Disclaimer: I don't own Bleac- wait...well I dont' that either. XD
Sasuke Uchiha floored the gas and sped his 1987, limited edition silver Porsche through the intersection just as the light blinked from yellow to red. The man ignored the honks and yells from the drivers he'd cut off. He didn't have time to waste sitting at the stupid junction waiting for the mindless drones of Konoha's working class to take their turn at right of way.
He had little patience for the teaming masses, brainless in their daily routine, stupidly searching for something to fill the void in their pointless lives. And Sasuke could provide for that need. He was Konoha's key to the next fix, the best orgasm, the sweetest alcohol. He could hook you up, he supplied it all. It was probably why he had no respect for Konoha's teaming masses, he'd seen each and every one of them crawling on their bellies at one time or another, begging for that thing to satisfy their disgusting urge.
To say that he was a callous man would have been something of an understatement. For Sasuke Uchiha, the last in that long and proud line, prided himself on his rationality and analytical thinking. Being the head of a gang didn't lend itself well to emotional indulgence. In the underworld, Darwin was a saint, and his law: survival of the fittest, reigned supreme. The raven did feel, he wasn't completely apathetic, but seeing the worst of humanity night after sordid night began to calcify on ones' conscience until the few emotions left inside one's hardened shell had been crusted over with Sinicism and bitterness. He had no time, nor had he the inclination to wile his life away pondering the petty trivialities that came when you allowed yourself to feel more than was necessary.
Besides, he had more than enough to think about what with this recent attack by both Akatsuki and this weirdo, Kyuubi. At the moment, he didn't know where to begin with either of these mounting threats and that was a very dangerous place to be, especially as boss of Hebi.
And to think, The raven pondered without humor. This morning I was having a good day.
The man sighed, weaving in and out of the slower traffic with the fluid perfection of a professional driver. He did everything that way, with fluid perfection.
He needed to detach for a few hours, Sasuke thought. He needed to reason through both problems, step by step, with calm rationality and in a place where he would not be interrupted for that span of time. 'Sound' was not that place. If it wasn't business about the club itself, than someone would kill a police officer or something untidy like that and leave him to clean up the mess.
Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke caught a flash of vivid green. His ebony orbs flicked to the source of the bright color.
A wooden flap sign hung out over the sidewalk, plainly visible to both those who walked along the pavement and from the street; a play to generate more impulse customers.
The sign had been masterfully carved out of a wood Sasuke could not distinguish because of the paint which had been lacquered over the entire sheet. The carving was of a single oak tree standing tall and proud in the middle of an intricately carved field of lush green grass. Written under the carving was one word: Leaf.
Curiosity niggled at the typically stoic man. He had never seen this storefront before and the raven made it a point to know about all the businesses in the district. Although, all the places he typically ate at weren't even on this street. Perhaps he's taken a wrong turn, distracted as he was by his mounting social misunderstandings.
Either way, the man pulled over, sliding neatly into an open parking space nearby.
The inviting aromas of spices and seasoned meats caught the Uchiha as he emerged from the car, confirming what he suspected. This place was a restaurant.
He entered the quaint structure, and noticed the new age architecture. The building stood on it's own, which was abnormal in a city the size of Konoha where all the buildings, at least in the downtown area were all built side by side and squished together. Leaf had at least twelve feet of alley surrounding its sides and back. Besides the unusual amount of space it had, the restaurant's front wall was one big panel of glass. Even the door was a part of his odd theme. However the glass used was extremely thick, Sasuke noted as he passed through the front door. In fact he was fairly sure that the glass was the bulletproof at the very least. It had to be with all the gang activity in the city.
As he opened the door, a bell went off in the back signaled his presence to whomever it concerned, most likely, the person who was going to seat him, since none was currently present. Immediately following the small tinkling of bells was a crash, a few shouts and what Sasuke thought was a string of rather vicious and ill-fitting curses.
The Uchiha's eyebrow twitched, the only outside manifestation of the huge inner eye roll he was giving to whomever was still cursing and destroying things in the backroom. He then turned his attention to the inner décor of Leaf café, shifting his focus from the fool in the back.
The inside of the neat little café was pleasantly rendered. The textured walls were painted a deep green-blue with the exception of the far back which was lacquered a dark umber that caught the glow from the fluorescent lights overhead and seemed to smolder. Wood was everywhere, the twelve or so tables scattered randomly along the café's smooth wood floor. The pale gold shine of the polished bar top; the golden-brown accents of oak which slashed horizontally around the room at waist height until they met at the wall to Sasuke's far left at a wooden carving that had been mounted and which covered from floor to ceiling. It was a replica of the tree outside, the one which had been etched into the hanging sign. This one, however, was cut out and carved from one large piece, or several large pieces of oak and fitted together to form the beautiful project.
Several people were already seated. Some seated close to the window, peering out at the passers-by as they ate in silent speculation. Others, couples, had elected to sit on the second floor, a level of the floor which was raised four inches or so above the one Sasuke was currently standing. They sat at high tables on well finished tall legged wooden stools and made faces at each other over their shared meal. The quiet conversation created a subtle hum to the air, adding pleasant warmth to the atmosphere. One could walk into this place and feel immediately at ease.
There was a third level as well though it wasn't much: a second four inch rise in the floor in the very back right corner of the establishment. The space allotted was big enough hold a large mahogany table, finely polished and intricately carved. A dozen chairs, made of the same wood as the table and fitted with dark brown cushions, were placed around. It was a conference table or a place for large parties, Sasuke surmised. It was well back from the rest of the tables and if one were to sit with their back to the wall, they would have a complete view of the entire establishment and a fair way out the front windows.
Further commotion drew Sasuke's attention to the back of the café. A pair of large wooden double-doors, which presumably lead to the kitchens, were thrust open and a man stumbled out into the dining area.
The first feature Sasuke noticed was the man's hair. It stuck out in all directions as if he'd rub-dried it with a towel years ago and it had stayed that way. And it was blond. It wasn't the disgusting bleached blond that many of the typically dark haired people in Konoha had begun to use. Even Suigetsu had gone with that stupid trend, much to his boss' chagrin. But this man's hair was not bleached; it was pure and luminescent. If Sasuke were given to fanciful notions, he might've compared the man's hair to a ray of sunlight, but of course, Sasuke never gave in to whimsy.
As the man drew hastily nearer, his mouth working a mile minute, his babbling became more distinct. The man was apologizing for his tardiness and thanking Sasuke for his patience, not by name of course, for the raven had never seen this man before in his life.
"Sorry, sorry," The man's smile was wide and apologetic and fascinatingly, his eyes were closed as well. He rubbed the back of his neck and somehow walked up to the desk in front of Sasuke with his eyes still shut tightly. The desk unsurprisingly was a sturdy piece made of a wood the raven couldn't identify. The blond picked up a pen and glanced up expectantly at the Uchiha. It was at that moment that the blonds' second distinctive feature hit Sasuke. If his hair reminded the gang boss of sunlight, then his eyes were fragments of the sky fallen to earth. They were clear and pure and frighteningly brilliant and Sasuke observed, very intently focused on him.
"How many are in your party?" The blond said.
"One,"
The blue eyes widened in disbelief an instant before, to Sasuke's slight bemusement, they began to look, really look at the raven.
For his part, Sasuke did nothing but stand silently and wait for the blond to realize that he was basically once-overing this customer.
The man turned a deep shade of tomato red and mumbled for Sasuke to follow him. The blond started towards the left and a small table near the window with two rough looking chairs pulled up to it. But Sasuke had other ideas.
He was so stupid, certifiably the biggest bonehead in the history of Konoha. What had he been thinking, staring so rudely at a client, a new one? He hadn't, period. Well, it wasn't as though the guy had seemed to mind all that much. He'd just stood and waited for Naruto to finish looking. Like the blonds' reaction was so typical or whatever.
Although, that the man was used to being looked over wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility. I mean, the guy was good looking. Naruto might've even have gone so far as the say the man was hot. His hair was black, which you didn't get much these days, what with everyone wanting to prove their individuality and dying or bleaching their hair all kinds of colors. The only really weird thing about this guys hair was the way he styled it; his bangs were long and framed his slender cheekbones. The rest has been spiked up in the back, whether it stuck up like the backside of a duck, or whether the man gelled it that way, Naruto didn't know. Either way, it…just worked. Anyway, it wasn't the guys hair that made him that good looking and it wasn't his pale, flawless skin either. This dude reminded Naruto of a china doll almost, his pale skin contrasting beautifully with the dark ebony of his hair; except every single china doll Naruto had ever seen was a chick and this customer was very obviously a man.
Oh jeez! A man! Naruto jerked. He was cataloging a guy's features, like a friggin' girl! What the heck was wrong with him? As if once overing him hadn't been bad enough, he had to make a mental list of the customer's best attributes. He'd never be able to look this guy in the eye…although. Naruto grinned. He was going to put this guy at one of Kiba's tables, that way he wouldn't have to deal with his mind's strange and sudden attentiveness to the attractive male following silently behind him. Tae! He'd just called the guy attractive again!
"This is your table." The blond stopped next to a pleasant table for two near the window and turned to politely pass the buck. "Your server will be Ki-"
He was speaking to air. Naruto heard a small giggle and chose not to glance in the direction of the other customers who probably found it amusing that one of their servers was speaking to no one; his eyes searching instead for his errant client. The blond finally spotted the man walking towards the far back corner of the café. At first Naruto thought that he was heading to the bar, but the man bee-lined past the wide gleaming counter and strolled over to the large table that Tsunade reserved for conferences and the like.
"Hey!" The blond rushed over, nearly slipping on the polished floor several times in his hurry to get over to this customer who was apparently hard of hearing or something.
"You can't sit there sir," The blond hurriedly explained. "This table is reserved for VIP's and conferences and we don't generally let anyone sit here all by themselves, it's for larger groups and…"
The man had already seated himself and was holding a slender hand out to Naruto as if he expected the blond to place something in his awaiting palm. Naruto stared at the pale digits like they were foreign objects until the man said, not even the barest trace of emotion in his voice: "Menu,"
Naruto blinked. Disbelief was fast becoming a quick-button emotion with this guy.
"Sir," He persisted, holding back the vinal covered tri-fold while he made another attempt to dislodge this difficult client from his chosen seating. "This isn't a seat for the general public; we have reserved this table for special customers…" His voice trailed off.
The man hadn't moved or made any indication that he'd heard the blond at all. His hand had stayed where it was: elbow firmly planted in the tabletop, palm open and waiting.
Naruto could feel his temper rising, it was nearly palpable. This guy just couldn't take a hint! And here Naruto was trying to be polite and patiently explain why this was not a place where he was allowed to be. But from the lack of reaction to him, the blond guessed that this customer in particular was used to getting exactly what he wanted. It was at that moment that Naruto decided that this man was a complete and utter Teme.
He fought his temper down however, before he did anything that he might later regret. The criminal charges just weren't worth the temporary satisfaction of ripping this guy's beautiful face off.
So instead, he jammed the menu into the man's patiently waiting fingers and started to stalk away, not even bothering to offer the man a glass of water or explain that he himself was the unlucky son who had the misfortune of serving the jerk today.
"Green tea,"
Naruto froze and cautiously peered over his shoulder. Sure enough, a pair of soulless black eyes was staring in his direction, gazing fixedly at into his.
"W-what?"
"One. Pot. Of. Hot. And. Very. Bitter. Green. Tea." The man instructed calmly and slowly as if Naruto were a three year old before turning his attention back to the menu spread before him.
Naruto grit his teeth and stomped unprofessionally back into the kitchen, not caring that the other guests in the restaurant had stopped their conversation and were watching him as he punched unceremoniously through the thick oak doors and into the back. He brushed past Kiba, not even offering to hold the door for his friend as was their custom.
"Dude…" The dog lover whined, the gargantuan serving tray he was carrying fully laden. "Give a guy a hand."
"Sorry," Naruto apologized, backtracking to push open one of the heavy double-doors and let Kiba through.
"Are you feeling okay?" The brunette paused long enough to ask, well grunt, his attention more on not spilling his tray than his blond counterpart, but he was no less concerned.
Naruto was one of the best people on earth in Kiba's estimation. He was a good guy, always eager to lend a hand, hard-working, kind, patient to a point and the blond was certainly working on furthering that point, courteous. The guy would bend over backwards to please anyone and everyone he met. The blond was always the first to see the good in people and continued to believe in that good until he was proven wrong. The fact that Naruto was pissed off not even two minutes after he'd stumbled out to greet the customer was not a good omen of things to come.
"Tough customer?"
The bond glanced over to the back table and the annoyingly handsome figure seated there. No, Naruto blinked. He had not just called that jerk handsome again! The dude was handsome, but that was not why he was annoying. He was handsome because he was annoying…wait…
"Hey," Kiba repositioned his arms under the weight of the tray, glancing in the direction his friend was staring. He gaped. "Is that guy…"
"Yup,"
"And you told him…"
"Yup,"
And you were nice about it?
"Yup,"
"And he's still sitting there?"
The look Naruto gave Kiba was incredulous. "No, Kiba, he'd thought he'd order from that table and eat somewhere else."
"Hey, no need to get all tight in the shorts," Kiba growled defensively. "You know it's rude to get all sarcastic with your friends."
Naruto rolled his eyes and let out a harsh breath. "Whatever, so are you going to take this guy off my hands?"
"Sorry," Kiba grinned, moving towards the nearby tables. "I've got my hands full with the birch and maple tables. You're on your own bud."
Naruto's jaw dropped and he shouted after the retreating form of his friends back. "Come on, I'll take all of your tables, just help me out here!"
Every head in the cafe turned to look at him.
Realization seeped into Naruto's brain and a corresponding flush spread over his face. He turned his head over to the back corner, praying that this guy had been far enough away…
Dark ebony collided with sky blue and Naruto felt his skin starting to melt as the heat in his face began to burn hotter.
"Green tea," He mumbled, heading back into the kitchen, his face aflame. "One pot of hot green tea…"
Author note: so chapter 3 is finished. I actually had some trouble finding a good place to stop this one. But, I digress. Thanks to everyone who responded to my call for reviews; they truly are the fuel for my creative fires. And reviews don't necessarily have to be all full of butterflies and rainbows. Tell me honestly how I can improve this story.
I cannot wait until the next Shippuden box set comes out. I love the Asuma story arch so much. You really get to delve into Shikamaru who is one of my favorite characters of the series.