Riayu: A lot of you thought that the new and member was Sasori
Riayu: A lot of you thought that the new and member was Sasori. Which was actually really interesting. Sorry to burst your bubbles, but it isn't Sasori. In fact, it isn't any of the characters that mentioned in previous chapters.
Arbela: You just have to rain on everyone's parade, don't you?
Riayu: I seriously need a replacement muse. I have three announcements! 1) I got my first anonymous review! Yay!
Arbela: You're too happy.
Riayu: 2) I've made some minor modifications to chapter 4 because polar bears and penguins don't live together. Sorry. And 3) June 20th-August 8th I will not be able to update. Yeah, that's three weeks. I'm going to nerd camp for a creative writing course and can't take my computer with me. Sorry everyone. I'll probably write chapters the old fashioned way if I have time, but I can't promise.
Arbela: Feel free to throw rocks, sticks, and rotten fruits at her!
Riayu: Anyways, thank you for all of the reviews! Special thanks to skyinthenightslove for the wonderful questions that always make me think ahead and to Sye216 for finally reviewing, thanks to skyglazingMaro for telling me about The Mist, and thank you to Blacky-Chan3 for the chicken! Huggles chicken I'ma name you Bob!
Arbela: You know that's either going to make her not review or throw something at you, right?
Riayu: Yeah, and cookies for all!
Disclaimer: Do I even need to say it? I don't own Naruto!
"Do you have a name?" Deidara asked, still at the top of the stairs.
"Suigetsu," was the reply, followed by the sound of heavy boots on the stairs. "You're Sasuke?" Suigetsu asked, looking at the brunette.
"Yeah, you're the new backup?" Sasuke asked, standing up and looking Suigetsu over. Suigetsu nodded then looked at Naruto, who was staring straight ahead.
"Who's this?" Suigetsu asked, looking at Naruto's blind eyes. "Is he in the band too?"
"No, I'm their sound advisor," Naruto said, smiling. "Let's hear you, I wanna know if you're good enough." There was another knock, Deidara answered the door again, and allowed an angry Temari into the basement.
"I can't believe he's making me do this," she muttered as she walked past Naruto and plugged her guitar into the amp sitting on the floor. "Where's the music?" she asked, looking at Sasuke expectantly. He handed her and Suigetsu the music they would need then they started playing. Naruto sat back and listened to them play the song through, making note of any mistakes made.
"Deidara was playing a faster version this time," was all the blonde could say when they were done. "I'll make sure that you guys get a gig soon, probably a small one, though. That okay?" Naruto asked, standing up and stretching.
"Anything to get our name out there," Sasuke said.
"That reminds me, what is the name of your band?"
"Jouyouheki Setsunai," Sasuke said immediately.
"No one told me that was out name!" Temari shouted. "That's stupid! What kind of name is that?"
"I think it's okay," Naruto said. "Suffocating Addiction, huh? I'll talk to my parents about booking an appearance. You already have Hinata as an agent, so that's settled."
"What are your parents going to do?" Deidara asked.
"They own a club in the middle of the city that sometimes does appearances; it's helped several bands become popular and get record deals. We'll have Hyuga coming after you in no time." He walked towards the stairs, surprised when he heard footsteps behind him.
"I'll walk you to the door," Sasuke said when he noticed Naruto's hesitation. "In case Itachi's watching," he added.
"Yeah," Naruto said, opening the door and waiting for Sasuke, who wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist as they walked. They were at the door before Sasuke noticed Itachi standing in the doorway that led into their library. He was watching them. At the door Sasuke stopped and leaned close to Naruto, putting his hands on Naruto's waist. He leaned in and kissed Naruto, taking the lead and holding the kiss for a moment before disengaging.
"I'll see you later?" Naruto asked, putting a note of longing in his voice.
"Yeah," Sasuke said, forcing a smile. He opened the door and said goodbye to the blonde, who smiled in response then walked out. The blonde hailed a taxi and slid in when it stopped, smiling when he heard the familiar sigh.
"I'm stalking you, Shikamaru," the blonde said, leaning back in the seat as the taxi pulled back into traffic.
"I'm starting to think it. What were you doing at the Uchiha manor?" he asked, sighing again when he pulled up into a traffic jam.
"Sasuke wanted my help with his band. Apparently I have some sort of magical sense of music," the blonde laughed. They made small talk as the traffic dragged along, talking above blaring horns. They ended up exchanging phone numbers and Shikamaru grudgingly agreed to see Jouyouheki Setsunai's first performance if he could get the night off. Eventually they pulled up in front of Naruto's house and the blonde paid the fair, taking the change and stepping out. Hinata was waiting for him on the porch.
"Naruto! I was starting to wonder if you would ever come home. What's the verdict on the band?" she asked, looping her arm through his and leading him up the stairs, opening the door for him.
"Their name is Jouyouheki Setsunai and they're pretty good. With some more practice they could be amazing. Are you up to being their agent? You're family will probably want to snatch them up after they perform at the club."
"You already have a performance booked?" Hinata asked, shocked.
"Not yet, I'm going to have to talk to my parents about amateur night, but it's pretty much a given. Hyuga Productions always has scouts there on amateur night, it's actually pretty creepy." Hinata laughed and led him into the kitchen, immediately cooking something for him to eat.
"Do you want me to call your parents? I can talk to them while you eat," she offered, putting rice in a steamer.
"No, I'll do it if you don't mind dialing for me." She had already memorized Pein's, his parents', and Gaara's phone number and could dial them without glancing at the phone. She dialed, handed him the ringing phone, then went back to cooking. The phone rung twice before someone picked up.
"Hello?" Kakashi's voice was slightly breathless but it was too early for Iruka to be back from school, so he had probably just run to the phone.
"Hey dad, I wanted to ask a favor," Naruto said into the phone, holding his chin in his hand.
"What's up, Naruto?" he asked nonchalantly.
"A…friend of mine has started a band. I was wondering if they could perform at the club on amateur night."
"What's their name?" Kakashi asked. There was a rustle of paper alerting Naruto that the sliver-haired man was taking notes.
"Jouyouheki Setsunai," Kakashi snorted on the other end of the phone. "The members are Uchiha Sasuke, Temari, Hozuki Suigetsu, Hoshigaki Kisame, and Deidara. It's light metal, they're good considering they're still learning the material."
"I'll talk to Iruka about it. Are you sure they're ready?" Kakashi asked, the scratching sound of pen on paper finally stopping.
"As sure as I was when I got my first book published," Naruto said confidently.
"Good. I'll call you back after I've talked it over with Iruka." There was a click and the line went dead.
"I can't believe we're actually performing here!" Deidara kept saying backstage, peeking out the curtain at the filled seats in the sitting section of the three-story club. "This is probably the biggest club in the whole city!"
"Didn't I say that before?" Naruto asked, leaning against a wall as the band prepared to go onstage. They were the first act, and everyone was a little antsy.
"We owe you," Sasuke said distractedly, slipping into a fish-net shirt and black tank-top, already wearing not-too-skinny black jeans.
"You must be really nervous, you just said that you were in my debt," Naruto teased, pulling away from the wall.
"This is our first public appearance," Sasuke said, tightening his loose shoelaces.
"I'm not sure if this will make things better or worse, but Itachi is out in the audience," Deidara announced to them "He must have found out we were playing here tonight."
"Are you some sort of idiot?" Naruto asked, facing Deidara.
"It's fine, I think that might have made me feel better," Sasuke said, taking a deep breath. "Everyone ready?"
"Temari is still putting on makeup," Suigetsu announced. He was walking around without a shirt on, which was a little disturbing.
"Seriously, if this pale-assed bastard walks out their without a shirt on I will commit suicide," Deidara said, looking the blue haired man.
"Here," Naruto said, shrugging off his black jacket and throwing in Suigetsu's general direction. "Wear that if you don't have anything better to wear," Naruto said, straightening his orange tank-top. Temari finally came out of the dressing room in a black mini-skirt and faux-leather tube-top that showed her stomach. Her hair was pulled into four ponytails, each laden with gel to make them spiky. She had a black spike collar and heavy eyeliner, mascara, and crimson lipstick.
"Gaara's going to kill you when he sees you dressed like that," Naruto said, smiling.
"How do you know? You can't even see what I look like," Temari said, glaring daggers at him.
"Do you look kind of like you did at Gaara's seventeenth birthday?"
"Yeah…"
"Then he's gonna kill you. Okay everyone, tune your instruments now. Five minutes until that woman starts hounding us about ten minutes left 'til show time."
"Can't you just say fifteen minutes?" Temari asked, getting out her guitar and pulling the strap around her shoulders, tuning it deftly.
"When they say ten minutes it's usually a little off," Naruto said, listening as Sasuke started doing quiet vocal exercises.
"I have a question," Deidara announced as he messed around with his symbols. "Why are you always wearing orange?"
"I can't see the cars, so I need them to be able to see me," Naruto said nonchalantly.
"But you wore it before that, too," Temari said before realizing she was actually talking to the idiotic blonde and biting her lip.
"It also happens to be my favorite color, as well as the only thing that Kakashi would buy me for a month as punishment for making Iruka cry," he smiled fondly at the memory.
"Ten minutes 'til show time, everyone," a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes said, walking around and looking at them all.
"Thank Ino," Naruto said, smiling at her.
"Ugh, what are you doing here?" she asked, looking at him in disgust.
"A) My parents own this place, B) I'm the band's sound advisor, C) because I want to be."
"I'll keep that in mind. Everyone almost ready?" she asked, looking around at the band members.
"Is it normal to have a really bad stomachache?" Deidara asked, his hands shaking slightly.
"It'll go away once you get out there," Naruto said, walking around. "Don't worry about it; it's just first-time jitters. You'll be fine. You've been practicing on a daily basis, you know what you're doing. You guys are great."
"Show time, everyone, out on the stage!" Ino said, ushering everyone out then returning to lead Naruto to his seat, front and center. The first song played earned loud cheers and shouts for a second one. They got through two more songs before Ino came out onto the stage and said they had to give other bands a chance; it was amateurs' night after all. Ino lead Naruto backstage as everyone lounged in chairs or on the couch, sweating and hyper.
"That was such an adrenaline rush, to have everyone looking at us," Deidara gushed, his eyes bright. "When do we get to do that again?" Naruto laughed, sitting beside Sasuke without meaning to.
"Whenever we can book another appearance, mom and dad might even let you play here again another night. The crowd seemed to approve." There was a clattering sound, some arguments, then the door to the room opened and Hinata came in, smiling widely.
"You did great, guys!" she announced happily. Deidara hugged her in his ever-affectionate manner.
"Who is she again?" Temari asked, glancing in Hinata's direction.
"We've gone over this ten times, Temari," Naruto said, shaking his head. "She's your agent. She'll be in charge of making sure you get good deals on making albums and stuff like that." There was a knock on the door and Deidara let go of Hinata to answer it.
"Hello, my name is Hyuga Neji and I was wondering if I could talk to you about joining the Hyuga Music Industry."
"We already have an agent," Deidara said, preparing to close the door in the brunette's face.
"Could I speak to him?" Neji asked, sticking his foot in the way.
"She has no interest in handing us over," Deidara said, glancing over his shoulder at Hinata, who had gone stone-still.
"Perhaps she and I could make a deal?" Neji asked, trying to push his way into the room.
"You can't take no for an answer, can you?" Naruto asked, standing behind Deidara. "We've gone over this, until your family decides to employ her you aren't getting any of her clients."
"Is this some sort of conspiracy?" Neji asked, glancing at Naruto and finally noticing stone-still Hinata.
"This is what friends do for friends," Naruto said, smiling. "Maybe you should talk to your uncle about letting his other daughter join the family business?" Hinata finally seemed to wake from her trance.
"They're content with what I can provide them, Neji. There's nothing you can do to take them from me." She smiled at him. "You should leave before we call security." Neji finally took the hint and left, pouting slightly as he walked away. Hinata sagged slightly with relief, her face paling.
"He's going to tell your dad about this," Naruto said, patting her shoulder. "They'll have no choice but to hire you soon." She nodded mutely, took a deep breath, then straightened and addressed everyone.
"Why don't you get out there and unwind? You did a fantastic job, you deserve it!" Everyone rushed out of the room and into the club, drinking and dancing. Hinata left the room as well, leaving Naruto alone. He had been sitting, thinking, for about fifteen minutes when the door opened again.
"You alright, dobe?" Sasuke asked, sitting beside the blonde. Naruto had his eyes angled at the floor, his head bent so that his shaggy hair fell into his face, obscuring his features so that you couldn't tell if he was sad or just thinking. By the set of his mouth, Sasuke was guessing it was the latter. He hesitated, threw caution to the wind, and put his arm around the blonde in a comforting hug. Naruto muttered something about him not living up to the Uchiha name and Sasuke smirked.
"I'm fine, by the way," Naruto said, looking up at the Uchiha and smiling.
"You and I both know that smile is a total fake," Sasuke said, frowning at the blonde.
"Since when do you care, teme?" Naruto asked. He was wondering if playing hurt would keep the arm around his shoulders, even though he would have liked the arm to be around his waist. The Uchiha paused, trying to come up with a good excuse for giving half a shit about the blonde.
"You're our sound advisor, we need you to be in a good mood so that you can rate the music," Sasuke said with a firm nod.
"No matter how happy I am they're still shit," Naruto said without the slightest hint of a smile. Sasuke's heart skipped a beat, then the blonde snickered, his lips quirking at the corners, and he relaxed. "Did you write the lyrics?" Naruto asked after a space of silence.
"Yeah, why?"
"They're really dark…Are you really that depressed?" Naruto asked, his blind eyes piercing Sasuke's ebony ones. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what a beautiful color they would have been if they weren't clouded by his blindness.
"I lost my parents and my brother detests me," Sasuke said, looking at the blonde like he was a total idiot.
"At least you knew your parents. I can hardly remember either of them; I mostly just remember the orphanage then moving in with Iruka and Kakashi with Pein."
"You can't miss what you never had," Sasuke countered, watching the blonde.
"I wonder why they got rid of me," Naruto wondered out loud, his expression curious instead of pained.
"They probably just couldn't afford to keep a child," Sasuke said, watching the blonde's expression.
"You're probably right," Naruto said, nodding. "Well, I'm going to go find a place where I can dance," the blonde said, not really wanting to move away from the arm draped over his shoulders. "You wanna come with me?"
"Can't hurt more then being with you on a regular basis," Sasuke said, standing and helping the blonde off of the couch.
"On the contrary, you'll see me dance. That'll burn your retinas." He smiled and let the Uchiha lead the way to a dance floor with techno music playing.
Riayu: …And that's how babies are made, Arbela.
Arbela: Dear god! What is wrong with you humans?! Pukes in a bucket
Riayu: Ah, life is great. I was going to leave you guys with a cliffie, but I decided against it because I'm such a nice person. Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for all of the reviews! They make me so happy!
Arbela: Seriously, why would you want to do that?
Riayu: Oh, I didn't tell you the best part. Thanks for reading, cookies for all! Where's my chicken? Picks up the chicken Then they use a car battery, some mayonnaise, a tire iron, and a light bulb.
Arbela: Stop it! I don't want to know!