La Tua Cantante:

Chapter 9:

REVELRY

"So, how's the party? Is the food good? Are there any hot guys I should be aware of? Did they hire that stupid pianist to play again? Is Forehead there ye—"

Shikamaru sighed and leaned against the wall tiredly. Talking to Ino, even on the phone, was tiring for the shirker. "Everything's great, you psychotic woman. Just get back in bed."

The female on the other line scoffed. "How do you know I'm not in bed? Quit being such a smart aleck!"

"I don't need to be whatever you just called me to guess that you're out of bed, eating choc—"

"Shikamaru!" whined Ino, dragging out his name like a child. "I am home, sick and well… sick, so I need a gossip source to tell me everything that's going on! Oh yes, is Forehead there yet?"

Biting back the urge to just hang up, Shikamaru tapped his cigarette with his pinkie finger in irritation. "How should I know? It's not like I'm keeping tabs on her or anything."

"Is Forehead there yet?"

"No, she isn't," muttered the brunette as he brought the cigarette up to take a drag. Scratching the back of his head with the same hand holding the stick, Shikamaru continued on. "Why don't you just call her yourself?"

"I can't! God, boys just don't understand these types of things," moaned Ino as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger.

"Ino, I am a 24 year old man who is smoking in the bathroom whilst listening to some blonde imbecile trying to pluck information out of me. What am I supposed to understand?"

"I'm going to pretend that the 'blonde imbecile' you are referring to is Naruto. And why the hell are you smoking in a bathroom?"

Shikamaru sighed again and glanced at the door as he heard footsteps approach. Making a clicking noise with his tongue in exasperation, he disposed of his cigarette in the tray provided which rested on the counter. He stuffed his now free hand in his pocket, deciding finally to answer the blonde's question. "It's too troublesome to explain."

The reply to his statement was cut off as Shikamaru slid the phone down to his neck when someone appeared through the doorway. The corners of his mouth turned slightly, giving a quick wave to the man who stopped in front of him. "Yo, Chouji."

"Don't 'Yo, Chouji' me. There's a whole buffet outside that you're missing out on!" complained the chubby man, pointing to the door eagerly. "C'mon, move your ass Shikamaru!"

"Aa," nodded said man, placing the phone to his ear once more. "Sorry Ino, I gotta go. Go ask Sakura or somebody for whatever you want."

"Hey, I wasn't finished talki—"

Chouji chuckled as he watched Shikamaru hang up and thrust the phone towards him resignedly. Catching it, he fingered it idly while he grinned teasingly at his friend. "Ino-chan again?"

Not even bothering to give any sort of affirmation to the question, the shirker strode out of the bathroom with a groan. He scratched the back of his head absentmindedly as he waited for his stout friend to walk out first, before the pair ambled on towards the main hall.

"I was looking for you everywhere, and then some kid told me you'd gone into the bathroom with some high voice yelling at you from your phone. I had to find you, of course, I mean, it wouldn't be fun just eating all that food by myself! You know, this year, they have scallops and lobster…"

Chouji's voice trailed off as he felt the presence of the person he was talking to halt, and he looked over his shoulder begrudgingly. "Shikamaru, what is it this time?" When he received no answer, he stomped up to his companion and shoved his shoulder roughly. "Oi, Shikamaru!"

Another retort was supposed to come out of Chouji's mouth, but was stopped in its tracks as a hand was slapped onto his mouth urgently. "Shush," he ushered, scanning the seemingly deserted hallway quickly before retracting his hand just as swiftly as if he'd just been bitten. Well it was close to the example, in his opinion.

"You licked my hand," accused Shikamaru calmly as he wiped his hand disgustedly onto his attacker's shirt. "How troublesome." His eyes looked bored and he stuffed his hand into his pocket roughly, further preventing it from getting infected with saliva.

Chouji snickered. "You deserved it."

No response. The stout boy smacked a hand to his face and slid it down exasperatedly. "Shikamaru, all the food is gonna be gone!" he complained, before Shikamaru turned his head and stared down the long hallway in which they'd just walked up. "Shika—"

Then he heard it. The soft sound that was reverberating almost noiselessly through the passage could not possibly be heard by normal human ears, but it was loud enough for the men's trained ones to hear it. "What is that?" whispered Chouji restlessly, inching closer to his friend in anxiousness.

Shikamaru sighed and sauntered lazily towards the closed window that sat on his left, just a bit further down the vestibule. Halting at the glassy pane, he lifted a hand and flicked two of his fingers forward, gesturing for the chubby companion to follow. Once he felt the man's presence behind him, his hand shot out to flick the switch to open the window.

But eerily, it had already been done for him.

The clear panel rocketed upward, letting in the cold night breeze. Shikamaru stepped backwards unconsciously in surprise, before he grumbled, "I knew that giggling sound was familiar." Leaning onto the window pane, the man stared ahead and lifted his chin in a manly fashion. "Kakashi."

Said silver-haired man looked up from his sitting position on the fire escape stairs, and grinned as he saluted the shirker mockingly. "What brings the two of you here?"

With a roll of his eyes, Shikamaru climbed expertly through the window, landing on the balls of his feet as he crouched. "I should be asking you that," he muttered, watching Kakashi turn a page in his book. "You are the one giggling at porn in public."

He heard Chouji guffaw behind him quietly as he too climbed out onto the staircase. "It's not porn," the older man began, shooting the laughing man a scary glance. "It's merely adult literature."

Waving his hand dismissively, Chouji nodded aimlessly. "Yeah, yeah. Aren't you supposed to be supervising the party?"

"I'm sure they can still have plenty of fun without me."

"Some of those guests… their idea of 'fun' might be a little different to the human version don't you think?

A crinkled eye moved to gaze through the large glass panels where the business party was being held; it was crowded with men and women of high status, chandeliers were flashing vibrantly and soft classical music was floating through the air. "My, it seems we have been graced with the presence of some supernatural company tonight."

There was a woman with long, midnight hair, tightly done in a bun that flaunted her flawlessly pale neck. Her figure was tall and slender, and her eyes were a satin lilac colour. "Hinata Hyuuga? A werewolf?" Light pink lips pursed themselves as her ivory eyes slanted and she glanced in their general direction, before she swiftly turned her attention back to the man she was talking to.

"There're demons and death gods here too. When the Uchiha throws a party, he sure knows who to invite," muttered Chouji while he gazed at the numerous business icons, artistic performers and even athletes who had been invited. "You gotta wonder though; aren't they being cheaters? Using their er, um..."

"Paranormal?" Shikamaru suggested, linking his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, paranormal powers to gain fame like that... they're a bit like cheaters, aren't they?"

Kakashi laughed quietly as he lazily stood up and snapped his book shut. "Well, I suppose so. That desire to become popular and well liked – it's what makes them more humane, I guess." Gyrating on the heel of his new Italian shoes, the light haired man shoved his hands in his pockets and made his way up the stairs.

An eyelid opened to reveal an almond coloured eye that trailed after the man's footsteps. "What a drag," Shikamaru pulled out a pack of cigarettes as Chouji simultaneously offered him a lighter. "He left before I could scold him for not doing any work this week. How troublesome."

The pair heard a soft giggle, and they knew the man had left to read his 'adult literature' in private once more.

-x-

"Dammit. These heels are killing me. Can we at least walk a little slower?"

Sakura blew a stray strand of her from her face as she was ignored and made to stumble through the throng of guests awkwardly, her green eyes searching for the pale skinned boss she sought. She'd just made it to the event in time; the silver wristwatch –that had been cleverly disguised as a flashy bracelet by a jewellery designer whose name always failed to register in the girl's mind— on her arm read that she was a mere 3 minutes early.

Despite her timely entrance, the pinkette had been forced to undergo the tedious process of reaching the location of the actual event. Discreetly, she glanced next to her, where the ever stoic Hyuuga Neji stood, his hand guardedly situated on the small of her back and his face turned away from her. Sakura sighed as she was pushed forward by the impatient man once more, instantly recalling how she had gotten herself into this ever peculiar scenario.

After suffering Ino's ostensible makeover due to her own lack of formal wear, Sakura had to take quick, but hesitant steps towards the curb of the path, stopping for a moment to observe the packed roads. Waving her purse haphazardly to gain the attention of the nearest taxi, she found herself being driven to her destination moments later.

As the car moved, Sakura had used the time to check over herself. It was most possibly the very first time she had ever attempted to make a formal impression at a party, so she was incredibly naive about the attire she had to don. Ino had taken the initiative to provide her with a glamourous evening gown; it was a full length dress that tightened around her stomach and just above her knees before draping downwards towards the floor. It was black in colour and done with an elaborate bow; the girl found it absolutely gorgeous and was very proud of the way it fit on her.

"This your place, Miss...?"

Being snapped out of her trance by the gravelly voice of the driver, Sakura had looked out the window and, not being able to conjure up any other reaction, just nodded mutely. Normally, had she been working for a boss who owned a normal business, she wouldn't be surprised to the extent of speechlessness. It was just her luck she worked the vocation of the secretary to the CEO of Sharingan Inc.

"Ah yes, this is the place," she replied conformably, nodding her head slowly as she walked out of the vehicle after having paid. "The Peninsula... of course, the party would be held in the fanciest and most luxurious hotel in all of Tokyo."

The green eyed woman heard the operator of the car snigger. "Good luck kid; them rich people ain't the best company."

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura scoffed as she fisted her hands in the fabric of her dress and marched through the doors, the sound of her footsteps being accompanied by the rushing water of the jet fountains outside. "Don't you think I know that already?" she muttered to herself as she stomped right into the lobby, ignoring the odd looks she was receiving. A concierge smiled politely at her before gesturing towards the elevator, which she had opted not to utilize –thus ignoring the poor man and his incredulous expression— and decided to take the stairs.

"Stupid Uchiha and his richness; if I wasn't his secretary and didn't have my job on the line, I would punch his pretty little fa—" A plain door to her right had caught her attention. Stepping down the stairs carefully, she made her way to the simple mahogany door, which she concluded was suspicious just because it was too plain to exist in such a fancy hotel. As she opened the door quietly, she saw that is was an inner stairwell; the steps winded both upwards and downwards, so she expected that one direction would lead her somewhat inconspicuously to her intended place. "It's better than strutting around that lobby where everyone one can... see..."

Her voice dragged off as she spotted a sight that she feared would be forever etched into her mind.

There, leaning on the cold railing of the stairs, standing elegantly on the grey concrete steps, was the man who was second —right after the Uchiha— on her hit list: Hyuuga Neji. Draped over another figure in a private position. A figure in a suit. A figure who was putting their hands in places only lovers should.

Sakura gasped as she realized that the long haired male was most likely making out with another man.

In the next second, she fell back clumsily as the shock of the head of two revolvers being aimed at her settled in. "Who—" the man lowered his gun slowly as his white eyes widened and zeroed in ostensibly on the pink haired woman. He unwound his other arm from his lover's waist and pocketed his gun swiftly, walking up to the fallen pinkette. "You're Uchiha's secretary."

His blunt, and almost disgusted tone, insulted Sakura. "And you're that stingy man who could do nothing but make noise at the last meeting!" she retorted stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest in protest. She disregarded, or at least, tried to disregard, the fact that she could possibly be fired or even sued for her reckless comment. Pushing it to the back of her already crowded mind, Sakura focused on the supposedly gay man in front of her.

Her concentration was broken when a feminine giggle, which was not her own, sounded through the air. "Hey, Neji; this girl's pretty funny," said the same feminine voice as a hand slipped into Neji's cool one effortlessly. Hazel eyes stared into green as a woman in a pinstriped suit dropped the gun to her side and smiled cheekily at Sakura's astounded face. "I like her."

There was silence as the couple holding hands on the stairs waited for a reaction. Sakura, on the other hand, was too busy trying to register what had just happened in her mind to devise one.

The suit clad woman pouted and tugged on Neji's sleeve, angling her mouth near his ear to gently whisper, "Has she gone mute?"

Would the Hyuuga have been the type of man to snort, he would have, but instead settled on smirking condescendingly at the silent girl. His eyes drifted briefly to his watch before he coughed to break the discomfited quiet that loomed over them. "Tenten, get back to work," he ordered strictly to the girl embracing his arm. The bun-headed brunette just grinned and nodded, detaching herself from him and walking down the stairs.

"Oh yeah," Tenten halted, looking over her shoulder audaciously. She looked at the pink haired girl who was still sitting on the stairs fiddling with the material of her dress, and beamed. "It was nice to meet you, Haruno-chan."

Viridian pupils contracted as her eyes widened, and Sakura gazed after the slowly disappearing figure. "Eh? How did she know my na— EYAAA!"

She was heaved up by the arm roughly with a squawk, and the fact that her heels were once again, higher than 3 inches, didn't help with her goal of achieving a vertical standing. Just as she was about to tumble down to meet an unfortunate demise, Neji had managed to execute a problematic technique to save her; he simply used gravitational force combined with the inertia of the person he was saving to push her back smoothly so as not to cause her stumble over backwards.

"We're going," he deadpanned, dragging her by her upper arm discordantly.

"Hey—" Sakura twisted in his grip and tried to pry his fingers loose from her skin. "Let—me—go!"

"You're making a fuss. Pipe down."

"Why you... who are you to tell me wh—"

"Eh—? Is that Hyuuga Neji with his date?"

Frowning, she took heed of his advice as she realized they had left the cold, dank stairwell and were now heading up the lavish, carpeted flight of steps in the middle of the lobby. Many guests had arrived now, and Sakura had gotten the feeling that the majority of eyes would flock to her and the man next to her due to their friendly pose. The girl lowered her head, trying to escape the attention, but it seemed it had the opposite effect as Neji suddenly positioned his gloved hand at her lower back.

Nodding, Sakura concluded presently that it was all the Hyuuga's fault that she had gotten into such an embarrassing situation.

"He's there."

Sakura's head snapped back to look at Neji as his voice broke her out of her recollection of memories. "You, go now," he commanded arrogantly, and he pushed her rapidly from behind towards the man she was looking for.

Sakura glared at him swiftly, hissing, "I have a name." She removed his slowly moving hand from her body and unconsciously straightened out her dress. "It's Haruno Sakura. Don't forget it."

The man smirked coolly. "I forgot already."

With a puff of indignation and another cold glare, she stomped away from him. Almost blindly, Sakura moved through the crowd of chatting people, her eyes scanning the area until they landed on the Uchiha.

He was politely conversing with a group of business associates, although he looked silent and just sipped his champagne elegantly. His suit was a marvellous black ensemble, and only proceeded to make him look like a wealthy, unattainable beauty which was, in Sakura's view, his actual being. She watched him nod his head courteously as he responded to something told to him, and she noticed his eyes reflected that he was growing tired of conversation when they disappeared behind closed lids briefly before they lazily re-emerged.

Sakura shook her head to redeem herself of her purpose and opened her mouth to speak once she felt she was close enough, but before words could even leave her lips, a head of spiky dark hair turned her way as if he had heard her voice even though she hadn't called his name. "Excuse me," she heard him excuse himself quietly as he made his way quickly, and unsurprisingly sophisticatedly, towards her.

"Hello," said a low, familiar voice. Sakura blinked once, before staring at him, who she swore was at least a metre away from her just a second ago, intensely. The man didn't seem to notice as he smirked devilishly at her, his teasing eyes directed at her. "You're finally here."

She pouted, reassembling her thoughts hurriedly, before tearing her gaze away from him as she realized it was near impossible to stay un-jumbled whenever she gazed at him. "W-Well, for your information, I was not late! It's not my fault you're exceptionally hard to find."

"It's not my fault you're exceptionally unperceptive," Sasuke looked over her shoulder for a split second before angling his body in a gesture for her to follow his lead. "You were with Hyuuga?"

Sakura nodded while she followed him. "Yes, he was…" she paused mid-sentence as she decided it was best not to spill all the details. "He was escorting me here. It seems that he wanted to apologise for his behaviour before."

Sasuke resisted the urge to snort. "Aa," he said, unconvinced. He stopped at a table covered with a gloriously patterned tablecloth, and sat down in his assigned seat. The Uchiha waited for her to follow his example and seat herself as well, but heard no movement. He craned his head around to see Sakura standing behind the chair nervously, twitching her fingers restively.

Her reason for nervousness wasn't because she spoilt her dress or steadily embarrassed herself, but for the basis that she had noticed that they weren't the only occupants of the round table; there were three others. One, she recognised, was Temari, the blonde feminist who had righteously stood up for her at the previous meeting. The second was a brunette whom she presumed was the woman's brother, as he was currently being scolded for drawing designs of some sort on the napkins in a way that was reserved for family disputes. The last was a red-haired, aqua-eyed man, who was watching –or in her honest perception, glaring— at her.

All of those people she had already had the pleasure of seeing beforehand, thus she knew of their high status. Hurriedly, she bowed her head graciously so as to show respect, but this resulted in her stumbling forward in her heels and smacking into the back of the chair. Safe to say, she had caught their attention – though not in the way Sakura had first anticipated.

"Sit," deadpanned Sasuke as he crossed his arms impatiently over his chest. Sakura blushed and plopped herself down beside him, obeying his orders like a dog obeying his master. She kept her mouth shut, hoping that the other occupiers of the table would miraculously overlook the gauche incident. However, as she had just started to regain her composure, she was yanked forward when her hand was taken into a hard grip. She was met with a pair of very interested eyes, and the pinkette doubled back, startled.

"Pink hair…" uttered the blonde woman curiously as she examined the girl in front of her. Said girl fidgeted restlessly under her gaze, trying to look away in discomfiture. "So this is the famous Haruno?"

Sakura, not being able to retain her uneasiness, raised a brow and leaned forward, inching slightly closer to the female who was now clasping her hand. "Famous? What do you mean?"

The blonde blinked. "Wait," she said coyly, slanting her eyes towards the nonchalant Uchiha. All she received was a subtle glare back. Then, as if that was all it took to answer the unasked question in her mind, the woman dropped the hands in her hold and covered her mouth instead. "Ah! AH!"

An order rang through the air with a noxious aura. "Temari; quieten down." The cold voice made Sakura's head flicker towards it unconsciously, and she suddenly wished she hadn't. She cringed at the deadly look the red haired man sent his presumably older sister, even though it wasn't directed at her.

A hearty laugh from behind the women caused the two to turn their heads. "Now, now, if you do that, everything will be too quiet," teased a preposterously dressed lady as she slung her thin arms over the backs of their chairs. Pulling up her sunglasses to the top of her head stylishly, Tsunade grinned. "Sakura! I was wondering when you'd show."

"Yeah, you'd probably think that Uchiha here was gonna keep her all to himself," taunted Temari mischievously, leaning backward in her chair to grin at Tsunade. She made sure to keep her voice lower than before, so as to comply with her younger brother's instructions. "I'm surprised I even got to meet the girl."

Sakura raised a brow. "What are you talking about?" she voiced her impatience bluntly, crossing her arms now that her hands were free from any strong holds. "I don't exactly understand why I'm constantly being referred to as if I'm— as if I'm some sort of monster trapped in a cage by my boss!"

The hospice possessor smiled grimly. "Oh, but Sakura— in short, that's what you are."

"Tsunade," asserted Sasuke sharply just as Sakura was about to open her mouth. He unfurled his limbs and intertwined his fingers together while flicking his head indiscreetly towards the west of the room. "Your table is in the other ballroom."

Raising an eyebrow, the hospital owner scoffed. "Uchiha, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."

Suddenly, an unfamiliar figure stepped forward to join their conversation.

"My, Sasuke-kun, you seem to have lost all subtlety since the last time we met."

Slowly, Tsunade whipped her head around. Her gaze grew hard and she gritted her teeth, forcing herself to spit out her next word. "Orochimaru."

A soft chuckle escaped the man's mouth as he strode to the table. "Not even a greeting, Tsunade?" he hissed in a chilling voice, his cat-like golden eyes flickering dangerously. His foot stopped when it brushed contact with the stub of Sakura's chair, and the pale skinned man stooped down vaguely so that his long, black hair –that was fancifully tied into a single ponytail— swept over the rosette's bare shoulder faintly.

"You've always been the chatterbox," Orochimaru continued while his silk clad arm snaked itself around Tsunade's waist. "It might not be the great reunion you'd always dreamed of, but couldn't you at least say a few words? I'm sure you're bursting with things to say to me right now."

Tsunade frigidly slapped away the man's appendage. "I have nothing to say to you," she snapped irately. "Absolutely nothing."

"Well then," he smiled cruelly, lifting his hand from its post, which ironically, happened to be Sakura's shoulder. "Should I assume that you want to postpone this party for when the last member rejoins us?"

"Party?" Tsunade echoed, her voice wavering when Orochimaru's eyes finally focused on her own amber ones menacingly. She brandished her hand shakily around the room as a sign of show. "You call this messed up event a party?"

"Kuku, you seem to be intimidated by my acquaintances," he beckoned unsettlingly with two thin fingers. No sooner than a few moments from which he had summoned him, did the taller man appear behind him with his glasses glinting from the chandelier lights. "I'm sure you remember Kabuto-kun."

The busty woman glared. "This place is crawling with your cronies. What makes you think I'm going to remember this fool?"

Kabuto pushed his spectacles up gingerly as he smirked. He mumbled something quietly into Orochimaru's ear, reaching into the inner pocket in his suit to withdraw a card. The small slip was placed into the other's hand smoothly and a silence followed until it was broken by the sound of a chuckle. "Ah. So this," Orochimaru started disturbingly, resting his cold hand onto Sakura's bare shoulder again. His eyes were speckled with disconcerting curiosity as he licked his lips while he examined the girl. Threadlike lips parted and Sasuke spared the man a sidelong glance, Tsunade growled and Gaara closed his eyes.

"Orochimaru! You bastard! Don't—"

"Orochimaru."

"—must be Sasuke-kun's dear bloodsinger."

Sakura shivered. Her entire body was paralysed completely; she couldn't even close her eyes no matter how much she craved to. She was extremely uneasy about the shivers that were being sent down her spine at the man's cold touch. Her brain, her inner conscious, her own body – it screamed at her, telling her to move, telling her to run, telling her to scream. Alas, her jaw was locked and her fingers were frozen in clenched fists in her own dress. Sakura felt his grip loosen for a split second then immediately tighten again, and the scream she had been building up was pushed to her throat.

"S-Stop," she croaked. Her throat was too dry to produce a loud enough volume to make her seem unaffected by the scary male. With the sudden confidence to speak, albeit softly, she gathered up the excess control to shut her eyes forcefully. "Please... stop."

Then concurrently, an abrupt wave of warmth spread through her as something grabbed her hand and pulled her away from Orochimaru's grip. Her closed eyes still refused to open even as she felt a warm body brush her side gently. Her other fisted hand still refused to unclench even though her other was in the presence of safety.

"Stop." That single word was all it took for Orochimaru to smirk and draw away considerately.

"You're quite patient, Sasuke-kun," he clapped his hands slowly, gazing intently at Sasuke who had shone his eyes perilously. A laugh was torn from the snake-man's throat as he spun on his heel and continued to clap in the same slow, agonizing fashion.

"Orochimaru-sama, we should leave now."

"Kuku," the man laughed again before glancing back to meet Sasuke's even glare. "Try if you must to kill me with your eyes, but remember..."

Gaara opened a single eye lazily and stared at Orochimaru as he took the hat Kabuto offered him. Tipping his fedora, the black haired man quirked his lips, making his sinister beam grow wider.

"I'm not Snow White. I can't be killed with poison."

Without another word, he left amiably. Soon, his footsteps couldn't be heard to be clacking against the floor, nor could you see the pinnacle of his top hat as he walked.

Tsunade scowled and leaned through the gap between Temari and Sakura's chairs to swipe the filled wine glass sitting on the tablecloth. Chugging it down, she wiped her mouth of any spare liquid and moved to grab another goblet. Temari watched her with astonishment evident on her face. Before the drinking woman could stumble around the table to reach for another cup, she pushed the bottle of wine in her face.

"Sheesh," the four-tailed blonde muttered, her eyes mysteriously glued to the other blonde woman as she continued to drink. "Is that like, a habit?"

At those words, the fluid stopped flowing past her lips. Tsunade lowered the bottle and shook her head sadly. "I can't believe it," she laughed hollowly, sitting in an empty seat that was designated for someone else. "Even after everything, it's still here. It's still freaking here."

She stood up, taking the purple jug with her as she smiled grimly. "I'm going to forget about this. I will," the voluptuous woman stared at Sakura who had now pulled away from Sasuke awkwardly, but still gripped his hand as if it was her lifeline. "But she won't. You might want to do something about that." Then, she walked away, sculling down the remainder of the contents in the nicely shaped urn.

Sakura opened her eyes. Her thoughts were still perplexed, and she felt that Orochimaru's cold touch had somehow stilled her completely, and she was glad that a warm hand was grabbing hers otherwise she'd fear her body would freeze up. Then, something in her mind clicked. That hand, Sasuke's hand, the hand that was usually cold in more ways than one, was warm.

Viridian green gawked at connected hands, and she looked up to scrutinize Sasuke's seemingly perfect face. Moving her hand up gradually, she reached out to touch his hair. Her fingers brushed through the locks easily; the strands were so soft. The vampire on the other hand, did nothing but stay still. He felt he had no need to detach her touch from his scalp, as she had just encountered the man who seemed to know more about her than she did herself.

"Saku—ah."

Inky black hardened into a scolding grimace. She'd just tugged his hair.

She then tilted her head to the side as her eyes widened. Sakura gasped and bowed her head quickly. "Sorry!"

Sasuke sighed as he shook his head as a gesture for her to remove her appendage from his head –most likely, to prevent any further damage to his beautiful hair— and turned away from her. "Whatever."

"I'm sorry," she apologized again, smoothing out her dress in an inept attempt of becoming comfortable. "I guess I'm just a bit… disorientated." Sakura sighed as she lifted her hand that had stopped it's grooming duty to her hair gawkily. "I really do apologize for um, not being as professional as I should have been."

There was no answer, but Sakura continued to babble on in her nervousness. "Well, er… did you happen to know that, um, Orochimaru-san?"

"That's none of your business."

The green eyed girl exhaled lightly. After working for the stubborn man for over a week, she'd learnt not to be insulted when he tried to close himself up. "I suppose so. Sorry for asking."

"Don't be like that, Uchiha," Temari boomed as she swathed her arm around Sakura's shoulders. "You can't blame the girl for asking. That guy's as scary as anything can get and you kn—"

"SAKURA-CHAN! Help me!"

A flash of orange darted towards Sakura and engulfed her in a hug that smelled strongly of spices. "Naruto?" she asked, trying to wiggle out of strong arms. "What's going o—?"

"It's really bad, Sakura-chan," wailed Naruto as he snuggled the girl harder into his chest. "Kakashi is mad because I played a prank on him and got chalk dust in his hair –even though it didn't really make a difference, c'mon– and now he's after me! I swear, I heard him running after me around the buffet, and now he's going to kill me! His eyes are going evil and he's giving out the same aura as the bastard over there always does! Help me!"

"My, my, Naruto; you're really making me out to seem like the bad guy, aren't you?"

Sakura pushed Naruto off her and flashed the man across the table a radiant smile. "Kakashi! You made it!"

Naruto snorted while he caressed his throbbing cheek. "Of course he made it. Someone told him there was gonna be an Icha Icha book signing here," Kakashi plonked into his seat next to Gaara casually. "Then, he took so long looking for it, that's why we're late!"

"Don't tell lies, dumbass," Sasuke deadpanned. "Kakashi arrived here hours ago. You're the only one who's late."

The whiskered boy stuck his tongue out immaturely. "Whatever, Sasu-babe."

"Naruto," Kakashi started, flicking a page in his book absent-mindedly. "Stop addressing Sasuke with such frivolous names." His eyes scanned the words on the paper avidly and he ignored the odd stares he was receiving for reading his book while participating in conversation. "They make you sound…"

"Gay?" Sakura supplied helpfully, trying to contain her giggles as her tanned friend glared dejectedly in her direction.

Despite the hurtful jibes, Naruto perked up instantly. "Feh, you know you like it, Kakashi."

"I beg to differ. I have no interest in homo erotica," the silver-haired man eyed the Uchiha suspiciously. "Especially between the two of you."

"Yeah, well… hey, wait!" Realization dawned upon Naruto as Sasuke shook his head at his friend's slowness. "Ew, gross! I'm not going out with him! Kakashi, that's just wrong because I'm not gay—OW! Why did you hit me, Sakura-chan?!"

"Shut it," she hissed, pulling his ear fiercely so he sat down on the floor near her chair. "Hyuuga Hiashi-san is giving a speech now."

True enough, the older Hyuuga was standing at the podium, clearing his throat to gain everyone's attention. "Firstly, I would like to thank you all for attending…"

Naruto paid no attention the words the man was speaking due to the fact that he was crawling rather strangely around the table to his seat. Clambering onto the chair incongruously, he crossed his arms and glared at Kakashi, who was seated next to him. "I get my ear pulled for standing up for my sexual preferences, and you get away with reading porn in public. It's not fair."

He was ignored, and he pouted as he sulked while Kakashi raised a hand civilly. A waiter came around swiftly, offering the occupants of the table a practised smile. "A bottle of Chardonnay, thanks," Kakashi whispered lightly, so as to not rouse any who were actually intently listening to Hiashi's drone. From the corner of his eye, he saw Sakura's eyes light up, and he would have groaned if not for the mask covering his lips. Reluctantly, he called the waiter back with a sigh. "Make that two bottles."

Sasuke stared at Kakashi squarely. "I'm sure there are things you'd like to discuss," the masked man explained quietly as he slid a glass over to Sakura who caught it in her nimble fingers. "This would be a great opportunity."

A sidelong glance was spared to Temari and her siblings, before the Uchiha deduced that she was not paying attention. "Aa."

Kakashi smiled. "Now then," the waiter appeared with two bottles of wine in his hands, and he set them on their table agilely. As if he was a professional, the older male who had ordered the beverages poured them into all the wine glasses without spilling a drop. His eyes, which were previously trained on the sloshing liquid in his cup, turned to Sakura with an even gaze. "How have you been?"

"Things have been a bit iffy, Kakashi. You should already know that though, I mean, you did know I wasn't so fine because you were hunting me down like some sort of—"

"He wasn't talking to you, dobe."

"Well," Sakura placed a finger on her chin as she imbibed some liquor. "I suppose I have been fine. That is, if you call having multiple assignments due but having to go to work as well fine."

Kakashi's lone eye crinkled nostalgically. "Ah, that's right. You still take those lectures down at the University."

The blonde boy lifted a finger, feigning judiciousness. His nose upturned in the air as he spoke with a haughty tone. "Yeah, of course! Sakura-chan's so smart that she can handle that!"

Sasuke intertwined his fingers and kept them under his chin. "Lectures?" He hadn't heard of that before.

"Yes," the girl turned to vampire as she nodded her head. She smiled delicately. "It's for medical study. I guess you can say that's where I got all knowledge from."

"Hn, so that's why you're so distracted and slow at work."

Sakura twitched. "That's not true, Sasuke-kun!"

"Kids, now's not the time to squabble," Kakashi intervened nonchalantly while Sakura scowled and took a large chug of her wine. It was preferably best she didn't retaliate any longer, lest she wanted to become unemployed. She slammed her glass maladroitly back onto the table surface and Naruto hurriedly poured her another glass. He knew what she was like when she was mad.

"Sheesh, teme. Did you have to make her angry?" Naruto scolded in a stage whisper. "Remember, she's scary when she gets mad!"

The pink haired girl who, not all too wanting of hearing her friends gossip about her in front of her, looked away and drank her drink. Hiashi Hyuuga was still up at the dais, and his deep voice was echoing around the room. The other occupants of the table, the Sabaku Enterprises representatives, seemed to be intently listening, although the oldest brother was once again doodling on new napkins. Craning her head backward, she inadvertently saw the further party-goers. The Hyuuga Corp. was sitting at a table with Tsunade and her hospital troupe, and all were also paying attention to Hiashi on the stage. Another look around made Sakura pick out Shikamaru and Chouji — friends from her previous job section— who were busy sleeping and eating respectively.

"Sakura," a voice called. "Sakura!"

She turned her head back to Kakashi, who had called her. "Huh? What did you say, sorry?"

He smiled whilst pouring her another glass of Chardonnay. "Out of it again, I see. Sasuke must be very hard on you if you're always like this."

Sakura frowned. "I'm not that bad. I do my work well and efficiently. I don't know what Sasuke-kun's being telling you."

"That's not what I want to know," Kakashi's smile faded to a gentle melancholy line, and he leant forward as if sharing a secret. "What I do want to know is," he drummed his fingers rhythmically on the table. "Who was that creepy man you just met, Sakura?"

The girl blinked. "You mean, Orochimaru-san?"

Naruto choked on his drink. Kakashi nodded whilst thrusting a batch of napkins in the blonde's face. "Yes, that one."

"Well, I'm not exactly sure… it was the first time I'd ever met him, to tell you the truth. What do you want to know about him, anyway?"

Sasuke took a sip of his wine, before pushing it away from his lips altogether. He'd never liked the taste of wine. "Kakashi," he said warningly, as if telling him not to reveal too much.

"Sakura, that man," Kakashi continued on as if he hadn't heard his boss speak. "Do you know who he really is?"

She shook her head. "No," taking a swallow from her glass, she licked her lips. "Actually, I don't really know much about him. Is he dangerous?"

"Deadly."

Sakura downed the rest of her drink. "I thought so."

"Sakura-chan, you don't know how dangerous that guy really is! He's—"

Shaking her head, the girl poured herself another glass of wine. "Naruto, stop worrying. It's not as if this guy can do anything to me with you around all the time."

"That man has killed over 50 people."

The movement of manoeuvring the wine bottle halted. "W-What?"

Sasuke looked straight into Sakura's eyes as he repeated his sentence with conviction and seriousness. "Orochimaru is a man who's killed over 50 people."

Sakura nodded her head several times, positioning the bottle upright so that she wouldn't drop it. Her hands were shaking so much when she'd heard Sasuke's sentence, and when he'd repeated it, she felt that there was no feeling at all in her limbs. "O-Oh really? Then, why is he here?" She wished desperately that she sounded stronger.

"I don't know."

The girl moaned and chugged down the glass before once again filling it up. "Great."

Kakashi chuckled. "No need to get so scared, Sakura. All businessmen here have to sacrifice people."

"I'm not scared. I just don't understand why such a man is hanging around the business world when he seems much more needed in the circus," she muttered to herself, though all the men she wished to keep her comments from heard her loud and clear.

Naruto laughed. "You're funny, Sakura-chan."

"Yeah, just hilarious," she remarked sourly, trying to reach for the other bottle of Chardonnay. Sasuke passed it to her fluidly. "Now, why exactly are we talking about a serial killer then?"

"Stay away from him, obviously."

Sakura sighed and stared at her boss dismally. "I know that I should do that. Why would I go looking for someone who could kill me?"

"Morons like Naruto would do that. I just don't want you to end up like him."

"Hey! I object to that!"

Sakura heard them bicker relentlessly, although Sasuke was more silent while Naruto was whispering loudly as if he was shouting. She rested a hand on her cheek as she poured herself another dose of wine, and drank it down.

"Don't drink so much. You're lightweight, remember?"

Waving her hand dismissively, she cracked an uncharacteristic grin. "No problems, Kaka-san! I can handle my alcohol perfectly!"

"Kaka-san?" He shoved a glass of water towards her. "I should've known better than to choose Chardonnay as our drink choice."

She shook her head enthusiastically and spread her arms as if to block the incoming drink. "I don't want water! I want another bottle of wine please! Hm, what about Bordeaux?"

Naruto snickered and slung an arm over Sakura's shoulder. "She doesn't want water, Kakashi!" he chortled gleefully. When Sakura was tipsy, she tended not to act so violent when he touched her. "Listen to her."

His mouth let out words of pain instead of the seemingly witty comments he was about to speak of, as Sasuke whacked him thoroughly on the back of the head. "Stop trying to take advantage of her, idiot."

Sakura groaned and banged her head on the table with a loud thump. "Kaka-san, my head hurts." She closed her eyes tightly and brought her arms up to cover her head. "Everything's spinning and my head is throbbing."

"Drink some water, Sakura."

"No." She pouted and instead swiped Sasuke's still full glass of wine and slurped it all down. "Ah—" the green eyed bombshell smiled drunkenly. "That was nice."

Sasuke sighed and removed any liquor from Sakura's reach. "She's got low alcohol tolerance. Why didn't you stop her?" His blaming resentments were directed unswervingly at Naruto who was now rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry. Ino-chan told me she had a bit of alcohol before she left, you know for a 'girly congratulations thing', but I kinda forgot that she wasn't supposed to drink anymore afterwards."

Kakashi glanced at Hiashi Hyuuga, who was still speaking, and flicked his head towards the opened doors on the other side of the ballroom. "Take her out for some fresh air," he advised. "It might be best to get her out of here before she disgraces Sharingan Inc. with her tipsy-ness."

"I'll do it!" Naruto raised his hand cheerfully, already standing up.

"Dobe," Sasuke glared at him and pulled Sakura up roughly by looping his fingers around her upper arm and tugging her so she stood drowsily. "You'll end up killing her."

Kakashi laughed. "No, I'm afraid it would be the other way round."

With a smirk, the Uchiha dragged Sakura with him as he made his way inconspicuously to where Kakashi had pointed out, and he stepped across the threshold elegantly, although he had a clumsy and drunk worker stumbling behind him. He released his hold on her and allowed her to step forward to the banister of the balcony. "Don't go too far over the edge."

Then, as if she hadn't heard him, she leaned forward over the ledge so that one of her feet had left the ground and more than half of her body was swaying in the air away from the railing.

"Saku—" he sighed as she withdrew and stepped back safely onto the tile. "What are you—"

She thrust her hands in his face as she beamed. "Look!" In her small hands was a small flake. "It's a Santa! You get to make a wish now!"

Turning away, he stuffed a hand into his pocket. "There is no such thing as wishes."

"Nah-uh! There are!" Sakura moved even closer to him, so that her arms had separated and swept over his shoulders. Soon, she was so close; he could feel her breath on his collarbone. "Haven't you ever wished for something, Sasuke-kun?"

"Sakura." He said monotonously, trying to draw away, but her hands clamped together as if to keep him in place. The tiny fleck was now squished in her hand, but she didn't bother to let it fly away. Her head had now burrowed itself in the expensive fabric of his suit, and her arms that were once strong –in her opinion, anyway— had now loosened, so that she looked like she was just hanging onto him.

"Ne, why don't you make a wish now, then?"

She lifted her head and stood on her toes so that her face could get in even more closer proximity with him. Sasuke stiffened; she was now too close. Much, much, too close.

"Kakashi," he called, taking a hand and putting it over Sakura's entire face to stop her advance. "I'll take her home."

He didn't receive an answer, but instead, a black overcoat which he draped over the girl's frail shoulders. Then, as if it were completely instantaneous, he took her hand and forced her onto his back before crouching down so that his knee touched the floor. "Sakura?" he turned his head and his hair flicked her in the face. She made no sound but a light snore to signal that she had fallen asleep. "Hn," he grunted as he propelled himself and Sakura off the balcony, and into the sky.

The pair fell to the ground with a great gush of wind providing resistance, before Sasuke landed on the next roof platform and ran quickly along it. It was a cold night, but it only drove the vampire to run faster as he pumped power to his legs. Soon, he had leaped off the hotel enterprise altogether, and was now dashing across the clouds.

He had remembered where his employee lived, having been there once himself. In the span of around 3 minutes, Sasuke was standing in front of her door, his forehead leaning against the wood of her entrance way. With a swift kick, the mahogany block swung open, and he strode in quickly, making sure to stop his breath intake. He knew how devastatingly good this place smelled.

Not being too overly familiar with his surroundings, he deposited Sakura in the first room he entered upstairs, which he presumed was most likely her bedroom. A quick scan made him see that her room was neat, and that it was full of mementos of the past.

He turned as Sakura fidgeted and turned over on her bed, trying to get comfortable despite the largeness of her dress. Sasuke smirked and promptly unzipped the back of her dress. That proved not to be the best move, as her scent overloaded his nose regardless of the fact that he was not breathing.

"Sasuke-kun," she murmured in her sleep as she arched her back unconsciously. Said man gritted his teeth, but couldn't help himself when he dipped his head towards the fleshy exposure of her neck. His lips now rested on her throat, while his hand had fisted itself into her pillow. Somehow, he could imagine the blood flowing past his lips. With that, his mouth opened, and a fang rested on her skin. He could imagine the absolutely appetizing taste of her. He could imagine her face; scrunched up in surprise, or fear, or even pain.

That thought alone made him withdraw quickly. Putting the back of his free hand, which was also placed in a fist, onto his mouth, he berated himself.

"Sasuke-kun…"

He stood up, dragging his hand away from her pillow which left the strange indent of his fingers, and he sighed. Putting that hand to her throat, he narrowed his eyes. Then, without another sound, without another movement drenched in bloody desire, he left.

A/N: Update. After a long time. I apologize for that. I could give you a million reasons to why I didn't publish this earlier, but really, the main reason was that I was just too plain lazy. At times, I was fueled by my reviewers, but then they sorta… stopped. Please, (not wanting to sound like a review whore or anything, but c'mon!) if you're gonna alert, read or favourite this story, please drop a statement by. It'll give me inspiration. :D

On a slightly more happier note, there was more SasuSaku goodness here! I hope that fulfilled the wants of some of you readers, but although there was no kiss, the future is still unknown. –Oh, is that a hint?

Hm, well, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my darling Jaeplane, who, although does not read this story, helped out a lot by providing me with a muse and inspiration through all my boring library write up sessions. You saved this chapter from becoming a total disaster. That, and I'd like to just include that music really helps authors write. I had a playlist of 6 songs that were repeated just as I kept writing this chapter. Harhar, if you'd like, please recommend some nice music pieces – it can be in any language (although, I'm more tilted towards Japanese music right now), it can be an instrumental, or whatever.

Well, that's all. Stay tuned for the next update of 'La Tua Cantante'!