V-, sasukefan8, XxXUntrustedbutLovedXxX, Grace Antares Whitlock-Hale, xo Misunderstood kunoichi ox, anichick23, DarknessFlameWolf, Andrea8000, Hersheys Rocks, amylovestakuya, VeRnAqUaY, Aoi Hana9, Animelover XD, SakuraUchiha4, ch3rrylips, and HPBabe91 for reviewing. Damn, that's a lot of people.
until next time. Ja.
