Title: Waste Of Breath

Author: Kina-chan

Pairing: Secret

Warning: No Real Warning

Chapter Rating: PG or PG-13

Word Count: 2,560

Summary: Sasuke is the lead singer to hit rock band, Okami Yokai. When Naruto and the gang win free tickets to see their next show, what will arise?

AU: Time skips indicated by (-----------------), thoughts in italics, flashbacks and dreams indicated by (//----------------//).
Wow… 60 reviews… I feel so loved! Thank you guys and I'm sorry it's been so long.
Dragon77: Yeah, sorry. My computer crashed and died. Just now got a new one.
DancingDragonBlaze: Yeah… although wouldn't be a twist if Zabuza really did? LOL. Yeah, sorry there wasn't any action. And yeah, they used to date!
hiya couldn't find a name: How did someone spoil it for you?
Sasu-chanLuver: You see Sasuke that way too? XP I only think of his as a slutty druggy sometimes though. Although… it's impossible to see him not emo. XP
mamo-san: LOL. Yeah, awesome pose!
LittleCrane: Yes… it's Sasuke job to get others hot and bothered. XP
Uchiha-gal18: It's fine. I'm just glad you've updated regularly so far! Who knows what's going on. Ahh… that would be spoiling it. I'm planning on using that song sometime in this fic. I like Fall Out Boy yeah, might use a few of their songs.
The song in the chapter is Returner by Gackt. This is the URL to the music video on YouTube. Go watch it!

Chapter 5

Sasuke hums contently on the couch. He and Kakashi went back to Iruka's after the concert. The rest of the band had gone back to the hotel, of course, Gaara had wanted to go with Sasuke and had protested when Kakashi told him no.

Sasuke doesn't care though. He also doesn't care that all of Naruto's friends are over. Why doesn't he care? Because all of his friends and himself included are in his room and thus not in his hair. Kakashi had migrated to Iruka's room when they first arrived and Iruka had followed him. Sasuke still doesn't care. He alone and that's how he wants it.

Sasuke's cell phone vibrates before sounding one of his songs. He lets it ring a few times before answering it. "Hello."

"Hey."

Sasuke giggles. "Why Gaara, do you miss me already?"

"Baka."

The raven-haired teen grins. "Oh? Gaara… is it possible you're jealous?"

There a tense silence. "What are you doing with that blond Sasuke?"

"Hah! You are jealous."

"Not jealous; pissed. You dumped me for that snake bastard, and don't think I don't know about you and that dealer. Now you're fooling around with some guy you just met?!"

"All I did was give him a handjob." Sasuke sighs irritably, picking at the dirt beneath his nails. "And don't talk about Zabuza; he has nothing to do with this."

"Just how many people are you sleeping with?"

Sasuke frowns. "You're making me sound like a whore. Orochimaru's more like… a sugardaddy. He gives me money and buys me whatever I want. If I have to sleep with him in return, then so be it. As far as Zabuza, he's a nice guy and I like him. Plus he lowers prices for me if I sleep with him. Now, Naruto I haven't and am not planning on sleeping with." Sasuke pauses. "And I remember correctly, you're the one who dumped me."

"You're still fooling around with three guys… and sleeping with two of them."

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "You know I'm fucked up. I'm going to do fucked up things."

"You're not "fucked up". You just… have a few problems."

"I'm hanging up now."

"Sasuke… I don't like you being around that blond… he looks too much like him. I'm afraid you're going to get hurt again."

Sasuke is silent a moment. "You're the baka. He died… he is in the past. I'm not looking for another replacement." He goes silent again, staring down at his hands. "Goodbye Gaara." He hangs up.

Sasuke glares downwards. So much for my good mood. He reaches over to his duffel bag and digs around for his wallet. When he finds it he brings it out and opens it. He digs in his wallet before taking out a slightly worn picture.

The edges of the pictures are frayed but for the most part intact. He stares at the picture sadly. The picture is of a man. It only shows from the man's chest and up. He's smiling in the picture while holding up a peace sign. His blond hair is wild and untamed. His blue eyes are shining with love and happiness.

This was taken a month before he died. Sasuke clutches to the picture helplessly, fighting against the stinging in the backs of his eyes. He hears a rustling noise and quickly puts the picture and his wallet away.

He waits a moment. "What is it with Konoha citizens and listening in on conversations… is it something new they're teaching in schools?"

Haku comes around the corner, looking slightly guilty. "Go-gomen… I was on my way to the bathroom when I heard you talking."

Sasuke nods.

Silence ensues.

Sasuke sighs. "Your friends and you want to play 21 questions, right?"

Haku nods sheepishly.

"Bring them out here."

Sasuke only has to wait for a few seconds before the living room is crowded with people. So much for silence. He sighs again. "So… first question."

Haku looks at the other teens.

"Did you really date Gaara?" Sakura asks.

"Yes, but Temari exaggerated. We didn't start dating until a little after a year of us meeting."

"Did you date anyone before him?" Ino asks.

Sasuke frowns slightly. "Yes and no… we weren't officially dating."

"Who was it?"

"Next question."

Ino frowns.

"Ano… what's your favorite food?" Haku asks.

Sasuke looks to Naruto who looks away. "Don't you know?" Some fan.

"Well, there's a lot of places with different answers. I just wanted to know from you."

Sasuke nods. "Tomatoes."

Ino blinks. "Heh?! I thought it was chocolate covered strawberries!"

Sasuke shudders. "I hate sweets."

Haku chuckles at Ino's devastated look. "Umm…"

"Are you really going out with a major porn seller?" Lee asks.

Ino and Sakura proceed to pummel Lee.

Sasuke blinks. "Porn seller? He sells exotics… but I don't know if he sells porn." His eyes narrow. "How do you know about our relationship anyways?"

"Uh…" Lee looks to the other teens for help.

"A rumor," Ino says hurriedly.

Sasuke nods. "Alright. Well… we're not exactly dating, no."

"Umm…" Haku looks down at his hands. "I hope you don't thing me horrible for asking this and you don't have to answer if you don't want to but… how exactly did your parents die?" He panics when he sees the other stiffen. "I mean… there are a lot of rumors, ya know?"

Sasuke frowns and glares at the ground. "They were killed."

"What was the first song you wrote?" Neji asks.

"Not one I ever published."

"Why?"

Sasuke looks up to the brunette. Redirecting the conversation? "Didn't want it to be."

"Can you sing it?" Sakura asks.

Sasuke stares at them a moment. "Got a guitar lying around here somewhere?"

"No," Naruto says, "but I have a keyboard in my room."

Sasuke nods before standing. "Lead the way."

The group of teens look at one another before Naruto stands and leads them to his room. He shows Sasuke his keyboard and watches him turn it on. Naruto blushes. He's in my room.

Sasuke places his hands on the keyboard. "I'm use to actual pianos… but keyboards aren't that different. I've used Temari's a few times. Just don't be surprised if I push wrong notes. I haven't touched a keyboard in about a year.":

"What was the song originally supposed to be played with?" Haku asks, excited to be able to hear a song never heard before.

"It was written… to be play on a friend's piano but I don't necessarily have access to that piano anymore."

"Why not?"

"You don't have to tell us," Neji adds to Haku's question.

A small smile claims Sasuke's lips. Second time he's diverted the conversation. I don't know who this guy is… but I like him. "What's your name? I think I might have been told it, but I tend to have a bad memory sometimes."

Neji blinks. "Uhh… Neji."

Sasuke nods. "Well, thanks but I don't mind tellin'. The guy died… he gave me his piano but…" He frowns slightly. "He was an idiot." He shakes his head slightly. "Anyways… let's see if I can still do this."

Sasuke takes in a deep breath before strumming his fingers across the board.

The other teens in the room stare in awe, their mouths agape. When Sasuke finishes they're speechless.

"Was that the music to the song?" Hinata, who had been quiet until then, asks.

"No. That guy who gave me his piano, I wrote it for him. There's no song to it though, just music. He was always pushing me to play. Of course, this was before I met Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro." Sasuke keeps moving his fingers across the board, hitting random notes and creating different tunes. "He wanted me to go as a solo musician and singer. He's who got me singing… when he did, for a while-" Sasuke blinks before blushing, raising a hand to cover his face. "I'm sorry… I'm ranting."

"It's fine," Haku says. "It's quite fascinating."

"What was his name?" Ino asks.

Sasuke fights himself to not look at Naruto. "He was this guy I met about half a year after my parents' death. Before I met him I wouldn't speak, or rather, I couldn't." He realizes he's answering a question that wasn't asked, but he can't say his name, for a few reasons. "Kakashi tried everything to get me to talk, but it was like my vocal cords were paralyzed."

Sasuke rolls his eyes. "Then he came. I was in the park my mother used to take me to and he came right up to me and started chatting away. Kakashi panicked because someone who was clearly even older than himself was talking to me. Kakashi came running over but, believe it or not, they new each other!"

Ino and Sakura giggle.

Sasuke huffs slightly. "I never learned what his profession or anything was just that he and Kakashi somehow knew each other. We started staying at his place.'

"No one knows this but I was sort of learning piano before parents' death."

"Sort of learning?" Neji asks.

"I wasn't supposed to learn. My father was determined I would be just… like my brother. I wasn't to do anything girly because it was "bad enough" I already looked like my mother. When I turned seven my father gave up on me altogether. I was to help my mother with everything."

"So basically you were raised like a girl?"

Ino elbows Shikamaru in the ribs.

"Ow! What?! That's what it sounds like!" Shikamaru growls.

"I guess you could say that yes." Sasuke gazes at the teen who'd spoken before looking away. "Anyways, my brother was furious at our father so he decided to rebel in the best way he knew how: pay for private piano lessons for me. My father, more than anything else, refused to let me learn music; even though I wanted to as far back as I can remember.'

"Anyways, so I took piano lessons when I was younger. This guy we were staying with had a grand piano, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. At first I was afraid to go near it, I was weary of the whole house actually, he had a huge place.'

"Anyways, the urge to play with the piano was too tempting, but I didn't want to play in front of the others. So one night, when I was sure everyone was asleep, I crawled out of bed and went to the piano. My fingers moved on their own and before I knew it, I was playing one of the pieces I'd written." Sasuke moves his fingers across the keyboard, the movement like fluid. "It was something I had composed for my brother."

The group listen to the music being produced by the keyboard. Sasuke's fingers pause before going back to making short tunes with the keys.

"Was that it?" Haku asks.

"Part of it."

"How old were you when you wrote it?" Ino asks.

Sasuke stares down at his hands on the keyboard. "Eight."

The group stare in awe.

"I-it's really beautiful." Hinata says.

Sasuke shrugs. "Anyways, the guy we were staying with heard me playing. He said I could use the piano whenever I wanted and that it would be our secret.'

"A couple months later Kakashi had to leave on a business trip. By that time I was more comfortable around the other guy we were living with so it was fine.'

"You have to understand that since my parents' death I had practically became an insomniac, whenever I slept I had horrid nightmares. Well, two days after Kakashi left, I fell asleep. Kakashi was always the only one who had ever been there when I slept but he wasn't there that time. It was the other guy who saved me from my nightmares. I cried, I cried for so long I lost track of time, for all I knew it was the next day. The whole time he held and comforted me. I don't know why and I don't know how, but I told him everything." That was the beginning of our relationship.

Sasuke stops his hands altogether and stares down at the keys. "He died a year later." My savior, my protector… my lover died.

Hinata, Ino, and Sakura have tears streaming down their cheeks while the males in the group stare at Sasuke in shock.

Sasuke clears his throat. "Anyways, the first song I ever wrote, here it is." Sasuke starts to strum his fingers across the keys.

The group listens intently to the music they guess is the intro.

Sasuke takes a breath. "As the moon was being held closely by the sky, I became frightened by loneliness, so I called out, searching for you, but couldn't see through my own tears." He closed his eyes, his fingers hitting notes by memory. "When reflected in your eyes, I would be smiling. Never again shall I find a smile like that one. In the pitch dark my cries go on, and there I see you, too far away."

He takes a deep breath before pressing more heavily onto the keys. "To the point of breaking, hold me tightly. If I can meet with you again, even in a dream, let me have eternal sleep." His fingers lighten on the keys as he plays music.

He opens his mouth again to sing. "To the point of breaking, hold me tightly. The dream, from which I've been waking up, is vanishing, your arms and beloved voice is slipping away.'

"Because I will meet you again. Because I made a promise, with love that would overflow, cover me gently- let me have eternal sleep." Music ensues, Sasuke just barely opening his eyes and gazing down at the keyboard. His voice is softer when he next sings. "I can't see you… I can't see you…" He removes his hands from the board.

Sasuke stares at his hands, his finger splayed out over the keys on the keyboard. Do you remember this song? I wrote it after you died. Gods I miss you… Arashi.