When The Little Mockingbirds Sing Their Mockingbird Lies

Chapter 1: The Daily Grind (Re-written)

Naomi Noelani Woods. The owner of said name frowned as she looked at the tag. It had fallen out of place sometime between when she left last night and her arrival this morning. The woman slid the tag back into its proper place. She sighed and entered her little cubicle. It was one of those days. She looked at the pictures of her mother that sat in wooden frames on her desk. She picked up the smaller of the two frames. This one held a picture of both her mother and her father, standing on either side of her seven-year-old self. Her father held her left hand while her mother held her right, their free hands around each other's waists. It was one of her favorite pictures of her family. She yawned, sat the picture down, and eased herself into the chair. She sighed again as she logged into her computer. She wasn't a morning person, never had been, and today was no different. She wished she could go back to sleep. She wished she could skip over today. Someone knocked on the entryway to her little cubicle. She knew who it was without even looking up.

"What do you want, Sakura?"

"Harsh. Is that any way to greet your friend?"

"Sorry. I'm not really a morning person. Today is one of those days."

"I'm very well aware. Unfortunately for you the company president is paying a visit to our department today, in a few minutes actually."

"What? Oh come on. Why isn't he sending his partner like he usually does? Dammit. As if my morning wasn't bad enough."

"You really don't like him do you?"

"Of course I don't. He's an asshole. The first and only time I met him the only I met him all he said to me was 'my name is Uchiha Itachi, please do try not to be a nuisance while you are here'. And he looked at me like I was some kind of...some kind of insect that was bothering him but not worth his time. Like yeah okay you piece of shit. I don't care how handsome you are, you're an asshole."

"Oh, but you think he's handsome."

"I can recognize that he's physically attractive and think he's a prick." Naomi crossed her arms as her friend giggled at her. She uncrossed her arms and ran a hand through her hair. Well, she couldn't avoid it, she may as well go stand with the others and wait for the bastard to get there. She wished she could move the stupid event to tomorrow. She'd had enough of him and he hadn't even gotten there yet.

The man of the hour arrived actually on the hour, not surprising but mildly amusing. The elevator doors opened to reveal the one who would ruin her morning. As he walked in an oppressive presence filled the room. It commanded both attention and respect. He stood proud and tall, his stride was confident and sure. His silken black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, just as it had been the day they met. His pale skin reflected in the light in an appealing way. Those around her bowed in respect but she stalled. Their eyes met, his piercing onyx black eyes bored into her and she bowed, but not before seeing his damned smirk. His infuriating smirk. It was that condescending, know-it-all, "holier than thou", kind of smirk. She hated it. She could still feel his eyes on her. She could practically feel his smirk. The bastard was using the fact that everyone was bowed to keep his staring between the two of them.

She watched his feet as he walked down the hall. As he walked towards her his steps discreetly slowed and his eyes continued to pierce her, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. His step slowed even further as he passed her, as though time had slowed around her, and then his eyes left her and time sped back up. Her eyes didn't leave his feet though. She didn't trust him. After that look her gave her, she didn't trust him not to further screw with her like the shit hole he was. He reached the end of the hall and they all stood. She kept an eye of him and she knew he was looking back at her, even if it wasn't directly. She could feel his damn eyes. She hated it. If only this had been literally any other day.

"Your work for the company is greatly appreciated. Especially you Woods-san, you have been doing exceptionally well. You have quite the track record here."

"Thank you sir."

"I expect great things from you."

"Yes sir." She flushed in embarrassment at being brought to attention.

"That is all, please continue the good work all of you."

"Yes sir."

"You are all dismissed."

"Yes sir." Their voices were in unison but hers was much quieter. She hated him for calling her out. She hated him even more for calling her out with literally everyone in the room and listening, looking. She had half a mind to go slap him. She could dream though. She hated everything about this. She went back to her little cubicle and sat down in the chair. She began typing away, hoping that the work would make her forget the morning. But life was not so kind. The man walked over to her cubicle and leaned against the little entryway.

"You are very efficient."

"Thank you sir."

"Your name comes up in nearly every report I receive. Biwa-san has nothing but good things to say about you. As such you have caught my attention."

"Well, I'm glad I haven't made a nuisance of myself." She couldn't help but make the small jab at him. She wondered if he even remembered meeting her. She heard him chuckle and looked up at him. He was giving her that infuriating smirk again, the kind that said he knew something she didn't. Oh she hated it. She narrowed her eyes at him and he raised a brow in return.

"You are quite interesting. I suspect I will have my hands full, if you intend to be a nuisance."

"I'm sorry? What is that supposed to mean?" She demanded. He just chuckled again and turned his back, walking away with an amused vibe. She stood up but then hissed under her breath and sat back down. That son of a bitch. She could hear the man get in the elevator. She sat there, staring at her computer as she recovered from the frustration of being forced to interact with that ass. An email popped up in her inbox not a moment later. It was addressed from the man who had just left. It had no body, only a subject which was "get to work, miss nuisance". She hissed at her computer and deleted the email. She took a deep breath and began working again. She felt drained already. She needed to find her headspace to work in, to get in the zone. She needed to get back to the task at hand. Damn him.

She received a text. It was Sakura, asking if she was okay. She replied, saying she was fine, but Sakura didn't seem to agree, she replied to this with the offer to go out and eat together, just to relax and let out some tension. Part of her wanted to decline, but a larger part of her told her it would be good for her, so she agreed. Maybe it would make the day tolerable.

The day went rather quickly once she was able to get over her frustration. She could finally stretch her legs outside. She never realized she would love the fresh air so much. She needed respite and Sakura would help her get it. She smiled at her friend.

"Let's go, we can take my car."

"No, let's take both cars. I don't want to come back here."

"Alright then." Sakura nodded and she turned to head back to her car. As she watched her friend leave she felt eyes on her again, watching her. She looked back, no one. But she still felt the eyes. It was a burning stare. She hated it. She looked up at the top office. Maybe that bastard was looking at her. But why. She shuddered and when she did the feeling went away. Maybe she was just being paranoid after today's interaction with the bastard. She sighed and headed to her car. She drove to the restaurant in peace, meeting her friend in front of the store. The two smiled at each other and headed inside. The morning might have been terrible but the evening would be a good stress relief. Hopefully she wouldn't have to deal with him again for a long time, preferably never again.