I have been getting these finished a lot quicker than I thought I would. I can't get this story out of my head, your words of encouragement are helping inspire me as well.
WARNING! There is some cursing in this chapter... blame Hidan.
The stage lights seemed brighter than normal, almost blindingly so as she made her way towards the couch designated for guests. Now more than ever she was grateful for her mother's strict training regimes, had it not been for them she was sure she would have tripped over her own feet. She couldn't afford to do that, not now when her future depended on this going as she had planned. So with a mantra of 'heel, toe, heel, toe,' repeating in her head, she made her way towards the host.
As soon as she was within arms' length of the woman she was pulled into what appeared to the audience a friendly hug, but Sakura knew better. This was an act she often put on for all her guests, especially those of the female persuasion. She would hug them as a way to show comradery, to ease them into a false sense of security. Then she would ask some small questions, nothing particularly important or news worthy, then once the guest relaxes she strikes like the snake she was.
The pinkette delicately eased herself onto the couch, patiently waiting for the crowds' thunderous applause to die down so the woman could begin the onslaught. The applause wasn't for her though, no they were eager to see her humiliated by the ruthless woman. They were excited to see her fail, not only in front of them, but in front of the wide range of viewers Anko seemed to have for being as nasty as she was. She knew she signed up for this, wanting the woman to attack her, but it still was an unnerving feeling knowing every person in the room was against you, just waiting for you to mess up so they can ridicule you.
"It is so nice to finally meet you face to face Sakura-san! I've been dying to get you on this show for… gosh Kami knows how long." The elder woman gave a small but very fake laugh. "I am absolutely thrilled that we have finally been able to do this!"
Sakura looked the woman over with a distant politeness, up close she could see why people liked to refer to her as the she-snake, her eyes were rather serpent like. "Believe me, not as thrilled as I am." She said softly. Which wasn't a lie. She has been trying to arrange an appearance on this show for months. She's actually surprised it didn't take longer, as Anko had the highest rated gossip show not only in Konoha, but Suna and Kirigakure too. Maybe the woman was just so eager to tear into the pop princess that should rearranged her schedule to get her in sooner. "It is a relief that we manage to find a date that suited both of our busy schedules."
"Speaking of busy schedules, I am sure everyone here as heard by now that you are up for eight musical awards along with the coveted 'Will of Fire', your schedule for the next several months must be booked solid. How do you feel about your nominations?"
"To be honest, I do not feel as though I deserve them. Particularly the 'Will of Fire'. There are many more individuals that are far more deserving than I, like Hinata Hyuuga for instance. She volunteers almost twice as many hours as I do at the pediatric ward, and volunteers at other locations across the city, yet she did not receive a nomination and I believe that to be a great injustice." An easy answer to an easy question. She has already had to practically recite that same speech for her mother more than a dozen times already and her nomination had only been made known two or three weeks ago.
"Do you enjoy volunteering at the hospital?" Of course the woman made sure to steer clear of speaking about the Hyuuga heiress. It was obvious that the last name hit a little bit of a sore spot for her.
A soft smile played on the young girl's painted lips as she thought of all the children being housed at the hospital. "Yes, I do. Those children are precious. Most of them are in there for serious illnesses, some of them with little to no hope of recovery, yet they still find the will to smile. They are so strong for being so young."
"You seem very fond of those children. If you were not a celebrity would you aspire to be a pediatrician?" It was a surprisingly soft question coming from a woman who was seen as a cut throat witch.
"There is no doubt in my mind that I would." She said without hesitation. "I love those children and I truly wish I could do something more than just read or sing for them."
"Well according to recent polls, you may want to start looking into colleges." Anko looked smug from her seat as if she already had Sakura on the verge of snapping. What the older woman didn't know was that she had just been manipulated by someone nearly half her age. "Your approval rating is so low it is laughable."
"I was not aware that I was so disliked." Feigning innocence, Sakura managed to look hurt for the sake of all of the people watching her.
"It is more than a mere dislike for you, people loathe you." The grin on her face turned more and more malicious as she continued to rant. "We can't seem to decide whether you are extremely fake or just another robot created by the music industry for the sole purpose of trying to shove that disgusting pop garbage you think is music down our throats."
"I can assure you Anko-san, that I am a genuine person, I have never lied to the public." Well, it was a half-truth as she never actually lied to the general public, her mother just went to extremes to hide things that she felt would harm the image she wanted for her daughter.
"So then what is the story? Are you a sell out? Or are you just one of those cretins who become a celebrity for the money and fame? Because from what I see, and I know I am not alone in this," She gestured to the audience. "but you have no voice. You are insignificant in the music business to anyone with any real merit. Only children like that mind numbing garbage. You are like the bottom of the barrel when it comes to talent. Your music is nothing to be proud of. Even 'What a Girl is' which is supposed to be about body positivity is an absolute failure. What could have been a very good message was drowned out with senseless and mind-numbing beats."
"I understand that my music may be to everyone's liking bu-"
"May not be to everyone's liking? Hell your music is barely to anybody's liking! Your approval rating as of this morning is a measly twelve percent!" On the screens behind them, numbers of polls from many different sites showed her popularity stats. "Even that crack job old politician Danzo had a larger following than you! You're an overproduced wannabe who doesn't even think for herself. No, you just simply hide behind your has-been mommy and her influence."
Before the woman could even finish her sentence Sakura was out of her seat and glaring down on her, the angel façade gone. "I can sit here like a proper lady and allow you to talk down on me till you are blue in the face. I can even handle the disrespect towards me and the time and effort I put into my music. But I will NOT stand idly by while you insult my mother! She has gone above and beyond what was necessary to give me every chance to follow my dream of singing. She has single handedly raised me, no nannies, no nursemaids, just her. She gave up her career to not only raise me, but to help me further mine, I don't know about you but I don't consider that a has-been. That is what I call a loving mother and I refuse to sit here any longer and hear your disrespect towards a woman who has sacrificed a great deal for the ones she loves." With ease, she fished the microphone cord out of the back of her sweater, unhooking the box from her skirt, and tossing it all on to the couch before walking off with not only grace, but a ferociousness that she had never shown to the public before now.
As much as Sakura disliked her mother's micromanaging, she was still her mother and she still loved her to death. She knew Mebuki only did it because she thought it was in her daughter's best interest, so while she did talk about her behind her back at times, Sakura would never just sit by and allow someone to attack her mother.
If there was one thing about himself that Itachi Uchiha valued more than anything he would probably have to say it was his uncanny ability to always be right, no matter the situation. It was something that proved to be very beneficial in this moment as it just won him almost two hundred dollars and all because a few of his housemates were foolish enough to bet against him. So with a smug smirk he held out his hand to accept the cash being handed over to him by three of the six other members of the household.
"I should have known better to bet against Weasel-chan, yeah." A disgruntled honey blonde male muttered as he tossed his money at the man. The petite red haired male next to him grunted in agreement as he too handed over his money.
With a pleased grin that looked more sinister than happy the raven haired male gave a nonchalant shrug. "Your foolishness was my gain so you won't see me complaining." The man's demeanor screamed cockiness as he counted the money, making sure no one tried to skimp out on him. He had plans to add another tattoo to his collection of body art and this bit of cash was going to help out a lot. It was a shame though that the rest of the house wasn't home at the moment to join in on the fun, he surely would of walked away with more than enough money if they had been."It was your idea anyway."
"How the hell did you know the stupid bitch was just going to walk out!?" demanded the silver maned man who sat in the corner, practically sulking at the fact he bet his money away. His hard earned money...gone.
Yes, they had bet on the outcome of the pop star's interview. Of course, with Itachi winning the bet, he had guessed that the pinkette would walk off. The blonde man, Deidara, was hoping more than anything that the petite singer would throw a huge fit just as every other guest of Anko's had done. Sasori, the red haired man who was considered his best friend had agreed with him, claiming their was no way someone was that sweet and would be ale to withstand the hostess' mudslinging. Hidan, the silver NOT grey haired man, had literally sworn up and down that she would have attacked the host. His perverse mind was practically begging for there to be a cat fight, maybe one with some clothes flying.
"Magic." He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. With a gracefulness that was uncommon for a male, Itachi stood and stretched out his lean body until his back gave a satisfying pop and a pleased groan. "She has been groomed too well. Even if she wanted to curse or attack Anko, her training would never allow her to. It is odd enough that she even got as pissy as she did."
"I bet she is going to get a lot of media attention for this." spoke the man who had been silent till now.
"Is that an actual bet?" The ravenette asked with a smirk which earned a deadpanned look from the three other males in the room. With a chuckle he made his way out of the room. "Konan and Pein are on finished with their date. They'll be here soon. Practice room in an hour. You know the punishment if you're late." And with that being said the man disappeared into the house, doing kami knows what.
"Who the fuck put him in charge again?" asked Hidan as he finally crawled out of his corner, a scowl ever present on his face.
"His uncle is our manager. We kinda have to listen to him, yeah." With a despondent sigh the blonde made his way out of the room, planning to get in some more relaxation before being put through the grueling practice that was sure to come.
"Fucking Uchihas." For once the three men were all in agreement.
And there is (the edited) chapter 3! Let's how I can keep up this pattern of each chapter being longer than the last.
So how do you like it? I hope I managed to meet your expectations, especially with Sakura's attitude. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to review or even private message me.
I also want to thank those who chose to follow/favorite/review this story. Believe me when I say it means the absolute world to me. I enjoy writing quite a bit so I am going to do it either way, but seeing there are people that actually enjoy what I write just pushes me to get these chapters out quicker and I put in a lot more effort to make sure they are good.
Oh! And I am currently taking requests for one shots if anyone is interested. I promise, they won't interfere with my updates to this story as I usually have a good portion of the next chapter written by the time I get any new activity
Err… I think that's all, so please think about reviewing and stuff!