AN: Sorry for the delay guys. I got food poisoning two weeks ago (not the most pleasant experience) and then I had to take my laptop to the shop for a clean up. The incompetent fools at Staples held my laptop as hostage for more than a week even though I was told it would only take a day or two.
Special dedications to InuyashahasEars for being the 100th reviewer! Girl you have the best of luck alright ;p Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Chapter 5: Is It Worth It?
Four hundred and five, four hundred and six. Sasuke counted silently as he swung the bokken. Unlike the normal bokken, the one in his hands was a suburito made out of heavy white oak, ideal for building up muscle strength. With each swing, he could feel the muscles of his back and shoulders strain under the tremendous strength needed. His thick cotton gi clung to his skin from his sweat. His normally spiky hair hung down in the humid atmosphere inside the dojo. Even with the doors open to a formal Japanese garden, to catch the cool morning breeze, the air inside was still stifling and hot.
Finally, half an hour more when he finally reached five hundred swings, Sasuke stopped his morning exercise and carefully laid down the bokken. A young maid dressed in the black and white dress uniform waited for him patiently to wipe away the sweat from his face with a towel, before shyly stepping forward to offer a cool glass of water on a serving tray. Even red and panting from exhaustion, with the smell of musky sweat clinging to his skin, the maid couldn't help but think how sexy her young master looked, if only it was another place and another time… the look on Sasuke's face could almost pass as orgasmic.
"What time is it?"
The voice of her young master broke through her daydream; the young girl quickly looked down, hiding her blush. Under the intense black eyes, she was almost certain that he could see right through her fantasy if she looked into his eyes. "It's almost eleven o'clock Sasuke-sama."
Eleven o'clock. His morning exercise took a little longer than usual. Sasuke thought with a frown. Normally his day began about six o'clock sharp. His body was programmed ever since childhood to wake up at the ungodly hour of five o'clock; it was a routine every Uchiha male followed. After a quick wash up, he always trained at the dojo behind the house. As much as he hated morning practice when he was younger, he could not deny the energy and alertness he was left with afterwards. Now, he could not start his day without a visit to the dojo first.
"What is my schedule like for today?" Already, plans started to form in his mind. All night long, as soon as his eyes closed, images of the previous day played out behind his eyelids. The sweet saltiness of tanned skin, the fiery sky blue eyes that looked back at him in anger, the soft lips that offered up low moans in payment to his caress. None of his other conquests had left such an impression on him just from a few touches, a boy no less. It was strange how he was not bothered by the fact that his body desired one of the same sex. Ever since his first time, Sasuke had only reacted that way towards women. It surprised him that he could touch Naruto so intimately without feeling revulsion, but with lust and desire instead.
Through out the long hours, his fingers tingled with the ghostly feeling of wild silky gold tresses. By the time he finally tricked his body to sleep by fantasizing about the blonde sleeping right by him, he immediately faced another more 'physical' problem. After a long cold shower to relieve the tension, he quickly discovered that the minute his treacherous thoughts wondered back to its blond inspiration, the problem returned too.
He had countless models and actresses in the past, compared to their bleached hair and blue contacts, Naruto seemed so innocent and pure. Sasuke licked his lips unconsciously; he had never had a virgin so true to the meaning, body and mind. He couldn't wait to be the one to take that innocence away.
God, he had never thought he would take Naruto's challenge so seriously. There was something about the other boy's stubbornness that caught his attention. He grew up on the principles of wealth and power; he had seen too many people falling to its temptations. And he had an overwhelming need to prove that the blonde was not above everyone else.
So instead of making trips between his bed and the shower, he decided to release all the pent up sexual frustration through the steady swings of the wooden sword. With each swing, his mind thought less and less of the blond dobe, and concentrated more on the form of his swings and the power that coursed through his body and mind as they aligned with the weapon in his hands.
"You have a lunch appointment with Yamato Karin-san today at noon, and afterwards Naruto-san has a live TV interview today after his classes," the maid read off from the blackberry she whipped out from the pocket of her white apron. Most staff working for the Uchiha carried around a personal planner, with a list of their duties, as well as any appointments their young master had that day.
"Cancel the lunch date with Karin, I have something more important to do," Sasuke said absentmindedly as he put away the bokken and headed for a shower.
By the time he finished showering and got dressed, he could probably make it to Konoha High by twelve, exactly when Naruto's lunch period would be.
"But Sasuke-sama! Karin-san already called five times to confirm the appointment!" The maid called out to the broad retreating back. There was no response as Sasuke was too deep in thought to hear her.
The poor girl sighed, now she would be left with the task of calling the actress to give her the bad news. It was well known around the house that ever since Sasuke-sama learned of Itachi-sama's recent promotion and success overseas, he had relentlessly pursued his own career. While the result of Sasuke-sama's hard work definitely rivaled Itachi-sama's accomplishments at the same age, the stress also forced Sasuke to find release in the form of the opposite sex. Unluckily, the task of calling all of Sasuke-sama's one night stands also fell to the house staff. Everyone who worked for the Uchiha household had broken at least one fragile female heart over the telephone at the order of their young master.
No choice left, she took out the blackberry again and dialed the callback number with one hand, and took out a sheet of well worn paper from her pocket. The staff had gotten together and written a formal rejection letter to be used in situations like these. After a couple of rings, the call went to voicemail, the maid sighed, it was always easier for her when she didn't have to deal with a crying and verbally abusive person on the other end.
The chalk in Iruka's fingers snapped in half as the quiet classroom was disrupted by the ring of a cell phone. All eyes landed on the unfortunate soul who forgot to turn off the ringer.
With a sheepish look, Naruto quickly reached into his school bag and whipped out his phone, without even looking at the caller id, he hung up the call and turned the phone on vibrate, but it wasn't fast enough as the teacher quickly confiscated the cell.
"Naruto!" The vein started to throb on Iruka's forehead. If there was one thing he hated, it was to be interrupted in the middle of his class. He never went easy on his students, and when it came to his adopted son, he was stricter than usual, not only to prevent rumors regarding how he was easy on his son, but also for the boy's own good. "Detention!"
"But Iruka-nii!" At the glare, Naruto quickly realized his second mistake. "I mean Iruka-sensei, I can't remember? Have that interview after school today." He tried to say it as quietly as possible so that no one in the class would be able to hear him.
After the event from early morning, he was swamped with questions and curious stares from everyone. For once the blonde was happy when the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. His mind was still reeling from Sakura's rejection and bitter words, and it was all he could do not to show the pain he felt as the gossip spread like wild fire around the class. Iruka had already confiscated fifteen gossip notes and given ten detentions for talking in class. No doubt, by lunch time today, the whole school would know how Uzumaki Naruto was not only rejected by the prettiest girl in school; she even slapped him because of some guy.
Oh right, how could he have forgotten about Naruto's first live interview? Kakashi would never let him hear the end of it if he kept Naruto in school for a detention. Iruka sighed in annoyance. "Fine, I'll let you off this time, but…" He didn't get to finish as the phone started to vibrate again, this time everyone looked interested to see who dared to call a second time. Most of the people on Naruto's address book were all in school right now.
"Hello?" Naruto's jaw dropped as Iruka answered his phone. "No, Uzumaki Naruto is not available at the moment. I don't know who you are, but you are interrupting my class. If you want to speak to him, call back in a week, because he will be in detention until then." With that, Iruka snapped the phone close, and slipped it into his own pocket, sending a meaningful glare to all the wide eyed students.
"No more ringing cell phones in class, do I make myself clear?"
All the students nodded as one, and Kiba gave his friend a sympathetic glance. It must be tough having Iruka both as a teacher and as a parent. If it was any other class, there was no doubt that Naruto would have jumped up by the injustice of it all, but unfortunately for him, it was Iruka's class, and there was nothing he could do (unless he wanted to be ramen free for the rest of the month too).
"Okay, so has everyone finished copying this equation?"
"Uzumaki Naruto from class 2-B. Please report to the front of the school entrance right now. I repeat, Uzumaki Naruto from class 2-B please report to the school entrance."
Again, Naruto found himself at the receiving end of all the curious faces.
"Err… can I go, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked timidly, his stomach twisting into knots just thinking what he could've done to be called away on intercom in the middle of the class. Those calls were only reserved for family emergencies.
"Fine, you can be excused."
When Naruto reached the school yard, besides the class that was having their gym class on the other side of the field, it was empty at this time. He looked around in confusion, who would've called him outside; it hardly seemed like the proper place for detention or any other kind of punishment he didn't deserve.
He waited a couple of seconds, squinting under the bright sunlight. Just as he was about to give up and head back to class, a loud honk from the parking lot nearly made him jump out in surprise.
Blue eyes widened as the door to a gorgeous silver Mercedes McLaren opened, and the last person he expected to see on Earth slipped from under the gullwing door, a pale hand sliding Gucci shades up the perfectly spiked black hair.
"You! Teme! What the hell are you doing at my school?!" Naruto screeched out, loud enough to make the soccer game across the school pause in the middle of their game.
"Just wanted to invite you out for some lunch, dobe," the smirk that the blond boy hated so much was back in place.
"So you made a school announcement just because of that? Did you think it was funny, you rich bastard?! And how did you even get the principal to call me out like that?! "
"It wasn't my fault that you hung up on me," Sasuke answered with a nonchalant shrug. "As for the announcement, let's just say that Jiraiya owes my father a couple of favors."
Realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks. So the person who Iruka was speaking to on the phone with was the bastard. His face heated up, if his adopted father ever found out about Sasuke…
"So are you getting in or not?" The dark haired boy asked impatiently, tapping the car door.
"If you think that you can just waltz in and drag me away from my fourth period chemistry class, then think again bastard," Not that Naruto liked chemistry, it was his worst subject, but even balancing chemical equations was better than spending time alone with the obnoxious rich bastard. The blonde turned around and headed back to class.
"Fine, suit yourself, I was craving for some ramen," Sasuke didn't seem too disappointed as he called out to the retreating back.
Just as he predicted, it had the effect he was hoping for. Naruto's entire body froze in mid-step, and the younger boy turned around stiffly.
"Ramen?" Naruto asked in a small hopeful voice. The thought of the salty noodles clouded his mind, he didn't even wonder why Sasuke craved ramen out of all the other foods out there. Surely someone as rich of Sasuke did not eat such lowly food as ramen.
"Ramen," Sasuke replied with a smug smile of his own.
For a second, Naruto looked torn, for a second, he considered saying no to ramen. However, if he said no to ramen, then it would be another week before he could taste the delicious salty noodles again. His whole body slumped in defeat, and his feet unconsciously took the first step closer to Sasuke. Ramen was still ramen, ramen was still innocent even if he had to eat it in the insufferable presence of a smug, sexy, rich bastard.
As Naruto slid into the posh leather interior, he couldn't help but feel that he just sold his soul to the devil for a bowl of noodles.
All around him, the scent of Sasuke engulfed him. Even the rich smell of leather somehow had a tinge of Sasuke to it. As the doors dropped to a close next to him, the blonde felt as if his last chance at freedom just disappeared.
Sasuke slid his shades down again, and put the electronic starter inside the ignition. The 617 horsepower engine came to life with a low roar before it settled down to a low purr. Even in his self inflicted torment, Naruto couldn't help but admire the sound of the powerful machine. For a second he forgot all about the fact that he was sitting next to the man he detested the most in the world, instead he ran his finger admiringly over the luxurious leather and cool aluminum trimmings inside the car. God, how many times had he drooled over the image of this car in magazines? It was mind boggling to think that he was actually sitting in one.
"Hey!" Naruto was jerked back into the real world when someone flicked his forehead. "What was that for?!"
"I said, put on your seatbelt," Sasuke repeated again in annoyance. "I don't want to scrub your brains off if you bang it against the window."
"What? Are you admitting that you can't drive?" A mischievous smile appeared on Naruto's face. Maybe he just found one of Sasuke's weaknesses.
"Oh? Is that a challenge?"
A small forbidding feeling crept up the younger boy's spine. The last time he heard that question…. Naruto barely had enough time to brace his hands against the dashboard before the sleek car spun out of the parking lot and performed a perfect one eighty, the tires smoking above the black track marks.
Black eyes below the sunglasses gleamed with a savage enjoyment, as Sasuke stepped on the clutch and switched gears. There were few things he took pleasures in, driving and drifting was one of them. He would show the blond dobe once and for all who was the master.
A pink haired girl glared hatefully at the car as the shiny Mercedes smoothly zoomed out of the school property. Her prettily manicured fingers gripped the fence that enclosed the soccer field. "Sasuke."
The scenery flashed by him as Naruto stared silently out the window. His hand tightly gripped the handle of the door, but he tried not to show his fear. Sasuke was a devil behind the wheel. Cars from left and right got out of his way, without even looking at the speedometer, Naruto was sure that the dark haired boy was over the speed limit by at least fifty.
He tried to get his mind off of how the trees blurred together by bring up the question that plagued him ever since they got on the highway. His eyes narrowed in confusion. "Where are we going?"
"Ramen."
"Why are we headed out of the city just for ramen?" Even Naruto was not dense enough to miss the huge highway signs as Sasuke sped by the passing cars one by one.
"It's too early for lunch, so I thought it would be nice to go for a little ride," the answer was full of smugness as Sasuke looked at the fuming blonde from the corner of his eye. He reached out with one hand casually and pushed on the button that opened the moon roof. Going at close to 200miles/hr, the wind trapped by the opening attacked Naruto's loose blond strands, making his hair flying wildly around his face.
"What the hell?!" there was no question in Naruto's mind right now; he was being kidnapped by the evil bastard, who would probably drive him to some remote little cabin and rape him. All the horror stories that Kiba used to tease him with hit him like a road kill.
"Calm down dobe, I'm not going to rape you," Sasuke said dryly, recognizing the look of panic on the blond boy's face. "Get your mind out of the gutter please."
The words did manage to pacify him, although it served little to cool his anger. "You might have time to waste you selfish bastard, but I was in class. Don't you have something to do other than bothering me all the time?"
"Unlike you dobe, I already graduated."
"Yeah, right. Who are you trying to fool?" This time, it was Naruto's turn to sneer; the other boy looked no older than he was. "Even if I give you the benefit of the doubt, and assume that you graduated from high school…"
"Grad school."
"Hun?"
"I said graduate school," Sasuke easily tossed a little ID card onto Naruto's lap as he cut off another car with one hand on the steering wheel. "I completed my law degree at Toudai a couple of years ago and I just finished my MBA last semester." The Uchiha didn't have to turn to know the jaw dropping expression Naruto had on his face.
He got the same expression when people found out about his academic success. Not that he went around bragging about it of course, but his father always made a point to slip out his son's achievements to all his business associates at every chance. He never enjoyed the awed admiring looks as much as he enjoyed the look of pure jealousy and annoyance that was rolling of Naruto in waves. "What's wrong dead-last? Just because you're failing school doesn't mean the rest of us suffer the same stupidity that you apparently have in abundance."
It was just not fair how some people are blessed with both good looks and intelligence, Naruto glared down at the small picture of a very young Sasuke staring back at him from the ID card in a blank annoyed expression.
"But I guess since I have nothing to do for awhile, I CAN waste a little time on you and be your personal tutor," the dark haired boy purred out.
Naruto never even noticed the pale hand that was suddenly on his thigh instead of the stick shift. The hand firmly petted his inner thigh through the thin black cotton of his uniform. Naruto tried to jerk away while constrained in his seatbelt before the hand stopped inches away from his hip. "Why you…"
"After all, with all your new projects, you'll have to miss some school for sure. We can't have you becoming an even bigger idiot, now can we?" Sasuke said calmly, his face and voice not betraying the feeling of victory as Naruto's breath hitched at the feel of the hand that was now inside the pocket of his pants, tracing along the seams towards the center, circling every so slowly towards its goal.
"Don't complain, Naruto," His deep voice took on a huskiness as Sasuke's finger tip brushed against something that made Naruto's eyes roll back in pleasure. "Most people would die to have me as a tutor, and here I am, offering my services for free."
"Sasuke!" The name that was suppose to be a yell came out surprising sounding like a whine. His whole face was flamed, as Naruto grabbed the hand that was teasing him through his pants. His breathing was labored as he struggled with his body's response to Sasuke touches and his mind's indignant cries. As he tried to get his body under control, he glared at the Sasuke's cool profile, how was it that he wasn't affected at all, and how dare he look so composed while he was practical molesting Naruto at the same time as zipping down the highway? He almost wished that they would be pulled over by a cop for speeding; it would serve the bastard for kidnapping him.
"What's wrong Naruto?" A little smirk graced the edge of the Uchiha lips as he asked the breathless blonde.
Thankfully the sound of a ringing phone prevented Naruto from answering. Seeing how his cell was confiscated by Iruka earlier, it could only be Sasuke's.
Annoyed that his fun was forced to stop before it could be properly started, Sasuke hit the button a little harder than needed, the music that was playing softly in the background stopped. "What is it!" Unlike his characteristic coolness, Sasuke growled out, voice full of promise of anger.
"Sasuke-kun! What is the meaning of this?"
Naruto froze in his seat. The blood in his veins that were flowing with heat from Sasuke's unexpected touches froze at the sound of the new voice.
"Sakura-chan," the name escaped Naruto's lips in a quiet whisper, and thank god, the girl didn't couldn't hear over the phone. How did the pink haired girl have Sasuke's car number?
The hand that was previously on Naruto's lap quickly came up to cover the blonde's mouth, preventing him from uttering another word.
"What do you want Sakura? I'm in the middle of driving right now."
"Sasuke-kun, I wanted to believe that it was just another rumor, I can't believe that you would lower yourself to this level… no it's not your fault…I bet it was that Uzumaki Naruto who seduced you, right?" The girl's voice blasted through the speakers. Naruto cringed at the fact that his crush thought so lowly of him. There was no mistake of the jealousy in her voice, jealousy towards him. The blond boy wanted to cry at the irony of the situation.
If Sasuke noticed the desperate edge in Sakura's voice, he did nothing to show it. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sakura. I have to go now, I'll…" The Uchiha hissed in pain suddenly and took his eyes off the road to glare the dobe who just bit his hand.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said breathlessly, no longer covered by Sasuke's hand.
"Who is this? Sasuke-kun?"
The conversation was suddenly cut off as Sasuke slammed his injured hand against the phone button.
TBC
Reviews craved :)
Bokken: A wooden practice sword used for kendo and iaido for kata and swings.
Mercedes McLaren: My dream car :p Unfortunately, it also cost about half a million dollars TT