𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄 | madara uchiha

Chapter 21

"Nice to see you back at work, Nakano!"

The following week, Shion walked into work with a small smile as she approached her colleagues who sat near her desk, bowing at all of them as she arrived.

"Good to be back," she said softly, pulling her seat out. "May I?"

"Of course!" chirped Ino, who was the most enthusiastic of the bunch to see Shion once again. "Gosh, it must have been so hectic for you this past week! How are you feeling?"

"Tired, even though I've been gone for so long," joked Shion, switching on her computer as she glanced at Misaki's empty seat. "Kudo isn't in yet?"

"She's probably pestering Izuna-sama," sighed Ino, rolling her eyes as she and Shion turned their attention to the front. "Oh look. Speak of the devil."

Izuna could be seen entering the office with Misaki latched onto him, eagerly talking his ear off as he frowned.

"He's too nice to tell her to leave him alone," mused Choji from the other side of the desk, making Shion and Ino snicker as they watched the pair approach.

"Judging from the look on his face, he has much stronger words in mind," snorted Shikamaru, further exacerbating everyone's laughter. As Izuna approached their area of the office, his face lit up at the sight of Shion seated rightfully at her desk.

"Shion-chan!" gasped the Uchiha, breaking free of Misaki's iron grip and rushing straight towards the Nakano. "How have you been?!"

"I've been fine, thank you," laughed Shion as Izuna gave her a friendly, one-armed hug. "How have you been? Missed me?"

"Oh, so much!" cried out Izuna, throwing his hands in the air. "I haven't had anyone to talk to around here! What are you doing for lunch today? We haven't had lunch together in ages!"

"Well, I was going to sit at my desk and go through all the work I missed out on in the past week," said Shion glumly. "I have a lot to do."

"No, we're going out for lunch," insisted the Uchiha, wagging a finger in his subordinate's face. Behind Izuna, Misaki's jaw dropped in insult. "Knowing you, you're probably planning on finishing work late and eating then- probably around eight or nine- so we'll meet for lunch at... three?"

"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"

"No."

"Then three it is."

"Oh, we have so much to catch up on!" cried out Izuna, squeezing Shion's shoulders as he waved at everyone else in her department. "You lot have a good day, okay?"

"Thank you so much, Izuna-sama."

As Izuna strode out of the office, Misaki's gaze lowered on Shion once more as she continued her conversation with Ino. If the truth hadn't been enough to have the Nakano ousted from her position at the company, then a little white lie wouldn't hurt.

*

"... yes, that's correct. Yes, in his office. I witnessed it first-hand, but not in a weird way. No, I stopped by Madara-sama's office to drop off some very important files, but then I heard strange noises coming from it. Obviously, I'm no stranger to what making love sounds like, so there's no mistaking what I heard. I hovered around outside the office for a further twenty minutes, and out walked that same. Damn. Intern. Yes, I believe he's only defending her because he hired her from that dirty club, and having her employed here was just more convenient for him in terms of easy access during work hours. Was this during work hours? Well, no, it was after working hours, but the point still stands that it was in his office. Anything else?"