Note: Some of my favourite composers are mentioned in this chapter, if you're into modern classics, you should definitely check them out. Hint: Maybe take a closer look at Bergersen's pieces, he may or may not pop up again sometime down the road, as a pretty central plot device, if I might add. Also, I am a MASSIVE Lord of the Rings fan, and I would literally kiss the ground Howard Shore's feet walk upon, so naturally, I had to mention him as well. The White Tree is a piece he composed for Return of the King, and you can hear it while Pippin was trying to light the beacons of Minas Tirith. If you want to check it out, here's a link: watch?v=zMGRAvn_4S8 . The really good part begins at 1:25. Enjoy.
Madara usually closed his eyes during auditions – not that this was one, at least not one she was aware of. He felt he could concentrate on the music better this way, listening to every subtle sound and picking up even the tiniest tremble. But he couldn't help but watch her perform. The way she swayed with the music, as if almost allowing herself to be lifted out of her seat by the melody and carried away into that fantastic world she seemed to conjure up in her head whenever she played. The way her brows furrowed in thorough concentration, intense agony, and passionate ecstasy. The way her head would sway and bob and jerk, freeing tendrils of her striking pink hair from the confines of her strict, tight, and predictable chignon.
That's what this entire concert was so far – predictable. Classic. Safe. Tsunade Senju was one of Japan's most renowned conductors and her tour so far has been met with nothing but praise, and even though Madara had to admit that there were a handful of her orchestra's musicians who seemed to possess something akin to talent, or at least satisfactory control over their instrument, he was bored. The only person worthy of his attention was her principal cellist.
Sakura Haruno was a child prodigy. Madara had been following her unprecedented, albeit short career for a while now, even toying with the idea of signing her on. Yet his orchestra had been in no need of a new cellist for a very long time, primarily because his principal cellist was a damn good musician himself, and Madara knew kicking him out simply because he wanted Ms Haruno, without him ever having done anything wrong, would not go well with his Music Director. Until he found out the tutoring sessions of Mr Nara had nothing to do with him improving his fellow cellist's sforzando, but everything to do with him sticking his hands down her pants.
Which resulted in a vacant cellist spot in his orchestra and Madara flying to Sapporo to see Sakura play. Despite her outstanding performance, Tsunade's safe and predictable pieces were smothering her true talent, and – having already suspected a boring programme – he had asked the conductor in advance to give her principal cellist an experimental solo piece.
Madara expected many things, one of Zoltán Kodály's works perhaps, or a Gaspar Cassadó, maybe something with a hint of Jazz. What he absolutely did not expect, however, was Sakura Haruno plucking, bowing, and playing her instrument, the audience, and herself into a state of musical ecstasy with a cello rendition of AC/DC's Thunderstruck.
He had watched countless breathtaking performances in his nearly twenty-year long career, conducted even more – but Madara honestly had to admit he had never once gotten goose bumps before. And yet four minutes of this delicate pink-haired fairy nearly massacring her cello was more than enough to regret every single second of not having her in his orchestra.
So he did the only logical thing and stole her.
"You know, my Music Director considers this stealing."
Madara raised an eyebrow. Of course, he does.
"So do many others here at Kyoto Concert Hall. They all think you're stealing from us."
He couldn't supress a smirk. Of course, they do, because of course he was. Though he would never call it stealing. Strategic relocation sounded much more like his modus operandi.
His widening grin only made Tsunade's nostrils flare even more.
"You should consider yourself lucky that I have nothing left to teach her, otherwise I would fight you tooth and nail for that young lady."
Madara lowered his amused gaze to the index finger threateningly pointed at his chest, before meeting Tsunade's eyes. "My my, I think I should consider myself lucky to have witnessed the moment Tsunade Senju admits that I'm a better conductor than her."
"That is not what I said, you daft bastard!"
If looks could kill, Madara would have probably died of spontaneous combustion right this second.
The raven-haired conductor resisted the urge to roll his eyes and levelled Tsunade with a deadpan expression. "There's no need to go over this again. We've discussed all the details and necessary arrangements. She will be part of my orchestra, and there is nothing you can do about it. You said it yourself, she's learned everything she can from you and now it's time to move on to bigger and better things. I will be good for her."
He watched her narrow her eyes in suspicion. Tsunade took another step to bridge the distance between them until she was so close her chest was almost touching his torso. Madara forced himself to supress the groan of annoyance threatening to escape his throat. He had always hated, and at the same time respected Tsunade's in-your-face attitude.
The blonde conductor scrutinised him for another moment, before hissing, "But will you also be good to her?"
A careful knock on the door suddenly dissipated the tension in Tsunade's office, and she turned towards the sound. She grabbed the handle of the door and opened it wider to allow the person in.
"Ms Haruno, come in."
Madara watched the object of his musical desire hesitantly step into the office before Tsunade grabbed a hold of her shoulders and practically forced her inside. She leaned her cello case against the wall and nervously played with her hair. She seemed so skittish that, for a moment, Madara feared Tsunade had already told her that he was here today because of her.
"Ms Haruno, there's somebody I would like you to meet."
The raven-haired conductor could no longer keep still and raised his voice, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ms Haruno."
And then she turned around and fixed her wide doe-like eyes on him and a tiny, barely audible gasp escaped her lips. Her jade orbs widened in admiration, and Madara knew in that instant he had her.
"I'm Madara Uchiha."
Hook, line, and sinker.
He allowed himself another moment to bask in her reverence so clearly mirrored in her expressive eyes, before offering his hand.
She blinked a few times, as if to shake herself out of her trance and her gaze jumped back and forth between his hand and his face. When she finally seemed to realise who was standing in front of her, she gingerly shook his hand and whispered, "It's such an honour to meet you, Mr Uchiha. I'm – "
"Sakura Haruno, I know," he interrupted while enjoying the feel of her warm tiny hand in his.
She abruptly let go and looked at him in wonder before stammering, "You – wait, how do… You know me?"
How adorable, Madara thought. She was a world-famous musician herself, rubbing elbows with international A-listers of the classical music scene, and yet she couldn't wrap her pretty little head around the thought of a fellow countryman knowing her name.
He was just about to open his mouth to speak when he heard Tsunade sigh behind her.
"There's no point in beating about the bush, Ms Haruno, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Mr Uchiha is looking for a new principal cellist in his orchestra and he has approached me with the idea of signing you on."
Sakura's gaze swept back and forth between her current maestro and the raven-haired man next to her, her lips opening and forming a bewildered little o. Both conductors looked at her expectantly and gave her a few seconds to process the information. After a few moments of silence, where Sakura vacantly looked at her cello case, deep in thought and seemingly boring holes into it, Madara fixed his questioning gaze on Tsunade. Sensing her hesitance, he took it upon himself to break the silence.
"Ms Haruno, this is the point where you say something," he gently coaxed her.
Her head whipped to the right, surprised eyes meeting his expectant ones, like a deer caught in the headlights. Sakura closed her mouth, licked her lips, and shook her head as if to force herself to concentrate. Tugging a strand of hair behind her ear, she cleared her throat before turning to Tsunade and raising her voice.
"Is that why you gave me the solo in Sapporo? You've never given me one before, I thought it was strange." Sakura's head slowly turned to face him again, and she shyly peeked up at him through her eyelashes. "It was an audition. You were there, weren't you?" she murmured.
Madara immediately recognised the look on her face. She wanted to know how she did.
"I wouldn't call it an audition, really. Not when I decided to sign you on weeks ago. It was more of a formality." The way her blush spread across her cheeks and her lips spread into a tiny, proud grin and her eyes sparkled with gratification told him that was exactly what she wanted to hear.
Their moment was interrupted when Madara heard Tsunade pointedly clear her throat.
"I know this might be sudden for you, Ms Haruno. But rest assured, you have a month to think about the offer. After all, we still have two concerts to play in the upcoming weeks and by the end of March, we will be done with our tour, which will also be the same time your contract with our orchestra will run out. If, by then, you choose to extend your contract with us, you'll stay here, no questions asked." Tsunade fixed her principal cellist with a determined gaze, no doubt silently imploring her to remain in Kyoto, Madara mused. She then let her annoyed eyes rest on him, staring daggers in his direction while hissing, "Should you chose to accept Mr Uchiha's offer instead, we will do everything in our power to help you transition to Tokyo as smoothly as possible."
The two conductors waged a silent war with their challenging and determined gazes, each trying to stare down the other, when they were suddenly interrupted by Sakura's hesitant whisper.
"I don't know what to say."
Madara's eyes landed on the young cellist in front of him and his expression immediately softened when he found her nervously chewing on her bottom lip, brows deeply furrowed in confusion. Her uncertain gaze swept back and forth between the two conductors as she spoke, "This such a huge offer, and thank you, by the way, Mr Uchiha, really. This is just… You have – I can't even begin to describe how much this means to me. But at the same time," her eyes landed on Tsunade, "my roots are in Kyoto, this is where I started my career and learned so much, and I really feel tied to this place, as well." Sakura lowered her gaze and started pulling on the ends of her west, before letting out a long sigh. "This is a really life-changing opportunity for me. So I hope neither of you expected an immediate answer. I think I'm really going to need that month to think things through, if you don't mind."
Both conductors let their shoulders slump, releasing some of the tension they were feeling waiting for the cellist's reaction. They both exchanged a knowing look before Tsunade stepped closer to the pinkette and gave her shoulders are reassuring squeeze. "Of course, Ms Haruno. Neither of us want to pressure you with this, so take your time. We both want you to be absolutely certain with this decision and we both want you to feel comfortable in whatever orchestra you choose."
Sakura gave her current maestro a thankful smile. Tsunade released her shoulders and stepped in front of her, crossing her arms in front of her chest and pointed out, "Just keep in mind that I still expect you to bring your A-game for the last two concerts, so don't allow your daydreaming about Mr Uchiha's offer to tarnish your performance." Another blush tainted Sakura's cheeks. "Of course, Maestro."
"I'll send a copy of your contract to Mrs Senju, and she'll forward it to you. You can take your time to read through it and get a feel for the things that I will require from you, rehearsal schedules, planned tour dates, a list of my rules, that sort of thing. I'm sure it's not much different to the contract you signed with Kyoto Concert Hall, but I am known to be somewhat stricter than other conductors, so I want you to know exactly what you should expect before you make your decision." Madara stared into her jade green eyes and expected to see uncertainty, maybe even a touch of apprehension. But he was again met with awe and reverence, as if she couldn't believe he deemed her worthy enough to even cast a glance in her general direction. His entire orchestra and virtually every musician he had ever met stared at him the same way, so Madara was long since used to the awe-inspired looks and couldn't care less about them.
But something about the way this young cellist peeked up at him, as if he were something out of every musician's dream, a god among conductors, and the walking talking embodiment of musical perfection all wrapped in one with a ribbon on it gave Madara a massive, albeit unnecessary, ego boost. He realised then that Ms Haruno was the only person whose obvious adoration did not annoy him. He found himself enjoying it. Which was why the need to have her grew even stronger.
The raven-haired maestro swallowed the lump of unexpected excitement in his throat and gave Sakura a subtle, encouraging smile. "Give it your best for the last two concerts. And I promise I won't be secretly attending anymore, so you don't have to be nervous or anything. Take your time to think about everything, and once you've made up your mind, Mrs Senju will give you my email address and you can let me know directly. But you must be absolutely certain about this. I tend to be very possessive of my musicians, and I would have a hard time letting you go," he drawled vaguely.
Madara didn't think it was possible, but her blush deepened even more. Before allowing himself to keep teasing the cellist and to fall further down the rabbit hole, he forced himself to end the conversation and extend his hand, which she hesitantly took.
"Ms Haruno," he murmured, his gaze lowering to her lips for the briefest moment before meeting her wide eyes again. He gave her one last long tempting look before letting go of her hand, nodding goodbye to Tsunade, and sauntering out of the office.
Sakura was on edge. They were currently in Osaka for the last concert of their tour, and even though Mr Uchiha promised not to attend and she believed him, she still felt incredibly nervous. Not so much because of the performance per se, she knew how well-prepared they all were and that the concert was going to be a success. She was nervous, because the one-month waiting time was almost over, and both Mr Uchiha and her maestro were going to expect an answer soon.
While the two violas she shared a hotel room with were busy in the bathroom putting on their makeup, Sakura was lying on her bed with her laptop in front of her, staring at the contract she got from her conductor for what felt like the millionth time.
Mr Uchiha had been right, it wasn't all that different to her current contract. Though the rehearsal schedules were a bit more tightly packed than she was used to and the planned upcoming tour would take them to farther away places, her employment with the Tokyo New National Theatre essentially included the same responsibilities and requirements as her current work for Kyoto Concert Hall.
One aspect of Mr Uchiha's offer that was incredibly appealing to her was the repertoire. The pieces he performed with his orchestra were completely different to what she had been playing so far under Maestro Senju's lead. Though his programme did include the most important classical composers and his orchestra did occasionally play some of the most well-known and most popular pieces, he was more famous for his penchant for conducting modern classics. She had almost spat out her tea when she first read the names Brian Tyler, Thomas Bergersen, and Howard Shore. The thought of being on the same stage as Madara Uchiha and performing Howard Shore's The White Tree made her insides tingle with excitement.
And the repertoire was almost enough to maker her agree. Were it not for his incredibly precise and incredibly strict list of incredibly precise and incredibly strict rules. While Sakura was used to high expectations and rigorous leadership form her time with Maestro Senju's orchestra, nothing came even remotely close to Mr Uchiha's demands.
As stated under section 1. Rights Granted and Territory and section 3. Delivery, the Musician is obliged to abide by the following set of rules set out below.
The Musician:
1. Acknowledges his/her role and responsibility as a person of public interest and shall henceforth be mindful of his/her public image and the way it reflects on the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. A respectable demeanour is expected at all times and measures shall be taken to avoid embodying unwanted characteristics, including but not limited to:
-Tardiness
-Discourteousness
-Vulgarity
-Promiscuity
-Intoxication
-Arrogance
2. Agrees to take meticulous care of his/her appearance, especially during concerts and other public engagements when representing the orchestra. The Musician shall wear whatever concert outfit the Conductor deems appropriate during concerts as well as appropriate formal clothing for other public appearances in accordance with either the Conductor or the orchestra's publicist. In private, the Musician is free to dress however he/she chooses, with the following restrictions and requirements:
-No cleavage
-No skirts and dresses shorter than three (3) centimetres above the knee
-No shorts shorter than five (5) centimetres above the knee
-No torn clothing, pants or otherwise
-No visible underwear and/or bras
-No transparent clothing
-No clothing with provocative and/or controversial statements, logos, or pictures
-No exaggerated make-up, including but not limited to bright lipstick, bright eyeshadow, and bright blush
-No facial piercings
-No greasy and/or unkempt hair
3. Shall limit displays of affection when out in public with his/her significant other and keep them to a respectable minimum. Short kisses and pecks on the cheek as well as short hugs and holding hands are within the scope of acceptability. Prolonged physical contact as well inappropriate and/or intimate touching and gestures are not allowed.
4. Retains the right to keep his/her own social media profiles active if desired but transfers the management of said profiles to the orchestra's publicist. The Musician shall refrain from posting any content online without the explicit approval of the publicist.
5. Shall refrain from pursuing any sort of intimate relationship, sexual or otherwise, with any active member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, including but not limited to the musicians, the tutors, the PR team, and the Conductor.
And that was only the first page. The list went on for another two pages, full of uncompromising rules dedicated to upholding the good name of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra while at the same time restricting its musicians freedom in many aspects. Sakura knew that especially in Japan's classical music scene, image, reputation, and appearance were the non plus ultra, probably even more important than for other orchestras from different countries. And she was even used to a certain level of stuck-up and pernickety snootiness. Yet, Mr Uchiha's supercilious demands blew all of that out of the water. Sakura wasn't sure if she was ready to agree to some contract that would stipulate what sort of skirt she was allowed to wear (not that she wore promiscuous clothing, but this was a matter of principle) or for some publicist to tell her what she was and wasn't allowed to say on the internet.
But every time she thought about whether or not she would be able to tolerate these restrictions, her mind went back to her first meeting with Mr Uchiha and the way he looked at her so intently, and all her inhibitions flew right out of the window. He admitted that he had decided to sign her on weeks before that, he said Sakura didn't even need an audition. When the conductor had praised her and subtly told her how well she performed in Sapporo, the young cellist felt a rush of euphoria surge through her body the force of which she had never felt before when Maestro Senju would compliment her on her performance.
After weeks of poring over the contract and weighing the pros and cons of submitting herself to Mr Uchiha's strict rules, it seemed to Sakura that in the end, her excitement over the possibility of working under the ingenious conductor always outweighed any inhibitions or hesitance.
Hearing a loud noise from the bathroom, Sakura was torn from her thoughts and lifted her gaze from her laptop to the two violas emerging from behind the door. "Sakura, come on, we're supposed to be at the concert hall in half an hour. You need to get ready."
She gave the contract one last thoughtful look before closing her laptop and climbing down from her bed. Stepping in front of the bathroom mirror, the cellist gave her appearance a scrutinising look, before grabbing her make-up pouch. This was the last concert of Tsunade Senju's tour, and the conductor always liked to go out with a bang. So Sakura was going to look extra made-up tonight.
The girls grabbed their cases and left for the concert hall.
When Sakura entered the stage amidst roaring applause, she could feel the familiar rush of excitement run through her veins. The cellist took a seat, prepared herself, and played her heart out.
After Madara returned to his office from his meeting with his Music Director to discuss details for his orchestra's upcoming tour, he wanted nothing more than to pour himself two fingers of his favourite Scotch, lay a bag of frozen peas on his neck, and proceed to throw the damn bastard of a Director out of his window. He did the first two but refrained from doing the latter. The supercilious oaf was the one signing his paycheck, after all. His Music Director was giving him hell on the best of days, but ever since they were short one principal cellist, Madara swore his ability to annoy him grew to exorbitant heights.
One glance at his watch had the conductor groan in defeat. 1:14 am. Even though he still had a mountain of work to do, he decided he wasn't going to stay in his office any longer, not for all the tea in China.
Just as he was about to grab his coat, his laptop pinged with the notification of a new email.
"What the everloving fuck now?" he growled, stalking back to his desk and staring daggers at the too-bright screen.
His eyes widened a fraction when he read the name of the sender. Throwing his coat over his chair, the raven-haired conductor took a seat and opened the email.
Dear Mr Uchiha,
I would like to once again express my sincerest gratitude to you for considering me for the position of principal cellist in your orchestra. Again, I cannot put into words what an honour your offer is and how deeply I appreciate it. Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided to accept your offer of joining the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
I look forward to working under you.
Yours sincerely,
Sakura Haruno
PS: What do I do next?
All the tension and anger suddenly dissipated from Madara's body, and he could even feel his lips spread into a victorious grin. Sighing contentedly, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his hands behind his head. As he skimmed through Ms Haruno's email again, he couldn't help but chuckle at her post scriptum. For some inexplicable reason, Madara found himself enjoying the way she was already looking to him for guidance, asking him what to do.
He was going to have way too much fun with her, the maestro thought with a wicked grin dangling from his lips.
Cracking his knuckles, Madara leaned forward again and started typing.
