A/N: *Twitches in spasms as I tried and come up with a witty and informative author's note* Well, that was a fail. So let's skip the author's note… Again… ^__^' Wow, twice in a row… I wonder if I should be worried…
Warnings: You know them. :) Some of you love them. :D Some of you hate them. :O And some of you just want to beat me over the head with something sharp and violent like. O.O' Uh… Let's keep the author alive please!!! Or at least hurt me nicely. :)
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR MIDNIGHT SECERTARY
"Talking"
"Thinking"
??? – Time/Scene Change
Gone, Without a Trace.
Amazingly, it didn't take long for the news to spread. Before Sasuke could even get his foot through the company door, people were already running up to him and congratulating him on his permanent transfer. So Sasuke wasn't surprised in the least to find his desk completely covered in brightly colored "congratulation" gifts, and as the other secretaries gushed happily about the raven staying, Sasuke didn't have the heart to tell them that he had originally planned on returning to Uzumaki Co., and that he felt he should be there right now instead of here. But the secretary wisely kept his mouth shut and accepted the gifts and words of praise and congratulations neutrally.
After a few more minutes of secretaries and other random employees abandoning their jobs to happily welcome Sasuke into the company again, Kyuubi finally stepped in and broke the crowd up, this finally allowed the raven to return to work. So as the president walked away with a wave, Sasuke stared at the file in front of him as his mind drifted off towards a certain blond director. It had already been a week and half since he'd last seen Naruto and he was starting to get frustrated, because the dumbass hadn't called Sasuke once during that week and a half. Not. Once. Not even anything work related. The angry secretary had thought about calling the blond numerous times but always ended up talking himself out if it, because Sasuke definitely wasn't some stupid schoolgirl. Or so he kept telling himself.
Sasuke unconsciously allowed a soft growl to slip pass his lips as the letters and numbers on the file started to blur into one big, messy ink blot.
"Is something wrong?"
"Hn?" Sasuke turned, slightly startled, to see a smiling Kyuubi standing beside his desk. "Uh… No." The raven answered as Kyuubi placed another folder of documents next to the one Sasuke was originally staring at.
"Good, wouldn't want you to faint again," Kyuubi teased but then suddenly became solemn and asked seriously. "Are you sure you're alright?"
Sasuke nodded. "Yes. I'm fine, and I'm sorry about worrying you, but I assure you, I'm okay now."
"Good," Kyuubi's hardened look melted into a grin. "And remember you don't have to do all the work alone. Ask for help when you need it."
"Of course. Thank you," Sasuke answered, a small smile tugging at his lips.
Kyuubi smiled again and then turned his attention to another secretary. As the red head traveled across the room, Sasuke' eyes followed and the raven couldn't help but chuckle as a secretary started to blush.
"I can see why everyone likes the president so much." Sasuke mused as he turned back around and opened the file that Kyuubi had just placed on his desk. "President Kyuubi is composed, very strict about the company's affairs, and a very efficient and intelligent president and leader, but he is also very kind and reads people well. He's naturally a good-hearted person and people just instinctively gravitate towards him. The president is also very trustworthy. He's basically the perfect boss."
Sasuke started to organize the data automatically as his mind continued to wander, and memories of Naruto started to surface. "So then why am I so fixated on such a horrible boss? My life would probably be so much easier if I had met President Kyuubi first." Sasuke sighed as he saved and emailed the documents.
The raven then stretched his stiff muscles and glanced down at his scribbled on calendar and realized it'd been almost four days since he last checked the director's calendar. Sasuke mentally made a quick note to check it first thing when he got home.
???
Sasuke shut the front door behind him and was instantly bombarded with the scent of… Actually Sasuke wasn't quite sure what the smell was, but he definitely knew the scent was food related. So he walked into the kitchen and looked around quizzically when he couldn't find any take-out boxes. Itachi turned from the stove and smirked at his obviously confused little brother.
"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked hesitantly and eyeing his brother almost fearfully.
"Cooking," Itachi answered as if he were explaining quantum physics to a second grader.
"Ohhh," Sasuke nodded already inching he way out of the danger zo – kitchen. Itachi may be prefect at almost everything, but cooking was definitely a skill God decided the older Uchiha didn't need, and Sasuke suffered for it. Dearly. His taste buds still couldn't tell the difference between spicy and salty, and it wasn't that Itachi abused his younger sibling's sense of taste unknowingly. No, Itachi knew he couldn't cook and love it, because it was a wonderful torture device.
"You want to try some?" Itachi asked offering Sasuke a plate of, what looked to be, pieces of steak in one hand and in the other a fork.
Sasuke stared at the plate of food warily and cautiously took the fork. "It looks normal enough," the younger raven looked to his eager older brother's face and smiled weakly.
"Well?" Itachi asked, starting to get a little impatient.
"You used a cook book right?" Sasuke asked as he stabbed a piece of meat with the fork.
"Foolish Otouto," Itachi smirked at the younger male's obvious discomfort. "Of course I used a cook book. It looks exactly like the picture."
"Ohh, that's reassuring," Sasuke answered mentally, remembering the last time Itachi had said those words. Sasuke had to resist the urge to groan as he brought the piece of beef to his mouth.
Taking a tentative bite, the bitten piece was almost immediately spit out as Sasuke had a bee line for the sink. After washing his mouth out with water, Sasuke glared at his smirking brother. "You used soap and food coloring (*) again didn't you?!"
"Soap? Food coloring?" Itachi asked innocently. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
Sasuke glared at his brother as the older raven walked away with a smirk. Was everyone in his life a sadist? Sasuke sighed tiredly as he walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the safety of his bedroom, and had to stop himself from punching a smug-looking Itachi on the way. Once his door was firmly shut, Sasuke changed out of his suit and into something more comfortable, and then sat lazily in front of his computer as the machine buzzed to life. Sasuke clicked on the familiar icon and logged onto the company website, thankful that Kiba was so scatter-brained that he had yet to change the password. The raven then clicked on the "Uzumaki Naruto" link and waited for the page to load.
"If there are any major changes to the schedule, I don't care if he's meeting the Prime Minister of Japan (*), the dobe is going to answer my questions," Sasuke glared at the computer as it continued to load.
Once the page was done loading, Sasuke stared at the computer screen in shock. Oh yes, there was major change alright. Fear started to grip at Sasuke as he finally comprehended what exactly was on the screen. The schedule was completely blank. Sasuke stared to panic as he clicked on other links, but each one showed the same thing. Empty and blank.
"What the hell..?" Sasuke mumbled as he looked around the desk for his cell phone.
Flipping the device open, Sasuke's fingers quickly dialed a well memorized number as his mind chanted "pick up, pick up, pick up" while the phone rang against his ear.
"We're sorry. The number you are currently trying to reach is either out of range or dis…"
Sasuke snapped the cell phone shut. The raven tried calling again several times that night, but every single time, Naruto never picked up.
???
"Maybe one of the secretaries deleted his schedule by accident and his cell phone is just… Fell into a river," Sasuke reasoned to himself as he checked the blond director's schedule again. It was still blank.
"Ahh! Kiba-san!"
Sasuke looked up in shock to see Kiba and Kyuubi walking into the office. Kiba caught Sasuke staring and waved at the confused raven. Sasuke hesitantly waved back and quickly got out of his seat to greet the two superiors.
"Welcome back, President Kyuubi," the raven bowed politely then looked over to Kiba. "Welcome Inuzuka-san." Then seeing the slightly uncomfortable expression on Kyuubi's face and the giddy expression on Kiba's face, Sasuke knew something very bad had just happened. "Is something wrong?" he asked, suddenly anxious.
"Well," Kiba answered before Kyuubi could get a word in. "Guess who's going to be a board member at Uzumaki?" the brunette asked. "Kyuubi! That's who." Kiba then added before Sasuke could even open his mouth.
"They're uh… Still discussing it, but they say I have a really good chance," Kyuubi elaborated further.
"But you're the only one that can even come close to Naruto." Kiba praised. "Since it's his spot that's open because he resigned, the other members will most likely give it to you because you're the only one that can fill Naruto's shoes."
"Director Uzumaki resigned?" Sasuke asked, interrupting the conversation.
"You didn't know?" Kyuubi inquired.
"Uh…" Sasuke shook his head.
"Yea, Naruto's dad accepted his resignation three days ago," Kiba added. "It was really sudden, but everything was in order so his dad let him go. Some of the secretaries even tried to convince him to stay, but Naruto being Naruto, just grinned and left."
"He left?" Sasuke schooled his features as the other two continued to talk about Kyuubi becoming a board member. "Director Uzumaki left...?"
"Are you alright?" Kyuubi turned his attention to Sasuke again. "You look like you're about to faint again."
"Faint? Did you need me to ca –"
"No," Sasuke cut Kiba off. "I'm fine. I'm just a little shocked, and congratulations on becoming a board member. I suppose my responsibilities will probably multiple, but nothing I can't handle."
"Try not to push yourself too hard," Kyuubi grinned.
"Of course," Sasuke nodded as he started to feel uncomfortable.
"Sasuke-san, I know that you're worried about Naruto, but he can take care of himself." Kiba tried to soothe the fidgety Uchiha. "So don't worry yourself sick. Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"I'm fine. It's nothing." Sasuke answered. "Is it really? Is it nothing?"
As soon as Kyuubi and Kiba left the office, Sasuke quickly dialed the secretarial office at Uzumaki.
"Uzumaki Cooperation." The overly sweet voice answered. "How may I help you?"
"This is Uchiha Sasuke and I was wondering," Sasuke's hand started to tremble. "Is it true that Director Uzumaki has resigned?"
"Unfortunately, yes." The voice replied, not so sweet now. "It's true. He left so quickly that everyone here is a little whiplashed. But it seems he'd been planning this for awhile and never told anyone."
"Oh… Thank you," Sasuke absently said as his mind started to go blank.
"Of course. Is that all Uchiha-san?"
"Yes," Sasuke answered and then hung up and sat limply in his seat.
Sasuke felt as if the ground beneath him was giving away. "The director left Uzumaki." The panic started to rise again as the fact finally settled in. Naruto was no longer at Uzumaki Co. Sasuke knew that Uzumaki was the only thing that tied the two of them together and without it, Sasuke couldn't be near Naruto anymore. Through Uzumaki, no matter how far away Naruto was, Sasuke could still see him, but now, Sasuke couldn't see a thing.
???
The house was the same as everything else. Empty.
After work, Sasuke had run to Naruto's home, in hope that the blond would still be there, but once the raven arrived and pushed open the front door, he quickly realize, Naruto was already gone. Sasuke ventured into the master bedroom to see that it too was empty. Sasuke stared at the empty room as he slumped to the floor.
"He could have at least left a note," Sasuke mumbled into the darkness. "It's all gone."
Then Sasuke snapped. "Have faith in you?" the raven scoffed. "Everything's gone! You're gone! What the hell am I suppose to have faith in? Stop messing with me like I'm some kind of plaything!" Sasuke yelled into the empty silence.
The raven sighed in defeat and then reached into his back pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the number again.
"We're sorry. The number you are currently trying to reach is either out of ra…"
Sasuke shut the phone and stared at it before flipping it open again and searched for another number, and waited as it started to ring.
"Hello?"
"It's me. Uchiha Sasuke. Iruka-san. Where is he?"
"I don't know Uchiha-san. I'm sorry. He didn't tell me anything either. Only to stand by and wait for orders." The brunette driver answered as he turned down another street.
"Oh." Sasuke nodded to himself. "I see. If he… calls you could you tell him I need to talk to him?"
"Yes," Iruka answered.
"Thank you," Sasuke flipped the phone shut.
Iruka sighed as he stopped at another red light. As he waited for the light to turn, he glanced in the rear-view mirror and shook his head at the sleeping blond in the back seat.
"Naruto, what are you doing to him?" Iruka asked absently as he pressed the gas pedal.
???
His office was empty too. Sasuke sighed as he exited the room and shut the door behind him.
"Uchiha-san?"
Sasuke looked up to see Kyuubi walking his way. "President, how was the meeting?"
"Eh, boring," the red head answered then glanced at the door behind Sasuke. "You really liked him didn't you?"
"Huh?" Sasuke followed the president's line of vision and quickly understood. "Director Uzumaki? No. It wasn't like that. I respected him as my boss. That's it."
"Ahh," Kyuubi nodded and smirked. "So do you have any plans tonight?"
"Um… I don't think so," Sasuke answered.
"Good." Kyuubi grinned as he walked towards the exit with a confused Sasuke trailing behind.
???
"Welcome to Kyuubi!"
Sasuke smiled politely as the other employees cheered. "Thank you," the raven answered when the cheering died a little, but in truth, Sasuke didn't really want to attend any "welcome party". He wanted to stay home and use that punching bag Itachi had installed in the basement when he had first started high school.
"I'm really happy that we can say our Uchiha now, instead of Uzumaki's Uchiha," one of the random secretaries stated which caused another round of cheering.
"And I'm happy that Uchiha-san can now say our company." Kyuubi grinned as he took another sip of beer. "It feels like we're all on equal footing now. You're no longer an outsider anymore, Uchiha-san."
"Thank you everyone." Sasuke was starting to feel a little embarrassed.
"Even though I've been working for Kyuubi Inc. all this time, I've never really considered myself one of them. I was always too worried about Director Uzumaki and constantly thinking of ways to return to him faster." Thoughts of the blond made Sasuke's stomach twist uncomfortably.
"I hope that," Kyuubi waved his hand in front of Sasuke's dazed expression. "You'll get our secretarial office running as smoothly as Uzumaki's." Kyuubi grinned.
Sasuke stared at Kyuubi and finally realized. "You can count on me." The raven replied with a small smile.
"The ground beneath me is solid. I can still stand on my own and work."
Another week had passed and Sasuke was fitting well into his new role. Kyuubi Inc. wasn't so bad and the president had certain traits that reminded the raven of Naruto.
"And whatever comes after this…"
Sasuke filed another document as Kyuubi offered him a cup of coffee. Sasuke accepted the warm cup and thanked the president before he was called back to the secretarial office.
"I'll be fine, because the director told me to have faith…"
The air was pleasantly warm and Sasuke felt himself become drowsy. He didn't remember falling asleep, but was jolted awake by his cell phone's obnoxious ringing. Sasuke reached for the device and looked quizzically at the floor when he heard the rustling of fabric. It was Kyuubi's suit jacket.
"So I'll wait…"
It had been two weeks since Naruto resigned and still no word from the elusive director, and Sasuke was starting to get tired of waiting. Kyuubi walked into the secretarial office and grinned at a sulking Sasuke. Seeing the red head's grin, Sasuke couldn't help but smile back.
"But, how much longer do I have to wait?"
TBC…
(*) - The idea for this came from the manga A.I. Love You.
(*) – I actually researched this XD
How'd you like the KyuuSasu moments? :D So, this chapter is a little bit scatter-brained because my brain is, well, scattered. I guess the beginning of school does that to a person. Anyways, I gotta do something "productive-like". (I dunno. It was probably something along the lines of researching..? Reading..? Studying..? Homework..?) Yea… Something like that. ^__^'
Hope everyone is doing well and please review! :D
– ohhowfluffyyouare