Heart's Inferno - An Uchiha Madara Fanfic

1 - Busy Days

"Another long day, Miss?" asked my chauffer.

"The usual, Lee san," I answered with a sigh, "but rewarding nonetheless. We've increased our overall sales by three and a half percent over the last month. And how many times have I told you not to call me miss?"

"That's wonderful! But don't overwork yourself, alright? You need to remember to take breaks every now and then. You have been working more than before, if you know what I mean."

There was an unmistakable glisten in his eyes that I could see in the rear-view mirror as he smiled, a few wrinkles forming next to his eyes. It made a small smile come to my lips, though rueful rather than happy. It brought back memories I wasn't very fond of.

"Of course, Lee san. Thank you for always worrying about me," I said. I didn't say anything about the obvious hint his words or expression signaled. I was glad that he, too, didn't raise the topic in more detail.

"You're like a daughter to me, Sara, so it's obvious that I worry. Besides, someone has to keep reminding you to take care of yourself when your parents can't. It must be tough for you to live so far away from them."

"I do miss them but we talk often," I responded, lying smoothly about the matter as I did with everyone I knew. My parents lived several miles away, a distance I was quite comfortable having between us. My family had never really been the loving type, or the supportive type, and most of my memories of them weren't the best. It definitely wasn't because of them that I was this successful, that's for sure.

"By the way, Lee san," I said when we stopped at a signal, "I got this for your daughter. I remember that it's her birthday today."

I held out a small box to him. Having taken it, he opened it to reveal the delicate white and blue gem bracelet inside, one that I had found to be oddly mystical in design and delicacy.

"Oh dear, this is beautiful!" he exclaimed. "I'm sure Seimi will really like it! But you didn't have to go to all this trouble."

"It's no trouble at all, Lee san, especially for someone who stuck by my side during the most difficult times of my life. Besides, I wanted to give my God-daughter something for her birthday, and this seems to be the trend for teens now."

"Oh, thank you, Sara. I really appreciate how much you take care of me and all your employees. We're all lucky to have such a nice boss," he said, giving me a kind smile.

"You flatter me." I laughed. We settled into comfortable silence for the rest of the drive home.

The name Tetsu Sara was one known all over the world in the fashion industry, let alone famous all over Japan - I was a leading jewelry and accessory designer, having become incredibly successful in just four years after I graduated with a degree in Fashion Design, and had won several awards for my works for creativity, quality and uniqueness. My company and brand name, SaraZen was loved by many in and out of Japan, and by people of all ages.

The main office of SaraZen was right here in Tokyo city, and work kept me busy everyday. My schedule was usually packed with designing and meetings and inspections, and it had been close to a year since I had taken a vacation. Weekends were just as busy as weekdays, so my work grabbed out through all seven days of the week. It was a miracle that I managed to get any housework done in the few hours of free spare time I had after the long work hours.

I was an average businesswoman, though wonderfully successful in what I did.

Due to my position and success, I had several rivals. There had even been an instance where I had received a threatening note that I wouldn't be allowed to keep being so successful. On that note, I had managed to squeeze in karate lessons on the weekends to learn some self defense that would help me fare decently against possible trouble I could encounter while on my way home from work late at night, at least on days when I decided to walk home from the end of the street.