Daydrinks In Paris
An xxKaaat Original
Chapter One
"Good morning everybody, today we've been given the wonderful opportunity to interview the one and only Sasori, from the up and coming band Akatuski." Ino Yamanaka showed her bright smile as she turned her bright blue eyes toward the direction of the camera, allowing a moment for the studio audience to acknowledge today's guest. After a few seconds she turned back toward him, flipping her long blonde locks over her shoulder. "So, first things first - the new single is a huge hit. It's already charting throughout the world," She paused, leaning forward. "How do you feel?"
In the chair directly across from her, Sasori smiled and shook his head. His long red locks shifted only slightly around his face. "It's really unimaginable. I'm not only delighted, but honored to be a part of the band." He looked toward the crowd, examining the faces of the many women staring in delight. "I mean, I went from only playing guitar to being the main vocalist on this album, and I can't believe it's really happening in all honesty."
Ino smirked and clasped her hands together before her. This position caused her revealing shirt to show a now much more visible cleavage. " It's been nearly two years since we've actually gotten to hear you sing on a track, so congratulations!"
He smiled once again, his lavender eyes shining bright. "Thank you so much!" The crowd went wild.
Leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees, Ino pushed on. "The last huge hit Akatsuki produced hit number one in 5 countries in the span of two weeks. We know that you played the main role in writing, 'Paris'. What was your inspiration?"
The audience grew silent once again, awaiting his reply. He slowly raised his left arm and sighed, touching the back of his neck. "It goes way back… when I first decided I wanted to sing. I met this girl,"
Ino cut him off, "Ohhhhh, juicy!" The audience cooed in reply. "And what does Miss Kureani think of that?"
Sasori tensed, "I've never told her the story." He paused, lowering his eyes to look at the engagement band on his finger.. "I've never really told anybody actually." Ino nodded and changed her expression to a very concerning frown. He looked up and practically looked straight through her. "I was in Paris actually, the summer that I turned twenty-four. And I was sitting in this park on a bench playing music for money. And before I know it, she walks up and drops in a twenty dollar bill. American money, not even euros." He stopped, smiled and began again. "There was something about her, and it was like I was drawn to her. Anyway, she told me this story that she'd taken all her money from her savings account that she'd saved up over the years, and for her twenty first birthday she decided to leave home and travel. That first night we stayed up for hours just talking about our families and where we came from and our hopes and dreams." He paused momentarily, reminiscing about the taste of that French wine. "Sorry, I feel like I have the word vomit."
The audience released a small chuckle collectively and Ino smiled. "It's okay, it's something you're clearly passionate about. Go on." She was genuinely interested as her entire demeanor had shifted.
Sasori took a deep breath. "One night turned into a week, and then a month had gone by. We were living in her hotel room. We spent the days singing, drinking, exploring and just talking. She was a complete stranger, but I felt like I knew her inside and out. She was someone that I opened up to so easily, and at that time in my life I needed that. She became my best friend truth be told." He stopped, a look of excitement crossing his face. "We even got matching tattoos…"
Ino let a hearty laugh leave her body. "No way!"
Instantly he stood up and lifted his shirt, turning away from the audience. His pale skin revealed the phrase along his spine, "If we go down, then we go down together." Together the audience gasped. Here stood their idol, revealing a secret that none of the fans had ever had an answer to. What had that tattoo meant? They all now knew.
Pulling his shirt back down, he returned to his seat. "It hurt so bad, but she's got the same one down her spine." Smiling, he went on. "We spent five months together that year, and I learned so much about myself. I grew so much as a person, and I really… found myself I guess."
Ino pressed on, eager to learn more. "Are you and this mystery girl still friends?"
Slowly he frowned, his pale eyes now dull. "I woke up one morning and she was gone." He looked at the audience, then to Ino. "I never saw her again, hell I don't even know where she is or how she's doing. I spent months looking for her on social media… trying to find her and ask why? But nothing. It was my first heartbreak. That one good thing that came from that pain was that song…"
The room remained quiet. The fans wallowing in pity for their idol before them. Slowly Ino began, "Well, we're glad you're in a place where you're happy now. You're engaged to one of the country's hottest supermodels, and you've blown up." Ino looked toward the camera once more, "We always love having those that we admire open up about their personal lives. We never really get to learn those background parts enough." She turned back to the man who was now visibly upset. "Back to what's really important, Sasori - what should we expect with this new album dropping in two months?"
Robotically, Sasori answered, "It's a lot slower than some of our older work, but it's a lot of really personal songs that I've written, also that Pein and Dei have written. We unanimously decided that I'd be the one to sing since almost all of the songs are much softer than what everyone is used to. I'm extremely excited."
Ino smiled, "Are there any collabs this album?"
The red headed man smiled once again, "Oh you have no idea."
Sakura Haruno shuffled around the room, perfecting the various positions of the young dancers before her. She wore only a tight fitting sports bra and leggings with black jazz shoes. Above the tops of her shoes, neon socks with an odd pattern hugged her ankles tightly.
She turned to face the wall of mirrors. "And again, five six seven eight." She performed the routine effortlessly. Her green eyes reflected back as she kept her peripheral vision searching for something to stick out in the small group. This time, every single arm and foot landed perfectly, and Sakura stopped, eyeing the girls who kept in perfect sync behind her.
When the music finished, the girls landed in perfect poses. A smile grew across her thin lips. "Great job ladies, okay let's take a five minute water break. When that clock hits five-thirty I expect Aykana back here ready to rehearse this solo and Keto on deck. The rest of you need to keep brushing up on this routine in studio four." The girls nodded in sync. "I want good faces and bright eyes. If the faces aren't perfect by tomorrow then we'll remove this dance from next weekend's competition."
"Yes Miss Haruno." At once the girls scattered.
Sakura turned and looked at herself in the mirrors. Her hair was currently pulled into a French braid down her back. Her pink locks were long enough now that the braid stopped just at the small of her back. Her front flyaways were currently held into place by a rubber band as a makeshift headband. She held no fat on her body at all, only toned muscle. Slowly she leaned toward the left, stretching her midriff. She stared straight into her green eyes and sighed. She was twenty-six years old and spending her days as well as nights working to perfect dancers with snotty mothers who only wanted a reason to gloat.
Sakura had danced here through all her adolescent years, only briefly stopping at the age of twenty-one. Her mother and her mother's mother had both been dancers their entire lives. The Tap Shop had been open for nearly forty years now, and Sakura still winced when Lady Tsuande, her mother who required to be addressed as such, walked into practice, examining her daughter. Growing up in this studio had been Sakura's worst nightmare, following in the steps of her mother was something she never wanted to do. Yet, after all these years, here she stood. A mirror image of everything she never wanted to be. A teacher, perfectionist, nitpicking every little thing that wasn't perfect. The idea that out of place hands lost competitions and showed weakness, had been hammered into her skull.
In all honesty, Sakura wasn't her mother. The younger dancers prefered Shizune to Sakura because she was easier to work with, and more tolerable of easier choreography. However, when it came to the teenagers, they all honed in on Sakura in hopes that the daughter of the famous Tsunade would teach them to be perfection, because she was just that. When she danced, she was majestic. She was beautiful. She was home. The stage had become her. Truth be told, the teenagers loved being with Sakura because she was stern without being too strict. But they also related to her. Just as Sakura had been, these girls were growing up going through two hours of homeschooling daily, and then twelve continuous hours of dance. They wanted her strength, her passion. And she gave them every ounce of it.
By the time practice was over, it was nearly eleven in the evening. When the last of the girls had finally ran their routine, Sakura stood alone in her studio. Silently she walked toward the stereo in the center of the mirror wall. She spent a few minutes rummaging through the titles on the screen before stopping. At the first few words, Sakura froze. "We were staying in Paris, to get away from your parents." She closed her eyes, sighing.
Standing once more, Sakura opened her eyes and turned, eyeing the line along her spine, "If we go down, then we go down together." She frowned slightly, and slowly bent toward the left, extending an arm forward then slowly pulling back before leaping across the floor. She closed her eyes once more, feeling the ground beneath her. In her ears rang that voice she'd never forget, and she let her emotions sweep her around the room.
Memories of that year filled her mind as she remembered that last night. Long red locks kneeling over her body, deep whispers in her ear and the words, "I love you Sakura." The same night she'd woken up in a panic, just barely making it to the bathroom in time.
A pregnancy test out of sheer panic, ending up positive. In a split second decision, she packed her things and left. Sakura Haruno had been pregnant, by a stranger who claimed to love her. Who she knew she loved in return. However, she couldn't help but stop and think of his dreams. He wanted to sing, to sing to millions. He wanted fame, to be heard. And she couldn't hold him back from that. She couldn't bear the thought of forcing him to abandon ship for her. Hell, would he even stay at all if he'd known that his child was growing inside her.
So she left. She went back to the studio. Back to the life she'd tried so hard to leave behind. She returned to her mother, to a meaningless existence confined inside reflective walls that forced you to look not only at yourself but within yourself.
In those moments, Sakura knew she'd never be a good mother. She had blown all the money she'd spent her life saving. Instead, she saw a different side of her mother. She saw the woman who told the neighborhood women that she'd had an accidental pregnancy from a one night stand. She kept Sakura away, and even gained weight to make the story believable.
Sakura Haruno finally met the Tsunade who raised her granddaughter Kaito as her own. Who loved Sakura enough to keep her secret safe, to throw away her reputation for the sanity of her daughter.
Yet, for that Sakura also had learned to hate herself. She'd spent the last five years watching her own daughter grow into the image of her sister. Her sister with bright purple eyes and long curly red hair. Her sister the mistake. Her daughter the spitting image of her father, Sasori.
