"Naruto!" The secretary approached his work table while the blond was drawing sketches with his tablet. "Mr. Sasuke Uchiha has arrived." She blinked confused when his concentrated face morphed into a scowl and he continued on his task, undeterred. "Naruto…?"

"Yeah, got it." He muttered, drawing another line on AutoCad, writing the correct coordinates. "Just need some touch ups, I'll be right there."

"Oh, I see." The secretary nodded. "He's already in the conference room though. Should I warn him that you'll be a few minutes, or…?"

Naruto shrugged, his cerulean eyes still fixed on his monitor. "Yeah, whatever, just keep giving him coffee or something like that." He paused and then added afterwards, "Give him the strongest coffee and keep refilling for him." Surely someone as annoying and fussy as the Bastard wouldn't be able to tolerate the bitterest flavor on his prissy tongue. Then, the blonde grumbled to himself. "I hope he dies from overdose of caffeine." Naruto refrained from the urge to suggest she drop some poison in the coffee, opting to wrinkle his nose in distaste.

Perhaps the secretary heard Naruto's mumbled threat or maybe she noticed the darkening expression on his face, because she whispered a frightened 'thanks' and turned around. Naruto stared at the finished plan and selected the document to be printed in A0, sighing and stretching his arms as he heard the noise of the printer. Normally he wouldn't let his clients wait too long for his arrival, but it's just that he wasn't in the mood to meet that frigid, conceited, son of a bitch Sasuke Uchiha. If possible, even though he knew that the meeting was inevitable, he wanted to delay this as much as he could.

Naruto picked up the printed plan and examined it slowly, not bothering to check the time. There wasn't any kind of mistake written there; he already checked thrice, but it wouldn't hurt checking for the fourth time, the blond mused wearing a wicked grin on his face. It's not that he was doing this on purpose…but admittedly he wouldn't be so slow if Sasuke showed him the minimum of courtesy. Too engrossed with his hated-filled thoughts, the young man didn't notice Sarutobi arriving and clearing his throat loudly; he raised his head to see his boss quirking an eyebrow towards him. Naruto's evil smile instantly disappeared as he felt his blood draining away from his face.

"So…I've heard that Sasuke-kun is here." Sarutobi smiled indulgently towards his employee.

"Yeah…about that…" Naruto placed the gigantic piece of paper on the table and mumbled. "I just need to make sure all the details are correct, it'll be just a few more minutes."

"Is that so?" The older man calmly combed his beard and muttered. "But I've heard from Shikamaru-kun that you already finished the initial proposal yesterday so you probably are more than ready to talk about it with Sasuke-kun right."

"Well…" Naruto squeaked, unable to meet his eyes towards his superior.

"You can't let him wait for too long huh? So pack up any necessary things and go." Sarutobi spoke in a tone of finality.

Naruto sighed, picking up the plan and grumbled. "'kays, I'm going."

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When Fugaku mentioned Uzumaki Naruto before they arrived at Sarutobi's office, Sasuke at first expected to see a regular Japanese young man, short in stature, shy, not an outspoken type. Probably be wearing thick-rimmed glasses, with a face filled with pimples and a standard hair style, having an average appearance and a belly. Yes, definitely a huge belly, after all, Naruto meant fishcake in Japanese; that surely would have some kind of influence on the man in question right?

"Excuse me, Mr. Uchiha." The secretary approached him with a cup of coffee. "I've already let Mr. Uzumaki know you've arrived and he will be here shortly."

Sasuke nodded as he drank the hot beverage and much to his surprise, it had a strong flavor, his favorite type. Working inside such a big company as Uchiha Corporation inevitably forced him to pull overnights almost every day and strong coffee became a necessary tool for his survival when the normal strength already lost its effect.

"Is there anything else that I can get you?" The secretary purred as she batted her eyelashes rapidly, with a sweet smile directed at him.

"No." Sasuke replied monosyllabic, taking another sip of coffee while the woman huffed and shifted away from his vision. Ten minutes had already passed since he arrived at the office, the usuratonkachi surely was taking his sweet time to arrive in the conference room. The brunet shrugged, already expecting that the blond would act like that just to spite him. At least the coffee tasted good.

Thinking about that hyperactive idiot, Sasuke had to admit that Naruto acted totally opposite than what he had imagined. Sasuke was picturing he would be the type that he could easily chastise in any occasion, who would simply duck his head while Sasuke would use him to vent his frustration; the typical employee that would tremble with fear upon hearing his surname, all obedient and meek.

As he finished the third cup of coffee, he heard the door being pried open and raised his head to see who had arrived. Azure and onyx eyes met and Sasuke noticed a scowl instantly forming on the tanned face.

And despite his distaste towards the blond, Sasuke couldn't help but to smirk seeing the rebellious expression directed at him. He didn't expect that Uzumaki Naruto would end up being an attractive blond man with brilliant blue eyes, sporting a healthy tanned, 'beach boy' type of skin. Unlike his predictions of meeting a chubby guy, Naruto had a nice toned body, not an inch of fat displayed on the lean stomach, evident beneath the thin shirt he was wearing, with rolled sleeves that showed his muscled arms. Sasuke shook his head inwardly while his eyes roamed all over Naruto's body. Indeed, completely unlike his expectations.

Not to mention that the blond immediately protested the moment Sasuke bad mouthed him for the first time. Never in his life had someone ever dared to open his mouth whenever he would insult him, much less complain and raise his voice against him. Naruto managed to do all this plus he also insulted Sasuke back, the brunet found himself entering in this childish banter, totally uncharacteristic from his usual nonchalant persona.

All in all, Naruto was someone who was the complete opposite of Sasuke's initial predictions. He had to admit that he was slightly frustrated by the fact that the blond moron went against his previous plans of finding the victim that wouldn't protest under his undermining attitude, but this way he kept Sasuke further entertained with his unpredictable behavior.

Well, it was also amusing to hear the blond man speaking in Japanese. With the globalization and internet, it was easier to learn new languages in comparison to the past, but it was still unusual to see someone with typical Caucasian characteristics speaking in almost perfect Japanese (almost, he still had a slight American accent).

The blond turned around to loudly close the door, huffing as he carried a lot of rolled papers with his hands, glaring towards Sasuke as the latter simply crossed his arms waiting. When Naruto reached the brunet, he placed all the objects on the table and grabbed a nearby chair to sit. After some tired breaths, Naruto muttered:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Uchiha." The tone wasn't as offensive in comparison to the first time they had met, but it still held some bitterness behind the polite words. Sasuke answered in Japanese:

"Call me Uchiha-san, I dislike the mister in my name." It made him sound centuries older than he looked.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine, Uchiha-san."

"And speak in Japanese, I dislike the way that Americans always keep mumbling their language, it's atrocious and hurts my ears just listening to it." Sasuke said as he examined some papers, knowing all too well that the blond would automatically protest back.

And he wasn't disappointed. "Hey!" Naruto shouted, waving his ruler in front of the brunet. "I don't see anything wrong with the American accent, you bastard! And whenever someone visits a foreign country, isn't it their obligation to adapt to that countries' customs and language to ensure a pleasant relationship with the native citizens? So you should use English with me since you know how to speak it!"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders and snorted. "Such hypocrisy. Whenever a foreigner arrives in the US they have to speak in English to communicate with anyone here. However, when an American goes to some other country, the citizens are expected to adapt and learn English to help them out. I don't see the need to follow this pattern."

"Well, English is an international language that everyone learns worldwide. It's convenient in cases that you don't know the local language you're visiting, you can try out English instead." Naruto answered. "It's inevitable that since everyone knows how to speak English, it's easier for them to help us out instead of us taking a lot of time learning their language."

Sasuke smirked. "No wonder Americans are known for being the arrogant, self-centered bunch."

Naruto growled, how dare this conceited asshole call him arrogant!

The brunet continued, undeterred. "You're simply afraid that you don't have a decent technical vocabulary to talk with me in Japanese about this project."

"I do too!" Naruto instantly protested in Japanese, Sasuke felt his smirk hitching higher as the blond had obviously fell in his well laid trap. "Well then, just you wait until I completely humiliate you with my awesome Japanese! Let this be a lesson for someone as arrogant as you to learn then!"

"I shall be waiting for your grandiose speech then, Uzumaki-san." Sasuke mockingly retorted in polite Japanese, placing his chin on the palm of his hand, while he looked at the papers placed in front of him.

Naruto narrowed his eyes for a moment, before picking up one of the plans and opening the rolled paper. "I'm sure Sarutobi already explained all the details about Mitsukoshi right. We'll be responsible for the demolition of the old building and the reconstruction of the new one retaining a similar style with its former."

Sasuke nodded. "Should I already be in contact with the demolition company and begin this operation in advance?"

"No…The photos your company have provided are useful as well as Sarutobi's material regarding the current building sketches, plans and all but…" The blond glanced at the technical drawings and said. "I prefer taking a look at the place, to see its current state to make a proper decision regarding which material we should use to construct the new one."

"…why?"

"Because Sarutobi said that the area where Mitsukoshi is located has a long history of earthquakes leaving us to conclude that there's a constant seismic activity nearby. So Sarutobi said that he used several technologies to guarantee elasticity to dissipate the impacts of seismic activity combined with reinforced steel structures and other rubber materials to absorb the wave frequencies. We also have to take care of the friction between the joints that…" Naruto noticed that Sasuke was frowning from the explanation and quickly amended. "The joints are the connection between each end of the structure and—"

Sasuke interrupted impatiently. "I know exactly what you're talking about, no need to explain it to me."

The brunet observed as the blond architect quickly changed his former concerned face with an annoyed glower as he proceeded further on. "So, I wanted to check myself how the material Sarutobi had formerly used had reacted to the seismic impacts through the decades to see if I should choose the same ones. We should also research the neighboring area, such as the usual public consumer, their behaviors and—"

"We already did this before." Sasuke interrupted. "Here's the report, and Mitsukoshi is located in Ginza." He opened his case as he offered a stack of papers.

"Well. That surely helps me out." The blonde picked up and flippantly looked over the pages. "I've already scheduled my flight to Japan anyway, and I prefer seeing it with my own eyes."

"Fine, when did you schedule your flight then?"

"In two months. Till then we'll have plenty of time to create the whole design and style, we also have to make sure to do a mock-up in 1 per 10000 meters scale." Naruto picked up several thick folders containing various samples of different types of material. "Several companies have already contacted us with samples of their materials and since it's going to be built in Japan, we can choose from some neighboring countries and plan carefully the logistics over which material is the most viable one and present the best quality too."

Sasuke nodded, logistics definitely was his area of expertise.

The blond continued, opening many pieces of rolled papers, all of them sprawled around the gigantic conference table. "Well, Russia produces some good quality minerals, and we'll find sturdy steel with reasonable prices, China on the other hand, we'll have to carefully choose the best brand of porcelain, as the type of quality inside that country varies too much depending the region…"

Sasuke simply stared as the architect began pointing out some specific places on the first floor plan, blue eyes immersed on his task as Naruto spoke:

"Well, I've noticed that Sarutobi used 32 main pillars on each floor, the shape of each floor is adequately structured although the overall floor plan made need to be modified to improve flow…"

Naruto paused, tilting his head upwards and Sasuke quickly schooled his slightly puzzled expression into a suave nonchalant one. Shrugging his shoulder, the blond resumed:

"Then, although high functionality is imperative inside Japan, I think we can still innovate with subtle curves on the basic structure of this building…"

Sasuke attempted to focus but eventually he'd lose one word or another, not being able to cope with rapid explanation and structural plans. The blond picked up one of the photos showing the front of the old building and said:

"We may need to analyze how to distribute well all the proper entrances since the old one only consisted of a main one. So…"

And it appeared that even if the Uchiha was labeled genius by many, one can be genius in only one certain area of expertise. Although Sasuke had an overall knowledge in architecture and held some meetings with other architecture companies, what Naruto was throwing at him was way too fast for him to cope with the speed of absorbing all the information. The brunet expected that the architect would stumble in some explanation or another, seeing he wasn't a native Japanese speaker and all the technical terms were too specific for a middle-advanced linguistic to know, he thought that it was the perfect opportunity to ridicule the usuratonkachi somehow.

Also, he knew that Naruto only recently started working in Sarutobi's office, even though this project would ensure a good promotion for the blond. Perhaps the idiot was used to talking with Japanese clients…? And since Sasuke had already arrogantly said that he didn't need any explanation in the first place, asking now was almost like pleading for an early grave. Sasuke frowned as Naruto spoke Japanese fluidly:

"—therefore, since Sarutobi used those two distinct styles, I prefer asking which one you are going to take. So which one do you prefer?" Naruto turned his head waiting for Sasuke's answer.

Graphite eyes widened a fraction before Sasuke immediately readjusted to his usual expressionless self. "…wh—Excuse me?"

"The two main styles Sarutobi used to build Mitsukoshi. Which one are you going to use as the main one." Naruto repeated impatiently.

Shoot. Sasuke was vainly trying to remember which styles Naruto was asking about but his (supposedly) genius self wasn't able to clear his muddled mind. He managed to come up with an answer:

"The second one…would be fine."

He succeeded in maintaining his cool detached expression, even under Naruto's meticulous scrutiny. The electric blue eyes kept staring with a perusal that frankly, unnerved Sasuke a little bit, as if they were searching, piercing directly to his soul.

Suddenly, a mischievous grin appeared. It twitched so rapidly on Naruto's lips that, by the time Sasuke was preparing to launch his patented Uchiha Glare ®, it disappeared to another professional smile. The brunet furrowed his eyebrows, staring suspiciously.

"I see, Art Deco right." Naruto said, as he picked up the photos of the entrance and showed them to Sasuke. "I guess it's understandable why you would choose this style, after all, the current Mitsukoshi has this distinct style that stands out against the other buildings around it. It'd be foolish if we used another style that will lose the original identity Mitsukoshi portrayed."

Sasuke took several seconds to absorb the information, before he nodded slowly, still glaring in suspicion towards the blond. Naruto continued unruffled.

"As you can see that Art Deco was previously inspired by the ideals of Art Nouveau, however, it also held the intent of finding the perfect geometric shapes, studying many ancient cultures such as Babylon, Aztec and many others."

Sasuke shrugged, not paying full attention to Naruto's explanation. Even though he had the basic knowledge in art history, the subject was too boring for him.

"But Art Deco's main inspiration is the Greco-Roman Classicism. Like in Art Nouveau, they wanted to resurrect this movement and make the previous glorious civilization influence our lives once again. I say we should also do the same. And to revolutionize this whole concept, we should take one bold step and make it clear our intentions to resurrect this culture!"

Boring…Whatever…Sasuke glanced at his watch, wanting this explanation to be over as quickly as possible.

"We should put statues of Venus de Milo in each pillar in the new building! No, even better, we should put a 32 foot long statue of Venus de Milo right at the entrance while we create a sacrificial altar around her. All the employees will be dressed in costume, wearing Greek clothes, with white fabric draped around the body and stopping a little bit below the crotch. It'll definitely attract lots of customers, I guarantee it."

"If you say so…" Sasuke replied monotonously, his mind wandering too far away from the current issue that he took some several moments to notice something wasn't quite right. Wait what?

"We'll attract million of tourists from all parts of Japan, and every visitor will donate money in appreciation of Venus de Milo. Those who can't, obviously, will be sacrificed for her sake, the blood spilled occasionally will make her satisfied that we're such devoted followers."

"Usuratonkachi, what exactly are you talking about now." Sasuke cut in between with a sharp glare.

The innocent confusion that Naruto displayed on his whiskered face could almost guarantee a nomination on the Academy. "What are you talking about? You agreed with all this right? Don't worry about it, I know exactly the best company that can create an identical statue with the best price on the market! It's going to be goooorgeous—"There, Naruto made an excellent imitation of a stereotypical gay artist showing off his works, even waving his hands dramatically and sighing dreamily. "Just fabulous, I can already envision the beautiful entrance with that magnanimous statue and—"

Sasuke quickly grabbed Naruto's shirt and snarled. "Cut the bullshit, dumbass. This was a stupid joke, and you should just shut the fuck up idiot. What the hell is wrong with you, moron."

Naruto gaped for a few seconds enraged before also fisting Sasuke's expensive suit and growled in English. "What the fuck is wrong with me, you Bastard? You were the one who started all this! What did I do to get your panties in a twist, asshole?"

"Wh—What?" Sasuke dragged Naruto closer to him and sputtered. "How dare you accuse me of wearing panties! You're an annoying idiot, irritating me right at the start!"

"Well, you're a fucking bastard too! Prissy ass, icy oohime-chama!" Naruto glowered as he also dragged Sasuke closer next to him.

"Usuratonkachi!" Sasuke snarled, decreasing the distance between them.

Naruto grabbed closer, smirking. "Yarou!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Congratulations for knowing one curse word, ahou."

"Shove it, Teme!" Naruto growled so close to Sasuke that he felt the bastard's breath on his face.

"Wow, two words, I'm impressed, baka." Sasuke snorted.

"You—you—"Naruto protested as he could see in full detail graphite eyes narrowed in annoyance. They were so close that if anyone shifted at that moment, their noses would touch each other.

The blond saw a smirk hitching on Sasuke's mouth and quirked an eyebrow in response. "You know, anyone with minimal intelligence would think twice before picking a fight with an important CEO from a multinational company." Sasuke spoke, the smooth voice involuntarily made Naruto stare at Sasuke's perfect lips moving and forming the words. Wait, why was he staring at the bastard's mouth now?

"That's because anyone with enough common sense knows that they shouldn't give any special treatment to inconsiderate bastards like you."

Sasuke raised an impressed eyebrow. "Hn. Shouldn't you be afraid of the fact that I could ruin your life completely with a simple snap of my fingers, usuratonkachi?"

It was Naruto's turn to snort. "You're a bastard. And a proud arrogant asshole to boot too. I bet that if you really wanted to ruin my life, you'd prefer doing it by yourself so you can gloat everywhere that it was done with your own hands. Quite the retarded idea, but that's just expected from a bastard like you."

Sasuke scowled, drawing Naruto closer. "So what if—"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Sarutobi said: "Hey boys. How is it going with you two right now?" He opened the door and saw the young men looking intently at one plan placed between them.

"Hi Sarutobi-jiichan!" Naruto chirped, a wide grin straining on his lips.

"Good Afternoon, Sarutobi-san." Sasuke spoke courteously, bowing his head slightly.

The old man nodded in greeting, satisfied with the apparent amiable atmosphere between them. "I see that you both have finally solved your differences and are on peaceful terms now." The young men nodded a little bit too eagerly but Sarutobi didn't notice. "I'm glad. Do you need any help concerning the project now?"

"Well, you could remove some bastardish asshole out of my way and everything will be fine, thank you." Naruto muttered to himself though he almost howled in pain when he felt a painful jab on his knee. "Owww—"He groaned as he glared daggers towards Sasuke's smug eyes.

"Everything is in order, thank you for your concern, Sarutobi-san." Sasuke spoke politely, succeeding to hide his wince when Naruto pinched his arm in retaliation.

"Good. Sasuke-kun, your father and I were thinking of going out for dinner right now, just to talk and catch up, and I thought it'd be nice if you could go with us. Are you done for today then, boys?"

"Yes." Both answered at the same time, with the same aloof tone that made the old man raise an eyebrow.

Sasuke raised himself from his seat while Naruto began rearranging the papers, rolling and collecting them into one place. As the brunet was about to exit the room, the blond called:

"Oh yeah. Mr. Uchiha." Naruto grinned at the subtle glower aimed at him from his client. "I hope you consider my idea of using architraves, totems and sacrificial pits since it was your decision about this in the first place. Right?"

He could barely muffle his chuckle as the glare darkened and Sasuke exited under Sarutobi's confused expression.

Fine. If that's how the usuratonkachi wanted to play. Sasuke mused and smirked evilly, already crafting another plan in his head.

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"Here." Sasuke said as he threw a book on the table. Naruto stared at the thick book presented to him and grunted.

"What is this?" The blond narrowed his eyes suspiciously, picking it up and opened the book.

"You wanted me to decide a major style for the new Mitsukoshi. The answer is in this book."

"Say what?" Naruto snarled as he glanced at the glossary.

Oh god. Kanjis. And more Kanjis. And even more Kanjis. An ocean of Kanjis—

"I thought that the best way to reconstruct Mitsukoshi would be by embracing our Japanese roots. Therefore, I picked up the best book that depicts correctly the spirit and philosophy of historical Japan and provides a basis of understanding on how we can apply it in the design of the new building." Sasuke said haughtily as he glanced with satisfaction at the look of desperation that took on Naruto's features.

Naruto glanced at the book cover; "Oku no Hosomichi", before opening the first chapter. More kanjis. The book was probably written in Archaic Japanese. And, by the way the letters were organized, it also appeared to be a poem. Even though Naruto had an advanced knowledge of the Japanese language, he was only limited to the modern vocabulary. There wasn't any katakana written inside it, leading him to believe that this book was written before any interference from outer countries. Holy crap~~~~~

Naruto growled "Didn't you decide last week that we should go with Art Deco?" The word 'bastard' went unsaid, but was grossly implied anyways.

"I have changed my mind. Art Deco is something from the Western world, inspired in western civilizations. We should respect our own culture instead of copying from others. You can mix with constructivism, as Sarutobi-san had also chosen this style in the current building, didn't he?" Sasuke crossed his arms as a challenge.

Naruto wrinkled his nose, but otherwise didn't say anything. Bastard or not, Sasuke was still his client and therefore it wasn't his place to complain. Except. "Can't I simply research Japanese architecture, Buddhist and Shinto temples and Japanese castles instead of reading this book?" The blond growled, returning the book to Sasuke.

The brunet pushed it back to Naruto. "No. You could research to aid your ideas, but the essence of Mitsukoshi's whole style will based on this book. I don't want to see any cheap imitation of something already existing; I want a whole new concept with the same ideals and tradition that the Japanese culture has."

Naruto hissed lowly. "Bastard."

"What was that?" Sasuke quirked an eyebrow.

"Looking forward to seeing this m'a—sir." Naruto replied monotonously in English.

"I already said that you'll use Japanese with me, usuratonkachi."

Naruto continued to mutter in English. "Why don't you shove an icicle deep inside your ass, you…" he continued to grumble as the brunet rolled his eyes.

"See, that's why I said that Americans only mumble incoherently in their own language."

Naruto didn't reply, preferring to glare as venomously as possible at Sasuke. He glanced back to the book. "What is 'washi'?"

The Uchiha chuckled darkly. "I or me." He felt his smirk opening so wide that his mouth was going to crack. "Used in feudal times." The grin was hitching higher as he saw Naruto's gaping mouth; any wider he'd be able to catch flies. "I guess we can call this meeting over right?" He spoke in a tone of finality.

The blond simply couldn't answer, just opted to browse through the book as his blue eyes kept widening considerably with each turn of the page.

"Oh yes. I'll want the resolution with good sketches and ideas in the next two days. After all, I'm extremely busy and that's the only available time I have for you." Sasuke spoke as he prepared to leave.

"…" Naruto closed his mouth to bare his teeth into a threatening growl.

"See you later usuratonkachi." Sasuke replied smoothly, thoroughly ignoring the killing intent emanating towards him.

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Naruto stared at the long pages of the book before throwing his head back with a sigh. He. Was. Sooooooooooo. Screwed. His brows immediately knitted into an indignant frown. The Bastard. That ass was making sure he'll be humiliated just because Naruto played a small prank on him. Sheesh, bitter much?

The blond contemplated for a moment about buying the English version before discarding the idea. The prick was challenging him and he surely was not someone who'd cowardly back off such a test.

Google translator obviously wouldn't be able to translate such complex kanji characters; his only alternative would be buying a dictionary then. Blue eyes steeling with resolution, Naruto jumped off his seat and went to talk with Sarutobi for permission.

He knocked lightly on the door. "Sarutobi-jiichan."

"Yes, is there a problem, Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi glanced through his papers when he saw the young blond scratching the back of his head.

"Actually, I need to go outside and buy a kanji dictionary."

Taken by surprise, Sarutobi quirked an eyebrow, questioning. "Kanji dictionary? What for?"

"I need it to read a book that Mr. Sasuke Uchiha lent me that will be the main guideline to create the design of the new Mitsukoshi building."

"Oh really? What book?" Sarutobi asked confused, since he was sure that Sasuke had a graduate degree in Administration, right? He wouldn't lend any book regarding architecture; an area that he wasn't specialized in.

"Oku no Hosomichi."

"…really? Isn't that…a literatary book?"

Naruto shrugged back. "He said that I should use it to understand the essence of the Japanese Culture."

Sarutobi nodded in agreement. "Well, he is correct in those terms, Sasuke-kun always was such a clever child."

Naruto scowled at the 'clever' part. He then, blinked in recognition. "You already read it boss?" Naruto asked hopeful.

"Oh yes. It is one of my favorite books too. First read while I was doing my PhD."

Sarutobi was his GOD. "Really?" Naruto beamed brightly, approaching the elder man's table with eagerness.

"Of course. I have even re-read it many times since it's such an interesting book." Sarutobi answered, brushing his beard.

"So, you could help me to understand while I read it, right?" Naruto replied, already placing the book on the table.

"I'll be happy to help you out, Naruto-kun." Sarutobi said with a benevolent smile, the blond almost felt a rush of oncoming tears.

"I'll raise a shrine in your name and give you offerings every day. Not that I'm implying I want you dead, oh God no." Naruto involuntarily shivered and promptly knocked on the wooden table thrice.

"Is there any problem Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi looked towards his subordinate, further bewildered.

Naruto grinned wide. "Of course not! Let's begin."

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Sasuke drummed the table with his fingers impatiently as the secretary placed another cup of coffee, glaring before she could offer any 'extra-service'. She meeped frightened, disappearing from the room in an instant.

So obviously, the usuratonkachi was making him wait ten more minutes since he had arrived. He expected that usually American people would be punctual right? The brunet frowned as he glanced at his watch. Eleven minutes. Perhaps the dumbass had cowered in fear and now was secluded in a faraway place while the other architect was fixing his mistakes? Sasuke snorted, for some reason, even though he hadn't met Naruto more than three times, he knew that the stubborn idiot wouldn't do such a cowardly thing.

He heard the noise of a door opening and once again saw Naruto carrying a lot of rolled papers; however, this time, a gleeful smile was plastered on his face.

"Why, good afternoon, Uchiha-san!" Sasuke narrowed his eyes, the tone of Naruto's voice was way too teasing to not arouse any suspicion.

"Hn. Where are the plans?"

Naruto threw everything in front of his client. "Here. I've designed three styles, you're free to choose which one you prefer. For now, we're focusing more on the entrance as well as the basic structure of the building; once you approve the style, we'll enter in more of the details." He picked one of the rolled papers and offered it to Sasuke. "Here's one of the ideas for the entrance."

Sasuke picked it up and opened it cautiously as he glanced at the contents inside. The drawings had clean, smooth lines, not too sketchy neither too clinical, it revealed a little bit of the artist's style. However, what truly impressed Sasuke was the design. As he already worked with other architectural companies, he could already evaluate which would be an innovative idea and which was only recycling an old one. Naruto's, although based on constructivism with a hint of minimalistic style, still incorporated soft curved lines. Above all, he succeeded to attain the Japanese ideal. Somehow, as he stared at the drawing, it had a homey sensation that he couldn't exactly identify.

He picked up another drawing, opening it he saw some sketches of the corridors, details of the pillars and many others, everything following the Zen way of life. Sasuke frowned. Maybe the usuratonkachi simply gave up and looked for references everywhere and came up with this idea instead of reading the appointed book.

"Cool huh?" Naruto grinned with unveiled pride as he pointed at the corridor. "I wanted to depict it just like the personality of Gozaemon the Buddha. Strong, simple and straightforward."

Then again, maybe he did read the whole thing.

Sasuke fixed a stare at the blond, determined to find any faltering smile or any betraying expression. None. Naruto simply continued with his professional smile, though it was bordering on a smug grin as Sasuke kept looking at the other drawings, without any further complaint.

It was becoming increasingly frustrating for Sasuke the fact that the blond had executed the plans flawlessly and in such short time too. So maybe his father had the correct impression of the usuratonkachi. Maybe he's simply unwort—

Sasuke shook his head, but the inevitable feeling of something dark suffocating him had already lodged in his heart. He lashed out at Naruto, pointing to one of the pillars:

"Well, I dislike this style, it's too crude. I expect a more elegant one."

However, contrary to his expectations of Naruto bristling in indignation, the blond just approached him and asked:

"Is that so? Is it because it's too thick or you didn't like the base of the pillar?"

The sincere question that was devoid of any bitterness caught Sasuke off-guard, as he muttered with less enthusiasm:

"Too…thick."

"Ok." Naruto got up from his seat and turned on the computer that was placed inside the room. "I have several other ideas I'll sketch to see which one you prefer."

He picked up a blank A3 paper and a mechanical pencil, and with quick lines he came up with three other styles. "So, which one do you prefer instead of the original?" Naruto asked.

"The third one…" Sasuke said, as he observed blond eyebrows knitted in concentration, adding more details on the chosen pillar.

"Like this?" Naruto questioned and received another nod from the brunet, as he moved his chair around and stopped in front of the computer. He selected the archive with the appointed sketch he wanted to modify and opened it.

After a couple of minutes, the architect was already erasing the old pillar inside the computer and adding the new one inside the overall drawing, blending the colors again and adjusting the styles. Not having any other choice except waiting for the sketch to be done, Sasuke watched Naruto using the tablet skillfully, every trace of goofiness void from his face. Guilt inevitably crept to his stomach. It was to be expected that Naruto would act professionally whenever he met demands from any client, Sasuke wasn't any different. And add the fact that the blond could put aside his personal vendettas to execute his job flawlessly, made Sasuke feel a smaller man in comparison to Naruto.

"There! So, see if it's any better." Naruto called the brunet as the latter approached him to evaluate the new correction.

The differences were subtle, even though the new one was better than the old design. Sasuke pursed his lips, uncomfortable with the fact that he wasted Naruto's time just to fulfill his selfish and resentful emotions.

"Yes…I guess." The brunet muttered approvingly.

Naruto quirked a small smile of gratitude and that made Sasuke feel increasingly inferior to the blond. Perhaps he shouldn't use his trump card to further humiliate the usuratonkachi…

They heard another knock on the door and Sarutobi's head peeked inside, in appraisal. "Oh, how are the things going with you two?"

"Everything is going fine Sarutobi-san." Sasuke acknowledged with another polite bow.

"Good, good! And Naruto-kun, you're not having any problem with working with Sasuke-kun right?"

Naruto snorted, whispering in English to himself. "Please. Working with this bastard is almost like being between a rock and a hard place." He felt a steady gaze prickling his spine and to his shock, Sasuke stared at him as if he heard Naruto's mutter. The blond gulped dryly, already waiting for the lash out.

But Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow questioningly, perhaps because he couldn't fully comprehend what Naruto had just said or maybe the brunet simply chose to ignore it. Who knew?

"Ah…I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised that you chose 'Oku no Hosomichi' as a reference for the new concept of Mitsukoshi. That story is one of my favorite books that I've read in my life, and I'm impressed that such a young lad like you had already read it!"

Sasuke replied to the old man. "Well, such a classic title should be cherished through all generations and centuries, and I'm also honored that I could comprehend such impressive poems even with my inexperienced life."

Sarutobi hummed in approval. "But for someone as young as you to be interested in an old book like that is a rare example, indeed. I'm happy that Fugaku-san has raised both of his sons well." Sasuke's expression darkened slightly at the mention of the other son but nevertheless, nodded politely.

"It was nothing. It's my dream however, to make this philosophy widely known to others."

"I understand…Which by the way, that made me extremely satisfied when I helped Naruto-kun out to comprehend this book." Sarutobi smiled back.

Naruto immediately stiffened as the words were processed by Sasuke.

The brunet cleared his throat. "Come again?"

"Well, sadly Naruto-kun is not a native speaker like us, so he asked for help when you lent the book to him."

Naruto felt his blood running cold, Sasuke's face becoming steadily expressionless. Oh…craaaaaaaap…

"So, since I had already read this book several times, I thought I wouldn't mind sharing my knowledge with him." Sarutobi concluded, unbeknownst towards Naruto's inner turmoil.

"…is that so." Was Sasuke's short answer.

"Yes. I trust he drew some good ideas for you right?"

Sasuke didn't reply instantaneously, maintaining his nonchalant face as the silence intensified inside the room, a tense atmosphere lingering between them, although Sarutobi didn't feel it; unaware of the issue at hand. Naruto was feeling gradually more nervous from the impassiveness, when suddenly, an evil smirk broke inside.

"Of course. He gave me excellent ideas for this project, Sarutobi-san." Sasuke spoke smoothly, the smirk never leaving his face. "In fact, I wanted to congratulate him for those successful designs by inviting him to a party held by Uchiha Corporation next week."

What? Was Naruto only conscious thought as he let the conversation slip out of his control.

"Oh really? Well, that's definitely good news, right, Naruto-kun?" Sarutobi nodded cheerfully. "This will be a good opportunity to make your name known among the elite societies!"

"I'll make sure to introduce him to important sponsors, Sarutobi-san." Sasuke guaranteed, his wicked smirk never faltering. Naruto only gaped, his jaw definitely dropping to the ground.

"I'm glad that you're here to help him out Sasuke-kun. I'll make sure you'll be able to attend that party Naruto-kun, don't worry about it!" Sarutobi gave some healthy pats on the tanned shoulder, although the latter couldn't react, resulting from his utter shock.

As he finally regained some sense and glanced at the brunet's infuriating expression, Naruto paled as Sasuke's eyes gleamed with a knowing smirk.

That. Baaaaaaastaaaaaaardd…

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Report 03: Problems onboard!

AN: *coughing awkwardly* before you guys try to kill me for being an anti-american, I'm saying in my defense that the whole dialogue I've heard from other people, not coming from me. So yeah, I'm simply paraphrasing! (even though I agree with some points…*coughing again*)

…it's kinda weird studying about earthquakes when your own country doesn't have any. *laughs*

In any case anyone wants to ask, Oohime-chama means Great Princess-chama (sama + chan)

Oh GOD! I hate the punctuation in ff . NET! I can't put a lot of them, actually, I can only put on max two, can't put interrobang, can't write a long word...*grumbles*

A special thanks to my betareader Belledragon that fixed so many mistakes...*sweatdrop* I'm so glad that she has the time and enormous patience to help me out. :)