Full Circle

Full Circle
chapter 5

The following afternoon, Sasuke and his new 'associate' were sitting outside in the pool area again, discussing payment arrangements. Sasuke's new fiance would be arriving any time now and this kind of thing needed to be settled before-hand.

Sasuke also wanted Sai to be here for the arrival to make an instant impression. He wanted him to be practically unable to think of Sasuke without thinking of Sai.

"I will agree to the down-payment and of course I will have to pay you a certain amount for your time regardless of the outcome - if I can see that you are truly putting in the effort.

However, if you fail to actually reach the objective of the plan, I can hardly be expected to give you the full amount. You can just consider that incentive." Sasuke shot a significant look at the other boy and Sai nodded in agreement.

"That sounds reasonable."

"Good, then can we agree on ten percent now, another forty should you try and fail and the final fifty percent upon successful completion?"

Sai nodded once again and Sasuke flipped open his checkbook to make out the amount agreed for the down-payment.

"I will also provide you with whatever you may need to achieve the desired results. I will pay for any necessary clothing you may not have and any gifts, food, events etc..."

At that moment, a couple of servants came out and walked by them, luggage in hand, toward the pool-house which had already been prepared to receive their guests. That could only mean one thing.

Sasuke took a deep breath and let it out slowly before standing. He sent a little smirk to the other boy, who returned it as he slid the freshly cut check into his pocket. It was time to go and greet the Uzumakis. The two boys made their way into the house together.

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Naruto looked up at the huge house before him. The Uchiha home was about the size of his own but the architecture seemed more intimidating somehow. It was cool and austere and while Naruto had of course had plenty of experience with just these types of places, the thought that the owners of this place were to become his new family made him quite a bit more apprehensive then he would normally be.

What if they were that cold, formal type that he'd come into contact with on so many occasions? He'd never had much of a problem with visiting some of the more uptight people that his father sometimes associated with but he truly couldn't see himself being part of their family.

What if he just plain didn't fit in here? What if he was to be stuck in a position where he would feel uncomfortable for life?!

"Breath Naruto," said Arashi sounding half amused and half concerned.

Naruto suddenly realized that he really wasn't breathing and quickly sucked in a couple of deep lung-fulls of air. Dear God! How long had he been standing there like that? Was his face turning blue? His father was still staring at him so he sent him a little smile.

"I'm fine. Just a little nervous," he reassured. Arashi smiled back.

"Ah, don't worry. The house is old. It's been in their family for generations. It's bound to look sort of stuffy. I promise they're very nice people. You trust me right?" He soothingly patted his son's back and Naruto seemed to brighten a bit.

"Of course I do Dad!"

"Well then, let's go in before they start to wonder what happened to us."

With a hand on Naruto's shoulder he guided him up to the entrance where they were received by the butler and were left to wait while their presence was announced. Naruto fidgeted minutely, tapping one foot to a quick beet while he looked all around the large foyer, taking in the traditional style of the decor.

"Uzumaki san, it's good to see you." A very deep voice suddenly sounded, echoing from the high walls and Naruto's head jerked around to find a proud looking dark haired man and an equally dark woman.

The man strode forward to shake his father's hand, giving a small smile that instantly gave Naruto the impression that all of this man's smiles were small. He certainly had no laugh lines. Come to think of it, the man reminded him a little of Neji's uncle.

"Oh! and you must be Naruto!" The lady that had been at the man's side swept over to him and grabbed both of his hands, giving them a warm squeeze as she gave him a look like a child might give a puppy in a pet store.

Now here was a woman who must do a lot of smiling. Naruto couldn't help but return the look with one of his own dazzling grins.

"Oh, aren't you just adorable! I'm so happy to meet you dear."

"Um, I'm pleased to meet you too... Mrs. Uchiha," he said tentatively, hoping that this was in fact, Mrs. Uchiha. But then who else would it be?

"Please dear, call me Mikoto. There's no need to be too formal. After all, we're going to be family." Naruto let out a quick sigh of relief.

"Quite right," the man added. "You may call me Fugaku." He offered his hand and Naruto shook it with a smile, noting the firm grip. This actually wasn't going too badly. They seemed nice enough so far.

A third person had appeared in the archway where the Uchihas had come from. He stood with hands in his pockets, looking on in mild curiosity and perhaps a bit of amusement.

"Itachi, come and meet the Uzumakis," Mikoto called, waving him over.

"This is our eldest," Said Fugaku. "He has a wife and son of his own that you will get to meet at dinner."

Naruto shook the young man's hand looking up at him with a certain strange sense of awe. This was to be his new brother. He had not actually thought about that part before. That he would have a brother, and now a nephew as well. The thought brought a happy smile to his face that could have lit up a football field.

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Sasuke watched the scene from around the corner of the archway opposite to the one that his parents had used. He hadn't realized that there were any expectations in his mind until he felt the flash of surprise at the first sight of the smallish blond boy who stood nervously at his father's side, tapping his foot and staring about the foyer.

Nervous... He was nervous. He looked unsure and maybe even a bit scared. Not threatening or intimidating or over-eager. Perhaps that last was what he'd been unconsciously expecting the most. Sasuke was terribly used to over-eager. He was used to being pursued with ridiculous determination.

On some level, he had thought that his new fiance would be dying to marry him. Now, for the first time, it really struck him that this was not just another fan girl that he was dealing with. This was a stranger who'd been thrown into this just as he had.

For a moment, Sasuke felt almost guilty. He hadn't actually considered the other party's feelings when he'd been fuming and plotting. However, in the end, it didn't really change anything. He still had no intentions of getting married and he still wasn't in a position to outright protest it himself.

"So that's him?"

Sai's sudden question, directly in his ear made Sasuke jump and he felt himself tripping backward over Sai's foot until the other boy reached out to steady him.

Anxiously, he peaked around the corner again to make sure they hadn't been noticed before glaring at his accomplice. Sai was as unperturbed as usual and seemed to be quite interested in staring at the blond boy in the foyer.

"Here come your parents."

Sasuke watched calculatingly as his parents greeted the Uzumakis. Naruto seemed to be honestly relieved at his mother's warm reception and the smile he gave her was nothing like the thick, simpering sweetness that Sakura had poured on.

He found himself mildly impressed by the way the blond shook his father's hand with an equal firmness and looked him straight in the eye with no sign of discomfort. He knew that people tended to find his father intimidating whether the man meant to be or not.

The smile the boy gave his brother actually made him stare for a moment in awe at such brightness and apparent innocence. He was shaken from his gawking by Sai's voice once again.

"He's really cute. This won't be so bad at all." Before Sasuke could process this comment, Sai continued. "Well I suppose that's our cue."

With this he wandered on into the foyer without waiting for a reply, leaving Sasuke behind. Everyone looked over when Sai made his entrance, the Uchihas staring in silent confusion as Naruto moved to meet him halfway with a slightly apprehensive look on his face.

They stopped in front of each other and Naruto offered his hand to shake. Sai took it and with a little smirk, he brought it to his lips to place a gentle kiss on his knuckles, to the blond's surprise and slight embarrassment.

"So you must be Sasuke then?" he finally asked.

"Actually, no."

Poor Naruto looked very bewildered at this.

"Um... no?"

"My name is Sai, but at the moment I find myself rather wishing that I was Sasuke," he explained, staring unnervingly into Naruto's eyes.

"I am Sasuke," the Uchiha finally spoke up as he reached the two other boys. "Sai is a good friend of mine. He was interested in meeting my fiance."

The slight pink tinge in Naruto's cheeks grew cherry red as he stammered an apology.

"Ah, I-I'm sorry. I... well he looks like he could be an Uchiha," he said, his free hand coming up to scratch nervously at the back of his head.

Sasuke nodded impassively, though he did feel a little sorry for the boy's discomfort and embarrassment. He held out his hand expectantly and Sai finally released Naruto's with obvious reluctance.

When their hands met, Sasuke was surprised to feel the blond's fingers scratch along his palm before grasping him firmly. There were callouses on his finger tips. Interesting.

"I'm Naruto. It's nice to meet you."

At the low, warm voice, Sasuke looked back up into amazing blue eyes that shone with sincerity. There was that tiny, nagging little prickle of guilt again. He cleared his throat.

"Yes. Well...."

"Darling, perhaps you should show Naruto where he'll be staying," said Mikoto, thankfully cutting off the awkward pause. Sasuke nodded almost gratefully. "And don't worry about the little mix-up dear," she continued, smiling kindly at Naruto. "He really does seem to have the Uchiha coloring, doesn't he."

The blond gave a little chuckle, nodding in agreement and followed Sasuke and Sai off to the pool-house.

"Where did that boy come from anyway?" asked Fugaku with a puzzled frown. "I don't believe I've ever seen him around before. Rather rude of him to approach Sasuke's fiance before Sasuke instead of waiting to be introduced. Of course the boy would assume that he must be Sasuke."

"I think that maybe Sasuke is just a little nervous and felt the need to have a... buffer of sorts for his first meeting." Mikoto reasoned. "You know he's new to this kind of thing."

"Hmm, perhaps. Well Uzumaki san, I'm sure that you'd like to get settled as well. Please come, we'll show you to your accommodations and let you freshen up for dinner."

"Thank you. That would be nice." With that, they began to leisurely follow their children, making small talk along the way.

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As the three boys walked along, Sai very pleasantly asked Naruto about himself while Sasuke simply led the way in silence. The Uchiha found himself listening avidly though. Just to make note of Sai's progress of course.

"So Naruto, I hear that you're quite popular back home," Sai prompted.

"Ah, I do happen to have a lot of friends. I tend to get along with just about anybody. But then, I suppose I may just be lucky enough to keep meeting really nice people." Naruto smiled at the thought of some of his good friends who'd been so supportive of him in his current situation and were waiting for updates on how things were going.

"That's good to hear. Perhaps your own cheerfulness inspires others to be nice. That is quite a smile you have there." Sasuke rolled his eyes and made a quick mental note to remind Sai not to be too cheesy.

"Thanks!" Naruto answered brightly. It seemed that he had missed the obvious flirting completely. "So are you Sasuke's best friend?"

"Oh yes we're very close," Sai answered seriously while Sasuke just managed to contain a snort. "I had to meet you to make sure that he was marrying someone that was truly deserving, you understand. I can already tell though that I didn't really have anything to worry about."

"Well I'm glad you approve. I know just what you're talking about. My best friend is pretty protective too. He'll probably be coming to visit pretty soon and I'm afraid he might give poor Sasuke a bit of a hard time."

Sasuke glanced back and exchanged a look with Sai. They would have to talk about this later. It could turn out to be either a help or a hindrance to the whole plan. They would have to play their cards right.

"Oh, you think he might rough him up?" Naruto laughed at this and even Sasuke couldn't help but smile just a little at the light-hearted sound. Not that he would let anybody see it.

"I don't know. He did make me wonder there for a second."

"Understandable I suppose," said Sai holding the door open for the blond as they stepped out to the pool area. "Anybody would be protective of someone as cute as you."

Naruto coughed uncomfortably. Even he couldn't ignore that one.

"So Sasuke," he said turning suddenly to his fiance. (The boy seemed to have a sense of propriety. Sasuke could give him that at least.) "Your parents seem very nice."

"Hn," came the vague response. "You'll be staying here in the pool-house."

Naruto frowned and bit his lip as he followed the Uchiha inside and was given a quick tour, ending with what was to be his room for the next month and a half.

"I hope everything is agreeable to you," said Sasuke in a cool, polite tone.

Naruto nodded, staring at the floor, and there was that teasing sensation of guilt yet again. He really had to get a hold of that. There was no way that he was going to feel bad about this. Operation Bachelor For Life was a go, and that was final!

Never the less, he let his eyes stray around the room to look at anything but the blond boy, noting the laptop that had been placed on the desk and a guitar case in the corner.

Suddenly, he recalled the boy's calloused fingertips. So that was why...

"There you are Darling. I trust you've been a good host?" Mikoto had suddenly appeared in the doorway. "Naruto dear, I hope you like this place well enough. You may do whatever you like to it to make you feel more at home."

"Thank you Mrs...er, Mikoto." The woman smiled kindly at him.

"It's no trouble at all dear. Has Sasuke been treating you well?"

"Yes ma'am," he answered without pause, though Sasuke noted that his eyes flicked downward to avoid her gaze as he spoke.

The boy obviously didn't quite know what to make of him. Well that was good. If he couldn't specifically say that he had done anything wrong, but he simply couldn't find anything to like about him, then Sasuke would have done his job perfectly.

"Well we should all leave you to get settled in and prepare for dinner. Your father is in his room dear. Dinner will be served in forty five minutes," said Mikoto. "Come Sasuke."

Sasuke obediently followed his mother without a word and Sai trailed after.

"Well dinner tonight is a family affair of course, so I'll be taking my leave now. I'll see you later though Naruto," he said with a wink.

Naruto blinked at him and nodded slowly. When he was alone in his room he sat heavily onto the bed and frowned at the wall for awhile, which made his face feel kinda weird. He wasn't used to frowning too much. So finally he shrugged it off enough to begin setting up his laptop.

Maybe he'd send Neji an email and see what he thought about all this.

(A/N; Wow... That took awhile. I know exactly where this story is going, right to the end but this chapter had me deleting and rewriting over and over. I'm still kinda sitting on fence as to whether I like how it turned out or not but I'm just gonna plow through anyway 'til I find my groove again.)