A/N: as I said before, longer between updates. Please enjoy and review. Damn this story upload thingy, it's changed some of my punctuation!
Sasuke Thaws
Sasuke strolled away from the training ground. He had heard Naruto's quiet call for him to come over later. Maybe I will…it's so nice to wake up next to him, and I sleep so much better at his apartment. Waving over his head he walked away without a backward glance. He picked up his pace; he needed to shower and change into more formal clothing for the business meeting. It looks to be a clear night. I wonder if he'll be out on the roof looking at the stars, tonight.
Reaching the Uchiha quarter, Sasuke thought that he could still see the shadows of the clan moving about their daily business. It had been more than a decade since that had happened. No stores, no groceries, no children playing in the street. No sounds of daily life about him, just he, silence and the occasional scurry of a rat or mouse as they scrounged for something to eat. The rats had long ago eaten anything that was edible from the food stores, leaving trails of their hard pellets behind. It was generally a mess, and very depressing.
While he was away, a large percentage of the homes had been looted of the more valuable possessions. Furniture, wall scrolls, decorative screens, ornamental items even tatami matting had all gone into the underground economy of Konoha. A couple of the better stores had security systems that still protected their contents; there were no marks of entry. Others showed complete destruction with display cases smashed, turned over and the contents scattered. The walls scarred with holes and gouges, graffiti in some rooms, signs of squatters with bad habits abounded in the district. Sasuke had spent his first nights back, convincing a number of squatters that it would no long be safe and healthy for them to stay there anymore. The district had returned to the total quiet that it was on that day years ago when as a small boy he had come running home only to find no one alive. Sasuke shuddered at the memory.
This business meeting would correct the sad state of the district. Sasuke was the sole heir of nearly everything in the district. There were still stores with their stocks of jewelry, a warehouse or two of household goods, the contents of any apartments that had been placed under special seals by their owners, and all the actual buildings and land. All the banking and investment accounts of the entire clan were his. There were some claims of inheritance from some of the people whose children had married into the clan. The village council had decided in his absence to give those people the contents of their children's homes, but had left any issue bigger than that request undetermined. He was certainly the richest individual in Konoha. If he wanted to, he would never have to do anything but drink tea and take pleasure in looking at a garden.
He opened the door to his parent's compound. Crossing over the nearly dead gardens, his training shoes dropped at the doorstep. He started stripping off his dirty clothes before he even got to the shower area, and strode naked into the bath area. Sasuke was picking up bad habits from his closeness to Naruto, but there was no one to grab-ass with right now. There was no time for a leisurely shower and soak in the tub.
Hair dripping onto his skin, Sasuke walked purposely to his parent's room. The lacquered black dressers had remained untouched as they stood against the walls. He could still see whiteness between the cracks of the floorboards, faint marks of the chalk that had outlined their bodies. A dark stain still showed where blood had soaked into the age darkened teak of the flooring. No amount of cleaning would remove it. His chest tightened as he looked at the spot. He paused only a few seconds before dropping to his knees in front of the dressers. This one was his father's. He opened it carefully, and immediately noticed a scent of cedar from the drawer. There was also another scent, the cool herbal scent that his father had used in his toiletries. There were several of his father's haori jackets in front of him. He could see that there were embroidered white and red Uchiha fans at the shoulders. The fabric's pattern was subtle in its dark blues, but there were also fans in faint differences of blue shading. It was the pinnacle of formal clothes. He touched the silken material gently and lifted the jacket from its resting place. The silk unfolded gently in his hands as it was held up. Tissue paper rustled as it fell to the floor; its use had made sure that the garment showed no crease that was not intended. Sasuke's eyes welled up; his mother had done all the small things in her family's world, without compliment or acknowledgment from a brat like him. Laying the jacket gently on top of a box, Sasuke closed the drawer and opened a different box with a wider drawer. Opening it he was greeted with similar scents but now, his father's hakama, the pleated pants to wear over the kimono. They lay in the drawer, straight with the folds crisp and sharp. Gi --the right decision, Yu – bravery; Jin -- universal love, benevolence toward mankind; compassion; Rei -- right action, courtesy; Makoto -- sincerity, truthfulness; Meiyo – honor; Chugi -- devotion, loyalty. The seven virtues of Bushido are in these pleats, I wonder if my father thinks I'm worthy to wear them.
Sasuke carefully closed the drawers after picking out a white half collar to wear. He picked up the clothes and still wearing naught but his towel, walked to his own room. Once there he draped the garments over his rolled futon, and went to his own drawers for some undergarments. A cotton hadajubon undershirt, and a red kuro-neko style fundoshi. I wonder what Naruto will say when he sees me in this bikini thong style…He stood, loosened his towel and wiped again at his groin. He dropped his towel and quickly draped and folded the tailored red cloth around his genitals and between his cheeks once the belt was adjusted. He picked up the hadajubon with its low scoop neckline and pulled it over his head, it just came down to his hips. He saw his reflection in the lacquered surface of the dresser, the white shirt coming down to what appeared to be a nude butt just peeking out atop muscular legs. He adjusted his package in the black cat. Picking up the half collar, he draped it over his neck. It formed a long loop when one end was slipped into the large button hole in the other end. Picking up the dark blue jacket, he slipped his arms into the sleeves, again, smelling the faint cedar and herbal odors. Pulling the short jackets sides together, he attached the ends to the internal hooks that his father preferred, pulled and settled the jacket on his frame, and adjusted the collar so that it and the under collar showed evenly. A dark gray narrow obi was tied quickly around his waist, leaving the bottom of the jacket exposed. The raven haired teen, opened another drawer and picked out a set of tabi socks and quickly standing on one foot and then another, pulled the toed white socks on. Then walking over to the hakama, he opened and put one leg into the stiff fabric of each trouser pant. He pulled the hakama over the bottom of his jacket and fastened the ends with the buttons hidden inside the waist. His father hated using only strings and obi to tie these cloths shut and preferred the hidden western fasteners so that he could not worry about making adjustments with every movement or having to cinch it uncomfortably tight. The garments hung well on his son, who opened a doorway to reveal a mirror. Sasuke could certainly fill his father's clothing, he looked formidable, the Last Uchiha. I know that this is a bit over the top, but I want them to acknowledge that I represent all that the Uchiha were; they must treat me with the respect that they would have given my father or grandfather. I don't want them to just see me as Sasuke-kun who went to school with their children. He looked again in the mirror. I don't think I'll take formal swords with me; they might find that too frightening. Sasuke picked up small drawstring silk purse from a drawer and tucked it away, then some sandals to wear from the closet and closed the door. Carrying them to the entrance way, he tossed them to the ground, slipped into them and walked out of the compound and started to make his way to the high end ryōtei restaurant where the meeting was to be held in a private room. I have to keep a clear head with these people. I have an agenda of my own and they must not deter me.
-after a long and formal dinner-
Sasuke looked around the table at the people gathered to talk with him. There were Konoha elders along with representatives of several banks, real estate companies and lawyers for each. Smoke was drifting from the lips of several people; ashtrays which had been empty at the beginning were showing multiple stubbed butts. His bankers had prepared an estimate of the valuation of the properties themselves. The banks had collected on their own insurance to pay all the outstanding mortgages and liens. Sasuke would be liable for only the transfer taxes. The real estate agents had projections of the amount of rents and leases that he could charge for each store and apartment once they were fixed up. He would have to spend a considerable amount of cash to make that happen. Once rents began to be collected he could never spend the cash flow from the projected figures they were showing. They were all nodding and sipping junmai ginjo sake and hundred year old whiskey. The o-shaku girls had been dismissed for the business portion of the meeting. They were running up a fortune on the tab freely drinking the most expensive stocks of the inn. There were families in Konoha who could eat for a year on what this dinner would cost. The old men knew he could afford to pay for the dinner and would be obligated to do so. Sasuke resented being used. These men were going to get rich off of him. But, the plans they showed him would make him very cash poor until the rents started coming in. It was not a good plan for him.
"Gentlemen, please." All the conversation stopped at his interruption.
"I don't find your plans acceptable. I have a counter offer which is my only offer." You could hear the clinking of glass and porcelain as the men were completely silent and put down their glasses and cups; they had clearly expected him to roll over with their plans.
"I will not spend money to renovate anything but the most basic infrastructures, and only after the insurance policies finally pay for the damages caused by the squatters and for the theft of property. Konoha must take responsibility for letting the squatters in and the rampant theft of property that has enriched so many with Uchiha goods. Twelve years of interest on that money is also due to me. That insurance money will be the working capital for any repairs needed. To induce businesses and people into the district we will also offer an 8 year 20 percent reduction on lease and rentals for those homeowners and shop keepers who do their own repairs according to our plans."
Sasuke could hear the sudden intake of air in the room. These men had just heard him cut their profits. The commissions on the rents were going to be considerably less than they expected and they would not be able to control large reconstruction projects which would give them leeway for skimming cash and materials. Individual projects and individual contracts were bound to be more scrutinized and require more competitive pricing. Everyone would want to save money and haggle on every repair needed and all of their wives watching every single yen spent. At a 20 percent discount, Sasuke was under pricing every neighborhood in Konoha. Merchants would try to leave their current leases to take advantage of the reduced overhead costs. It would cause turmoil in the market.
"If you want this project to go on, you will get the best insurance settlement you can. I want to see, within a month, ads for the renting of the stores and shops." Sasuke looked at each man at the table, each nodded as he stared at them. He continued: "The apartment buildings with the least damage will be rented first. I want shinobi to have priority on the rentals; I will give them 10 percent off the basic rent for their lifetime. Konoha has not acknowledged the sacrifice that its shinobi give each day for a small amount of pay and allowances after paying off the Godaime's gambling debts. I'll pay for the materials, paint, lumber, and fixtures needed to repair their apartments. The shinobi can supply the labor; they will be happier doing that than walking dogs or healing sick fish for sushi shops." The Uchiha looked at the elders, who sat there with their mouths hanging open, the glasses of whiskey half filled in front of them. "I want to thank the elders for attending, and the advice they offered. If they don't mind, I need to talk to these others alone now. Good evening."
The two elders bowed and got up and bowed again. Leaving without a word, they looked at each other, and realized that they had gotten what they really wanted, the Uchiha quarter opened again for business and a meal at a restaurant that they could not afford on their own. It had been delicious. His apartment offer would probably be taken by every shinobi. It would mean that they would not have to give any wage increases for missions. Tax money would pay for the district repairs the Uchiha had asked for, it didn't come out of their own pockets. The business men in the room had already sent them gifts for assisting them in arranging this meeting. They stumbled a bit as they stepped out of the room and closed the sliding door behind them.
Alone with the bankers, real estate agents and lawyers, Sasuke turned to them. "You will give me your replies to my offer by the end of the week with modified projections. I have two more items, you will make happen. The first is that I want you to purchase a building in town; I will send you the address tomorrow. The second is that since you are going to be making so much money on repairing my properties and in the fees and commissions associated with renting and leasing, I think it's appropriate that you thank me for my continuing to do business with you, and pay for this dinner you arranged. The food was delicious, thank you."
Sasuke got up, bowed to the men who were still silent, cigarettes limp in their mouths and hands, and walked out of the room. Closing the door behind him, he could hear rising voices as they started to argue who was going to pay what percentage of the tab. He smiled his little smile; he was sure that they did not really know how much the dinner was going to cost with all the drinking they had done, even the wealthy among them would be eating congee for the rest of the month. In the hallway, he came upon the geisha who were going to perform for the group. They all bowed to him. He bowed back and reaching into his hakamura, pulled out his purse. Opening it, he handed a gold coin to the geisha's apprentice, "I am not sure that they will still want to see your performance or not, it may be my fault. This is for you, your gyokudai, if they ask you to continue or not."
The geisha and her apprentice bowed low. "We are honored Uchiha-sama by your kindness." Rising a bit, but still with a bowed head "And saddened that we will not be performing for him….perhaps Uchiha-sama will come back again?"
The raven thought about coming back. "Do you have ramen?"
"Hai, Uchiha-sama, they can make anything you wish to eat or they can bring in from any other establishment in Konoha." The woman smiled for a moment and hid it behind her fan.
"Ichiraku?"
"Hai, hai!" she replied as he smiled. "Even Ichiraku."
"I may come back then with a friend. Have a good evening."
The geishas bowed again and Sasuke strode past to where his sandals were. He was sorry that the smell of his father's cologne was no longer detectable on his clothes. He could only smell the smoke from the room, now. Once cleaned and replaced into his father's dresser he hoped that it would once again bring back fond memories.
Once out into the street, Sasuke paused. Naruto should have finished showering and eating. He should be in bed or on the rooftop. I don't know if I can go back to my parent's tonight. I'll have to borrow some clothes; I can't be walking around in the morning dressed like this. His mind made up, he hurried to the apartment. His passage drew stares from the few people walking about as they recognized the youth and his unusual attire. Sasuke didn't care all he could think of was being next to Naruto and the green forest smells of his room.
A/N: I tried hard to make it easy to understand the Japanese. But here's a dictionary:
Gyokudai: incense fee- payment for a geisha who uses the time it takes one stick of incense to burn to clock her billing. Geisha are not prostitutes. Prostitutes sometimes use cigarettes to time their patrons' time.
Hakamura: a patterned pair of Japanese traditional trousers with 7 pleats. Most often seen worn for kendo (wooden sword fighting/training).
junmai ginjo a type of sake where at least 50 percent of the rice's outer shell is removed to reduce the fats and proteins that may give an off taste, expensive since they toss out half the rice prior to fermentation. BTW, did you know that the most common early form of creating sake is to chew the cooked rice gruel in your mouth and then spit it into the vat to start the fermentation process? There are some breweries that still do this.
o-shaku: sake pouring girl, drinks girl
ryōtei: a traditional Japanese restaurant, high end usually
Fundoshi- Japanese underwear based on a loin cloth. On youtube you can search for "KUROTENGU Fundoshi Show 2007" to see a recording of a live fashion show. Male and female models.