Umbra

In interim: Where's My Love


"Did you run away?

Did you run away? I don't need to know

If you ran away

If you ran away, come back home

Just come home"

Where's My Love by Syml


"So he just…left?"

Sakura, spinning on a rolling chair in the soundboard room, pushed her foot onto the ground to stop twirling. When she finally came to a halt, she was facing the wrong way, so she pushed off again to face Konan, who was leaning against the far wall. Her head bobbed down in a nod. She grabbed her coffee, sitting unassumingly on the end table next to her, and took two generous gulps, wiping the drops forming at the corner of her mouth with her wrist.

"Yeah. He asked me when I was going to tell him, I sputtered out some sort of incoherent response, and he just turned around and slammed the door. I haven't heard from him in three days," she finished with a sigh, running her fingers through her tangled hair.

Seeing this, Deidara jumped up from his place on the couch, seemingly pulling a brush out of nowhere, and leapt over to her. She allowed him to fuss, tugging the brush gently through her knotted locks. She had spent the morning in dance rehearsals with a militant Itachi, and her disheveled appearance reflected it.

She added, "Naruto's not talking to me or Hinata either. I've known him longer than I've known Sasuke." She swatted at an undeterred Deidara when he fished out a particularly tangled knot. "I guess Sasuke-kun told Naruto before he went home to his parents' house. We couldn't find him. Luckily, Mikoto-san called Itachi to let him know. We were worried."

"We're ready to go again," Pein interrupted. Lips thinned out in concentration, he clicked the microphone in the booth on. "You good?"

Inside the sound booth, Gaara nodded. Pein held up three fingers and clicked the green button. Sakura's most recent song, Winter's End, blared through the speakers. Gaara, with his head phones on, waited for the chorus, his head bobbing up and down to the rock-inspired riffs, and when it came, began to harmonize with her prerecording.

When the song finished, he had completed three choruses and his solo verse at the end. Pein made him run through it one more time but was pleased with how it sounded. Gaara emerged from the sound booth and, with a quiet thank you, accepted the water bottle Sakura handed over.

"It sounds awesome, Gaara," she complimented. "It's just what the song needed. Thank you."

"It's a good song. You'll have to join us on Suna3 next album. We already started writing," he told her.

She gladly agreed. It wasn't uncommon for them to write together and appear on the other's album. Both had become popular around the same time, and tabloids often speculated that they were in a relationship. But Gaara and his siblings had only ever been friends; however, it was nice to have someone she was comfortable with to go to events with, so she didn't feel pressured with a real date. Sakura liked to think she gave Gaara the same comfort.

He departed just as Deidara finished an elaborate French braid in her hair, twisting several braids together and tying them off in a bun with a flourish. Her manicured nails clacked the screen of her phone as she fidgeted, anxiety making her unable to sit still. The door to the studio opening made her jump. It was Sasori with takeout.

After a break for lunch, Sakura was able to polish off Winter's End and make good headway on another ballad, this one about being two people in one body and the conflict that came with the identity confusion, called Gemini.

It was almost dusk when she emerged from the vocal booth. Konan had gone home, and Deidara and Sasori were dozing on the couch. Kisame was there now, a large grin stretching his mouth.

"They decided to release Umbra tonight!" he announced the moment she walked through the glass door into the studio. A little bewildered, Sakura tilted her head.

"The album's not even done yet," she stated. Kisame shrugged.

"The execs have been approving songs as we produce them. The album's almost done," Pein informed.

Counting with her fingers, Sakura realized that indeed, they had finished 10 of the 12 songs that would go on the album. She would maybe record two or three others in case the higher ups wanted to swap out, but she had several songs written that she had wanted to record. They would probably finish in the next two weeks or so.

Adrenaline coursed through her as her heart pounded. The time just before new music was released was filled with tension. Sakura always worried that her new music wouldn't be well received.

"It's a surprise drop at midnight across all platforms. It means that you'll have some appearances to do to promote the record," Kisame informed her. His fingers were rapidly typing away at his phone, attention divided. "They want to release that and one other before your USA tour this summer."

A heady sensation fell over Sakura, and for a moment, she forgot about all of her personal drama. She was excited for the album she had been writing for so long. "Okay…" she said with a sigh, tugging at an errant strand of hair that fell out of the braids. "That's such short notice."

"Ah chibi, you'll be fine!" Kisame promised with more than enough confidence for the both of them. He settled his hands on her cheeks, squishing them together. They smelled like onions, making her wrinkle her nose. "The song is amazing!"

Bolstered by his confidence, she nodded and tried to get him to release her, but Kisame's hands just pressed her cheeks more.

A few moments later, when Itachi walked into the room, he found Deidara laughing so hard his face was bright red, Sasori watching the blond amusedly, and Pein was ignoring them all, packing up his equipment and turning off the studio switchboards. Kisame was howling in pain as Sakura's nails latched onto his hands, which were pressed to her cheeks.

"Your nails are sharp!" he cried. Sakura's fingernails dug deeper.

"Then let go of my face, you onion troll!" she hollered back. It wasn't until he yanked his hands back that her claws dislodged from their place, leaving crescent marks on them. Days later, Kisame would show her bruises that formed. Grinning, Sakura flashed the V for victory sign at her grumbling manager.

"You're all having fun," Itachi observed. Kisame flourished a rude hand gesture in his direction. Sakura just grinned. Deep charcoal looked at her. "It's getting dark. I'll drive you home."

Nodding, Sakura picked up her backpack with her workout gear and unfinished homework. They walked out of the studio and into a long, modernly decorated hallway that bordered floor to ceiling windows that faced Mount Fuji far in the distance. They walked down the six flights of stairs to the basement parking.

Itachi had his own spot, his shiny car not standing out among the expensive vehicles of the rich business men and women who worked in the building. Sakura ducked into the familiar passenger seat and immediately hooked her phone up to the speakers. As the soft hum of his car coming to life filled the empty garage, Sakura picked a song.

The funky jazz music that filled the car had her tapping her foot. This kind of music always reminded her of Itachi; it was different and unique, but undeniably cool. Laughing at her internal thoughts, she shook her head. Itachi glanced her way.

"Dinner?" he asked. He chuckled when Sakura pumped her arms in excitement, agreeing wholeheartedly.

They decided on an American styled burger restaurant. Sakura didn't complain when Itachi stole her pickle, his favorite part of their meal, and he didn't complain when she double dipped her fries in the savory ketchup. They talked about an orchestra Itachi planned to go see live in Yokohama, the Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, which he was very excited for, and the upcoming release of Sakura's album. She bemoaned all the work she had to finish at school on top of finishing the album.

Bellies full and smiles on their faces, the duo slouched lazily back into Itachi's car after the sun had set. Sakura dozed off in the front seat, face pressed against the window, as Itachi tapped his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat of the music she had chosen. At a light, Sakura heard him quickly type out text and send it before continuing their meandering speed through the busy streets of Tokyo.

When they pulled in front of her apartment building, Itachi shook her awake. He had pulled off the side of the road.

"We're here," he said quietly. Sakura groaned.

"Carry me," she commanded, lifting her arms in his direction, waving them to indicate she should be carried. Itachi laughed and poked her in the sides a few times until she was snickering with genuine gusto.

She hopped out of the car and opened the back door, slinging her backpack onto her shoulder. When she turned around, she saw a familiar form leaning against the wall of her building, right next to the front door. Panicking, she swung back around to Itachi, but he was waving at her.

"You two need to talk," he told her seriously before rolling up his window.

"You planned this!" she shouted. He nodded with no shame before driving off. Heart thumping wildly in her chest, Sakura took a calming breath before turning back around. Sasuke had pushed himself off the wall and was now walking towards her. She managed to whisper, "Hey."

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking off in the distance at some point beyond her shoulder. Dressed in a dark band t-shirt and pair of jeans with his hair perfectly messy, Sakura could barely breathe. He was so perfect.

Finally, he replied, "Hey."

They stood together in awkward silence for what felt like forever, but what was probably only a few moments. Sucking in a deep breath, she finally managed to move her head so he was forced to look directly at her. But she wasn't prepared to be subjected to one of his intense stares. After another moment of silence, she found her voice.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, still locking her gaze to his. Like a floodgate, all of her thoughts came tumbling from her mouth, "Really, I am. I never meant to lie to you, but I wanted to keep it a secret from everyone so they wouldn't look at me differently. Ino was the only one who knew, but Hanabi is one of my backup dancers and she blabbed to Hinata and to Neji. She almost got fired for breaking her confidentiality, but luckily for her I was friends with Hinata-chan or she would have lost her job. She ended up in a meeting with all the executives in the company, and I think she cried, but she kept her job. But Neji went and told Tenten, so that's how they found out. Then all of a sudden, I felt like everyone knew, and so much time had gone by. It was like, how could I tell you now that it had been almost four years and —"

"You're nervous," he interrupted. "It's why you're talking so much. You always talk too much when you're anxious."

Taking a breath, she blew the falling strands of her bangs out of her eyes. She realized that Sasuke was making fun of her a bit, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Do you want to come inside?" she asked, transferring her backpack from one shoulder to the other. It was starting to get heavy, her books weighing it down. Sasuke nodded and held the door open for her. She guided him to the elevator, which was filled with people, and into the empty apartment.

Hinata and Tenten were at the Hyuuga patriarch's, Hinata's father, birthday celebration. Ino was spending the night with a friend from work. When she put down her backpack on the couch and turned around, she found Sasuke standing by one of the windows that overlooked the city. In the distance, he could see their university campus.

Sakura walked up to him, daring to stand a little closer than normal. She remembered his arms around her during the concert a few days ago, how good she felt, and she wanted to feel like that again. He smelled good, like aftershave. Sasuke turned towards her, and she realized just how close they were. Her heart beat faster, heat rising to her cheeks.

But Sakura could tell that she wasn't the only one affected; Sasuke's cheeks were a little more flushed than normal. His dark eyes studied the ground between them.

"I really am sorry—"

"Stop apologizing," he commanded softly. "I talked to Itachi. He explained a lot."

"Oh," she responded. Her green eyes wandered to the twinkling lights of the city below and around them.

"I was always jealous of you two," he admitted, running a hand through his messy hair. Shocked by the abrupt confession, Sakura drew her eyes back to him. He was looking away, abashed. "Things were hard for us after you confessed in junior high. But you and Itachi were always such easy friends. I always felt like we had to work for it."

Cheeks darkening at the memory, Sakura confessing her 13-year-old love and Sasuke rejecting her soundly, Sakura shuffled her bare feet on the hard bamboo floors.

"I thought…" he trailed off. "I thought you stopped feeling that way for me. When I realized that I had... when I thought of you that way… I thought it was too late."

She chose her words carefully, barely able to breathe by his confession. "I never stopped. I tried really hard, but I always loved you," she told him seriously, "When I realized that you had a crush on Otsuka Kaori, I thought that if you ever found out, you would only like me for her."

Fingers itching at her sides, Sakura reached out before pulling them back. Sasuke took the hint, and stretched his hand out, lacing their fingers together. His hands were cold.

"Itachi sent me your song. Umbra? He said you wrote it about me."

"Itachi's got a big mouth," she muttered, embarrassed. She wrote that song in a moment of intense weakness and insecurity, and it was very revealing to those who knew her well.

"Is it about me?" he asked, firmly this time. She nodded, refusing to look at him.

One finger from his free hand guided her chin to look at him. When their eyes locked, Sasuke ducked down, his lips meeting hers.


End Part II


Author's note: I hope you enjoyed. We are looking at 1-2 more chapters. Please review!