Note:

Thank you so much, DeeDee ( MsDeeDeeStyles on Twitter), for proofreading!

I've received too many text messages to count since the day Sasuke and I had lunch and basically kickstarted this whole charade. Have I read every single one? No.

Sasuke and I may have come to an agreement and have gotten our story straight, but that's only one factor of this deal. Having to answer everyone's questions and whether they believe me or not will be another ordeal entirely.

I know the group chat has been the most active it's been in a while. They deserve to know, especially since I may need their help later, but I just need a few days to myself to recuperate.

No one at work has said anything about it to me, but I know they're talking. It's obvious from the stares I've been getting coming to and from the office. It doesn't feel hostile. Hopefully, it stays that way. It's only natural they're curious.

Thankfully, the weekend has finally come. I can lounge around at home and properly digest everything that's occurred this past week.

Or so I told myself.

Instead, I'm on the floor, my face practically fused to my laptop screen as I go through any article I can find about Danzo Shimura.

When he was embroiled in that lawsuit a couple of years ago, I did the necessary research about the man in order to report it. After all, he's the CEO of his own subsidiary under Senju Holdings and being caught up in a fraud case is big news in the business sector, and even the politics sector. It also doesn't help that a name like his is attached to my godmother's empire.

It's a wonder why anyone was just okay with keeping him on the board after all of that. Sure, the case was eventually settled after a hefty payout, but did no one else on the board think it would be safer to kick him to the curb?

I know Aunt T was and is frustrated with the support he garnered within the board. Despite her being the head of Senju Holdings, with all of them pledging loyalty to both her and Shimura, means her majority shares and voting rights mean nothing if everyone else has decided to be locked in together to protect him.

Article after article talk about his involvement in the lawsuit. It doesn't escape me how some of them bought into his excuses, at how a lot of them seem to believe that he was blindsided.

It's not blatantly obvious. If they were, it would only sour their journalistic reputations, but the constant additions of high praise from his peers and 'good relationships with those affected' isn't something to ignore.

I wonder just how many people are secretly on his payroll, and why it hasn't been spoken about more.

As for any reason why Madara Uchiha would hate him, I don't see much tying his name to them. There are a few pictures of events where both are in attendance, but there's nothing deeper than that so far.

That only means I've got my work cut out for me.

After spending almost all day on my deep dive, I finally stand, giving my legs a much-needed stretch before I wake up in the middle of the night with a painful cramp.

It's only when I reach the fridge that I notice my phone had been left on the kitchen island, completely ignored. It's for the best, really. That's a whole other beast to face.

Intending to pocket the thing, the screen lights up and I see the barrage of notifications. While that's been the norm as of late, it's the notification at the top that makes me pause.

Mr. Uchiha-

No.

Sasuke texted me.

We exchanged personal phone numbers the last time we spoke to avoid more email related issues arising, but it's still odd having this form of communication with him now. Add that to the list of things that make my life so surreal these days.

Sasuke Uchiha

Grandfather has officially broken the news to the family.

He wants you to join us for a family dinner tomorrow.

My mother would like to meet with you officially before the dinner.
Sasuke Uchiha

There goes my peaceful weekend. Could he at least start with a "hello" or something?

Sasuke Uchiha

alright
where are we meeting?
and does your family have some dress code for these things?
Me

I'll pick you up.
Send me your address.
As for attire, be presentable.
Sasuke Uchiha

would it kill you to say "please" every now and then?
by presentable, do you mean formal, business casual, or..?
Me

What would you normally wear to meet with your family?
Sasuke Uchiha

your family and my family are completely different
but with aunt t, I try to dress up a little more
unlike you, I don't live in a suit.
Me

I have other clothes, Ms. Haruno.
Sasuke Uchiha

oops, that's not what you're supposed to call me, remember?
Me

Sakura.
Sasuke Uchiha

ding, ding, ding! correct!
you win a prize!
Me

Don't be annoying.
Sasuke Uchiha

you're no fun
Me

You weren't like this through emails.
Sasuke Uchiha

that's because you were my workplace superior and that was a business correspondence.
Me

I'm still your superior at work.
Sasuke Uchiha

am I being paid to be your fiancé?
Me

Fair point.
Sasuke Uchiha

exactly
Me

I send him my address, then put my phone back down.

It's time for that bubble bath and bottle of merlot before I'm thrust back into reality tomorrow.

The bath's great. Wonderful. Soothing my muscles.

The merlot, however, remains untouched.

Instead of relaxing like I should be, I've been on my phone, continuing to dig through anything I can find on Shimura.

From useless facts to his long list of friends and even longer list of enemies, I know more about him than I know about any other public figure at this point. The man has the faith and trust of two of Senju Holdings' most tenured board members and a close friendship with Konoha's former mayor, but to be an enemy of the Uchiha cancels all of that good fortune out.

The reason for my prolonged researching? I still don't know why he's on Madara Uchiha's shit list.

There's no business connection there. At least not directly. If I put the Senju between them, there might be a prominent link somewhere, though. At least, I hope.

The Senju and the Uchiha are the definitions of old money in Konoha, and while there is a silent rivalry that stemmed from a feud that begun around the founding of the city, there's respect there. Time only mellowed that dispute.

With Shimura building connection within Senju Holdings and using his position on the board to network outside the conglomerate, it would be no surprise that maybe he tried to sway the Uchiha by using the Senju name. To these old money families, there's nothing more insulting than to pretend to be one of them.

I wince.

Isn't that what I'm doing?

Sigh.

I'm going nowhere.

I feel like I'm connecting red strings with no rhyme or reason. It's a prominent sign to stop.

I tell myself this will be the final article, halfheartedly scrolling one last article dated six years ago.

There's a series of photos, candids of some charity golf event. A puff piece, really. I'm close to the end of it and close to closing the browser until the final photo.

A posed photo of four older men, but I'm not paying attention to them. In the background is Shimura, and he's speaking with none other than Itachi Uchiha.

I double check the date of when the photo was taken.

They could just be making small talk. What else is there to do in those events? Aside from, you know, golf.

I save the photo and note it in an app, linking the article too.

It's not much, but it's something.

As much as I've been worrying about tomorrow's meet the family dinner, it's needed.

I need to dig deeper. Internet sleuthing works, but the Uchiha's are a primary source, and Sasuke is as in the dark as I am.

For the most part.

My thumb hovers on the contacts icon, wondering if I should save the interrogation for tomorrow. It's the middle of the night, and for all I know, he could be out at the clubs.

I laugh.

As if.

That man is basically married to his job with how stressed out he always looked. For all I know, he could be in his office.

If only to sate my ever-present curiosity, I call him.

It only takes two rings for him to answer.

"Ms. Haruno."

I tsk at him. "Nope. Try again."

His sigh elicits a grin from me.

"Sakura, to what do I owe this call?"

"I have questions."

"As you always do."

I hear the unmissable sound of keyboard typing. "Are you working?"

"Yes."

"On a Saturday night?"

"Yes."

"Please, tell me you're not in your office."

"I'm in an office. My home office."

"Well, that answers my first question."

I hear a huff from the other end of the line. "Did you call only to comment on my working habits?"

"No, I spent the day glued to screens researching everything I can about Shimura."

"And what did you find?"

Oh, so now he's interested. I can picture that furrow on his brow now.

"Nothing that seems too important. For now." I bite my lip, hesitation precipitously appearing.

I know his brother is a sensitive topic to him, but would one question bother him? There's a fierce protectiveness he harbors for the previous Uchiha Enterprises CEO despite the secrecy behind his disappearance. That's if we can actually call it a disappearance. Maybe he really just committed to the off-grid nomad bit? Still, wouldn't he at least send letters?

Biting the bullet, I decide to ask anyway. "Is there any sort of history between your brother and Danzo Shimura?"

"If there was, I would have told you this already." His answer comes quick, and, expectedly, defensively.

"I just needed confirmation," I say in an attempt to soothe his mood before he goes full on Silver Spoon Ass on me again.

Now that I think about it, he hadn't been quite as unbearable since that first phone call when I found his phone. How can something that happened around two weeks ago feel like a lifetime has passed since then?

"I just found a photo from six years ago of them speaking with each other. It's nothing prominent, but they were in the background, so I was just wondering."

There's a moment of silence, the faint click clacking on the keyboard halting before he speaks again. "Grandfather's distaste for Shimura would be enough reason for him not to even attempt to be associated with him."

The unspoken continuation is clear.

It should be enough reason.

What if he didn't heed the warning?

We could be chasing nothing, but we have to start somewhere. This is as good a place as any.

"Tomorrow night at dinner," I start. "What should I expect?"

"Expect that constant questioning isn't going to go well during the meal."

"I have more tact than that." I huff. "I just like bugging you."

"How ever did I get that honor?"

His slight irritation lifts my lips. It's fun to rile him up.

"I'm being serious, though. Who's coming to the dinner? What's your family like?"

He hums in thought. "You've met my grandfather. He's always like that. Takes control of every situation he's in. You can't bring up anything that would cause discomfort at the table."

That, I already gathered as much.

"And your mom? Will she be mad about that last time when we just left?"

"She won't be mad, and it seems she's already made up her mind about you."

"She likes me? Or is she just thankful that her son is actually engaging in real people relationships?"

He sighs.

I take the latter is correct.

"As for father, he used to be more like grandfather. Ever since Itachi stepped down, he's mellowed quite a bit. As long as mother likes you, father will feel the same."

I note that tidbit in my mind. If he was as intense as Madara Uchiha, it's hard to imagine he softens up for no reason all of a sudden.

"Will Shisui be there?"

"Shisui hasn't gone to a family dinner in months."

"Huh."

He seemed really nice the other day but based on Sasuke's reaction to the mention of him, he may be suspicious of him.

"So it's just your parents and grandfather?"

"Obito may be there. If there's anyone you might possibly get real answers from, he's our best bet. That's if he has answers at all."

"Was that a jab at your cousin or..?"

"He can be… loud."

I can't help but laugh. "You're friends with Naruto. Loud shouldn't be a problem."

"That friendship happened by accident."

"Sure." I roll my eyes.

Deciding I've pruned enough in this bath, I stand, the water sloshing.

"What was that?"

"Just getting out of the bath. Sorry if my line is echoey, by the way."

Carefully, I step out of the tub and put the call on speaker before I place it on the countertop.

"You were doing research on Shimura while you were bathing?"

I grab my towel and begin drying myself off. "Yeah."

"And you call me the workaholic."

"If we're being technical, we've established I'm not getting paid to be your fiancé."

He sounds unconvinced by my rebuttal. "It's not the topic of research, but the habit of doing things related to work in your off time."

"Is the picture of overworking lecturing me?"

"How long were you doing research?"

"I wouldn't call it research." Great. Now, I definitely sound defensive.

"Sakura."

I'm still not used to hearing my name from his lips, so it catches me off guard when I hear it. I take a quick breath.

"Fine. So what if I spent all day on an internet deep dive? I didn't have time to do it while I was at work anyway, and I needed to eventually."

"I'm not telling you that you shouldn't have because that would've been hypocritical of me."

"At least you know." I wrap the towel around me and reach for my phone. "What time am I being picked up tomorrow?"

"Since mother wants to meet with you beforehand, around four in the afternoon."

I sigh, beginning to dread this ordeal. I'll have to be on the entire time. "Counting the minutes."

"Don't sound too excited."

"Bite me, Uchiha."

I hear a soft exhale of breath from the other line. Did he just laugh?

"If I recall correctly, this isn't the first time you've said that to me."

Shit. I groan. "Please. Can we please let that go?"

"I didn't bring it up."

"I guess I should just tape my mouth closed from this point on, huh?"

"That would defeat the purpose of interrogation and would greatly reduce your work," he replies. "Tomorrow. Four PM."

He ends the call, and I just stand here, stunned.

Did he just… banter with me?

Note:

Sakura: Yeah I was in the bath

Sasuke: ?