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Chapter 11
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The webpage loaded.
An oriental, grunge wall was the background of the website as a huge scroll rolled open across the page, nearly covering the former wallpaper. The name appeared on top, animating in a fast lettering, as if each letter was tossed like a shuriken against the brownish scroll.
DATTEBAYO!
The name of Naruto's and Sasuke's band. It flashed brightly in blood red color.
I didn't know they had a huge fan base. I merely typed their name in the search engine and dozens of websites sprung out, almost everything made by their own fans. This one I just entered looked like the official one.
It was impressive how popular they were, considering they were still students and would only often compete on underground music competitions. They didn't had any music videos playing on TV or in any radio stations as far as I know. Yet they had a lot of fans on the internet.
Underneath their name on the webpage was a list of their songs. I wasn't sure what type of music they play.
I sighed and rested my back against the chair. It was almost eleven thirty in the evening.
It was strange how curious I was with these guys nowadays… especially with Sasuke. It was hard to admit that I was sitting there in my room and googling his name in the net. It was pathetic. I couldn't stop thinking about that snob.
He invited me to their coming band competition and I was thinking about what to do about it. I might as well go and asked Ino and the others if they would want to go, too. I was a bit hesitant since I didn't normally go out in gigs. Anyhow, I wanted to show a little support to my teammates since I'd be stuck with them the whole year if I'd ever make it to the org.
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I could feel the nasty looks some of the girls were giving me as I walked passed the corridor the next day. I guessed some rumor about me and that airhead was spread over the campus. These stupid girls believe in everything they hear, whether true or not.
"What a flirt."
"Who does she think she is, anyway. She's not even pretty nor talented."
"She's just a newbie who likes flirting with boys. It's a pity the school accepted her. She's ruining the image."
I could hear their hisses as I passed, trying to ignore them no matter how much it was starting to bother me. I felt like a wretched mouse in a crowd of snakes.
The girls were clamped together by groups. Some of them reminded me of the ones you see on hentai flicks whom the males drool over. They had big busts and waists. Some of them even had pretty faces. But the sight of them was nothing but irksome for me.
I was no one in this school and I had a horde of rude, harebrained girls trailing up behind me. I had no match against them. They'd been in this academy much longer than I was and I knew I was hardly part of it. This was just something that I had to endure for the rest of the year.
Naruto appeared at the other end of the corridor and immediately saw me.
"Ohayou, Sakura-chan!" he greeted, flashing his bright smile. A covered guitar was strapped on one side of his shoulders.
"Ohayou." I smiled, landing on his side. "Er, band practice?"
"Yep. I asked Kakashi for a bit of time off from training after class so we could practice playing for a little while." He replied.
"Good luck this friday."
"Hey, you can come and watch us practice if you don't have anything to do after training today. We practice in my place—in our garage, actually. I'm sure Sasuke would like to see you there."
Well, you had to give Naruto some credit for being such a nice and friendly guy. He sees all the positive things in the world. He had only known me for a few months, yet he treated me like one of his close buddies.
"Well… I'll see to it if I can."
He beamed and recited his address to me.
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Pieces of the block of cement tumbled on the ground. I felt my fist reacted from the swift collision. It began to sting more from the pain. I stood up straight and looked down my knuckles. It was brown from filth and was bleeding. It was the first time I tried to hit a block of stone using my chakra.
"That's enough, Sakura." Kakashi spoke, after seeing my bruised and bleeding hands. He walked toward me and handed me a small white towel. "I don't want you pushing yourself too hard. Here."
I took it and stood there for a minute. I was improving but it all came with a price. I was getting better at releasing my chakra and I was receiving more bruises than ever—especially in my arms. I'd been trying to punch solid rocks for a while now, trying to pulverize them into bits. In every failed hit, I would hurt my knuckles and blood would soon start spurting out.
"I don't want you losing some body parts here, Haruno." Kakashi spoke to me. As usual, Naruto and Sasuke weren't there in our training. It was just the two of us present in one of the playgrounds. "You're advancing from your level but you have to be careful not to overdo it."
"I need to catch up." I panted.
"Yeah, well, all lessons require time, too." Kakashi pulled out a bandage from his pocket and handed it to me. "That's it for today. Go clean yourself up."
I relaxed for a minute before going to the shower in the girl's bathroom. I was shortly dressed in new clothes and was wrapping the bandages around my knuckles when my mind drifted on something else.
I thought about Naruto's small invitation. It sounded interesting seeing my teammates practice. I bet they were all having a good time in his place. It would be nice to join them for a moment but I didn't belong there. They were musicians, and what did I know about instruments? I'd just sit there and watch them bleakly. Besides, my other classmates were not yet that comfortable with me around.
But as I walked home that day, my curiosity got the better of me. I hadn't been in Naruto's place and I wondered what it was like there. It was not like I was going there and knock on his door and crash the practice. It wouldn't hurt if I'd just take a look from outside, would it? They didn't have to see me there, right?
With that thought in my mind, I turned around the sidewalk and headed for a bus stop. I wasn't that familiar with the city but I had gotten a small map book at a nearby store and found my way along the streets. Naruto's place was a twenty-minute ride from where I found a bus stop.
It didn't take long and I was in a different neighborhood. It was filled with resident houses and pleasant lawns and trees, pretty much like ours, only the blocks and sidewalks were wider. It was more peaceful here, away from the noises at the main roads. The sky was dimming. Dusk had came. It was harder to read the house numbers at this time of the day. I still kept Naruto's exact address imprinted in my head.
Finally, I noticed a set of motorbikes parked across a driveway of a small house. I recognized the one that belonged to Sasuke at once. About five bikes were parked in a row.
It had to be Naruto's house. I could even hear the muffled sound of clashing music instruments from where I stood. I could feel the sound vibrating from the garage, which was tightly shut closed. They probably had some sound proof cushions there.
I only stood at the side of a tree near the driveway, not wanting to enter at all. I was just curious of what was here.
The light from one of the windows was open, but I couldn't see any silhouette. The house was smaller than ours but their garage looked bigger than the customary size.
A part of me wanted to peek in, but I was too embarrassed to show myself.
Suddenly, a door at the side of the garage flung open and someone stepped out. I saw Sasuke's features from the light inside, which quickly vanished the moment the door shut close again. I could hear Naruto's shouts against a microphone and some loud music when he got out. And like the light, the sounds instantly went subdued when the door swung shut.
I took a step back under the tree. Sasuke didn't appear to have noticed me there since I was hidden in the shadows. He was talking to someone over his mobile phone. One of his arms was holding up something against his ear. I could barely see his form in the dark neighborhood. He faced the side of the house, so all I could see was his back. He was wearing a white shirt, tattered jeans and black sneakers.
I tried to listen to what he was saying. I could only hear a few.
"I don't understand… Why are…"
He was pausing a lot during the conversation. Perhaps listening more to the person at the other line. He was almost murmuring against the phone and was cautious of what he was saying.
"What if… wrong… Yeah… There should be some plans before they move— Mortis Org should…"
Was it the headmistress? Or perhaps… some lover who was also a rogue student?
I tried to draw myself closer but still made sure I was in the shadows. I felt like a pervert.
There was a long pause in the conversation, and then he sighed. "Just… keep safe, okay."
He flipped his phone close after that. He stared impassively at it for a moment, as if contemplating on something. I stared at him, and I was unaware that I was getting too close. I only realized what I was doing when one of my feet slipped over a pebble and the last thing I saw was the dusky ground crashing on my face. I ended up landing flat on the driveway, my face hitting the cold ground with a hustling noise.
"You." I instantly heard Sasuke's startled voice.
I tried to get up at once, rubbing the dirt off my face. If only the ground would just swallow me whole on the spot.
Sasuke was just a couple of feet away from my side. He looked around us and his eyes landed on the tree where I just sprung out. "You're really stalking me."
I coughed some dust out of my mouth. I felt myself flushed red. "Don't flatter yourself—" I said between coughs. I stood up and shook some dirt off my pants and blouse.
Sasuke watched me straighten myself up. I wanted to runaway and hide. "Then what're you doing here? Looking for something on the ground?"
"I was just passing by." I lied.
He chuckled, sliding his phone inside his pocket. I couldn't look at him straight. "Your house is practically on the other side of the city."
I didn't answer nor look at him. I only pretended to wipe dirt off me. He took my silence as a reply.
"So you're really stalking me." He said in an amused tone, though his amusement was rather suppressed this time. I could sense something was bothering him at once. Was it something about the phone call?
"Naruto invited me to come by if I want to." I said. "I was… er… curious, that's all. I wasn't planning to go inside or anything. I just wanted to see what's out here."
"Like what?"
"I don't know. The neighborhood, I guess. Or how you guys practice."
"You'll watch us from out here?" The idiocy of the idea was very much apparent.
"Well—what do you care if that's what I want?"
Sasuke only frowned at me and crossed his arms. The sky was almost dark purple and black and I could hardly stare at his eyes. He, then, sighed and grabbed one of my arms, shaking his head.
"You know you just wanted to see me, nerd. You're good at making lame excuses." He said and pulled me towards the door at the garage.
"What—hey wait—I don't want to disturb them."
"Then what on earth were you thinking when you got here, anyway. Of course you'll disturb us. You already knew that before you brought your scrawny ass here."
He pushed the door open and dragged me along inside.
The garage was filled with deafening music and with Naruto's growling voice. He was reciting some words on the microphone like a drunk. He looked as if he was just singing from a karaoke bar. A red guitar was strapped across his front. One of his hands was strumming the strings.
Sasuke let go of my hand and walked straight across the room to get something. Naruto saw me and his face automatically lighted up.
"Well heyo—nice of you to drop by, Sakura-chan!" he shouted at the microphone.
I waved my hand embarrassedly.
The garage was a bit bigger than the common ones. Black cushions for sound proofing were glued against the walls. Kiba was sitting behind a drum set and a pair of drum sticks was on his hold. He looked puzzled of seeing me there. Rock Lee was standing at the corner with a keyboard. He greeted me too when he saw me. Shikamaru stood near Naruto, holding a bass guitar. A toothpick was dangling from the side of his mouth. He looked at me lazily, also a bit perplexed of seeing me there.
There was a set of brown sofas at the other side of the room, facing them. Akamaru was lying fuzzily over one of it. Chouji was sitting beside him, playing cards with himself. A couple of bottles of sodas and some opened box of large pizzas, which were stacked untidily together, laid across a petite, round table at the corner. A yellow bulb hung loosely at the center of the ceiling, giving the room a faded light.
It looked like a tiny bachelor's pad.
"Go on. Don't mind me. I'm just gonna watch." I said uncomfortably, noticing they'd stopped playing after I entered.
This must be a bad idea. This is the reason why I didn't want to go inside. I hate the awkwardness.
"Excited, huh?" Naruto teased, and I felt myself went magenta again. He looked back to his band mates and carefully took off his guitar. "I'll just take a quick break guys. I'm hungry. You can continue practicing your tempos if you want."
He set aside his guitar and marched toward the opened pizza box. I uncomfortably sat at the very edge of the sofa, trying to find something else to do. I was the only female inside, making me feel really discomfited. Sasuke sat on a tall, round chair next to Rock Lee. A white electric guitar rested on his lap. He was strumming it slowly, listening and checking the hum of each string. I noticed how long his eyelashes were as he looked down on it.
Naruto extended his arm out, offering me the pizza on his hand.
"No, thanks." I smiled.
He sat next to me, his mouth already filled with food. "Didunt expect yuh to really show uf—" he said between munches, beaming at me. "So. Yuh like the place?"
I nodded. "A whole room for yourself with all the loud music. Who could ask for more?"
He sniggered after swallowing. "Yeah. Took me a while to convince my aunt. We sold the car, anyway, so there's really no need for this garage."
"Where're your parents?"
"They passed away long time ago."
"Oh. Sorry."
"It's okay. Couldn't remember them much. I was just a baby when the car accident happened. My aunt took me in after that."
"Your aunt has a very nice place."
"Yeah, she does, doesn't she?"
My eyes drifted toward Sasuke at the corner. He was staring at me, too. He was playing a slow beat with his guitar now, like those types for slow dancing. He would glance on the strings time to time but his eyes kept gazing at me in a laid back way as if he was thinking of something distant at the back of his head. Rock Lee followed his beat and the rest of the members joined him with the music.
All in all, the music was pleasing in the ears. It was a very slow beat, like for couples swaying slowly in a dance under the stars. Even the drum beats were subtle.
It was nearly midnight when they'd finished practicing. Rock Lee insisted first on taking me home that night. Sasuke looked a bit irritated when we took the bus together after. Unlike them, Rock Lee didn't own a motorbike. Sasuke wanted to argue of why we couldn't just ride with them on the way home, but Rock Lee seemed to be dedicated in riding the bus home with me. I didn't mind either since Lee was a good guy and a gentleman.
"Fine—take the stupid bus if you want. Maybe you two would enjoy the sight seeing, however boring that sounds." it was Sasuke's way of bidding goodbye to us that night.
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Friday night soon came and I was late for the band competition because of my training with Kakashi. It was nearly eight-thirty in the evening and the competition started at seven. Ino and Hinata were there.
The event was held at the popular underground concert room, The Roaring Pub. It was crowded that night. Most of the watchers were adorned in punk attires and a lot of them looked like groupies and posers, too. I looked like a typical student in my outfit, compared to them, with just a plain shirt, a green light jacket and dark blue jeans. The area was covered with brick walls, no windows. There were laser lights and smoke everywhere. It felt suffocating.
There was a band playing deafeningly on the stage. There were several LED screens showing a variety of moving graphics behind them, making the stage vivid with colors. The crowd was jumping up and down as they enjoyed the song. It was harder to find Ino and Hinata at this state. I was getting squished in the middle of the crowd. I was not even sure if my classmates had already played.
I landed on a corner of the area, near a door that led elsewhere. I accidentally stepped on someone's foot before me and was relieved to see Naruto's head turning around to see the perpetrator.
"You're here!" he shouted, the blaring music made it difficult to hear him clearly.
It was the first time I saw him kind of dressed. He was wearing a white shirt and some studded leather bracelets around his wrists. A painted fox mask was strapped at the side of his head.
"Sorry I'm late! The training took a bit longer than I expected." I said loudly over the music. I was exhausted after the training and hardly had the energy to attend this concert.
"Good thing you showed up. Sasuke was already starting to act all mad 'coz I think he hasn't seen you yet since the start of the show! He just stormed out of the dressing room!" Naruto yelled. "Follow me—Hinata-chan and Ino are near the front row. I need to go ahead soon. We're next in line after these dudes." He motioned to the stage.
Ino was having a good time when I found them. She dyed a small part of her hair violet with a colored hairspray. She was yelling and jumping with the crowd. Hinata, on the other hand, seemed a bit lost like me. She was as pale as paper when I got there.
"Well, it's nice of you to finally show up!" Ino yelled at me. "Where have you been?"
"School. The training ended late." I said.
Naruto suddenly squeaked. His eyes were abruptly turned to something else across the room. I followed his gaze and also saw a few guys silently crossed the area at the other side. They didn't look too different, except that a lot of the people in the crowd were staring at them like Naruto. Some started yelling their names animatedly, forgetting the other band that was playing on stage. One of the fellows was wearing an eye shades even if the room was too dark already. Most of their hairdos were pulled up in spikes, one was bleached bright green, and the other one was pulled up in a ponytail. The black jackets they were wearing looked expensive.
"That's White Shibuya! Man—I heard they signed up for this competition at the very last minute too!" Naruto screamed eagerly, standing on tiptoes to take a better look at the new arrivals.
"Who?" I asked, clueless.
"White Shibuya!" he said again, as if I was some moron who didn't know them. "They're really good! They've been playing for a few years now. We were just a bunch of newbies when we first saw them playing. They haven't really joined the mainstream music arena yet so they're still qualified to join this year. I bet they like being an indie band. Aw—it's so hard if we're goin' to compete with these guys! They're way more experienced. I even have their CD album."
The band on stage soon finished their song number and Naruto bid us farewell. He hurriedly ran to the backstage and disappeared with the crowd of people. The audience turned a bit calmer now that the music had finished. A thin guy with shoulder-length hair stepped up the stage. His hair had blonde highlights and one of his hands hold a microphone. A tattoo was visible on the back of his hand.
"So, was that awesome or what?" He shouted to the audience, who clapped vigorously. "The night is still early and we have loads of bands that'll still be rocking with us tonight."
The listeners screamed and clapped some more. My ears were starting to hurt with all the blaring noises.
"Our next band is one of Tokyo's most sought after underground musicians. They've been playing music for a couple of years now. And it's a bit surprising that these fellows are still students! A lot of you might have already seen them perform before. Among all the other groups here, these guys are pretty distinctive because of their famous fox masks." said the host.
I could instantly feel the crowd's anticipation as they shrieked and jumped energetically.
"Their song for tonight is entitled Go!. So, without further delay," the host continued. "Let's give it up for our next band—DATTEBAYO!"
The host walked off the stage as blasts of yellow fireworks exploded on both sides of the platform and the klieg lights on top whirled around in different colors all over the room. Smoke filled the dim stage. I heard the quiet tap of a drumsticks as it counted the start of the first beat… 3, 2, 1—
A second blast of fireworks burst out as the piercing, lively beat of their music reverberated in the whole room. The stage was almost cleared out of smoke and their figures emerged dramatically. All members of the band were wearing fox masks with different designs. They were all wearing the same white shirt and black denim pants with chains dangling on the right side pocket. Each of them was playing their own instruments more actively than the last time I saw them. They were almost jumping up and down with the audience as they enjoyed the fast beating of the intro.
Naruto, who was at the front center of the stage, pulled back his fox mask from his face and settled it at the side of his head as he drew the mic to his lips and sang the first words with his growling voice. Kiba and Rock Lee did the second voices.
"We are Fighting Dreamers Takami wo mezashite Fighting Dreamers Narifuri kamawazu Fighting Dreamers Shinjiru ga mama ni Oli Oli Oli Oh-! Just go my way!"
Ino was screaming beside me like a die-hard fan girl. Hinata and I, on the other hand, were getting smothered in the mass of wild listeners. The music was very upbeat and the whole room was dancing with it.
All through the song number, the members one by one pulled aside their fox masks to reveal their faces. All of them were enjoying with what they were doing. Rock Lee was pressing the keyboards in a fast pace and was flashing a big smile. I could even see the reserved smirk on Sasuke's face. He was so gorgeous playing there. He wasn't looking much at the audience and was mostly looking down on his guitar strings.
"Right here Right now (Bang!) Buppanase Like a dangan LINER! Right here Right now (Burn!) Buttakitteku ze Get the fire!"
Naruto simply gave a small tap on Sasuke's arm as he continued to sing. The audiences were singing with him now. Sasuke looked up and tried to search among the crowd. He soon found us and his gaze landed on my face. He squinted through the light of the moving spotlights. He looked glad to see me there, getting all squished with the audience.
Sasuke bowed his head down as he laughed to himself beside their vocalist. I'd never seen him laugh this way before. He must be probably laughing at how stupid I look, too, at that moment. He really looked like he was really having a good time up there now. The boyish grin remained on his face until the end of their performance.
The music finished with a final bang of the instruments and another fireworks explosion erupted at the sides of the podium.
"Thank you very much for the support!" Naruto shouted before they exited the stage. The fans screamed and shouted for more but the host immediately replaced their spot to introduce the next performers.
"Come on—let's go to the backstage and congratulate them!" Ino said excitedly, yanking my arm and disappearing in the crowd. I quickly grabbed Hinata along.
"I don't think we'll be able to go there. They're for VIPs!" I said as we bumped to several people on the way.
"Excuse us—excuse us—outta the way!" Ino was shouting at them. "We'll try our luck. Let's tell the guard that we know them!"
"I think Sakura's right, Ino-chan. We need IDs to pass through." Hinata was saying.
"Oh, shush—just a little flirting and we'll be good to go!"
The entry to the backstage and the dressing room was filled with muscled bouncers and bodyguards, wearing black shirts that had the word "Security" imprinted across it in bold, white letters, like the ones outside at the entrance of the pub.
It wasn't surprising to find a number of girls outside the entry, too, who were trying to get a glimpse of the bands.
"Excuse me, Sir—" Ino tried her soft, girly voice that makes me want to throttle her from time to time. I bet she was even using her puppy-eyed move.
There were movements behind the guards and they were shoved aside as Naruto's face popped out with a look of joy on his expression. He strode happily toward us, ignoring the yell of one of the guard as he walked out the dressing room. He was a bit sweaty but looked very pleased. His band mates came after him.
"It's really nice of you to be here!" he greeted us.
"Congratulations, Naruto-kun!" Hinata said shyly, her pale face flushing.
The other girls waiting with us started crying their names. My classmates looked glad as if they didn't care whether they'd win the competition or not. I knew they were contented with performing there that night.
Sasuke strode straight to us. He had a different air tonight and I could sense the thrill in his presence as I looked up on his face. He was smiling at me. He was a bit sweaty like the others and he ignored everyone else as he walked straight to where I stood, his eyes never leaving me. And I felt that sensation again… Like the world went slow again.
I was about to congratulate him when he suddenly seized both sides of my face and pressed his lips against mine.
It caught me off guard. I heard Ino's exclamation of disbelief, like all else who were there. I couldn't manage to lift my fingers for a moment. And only stood there like a statue.
His lips were so soft against mine and I could smell his scent. For a brief moment, all I could feel was his skin and his breathing. He lightly drew his face away and looked at me with that signature smirk of his. For once, I saw real delight in his grayish eyes.
"I knew you'd show up." he mumbled like a contented little kid.
I gawked and couldn't utter any word. The feeling slowly rained on me like a raining fire...
He was dominating my world. And I'm starting to fall for him. Hard.
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Note for Disclaimer: The following song lyrics used in this chapter belongs to the band FLOW, from their song entitled 'GO!', which was used as one of the opening songs for the Naruto series.