Notes: To quickly answer a review, yes, some of these situations I take from experiences that have happened to me. I actually tried to start a band up, with no success. Anyway, I'm glad you all like the lyrics:) And finally, what you've all been waiting for! The Battle of the Bands competition! Woo!
Part 2: Chapter 9
I woke up early; what else do you expect when you go to sleep the night before knowing that today is the first day of the rest of your life? Kakashi, from Kinjutsu Records, was going to be watching the performance tonight, and the band was minus a lyrist and lead singer. Needless to say, I was feeling a little stressed. I didn't eat breakfast (I'm sure I wasn't the only one) and I skipped all of my classes for the day (probably not alone on that one either). Early in the afternoon, Haku gave me a call.
"We're registered," he spoke over the line, and I heard the final rendition of Sasuke's song playing in the background—it was like a scene out of a bad movie. "Although, I had to explain that we…had complications."
That Sasuke left the band, I finished the real sentence in my head. "When do we go?"
"We're the third band of the day; the contest begins at six, we start setting up at seven."
"Let everyone else know, please."
"Naruto?"
I had almost dropped the phone back onto the cradle; I fumbled with it: "Yeah?"
"Do you think your plan will work?" he asked.
"…yeah, I think it will," I replied and hung up successfully this time. And I hadn't been lying—I was almost a hundred percent sure the song would convince Sasuke to come back, at least for the rest of the competition. After that… Well, it was up to him, wasn't it?
I convinced myself to go down to the dining hall at five thirty to see if there was anything I could manage to choke down. As soon as I walked in, there was Sharingan: Sakura waved me over cheerfully; Kiba looked over and said something, and Hinata turned her face toward the entrance expectantly; Haku smiled at me as Garra nodded his head and Ino flashed a thumbs up; Shino adjusted his glasses as he turned to see me enter; Shikamaru lifted one hand slightly in a half-assed wave. I grinned and walked over to their table, the idea of food completely forgotten.
"Nothing good here anyway," Kiba spoke up as I got closer.
"You could take a step back from the norm and eat a banana or something," Garra raised an eyebrow. Hinata giggled.
"You ready?" Ino tugged on the end of her blond ponytail, looking slightly nervous.
"Yeah," I shrugged simply.
"We set up at seven," Shino reminded. "Fifteen minutes to get the equipment set up, and fifteen minutes to perform the three songs."
"You do have them memorized, don't you?" Shikamaru opened one eye to glance at me.
"Naruto, are you sure you're ready?" Sakura pressed and I looked to her. She had a worried expression drawn on her face. I gave her the most reassuring smile I could muster up.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm ready," I nodded.
"Good, because it's almost six o'clock," Garra pushed his chair back from the table and stood up. Haku followed his lead, and eventually, everyone got up and gathered around me. I smiled again. I don't deserve friends like these… We headed out of the dining hall and down to the West Lawn where the Battle of the Bands competition was finally starting.
I don't know exactly what I was expecting. But the first band was okay—two keyboardists, a guitarist, and a singer. They had a techno-ish sound to them. The second band totally sucked—two guitarists and a drummer, and none of them knew how to sing. At one point, I wanted to chase them offstage with a sharp stick, I really did. As they closed their set, I felt a hand tugging on my sleeve. It was Sakura, and she pointed through the crowd at the others who were already heading back toward the student lounge to get our things. I slipped through the mass of people with her and joined the others in the Breezeway Common Room. They were gathering up microphones and stands and amps; Kiba, Shino, and Shikamaru were carrying Kiba's drumset out a piece at a time. Everyone looked as if they were going out to face the firing squad, even Haku, who is usually the calm and composed one. No, that's Sasuke. I grabbed my guitar and pick and hoisted up my amp with my other hand and heard a clatter. Placing the equipment back on the floor, I knelt and picked up the black leather strap that had been lying neatly folded beside the amp. It was a guitar strap, and the shoulder pad had two symbols embroidered on it: an uchiha and an uzumaki—a paper fan and a spiral. The fan lay neatly in the center of the spiral, and the edges of the spiral hugged the fan. Someone came into the lounge, and I whirled around expectantly. Haku and Garra stood in the doorway, looking at my expression carefully; it must have been comical under the circumstances.
"Are you…alright, Naruto?" Haku finally broke the tense silence that had started to arise. I shook my head, snapping my thoughts back into perspective: You can tell him on the stage; keep it together!
"Yeah," I cleared my throat, pointing back at my amp and a few other miscellaneous items littering the floor. "Make sure these go out too. I'll be there in a sec." Haku looked reluctant to leave me alone, but Garra strode forward and hefted up the amp in one hand, glancing down at me briefly before walking past and gathering one of Kiba's drum cymbals and his foot pedal.
"Hurry up, the set-up time is almost over," he said and left the room. Haku hurriedly grabbed the remaining mike stand and rushed out after him, throwing me another worried look over his shoulder. I sat cross-legged on the lounge floor and slowly began to attach the beautiful guitar strap to the neck and body of my instrument.
The crowd murmured, the sound mixed with the hot stage lights sounding like an eager buzzing in my ears. I felt Sharingan's eyes on me without having to turn around to look. I grinned and grabbed the mike, switching it on and watching as the slight feedback sent a ripple of silence over the crowd. Not for long. "How's everybody doing tonight?" Enthusiastic cheers and applause met my question. "A lot of you might remember us from our live rehearsal near the end of last semester on campus—" Whistles and cheers; they remembered. My grin got wider, if that were physically possible. "We're the band Sharingan, short one member right now." A murmur ran through the crowd. "He's been an idiot recently." Laughter. "Let's see if we can convince him to come back with this fist song, huh?" Loud whoops and screams answered my last statement. I adjusted the guitar and my new strap comfortably, taking a moment to spot Ino, Shikamaru, and Shino in the crowd. They were waving their arms and cheering and grinning as much as I was (yes, even Shikamaru). Hinata stood by Kiba, slightly behind me; I glanced back—her mike was on. Good, someone was on top of things. Kiba lifted his neon-green taped drumsticks and I nodded, glancing back at Sakura—who was standing at the ready, her pick hovering over the chords—and Garra—standing behind his keyboard synthesizer with his fingers splayed over dials and buttons. I raised my arm.
Chaka-dah-dun! Dah dada! Dah-dun!
"Kiss me, kiss my eyes; tell me everything's alright. Kiss me, kiss my lips; promise that you'll be here, tonight."Dun-dun!
"But I—"
Dun-dun!
"Guess not—"
Dun-dun!
"That's okay."
"You've gone—"
Dun-dun!
"And now—"
Dun-dun!
"It's not the same. Still I—"
Dun-dun!
"Just wish—"
Dun-dun!
"You'd let me know."
Dun-dun!
"Instead—"
Dun-dun!
"Of me—"
Dun-dun!
"Waiting here alone…"
After the chorus and another verse, I had a solo. So I left the last few lines to Hinata as I mentally prepared myself (you need to do that when you've got a solo; especially if you're the singer too) for my big scene. "You've got to know that I won't let you…Throw everything aside and go!"
Her voice was excellent. I threw myself forward, physically into the solo, my feet braced on the stage and my pick slammed down on the silver strings: Cha-kaaa! I closed my eyes. I didn't need to see what I was doing, I had been practicing day and night for two weeks straight. This song was meant to impress (mainly Sasuke)—that meant lyrics and music spoke together what I had not been able to say recently: I'm sorry your life turned out this way. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you like I wanted to be. I love you, Sasuke. My guitar wailed, the vibrations thrummed through my body; I heard it as if I was listening from far away, underwater. I was alone, heating up under the brilliant stage lights, my hands flying over the strings faster than they ever had before. In my mind, I was looking for Sasuke, searching for him in the crowd without my eyes. This is your song. I fell into the final strands of the solo. Come on, where are you? The moment was over. I opened my eyes, and they instantly fell on a navy blue and black-clad figure just beyond the reach of the stage lights. There was cheering; I didn't care. That person was looking at me, and only me. I smiled.
"Just so—"
Dun-dun!
"You know—"
Dun-dun!
"I love you. Just so—"
Dun-dun!
"You know—"
Dun-dun!
"I need you too…"
His eyes held mine as the words—my heart—came pouring out of my mouth and from my guitar. I was singing, I was playing, to him. For him. And with a finality that was so sudden I reeled slightly, I had one realization: Music and Sasuke. That is my life should be.
Ba-dun-dun!
"So kiss me, kill me, and let me…"
"Die in your arms."
That was it. I wanted to play my acoustic guitar in the band Sharingan, and I wanted to share everything it brought me with the person I'd fallen in love with. Sasuke…do you understand? Do you know what I'm saying? I'm speaking to you in undertones, hoping you'll hear it, finally.
Dun-dun!
"Kiss me, kill me, tonight."
Dun-dun!
"Kiss me, kill me, always."
Dun-dun!
"Kiss me, kill me, tonight."
Dun-dun!
"Kiss me, kill me, forever."
Hinata's echoing voice faded out. The music dwindled with it to a close. The crowd jumped up in one huge wave and screamed its collective head off. I kept my eyes on the black-haired man. He was staring right back, and slowly, he started to come forward. He wove in and out of jumping, shrieking people calmly, hands resting in his pockets. I saw the beginnings of a smile on his pale lips, and I couldn't help but break out into a full one as he ascended the metal steps and arrived onstage. The response was deafening. I grabbed the mike out of its stand and held it out to him. He looked at it, then out at the crowd. His head turned to look at his fellow bandmates. Finally, his eyes were on me.
"You're late," I said.
"I know," he took the mike. "I'll take it from here." He held the microphone up to his mouth and the shouting instantly died out. "I'm gone for two weeks," he gestured back at us, "and come back to this." He grinned slightly. "I'll show you some real lyrics." The crowd screamed, enthusiasm fresh. Sakura squealed happily from her position (next to me, now; Hinata was to my direct left). Sasuke held up a hand. Kiba obediently held up his drumsticks and clicked them together.
Tak-tak-tak-tak!
Sakura strummed her electric Cobra. I let her go on for two bars, then softly began to add the backbeat. I heard Garra's synthesizer amplify the beat and add the faint edges of the shakuhachi that Sasuke had played specifically for this song. The pulsating beat flowed like magic from the speakers. Sasuke closed his eyes, nodded his head slightly to the beat, and lifted the microphone again. He began to sing. He's back!