Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and these stories are just for fun :)
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke left his friends behind to follow in his father's footsteps. 7 years later, he finds himself in an elevator with the last person he wanted to see. Will he walk away again? Will Naruto let him? Rating may change!
A/N: It seems like people are starting to take sides - but hopefully this chapter will provide some clarification in regards to why the boys act the way they do. I won't say any more about the story here :)
But just a warning - Anime North is this weekend and I intend on enjoying myself to the fullest! Uploads will not stop, but they may come a bit later in the day. I hope you guys don't mind!
Strictly Professional
Chapter 4: Insight
They had been sitting in silence since the door had closed. Naruto warily waiting for Sasuke to begin, and Sasuke desperately trying to figure out what to say.
After his talk with Itachi, Sasuke held his head high and went on with business as usual—except he did not cancel the meeting. He didn't exactly advertise it, though. Although he had spent time thinking about how he would talk to Naruto…he didn't really know how to deal with this new, quiet persona. He was used to the Naruto that you had to interrupt in order to speak at all…but this…he had nothing to go from.
This neutral attitude…this was the worst.
But Naruto wasn't really neutral; in fact, he was almost bursting to say something. He would have already, if not for the fact that Sasuke would not meet his eyes. He seemed to be searching for something to say.
Naruto let out a quiet puff of air, and slouched forward a little, letting his chin rest on the palm of his hand. He found himself looking at the picture on his desk…and then he was smiling, and Sasuke was looking at him curiously.
He turned the picture around.
Sasuke swallowed. He remembered that photo. It was them right before prom—him, Naruto, and Sakura. They looked…happy. Like they didn't have a care in the world. Sasuke swallowed again.
"It's my favourite photo, I think," Naruto chuckled a little.
"Why don't you hate me?" The words left Sasuke's mouth before he could think about them. The smile slid of Naruto's face.
"…what?"
"Why don't you hate me?" Sasuke repeated.
Naruto blinked a couple times. "Why would I? You're my best friend."
"We haven't even seen each other in seven years!"
Naruto gave him a lopsided grin. "Not my fault you're a stupid teme."
Sasuke felt his knees get weak. It was a good thing he was already sitting, because he thought he would have stumbled after hearing the old nickname.
"Dobe," he breathed.
Naruto smiled. "There he is!"
"Naruto…I—the day that I left…"
Naruto watched him curiously. "I forgave you for that a long time ago, if that's what you're getting at."
"You—what?"
Naruto shrugged. "I forgave you. You were kind of a bigger asshole than usual, yeah," Naruto gave him a look, "but you'd been acting weird all day. Then you changed your number and moved away and stuff and that was a dick move…but it was off. It was all off."
Naruto sighed, and held up a hand when Sasuke went to speak.
"So I did a bunch of research into Uchiha Corp., and figured out what kinda company you'd need to get in touch with. Turns out I was kinda good at it," Naruto laughed.
"You joined Kyuubi Industries because of me?"
Naruto laughed and waved a hand. "Well the first hundred I applied to turned me down, but I think Tsunade took pity on me. She was my boss," he explained. "So I got the gig—kind of like an internship thing—but I had to get a university degree before I could actually get a job. That was her condition. So I did this as like a part-time thing while I got my degree—which was hell, let me tell you, but I did it—and then I got it, and worked my way up here. And yes," he pointed a finger at Sasuke. "Eighteen year old me was a stubborn idiot that wouldn't let our friendship end like that, but I genuinely enjoyed where I ended up, so it's not all about your egotistical ass!"
Naruto finished with a grin. "I didn't really expect it to work out this way. But when I became CEO, and really settled into it, I sent out feelers for you guys, and you responded." His brows furrowed. "But then you cancelled on me. Why'd you do that?"
"I didn't want to," Sasuke said immediately, and then stopped. How was he supposed to explain this?
"Soooo…" Naruto prompted.
"So," Sasuke swallowed. "The day I left—the night before, actually, before we fought—in high school," he stuttered, trying to organize his thoughts.
"The night before we fought at the grad ceremony?"
"Yeah," Sasuke said. "My father—"
"Oh!" A familiar voice came from the doorway, and they both looked up to see Sakura and Ino, wearing similar surprised expressions.
"I told them not to come in!" Kiba yelled from the other room. Naruto snorted.
"Looks like we interrupted," Ino said with a sly smile. She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorway. "Naru-naru, you're not standing us up for this old guy, are ya?"
Naruto's eyebrows skyrocketed at the nickname, but he looked at the clock instead of saying anything.
"Could you give us a couple minutes?" Naruto asked, with a pleading look.
"Su—" Sakura started, but Ino interrupted her.
"I'm afraid not. They won't hold our reservation for too long."
"Since when do we have a reservation?" Naruto asked.
"Since I decided tonight was a night of celebration," Ino grinned, and looked Sasuke up and down. "Uchiha, you're coming too." It wasn't a question.
"Uh," Sasuke replied.
Sakura reached out her hand to Naruto, who grinned sheepishly at Sasuke, before taking it. Ino looped her arm through Sasuke's, and gripped his arm, pulling him up.
Sasuke made to move his arm away, but as Sakura pulled Naruto out of the office, Ino tightened her grip and whispered, "he may have forgiven you, but that doesn't mean the rest of us have."
Sasuke scowled, "I don't care what you think," he hissed.
"Ah," Ino gave him a superior look. "But he does."
Shit.
"So, let's go to dinner. Shall we?"
Sasuke internally snarled as they walked out of the door.
Dinner, actually, was not awful. Ino loosened her death grip enough to sit beside Sakura, which meant he sat beside Naruto: physically and mentally closer to him than he had been in years. It felt…nice.
The three of them had obviously kept in touch regularly, and Sasuke found himself smiling along with them as if he had never left. After a few drinks, he even chuckled.
Unfortunately, that had to end at some point.
Betrayal came in the form of Sakura, who seemed to have aged in the same way as Naruto: by becoming oddly quiet, and calm.
"So, Sasuke. What has your life been like these past years?" Until then, they had wandered around the topic of Sasuke—Ino, apparently, had decided to go easier on him after seeing something in him that she approved of. Sakura was not so lenient.
The table, which had been full of conversation and laughter, was now an expectant silence. Naruto didn't seem to want to save him from this one. Well, alright then.
"Uneventful," he answered carefully, nursing his drink.
"Uneventful? Surely something has happened," Sakura pushed, her eyes tightening slightly.
Sasuke let out a sigh. "I work at Uchiha Corp. I went there straight after university, which I accelerated. I am to replace my father when he retires, as head of the company."
"She asked for your life, not your résumé," Ino said with a snort.
"That is my life," Sasuke responded coldly.
Ino raised her eyebrows and held her hands up in surrender. "Meant no offense, man."
Sasuke felt the tension coming back to him all at once, and he suddenly became acutely aware of all of the people in this restaurant—any of which could recognize him, and if they recognized him, his father would surely find out. He needed to talk to Naruto.
He glanced over at Naruto, who was trying not to stare too obviously.
"Well, it's late," Sakura sighed. "Ino, we should go."
"Huh? But—"
"So sorry, Naruto," Sakura smiled, giving him a hug across the table. She extended a hand to Sasuke. "Sasuke, nice to see you again."
They shook hands, and Sakura pulled Ino out of sight. Apparently, she thought they had interrupted the two boys for long enough.
"Sorry they barged in on us," Naruto said after a moment.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" Sasuke asked suddenly.
Naruto looked surprised. "S-sure."
A/N: That's all for today! As for those who wanted Naruto to make Sasuke suffer - I know, I get it :P You'll find a common theme in my stories is making Sasuke uncomfortable. But in regards to this story - I like writing Naruto similarly to canon: unbelievably forgiving. Almost to a fault. I hope you guys get that sense from him :)
The boys finally talk tomorrow!
Until then,
- Kinomi
