Wow, I can't believe I've gotten this far! I'd be out celebrating, but I'm going to finish this first! Enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: Never will be mine
WARNING: AU
PAIRINGS: Hm, still don't know
Song 12- VisitPracticing the song turned out to be easier for Mangetsu as they were the ones who contributed the scores that fitted each other's parts. After fine-tuning it, Sasuke gave the final scores to the band to practice. Once again, Haku put his whole heart into perfecting the song playing his part on the keyboard to make sure he was on pitch.
What made the song so special was not only the newly added keyboard part, but the fact that not only was Haku singing, but the rest of the band was singing harmony parts, something that neither Asahi nor Mangetsu had ever tried before. To get everyone's voices up to standards, Sasuke went over their parts with them one by one making them sing their part with Haku playing their parts on the keyboard correcting their pitch when necessary.
Surprisingly, Mangetsu was ready for recording in an astounding one month ahead of schedule. Once again, Mangetsu was rushed off to recording, but this time, the studio wasn't prepared for the band to be ready so early, which lead to some problems that were later taken care of. Upon hearing that the second single was ready to go early, the reporters kept coming asking the band and Sasuke if it was going to be released early and accidentally said in the news that it would be. Sasuke, however, firmly kept his descision to release the second single with the third single that he had written and later cleared up the mishaps at an interview.
Needless to say, Mangetsu was going to show to the world that they were not a continuation of Asahi and they never will be.
-X-
"You want to do what?" Naruto cried out in surprise.
"Um, Haku, I don't think that's a good idea," Tenten said.
"She won't like it," Neji agreed dryly.
Haku felt like he got a bad case of the blues as his fellow members rejected his idea. After asking Sasuke more questions about Sakura and remembering Sakura's outburst after the interview, Haku decided that the two had to make up. One was sulking and the other thought that the other was the worst person alive. To be honest, Haku never liked these kinds of situations and always wanted to help.
"Please guys, can you at least tell me where Haruno-san lives?" the vocalist pleaded.
The rest of Mangetsu exchanged glances. Apparently, only Sasuke knew where Sakura lived, and even then, she might have moved after she had left the band.
"Well, if you want to know, you should ask Uchiha," Neji suggested jerking his head towards the general direction of the producer's office before going back to fingering his bass part for the third single they were working on.
-X-
"You want me to tell you what?" Sasuke asked in surprise.
"Can you please tell me where Haruno-san lives, Uchiha-san?" Haku asked as politely as he could.
"And why do you want to know where Sakura lives, Haku?"
"Because I want to talk to her about why she left the band."
The cold producer took that as a surprise, but said, "It's pointless. She wouldn't even tell me, do you think she's going to tell you of a people?"
Haku remembered hearing the rest of Mangetsu say the same thing, but continued insisting. "Please, Uchiha-san. I know that Haruno-san hasn't said a work about her reason for leaving even to you and I know it's been hard especially on you, so I thought that maybe I should try get the truth."
Sasuke didn't know how Haku found out about that, but he reluctantly decided to at least give the vocalist a shot seeing as Haku didn't want to back down on this one. After writing down the address on a slip of paper along with the name of a place and handing it to the vocalist, he said, "Don't count it on being the right address, though. Sakura might have moved for all I know. If she's not there, try this bar. I remember Tenten or Naruto telling me that they saw her performing there."
"Thank you."
-X-
Haku adjusted his hat one more time before leaving the building Sakura's address in hand. This was going to take a while seeing as he didn't know the neighborhood that well. He had politely asked Naruto general directions to the residence, but not even the guitarist knew where it was. He ended up asking directions from a kind woman sweeping the sidewalk.
Walking to the train station to take the next train, Haku's nerves didn't loosen up as he imagined as to how the old vocalist might welcome him. From his impressions, she probably would slam the door in his face. However, he had an obligation to fulfill, and he wasn't going to back down yet. As he paid for the ticket, he glanced down at the small wrapped-up gift he was going to bring.
He could only hope that Haruno Sakura would accept.
-X-
Ah, here it is. Haku jogged up the few flights of stairs and counted the number plates before he finally reaching the right apartment. The vocalist sighed in disappointment as he noticed that the nameplate didn't say "Haruno". Instead, it said "Yamanaka". Upon hearing the name, Haku remembered something Naruto had said when Tenten said that they were looking for a female vocalist.
"Besides, it was either Haku or Yamanaka Ino."
Maybe this Yamanaka Ino would know where this bar is. Ringing the doorbell, Haku waited for an answer, but no one answered the door. As he was about to leave, the door opened revealing a blonde female with blue eyes.
"Hello," she said.
"Hi, um, I'm kind of lost," Haku said trying to act as out of character as possible. Pulling out the paper, he asked, "Do you know where this place is?"
The blonde took a look at the name of the bar written on the paper and said with a frown, "Yeah I know where this place is. I don't see why you would go there since it's full of weird people, but it's over there next to the department store. Take a left and keep going straight, you can't miss it."
"Hai, arigatou gozaimasu," Haku replied nervously. I'm not good with girls…
As Haku turned to leave, the blonde scratched her head trying to figure out why the stranger looked so familiar.
-X-
Following the blonde's directions, Haku didn't miss the bright sign with the name of the bar, Moonlight Shadow, written in Japanese at the top and English below in smaller letters. Taking a deep breath, Haku walked over to the bar clutching the paper tightly. After showing his ID verifying that he was over 20 years old to the front door keeper, he pulled the door open.
The bar was fairly decent and quite dark. All around were round tables with lighted candles in the center of each table. Waiters came by serving wine, beer, and other drinks. Cigarettes were lit making Haku cough from the stench. In front of the tables and the small bar was a stage where musicians and singers performed to entertain the people.
Sitting down at a small table, Haku waited patiently while trying to fan off the cigarette smell. Haku checked his watch. If what Sasuke told him was correct, Sakura's performance would be on soon. On cue, the pink-haired vocalist appeared on stage dressed in a pink shirt and jeans. Signaling the piano player, she started singing one of Asahi's oldest songs, Soyokaze.
Soyokaze sounded exactly as the name implied. It was soft and sweet, like a breeze, and talked about the feelings of finding your one true love. It certainly matched the pink-haired vocalist's voice.
She really is a gifted singer. Much better than I am, Haku thought to himself as he watched Sakura bring music to the bar. I can see why Uchiha-san didn't approve of me singing her single.
-X-
Sakura took a bow before walking off stage. What a drag, she quits the band, she gets a job at a bar, and she's still singing songs long forgotten by the general public. The pay was nearly minimum wage, and at this rate, she was going to lose her apartment.
As she left the bar through the back door, she ran into a familiar face. Her green eyes narrowed upon seeing the long black hair and soft brown eyes. She knew that face better than anyone.
"What do you want?" she growled.
"I need to ask you something," Haku replied calmly.
TBC…Well, that was quite long. Oh well, review kudasai!
Preview: Sakura reveals the reason why she left Asahi, or does she?