日向導 - A Hyūga's Guide

Chapter Fifty One: Lavender [Epilogue]

Paperwork.

He did not know that he would hate something quite as much as he hated the pile of inanimate objects stacked up on his desk. This was what he signed up for [although not volunteeringly] when he accepted that his father was truly stepping down and Itachi was not there to take up the mantle. Sasuke frowned as he twisted his wrist to and fro to relieve the joint pressure that he obtained from writing. One glance outside the window told him that it wasn't even noon just yet, so he had a few more hours left before he could leave this gods' forsaken office and have a moment to truly stretch his tired limbs.

In other news, he wasn't exactly all that upset about his predicament. How could he be? His father did not breathe down his neck—he did drop by occasionally, retirement seemed to be treating him well—and there had not been any major conflicts he needed to handle since he stepped up as the Emperor. It was too early to really rejoice, it had only been five months, but he wasn't going to sulk around and stress himself.

Running a tired hand over his face, he closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. The summer heat had not managed to cause him to spiral just yet, but the grumbling coming from across the room sure was having an effect on him. He didn't exactly have to look at the source of the silent complaints to know that boredom was getting to him even worse than it was getting to Sasuke.

"Do you want to switch places?" He muttered, motioning to the set of documents and scrolls he needed to have a look at before sending them back to their respective senders.

Naruto pulled his mask down slightly, raising a straight eyebrow before rolling his eyes. "Are you kidding me? I rather stand here than sit behind a desk, reading and signing ridiculous agreements. Gods, how the hell did Kakashi even do this?"

"You can leave in an hour to tend to the new guards, you won't be stuck here any longer than I would be."

"Training the newbies isn't as fun as Hatake made it out to be, I mean, occasionally I could laugh a little bit when one of them gets clumsy, but it's tiring to have to teach the same things over and over again because they forget." He ruffled his hair, the now short strands falling in disarray as he leaned against the wall. "It's between hanging out with you, and hanging out with some twerps who think that being a Royal Guard is nothing but 'cool', 'awesome', and 'badass'—I don't care if they're right." He pushed himself into a standing position. "Although, that's better than standing around all day watching you do what other Emperors do." He waved a lackadaisical hand with a teasing grin.

"If you think standing there is making you lose your head, imagine reading about needing funds and the economy, or geographical politics between minor sectors within the Fire Country. My father was mad for handing me this job so early." The last bit was mumbled under his breath but Naruto caught it.

"It's your birthright, Sasuke. You would have been doing this some way or the other even if Itachi was alive."

"Hn." He grunted and stood up. "Join me."

"Woah, where are we going?"

"A break."

"You know you shouldn't." But he followed him regardless with a smile on his face.

The bright sun caused them to squint and take a moment for their eyes to adjust. They walked side by side, Naruto looking around curiously as he followed Sasuke. He scoffed softly and shook his head in disbelief as they rounded the familiar corner.

"Does this not give you a sense of déjà vu?" He asked as he watched Sasuke open the large doors to his older brother's room. "Two years ago, we were here in this exact spot with you trying to delay your meeting with your father." Naruto looked down with a smile, "and then the craziest things happened after that."