-XXX-

SASUKE

The sound of my fists hitting the punching bag echoed throughout my house. Frustrated, I threw punch after punch to burn off my excess energy and hopefully come up with an idea related to my situation.

I didn't get much sleep last night, and I was in a gloomy mood because of it. So I figured I'd take advantage of the home gym for the first time in a long time. My face and back were covered in cold sweat, so I got a towel and went to the coffee table to get my cell phone to turn the music on my headphones up. I considered all the options and plans and came to certain conclusion.

I originally imagined that when Naruto gets me to the Namikaze Group, I'll just tell Minato some vague information about the woman who supposedly changed the course of my life, and thus myself. In short, I would somehow shut down the subject of "my beloved".

If I had passed that interview, I would have kept up the facade until I showed them that I was a capable employee. And then a horrible thing happens - that perfect girl leaves me, I'm heartbroken, so I throw myself like hell into work to forget about her, and Namikaze doesn't even think about firing me.

But according to Naruto's words, this idea of mine would probably not work. I toyed with the idea of finding someone. Probably a professional actress, but it seemed too risky. Naruto's words kept ringing in my head.

He was suggesting that I must show Minato a real woman who would radiate with love and family feelings. One that will convince everyone that I'm a better person than I'm rumored to be. One that Naruto described as "ordinary, gentle, and affectionate". And the strangest thing was that Naruto had a specific woman in mind.

Miss Haruno.

I admit that if I looked at the matter from a distance and tried to be objective, Naruto was right. Miss Haruno was the perfect camouflage. If Namikaze thought that I was leaving ROOT Inc. because I fell in love with my secretary and put her and our relationship before work, I'd certainly have earned some points.

She was different from the circle of women I dealt with. According to Naruto, she was pretty, smart and kind. The others in the company liked her. That was a plus. Except she was Miss Haruno.

With a sigh, I grabbed a towel and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, kicked it in and opened my laptop. I logged onto our company website, found the employee folders with basic information and stopped at Miss Haruno's folder. I looked at her photo and tried to be objective.

There was nothing distinctive about her, except for the color of her pink hair and emerald eyes. When she joined us, I was quite captivated by the colors and the overall combination. She was actually a pretty girl. I was kind of self-conscious about her, but then I got so used to her appearance that I didn't realise the fact that she was really remarkable at first glance.

I had never seen her with her hair done other than in a tight bun, so I could only guess the length of her hair. Perhaps loose would have suited her better, as she was very fair skinned and a little hair down in her face might have made a big difference. I couldn't even guess, for example, what kind of figure she had if she wore something other than her old-fashioned oversized suits. And once we started working together, it was just like it is now.

I narrowed my eyes and looked at her picture. A little extra sleep wouldn't hurt her. At least she'd get rid of the circles under her eyes. And it would help if she ate something other than those rice cakes. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen her eat anything else. She was too skinny. I always liked more curves and muscles in a woman. I sighed in frustration and rested my chin on my joined hands propped on my elbows.

In this case, though, it clearly didn't matter what I preferred, but what I needed. I had to admit to myself that I needed Miss Haruno.

My phone rang, and when I looked at the display, I was surprised to see Naruto's number.

"A pleasant good morning, you grumpy!" It came from the other side the moment I answered the call. And in the same instant, I began to regret it.

"Did I wake you up by any chance?" I looked at the clock and it was only 6:30 AM. I was quite surprised that Naruto was already awake and functional, because other times I wake the idiot up at 4 PM.

"Hn... I've been up for a while. What's wrong?"

"Dad wants to see you at 12:30 PM today." I stood up and felt a feeling of nervousness and excitement run down my back at the same time. "Why so fast?" It was strange to me that the interview appointment had been able to be arranged so quickly.

"My dad's going to be in town this week, so I told him you were thinking of taking an interview for the job, dattebayo!" I smiled at his tenacious efforts to help me. "I owe you one."

He chuckled. "A big one! So big you'll never be able to pay me back!" Naruto yelled so loudly that I had to put my phone away from my ear if I wanted to keep my hearing. "I know." I said gratefully, shaking my head at the idiot. "That's good, teme! See you later and let me know how it went."

"Sure..." I hung up and checked my daily schedule. I found that Miss Haruno had adjusted it late in the evening so that I would be ready for everything in the morning, which I had to scoff at. Flawless as always. I had a work brunch arranged for 9 AM, which meant I would be back at the company around 11 AM. So I decided not to return to the office after that.

I had an idea how to get my "beloved girlfriend" theme involved in Namikaze's job interview. So I dialed Miss Haruno's number. After a few beeps, she picked up the phone and mumbled a sleepy introduction. "Mmmm... Sakura Haruno... Halo?"

"Miss Haruno?"

"What?" She said in a tone I had never heard from her before at work. So privately, outside of work, she could use a more forceful tone? Specifically, it was a tense and irritated tone of a person who was currently being annoyed. I'm supposed to be the annoyed and irritated one, not you. I took a deep breath so I wouldn't lose my temper. She's obviously not an early bird and I just woke her up. Good.

I tried again. "Miss Haruno, this is Sasuke Uchiha."

Her voice suddenly sounded hoarse and confused. "Mr. Uchiha?" I sighed heavily, imagining this was going to take forever to get anywhere with this woman. "Yes, me."

I heard some fidgeting and I could imagine in my mind how she was all fuzzy trying to sit up and checking my name on her phone screen. She cleared her throat and the tone of her voice suddenly switched to the business-like tone I hear at work, with a hint of nervousness. "Is there, uh... a problem, Mr. Uchiha?"

"I will come to the office after lunch." I announced and there was silence. "I have some private business to attend to." When she spoke again, her voice sounded exhausted. "Why didn't you send me a message... sir?" Her question was legitimate. I wasn't in the habit of calling her. In fact, I never called her, I just always wrote a short work instruction in the message. I often didn't even bother to answer her. The fact that I called her personally this time was understandably surprising.

"I need two things from you." I said flatly, continuing regardless of her sarcastic tone. "If Danzo comes to ask where I am, tell him that I have a private meeting and that you don't know where it's being held. Do you understand?"

"Absolutely."

"Next I need you to call me on my private phone at 11:15 AM. Not a minute otherwise."

"Do you wish me to say anything, or shall I just breathe and keep quiet, as always?" I moved the phone away from my ear, not expecting her tone. It was an attempt at a sarcastic joke. It seemed my secretary wasn't exactly doubly thrilled that I'd woken her up so early in the morning. This morning, it felt like she and Naruto had switched personalities.

She was much more outspoken than usual and my comprehension couldn't take it this early in the morning. "I wish you'd tell me that the meeting scheduled for 5 PM has been moved to 4 PM."

"Is that all?"

"Hn..." I nodded in agreement. "Now repeat what I told you."

She made a strange sound, something like a grunt, which made me smile. It seemed that Miss Haruno could speak up and be displeased with something under the right circumstances after all. Still, I wanted to make sure she was awake enough to remember my instructions.

"I'll tell Mr. Danzo that you have a personal meeting and I have no idea where you are or who you are with. I'll call you on your private cell phone at 11:15 AM and tell you that your appointment has been moved from 5 PM to 4 PM."

"Okay. Don't screw this up."

There was an uncertain squeak in her voice in the background that was meant to warn me not to end the call just yet. "But Mr. Uchiha, that doesn't make any sense. Why would I..."

I didn't bother to listen further and hung up.

-XXX-

End of Chapter 4