Well, first of all, I'm extremely sorry for disappearing like that, my finals were here and I had so much to do in the past few months that spending time here became way too much to take for me, and I wanted for this thing to be relaxing for me not stressful :( but now I have the biggest break I'll ever get and I hope I can write as much as possible while I'm here! And I hope you can consider it too and understand:( Nonetheless, I'm absolutely out of words, I never thought I'd be writing a story and publishing it but here we are! I hope your reading experience went well with this story!
Chapter 20- Conspiracy
Another day approached in the Uchiha residence and undoubtedly, Sakura was extra cheery today. She'd be getting a job after all, and she couldn't wait to let the family know. As soon as Tsunade confirmed her a primary job at the hospital until her graduation, she informed her parents and decided to inform Sasuke and everyone else next. The couple was welcomed by Itachi at the dining table and Fugaku and Mikoto entered next.
"Is something the matter Sakura? Something makes you seem extra cheery today." Itachi's statement made both Sasuke and Sakura shift their attention to him.
"Yes, nii-san! Wait a bit, I'll tell you all!" She cheerfully said which caught Sasuke's attention. He gave her a curious glance which turned to a soft smile as he saw her looking back at him reassuringly, all while Itachi's eyes were on them, which went unnoticed by the couple. Sakura's really changing him... Itachi couldn't help but think. A small smile formed on his lips at the sight of the couple. Sakura on the other hand blushed slightly upon seeing Sasuke smile back at her. Even though this was becoming quite frequent, Sakura still couldn't stop herself from blushing at such gestures from Sasuke. They haven't talked much after... well, that little incident on his birthday. It almost seemed that both of them were shy to talk about the hug, so she just pretended it never happened, just like he did. She quickly looked away from him hoping he didn't notice her heated cheeks.
"Good morning children! It's good to see you all together after a while." Mikoto beamed as the oldest Uchiha couple entered. The bunch greeted them back as all of them served themselves.
"Um.. I don't mean to interrupt but.. I had to tell something." Sakura began and immediately all eyes were on her.
"Of course, go ahead Saku-chan." Mikoto encouraged and she finally spoke.
"Tsunade-Sama called me this morning, my graduation is in few months so.. she confirmed me an internship job at Konohagakure hospital." She finally said, wondering how the family would react to it... Sasuke would react to it. She wanted to make him as proud as she was for all his accomplishments at this age.. even though they never had a talk about it nor Sakura ever said it to him.
"..that is until I graduate of course." She clarified.
"Oh Kami.. congratulations Saku-chan! That's a great news, I'm so so proud of you dear!" Her mother-in-law beamed with delight.
"A doctor in the family, how prestigious is that! Isn't it Fugaku?!" Mikoto continued with excitement and nudged her husband.
"It sure is. Congratulations Sakura, what do you plan to do after graduation?" He replied with visible pride on his face.
"I still will work under Tsunade-sama, until I've got everything settled and get to work on my own in Konohagakure hospital."
"That sounds reassuring, I'm sure you will do great. I'm glad you're already making the family proud." Sakura smiled at Fugaku's words, unable to stop herself from feeling a slight hint of pride upon what she just heard from the Uchiha patriarch.
"I'll give my best tou-sama." She replied, hoping to live up to all the expectations her parents, and now, her in-laws have from her.
"I know you will, congratulations imouto. This makes me owe you a present, I hope you don't stop making me all the sweet dishes after the busy life you'll be entering into." Itachi said with a chuckle.
"Hey!" Sakura mischievously looked at him while the older Uchihas burst out laughing, which caught Sakura's attention shortly. Sasuke-kun is quiet.. was he not happy about this?
"I'm heading to the office, see you, tou-san, okaa-san." Sasuke said as he began to get up from his chair, he gave a nod to Itachi as a goodbye gesture and finally stood, all while Sakura still looked at him hopefully. Her eyes finally tore away from him upon realising he wasn't even going to give her a farewell. She looked down with a small sigh. Was he that unbothered about her? Maybe this was too less for him to be called an achievement? She was only wondering these when-
"Sakura." Her eyes immediately shot up and looked at him when she heard Sasuke calling her name.. almost in a whisper. The gesture was quite vague and unnoticeable but Sakura knew from his eyes that he wanted her to follow as he left, which she hurriedly did. By the time she bid farewell to the others, Sasuke was already out of the room, Sakura knew he'd be at the main entrance of the house as he was heading to the office and that's where Sakura went hoping her husband didn't leave yet. Luckily, she found him standing at the entrance, perhaps waiting for her.
"Sasuke-kun!" She called her husband who was facing her back, he didn't say anything at all at the breakfast table and she couldn't ignore the rise in her heartbeat anticipating what Sasuke called her for. Sasuke turned the moment he heard Sakura's voice, he didn't know how to express it, so he decided this to be the best way. His wife made her way in front of him with a curious look, there was no point in waiting any longer. "You called me? What's the mat-"
"Hn." She was cut off by her husband as she felt a firm tap on her forehead and immediately all the memories rushed back to her. The night he left.. the same place..
"Congratulations." He finally said with a smile what she was hoping to hear.. from him. She looked up at him softly, involuntarily caressing the place on her forehead he just tapped.
"Arigatou.." Sakura still didn't know what he meant when he did this, and this was the second time. Perhaps I'll have to ask him sometime.. she thought.
"I'll see you soon." She heard her husband say. "Alright.. have a good day Sasuke-kun!" She replied with a smile on her face and blush on her cheeks, which Sasuke always found to be.. cute. Who knew an arranged marriage would end him up with such an adorable wife, maybe agreeing to this decision wasn't a mistake after all now that he got to witness all that on a daily basis.
"Aa. You too." He softly said before leaving for office. Sakura sighed watching him leave, to her great satisfaction, he indeed acknowledged her accomplishment and she couldn't ask for more.
Uchiha Corporations
"I really don't get you sometimes you know."
"I have my own ways, and I do intend to keep the company protected-"
"Without even telling the truth to the owner?"
"Kisame."
"I don't mean that you attack kakuzu immediately Itachi, but I know Fugaku-sama will be furious if he gets to know this by any other means. Or even worse, if they make a move before we can."
"Orochimaru is already on collecting information about their next move, I'll talk to him."
"What about Fugaku-sama and Sasuke?"
There was a pregnant silence in the room after the question Kisame asked, however, Itachi finally responded. "I'll see that, perhaps let them know too as soon as I speak to Orochimaru."
Itachi knew if he tried telling who was behind all the corruption currently going on in the company, his father would lose it, probably put Kakuzu behind the bars for good as well. But as much as he wanted the same to happen, he knew all too well about what kind of person Kakuzu was. He had no means to do anything other than looting. And he wasn't known for laying his hands on the same place twice. He should've uninvolved himself from Uchiha Corps the moment he was fired by Fugaku months ago upon being caught.. unless someone with power was paying him to affiliate himself with the same company once again. And Itachi needed to know who it was. If it involves powers, they would find another way to execute whatever they're planning even if Kakuzu ends up in jail. And he didn't want that to happen before he knew who's behind this. Whoever they were and whatever they're planning, he had to take action faster, and simultaneously manage his father. He was lost in thoughts when there was a call on the landline.
"Uchiha."
"Sir, Fugaku-sama wants you to be present in his office in 10 minutes, for some discussion with you and Sasuke-sama is what he said on the call."
"I'll be there, thank you." Itachi absentmindedly said as he kept the call. The whole situation was not only time consuming but as well as distracting, he wasn't a person to forget things but this surely made him forget about the meeting his father talked about last night at home.
"Tou-san's call, I'll have to move." He said to Kisame as he got up, ready to leave his office and Kisame followed suit.
"I'll try to find as much information as I can from my side as well, but I must say, be careful Itachi."
"Hn."
Sometimes later..
Itachi entered his father's office shortly to find Sasuke present already. "Oh, you're here. Sasuke came a while ago, we've been waiting for you, come on Itachi, we have quite a few things to discuss on."
"Sorry about the delay tou-san, Sasuke. Got caught up with work."
"No worries, now that you're here, I'll firstly ask you to report on what you decided to work on. It's been a while Itachi, we can't tolerate such corruption in the company without taking any action."
"Just a few more days tou-san, I am working on it-"
"For how long?"
"Almost there, but like I said few days back, know that it's more than just a normal misplacement, there are quite a few people behind it, presumably someone who holds adequate power in the industry."
"What do you mean?" He suddenly heard Sasuke ask.
"I mean, whoever is withdrawing this money, he's not the one planning it, rather being controlled by someone who wants to see the company fall. I'd highly recommend not taking action even if we know who doing the withdrawals. Not only this will make them alert but we'll lose the chance to know who's behind this, and this might be serious." Itachi explained, hoping his father will get the hint and not react once he knows who's affiliated.
"Understandable. But we have no information about the thief, let alone who's the person behind all that. Whatever we do, we'll have to do it fast before the situation gets out of hand." Sasuke said.
"Sasuke's right, whatever it is, make sure you do it fast. We'll need at least some information to take any action." Fugaku added.
"I'll let you know soon, tou-san, Sasuke." Itachi assured.
"Alright, make it fast. Enough of this, Sasuke, your recent project with the Otsutsukis is coming to an end I assume? Is everything going smoothly?" The oldest Uchiha asked.
"Pretty much tou-san, I've confirmed about the success party just a while ago, it will be held day after tomorrow, Wednesday that is. Invitations are already sent. As far as the project comes, there are still few minor things to work on, that will be done by tomorrow." Sasuke responded and by the time he finished, a prideful smirk was already visible on Fugaku's face.
"I knew you'd be able to handle it, Sasuke. Carrying out first major project with the Otsutsukis isn't an easy job, well done." Fugaku proudly said, however Sasuke had other things running in mind.
"As much great the job seems, I'd rather deny working on any projects that involve the Otsutsukis." Both Fugaku and Itachi's eyes shifted to Sasuke as he said it. Itachi was quite aware of where Sasuke was coming from, knowing the unbearable nature of the Otsutsukis, specifically the youngest one. However, Fugaku didn't seem to take the words lightly.
"What do you mean?" He asked, his tone being more strict than curious.
"I know they're on our level, it brings a lot of profit to the company however, tou-san, they only have my respect for their long running collaboration with Uchiha Corporations and Hagoromo Otsutsuki. Given that I'm left to deal with the heir, I wouldn't be surprised if I lose my calm in the future projects with them, not when it involves more blood boiling situations than professionalism." Itachi let out a chuckle at Sasuke's words, even though that earned him a hard glare from his father afterwards.
"Sasuke, you're the heir of the Uchiha Corporations. If anything, you're expected to handle things professionally, which you must. You must understand that being the best in Konoha and worldwide, you're bound to work with companies in the same level as ours. You might have the power to choose who you're working with depending on how well you collaborate but not with the ones we've been working with for years, specially Otsutsukis. I expect you to mend things professionally if it goes wrong and not cause any trouble Sasuke. And as far as anyone of the Otsutsukis come, I will only ask you to not do anything to displease them as they haven't. We must stay professional from our side, and that's what you will have to ensure and I will be very strict about these. There will be things that will irk you but bear with those minor things, and get used to it. Is that clear?"
Sasuke sighed. His father had no intention to change things that they had with the Otsutsukis. He did understand where his father was coming from, perhaps he might really have to bear with it for the sake of the reputation of the company, besides being cautious about what he's saying around them, specially Karin. He was professional enough so far so he might as well continue doing that, whatever makes him ignore Karin as much as he could. "Yes, tou-san." He replied and with that they continued discussing on the other matters of the company for the next couple of hours.
Uchiha Residence
Sasuke was just finishing up reading some emails to finalise the end of the project with the Otsutsukis when he heard his wife call him. "It's quite late Sasuke-kun, you've been working since morning, get some sleep."
"Just a minute, I'm almost done." He knew Sakura was waiting for him here as well, and he was getting used to it. As usual, he found her waiting for him to have dinner together when he came back from office, and as usual they had dinner together as well. But now he was particularly rushing because he knew she wouldn't fall asleep until she knew he was ready to, moreover he was also done with his work. He was only walking towards the bed when he remembered he had quite a few things to ask his wife which couldn't in the morning.
"Sakura?" Her gleaming emeralds immediately looked up at him.
"Yes?" She responded curiously, watching him settle on the bed, in a similar way she was sitting on the other side.
"When will you start working at the hospital?" She heard him ask. She beamed at the question, much to Sasuke's amusement. Was she that much into her work? Of course, his wife has been dedicated in every little thing she does.
"Next month! In two weeks that is.." she responded excitedly.
"I see, how long will you have to stay in the hospital each day?"
"Same as university, that's what I asked for and luckily Tsunade-sama said she could manage that for me."
"That's better. I can still pick and drop you then, if that's okay with you?" A beautiful blush painted her cheeks. He still wants to do that?
"O-of course! Thank you Sasuke-kun.." she said with a smile going even redder. Sasuke smirked. Absolutely adorable.
"Don't worry about it. Also.. about the project I was working on.. the success party is on Wednesday evening, I'll pick you up after office if you're free?"
Sasuke didn't quite expect that, but her face beamed up even more than earlier. "Oh Kami.. congratulations Sasuke-kun! Of course I'll be free! I knew you will do great, I'm really happy for you!" She was quite excited, and Sasuke knew she did mean it with utmost sincerity, and he couldn't thank her enough for being this supportive ever since the beginning. She deserved the best things in life, and he'd gladly provide her with all the best things out there that he could give within his power. A smiled formed on his face involuntarily.
"Arigatou, Sakura."
The couple went to sleep soon after that, however, it seemed to be only Sakura who fell asleep on the bed of the room now dimly lit because of the moonlight, for Sasuke still couldn't fall asleep. What is it that caused him to have a soft side for his wife since the first day he saw her? Despite being strangers back then? This wasn't like him, nor was the fact that he was indeed eager to see her face and hear her voice whenever he was away for too long. The more days were passing, the more he was realising how Naruto, Itachi.. and his other friends were right. He did have a soft side for Sakura for a reason he didn't know. He was attracted to Sakura, he did feel something about her which he couldn't explain. Were all of them right? Did he like Sakura for this long without knowing? Did he end up developing feelings for her without even realising it? Maybe... he finally closed his eyes, allowing to free himself from his thoughts though it seemed quite impossible. Whatever it is, this feeling is pleasant. And he meant as he thought it. He could get used to feeling, which he was.
Meanwhile..
"The chief decided who will be our target, he said to wait for a few more days, he will let us know what and where to do. Also report on total outflow by today, whichever rat you picked, his job is over."
"Alright boss, I'll look into that." The person responded and the call was cut shortly from the other side.
"What did he say, Zetsu-sama?"
"Chief decided what to do next, Pain. And chief's rat, Kakuzu, his job for the outflow is over. Chief asked to submit reports on total amount we could get out of the company. Now get him here. We might as well use him for the next task." Zetsu replied.
"But he wouldn't listen. He's only into money." Another voice reminded.
"Then give him the money, Hidan. Offer him and if he still denies, threaten him. He is of no use anyways. Use him for our advantage before we get throw him out for good." Zetsu said.
So he was right. I must inform him as fast as I can.. someone in the distance thought.
Author's note- FINALLY!! I came back to this app after months and seeing all my old author notes is giving me nostalgia but can't post cause it's kinda irrelevant nowww :( I started writing this story on November 3rd, 2020 and released my first chapter on 3rd April, 2021, 20 chapters down and so is 1.5 years!! I'm glad I came back and I hope I don't have to leave again! Happy reading guys!
