Disclaimer: No one in the Naruto world belongs to me.
It feels so nice to be home again! It kinda sucks that I only have a week to hang out with my friends before visiting family way off in the middle of places-my-friends-aren't. Then I go back to school for winter term. But luckily I only take one class during that term. But damn, my high school friends still have finals so I barely have time to see them before I leave. Thank god for facebook and text message!
Onward with the story now!
It had been almost a week and a half since Naruto was bought from the auction house.
For the most part, Naruto had isolated himself inside the guest bedroom. Whenever he heard footsteps outside, he would usually hide himself underneath the covers until whoever it was left. At times when he was in the adjoining bathroom, Naruto would rush to make sure the door was locked and hide; usually in the tub if it wasn't wet.
Noticing this in the first two days, Sasuke had ordered that the only time people were allowed near the room he gave Naruto would be to deliver him his meal.
Mealtimes always followed the same ritual. Sasuke would eat in a 6 hour interval starting at 7:00am with breakfast. Lunch at 1:00pm. And finally, dinner at 7:00pm. He would personally invite Naruto to join him for whichever meal and telling him what meal they would be eating. Sometimes, he would even call Chouji, his reserve chef, to make something he thought Naruto would enjoy. Sasuke would also always make sure that Naruto knew that if he didn't join Sasuke for the meal then a tray would be placed outside his room a half hour later.
For the first week, Sasuke took leave from work, even though he was president of Uchiha Corp. so that he could be there if Naruto left the room. He would even set up Naruto's tray of food himself; he made sure it was aesthetically pleasing and even added a different flower each day, sending his maid and/or driver to a flower shop.
But soon his vice president, Shikamaru, had told him that he couldn't take a second week of unexpected leave from the company. His reasoning was that it was too "troublesome" to lead the company for another week. Sasuke was going to ignore his associate when the vice president pointed out that Sasuke had previously set up many meetings during both weeks that were now going to be condensed into one and the company should not lose support or clients due to the Uchiha's whim.
Conceding to go back to work, Sasuke had made arrangements to make sure the schedule he had set with his angel was not disrupted. He knew that changing things would not help Naruto's adjustment to his new environment any easier and would only serve to make rebuilding the meager trust even harder.
To help Naruto adjust to the slight change of it not being Sasuke delivering his lunch like usual, Sasuke told Naruto while inviting him to Sunday's lunch that it would be Sasuke's personal secretary, Hinata, who would be visiting the apartment during lunch hours. He reminded Naruto of the new change during his invitation to dinner and breakfast, too.
As much as it pained Sasuke that it would not be he who served his angel to lunch with the slight possibility of Naruto finally leaving the room, he knew he could trust his secretary.
Sasuke had hired the Hyuuga because his old classmate, Neji Hyuuga had asked for the favor. Normally, Sasuke wouldn't hire people as favors, deeming that people should earn their jobs through hard work rather than family names, but Neji had explained to him that his cousin was the heiress of Hyuuga Inc., and wanted outside work experience before inheriting the company. Hinata had also stated that she would have been happy with a simple desk job near the bottom of the company, but Neji insisted that she should not work with people who might seek to influence and manipulate her.
Agreeing with the elder from past experience, and having been slightly impressed—Uchiha are not easily impressed so slightly means a great deal—by Hinata's honest motivation, Sasuke agreed to hire her as his secretary.
For the most part, Sasuke wasn't displeased. His new secretary, after a hesitant start, did her work with a practiced professionalism. She never bothered people, she wouldn't let people push her over when they were pissed with her boss, she worked efficiently, and best of all: she never drooled over the president like so many other fangirls in the company.
Sasuke's secretary also had a calming demeanor about her. Maybe it was how slightly vulnerable she came off as, even though when push comes to shove she is the opposite, or maybe it was her quiet shyness that allowed others to lower their initial barriers.
In any case, his secretary was one of the only people from work Sasuke knew would never hurt his angel. She was also one of the only ones who he could send out to do this job without raising much suspicion. Sasuke also knew that his angel would find little reason to fear her as he regretfully feared Sasuke.
That was the main reason he had assigned his secretary with the immeasurably important task of delivering his angel his lunch.
Hinata was waiting in the lobby for Mr. Uchiha's driver to take her to his home.
She was a little startled when Mr. Uchiha had told her of her newest job—usually her job entailed of little things like organizing all the files that piled around her boss as well as scheduling the various meetings he needs to attend.
But she was nonetheless flattered. Her usually stoic and all-business boss would trust her with such an obviously personal job. No one in the company's history has ever been asked to visit one of Mr. Uchiha's loved ones, or so Hinata assumed as she was too shy to ask.
It came to her as a surprise that Mr. Uchiha even had a loved one. Hinata didn't want to seem rude, but Mr. Uchiha never gave any indication of genuinely caring for anyone really. And even though Hinata had only been his secretary for almost a year now, she had never had to remind Mr. Uchiha of any family or friendly meeting or reminder like her father's personal assistant has had to do many times in the past.
Hinata smiled a little as she remembered Mr. Uchiha's directions for her new lunch time assignment as well as the precautions Mr. Uchiha has taken for the task.
"You are to walk to the guest bedroom just before 1:00. At 1:00, you are to softly knock on the door and invite Naruto to lunch in the dining room and remind him that there is no pressure. If he doesn't respond, then let him know that you will be leaving a tray with his lunch outside the door in half an hour. The tray will have his lunch, a glass of water, another glass of milk, and a flower in a little vase. There shall be plenty to pick from nearby. At 1:30, let him know his lunch is by the door then leave the hallway. After you are sure he has received his meal you may come back."
Hinata's smile grew as her eyes skimmed the envelope Mr. Uchiha had given her when she told him that she was getting ready to leave. It said "Naruto" on the front and "Love,Sasuke" on the back just underneath the seal. It was obviously hand-written.
Out of respect for her boss, she didn't ask what was written inside and told him instead that she would be sure to give Mr. Naruto the letter.
"Are you Ms. Hinata Hyuuga?"
Hinata jumped at the sudden voice behind her. Blushing because of her reaction and habit, she turned around.
"Y-yes. That's m-me." Hinata stuttered, blushing even more at this reaction as well. She never liked her stutters, her father was forever telling her that as the Hyuuga heiress she should try harder to not come off as weak. Neji assured her that it was nothing to be ashamed of and that she would grow out of it soon. But she was 20 now and she was starting to doubt her cousin's assurance.
"Are y-you Mr. K-Kiba Inuzuka?" Hinata stuttered again.
"Just Kiba, actually." The man told her, his hand rubbing the back of his neck with his own blush growing on his cheeks. Maybe he too had a nervous reaction to meeting new people and was embarrassed by it like she.
"Mr. K-Kiba then," Hinata amended, "are you to take m-me to Mr. Uchiha's apartment?"
"Just Kiba, and yep, whenever you're ready." Mr. Kiba said as he opened the door for her and stood to the side to let her pass.
Hinata blushed at the gesture, even though she receives the same treatment almost everywhere she goes. She walked with Mr. Kiba to the car he led her to and sat in the passenger's seat after he held that door open for her as well. He probably was trained to do so like the family driver was, though he rushed to the door faster than the family driver does.
The drive to Mr. Uchiha's was filled with idle chatter, or Mr. Kiba asking questions about herself with Hinata stuttering the answers. The questions were personal yet vague, like simple likes or dislikes and Mr. Kiba didn't mention her stuttering at all, so Hinata was enjoying herself. Then Mr. Kiba told her, to Hinata's surprise, that it was her turn to ask the questions.
"U-um, w-why did Mr. Uchiha ask m-me to deliver lunch to Mr. Naruto?" Hinata asked.
"Naruto, huh? So that's blondie's name." Mr. Kiba said in a light tone.
"Mr. K-Kiba?" Hinata inquired for his reaction surprised her. Why wouldn't Mr. Uchiha's driver know of his loved one?
"Just Kiba. Anyway, the boss seemingly 'rescued' this blond kid around a week and a half ago. He's pretty whipped by this kid, too. He carried him all the way from the auction house the kid was sold in all the way to the guest room. He made me change the sheets because apparently blondie needs special sheets, according to boss. And he practically ripped his dresser apart looking for pajamas for the kid." Mr. Kiba explained.
"Oh. I-I see." Hinata said as she tried to absorb the new information.
"Yeah, crazy right? So he sends me and Sakura to buy blondie new clothes for him in the morning. When we come back, boss was throwing Suigetsu—you know boss's friend, right?"
Hinata nodded, Mr. Suigetsu would often barge in demanding to see Mr. Uchiha, telling Hinata loudly that "best friends don't need appointments"; even though Mr. Uchiha would storm out before Hinata could stop anything and either coldly tell Mr. Suigetsu to leave or forcefully make him.
"Boss was throwing Suigetsu's limp body on the couch. Sakura—oh, she's boss's maid—said that boss had beaten him again. She's a med student so I didn't argue. Plus that happens more than once a month. Anyway, apparently Suigetsu accused boss of buying blondie for S&M sex and boss screwed things up by beating the shi—beating Suigetsu," Mr. Kiba amended with a side glance at Hinata, "in front of blondie."
"Oh." Hinata repeated.
"Yeah, so now boss is trying to show blondie that he's not a bad guy. The way he treats blondie it's like he's been struck with love at first sight. A bit fast, I mean, this is the boss y'know? I didn't think he was capable of human emotion!"
Hinata gave a nervous giggle at the little joke made about Mr. Uchiha.
"So anyway, as part of his 'good-guy-who-won't-hurt-you' thing he's got going on, boss has been leaving trays of food outside blondie's door for every meal. But Shikamaru told him that he can't take another week off work—and he was pretty pissed about that—so now he has you to deliver blondie's lunch." Mr. Kiba finished.
"I-I see." Hinata repeated her earlier statement.
The rest of the car ride did not take long, and was filled with Mr. Kiba explaining both how Mr. Uchiha would act before he frightened Mr. Naruto and how he would act afterwards. It surprised Hinata to hear how "whipped" Mr. Uchiha was over Mr. Naruto over such a very short period of time. But the emotion is real, judging from Mr. Kiba's description as well as Hinata's experience with Mr. Uchiha's changed demeanor when Mr. Naruto was the subject.
"Here we are!" Mr. Kiba announced as he turned the car to park inside the apartment complex's garage.
"Th-thank you." Hinata stuttered as she made way to open the door.
"No wait—Lemme get it!" Mr. Kiba protested. Before Hinata could say how she didn't mind, Mr. Kiba was out his door and hurrying to Hinata's side.
"Th-thank you, M-Mr. K-Kiba." Hinata repeated with a little blush.
"Just Kiba, and no prob." Mr. Kiba said as he led the way to Mr. Uchiha's apartment.
Once the pair reached Mr. Uchiha's penthouse, Mr. Kiba opened the door once again for Hinata.
"No fair, Kiba! You never open the door for me unless I'm carrying something!" a voice called from inside.
"Maybe that's because Hinata here is more of a lady than you!" Mr. Kiba called back with a blush of his own on his face as he helped Hinata out of the jacket she was wearing and placed it in the coat closet.
Blushing at the mention of her name, Hinata peered around Mr. Kiba to see who he was talking to. Across the apartment, she saw a lady with pink hair sitting at a kitchen counter. When she saw Hinata, the lady's glare at Mr. Kiba morphed into a welcoming smile.
"Hello! Are you from Sasuke's work?" the lady asked in a polite tone.
"Y-yes, I-I'm Mr. Uchiha's s-secretary, Hinata Hyuuga." Hinata stammered as Mr. Kiba led her to the kitchen to join the lady.
"What are you doing here, Sakura?" Mr. Kiba asked when they reached their destination.
"I'm on my lunch break, Kiba." The lady told Mr. Kiba with a less polite but more natural tone for her Hinata guessed, "I don't have class for another hour and a half."
"Still doesn't explain why you're here." Mr. Kiba grumbled.
"You idiot, Chouji brought over fettuccine alfredo!" the lady told Mr. Kiba, gesturing towards her plate in front of her as if that was self-explanatory.
Mr. Kiba huffed a little and turned towards the stove to get his own meal.
"Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Hinata. I'm Sakura Haruno, Sasuke's maid.
"H-hello Ms. Haruno." Hinata stammered her greeting.
"Just Sakura is fine." Ms. Haruno said with a smile.
"M-Ms. Sakura then." Hinata amended, "Where is the guest r-room where Mr. Naruto is s-so I can invite him to join us f-for lunch?"
Ms. Sakura pointed towards a hallway on the other side of the apartment and told Hinata that the guest room was the very last. Hinata turned and started to walk towards the room and didn't catch Ms. Sakura send Mr. Kiba a questioning look which was returned with a slight blush and a shrug.
As she came closer to the door, Hinata noticed how her heels made a slightly louder noise in the hallway rather than the open foyer. She didn't pay it much attention until she heard a muffled squeak of fear followed by some rustling inside the room. Slightly startled by this, Hinata slowed her stepping to her heals would not make such a loud sound.
Hesitating in front of the door a little, Hinata gave a soft knock, "M-Mr. Naruto?"
No answer.
Trying again, she knocked the door once more, "M-Mr. Naruto?"
There was no sound emitting from the room.
Remembering that Mr. Uchiha had given her in the instructions a warning that Mr. Naruto might not respond, Hinata followed the rest of her directions.
"Mr. Naruto, my n-name is Hinata Hyuuga, I-I'm Mr. Uchiha's s-secretary. I-I'm here to inform y-you that l-lunch is ready in the k-kitchen. I-It's fettuccine a-alfredo today. I-if you join us f-for lunch, y-you'll also be joining Mr. K-Kiba and Ms. Sakura as well."
No response.
"B-but you don't h-have to join us!" Hinata quickly assured the silent Mr. Naruto behind the door, "I-In h-half an hour, I-I am to bring y-you a tray w-with your lunch."
Giving a little sigh at the silence she received in return, Hinata walked back—as quietly as she could—toward the kitchen.
"D-does Mr. Naruto ever r-respond when offered h-his lunch?" Hinata asked the other two as she reached the kitchen.
"'Friad not. Blondie hasn't left that room or made a peep since boss threw out Suigetsu." Mr. Kiba said as he handed Hinata a plate with a healthy portion of fettuccine alfredo on it.
"Th-thank you." Hinata stuttered as she sat down next to Ms. Sakura.
"Naruto, was it? Well Naruto doesn't make a sound since he's so scared of Sasuke. Judging by the reaction, I'm guessing he has been beaten in the past." Ms. Sakura informed Hinata, "So Sasuke set up this meal routine to help Naruto adjust to his surroundings. He also tries to tell Naruto that he won't let anything hurt him after he leaves the tray outside the door."
"I-I see." Hinata said before quietly eating her lunch while Ms. Sakura and Mr. Kiba talked to each other and occasionally participated in the conversation.
While Hinata was eating, Ms. Sakura started to prepare a tray for Mr. Naruto. She made sure the fettuccine alfredo was in the middle, adding the needed silverware and two glasses of water and milk. After she was finished with that, she placed a small vase on the right corner and went off to the balcony to get a flower.
"You got more flowers?" Mr. Kiba asked when she returned with a lily.
"Yeah, I dropped by Ino's flower shop before I got here." Ms. Sakura replied as she placed the lily in the vase.
"Probably to swoon over boss again." Mr. Kiba said in an undertone.
Ms. Sakura kicked him in the shins before grabbing the tray she had prepared.
"Here," she said sweetly to Hinata, "it's about time for you to deliver Naruto's lunch."
"Oh, r-right." Hinata looked at the clock and it was 1:27.
Before she left the kitchen and the heated whispering between the friends to go back to the guest room, Hinata placed the letter Mr. Uchiha had given her on the tray in front of the lily.
"M-Mr. Naruto?" Hinata called softly after knocking on the door. She was greeted once again by silence, but she did hear shuffling inside as she walked in the hall so she knew someone was in there.
"Mr. Naruto, I-I'm leaving a tray with y-your lunch outside the door." Hinata informed the silent boy inside. Remembering that Mr. Kiba and Ms. Sakura had talked about how Mr. Uchiha would whisper things about not hurting him through the door, Hinata decided to continue.
"I-it was a delicious lunch today, M-Ms. Sakura t-told me that Mr. Chouji m-makes the best fettuccine alfredo. W-we were talking about M-Mr. Uchiha today a-and I r-really believe that h-he has no desire t-to hurt you i-in any way. P-please remember that. I-I will be back t-tomorrow at the s-same time. H-have a pleasant evening M-Mr. Naruto."
With that she left the hallway, returning to the kitchen to rejoin Ms. Sakura and Mr. Kiba.
"Ready to go?" Mr. Kiba asked, heading towards the coat closet to retrieve her things.
"D-don't we h-have to wait f-for Mr. Naruto?" Hinata asked as she was handed her coat.
"No need, blondie already took the tray." Mr. Kiba said in a light tone, gesturing towards the hallway.
Looking past Mr. Kiba, Hinata saw that he had told the truth.
Wow that was a long chapter. Thanks for the support for this story! I'm basically writing it as it goes along, I have concrete ideas on where I want it to go, but getting the story to these checkpoints in my mind is proving to take longer than expected. Reviews and feedback is always appreciated and always makes me smile ;)