Song of a Cherry Blossom
by Diana-san
Author's Note: Song used in this chapter is "New Future" by Changin' My Life. It is from the anime Full Moon wo Sagashite.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or "New Future".
Chapter 21
Sasuke gritted his teeth. So this was why he had to dress up for this dinner. He clenched his fists but didn't dare say a word with his father sitting just a seat over. He tried not to look at Sakura. He was wondering how she was taking the news.
Dinner began as everyone sat down in their seats and Sakura squirmed the entire time as she picked slowly at her food. All the food that came out looked scrumptious but Sakura didn't have much of an appetite. The news of Sasuke's and Karin's sudden engagement had shocked her and made her stomach churn in weird ways. She kept glancing up from her plate as she looked at Sasuke who was slowly cutting up his steak. Quickly, her eyes darted over to Karin who seemed to be watching Sasuke as well.
Sakura took this time to observe the girl across from her. Karin was fair skinned and had crimson red eyes behind the frames of her black-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a lavender-colored dress that seemed to tone down the brightness of her red hair. As questionable her fashion choices seem to be, Karin did look pretty sitting there beside Sasuke. Sakura gripped the fork in her hand as she stabbed a cherry tomato on her plate.
Dinner was silent for the most part as the adults talked amongst themselves. Chatter about company business and wedding details that seemed mundane but was hard to listen to for Sakura. She stands up and the table looks up at her.
"Excuse me, I have to use the powder room," she said softly as she lowered her eyes and bowed in excuse. She quickly made her way out of the dining room as she looked for said powder room. Truthfully, she didn't care where she went as long as she wasn't in that confining room with both Karin and Sasuke there. She walked along the corridors not knowing what she was doing at this point. She wanted to leave and run away and go home to collapse on her bed and forget that tonight ever happened.
She didn't know if Fugaku believed in Sai's claim of her being Sai's girlfriend. Sakura couldn't help but think that Fugaku knew something was between her and Sasuke from the way his eyes would ever so often glance over at her. She doubt that he would have any interest in her if she was Sai's girlfriend. That was why this dinner was held. That was why she was invited as well. To show to her that she and Sasuke were from two different worlds.
Point made. Sasuke is going to marry Karin. She's the daughter of a bank president. They're perfect for each other.
She sighed as she leaned against the wall of the empty corridor.
"Sakura," a voice came up from behind her.
She whirled around, surprised to see Sasuke standing behind her. "W-why are you here?" she asked, although her heart jumped out a little with joy that he was there.
He didn't respond at first as he scratched the side of his face. "I came to see if you were alright," he said after a moment.
"You shouldn't be here. They're going to think something is going on between us," Sakura said softly but her cheeks were warm from the delight she felt in hearing his words.
"Something is going on between us," he stated as he grabbed her wrist and led her past the foyer and into a dark room. "Besides, I said my stomach was hurting and that I'm getting medicine."
Sakura's eyes widened. "Are you okay?"
"It was a lie to come find you." He released her arm and turned to face her. The room was dark and only the slight peek of the moon filtered through the window pane up above them. The moonlight rested on Sasuke's face and Sakura tried to read the expression on his face. He pulled her closer as he hugged her. Sakura's body froze in surprise as she stood still in his embrace.
"You're not dating Sai, right? Please tell me that was just some lame excuse he came up with."
She nodded but then realized he probably couldn't see. "Ah," she murmured.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he said nothing. "I'm sorry," he finally spoke up. "Things are a bit out of my control right now. This engagement… I'll try to figure something out. I can't say anything to my parents right now. Taka World Bank is an important shareholder to the company and so this engagement means a lot to our families. I know this is a lot to take in for you."
He hugged her even tighter. "But despite all this, I still like you and want to be with you. I won't give up."
Sakura remained silent as she listened to his words. She couldn't help but feel both happy and sad at the same time. She slowly brought up her arms as she hugged him back. He at least told her that he cared about her. She just wondered that despite their feelings for each other, would it ever be possible between the two of them.
She hugged him even tighter as she buried her head in his chest. This might be the last chance she get to hug him like this.
Sasuke walked into his classroom as he made his way past the stares of his classmates to go to his seat. Naruto eyed him and was just about to come over to have his say when Sai walked through the door after Sasuke. Naruto narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure which of the two he should start with.
"Sasuke!" Naruto ran to Sakura's desk and sat on top of it as he glared into his best friend's face. "Where were you all of yesterday after that little stunt you pulled with Sakura-chan?"
Sasuke shrugged. He wasn't going to answer Naruto in front of their entire classroom of inquiring eyes and ears.
"Sakura and I got into a bit of an argument so Sasuke was just trying to help by making me jealous. It worked fairly well," Sai spoke up as he came up behind Naruto.
Naruto glanced at Sai from the corner of his eye. "Are you really dating Sakura-chan? I find that hard to believe."
The classroom was full of whispers as their classmates looked on.
"Ah, Sasuke wanted to make sure I really had feelings for Sakura so he did that. Unfortunately, the media caught that on tape." Sai laughed as he scratched the side of his face.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He didn't like hearing these lies but there was nothing really he could say to counter it otherwise. He glanced at Sai as he seemingly managed to convince the whole class of that ridiculous story of him trying to get Sai jealous. The way he lies might be able to win him an acting award.
The door to the classroom opened again and in walked Sakura. She had a wary expression on her face as she entered the room and no one seemed to have notice her come in yet. She noticed that Naruto was sitting on her desk facing Sasuke with Sai standing behind him. The rest of the class seemed to be paying attention to the three boys in the corner.
"Sakura-san," Hinata called out as she ran over to Sakura.
Everyone turned to look at Sakura as they finally noticed her entrance. Sakura grimaced. Were they going to fire a round of questions at her?
No one said anything as Naruto got out from Sakura's seat and returned to his own. Except for the curious stares at her and a bitter gaze from Aoi, everyone remained quiet. Sakura slowly walked to her seat as her eyes tried not to meet with Sasuke's. She was still trying to figure out how to act around him in public. Sai smiled at her as he sat down in his seat.
Naruto turned to face Sakura as he tried to read her face. "Sakura-chan, so you and Sai are really dating?"
Sakura didn't know how to answer this. Should she say yes? Or no? It was a lie that she hadn't agree to but somehow been swept into twice thanks to Sai. She glanced at Sai hoping for an answer. Sai nodded at her silently.
"Uh…" she began.
Before she could go on, the door opened and Kakashi walked in. It was unusual of him to arrive on time but he was present in class before the bell had even rang.
"Good morning class," he greeted the class. "Ah, so nice to have everyone present today," he remarked as he noticed all the filled desks in his classroom.
"Come in," he called out as he looked towards the door. The door swung open and in walked a red-head with a smug expression on her face. "We have another transfer student to our class. Let's all welcome her."
Sakura gaped as she saw who walked through the door. Dressed in the school uniform and standing next to Kakashi was Karin.
"Hello, I am Tojo Karin and Sasuke-kun's fiancée. Please take care of me," Karin said sweetly as she bowed to the class. "I am here to spend more time and learn more about my future husband."
The words dropped like a bomb in the class as everyone tried to register the words fiancée and husband in their heads. Sasuke gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe that his parents transferred Karin to his school, much less to his classroom.
"Hm, I guess you're in luck Karin. The only empty seat left is the one next to Sasuke and behind Sai," Kakashi said as he glanced around the room. Karin smiled as she skipped down the aisle to her seat besides Sasuke.
"Some announcements for today. As you all know, the cultural festival is coming up soon in November and we have lots to prepare in order to get ready for it. Our class has been picked to hold the school play," Kakashi announced. "We're fortunate to have a script written by one of your classmates. Shikamaru, would you please come to the front to explain your play?"
Shikamaru sighed as he reluctantly got out of his seat. "So troublesome," he muttered underneath his breath as he walked to the front. He began to explain the story of the play and the major and minor characters that needed to be fill. It was a spin-off from the classic fairy tales and the whole class got excited as they listened to Shikamaru's explanation.
Kakashi smiled. "We'll be picking out roles through a fair system I chosen." Kakashi proceeded to push up the blackboard behind him to reveal the second blackboard underneath. On the board was a giant piece of white paper taped to it. Sakura saw that there were lines on the top and bottom sticking out of the paper.
Ah, amidakuji, she thought. It was the ladder climbing game which was technically a method of lottery designed to randomly assigned pairings between two set of things. She assumed that they would figure out their role from this game.
"Everyone, as you can see, I have the ladders drawn behind this piece of white paper. The roles are listed above the paper next to each line. Everyone will come up and write their name down on the bottom and we'll see who gets what role."
As everyone filed out of their seats to write their names down and hoping for a particular role, Sakura remained in her seat. She was less enthused about the play and hoped to not get any acting role. She got up when she noticed the crowd in front of the board lessened. Choosing one of the last ladder rungs on the board, she neatly printed her name in chalk.
Lord, please let me be a tree in the background or an animal in the forest.
"Okay! Everyone's name is down," Kakashi said with a smile. "Let's see," he said as he peeled away the white paper from the board. Kakashi began the process of connecting the lines as he announced the results one by one. Some people cheered when they heard their name called while others were less enthused. The most anticipated pairing was the prince and princess as everyone eagerly waited to hear Kakashi announce the names.
"The role of the princess goes to…" Kakashi started as he traced his finger along the lines of the ladder, first going down, then left, then right, then left again, before settling down on a name at the bottom. "My, my," he murmured to himself. "If it isn't our lucky Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke glowered at the sound of his name. He didn't want to take part at all in the play. But now he was stuck with the worse role of all. Not only was it the lead role… but it was a role meant for a girl.
Naruto snickered. "You have to wear a dress," he teased in a sing-song voice to his friend.
"This game is stupid," Sasuke mumbled.
Sakura giggled. It was going to be interesting to see Sasuke act the role of a princess. He was already so high and mighty like one to be honest.
"And the role of the prince goes to…" Kakashi said as he finished circling the name of the last role in the play. The room went silent as everyone pined to hear the name. Several girls sat up from their seats as they prayed for the part to be able to kiss Sasuke on the lips.
"…UZUMAKI NARUTO!"
Naruto's pen dropped as his mouth hung loose. Sasuke's head fell to his desk. Everyone seemed to have a look of shock on their face as they looked at Sasuke and Naruto before breaking into howls of laughter.
"EHHHHHH?! THIS MUST BE SOME KIND OF MISTAKE KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran to the board. But it wasn't. His name was circled underneath the role of the prince.
"No mistake Naruto. You're the lucky guy to win Sasuke-kun's heart," Kakashi replied as he pushed Naruto's forehead away from the board. "Go back to your seat."
"Okay, that's it for the acting roles but there still is plenty to do for the rest of the class who didn't get a role. We have costume and set design and all of you will be working as stagehands," Kakashi said as he read off a list in his hand. "Ah, there's also the role of the narrator which I forgot to include. Would anyone like to volunteer?"
No one raised their hand.
"I'll do it," Sakura said as she slowly raised her hand. The group of people left behind to work on set and costumes were not people she knew. She would rather work alone as the narrator than to listen to the gossip go on during stage work.
"Alright, thank you Sakura," Kakashi said as he penned down her name on his list.
Someone else raised their hand. "Sensei, since this is a cultural festival and we have Sai here, wouldn't it be awesome if he sings the ending song at the end of the play?"
Everyone in the class began to nod as they heard this idea. "Yeah, then we'll surely get a huge audience to attend."
"It'll be so much fun if he sang during the last scenes going into the curtain call."
Sai didn't look all too pleased to hear his name suggested. He was rather set on just painting flowers and woodland animals for the set. He raised a hand to his throat as he cleared it. "Ah, it sounds like a wonderful idea," he said.
"Alright, then it's decided," Kakashi noted as he marked it down on his list.
The days pass by as the class prepared for the festival. Sasuke and Naruto unwillingly practiced their lines with each other but both refusing to do the kiss scene at the end. Aoi got the part of the evil sorceress and was absorbed in her role as she barked demands at the students playing her servants. Hinata shyly played the Queen of the kingdom but quickly grew into her role as she got the chance to talk back to Aoi through the lines written for the Queen. Karin was displeased to get the role of a villager since she knew her talents was being squandered in such a lowly role.
Sai spent most of his time helping direct the painting of the sets and he worked with Ino as they painted one of the larger sets. When he wasn't painting, he was in the control room with Sakura for help on composing an ending song for the play.
Sakura fiddled with the buttons as she tried to learn how to work the board in front of her. Not only was she the narrator, she had to control the sound board as well as the light board. She sighed. If she knew it would be so much work, she wouldn't have volunteered herself.
"Sakura?" Sai called out as he knocked on the door.
"Mm?" she replied, her eyes focused on the switches in front of her.
"How's the song coming along?" he asked.
"It's in its working stages," she replied. She pressed a switch. The light on the left side of the stage came on. "Ah, so that's what it does," she murmured to herself.
Sai sighed. "Guess there's no way out of it," he said softly to himself.
Sakura glanced up. "What did you say?" she asked as she finally took notice that he had been standing there watching her for the past ten minutes.
"Nothing," he said as he dropped a stack of papers on her lap. "Kakashi wanted me to drop this off for you. And to tell you to practice lighting certain areas of the stage during the points he marked."
Sakura grumbled as she flipped through the papers. "Thanks," she said as she returned to focus on her work.
He left and Sakura was left alone in the control room again. As she flipped through the stack, she noticed a sketchbook at the bottom of the stack. Curiously, she opened it and flipped through the pages. They were sketches hand drawn in pencil. She stopped in the middle of the book. It was a sketch done in ink of two boys holding hands. It wasn't hard to tell that one was a sketch of Sai. The realistic portrayal of the drawing captured Sakura's breath. She wondered who the other boy was. He was a bit taller than Sai and shared some similar features to Sai. Is this his older brother?
If she remembered correctly, Sai had said that his older brother had passed away. She flipped through the pages to the end and saw a neatly printed note on the corner of the last page.
"Sorry, Shin nii-san. I have vocal cord nodules. I may not be able to fulfill your dream."
Sakura's eyes widened as she read the words over and over. Vocal cord nodules? Sai? She slammed the sketchbook shut as she tried to take in the information. When was this written? Is it recently? Or is this an old note?
Sakura got up from her seat as she ran out of the control room to look for Sai. The cultural festival was happening in less than three days. If Sai really did have vocal cord nodules, that would mean he couldn't do the performance. He might lose his singing ability or worse, it can affect his speech.
"Sai!" Sakura yelled out breathlessly as she found him in the back of the theater with the set crew. Everyone glanced up from what they were doing. Sakura marched over and grabbed his wrist as she dragged him over to a quiet area in the corner.
"What is this?" she said in a loud hushed tone as she opened the sketchbook to the last page to show him what she found. She glanced around to make sure no one was able to listen in to their conversation.
He grabbed the sketchbook from her hands. "You weren't supposed to see that!" he exclaimed as he shut the book and looked away from her.
"Sai!" Sakura exclaimed exasperatedly. "Is it true? You really do have vocal nodules?"
He said nothing but Sakura took his silence as a yes. "We have to tell Kakashi-sensei that you can't sing then for the play!"
"No!" he exclaimed as he grabbed her wrist to prevent her from leaving. "You can't tell him! You can't tell anyone! If they find out, my career would be over!"
"Your career will already be over if you go on like this! You need to get treatment done! It's not the end of the world if you treat it early enough. You can still perhaps recover your singing voice," she argued back with him.
"I have to do this!" he insisted.
"Why? Why do you have to torture yourself like this? Everyone in our class will understand if you tell them!"
"No! Once they find out why I have to drop out from the play, it's over. I can't let it end. I can't let my brother's dream end like this." Sai clutched the sketchbook close to his heart as he tried to hold back tears. "Shin nii-san always dreamed of being a singer. He passed away just months prior to his debut. I stepped in take his spot and continue his dream. You can't take that away from me. From us."
"You're being ridiculous! Your brother would have wanted you to fulfill your own dreams right?" Sakura grabbed the sketchbook as she opened the pages to show him. "You like to draw right? You want to be an artist, don't you? I mean, you even helped out with all the set painting!"
She pleaded with him, "So don't ruin your voice like this."
"It's my decision to make," he responded.
Sakura said nothing as she watched him. "Why, Sai? Why are you such a pain in the ass?" she muttered.
She sighed, admitting her defeat. "I won't tell anyone. But you are to get treatment and rest after this play, okay?" she demanded as she held out her pinky so that he would promise her.
"Ah," he said as he wiped away the tears brimming at his eyes. He linked his pinky onto Sakura's pinky as he shook it. Sakura opened up the sketchbook and took out two sheets of paper folded inside. "I finished the song," she said as she handed the papers to Sai before walking away without another glance.
Sakura walked back to the control room and collapsed onto the chair. She glanced at the switchboard in front of her. It was frustrating. She still couldn't come to agreement with Sai's request to remain silent about his vocal nodules. She fingered a switch on the board. But what could she do?
The day of the cultural festival came as everyone flocked to school on a beautiful Saturday morning. The play was scheduled for the afternoon and the class of 2-A was busy finishing up final touches. Sakura had gone around to visit the other classrooms with Hinata and Naruto as they filled up on snacks from the food booths set up and sat down for tea at the maid café in class 3-B. Neji and Tenten were in that class as they served the group while dressed in matching butler and maid costumes.
Sakura couldn't help but have her eyes glaze over at the sight of Tenten in her adorable maid outfit. "You look really pretty Tenten," she remarked as Tenten served her a cup of tea.
"Thank you," Tenten said with a smile as she hugged Sakura from behind. "Ahhhh you're so cute in general. I can't wait to see you in the school play!"
"I-I'm not acting! I'm just going to be the narrator," she replied as she tried to find her breath in Tenten's strong grasp.
"Oh really? Then who do I get to see?" Tenten asked.
"Uchiha Sasuke in a dress," Neji responded with a smirk as he came up from behind and placed a plate of cookies on the table.
Tenten's eyes flashed in excitement. "Ohohohohoho, so today is the day I get to see Sasuke's utter defeat," she responded with a hearty, evil laugh.
"Ah, Neji nii-sama," Hinata greeted her cousin. "You look very dashing," she said as she observed the butler outfit he had on.
Neji sighed. "It's bad enough I have to wear this. But for you to see as well."
Tenten hugged Neji. "It's cuteeeee," she claimed.
"You're more peppy than usual," Neji remarked.
Tenten's eyes fired up. "I can't miss the play. I must get tickets right now," she declared as she handed her tray to Neji and ran out of the room.
As the afternoon rolled along, Sakura returned to the control room as she prepared the sound checks for each microphone. She tested the lights and was satisfied that they were all in working condition. The crowd settled into the auditorium as they got seated before the play began. It looked to be a packed room and Sakura gulped in nervousness. She can't afford to mess up here.
As she controlled the switches of the lights and the sound system, the play slowly began as the curtains opened. The crowd howled with laughter when they saw Sasuke come out in his princess outfit but he shut them up with his eyes as he glared at them all. He was enchanting, however, as he had the audience caught up in the allure of his beauty despite him being in a dress.
The play continued without a hitch as Sakura's voice filled the auditorium with her narration of the story. Intermission came and went and the second part of the play continued from where it left off. Sai had enter the room by this point as he got a microphone readied in his hand.
"Sai," Sakura called out. "The ending song is about to come on soon. But I think there is something off with Shikamaru's microphone and he was supposed to say the last remarks. Since you have the only other holding microphone, can you bring it down to the stage and do the song from the backstage?"
Sai nodded. "Will it be able to connect to the sound system from there?"
"Yes, just connect it to the box in the back. The one I showed you last time."
Sai left without another word as he took the microphone with him. Sakura bit her lip as she watched the door close shut behind him.
Sorry, Sai.
As the lights dimmed on stage during the last scene, Sakura took out the microphone from underneath the switchboard. She had lied about Shikamaru's microphone being broken and that Sai had the only other one. She had actually given Sai the broken one instead of the working one in her hand.
She squeezed her eyes shut as she turned off the lights in the control room so that she was in the dark. The dim light of the switchboard was all that she could see along with the lights on the stage below her.
She fumbled with the switch as she turned up the volume for the music and turned on her microphone. Sakura took one deep breath as she listened to the music play.
"Tatta hitosu kawaranai mono Zutto egaiteta yume"
There's still one more thing that will surely never change…the dream that I am always sketching.
Sai glanced up from his microphone as he whirled around in surprise. His microphone wasn't working and instead, someone else was singing in his place. He laughed to himself. Sakura had fooled him.
"Ima no jibun ha dou utsuru noAno koro no chiisana hitomi ni"
The me that I am right now, could I possibly reflect…all of those days in these small eyes of mine?
Sasuke froze on stage as Naruto did too. This voice wasn't Sai's as it clearly was a female singing. Naruto smiled as he glanced up at the control room. He wasn't sure what was going on but the lights were off and he could see a silhouette standing in the room. Sakura-chan…
"Nee miagete konna ni hiroi yozora dakara"
Hey…won't you look up, the sky tonight is so wide and spacious after all…
"Sou sugu ni wakaru you ni"
Right…very soon…so I can understand
"Seiippai kagayaku kara hayaku Furumuun wo sagashite"
With all I've got, I'm going to hurry up and shine…I'm searching for a full moon
Sasuke couldn't look up from his position lying on the bed and he got up immediately as Naruto's lips drew closer for a kiss. The curtains began to close as Sasuke turned to catch a glimpse of the control room from his spot on the stage. The control room up on the balcony level was dark and he couldn't quite see who was standing inside. Sasuke was rushed off the stage as the crew came to drag out the remaining props to clear the area.
"Let's sing a song!"
"Itsudemo issho kimi no tame ima no watashi ni dekiru subete"
So that we can be together forever, I'm doing everything that I can do.
"Day by day…"
"Kyou made on unmei ashita kara no kibou kono mune ni dakae"
I will embrace yesterday's fate and tomorrow's hopes inside of me.
The curtains raised again as the students who played supporting roles came out one by one as they waved and bowed to the crowd. Members of the set and costume crew also came out to fill the stage.
"Let's sing a song!"
"Itsu demo issho kimi to nara tsurai koto norikoerareru yo"
If I always together with you….I'll make it through any pain.
Hinata came out alongside Aoi as they bowed to the crowd before taking their places standing beside their classmates.
"More and more…"
Naruto came out with a triumph grin on his face as he waved to the crowd.
"Motto motto motto chika tsukitai ima koko ni itekurete"
I want to be even closer to you, I stand here right now and give…
Sasuke reluctantly walked out as he went straight to the center spot beside Naruto, his eyes never once leaving the control room as he ignored the cheers from the audience.
"Many thanks for you!"
Everyone took a bow and then the lights went off.
Sasuke quickly raced out of there as fast as he could as he ran to the control room. It was a bit difficult running since he was wearing a dress but he knew he would be able to make it in time.
He caught his breath as he stood in front of the door to the control room. Before he could open it, the door opened and Sakura stepped out. She looked at him in surprise. "Sasuke," the name escaped her lips.
"What was that?" he inquired as he stepped closer towards her.
He could hear the sounds of Shikamaru talking over the sound system as the crowd listened in. Sasuke made no motion of moving as he cornered Sakura back inside the control room. The room was still dark and it didn't look like anyone else was inside. He frowned. He recognized that singing voice. He heard it enough times to know who it was. But she clearly wasn't in the room. Unless…
He looked at Sakura. There was no way. Saki?