Stunned
Events happening before monster attack
12
CALLING FOR GIRLS
Ladies only, 20-30 years of age, have work experience, minimum college educated, able to work in a team, could tolerate all kinds of people, motivated and ready for a transfer.
Sasuke glanced for the eighteenth time at the criteria he had told Sakura to list out in the ad. The words now looked enticing in a funky font the graphic designer had picked out to convey the flirty nature of the ad.
There were silhouettes of girls in skirts and pants, framing the text which was gathered in the center of the rectangle ad.
“What if men in skirts come to the audition?” Shisui asked. The wavy haired Uchiha was making himself comfortable on the sofa behind Sasuke. He had been making remarks now and then about the personal project Sasuke was doing.
Earlier an hour ago, Shisui was doing rounds in the block where the graphics department was housed. He was entering a corridor when he saw the spiky ends of Sasuke’s signature hairstyle disappearing into a door. He made it a point to stop and harass his cousin after realizing that Sasuke’s personal project involved girls, two of his favourite things in the world - harassing his cousin and girls.
Sasuke sighed at his interrupting cousin, wondering why Shisui was still working for them as security. His mother had told him that Shisui was just a temporary measure before the acquire would mean installation of high end electronic security in some aspects which would reduce labour hour. Sasuke wasn't sure what that meant but his mother had always been an efficient decision maker, so he accepted her plans as is. On the other hand, here was his cousin, head of security doing rounds after hours. Shisui was getting softer around the edges from such a laidback job too, he was better off being their publicist now that their security issues for the next few years had been addressed. Of course Sasuke didn't say all that since he was busy with his little project.
Sasuke only moved his eyeballs at his cousin, didn't want to answer his cousin's question right away. He instead continued to point out a few elements he wanted the designer to adjust for the Internet ad. He had ordered out the print ad first before releasing the Internet ad, meant primarily for social media. He wanted to see how many people actually read papers these days.
After he was satisfied with the graphic arrangements he glanced to Shisui. “I don't really care. I want someone in skirts, someone not wearing a pants, someone who would baby me and also be able to argue with me.”
“Woah. That sounds like my kind of girl except the skirt part. Hey I met the new security advisor the other day, Miss Sonic and her robot guy. Unfortunately didn't manage to get her last name but I bet she's the type who don't wear skirts despite maybe fulfilling your list. The second time I saw her around, she was wearing a black jumpsuit which covered her whole body complete with fancy armour plates. Surely not the skirt type. But, hey you're searching for an employee and not a girlfriend.”
Sasuke ignored his cousin but his eyes twitched at Shisui’s comment. He resumed asking the graphic designer to send the ads to Sakura.
“What’s this about, I didn't hear Mikoto announcing anything like this. This is gonna be huge, why isn't security informed?” Shisui asked as he crossed his legs.
Shisui saw Sasuke frowning like he's really thinking hard and stressed out. He felt like flicking his cousin's forehead like Itachi would do, but he didn't want to disturb his cousin physically so he remarked, “You people work in the creative department but all I see are tired stressed people, chill out.”
“Shut up Shi, I'll explain after this.”
“Whatever,” He didn't regret at all, his decision to take a detour from work to nag the younger Uchiha. This was better than watching the cctv he thought.
Shisui waited for Sasuke to respond. In ten minutes Sasuke turned, pulled him up by the shirt on his shoulder and walked out of the graphics room. Shisui grinned being manhandled like that. It's not everyday that he ruffled his cousin's feather. The younger Uchiha pushed Shisui into a corner in the corridor outside and let go of Shisui’s shirt.
“So?” Shisui asked too brightly.
Sasuke frowned at him before looking away. Then all the frowns gone from his face as he paused and then gradually smirked. “I'm getting myself a wife.”
“Wait, so the call out was for this?”
“Yes.”
“So you are misusing all Uchiha resources just to find yourself a wife? Always using the long route. Ma would have called out all the best of Konoha girls in a few minutes and they would be lining up at the manor that weekend.” Shisui addressed his aunt as Ma, though in front of others he'd call her madam too.
“I don't want it to be like that,” Sasuke said still looking away. He wasn't keeping the motive a secret because he knew it would leak out sooner or later. Better that his fangirls knew that his wife searching, maybe the incessant stalking might stop for awhile.
“Why?”
“I want someone who doesn't know me. But she would be able to work with me.”
“Like who?”
“I need someone adaptive, physical beauty is secondary, I need someone who is on par with me intellectually, someone who wasn't scared to be furious with me should I get out of line.”
“Itachi know?”
“He's the one who made me realize that I need someone in my life apart from... family.”
“Isn't there someone you like already, out there, somewhere?”
Sasuke turned and looked at Shisui, “None that I wanted.”
Shisui laughed hysterically at Sasuke. He was sarcastic like that, but Sasuke knew Shisui’s quirk. “This sounds absurd man, but best of luck. We're Uchiha after all. Absurdity is in our veins.”
Sasuke let Shisui babbled on about girls and marriages before he heard the unmistakable steps of another Uchiha he would have to face.
“You better get back to work, Ma’s coming over here,” he said.
Shisui turned around and to his joy saw Mikoto Uchiha approaching them with a frown on her face. Mikoto Uchiha was one of the rare Uchiha who was always smiling, so seeing her frown was rare. Shisui admitted that it was alarming.There might be something sinister behind it. I better run, Shisui told himself.
“Sasuke, what is this?” She asked Sasuke while unfolding a roll of newspaper with his ad emblazoned on it.
“A personal campaign.” Sasuke said matter of fact.
“When did you present this project to me? All my friends have been asking me about this saying it sounds highly suspicious. Please tell me the actual purpose behind it. And Shisui you're staying.”
Shisui who had been inching away from them pouted and walked back towards his aunt. He was planning to escape her interrogation.
Sasuke hunched and didn't move. He was way taller than her mom but at this instance they were the same height as Mikoto wore her seven inched heels. He looked away. She placed her hands on both sides of Sasuke’s shoulders.
“I won't get angry,” she said.
“I'm getting a wife Mother,” he met her eyes.
“.......” Mikoto was stunned.
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“Mother?” Sasuke asked.
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Seconds passed and Mikoto was still stunned. Sasuke took his mother's hands and clasped it in his. “Mother?”
Shisui inched closer until he was directly beside Sasuke facing. They both faced Mikoto stunned to see the chief of Uchiha Works petrified.
“Ma, are you ok?” Shisui waved his hand across Mikoto’s eyes.
“Mom, Uchiha Works shares fell down by 30 percent,” Sasuke lied through his teeth.
Mikoto’s eyes maintained its surprised state but she blinked once.
“Ma, I am getting married too,” Shisui said.
That got Mikoto blinking again, once, twice and then her eyes blinked rapidly as she slowly turned to Shisui.
“Don’t lie Shisui, you love girls too much to settle down now.” She then frowned and lunged at Sasuke. To Sasuke’s surprise she began to sob.
“Why are you leaving me now, baby boy.”
“Mother,” Sasuke said gritting his teeth at the nickname. “You asked me to leave the house and now you accuse me of leaving you.”
Mikoto let go of her son and wiped her tears away.
“I told to leave the house because you were becoming a hermit, which isn’t good at all for your well being. My friends have been asking where you were at functions and I thought kicking you out of the house would do you good.” She sighed and bit her lips. She knew if she mentioned Itachi, who left home at age 19 to leave at campus though Konoha University was only half an hour ride away, Sasuke would surely distance himself further.
“This is different, you are making decisions by yourself now. I am sad but baby, I am proud. I don’t which one shocked me the most, you finding a wife, or making decisions by yourself. I could still remember the days when you would wear whatever I asked you to. But then you grew up and your decisions were always yes or no, or just nothing. I never dreamed of you making such serious decisions at your age.”
“Mother, I am already twenty something, I am old.”
“Not to me, you will always be my baby boy,” Mikoto mussed his son’s hair while Shisui smiled at them both.
“Now aunt, I need to clock out, the next round is up,” Shisui said.
“Wait, now after you finish your month notice I want to hire you as Sasuke’s publicist. Assist him with his wife call out thing,” Mikoto mussed her nephew’s hair.
“Ah, but... “ Shisui was actually looking forward to a long holiday after he turned in his notice. But since this call out will involve a lot of girls, he decided that this new job would be better than a vacation.
“We will discuss the details tomorrow, now clock out.” The big lady boss said.
“Yes madam,” Shisui said.
Mikoto turned to Sasuke as Shisui left them with a skip in his step. “Now, who's doing this with you?”
“Sakura. I haven’t formed a team yet.”
“Well, come to my office tomorrow with her for a meeting. Since you are using my resources, we will do this properly like one of our actual project.”
“Hmm. Yes mother,” Sasuke said deflated. He was expecting his mother to let him sail his own ship.
“Hey what’s with that face. I won’t be monitoring this project all the time, I trust you. That, despite you always ignoring my orders when it comes to work.” Something sparkled in her eyes.
Sasuke saw it and he shuddered, his mother was a clever woman therefore he was sure she wouldn’t let him go just like that just yet.
“Let’s say you finally found a girl, and she is your wife material, I won’t say anything about your decision, but…”
Sasuke’s body lurched away from her mother. He knew his mother would come up with something, in return for using her ‘resources’. He sighed, he should have used his own money or something before he jumped head first into this.
“You will need to be a better person for your wife, no more moping around like life has no challenges for you, be more social, be more outgoing - of course according to your own pace. I am going to one day leave this company in your and Itachi’s hands so for starters, right after you finish this project I am hiring you as the Head of New Media Communications.”
Sasuke saw it coming, the inevitable will come. Then Mikoto smiled and hugged her son tightly. He listened on to his mother’s heartbeat, the beat which he must have heard since he was in his mother’s womb. She kissed his forehead.
“Yes mother,” his heart became warm. He really was needing a change in his life. So this change would involve his mother too.
“Now,” Mikoto let go of his soon. “Tomorrow at 9.00 am my office. Bring Sakura, don’t forget,” she said and she walked away.
She left him alone in the corridor. Sasuke looked at the newspaper which he must have grabbed while his mother was petrified. He hoped that everything will go well. He was hoping that he would find the one.
Naruko emailed her resume though she mentioned that she was still at the end of her schooling year instead of actually having a college education. She had emailed earlier to ask about that and Uchiha Works had responded that they would reconsider her resume since she had years of working experience. They were casting their net wide then, Naruko thought.
In two weeks she received the confirmation that she was accepted. She would have to attend an audition at Grand Leaf, which was a hotel slash restaurant in the middle of town.
“What should you wear?” Shion had asked her.
“The reply email told me to wear something proper but attractive enough. So jeans and shirt is too plain, that means a pencil skirt and shirt maybe since it’s like a job interview?” she said.
Shion was the more fashionable between the two, though they also swap clothes when they wanted variety. Only that Shion liked wearing high heels more than Shion.
“Why don’t you wear dresses? That’s attractive. I have never see you wear dresses, and I think you might look cute in it.”
“Is cute attractive? Why is this call out asking for attractive people? This sounds like a work which involves service or something like a front desk officer. That’s boring.”
“So you wanna go or not?” Shion said.
“I never said I am ditching this event, just that it’s too….”
“Just try it out, it never said the prettier you are the bigger chance you will get picked out anyway.”
Naruko thought about Shion’s words. She shouldn’t have sent her email in the first place if she was really bothered by the Call Out’s requirements. But her instincts told her to send an email and that was the thing which prompted her.
“Ok, if you say so.”
“So when’s the audition?”
“It’s going to be in Grand Leaf, on Saturday. They said all the auditions after this would be done on weekends. I hope we don’t have weekend classes when the new year arrives.”
“So, what will you be wearing?”
“Do you have a yellow dress?”
“A nice choice. When’s the audition exactly?”
“It’s from 9 to 12 pm.”
“Ah, I have to send my mother’s cookies to Suna that day. I’m sorry but I would have to miss your audition.”
“Never mind, there will be like 6-8 levels afterwards.”
“You’ll get through.”
“You think so?” Naruko asked her bff.
“Yeah, you’re resilient and it’s your luck that they are taking college students too.”
“Maybe.”
“So, what are you going to do for the audition?”
“There’s an interview, a challenge and a presentation.”
“So you have a week to think of a presentation. What is the topic?”
“My Family, My Future Plan or Modern Working Mother.
“Why are all the presentation title sounding like it’s personal.”
“I am not sure.”
“Isn’t call outs for girls are usually about making the world a better place, much like World Peace is to Miss World.”
“You ask a lot of questions Shion, but you haven’t answered my question yet.”
“What was that?”
“Do you have a yellow dress?”
“Hmmm, nope. But we can shop for one!”
“Great, like right now?”
“Yeah, now.”