TheLadyWolf: Well as I am sure that as some of my fan readers have seen, I have been busy writing stories/chapters for my other stories. But I have not forgotten this one! Plus I made it long. So here is the chapter that I hoped turned out well. I will try to use real songs and put the names and such as the end. So let us continue with the story now…
Disclaimer: no, I don't own them, stop reminding me. –Huff-
Sasuke- 17
Naruto- 17
Itachi- 26
Fugaku- 47
Mikoto- 42
Iruka- 30
Kakashi- 30
Neji- 17
Gaara- 17
"Talking"
'Thinking'
Chapter 3. A wooden box with strings.
After lunch there where two more classes to go. Both of the passed by in a blur. Sasuke was actual shocked to realize that he was really looking forward to the auditions.
He had even heard that a lot of kids at school were going there too, though mostly to support Neji, not that Sasuke thought he needed any.
Whenever Sasuke mentioned it to Naruto, the boy would just smile and shake his head saying that there was no need to worry. He would either succeed or fail. It was just that simple to him.
Sasuke wondered how Naruto thought of the world. What was really going through his mind? He could tell that Naruto thought more then what he said, that was for sure. He just wished that he would let Sasuke in to hear it.
The bell for the last class of the day rang, and all the students quickly left the room. Some just to leave to go do the plans that they had made. But most of them going to the auditorium to hear Neji play.
Naruto was in no rush; he just careful picked up his books and put them away. Then feeling around his desk to make sure that he hadn't forgotten any of them. Sasuke peaked around him just to make sure that he hadn't either, these book's weren't cheap in the least.
"Sasuke" Naruto spoke softly. "Don't worry I got them all." He smiled after he said this, no doubt that there was a shocked look on the Uchiha's face.
And there was one too damn it.
"You have got to tell me how you do that." Sasuke said at last. Shaking his head at Naruto's strange talent.
"No way! How else well I freak you out then?" he laughed after he said this, his smile lighting up the room.
Sasuke found himself smiling too. There was just something in Naruto's smiles that made you feel warm, and wanting to be smiling along with him.
"Oh Sasuke! We got to go get Gaara and head off to the auditorium! If I am late that would so not help me out." Naruto started off, his cane moving in a blur in front of him as he quickly made it to the doorway. He paused when he was outside, and then turned to where Sasuke stood beside him, having felt him come up behind him.
"Um…where is his room at?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head and smiling goofily.
After having Sasuke lead the way to Gaara's last class, where Naruto had told the boy to wait, his exact words being, 'we shall come to you! So be there or I will smack you with my cane when I find you!' before being dragged off by a certain Uchiha to their next class.
Gaara had worried a bit at first that Naruto wouldn't show up and that he would be stood up. But then he heard the loud yells of the blond from down the hall and sighed in relief.
"Sasuke! Faster! Mush, mush!" Naruto moved his cane like he was cracking a whip, trying to move the reluctant dark haired boy faster.
"Gah! I am better off going off alone!" Naruto finally said. Frustrated at Sasuke's slow pace. Letting Sasuke go of his sleeve and walking off quickly, Gaara smirked as the blond walked right past him.
"Idiot" he said and Naruto whipped around and walked towards where the voice had come from.
"Gaara!" he yelled, grabbing the boy in a hug. He was acting as if he hadn't seen him for weeks instead of hours. "Hurry we must be off! Like the wind we must go!" he even made hand movements to go with his little speech.
"Eh…ok?" he wasn't exactly sure what to say to this strange boy. He looked towards Sasuke, to see what he should do. The boy just shrugged his shoulders and turned around to head towards where the auditions were being held at.
Naruto grabbed Gaara's sleeve and smiled sweetly at where he thought Gaara's face was. "You shall be my new dog. Now mush man! Mush!"
Gaara sighed. The things you did for friends. He then proceeded to 'mush' after the Uchiha with a 'mushing' Naruto attached to him.
Sigh
The auditorium was actually pretty full and the three of them took seats near the back after signing Naruto in.
Naruto was giddy at the thought of playing. His fingers had already started and he was actually saying the notes that he was playing. Which Sasuke thought was kind of freaky and cool at the same time.
Finally all the contestants had arrived and signed in.
It was time to start.
They all watched as some kid walked on stage and played on the piano that was placed there for them. It looked pretty old but in good condition.
The songs that they played were normal classics. Beethoven, Mozart, etc. so he started to get bored.
He was actually starting to fall asleep when he felt a tap on his shoulder and look over at Gaara who had done it. He raised an eyebrow at the boy's actions and wondered what he was up to.
Gaara just pointed to Naruto who had his hands over his ears, and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. This worried Sasuke so he tapped on Naruto's shoulder to get his attention.
Naruto peeked open an eye out of reflex, even though he couldn't see who had done it. He then removed one hand from one of his ears, though he seemed to be in pain from doing it.
"Hey Naruto, are you okay?" Sasuke asked when Naruto had lowered the one hand. He whispered so that he wouldn't interrupt the boy who was currently playing. Even if they were in the far back.
Naruto seemed to shake, as if something cold had run down his spine.
"That piano" he shook some more, "it's-it's like demons music to my ears. (1)" after saying his peace he quickly covered up his ears once more.
That's how he stayed through all the performances. At least till it was Neji's turn.
Naruto seemed to know when it was the Hyuuga's turn with out anyone having to tell him. He leaned forward in his seat, as if to hear it better. His hands rested in his lap.
Sasuke had to admit that even he had wanted to hear Neji's music, to see if the rumors were true.
All the contestants were allowed to play two songs of their choosing, be it some one else's or their own compositions.
Neji confidently approached the piano and sat down. Acting as if he was above everyone else in all his actions.
Sasuke couldn't blame the man, when the fact was Neji had never really had any competition before.
His first song was fast, but simple, moving over all the keys, having them rise and fall, it was actually quite nice. But it was soon over.
Then he started out with another song, 'Bronze Drum' (2.) it started out deeply then proceeded to go a little higher. The pace was steady and the notes deep, then suddenly, they started to move quickly. Going into the higher ranges, rising and then falling like the waves. It slowly picked up pace as the notes rose as well along with it.
Sasuke looked over at Naruto while this was going on. Naruto had his chin resting on his folded hands while they held the cane. He was shaking his head from side to side as if he didn't like what he was hearing.
Sasuke went back to listening to the song, trying to hear what Naruto seemed to only be able to hear.
The song seemed to change from the force it had before turning into something softer. Then suddenly it went back to the force that it had started with. It continued to change from forceful to soft. The notes rising and falling and the pace was always changing. Neji played the song very well. Even Sasuke was impressed. The song finally ended and everyone applauded as soon as it was over and Neji rose and bowed to the crowd, before walking off the stage to his seat.
He was smirking the whole time he walked back, 'let's see that Naruto kid beat that' he thought smugly.
"Naruto? Naruto Uzumaki?" the judge called out.
Naruto rose from his seat.
It was his turn.
Sasuke started to get up as well, ready to lead Naruto to the stage, but Naruto just shook his head when he heard Sasuke's movements and just smiled.
"Don't worry; I will make it to the stage on my own just fine." Then he made it to the aisle and walked towards the stage. He made it to the steps before he stumbled a bit, but he caught himself at the last minute.
Sasuke heard some of the girls in the audience giggle when Naruto had stumbled and glared at them. Gaara did the same as well, and the girls sunk into their seats at the feel of they're glares. They didn't make another peep.
Naruto made it to the piano without any more trouble and rested his hand upon it. He turned to where the stage ended and asked a strange question.
"Can I tune it before I play?" he asked.
The judge nodded his head. "You are the first one to actual notice it was out of tune."
The other contestants whispered to each other after hearing this. He saw one grab his hair in frustration at not noticing and groan.
'Of course Naruto would notice' Sasuke thought. That might explain his earlier actions.
Naruto felt his way towards the front of the piano till he found the keys. He moved in front of it and took a deep breath.
Then he proceeded to hit every key within reach. It sounded just awful and Sasuke flinched at the sound, everyone else did too, even Neji.
But it didn't seem to bother Naruto who had a look of concentration on his face the whole time.
Suddenly he froze, "aha!" he said before he practically dived into the piano.
Sasuke saw his hands move over the strings, doing this at that to it. When Naruto had finished what ever he had done he pulled himself out and started to randomly hit some keys. He smiled.
Sasuke could see the judge nodding his head, as if agreeing with the keys that he had chosen.
The Naruto turned to the audience and said, "I am ready."
A change seemed to come over Naruto when he sat down. As if he had put on a mask and had become a completely different person. He slowly moved his fingers over the keys, as if familiarizing himself with it.
Then he started to play. (3)
The piano seemed to have a glow in it that it didn't have before. The notes that had seemed muted were now clearer then before. The sound echoed in the room, changing the atmosphere into something else.
The music started of softly and slowly, repeating while changing and adding notes to the song all the while. It seemed to start off in the deeper notes and rose higher while falling back down. Then suddenly it had a burst of sound as the notes quickly went up and down. Then it seemed to slowly die off and fade into the walls.
It was short and very simple.
Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. Neither could Gaara. That song, so simple had to be one of the most beautiful things that he had ever heard. Even Neji seemed shocked by it. Not a sound was to be heard in the room, people too amazed at what Naruto had created.
But he still had another song to go.
Naruto took a deep breath and rested his hands upon the piano once more. (4)
And to Sasuke eye's it seemed to glow again once more, as if Naruto was pouring life into it with his very being, his very soul.
This song started of very quickly; Naruto's fingers flew over the keys and changed the notes each second the song went on. His sounds blending in harmoniously, creating wonderful music. Then the song continued at this fast pace, as if it didn't dare to take a breath for fear of ruining the music. Then suddenly it seemed to play in slow motion, and if Sasuke didn't know better he would have thought that time had slowed down in that moment.
But just as sudden as the tempo had changed, it changed again once more, its speed picking up. Everyone was wowed by the music. Naruto seemed to be in a trance, his head was moving up and down to the music and notes that only he could see and hear. Then once more the song slowed down and slowly died off.
There was a deafening silence before the auditorium erupted into applause, every one stood up. Clapping for the blond and his beautiful music.
Naruto seemed to come out of his trance like state and realize where he was. He careful stood up and bowed to the audience. He was blushing heavily and he almost walked off the stage. Sasuke rushed up to make sure the Naruto didn't fall down the stairs.
Gaara was right on his heels.
"Naruto that was, that was amazing. I don't think I have ever heard music like that before in my life." Sasuke said.
Gaara opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping for air before finally speaking. "Where in the world did you learn such songs?" he asked with awe.
Naruto just chuckled and tapped his head.
Sasuke looked over to where he had last seen Neji. He wanted to rub this in his face at how Naruto had wiped the floor with him.
But Neji was gone. Sasuke felt a chill move down his back. He didn't like the feeling he got from this. Neji was up to something. He never took losing well at all, and Sasuke had a feeling that it would affect Naruto greatly in the end.
The judge had said that he would post the results of who had made it to the next round tomorrow. So that meant that he and Naruto could go home.
Naruto hugged Gaara. This seemed to fluster the boy by his actions from it.
Naruto just laughed. Though he seemed to be grimacing a bit from his actions.
"Hey Dobe, what's wrong?" Sasuke asked out of concern. This wasn't a normal thing for him.
The blind boy just rubbed the back of his head and sighed. "Teme, I am having a bad headache. I think I need to go home now. Sorry Gaara. Talk to you tomorrow, and thank you for coming. It meant a lot to me." He said as he leaned on Sasuke.
Gaara just nodded his head, then realizing that Naruto couldn't see it spoke up. "It was no problem at all Naruto. It was quite lovely."
Naruto just smiled, he nodded his head and turned to Sasuke. "Let's go."
The car ride home was very quiet. Naruto wasn't even 'playing' the piano. He was just resting his head back on the car seat. He looked pale and his breathing was a little raspy from what Sasuke heard.
Sasuke drove home a little faster then normal, not that he would ever admit it.
"Were home" Sasuke said as he walked into the house. He could hear his mom in the kitchen; he looked over at the living room and saw his father reading the newspaper while his brother was watching TV.
His mother came out of the kitchen wearing an apron. She smelled of soup.
"Hello Sasuke! How was school today?" she asked.
"Hn…fine" Sasuke said, he never was one to talk. Suddenly he yelped when something hit him sharply on the leg. He glared at Naruto, not that it had much effect on the boy.
"Your mother asked you a question, answer the woman." Naruto said, arms crossed. There was no way Naruto was going to apologize for hitting him, from the looks of it.
"It went very well…" Sasuke said. He then turned towards the blond boy, who was nodding his head at Sasuke's actions in approval.
His mother smiled. Glad to have Sasuke talk to her more, even if it was forced.
"How about you Naruto? How did school go? Oh! And your audition as well, did every thing turn out well?" she asked.
"It went very well, considering that I did crash into someone, but everything worked out. Plus there was the fact that I had to sit through some awful music. So over all, a good day." He had a wide smile on his face as he finished talking.
Naruto rubbed his head again. He still looked pale. 'Was Naruto getting sick?' Sasuke thought.
"Mother do we have any aspirin or something for Naruto? He has had a headache ever since the audition." Sasuke asked.
His mother turned quickly to look at Naruto, who had turned his back to avoid her. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the kitchen.
Leaving a confused and curious Sasuke behind.
Sasuke didn't see Naruto for the rest of the night; after his mother had taken Naruto to the kitchen, he hadn't seen him since. Though he had heard him when Naruto had gone to his room.
He was all alone downstairs, his parents were in their room and Itachi had left to go do something. He was reading a book, but was actual very bored. His eyes roamed the room, looking for something to entertain him.
His eyes landed on the piano.
Sasuke put the book away and walked over to it. He reached out a hand and touched the top of it. Only to pull his hand back as if burned.
It was warm.
How was this possible? The A.C. was on, making the house very cold, yet the piano felt very warm, like a person's temperature. Carefully he reached out and touched it again. This time not taking his hand back from the shock of its warmth.
He pulled out the seat and sat down. Sasuke then lifted the cover over the piano keys, and exposed the piano's keys. They seemed to glow a bright white, amongst the dark redwood. He then pressed one of the keys. But as soon as he did that, he felt a great frustration, his mind; his being seemed to be screaming at him, that, this was wrong. He really didn't understand the feeling. So he pressed a different key, and it wasn't so bad this time. But then he randomly chose a deep note, and he felt sick. He closed the lid and moved away from the piano.
He didn't understand what was going on. It was just a box with strings, yet it hade made him feel ill.
'Or it could have been something I ate' he thought. 'But I haven't eaten since dinner and everyone else is fine' it didn't make any sense to him.
He tried to understand what had happened. He decided that he would ask Naruto tomorrow.
Another mystery about the boy. 'Great' he thought, as he went upstairs.
TheLadyWolf: Ok, music is very, very hard to describe, better to just hear it. So sorry if you don't get/understand the songs. You just have to go hear them. So let me know what you all think of this chapter. Sorry that I haven't written one for a while. Review please!!! u
Also, I know that I am saying that those songs that Naruto plays are his. When in reality they are not. So here I am claiming that "I don't own the songs represented in this chapter and other chapters after." But I am going to use them, and say that they are 'Naruto's songs' so just letting you guys know.
(1) I got the 'demon music' from a book I read. It is a bunch of music playing, but it is all out of tune so it tortures those that hear it. If you are interested in the book the title it 'Revelation' by Carol Berg. It is a very good book.
(2) 'Bronze drum' is a real song if you want to look it up. By Boa HuiQiao.
(3) This song is from the "Believe" commercial for Halo III so if you want to hear it go to youtube and type it in. If anyone knows what it is called let me know please:3
(4) That song is called "The Piano" I kid you not. The album is "The Incredible Film Music Box" so go look it up people and hear it.
-TheLadyWolf