A/N: Well, here's chapter 10! Definitely not as funny as the other ones, but I guess that it'll have to do. It does have the beginnings of the real conflict in it, though, and you can start to suspect that something doesn't smell right and the stench isn't coming from Itachi.
The song, "Wish I Had An Angel" by Nightwish, that is mentioned is not mine (duh, I said it's from Nightwish) was brought to my attention by The Blood Thirsty Sliver Wolf and so all praise for its sheer perfectness goes to her.
When the men returned, it was to see if Sakura was still refusing to talk to them. Of course, her shock and outrage at Itachi's audacity to claim that she had any positive and/or flattering feelings for him had definitely nullified her frustration at her fellow band-mates and so she allowed them inside without complaint.
"Your first performance is going to be at a wedding," Kakashi stated upon entering, "Odd, I know, but it was the best we could get on such short notice. Besides, if we do well, there will be plenty of people to root for us during the competition and it is mostly decided by the fan vote."
"Whose wedding are we doing?" she asked, "Did you get the couple's names?"
"Some guy--Hatori or something like that--with some chick named Ino," Sasuke answered with no hint of even pretending to look interested.
Sakura froze in the motion of bringing a cup to her lips and felt the entire world stop. Hatori and Ino? They were getting married? How could that be? No way, they wouldn't... there was no way that they would... how could they forget her so fast? Had she really meant so little to Hatori? Had Ino's and her close friendship been all in her head? She hated to think about it, but it was possible, wasn't it? Yes, it was very possible... and, if they were getting married and she was singing there... well... couldn't she at least pretend that she felt the same way?
A smirk claimed her lips as her grip on the cup she was holding slackened and it fell onto the carpeted floor with a little thud that she hadn't noticed. She ignored Naruto's inquiries on whether she was okay and she did the same when Kakashi dabbed at the water soaking into the carpet. "I have the perfect song to sing at their wedding," she stated with a chuckle.
Kakashi blinked, kneeling before her and, without his usual mask (he hated wearing it unless they were in public), the surprise was evident on his face. "You... do?"
She nodded. "I'd heard it on satellite radio. It's sung in English, but the band's Finnish or German or something... I'm sure I could get some lyrics in Japanese somewhere online." She went to her computer and typed in the song's name. "Ah! Here we go, Wish I Had An Angel by Nightwish."
Kakashi approached her and read a few lines, then said, "Um... this doesn't seem very appropriate for a wedding, Sakura."
"It's perfect," she corrected darkly, smirking in satisfaction. It was perfect... well, for her, anyway.
" 'Greatest thrill, Not to kill/But to have the prize of the night/Hypocrite, Wannabe friend/13th disciple who betrayed me for nothing'" Kakashi quoted the one verse that spoke true of her experiences and would bring her the satisfaction of ruining her arch-enemies' wedding, "That's a little... morbid to sing at a wedding."
"It's perfect," she repeated.
"I like it," Sasuke commented and Sakura turned to see the Uchiha smirking. "It's the perfect song for Forever of the Resentful to sing... what could be more resentful than a woman singing of betrayal on a couple's wedding night?"
Sakura made a mental note to rethink her impression of the bastard... perhaps he could be downgraded to asshole... maybe. She'd have to think... a lot.
Kakashi still looked displeased with the idea. He obviously didn't think they'd get very many fans by singing this song. "Well..."
"Then we won't do the wedding!" Sakura exclaimed with a shrug. It would suck not to get her revenge, but she wouldn't be grief-stricken to not see her ex-boyfriend and ex-friend again. But, if she was doing the wedding, she was not going to do any lovey-dovey songs... that would strike her with grief... and lots of it.
"No!" Naruto and Kakashi snapped in unison, their eyes wide, looking as though they'd just seen her get hit by a bus and stand up perfectly fine afterward. Kakashi added, stammering over the words, "I-I mean... well... we already promised to do the wedding. There'll be huge consequences if we back out now."
"Huge consequences," Naruto added, a little red-faced.
They're hiding something, she thought suspiciously, quirking a brow at the two men, then turning to Sasuke to see the same look of confused suspicion on his face. Sasuke looks confused, too, so they obviously don't act this way very often... could it have anything to do with the wedding? She shrugged away her mental questions and queried, "When's the wedding?"
"Tomorrow," Naruto mumbled, the redness replaced by a deep concentration that surprised Sakura. Although she had only known the blond for not even a week, she knew that there was nothing deep about him. What could have made him and Kakashi act so... odd?
She would have guessed Itachi if he was around, but he wasn't. He was the only one that brought about this behaviour in the two men, so... what now? Well, there was only one thing that could explain it: "Is there something important about this wedding?" she asked Sasuke.
He shrugged. "I should be asking you three that, you guys are the ones acting weird. I've never heard of Ino and Hatori until Kakashi and Naruto brought up the wedding singer gig."
She looked to Kakashi and Naruto. "I never thought of it that way... it is a bit odd for a punk rock band to sing at a wedding. What made you guys want to do it?"
Kakashi answered without making eye contact, "Only for the crowds."
She didn't believe him and so turned to Naruto. "And you?"
He shrugged, avoiding her skeptical gaze and murmured, "Just felt like a change, I guess."
Sasuke scoffed and Sakura found herself wanting to do the same. But she didn't. She was still so confused... there was something about this wedding that they felt they had to attend, it seemed. They'd only started acting this way when she'd said that they wouldn't do the wedding. It was obvious that this wedding was important to them... but why? Wait...
"D-Do you guys... know?" she asked quietly, "Is that why you so badly want to do this wedding? To help me?"
"... Huh?" Naruto finally looked at her, a confused expression (that definitely fit their better than the thoughtful one did) on his face. "Know what? I don't get it."
"Well, that Hatori and I were dating and that he cheated on me with my best friend... the girl he's marrying tomorrow," she answered, "That was the whole reason I tried out as a singer that day, because I'd been so angry that it got in the way with my work and I was in need of a... a distraction." She left out the fact that her being fired had been an organized conspiracy.
Naruto's face paled and his expression twisted into one of anger and hatred. "Those bastards. How could they--?"
"Naruto," Kakashi snapped, his look reprimanding and Naruto quieted.
For some reason, sakura didn't think the blond was talking about Ino and Hatori. "Alright, if it means so much to you guys, I'll sing at the wedding... but I want to sing that song. Now that you guys know why, I think you could understand that if you refuse to let me sing it, I'm not singing at all."
Naruto and Kakashi both nodded, but Sasuke was the only one to speak, "We should practise then... we've never actually rehearsed as a band before."
"Shall we go to the studio then?" Kakashi asked, brightening a bit.
"Yeah!" Naruto exclaimed.
And, with that, they headed off to what Kakashi called "the studio" and Sakura swore she saw Itachi watch them leave, his red eyes barely noticeable through his cracked-open door.
Was he in on it, too?
A/N: I look forward to hearing some of your guesses as to what you think is going on. Chances are you won't get it right, because only CandyLava and I know... and, even then, since I've taken the story into my hands, I've taken advantage of my liberties and have changed a few things, added, tweaked... ANYWAY! I'm getting off-track here! So, yeah, try to guess and, whoever guesses right (or close enough) shall get a cookie! X3