The Music from the Soul
When I thought my dream had ended, a new beginning was placed just ahead of me. I just didn't know it yet on that day…
Chapter 1 – Dreams
Sakura's Diary
Saturday, December 12th
I knew why I was feeling a pang in my chest, why my heart was clenching in itself in sorrow. I was doing it to myself, but I had only one thought running in my mind: "It is over." Yeah, it had been funny while it lasted, this music career seeking I had been gone through during the last couple of years, but one day it had to end and that day finally arrived. I really should have known better; this singer status was just not for me. Yes, I have talent, people say I sing like a bird, anyway I never got my place in that world – the Music Industry world; I mean.
That was the train of thoughts I was in when I heard my name being shouted in the hallway where my dorm is.
"Sakura-san!"
What the hell? I thought, recognizing my manager's voice screaming crazily like that. I was right. Not so much after that, my chubby manager appeared at my door, leaning on it to regain his posture –and breath. I just stared at him, frozen in the middle of folding a shirt to add the item in my luggage.
"Oh, Sakura-san. That's good you didn't leave yet. You need to come see this!"
"Are you kidding me?" That was my dry answer. "My flight is this evening, I have packing to do."
"I-I know, Sakura-san…" He stuttered. "But you had better see this! There are these guys and their band, they're awesome and they're waiting for you to check them out. I know you're going to like them!"
Ok. At that point I had already thrown the shirt in the bag clumsily.
"What do I have to do with an all guy band?"
My manager cleared his throat nervously.
"Well… Maybe if you like them we could combine you and the guys…"
I blinked twice. That was just not right.
"Ok, Tanaka-san. That was a nice try, but I'll finish my packing and leave. The US is waiting for me. My English course as well."
I could practically hear Tanaka-san's heartbeat increase and his face turned redder. Sweat started to run down the sides of his head.
"Sakura-san, please, just give them a chance. If you don't like them, fine, we will let you go as you please. But at least let them play one song for you. You have been waiting for an opportunity for so long; maybe this is your chance to live your dream. Don't throw it away just yet."
All right… He had a point there. But why would I want to join a band full of unknown guys or worse, why would they want me to join them if their group was already formed?
"If I get late for my flight, I'll never forgive you."
"Sakura-san, you won't decide to leave after hearing them."
"Why are you so sure of it?"
"Because they are going to be the next greatest band of Japan and you should be part of it."
We were already inside the elevator when Tanaka-san stated that. I stared at him, brows raised in suspicion.
"These guys had better be really good or else I'll punch all of you…"
I smiled as Tanaka-san gulped and grinned nervously tugging his collar. He was pretty aware of my somewhat aggressive personality.
Nothing could have prepared me for what was about to happen in that studio.
My manager, Tanaka Kaito, was known as the type of person who speaks a lot but does very little. That's why I was not so excited to meet those boys. We arrived when they were finishing sound check.
"Sakura-san let me introduce you to the guys. This is Inuzuka Kiba, base guitarist. Hyuuga Neji, solo guitarist. Nara Shikamaru, bassist. Uzumaki Naruto, drummer. And Uchiha Sasuke, vocalist, rapper and screamer."
I couldn't help but let my eyes widen at that It was impossible to be all three at the same time and be good at them all. I stared at him for a moment while thinking 'all right, Uchiha, show me what you've got'. He glared at me and for a brief instant I thought he could read my mind. I shook my head. Of course he couldn't. And that helped to worsen my bad humor. How dare he glare at me like that? Definitely, not good. This guy doesn't look friendly like a band vocalist should be.
But despite this, my general impression was… Good. The guys were all handsome. How could that be possible? Well that certainly was an extra point; female fans would appear by tons…
Starting by the Inuzuka boy: he had two red inverted triangles tattooed on his cheeks, something I found pretty badass. The drummer, Uzumaki, was blond with blue eyes, not very common for a Japanese guy. He also had cat whiskers on his face; badass as well. Next one: the bassist. Shikamaru was a brunette with a strange spiky sort of a ponytail. Interesting and handsome, even if he looked a little lazy. Then Neji… He had dark long straight hair and light eyes, pale even. I had to slap myself mentally to look professional. And the last one, the Uchiha guy. He also had dark hair with bangs that framed his face and very dark eyes. Beautiful eyes, even though intimidating. What kind of band was that? I decided to let them try.
"All right guys. Sakura-san will listen to only one song now. Show her what you've got best!" I could have sworn I heard the Uchiha boy complain about something doing a "tsc". No good…
Anyway, they started playing… And that was mesmerizing. The drummer was impossibly good. The two guitarists were in perfect synchrony. Shikamaru's bass was strong and awesome. As for Sasuke, he had transformed into a completely different person. Since the heavy intro started he held the pedestal with both hands and started head banging. Then a rap followed and I was impressed at his agility and articulated words. The bridge was pure screams. And then he sang in the chorus. The song was great. The solo Neji played suited it well and was difficult to play. When they finally finished with one last scream of Sasuke's, I was speechless. Tanaka-san started his own round of applause while all I could do was stare at them.
"So… Sakura-san. What do you think?"
It took me some time to process a complete phrase to speak in that moment. When I managed it, it was only a 'That was awesome!' Inuzuka and Uzumaki smiled; widely. Shikamaru nodded and offered a small smile. Neji only nodded and Sasuke just had no reaction. Since the song ended, he had come back to what I supposed was his true self: stoic.
Tanaka had a smile wider than his face, yet, I had to ruin it all. "That as really awesome, but I can't see how I would fit in this band." My manager dropped his smile. "I wish you all the luck guys!" I waved at them and turned to leave.
"Wait, Sakura-san!"
I turned again to face who had called me and saw it was Naruto. Something in his eyes made me stop.
"We were hoping you would join us. We had no idea you wasn't sure of it yet…"
He was looking at me expectantly and then I realized all of them were hoping to welcome me in their band even if they didn't state that aloud.
"Sakura-san…" I heard my manager start. "You are going to be their sunshine in the band's darkness. They are already a blend of heavy metal, screamo and hip-hop. Now imagine adding your sweet female voice to it. It's the mixture of the century!"
No way to deny it. He was right. Nobody had ever had a band like that until that day. I knew it for sure, that was explosive; meant to be. But I still had no idea if I should join these guys, yet, before I could answer the Uchiha guy finally spoke.
"I want to hear you."
It took me some seconds to realize he was talking to me.
"Show me what you can do." He said, eyes not leaving mine. I felt the challenge, felt the sudden tension in the air. That was it. The moment to find out if that was going to work out or not.
I took a step forward and asked whether or not the guys knew a song from a female fronted band I liked. I smiled when they nodded. I waited patiently for them to remember all the chords until they signaled it was ok. The boys then started the introduction to the song and I felt so much more nervous than I had ever felt before. Gosh! What was that? Not even when I had to perform for the talent managers of that label I felt that nervous. Of course, there was that guy, Sasuke, standing in front of me with his arms crossed in front of his body and staring at me. Damn…
'All right Sakura.' I told myself. 'It's show time.'
As I closed my eyes I could feel it coming, yeah, the notes coming, the music burning inside of me. I sang.
I'm so sick, infected with where I live
Let me live without this empty bliss, selfishness
I'm so sick
That was what I loved. Music. Singing. Rock n' roll. A smile grazed my lips when I heard some applause in the end.
"She's good!" I could hear Kiba whisper. Tanaka-san cleared his throat to gain everybody's attention.
"So what do you think Hyuuga-san, Uchiha-san?"
Both exchanged a glance for a brief moment. I was nervous to find out what they would say. Neji finally nodded. Sasuke nodded as well.
"I like it." He said shoving his hands in his pockets casually.
"Sakura-san?" Everyone looked at me in expectation. I had to take a deep breath in. It was now or never.
"I'm sorry guys." I said. "Can't do it."
I was decided to let that go. Travel to the USA without looking back. Seriously, that would never work. I really liked the guys and their band; I also agreed they wouldn't go much far. Don't get me wrong, they were awesome, but they were ordinary as well. At that time I was refusing to realize how I myself was ordinary too. I wanted so bad to become a singer, a rock star, but alone I wouldn't be a success anyway. My label was right, separated we would never be great, but combined it would be an explosion. But, me? Really? I wanted to reach the stage alone. I wanted to have my name on the news and music headlines. I didn't want to be in a band, even less with five –marvelous- boys in it. Geez… I was the only girl! Boys are cool, but they smell… As far as I knew. Now imagine being on the road with five of them! Definitely, that was not going to happen.
I headed back to my room to finish my packing as soon as possible; I had a flight to take. Annoying tears were blurring my vision and I had no idea why I was crying. I was folding the clothes not really doing a good job, I just wanted that luggage to be ready so that I could leave and forget that part of my life. Yes, I was giving up. And the band? Well, they could find another girl to sing for them, couldn't they? Maybe they find another screamer like that girl from Arch Enemy. A screamer girl was new in Japan. My voice was pretty common. Thin and loud like almost every Japanese girl, that wouldn't really fit a heavy band like theirs and would they be willing to change their sound just to add a girl to the band? Don't think so.
All right. Finished! Then I just needed to find my ticket, my purse and bye Japan! I'll be back… Someday…
But then I heard a knock on the door. Damn it! Who could that be? It took me some seconds to decide f I should open it or just pretend I wasn't there, but then I remembered that the door wasn't locked, so yeah… Better to just face it. Whoever it was. Surprise hit me when I finally opened the door.
Deep black eyes met mine and right in that moment I knew, my life was changed. Forever.
In secret, we talked about our dreams.
Author's notes:
Hello guys!
First of all: for those reading "Silence", next chapter is coming, don't worry!
I will not start a lot of projects, my time is much reduced, but I wanted to try this idea mainly because this story I'm writing directly in English, so probably it will be better written then Silence which is a translation.
I want to improve in my English writing, that's why I'll try to update Silence and this one as well, so I can compare my production.
Please review and tell what you think.
This story is based on the story of a Japanese band. I want to see if you can guess which band this is. Every chapter will be named after a song of them (translated in English…). The romance part is just my imagination; it's not part of the original band's story, right?
This chapter was short 'cause it's just a test. The next ones will be longer.
Thanks for reading!
