Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Notes: AU, FemNaruto (Naru)
Summary: She's arranged to a Hyuuga but she loves a certain Uchiha. What matters most? Is it the duty or the heart?

Author's Notes: French word, meaning madness. Yeah, I could have sworn this was long overdue. Sorry. And Happy Easter! :)
Chapter Warnings: Unbeta-ed. As always. The slight difference is that I didn't diligently looked through this one yet.

Secrets and Sins
Chapter 4
The Folie

Naru plopped down her bed and sighed as her mind decided to replay every word that came out of her mouth in the last hour.

Nothing could have gone wrong. She told Sasuke everything that she already said to Sakura and Sai, only with a few more details - well, half-truths to be more honest but not exactly lies, in response to whatever questions Sasuke had asked. That bastard had an overwhelmingly large bag of curiosity under all that stoicism after all.

Silence ensued after that but she was thankful to Sakura who seem determined to end the night partying. It didn't go as crazy as their other nights but it was still a rather good way to put aside whatever issues they had and temporarily forget the things that happened recently, especially her issues. At least she gained a friend from out of all of this. And speaking of that, she have to call her parents to ask if she could gain any information about Hinata and maybe gather some details about the engagement and her, well, fiancé. It would be just like gathering information about the enemy, namely, one Neji Hyuuga.

An involuntary yawn reminded her of the current time and after stretching on the bed, she pushed herself upright with sleepy limbs and proceeded to change to more comfortable clothes.

Tomorrow.

She could proceed with her plans tomorrow.

It could wait.

A loud beeping noise broke the silence in the room.

Sasuke blearily opened his eyes and stretched. His left arm immediately grabbed the offending clock and fumbled at the alarm. Muttering a curse, he groggily sat up and finally took notice of the time.

Five-thirty is still too damn early on a weekend. He had forgotten to deactivate the alarm last night.

Even though he had only gotten four hours of sleep at most, he still refused to go back to sleep. His lips also curled downwards at the bitter taste in his mouth. Shaking off the last traces of sleep, he fixed his bed and bedraggled look before walking out of his room.

The sun was barely up, giving a dull glow at the blue curtains that adorned the windows of his apartment. It cast a bluish colour around the place.

Sasuke walked towards the kitchen, intent on brewing himself a tea to fully wake his body before having a shower. He refused to face his temporary roommate in his current state and he did not start the day until he freshen himself up unlike some moronic blonde. A few minutes later, he was sitting comfortably at the couch, sipping a warm steaming green tea. As he took another sip, a door banged open revealing said blonde, one hand holding a phone to an ear and the other hand quite vulgarly cupping her chest while adjusting her brassier.

Thank God the moron was at least decently dressed in a shirt and jeans.

When their eyes met, Naru mumbled something distractedly to the phone before flipping it shut and ending the call. Her other hand also dropped from her chest.

"Hey, uh, good morning." Naru sheepishly smiled at him, "I didn't think you'd be up this early since you usually don't. At weekends."

Sasuke didn't bother addressing the other with the same greeting and opted instead to get straight to the point. But not without subtlety fixing his slumped position at the couch.

"Where are you going? I don't recall you ever getting the habit of waking at this time either."

"Well yeah, I don't. But I'm going back home for a while." She pocketed her phone and brushed back her still damp hair away from her meticulously make-upped face.

Narrowing his eyes at the effort which Naru usually didn't bother with, he asked, "What for? They already agreed to you staying here."

Naru gave him an odd look. "I need to ask them about further details on what to do. As Sai so nicely said it, I kind of ran before they got to talk to me about it properly." She rolled her eyes at that. "And you're acting just like a jealous boyfriend, you know?" She scoffed before stilling. Her brain probably caught up to her words by now as a light pink flush spread at across her cheeks, enhancing her blush.

"Idiot." He muttered without any visible indication that he was affected by her words. Of course, he tensed at the comment as well. God forbid he be exempted from reacting. At least he gathered composure faster than her at any rate.

"Whatever bastard." She bristled at the insult but her previous reaction was still evident. "I'm going to catch a cab. I'll see you later, Sasuke." With those parting words, Naru closed the door behind her.

Damn.

He forced himself to relax and not think about anything related to the idiot's engagement. Just thinking about it made Sasuke frown and sneer at the sheer idiocy of the arrangement.

He glanced at the clock, a sigh escaping his lips.

It wasn't even past six yet.

Wearing a frown on her face, Naru stormed past the surprised red-haired secretary outside her father's office. Normally, she would have stopped to chat for a few minutes but that would not be possible to today. She was on a mission to confront her father about the exact details of the damned engagement. She might have agreed but that does not mean that she would just go along with whatever the Hyuugas had planned. She was still the bride, dammit.

And really? A pale brown for a wedding dress? Even her mother was disgusted at the mere thought.

Arriving in front of the large door that separated her father's main office to the receiving area, she stopped for a second to take a deep breath before kicking the door open, the heel of her shoes leaving a dirty imprint.

And damn, her mind supplied. So that's why her mother had been reluctant to inform her of her father's schedule for today. A strange feeling of déjà vu washed over her. This was just like how everything started before it all went downhill.

Two pairs of eyes focused on her but Naru was pretty sure no one had been more surprised than herself. How can't she be when her father was gripping the collar of an elderly man seated at his desk? A crippled one, at that.

"Well, isn't this a fortunate meeting?"

Naru was startled out of her stupor when the old man with bandages on almost half of his face mutter in, what she assumed, a clearly mocking tone. Her father, in response, tightened his hold before releasing him completely. She watched as the old man calmly fixed his collar before going to the couch provided at the side of his father's office and sat, amusement and derision clearly shining at the man's single visible eye.

"Um, father?" She looked uncertainly at the blank expression of her father.

"Don't mind him, girl." Naru glanced at the old man again. "Do you recognize me?"

"You're Danzo." She muttered, crease evident in her eyebrows.

Danzo. The meddlesome old bat that countered Sarutobi at every chance he could get. He was clearly not a supporter of his father either, seeing that Minato practically followed Sarutobi's footsteps and teachings. He was someone that disliked anything that could be even remotely related to fun. She definitely didn't like this old man. Even those twice damned Hyuugas were better,

"Such a good child, aren't you? Tell me, girl, how do you feel about another proposition?"

"Proposition? What?" Her father was still being tight-lipped about this. Why, oh, why does she always end up in this kind of position?

"I heard you were, ah, forced by your parents to accept that Hyuuga boy."

"Oh." Her eyes widened for a second before openly frowning at the old man. "What does it have to do with anything?"

Danzo stoop up in his crutches and glanced briefly at Minato before he started to walk towards the open door. "I would leave everything to your father. I trust that he would explain it well." When he passed by her, she swore she could imagine hearing some creepy background music along his parting words.

"Think about it, girl. Don't disappoint me."

When the door closed behind Danzo, Naru immediately stalked to his father who wearily slumped down on his big boss' chair.

"What was that all about?"

"Your mother didn't even try preventing you from coming in here, did she? God, sometimes I hate that woman."

"She did." Her father looked surprised at that. "She said, 'I don't think this would be the best time to visit your father.' That would count as a try, right father?" She asked, cheekily grinning.

"You do take after her even though you've got my good looks."

Now that Danzo was gone, the office became more breathable. The tension seeped away easily with only her father and herself in the room.

"Yeah, you've only said that a thousand times before. What's the proposition about?"

"It's nothing you should concern yourself with." Minato opened a drawer and pulled out an envelope, "Here. Take this to Hiashi when you go talk with the Hyuugas. You are going to talk to them, aren't you?" He eyed her, the white and kind of bulging envelope still in his hands.

"Yes, but, what about that senile old man Danzo? He said you're going to explain...?"

Minato chuckled tiredly, "That is part of why I dislike him. Creepy huh, Naru? Wait till you hear him in the boardroom."

"Wait. So you mean he's really just being creepy and stuff?"

"And stuff." Minato vaguely agreed, waving his hand. "Go on, you'll be a little early than the agreed meeting time but that would be okay. Your mother should really have talked to you some more." He handed her the envelope and leant forward the desk, hands supporting his chin. "And tell Karin to not allow visitors anymore. I'm going to sleep for a while." He smiled at her.

"You want me to go alone in to their place? Father!"

"What? Go on. I want to sleep before my scheduled meeting appointments." Minato grimaced.

"Fine. But I'm taking Sakura-chan with me."

"No, no. Take the Uchiha with you."

"No! Why Sasuke? I'm taking Sakura-chan!"

She scowled defiantly at his father's own amused face. Giving an exaggerated huff, she turned around marched outside the office.

Danzo crossed the threshold before stopping in front of the small desk strategically placed near the entrance.

"I trust that you are not wasting my efforts sitting there uselessly."

The red-haired secretary jerked in her sit, obviously caught off-guard. She dropped the cellular phone she was previously fiddling with and faced the old man.

"Uh, yeah." She nervously glanced at the door to her employer's office. "I've got some news but listen, if you don't want to be cau – Shit!"

The cell phone buzzed, its vibrations against the wooden desk shocking the secretary. She looked at the id and hastily answered the call. "What? I'm working!" She eyed the man for a short while then murmured an affirmative. She listened for a short while before nodding her head and muttering another yes. She abruptly thrust the phone to him, the call still connected.

Danzo took the device and gingerly put it to his ear. He half turned and listened to the speaker in the other line. After a short profound silence, the girl's eyes widened when a dry chuckle erupted from the man. And without any other actions, he expertly manoeuvred his crutches toward the elevator with the phone still smartly pressed to his ear. This left the secretary gaping at the closing elevator doors.

Just then, the other door opened and the CEO's daughter stepped out.

"Hey, what's up?"

The red-haired girl dumbly blinked back at the other girl.

"My phone..."

"What? Your phone? Did you lose it?" She half nodded and half shook her head. Naru gave her a confused smile. "Well, the Lost and Found services are really good, aren't they?" Her hand was awkwardly patted before Naru spoke again. "I really have to go. Sorry for the rude entrance a while ago but hey, you're probably used to it. See you around!" She was given a bright smile before the blonde girl rushed to the now empty elevator. She managed a twitchy smile and also bade her goodbye.

Before the doors closed, her employer's daughter waved her hand, "You'll find it soon, believe it! Bye, Karin!"

And the plot thickens! Oh, wait. There's a plot?