: Fame Addiction :
by Shadow of Illusion
Disclaimer: See first chapter. =P
WARNING!: Language. And... T rated stuff. Later.
Brief A/N: Bleh... I hate getting the flu. But here's part 2—as this is supposed to be a short story, stuff will be moving quickly. Just fyi.
: Be Careful What You Wish For :
Never suffer youth to be an excuse for inadequacy, nor age and fame to be an excuse for indolence. ~Benjamin Haydon
A thin sheet of gray rain drizzled down upon Konoha's busy streets creating massive puddles in the most inconvenient places. Kakashi was certain of this fact as he resignedly continued to trudge towards the building that happened to house his manager, the entire right side of his trench coat sodden from a careless taxi passing him by. Maybe walking to the meeting wasn't his best idea ever. Shrinking further into his trench coat, he increased his pace.
His dark eyes glared without a single trace of sympathy at the various photographers hiding in odd places up and down the street. Well, after all, misery does love company. Kakashi figured that if he had to be soaking wet, it served them right to be suffering the same hideous weather.
The steady click of shutters going off could still be heard over the rain, the monotonous sounds fast wearing on what little remained of his self-control. Kakashi grit his teeth and forced himself to keep moving, his dark dress shoes clicking loudly against the pavement. A bright yellow flash indicating a taxi caused the man to pause, raising one arm in a silent plea to beckon it.
"Thank God," he sighed fervently as the glaring red brake lights confirmed that it had stopped. He had never bothered with keeping a personal chauffeur, but the idea seemed to be becoming more and more pleasing. Anything to avoid the shutterbugs.
His long strides carried him over to the car in a matter of seconds. Opening the door, he quickly slid in.
"Where to, Mister?"
He looked up, mildly surprised at the pleasant quality of the voice. "Just drive three blocks down, I'll let you know when to stop."
"All right." The woman grinned at him, her laughing green eyes visible in the rear-view mirror.
Kakashi slumped back in his seat, turning his gaze to the rain-splattered window. Of all the days...
"Do you mind music?"
"Hm? Ah, no, feel free." The second his assenting words were vocalized, a soothing jazz number filled the car's interior.
"So, pardon me asking, but why would you want to walk anywhere in this weather?" He could see his own dark eyes staring in the small mirror's reflection, narrowing at her inquiry. He really needed to loosen up. Taking out his favorite paperback might cause him to miss his stop, however, so chatting with the woman would have to do.
"Well, you see," he began, tapping his fingers thoughtfully on the seat next to him, "I have this crazy boss who decided I needed to show up today. Early. So, instead of waiting in this traffic, I decided walking would be faster."
"Uh-huh..."
"Don't believe me?"
Cat-like green eyes slid to look at his briefly before turning back to the road, "If you ask me, it's more like you wanted to take your time getting over there, and if you showed up wet and pitiful looking—she might feel sorry for you and postpone whatever you didn't want to do."
Kakashi couldn't help but grin sheepishly. "That obvious?"
"Yep." She grinned again, and Kakashi noticed how it lit up her entire face. Smacking himself mentally, he turned his gaze back to the gray drizzle.
"So... what's a pretty girl like you doing driving a cab for a living?"
"If that's a pick-up line, I've heard better." She narrowed her gaze, obviously displeased.
He grinned, "Didn't work?"
She frowned pointedly, and he back-tracked with a placatory reply. "That wasn't what I meant. I just figured you'd be into acting or Broadway."
"No luck." She braked, easing into a stop as the light turned red. "I'm just doing a favor for someone today."
Favor, huh? "What do you usually do?"
She winked, "Housework."
Kakashi stared at her. "Housework?"
"Uh-huh. My mom made me like keeping things neat and orderly, maybe it's an OCD thing or whatever, but for me—it's fun."
"So, you're like a maid?" Maybe there was such a thing as heaven-sent blessings.
"Something like that."
His eyes narrowed in mild annoyance as Tsunade's company building loomed forebodingly on the right. "Currently employed?"
She sighed, green eyes dulling slightly. "No. My last employer went to Europe, so I've been doing odd jobs to pay the bills."
Heaven-sent indeed. Maybe this would spare him having to interview thousands of crazy fans to find someone that actually wanted the job for the job itself. "Here's my stop." Noting the amount due, Kakashi dug into his pocket for his wallet and produced a small wad of bills. "Keep the change."
Her eyes widened slightly as she looked at the bundle, her gaze turning questioningly to his as she held up a small business card placed in the middle. "What's this?"
"I'm currently in need of a maid." He patted at his pockets, looking for the irritating cell phone that had just decided to go off. "If you feel up to it, give me a call."
She grinned and he mirrored her action. "Thanks, I'll do that."
He waved and slid out of the car, flicking open the cell. "Yo. ...I'm outside actually.
"No, hell hasn't frozen over. Not that I know of, anyway. ...All right." Folding it closed, he slipped it back into his pocket and trudged inside, his ever-present slouch indicative of his reticence in entering.
It was an extremely good thing for Sakura that he hadn't turned around to look at the cab again. She fisted her hands and cheered animatedly. "Score!"
—xoxo
The store's bell jingled merrily, a stark contrast to the lightning and rain hurling outside. The blond woman behind the counter looked up from her flower arrangement and smiled. "Hi, can I help you—Sakura?"
Standing there, dripping all over the forest green entry mat, stood her best friend since childhood. Pushing straggles of sopping wet pink strands out of her equally wet face, she grinned and flashed Ino a victory sign. "I've got the job!"
Ino's jaw dropped, for once completely wordless. "You serious? How'd you manage that, and so quickly?"
"It's called having the 'gift'."
"I'd say more like insanely crazy luck." She reached under the counter for the small stack of ever-present towels and flung one towards the woman. "Does anybody believe in umbrellas anymore? Geez, you're gonna catch pneumonia or something!"
Sakura rubbed at her dripping locks and hoped her nose wouldn't end up dripping as well. She needed to impress her soon-to-be new employer.
"So, how'd you manage this case?" The blond woman leaned on the counter, blue eyes boring into Sakura's, curiosity written all over her face.
"Weeell..." she drawled.
"Cut the crap and spit it out!"
Sakura held up her hands to appease her friend, "Okay, okay. You know how Lee owed me a favor?"
Ino wrinkled her nose. "You mean that unibrow weirdo?"
"Be nice!" She scolded while trying to wring some of the wetness out of her clothing, "He's a decent guy!"
"Sakura, obsessed is more like it. He's been trying to date you since college." The blond rubbed at her face, as if trying to banish some unpleasant memory.
"Anyway," she stressed, "I told him that I wanted to borrow his taxi for the day." "Why?"
Cat eyes flashed and her mouth quirked into a secretive grin, "Great way to pick up stories."
Ino pinched the bridge of her nose, attempting to ward off a migraine. "Okay, so you're telling me that you just happened to call in a favor on the right day, and get a job from your newest target?" Blue eyes narrowed into slits as she drummed her manicured nails against the counter-top, "Why do I feel as though you're conveniently leaving something out."
Sakura shrugged innocently at the implication. However, the blond was determined, and Sakura really didn't feel like being kicked out into the wetness. The flower shop was a nice place to be at the moment, despite aggravating pigs masquerading as best friends. "I might have tipped off some paparazzi too."
"Are you for real?" Ino stared at her best friend, thrown by the other woman's craftiness. "Why the hell didn't you join the police or something! That sort of stuff is like super complicated, and you still pulled it off!"
The roseate-haired woman grinned before leaning against the wall nearest the counter. "Well, I wouldn't have been able to pull it off if I hadn't met Carmina. She pretty much gave me everything I needed. Mr. Hatake should really treat his employees better, or pay them to keep their mouths shut."
"It sounded like her pride was hurt more than anything else." Ino stated blandly, having already heard most of Carmina's rant from Sakura.
She fiddled with the petals of a rose from an arrangement Ino had been working on, "Ah, but pride's often the worse thing to be hurt, and horribly difficult to assuage."
"You're giving me a headache, Forehead." The blue-eyed woman complained loudly, clamping her hands over her ears dramatically.
"I guess I short-circuited your brain, Pig."
Ino growled but had to call for a ceasefire as a customer entered. Sakura grinned to herself as she watched her friend paste a welcoming smile over the frown and helped the man select a bouquet. Really, she couldn't afford to tick the girl off just yet, as she still had a favor to ask.
After all, borrowing someone else's identity was still ranked as a huge IOU in both their books.
—xoxo
Tsunade sat pensively at her desk, nails drumming a steady beat on the highly polished cherry wood's surface. Her office was empty at the moment, plush leather chairs for once devoid of their typically numerous occupants. Tiffany lamps, ensconced safely in the corners of the room to avoid mishaps with more brash or aggravated clients, winked in multicolored cheer.
It was a shame she couldn't emulate the mood emitting from the objects. Her day hadn't even been that bad, Kakashi had shown up before evening hours, had most agreeably signed every document she had thrown at him—even the one that increased her paycheck, though she had noted his slight pause before signing.
She figured that he knew she deserved every penny she got from him.
Something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Inhaling deeply, she exhaled in a sigh of frustration. Who knows, who cares, right? As long as he behaved, she shouldn't give a damn as to the why's. It was just better that way.
She was half-tempted to call the man, just to ensure that he wasn't up to any devious shenanigans that might manage to cancel his newly signed agreements with the two magazines. The only thing that kept her from pressing the oft-dialed numbers was the fact that he hadn't seemed like he had plans on getting out of the interview. Instead, he had seemed... well, resigned would be the word she'd use.
Had something happened to make him see the light? She snorted and shook her head, causing long strands of blond to fly about with the movement. Amber eyes glinted in the dim light, bemused by the very notion.
No matter. As long as he showed up for the cover shots, then she needn't devote any more thought time to this.
A quiet knock sounded on her office door, startling the woman into jarring a stack of papers, nearly sending the towering mess to the floor.
"What?" she barked.
"Um, I just thought you might want to see this." Shizune entered, a tabloid held up for her boss's inspection.
A thin blond brow quirked upwards in annoyance. "Why on earth would I look at trash?"
"The subject of the headline's article, ma'am."
Tsunade griped inwardly, but held out her hand for the offending trash. "Who is it this time? My clients have done well about keeping their noses clean this past month, no one should..." The woman trailed off as she read. Her eyes narrowed as understanding suddenly dawned.
That's why Kakashi hadn't put up a fuss. He finally understood that the press would get something out of him no matter how much he hid. Though, she had to hand it to him, he did possess an amazing knack of staying out of print.
Someone had out-foxed him, and she was inclined to find out who. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, she mused. Last thing she needed was an upstart reporter getting their teeth into anything Hatake hid.
Her eyes scanned the article once more before shoving it into a random drawer. Clever writing for all that it was printed in a tabloid. Apparently, the article had been "donated" by an anonymous source.
As connected as she was with the media, even this sort, she could tell who was good and who was simply mediocre. This person was good. And new. The writing style was vaguely familiar, but Tsunade couldn't place her finger on it.
No matter, for now she would just make sure to keep tabs on Hatake to make sure nothing else, and nothing worse, ended up making headlines. Perhaps she should encourage the other stars under her management to shine a little brighter. The Hyuuga boy should be coming into his own now, she thought, waving Shizune away with a absent-minded motion. A little extra time with the media would be more than advantageous.
—xoxo
Sakura dragged herself up the stairs to her apartment. "Stupid elevator! Much as they wanna charge for the freakin' rent, you'd think they could keep it repaired!" One more flight. Just one more flight and she'd be home.
The woman growled as she hauled her damp self up the stairs to the fifth floor. After a long day, the last thing she needed was to have to endure torture. As far as she was concerned, taking the stairs was the most miserable exercise in existence. Especially when one was wet, bedraggled, and now freezing thanks to the marvelous air conditioning the apartment building provided.
At least everything had worked out amazingly well today, she consoled herself. That, in and of itself, was a fortuitous miracle. She had been prepared, thanks to the scanty information given to her by the Italian woman, to stake out that street for the next two weeks to catch him. Now, she shoved the key into her apartment's door and twisted it, all she had to do was explain to Sasuke why she'd be gone for whatever length of time.
She blinked at the sudden darkness. A small sigh excited her lips as she wrenched the key from the doorknob and slammed the door shut with a quick maneuver of her boot. She had forgotten. Today was Wednesday, and Sasuke would be out with his band.
Ah, the unfortunate downside to dating a popular lead singer, she moped as she headed towards the bedroom. Band practices. They were great at first, exciting even—but everything loses a certain charm after enough time.
Besides, she really wasn't into rock enough to endure hours of practice.
Leaving her drenched clothing in a wet heap on the floor, she pillaged his side of the dresser for a warm shirt. She unearthed a hoodie with a victorious cry and slipped it on. Turning, she decided catching a cat nap would do her a world of good. There was much plotting and planning to be done, she needed a clear head and plenty of energy to prepare her plan.
Flopping onto the bed, she heard something hit the floor with a soft clatter. She groaned and moved to turn on the nightstand's lamp. Sakura peered over the side of the bed, eyes squinting from the sudden light.
A plastic card holder reflected the light, and as she reached for it, she read the large words: Backstage Pass. She giggled and set it on the small space by the lamp. Definitely a feel good moment. She'd have to write something nice about their band now, she decided, sleep creeping into her consciousness.
—xoxo
A/N: Ah... will Sakura's luck continue? (cue evil laughter) Probably not, considering how real life works. You win some, you lose some. Well, more like you lose more than you win, but w/e, right?
Oh, and on the rock band idea—I suppose I have to blame an illustration I saw of Team 7 as a band. =] It seemed to work for this, so the plot bunny ran with it at full speed. (lopsided grin)
Next chapter: Woes of a Journalist...er, Maid!