A/N: Before I start with the fic, I just wanna say a few things:
A shout to my reviewer Umnia, cuz as far as I know, you've been reviewing each chappie and I feel so touched :')
Robotchick: ya, I know. Every time I reread that part, I can't help laughing myself. Glad you loved it!
ItSaLwAyStHeShYoNeS: boy, that was a mouthful of caps and uncaps.. Anyway, your review made me feel good about my fic. I don't feel bad about it at all but you reminded me that it's not such a bad story after all. I hope I'll entertain you with this here chapter. Enjoy!
YungHime: and I haven't gotten to my suspenseful part yet! I hope that you keep reading and tell me what you think!
CptnCorr219: Your review made me laugh, hihi… And believe me, I'm writing as fast as I can! I'm trying to post a chapter each week. Hope that's fast enough!
And the guests: I wanted a new look for Hinata, so I decided to shorten her hair. Hope it doesn't bother too many people!
I'm busy reading the fic Perdonare by champylin and I agree that the stories are similar but by no means the same. So no plagiarism there. Thank god...
And don't worry! This is most definitely a SasuHina fic ^.^ And Sasuke's gonna realize his mistake the hard way. I promise you that ;)
So keep reading and find out more! I love you ALL readers!
Disclaimer: Me no own Naruto, else I wouldn't have let Neji die :'(
It was a pleasant and warm day in Japan. Sasuke was drinking his coffee on the terrace of a coffee shop. He was paging through a magazine, while drinking his warm cup of Joe, eventually taking a bite out of the bagel he ordered. He enjoyed this part of Japan; he wasn't really fond of Tokyo itself, with those endless rows of skyscrapers and massive crowds of pedestrians. Every time the airline makes a stop in Japan, he makes sure to have breakfast here at least once during his stay. It was a ridiculous distance away from the hotel he was staying at but he didn't mind at all. He enjoyed this travel and this beautiful place. It was quiet, like a suburban area in a cultural part of Japan with almost no cars and friendly people. The whole village felt like it had discipline and inner peace, where every day was like the first time the phoenix rises from its ashes. Where problems were forgotten and everything started anew. The atmosphere was refreshing and if it were possible, Sasuke would live here. This is the only place where he felt at peace and by just sitting there, enjoying his small meal, he felt like he had no worries at all.
"I thought I'd find you here," a familiar voice said to him.
Sasuke looked up and was surprised to see his older brother, Itachi. He had on a suit of the deepest black that man has ever been able to recreate in fabric and matching colored shoes to go with it. His jacket was unbuttoned so Sasuke could clearly see the white button-down shirt he was wearing, together with a deep crimson red neck tie. Itachi had his hands in his front pockets and a sly smile on his face as he looked at his baby brother. Sasuke returned the smile.
"Why?" he asked as he stood up from his chair. "Was I reported missing back home?"
The brothers exchanged a man-hug and sat down at Sasuke's table.
"It's been a while, little bro," Itachi began. "I haven't seen you in months. Where have you been?"
"All around the world," Sasuke replied as he let out a soft chuckle.
"Clearly," Itachi reacted bluntly.
"So how are mom and dad?" Sasuke asked.
"You would've known if you came around more often," Itachi replied, looking at his brother rather accusingly.
"Come on, Itachi," Sasuke complained. "You know I've been busy with work."
"Yeah, you seem to be busy a lot," he said, not caring. "Hell, everybody's busy, Sasuke. But it wouldn't hurt to pay your parents a visit. It kills me to see mom like that, you know. And even though dad doesn't show it, he's missing you too."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sasuke admitted. He didn't really want to listen to this speech anymore.
An awkward silence fell over the brothers. For a moment, they didn't know what to say to each other. To break the silence, Sasuke started first.
"So what are you doing here in Japan?"
"Business," Itachi said matter-of-factly. Sasuke waited for an explanation that didn't seem to come. He was looking at his brother with raised eyebrows but it was like he didn't get his sign.
"Care to share some info with me, man?" he said finally when he noticed his brother wouldn't budge. "And please don't tell me all that crap about how I should visit more often to know about this kind of stuff. I'm tired of hearing shit like that and you know it."
Itachi smirked at his little brother. He loved to nag and tease him. It's just so much fun! XD
"Well," he began. "We bought this amazing piece of land in Oregon. Beautiful. Old ranch, it was. It's on a small hill and has a magnificent view of some nearby mountains. So we figured it's a good place to invest. And you know what something like that could be worth."
Sasuke nodded understandingly. Even though he did something totally different from real estate, Sasuke was too smart not to know anything about the family business.
"We signed up some very good contractors here in Japan," Itachi continued. "They are to build a villa on the property, completely in the design I had in mind."
"Aren't there any architects in the US for jobs like that?" Sasuke informed. "I mean, coming here for contractors... That's a pretty big investment for a house."
"But it's not just any kind of house," Itachi said slyly as he offered his brother a smirk. "It shall be a house with the newest technology and where else to find smartasses like that than in Japan."
Proud of himself, Itachi leaned back and looked at his brother with content.
"I'm telling you, bro. This deal will be huge!"
"I'm sure of it," Sasuke reacted. He wasn't too impressed. Sure there was a lot of money in real estate and enough rich idiots to buy a ridiculously expensive house, but the business never really appealed to him.
Casually, Itachi pulled out his phone from his pocket and put it on the table. He began to toy with it a little before talking to his brother again.
"So, how's your wife?"
"Hinata? She's fine."
"How about you?" he asked again, looking Sasuke straight in the eye. There was something serious in that look and Sasuke knew it.
"I'm doing good as well," he answered like he didn't notice Itachi's 'I'm concerned'-look.
"You know," Itachi said as he twisted his phone around, not looking at his brother. "You should be home more often. It's not wise to leave your wife alone for too long and we both know you've been out more than you need to."
"What?... You're worried that she'd walk out on me or something?" Sasuke said unbelievingly. He was getting rather irritated and didn't like the road this conversation was heading.
"She'd never do that," he continued. "Hinata and cheating don't go together."
"I'm not worried about Hinata," Itachi said in his serious tone again. He crossed his arms on his chest and looked at him accusingly, almost as if he was going to warn him or something.
"I'm worried about you," he continued. He leaned forward to get closer to him.
"We both know you've been getting some on the side and you can't deny that," he said softly.
Sasuke scoffed.
"Why should I even talk to you about this," he said. "It's none of your business."
Itachi held his hands up in surrender and leaned back on his chair.
"I'm just warning you, Sasuke," he said sympathetically. "I'm just saying that you've got something good going on with Hinata and it would be a shame to lose her. And don't underestimate your wife. If she ever finds out, she might actually do things you'd never think she'd be able to do."
"What?... So, now you think you know my wife better than I do?" Sasuke said a little angrily.
"Sasuke, I'm just saying," Itachi said. "You should be careful. What comes around, goes around. That woman has been by your side through thick and thin. She even stood by you during your depressive phase! Women like that are on limited edition! She's a rare breed, Sasuke. And I hope you're not stupid enough to let her go for some fling from the outside."
Itachi looked a little disgusted but the one emotion in his elder brother's face that stirred Sasuke a bit was the disappointment. He didn't really know what to think so he said the first thing that came to mind:
"I won't let her go, man. She's my wife."
"Good," Itachi said. He looked a little relieved but a lot more content. Then he took a look at his watch and stood up.
"I gotta get going," he said. "My meeting will start in 30 minutes and I have to get this deal done."
Sasuke stood up as well and shook his brother's hand.
"Okay," he said. "All the best, then."
"We'll keep in touch," Itachi said as he walked to his parked car. "And please think about what I said."
Sasuke nodded. He stood there and watched as his brother drove away. Only when the car was out of sight, did he sit down again. He tried to continue reading his magazine but he just couldn't focus on it. Perhaps his brother had some truth in his words and he took the rest of the day pondering about it.
Back home in the US, Hinata was getting ready to leave. She had on a women's business suit: a blazer, a matching skirt that ended just underneath the knees and a chiffon shirt. The suit had a light brown color and her shirt was white. Hinata brushed her hair, humming. Then she went to the closet and got out a pair of white kitten heel-shoes. She took her briefcase from the bed and headed towards her car. Ever since Sasuke started his job at the Konoha Commercial Airline, he had told her that he'd provide for her and that she didn't have to work at all. In fact, he was very adamant about her not having a job. In his opinion, she was to stay home and take care of the kids. But that was before they found out about his…problem. After that, he didn't really care.
Because the Uchiha's were quite well off, and have enough money for the rest of their lifes, Hinata started a fund for children called 'Educare'. It was their goal to help those in need, to support families who don't have the financials to send their kids to school. And since she and her husband had so much dough, why not spend it on a good cause?
In the beginning, Hinata's money was enough to keep the fund alive but as the organization grew, it wasn't enough anymore. You have to understand, the fund was a non-profit organization, so they lived solely on donations. A few years ago, Hinata approached Sasuke's parents with a business proposal. If they would monthly invest some money in the fund, Hinata would advertise for them for free. It was a risk because Hinata wasn't sure if Fugaku and Itachi would've accepted it but it turns out there was a lot more good in them than she had anticipated.
The 'Uchiha Real Estate' spent $10,000 each month on Educare, without ever getting their money back. Nor did they expect any. Hinata was grateful but that didn't mean that she left it at that. She kept looking for sponsors and because of her amazing marketing skills and promotional effort, she managed to support over a 1,000 families to send their kids to school.
Hinata was proud of herself. Now she had several people working for her to help with the organization. Actually she didn't have to do much herself but she made it a priority to come by twice every week for a small meeting to see how things were going.
"Good morning, Hinata-sama," a woman with short black hair said to her as she entered Educare. Shizune was one of her most loyal employees. She handled all the new cases and does the screening. She also works at the desk so she's usually the first one to meet the clients.
"Good morning, Shizune," Hinata greeted back. "Everything ready for the meeting?"
"Almost," she answered. "The refreshments have yet to arrive, but the room is ready."
Hinata stopped at the desk and took out some forms that families need to fill in when they come to the fund for the first time.
"Have the others arrived already?" she asked as she examined one of the forms.
"I believe everybody is present, yes," Shizune answered as she tried to recall all the employees she's seen throughout the day.
"Alright then," Hinata told her as she looked at her watch. "I'll see you in five minutes."
With that, Hinata headed for the meeting room, some of the forms in her hand. She wanted to evaluate the efficiency of it because they've just started using it about two months ago. She readied herself for the meeting; setting up the beamer and connecting it to her laptop. When everybody was present and had taken their seats, she took a deep breath. She felt utterly happy doing this kind of work. It made her feel fulfilled, like her life had purpose and she loved the idea of helping others. With a warm heart she started the meeting, knowing that this will be yet another productive day.
Nearly three hours had passed. Hinata headed towards a small restaurant across the street to have lunch. After the meeting, she helped around in the organization, helping anywhere she can. After lunch, she would go back inside, do some paperwork and then head home. Hinata felt content: today her life meant something. But right now she was famished and she couldn't wait to put some food in her mouth.
As usual, Hinata took a table by the window. That way, she could enjoy the outside world while savoring her meal. She also liked that spot because it was so nice and bright and she could clearly see her food. After all, one eats with the eye.
Today she ordered a salad with roasted chicken and some mashed potatoes on the side. She liked simple, homemade food and she wasn't too demanding. While Hinata was chewing on a bite of chicken a familiar face popped in front of her.
"Hey gorgeous," he said lively. "Seat taken?"
It was a rhetorical question because he didn't wait for an answer and just sat down.
Hinata smiled at him and hurried herself to swallow her bite.
"N-Naruto," she said surprised, as she politely covered her mouth with one hand. "How nice to see you."
"Good to see you too," he said smiling. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here; restaurant's kinda busy and I really need to eat."
Hinata shook her head, signaling him that she didn't mind him sitting at her table, and that he was allowed to claim the empty seat across her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him as she watched him signing a waiter to take his order.
"I, uhh…" he said. He wasn't really looking at her but focusing on the waiter he called. Because the waiter had other orders in his hand, it would be a while before he could come to him. Naruto sighed and looked down in defeat. Today is gonna be a hungry day…
"Are you alright?" he heard a soft voice ask.
When he looked up, he saw the worried expression on Hinata's face. He immediately smiled out of embarrassment as he scratched the back of his head with one hand.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine!" he quickly said. "Just very hungry. I've been fixing this leaky pipe all day and I didn't have breakfast this morning, so…"
Hinata smiled at him and just then the waiter arrived at his table. Before he could ask Naruto for his order, the blond man already blurted out his wishes.
"I want three bowls of ramen with pork and eggs, please," he said.
"Is that all?" the waiter informed.
"A bottle of water would go well with it," he decided. "I don't think I'm gonna need anything else."
Relieved, Naruto let out a sigh and ran his hand through his messy locks of golden spikes. He looked up and that's when he realized Hinata's raised eyebrows and her small smile.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"Three bowls…," Hinata said impressed. "You must be really hungry."
Naruto let out an embarrassed laugh.
"Oh don't mind me," he told her. "Hungry man talking."
"So, what are you doing here?" he asked her.
"Well," Hinata began. "I own Educare. I just came here for lunch."
"I see."
"So what are you doing here?" Hinata asked in turn.
"I got a call from a client with a leaky pipe," he explained. "She lives a block from here and I hear this place is pretty good so I decided to give it a shot."
Naruto and Hinata had a pleasant talk. They kept conversing even after the ramen arrived but also while it was being slurped up. Naruto had a very funny aura around him and Hinata found herself laughing a lot; something that she hasn't done in quite a while now. When lunch had been eaten and the check had been paid, it was time to part ways. Hinata almost felt saddened.
"Perhaps we could get together sometime and hang out," Naruto invited her.
Hinata smiled at him. Her cheeks started to turn red slightly, and when she noticed this she averted her gaze to the suddenly amusing floor.
"Maybe," she said. She was really liking him but she was afraid to see him again. If she didn't watch out, she'd fall in love with him and she wasn't planning on doing the forbidden.
"I had fun," Naruto said softly as he looked her in the eyes. This made Hinata blush even more, so she kept her gaze fixed on the tiles of the floor. Even though she knew otherwise, she didn't want Naruto to see her blushing face. But she gathered enough courage to look at him again.
"Me too," she said quietly and stood up from the table.
"I have to go now," she said. "I've been away for too long and I suspect they need me."
Hinata threw a look at Educare across the street. What she said wasn't the whole truth but it wasn't a total lie either. The main reason she wanted to go was because she was getting a little uncomfortable.
In the mean time, Naruto had also risen from his chair.
"Well, it's been good spending time with you," he said. "I hope we could do this again."
Again, Hinata's cheeks warmed up with that inner fire and she smiled at him.
"Good day, Naruto."
"You too, Hinata."
He watched her as she headed out the door and into Educare.
"You can sense it. Just the way I can, can't you?" a voice inside of his head said. "She's the one. She's special. And I bet she's delicious…"
"You're not laying a single finger on her," Naruto said to the voice.
"Don't worry, I won't," the voice assured him. "But I will take over when things go wrong."
Naruto ignored that voice in his head. He didn't want to focus on him too much. Instead, he walked out of the restaurant and headed for his car, driving to his next appointment.
A/N: So… Can anyone guess who that voice was? I bet you can! Unless, you haven't watched/read Naruto… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! It was a pleasure writing the conversation between Itachi and Sasuke. And I gotta tell ya: it's gonna be even more a pleasure to write the next chapter. I've already plotted out what's gonna happen next and OH! the drama! ^w^
So, stay tuned! For the next chapter of "Love and Deception" ;)