Summary: Sasuke, a rock star, meets one of his fans as they were about to buy the same and last copy of a certain CD. Who says they can't fall in love since this is just one world after all. Completely AU. Mainly SasuSaku.
Pairings: SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTenten, ItachiOC (maybe), AnkoKaka
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and if I did, I would probably promote the pairings up there, save maybe the ItachiOC thing. I only own the OC who will be paired up with Itachi… if I ever plan on pursuing that thought.
Just One World after All
Chapter Three – They Go
All was quiet in the building where the studio of Sharingan was found. Nothing out of the ordinary seemed to happen so people just bustled in and out of the building and shuffled across it as well. It was just another day that they had to work. It had been a week since they had gone to Blossoms and Sasuke had gotten his Phantasm CD which he was currently listening to in order to drown out someone's voice. He was listening to it, not because Sakura gave it, but because all his so-called favorite songs were on that CD. Just then, Sasuke grunted and reached for his CD player, trying to make it louder and drown out the loud and obnoxious and whiney voice of Naruto.
"Come on, Neji! Itachi! Sasuke! Kakashi! Let's invite them over to the studio," said Naruto as he crossed his arms and fell on the floor, "I mean, we get cake and coffee from Blossoms a lot, don't we? And you can thank Sakura-chan for that CD she burned for you!" It was the same conversation all over again and apparently, Naruto knew about the CD but forgot to mention it when he stormed off to get that second slice. And also, Naruto had this self-declared crush on Sakura already.
"For the millionth time, no, Naruto!" bellowed Neji, an irritated look passing over his face, "What the hell has possessed –you- to even suggest such a thing?!" If Hanabi –ever- found out that Hinata was able to visit him in the studio, she would probably pester him to death to let her and her wild bunch of friends to go to the studio. It was a punishment worse than hell itself.
"Oh come on, I think it'll be a great idea!" said Kakashi as he looked at the eternally pissed off brunettes. They were extremely hard to please. Come to think of it, have they ever been seen pleased because of something, out of their own will? Neji was forcibly made to look pleased every time he had to go to that silly family gather of his, that's what he said. Sasuke and Itachi hardly ever spoke and if they did, it was often a crude remark, a cold retort, a blunt insult, things like that. Naruto, well, give him a bowl of ramen and you've made his day.
"You just want free cake," remarked Sasuke crudely as he put his CD player on his lap, "That's what you've been saying every time Naruto blubbers on about inviting –them-." Kakashi threw a semi-apologetic look at the annoyed onyx-eyed man. See, it was a crude remark. Now, all he needed was a cold retort thrown to someone, and, a blunt insult as well.
"But can't we? I mean, it's not like it'll be much of a hassle for us," said Naruto as he crossed his arms. On his face was the look that was always there every time he felt impatient about something. Neji snorted as he saw Naruto pout what he called a manly pout. It had been a big mystery that remained unsolved to him. What in the world had caused them, the four people who had the least in common with each other, to start a band that often required teamwork and cooperation? The four did not have either with any of the band members; yet, they managed to make quite a successful band, regardless of the two basic conditions left unfulfilled.
"It won't be a hassle for you because you'll be goofing off somewhere else," retorted Itachi coldly as his crimson eyes gazed at Naruto in an annoyed manner. Aha, there was the cold retort coming from the older brother. Now, all that was needed was a blunt insult from either one of them and their list of words that are spoken would be complete.
"No I won't!" huffed Naruto as he crossed his arms, "And I'm inviting Sakura-chan and Hinata over whether you like it or not!" With that, Naruto rose and stomped over to where the nearest phone was much to Kakashi's amusement. The blunt insult would be said any minute now… any minute now… It was often like that. First, one of the two Uchiha said a crude remark. Then, the other would say a cold retort. Then, by some divine means, they would both utter the same blunt insult.
"The dobe isn't going to goof off? How unlikely," insulted the brothers bluntly as they stared at Naruto's back, as if they wanted to stare at him to death. There, the blunt insult. The day was complete in the life of the Uchiha brothers. As soon as they've said those three things, they would highly likely speak no more, unless it concerned them going through that cycle all over again, which didn't bother them at all. They had a seemingly endless amount of crude remarks, cold retorts and blunt insults that seemed to grow larger and larger by the day.
"There!" said Naruto triumphantly as he put the phone down then looked smugly at his fellow band mates and agent, "I called them and they said they'd be able to come tomorrow! They'd come at around ten so better be here before then!" While white, crimson and onyx eyes widened with anger, Neji, Itachi and Sasuke rose, all three of them looking eternally pissed. Naruto's clear blue eyes widened in slight fear as the aforementioned three advanced towards him.
"Ahahahahaha…" said Kakashi slightly nervously as he exited the room, "I've got a date so… see you Naruto! Hope to see you alive and well tomorrow!" With that, Kakashi zipped out of the studio, off to his date, that's what he said so best to stick with it. While Kakashi was off to his date, Naruto was busy yelping and yipping in pain as Sasuke, Neji and Itachi all drove their fists/feet at Naruto's poor and abused body.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the Lobby, the Next Day
"Wow," said Sakura to Hinata as she looked at the lobby. It was very impressive. Lush carpeting, walls painted with the perfect color, black velvet-lined couches, first-rate things, first-rate everything. This was nothing short of what was expected of Chakra Records. They were, after all, the recording company of many successful soloists, duets, singing groups and bands, including Sharingan and Phantasm. Even if Phantasm was under the same recording company as Sharingan, the two bands never really met, their schedules saw to that. Just then, a familiar loud, blonde, blue-eyed drummer appeared, along with three highly annoyed, though they did a great job of hiding their annoyance, brunettes.
"Sakura-chan!" said the blonde in a sing-song manner as they approached to two women who were visiting, "How have you been?" Sakura was slightly surprised that he, Uzumaki Naruto, called her Sakura-chan and this was only the second time they've actually met. Not that she was annoyed or had the willpower to just whack him silly but it was the first time someone else, other than Hinata and all her other close relatives, called her Sakura-chan. Hinata looked at them, her eyes never meeting her cousin's.
"Hello, Naruto," said Sakura cheerfully, risking calling him without the –san suffix attached to his name, "We brought some cake." True enough, in her hands was a box stamped with pink and flowery designs and on top, in pretty script, was 'Blossoms'. The sides of the box had rectangular holes with rounded edges and were sealed off with a piece of plastic, showing the kind of cake inside. The cake in the box was the Hazelnut Cream Cake, their specialty and original recipe.
"Wai! Cake!" said Naruto joyfully as he bent down slightly in order to receive the cake. Too bad Neji got it from Sakura ahead of him. Naruto snorted. The three were always afraid of him dropping something so they almost never made him carry anything; unless they were absolutely sure what he would carry were his possessions or something that wouldn't break. "Anyway, care to have a tour of the building?" asked Naruto as he looked at Sakura and Hinata, forgetting that Neji oh-so-rudely grabbed –his- cake. Yeah right that was his cake, it was cake for all of them.
"Err… sure," said Sakura as she looked at the slightly hyper drummer, "That is, if the others don't mind." She, like Hinata, was never the type to be a bother to other people. When she was smaller, she used to be a bother to her older boy cousins when she was bullied so while growing up, she decided she didn't want to be a bother anymore, building her self-confidence along the way. The brunettes shook their heads, saying that they didn't mind. For some reason, they just didn't. Maybe because Sakura made a good impression on them, bringing cake and all.
"Oi!" said Kakashi as he came in, his hands in his pockets. His one visible eye, which was rather sharp, caught sight of the box Neji was holding and saw a quick flash of brown inside. Looming over the box, he examined it before turning to face Hinata and asked, "Hey, Hinata, is that Hazelnut Cream Cake?" Ever since he ate at Blossoms that first time, he was such the connoisseur when it came to their baked goods.
"Y-yes, Ka-kakashi-san," stuttered Hinata as she looked at Kakashi in the eye as she blushed slightly. She was always shy around people, even to her own best friend. Neji coughed slightly, letting Hinata know of his disapproval on how she was acting. Blushing even more, Hinata just looked down at the floor, clasping her hands together to try and squeeze out the rest of her nervousness.
"Let's go already!" cheered Naruto as he began leading the way to all sorts of places in the building. Sasuke and Itachi both glared at Naruto's back, as if they wanted him to fall dead just by glaring at him, Neji took one last look at Hinata then followed his band mates while Kakashi was behind Sakura and Hinata, ushering them to go ahead and follow the Sharingan boys. A slight hint of a rosy color touched Sakura's and Hinata's cheeks as they nodded and followed the boys.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brainstorming Room
"This… this is the brainstorming room!" said Naruto as he opened his arms out wide and pointed to all sorts of places and corners in the room which simply held a glass coffee table, a velvet blue couch and two velvet blue armchairs facing each other. "We brainstorm here for all sorts of things! Our album's next name, when our gigs are going to be and others! The only thing we don't brainstorm here is what song we're going to make a video of next."
"Like you do any of the brainstorming," hissed the three brunettes as white, onyx and crimson eyes glared at the sole blonde. Sakura and Hinata shivered and backed away slightly as they heard the venomous tone in their voices. There was something about Naruto that the three just couldn't stand and it wasn't quite clear to the two women. Kakashi was just oblivious to it all and looking at the various awards displayed on the walls. Some were for Phantasm, others for Sharingan and still others for the other artists or bands under Chakra Records. Chakra Records was famous for hiring talents that would gain platinum awards in a short while. The only thing is, they didn't hire people often.
"Fine," mumbled Naruto as he crossed his arms, "Let's just go up to the studio! Don't we have to play a song to test the new equipment?" Grudgingly, Sasuke nodded and Kakashi's eyes lit up. In the mind of the agent, he was thinking that Naruto purposely asked Sakura and Hinata to come here today to be amazed by their skill, more of his, Naruto's, to be exact but be impressed nonetheless. The sly fox-boy had brains enough to think of this plan! After thinking about it over and over again, Kakashi threw away the thought. Naruto had only brains enough for deciding what kind of ramen he wanted, or what kind of food from Blossoms. Besides those two, drumming, whining and complaining, he basically didn't think of much else.
The rest of them followed Naruto, through three brunettes were still highly irritated that he even did this. Though for some reason, Sasuke couldn't bring himself to snap at Naruto like he always did when he was irritated, maybe because they had guests around. Unlikely, even with guests around, Sasuke wouldn't beat around the bush when he was given the chance to snap at Naruto. Maybe because they were girls, yeah, that's probably why he couldn't snap at Naruto, because even he had respect for women who normally get more easily frightened compared to boys.
It was quiet, no one really saying a word except for Naruto's constant babbles which Hinata was faithfully listening to. Sakura got bored already about the history of each and every room they passed until they got to the elevator that would take them up to the floor of the recording studio. Itachi, who caught the bored look glazed on Sakura's normally bright jade eyes, smirked internally, finally, a girl who got bored of Naruto's constant babbles. Most girls, even if they weren't especially Naruto fans, would still coo and be all excited even if Naruto was getting annoying, even the heads of, dare he think it, their fan clubs. Sakura, Sakura just got plain bored. Soon enough, they reached the elevator.
"Enter! Enter!" ushered Naruto as he slightly pushed the two women in once the door opened for them. Sakura just sighed internally but kept a slight smile on her face. Hinata just blushed. Shrugging, Naruto entered the elevator as well and pushed a button that held the doors stay open, letting Kakashi, Sasuke, Itachi and Neji, who still had the cake, enter. As the doors closed, Naruto glanced around. Kakashi was standing right smack dab in front of the middle section of the doors; Itachi was to Kakashi's left, leaning on the wall, looking annoyed. Neji was beside Hinata, somewhat protective of her. Sasuke, Sasuke just had the luck of being right beside Sakura and that fact alone irked Naruto greatly. Soon enough, the doors opened wide and the seven exited the cramped area that was known as the elevator.
"Come on!" cheered Naruto as he slightly skipped and walked towards the studio. Sasuke was just disgusted with Naruto, being all skippy and happy all the time. When does that dobe show some sense?! In order to figure that out, you'd probably have to calculate and assume things but, then, why bother when you know the fool was never going to show any sense now, later or any time in the near future! Sometimes, no, all the time, he wondered how they got stuck with an idiotic excuse for a drummer like him. Oh, he knew. Because he was the best there was and they were all so-called friends! He would have preferred it for Sharingan to be made up of just him, Itachi and Neji but, then, with two guitar and a bass, the rock band didn't sound so complete so into the picture came Naruto with his drumsticks, ready to rock and roll. Soon, the seven were in the studio.
Sasuke assumed his customary position by the window. Kakashi slumped down into a chair, reading Make-Out Paradise. Neji set the box down on the coffee table and stood in front of the window that showed the outside world. Itachi glared at Naruto before assuming a position beside his little brother. Naruto, on the other hand, as well a Sakura and Hinata, were sitting down on the sofa. All was quiet for the next ten minutes or so before Kakashi spoke up, finally tearing his attention away from his perverted book.
"Go ahead and get ready inside the booth, I'll take the equipment out for a run on the outside while you guys play," said Kakashi as he shooed the boys into the booth, "Sakura and Hinata will be with me so don't you worry about a thing." With that, he forced all four boys into the booth, slightly surprised ones mind you, as he slightly dragged Sakura and Hinata into the part of the actual recording room where they'd be staying.
With three brunettes glaring at Kakashi, he sat down in a chair in front of so many switches while Sakura and Hinata sat at either side of him, watching what he was going to do. Sasuke and the others were getting ready. Naruto was hunting around for his drumsticks and the three brunettes were plugging their electric instruments into their own amplifier with one hand and holding their pick with the other. Sakura, even though she told Sasuke she wouldn't be like his rabid fan girls, found herself just looking at him though not in the crazed fan girl sort of way. It wasn't really because of her admiration for him as a rock star but something like a sort of curiosity, like one would have when one wanted to know more about another. Even if they hadn't really talked person-to-person today, Sakura had managed to steal glances at Sasuke who merely grunted and mouthed to her, 'Pay attention to damned Naruto and not to me. I don't need your attention.'
"Ready?" asked Kakashi who spoke into the microphone which allowed the boys to hear him. Naruto slumped down in his seat behind his drums while Sasuke, Itachi and Neji adjusted the strap of their instrument and positioned their fingers on the proper position on their instrument's neck. Their right hand held their pick and got ready to strum. "Alright in one, two, three," said Kakashi, counting down. With that, he switched off his microphone, turned on theirs, made the speakers in the room he was in slightly louder and gave them the signal to start, which they did.
"You just never run out of time, I just always do your bidding so I'm always so damned exhausted because of you," sang Sasuke as the rock tunes began playing in the area where Sakura, Hinata and Kakashi were in. To Kakashi, they were just singing this song all over again, he'd heard them play it millions of times, but to Sakura and to Hinata, it showed just how tired they were of being forced to do something they didn't want to, just for the sake of another.
Naruto looked as if he was trying to take all his anger out on his drums. Itachi was strumming heavily and pressing his fingers down on the neck rather hard, as did Neji and Sasuke. The other thing that gave away that impression to Sakura and Hinata was because Sasuke sounded so angry when he was doing this. It wasn't because he was in a band, mind you, playing a guitar and earning money because of it was one of those scarce things that he actually, dare anyone say it, enjoyed. It was probably because of something that happened in the past. If Sakura could remember one of those interviews that Kakashi forced upon the band, Sasuke said that he didn't want to answer anything because it made him feel like he was back in school, forcing to excel in everything because he was a genius. Oh well, that was if Sakura could remember that single response from him in the interview.
"Don't you think it's nice to hear them from this end?" asked Kakashi idly as his lazy and visible eye landed on Sakura who was just plainly listening to their music, trying not to look all to bashful when Itachi, Neji or Sasuke happened to accidentally glance at her direction and when Naruto did, she tried not to look bored. Sakura slightly jumped in her seat when Kakashi suddenly spoke to her. "Well?" asked Kakashi as he continued eyeing her.
"It's better than listening to the song on a CD," said Sakura, fingering the material of her black skirt. Sighing and mustering up enough courage to continue this conversation, Sakura looked at Kakashi and spoke, "Why do you ask?" She was really curious as to why he asked this question, no doubt about it.
"No reason in particular," said Kakashi in response, "It's just the first time one of them actually invited people over to visit them in Chakra and the first time I've actually seen Sasuke not roughly brush aside some girl who tries to talk to him. He normally does that, you know, especially with that blonde fan club president of his… I forget her name. She annoys me sometimes with her Sasuke obsessive-ness, if you know what I mean." Sakura grinned at him internally then focused her attention back to the band that was playing the chorus once more. "What do you think about them, Hinata?" asked Kakashi as he looked at Neji's younger cousin.
"M-me? W-what do I t-think?" squeaked Hinata as she looked at Kakashi, "I think they're great." As she said that, she blushed slightly and hung her head. In her mind, she added, 'Especially Naruto-kun.' She already had a crush on Naruto but she was just too shy to do anything about it, or even talk to him for that matter. Kakashi smiled slightly, if you could even see that beneath his mask, as he reverted his attention back to the band.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Be Continued…
Wah… xx Sorry for the long delay! I was planning on updating sooner but, I guess, I had a sudden bout of the dreaded disease known as 'Writer's Block'. I hope I don't have it anymore. Anyway, I'll try to post Chapter Four as soon as I can.
Due to, well, the seeming success of this fanfiction, I'm going to continue it! Though I might not be able to post as often, not that I even have for that matter, come June because of school, but that doesn't mean I won't try!
If you plan to review, please put in 'OC' at the beginning of your review so I can find out if you want Itachi to be paired up with someone! Hope you review so I can get down starting writing the fourth chapter as soon as possible!
Next Chapter: Chapter Four – They Talk
Chapter Preview: "Uhm," said Sakura slightly nervously as she looked up at Sasuke's blank onyx eyes, "Are you sure you want to sneak away from them? I mean, one of them is your brother and the other three are your friends?" Sasuke nodded grimly as he grabbed Sakura's wrist and promptly began dragging her to the parking lot where his car was parked.