Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply. The author owns nothing.
Sasuke: What? No amusingly crack filled filler?
blacksyryn: Shut it, chicken-butt.
Naruto: (whispering) What happened?
Gaara: She got her first "negative" review. I think she's taking it kinda hard.
Naruto: So that's why all of the sudden oneshots…
blacksyryn: No, the review was for one of the oneshots…I'm just sleep deprived.
Naruto: Sure.
blacksyryn: Shut it or I staple it.
Lee: blacksyryn apologizes for her moodiness. She usually isn't like this. Her insomnia has affected her emotions and her psyche.
blacksyryn: (slaps everyone with a large fly-swatter) I said shut it.
Ghost
The bar was crowded tonight and the manager couldn't be more pleased. Although it was placed in the center of town, his establishment usually didn't get this packed. The town wasn't more than a rest stop for travelers headed for Konoha or a supply station for shinobi leaving said village. Since the Hidden Village was a week away from the town, it made sense. But every so often, he would get a letter that would result in his profits sky-rocketing for one night.
The money he made on those nights helped him keep his business open for months on end.
The letter always had one sentence on it. That's all, no signature or salutation. Just one sentence and it was always the same one.
"I'll be there in three days so get ready."
Now his patrons were three deep at the bar, every available seat (and a few male laps) occupied by warm bodies, and the dance floor was crowded. The die-hard regulars to these special nights fought their way to the front of the floor where a wooden stage stood. A microphone was already set up, along with a guitar amp and an ice blue Fender Strat.
Ghost was performing tonight.
She appeared like the apparition she was named for four years ago. Every now and then, she would return, but the dates were erratic. News of one of her performances always spread quickly and people always waited in anticipation for them. Since her first performance, she brought in crowds with her music. Men and women were entranced by the sound of her pain filled voice
No one knew the identity of the musician nicknamed "Ghost." Sure, everyone had theories, but no one was certain. The only things that were certain were the facts that she would:
1) Sing at least one new song.
2) Accept any requests for songs she performed before.
3) Have copies of her performance for sale at the bar the next morning.
4) Refuse any and all invitations to have dinner/sex/drinks/sex/dates/sex/coffee with the patrons who asked her.
And…
5) Have white bandages wrapped around her head and over her eyes and forehead, the whole time.
The place quieted when the lithe woman walked confidently on stage despite the blindfold across her eyes. Tonight she wore black boots and fishnet tights under a short red schoolgirl-type skirt. A black, button-up silk blouse stretched across her large breasts and shown under the lights on the stage. A black wristband was on her right arm and had the kanji for "Ghost" on it. Her hands were ringless and no jewelry adorned her body. Her long dark hair moved with the seductive sway of her hips, but remained in the low ponytail she tied it in at the base of her neck.
She picked up the guitar, avoiding getting tangled in the cables, and stood in front of the microphone. Silence reigned as she started to play her guitar. Soon, the sorrowful sound of her voice filled the room.
When you've had enough,
When you've got it bad enough
And you can't let go.
When it comes to blows,
And you start to overflow,
But you can't get home.
It's a subtle kind of cruel,
It taps my spine.
Here I'm drawing a line,
I'm asking please.
Tonight Ghost was in a mean mood. The regulars could tell by her opening song and the bite in her voice. There was bitterness there as well as pain and frustration.
Don't you wanna be
Happy with me?
Don't you wanna be
Happy with me?
I'm afraid if you don't come around soon,
I'll turn sadder than you ever were,
And you'll learn loneliness is worse
You've gotta try.
People closed their eyes and began to sway on the dance floor. Even though the words were harsh and the melody haunting to the point of pain, Ghost was just that good a musician. When she played, people moved.
December's all alone,
And he's calling me on the phone
But he sounds so cold.
He says he loves me so
But how would I ever know?
Certain words grow old.
It's a vicious kind of catch,
It sides me blind.
Now I'm out of my mind,
I wanna scream.
This time, when she reached the refrain, several people sang with her. It was a cacophony of emotion and a freeing experience for all involved.
Don't you wanna be
Happy with me?
Don't you wanna be
Happy with me?
I'm afraid if you don't come around soon,
I'll turn sadder than you ever were,
And you'll learn loneliness is worse
You've gotta try.
A wry smirk found its way onto Ghost's face as she sang the bridge of the song. The regulars froze. Ghost almost never smiled. Yes, she was in a mean mood tonight.
Love liked me long ago
It had a way of making everyone the same.
But how the angels
Must laugh and sigh to hear me
Pleading with you,
And needing you this way.
Oh why…?
Don't you wanna be
Happy with me?
Don't you wanna be
Happy with me?
I'm afraid if you don't come around soon,
I'll turn sadder than you ever were,
And you'll learn loneliness is worse
You've gotta try.
To stay mine,
All the way.
Ghost sang the last part of the song into the microphone with a slight screech in her voice. The people close to the stage swore they saw tear stains appear on the bandages covering her eyes and closed their own orbs in sympathy. She was in agony. And she was sharing it with them.
Don't you wanna be
Happy with me?
Don't you wanna be
Happy with me?
I'm afraid if you don't come around soon,
I'll turn sadder than you ever were!
She ended the song and the last line reverberated in the minds of everyone present. She let out a shuddering breath and continued on with her set after a few minutes.
Two men stood at the bar, listening to her and opening their eyes to another side of the woman known as Ghost.
"Her pain is great," Lee said, looking down at his soda.
"It is her own," Neji answered, staring unseeingly into his own glass.
"At least now you can re-assure her father that she's not doing anything dangerous when she disappears."
The Hyuuga grunted and downed his shot of vodka. He gestured for another one and listened to the melodious voice of the songstress behind him.
Hinata-sama…