"Mr. Uchiha, here's your coffee," Yumi, a regular employee of Sasuke's company, politely said as she placed down the cup of coffee on the table.
Itachi shot his head up and smiled, "You shouldn't have bothered since I'll be leaving in a few minutes, but thank you."
"It's no problem, sir," She smiled back, "And if it's okay, may I ask a question?"
The Uchiha took a sip of the coffee, wiping his mouth softly with a handkerchief. He placed down the cup and nodded as a response.
Yumi cleared her throat before answering back, "W‒Well you see, most of us here would like to... uhm, we would like to know if sir Sasuke would be back soon..."
Her question didn't surprise him, he knew that Sasuke's employees were upset and worried that he's been missing for so long. Despite that, a small crease in his forehead was evident, but it soon went away.
Due to his silence, Yumi became nervous and worried that she might have been too nosy. "E‒Err, never mind. I'm sorry for asking―"
"No," Itachi emphasized. "Sasuke will be back anytime soon, he's just busy with the current project for the company."
"I‒I see."
"Well, I need to go now." He stood up from his seat, "If some of you are having problems here in the corporation, you know how to contact me. I'm just at my office."
Yumi became speechless at his sudden kindness, but still managed to mumble a thank you. After that, the Uchiha walked to the exit.
"By the way, Yumi-san," He spoke up again before leaving. "He'll probably be back after a few days. His office is open again, so expect him to be here soon."
After a few seconds of processing what he stated, she heaved a sigh.
Earlier, Itachi gave the key to Sasuke's office. Since he was away, the employees had no rights to open his workplace without his permission. But yes, his brother opened his workroom and made the janitors clean it.
Meaning, he would be back.
Still, Itachi's 'excuse' wasn't believable anymore. Sure, every one of them believed that he was really working on a project when he went missing for some days, but as time goes by, of course no one would accept that reason anymore. First off, if he was really away for the sake of the company, he should have informed the workers. Second, the employees aren't that gullible to believe in such an obvious lie.
Yumi shook her head, going back to work but her mind was still lost in her deep thoughts.
***
I saw him, Sakura. I saw Sasuke.
The pink-haired lady tightly shut her eyes when Ino's voice played on her mind. She stared up the ceiling as she layed down her bed, clenching the blankets around her. Tears threatened to come out of her now lifeless emerald orbs, but she stopped herself from shedding a single tear.
Though it was just over the phone, Sakura knew Ino was telling the truth. The blonde called her and told her the least thing she expected her to say: she saw Sasuke Uchiha. The guy that she's been searching for, the guy that left her all alone. Why didn't he look back to see Ino? Most importantly, why was he wondering around the streets when he has a company behind that needs him? Why was he away when Sakura needed him?
The pinkette didn't want to confirm that piece of information just because it was about him. But there was something inside her chest, on the pit of her stomach that whispers to her ear that it's true- he's here and he's not just showing himself to her for some unknown reason. Yes, Ino may be sometimes an exaggerated woman but she was not to joke about the ravenette. Sakura knew when the blonde was making fun of her, or otherwise.
So many questions flowed through Sakura's mind, she probably won't be able to sleep at this state.
"Sakura! We'll be leaving in a minute! Make sure you're dressed well!"
From the silence, Mebuki's voice reached the pink-headed lady's ears. Reluctantly, she stood up from her position and towered in front of the mirror beside her bed.
She stared at her neat floral dress after slipping on her white flats. With an emotion-filled chest, she grabbed her phone from the side table and dialed Ino's number.
Three rings could be heard before the blonde answered.
"Hello?"
"Where exactly did you see him?"
"The street where my shop is located."
"Thank you."
The emerald-eyed lady exited her room and went downstairs, only to be greeted by her smiling parents. In a few minutes, they entered their car and drove away.
Sakura planned to search for Sasuke by herself after the dinner with her mother and father.
***
"What you did just now... was it the right thing?"
With wide and surprised eyes, Ino slightly jumped from her seat and looked behind her. Relief was written on her expression when she saw who spoke, however the fast beating of her heart remained at that pace.
"You scared me," She sighed. "Do you need something?"
"No, but I want to talk to you."
"Dad, what is it this time―"
"Ino, you know what I'm pointing out," with a much serious voice, Inoichi Yamanaka stated while looking straight into his daughter's blue eyes.
The blonde woman avoided her father's gaze and let out another exasperated sigh. "Yes, I think I did the right thing."
Inoichi massaged his temples before responding back, "You know that Sakura can get hurt with what you said, yet you still chose to tell it to her." His voice was calm but worry was etched into his face.
This time, Ino made eye-contact with him. With knitted eyebrows, she opened her mouth to speak. "Then what would you do if you were in my place, Dad? Sakura deserves to know! I'm positive that I saw Sasuke that night!"
"Look, I know it's none of my business and I don't need to barge in to Sakura's problem. But after hearing your conversation with her over the phone, did you ever think about Sasuke's reason why he went missing? What if he wasn't telling Sakura about it because the reason might hurt her? Don't you think it's unfair for the boy to receive conclusions like these behind his back when truthfully, he just wants to protect the girl he loves?"
In aggravation, she scoffed while processing her father's statement, "We don't even know if he loves her anymore. If he does, then he'd share his problems with Sakura. Wouldn't that be easier?"
"Some problems are needed to be fought alone, Ino." He straightforwardly replied, "you can't just consider Sakura's side. You need to look into both prospects before concluding such things. You need to know that Sasuke also moves with reason."
"But what if he's just doing this to hurt her? What if he fell out of love, and he's just afraid to admit it to her?" Even though Ino's thick bangs covered her eye, it was clear that tears were starting to form in her eyes.
Inoichi exhaled and grabbed his daughter's shoulders. He pulled her in a comforting hug while she sobbed silently. In silence, Inoichi mumbled something but it was still audible for the lady to hear.
"Boys are different, some don't fall out of love like Shikamaru."
***
"Aren't you going to finish your food?" Mebuki asked while pointing at her daughter's leftovers.
Sakura shook her head, "I'm already full, but the food is nice." She replied while glancing at the restaurant. She was dying to get out of her seat and search for him already, however, her parents would get suspicious of her. One fact about Sakura is that she doesn't want to open up to them because she knew that they also have problems, and she doesn't want to be a burden.
"Anyway," Kizashi interlaced his fingers together and let out a smile. "I have some news for you, Sakura."
That statement caused Sakura to glance at the man. She then anticipated to what he was going to say next.
The look on her father's face was enough to tell that it was a pleasurable news, but the feeling in her chest told her otherwise. Her heart began to thump in a faster pace than usual as she stared at Kizashi and Mebuki.
The moment the man opened his mouth, Sakura's breathing immediately hitched.
"The Haruno Industries is back."
She didn't know if her ears deceived her or she's just. Her mind was in confusion, how can our business return if we haven't even started building it?
"I know you're confused, dear, but listen to us." Her mother kindly reasoned, sending her a warm, convincing smile.
Kizashi began to speak up to explain the details, "Remember what happened last year? I wasn't able to come back here at Japan. All I told you is that I needed to work more, but actually, I was starting to talk to some business men and engage them to be our partners in the company. Soon, with enough money, I hired workers to build the Haruno Industries. The building is not as big as the Uchiha Corp., in fact, it doesn't even cover half of the space in our previous company. But still, once we gain more money, I assure you that I'll make it bigger."
"Still, I was only able to build one at America and not here in Japan. Shikamaru's father was there to help me during the previous year, so I quickly grabbed the chance since this is a perfect time to begin again." He added, waiting for his daughter's reaction.
Shock was evident on the pink-headed woman's face but after a while, mixed emotions entered her chest and she managed to smile at her parents.
"I'm glad. Thank you for working hard, Dad."
He ruffled his daughter's hair before responding, "One more note by the way. Once the Haruno Industries is finished, I've decided to live at America permanently with you and your mother."
At that point, Sakura didn't know why but her sweet and bright smile faded almost immediately.
*****
A/N
I don't know how I should feel about this, lately I've always wanted to write but can't seem to find any motivation. I have the ideas but I don't know what's wrong with me lol shoot me now
I guess I'm not really satisfied with my chapters *sighs* (plus my vocab here is weak af)
Anyway, classes were suspended since Monday because of a typhoon so stay safe to the people in the Philippines! 💕
Christmas Party is on 18th oH GOSH FREEDOOOOM ❤️
And I just realized that it'll be 2016 soon. I'll be a sophomore next year LOL so fast
Thanks for reading!
~PBPink