Disclaimer: Don't owe them… sue me if you must but you're not getting anything… I'm broke
Summary: AU. All she ever wanted was to hear him play and see the eyes that've captivated her since she first saw his picture and heard his music. She finally gets her chance when against all odds she attends his concert during Christmas Eve. And it finally seemed as if she's gotten her wish, but at what cost? Inspired by the story behind Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata'.
Pairings: Sakura x Sasuke mainly
Warnings: Language, Suggestive & somewhat dark themes, OOC- ness
A/N: This was supposed to be my Christmas gift for Crazy-Silly-Me, but I never got around finishing it in time. Better late than never, I like to think.
'This Song's For You'
by: dreameaterishungry
Words are powerful things, Zeus's in their own right. One word can make you smile, one word, can shatter your world. Oh yes, powerful things, sweeping you to far away lands, painting the most vivid picture with nothing but words, and yet, sitting there, in the cold shrouded darkness with but a faint glow far before me, I found that no words can adequately describe it. It was like ghosted hands, lifting me up from my seat, Morpheus lulling me into his father's land and yet, it stirred within me countless of fleeting emotions: joy, hope, longing, that lay buried deep within the recesses of my heart, waking them from a hundred year's sleep.
It took nearly all of my self-control not to slump down in the soft velvet seat and let a sigh of pleasure escape my slightly chapped lips. After all, it would not do to have these rich old patrons sneer down at my lack of etiquette at Christmas Eve; I get that enough everyday of the year at my job down at a local Chinese restaurant downtown. Shaking my head, I decided not to dwell on it; I did come here to enjoy myself after all.
I closed my eyes and let the music ensnare me. Every note that his deft fingers play runs over every fiber of my skin, as if it were his gentle caress, and not mere music. I shiver as I imagined his soft hand running up my arm before bringing it up to lightly stroke my cheek. Leaning over me, his succulent lips lightly brush my jaw line, his warm breath, making me shudder at the sudden warmth from the cold.
'This song's for you…' he whispers, his voice husky and low, awaking within me notions of pleasure and lust that lay deep within my bedroom at night.
Suddenly, applause echoed throughout the theater, snapping me out of my wandering reverie. My eyes flew open; the patrons around me were all on their feet, giving their applause.
Time seemed to stand still when he plays and before one even realizes it, the fantasy is over. All the weariness, the biting cold rushes back, chasing away the warmth from his touch and his breath, pulling me down to the dirt road that is reality.
Making a hesitant move to stand as well though, I craned my neck to the stage far below. Far below, he gave a curt half-bow before turning to walk away.
Leaning over the railing of the high balcony, I squinted hoping to get a good look of his face, to see those haunting yet empty cold eyes that drew me to him, such a contrast to the soft music he plays so full of rushing emotions. I sighed as he disappeared behind the shadows of the heavy red curtains, the lights now illuminating the once dark theater and the stage, now dim.
'Oh well,' I thought to myself, giving one last glance at the dark stage, the grand piano now lifeless without the lights and its player, with deft fingers, producing music beyond comprehension, before following the patrons who were heading out of the theater, 'at least I was able to hear him play in person.'
At this thought, I couldn't help but let a small smile tug at my lips. It had cost me a small fortune to say the least, to be able to buy a ticket for his show. But the countless overtimes, and all of my landlord's threats of throwing me out, it was all worth it. I may not have gotten the choice seat in the house but it was the best I could've afford, nor did I wear a Cinderella gown as I had before imagined I would be, but I was able to hear him play and that was all that mattered to me.
As I stepped out to the snow covered streets of Tokyo, I tuned out the merry surroundings of laughter, festive Christmas decors and songs, and let the memory of his music wash over me. I pulled my nearly threadbare shawl around my arms as my skin tingled with every note playing in my head. Each haunting adagio, the soft narcotic pianissimo, crescendos that seem like angels, enveloping me and with their wings, taking flight, echoed within the recesses of my mind; It was intoxication at its sweetest.
As I ambled down the sidewalk, with not a care for the outside world, my eyes flew open as I felt someone run into me. Then as if a dramatic scene in television soap opera or in movie where everything was in slow motion, I fell backwards. As I let gravity overtake me, I turned my head, seeing a pair of eyes, fathomless obsidian pools, wide in horror. My eyes widened as I realized that it was his eyes, the eyes of Uchika Sasuke, the great piano player whose music induced my every fantasy.
My heart fluttered at this realization and my only thought was how much more captivating were his eyes now filled with… surprise?
But my elation was gone in the heat of the moment, pain overtaking my senses. As I felt the sharp pain erupt at the back of my head, I closed my eyes and instinctively tried to turn away.
His eyes were the last sight I saw before I was swallowed by the darkness. As I felt my consciousness slip away, my last thought was: tonight was worth it.
And it was but nobody understood why except me. No matter how many times I explained it, everyone would turn away, muttering how the chance of finally seeing the eyes that have long captivated me, so filled with emotion, a far cry from the empty stoic orbs that his pictures all portray, was worth a lifetime condemned with blindness.
Yes, that night, the sight of his eyes, was the last I saw before my world became forever filled with the dark. When we collided that fateful night, his frame sent me towards a glass display that we were passing by. As the back of my head hit the fragile glass, shattering it from the impact, I turned away not knowing that as I did, I turned towards the display, the flying shards, cutting across my face and, as I found out later, severely damaging my eyes.
As I stirred, I remembered waking up in the darkness and yet, a flurry of sounds greeted me. How odd, I thought back then. Dimly, I registered a familiar voice shouting.
'What do you mean he refuses to comment?!' the voice exclaimed, clearly angry.
Hearing no stuttering reply, I assumed he was having a shouting match with whom ever the poor soul was to face his wrath over the phone. It's funny how much Naruto had matured over the years. When we were kids, he was such an idiot, doing the craziest things that'd pop into his head, never thinking about the repercussions until it was too late.
'Tell that bastard to come and face me man to man or else I'll march right down there and knock some sense into that empty egoistic skull of his. Maybe then he'll understand what he fucking done to my friend!' he rambled, his voice growing louder and angrier with each word.
Er, scratch that, Naruto has slightly matured. He still is the impulsive and reckless brat that used to catch frogs down by the pond near our houses and set them on my head as a prank. Still though, even if he's all smiles and pranks, it's but a porcelain mask, painted to perfectly hide the true face behind.
My lips that must've worn a smile at that time slowly began to falter as the darkness began to consume my senses. In the background, I can hear Naruto's verbal sparring match over the phone as well a steady monotonous stream of beeps to my left. But only as I turned my head to its side, trying to make out my surroundings did the grim realization dawned on me. I couldn't see.
Bringing my palms to my face, I desperately sought for my eyes, my panic and fright spiking with the pace of each beep. Numbly, I registered that my eyes were open and nothing, no bandages or those of the sort, were inhibiting my eyesight.
I was blind.
Sitting here right now in Naruto's flat, my hair, like wayward fingers, lightly caressing my face with the occasional breeze from the open balcony, it seems hard to believe that it's been nearly a year and a half.
'And what a hell of a year and a half it was…' I mused, mixed emotions that were all bottled inside of me, threatening to burst from its deep prison.
Although there's this old adage that said: 'Time heals all wounds', time, wouldn't and couldn't bring me back my sight. With every moment that passed since I first woke up with the darkness welcoming me, my fantasies consumed me. I dodged reality, hoping that I might just wake up one day and find myself blinded, not by darkness, but by the sunlight.
But with each passing morn, it has seemed that the sun has become selfish and turned its light away from me. I was night's prisoner, and like everything else in this world, the night, too, is selfish. There was no ray of hope, no light in the darkness as people often say.
As the darkness consumed me, his brother, Depression followed in its wake. While I didn't try anything per se, it didn't stop the barrage of morose thoughts that continuingly plagued my mind. One could say that I was Ceres whenever Persephone was with her bastard 'husband', only it was a perpetual winter I was faced with.
Still, I was not free from the serpent tempting me to take a bite off the apple that is suicide. It would've saved me the heartache if I simply clambered out of the hospital bed, opened the damned window hospital rooms usually have and just jump. It wasn't the most pleasant way to commit suicide, but with my handicap, it was the only surefire way I could think of to just end it all.
I sighed and redirected my thoughts. Even if I never had the guts to go beyond ripping off the IV's and tubes off me, the temptation was and will always still be there.
Funny how people remark that those who perform suicide were weak at will and yet here I am, finding myself unable do it. It was simple; untangle myself from the god-forsaken tubes stuck to me, get up from the bed, feel for the damned window, open it, climb up the edge and enjoy the harsh wind and my hair whipping as I fall.
But as my bare feet would touch the cold tiles of the hospital room, my memories would take me back to that night, how like then, the cold was unforgiving as I slowly trekked back home. Then, as if I were in a trance, I would reminisce about that night. By the time I would remember his eyes, usually fathomless and empty, but, was then filled with raw emotion, I couldn't find it in me to stand up and finish the deed.
Considering the circumstances, it seemed so ironic how Sasuke was partly responsible for banishing me from Apollo's court and yet, while he doesn't realize it, only he can stop me from seeking an audience with Pluto himself.
But then again, everything, well at least, everything I know about the man is a paradox.
Uchika Sasuke is a serious and withdrawn man. More often than not, people call him cold and with a heart of ice straight from Antarctica. Nevertheless, I know that most, if not all of that is just an act in the play that is society. Like Naruto, he hides himself; that much I know after seeing his eyes that night. But while Naruto wears a Venetian Carnivale mask, so full of color and sparkle, Sasuke's was like that of the Phantom's in Phantom of the Opera: plain, lifeless, betraying nothing of the scars, wounds and imperfections behind the cold, stark white mask.
I don't know whether it was because of the verbal sparring match Naruto had with who-knows-who over the phone when I first regained consciousness then, but a hefty sum, as well as a confidentiality contract was drawn before I knew it. The contract was supposed to make sure we zip our mouths shut about the incident. As far as the contract was concerned, a stranger rammed into me, sending me to my dark prison and that was it. And the money, I suppose was compensation. But from the gist of Naruto's reaction, it's nothing but an added insurance, an incentive or bait for fish one may say.
Back when I woke up, I pitied whoever was the victim to Naruto's ire but boy was that tame compared to the tongue-lashing Sasuke's lawyers received when the contract and the check were presented to us.
Luckily for the law community, Naruto didn't push forward with law, instead opting for public relations or else, many if not all of the lawyers and judges he'd have encountered by now would've resigned or quit practice from a broken ego. That or Naruto would've been under trial by now with a long list of emotional grievances.
'Ready, Sakura?'
Naruto's less-than-cheerful tone interrupted my musings. Turning to his voice, I smiled.
'Yes, though no need to be bitter about it,' I replied good-naturedly. 'Although you have good reason to be…' I added inwardly.
'I know, I know, sorry…' he apologized, sounding a bit sheepish. 'I am partly responsible for tonight…'
'It doesn't mean though that I have to like it though…' he muttered under his breath.
I laughed at his antics, but inside, I was worried. I can only hope that tonight would go better than all the worst case scenarios that's been haunting me every time I think of tonight.
A year and a half ago, I found that no words would give justice to the music that he's playing. And even after all this time, I still believe that the only justice words can bring to his music is the lack thereof.
True, while blind, the darkness encroached me, like Pluto's rape of Persephone, kidnapping her from Ceres to the dark Underworld. But then, in exchange, Persephone had greater influence, now stretching both to Ceres and to Hades. Likewise, it seemed as if my other senses, my hearing especially had awoken from passive slumber.
Each allegretto were like soft feathery kisses running all over my skin, enough elicit throaty moans speaking of the pleasure of the flesh. Every lento seemed like a silky voice lusted with carnal desire and longing, whispering softly in my ear, undressing me both mind and body slowly with each word.
It was... orgasmic.
As the night wore on, it took nearly all my self control not let a moan escape my lips or give my body the satisfaction of arching to the music's cosset. No matter how much of a good friend Naruto is, I wouldn't put it past him to taunt me later on like a good friend would, should I let my hair down and indulge myself.
'Finally, one more stupid piece and the torture would be all over...' I heard Naruto mutter beside me.
'One more song...' I thought, not realizing how fast time flew.
It had nearly escaped my attention that unlike before, all of Sasuke's pieces has lost their haunting and hypnotic melodies that resonated of desire, loneliness, bitterness and sorrow. Gone were the ghostly notes that reminded one of the strange and misunderstood, yet intoxicating beauty of all that is dark, seducing you like an aphrodisiac, stirring within you the lust that society cast secrecy upon.
In its place were soft yet sensual melodies whispering of yearning and passion envoking a deep seated lust, but also of an overpowering sense of love that no aphrodisiac can ever stir. It was slow and careful but behind each deftly played note were emotions that ran deeper beyond the key.
I only noticed the difference when his last piece sang of the dark, delirious rhapsody of the past. As the notes became more intense, more furious at every breath, anticipating a vehement crescendo, climatic enough to make even the most reserved lose their inhibitions, the music became flat and low yet still hypnotic in its own way. It reminded me of those hazy days after the accident where I was numb to everything by hopelessness, emptiness and despair, and the only thing that seemed logical at that time was death. At some point, the music picked up a bit as life seemed to slowly seep into the nearly dead and somber tone.
Before too long, it became soft and peaceful, like how a hurt child would feel after finding solace from his mother's hug. It spoke of a simple happiness that people only experience when they were children, and were now but bittersweet memories lending them a small comfort from the heavy whip lashes of reality.
His soft pianissimo stretched on, his notes like a warm embrace, simple yet spoke of fleeting emotions no words can express, then as if scared, the music slowly became lower but by no means louder. It was like all the pieces before this but more meeker and timid than the rest.
'Like a vulnerable child asking for forgiveness...' I mused absently before realization dawned on me.
'This song's for you...,' I can almost hear him whisper, his voice still echoing desire, but now, also spoke of passion and hope.
Like the last time, his music had me drowning within the pools of my fantasies, but instead of the longing and pleasure that has since left me breathless and spent, it has strangely left me truly happy and content. It has seemed like all of the ghosts of the past were finally chased away by his music, and like soft lullabies ease into my senses before sending me into Morpheus' land.
The End.
o4.25.o7(8:17 p.m.)
A/N: It's finally done! Hallelluiah! After not writing fanfics for so long, I already forgot how it's the random plot bunnies, the idea of posting my fic and insinuating innuendo that thrill me and not the writing process itself. sighs Btw, sorry if there are any inconsistencies, personality/ character-wise. I haven't watched or read (both manga and fanfics of) Naruto so everything is based on research online.
P.S. I'm not very adept at music technically so forgive me for any incorrect terminologies. I just read up on their definitions and made some allusions and connotations based from them.
P.P.S. I bet all of you thought that Sakura and Naruto were 'together' somehow in the later part. Ü
P.P.P.S. I think I'm just reminded again of how much I hate most recent document manager, always screwing up my formatting! I'm shutting up now...