Title: FOX
Chapter: 1 – The Meeting
Author: Flourescized
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto is the lead singer of one of the most popular bands around. Uchiha Sasuke has just left Akatsuki. When the organization discovers their past together, they will stop at nothing to get revenge on the man who betrayed them…
Pairings: SasukexNaruto
Notes: This is my first fic ever, so I'd really appreciate it if you reviewed and stuff with suggestions or ideas on how to improve it, cos I'm not entirely sure if it's good enough or not.
Update 1: Thanks to Chocobut for pointing out some bits of background information I left out that you might be interested in. Firstly, Sakura lives with Sasuke as friends, but she probably wishes it was more. The band members are (at the moment) unnamed OCs, I'll probably name them later or something, cos there are scenes with them in coming up and it'll be kinda hard to write around it. The 'complications' come in at Chapter 3, which I'm writing at the moment.
Update 2: I've been through the chapter and changed stuff and made it longer cos I wasn't really happy with it. I hope it's better now, or something. I'm happier with it at least, so whatever.
Disclaimer: Only in dreams.
The raven sat in front of the television, listening to the slightly metallic voices being emitted from the small box. He was sprawled over a slightly tatty red sofa, yet the position which would have looked distasteful and unappealing on anyone else seemed somehow graceful. He was wearing a simple navy blue shirt and jeans, and went barefoot. He pushed a few strands of his dark hair, which had strayed into his eyes, away from his face, still focused on the people talking.
The blonde interviewer was sitting across from three young men, all of whom were attractive and brunette, dressed in similar clothing to one another. She wore a big grin plastered over her face – of course, not an unattractive grin. Yamanaka Ino had been the main reporter for TN news for a long time, and it was common knowledge that she practiced that same grin in the mirror every morning.
"And here with us today we have the band members of Fox!" the dark gaze moved from the girl who was using an unnaturally cheery tone, which was most likely rehearsed as well, to the three boys sitting in individual chairs. He sighed; it was so obvious that somebody was missing, somebody that had been hidden from the public for about two weeks; somebody that brought light and laughter and smiles with him, no matter who he was with, or where he was.
"Yeah, we're really worried about him."
He was snapped out of his reverie as the boy on the left spoke - he was easily distinguishable from the other two, being the odd one out as the boys were identical twins. He was known as the calmer, more serious member, but now he was tugging slightly anxiously on the edge of his shirt.
"Something's gone wrong somewhere, he's going a bit off the rails or something." Taking a deep breath he continued, "We've caught him arguing a lot lately; with himself…" as they trailed off into an uncomfortable silence, even the interviewer shifted silently in her seat, at a loss, before moving onto the next scripted question.
"So, boys, any ideas what's wrong with him?" she attempted her trademark grin once again, but for the first time in her career, it didn't work. Though her mouth turned up at the corners, it was weak and the emotion never reached her eyes. It was almost painful to watch the confident, charismatic girl in this state. In answer to her question, the boys simply shook their heads somberly. Though the name of the person they were talking about hadn't been uttered, anybody that knew anything going on at the moment at least had an idea, and with the picture in the background, it was fairly obvious anyway.
Sasuke blocked out the sound of yet another awkward question and stared at the picture. In it was a boy with a slightly rounded, almost childish face. The tanned skin was unmarked and bright blue eyes sparkled from beneath a mane of yellowish-blonde hair hair like the sun, Sasuke couldn't help but think to himself, and his eyes are like the sea. All in all, the boy reminded him of some tropical island – exotic, and far away.
The door behind him banged open, and the raven could hear the clicking of heels as his roommate entered. She hung up her coat on the hanger, and moved to stand behind the sofa just as the background picture was enlarged to fill the whole screen. Despite herself, her breath caught and her eyes lit up at the sight of him. She moved around to sit next to Sasuke, perched on the edge due to the fact that he was taking up so much of the limited space.
She glared at him, piercing green eyes showing disapproval and annoyance, but humor as well. As hard as she tried, she could never be angry with Sasuke. The boy finally acknowledged the fact that she was there, looking over at her with a smirk as he noticed the put-out expression on her face. Intensifying her glare again, she flicked her pink hair over her shoulder and turned to look at the TV again, commenting on the picture.
"He's so hot now…" she breathed, entranced by the sparkling azure gaze, even though it was only an image made up of millions of pixels - the boy had that much of an effect on people.
"Who was that again?" Sasuke muttered sarcastically, earning himself an exasperated groan from the girl next to him for that comment.
"Who do you think?" she asked, sounding angry, though the glint in her eyes was not malice but laughter. She gestured the TV in front of them, "should've gone to Specsavers." She said; a comment that was not remotely funny, but had the other smirking all the same. Taking some time to think over the last statement, she reconsidered. "They're all pretty hot actually, but he's the best by far." The glint that had been laughter only minutes before now turned to calculating, "I know you think so, Sasuke-kun."
It had intended to be a joke, but with a slight shock she realized that the boys face, usually so pale, now had a pinkish tinge to it. Though she was surprised, she smirked evilly, just another thing to blackmail him about, and we all know he wants me really. Finished reassuring herself, she turned back to the screen.
The picture had shrunk, now filling only the left side of the screen, but what was on the right was more disturbing. It was another picture of the same man, only now the tanned skin was dull and pinched, unhealthy looking. The vibrant eyes mimicked the lack of life shown on the rest of his face – robbed of their usual sparkle, and he wasn't even attempting to smile. The latter alone was disturbing but add the first two points in as well, and things did not look good.
Words now scrolled across the bottom of the screen, halting in the center and asking the world the question they all wanted to know the answer to in bold black letters.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Scrutinizing the pictures one last time, Sasuke sighed. In his opinion, that was a bloody good question, and one he only wished he knew the answer to.
"It's not fucking right, doing the interviews and shit without him there." One said; this time one of the twins who had remained silent during the interview. His twin agreed with him, nodding frantically, and the one who had been the first to speak in the interview murmered a soft 'I know'. As earlier, the boys were still unwilling to say their friend's name out loud. There was another slight silence as the others reminisced over the interviews they had had before whatever it was that had actually happened, happened. Naruto would be cracking jokes, making everyone smile and laugh, and they all had fun. Nowadays, it was a completely different experience. Hushed tones, somber expressions, and what was the most obvious was the lack of a certain blonde. The other twin was about to speak when he was interrupted, almost before he had begun by a shout.
"YOU WON'T FUCKING WIN, DAMN FOX." Not another word was said as the boys raced down the corridor, to see what was wrong with their friend. When they stopped just outside the door they could still hear murmurs of a conversation, a conversation with only one participant. They stood there together, listening for a moment before cautiously entering. It wasn't unknown for him to attack or throw things at them in a rage when he was in this state.
Upon entering they looked around to find the blonde crouched in a corner, fists gripping his own hair, as if trying to pull it out in an insane frenzy. His appearance was even worse than the photo that was shown on TV. His eyes were crazed, and he had lost a lot of weight. Now, his skin looked sallow as well as dull. The spark of mischief that had once filled the boy was long gone. One of his friends stepped forewards, reaching out to try and pry his fingers from the blonde strands, but before he could even try the head was lifted and he was fixed with a crazed glare.
"Keep the fuck away, bastard," he growled in a voice that was not his own. The other boy flinched and took an involuntary step backwards, casting a desperate and worried glance over his shoulder at the pair behind him as the blonde looked down again, all the time arguing with himself in hushed murmurs. Every so often they caught a word or two. Either in his normal voice: 'no! … I won't do it! … you can't fucking make me!' or in a harsher voice the boys didn't quite recognize, full of malice 'you will … you are already losing'
All of a sudden the boy folded in on himself, leaning against the wall and choking back sobs as he tried to apologize. "I-I'm sorry, guys," he whispered. Deeming it safe to approach, the other boys peeled themselves off the opposite wall and cautiously made their way over to comfort him.
"Hey, Naruto, it's okay," they whispered in soothing voices. Lying to both themselves and him – and fooling neither.
The black door slammed shut as the last member of the Akatsuki entered. Voices could be heard through the thick wood, and though none of them was raised, they seemed to be arguing anyway. This was rather unusual as Akatsuki meeting were usually meticulously organized; only speak when spoken to, hold your temper, never shout.
Inside the room, ten men stood in a half circle, slight frowns on many of their faces. They all stood with their feet slightly apart and their hands hanging by their sides, dressed in the same long black cloak with red clouds on it – not very up to date, but it served the purpose of the members being easily recognizable for who they were.
"We need him now if we're going to have any leverage with him at all," one said urgently, keeping his voice low, but barely winning the desperate emotional struggle that kept it that way.
"We're going to have to move soon. He is the only person we have enough information on to be able to get away with this and with all that has been happening recently, he will probably no longer be at the top within a short space of time, in which case we will have to begin again. This isn't only about Sasuke," another agreed, the same suppressed excitement in his voice.
The man in the centre opened his eyes slowly, thoughtfully.
"I agree. We will move now." He thought for a moment, "Sasuke doesn't appear to have worked out what we have used on him yet, either that or he is in denial. Itachi, you may want to elaborate on the plan a little."
The man in question nodded slightly, and though his face showed no emotion, he was excited. It was obvious to the people who knew him the best in his now slightly rigid stance – muscles tensed, standing almost on the balls of his feet.
"You may go after him, Itachi. But be careful not to disrupt the plan."
"Yes, leader," Itachi nodded again, keeping his voice dangerously even, before walking out of the door and down the hallway, his uniform making a slight rustling sound as he turned. The other men began to leave, until the only one left was the man known as 'Leader'.
"So, now it begins." He murmured in a sinister voice, before he too left.