Trigger Warning: This chapter features an instance of intended sexual assault (no actual). Please read with caution.
"Yume! Yume! Yume!"
As the young singer stood behind the curtain of the stage, her eyes closed as she listened to the impatient chants of the bar patrons, she exhaled deeply as she descended into that cool calmness that pervaded her every time she performed. Everything abruptly lulled into quietness, and the excited shouts of the people beyond the curtain seemed far, far away; it was just her, standing in the gloom of the backstage, holding her beloved guitar. As she stood there in the mute silence, she could feel the song rising inside of her. It was like a small fire, first an ember, flickering softly, and then it grew slowly into a roaring inferno. Her blue eyes flashed open, and then she threw the curtain aside and walked out onto the stage, into the spotlight and the gazes of her adoring fans. The bar erupted into cheers and happy shouts as the woman strolled out, her heels clicking on the wooden stage as she sat down on the small barstool and pulled the microphone closer to herself. The bar fell quiet as she opened her mouth, and the song exploded from inside of her.
It was no longer a fire, but cool, liquid water, pouring out of her like a smooth river. Her voice floated throughout the bar, rising and falling like the ocean tides, captivating all who were present. Her body swayed like gentle waves to the beat of her fingers strumming the guitar. She was a waterfall of music, serene and powerful- to many at the scene, nothing short of a radiant goddess.
After her performance, Yume retreated backstage as usual, while her patrons whined loudly and pleaded for encores. However, rather than walk out of the employee door to greet her fans, she walked to the break room and returned her guitar to its case with a heavy sigh. I can't face him, she thought forlornly. Ever since Obito had cornered her in the alleyway and threatened her, she couldn't bring herself to face the optimistic, handsome boy who had captured her affections. It was obvious that Naruto thought fondly of her, and she knew that if she stayed involved with him she would drag him down into that deep, dark place she was in. She could not bring herself to.
"Not greeting your fans again today?" a voice mused from the threshold of the door, and the girl looked up to see her boss standing there with her arms crossed. "That poor boy has been quite anxious to see you, you know. He waits at that door like a puppy waiting for its owner," she chuckled with a suggestive look, and Yume felt a pang of guilt. Oh, Naruto…
"I just can't drag him down with me. He's just too kind…" she sighed as she snapped the guitar case shut and rubbed the top slightly.
"Honey, you have got to stop this. I know you fear that your past will catch up to you, but so what? Naruto is a great kid. You have to invest in your future, too," Tsunade retorted pointedly, frowning deeply at her and pointing at her firmly. "You are too beautiful and too kind to have to suffer like this. You're young! You need to enjoy yourself!" she scolded her, and Yume slumped back against the dingy couch with a pouty expression.
"You're right," she mumbled and leaned her head back against the rough fabric, blowing a piece of her raven hair out of her face. She owed it to Naruto to either give him a chance, or at least let him down easy. Resigned to the situation, she sighed and rose to her feet. Tsunade smirked slightly and disappeared down the hallway, walking back to her office to attend to her duties, while Yume walked to the employee door and gently cracked it, peeking through the crack. She gasped as a shock of blonde hair and sky-blue eyes immediately appeared in her vision, and her cheeks turned bright pink. Caught red-handed, she pulled the door open and looked up at him shyly. His face immediately lit up in glee.
"Yume! I was wondering when you would come out," he beamed down at her. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he noticed her strange behavior. "It's so weird for you to hide in the back. Has somebody been harassing you?" he asked and glanced over his shoulder at the other bar patrons with a deep frown. "Do I need to beat somebody up? I'll do it," he told her as he glanced back at her, eyebrows raised. Yume couldn't hello but laugh at how quickly he jumped to conclusions. Aw. He's been worried about me, she thought, and could not help but feel guilty once more. I can't believe that I've been doing this to him.
"No, no," she smiled weakly and shook her head. "I've just been busy helping Tsunade with the filing for some extra cash." It wasn't a lie, either. In addition to provided her more performances, the willful woman had hired Yume as a sort of assistant to help her with business dealings during the day. Yume was deeply grateful and thus poured a lot of her time into helping her boss, which made her twice as busy as normal. Admittedly, she had neglected her phone of late and had hardly paid attention to Naruto's messages. "I put in a lot of hours, and so recently I've just been so exhausted after performances that I just want to relax for a while." It was a half-truth, at least.
"Oh. I see. That sounds pretty rough," he told her with a slight grimace. "So that's why you haven't been texting me. To be honest, I was a little worried," he laughed nervously. "I thought that maybe you weren't into me or something…" he smiled weakly at her, and she could see the shadow of doubt on his expression, like he was wary that Yume had been ignoring him after all. She had, but not for that reason.
"No. I'm still looking forward to that second date," she smiled up at him. Tsunade is right… I need to enjoy myself. There's no reason for me to be afraid all my life over what could or could not be… she convinced herself. Naruto grinned stupidly, but before he could say anything else, the bar suddenly erupted with a loud commotion. It seems that the dog belonging to his friend had grown a little rowdy, and had jumped onto the table, knocking over beers as he wagged his massive tail.
"Agh! Akamaru, no! Kiba! Control your mutt!" Naruto cried and rushed over to try and subdue the massive hound. Yume giggled as she watched the three men attempt to wrangle in the giant dog, who thought it was just a game and was making matters worse by running around, ducking between legs and knocking over chairs and tables. Yume was so involved in watching the amusing scene that she didn't notice that someone was sneaking along the wall toward her until a hand covered her mouth, muffling her shocked scream. She froze as she felt the cold blade of a knife press against her throat.
"Now, don't attract any attention if you know what's good for you," her assailant growled in her ear, sending shivers traveling up her spine. Still, Yume obediently remained silent as the hand slipped from her mouth, and she glanced at the man out of the corners of her eyes. He was a regular at the bar and very animated during her performances, and Yume knew at once that it was a fan gone wild. She had never had to deal with the kind before, and so she just trembled as he rested the tip of the knife against her side, unsure of how to react to the situation. The bar had descended into such chaos that no one noticed the singer's plight. "That's a good girl. Now, turn around and walk through the door," he demanded, jabbing her with the knife impatiently, and she gulped before slowly turning on her feet and walking back through the employee door. Yume's sea-blue eyes scanned the dimly lit hallway, desperately searching for any item that she could defend herself with, but unfortunately there was nothing to aid her. He guided her to the break room and abruptly shoved her inside, causing her to stumble. She whipped around just as he shut the door and locked it behind him, smirking as he pointed the knife threateningly at her. "Now, don't get any bright ideas. Give me what I want and you'll live through this," he grinned at her. His eyes were pure lust, and every hair on Yume's body stood on end.
"You don't have to do this," she pleaded quietly. Yume knew that these kinds of situation came with the business she was in, and the best defense was to distract the assailant long enough to escape, or somehow diffuse the situation by appealing to whatever mercy they may have. "If you turn around and leave now, I won't ever say anything," she told him, gulping as he slowly advanced on her. She could see from his expression that her appeal to his better nature was not working.
"Get on the couch," he growled, and Yume stumbled backward, falling onto the piece of furniture as he eyes widened in fright. Her fingers dug into the thin fabric as he ran the blade across her cheek, down her neck, and over her chest to tease the top button of her blouse open. He smiled at her, a smile of delirium, and she flinched as she cupped her cheek. "You're so beautiful," he sighed. "Won't you sing for me?" When Yume failed to comply, he sliced her blouse open with one clean sweep, causing her to whimper. "Sing!"
Try as she might, Yume's voice had died. Shaking violently as she stared up at him in pure terror, her blouse hanging open, she couldn't speak, much less sing. This seemed to irritate him, and he roughly grabbed her by the hair and forced her against the back of the couch, the knife trailing over her bare skin. "Oh, don't cry," he purred as tears leaked out of the corners of her eyes. "I love you, you know? I'll treat you very nice, Yume." His breath wreaked strongly of alcohol, making her nauseous.
Positively terrified, Yume sent out a silent plea for help.
Naruto…!
By some divine grace, her plea was heard. The man jumped backwards as someone pounded wildly on the door and jiggled the locked door.
"Yume!" Naruto called, his tone of voice suspicious. Overwhelmingly relieved to hear the sound of his voice, Yume momentarily forgot the danger she was in and sprung off the couch in an attempt to run for the door.
"Naruto!" she shrieked, then screamed as the hand latched around her hair again and yanked her back. "No! Let go of me! Let go! Naruto!" she sobbed miserably as the man wrestled her into submission, attempting to drag her over to the break room window.
"Be quiet! Don't make me hurt you!" the man snapped, then gasped as the break room door suddenly lurched violently. It began to splinter beneath the tremendous force, and after a few blows Naruto crashed through the door, knocking it half off its hinges and leaving it a splintered mess. The force of his momentum had knocked him off-balance, however, and he landed clumsily on the floor.
"Sick 'im, Akamaru!" shouted the brunette dog handler, and the dog barked and bounded across the room to sink his jaws into Yume's attacker with a snarl. The man cried out and shoved Yume away as he punched the dog in the head in an attempt to beat him off, but only managed to land one blow before Naruto, on his feet, hit him with a savage punch that knocked him out immediately. He crumpled like a rag doll, and the massive hound released his grip and sat down on his back, panting and wagging his tail happily. "Good boy!" his master grinned, and Akamaru barked elatedly in response. Yume stood off to the side, her eyes wide as she stared at the unconscious man.
"Ugh. What an asshole," snorted Naruto's other friend as he poked his head into the room with a sniff. He had angled eyes, and his hair was drawn into a tight ponytail. He took a swig of the beer in his hand and walked over, prodding the drooling man in the face with his toe. "Out like a light. Nice hit, Naruto," he remarked in disdain. The blonde-haired boy was too busy with Yume, however.
"Yume! Are you okay?" he cried, wrenching off his sweatshirt and pulling it over her head. Yume spluttered at the sudden action, spitting out strands of her raven hair. She went red as she pulled the sweatshirt around herself, looking down at her feet.
"Thank you…" she murmured gratefully.
"Yume! Are you all right?" Tsunade called as she shouldered past the crowd gathered at the employee room and stomped in, a baseball bat in her hands. She snorted as her eyes landed on the unconscious man. "Ugh. Men!" she snorted and rolled her eyes before grabbing him by the back of his shirt and throwing him across the room. "Get that drunk outta here! He's blacklisted!" she shouted, and the patrons squeaked in alarm as the man sailed across the room and crashed into them. Not eager to stay around the fiery woman, they dragged him off. Tsunade whipped around with a huff, leaning against the bat as she regarded the three boys, who were gawking at her in a mixture of fear and awe. "Well, I suppose I have you three to thank for saving my singer," she smirked.
"Um. Uh. It wasn't a problem! Believe it!" Naruto blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I noticed she was gone, and I thought that was weird, so I went to check on her and found the door locked… She called for help, y'know, and I just had to get in here… Sorry about the door," he smiled sheepishly.
"Don't worry about it. It's a small price to pay for Yume's safety. Now, you boys want some drinks she offered, and the boys cheered happily. Yume went with them out to the bar while Tsunade gifted them with alcohol. She learned that the boy with the dog was named Kiba, and he was a feisty, boisterous guy who had a personality so similar to Naruto's that they occasionally butted heads. The other, the one with the disinterested look and lazy demeanor was Shikamaru, who was actually a genuine genius who just had no will to do anything. They were unique companions, but then again, Naruto was a pretty unique guy, so she supposed it made sense. They drank for another hour of so before the boys decided to head home. Because they had all drunk quite a bit, they opted to walk back and would return in the morning for Kiba's beat-up car, and so the pretty singer set off with the three boys.
"So, Yume, do you have problems with guys like that often?" Kiba asked her with raised eyebrows. Yume shook her head.
"No. This was the first time that I had to deal with a crazed fan," she sighed deeply. "I knew that it came with the job, but nothing could have prepared me for that. I'm really glad you guys were there…" She glanced out of the corners of her eyes at Naruto, who was walking along beside her. Naruto… Did you hear my cry for help? She thought. It was nothing short of amazing that just as she thought of him that he had come along. Yume could only describe it as fate.
"Yeah, well, I'd like to see anyone try and lay their hands on you now!" Naruto huffed and pounded one fist into his other palm. "I'll knock anyone who tries to mess with you flat on their behinds. Believe it!" he grinned at her, and Yume had to admit that she felt at ease knowing that the capable young boy was looking out for her. "We'll look out for you, Yume."
"I appreciate that," she smiled softly, and she really did.
After about a thirty minute walk back to her apartment, Yume stood on the threshold of the doorway with Naruto. The other boys were lounging on the sidewalk waiting for their friend to say his farewells to the pretty singer. Yume glanced down when she realized that she was still wearing Naruto's sweatshirt. "Oh. Here, this is yours," she blinked and moved to pull it off. She blushed when he grabbed her hands, preventing her from doing so.
"Nah. You keep it," he smiled kindly at her. "So… I know we haven't been talking much, but… I've been really looking forward to going out with you again," he told her bashfully, his cheeks turning pink. "Are you free tomorrow?"
Yume gazed up at him, wrestling with her mind and her heart. I want to focus on the future.
"Yes. I'm free. I would love to go out again, Naruto," she beamed up at him, and his face immediately lit up in excitement. She chuckled as he jumped up and down and punched the air, positively elated. He then realized how much of a fool he was acting and calmed down, red-faced.
"Uh, great. I'll call you," he snickered and gazed at her for a moment longer before smiling stupidly and scampering down the steps to rejoin his friends. Yume leaned in the doorway as she watched them leave, sniggering and shoving each other as they walked across the street towards the slums they called home. Yume leaned her head against the wood siding with a tiny smile, her eyes locked on that peculiar boy with the yellow hair and blue eyes.
Naruto Uzumaki… I'm beginning to think we were destined to meet.
