Bound by the Ring: Remake
Disclaimer: The series both manga and anime does not belong to me. All rights are reserved to Kishimoto-sensei. I am just a really, really big FAN!
Rule No. 2: When you find yourself close to a deadline and in need of an immediate plan; Make sure that it falls within the line of Common Sense.
Author's note: Kakashi distinctly reminds me of our (real) laid back Creative Director. He is a very good mentor to his subordinates although a bit on the eccentric. I once pointed this out to him and he showed up the next day with a black flu mask. I asked him why, he said he wanted to see for himself if what I said was true. O.o
000
Page 62, Chapter 3: How to properly conduct yourself inside the office
It was the last thing Jūgo saw before the opened book flew out of nowhere straight to his face with a force that could snap a normal person's neck backward. The two hundred eighty-eight pages Hokage Corp Manual hard bound 2.22 millimeter cover.
The irony
He grabbed the book from his face and took several breaths. He had no doubt that his nose was bleeding upon direct impact.
This was not how he envisioned his day out on the field would end. Perhaps it was the fatigue or the excitement from closing his first 10 million Ryō project, but it was rare for him to be so caught off guard in the crossfire.
"Ha! –You missed Sasu—woah!"
The ginger-haired giant managed to tilt his head to the right just in time to dodge the capless fountain pen thrown at the bane of Sasuke's existence.
Jūgo turned his head back as saw Kakashi holding a hardbound book in front of his face with the pen lodged in the middle…half an inch deep.
"You knew about this didn't you!"
"I did not!"
Jūgo saw the PR officer, Ino, ducking down to avoid the hurled paperweight; without pausing the conversation with a client on her smart phone.
"You could have warned me!" He whistled at Kakashi. The man is very skilled at replacing himself with another person; the newbie was instantly knocked unconscious.
It was the survival of the fittest here.
Hokage Towers has 53 storeys, why did they just have to place the sales and creatives on the same floor. No wonder the 27th floor was dubbed the 'War Zone: Proceed at own risk.' The people on this base are the best at what they do; though the HR had neglected to add the skills and agility that could rival a ninja on the list of requirements to stay alive. It is through a divine miracle that no one has pressed charges for damages and abuse.
"But I wanted to meet your wife too!"
!
Everyone in the common hall fell silent. If their ears could lengthen it would've had. People started murmuring and curious glances were everywhere.
Kakashi has just confirmed what his boss had stealthily evaded to answer for the past two weeks.
Sasuke's entire body went rigid. Jūgo could tell that the other was fighting to keep his expression blank. A few moments later, Sasuke pivoted and marched towards the entrance of the Sales Department as if he had not attempted to murder the masked director at all.
All that for that?!
"Oi Jūgo. You alright?" his partner in crime, Suigetsu placed a cold sweaty hand on his shoulder.
No he is not alright
He could feel his unpredictable temper getting the best of him. The unreleased stress and dynamic and drastic altering moods of the people around him are pushing him to roar bloody murder.
"Oi control yourself man!" Suigetsu and several other employees that were nearby backed a step away. The killing intent was so strong around him. His partner had more than once witnessed it. And if the other man wasn't as sleeked or as fluid as he is, he was sure he could have already fatally injured the other. It was a Bermuda Triangle mystery how he landed this job despite all his assaults and destruction of property records.
It was taking all his will power just to try and manage it.
The usually gentle giant had not acted so close to losing it for a very long time; he had never released his uncontainable anger in the office either. He vaguely wondered how he had managed to do that. Several Psychiatrists have already given up on him. He attacks everything and everyone during his blind fits of rage.
"Finally", Kakashi fake brushed the non-existent dirt on his shoulder. "You're so uptight Sasuke. Have you went on your honeymoon yet?"
!
NOOOOooooOOOO!
But in an instant, Jūgo remembered why. His basic survival instincts outweighed his random bursts of outrage. He had a temper problem but he was not suicidal enough to be on his boss's black list.
Sasuke's irises swirled to a dangerous red. Only a complete lunatic (Kakashi) would dare to hold his ground against him. He had all but teleported across the man with a death wish was located and Kakashi was not able to react. Sasuke had already stolen the most treasured item the man had in his possession, a tome he has never left home without, a manuscript that had inspired him day in and day out while working, a book—that Sasuke had just thrown out the window.
000
Dead
He wasn't yet but he might as well be.
It will save him the feeling of utter humiliation before his superiors decide to bury his carcass six feet under.
Sasuke laid wide awake still in his work clothes from yesterday on his queen size bed. The top sheet and comforter were rumpled from all the tossing and turning he made the entire night. He lifted his left hand in front of his face and squints at his watch for the time.
4:30 AM
Great
He had about an hour before his alarm goes off and starts preparing for work. Body dead tired but mind fully awake. Sandman was not on his side today and why should he; he was having nightmares wide awake!
Where the fuck is he suppose to find a wife?
Sasuke glanced at his wall clock and cursed.
4:32 AM
"Kakashi you bastard", he muttered to no one but himself. He languidly got up from the bed with great effort, hissing when the cold from the wooden floor managed seep through his padded feet.
Screw this! He finally decided that sleeping is not an option today so might as well star preparing for the day.
Lethargic with a killer headache hammering like a whac-a-mole game, Sasuke forcefully dragged his himself to the bathroom and stripped out of his work clothes. He entered the shower with a hiss when the water had yet to adjust to a reasonable temperature.
Okay Sasuke, you've been in far worse situations that this right? Who was he kidding? Of all the stupid things he had done, which were not than many in the first place and most of those were initiated by maniac of the creatives department, the white devil who the only thing he shared in common was the DNA in his transplanted left eye.
You have three days to work through this. Analyze the situation thoroughly. What do you need?
A Wife
Where you find one?
How the fuck should I know?
Working with less than a half cognition is not good for the thought process but he was bordering on the verge of desperation except he might already be there. He must have been, he is fucking arguing with himself sarcasm and all.
The best move is to hire someone but not just anyone. This person must not be working under the company or anything related to it. She must have absolutely no interest in him except for the short contract for the duration of the trade. More importantly this person must be beautiful, smart and charismatic. There is just absolutely no way he was going to settle for a 3rd rate hooker who has an excessive amount of make up on her face and could only carry long conversations if it was about stiletto shoes and breast implants that could bite him for black mail later.
Well shit. This isn't getting anywhere.
Sasuke turned the shower off and slid the glass door open, cold air biting his soaked skin. He went for the neatly folded blue and grey towels stored in the shelf and grabbed two. He wrapped the first one around his waist and used the other to dry his hair. Still feeling the cold, Sasuke headed straight for the bathroom counter and pulled the hair dryer from the top most drawer , plugged the device and started to dry his tresses with it. He absently stared at the toiletries arranged on the counter; not a bottle out of place. He noticed that the empty bottle of mouthwash from yesterday was already replaced and sighed but done more out of relief than exhaustion.
His housekeeper
Apparently this was the only favorable thing that happened to him for the past weeks. The only sanity in all this insanity…
Sasuke was a neat and organize man by discipline more so than habit or personality. Owning a 2KLD with a demanding job that required countless overtime hours would leave any man in dire need of professional assistance. However, good help is not that easy to find. He had changed housekeepers more than he had cared to count. Not even lasting a week. What was worst, the main reason they got laid off was because they had claimed to have fallen in love with him and had no reservations to keep those 'affections' at bay. So much for being strictly professional—as their agency claimed.
Some would steal his underwear an items claiming it was for their collection. Others took a bite from the food in his fridge that he already took a bite off. Then there were those who took in into a whole new level of crazy. They dared to put potent sleeping drugs and or aphrodisiacs in his beverages; if it weren't for his natural ability to detect suspicious objects he would have been a victim to the mad idiots that wore his clothes on his bed in an attempt to seduce him with it.
They were all literally kicked out of course.
But this housekeeper was different and had been cleaning his home for over a month now. He had no idea what he/she looked like but it was okay. The help got the job done without getting in the way of his daily routine. In fact the person seemed to be perfectly happy to stay away from him as much as possible, arriving when he already left for work. The person did such a good that Sasuke even requested the building manager to prepare a spare keycard for the housekeeper to use.
It was strange because Sasuke was not a very trusting man. But somehow, the little things the stranger did that made him feel like it was okay. One of those, which Kakashi found odd, was the sudden living flora subtly decorating the place but what the man found even odder was he allowed it to be place there.
Strange, you don't usually allow anyone to touch your things unnecessarily, yet you allow this person to bring you these.
But that was not all what he allowed his housekeeper to get away with; and he was sure Kakashi's mismatch eyes would bulge out of his sockets if he knew.
Once in a while he would come home to homemade pickled plum and bonita onigiri or baked cookies neatly placed on a plate and sealed in a plastic wrap. He was not particularly fond of sweet things but found himself chewing the treats with gusto.
He must admit, the housekeeper made his flat a little less lonely. Sometimes it feels like he even has a—
Wait a minute.
Sasuke stopped in the middle of buttoning his dress shirt and stared at himself from his full length mirror. After a few minutes his shoulders started to shake followed by a sniggers then went into a full blown cackles. It went on for a few more seconds until his diaphragm ached, unused from the sudden action. He leaned closer to the mirror and gave a grin that would have made the devil proud.
000
Bright blond locks swayed with the soft breeze from the spring air. The day was perfect and sky blue eyes brightened at the sight of newly bloomed wild flowers on the side of the pathway. He grabbed his mobile phone from his pocket and turned the home button on for the time and gave a yelp of surprise as he stared at it. He was not that late for work, but he needed to finish early for his lecture after lunch. He stared at the paper bag that was in his other hand. It's been a long time since he used his employer's kitchen to make snacks and lunch for himself and his friends before going to college. In return he would make extra snacks for his employer. He had not asked permission since his first impression of the man was a bastard who wanted to be left alone but other didn't seem to mind if he based it on the empty plates that graced the sink and this job that he was still able to hold.
Giving a bright hello to the doorman and receiving a small but friendly smile in return, the blond ball of energy takes the keycard and used it to open the elevator doors.
000
Sasuke waited patiently on couch that was facing the front door. He was going to be a little late but it was worth it. He heard the sound of the electronic lock open tacking it as a cue that the person he had been waiting for has finally arrived.
He stood up with more grace than he had that morning and silently stalked towards the unsuspecting person.
Judging from his frame his housekeeper is definitely male but more slender than the average. A little taken a back their but Konoha City has recently allowed the union of same-sex relations so no problem there. He has an average five foot seven height and bright blond hair that could put the sun to shame. His caramel skin that peeked through from the back of his hoodie suggested he loved the outdoors. Bending to remove his outdoor shoes, Sasuke could not help but take extreme notice of the young man's small round bottom.
Sasuke remained on the spot and patiently waited for the young man to turn around. He was met with clear pools of endless blue and could have sworn that he even saw his own reflection from his distance. The man's small was not soft and delicate as a woman but neither hard nor chiseled enough to be a rough looking man. His skin was smooth save for the three whiskers like scars on his face. The other was definitely not hard to look at especially with those soft looking lips currently hanging open from surprise.
Perfect
"Woah- Uchiha…um…-san" Sasuke took little notice of how the smaller male seem to have pushed the honorific out. "I thought you left already—or am I to early?"
"I'm a little late actually" blue eyes widened as if he did not expect him to talk back. The other seem notice his own gesture and tried to school his face into casual look but dusty pink cheeks on caramel skin gave him away.
Delicious—wait. What?
"Listen…um…" He never did bother to look into the other's resume and find out his name.
"Uzumaki. Uzumaki Naruto." The other supplied for him a bit tartly.
Tsk how careless of him not to. It doesn't matter.
"Yeah, um, Uzumaki—If you're not too busy can you stop by after seven? I need to speak to you about something." Naruto gave him a suspicious look but after a few seconds nodded in agreement.
Satisfied, Sasuke quickly gather's his things and leaves for work. As he opened the door he hears the man say, "Take care"
"I'm leaving."
Whether it was shock or from manners that were instilled in him, Sasuke could not help feel surprise at himself for replying back. He closed the door behind him and exhaled his tension away.
He strode off to the elevator corridors with a smirk in place.
Finally, everything is in plan. The young Uchiha left for work relaxed and worry free.
However—
The young Uchiha forgot to take into the equation one teeny tiny thing. His new spouse had not agreed to their shared union yet…
TBC
Rule no 3: After devising the plan, make sure the people involved are aware and willing otherwise it will cause unexpected damages –because most of the time it's you who will get the direct hit.
-_- Gah! It does not come out right in English….lololololol! What is the right translation for Ittekimasu and Itterashai? Er..Oh well! Haha.
THANK YOU for your reviews! I was so afraid to post this but now I feel a lot better and I'm glad I did! On to the next chapter! Yeah!