The Uchiha Fraud
Chapter Twelve
When the couple finally arrived at the venue where the gala was being held, Sakura never imagined that it would be so… extravagant. There were large double doors that led towards the main dining hall, or at least, what Sasuke called a "dining hall." The only dining halls that Sakura was familiar with were the ones located in the hospital, which paled in comparison when it came to the place she was currently standing in. The ceiling towered high above them, coated in intricate paintings of the sky with a chandelier covered in diamonds hanging elegantly in the center.
"So this is the infamous Uchiha Sakura," a voice commented.
Sakura tore her eyes away from the ceiling, coming face-to-face with a brunette with pearl-colored eyes. Having been caught off-guard, Sakura began to panic when she realized that she recognized him but had forgotten his name. However, before she could find a way to greet him without his name, Sasuke cut in.
"Hyuuga," he greeted, glancing at said male's companion in acknowledgment. "Tenten, I presume?"
"The very one," the woman grinned, looping an arm with her husband's. "I've been dying to meet your wife. Naruto won't stop talking about her."
"Unfortunately," the man added dryly, quickly glancing over at Sakura. "No offense."
"None taken," Sakura mumbled, trying not to move away out of shock when Sasuke laid a hand on the small of her back. She could see Tenten trying to fight down a smile as she nudged her partner playfully with a wink.
If Sasuke had noticed, he didn't say anything.
"This is Hyuuga Neji and Tenten," Sasuke introduced, turning towards Sakura who sent him a grateful smile. "I've told you about them."
No, he didn't, but it gave her time to compose herself.
"Of course!" Sakura said brightly, offering her hand. The Hyuugas. Neji's biography had been an interesting read, though it was apparent that his intimidating aura hadn't been exaggerated. He currently owned a law firm, having built it from the ground up after having nothing to fall back on due to his deceased father's file for bankruptcy. Hyuuga Tenten, his wife of almost a year, was known as one of the few women throughout Japan who had mastered the art of weaponry. "I hear your dojo has been doing quite well for the past year."
"Yes, it's bee—"
"Awesome!" Tenten interrupted, her face breaking out into a smile. "We recently got a hold of one of Japan's famous martial artists – Rock Lee. Thankfully Neji's father was close friends with Lee's mentor so we were extremely fortunate." When Neji sent her a stern look, she smiled back sheepishly. "Sorry, I get a little carried away… Neji is too modest when it comes to these things."
"It's no problem," Sakura assured her quickly, feeling a little more relaxed. "I'd be just as excited, but I don't know a thing about martial arts… or weapons, for that matter."
Tenten's ears perked up at the mention of weapons, but before she could begin her stories, Neji stopped her.
"I think," Neji said smoothly, "we should greet our other guests. I'm sure the Uchihas have some other business to attend to."
Tenten pouted though finally relented when Neji raised a brow challengingly.
"Maybe we can get together sometime? I'll be happy to teach you how to make swords!" she offered, waving enthusiastically when her husband began to tug her away.
"I'd love to," Sakura replied, waving at the couple as they walked off. When they were out of earshot, she let out a deep breath, turning to Sasuke with an apologetic smile.
"Er, sorry."
Sasuke rolled his eyes, releasing his hand - much to Sakura's relief.
"Should I name all of the guests here that you need to pay special attention to?" he suggested, though it came out sounding somewhat sarcastic.
"No!" Sakura protested, fiddling with the clutch in her hands. "I was just surprised… does, um, Neji… know?"
"Yes."
Sakura's brow furrowed. "But his wife…"
"Doesn't," Sasuke finished, wrapping an arm around her waist. She instantly stiffened, feeling herself blush when he pulled her closer. When Sakura made a move to put some considerable distance between them, he gestured towards a table surrounded by people who were eying them skeptically. "Only the people I can trust are informed. " His voice lowered. "And would it kill you to play along?"
"Maybe if you asked to put your hands on me..." Sakura replied sweetly, instantly smiling when she saw an elderly women whisper to a man beside her. "Do I just pretend like no one knows, then?"
Sasuke sent her a blank look before adjusting his hand on her waist, sending a warm feeling through her.
"What do you think?"
Over the course of two hours, Sakura managed to meet most - if not all - of the people that she had to research on. Though most of the conversations remained on topics of business and traveling overseas, there were a few instances where her and Sasuke's relationship was brought to the surface, forcing her to relay the same story that she had told to Mikoto in order for things to remain consistent. Surprisingly, there were a few old men who weren't afraid to voice their opinions when it came to having their daughters being better suited for the Uchiha heir.
Most of it revolved around a wealthier background and future partnerships, all of which Sasuke had declined politely, much to Sakura's surprise. He really was a whole different person in this kind of environment.
"I'm surprised that you treat most of these people better than Naruto," Sakura commented, laughing when Sasuke scoffed.
"It's called keeping up appearances," he replied, taking a sip of the wine that was given to him earlier. "Half of these people are irritating."
"Only half?" she pressed, fingering the rim of the glass absent-mindedly. "Then what about the rest of them?"
"What about them?" he retorted, watching the couples sway to the music on the dance floor. "Don't think I would ever talk to any of these old coots willingly if not for the potential business partnerships in the future."
"Is it possible that Uchiha Sasuke is a… gold digger?" Sakura burst into giggles, which eventually turned into full-blown laughter after he shot her a glare.
"You're insa—"
.
.
.
"My, my," a voice said from above them. "Is that a smile I see? How atrocious."
"I was not smiling." Sasuke scowled. "Go to hell."
"Such crude language!" the silver-haired man said, patting Sasuke's head. "Now, who is this lovely lady sitting beside you?"
"Har—Uchiha Sakura," Sakura answered, smiling at the strange man. It was incredibly hard to forget someone who never showed his face. "You are… Hatake Kakashi?"
"Sure am," he smiled, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "I'm touched that my dear pupil has talked about me. And to his wife!"
"No one talks about you," Sasuke said, only to be ignored as Kakashi reached over to shake Sakura's hand. "Ah, what beautiful hands you have here. So soft. Sasuke here is so lucky to be able to feel them when you touch his—"
"Kakashi," Sasuke hissed.
Sakura squeaked, fighting down the blush that was threatening to stain her cheeks.
"Huh," Kakashi observed, his eyes darting between the two. "I was sure he would have jumped you by now, seeing as he's sexually deprived and antisocial." Sasuke seethed. "Not to mention that dress makes you look so—"
"And you say I'm deprived?" Sasuke glared. "Go hit on someone else's wife. Pervert."
"No need to get feisty," he replied good-naturedly, about to say something else until a woman with crimson eyes walked past him. "I'd love to stay and chat but it seems there are matters to attend to. It was very nice meeting you, Sakura." And then he was gone.
"I knew this dress was a horrible idea," Sakura mumbled, tugging at the hems again.
Sasuke tightened his grip on the glass.
God, his mother could be absolutely devious if she put her mind to it. It was already difficult enough to keep his eyes on her face... did she even realize that every single time she pulled the dress to cover her thighs, she was exposing more skin above her chest? Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, spotting a male across the room who was getting an eyeful of Sakura's legs. Before he could register what he was doing, he shot a glare at the guest, who quickly turned around in fear after being caught.
What the hell did she think she was doing?
"Will you stop adjusting that goddamn dress?" Sasuke said under his breath, a hint of anger in his voice.
"It's not my fault that it's like this!" she complained, noticing that he was looking at everything else but her. "What?"
"What?" he repeated, glaring at the table.
"Why are you ma—"
"Nothing's wrong with that dress," he interrupted, surprising her. His eyes darting down very quickly before giving her a pointed look. "So stop fixing it. People keep staring at you."
"Fine," she grumbled, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Why are you so mean to your teacher? He seems really nic—"
Before she could finish her sentence, a click followed by a flash to her right temporarily blinded her. Sasuke's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing. There was no doubt in his mind that someone had taken a picture of them. His eyes roved over the guests, checking for anyone who looked remotely suspicious.
"Damn it," Sasuke muttered, finishing the rest of his drink before standing up, earning a questioning glance from Sakura.
"What was that?" she asked warily, noticing the grim expression on his face.
Sasuke chose not answer, taking Sakura's hand in his before leading her across the floor towards a group of people. As they got closer, Sakura instantly recognized Neji who was chatting with an odd couple with Tenten at his side. Neji, noticing Sasuke quickly approaching them, politely excused himself before raising a brow.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I thought I specifically said no cameras," Sasuke said, his voice low.
Neji frowned. "All the guests were searched before entering the dining hall."
"Why?" Tenten asked, walking up to them. "What happened?"
"Someone snuck a camera in and snapped a photo of us," Sasuke explained quickly, unconsciously shielding Sakura as he looked around once more. "Are you sure you checked every single guest?"
"Of course I did," Neji replied, almost sounding offended. "Kiba and Shino have been patrolling the doors since this event started."
"Then how did someone manage to get past security?"
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"Yo teme!"
Both couples looked over, spotting Naruto with a lavender-haired woman following closely behind.
'That must be Hinata,' Sakura thought, smiling despite the current predicament.
"Not now, dobe."
"I thought you fired Suigetsu?" he asked, jabbing his thumb towards the direction of the double doors.
"What does this have to do with anything?" Sasuke said, frustrated. Sakura didn't seem to be too upset about having her picture taken, given the way she was reacting so calmly. That was bound to change fairly soon. He grit his teeth. "And that bastard isn't allowed back here."
"But…" Naruto looked confused, sharing a look with his girlfriend. "I saw him leave the party."
Sasuke stiffened.
"What do you mean you saw him?"
"We… we walked past him," Hinata said, her gaze filled with worry.
"Are you positive it was him?" Neji asked.
"Yeah," Naruto said slowly, then added, "and it looked like he was holding something."
Author's Note: I am so sorry about the late update! This chapter was the deciding factor of where I wanted to take this story, so I needed to be absolutely sure I wanted to go down this route before posting this. School has been pretty hectic as of late, so thank you so much for being so patient with me!
Also, I have a new story up called "Kingdom of Snakes" so check it out and tell me what you think if you haven't already?