The Count: Hello, everyone! I hope you are all doing well and fine. Sorry for taking so long in this chapter, I just had to rewrite it a few times because I had a change in where I wanted this story to go. I was going to start this chapter off by killing an important character, but then I quickly came to my senses and realized I could kill them at any time, so why hurry?
Sasuke: Wait... What?
The Count: Sasuke please, I am trying to speak. As I was saying, can I just say a big thank you to everyone who reviews my last chapter? You are all so wonderful and amazing, and your reviews were even better! Thank you, once again. Some of your reviews had quite the 'clever' ... predictions for the story that weren't so off base.
Hinata: Yes, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.
The Count: Thank you, Hina-chan, but there won't be much of you or Sasuke in this chapter, but I'm sure everyone will see why and hopefully enjoy it. I decided to make this chapter a bit more humorous and light. Also thinking about adding a time skip really soon.
Sasuke: Sounds like a plan, but Deidara is an annoyance.
Hinata: Sasuke-san... what does that have to do with what Kennedy-san is saying?
The Count: Honestly Sasuke... you're such a party pooper. Every party needs a pooper that's why they invited you. Party pooper, party poo-! NO SASUKE, NOT THE VASE!
Chapter 10: Problematic Blonds
"Yeah, and then the bitch OD'ed on heroine. I guess she was more of Deidara's type, going out with a bang." Sasori mentally applaud himself for the words, not realizing the joke it also held.
Itachi just gave his friend a slightly worried look but decided to keep the comments to himself knowing it would be better. Although, he had to admit that being with Sasori, Deidara, and Hidan was making him question their sanity and choice of jokes to laugh at. Opening the door for the red head, Sasori went in and met with an annoyed looking Deidara who would have rathered been doing anything else at the moment. The two trashcans next to him were filled to the top with crumbled blue and white papers, the desk was littered with those same sheets that Deidara would have classified as an 'organized mess', and the number of paper planes ledge onto the ceiling was starting to grow excessive.
'It's really dark in here.' Dark hues stared at the blinds closed shut.
"What brings you guys over here so early, un?" Deidara tilted his head, laying his head on the palm of his hand.
"We wanted to check with you how the rough draft designs are coming along." Deidara glanced at Itachi from the corner of his eye, "It's... getting there."
"Unlike that disgusting side artwork of yours." His eye traveled over Sasori's form, "Shut it shorty, like anything you do is any better." Sasori frowned, slightly ticked off from what he was hearing. "Shorty? Please Deidara, you're only two centimeters taller than me."
"Yeah yeah, whatever, un. Talk to me when you hit a growth spurt and actually, look your age."
"Deidara, you pi-"
"I believe we came here to talk about business. No?"
Both bodies glared at each other for different reasons, and soon enough all three of them were sitting down, looking over at the new seasons designs. More than impressed at how they were coming along, Itachi made a few mental notes on how it could improve, "These are coming along great, have you decided on the fabrics yet?"
The blond shrugged, "That's the problem I'm having trouble with. We have a specific select group of people we sell our clothes too, now if we want to start selling it to lower-upper class and higher middle class people, we will have to lower the cost of our products. Which means we will have to lower the quality of our fabrics so we can still get the same amount of earnings back from those sales."
Itachi stayed silent, realizing where Deidara was coming from, seeing as he had a very similar conversation with Sasuke about an hour or so ago. Sasori tilted his head in a crooked, and what seemed to be uncomfortable manner. "That reminds me, Itachi why where you at S&U today?"
The ex-Uchiha hire showed no emotion what so ever and didn't bother replying back with the same suspicious tone of voice, "I had to give my little brother a lesson. Practically on the same subject, we are talking about today." Deidara and Sasori exchanged a curios look. Sasori, on the other hand, gave a small smile, "Ah, I think I can understand why." Itachi said nothing, looking passive as ever.
"I believe I bumped into his secretary today. Well, she was sprawled all over the sidewalk, papers everywhere. I was going to ignore her and keep on going until I saw one of the papers had the company logo stamped on the upper right part."
"And what makes you think that's his secretary."
"No other person in the company besides Sasuke's VPS and Sakura would have that type of information."
Both men let the information sink in, anger slowly starting to boil from the grudge they've been holding in for the dynamic duo. Two years ago, when the company was officially stated as a multi billion company, there was the 20XX CFDW Fashion Awards and Discussions for all the best fashion brands to talk and discuss their positions about how they got there and what plans they had to grow their empire. To Hidan it seemed like who had a bigger dick contest while ridiculing the rest of the brands, to which he gave comments like: 'Marc Jacobs ain't going to do shit but put his name fifteen times over an item,' and 'Zara ain't shit either, it's just the Spanish version of Forever 21. How the hell did they make it this far?' But like Hidan's unnecessary comments, so were S&U comments about Dawn/Akatsuki.
Sasuke was representing Fugaku in the meeting and didn't even hold back for a moment stating that their fabrics were of low quality, something people shouldn't be wasting their time with. To top it off, Sakura added to the conversation saying that the designs were something easily forgettable and it seemed like cheap copies stolen from any fashion magazine. Coincidentally, that year Deidara had picked the fabrics and Sasori had designed the clothing. Thankfully, despite the ridicule they received, the Akatsuki ended up coming home with three awards: Menswear Designer of the Year, International Award, and the Fashion Icon Award went to Itachi, much to Sasuke's dismay.
Itachi coughed, snapping the duo out of their trance, "What did you get from the paper, Sasori?"
"As perceptive as ever, Itachi. Sasuke will be setting that company to bankruptcy before the end of the year if he ends up going with his plan. At least, from the little, I could glance over." His eyes narrowed, "But if everything goes to the T, stock market and sales, they will be overlapping us in money/sales and everything else within a year."
Deidara gave a low whistle, "Is the Uchiha that desperate to show he can run a company? Or should I say to the ground? Heh, I can see why you left that pigsty of a family, Itachi." Deidara sent him a smirk that quickly turned into a frown once he noticed the flicker of red in Itachi's eyes.
"You hate them that much, un?"
Itachi chose his words very, very carefully. "Have we heard anything from Danzo?"
The blond shrugged, expecting him to avoid the question, but not ask him one like that in return. "Ever since you quit, it's been nearly impossible to track him down. Although we have word that he's back in the country again."
"What a coincidence, Neji Hyuga being spotted in China and Danzo apparently back in the country." Itachi's index finger hit the wooden armchair once. "Neji?" The name leaving a very metallic taste in his mouth. Sasori nodded his head, "Yes, it seems a very low-quality picture of him appeared on an obscure website and quickly went viral moments later. It's the only thing everyone has been talking about these past two days."
No matter how Itachi tried to wrap his head around the subject, he wasn't liking what he was hearing. "We cannot let Neji Hyuga get back in the picture." Sasori and Deidara exchanged another look, this time, one of amusement. "Hm? What makes you say that, Itachi?"
"They were a truly respected fashion brand that disappeared off the face of the Earth, who's clothing if found and unworn nowadays, can sell online in the six digits."
"That much?"
"I don't think you understand, Deidara. They worked hand in hand with the Aburame's, meaning they received the best professional hand picked silk, cotton, and any type of fabric they could get their hands on. Which now the Aburame's work directly with S&U. The Hyuga's specialized in Kimono's for all types of occasions: weddings, birthdays, secular and nonsecular ceremonies. Their fit was impeccable, it seemed as if they were all custom made for each buyer regardless of gender or age. They're the epitome of Japanese traditional fashion." Deidara let Sasori's words engrave themselves in his mind.
"Yeah so? What are the chances of him actually coming back? Did they really make that much money?"
This time Itachi answered, "Join the annual gross income of the Akatsuki and S&U. Now double it, and that's how much they use to make."
Deidara was actually feeling a bit intimidated for once, not only by how much the Hyuga's use to make but also by Itachi's ability to find that information. "H-how did they make so much money?"
"Did you ever bother reading up on any of our rival's company Deidara? The Uzumaki/Namikaze, Uchiha, Hyuga, Sabaku, Aburame, Akimichi, and Nara clans have been around since the Heian period, working as samurai under Daimyo's and such. It wasn't until the mid to late Edo period that things started to change. The Hyugas were the first to somehow escape the title of Samurai and make it to Court Nobility, followed by the Uchiha's and the Namikaze's and Uzumaki's. By the end of that era, those clans had someone either attain the title of Court Noble or Shogun. Following the end of the Edo period, the Hyugas were working alongside the Aburames' and made clothing only for the elite, the Uchiha's followed closely after, and then the rest of the clans did the same until now, in our modern times."
Deidara, even with the bored look on his face, was actually quite surprised to hear that. "So, shouldn't that mean that they should all be in equal footing, including that little cousin of yours?"
Itachi this time sighed, not because of Deidara's question but because of his family's back story.
"During the great Kanto earthquake and tsunami of 1923 that cost the lives of over 140,000 people and left over 40,000 homeless, the Hyugas and Uchihas were household names in the budding American fashion industry by then. Seeing the widespread horror and chaos of it, they sent every single piece of clothing they had manufactured to the Kanto region, not caring about how much money they lost in that effort. On the other hand, the Uchiha's did nothing, and only helped out the ambassadors and elite whom they deemed truly needed help."
"So the Hyuga's weren't stuck up pricks after all..."
"Deidara, please. Of course they were." Sasori scoffed, his tone of voice skimming close to annoyance, "They saw a great business and publicity opportunity and took it. By giving away the clothes, they made themselves seem like the honorable and prideful clan that they were while at the same time giving people a sample of their clothing."
"And how were they not in bankruptcy after that? Sounds counter intuitive to me, Sasori-dana."
"People were grateful, even though what they needed was food and shelter, they found uses for the clothing. They traded it for food, or opportunities to leave the vicinity and move somewhere else." Itachi nodded in agreement and continued, "The Japanese government helped them-"
"You're kidding me?"
"The government had never seen such a generous act, especially from an elite family like them that they covered a small cost of the debt they put themselves into." Deidara shook his head in disapproval, thinking that the government shouldn't be butting in affairs that didn't concern them.
"Which caused other high ranked and elite groups of people to donate to them, setting them back in their feet within a month."
"Why didn't those rich people just donate half of that money to the people who actually needed it in the disaster The whole government part sounds like a load of baloney to me."
Sasori tilted his head, his voice honest and icy, "Those rich people didn't get anything out of helping the poor. The Hyuga's probably made deals with everyone they could get their hands on, international or not. Rumor has it that there was even an alliance with the Japanese government and them, but it has never been proven or brought up to debate after the incident died down. Exactly, who ran the company at that time, Itachi?"
Deciding to finally speak, Itachi took a deep breath in. "Hiashi's grandfather... who raised Hiashi himself."
"So that's why the Sabaku and Uchiha's joined forces? To take down the Hyuga some 20-ish years ago, un?"
Itachi gave a curt nod, "It didn't work, for the most part. Hiashi's wife dying, followed by his accident, and Neji's actions were the cause of the downfall of it. If that company was still running, we wouldn't stand a chance and neither would S&U. We can't allow Neji to bring that company back at any cost."
"Hm, we will probably have to hold a meeting for this later on. Which remind me, what do we do about Danzo, un?"
Itachi frowned, "We can't let him get near Sasuke at any cost."
Neji looked at himself, then at the wig, then back to himself again, and finally laid his eyes to rest on the god forsaken wig. He swallowed his pride and wrapped his hair up in a high, but loose pony tail, and clipped it around in a circular motion with bobby pins. Moments like this he truly wished he wasn't so attached to his hair so he could just chop it off and go his way. Placing the short wig on, he examined how he looked with it and sighed once more.
'White is not your color, Hyuga.'
Putting on some brown contacts, with dark shades after, he realized that maybe this was just the beginning to his karma for what he did to Hinata. When he arrived to Narita airport people were sending curios glances his way despite the fact that he had large sunglasses on, hiding his trademark eyes. If it wasn't because he passed by a tv and saw his name on the screen, he never would have guessed people had found out about it. Connecting two and two together, he came to a simple conclusion that he needed a better disguise. Unfortunately for him, the only wigs he could find were in a sketchy store inside the airport. They were long with either black or brown hair, which didn't help him in the slightest leaving him with only one option left: the short white one. It was styled in the similar manner of Gintoki Sakata, the actor who became famous for his reality tv show Gintama, and almost got sued years afterward because of abusing the parody law.
Walking out of the bathroom and joining the crowd that lead to the nearest train station, he started to realize what he had done and what he was about to do. Somehow he had to fix it, but he knew he couldn't just show up to the Hyuga estate out of no where.
"Wait... is there even a Hyuga estate anymore?" He thought out loud to himself, not realizing how much things could have changed in his absence.
"Oh, my gosh, did you hear? Neji was spotted in China!"
If it wasn't because he was wearing a disguise, with two layers of outdated clothing, a fake ID and contacts, Neji would have jumped 10 feet in the air. Staying silent, he over heard the conversation the two woman behind him were having as he tried to calm his nerves.
"Ah, you mean the young Hyuga heir?" The brunette with the low pigtails shook her head.
"Aha, isn't he dreamy? If you ask me, he's aging like fine wine." The one with the red lips and punk rock clothing just shrugged and grinned, "I'm glad to see you're in a good mood, Hachi. Is he coming back that important to you?"
"Please, we don't even know if he's coming back, Nana." She pouted and clung to the other girl's arm, her mood completely taking a 180 degree turn. "There was only a blurry picture of him."
"Didn't you just say he looked good? Besides, if you keep talking about Neji like that, Nobu will become jealous Hachiko." Hachi just pouted and stuck her tongue out at her, seeing the train arrive.
"Well, I do care about Neji as one of his loyal fans. He did a really good job before he left the company. Apparently from what this morning's news was saying, was that he made the best choices in style, and doubled their profit in just the short amount of time he was there for. The internet is completely blowing up out of control about this. Even economists are wondering what might happen if such a powerhouse fashion company gets back on its feet!"
Neji felt his pride swell up in his chest, glad to hear he, at least, got some recognition for something.
"But what I'm really excited about is that happens if Neji does come back, and somehow manages to bring the company back on its feet. There will be sooo many pretty clothes to choose from Nana!"
Nana just gave her a silly look and smiled, "What makes you say that, my little Hachiko?"
By now they were boarding the train and coincidentally they sat in front of him. In a sense it was good because it made it easier for him to hear as this, Hachiko girl was practically the only one on the train talking.
"Well, simple, Nana. Everyone will be wanting to compete for first place. So the designers will challenge themselves, S&U Fashion will have to work extra hard and Akatsuki as well just to stay on top."
Neji paused, having heard of that name vaguely before. They started off as a simple boutique with great reviews, but he didn't think they'd make it that far. How much did he truly miss?
"Akatsuki?" Nana muttered under her breath, snapping her fingers in realization, "They're also coming out with some make up soon as well, no?" Hachi nodded, "Aha, but that probably won't happen until a year from now as it's still under discussion. It's also the same place we went to, to buy your ring and..." He let the voices trail off, his mind going back to his original plan and what he was there to do. Once he arrived to central Tokyo, he'd find a hotel or two to stay until he could get the first problem resolved. If, and only if that first problem was resolved he'd be able to go on with his goals.
'Before Hinata-sama, there are some people I need to apologize to first...' He thought, pain flashing across his eyes as he glanced at the little pocket notebook in front of him with a short list of names. His eyes narrowed at the first name, already realizing this was going to be harder than he thought.
'Shino. Shino Aburame.'
Sakura looked at her phone and patted herself on that back, happy at what she somehow managed to accomplish. Green hues met eager blue ones, 'I just hope that what I did was the right thing. This could end really bad, for Ino that is.'
"Ino- oof. Ino... I-Ino please let me go. I can't breath." Attacking her with another big hug, the blonde finally let her go once she heard the pleading words.
"Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you so much forehead." She squealed in excitement. Once again, Sakura's own thoughts started to eat her from the inside out, "I don't know if this is for the best, Ino. Gaara and you don't tend to have much in common, and not to mention-"
"Not to mention anything, billboard brow! I've got this covered, although... I don't know how I feel about you having used that against him." She admitted, the shock on her face now gone after hearing Sakura's words.
"Well, you know how we still get a good laugh or two when we look back on the jock strap incident?" Ino nodded her head slightly, only having heard of the incident, but not being directly involved.
"Yeah?"
"Well... this is the same, except worse and we don't talk about it. Ever." Sakura's cheeks were as pink as her hair due to the embarrassment she felt.
"So... pretty much sleep with an eye open?"
Sakura just laughed and agreed with her friend, "Oh yeah, he's not going to let that one go so easily. I'll probably pay Kankuro a visit tonight and ask him to be my body guard."
Ino laughed and leaned against the pinkette's desk, eyes shinning mischievously. "Speaking of which, what exactly did happen in that jockstrap incident? Last time Naruto was over at my apartment he had mentioned you didn't trust him that much after that."
Sakura sighed, slightly annoyed once she started to remember the course of events, even if it was quite funny now. "Well... do you remember how Naruto, by a miracle of nature, ended up becoming student council president in our senior year of high school?" Ino rose an eyebrow, catching the drift to where this was going.
"Wait a minute," Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Wasn't he also captain of the football team at the time?"
Buzz
Buzz
Buz-
Sakura thumb slide her phone open and scanned the message that popped up, reading the message in a lazy manner. Her demeaner quickly changed as she looked at her watch, eyes widening in fear, "Forget about that idiot, we got bigger things to worry about! Gaara said he'll meet you there by 8pm and it's already 7:47 pm, Ino." Ino gasped and picked up her phone, clutch and without another word she disappeared.
Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she let the events that happened a few moments ago replay in her mind.
[Flashback]
"So, when exactly is the date?" Asked Temari, partially curios and happy for her younger sister's wedding.
"To be honest Temari, we're still working that part out. It's been an odyssey to get Sasuke to marry me, never the less have him pick what type of wedding we should have. I promise you, though, when we figure all the minor details out, you'll be the first to know."
Temari just nodded her head. This wasn't the first time that Uchiha had caused her little sister so much trouble, and she was sure it wasn't going to be the last. Not to mention she had warned Sakura about him, countless of times to be in fact, but all her words just went in one ear and out the other. By now Temari could do nothing but just be happy for her decision and wish her the best of luck. Although, there was something that still kept giving her a bad feeling.
"Say, Sakura... when you-?"
Ino opened the door to Sakura's office, agitation written all over. "Hello there, Temari-san. I'm sorry to interrupt, but did you do me the favor I asked of you, Sakura?"
The pinkette just stared at her in a lazy fashion. "Huh? Oh, that thing about Gaara. No, no I haven't. Why?"
"Because Naruto is still in his office!"
Sakura and Temari exchanged a lost look. "What does Naruto not leaving his office have to do with me not calling Gaara, Ino?"
"I need to have that date ready so I can rub it all over Naruto's face. Don't you get it? When Naruto hears about this, he'll die of jealousy. You'll see." Temari stared at Ino with a blank expression, not sure if the blonde was actually serious, or just playing a prank. The look on Sakura's face told her otherwise.
"Amuse me, Sakura. What is going on?"
She sighed, "Nothing Temari, just that Ino-pig over here is crazy and wants to go on a date with Gaara and she wants me to do it right now."
"Oh? And why is that, Ino?" Temari had seldom spoken to the woman before, only small greetings and such, but seeing as they had been childhood friends it didn't come off as a surprise.
"I need friendly female help so that I can make my boyfriend jealous." Sakura's eyebrow twitched when she heard Ino's words, but didn't say anything.
"Why not? I say go for it, Sakura." The pinkette gave her older sister a shocked look.
'Why does no one listen to me.' Sakura decided to not say anything else and dialed Gaara's number from her personal phone.
"Awesome, use that against me. But I'll be leaving now, good luck Ino, Sakura."
"W-w-what?! Wait. Temari no! Temari, when he comes back, he'll kill me if I use that against him! Don't leave me here like thi- Oh, hi Gaara. Hah, Yes I'm well, thank you for asking."
Ino watched in amusement as Temari had a smirk on her face as she disappeared and Sakura seemed to be sweating. She had to had it to them, these Sabaku siblings knew had to get things done. Well, in an unconventional method, but still it got the result Ino needed.
"If you want to talk about the board meeting with Sasuke, please don't. Save youself the time, peace, un necessary politeness, and-"
"No no no, Gaara. Wait, I know your busy but here me out. I want to talk to you about something a lot better, and more attractive for your taste." He stayed silent on the other line and she continued on, "What are you doing tonight?"
Ino's eyes were shimmering brightly, she could barely contain her excitement.
"I don't know yet. Why?"
"You see, one of my best friends wants to go out with you. Think you've already met her. Her name is Ino."
Gaara sighed, "We'll speak later about this. I have to check my agenda-"
"Oh no you don't Gaara." Sakura gulped, realizing this what Temari meant about having to use 'that' against him. "Tell me right here and now, because I know you Gaara. You'll just end up changing the subject and not giving me an answer."
Gaara gave her that much credit.
"Then no."
Ino frowned and Sakura counted to three with her fingers, "is that how you want to be Gaara, then you leave me no choice! Do you remember when..." The conversation went on for a few long moments on Sakura's account and Ino could only blush every now and then at the words she said. Her facial expressions changed from pure and sheer horror to absolute disbelief, and then back to embarrassment.
"... so the choice is yours, Gaara."
Both stared at the phone in anticipation.
"Fine, I'll send you a text message. Let me check something first."
Ino had to shove her hands automatically over her mouth to try and smother the squeals, even Sakura was happy about her friend's predicament.
"Wait wait, does that mean you're coming to pick her up?"
"You asked for a favor, not two, Sakura. Like I said, I'll text you." And with that, he hung up and the phone and both girls hugged each other while screaming in excitement.
[End of Flashback]
At that same moment, Sasuke walked with a few files on hand, glancing back every now and then. "Should I ask?"
His voiced snapped Sakura out of her train of thoughts as she shrugged, but decided to tell him anyways. "Well, Ino's going on a date with my brother."
Sasuke had shivers run down his spine, "I don't know how I feel about this."
"Thank you," Ino stated to the random man who had held the door open for her to enter the high-end restaurant.
[Flashback]
Naruto strolled out of his office, and locked it quickly but not before loosing his tie. A flash of green caught his eye, sending shivers down his spine.
"G-Gai?" Realization hit him once he noticed it was actually... Ino? Who was wearing a different set of clothes from this morning, and was touching up her make up? He tilted his head and walked over towards her, actually curios about her antics.
"Hey there, Ino. Whatcha' doing?"
Two sets of blue eyes clashed with the other, but each having different reasons. "Nothing, why do you ask?"
Naruto let her words sit in his brain for a moment before he just sent her a grin with an honest answer. "Just curios is all." Another pause developed between them, "So, do I see you tomorrow, or will we just meet up on Monday then?"
Ino pretended to think, "I'll get to you by Monday."
Naruto only shrugged and turned around to leave, surprised by his nonchalant response she grabbed her phone and pretended to be on the phone. "Oh, hi there Gaara!"
Naruto stopped in his tracks, a confused look on his features as he refused to turn around.
"Sakura said you wanted to speak to me? To dinner? Of course I'd love to, eight sounds perfect." By then Naruto was behind her, eyeing every move she made with her phone.
"So, dinner with Gaara, huh?"
Ino hesitated for a moment, "Oh yeah. He's been sending invitations to go out to eat for days now, through Sakura of course. And I've been declining them, but sense you've been so busy lately... and such I decided to do it." Naruto still stared at her phone, something not sitting right with him.
"You don't mind, do you Naruto?"
He thought about something, not so much her question, and grinned. "He hates it when people are tardy and it's already 7:57pm. I think it's a family trait. Well, have fun, see ya' on Monday, Ino."
And like that, Ino felt like she had the sudden energy to run a marathon and conquer the world.
'Why doesn't he care?! Ugh, this gets me so mad!'
[End of Flashback]
Passing by a mirror and looking at herself over once more, Ino was more than confident with the way she appeared. It wasn't always that she wore the color green, but when she did, she definitely tried to work it in her favor. Twirling the tip of her pony tail between the index and thumb, she carelessly threw it behind her and walked into the seating area. Her eyes darted from person to person as she searched for a redhead in particular, while at the same time ignoring the soft plea of attention from the waitress that was trying to grab her attention. Finally spotting Gaara, she made her way over towards him, a smile grazing her lips as she tried not to mention anything once she saw him already eating and drinking wine.
'I'll show Naruto just exactly what he's missing with me.'
"Oh, hello there Gaara. I'm sorry I'm late."
Gaara on the other hand just stayed silent and gave a curt nod of acknowledgment. Ino just waited, now a fake smile on her face once he didn't stand up to get the chair for her. Realizing she hadn't moved, he decided to finally initiate eye contact with her.
"Please, sit."
Realizing as this was going nowhere, an image of Sakura laughing and scolding her appeared in her head. There was no way she was going to lose, not in love or in business. She'd show Sakura that she could definitely work something out with her brother who was now giving her an icy look.
"Oh, I see you ordered alr-
Gaara cut in, watching her eye his food. "You are already 15 minutes late, so yes." Silence developed between them, mentally sighing Gaara rose his arm half way signaling for the waiter to come, "Waiter, a menu."
"Hah, yes, you're right. I just wanted to apologize because you know how traffic is here. No matter at what time of the day it is, there's barely any parking and it's bumper to bumper."
"Of course, I understand what you mean about traffic here. Which is why I leave an hour early in some cases before a meeting." Ino gave a nervous laugh, mentally cursing herself for not being able to see some of these things ahead of time.
"Well, let's not beat around the bush. My sister told me you wished to speak with me, she didn't mention about what, though."
'This is it! You can do it, Ino. This is our time to shine.'
"I thought we could get to know each other a little better is all."
Almost as if on instinct, her body shifted in to a contrapposto form similar to The Venus de Milo. She gave him the good side of her face as she pretended to study something in the background, her upper torso facing him, and one leg crossed over the other causing the tight dress to ride up her thigh ever so slightly. To any man in the restaurant, she looked like a bright and shiny gem, needing to be picked up from where she was. To Gaara, she was like the sun: an uncomfortable necessity, and an eyesore because he couldn't look at her directly.
"Get to know each other? For what?"
"For what other reason could a man like you, and a woman like I want to get to know each other for, silly." If Gaara had visible eyebrows, he was sure she would have seen on of them twitch. He would amuse her then, "Good question, for what reason exactly?"
"Oh, Gaara, what little imagination you have. To share some time together, go for a few drinks, and maybe we could find some things in common that attract us together."
"You're right, my imagination was a little dull. Then tell me something, so I can stimulate my mind, and find something that can attract me to you..." Ino could feel her ears starting to burn once she noticed where his green hues were traveling to, but it'd be a cold day in hell if she ever let him catch her blushing.
"What do I get out of a friendship from you?"
Ino sent him a smile, gently moving a loose strand of hair out of her face. "Well, that's not something I can say for sure. It's something that we can figure out along the way."
Gaara took a long, maybe too long, of a sip of his wine and glanced at the time quickly. Frowning that it wasn't moving fast enough and she wasn't about to give up that easily, he took the matter very swiftly into his own hands. "Well, Yamanaka-san, let's see who you are so we can start to discover some common ground," He took another sip of his wine, "What else do you do besides being my sister's friend?" Ino rose a thin eyebrow up, deciding that if need be, she'd throw in some little white lies.
"I'm Sasuke's personal assistant."
"So you're the secretary."
She sent him a fake smile, then took a sip of water. "That's a very crude way of saying it. I'm his assistant, not a secretary."
"Where is the radical difference between assistant and secretary; what do you for him that his other secretary already doesn't?"
Ino tried to dodge the question, "Well, for starters I studied Finance in college."
Gaara pretended to be interested and nodded, "And did you finish?"
"Well, no, not exactly. I did seven semesters before I stopped and got married."
"Are you still married?" Ino perked up at the question, not expecting it from him but at the moment, she wasn't going to complain either. Maybe this is where it would be the best direction for the conversation to lead so something could happen between them.
"Oh, ha ha, no. I got divorced a year ago."
Gaara on the other hand just smirked, "So you're saying you didn't accomplish any of the two things. You didn't graduate and you couldn't get your marriage through hard times. In what exactly have you triumphed over?"
Ino's face became a blank canvas, unsure at how she was supposed to feel at those words especially when he mentioned her failure of a marriage. Putting it behind her, she sent him a smile. "In nothing yet, but I'm working really hard to do so."
"In what exactly?"
She could only inwardly flinch, "in life of course."
"Triumph in life..." Gaara let those words flow of his tongue easily enough before they left a bitter taste, "do you know what it means to 'triumph in life', Yamanaka-san? It means to stay alive, and you're doing that already. I mean something more than that, maybe something about your occupation." She quickly cut in, not allowing him any more chances to spit his words at her face, "of course, I want to get my job position further."
"As a secretary?"
He sighed in annoyance, "with seven semesters of Finance, and after being divorce don't you believe you've gone through enough to be starting work as a secretary? Not to mention after coming from such a wealthy family like the Yamanakas and being married to an Akimichi. But you didn't just marry any Akimichi, you married the head of the clan." Ino wasn't pissed, she was absolutely livid at his words. How dare he make a mockery of her previous life choices! Even though he had stated that Choji's family was prominent and wealthy, somewhere deep in the back of her mind she still thought he was mocking them as well. She can deal with all the side remarks and comments, but when it came to Choji and his family she wouldn't have it.
"How old are you exactly?"
"As if I'd tell you anything! So what... you could turn that number into another joke?" She shouted at him, as he didn't even flinch at her words.
"That only worsens the situation. A woman only hides her age when they feel stigmatized by it. Well, it seems like I'm not dealing with a woman who has a clear perspective on life. Well, that shouldn't matter," He looked at his watch and was quite satisfied that ten minutes had passed and Ino looked like she either wanted to run away from him and up to the hills, or stab him in the jugular with the dull edge of the silver butter knife.
"That shouldn't matter, though, if it's about sharing common things together, then how about topics of conversations? What do you like to talk about? What could be some of your obsessions similar to mine?"
Ino just frowned and stayed absolutely silent.
"That's fine, no need to reply. Seeing as you took seven semesters of Finance, we can talk about the Dow Jones, the stock market, or how the company is doing."
A waiter passed by and Ino didn't subtly call for him, but roughly yanked him by the arm and glared dangerously at him, "whiskey. Strongest you have." The man didn't even need to be told twice, nodding he disappeared behind a door and quickly came back with the drink for her. Accepting it after also ordering the food, she drank the whole thing down in a matter of seconds. Gaara would have been surprised and impressed if it were anybody else, but seeing as it was Ino, he couldn't have cared less.
"Let's not just talk about Finances, I'm a horrible materialistic spender..." In all honesty he wasn't, but it was a line he heard his older brother Kankuro use once before, and it got a few girls by him and was an interesting conversation starter. Seeing as where this conversation was going, he couldn't find a better chance to use it. Remembering Kankuro and Temari's likes, an idea popped into his mind.
"You know, let's change the subject, let's talk about art. How do you feel about the last opera season that passed? Did you prefer the Berlin or the Teatro Communale Ponchielli, Cremona."
Ino could only stay silent once more.
"Well, I don't blame for not liking opera. Let's talk about the last cycle of French Cinema... No? Well it seems I'm running out of list of topics. Let's change the subject once more. Why should I try to make a friendship out of a woman who is separated, claims to be an assistant but is actually a secretary and didn't finish her career? Don't you believe it would be more suitable for me to meet a woman who has a professional job and earns as a professional, has never been married, and has a clear understanding of what she wants?"
"Don't you think it would be better if you told me to get the fuck up and leave?!"
People around started to give them dubious looks, seeing as how the tension had risen quite a bit in a matter of a few moments.
"Please, calm yourself Yamanaka-san. I'm only trying to have a conversation with you that lasts shorter than this meal."
Ino leaned back on the chair, eyes boring past him. "You know what, Gaara... I think I'm also wasting my time here. You're not the guy I thought you were or appear to be. To be honest, it's quite disappointing getting to know you."
"Of course- for you that is. What you're looking for is a man who can resolve your solitary problems and other necessities. In other words, a man with money."
The blonde slammed her hand on the table, "Enough, Gaara! I don't have to take your insults just because I asked your sister that it would be a nice idea to meet you. I don't think I deserve to be treated like this when all I wanted was a simple friendship with you." Her face had twisted to one of disgust and anger. "But you're right, there's nothing that can unite us as we really don't have anything in common. We have nothing to talk about." And with that she proceeded to grab her clutch and leave him.
'Time to finish this.'
Gaara thought before Kankuro popped into his mind once more, "no... wait." To both their surprise, Ino actually stopped and turned around to look at him.
"What you said is not true. The only thing that we could share would be some caresses. It seems to be the only thing that could attract me to you. You are quite attractive, and have nice legs." Ino jaw hung open, surprised at what she was hearing. "You're bust is also very nice. It seems like you'd be very sensual in bed, but besides maki- having sex," He quickly corrected himself, "there'd be nothing else for us to do but have a simple chat about when to make our next appointment. That might seem like it's the only relationship we could seem to have. Are you interested?"
Ino made it her job to get under people's skin, and she made sure that no one could do the same to her. But somehow, some way, this man had managed to grow on her, like a filthy parasite and she couldn't deal with it anymore. Taking a few small steps closer to him, she let her face be at eye level with his, noses inches apart.
"Absolutely fucking not. If you think your arrogance is an aphrodisiac for me, you're sadly mistaken. You're not that attractive that you can take a woman to bed after you've ridiculed her in such a way on her first date with you. If you think you can do that and actually get away with it, you have a long way to go, Sabaku no Gaara."
'This was supposed to be a date?'
"Hm, I guess it seems to be true what you stated. There can definitely be nothing between us. We have nothing in common. We don't even share the same taste in sex."
Watching her turn around and walk away without another word, he finally let a small smile crawl onto his face, more than satisfied with what had transpired throughout the small evening. Taking out his phone, he saw a text message from the Uzumaki head and shook his head in dismay, replying with a simple, 'I think my peaceful days are coming back. The ball is back on your turf.' Naruto could only reply with a paragraph of emojis crying of sadness.
Ino on the other hand was fuming pissed, 'That asshole! He knew I was going to say that! I can't believe I actually fell for that trap. Ugh, I'm so pissed. I'll show him!'
The Next Day
Kiba poked one of Tenten's buns and with an amused look on his face, he observed her irritated one. The scene had been going on for the past half hour. Kiba would stick his finger in one of Tenten's buns, she'd say something, and they'd finish arguing to only end up having the whole thing repeat again and again.
"Kiba, I swear to all that is holy, if you don't stop what you're doing right now I'll-"
"You'll what?" And he proceeded to poke the inside of her bun once more, and wiggled his finger inside of it.
"STOP FINGERING ME!"
All passersby stopped dead in their tracks and looked at the duo with shocked faces. Someone whistled in the background and told Kiba to get it while it was hot, while others had a look of mere disgust with red cheeks. The Inuzuka burst out laughing loudly, hands wrapping around his side, trying to comfort it some way. Tenten on the other hand just covered her face with her hands and sighed deeply into them, "Kiba, I will murder you one of these days, and no one will be able to find the body."
"H-h-hey now..." He whipped the tears that were rolling down his cheeks, "It's not my fault. You're the one that said I was fingering you-," Both of them stopped when they noticed Hinata had come in at the wrong moment and was turning red as a tomato, her head down. Instantly they too where as red as her. Kiba straightened up first, Akamaru popping his head from inside his jacket. "No-no Hinata. It's not what it seems."
"Yeah, it's just a misunderstanding." Added Tenten at the end.
Hinata couldn't say the same, but decided to just nod her head in agreement and go along with it. "I see...," She quickly thought of something to change the topic, "Is there any mail for Sasuke-san?"
Tenten just sighed and gave up trying to change her new friend's mind, Kiba on the other hand internally groaned realizing that rumors were going to start spreading around. "Not really Hinata-chan, Ino passed by a few moments ago and took the liberty of taking it to Sasuke himself. By the way, not that I mean to gossip or anything, but is she okay?"
Hinata tilted her head, slightly confused at the words she was hearing. "Hm? Did something happen to Yamanaka-san?" She may have not liked the blonde, but it's not like she wished her any physical or mental ill.
"She came in with this air of arrogance and superiority, but at the same time she seemed pissed about something. I think whatever happened to her last night didn't do her any good. Not to mention she gave Akamaru an allergic reaction or something. Poor thing wouldn't stop sneezing because of how much perfume she had on." He proceeded to pet the puppy on the head, earning a whimper from him. Hinata just eyed them both, still confused about what that had to do with her.
"Well, just in case, be wary of her. She might just lash out at anyone who gets in her way."
Kiba's phone vibrated as he sighed and glanced at the number, "Well, I'll catch you ladies later. Have things to do that need my professional attention. I swear, this company would be in ruins without me." He stated in a dramatic tone while skipping away, and without glancing back he disappeared behind a corner. Perking up, that reminded Hinata of something, "Hey, Tenten, if you don't mind me asking and you know the answer, why was Kiba so against me having my cards being read?"
The brunette paused, not getting what Hinata was talking about but quickly realized what she meant.
"Ah! I get what you're asking now. Everything Kin told him that would happen, happened. Unfortunately for him, they were all bad scenarios. Ever since then he's been paranoid and superstitious." She withheld a giggle remembering the April fool's prank they did on him that he still hadn't found out about.
"For April fools, Tayuya and I made a fake newspaper where we changed his horoscope's lucky item to a jar of pickle. Then the specific instruction on it were that he could only eat a jar of pickles and nothing else for the entire d-day, haha, and let me tell you he, ha-ha-ha," Tenten practically snorted while telling the story again, her laughter becoming contagious, "He actually did it! The guy was running to the bathroom all day long! Supposedly, his body didn't even try to digest."
She took in a deep breath before continuing, "Don't quote me on this, but I'm pretty sure he said: 'All at once the burning fire of a thousand young suns set upon my anal sphincter' and 'I had just shat out pure stomach acid'."
By then it was Tenten who was grabbing her sides, and Hinata covering her laughs with her hand in a delicate manner. "It was so bad that even Akamaru wouldn't get near him, and he had to ask Naruto for a ride because he said something about his ass being on fire!" The girls continued their laughter, gaining looks from the passersby, not that either of them cared.
"I think my favorite part is when Kiba tells the story to others and says," This time she tried to imitate him, " 'Frantically wipe my ass to prevent it from melting away like the spacesh-ship floor in Alien.' No Hinat-Hinata-chan, stop giving me that look, ha ha. You're just making me laugh harder! You don't underst-stand..." The laughter raged on for a few more moments, "Even Fugaku laughed at the incident, and he doesn't laugh at anything."
"Hah, oh, I get it now. Maybe you should put fake cracks on the floor in different parts of the building," Stated Hinata, a hint of mischievousness in her eyes. Tenten sat up straight, a bright smile on her face as she did not expect something like that from the shy girl.
"My my, Hinata-chan. Talk about taking me by surprise, and remember! Keep it a secret between us." Waving good bye at her friend, she mentally kept that in the back of her mind for another day.
A few floors up Ino tapped in a rhythmic pattern against the glass surface of her desk. Middle finger, index finger, thumb, followed by middle finger again. It was almost a meditative technique she tried to do to calm herself down. Down the hall Naruto and Sakura walked in a rather slow pace, both talking about the situation of the company and how it could benefit from Sasuke's plan. Ino's index finger stopped mid way once she made eye contact with both of them, forcing a fake and cheery smile on.
"Hey Ino, good morning."
"Hey, morning, Ino-chan. How ya' doing? I'll see you later?"
Asked Naruto, looking over her with a rather intense gaze, but slowly walked away. Ino didn't miss this and was glad all her hard work and effort on her morning look paid off. She still had her signature hairstyle on, but her make up and nails were absolutely flawless. She was wearing a white pencil skirt that stopped mid thigh and had one inch slits on the outer thighs, a dark violet long sleeved blouse adorned her top half. All in all, she looked sensual, lovely, seductive, and the outfit just accentuated her curves.
Sakura seeing what was going on, wasn't going to miss this chance, "hey Ino, by the way, how was dinner with Gaara last night?" Naruto stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, Ino, on the other hand, widened her eyes slightly at what had just happened.
Naruto grinned at her, "yeah Ino, how did it go?"
She flashed him a wide smile, "oh, Naruto, it was divine. We ate really well, the food was delicious, and he was such a gentleman." Naruto blinked and sent her another smile.
"Ooh, I bet where ever he took you, it must of had some awesome food. Well, see ya' guys later." And like that, the Uzumaki turned around and left, but not before Ino sighed in annoyance, "I bet I could have told him I arrived married to him, and Naruto still wouldn't have said anything about it." Sakura gave her friend a sad look.
"Well, let's forget about that. Tell me, Ino am I going to be your maid of honor or what?"
Ino gave her a fake smile while mimicking her, "tell me, Sakura." She mimicked her cheery tone, "When your brother was born was he fed breast milk or cyanide?" The pinkette couldn't help but laugh loudly at her choice of words.
"See, I told you. I warned you how he was. Come on, tell me. What exactly did he do to you?"
"Oh, you know. He ridiculed me, said there was nothing else that could develop between us besides sexual encounters- stop laughing Sakura try to take this conversation seriously. If it wasn't because he was an auctioneer of this company and your brother, I would have slapped him to the after life."
"Come on, Ino. Just forget about him, and forget about last night. Let's start over."
As if she had an epiphany, Ino crossed her arms over her chest, a smirk on her face, and a finger pointing over at Sakura. "I get it now, he's gay isn't he, Sakura?"
"Hah. No. Gaara? Definitely not."
"They why did he act like that around me?! No guy in my existence has ever acted like that around me. Not even my ex-husband after I tried to burn his car down."
Sakura paused, rewinding in her mind Ino's words. "Wait... what?"
"What? I tried to burn his car down, but couldn't. You know what, Sakura? I would have rather had Gaara hit me than tell me all those things. At least it would have given me a reason to punch him back or something and give him a piece of my mind. And what type of guy says those things he said to a woman he just met, none the less. Let me be modest here, it's a bit suspicious that a guy that acts like that and is still straight."
Sakura sighed and placed a hand on her hip, "Well take that suspicion and throw it away, I can guarantee you Ino, that Gaara isn't gay. Many woman have been through his bed, and the same vice versa until it came to a point where he had to put a stop to it. That was the moment he started to work for the government and now that he doesn't have that much time, he's become..." She paused for a moment trying to find the right word, "Selective and demanding."
Ino would have gone with 'an asshole', but she'd stay quiet just to hear Sakura's explanation.
"The woman that he wants by his side has to be one that can establish and keep a deep conversation with him, besides being another pretty face."
"He hasn't found one or something?"
The pinkette tilted her head to the side, "no. Not that I know of at least. Because he's been so busy lately with barely any time on his hands, he hasn't really had the time to dedicate anything to any relationship."
"Whoa, wait a minute there Sakura, are you telling me that the only reason why I didn't qualify to meet his standards is because he thinks I'm dumb?!" Ino shrieked loudly.
"Ino please! Try to keep your voice down. If I didn't think you'd be able to hold a conversation with him, or were dumb I wouldn't have even bothered to set you up on a date. And if for you it was a humiliating experience, to other woman it was an aphrodisiac and a goal scratched off their list." Ino stayed silent, taking the words in carefully.
"Fine. I'll give you that, but the last thing that conversation did for me was excite me. If I'm too dumb for him, what was he pretending? You know what..." Her voice trailed off as she saw Hinata pass by in a hurry and enter Sasuke's office, "if I didn't know any better, I'd say he'd be more than happy with a girl that was like that ugly duckling." Sakura rolled her eyes, her fingers running through her pink locks.
"Please Ino, as if. Not even if you fixed her clothes would that do anything for her appearance. She's got a long way to go before Gaara even begins to notice her."
Back inside the office Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke were glancing at the Hyuga head as if she was an angel. Not because of anything love or beauty related, but because she was a miracle worker, especially with what they were dealing with now.
"Hinata-san, go over it with us one more time." Sasuke needed to confirm her words, which at the same time validated Shikamaru's report that he gave the night before.
"Well, Sasuke-san, sure. What I was suggesting was amplifying the areas of production, contracting new and experienced personal, a change in textile or fabrics but we can look that over with Aburame-san in a meeting if necessary, and finally including shipping and trafficking internationally as well to our budget."
At that same moment Sakura walked in, giving a curt nod to all and kissing her fiance on the cheek. "Good morning everyone, and here you go, hon," She handed him the report he ordered and continued on, "This includes all the budgets necessary to accomplish part one of your goals: contracting new personal, change in textile, and shipment info. I included the costs of excess utilities in there as well." The males eyes went over towards Hinata's form, who in turn only looked down.
"I'm going to do the expansion."
"Sasuke, no."
"Wait, Sasuke what?"
"Sasuke-san, please don't." Shikamaru's, Sakura's and Hinata's voiced echoed at the same time.
"I don't suggest that." Hinata nodded in the background, Naruto looked at everyone with a confused look, seeming as if he was losing something important in the conversation.
"Sasuke-san, I actually suggest you rent the utilities, and not buy them. Not to mention you had stated that you wanted to build two new factories, so there is technically no reason for you to go and buy them."
Sakura nodded her head slightly in agreement, catching Shikamaru by surprise as it seemed he was the only one who had caught that. The pinkette didn't want to admit it, but Hinata was right.
"Naruto, what do you think?"
The blond tensed up for a moment, "Well, everything seems fine and in order. I can understand where Shika's and Hinata-chan's concern's are coming from, but the predictions seem to be in our favor. I took the courtesy of glancing over our trades and stock, and in a worse case scenario, we can withdraw them, or sell them to pay for any type of damages."
"Do we even have any buyers, Naruto?"
He looked Sakura dead in the eyes, "We always have buyers, for anything, Sakura."
Ino knocked and let herself in when no one bothered to acknowledge her action, "Excuse me, but the president from Bank Atlantic would like to speak with you, Sasuke. He's on hold on line one." Sasuke nodded his head and picked up the phone, "If that's the case, then Sakura get me copies of that report and send it to the rest of the main auctioneers. Shikamaru and Sakura go and take a look at the south factories and see how they're doing. I don't want anything to go wrong now that Gaara is out of the picture." Sakura couldn't help, but roll her eyes as she just waved at her fiance and left following Shikamaru.
"Is there anything else you need me for?" Both Hinata and Ino stated at the same time, each glancing at the other from the corner of their eyes.
"Hinata-san, I need you to go and hand some papers over to Kin for me, and Ino..." He paused and looked at her over for a split second. "You're good to go." And with that, Sasuke proceeded to his call.
Right when Ino was about to leave, Naruto's voice called out to her, stopping her in her tracks. "Actually Ino, I was wondering if you could help me with something?"
Raising a thin eyebrow up, she nodded her head. "And with what could that be."
He gave her a grin and started to walk towards his office on the other side of the floor. "Just follow me and you'll find out." Ino mentally sighed, and frowned. She quickly made a mental note to buy some more moisturizer, realizing that by the end of the year she might have more fine lines than necessary. Passing by Tayuya, the woman couldn't help but stare at the blond duo curiously.
'What an odd pair.' Tayuya shook her head, dismissing the thought from her mind.
Dialing a number on his cell, Naruto let it ring, and put it back in his pocket as they entered his office. Ino stood her ground and closed the door behind her. The room, to anyone who didn't personally know Naruto, seemed uncharacteristically clean. There were two potted plants on each back corner of the room where the sunlight hit it directly from the large window and the wooden desk was in the middle. The wall on the left had a wooden bookcase filled with all types of books and old fashioned scrolls that no one knew how to open but him, while on the right side was a long couch comfortable enough to seat five people. If one were to look closely, the smell of Ramen still lingered softly about, the trashcan was filled to the top with empty Ramen cups, and even his desk was littered with random sheets and stacks of paper.
"Alright, what is it Naru-!"
He grabbed her arm, and pushed her against the door, nothing too rough, but enough to keep her in place. "O-ow..." Ino muttered, her eyes wide as she stared at Naruto in surprise. Looking at him closely, Ino came to a simple conclusion: Naruto was very handsome. Sun kissed skin, vibrant blue eyes filled with emotions, and from what she could see a very firm and toned body. Not to mention his eyelashes were something any woman would envy.
"Have it your way, Ino. What happened last night between you and Gaara?"
If it wasn't because of the situation she was in, Ino would be screaming like a crazy love struck fan girl. "Wh-what are you talking about, Naruto?"
"Does it matter? I want to know. I want to know if something happened or could have happened. Are you guys in a relationship or something?" There was no way she could ever hide this from Sakura, and never in a hundred years did she think that she'd ever find herself in this situation.
"Hey, what's up with that type of question, Naruto? Last night you didn't seem to really care, and this morning it seemed like it was an insignificant matter. If it wasn't because Sakura asked, you never would have asked me." She stated in a coy manner.
"Look here, Ino." He paused and tilted his head down, their breaths mingling together, "You must be crazy if you think I'm going to be asking you questions or interrogate you in front of anyone, especially in front of someone like Sakura. The same goes with our intimacy, and our intimacy deserves respect." If Kakashi would have been there, some how he would have managed to blackmail him with it.
"Well, if you were so interested in me, why didn't you call yesterday or ask about today."
"W-well, I could say the same thing. You're the one that told me about what you were doing with Gaara." By then he had left her side and was giving her his back. "The least you could have done was text or call me to say that everything was safe." Ino was practically flabbergasted at what she was hearing.
Smirking, she snaked her arms around his waist and pressed her body against his, "There's nothing to worry about Naruto-kun. We just went out for some drinks after dinner, he left me at my door step, asked me to come over today and I said no. Not to mention he even sent me a text message this morning that I still haven't replied to. I didn't think it was the right thing to do, besides, I missed you a lot."
Moving over, she was now leaning forward while facing him and had her eyes closed, lips partly opened.
Naruto would have gone in for the kiss, but knew better because of who was the woman in front of him. "Ino... not now. Someone could come in and see what we are doing. We'll talk about this later tonight."
Opening her eyes, Ino nodded her head and sighed, "I suppose. See you later then." Closing the door behind her, Naruto took out the phone and smiled.
"See, I told you." He stated loud enough for Sasuke and Gaara to hear who had been on speaker the whole time. This was practically the only time he'd ever get them to do a three way call, and was thankful that they weren't the talkative type like him.
Gaara spoke first, "So it seems I dropped her off at her home..." His tone of voice indescribable. Sasuke just shook his head and hung up as Naruto tried to hold in his laugh. "You okay there Gaara? Out of all the things she said that's what made you mad?"
"It seems I must have a talk with my little sister... about her choice of friends."
After that, Gaara too hung up the phone. Naruto wasn't one to be sly and conniving in a menacing matter to hurt others, but from the beginning he knew Ino had been lying through her teeth. The red head never had really given him the full details, hell any details for that matter, but he could connect the dots pretty well. Ino was playing a rather dangerous game, one that she didn't realize how lucky she was to have caught Gaara in a good mood. Now that Naruto thought about it, adding Sasuke to the call wasn't necessary, but if there was ever any need to bring a witness to court Sasuke would also be there.
Walking out of his office, because of all the thoughts he had in his mind, Naruto almost bumped into a guy and both parties quickly apologized with a smile on their faces. Stopping in his tracks he looked back and tilted his head, wondering where he had seen the man before. He was a fair-skinned man with short, black, tousled hair which fell around his forehead, framing his face.
"Huh? How strange... I swear I've seen that guy somewhere before." Naruto muttered under his head breath as he entered Sasuke's office, watching the Uchiha pass around the room as he handle what seemed to be, a very important call.
"Yes, we understand and can take complete responsibility over such actions." A brief pause filled the air and Naruto took a seat, impatiently waiting for Sasuke to finish, "Actually, no sir. Kankuro-san did not do that report." He nodded, listening very carefully to the man on the other line.
"Of course, and we are thankful for everything you have done- who did it? Hinata Nagumo, my secretary- pardon me..." Another pause went up in the air. "Her name is Hinata Nagumo, she's my personal assistant."
Naruto's eyes widen as big as dinner plates, not believing what he had just heard.
The Count: Hello everyone! Did you enjoy what you just read? Cause I know I was pretty satisfied with it. I wanted to show for how long the families have been fighting and trying to up do one another for. I think my favorite part about writing this chapter was inserting the references from other animes and parodies, followed by the dinner scene between Gaara and Ino. Here, let me give you a hint: there are about 5 references to other shows.
Hinata: I'm getting promoted?!
The Count: Something like that. -grins-
Hinata: Ah, but wait. You said someone would die... do they really have to die?"
The Count: I think the only thing we have to do in life is live and die, Hina-chan. Ah that remind me, before I forget, watch/read Monster. It's such a good show everyone, it will blow your mind away. And there are really good villains in the anime world, but none as good as Johan Liebert.
Also, what do you guys think might be the mystery revolving around Danzo with the Uchiha brothers? What are Ino and Sakura going to say about Hinata getting promoted? Why didn't Itachi question Sasori as well for being near S&U Fashion as well? Those are some questions that I hope you've asked yourself throughout the chapter, or at least now have started too.
And one last thing, please don't forget to review! It's thanks to your reviews that I was able to write this chapter and open up my horizon on ideas. Besides, reviews help this story get noticed and we want to share the love! Thank you guys once again, you're the best readers ever. Stay safe and stay in school.