Full Circle

Full Circle

chapter 4

A disheveled young Uchiha rolled out of bed, more than twenty four hours after he had returned to it following the news of his second engagement. He felt like shit but sleeping away his problems wasn't going to actually help him in the end.

Well, in reality he hadn't done a whole lot of sleeping in all this time. He'd gone through his period of denial, then panic, then anger followed by a bunch of convoluted mental rambling which led to further panic. Then a good, long bout of self-pity and finally, he had mentally and emotionally exhausted himself into sleep only a few hours ago.

Now though, it was about time to look at the situation as things stood right now... and go back to plotting.

Once again he was being expected to marry. So this time it was to a man. Did it really matter? The basic principle was the same. He'd escaped the last one. He would simply have to find a way to do it again.

Admittedly, there was no chance that he could use the same method, and another one that was that simple and easy wasn't likely to just fall into his lap again. He was going to have to put a little more work into this.

Perhaps, had he done so in the first place... but there was no point in going over that now. What was done was done. There had to be a way out of this, though it might require a bit of patience.

There was a knock at the door just then and he called out a weak 'come in', still preoccupied with his thoughts. Uchiha Fugaku walked in and stopped a few feet from the bed where his son was sitting, lifting a brow at him as he took in his rumpled appearance. Sasuke shrugged and with a shake of his head, he decided to just get on with it.

"Well son, we spoke to Uzumaki again and it's been confirmed. The engagement is official, though there are a few things to work out yet. I must say, you gave me a bit of a shock but it all turned out quite well in the end.

The Uzumaki's are the absolute pinnacle of the social pyramid. It's an even better match than Haruno. Much better in fact. A tie to their family can only do the Uchiha name good."

He paused for a response of some kind but Sasuke only blinked.

"That said, I know that you have a tendency to be somewhat socially inept. And I know that you don't have much experience with relationships of a romantic nature either. The boy is going to be staying with us for about six weeks. Your mother thought that it would be nice to let you two get to know each other and Uzumaki san agreed."

"Fabulous," thought Sasuke. "There goes the entire summer."

"I want you to try your best to make things work as smoothly as possible. If by chance you need any...ahem..advice, your mother and I will be here for you.

It is important that you do not offend the Uzumaki family, so pack away that surly attitude that you tend to take around strangers because if I find that you have done something to deliberately screw this up, you can kiss your trust fund goodbye, as well as your current allowance."

Sasuke turned his back on the man and nodded tightly as he grit his teeth. Uchiha Fugaku looked at him a bit suspiciously for a moment but then he simply took that for an an answer and left the boy to himself.

Well that was just great! Now he had to come up with a means of getting rid of this guy without leaving any possible reason to suppose that he had anything to do with it or he'd be bloody penniless.

He pondered the problem as he showered and dressed. He thought about it as he made his way out to the poolside deck, having decided to take his breakfast outside. He continued to think about it as he waited for his food to arrive.

Somehow he had to make this Uzumaki guy break things off himself, and believe that the whole thing had been his idea.

His food was quietly placed before him and he mechanically took a bite and chewed thoughtfully. Hmm... What if he made the boy think that there was something wrong with him. Something that was a sensitive topic that most people would never speak about. Possibly a gross fungus or a third nipple, or maybe just a really small penis.

Then again he couldn't trust that something like that wouldn't get back to his parents eventually. (Or even directly, if the guy turned out to be a prick.) Aaargh!! This was so Frustrating. Why did this Uzumaki character have to agree to it in the first place? If only he'd decided to be celebate or if he'd just had someone else in mind.

Ohhh... wait now. That was an idea. If only he had someone else in mind. Yes! That would take the focus off of Sasuke completely! If the boy broke it off with him for someone else, then it could hardly be perceived as Sasuke's fault.

Oh that would be perfect! An actual smile spread across Sasuke's face at the thought. If only there were someone who could come along and sweep him off his feet. Hell, Sasuke would even pay them to do it. But where was he going to find someone like that... It would have to be somebody callous and self-serving, somebody who wouldn't get all fussy about morals when money was involved. And they would have to...

A sudden flash of light came from the trees over the wall that surrounded the massive yard. Sasuke's head snapped toward the slight disturbance and a quiet curse came from the shadows.

He stood from his seat and took a few steps toward the wall. Squinting up at the spot, he could just make out the shape of a person amongst the leaves, without even thinking, he suddenly hurled his fork at the intruder.

A louder curse was followed by a snapping sound and the person fell out of the tree, breaking a few more branches on the way down and landing with a thud on his back. Sasuke stared as the strange young man groaned and picked himself up.

"That really hurt you know," he said calmly as he dusted off his shoulders. "You're lucky you got me with the flat of it. That could have stuck right through my..."

"YOU'RE lucky that it got you with the flat. I would have been more than satisfied if it had stuck right through your eye... or your left nut. And I would have been well within my rights," Sasuke cut him off, crossing his arms and forming the very picture of indignation.

The boy merely finished dusting himself off and began to check the camera that was hanging around his neck. Sasuke began to fume at being ignored.

"Well, what the hell are you doing here?!"

"I was taking pictures of course," answered the odd boy with a look to Sasuke that suggested that he thought he might be retarded.

"I know that!" Sasuke hissed. "But of what? And why?"

"Of you, for money." Sasuke was somewhat taken aback at the bluntness.

"Whose money?"

"Several girls wanted pictures of you and were willing to pay quite well. Who am I to turn down a good offer?" Sasuke's blood was starting to boil.

"I just got a good one of you smiling. Now that's a rarity. They'll actually pay as much for that as a shot of you in your swim trunks. I forgot to turn off the flash though. It's too bad."

"How long have you been doing this?!" Sasuke's top was officially blown.

"You can't turn down a good offer!?! You Slimy Unscrupulous little Weasel!! I should..." He suddenly stopped himself short and blinked.

Unscrupulous? Can't turn down a good offer? SAY NOW!...

The Uchiha's angry face slowly twisted into a smirk. He looked over the young man before him, taking in the athletic build, smooth, creamy complexion, mild, dark eyes and the shining black hair.

"What's your name?"

"Sai," he responded after a moment's consideration.

"Sai, I'm going to make you an offer you can't refuse."

-------------------------------------------

"You're going to come with me, at least at first right?"

"Naruto, you're a grown man now (as much as it pains me to say it) and you would be fine regardless. But yes, I will be accompanying you for the first day at least. The Uchihas and I have a few details about the agreement to discuss."

"Like what kind of details?" asked Naruto, fiddling with the tassel of a cushion on his lap.

"Oh like, for instance, you are my only child and Uchiha's eldest is already married and has an heir, so I think it stands to reason that Sasuke should take your family name."

"Ah, I hadn't thought of that part."

"There are all kinds of little things like that to be discussed." Naruto looked thoughtful for a minute.

"Does that matter at all though. I mean since we can't have kids..."

"You never know. You might decide to adopt a child one day. It's best not to take things for granted."

As Arashi wandered off on some errand, Naruto tried to picture himself with such a family in the future but it was hard to imagine adopting a child with someone that was a complete stranger. It was hard to picture a future at all.

This was all a very overwhelming concept. He was really nervous about this and was having second thoughts... Lot's of them.

Before the blond could fall into a full-on brooding session though, his cellphone began to blare out his happy ring-tone. He fished it out to find that the caller was Neji. Oops. He had kind of forgotten about him with his father's news and all. He quickly flipped the phone open.

"Oh Neji, I'm sorry!"

"...Hello to you too Naruto." The Hyuuga sounded mildly amused.

"Oh yes, hello. I really am sorry. I completely forgot."

"It's fine Naruto, really. I just thought I'd give you a quick reminder and ask you if you did manage to fit me into your schedule."

"Well... actually, my schedule had to be completely altered quite suddenly. I'm afraid something... important has come up. I won't be able to see you for awhile."

"What's going on?" Neji seemed a bit concerned. "You sound a little off."

"Um, it would appear that I'm engaged. My father wants me to meet my new fiance this weekend, and I'll be staying with his family for several weeks."

"... WHAT?!!"

"I know. It's really sudden isn't it?" Naruto sighed.

"Uh.. ahem, sorry. Who? Who is it?" Neji's voice sounded oddly strangled.

"Well, I don't really know him at all. It's some guy named Uchiha Sasuke. Apparently he's really quiet and keeps to himself a lot."

"And he asked for your hand, even though you don't really know him?"

"Actually, it's more like his parents contacted my father and Dad honestly thought that this would be the best choice for my future. You know how he is. I can't bring myself to refuse when he's so certain that he's doing the right thing.

It's kind of awkward but I figure things will be ok when we get to know each other and get used to the idea. At least since we won't be expected to make an heir, we won't have to really rush into anything beyond friendship. We can just take all the time we like."

Naruto wondered if it was obvious that he was trying to convince himself as much as Neji.

"Naruto... are you sure you can go through with this?" Yup, obvious. Naruto chuckled weakly.

"We'll look at it this way, I should at least meet the guy before I start freaking out right?"

"Um, I guess so. But if you don't like this Uchiha person, don't go ahead with it just for your father. If you honestly don't want to, he'll understand."

"I know. Neji, if I called you some time while I'm there and asked you to come and visit, would you?"

"Of course I would Naruto. If you need me, I'll be there. You can call me anytime just to talk too."

"Thanks Neji... I'm feeling a little uncomfortable about this right now. I guess I'm having sort of a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that I'm supposed to be 'more than friends' with this guy. I mean, since I've never even met him."

"That's perfectly understandable. Have you seen a picture or anything?"

"Ah... no."

"Hmm, so he could be a complete troll for all you know."

"Neji, that isn't very nice," Naruto chuckled. "Dad says that all the Uchihas have dark hair and eyes and that Sasuke has quite the fan base. Just with girls though because apparently he only just came out and admitted he was gay."

"Of course he does." Neji muttered darkly. Naruto's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What was that Neji?"

"Ahem, nothing. Naruto, you give me a call anytime after you get there and I'll come down. I'd like to see what kind of person this Sasuke is for myself. I wouldn't want you to marry some jerk."

"Thanks Neji. You're a great friend!"


(A/N; Sorry that took a bit longer than I meant it to. It's been a bit hectic but thankfully things have cleared up some. )