Okay, yes it's been months since I last updating and there really isn't much of a reason other than junior year of college is fucking hard and I'm tired and I'm just making up an excuse for neglecting this story. But here is a chapter. I'm happy to receive all the responses I'm getting, it really encourages me to keep going so thank you. This story is really fun so I promise I won't abandon it c:

Anyways, please enjoy this chapter. It's a little short, and you might hate me, but uh... don't okay?


"Goddammit." Tan fingers curled around the neck of the silky fabric, tugging it loose before the hand hanging lower pulled downward on the longer end to tighten it once again. Still not even.

He gave a frustrated grumble. Sakura shook her head at the sight of her large boyfriend pouting in front of the mirror like a ten year old who doesn't want to go to church. She rolled her sea green eyes, though the playful tug of her lips kept her from looking annoyed. "How hopeless can you get?" Naruto hadn't seemed to hear the comment and when her light fingers tickled his unusually stubble-covered chin he jumped back much further than either of them expected.

They stared at each other, Sakura's smile turning into an awkward chuckle as Naruto cleared his throat and gave a small smile of his own.

It had been like this for the last two weeks. Sakura had gone from A to Z trying to figure out why her overly touchy boyfriend had become so estranged and what her brain was leading her to was that he just wasn't attracted to her anymore. Sometime between the last time they'd… well, you know, and now he'd lost complete interest in touching her or letting her touch him and it was more than a bit disorienting. Especially when she spent around 80 hours a week for the past month assisting the head doctor who was a bat shit crazy bitch named Shizune who would rather be elbow deep in someone's organs than get a pedicure, and the few hours she gets to see him he's making any and every excuse to get away from her.

His father, Minato, had gotten an invitation, from who he claimed was an old college buddy, for Naruto to some fancy Halloween event. Though "Halloween" was just the date, not the theme. The invitation had clearly stated 'Do no dress up' in bold letters at the top. Either way, it was more for Naruto's professional benefit than for any type of fun since it would be full of nothing but stuffy businessmen and their primped up plastic wives. That wasn't the point, the point was that it was a chance for the two of them to go out together, be alone, maybe make fun of the uptight businessmen and tonight would be the night that Sakura found out what the hell was bothering Naruto so much so that he was acting like she had contracted some disease. She just couldn't confront him now when there are so many ways for Naruto to weasel his way out of it. She would corner him in a place where he had nowhere to go. Evil? Yes. Productive? Absolutely.

"What's wrong?" she smiled a bit more comfortably, trying to regain her composure as she stood in front of Naruto. She reached up again to fiddle with his tie and he reluctantly let her. "You act as though I'm gonna bite you." She peaked up at him but only for a second before she focused on her hand's work on his tie.

Naruto sighed, feeling the awkward atmosphere swelter the air between them. He knew he was acting weird and he knew that she knew, but how could he not? Not only did he feel guilty about lying to his girlfriend but he felt less guilty about that and more guilty about his last conversation with Sasuke at that dammed hotel. And then the email he received that morning from one of the staff advisors notifying him of Sasuke's withdrawal from his course weighed on him like a pile of brick, which also left him with that shirt that smells too much like the Uchiha and the memory of a night he couldn't really remember. And that in itself made him feel guilty because he wasn't as guilty as he should be about his girlfriend and he knew he was a lying cheating bastard, but how can you tell someone about you cheating if you don't even remember it happening even if technically it wasn't the first time, but does that really even count? Seeing as…

"Done." He looked down at her smiling glossed lips. Hushing his thoughts, he cleared his throat and gave his best grin.

"Thank you," bold, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers before leaning back to examine her figure. She was smiling much more genuinely now, and God she really looked stunning. Her hair was freshly dyed so that her natural blonde roots weren't making the pink look tacky. Her dress was fiery red and tight on her curves, long enough to be classy but short enough to rile up any fertile male in the room. And those pumps were perfect for her cute ankles, boosting her up an extra two inches.

Sakura had taken the liberty in picking out his own outfit, something she often did when they were getting ready for some fancy pansy event. Though his work at the university had gotten him accustomed to the stuffy look, it was never something he found particularly stylish. She'd somehow materialized a dark blue Armani suit he'd gotten from his father as a graduation present from the depths of his closet. She'd left to get it pressed and cleaned and the next day came back with it, a black collar shirt and an ash grey tie to match.

He placed a firm hand on her petit stomach and gave it a gentle push. "Ready?" He asked as she stepped back and out of the bathroom.

"Yep, c'mon I think we're already about thirty minutes late." She commented while glancing down at her silver wristwatch. They left the apartment minutes later. Outside Naruto grumbled at having to squeeze into that tiny bitch vehicle Sakura calls transportation. Though he wasn't even sure where this event was, Sakura'd made sure not to disclose that information just incase he found some excuse to take public transportation. One night wouldn't hurt.

Once situated, she pulled out of the driveway and started on the hour-long ride to the party. The car was stiff with silence the entire time; neither was in the mood for music nor had the drive to start up a conversation. It was the first time Sakura had spent such a long time where Naruto didn't say anything ridiculous or anything at all really. It made her stomach twist into knots and she wasn't able to pinpoint why.

A little after an hour later she pulled into the destination her GPS had indicated. Judging by the amount of cars pulling in and out as they approached, dropping off one guest after another as well as the size of the home, they knew there had to be hundreds or maybe even a thousand guests. Naruto vaguely wondered who was so important that they'd attract so many visitors, and expensive looking visitors at that.

Sakura parked on the street, being one of the few to not have arrived in a fancy car or limo and not wanting to be in the way of either. Turning off the car and locking the doors they abandoned the buggy and made towards the entrance. On the way Sakura looped her arm around Naruto's and though a bit awkward, Naruto tightened his elbow and led her to the side entrance where guards stood outside checking names and looking intimidating enough to keep any unwanted guests out.

They realized upon entering they weren't fully prepared to wrap their minds around how intricate and… delicate the mansion was from the inside. There really was no other way to describe it. The patterns on the carved ceiling that resembled a structure within a South Asian museum exhibit was something to gawk at. The floor polished marble, rich with a creamy color and the furniture complimented the feel perfectly with beige leather sofas scattered around the large hall for their guest's comfort, glass tables, and beautiful paintings by dead post-impressionists that decorated the walls. It took a moment for them to take it all in and when a platter was smoothly placed in from of their gapped mouths they took a pastry without thinking and shoved it in their mouths if only to unslacken their jaws.

"Wine?" another waiter approached and they both accepted the red substance with a nod, finally collecting their composure and realizing that they'd stepped into the world of the elite, which meant no gapping, straighten your back and act with confidence. A good amount of alcohol seemed to be the help they needed, if only for the confidence portion.

"This is so nice," Sakura whispered as they briskly walked further in. "I can't believe it. I think I want to move in. Do you think they'd notice if I slept in their bathroom?" She joked with a wide smile and Naruto found himself chuckling genuinely.

"I think they have about ten, you could probably get away with it." He joked back.

She nodded, still laughing and continued… "You have to do it too. We could make a home here together. They wouldn't even notice."

Naruto shook his head, smiling, "We could raise our first child in the bathroom. It's the Japanese man's true dream." She laughed a bit louder than she'd meant to, alerting the elder man nearby of their presence.

"You must be Naruto." A deep voice interrupted their merry back and forth. They turned to see a man who looked a bit overwhelmingly serious.

"Uh, yes, hello. I'm Uzumaki, Naruto. Nice to meet you." He sounded a bit skeptical, not sure why such a man would know his name. He extended his hand for a shake and was reciprocated with a firm, almost painful grip.

"Your father has told me much about you over the years. I insisted he invited you here so that I could finally meet you in person." The words were friendly, and Naruto understood them as such, though his tone was just as stiff and rigged as he looked. He didn't even crack a smile. The man's expressions gave off nothing but determination and dedication. He had to wonder what the man would look like if he'd ever laughed.

They released hands and the older man stepped back to access Naruto's appearance. Naruto cleared his throat in that awkward moment and quirked his head at the information given to him. "My dad?" he questioned and the older man nodded stiffly.

"Yes, I'm Uchiha, Fugaku, I attended university with your father a while back." Naruto's heart hammered one, breathtaking, dizzying time; his ears clogged and his head nearly exploded all in the midst of two seconds.

What?

Fugaku's nostrils flared in irritation. It was then that Naruto realized he'd spoken his question aloud and most likely offended the uptight man with his rudeness, but Fugaku nearly repeated himself.

"I'm Uchiha, Fugaku, I…" Even so, Naruto wasn't listening now. All he kept thinking was that this man in front of him was The Fugaku Uchiha. The powerful and feared and rich and probably a little crazy, Fugaku Uchiha was standing in front of him with this dangerously, oppressing aura and Naruto, the six foot something, blond-haired moron had fucked this man's son. And now he was standing in the middle of a party, in said son and powerful father's home, looking like he had just shat himself.

You have got to be fucking kidding.

He could feel his brain oozing out of his ears. Why? Why of all the places, all the parties, all the stiff business gatherings, all the mansions, all the fucking families and corporations and whatever… why of all those things did Naruto have to end up at a business party in the Uchiha estate where the one person that had singularly caused Naruto a lifetime worth of stress could be lurking around any corner? Did God really hate him that much?

"Oh, uh, I'm really…" he swallowed thickly. Was it hot in here or…? "I'm really happy to meet you. This… This uh." He was stumbling over his words looking at Sakura who was observing the spacious living area in oblivion. She looked up as she felt his eyes on her and gave him a concerned look. "This is my girlfriend." He finally said, presenting Sakura like a trophy as if to give the man a distraction so that he could think for a moment.

Fugaku gave Naruto a calculating look before letting his dark eyes slide to Sakura as they greeted each other. Naruto meanwhile began scanning the room frantically for any eccentric hairstyles that could be attached to tall pale man with a bad attitude. When he came up empty he felt a strangely intense sense of relief and disappointment. He decided to ignore the latter feeling.

"I hear you're a professor at my son's university." Naruto snapped his head back to face the man who was now addressing him once more. He was sweating now and it felt like it wasn't the healthy kind of sweat. He swallowed thickly and nodded. He could see in Fugaku's eyes that he found his behavior odd, but the older male chose not to comment and simply continued, "You're only 25, correct?" Naruto nodded again, not sure he had the confidence to speak without stumbling over his words again. "That's quite impressive. Your father has informed me of your excellence in your academic career," Naruto's face flush for a more innocent reason this time, feeling embarrassed by the compliment. Pushing his past thoughts aside, he lifted his head a bit and gave an awkward chuckle.

"Thanks, uhh, it's nothing." Fugaku's eyes hardened as he nodded and began stepping away.

"I think I should be the judge of that." He nodded his head in parting and turned to Sakura who jumped at the intensity in the man's eyes. He nodded and she gave a meek wave and like that he brusquely walked off to "entertain" the other guests. He heard Sakura let out a deep sigh and looked down at her nervous expression.

"Whoa, he is intense." She blew out another exaggerated breath before looking up at her boyfriend. "I think he's got his eyes on you." She smiled, nudging his side with her elbow. He knew it was only a joke, but it made his stomach knot. If it was because he was paranoid, thinking the elder Uchiha knew about what he'd done with Sasuke and was secretly planning to off him after the event, he didn't know. He tried his best to push that thought out of his mind. "—Something about opening up another branch in Kyoto. I think he's looking at candidates."

"Hm?" She rolled her eyes and shook her head, accepting another glass of wine offered by a passing waiter.

"Nothing, nothing," she took a generous sip. "Come on, let's mingle." She set her eyes on a small cluster of well dressed men and women and made to move towards them when Naruto's strong grip jolted her backwards, almost spilling her drink. "What…" She paused; noticing some of the wine had gotten on her wrist and wiped it off with annoyance before turning and glaring into Naruto's concerned eyes. "What is your problem?"

"I'm sorry, it's just… I… Why don't we get out of here?" He meekly suggested and her eyes widened.

"Are you serious? We just got here." Naruto scanned the crown over her head before continuing.

"I know, I know, it's just… You know I hate these types of events." He smiled, though it was a bit weary and Sakura could tell.

"Naruto, this is ridiculous! This is not that bad. Why can't we just try to have some fun, hm? Who knows, hell, you might meet someone you wouldn't expect."

He looked away and mumbled, "That's what I'm afraid of…"

She narrowed her eyes and was opening her mouth to say more when a woman's voice cut her off.

"MY you are handsome!" I was a playful voice, a little off sounding for the woman who looked to be attending this event, not as uptight and proper. When they turned to see her in her long, sea green Chiffon gown, diamond earrings and necklace they could tell she was likely made of a million yen, but her face said otherwise. She was a petit older woman, though not much older than them, with bright blue hair that strangely went with the odd colored gown. When they acknowledged her she grinned, showing off her recently whitened teeth. Reaching out, she tightly gripped Naruto's arm. "You know, you look just like an old boyfriend!" Naruto smiled nervously. The woman wasn't visibly drunk, and he couldn't tell if she'd had a few glasses of wine or was just full of so much energy. The party had only just started after all.

"Erm, excuse me," Sakura cleared her throat and it seemed to shock the woman as if she was just becoming aware of the pinkette's presence. The woman looked Sakura over, and when their eyes met again she nodded.

"Hmmmm, not bad, not bad. This must be your first times at this event. I don't recognize you." Sakura crunched her eyebrows at the sudden change in subject and Naruto squirmed, uncomfortable with the tight grip the woman still had on his arm.

Sakura scrutinized the woman for a second as another waiter approached them.

"Wine?" He spoke softly. Sakura declined, still having her previous half empty glass and while the woman accepted, grabbing two, one for her and one for Naruto.

"Here, sweetie. These events are a snooze. You'll need a little energy booster." She all about poured the liquid down his throat before he grabbed it and nodded.

"Uh, thanks." He looked over at Sakura who seemed to now find the situation humorous, a small smile graced her lips as she took a sip of her own glass.

"Come on now dears, I'll introduce you to my husband and some other losers," she didn't wait for a response before she tugged Naruto along. He, having made to drink his wine, inhaled at the sudden movement and nearly shot the wine out of his nose. Sakura followed, lightly rubbing Naruto's back as they moved through the crowd. He could faintly hear her chuckling behind him.

"Excuse me," Sakura called, though the woman couldn't hear her or chose to ignore her so she waited until they'd finally pushed through the cluster and were in a more spacious area within the large dining hall. "Excuse me," she spoke and the woman swiveled around on her heel and smiled brightly.

"Yes dear?"

"I'm Haruno, Sakura. This is Uzumaki, Naruto. May I ask your name?" The woman stared for a moment before letting out a loud squeal of laughter. Naruto let out a thankful sigh when the woman finally released her grip on his arm, which had long since gone numb.

"Oh, oh my God!" She laughed harder, her shoulders bouncing while her hand rested on her aching belly. The longer she laughed the more Naruto and Sakura felt like running away and calling for this woman to be committed. "I completely forgot, didn't I?" She calmed down and they were both thankful. Her strange laughter was calling on a bit too many uncomfortable stares from nearby guests. "My name is Konan, it's a pleasure to meet you," she did a short bow. "Now come, I'm not supposed to stay too far from my husband or he'll get lonely." She placed her finger over her lips and winked, before turning and leading them to a group of men whom almost blatantly stood out from the rest of the guests.

"Where the hell have you been you crazy bitch?" the three newcomers turned to look at the speaker: a tall man who didn't look quite right being in such an expensive suit. His face was half covered by a thick, long bang of blond hair, while the rest was pulled up and tied back. His eyes were narrowed and full of mischievous intent and an unlit cigarette dangled from between his lips. Both Naruto and Sakura were wondering if they'd heard the man correctly when the woman, Konan, laughed hard as if he was making a joke. Hell, maybe he was.

"Meeting new friends," The rest of the group turned to face them. Naruto could honestly say he hadn't felt such intimidation radiate off a group of men before. Even when he was the scrawny eleven year old in high school people hadn't given him such intense looks. They weren't necessarily threatening, but it was definitely more than uncomfortable. "These are my new friends, Naruto and Sakura." She presented them as she said their names. Both didn't know if they should bow or what so they instead forced a smile.

She turned to smile at the two again and nodded over to her friends. "This is Deidara," She gestured towards the blond man. He grunted and lightly chewed at the cigarette in his mouth, looking bored. She went down the rest of the line: "This is Sasori, he doesn't talk much" she joked. He was a short, redheaded man whom, even if Konan hadn't said anything, they could tell by looking at him that he didn't speak much. He stood oddly close to Deidara. "And Pein," he seemed just as quiet as the red head, but in a much more oppressive way. "And Kisame..." she covered her mouth with one hand and mouthed to them, 'He's got an attitude' and shook her head. He was a man who looked like a black American, Japanese mix. He was quiet, but didn't look usually so. His eyes were angry and narrowed, and Naruto couldn't tell exactly, but it looked like one of his cheeks was a bit bruised.

Konan bounced over to the last man with slick back silver hair and wrapped her arms around one of his. "And this is my husband, Hidan." She leaned over and lightly bit the man's cheek affectionately. He didn't seem to mind or even be affected by the action.

Once settled, they all stared; Naruto and Sakura because they felt uncomfortable and unsure of what to say while the other group simply stared just to stare and add to their discomfort.

Sakura inched closer and pinched Naruto's elbow. He tilted his head towards her as she whispered, "I think maybe we should go."

"Eeeeeh?" They jumped at the loud intruding voice and turned to see it was the blond man, Deidara addressing them. "Tsk, so rude. We can't here you over here, un."

Konan glared at the man, "It's because you guys are making them feel uncomfortable." Deidara rolled his eyes and approached the two. They made to back away, but the man was too quick and wrapped his arm around Naruto's shoulder before they had the chance. Naruto grabbed Sakura's hand and allowed the man to yank them both forward so they were now, somewhat, officially within the group of "outcasts".

"What's there to be uncomfortable about, un? We won't hurt ya." He grinned, the cigarette between his teeth looked about ready to rip open. The short redhead, Sasori hit Deidara's stomach with the back if hand hard enough to get the blond to release his grip and glared up at him. The blond man grumbled, rubbing the sore spot, but didn't comment on the abuse.

"Please behave yourself," The man, Pein, spoke for the first time. Seeming to be voicing what the redhead wanted to say. Deidara glared at the man and gave him the middle finger with his free hand while his other continued to rub his stomach. Naruto vaguely wondered how strong such a little guy could be.

"Why're you two here anyways?" Hidan spoke, nodding at the two of them. "You don't seem like you belong." They both could say the same about the group in front of them. Naruto thought back on what Konan had said before about never seeing them at the events. He wondering how such a group would be invited to an event of this degree without being kicked out or having snuck in. He was also wondering where they got the money to afford such expensive attire.

He cleared his throat before he spoke, feeling less weary of the group as they didn't look like they would suddenly attack them. "It's my first time. I guess my dad and the owner here know each other. We got an invitation through him."

"So I take it you're not into this advertising, business bullshit?" he smirked and Naruto chuckled and shook his head.

"I'm a professor, I'm not really interested in anything else."

"Whoa what?!" Deidara chimed in, leaning in to get a closer look at Naruto's face. "What school d'you teach at?"

"Tokyo University. I'm just a humanities teacher…"

"No way!" Konan released her hold on Hidan and moved closer, following Deidara's action. "You can't be older than 30. Barely 20 even…" Naruto chuckled and shook his head, feeling as though he was warming up to the group. Konan turned to Sakura who suddenly felt a bit nervous, shocked at the sudden acknowledgement. "He's lying right?"

Sakura gave a small smile shook her head. "No…he's actually 25."

Hidan spoke up, "Only 25 and teaching at Tokyo University huh? No wonder that old bastard is interested in you."

Konan turned to Sakura, "What do you do hm? You look like you could be a lawyer or something professional."

Sakura smiled and shook her head, "I just started my training to be a doctor."

Deidara whistled, "You must get a lot of male patients un? I'd love to have you using those fingers on me." He grinned. Sakura glared and was about to speak up when Sasori elbowed the man in his ribs causing him to double over and that abused cigarette to finally fall from his mouth. "Ah, that was a little… a little overboard un?" He wheezed painfully, though Sasori only glared and crossed his arms.

"Disgusting," the short man mumbled and looked away.

"Oh! Oh there he is!" Konan said, breaking the mood and drawing more than just the group's attention to her as she pointed across the room. "Sasuke, Sasuke!" She raised her hand and waved the man over. Sakura and the rest of the group turned in the direction she was calling towards while Naruto felt his body stiffen. In the time the woman had pulled them away he'd completely forgotten why he'd wanted to leave in the first place. And at that moment he wasn't able to breathe, his brain went into temporary meltdown and his body was twitching to run away. He didn't turn around to see the familiar man saunter over, but felt his presence enter the group from behind them.

"Could you keep quiet you damn idiot, un? It's not like he can't fucking hear you." Deidara, having recovered from the second blow glared at Konan and she childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's hilarious coming from you," it was Sasuke who spoke this time. He hadn't noticed Naruto yet but that didn't matter because a second later Konan spoke up:

"Sasuke these are our new friends, Naruto and Sakura," Sasuke whipped his head around and immediately locked eyes with Naruto's. The calm aura he'd given off a moment ago turned somewhat deadly. Sakura didn't seem to read the mood.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," She reached her hand out and Sasuke stared at it for a moment then looked back at Naruto before grabbing it. There was something in Sasuke's eyes that made him get this awful feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Really, the pleasure is all mine."

To be continued…


I know, I'm a shitty person. If you're feeling kind send me your thoughts, I appreciate them. I will have the next chapter up very soon so look out for it. Thank yu~