AN: Well, that update was longer than usual. Sorry. Can't be assed to answer reviews right now. I'm knackered. Busked with a friend in at a train station in the rain earlier. It was a good way to pass the time and an easy way to get a cold.
Chapter Nine: Evening Sonata in B Major
Naruto counted the hours until the gig as warm water coursed down his back. It was the ultimate comforting sensation after the freezing torrent of rain that still poured outside. He estimated that there must be about three hours left, and that didn't include the hour rehearsal time they were planning to have. And then he had to include the walking time. Fortunately, Shikamaru had managed to find someone to give them and their instruments a lift to the bar, which, it turned out, much to Kiba's relief, supplied its own drum kit. This meant that he really only had an hour or so before he had to go out again.
He suddenly felt that he was being watched, but when he opened his eyes to wipe and peer through the misty glass there was no one there. He wondered if it was a normal thing to feel for no reason as he turned off the shower and reached for a towel, his wet hair preventing him from seeing anything beyond his feet. He stumbled out of the tray, sweeping his hair back with a flick of his head and wrapping the towel around his shoulders. The mirror steamed up immediately and Naruto drew a picture in it with his finger. It resembled a stick-man figure of himself on one knee, wielding a guitar. Beside it he wrote: "ROCK ON! Wish us luck!" Knowing that the next person to see it would be one of the girls. Both of them had done little to support them and had conveniently arranged other things for that evening. Naruto was sure that if he hadn't been involved Sakura would have cancelled her appointment to go, in fact he thought, more drastically, that she would have probably walked through fire to see Sasuke on stage. But of course he was involved and Sakura was still giving him the cold shoulder. He assumed that she must have blackmailed Ino into staying with her and not going to the gig.
A lurch of fear and excitement hit the pit of his stomach as he suddenly realised what little time he had left.
When he walked into his bedroom, towelling his hair, Sasuke wasn't there. Naruto smiled ruefully at the clothes displayed neatly on his bed and the post-it note attached, which on closer inspection read, "You'd better not out-dress me."
As the chords died away at the end of the band practice the four put away their instruments and looked up at one another, a mix of expressions on each of their faces.
Shikamaru smiled lopsidedly and broke the silence, "Let's go then."
"The limo awaits!" Kiba added pompously with a twirl of his hand and a little bow.
"Yoshu!" Naruto cried, slinging his guitar case over his shoulder and raising a hand in the air in rock salute.
Sasuke merely lowered his head and the four left the studio and headed out into the chilling cold rain outside to meet the owner of the red mini-van parked at the curbside that would take them to the bar. Shikamaru hailed him with his usual raised hand.
"Chouji, sorry we kept you waiting for so long." He said as Chouji got out to open the back of the van.
"Nah, no problem." He said standing aside to let the others climb in, "I'm just glad I could help."
"Whatever, man, I had to bribe you into it!" Shikamaru said, closing up the back and climbing in the passenger seat beside Chouji. Naruto clutched onto his guitar protectively as the van started up with a noisy growl and juddered violently into life. He pushed himself back against Shikamaru's seat to fix himself in a steady position for the rough downhill journey ahead.
"You nervous?" Kiba asked over the roar of the engine, his form barely visible in the dark interior of the van.
"Only for my life right now." Naruto laughed apprehensively.
"Agreed." Kiba replied, "But seriously, this gig's going to be great, you know?"
"Yeah," Naruto said, "Yeah, I do."
They spent the next fifteen minutes in silence, not bothering to raise a voice over the monotonous rumble. It finally died as the van stopped and the engine cut out. Shikamaru leant over his seat, "We have ten minutes to get a few drinks down us and set up. Are you ready?"
"Of course." Naruto replied, ignoring the panic rising in his gut as the back door opened again and the orange streetlight flooded in. He thanked Chouji as he climbed out, forcing feeling back into his legs.
"Good luck. It's a shame I can't watch," Chouji said earnestly, "I have an essay in for tomorrow that I haven't even started on."
Shikamaru saw him off as the other band members sheltered from the howling wind and rain inside the entrance of The Red Moon.
"Well, get in! Get in!" Shikamaru ushered as he turned back to them, taking his bass off Kiba
They shuffled indoors to a warm, dimly lit room that possessed the usual musk of cigarettes and alcohol that every bar in the country had. Almost immediately a man in his late twenties greeted them. He took the cigarette in his hand to his mouth to offer a handshake to each of them.
"The last band are just packing up," He said mostly to Shikamaru, "Give them a minute or so." He then disappeared in the crowd without so much as a "good luck". Kiba gave a derisive snort and headed over to the polished wooden bar to order drinks. Not physically prepared to have a drink, Naruto turned and wandered through the throng, following the bright overhead stage lights to find the place where he would soon be playing. The previous band members were unplugging their instruments while the crowd of people around them were unaware of their presence. A cold shiver ran up the base of his spine as he watched their miserable faces. He backed up to turn back to the bar and the others, his butterflies turning to screeching bats, and was stopped by a pair of arms that wound around his chest and stomach.
"Not running away are we, scaredy-cat?" A resonant voice said in his ear.
"Of course not." Naruto growled back tetchily.
"No need to get snappy." Sasuke replied, tightening his arms constrictively, "See, no cliffs around here."
Naruto sighed, "Yes, I noticed. Just a pit of vicious hyenas." Sasuke brought a hand up under Naruto's shirt but he pulled away exasperatedly, "God, you can be so inappropriate!" He pushed past Sasuke to get to the bar where Kiba held out a pint for him to take. He downed half of it instantly and left the rest on the bar when Shikamaru said that they should start setting up. Sasuke joined them on the steps to the stage. Naruto tried to catch his eye but he firmly ignored him and went to work setting up the microphone stand. Naruto gulped back the guilt that welled up and tried to focus on the task at hand. The audience went about as usual, as oblivious of them as of the last band. Naruto plugged his guitar into the amp and tuned it up. The bustle of the crowd remained relentless. Shikamaru and Sasuke did the same with the same result.
"Tough audience." Kiba mouthed to Naruto who forced a smile. Fear was rising up strongly inside him. His dream flashed before his eyes. He looked over to Sasuke and ran a hand through his hair in concern. A whistle rang out from the crowd and Naruto peered through the bright stage light to see Sakura and Ino waving frantically. He smiled despite himself and stepped into position on Sasuke's left. The crowd became a murmuring grey blur against the white light from above.
"Ok then." Sasuke said into the mic, blowing a piece of hair out of his face, "We're…" He looked to Shikamaru, "Who are we anyway?" A ripple of laughter went through the throng. Shikamaru grinned and shrugged. Sasuke shook his head and turned back to his audience, "Well, I guess that means we're Anon. We're going to play a handful of songs for you to endure tonight. Here they go."
Naruto suddenly realised that this was his cue. There was no time to think about being afraid. A wave of adrenalin caused by shock sent him into autopilot. Before he even realised he was doing it he was strumming out the well-practiced chords of their first song, a favourite of his old band. Kiba joined up after the first two bars right on cue. Naruto concentrated all his attention on his guitar, unaware of the audience reaction. Sasuke started singing and his insides seemed to freeze with the familiar sensation he now always associated with the raven-haired boy. He blinked back the salt water in his eyes furiously and scowled. He was determined to put on a good show tonight. He was not going to be distracted by his feelings. Naruto set his jaw and played with all the vigour he could muster. Sasuke never faltered, his tone remained resolute and Naruto both loathed and loved him for it. He wanted him to stumble, let out a raw note of inappropriate passion that would prove to Naruto that he was human; that he was angry, that he was sorry, that he was at least thinking about him. But the prodigy was calm and collected. The emotions were contrived, derived from the lyrics. An act.
As the first song ended Naruto had no choice but to pay attention to his audience. The reaction was amazing. The crowd around the stage was a heaving mass of bodies, cheering and appraising. He had no time to drink it in before Kiba signalled the start of the second song with his drum roll intro. Naruto grinned, fixing his attention on his guitar again. He knew it could only get better. He knew there was so much more that they could achieve. They could be amazing. The second song finished much sooner than he expected and the crowd reaction took him aback again. Their next song was a cover of a song Shikamaru had suggested. It was simple enough to learn and obscure enough for the crowd not to complain about unoriginality. The song also only had one guitar part for a large portion of it. Sasuke took the mic as Naruto played the part. Shikamaru stood back, taking a swig from a bottle of water. It was mellower than the first two songs, a resting ground, and a breather. Naruto watched the stage lights above, listening to the song rather than thinking of his part in it. It was well rehearsed and he didn't need to concentrate.
"I know that we were scared, hurt because you were not there. I know I want it all, wish the sky would fall on me."
Naruto looked at Shikamaru with a sudden awareness. He was watching Sasuke with interest, an almost derogatory fascination lingering on his features and Naruto suddenly had the disturbing feeling that he was in a test lab, awaiting examination. He brushed the sensation away with the firm knowledge that Shikamaru was a psychology student and probably analysed everyone he met. The song changed mood and Naruto focused on his chords again as Sasuke joined in. The black-eyed boy shot Naruto a look that he caught desperately and held for as long as he could.
"I'm not through."
There were only two songs left: Another of Naruto's old band and Shikamaru's. Shikamaru took up his bass again for the deep thrumming intro and Kiba played with a satisfying violence after his simple role in the last song, but Naruto was beginning to feel the strain. He bit his lip harder than he intended to keep himself focused. His grip on the plectrum slipped as the heat from the lights above made beads of perspiration form on his skin but he did not let it go. He licked the salty moisture from his top lip and longed for a pause in the song where he could adjust his hold on the piece of plastic between his fingers and brush his hair from his eyes. It came not a moment too soon, his heart beating furiously. The song was almost over, just another burst of strumming.
"I'm all over you…" Sasuke sang, an edge to his voice winning over at last. Naruto's heart skipped a beat and his fingers slipped, a faulty chord resulting from it. He cursed under his breath and finished the last transition, his insides burning with infuriation at his mistake.
Sasuke cleared his throat away from the microphone and took the bottle of water that Shikamaru offered him. He took his time drinking it before addressing the cheering audience again. Naruto watched Sakura and Ino writhing and wailing with excitement and adoration.
"The next song is our last for tonight." Sasuke spoke, altering the position of his guitar strap casually. The crowd lamented, "It's something we've been working on for a while now. Let's see what you think…"
The icy feeling swept through Naruto again before the four of them rang off their four simultaneous punches that entered them into the song. The crowd cheered and Naruto was lost in the dizzying adrenaline rush of the power that he got from being part of the ultimately shifting piece of music that Shikamaru had constructed from the depths of his mind. He played with all his heart and renewed strength. He could see the crowd moving like the rising tide and his insides seemed to swell with pleasure. He stopped to watch Sasuke's guitar solo, his fingers sliding effortlessly across the fret board, his voice sailed through the room, his face glistening with light sweat, a strange smile on his silky, speaking lips.
"A million times I'd say, a thousand ways, you're so beautiful. Perfect." He sang clear.
Naruto's fingers went into autopilot again as his rhythm line started up once more. Kiba went wild and the crowd started up a new fit of screaming. Sasuke hollered stylishly, bending the pitch of his guitar notes and twisting under the microphone for the last burst of chorus.
The song was over before Naruto realised.
"Thank you and good night." Sasuke said, grinning at the cliché and switching off the mic as the crowd cheered and whistled ecstatically.
The next few minutes were a blur to Naruto. From the point where he packed away his guitar to the point where he stood outside in the pouring rain waiting for something and not knowing what. It took him a few moments to realise where he was and then to ask Kiba with a dry throat why. He was told that they were waiting for Shikamaru who was talking to the manager, the man they had met on entering the bar. It took another few moments for Naruto to realise that a rather drunk Sakura was hugging him and apologising over and over again.
"I'm so sorry! You were so good! I'm so sorry!" She wailed into his chest. He squeezed her shoulders gently and prised her off him.
"Thanks for coming." He smiled, which caused her eyes to well and her to cling onto him more firmly. Ino came over to take her away, smile ruefully, and to congratulate him. As the two girls talked he sighed and looked up into the doorway of the bar that was opening. A familiar but unexpected person emerged and Naruto grinned and offered a wave of his hand, "Hinata!" He called and gestured for her to come over. She blushed and stepped over, "I guess this means I owe you a drink!"
She shook her head and avoided his eyes, "Congratulations," She said, "You… the band was very good. I enjoyed it. No need to thank me for coming."
"Another time then." Naruto said.
Shikamaru appeared at the doorway, "We have another gig next week!" He called.
"What!" Kiba cried, "You're kidding?"
Shikamaru shook his head, "You all up for it?"
"Definitely!" Naruto shouted, he turned to Hinata, "I guess that means you'll have to come again then…" He said imploringly. She smiled and nodded, "You can keep a tab of what I owe you then. See you next week!"
As she waved and turned to walk away, Naruto felt a sudden wash of exhaustion. His legs gave way and his vision went blank momentarily. He felt his knees hit the pavement sharply before arms caught him and swept him up as he fell forward. He regained his balance against the body in front of him and blinked to clear his eyes, all strength had left him.
"You alright?" Sasuke murmured and was echoed by more voices as the others crowded around worriedly.
"Yeah sure." Naruto said throatily, attempting to stand back without the control of his legs, "Just a bit… woozy."
"You can't even stand up!" Kiba exclaimed.
"Naruto, look at me." Sasuke ordered, holding his limp form up. Naruto felt sleep overtaking him, he heard only distant frantic voices and a repeated growingly concerned call of, "Look at me!" that held no meaning to him. It all rapidly faded away.
AN: Agh! What has become of our hero! Was the gig detailed enough for you? I always get reprimanded for skimping on details. I tried my hardest without making it too boring. Hope it works! Chapter 10 next! OOOH! Double figures! Oh and the song they covered was a song I just happened to be listening to at the time, Biffy Clyro's "Christopher's River". Sweet song.
