Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Resonance ❯ Web ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

 

Warmth. It filled every pore of his body, it enveloped him like a cocoon but there was nothing restraining him. The source of it felt oddly different, stronger, harsher, deeper. He vaguely made connections to distant memories of childhood embraces and innocent feelings. It was disconcerting. Slowly becoming aware of his surroundings Sasuke opened his eyes. He was still in the same position where he had fallen asleep the previous night, black suit and all. If he had cared he would have been mortified by such slob-ish behavior, but in his current state he did not even notice.

Turning his head towards the window he discovered the origin of the warmth. It was the African sun; which like an alpha lion was elevating itself over the horizon fiercely invading its daily domain with its imposing rays. It annoyed the young man, not that he liked sleeping in; but there was something unsettling about this shiny disk that graced his window. It reminded him quite pointedly that he was out of his element.

Sasuke glared at it for a good ten seconds as if willing it to disappear, but planetary laws would be quite altered if he succeeded and as such he gave up. On autopilot he got up from the noxiously soft bed, wincing slightly at the sensation of the fabric of his suit failing to stretch tightly over his skin. He shed the layers of clothing as he approached the bathroom and in a detached manner marveled at the shinning black and white tiles of its floor. He passed his reflection a few times in ill-assorted mirrors spread across the chamber but efficiently avoided looking at it. There was something disquieting in his reflection, as if the glassy surface revealed to him jarringly the lack of humanity within him.

The hot water burned his skin in a refreshing manner. He thought about the last two days full of meetings and ambitious entrepreneurs all with their own agenda and carnivorous methods. Ah, that's why he had fallen asleep in such a state, the migraine. He pressed his back against the cold porcelain of the shower's wall and let the spray drown him in the front; the disharmony of temperatures being somewhat comforting. There was a slight knock at the bathroom door and Sasuke startled proceeded to smack himself squarely in the head. The hit resonated within the walls.

“Sasuke?” Was the tentative greeting.

A groan of pain responded the man, and a muffled “Go away.”

“I brought breakfast and some liquor, we definitely deserve it after yesterday!” Replied Smith in his usual deceitfully cheerful tones.

Sasuke finished his shower and ungracefully walked out of the bathroom into his suite, bypassing Smith without a single movement of acknowledgement.

“You wound me Sasuke! Truly such bad manners, you would think the Uchihas were more refined than snotty brats.”

Said snotty brat whirled around and shot the man a blank look before he slapped the doors to his room closed.

Smith laughed like a Mexican hyena and grabbing a plate of food from the tray sat by the large window.

“If I interrupted your alone time in the shower you could have said so! I don't mind coming back later.” He yelled loud enough for it to penetrate the crevices of the doors and reach Sasuke who was busy finding a clean suit. His left eyebrow twitched discreetly.

“You really have to let loose some, I can find you some girls to let loose on. They are especially available in places like this.” Sasuke ignored the comment and finished getting ready for another insufferable day with an insufferable man. Not that he generally liked people anyways, but this person seemed to provoke a more zealous misanthropy within him than any other individual he had come in contact with. He had no idea why his uncle had chosen the bastard to be his companion. The individual just helped to sharpen his anti-social skills even more. This trip was organic food gone putrid.

Settling his face into the usual facade of utter indifference Sasuke re-entered the main chamber. Smith's expression was full of sly mirth, which seemed incongruous with his plain face and the brown suit he was wearing that was currently full of breadcrumbs.

“What is today's schedule?” Sasuke asked while he grabbed a piece of toast and a napkin.

“Oh always straight to business eh? Well today we finish our dealings here in Johannesburg. We have collected all the information we wanted from the investors, I have already sent a detailed report back to headquarters.”

Sasuke grudgingly admitted to himself that the man may be odious but he was a hard worker. With a slow nod he prompted the other to continue.

“We have only to ascertain some lose ends with the Southern leaders and the construction company. After that we have to pack.” If Sasuke had been a lesser person he would have choked on his coffee, however he managed to strategically cough and wince away the tears when his throat constricted due to shock.

“I have to pack? What do you mean? We have only been here three days. I thought it was going to be a longer trip.” Not that he minded, he wanted to be back home as soon as possible but the whole thing seemed a bit hasty from his point of view. The enterprise was insanity to begin with and Sasuke decided that logic did not apply.

“Oh the trip is over for me, I was just sent here to help you through the legal proceedings and meetings. I'm due back home the day after tomorrow at the latest. I thought your uncle had explained that to you, he told me he did.”

Sasuke recalled ambiguously his uncle speaking about something during the drive to the airport but he had been more concerned with his escape plan than technicalities. His eyes narrowed when he realized that he had no idea what was going on. To his understanding they were setting up the legal and financial machinery for the business to get going and then he would be done. That's all that had been discussed during the meetings.

Hawk eyes zeroed in on Smith who seemed to sense a change in the atmosphere and gulped slightly.

“Mr. Smith I want you to explain to me with luxury of details what exactly my DEARLY BELOVED uncle told you my role here was.” Arctic temperatures could be measured in the room.

“Uhh….didn't he tell you?” Was the squeaked question that feebly made itself known through barely open thin lips.

Sasuke exhaled, blinked slowly, and opened his eyes with some effort. The migraine was intensifying. Smith's overtly oily character seemed to cower before him. Sasuke was not homicidal, really, he wasn't, and if he was giving off that vibe it was purely accidental.

“No.” The response seemed to fly over the deep silence like a Frisbee on a windy day.

“Oh. I see.” Somehow Smith's lack of eloquence seemed to infuriate Sasuke more than the man's usually obnoxious abundance of words.

“Well?”

Smith seemed to make up his mind and straightened up, like a man resigned to his fate. Truly more like a prisoner facing his executioner.

“Initially the committee had agreed that your uncle would head this project. He was supposed to personally supervise it, since it is a risky position for our company. However a month ago he claimed that it would be better if he stayed at headquarters and you were sent instead. Everyone questioned his sanity, since you are so young and inexperienced in international management. Nevertheless your uncle argued your case restlessly and in the end persuaded the majority to vote in your favor. And so you are here.”

Sasuke absorbed this new information, which explained how he came to be here, but didn't really answer as to what he was supposed to do now that he was here.

Smith seemed to read his mind and continued his explanation.

“I have been working on the project since it was initially conceived so they sent me along in order to provide you with a solid informational background and any assistance you would require when dealing with the government and the investors. After that I was instructed to send you to the actual site where our business will be constructed. To my knowledge you are to stay there until the buildings are done and staffed satisfactorily. The higher ups don't want any capital misused and who better than family to take care of it?”

Sasuke's face had lost its cold anger and become quite pale. His voice seemed to fail him a couple of times before he managed to squeeze a sentence out.

“But that could take no less than a year.”

“Yes, the estimated time they have allotted to you is between six months to a year.”

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. He desperately wished to be deaf. That couldn't be right….a whole year away from home? He had had been despondent towards the place, but deep within he had relished in the routine. At least it was something concrete, something he could control since it was always there. It was the place where they had left him. In his solitude he had at least the shadows of past presence. Sasuke felt momentarily asphyxiated as if the notion of physical separation had grown hands and squeezed his neck. It was his space; his empty sanctuary, the place where everything stood still, and nothing threaten his existence with the possibility of change. Unrelenting control that was what it permitted him, and suddenly he had been left without it. The migraine gained cosmic proportions and he allowed himself the weakness of cradling his face with both hands. Things were spinning out of control, and he didn't like it. He couldn't believe he was an alien*, and would be for a considerable amount of time.

Smith watched the young Uchiha but he couldn't be sympathetic. From his point of view the lucky bastard had it made. If he could pull off this project, which had not even been intended for him, without a hitch he would put Württemberg and himself in quite the comfortable position. He couldn't deny he was envious, and a bit scornful that this person seemed so reluctant to take on something so great. But it wasn't his decision to make who was the boss, and so he waited for the Uchiha to compose himself.

Sasuke became aware of the other man's beady and inquisitive eyes on him and passing a hand through his hair he straightened up. He felt caged. He did not like being forced into things. He knew he was not himself, but he should be allowed the freedom to deal with the issue at his own pace. Granted it would probably take years, maybe an eternity but still. Something about freedom of choice resonated within him, maybe it was his American constitutionalism. Maybe it was his Uchiha pride. He would not walk away of course; it was just not in his nature to walk away from the things entrusted to him. Responsibility and duty had been engraved into him, even if it was forced. Helplessness and resignation intermingled in a poisonous mix that turned off his mind and body. The consistent apathy that seemed to rule his life conquered him and the mechanical disposition that had become habit took hold again.

“So, shall we go Mr. Uchiha? Our meeting starts within fifteen minutes. If all your questions have been answered that is.” Slightly mocking, the statement padded its way into Sasuke's brain.

The hardened dark gray eyes focused on the brunette and a slight sneer marred the usually inexpressive face.

“Would you mind telling me at least the name of the place where it has been decided I will stay?”

Smith's mirth drained from him in an instant and the insolent smirk that had started to resurface disappeared. He shuffled his feet nervously like a schoolboy who's been scolded and looking to the side avoiding the eerily empty eyes of the Uchiha he responded.

“The company will be built in Durban, a city east of here about three hours away. It's a metropolitan area like Johannesburg. However your uncle set up a house for you in another place. It's a residential area called Herrwood Park.” The man had barely taken a breath in between sentences.

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement and rose from the couch. Without another word he exited the room. Smith sat stupidly for another minute wondering what had just happened and when his eyes caught the mantelpiece clock he leapt to his feet cursing the time. Damn Uchihas and their instinct for punctuality. He ran at full speed through the elegant halls with waxed shiny floors of bicolor tiles and barely made it in time to dive into the car next to Sasuke who looked completely unconcerned with his surroundings. Yelling at the driver to step on it or heads would roll he sat back and pulled on his tie. It was too damn early to have to deal with things like these and he was not that young anymore. The next instant when his face met the crunchy and yet embracing material of the back of the driver's seat he momentarily wondered if he had been born under an unlucky star.