Yus, the almighty death is back.

Wowie, a lot of you guessed Sai, for the mystery boy.

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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)

Rating: T (PG-13)

Genre: Romance/Drama/Humor

Standard disclaimer applied.

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Chapter 4: Akatsuki

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Last time of Father Figure:

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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"Sasori-sensei...?" The suffix slipped out of her lips by reflex, and she didn't realize until much later that she had called him that.

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The FF Files: Akasuna no Sasori

Name: (Akasuna no) Sasori

Age: 47

Height: 5'9"

Family: deceased

Occupation: Businessman; President of the Suna Puppetry Association; Member of Akatsuki

Status: n/a

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"You know Sasori?" Sasuke was now looking from Sakura to the redheaded man while Fumei was looking up at the stranger with wide, curious eyes.

"Yes," Sasori answered, since Sakura seemed incapable of putting two words together at the moment. "I was one of the art teachers when Sakura was enrolled in a Suna school. I must say you've grown a lot, Sakura."

"Puppetry," Sakura stumbled over the word, unveiling the name of Sasori's class. "I was going to take Deidara-sensei's class... but I was too young back then..." Slowly she gained her composure, a teasing grin making its way to her face. "How old are you now, Sasori-sensei? 60? You don't look a year different, but you should re-dye your hair."

"Forty-seven!" Another voice crowed, coming near the group. "He's a geezer now, Sakura-chan! But yeah, you should have taken sculpting! My class was such a bang! Real art, not this wussy puppetry crap, yeah."

A muscle starting jumping in Sasori's jaw, and Sakura, playing peacemaker, laughed. "Long time no see, Deidara-sensei."

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The FF Files: Deidara

Name: Deidara (Last name unknown)

Age: 33

Height: 5'11"

Family: deceased

Occupation: Professional sculptor; Member of Akatsuki

Status: n/a

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"You looked beautiful onstage," Deidara commented, a hint of pride in his voice.

"Yes, well," Sakura mumbled, flustered by Deidara's flattering comment. "The designers and makeup team should get full credit."

"Nuh-uh!" Fumei finally piped up. "You're beautiful even without makeup, okaa-san."

"Okaa-san?" Sasori raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little too young to have a child that age?" He turned to Fumei, who quickly retreated behind Sakura's back once more.

"Not of Sasuke over here impregnated our dear Sakura-chan at the age of 17," Deidara sniggered, and immediately was smacked over the head by Sasori.

"Deidara-sensei!" Sakura protested with a red face. "Sasuke-san's my employer! Besides, he's engaged to Namanomi-san; please don't bring up those kinds of words with a child around..."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Itachi was right, you all are lunatics."

Sasori raised a brow and smiled sardonically. "Does that mean he was a lunatic as well?"

The only Uchiha's eyes narrowed, and he grabbed Sakura's wrist and dragged her away from the two men. "Come on," he growled, and even as Sakura waved good-bye awkwardly, the two older men were already being swallowed by the crowd.

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"Sasuke-san..." Sakura winced and rubbed her arm, which had red finger marks on it. "Why are you so rude to them? I mean, they're really nice people."

"Only because you had them as art teachers," he replied darkly.

"Who are they, okaa-san?" Fumei asked; miraculously she had not gotten lost in the huge crowd and had managed to stay with Sakura. The afterparty had died down and they were amongst the last of the partygoers. Deidara and Sasori had also left, but not before telling Sakura goodbye. "And what does that word mean? Impr–"

"It's a bad word, Fumei-chan," Sakura replied, sweatdropping. "Deidara-ojisama was just joking around, it's an adult thing."

"Oh." Fumei was silent. "Is Deidara-ojisama the one that looks like a woman?"

Sakura burst out laughing. "Yes, Fumei-chan, Deidara-ojisama is the one that looks like a woman."

Then, sobering up, she turned back to Sasuke. "I mean, how do you know people like Deidara-sensei and Sasori-sensei? I didn't even know they were businessmen."

Sasuke grimaced. "You know that I had a brother, Itachi."

"Yes..?"

"Well he was part of an organization called Akatsuki. Deidara and Sasori are part of is as well."

Sakura gaped as she struggled to recall what she'd read on random little articles on the Internet. "You mean... the group of influential and powerful businessmen?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, them. I never really liked any of them. They were always kind of... twisted in a way... I don't trust them."

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The FF Files: Akatsuki

Who? Comprised of Deidara, Akasuna no Sasori, Zetsu, Hoshigaki Kisame, Uchiha Itachi (deceased), Hidan, Kakuzu, Pein, Konan, and 'Tobi'(Uchiha Itachi's replacement)

What? Akatsuki is comprised of the most powerful businessmen of all of Japan ranging from all sorts of business fields such as art, banking, etc.

When? Akatsuki has been around a decade longer than K4(refer to chapter 1)

Where? Though they have many meeting places, the main HQ is in northern Japan, in the Ame district.

Why? N/A.

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Sakura smiled. "Don't worry about them, Sasuke-san. Just worry about your own business. After all, it was just a chance meeting."

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "Yeah..."

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"We saw him."

"Uchiha's brother?" It was a soft, lilting voice – a woman's.

"Yes. It was his show after all. He has grown much, learned much."

"There is no surprise there." This time a male's, one with striking crimson eyes. "And the girl?"

"She does not remember us at all..."

"Good." The male spoke again, his soft yet commanding voice hinting that the conversation was over. "We will have another meeting soon, with everyone, concerning this matter."

Sasori nodded, inclined his head downward as a goodbye, and left the dimly-lit room.

Pein smiled – a beautiful and dangerous thing – and turned to his wife. "Well, Konan, this is going to be much fun, don't you think?"

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Spring quickly went by as Uchiha Enterprises, Hyuuga Designs, and Suna Hotels were suddenly bombarded with reservations and commissions. As Sasuke had predicted, the fashion show had been a huge hit. All three companies' stocks began to become near-priceless, the employees' salaries had dramatically shot up, as well as the CEOs' as well. The value of Uchiha Enterprises reached an all-time high, setting a new record in the business world.

Obviously, Sasuke (being the supreme leader of his own company) had even more business appointments, meetings, conferences, and such.

Which meant that Sakura, as his personal assistant, would be bombarded with work as well.

Over the long weeks, Sasuke began to notice the flaws in his PA's work – little typos and grammar errors here and there, lack of coordination, dark circles under her usually vibrant eyes – not that he cared. Kind of. He knew she was smart and was worth keeping, he needed her in top shape to continue with her work.

She knew she was declining in her quality of work as well. She kept falling asleep while taking notes in his meetings, even with two grande cups of coffee. Her patience was getting shorter and shorter. She even had rejected Fumei's offer for a shopping trip.

But that was work, she knew. It was the cold, cruel business world.

So she set herself to pull through. Especially recently, because there was going to be a huge dinner party hosted by Uchiha Enterprises, and this had to be perfect in order to please the right people and convince them into making deals with Uchiha Enterprises.

So there they were, talking with the owner of the restaurant they were going to use – Akimichi International. It was highly spoken of, with foods ranging from simple yet high-quality steaks to the most expensive martinis around. Everyone who was anyone had dined there at least once, even at the high costs it demanded from the customers – especially since Nara Shikamaru of all people had chosen it as a favorite.

It was, however, Shikamaru's best friend that owned the family restaurant, so it really wasn't a surprise. The chubby man was not only a great cook but a great eater himself.

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The FF Files: Akimichi Chouji

Age: 23

Height: 5'8"

Family: Akimichi Chouza (father)

Occupation: World-renowned chef, Owner of Akimichi International

Status: n/a

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"So," the chubby man was saying. "How many people do you think will be coming?"

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who promptly answered. "About two hundred businessmen, but that doesn't include their spouses and such."

Chouji grimaced and echoed Shikamaru's favorite words. "Well that's going to be troublesome."

"It'll be good for your restaurant too, Chouji," Sasuke replied smoothly. "Besides, Uchiha Enterprises will be covering the cost to rent out this place, and for the food consumed as well so you don't need to worry about a thing."

Fumei, who was sitting next to Sakura, pulled on Sasuke's pant leg. "Will there be ice cream?"

Sasuke's eyes softened as he patted the little girl's head. "Yes. But you'll have to eat the appetizers and the main courses first."

Chouji raised a brow at Sasuke's rare... niceness, and turned to Sakura. "He's acting out of character."

Sakura shrugged, pushing her new glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Is he...? Sasuke-san doesn't seem like a complete human ice cube, he's nice to Fumei-chan."

"I'm right here, you know." Sasuke's annoyed voice cut through their conversation.

"Hehe..." Sakura laughed sheepishly. "Sorry, Sasuke-san. I got everything down though..."

"I know." 'You always do.'

A comfortable silence followed, as the adults watched Fumei rest her head on Sakura's lap.

Then Sasuke's phone vibrated, making Sakura jump.

Casting an annoyed glance at his phone for breaking the silence, Sasuke slid open his phone. "Hello?"

"Sasuke-kun!"

He'd recognize that annoying voice anywhere. "What do you want, Namanomi..."

"Let's go out for some coffee today!"

"..." Chouji was sniggering and Fumei immediately opted for a look of dislike towards his phone, where Namanomi's voice was loud enough to be heard.

"I'll see you there in fifteen minutes, okay?"

"Hn." With that, he hung up on her before standing up, signaling that the meeting was over.

Sakura stood up obediently as well, with Fumei following. Her eyebrows creased – it took at least ten minutes to get back to the office, and another ten from the office to the coffeeshop.

Sasuke must have realized that too, because he turned and frowned.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-san," Sakura said airily. "Fumei and I will take the bus, or maybe catch a cab."

Fumei blinked and, as usual, was blunt. "Why are you getting married to a witch, Sasuke-niisan?"

Chouji roared with laughter at Fumei's innocent question wile Sakura sweatdropped. "It's complicated, Fumei-chan."

"You two can come with me, to the coffeeshop," Sasuke decided, putting an end to Fumei's question.

Sakura blinked, taking in the question. "Are you sure...?"

"Yeah," he grunted. "I can't risk an employee and Fumei out in the streets."

Sakura smiled unsurely at him. "Well, okay. Thanks, Sasuke-san." With Fumei, she exited from the five-star restaurant to wait by Sasuke's car.

Chouji grinned after the exit doors slid shut. "You'd better be careful with whom you hang out with, Sasuke. Namanomi, knowing her, just might get the wrong idea."

"Impossible," Sasuke scoffed. "With the way Sakura dresses up, she knows that there's no competition."

"True," the chubby man chuckled. "But the tabloids won't think that."

An almost-look of alarm slithered across Sasuke's face and Chouji shook his head.

"I'm not saying the rumors have started yet. But they will soon enough."

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They had been there for at least half an hour, sitting in the sunlight that filtered through the glass walls of the coffeeshop. Sasuke kept his eyes trained on his watch, and Sakura and Fumei were counting the number of stitches on the high seats of the small couch they were sitting on.

Sasuke's phone vibrated again.

Namanomi.

With a small scowl, he slid open his phone. "You're not here."

"I know, sorry Sasuke-kun! My designer just called and asked what I was going to wear to the dinner party, so I had to go there to work on an outfit!"

"...Whoever said you were going to go there?"

"Puh-lease, Sasuke-kun. You need me to be the life of the party there! Besides, we've gotta keep the tabloids happy!"

"...Whatever. So you're not coming?"

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun! I'll make it up to you somehow–"

He'd already hung up on her, and had begun to speak to his pink-haired PA. "Namanomi's not coming."

"YES!" Fumei jumped off the couch, pumping a fist into the air and jumping on Sasuke, drawing much attention from other customers.

Sakura laughed at Fumei's cute antics, and a bit nervously as well.

'Oh. My. God. If other people looked at us right now, we'd look like a married couple! Kyaa!'

'That's a bad thing! No matter how hot he is, he's engaged to Namanomi-san!'

'Oh, so you do admit that he's hot!'

"Sakura."

"Huh?" She snapped back to the real world, and she realized that she had a blush painted onto her cheeks.

Sasuke merely arched a brow. "What do you want?" He asked, gesturing to the menu hung up on one wall.

Sakura jumped from her spot, striding to the cash register. "Oh, no, I'll pay for my own." She then turned to the cashier, a sheepish smile. "A tall Espresso Truffle for me, please–"

"–and a short hot chocolate and chocolate-chip muffin for the child; I'll take a tall cappuccino," Sasuke interjected smoothly, handing a credit card to the confused cashier before Sakura could pull out her wallet. "Fumei, take Sakura back to our booth."

Grinning, the small girl, took the flustered pink-haired Haruno by the hand and skipped back to their sun-bathed booth.

Sasuke returned shortly, miraculously balancing everyone's food in his hand.

"Here, Sasuke-san," Sakura pulled out the equivalent of her order from her wallet and handed it to her boss. "For the coffee."

"No." Sasuke shook his head. "Just think of it as... compensation for working you so hard."

"Hm." Sakura took a sip from her coffee. "Fine... but this better not be coming out of my paycheck, Sasuke-san."

As a bit of her true personality shined through, in the form of her humor, Sasuke's lips curved up into a small but definite smile, and she laughed along with Fumei.

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"Did you get that?"

"Yeah."

"We should send that to her soon, she has deadlines too."

"Yeah, if we send it to her now we can probably have it printed in next week's issue."

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Happy New Year everyone! For my faithful reviewers, thanks for sticking with my stories and I. I really do appreciate it.

That was a little bit of SasuSaku fluff for you guys. (Hopefully I didn't make Sasuke too OOC) And yes, the food that the three ordered was Starbucks-inspired.

And Akatsuki, the good guys? Or the bad guys? Even I haven't decided yet :D

Until next time, which may be in a long time o.o