Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Love Test's Work? ❯ The Test ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

"Itachi, it's time you take responsibility as head of the family seriously and find yourself a suitable wife." Behind an imposing desk, Fugaku stared at his eldest son from behind his folded hands.

"Hn," was all Itachi managed to return to his father. Just as he started pivoting on his heel to walk away, he heard his father speak once more.

"You will find a wife, Itachi, or I will see to it to find one for you," Fugaku said, his ebony-brown eyes (the ones that Itachi managed to inherit) narrowing. "You will not like her."

Itachi turned on his father with a passive look. Then, as if he didn't hear a single word, he turned and walked away, proud of the fact that he had managed to shroud his annoyance at his father's prying manner. It was strange how two people who looked practically exactly alike—with the same raven-black hair, long enough to be held in a ponytail in the back and to frame his face in the front, and the same coal-black eyes that could capture the hearts of a million women in a heartbeat—differed in so many aspects of life. He knew that he was supposed to be the heir to the Uchiha Corporation (a highly elite industry for military weapons that his father prided himself on), but he couldn't understand why his father wanted him to manage a wife as well. To Itachi, having a wife would be just as hard as managing a billion-dollar company.

"Itachi." A young man with the same raven locks (though considerably shorter than Itachi's and his father's) stood by the door, his arms crossed as his smoldering black eyes locked on his brother.

If Itachi had been anyone else, he would have thought that Sasuke was simply there—a common happenstance for the majority of people. But of course, being the brother of little Sasuke for so long made Itachi able to read his little brother's "plans" through his little actions. So when he saw the little glint of mischief in Sasuke's eyes and the small quirk at the corner of his little brother's lips, he stopped a scowl that threatened to reveal itself just as he closed his father's office door behind him. Without a word, he began to walk.

"I heard father talking to you," Sasuke said, keeping his brother's fast pace.

"What a surprise," Itachi drawled almost sarcastically.

"Itachi," Sasuke said once more, gripping his brother's shoulder. He managed to stop Itachi in his tracks. At an annoyed glare from his brother, Sasuke let out a sigh. "I want to help you find the right wife."

Itachi's glare morphed into a sarcastic smirk. "Thank you, Sasuke, but I don't plan on attaining a wife."

"You know that you won't be able to maintain your hold on the company," Sasuke said, "and I don't want to be tied down by the company." The hint of mischief flashed through his eyes again. "You don't want to have an unhappy little brother, do you?"

At that, Itachi stifled a sigh. He brought a hand to his face and squeezed at the bridge of his nose. A small, relenting sigh from Itachi was all Sasuke needed to begin talking again.

"I have the perfect solution. It's a foolproof plan—used Naruto to test it. It's the reason he and that Hyuuga girl are together."

"As long as it's painless, I will cooperate," Itachi manage to say through half-gritted teeth.

Sasuke smirked. "Alright. We'll start soon then."

Leaving his brother with that victorious smirk on his face, Itachi headed to his room so he could get ready for bed. His suit was starting to perturb him; it made him feel too much like his father. He changed into something his father could never pull off, black plaid flannel pants and a forming fitting, black t-shirt. Itachi got into bed and turned off the lamp. He quickly succumbed to sleep's sweet invite.

About ten minutes later, he heard the door swing open, the rustle of papers, and the obnoxious sound of padding, bare feet. When he sat up in bed and saw Sasuke with a gravity-defying stack of papers, he nearly groaned. "This is what you meant by starting soon?"

Sasuke shrugged in his half-ass way, his shrug only reaching up to the shoulders. "I figured we should start soon if you want it to be quick and painless."

With a quick, annoyed "No," Itachi brought the covers over his head and let out something that resembled a grumble.

Sasuke set the papers down, went up to Itachi, pulled the blankets off him, and threw them to the floor before adding the piece de résistance: flicking on the light switch.

"Go away, Sasuke," Itachi grumbled even louder as he buried his face into a pillow in an attempt to shield his eyes from the bright light.

He grabbed Itachi's pillow out from under him, watching as his brother's head fell to the bed. "Shut up and stop being so whiny, aniki. Work with me for a couple moments and then, I'll go away."

Itachi pulled himself in a sitting position and opened his eyes slowly, allowing them to readjust to the light. "Hn," he muttered, a sign for Sasuke to go ahead and get started before he kicked him out.

Sasuke pulled out a clipboard from his pile of papers and searched for the one he needed. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions."

"Fine," Itachi grunted.

"Okay—name?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

Sasuke scribbled it down. "Sex?"

Itachi turned to his otouto with a questioning glare.

Sasuke shrugged, "Just making sure I know what you are."

Although his answer came out a little harsher than it should have, Itachi managed to grit, "Male."

"Hobbies?"
"Reading, sleeping, working, and watching television sometimes…"

Sasuke scribbled them all down, mentally rolling his eyes at Itachi's addition of work into the hobbies section. "Age?"

"Twenty-one."

"Birthday?"

"June 9th."


"Job?"

"Uchiha Corporation president."

Sasuke's eyes never strayed from the paper, his pencil flicking across the page with ease. "I'll just put president of a big corporation for your anonymity." He looked up from his paper to give his brother a reassuring smirk. "And don't worry—I changed your name to Daisuke Ichigawa."

Itachi hn-ed in response.
Sasuke cleared his throat before he began again. "Favorite food?"

"Dango, other sweet food, onigiri…" Itachi began to feel even more tired; the questions were boring him.

"Attitude..." Sasuke scribbled in a couple things, not even bothering to ask Itachi as he murmured some things among the lines of "detached, apathetic, somewhat caring, intelligent," and "major workaholic."

"My attitude in nothing near cold," Itachi muttered, too tired to snap at his brother as his monotone carried his glare to Sasuke.

Sasuke didn't even flinch. He stood up, rearranging everything as it looked before he had barged in and picking up his stack of papers. "That's it. You can go back to sleep now. I'll just post this one on the web, and you'll have a wife by next week."

Sasuke tossed the blanket and the pillow that he had stolen from Itachi back at him, leaving him in a draped heap of a mess. Before he walked out, he smirked at his half-dead brother. "Oh, and aniki—you should really change the color scheme of your room. Wouldn't want your wife to think you're some depressed monster." His little smirk faded. "Besides—I want to move in with you someday. Escape from Father." With a smack to his brother's walls, he left at the sound of his father's voice.

And Itachi was left in the comforting darkness of his room, left to think about Sasuke's proposition. The corner of his lips curved upward. Just a tad. After he'd get his wife, he'd get the company—and then he'd manage to free Sasuke from his father's grip, to save his little brother. It'd be just the two of them, two brothers facing the world together. Now all he had to think of was where the little wifey of his would fit in…

Sakura Haruno slammed the door shut and leaned against a nearby wall. Today had been such a long day; it had been extremely busy at Ichiraku's, so as a waitress at a five star restaurant, things couldn't have gotten much worse after Happy Hour. Sakura, with her cheery attitude, was requested by many of the patrons. It was a little stressful but she enjoyed making people happy, so everything was worth it.

Now, it was time to get some well-deserved sleep…

"FOREHEAD, GUESS WHO IT IS?"

Sakura sighed. With that kind of voice and teasing, it was no doubt Piggy herself. And she was really not in the mood... "Ino, go away," she groaned, "I'm wiped out; I can't go shopping with you today…"

The silence that followed was too quiet. Where was the argument? The fury of being told to go away? This was unlike Ino.

Sakura opened the door, worried that her friend might have died, and came face-to-face with Ino and Hinata.

The blonde shoved a triumphant finger right into Sakura's face. "You were wrong! It's me and Hinata!"

Ino pushed Sakura out of the way, walking in as if it was her house. She pulled Hinata along with her.

The poor Hyuuga girl stared helplessly at her friend as Ino tugged her inside, trying not to trip. "S-Sorry, Sakura-chan. Ino dragged me here." Hinata sounded just as exhausted as Sakura felt.

"Well, Forehead, lucky for you, I just happened to be shopping earlier—you'll never guess what I found!" Ino said in a sing-song voice as she plopped herself right onto the couch.

Sakura shut the door and stared at Ino, waiting for her to continue. She didn't.

"Well, start guessing, Sakura!"

"Ino, I don't want to play any of your stupid games right now. I. Am. Tired." Sakura grabbed Hinata out of Ino's grip, dragged her to the bedroom with her, and locked the door behind them, successfully locking Ino out before the blonde could reach the door.

Hinata giggled as she heard Ino protesting loudly. "Quick thinking, Sakura-chan."

Sakura would have laughed, but she was too tired to even think properly. She took zombie-like steps up to her bed and collapsed on it. Hinata sat herself on a comfortable beanbag, sighing as she felt the beads caress her neck. They were just about to fall asleep when the door began to convulse (probably under someone's fist), the entire wooden figure shaking on its hinges and making the most obnoxious sound to Sakura's ears.

"Damn it, forehead, this is really important! I promise it'll help you lots!"

Knowing that Ino would persist in pestering her, Sakura sighed, braced herself, and opened the door.

Ino stood with a magazine in hand, giggling to herself. "Yay, you love me so much that you actually listened to me!" Ino hugged her, barely realizing that Sakura almost fell asleep standing up.

"Ino, do tell me what on earth is so important that you need to take away my time to sleep," Sakura said through gritted teeth as sarcasm practically dripped from her lips.

Ino knew she shouldn't press her luck any further and decided to go right to the kill. "Sakura, all I need to do is ask a few questions—"

"I am not going to answer freakin' questions when I should be sleeping." Sakura flopped back down onto the bed.

Hinata merely sat on the beanbag, watching the scene unfold.

"Yes, you are," Ino protested right back. "If you don't, it'll make me sad." When Sakura didn't seem fazed, Ino took a last resort: the puppy pout.

Sakura had only seen the face once in her life, and it still haunted her so much: the big, round, cerulean eyes that glinted dangerously with almost-shed tears; the little, heartbroken pout; the kneeling, the hands together…

But always, always—the eyes would get her.

Not this time though. Sakura was determined not to let Ino have her way.

Hinata knew that it must have meant a lot to Ino to bother Sakura this much. 'I should probably help her…' Taking in a deep breath, Hinata said, "Sakura-chan, perhaps y-you should just answer her questions…"

Sakura's head flew up at the suggestion. She looked at Hinata with the best glare she could perform while being in her current condition.

Hinata flinched. Her childhood habits started to come back up; she started to fidget. "I-I-I mean, S-Sakura-chan—just look at her face! S-She would only do that if she really loves you."

Sakura looked at Ino's puppy face. God, those were some freaky eyes. "Ino," Sakura started, willing herself not to give in, "I don't fall for the puppy-dog eyes. Seriously, that's pathetic, even for you, Ino."

That was when those blue eyes started to flood, a large tear rolling down Ino's cheek.

Sakura's eyes grew wide. "Ino, I'm so sorry, don't hate me! I didn't mean it, I swear!"

Ino smiled in victory. Just as she was about to cheer, Sakura smirked, and Ino knew that she'd been conned.

"Ino, you know I love you, but you really should be able to tell when I'm acting."

Ino's smile faltered, and she hugged Sakura's legs, nearly making the poor girl topple over. "Please, please, please, please, pretty-please-with-a-cherry-on-top will you answer the questions? It'll be quick, I promise!"

Sakura pushed Ino off and sat up on her bed. She rubbed at the skin between her eyes and sighed. "Fine, but make it quick."

"Yes! Okay, now name?"

"Ino, you know my frickin' name!" Sakura yelled, angered by the simple question.

"Name?" Ino pressed again.

A vein popped out on Sakura's forehead.

"Sakura…" she said through gritted teeth.

"Sakura what?"

"Sakura frickin' Haruno!"

Ino wrote down 'Forehead' instead, seeing that as a more fitting name for her friend.

Sakura's inner self growled. 'Okay, if all the questions are going to be like this first one, I'm gonna rip her hair out! I could be sleeping, but no she has to bother me!'

For once, Inner Sakura and Sakura agreed with one another.

"Sheesh, someone is a wittle grouchy when they don't get their beauty sleep," Ino teased, giving her a little baby face before she said, "Anyways, sex?"

"Ino, you know that I don't want to do that now. Don't even start to pester me about it."

Hinata blushed at the thought.

"Ew, Saks," Ino told her, wrinkling her nose as she put down her pencil. "No offense to you or anything, but I'm seriously not into that girl-on-girl stuff. I kind of meant gender, you know?"

"Female," Sakura replied bluntly. "Can't you tell?"

Ino nodded. "Yup, but I just needed to confirm. You could've had a sex change or be a drag queen for all I know."

Sakura's anger flared up again despite her being tired. "Ino…" Her voice was low but filled with venom.

Ino held her hands up in defense. "Okay, okay, no need to get even grumpier. There are just a few more questions to answer. Now, woman, what are you hobbies?"

At this, Sakura grinned. "Least this one's a decent question. Working, watching movies, looking at the stars, reading, shopping sometimes, exercising, fighting to release a little steam, and talking with my friends. Oh, and making people happy."
When Ino finished jotting everything down, she noted just how much she had written.

"Wow, Saks, you have a lot of hobbies." Ino scribbled in '-aholic' after the word work and stifled a laugh.

"Next questions. Your age and birthday?"

Sakura sighed for the umpteenth time that night. "Twenty-years-old and March 28th." Ready to have Ino out of her house, she quickly asked, "How many questions are left? It feels like you're been asking questions for hours."

Ino peeked at the clock and laughed. "Babe, it's only been ten minutes. Seriously, you're such a drama queen! Just a couple more, and then we can all go to sleep. Now, your job?" Ino looked over at Hinata and saw her curled up on the beanbag chair. 'Oh my gosh she is so cute! I wonder if she sleeps like that every night? I need to get Naruto a picture…'

"I'm a waitress at a five-star restaurant, Ichiraku."

"Favorite food?"  The thought of food made Sakura happy.

"Well, I like almost anything besides spicy food. My favorites, though, are dango, onigiri, ramen, and spaghetti."

With a final scribble and a dot, Ino said, "There we go, Sakura, all finished. Now go and get your beauty sleep." Ino looked her friend over. "You look like you need it. Oh, and make sure you change out of your uniform! It'll get all wrinkly if you wear it to sleep."

Sakura looked down at herself and saw that she was, indeed, still in her work clothes. "I'll take your word on that. And do me a favor—move Hinata onto the bed so she's comfortable. I wouldn't want her neck to be sore. Borrow some of my pajamas if you want to."

Ino nodded, watching as Sakura went to the restroom to change.

Remembering her job, Ino dashed over to the beanbag where Hinata lay and carried her to the bed, placing her down as gently as possible so that Hinata was comfortable.

When Sakura came out, she yawned, taking some room next to Hinata before she noticed that Hinata still had her shoes on—the OCD person inside her came out. "Ugh…" She heaved herself up and took off the shoes, throwing them somewhere and lay back down.

"Sakura, before I go to bed, I have to do something. I'll be back in, like, thirty minutes, okay?"

"Whatever… oyasumi, Ino…" Sakura snuggled into the bed and let her fatigue over take her, letting herself succumb to sleep.

"Oyasumi, Sakura." Ino quickly left, and, true to her word, she was back in thirty minutes.

She went into Sakura's closet and picked out a yellow nightgown, too tired to care about the horrid color. Throwing it on her, she lay down in the space Sakura had left open for her.

The three girls slept soundly, all fast asleep…

…but that would all change in the morning…

A/N: Please review. I do not own Naruto or the Characters, they fully belong to Masashi Kishimoto. Thank you.
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