About the Artist - Page 1

Waiting for a phone call without anything else to do is torture for any person accustomed to fast-paced and stressful environments. More so, she is expecting that day to be one of the stressful ones.

Three minutes. Three long minutes since she has been shifting glances between her phone and her laptop screen. But it felt a lot longer. Staring at loading cursor atop the music editing application made seem time go slower than it could be. She saved it on 8:03 AM yet her file had not been exported as a flat mp3. Just when she thought she could save time by multi-tasking, her stress level shot up partially as caused by waiting.

She was tired to begin with. The evening prior, the budding rock singer had her third pre-production session with the album's producer. Two of the four songs she had played made it to album with much convincing. Maito Gai, the overly enthusiastic producer, wanted more youthful spark and 'charging' energy in her songs. In other words, something more pop which Temari had been disagreeing to. She was signed as a rock artist to begin with and her contract specifies that her hands are tied until she releases one rock mini-album and one rock full-length album of substantial sales.

She was done with the first condition. Venom, her first mini-album, was a re-recording of the songs she had been performing during her indie days in Sand City. Shinobi Records was keen on rereleasing her indie songs digitally. After all, these were her rawest and most creative songs to date. It was much appreciated by nonconforming music fans and loved by almost all first time listeners, whether recorded or live. 'Opal', an upbeat rock song drawing influences from 70s punk and lyrically witty, was featured in a big-budget Action Film 'Run and Gun'* because one of the Music Supervisors was from the Sand and had listened to her perform once. That lucky break is what had saved her music career. Shinobi Records signed her after chancing upon her song in the lengthy credits scene. If it wasn't luck, she doesn't know how to call it.

Producing 'Venom' became too natural for her. The studio musicians simply imitated her demo tapes while incorporating improvements in technicalities. It only took three days to finish recording and another week to produce it. A month after that, 'Opal' and 'Tornado' had both charted in the Fire and Wind Countries; peaking at number 1 in the Rock Charts of her home country.

But seven months of smooth riding ended too soon; everything had been going well until she started having demo sessions for the album. She perfectly remembered the exact date and time when the road started to be too bumpy: June 8, 2021, 1:44PM. The day she started crafting her first full-length album.

Her vision for her album is different from what her producer is saying. And in the music industry, they're treated as gods. For two months, she had wrestled with Maito Gai but the self-proclaimed 'Green Beast' was too stubborn to convince otherwise. Temari already spoke with her A&R, Kakashi, but he believes that Gai is the best producer for her.

The foreign lady concluded that she needed a break. Both her body and mind wanted to stop working but the drive to finish her current preoccupation kept her going for the past two or three hours. Now, she was not so sure anymore. Exhaling deeply, she closed her burning eyes and her mind flew to visions forgotten at the instance they changed. Taking a nap was out of the question. Those few seconds her eyes were shut was the only form of rest she allowed herself to have. Her plans for the day should take precedence.

When her phone beeped, she returned to her highly strung mood. The message she had been waiting for was right there.

It was a message from somebody labeled Sabaku Gaara. This somebody is one of the most relevant people in her life, her younger brother.

'Good morning Temari. We're leaving the River Country. Dad's minions cancelled Kankuro's little side trip. See you in an hour.'

'Did you have breakfast? I can reserve a restaurant if you want to.' Temari replied instantly.

Her phone beeped again this time. 'I had coffee back in the hotel. I'll ask Kankuro if he had eaten anything.' Sabaku Kankuro is Temari and Gaara's older brother. He might be two years older than Temari but she has more dominance than him over their siblings because of his naturally, laid-back disposition.

Meanwhile, Temari gasped when her work was finished saving. She transferred the file to her phone and played the instrumental track of 'Tears'. It may be lacking her guitar parts and the final keyboard arrangement yet the pseudo-song sounded majestic. The drumming pattern was reminiscent of Rage Against the Machine during its riffs. Temari could just imagine the exaggerated reactions that Gai and the Sound Engineer, Aoba, would have if she plays this song to them.

Terrific.

She won't play this song yet for this week's preprod**.

During the second chorus, Temari's quiet singing voice cracked not because of lack of oxygen or talent but she saw Gaara's reply. Seeing her brothers was listed above over her artsy mania in her mental ranking chart.

It has been five months since she saw them and she missed them more than ever.

When she checked the time, it was 8:08 AM. The artist, turned off her laptop, returned her USB keyboard controller and headphones inside her makeshift studio. A message from Gaara flashed up again on her phone's screen.

'Dad's new slave hasn't eaten anything yet but he said no restaurants. A cheap diner or your cooking will do.'

The blonde chuckled at her older brother's suggestion. Kankuro didn't hate her cooking but he's a fault finder and a great one at that. Preparing something for him would not be worth the effort because all she would get are degrading remarks. 'Tell Kankuro that I don't cook during Sundays. He'll be having some diner food for breakfast.'

'Diner is it then.'

'You're fine with almost anything."

'I'm just less picky than you or Kankuro...'

As second later, Gaara sent another message. 'By the way Temari, I forgot to tell you that Kankuro will be extending his stay there for two weeks. Of course, he'll be crashing in at your place. Don't tell him that I told you."

'WTH? He can have the company sponsor his hotel lodging.'

She immediately sent another message.

'Kankuro is earning more money than me but he's scheming to leech off at his struggling sister.'

And another.

'It would be so much better if you're around. You have the best allowance among the three of us.'

But Gaara, replied pronto.

'Sorry. I have classes back in Suna Uni.'

Temari sent her last message before leaving for the airport. 'I better get going. Will send you a message if I'm at the airport. See you there.'

Showering when her head was particularly heavy will drive Temari nuts. Some weight was taken off when she had exchanged a few messages with Gaara but it returned immediately when she could not find her bath towel. A second later, she remembered that it was still in the laundry. She scampered to her dresser and searched for an extra towel. Luckily, she still had one but the smell of moth balls made her nose cringe.

Time was not on her side anyway. Sacrificing her skin with an unhealthy towel is necessary.

"Advanced happy fucking birthday Sabaku Temari." She muttered to herself.


Before heading in the shower stall, she played some tunes from The Clash and turned the volume up.

The airport was usually thirty minutes away from her apartment she made it in twenty-one minutes. It was convenient to avail of the valet service. Temari wanted to believe that because of her luck, she chose the service rather than parking it the normal way to keep her cool. Leaf City is a busy city and having road traffic is a fact. Late plan landings though, happened with 0.01% probability. But it happened to the plane from the Land of Rivers. The same air transportation vehicle that carried her brothers.

One thing to be happy about was that there were just a few people coming out of the hallway. They were supposed to arrive at 9:00 but five, ten, fifteen minutes have passed and no plane from Rivers had landed.

Half-past nine, Temari was keeping herself entertained by observing those around her. Her ears though, were auto-programmed to jolt her brain if it hears 'rivers'.

"Announcing the arrival of Flight XXX-XXX-XXX from the Land of Rivers."

Temari's body moved on its own towards the bare walkway. Knowing any Sabaku, they will be flashy. Their family's men, in particular, would be grumpy after going through such an ordeal. Her father would not say much about it but he would give somebody working for the airport a casual, one-liner, death threat bad enough to traumatize whoever this pathetic guy is. Their mother, Karura, would just laugh at their father whenever he does it because his temper was much worse when he was younger. Temari could just imagine how bad it was. She had a rough idea of it though since both her brothers had taken after The Patron of Anger.

Gaara would react least visibly but if somebody would ask about how his flight went, he'd describe vividly how he would torture its owner. Their youngest sibling had a penchant for violence and it spans from being very violent to being the king of torture. Sometimes, even Temari gets creeped out by it. Only Kankuro could calm him down for some "brotherly" reason. On the other hand, Kankuro would do things impulsively. The minute he sees any attendant, he will scream at the poor person as if he's the fault of everything that had gone wrong in the world.

While waiting for a commotion, she was surprised to see her brothers calm. Her eyes were immediately glued to Gaara's unruly red shag. It looked stylish on him but that haircut spoke louder than anything else. Most likely, Gaara was experimenting as a fashion recluse. Even though he's the most reserved among them, he is the riskiest. The nineteen year-old's strength and ability to earn considerable earnings in the stock market bested even his father and it was all thanks to his guts.

Temari's vision zoomed in on them. Gaara, who was dressed to kill as always, was two or three paces ahead of Kankuro who was on the phone with someone. The younger Sabaku son had on a long, red, open trench coat over a plain white dress shirt that she got for him for his last birthday. Slim-cut, designer jeans and brown oxfords completed his outfit. His light, teal eyes was carefully scanning the waiting bystanders. A smile formed on her face as they closed in on her.

"You guys are late." Temari smirked at them. It was the trademark smile of the siblings, courtesy of their father.

"Temari." Gaara said as she run forward and hugged him.

While on the phone, Kankuro nodded at her but she stuck her tongue out. "I can't believe that guy. He sees me for the first time in months and he just nods." She complained to Gaara.

"Have pity on him. It looks like their contact in the Land of Rivers wants another meeting with him." Gaara replied in monotone but a sly smile formed on his face. "Sometimes I wonder how a slacker like him turned out to be tolerably responsible."

"If forced to." The blonde reiterated. "The key word is forced. If he wasn't in the company, he'd be a slob as always but anything he will do would reflect on dad and if dad gets mad it won't be nice."

"Even if it's our big bro." He giggled again at Kankuro's suffering.

"How's Granny Chiyo?" Temari asked with her eyes following Kankuro. She thought something was off about him. He was stressed yes, but never did he show anger whenever he's anxious.

"Better. Mom has officially declared herself as Granny's nurse until she completely heals."

"That's good to hear. I can't imagine her just dying when I look forward to her fake death pranks." Temari continued.

Their attention was caught when Kankuro grabbed his hair in one hand and stomped his foot on the floor while moving around in circles. His actions confirmed her suspicions that he was mad about something. Temari could only think of one thing: a change in schedule. Both her brothers did not have the luxury of time anymore. Actually, everyone in their family had their hands full for most of the time.

Straight out of college, the eldest Sabaku got a job in the Kazekage Holdings at his own merit. His grades weren't as stellar as Gaara's but his thoroughness and fortitude in forming strategies contributed greatly to the corporation's Corporate Planning Department. But their father had a different plan for Kankuro; to develop his son's decision making skills he was made into a Business Development Manager in the company's newest venture, agriculture. Kankuro is not a scientist or a sales person (he has a Mechanical Engineering degree) but in a few months, he proved his competence in advancing the corporation's plans into actual projects. As a result, the eldest Sabaku was made responsible in all deals from Fire, Earth and recently, Rivers. Senior management was not very happy with his sudden promotion but they were proved wrong when he had sealed a joint venture deal in Fire Country's Wood City in just two months.

The younger Sabaku is not any less promising. In fact, he had the most potential among the Sabaku children. He skipped a grade and was admitted as an Academic Scholar in Suna University. People would not expect much from a nineteen year-old sophomore university student but Gaara had already written scholarly articles about Zero Sum Game and Euler's theorem. The University had already considered grooming him for professorship but Gaara was not interested in pursuing a career in the academe. Little did they know, the silent prodigy had an eye for real time numbers; he played with stocks, foreign exchange and all sorts of financial instruments since he was in high school. He even manages his family's personal portfolio since the time when their father experienced a bad loss in the last economic scare. Gaara, astoundingly, recovered their dad's bad investments in three months.

Worried, Temari called out her fuming, older brother. "Kankuro! What the heck is wrong?"

"Hi Temari." He waved at her but continued to clench his right fist visibly. "Are you well?"

"Certainly better than you."

"Sorry...looks like I have to resume working the day after tomorrow." He placed his arm over her shoulders.

"Great. That means I don't have to feed you for two weeks." Temari laughed when she saw Gaara pout for a bit. She broke her tiny promise.

"How did you know that? There's no point in surprising you anymore." Kankuro pushed Temari's forehead with his forefinger while keeping his possessive arm on his sister's shoulder.

"Please don't do that. It looks disgusting." Cringing and twitching, Gaara walked off, dragging his bright red suitcase.

"What's up with you?" Discovering that Gaara was suddenly uncomfortable with her and Kankuro's display of filial affection aroused Temari's curio.

The brunette gave out a loud chuckle that sounded like a choking chicken. "That's because his innocent mind saw something he shouldn't have concerning our parents. We're like mommy and daddy's juniors and it sickens him to see us like this."

"Kissing?"

"No."

She gasped. "…was it something worse?" Temari felt a bit of acid going up from her stomach. Even she cannot imagine that her parents acting sweet and chummy.

"Come on Temari. You know that our father has an ego much higher than ours combined. I was out on a trip that time and Gaara was scheduled to have late classes. He was let off a bit earlier and he saw our folks dancing in the balcony. He noticed our kid brother but he just smiled at Gaara and mom kept on laughing."

"While they danced away." She added.

"While they danced away." Repeating what she said made her even more puzzled.

"It's not so traumatizing."

"It polluted his head."

Her darker teal eyes blinked at Kankuro's deep brown eyes while the latter was nodding. "They weren't doing something scandalous enough to have us vomiting. Our father has a real soft spot for mom. Even though how hard he tries to hide it, he can't. Having three consecutive children is proof of that. I don't know why Gaara is too shocked. He should know by now that babies are not delivered by storks."

"It's not like that. Gaara believes that our dad is a machine."

"Make it the three of us, Kankuro. He appears to be a machine. Even to his own kids but we know better."

"If your mind operates on logic, the only line of reasoning is 'because the boss wants two sons'. Gaara thinks that way unlike you… who is much more perceptive."


There are singers who hate hearing their own songs on the radio and Temari is one of them. Worse, she heard it in a moderately occupied rundown diner located in Leaf City's red light district. The song was arguably good; great even. To date, 'Opal' has been her most popular song. A reminder that she's the fad of a rocker chic of last year. Some people sang along to her song, others were indifferent. There were those who are happy to hear 'Opal' while others reacted adversely. She still was not used to having such attention from the public even though she's been faced with similar situations in the past six months.

Temari played with her hot chocolate as her brothers talked about the playing music. They were seated beside each other on the couch while she was opposite Gaara.

"I have that song on my playlist." Gaara commented.

Examining the unsavory looking subway sandwich, Kankuro was delayed in responding. "Do you even have a playlist?"

"Unlike you, I have reached nirvana and is experiencing earth to the fullest." The pale redhead slightly smiled as if he had the time of his life.

"That includes drinking caffeinated beverages as an insomniac." Finally Kankuro took a leap of faith. His mouth took a sizeable bite off the sandwich. He chewed it critically.

"Opal or terrible?" Gaara asked. Opal meant great.

"Quite opal." Kankuro replied as he chewed.

The eldest Sabaku was not having the day of his life. His meeting earlier ended up in civil disagreements, as Gaara recounted. It was worsened when Kankuro had received four unsolicited offers from the area's main commodity the moment he stepped out of Temari's ten year-old sedan. His charcoal gray, customized, tailored suit, red Armani dress shirt, pure silver watch and Salvatore Ferragamo shoes gave the prowlers an idea of his sizeable paycheck. This forced Temari to have them eat at the nearest diner from the parking area rather than her favorite cheap place. That sandwich might have improved his mood though.

The singer pointed to his plate. "The first good thing you had today."

"Nope." A wide grin formed on his face while looking straight at the munching Temari. She was baffled by the way he was looking at her; as if he's plotting something. Right there and then, Gaara scoffed on his own.

"Am I missing out on something?" Temari asked both of them.

"In this diner, two good things had already happened. The second one is the yummy food. The first thing is your song, 'Opal'. We take pleasure in seeing people digging your stuff." Gaara explained to her.

"We're your very proud brothers." Kankuro's grin grew bigger. "And it's been a while since we saw you feeling awkward when you hear your songs played publicly."

"Well… There are painters who are uncomfortable in viewing their own paintings." She argued. "I'm being normal."

"We are a lot of things Temari, but being normal is not one of them." What Gaara had said is true. None of them were exactly the conventional normal type of person. They were brought up in a suburban mansion and city penthouses, educated in exclusive, private schools and attended formal gatherings regularly. Both her brothers accepted and lived up to the fact they had the privilege that many others do not have and lived up to their father's expectations from them. Temari, though, sidetracked a bit. Having a rock musician for a daughter never crossed Sabaku Rasa's mind. In fact, even their mother, or any of her brothers thought that she would take it seriously. If, by some turn of event, a management contract and a record deal never happened, Temari could have followed the intended plan for her.

But it didn't and she's grateful for it.

"That idea messed me up too much." She sighed deeply. "I want to be normal… or feel normal at least."

"What's normal in being a rockstar?" The brunette hooted. "Temari is famous in two countries. You're a great artist and an even better singer. Having talent makes you different from others but it's something you worked hard for. It is hard work that separated you from being an average girl and you're anything but that."

"I did not expect hearing such intelligent words from you." She mocked him to hide her agreement. Everything he said was factual. She worked hard to reach her current status. There's no way in hell she'll trade it for anything else. What she was being sentimental about is that, outside of her career, outside the artist Temari, the real person does not live an average life. Back in Suna, she never rode public transportation vehicles. All their cars amounted to at least fifty thousand dollars. Their house in itself is five times more than the lifetime earnings of an average employee. How can anybody call that normal?

"In other words, you're being maudlin for nothing." Gaara added. "We're born richer than most people but that doesn't mean we're aliens."

"Maudlin. Big word." Temari remarked.

Kankuro continued Gaara's statement. "So, we just have to live with it. It's the same thing as being born with red, blonde or brown hair."

"I guess you guys are right." Temari smiled while she spaced out looking at her untouched pancakes.

"So, after this where to?" Kankuro said while yawning.

"Manners, Kankuro." She warned him.

"See, that's not normal." He complained to Gaara who nodded in approval.

"You guys didn't tell me to arrange anything." She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"He could use some sleep." Gaara was referring to Kankuro.

"I'm good to go. We can, maybe go to a Casino or something." He ruffled Gaara's thick, silky red hair. "My vacation is going to be interrupted. I'd better do the stuff I've been planning to do."

"We don't gamble." Temari declared.

"But it's the same with what we have been doing in our lives." Kankuro winked at her.

"No. Let him sleep." Gaara told his sister. "This guy had been working for days."

It was a good time to torture Kankuro. He has always been their subject in teasing. "If you say so, Gaara. But what should we do?"

"We can meet my friends." Gaara smiled a bit.

Temari knew exactly the group of people Gaara was referring to. Some of them had made it to her list of her friends. "You mean all the kids you befriended when you were an exchange student here?" Gaara was not the friendliest person in their family but he actually kept contact with people he had met two years ago. Some of them made it to her list of friends. "They're cool."

"Yes. Well, they're not just my friends. They're our friends. When Naruto visited Wind Country, I showed him around. I guess, he'll be touring Temari and me to the best hangouts in town."

She whistled. "Knowing that blondie, he'll bring you to the best bar in town."

"Great. Have fun without me." He pursed his lips; a gesture he often does when he wants something. Definitely, the already stressed out Rasa Junior would love to have some fun.

Temari loudly cackled while Gaara let out a refine giggle.

"We were just screwing with you." Temari told him. "Of course we won't go out tonight without our sociable brother."

"And Naruto has a lot of single, girlfriends which, I'm sure, would delight you."

"If you're gonna bring some of your friends. I should bring mine too." Kankuro said. "You should bring your friends Tem. Come on, you've been here for half a year. It's impossible for you to be… friendless."

"Guys, the people who would pass as my friends are either on tour, recording or shooting." Temari said softly.

"That is wretched." Gaara muttered to himself.

After having breakfast, Temari did as Gaara advised. They went straight to her apartment and they forced Kankuro to sleep in her room which she prepared for them. Her unit had two bedrooms; one was Temari's sleeping room and the other is her mini-studio. It was spacious enough for one or two persons but too crowded for three siblings who are greedy for space and privacy.

The moment Kankuro had laid on the bed, he fell asleep. He did not even change his clothes or unpack his things. It was only then she noticed that he wore a black, thin steel rope necklace around his neck. He had a liking for gothic and almost crazy fashion when he was younger. There was a time when he wore purple face paint on his face almost every day. Their father did not castigate him for that since their mother had assured that he will outgrow it and Kankuro did. At twenty-three, he looked and acted the part of a reliable, older brother while still being the quirky guy he was. The black chain reminded Temari of her life a few years back.

A sad smile formed on her face. Life was definitely easier when she was younger when all she had were dreams and nothing else. Now, it is all about meeting impossible expectations.

When she went out to check how Gaara is handling the tiny apartment, she found him sleeping against the wall, sitting flat on the floor. She shook her head. Waking up her younger brother will definitely piss him off. It's better to leave him like that.

She had a few hours to work. After all, solitude is one of the best state to be creative.

The time on her screen flashed 2:47 PM, 22 August 2020. When she looked around her typhoon-stricken unit, namely Sabaku Gaara and Sabaku Kankuro, she found the redhead on her couch. Temari did not notice how and when he moved from the floor to the more comfortable sofa.

She stopped laying down samples on the track. Everything was not going well with the track with a temporary title 'Track3'. The chord progression was there, the sections are also well made but the arrangement needs work. Temari is the kind of musician who based her tune to the lyrics. Everything begins with structured poems. If she needs to change some vocal parts, then she might have to change the words of Track3… which meant changing up the tune, and some sections of the song. The task that lie ahead was bummed her.

She took a bar of chocolate and ate it while sitting on her kitchen counter. After that, she'd have to listen to the samples Aoba mixed and emailed the night before. The sound engineer is a cool guy but her Producer, the ever energetic Gai, would bug her soon if she doesn't give her comments in the next thirty seconds.

Chocolate or any sweet food is a mortal sin for singers. Temari gulped down three glasses of lukewarm water to soothe her throat before returning to her current workspace a.k.a. her mini dining table. She wore her headphones and played Aoba's samples for the album's untitled intro track, 'Black Cola', and 'Thought Police' in that order.

All tracks were fast tempo, rock songs drawing from 70s and 80s punk but retained a modern flavor. Her big, husky low and mid-range voice suited this kind of music best in her opinion but her listeners loved listening to her upper range albeit limited to the fifth octave. Some of her Venom songs, like 'Opal' had the whole chorus and bridge in the fifth octave. The first note of the last chorus though, was a C6. Temari reached the note while recording by exclamation. She cannot fully belt it out because it's way up there. If she uses her head voice, it sounds too weak compared to her fifth octave. She'll have to think of a way to sing it live. That was her dilemma and her producer wants her to hear more fifth octave notes in her songs...

Temari already accepted that her range is limited until the fifth octave. Pushing her voice further might destroy her voice… an unspoken fear that plagues her day in and out.


A/N:

*'Run and Gun' - a fake movie in a fic

**Preprod - short for preproduction

Thanks for reading! For those who followed, another thank you! The first two or three chapters shall focus on Temari's background as a person and her artistry. Will update soon! :D