When Love Fades

Chapter 7 - Shifting Bonds II

Naruto began to get nervous when his GPS navigator on his phone had started directing him down streets with houses that were almost as large as the entire apartment building that he and Sasuke lived in.

When he saw the matching address written on a stone arch in front of a massive, gated driveway, he had to force himself to not hyperventilate. He snapped a photo of the gate to Kiba and sent him a simple text:

Holy shit.

Naruto pulled up and pressed the buzzer on the post by the gate.

"Please state your name," an official-sounding voice came from the speaker.

"Um, hi. This is Uzumaki Naruto for a six o'clock appointment with Knowing Jiraiya."

"Drive in"

The gates slowly began to open. Naruto glanced down as Kiba texted him back.

You got this, bruh. Money doesn't mean shit. Remember, HE called YOU.

Naruto nodded, even though his friend couldn't see as he slowly pulled up the long, curved driveway. He saw security cameras out front, so he decided not to take anymore photos of the place. He'd just have to tell Kiba about it later. He wondered if Sasuke had ever been in a place like this before, or what he would make of it.

Naruto parked his car and got out, not bothering to lock it, since it was really sort of a piece of crap and anyone looking to steal something here would definitely not bother with his car or pretty

much anything else he owned. He walked up and rang the doorbell.

A few moments later, the large door swung open and Naruto couldn't help the way his eyes widened as he saw a tall man with a long mane of white hair. He had remembered the guy from the wedding party. It was hard to forget a man who had been always trying to look down any hot chick's dress whenever they got close. Naruto had had to constantly check his shots since he was pretty sure the bride wouldn't want any of those moments preserved for perpetuity in her wedding album.

"Hey, kid. Glad you could make it. Come on in." The older man stepped back and gestured for Naruto to follow him inside.

Naruto looked around the opulent foyer, feeling definitely out of place. "Thanks. It was great talking to you the other day." Naruto hoped his voice didn't sound as nervous as he felt.

The mountain of a man laughed, clapping his hand on Naruto's shoulder then leading them into a spacious sitting room. He motioned for Naruto to sit down on a red velvet sofa that looked like it might have come from the Playboy mansion. Naruto tried not to stare at the large oil painting of a nude blond woman with enormous breasts that hung over the mantel in the room.

"Don't get too excited about the job yet. I still need to see what you've got in terms of skills. Weddings are small time. If you want to do serious photography, it's going to be a hell of a lot more work." Jiraiya sat across from him on a matching sofa.

Naruto met the man's gaze steadily. It was surprisingly astute, and Naruto got the sense that there was a lot more to Jiraiya than the image he put out as a horny old pervert. "I'm not afraid of hard work. You said you were willing to give me a shot based on what you saw of my work." Naruto handed him the portfolio that he had put together. Most of it was weddings and birthday parties, but he had taken some others of buildings and landscapes just to round out his portfolio. "I'm still building my skills, but I'm not a total novice, either."

"Hmm," Jiraiya flipped through the book. His eyebrows went up at some of the pictures, and Naruto hoped that was a good sign. "This isn't the same as doing local events, kid. The project I have in mind as a trial for you will involve a good bit of travel. Honestly, so will pretty much all of the work if you end up joining my organization. You got a girlfriend that's going to make you regret signing up for this?"