In the years that Sasuke had been officially working for Sharingan Corp. he'd never actually attended Konoha's summer gala. It's a charity event Mayor Danzo Shimura puts on every year. Its original purpose was for a proud, united community to raise money for a good cause. Unfortunately over the years it's turned into just another night for the pretentious to wear tuxes and ball gowns more expensive than the average person's vehicle all to flaunt their superiority to one another.

No matter the cause, Sasuke had no interest in spending five-thousand dollars on a plate of mediocre food just to get stuck socializing with the stuck up morons he vowed to see as little of as possible. Itachi was the head of the company so he was always required to attend so Sasuke always felt it was good enough to sign a cheque over and be done with it. Plus, it wasn't like the Uchiha's needed an event to donate to a worthy cause, with their privilege they actively donated to trust worthy charities all the time. However, this year was different, this year he agreed to endure the gala.

"So, what do you think?" Itachi asked as the board room emptied leaving only him and Sasuke.

"I think it's the best proposal they've ever put together. Reaching our target audience through social media distribution makes the most sense," Sasuke answered without hesitation.

"Hn, I agree," Itachi was almost shocked at how flawlessly the presentation went, it usually took at least a couple tweaks before both brothers agreed.

Sasuke got up from his seat, smoothly buttoning his charcoal blazer. "How long do you want me to wait until I inform them that we're going to move forward with their proposal?"

Itachi briefly waved him off. "Let them sweat it out over the weekend. I'll have Karin schedule a meeting for Monday morning."

"Alright. Well if that's all I'll be heading out now," Sasuke responded flatly, but his insides were going slightly awry. Naruto and him had been texting back and forth since his birthday and when the blond asked him if he was attending the gala and he said no, Naruto offered Kurama's extra spot which for obvious reasons he wouldn't refuse. Sasuke didn't want to pressure the blond into seeing him so he was waiting for the man to make the first move. If his only chance to see the blond was in his Kurama get up then so be it, he wasn't going to turn down the chance to bask in the man's never ending warmth.

"Oh?" Itachi made no attempt to hide his amusement.

Sasuke glared at his irritating brother. "Problem?"

Itachi snorted. "I'm just trying to figure out how our kitsune managed to get you to agree."

Sasuke's glare intensified. "He isn't your anything."

Itachi put his arms up in amused surrender. "Come on little brother, don't be so serious."

"Hn," Sasuke looked away with a grunt.

Itachi's face softened, he could tell Sasuke was nervous. "Everything's going to be fine, Sasuke. After all, he asked you if you were going, didn't he?"

Sasuke's lips tightened into an anxious line. "Yes, but that doesn't mean we're going together, Nara will be with him as well."

Itachi still found his grown brother's nervousness adorable. "Maybe it's not a date, but he wouldn't have asked you if he didn't want to see you."

"Yeah, but he asked me as Kurama not Naruto," Sasuke huffed. He was trying to remind himself that even if he had to act oblivious to the fox's true identity it was all worth it to be in the same room as him.

Itachi raised an elegant brow. "But Naruto is Kurama."

"Nooo, you don't say?" The sarcasm was thick in Sasuke's voice.

Ignoring the snark coming from Sasuke, Itachi walked over to him and perched on the conference room table that dominated the room. "I'm guessing you still haven't asked him out properly then?"

Sasuke looked away and pursed his lips. "No."

"Is there a reason why?" Itachi asked as he folded his arms over his chest.

"I was waiting for him to ask me," Sasuke muttered, realising immediately how pathetic it sounded. But after coming to terms with the fact that Naruto truly was back he had a lot of time to think about his past transgressions and he didn't want to force the blond into seeing him. When Naruto had asked him about the gala he was elated but disappointed all the same. Sure they would be at the same event together but Naruto would be Kurama and they wouldn't actually be there together as a couple. Not to mention they'd have no time to talk about things they needed to either.

With a slight shake of his head Itachi rolled his eyes. "Foolish little brother."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sasuke demanded defensively.

"What happened to getting what you want?" Itachi asked, not bothered by his brother's irritation in the least.

Sasuke's voice quietly faltered. "Well…I-I didn't want to force him into seeing me. I wanted it to be his choice."

Itachi deadpanned, he didn't seem impressed with that reasoning. "So you're telling me he hasn't reached out enough? Outing himself to you on your birthday,? Kissing you? Spending your birthday breakfast with our family? Giving you his number of his own volition and the consistent texting isn't enough?"

Sasuke drew his eyes shut tightly and clenched his jaw. "Well, when you put it that way…now I feel like an idiot."

Itachi pinched the bridge of his nose letting out a long sufferable sigh. "That's because you are. "

Feeling rather small all of a sudden, Sasuke looked down and ran his fingers through his midnight locks. He couldn't really argue with that logic. "It's just, I thought it was the right thing to do."

Itachi sighs. "I don't doubt that…You know you got lucky right?"

Sasuke dropped his hands and slowly looked up. "What do you mean?"

"Somehow, even after what you did to him you still managed to get Naruto to ask you out," Itachi's tone was unreadable. Inside the man wasn't impressed with his little brother. Itachi firmly believed his brother needed to grow some balls and be an Uchiha. All this uncertainty was unbecoming of him and disrespectful of the kitsune.

Sasuke started to get frustrated. "But he didn't ask me out though. He only asked if I was going."

"And when you told him no, instead of dropping it he offered you his extra five-thousand dollar spot." Itachi's face conveyed just how daft he thought his brother was being. "If he wasn't asking you out he would have dropped it, but he didn't. He asked you out, Sasuke, you're just too dunce to realise it."

Sasuke brushed the insult away and visibly perked up. He was looking forward to seeing the man tonight, but the thought that Naruto might have actually wanted him there made his insides stir. "You really think so?"

Itachi found Sasuke's hopefulness endearing, he just hoped he was finally ready to man up. "You'll literally be sitting at his table, how much proof do you need?"

"Well yeah, but-" Sasuke began to mumble.

Itachi stood up and took his brother by the shoulders. "No buts."

Sasuke stared at him in bewilderment before smiling softly. "Right, no buts."

Itachi smirked at his brother while patting him roughly on the shoulder. "Now get out of here."


This year the gala was held at Konoha's largest resort, the Kage. Everything about the Kage was extravagant, from the elegant cathedral ceilings with colossal crystal chandeliers right down to the luminescent gold speckled flooring. Everything was lavish and decorated to the nines. There was even a chamber orchestra playing soft classical music as thralls of spectacularly dressed rich influential people networked and bragged to each other about their latest conquests all under the guise of raising money for a good cause. It was laughable at best to believe even half of the people attending even remotely cared about raising money for abuse victims. They were there to boast and that was it. Sasuke was in a nightmare.

Luckily for the raven his brother and Kisame had arrived not long after he did so at least he wasn't forced to endure it alone while he awaited the fox's arrival. Sasuke was proud of himself, usually he'd be downing every drink in sight by now, but tonight he wanted to remain relatively sober. Seeing he was being graced with seeing Naruto tonight he wanted to see him without the effects of alcohol flowing through him.

Itachi and him had been roped into yet another conversation on their latest technological breakthroughs and Sasuke found himself biting his cheek just to prevent himself from rolling his eyes. Why would they reveal their product to a potential competitor? It was ludicrous. Times like this Itachi proved just how much he earned his position as president of Sharingan Corp. Itachi was always polite and courteous, no matter how much the man wanted to insult the many imbeciles he always remained professional. Sasuke was similar in the professional sense, he was an Uchiha after all, business flowed through his veins but there was something special about watching how Itachi worked. And if he could get out of personally dealing with pompous idiots who could blame him for allowing Itachi to dominate the conversations?

Supper would be served shortly and Sasuke hadn't caught a glimpse of Naruto or Nara yet and he couldn't help that deep part of him that fretted Naruto changing his mind on coming. He knew it was ridiculous, the blond always did what he says he'll do, his life was more than proof of that. Its just that there's that piece of himself that was expecting Naruto to change his mind and it wasn't like Sasuke could fault him for choosing to do so if he did. Sasuke knew he didn't deserve this chance, that didn't mean he was going to give it up though.

Sasuke had excused himself in search of the washroom, he didn't really need the facilities but the excuse would give him the opportunity to extract himself from meaningless conversation in search for the fox. The venue was large, but even filled with guests, a tall man in a fox mask should stick out like a sore thumb, but he still couldn't seem to spot the man anywhere.

After sending the bathroom attendant the glare from hell for trying to spray him with some crap cologne branded by the very resort Sasuke left to reunite with his brother. Unfortunately he couldn't seem to find him now either. With a heavy sigh he finally accepted a flute of champagne so he could at least occupy a hand while he continued his search.

No matter how irritated and uninterested he appeared he couldn't seem to deter anyone for the life of him. The photographers were kept to a minimum inside but they always seemed to pop up as soon as someone new all but begged for his attention. Normally he'd be professional and politely network but without Naruto or Itachi he was at the point where he wanted to find someone, anybody he knew. He learned that he should be careful what he wished for.

"Never thought I'd see the day where you show up to one of these," came a voice Sasuke did not want to acknowledge.

Sasuke's face remained phlegmatic but his insides were seething. "Hyuga."

Neji's lips pulled in a slight frown. "Are you still angry about all that?"

It took everything in Sasuke to keep his composure. "Don't flatter yourself, you make me feel nothing."

"Oh come on Sasuke, can't we put that behind us?" Neji didn't sound the least bit sorry for his past actions.

Before Sasuke could retort, the brunette's name began to be called. "Neji, Neji! There you are, Tenten wanted-" the shouting female paused mid sentence when she saw who was with the long haired brunette. "Sasuke kun?"

'Just fucking great,' Sasuke internally grumbled as he ignored the female.

"Damn," the girl began to purr as she shamelessly looked the man up and down before latching on to his arm. "I didn't think it was possible for you to get any hotter."

"Hurano, fuck off," Sasuke quietly hissed as he tried to shake the woman off of him.

"Oh come on Sasuke kun!" She pouted in an attempt to look cute but failed miserably because trash is never cute. "Haven't you missed me?"

"No," Sasuke seethed. "Haven't you grown up at all? Besides I'm gay."

"Oh come on, no need to play hard to get. You're just confused, I can give you what no man ever could," The rosette winked, apparently she was as brain dead as ever.

"You lack two integral things I look for, Hurano," Sasuke spat.

"And what would they be?" She huffed.

"Sakura," Neji warned, sounding nervous. "What did Tenten want?" Change of topic was certainly needed.

The Hyuga seemed to go unnoticed.

Sasuke's face drew up into a malevolent sneer. " Intelligence and a dick."

Sakura gasped furiously, her jaw nearly unhinged. "I'm smart!"

"Then why can't you take a fucking hint?" Sasuke sibilated, drawing each word out.

"You're just confused!" The woman repeated, stomping her foot. She was starting to draw attention to them. The murmurs of onlookers were just loud enough to be heard over the soft music.

"Sakura you're causing a scene," Neji growled quietly in embarrassment.

"Oh like you didn't come over here to hit on him too!" She crossed her arms petulantly but quieted her voice down.

Neji looked away and pursed his lips. "I did not."

"Then why did you leave your pregnant wife alone?" Sakura smirked maliciously.

"At least I'm not divorced!" Neji snickered. Sasuke just wanted to slink away unnoticed. Fucking crowds.

"Oh please, that makes you even more shameless," Sakura rolled her eyes. She never wanted to marry Lee to begin with, she was happy to get rid of him. Even if the divorce granted him half her family's company before he moved away to perform on Broadway, at least she's free.

Neji pointed a superior finger at her. "So you admit you're shameless."

"Let me make this easy for both of you, I want nothing to do with either of you," Sasuke stated dryly before downing his flute of champagne. Suddenly sobriety didn't feel like a wise plan. They were both still children.

"Come on Sasuke, I swear I wasn't going to hit on you!" Neji frowned.

Sakura snorted. "Sure you weren't." The female batted her eyelashes and made another attempt to grab onto the raven. "Come on Sasuke kun, we haven't seen each other in ages, just give me a chance."

Sasuke shoves the women away none too gently. "What part of no don't you get?"

The insufferable woman was about to try yet again when a presence behind the raven drew both hers and Neji's attention causing them both to do a long exaggerated head tilt up. Sasuke's body suddenly became hypersensitive as warm breath cascaded over his ear as a deep rumbly voice whispered, "sorry I'm late."

A tingly current of electricity shot through Sasuke. With a single brush of their shoulders an immediate wave of calm washed over him until the panic immediately set in realising who was around him. Sasuke looked up at Naruto with slightly larger eyes. "It's not-"

He's met with kind, crimson eyes. "I know."

That's all it took for relief to flood Sasuke because fuck, Naruto believed him.

"Who's your friend?" Sakura was the first to interrupt as she leered at the mysterious new man. She would have immediately thrown herself at the masked individual but she found the mask bizarre.

"None of your business." Sasuke immediately spat out. It didn't take a genius to read the sickening gleam in the infuriating woman's eyes. She had no shame.

"Kurama, right? You're from that band and just opened Nine Tails with Shikamaru Nara?" Neji stated trying to sound far superior while holding out a hand expecting the large man to return the gesture.

Naruto finally looked away from Sasuke towards the man's hand giving it a look as if it had severely offended him…because really, it did. "Hn,"

Sasuke made no attempt to hide his snort, making Naruto smirk behind his mask.

Neji scowled as he retracted his hand. "What's your problem?"

Crimson orbs met pale opals and the brunette tried to suppress the shudder it caused him. Naruto's voice came out calm and flat. "Not everyone wants to shake your hand, Hyuga."

That thoroughly offended the Hyuga. "And what does that mean?"

"I don't wish to shake your hand," Naruto answered dryly. After watching a furious Sasuke deal with the two buffoons, Naruto hoped to get in, retrieve the raven and get out while keeping casualties to a minimum, but apparently it wasn't that simple.

"Your body and voice are like, super hot but why the mask? Are you like, disfigured or something?" Sakura basically demanded as she got closer, reaching up in an attempt to touch the fox.

Sasuke was about to grab the woman's offensive hand but Naruto's lightning quick reflexes beat him to it. "Don't. Touch. Me. Whore-in-o."

Sasuke had a very satisfied smirk on his face as he watched everything play out, god he loved this man.

Neji choked on his saliva.

Sakura sputtered as she looked at the man like he had a second head. "Wh-what did you call me?"

Naruto harshly tosses her arm away and responds as if he were bored. "Whoreino."

"You can't talk to a lady like that!" The female furiously burst, all but shooting flames from her eyeballs.

Naruto snorted. "Please, I've seen Rockstar's rail lines off strippers asses who acted more ladylike than you."

Sakura's jaw hung slack. "Why you-"

"Neji there you are, I've been looking all over for you." Tenten's tired voice softly carried.

Neji quickly snapped his head and rushed to his heavily pregnant wife's side. "Tenten, you should be sitting down."

"I needed to pee and you weren't there when I got back." Tenten pouted even more when she looked up to see Sasuke.

"You left your pregnant wife alone?" Naruto couldn't hide the disgust in his voice.

"Mind your business!" Neji snarled.

"Neji, why are you with Sasuke?" The pregnant woman's voice was somewhere between hurt and furry.

"I just came to say hello," Neji tried to remain indifferent.

"Is that what it was?" Sakura had a wicked gleam in her eyes.

Neji scowled at her. "And where is your husband Sakura? Oh wait, that's right he divorced you."

"At least I'm free of that freak now!" Sakura shrieked. Another wave of stare's and murmurs were sent in the female's direction.

Naruto didn't really know Lee that well but he always saw him as someone outgoing so hearing her call him a freak was unacceptable. "That "freak" owns half your family's airline now doesn't he?"

Sakura whipped her head around to him, her eyeballs bulging from her skull. "How do you know that?" Nobody should have that information. Her family had gone through extensive means to ensure so.

Everyone looked at him curiously. None of them had heard about this. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what else the blond knew but chose to remain silent, the less words shared with his ex classmates the better.

"I know people," Naruto shrugged as if it were nothing. To him it was.

"What—that's—no," The girl flounders.

Just then the music came to a close and was quickly replaced with a raspy voice. "Dinner is about to be served so if everyone would be so kind as to find their seats that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you."

"Well if you'll excuse us we'll be going," Naruto gently grabbed Sasuke's elbow and began to guide him away with ease. Sasuke finally managed to hand his empty glass off to one of the waiters along the way leaving nothing behind but few very shocked onlookers.

Photographers were quick to grab a few pictures of the men together but neither of them seemed to mind. Sasuke allowed himself to be expertly led through the crowd as he basked in the warmth the blond emitted.

"Sorry I was late." Naruto apologised again softly. He was never late, but that's what happens when you go places with Shika. When Naruto arrived to pick both him and Choji up, Shika was lazily looking for his bow tie. After finding it he watched the man struggle for fifteen minutes trying to figure out how to tie properly. Needless to say neither of his friends had any luck and he was forced to tie both Shika's and Choji's, rendering them late. By the time they'd arrived, Naruto left his two friends in search of the raven which is where he found him in an escalating altercation which the blond threw himself into willingly. He still wasn't sure how he felt running into the Hyuga prick and the town's bicycle yet but he figured it wasn't worth his time figuring it out right now.

"It's okay," Sasuke responded just as gently and it was at that moment that he finally took the time to appreciate the obsidian tux the fox was wearing. Having a tux tailored to someone of his stature must have cost a fortune but in Sasuke's opinion it was a fortune well spent, he couldn't wait to get a glimpse of that perky ass in his superbly fitting pants.

Both men silently navigated their way through the sea of tables. Sasuke and Naruto gave a passing nod as they walked by Itachi and Kisame, it was an anomaly that the room did not allow to go unnoticed. This was the youngest Uchiha's first time coming to the summer gala and he not only deviates from his brother but he appears side by side with a very strange newcomer. It piqued everyone's interest.

"You sure you're fine with this?" Sasuke side-eyed the fox as he tried to ignore all the eyes watching them.

Naruto snorted, though he did find the raven's concern endearing. "I think you're forgetting my career choice. I mean I'm a giant in a fox mask, it kinda comes with the territory."

"Still, being seen with me isn't exactly going to blow over," Sasuke's voice held an uncertainty that Naruto didn't like.

Naruto bumped his shoulder lightly. "As long as you call me Kurama here it'll be fine."

Sasuke huffed playfully. "Tch, whatever dobe."

Naruto chuckled heartily and it sent a flutter through Sasuke's abdomen. "That's more like it teme."

Sasuke didn't even care if people saw the beginnings of a smile on his lips, he caused that chuckle. "You sure it's fine?"

"Promise," Naruto's voice came out soft and honest. As they approached their table Naruto faltered while letting out a drawn out sigh. "Brace for impact."

"Hn?" Sasuke's brow furrowed as he looked at where the blond was staring.

Enthusiastically barreling towards them was Shisui. He looked more like a child who was forced to dress up than a grown man. "Kitsune!"

A deep throaty grunt escaped Naruto's throat as Shisui threw himself at the fox. "Shi, I'm not your jungle gym," the blond grumbled but there was no malice behind it.

"Come on, you're the only person I can clobber like this that won't fall over," the man with grace similar to a bounding Labrador grinned.

"Shi, people are staring," Sasuke hissed under his breath. He was more concerned with getting his excitable cousin off of his blond than the people who were watching.

"What are you doing here, sour puss?" Shisui asked as if seeing Sasuke for the first time while still hanging off blond.

"I invited him," Naruto pinched the man's ear, successfully dislodging him.

"Ouch! Fine, fine. I'm off, I'm off. Geez," the man muttered as he rubbed his tender ear.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted in satisfaction.

Turning towards his cousin with arms wide open. "Come on, you know I love you mini-chi!"

"I'm not hugging you, you're making enough of a scene." Sasuke stepped back with a grumble.

"Good thing I wasn't asking you then," Shisui smiled cockily. Before Sasuke registered what happened he was being brutally squeezed by his seemingly teleporting cousin. Seriously, how was he so fast? He supposed he should be thankful he didn't end up on his ass like he normally does but the flashes from cameras were enough for him to snap out of his musings enough to furiously squirm out of the man's surprisingly strong grasp.

"Off," Sasuke hissed under his breath in hopes of not creating even more of a scene.

'This is all for Naruto,' Sasuke chanted in his head like it was his personal mantra.

Shisui chuckled while releasing his grip and slapping the younger raven on the shoulder. "Such a sour puss."

Naruto stepped in to move things along. Shisui may act like a bounding puppy but his attention span isn't far off from one either. "We should really get to our seats, entrees are beginning to be served."

"Shit, guess you're right," The curly haired man rubbed his head sheepishly. "I'll see you after?"

"Yeah," Naruto agreed almost affectionately. Shisui may be eccentric but at his core he's a good man.

"Not if I can help it," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

Shisui puts his hand up to his heart in mock pain. "You wound me mini-chi."

"Yeah, yeah, get outta here," Sasuke made a shooing motion with his hands as he smirked at him. He'd always have a soft spot for the loveable idiot.

Shi snorted. "Alright I'm going. I'm over by Tachi." With a wink Shisui disappeared as quickly as he appeared.

"Well, shall we?" Naruto gestured with his head in the direction of their table.

"Hn," Sasuke agreed.

They were seated at table sixteen where everyone except them were already seated. Both Shika and Choji were seated but the other four were people Naruto didn't know. Luckily for them their entrees have yet to be distributed so they hadn't missed anything. The two joining men offered a polite greeting to their table mates before taking their seats. Sasuke had no idea Choji would be attending but made to reaction to show shock.

The four other individuals ended up being family. As dinner progressed Naruto learned that the four were family and own the largest networking business in the area. They were more than thrilled when an Uchiha sat with them. Sasuke saw them as potential business partners so he kept the conversation professional and cordial. After all, one of the largest tech companies working together with one of the largest networking companies in the area didn't sound like a bad idea and Sasuke always took potential business partners seriously, especially when they're as large and interested as they were. He was born to make these kinds of deals.

Watching Sasuke so at ease in his element was a rewarding experience, he was made for this life. He was patient, polite, knowledgeable but his presence demanded respect which he received tenfold. Naruto wouldn't deny that it was hot. The way the raven carried himself was like no other, he'd be lying if he said he didn't feel even the tiniest bit swoon.

They weren't as interested in the rest of the table as they were the Uchiha. They made sure to talk Sasuke's ear off but still had good enough table manners as to not alienate everybody else. Naruto didn't really care if they had ignored him, he understood that a giant man wearing a fox mask and a tux was bizarre, he'd own it. Plus he had Shika and Choji. The four were only ever truly interested in him when he just barely lifted up the bottom of his mask to eat a bite of food, or drink a sip of water. Each time the disappointment of not seeing his face was written across their faces.

As dessert was finally being served the tension between Sasuke and Shika had become palpable, neither willing to make the first move to begin conversing with the other aside from their earlier mandatory greeting. It was clear that Sasuke held a grudge after finding out Shika never once informed him about the blond. Shikamaru didn't really care what the Uchiha thought and he was usually too lazy for such trivialities but he refused to let him to hurt his friend again.

Just as the desert was being cleaned up a balding, brunette man with an eyepatch and a cane walked up to the podium. "Good evening everybody. You all know me as Mayor Shimura and I wanted to personally thank you all for coming here tonight and making a difference."

"With all of your generous contributions you can feel proud that you all are responsible for acting out and helping those touched by violence. This is a charity that was founded by a woman who was personally touched by violence and made it her sole goal to reach out and help as many in need as she can," the mayor paused for effect. "It is my greatest pleasure to present to you the founder of the Hope for Tomorrow relief fund for the abused, Ms. Guren Kesshō."

The crowd clapped as the woman walked from off stage taking the podium with an awkward throat clear. "Thank you," Guren's eyes briefly swept the room. "I am truly touched by all of your generosity. With all the money you've helped raise here tonight we'll be able to help abuse victims who have nowhere to go and no one to turn to get a fresh start at a safe life that everybody deserves."

Guren swallowed heavily. "I was personally touched by violence nearly eight years ago. I had never been affected by violence before that day."

Sasuke, Shika and Choji all turn their heads to look at Naruto who refuses to let his gaze on the woman waver.

Guren glances around the room. "My attacker was a seasoned detective; he seemed like a modelled citizen. A good man. But looks can be deceiving."

Naruto's sight remained fixated unwilling to take his eyes off of her.

"He never hit me, never spoke down to me, that was until he did. Abuse is all around us, you can't always know who's suffering. Not all abusers appear violent and mean, not all victims appear scared and feeble. I learned that from the young man who saved my life and made sure my son didn't lose his mother. A young man who we learned lived his life filled with abuse that went unnoticed by everyone around him but was still brave enough to step in and help me, a woman he hardly knew," tears began to pool in the woman's eyes.

Everyone in the room knew who she was talking about, how could they not?

"The young man who almost lost his life saving me. The young man who disappeared without a trace leaving me with no possible way of ever thanking him for what he did." Not only Guren had tears glistening down but for the first time, others were affected as well.

"That is why I created the Hope for Tomorrow relief fund for the abused. If I can't thank Naruto Uzumaki, helping other victims seemed like the next best thing. So once again I want to thank you for opening your hearts and wallets and donating so people like Naruto don't have to suffer alone in silence. Thank you," the woman finished with the deepest of bows.

Without thinking, Naruto stood up from his seat and applauded. He received some curious looks from the surrounding tables but those who knew him knew why he reacted in such a manner. A second later the whole room erupted into a symphony of applause.

Naruto took his seat and watched as Guren walked off of the stage. The mayor was quick to take her place, watching her retreating back. "Thank you Ms. Kesshō."

Danzo turned his attention back towards the crowd. "Another round of applause for Guren everybody." The crowd flashed with a quick wave of claps before it died down again. "Moving on, I have one final thanks to give. I just wanted to thank the Myōjin family for allowing us to use their fabulous resort for this year's gala. As mayor of Konoha I am truly honoured to be part of such an amazing community. With that being said, have a good night and get out there and mingle!"

After one final round of applause the music started back up as everybody began to rise from their seats. Some would leave while others would choose to stay and network. Aside from a select few, they were all oblivious to the cacophony of thoughts and feelings swirling around inside of the fox.

Naruto was so deep in thought that he didn't even realise the networking family had left, leaving him with only his friends. Even the tension between Sasuke and Shika seemed to have dissipated for the moment.

"Hey?" Sasuke gently called out.

It seemed to work as Naruto whipped his head around. "Hn?"

"You alright?" The concern in the raven's voice did not go unnoticed.

"Huh?" It took a moment for Naruto to realise what Sasuke meant. "Oh, yeah I'm fine."

"You sure?" It was Shikamaru who asked this time.

Naruto turned his attention to his lazy friend. "Yeah really."

"You know you can talk to us right?" Choji added this time.

Naruto prevented himself from sighing. He had no intention of talking about this, especially in the midst of a busy charity event. "I know."

"Seriously, I'd even give you my snacks," Choji tried to lighten the atmosphere with a joke.

Naruto and the others couldn't hold back their snorts. "Thanks Choji."

The robust man gave a warm toothy smile. "Anytime."

Naruto wasn't surprised about seeing Guren, he already knew about the charity she founded, it was the reason he'd agreed to personally attend the gala. However, there was something that brought forth far more emotions hearing the woman speak in person about the past than keeping watch from afar. After all these years he'd never tried to contact Guren, he was content enough to watch from a distance. That now seemed like an impossible standard to maintain.

"Actually, would you guys excuse me for a moment?" Naruto didn't wait for them to answer. He rose from his chair and walked off.

"Troublesome," Shika sighed.

Sasuke and Shika realised they'd just been left without their mediator. They could hardly count on Choji to step in and fill the position. The jolly man couldn't handle conflict.

Sasuke cleared his throat. "So, you knew all along?"

"Listen Uchiha, I don't need to justify myself especially to you," Shikamaru's tone wasn't boring for once.

Sasuke surprised him. "You're right."

"You have no right to—wait what?" Shika looked bemused.

"I said you're right, you don't need to justify yourself to me," Sasuke repeated resolutely. "But you still could have let me know he was doing alright."

And there it was. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "You lost that right when you did what you did. Besides, he asked me not to tell you and unlike you, I'd never betray his trust."

Sasuke flinched as the words cut deep. "I deserve that."

Shika's face was back to being unreadable. "You're damn right you do. It wasn't just you that lost him. Sure I knew who he was and that he was safe but that doesn't change the fact that he wasn't here for us either. Even after everything that happened to him I can't help but feel he only felt the need to fly across the world to get away because of you," the Nara's breath became harsher as he continued. "So if you think you're the only one who suffered you're wrong. I won't let you hurt him again." Shikamaru felt a million pounds light after finally getting that off his chest.

"What he said," Choji mumbled as he ate the chips he had hidden in the inner pocket of his tux's jacket.

Sasuke sat there silently for a moment. If he had a tail it would have been tucked between his legs. "I-I—you're right."

"Damn right I am," the Nara snorted sardonically.

Sasuke put all of his pride on hold. "If I could go back and change everything I would but unfortunately I can't change the past but I can influence the future. If these eight years have taught me anything it's that I'm nothing without him. It may sound stupid but I don't care, I love that man and I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to him."

Shika squinted in uncertainty. "What if what he wants is for you to disappear from his life?"

"Then I will," even with sorrow drenching his voice, Sasuke answered without hesitation. "I just want him to be happy. Of all people, he deserves to be happy."

The Nara leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. The man appeared to be deep in compilation before finally speaking. "Fine, but what he decides goes."

"I agree with Shika," Choji nodded through his munching. He really was a bottomless pit.

Sasuke didn't know why or what compelled him to but he stood up and bowed lowly to two of Naruto's most important people. Somehow he knew he needed their blessing and he was thrilled he received it. "Thank you."

"Don't thank us," Shika cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Choji chewed and swallowed. "Don't thank us."

A camera flash goes off and Shikamaru snorts. "I'm sure they'll have a hay day with that photo."

Sasuke shrugs. "Hardly the worst they've gotten tonight."

A lazy smirk pulled at the Nara's lips. "Somehow I don't doubt that."

It seemed they could finally move forward. It was a nice feeling.


Naruto didn't have time to worry about leaving the two men to their possible demise. He was on a mission but that required him to navigate a crowd of people who loved to stare. He tried to be as polite as possible as he denied their conversations but it seemed leaving more than a few offended was inevitable.

After what felt like an eternity he finally spotted the head of orchid hair he'd been searching for. "Excuse me, Ms. Kesshō?"