Chapter 13. Wow, I'm on fire! This is definitely a record! Enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: Not mine
WARNING: AU
PAIRINGS: Still thinking about SasuSaku
Song 13- Reason"I need to ask you something," Haku replied calmly.
"Well, I don't want to talk to you," Sakura said and tried to leave, but Haku grabbed her wrist. The girl struggled to free herself, but to no avail. "Let go!"
"Please, Haruno-san, why did you leave Asahi?"
"That's none of your business!"
"It may not be mine, but it's the band's!"
Sakura turned around to stare at the Mangetsu vocalist. The seemingly meek boy was now surrounded with an aura of confidence and determination. He certainly has changed. Being around the band certainly has boosted his confidence. Still, she wouldn't tell him anything.
"Why should I tell you anything? I didn't even tell Uchiha. Now let go!"
"I'm not letting you go until you tell me!" Haku argued back keeping a firm grip on Sakura's wrist.
"Well, you're not going to get it out of me even if you kidnap me and torture me with a chainsaw!" Sakura declared. "Now let go!"
"I'm not letting go!"
"And why not?"
"Because I speak for not only Sasuke, but for the members of Asahi and Mangetsu," Haku replied in a tone that was so cold, it could rival Sasuke's. It was clear that the patient vocalist was through giving the former Asahi member any chances. "You left everyone hanging with your selfish desires without any reason at all, and until you tell me why it was so, I'm not going anywhere."
Sakura knew that when Haku was serious about anything that had to do with the cold producer, he'd drop the formality and say "Sasuke". Knowing that there wasn't any way she'd be able to get out of this, she said, "Okay, follow me."
-X-
Haku calmly followed Sakura away from the bar his nerves settling down slightly. Rarely did ever use that tone with anyone, unless he truly was serious. He had surprised even himself with the tone.
The vocalist had only noticed then that they were heading for Sakura's apartment. Surprisingly, it was close to the bar. Climbing up the two flights of stairs, Haku realized that the apartment was only a floor down from Yamanaka Ino's apartment. It seems that Sasuke had put down the wrong number.
As the two vocalists entered the apartment, Haku noticed that Sakura's apartment was plainly decorated instead of lavishly as Haku had thought. It must have been due to the fact that Sakura was rarely home and because of her income. The vocalist couldn't help but feel sorry for the girl. She had lost everything when she left Asahi and she knew it, so why did she leave?
"Do you want something to drink, Momochi-san?" Sakura asked.
"Oh, no thank you, Haruno-san," Haku replied hastily.
The pink-haired vocalist chuckled quietly and said, "You can call me Sakura if you want to."
As Haku settled in, he took time to gaze at a ripped-off photograph framed in a pink frame in the shape of a heart that was on the small table. It was then the boy realized that it was the same photograph that Sasuke had in his apartment, except that the half where Sasuke was had been ripped out.
"Oh that," Sakura said startling Haku, "it was taken on Sasuke's-"
"-birthday, I know, Haruno-san," Haku finished. "Uchiha-san showed me that when I visited his apartment." Then becoming curious about Sasuke cut out, he asked, "Why is Uchiha-san cut out there?"
I thought this was going to be tense, but somehow, it seems so calm and casual. Sakura took a deep breath and gathered up her thoughts before replying, "After I left the band, I wanted to forget him, so I ripped it up."
"Well, he hasn't forgot about you, nor has he ripped up his picture," Haku said with a small frown. "If there was something that made you so upset that you went so far as to try forget anything to do with your life with Asahi, please tell me. Uchiha-san and Mangetsu deserve to know."
"No they don't, and neither do you," Sakura argued.
"Of course I don't since I was still performing in a bar when you four broke up, but I came here so that everyone you left can hear your reason behind it."
"I still won't tell you-"
"Then why did you bring me here?" Haku demanded now getting serious.
Sakura was taken aback by his serious tone. Maybe this wasn't going to be so casual. She cleared her thoughts and tried to gather them together. The boy was right. Everyone she left had to know the reason. She had left without saying anything even to Sasuke, which almost cost everyone their jobs.
"Okay… I left because… I felt that the band didn't want me as their vocalist anymore."
Haku knew that he should have pity on the girl, but after getting to know how much her leaving had hurt the band, anger began to rise inside of him. Not want her anymore? The entire band had fallen apart for months before reuniting as Mangetsu thanks to her! How can she say that she felt that Asahi didn't want her anymore?
"How can you say that?" he asked. "How can you say that when you were the reason the band split up?"
"The reason the band split up was because they couldn't find another vocalist in time for the release of our seventh single-"
"-which was caused by you leaving!" Haku argued back. "I'm starting to think that you're not really who you are the way you sing your songs! You sing about first love and sincerity, but you're just a spoiled princess!"
"How do you know? You don't even know me that well!" Sakura shouted.
Haku knew that he was going to lose it if he continued shouting, so he took a deep breath before giving his reply calmly, "Because, Sakura, I was raised learning that the most successful bands depend on one another and help each other. Can you truly do that for the members you left in Asahi and Uchiha-san, or will you just depend on them? If not, then I don't see why I even came here to ask if you want to come to the concert release of Mangetsu's second and third singles."
Sakura was taken aback by such wise words coming from a boy whom she thought was the one that was dependent. He was right; she was acting like a baby always depending on the other members and Sasuke. It was no wonder that they all started to resent her. Besides, thanks to her foolish choice, she was stuck performing old songs in front of drunks and everyone almost lost their jobs.
As Haku turned to leave, the pink-haired vocalist noticed that he had left a wrapped-up box and an envelope behind. "If you want to see what they have to say and tell them your side of the story, please come to the concert. They all deserve to know, not me."
With that, Haku turned and left the apartment, leaving Sakura to ponder over the words spoken to her, but not before saying, "Oh, and be sure to tell them the truth."
-X-
Sakura was in a daze as the Mangetsu vocalist closed the door. She had never thought about how much of a princess she had been during her time with Asahi. It was only now that the pink-haired vocalist realized that she had to get her head out of the gutter and stand on her own two feet, like her mother told her.
"Sakura, you have to learn to take responsibility, and that includes telling the truth."
The girl picked up the envelope and ripped it open. Inside was a ticket to the next Mangetsu concert in two weeks and a backstage pass. A pass? Weird. Setting those things aside, Sakura hesitated as she picked up the package. On it was a note.
I found this in Naruto's apartment. The other one was from Sasuke.
"Whatever," Sakura thought as she ripped off the wrapping paper. What was wrapped-up gave her heartstrings a hard tug.
It was a picture of Asahi framed in a frame that said "Aloha". The four had gone on a vacation trip to Hawaii and had the blast of their life. In the picture, Naruto was doing his best to bump a beach ball with Sakura jumping up to spike it over the net and Tenten coming out of the water. In the background, Neji was sitting on a beach towel reading a book. It didn't seem to mean much, but to her, it meant much more than a thousand words.
Sakura noticed that there was another framed picture. She picked that up to see a picture of Sasuke taken on the streets next to the music building framed in a silver frame with hearts surrounding it. He wasn't in that business suit that he always wore, but in a casual shirt and sweatpants. The normally cold producer had a smile on his face, the look that he only gave to her.
Even though they were simple, they both meant the same thing.
"We miss you."
TBC…Phew, this is slowly coming to an end. Sorry if Haku was OOC, but I notice that in the anime, he has those cold-hearted moments. Review kudasai!
Preview: Sakura decides to come to the concert, and here's what the people she left behind have to say…