Sakura glared at Ino. "This is your fault," she said accusatorily, as Naruto pushed her onto the stage. Someone shoved a microphone into her hands.
"Forehead, you're the one who lost the bet!" Ino snapped back.
"Sakura-san, you will do wonderfully!" Lee's overexcited voice called. "If not, I will personally run 50 laps around Konoha with you!"
A hint of repulsion entered Sakura's mind. "Th-thank's, Lee. But I think I'll be OK."
She turned to Ino, her lip curled mockingly in an angry smirk. "So, what song am I singing?"
Ino smirked. " That was Naruto's job."
Over by the jukebox, Naruto grinned and gave the both a thumbs-up.
My Heart , read the label. Something in Sakura's stomach gave a jolt, but she quickly dismissed the unpleasant feeling, figuring it was just nerves. The music began.
Sakura's voice rang out through the bar. Heads turned toward her, some scowling at the interruption of their drinks, some shining with anticipation and pleasure.
"I am finding out, that maybe I was wrong. That I'm falling down, and I can't do this alone."
And suddenly her voice choked on the next words, "Stay with me, this is what I need, please?"
Stay here. Stay with me. Those very words had left her lips, two and a half years ago, to a boy with raven-black hair. The one who was lost in darkness.
"Sing us a song, and we'll sing it back to you-"
Someone entered the bar, a shadow along the mildew-covered walls. The Uchiha crest flashed in the dim light. The green eyes widened in surprise, and Sakura gripped the microphone harder, denial blossoming through her.
"What would it be without you?"
Sakura watched the newcomer, who stood in the background. His beautiful face was framed by a short mane of black hair.
"I am nothing now, and it's been so long." She fought herself, struggling to keep her voice from a whisper. "Since I've heard a sound-"
Onyx eyes met her own.
"The sound of my only hope." The girl's voice shrank. The tears welling up made it harder to focus.
As she watched, the stranger's mouth stretched into that crooked smile she knew so well. So crooked, it was almost a smirk.
And the first tear rolled down Sakura's cheek, he voice breaking in the middle of the song. "This time I will be li-listening."
Suddenly a firm, callused hand enveloped hers, and a painfully familiar voice filled the room, much stronger then her own. Her own gasp of surprise and fear was one of many, but his voice, it seemed to drown everything out.
"Sing us a song, and we'll sing it back to you-"
Looking up, shock penetrating her mind once again, Sakura blinked furiously. The tears brimmed over, tumbling over her fair features. There was the sound of scuffling chairs, and Naruto's panicky voice rang out.
"We could sing our own, but what would we do without you?"
What would I do without you? Sakura thought, and she smiled slightly, grasping Sasuke's hand.
She whispered into the microphone, "This heart, it beats, beats for only you-"
His voice joined her own-"This heart, it beats, beats for only you."
The two were oblivious to the sounds of kunai knives being drawn.
Sakura's voice grew strong, overpowering her shock, and she felt she could choke with newfound joy as she sang, "My heart is yours."
And then, in unison with her own words, his lips were at her ear, and he was breathing, " My heart is yours ."