I've anticipated publishing something like this for a LONG time… Real life musicians inspire some characterizations, but the plot is all original. I hope you readers enjoy this.
Summary: They were a band, and she was a model in school. He was dark and moody, and she was impatient and blunt. He could never say what he wanted, and she had other opportunities to take. [SasuSaku NaruHina ShikaIno] [AU]
Sweat permeated the air in an oppressive, humid wave, as bodies smashed together uncaringly to the beat of the song that reverberated throughout the small venue. The thickest part of the crowd clawed at the stage, desperate to partake in the act. Occasionally a member of the drenched crowd would manage their way up to the pedestal before returning to the pit of humans through a rebel-rousing jump. The performers hardly seemed to mind the interruptions, keeping their focus steady.
Towards the back of the room, the more obscure activities of the night took place. A different kind of thrill was being sought, evident through the couples scattered against walls and behind curtains.
The noisiest of the couples occupied the space between a concrete pillar and the carpeted wall. They knew each other's names, but they were well aware that the implications would be kept to a minimum.
The heat was comparable to that in the middle of the pit. She was crushed into the rounded corner, holding his head in a vice-like grip to compensate for the pressure on her back. She was then hoisted up like a child as he explored the canvas of her body, and, unexpectedly, she found herself bored as the music stopped. The meaning of the encounter became lost, and she tore his face away.
Pulling her jacket back up, she uttered an excuse as simple as their relationship: "Sorry, gotta go."
His disappointment was short lived as an influx of the attendants pushed him along to the exit. She was about to willingly join the crowd when a scratchy voice cut through the low-grade din of ebbing excitement.
"Is this still on? Hello? Would Sakura Haruno please meet me backstage? Thank you all again-"
His sentence was cut off with the power. Someone began to jokingly scream, creating a pandemonium with resurrected energy. She wove through to the exit before the first punch was thrown.
The way to the back entrance was treacherous as it was filthy. Broken glass and condoms littered the space between the brick walls and rusted chain-link fence. In a nostalgic sense, she couldn't help but enjoy the sound of crunching miscellaneous bits of garbage beneath her shoes; it reminded her that she was in the big city now, and so even the deteriorating green paint of the metal door held a certain charm for her.
One knock, two knock, three knock, four.
Bits of green flew off as light burst forth from the doorway. She was quickly pulled in and heard the hallow sound of the door being shut.
She was lead down a dimly lit yellow hall way by a man. He was a good half a foot taller than her, and she was a tall girl of five nine. His unshaven face was tanned and somewhat ruddy, no doubt due to alcohol, and were lined with whisker-like tattoos that were unique as extreme. His medium length blonde hair was carelessly tousled, and words streamed out of his mouth similar to the way sweat was dripping from his tight grip on her hand.
"How was it? Could you hear everything? I wasn't sure if my treble was too low, I didn't have time to help out with the sound check-"
He was interrupted for the second time that night: "Naruto, everything was fine. You guys were great."
Her insincerity was not apparent to Naruto. He grinned in appreciation and wrapped his arm around her. His blue eyes focused on a black door at the end of the linoleum hall, and he said: "Thanks, Sakura. I mean it… Which is why I'm taking you to meet the guys."
Sakura quietly sighed. Naruto had been talking about his new band for weeks, and had been trying to convince her to meet them for just as long. She wasn't particularly interested, knowing that Naruto had a very different taste in friends, but found that she didn't have the heart to be honest.
He released her when they finally reached the end of the hall. Just as he was reaching for the handle, the door slammed outward, nearly catching Naruto's hand.
"Hold on, let me find him." The tired voice was followed by the brusque appearance of a black haired man distractedly exiting through the heavy door. Naruto expressed his irritation, babying the unscathed hand.
"Fuck man, you almost clipped my most important body part!"
The man stopped in his tracks. He was decidedly more handsome than Naruto, but Sakura couldn't help but think his spiked ponytail was as bad as the blonde's whisker tattoos. Regardless, Sakura immediately recognized him: "Shikamaru!"
He attentively turned towards her, raising an eyebrow. "So you did show up. That's rather fortunate for this idiot," he inclined his head towards Naruto, who had by then decided to study the veins of arms "because somehow he couldn't fucking keep time to save his life."
The insult snared Naruto's attention. His placid expression turned to a scowl. "Fuck you man, it's a little something called showmanship. Going faster gets everyone pumped."
Shikamaru crossed his arms in preparation for his rebuttal: "Do you know how many people even know what a bass is? They probably thought you weren't even plugged in! The foundation can't race ahead of everyone else; it just doesn't work. You're lucky Kiba kept everyone else on track, or else everything would've gone to shit… Asshole."
Instead of fighting back, Naruto had instead fixated on 'Kiba'. "Kiba can suck dick. Who gives a fuck?"
The last of Shikamaru's nerves were broken. He violently pushed Naruto back against a grimy wall of pipes, his demeanor turned mean. "Just shut the fuck up, you son of a bitch. You know damn well we're lucky with our line-up, and if there's any chance of this going anywhere, you'd better cooperate. We're on the brink of a deal, and I'm not putting in this much effort just to have you shit on everything."
Naruto shoved him off, sneering in agitation. "Whatever man."
Seemingly satisfied, Shikamaru turned back to Sakura, smoothing down his unusually shaped hair. "Right, sorry you had to see that. Cracking down on douche bags is never easy."
Still desperate to regain some credit, Naruto hurriedly commented: "I'm sure that's what the British invasion said right before the American Revolution."
Sakura couldn't help but laugh at the obviously misinformed comment as she placed her arm around a chuckling Naruto. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, muttered something about bassists, and reentered through the heavy door, holding it open for them to follow.
The lounge was surprisingly spacious. Two couches were placed opposite of each other, and sitting upon them was what Sakura assumed was the rest of the band. Their conversation was overpowered by the men who suddenly approached Shikamaru, asking where to put various pieces of equipment. He quickly walked onto the disassembled stage with them, and Naruto headed towards a cooler in a corner of the room, giving Sakura some time to quickly form her own ideas about what the band was like.
She recognized the nearest one as the lead singer. His long dark hair was damp yet neatly arranged into a ponytail that reached the middle of his back. He had a long, pale face with the lightest eyes she had ever seen. She noted how careful and graceful his movements were, and guessed that he was probably effeminate, but still very striking and ghostlike.
The one sitting across from the singer had an even more interesting look to him. He had an air saturated with melancholy. It permeated through his entirely black attire: sleeveless shirt, fabric wristbands, cargo pants, Vans; even his nails were painted to match. His sad, soulful eyes were accentuated with eyeliner that somehow completed the look. He wasn't particularly muscular, but his tattooed arms were toned enough to suggest he was past the point of being scrawny.
The unconventional look came together perfectly on his slouched form. His black hair was neatly arranged to frame his face with a row of short spikes traveling the length of his head.
The last of the three greatly reminded her of Naruto. His spiky brown hair was held up with a dark gray sweatband, revealing a face Sakura thought to be one of the more attractive ones of the band, but to her chagrin on his cheeks were two large triangles of red ink. And just like Naruto, his mischievous nature was easy for her to sense.
Naruto had then returned, pressing a cool cup of water into her hands. Before she had even finished her first sip, he proceeded to drag her between the two couches and the preexisting conversation, proudly presenting her: "Guys, this is Sakura. Sakura, this is Sasuke," he pointed to the one in all black, who nodded while Naruto turned to the one across from him "and Neji," another nod, "and… Kiba."
Kiba seemed to be the politest of the four, and stood up to shake Sakura's hand, before greeting: "What's up."
Sensing an awkward moment, Sakura was relieved to see Shikamaru return.
"Ok, they're waiting in the back. Come on, Sakura."
She was confused. "Who's 'they'?"
A hint of Shikamaru's irritation from before resurfaced. "Don't tell me Naruto didn't explain to you why you're here?"
Sakura shook her head. Instead of another burst of anger, Shikamaru sighed and rested his chin on the top of his hand. "Okay, here's what the plan was. The reason you're here is to help negotiate a deal for this loser," he inclined his head towards Naruto "and these other hard working musicians. I'm sorry if this isn't how you expected to spend the night, but you're already here, and I'm tired of pulling this job off on my own. Would you agree to be a temporary co-manager?"
The onslaught of demands had caught Sakura off guard, but she appreciated Shikamaru's straightforward attitude and could empathize with his frustration. In a moment's contemplation, she agreed. "Okay, let's go."
Shikamaru gave her a grateful nod before abruptly walking towards the stage. Sakura waved good-bye to the three hard working musicians, ignoring the loser who desperately tried to rectify their relationship.
I hope you enjoyed the first chapter… I sure did.
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