Radio Chapter I: Transmitting, a naruto fanfic

Disclaimer: I do not own the songs "Ouchi Wasureta" by Jigoku Shoujo; "Imperishable Night" by Alstroemeria Records; or "Hiru no Tsuki" by Akino Arai, but I do have them in my playlists!

12: 30 AM…

…

O~u~chi wasure~ta kohiba~ri wa
O little skylark did you forget your home?
Hi~roi hatake~ no mugi no~ naka
In the vast wheat field
Kaa~san~ tazunete naita~ kedo~
You ask your mother crying but
Ka~ze ni homugi~ wa naru ba~ka~ri~
There's only the sound of the wheat heads

…

The night would have been considered beautiful tonight for moon gazing with the crisp cool autumn air, the melody of crickets, the glow of the flickering fireflies, and the shining brilliance of a full moon. Everything would have been perfect with the addition of sake and the traditional wear of yukata—as per moon-gazing code.

…

It would have been perfect.

…

It would have been beautiful…

…

Long ago…

…

There she sat by the window, staring quite somberly at the moon for someone her age. In her arms laid a child of five, sleeping soundly as she caressed his red locks and sung an old folk song. Her countenance, fair as snow, carried no expression that might have betrayed what she was actually feeling inside. One look at her and one might have assumed that she had led a good enough life thus far. Both her mother and stepfather have stable jobs with enough money to raise her and her little brother. She was going to one of the most renowned academies in country, and has a high chance of getting accepted to the University.

But that was only if one looked at the surface, barely scratching it.

If one saw what she felt on the inside, then immediately understanding and compassionate would blossom.

She wasn't happy.

She was trapped, her body too weak and broken to escape.

…

Will no one see her?

…

Will no one hear her song?

…

O~u~chi wasure~ta mayoi~go no
Did you forget your home, lost child?
Hibari~ wa hi~tori mugi no~ naka
The skylark is alone in the wheat field
Oyama~ no kitsune~ wa nakanu~ kedo
The mountain fox isn't here
Ku~reta samishii~ tsuki a~ka~ri~
But the faint and lonely light of the moon

…

Radio

By: Hoozuki

…

"Love doesn't drop on you unexpectedly; you have to give off signals, sort of like an amateur radio operator."—Anonymous

…

Transmitting

...

…

5: 00 A.M….

…

Pale lavender lids strained open against their will at the ungodly hour. The clock in the opposite side of the room by the bed shined dim red numbers: five o' two AM. Clear green eyes gazed at the time emptily before redirecting to the weight in her lap. Curled up like a little kitten, her baby brother slept, trying to keep in the warmth. After all, the two of them fell asleep on the window seat again after another rough night. Glaring outside briefly, the young woman noticed that the mornings were getting gradually darker and darker which would make it harder for her to wake up early when the first snow fell. She allowed herself another five more minutes before softly coaxing the child awake to get them ready for school. Despite moaning in protest, the five year old eventually crawled into the heat of her arms as she brought them to the bathroom.

As quietly as she could muster, the girl turned on the faucet, running some water on both their toothbrushes before squeezing some toothpaste on. Once she made sure he had brushed his teeth thoroughly and had him rinse his mouth out, the young woman finished her routine soon after. As she dressed her little brother, she noticed his clothes were getting a bit tight and made a mental note to ask for some money from their mother to buy him some new ones. Though it really was a task she wanted to avoid given the options of not asking and getting them on her own, she didn't really have a choice in the matter when it was for him—that and she couldn't let them know that she had her own stash hidden safely from them. When he was done, she dressed in a pair of loose and baggy jeans with a large dark hoodie while throwing her uniform in a separate bag with some undergarments.

After checking to make certain she got her school books and laptop, she quickly slung the backpack over her shoulders and took hold of her brother. Shutting the door to her room with a quiet click, the girl cautiously moved down the hallway—even more carefully when she passed her parents room until she hit the staircase. She hated it and everything else in this house. It was so old that everything was practically made of wood flooring—there was no carpeting at all. Every step she took would cause the wood flooring to creak or pop loudly in the ever silent abode. Leaving the house was almost as nerve wrecking as going back. Looking at her little sibling, she silently told him not to make a single sound as she warily and slowly, slowly went down the steps with the toes of her feet. There were fourteen steps total; all she had to do was get through them without a peep.

She was on the second to last step when a loud pop sounded, echoing up the halls. She and the child tensed almost instantly, waiting for any signs of movement upstairs. Granted it was early in the morning and most people would still be asleep, it still scared her whenever she thought she had woken them up. Once several tense moments past them by, she breathe a sigh of relief and left the main portion of the house to the kitchen that was attached as a second building in the back. That was probably the only plus of the old homestead. There wasn't enough room in the earlier blueprints, so the original owners moved the kitchen to the back along with the laundry room. The kitchen was probably her favorite place in the whole place. As soon as they entered the homey kitchen, she immediately let her brother down and went and locked the door. Turning back to look over her shoulder, she finally let out a grin which was responded by a toothier grin. Together, the two siblings ate breakfast before heading off to school.

…

Broadcasting

…

6: 30 AM…

…

After she dropped her little brother off at his school—the elementary, middle, and high schools were conveniently built near each other for sibling students in different grades—the teen expertly dodged through the empty hallways to avoid wandering security or teachers, heading towards the gym by the courtyard. Seeing that no one was inside, she moved fast and swift to her locker, opening it to grab her bathing essentials. Confirming once more no one was around, she turned on the shower, warming it up as she stripped out of her casual clothes. Not even wanting to look in the mirror, the young woman quickly stepped in, ignoring her body's protest against the heat and cleaned her body and washed her hair.

Several minutes passed and she was dressed in her school uniform which consisted of a dark navy gray blue blazer with the school emblem on the left breast pocket, a white blouse, the same color sweater vest, a dark navy gray blue and black striped tie, a dark and light gray plaid skirt—that went to her knees, and black leather loafers. Most girls would just wear socks; but she didn't want much skin to show, so she wore black stockings instead. Finally checking the mirror, she braided her wet waist length hair into two neat braids, and apply very light make up to purposefully hide what people might have called a beautiful face. She honestly didn't like any attention, and so tried to hide her face behind make up, her thick scratched prescription glasses, and bangs. She already had enough trouble at home and didn't want any at school. Alas, however, trouble always managed to find her because everyone liked to pick on her…a lot. Sometimes, the bullying even got physical. Why they picked on her? She didn't know. But today she just wanted to avoid them no matter what.

…

...

8: 00 AM…

…

By eight in the morning, the students have started to arrive as the classrooms steadily grew crowded and louder. The young woman had already tucked away her laptop, not wanting anyone to see it, and perhaps, steal it. She was sitting quietly, as usual, in her desk—third to last on the right side—from her point of view—of the classroom by the window—reading the next few chapters of her textbook. She, truthfully, didn't actually need to since she already read them; but she needed something to do before class started in half an hour. Having said that, she couldn't concentrate when a group of popular girls were giggling obnoxiously in the center of the room.

"Did you hear Ruka's new song?" one of the girls asked excitedly, drawing attention from the many divided groups.

A blonde girl, her friend assumedly, was nearly jumping out of her seat, ready to burst in a frenzy. "Oh my god, yes!" she squealed girlishly, making the young woman wince. "It was so awesome and sad and beautiful!" The girl then sighed dreamily.

Hearing what their topic was about, the girl tuned them out and continued to read. Their conversation wasn't worth her time, she decided. Listening to the way they spoke about music was similar to the way they spoke about boys or clothes. All of it was superficial in her opinion.

…

"Alright, alright! Everyone to their seats!" their teacher, Umino Iruka, bellowed boomingly over the chattering students. "It's time for roll call!"

The students mumbled and grumbled, doing as they were told albeit very slowly until the last student shuffled to his desk.

Nodding in approval, Iruka-sensei started. "Watanabe Ami!"

A hand shot up followed by a high pitch nasally voice, "Hai!"

As soon as the hand dropped, Iruka called out the next student, missing the way Ami's brown eyed gaze glared at her with anger and resentment. She simply ignored it. Ami was still mad at her for sitting in front of the school's most popular guy. It wasn't her fault that their sensei decided to seat them alphabetically by first name. In fact, she wanted to stay away from him the most since he was known to be a total dick to nerds, but no. Iruka wanted to be "spontaneous" since it was their last year of school and he was getting tired of the old seating arrangements. Not that she was complaining. She absolutely loved sitting by the window instead of the center. It didn't feel as suffocating or crowded.

"Yamanaka Ino!"

"Hai!"

Yamanaka Ino. She was the popular girl of the school, topping Ami for first. The young woman remembered her from her childhood years. She was the one who gave her a red ribbon after she was picked on for her forehead. But five years ago she stopped wearing it after the blonde moved away. She was sure the Yamanaka had forgotten about her; however, she was fine with that. There was no need to stir up old memories.

"Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Ossu!"

At his greeting, the class was divided between laughter and name calling. Uzumaki Naruto was a boy she found odd. She never personally interacted with him—his enthusiasm was too much for her—yet she also found him interesting. He always played the class clown, but she could have sworn that he saw things that people didn't ever see in themselves. He was also, amazingly enough, the popular guy's best friend. How they were friends was beyond her.

...

"Haruno Sakura!"

...

When her name was called, the class suddenly quieted down like something bad had just been told to them. Iruka also noticed this and looked at her. Wordlessly, the girl raised her hand, not paying any mind to the piercing eyes.

...

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

...

No answer.

...

Well, that wasn't a surprise to Sakura or anyone else in the room. The boy that sat behind her was always late. She supposed that that was one of the things that made him popular with the girls and some guys.

"Why do you even bother, Sensei?" the boy, Naruto, asked as if roll call was a waste of time—which it was in her opinion. "The Teme is always late anyways. And he'll give you another note as always."

A fine pink brow lifted when Iruka was shaking, trying to control his temper around the blonde idiot. People interactions were always fascinating from her point of view, considering she hasn't had much aside from the occasional hi or two from the teachers and fellow nerds. So being invisible wasn't too bad and had its perks. At least she knew everything about everyone. It made her want to laugh at their stupidity sometimes. Apparently since she wasn't worth any of their time and attention, they'd say all kinds of things when she was around, expecting her to be too spineless to do anything. It wasn't because she was scared, more like she didn't care unless it was of some use to her. Besides, in this school, secret was the currency of the realm.

"It's just something we have to do, Naruto," the brunette man explained to his student, tired of all the constant bickering and arguing with the boy. "Now, Nara Shikamaru!"

The boy in the last seat behind her gave out a grumble and lazily threw up his hand in response. Finally, roll call was done and over with, and Iruka placed the clipboard down to get the class started. He took the chalk and began writing out dates on the blackboard along with the era name.

Turning back to face his class, clapping his hands of the chalk dust, he said, "Let's review what we talked about yesterday, shall we? During the—"

The girls abruptly gasped in unison when the door at the front slid open to reveal the boy who was supposed to be absent. As usual, he sauntered his way into the classroom without a care in the world, handing Iruka his pass quietly. Like everyone at Konoha Private High School, the young Uchiha also took some liberties with his uniform which was the exact same with the girls' uniform. He wore his dress shirt untucked and left the two collar buttons undone with a loose black and navy gray blue striped tie and rolled sleeves—she was still wondering how the boys were able to manage to roll up their blazers, too, since they were quite thick. The look was finished with his hands in the pockets of his dark and light gray plaid slacks with a devil may care scowl. That ensemble was another reason why he was so popular—as if the other boys didn't dress like that.

As he passed the girl he sat behind, taking a seat, his nose caught a whiff of a soft vanilla scent, and his dark unyielding gaze landed on her back. It was then he noticed that her pink hair was still wet, the curling tips of her braids dampening her blazer. She may not have been attractive, he thought, but, at least, she smelled nice.

"Alright, I want all of you to pull out your textbook and turn to page 302," Iruka announced, and then caught Sasuke not pulling out his book. He frowned in disapproval. "Sasuke, where's your book?"

Sasuke didn't bother to look at his teacher as he answered the man. "I left it at home," he lied easily through his teeth. In truth, all of his textbooks were sitting in his locker, collecting dust. He was too lazy to grab any of them.

"Sasuke-kun can share with me, Sensei!" Ami suggested all too sweetly while Iruka took her suggestion with a grain of salt.

Nodding dismissively at the girl, the teacher said, "That's kind of you, Ami." He glanced at the quiet rosette and had always thought she kept too much to herself. If she had someone to talk to, maybe she'd open up more. "Since no one's sitting beside Sakura; Sasuke, why don't you share with her?" Iruka looked at the girl for her reaction. "Is that alright, Sakura?"

Sasuke had already pulled the desk to the girl's left over and sat without waiting for an answer. Iruka observed as the girl darted her eyes briefly at the dark haired teen before sighing resignedly and giving a reluctant nod, pushing her history book between them. Sensing no tension between his two students, Iruka continued with the lecture, oblivious to the rest of the class tension.

The Uchiha wasn't really paying attention to anything their teacher was saying, opting to just tune the man out and stare blankly at the pages. From the corner of his right eye, he realized that the gap between them was fairly big with most of the book on his borrowed desk. He found this to be intriguing and irritating at the same time. A lot of girls here would have hyperventilated at the chance to be this close to him, yet this girl acted like he had germs and stayed as far away as possible. The disdainful sigh she gave was evidence. He never spared her a glance before so he didn't know if she spared one for him either; but judging by her reactions, probably not. His eyes traveled to her uniform, taking notice on how properly she was dressed. Not a flash of skin anywhere. Just her neck and even that was well covered. It was weird in this day and age to see a young person dress so conservatively. This just made him all the more curious at what was hidden underneath the layers of clothing.

At that moment, his obsidian eyes caught hers. Immediately he felt embarrassed at being caught staring, especially at something so unattractive. From where he sat, Sasuke could tell she was glaring at him with indifference behind those thick frames. For some reason, this irked him like she thought of him as something repulsive; and this thought only further angered him. He could tell she was extremely near sighted since the thickness of the lens made her eyes appeared as tiny as beads. He couldn't even tell what the color of her eyes were, but was definitely sure she was glaring at him. He avoided her probing gaze to stare at the apple of her cheeks with a small grimace. The natural blush of her rosy cheeks was overcome with acne here and there, making her face redder. She carried the nerd look well, except for her attitude. Instead of being scared or timid, he only saw apathy and a coldness that he himself recognized, a coldness that didn't care about the world around her.

Beside him, the Haruno let out a deep breath before tearing her gaze away from the textbook to stare outside the window. As she did so, Sasuke caught the scent of vanilla from her again, reminding him of how sweet she smelled.

…

Conveying

…

12: 40 PM…

Lunchtime…

…

Most schools in the country don't have a cafeteria, but some were lucky enough to have one. Because of this, all of the students usually brought their own homemade lunch to school; and since there was no cafeteria, they usually ate in their classrooms or outside. Good thing for them, their school was for the gifted and the rich. The parents of the rich students were able to afford their children with the best food, clothes, and security. The fact that the school had security guards still had the rosette in disbelief as she ate outside in the large empty courtyard behind the school. Unfortunately, Sakura was the gifted student which made her the easy target of every wealthy student there was at Konoha Private High.

As she ate, her eyes stared blankly ahead at the gaudy marble fountain at the center of the courtyard. She had no idea why the school thought it was a good idea—or perhaps it was the parents—to have one, but they do. Admittedly it was very beautiful with its intricate carvings and blue water, but she still thought it was a bit over the top. If anything, she figured it emphasized the fact that the school was only for the filthy opulent. Luckily for her, she got in through scholarship. While her train of thoughts were still on that track, she was curious as to how someone like Uzumaki Naruto got in. It seemed to her the only thing he got going in his head was ramen and goofing off. She wasn't even sure if she knew what his family did, considering most of the kids that attended this school were part of some family that had a part of the business world. For example, the Yamanaka family had a very successful floral and fashion business where as their long family friend, the Akimichi, had countless restaurants throughout the five countries. He probably had some connection or other to get in.

Shrugging the thought aside and taking another bite of her onigiri—her lunch was homemade (she definitely couldn't afford the school lunch)—Sakura focused her attention back on her laptop with her earphones on one ear to listen to the music and kept one ear free to hear for passer bys. Not that she was worried, considering she was hiding in the big old maple tree that was most likely on the school grounds for god knows how long. With its thick long branches curling and bending and stretching in all directions, she could easily disappear amongst the red leaves. She always felt safest when she was hiding out in the trees. No one would be able to find her. Plus, with its great tall height—it was almost as tall as the school at three stories—which the school was five stories high (it honestly looked like a huge mansion to her)—she could see anyone coming from any direction. Regrettably, with autumn on the way, she would have to go back to the roof of the school or find some other high hiding place. Of course she loved watching the clouds—anything with nature really—but it wasn't as beautiful as watching the leaves change colors. She was about to turn back to her laptop when voices below alerted her attention.

Glancing over her shoulder, she realized it was the same three girls from this morning, gushing about romantic music and whatnot…well the little blonde one was anyway. The other two were nodding idly on either side of her.

"Have you checked out the Radio lately?" that hyper blonde from before asked in an annoying nasally voice.

The tallest, a redhead, shook her head. "No, anything interesting?" Before the blonde could freak out again, redhead quickly added, "Besides Ruka's song?"

The third girl, a brunette, laughed at the blonde's deflated attitude. "What's so great about her anyways?"

The turn in conversation drew in the rosette's curiosity as she took the other ear bud off to listen mildly.

Apparently, the little blonde was appalled that her friend had never heard of the singer, Ruka. "You know that the Radio is run only for our school right? By Yamanaka Ino-san?"

The brunette nodded. "And?"

"Obviously," the redhead cut in, interrupting the frustrated blonde. "Whoever this Ruka person is, she goes to our school."

"Isn't that exciting?!" the blonde burst, surprising the third girl. "She's practically a celebrity with all of her songs!"

"Is her music really that great?" the brunette asked skeptically.

"Oh don't get her started!" the redhead groaned, watching the blonde vigorously pull her mp3 player out. "Before you have her listen, what were you going to say about the Radio?"

The blonde blinked several times before the thought came back to her. "Oh yeah! You know that guy Aburame Shino? From 3B?"

The other two girls nodded in unison.

"He's apparently good at remixing music—"

That was all Sakura heard, tuning out the rest of the conversation out as she stared at the different audio programs she had open. She had been having a bit of a block lately, stuck trying to come up with a mix for the next song, but she couldn't get the synchronization together. Maybe she should email this Aburame Shino guy and see if he could up with some sort of solution for her.

"Come on!" the redhead urged. "Let her listen later. The others are waiting."

The blonde pouted, but mumbled in agreement, packing her things and leaving the courtyard with her friends.

Once more Sakura was left alone in her tree, watching the three friends leave together happily. Deciding she was done for the time being, the young woman saved all of her changes before storing the laptop back in her backpack. Leaning her head against the thick black trunk of the tree, she took her glasses from her face to rub the bridge of her nose where the frames sat. For a little bit, she thought of nothing, allowing her mind to roam free. Instead, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the things that Mother Nature brought during this time of year: the crisp air against her cheeks, the smell of slightly damp autumn leaves, the sounds of rustling branches, and the taste of the wind. She took in a deep, deep breath, attempting to ease the tightness she felt there every time the thought of her situation crept up on her. Her chest always felt heavy whenever she watched the clock hands move towards three thirty.

Exhaling again, Sakura replaced her frames back on her face before glancing at the time on her watch.

'Looks like lunch is over…'

…

Finally he was able to escape the blonde that was his best friend. Honestly, as much as he loved Naruto—not that he would ever tell the idiot that—the boy drove him crazy most of the time. The way he went on and on about the most random topics was just too much today. He needed to get away and clear his ever restless mind. He was nearing the courtyard when he came upon three girls talking about the school's blog site created by Ino—thankfully they were too focused on their topic to notice him. Truth to be told, he didn't know why Ino thought it was a good idea at the time to start it, but she claimed that it helped students to "relieve the daily stress of school and life." He knew the popular blonde before she moved to Suna five years prior until she moved back a couple of years ago for the first semester of their freshman year. He knew of the girl's affections for him then, but never actually started going out with her until their sophomore year. That very same year, they lost their virginities to each other after which they broke up shortly afterwards. The amount of awkwardness between them after the act was extremely discomforting to the point they could taste it in their mouths. It was awkward because Ino realized that she didn't actually like him as much as she thought and Sasuke…well, he was Sasuke. He felt nothing either. It was then they mutually agreed to just stay friends.

"So do you think Ruka is as pretty as her voice?" one blonde sighed, dreamily gazing at the moving clouds.

"Well, that isn't the point she's trying to get across, though," the redhead on the left said. When the blonde stared confusedly at her friend, the redhead continued with a sigh, "She's trying to spread a message, right? So it doesn't matter if she's pretty or not as long as the message was heard and understood."

The blonde frowned. "Yeah, but that would totally ruin the image if Ruka turned out to be someone ugly, don't you think? I mean most of the school thinks she's this pretty and mysterious girl."

The brunette shrugged her shoulders with disinterest. "What girl sounds like that in our school? All the pretty girls here are freaking obnoxious. Besides we don't know how old she is, what grade she's even in, and she only posts her music once, what, every three weeks? Pretty vague if you ask me."

"Oh! She's a senior!" the little blonde exclaimed.

The brunette sighed tiredly at the constant mood changes. "How can you possibly know that?"

"Because Yamanaka-san started the site her freshman year and that's when Ruka first appeared!"

When the trio rounded the corner, Sasuke was leaning against the wall, replaying their conversation in his head. He had never listened to the Radio before let alone checked it out, so he was one of the very few students who didn't know who this Ruka was. He could always ask the Dobe about her since the boy practically spent most of his time either playing games, eating ramen, or messing around on the internet.

Choosing to put the subject aside to go relax, the Uchiha pushed off the hard surface and was about to round the corner when he heard a loud resounding slap followed by a body hitting the ground with a grunt. Peering from the corner, he noticed that annoying girl with purple hair—'What was her name? Ami or something…?—with two other girls beside her were towering over another girl, all with sneers on their faces. Upon closer scrutiny, the young man realized the girl had pink hair. She was the girl who was forced to share her book with him, the one who didn't even notice his existence until today. He snorted in slight satisfaction. She probably deserved what was coming to her.

"You must be so proud of yourself, Haruno," Ami started slowly while pulling on the long pink locks, forcing the girl to follow to relieve the ache. "To sit with Sasuke-kun and share a book with him."

At her remark and their blatant jealousy, Sasuke rolled his eyes. Couldn't those girls take a hint? He wasn't interested. Period.

"What, too scared to talk?" the girl with short spiky maroon hair cooed mockingly, shaking the rosette's chin this way and that.

The third girl with the horribly done perm snorted. "Of course she is," she growled before smirking. "She's always been spineless to stand up for herself. Remember that time when she was crying like a baby?"

The girls were laughing while the rosette remained still and quiet. And then Ami's dull brown eyes narrowed in contempt before she slapped the girl's cheek once more with enough force to knock the glasses off. When the rosette continued to stay silent, the reaction irked the dark haired girl more as she released the braided locks. It was then she noticed shaking fists that she squatted back down to yank on the girl's bangs. If she was crying again, then she wanted to be the one to witness it once more.

Sasuke, too, had detected the girl's fists trembling and almost felt disappointed to see that the girl was indeed a weak and pathetic nerd after all. He was about to turn away while reprimanding himself for wasting time watching this nonsense when he heard Ami's startled gasp. Snapping around to see what happened, his dark eyes spotted the dark haired teen being supported by her friends. It looked like she had scrambled away from the Haruno and stumbled into the other girls. This caused a fine black brow to rise in curiosity and intrigue. Did the girl retaliate in some way?

"What's the matter, Ami-chan?" the brunette asked as the girl shook slightly.

"Yeah, what happened?" demanded the other girl, snarling at the rosette who had her head bowed forward. "Did she do something?"

Ami didn't answer immediately, still wondering if she just imagined the vehemence that she just saw in the nerd's gaze. She had never seen the Haruno's eyes before, but what she saw there gave her the chills. Gathering herself together, she pushed off the other two roughly, dusting the imaginary dirt off her uniform while trying to save face.

"It was nothing. Let's go," she ordered, turning back the way they came.

"But what about her?"

Ami paused, glancing over her shoulder at the nerd. "Leave her." The other two seemed hesitant at first before they, too, left, tracking after the purple haired girl.

Now that they were gone, the only sounds to fill the courtyard were the fountain's running water and the shaking of the leaves. He stood, still hidden beyond the corner to observe what the girl will do now that she was alone. Was she was going to cry now? However, the girl didn't do anything, but sat there as unmoving as a statue. He thought about walking away again when he saw her reach for the water bottle beside her bag. She took a small gulp and a moment later spat the water back out. His brows twitched a bit at the action, a hunch swimming through his head. Her movements weren't like someone who just got bullied. Instead, they were slow and cautious and a bit lazy like it was troublesome for her. When she reached over to grab her glasses, Sasuke was able to catch a glimpse of her eyes—well, more like the corner of one of them—and was a little surprised to find that her eyes were quite large, almost doll-like. As she stood, the girl tossed what looked like a white piece of crumpled paper in the trash bin nearby which ended up being a perfect shot. Once the rosette gathered her belongings, she moved in the same direction as her bullies had, returning to the main building on the other side.

As soon as the pink nerd disappeared from sight, Sasuke stepped from his corner and moved until he stood directly underneath the old maple tree. He took in every detail, attempting to see what she saw before she took off. Bending to his knees, Sasuke got into a crouch, staring at the grass. There he noticed a patch of grass with a discoloration on the leaves. Instead of green, he found light pink staining the leaves. So, he was right—she was bleeding. With that thought, he went to the trash bin, spotting a white napkin at the top. Pulling it out slowly, his brows met together in a tight scowl. Compared to the staining on the grass, the napkin was nearly soaked with thick dark redness.

Lifting his ever watchful gaze toward the direction she went off in, the young Uchiha suddenly found his interest in the curious pink haired girl peaked.

…

Spreading

…

3:30 PM…

…

"Finally!" Naruto exclaimed exaggeratedly, stretching his arms high over his head. "Hell is over! Hey Teme! Wanna go grab some grub?"

The said bastard wasn't really paying much attention to him with his gaze so focused on the rosette before him. It looked like to him that she was in a hurry to be somewhere. In her haste, one of her notebooks flopped onto the floor near his crossed feet. When she saw where it landed, he noticed her hesitation as she paused to stare at him as if debating whether she should just leave it lie or not. Apparently, she settled for retrieving it and Sasuke, wanting to see what she would do, decided to step on the book right as her hand went to make a grab for it. The Uchiha was curious as to what Watanabe Ami saw that made her gasp so fearfully.

It was then he saw it.

She was pretty subtle about it even as she lifted her head with a blank countenance. He already saw it in the moment she had halted her hand for those few seconds. The unnoticeable twitch in her brows; the light clench in her jaws; the strong closed fist of her left hand; and the slow deep breaths of her lungs. She had a temper he was certain; and by the looks of it, a really bad one if she had to take deep breaths. Her knuckles even turned white he noted in slight amusement. When she gazed at him, Sasuke recognized the tight control of her expression, determined not to reveal anything to him…or the class for that matter.

He watched her strangely perfect pink coral lips part to say with a composed tone, "Can you remove your foot, Uchiha-san?" He heard the way she forced out the suffix in smug enjoyment—even she had to show him respect in this school like everyone else. "Your foot is on my notebook."

Then blinking innocently as if he just realized the fact, the young man merely kicked the book her way. At that moment, she glared briefly at him like he was the bane of her existence before snatching her book back, shoving it in her bag, and quickly departing the classroom. All the while, Sasuke had his eyes trained on her until she vanished beyond the door.

"You're zoning again, aren't you?" Naruto assumed beside him, his blue eyes also staring at the class entrance.

The Uchiha glanced at the blonde before scoffing at him. "Zoning" was a term Naruto liked to use when he found a target and then spent all that time making his or her life a living hell until he was satisfied or bored. Though the definition was pretty accurate, he didn't like the word "zoning." It made him seemed one-minded, like he had tunnel vision. True he was always focused on one target; but it was because he wanted to push them to their limits. To see a human break under constant pressure beyond their limits—beyond the point of recovery, it gave him a bit of a thrill to know that their life was in his hands. He couldn't help it if they were too weak to take it.

The blonde's tan face was scrunched in a grimace. "Why bother with a nobody like her?"

At this, the dark haired teenager smirked, a dark glint in his obsidian eyes, as he stood, hands in his pockets. "Because she's a nobody."

And an image of her defiant glare flashed through his mind as they departed the school.

…

3: 55 PM…

Choir Room…

…

Knock!

The door opened slowly as pink hair peeked through the doorframe. "Kurenai-sensei?" the young woman called softly while pushing the door wider. "Are you here?"

"Ah, Sakura-san," greeted a brunette standing in the center of the room, clearing the sheet music stands. "Please, come in."

The teen nodded gratefully before pulling in her little brother with her. After the incident with the Uchiha, Sakura immediately went to the elementary school on the far side of the school grounds. Since each division of school was like their own country, the grounds were very large and each was separated by tall white stone walls with intricate metal gates intersecting them all. Ever since her brother turned three, the choir teacher was kind enough to allow her to bring him in after hours whenever she came to practice and borrow the instruments. After setting the five year old on the nearby seat, Sakura took out her laptop, setting up like she always did.

While she was doing that, she watched her brown haired, red eyed teacher talk to the boy like another mother to be would. Her eyes soften at the sound of the boy's laughter before they dimmed into regretful sadness.

"Sakura-san?" the teacher called, concern lacing her voice. "Are you alright? You look ill."

The girl blinked, trying to smile and shake away her melancholic thoughts. "Ah, gomen, sensei," she said sheepishly, "I just spacing out. Anyways, you should head home, Kurenai-sensei, you need to rest up yourself. After all, you only have two more months."

"But—"

"We'll be fine here," she assured before shooting a wink at her little brother. "Won't we?"

In response, the boy laughed, easing the teacher's worries.

Kurenai sighed in defeat before smiling. "Alright, well remember to lock up."

The young girl bowed in appreciation. "Hai; arigatou, sensei."

With that, the woman left the girl and her brother to the room.

…

5: 00 PM…

…

"I can't believe you're making me drive you all the way back to campus, you cheapskate," Naruto grumbled, his glare concentrating on the road. "Why didn't you just ride your bike down?"

The Uchiha shrugged his shoulders uncaringly from the passenger seat. "I didn't want to waste gas," he replied blandly, and then added, "Besides you live closer to the school, and I didn't want to drive back and forth."

The Uzumaki simply rolled his eyes at the excuse. "Pssh! Whatever you bum—you're just lazy," Naruto argued, and Sasuke inwardly agreed with the statement. "So what are you going to do with that nerd chick? What did she do to you anyway?"

Sasuke knew that when Naruto had asked "What did she do," he knew that the blonde wanted to ask, "What didn't she do?" Even though they were best friends for years, there were times Naruto hated what he did to others. Sasuke wasn't stupid; he knew what he did was wrong. But if that was the only way for him to rid himself of all the other emotions, why not do it? It kept him from worrying too much about other things anyhow.

The dark teen shrugged again, not really staring at anything in particular out the window. "Not sure, but I'll figure it out," he answered, choosing to ignore the other question.

"You know, Sasuke…" Naruto had that tone again, and Sasuke wanted to groan in response. Every time the Uzumaki did this, it only served to annoy him further to the point of anger. "There are other ways to deal with this."

"I don't want to talk about this again, Naruto," the Uchiha said quietly, but the hidden threat was clear. The last time they had this conversation with Naruto trying to do an intervention, the two of them ended up going to the hospital, taken by Sasuke's legal guardian, Hatake Kakashi—who was also a teacher at the school.

Naruto growled an exasperated sigh. "Fine! Then what do you want to talk about?"

For a second, his mind instantly flew to the singer those girls were talking about earlier. He didn't know why, but he was kind of curious. So he said, "Ruka."

"Huh?" The name of some girl passing through the Uchiha's mouth was strange and sudden; but it wasn't as strange and sudden as him actually showing interest in a girl and remembering her name. "W-what?"

Sasuke sighed, not liking to repeat himself; however, he understood his friend's confusion. He never showed any interest in the other sex, let alone looked at them unless necessary—like getting out of the way when walking. Because of this, Naruto suggested he was either a homo or asexual. Sasuke insisted strongly that he was probably the latter.

"Ruka, who is she?" he repeated, calming his building anger.

"Hmmm…why do you want to know?"

Again, the Uchiha gave no definitive answer.

Seeing this, Naruto only sighed while shaking his head with a small smile. It didn't matter how long he knew the brooding teen; but there were always some things about him that threw him off. Like his compassion. Though rarely shown, Sasuke can show empathy especially around orphaned children. Sasuke may not realize it, but Naruto could see that he had a soft spot for kids despite being awkward around them. He just wished the old Sasuke he grew up with came back.

"Well, she obviously attends our school," the blonde pointed out, testing the Uchiha's current knowledge of the girl.

"Yeah, I gathered that much; but who is she?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know; all I know is that she only post her music once every three weeks on Saturday exactly at midnight," the boy provided, trying to recall more information for the interested Uchiha. "She only posts them for a day before deleting them."

Black brows furrowed. "Why?"

"Not sure," Naruto admitted before grinning a wide grin proudly at himself. "But I always download them before they're taken off. She does a variety of genres—but mostly acoustic and folk style—and most people can actually relate to them. Well… not most if you've never experience the things she describes in the songs."

Sasuke stared at his friend deadpan, one phrase stuck in his head. "You actually download them? All of them?"

The blonde nodded once in enthusiasm until the grin faded to a smaller grin. "At first, she was just someone who posted a random song that year and granted her voice was amazing, no one really paid much mind until she posted the next one three weeks later at the exact time. I realized that it was her way of venting, for someone to hear her song and hear her pain and struggles." Noting the Uchiha's silence, Naruto turned on his radio and mp3 player. "There are some sappy songs for the girls, but most of them are about struggles and overcoming them. Also, some tracks are just instrumental." While they were sitting at a red light, the blonde flicked through his playlists until he found the song he was looking for. Before tapping play, he said, "None of her songs have a title, but this one was posted last time."

As soon as he tapped the 'play' button, a dark guitar piece entered Sasuke's ears in two-four beats for several seconds before the main beat and a new array of different sounds and instruments followed. He could hear a second guitar in the background accompanying the first one. He had to admit the quality sounded really good for a student working on their own. He then found his thoughts back on the song when the verse began with a high pitched voice. He suspected that she probably did it on purpose, so no one could figure out her actual tone.

Ima~ mo tsu~zui~teta kono~ naga~i yo~ru ha
This long night continues even now
Kana!shimi~ sae~ kura~ku miena~i ma~ma
It's so dark I can't even see my sadness
Kit~to! kono~basho hi~ ha mada~ nobo~razu
I'm sure this place will never again see the sun rise
Itsu!made~mo ya~mi de~ tsutsun~de~ita
Forever wrapped in darkness

Sasuke, for his part, was actually a little surprised at how dark the lyrics were, especially since they contrasted so much with the high pitched voice.

Moshimo~ hi ga~ noboru no na~raba~
If perhaps the sun would rise
Hi~totsu no tsu~mi ga kie~ru ka~na~
Would one of my sins leave me?
Ima mo~ mada ya~mi na~ni mo kawa~razu~
It is still dark even now unchanging
Hikari~ tou~sana~i ma~ma
No light will break through

And then the chorus began after the climb, bringing the track from a dark beat to a softer and sadder tune. But it still kept the distinct beat mix from the beginning.

Eien~ ni ki~ena~i ko~koro no i~tami~ kaka~ete
I carried this pain in my heart, forever unyielding
Kono mama~ sugo~su no~ ha tsu~rasu~gite~
It's too hard to keep going like this...
Keshitai~ no ni~ kie~nai mama de to~ki ha~ sugiteku~
I want it to go away, but it just won't...time passes by
Kono~ owa~ranai yoru~ ni~
Over this imperishable night

As the song carried on into instrumental before the next verse came, Sasuke felt his heart tug slightly and unexpectedly at the lyrics of the chorus. Since his family's untimely demise when he was just a boy of seven, he felt like all he was, was stuck in that pit of darkness. Every night, his nightmares always returned to haunt him despite him avenging his family two years ago. Shaking himself of his memories, he listened to the rest of the song.

I!tsuma~de tsu~zuku kono! yami~ no na~ka de
In this darkness that continues on forever
Tsu!mi wo o~kashi~ta mo~no dake no~kotta
There are left only ones with sin
I!ma no~ kana~razu yoru~ ha tsu~zui~teta
Nothing has changed, and the night only continues
Hi wo~ mire~nai~ mama~ no ko~no ba~sho de
Here in this place that will never see the sun

Itsuka~ yuru~sareru~ ni ga~ kuru~
I believed that if one day I was forgiven
So~no to~ki a~keru~ to shi~nji~ta~
Light would come, but
Ima~ ha mada~ yami~ sou~ ko~no ma~ma de
Now it is still dark, always dark
Sore ga~ muku~ite~shite~mo~
Is this my punishment?

As the chorus was overcome by the main tempo of the song, Sasuke sat, letting the song sink in while the last bit of guitar accompanied the repetitive beat. By the time the song had run its course, Naruto was parking the car beside his black bike. The boy turned off the player, stopping the next song from playing, leaving the both of them to sit in the quiet.

"There were more songs of her singing about hope and love, but I think something happened," Naruto continued, playing with the cord of the adapter.

Sasuke side glanced at him pointedly.

"You heard it—the sad words, the hopelessness in them. I feel like she's giving up, whoever this girl is." The Uzumaki stretched his arms, releasing a loud and strained sigh before leaning into his seat to stare at the top windows of one of the buildings. "I wish I could meet her—to let her know that anything and everything is worth fighting for."

"Do you wonder what she looks like?" the Uchiha asked.

"Not really; I mean it would be nice to see the face behind the voice, but I'm alright with not knowing."

"I suppose that's the way it should be," Sasuke surmised before pushing the door open and walking towards his bike. Behind him, he heard Naruto's car start up again before zooming away. Just as he stuck the keys into the ignition and threw on his helmet, the noise of a door slamming loudly made him look up. He was pretty sure it was after five now and clubs would've ended by now. Who the hell was still at school at this hour?

And the answer to his inner query came in the form of a short pink haired girl pulling a sniffling child along behind her. Black orbs glanced at the building she just exited from and realized at once that it was one of the art centers. What was she doing there so late? His gaze averted towards the girl once again as she knelt in front of the redheaded boy with a gentle smile. It looked like she didn't notice him watching her while she consoled the child.

"It's not that bad, sweetheart," she said soothingly, taking a small bandaged hand in her own, kissing it lightly as a mother would. "It's only a scratch, Hikaru."

"B-but...it hurts," the little boy hiccupped, rubbing his eyes with the other hand.

That gentle smile shifted slightly to one of pain and pity, one that looked similarly to the one his mother wore when she was sad for him. He wondered with interest as to who that child was. He appeared to be only five or six. He definitely couldn't be her son—that would have made her thirteen if she had him! Too young, Sasuke thought, and that left him assuming that the boy was either her brother or a child she took care of while the parents were at work.

"All wounds do," came her voice again, snapping him from his reverie, the words shocking him. "But, you know, for you to be a big boy, you have to have a lot of strength here," she squeezed his tiny arms, making him laugh, "here," she pointed to his temple, "and here." The rosette settled her hand over his small chest while the boy drank in her every word.

Sasuke couldn't see the boy's expression, but he imagined him going wide eyed with innocence.

"Here?" Hikaru repeated, pointing to her own chest.

The girl nodded, grasping his hand over her heart. "If you're not strong here, then you can't grow up strong and big," she replied with some truth in her words. "Now," she decided with a grin, straightening out her back, "will you be a big boy for me and wipe those tears?"

"Hai, Mama!"

Okay...clearly he was wrong on that assumption as he watched behind the black tinted glass of his helmet. The child jumped into her arms, but he didn't miss the wince of pain flashed across her face while she shifted the boy comfortably in her arms.

Deciding that it was time to go, the young man twisted the keys until the engine roared to life. As he predicted, the noisy sound shocked the teen as she snapped her head up, finally pinning her gaze on him. The boy did so as well, allowing him to see the child's facial structures. The boy looked very similar to the girl. What stood out beyond the mop of red hair was the mint green shade of his eyes, and very briefly, Sasuke wondered if the Haruno had green eyes like that. He highly doubted it. Even though there were similarities, he figured that the boy probably inherited his looks from his father, and definitely not the mother.

While she quickly moved past him, her eyes weren't looking at him. He knew for a fact that she knew who was behind the helmet. Really, how many students were there that actually drove a bike to school? The question should be though, how many students actually drove themselves to school? Not very much. Why drive themselves when they had a limousine for that?

She hadn't even turn back to look at him, but she paused stiffly at the gates when the boy whispered something in her ear. Her head was angled slightly towards his direction where he was still parked. With his sharp eyes, Sasuke could have sworn the color reflected off the thick lens was green. But she already twisted back and walked around the corner.

Again, the Uchiha was left with bewildering thoughts as he drove back.

...

...
Communicating

...

11: 45 PM...

Sakura's Room...

...

Click!

...

Rustling...

...

"Hiss..."

...

"Tch!"

...

Sakura was on the window seat again with a flashlight shining on her abdomen. Checking to make sure Hikaru was absolutely asleep on the bed, her green eyes grimaced at the dark pink and purple bruise blossoming across the left side of her ribs. She could see the green and yellow of the healing old bruise being overcome by the newly gained pain. She was sure some of her ribs were fractured which meant she needed to be extra careful this weekend and the following week at school, so the ribs could heal properly on their own. But at least she was able to get some extra money for her brother's clothes. All in all, it wasn't too bad of a night.

'Right...' she drawled inwardly, while rolling her eyes. Most kids her age shouldn't even have to think about sleeping with one eye open. Alas...she and her little brother were unfortunate enough to be raised in a violent home after their father died.

Lowering her shirt, Sakura turned on her laptop, hearing the gadgets inside whir to life. Looking at the time on the screen, it read eleven fifty PM. Good. She had enough time to listen to the song again to make sure it turned out okay before posting. Three weeks earlier, the song she updated was rather loud compared to her other ones; but, she was feeling rather angry and depressed during those weeks, so it worked out.

While she listened to the track, she gingerly leaned her spine against the wall to gaze longingly at another full moon. She chuckled to herself. This song was well suited for this night then.

...

11: 58 PM...

Uchiha Residence...

...

Sitting in the darkness with only the blue white glow of the screen to light up his room, Sasuke slid his middle finger down the right side of the mouse pad which slid down all those posts in a blur of white and black. He had never been on the Radio before, and had already found that he was annoyed with the site. Granted, there were some talented students on the site; however, the Radio consisted of mostly rants, gossips, and bitchy kids that can't stand their parents, school, or friends. Though, he was slightly shocked to see Shino's stuff on the website. He had known the guy about as long as Naruto, yet the guy was more reclusive than he was. At least, he spoke and showed mostly anger as a default emotion. Shino...well...he was Shino. He didn't like to talk or interact—not like he was one to think this—so, it came as a pleasant surprise to find his mixes on the site. He'd have to listen to some of them one of these days.

But that wasn't why he was on the Radio.

The reason why he finally settled on visiting was because he wanted to hear that voice again. Usually, he cared not for other student works, but he was curious about this Ruka. Realizing what he just thought, Sasuke chuckled to himself. The world must be coming to an end if he was drawn in by a voice and a stubborn girl. That or something was wrong with him.

The page flickered for a moment before a gray box popped up on the homepage.

...

Ruka has added a new post at 12: 00 AM.

...

Automatically, his arrow turned into the pointed hand as the mouse hovered over the link. In the back of his mind, he thought idly of how Naruto was probably up and listening to the song at this very moment.

Yet, he, Uchiha Sasuke, felt hesitant and uncertain. It wasn't like there was someone forcing him to click on the link. Was he worried of what he might hear that got too close to home? Like this afternoon? Like in the car? Or with that Haruno girl? He could still her words bouncing in his head like a broken record and he wanted it to stop.

"This is stupid," he muttered frustratingly, and was about to shut the lid to his laptop when a melody sounded from the speakers. It sounded like some sort of stringed instrument. It strummed two times before a softer voice flowed after. He was stuck between closing the screen and filling his room with darkness and silence as it had always been and sitting down and listening to the actual song.

Eventually seeing no harm in listening to one freaking song, the boy sat down and pushed the lid back up, returning it to its upright position. He hovered the cursor to the start of the track, debating once more until he ultimately clicked play.

Again, he heard the two strums of the instrument—it sounded like the koto or some other plucked instrument, he thought absently.

O—to no~ nai~ ma~hiru~
One soundless midday
Kaze~ ha tada~ aka~ru~i~
The wind was so cheerful
Su—koshi~ nemu~tasou~ ni hana~bira ga~ yure~ta
Flower petals sway in the breeze as if they were asleep

Nani—ge—na~i—kono omoi~
This serene feeling...
Nee—hi~to~ ha! don~na ko~toba de~ yondeiru no~
Tell me, what's the word people use for it?

Shi~ro~i~ suna~ no tsuki~ toji~ kometa~ hana~shi~ wo~
Tell me a story that's locked away in the white sand moon
Hi~ka~ri~ fura!su you~ ni~ kika~sete ne~ sot~to~
Let me hear it as gently as light shining down

The chorus was followed by an instrumental piece accompanied by vocals for a few seconds until a violin flowed smoothly between the orchestra and singers to the foreground. With the violin pouring out a long melody, he could hear the koto plucking here and there, building to the bridge of the song.

Itsuka~ shiru toki~ ga~ kuru no? Mune no~ itami~ wo~?
Will the time come? When you will know the pain in my heart?
Soshite~ ima yori~ ya~sashiku na!ru~ no~ ne~
Then you'd be able to be gentler than you are now

Ata—ta~ka~i—kono omoi~
Such a warm feeling...
Nee~ hi~to wa! don~na na~mae de~ yondeiru no~
Tell me, what's the name that people give to it?

Shi~ro~i~ suna~ no tsuki~ mabu~shikute~ mie~na~i~
Softly, let me hear of the distant future,
To~oi~ mira!i no koto~ kika~sete ne~ sot~to~
So bright it can't be seen, like a white sand moon.

The song ended softly with the violin fading out with the rest of the background orchestra until it replayed again.

Oto no na—

Click!

Only the humming of his laptop and his deep breathing filled the tense cold air in his room. His face was contorted in a scowl. His ears twitched at the sound of the heater coming on, to bring the temperature of the house higher. His dark curtains fluttered slightly from the sudden blast of air before moving in gentle waves. As it swayed, the fabric barrier would let in some of the moonlight, spilling silver lines across the carpet, the walls, and his bed. There was nothing in his eyes—no shining because the dark depths of them seemed to have swallowed any light there—as he stared impassively at the silver slivers.

Wordlessly, the young man shot up from his chair and took two steps in front of the curtains, an inch of light illuminating his pale complexion. In that inch of space, he saw only a part of the moon, sitting by herself in the dark blue blanket sky. There was not a cloud in sight, no twinkling of stars; and still the moon shined strongly on in white.

The boy pushed aside the thick fabric before grasping the brass handles to his balcony tentatively. With one twist and one push, Uchiha Sasuke let the light of the moon flood his room, bathing him in her radiance. Something in him stirred again at the sight of the moon in full, and instantly his mind was brought back to the song.

Was this the same moon she was staring at, too?

There was a warmness in his heart for the first time in years, despite the cold wind biting his bare chest and cheeks. He wasn't sure what it was, but it felt nice for once. And he soon found himself reciting a phrase from the song.

...

"Nee, hito ha donna kotoba de yondeiru no?"
"Tell me, what's the word people use for it?"

Hello dear readers, and welcome to another one of my freakin stories! Yes, I'm still working on "Kakurenbo" and "The Red Room." Fear not! I will not abandon them again! I had this idea for freakin ever, but couldn't decide on either plot-so I combined them and viola!

Anyways, please be kind as always and review. Tell me if you think Sasuke will figure it out or be complete idiotic and dense as he always is. Haha! The chapters will progressively get longer. This chapter beat the other stories first chapters by 10 pages!

Sincerely,

Hoozuki

Final Word Count: 10, 925 Words