Changing Tides Chapter 5 Part 2 (part 2)
The further Sasuke walked from his blonde haired companion the more crowded the streets seemed to become filling with people going in every direction. He had to wonder how big this event was to have such a turnout and what exactly the event was that had everyone rushing.
The only thing he saw here were the paper lanterns. He had to admit that some of them were breathtaking. He did notice one common theme though they all seemed to reflect either the sun or the moon.
The one he stopped to admire featured a dragon looking like it was going to eat the sun. Its body was long spiraling from the bottom of the lap wrapping around the sphere of the sun a few times before stopping right above it. The dragon’s mouth was half over the sun. Sasuke was amazed at how amazing it looked and allowed his eyes to go over a few more.
Stopping a few feet from that decorated paper lantern he noticed another. This one showed several pictures of the sun being eclipsed by the moon. All around the lantern was different stages of an eclipse. The thing that was making him look at it again was that going to a full eclipse the moon blocked out the sun, but when the eclipse was over the sun seemed to be leaving instead of the moon. Showing both a solar and lunar eclipse in one picture was simply astounding.
Walking in no particular direction he went ahead and noticed a few more lanterns. Some were brightly colored, others didn’t have the same shape. Each and every single lantern he saw was unique in its own way. The only common thing was what he noticed earlier--they all had the moon or sun somehow reflected in their art. Stopping again he took time to look at a blue one.
Sasuke move swiftly to the right as five kids ran past him going deeper into the village.
“We’ll get horrible spots if we don’t hurry up!” he managed to hear before they were out of earshot.
The teen stopped for a second as he watched where they were heading. He didn’t know what to make of what the kid was saying so he thought it best just to forget about it. He knew he had to keep his ears open for any information that could help him with this mission.
A few seconds after he started walking again someone bumped into him. The person fell and Sasuke heard the sound of dirt being upturned. He turned to glare at the girl who was dressed in tight pants and a tight black shirt with a small jacket that came a little lower then her waist. She stared up at the taller person with wide gray eyes.
“Oh, jeez I am so sorry I am such a klutz!” the girl said jumping to her feet. She began dusting off her pants trying to get the specks of brown off her black jeans. Finally making eye contact with him she noticed his glare and took a step back. “Really, I am sorry.” She bowed down her purple hair falling down into her face.
“Hm...” Sasuke said the sound escaping his mouth as he walked away from the bowing girl. He didn’t have time to deal with her, he had information to gather and spending time with a klutz wasn’t a very valuable use of his time. Sighing to himself he continued back on his path to nowhere. He wondered if he would even be able to obtain information with all this mass chaos.
“H-hey wait!” The purple hair girl yelled as she ran in front of Sasuke.
Stopping he gave her another glare wondering what it was that she stopped him for. She looked down and began to shuffle her feet in nervousness. After a second of this she looked back into his dark eyes and gave him a wide grin which reminded him of a certain blonde haired ninja.
Losing the glare he just sighed. “What do you want?” he asked, wanting to get it over with as fast as he could. If he was lucky she would just apologize again and then leave. Crossing his arms over his chest he shifted his positioning into one he knew would look more intimidating. Perhaps if he scared her she would just run away and leave him alone.
“Are you going to the concert?” She questioned. She began bouncing from one foot from the other in impatience as she waited for his answer.
Cocking an eyebrow he questioned “Concert?” he didn’t know that there was a concert going on in this village. Then he remembered that he just got here and everyone here more than likely knew about it. A light bulb went off in his head as he remembered one of the kids who almost bumped into him earlier saying something about seats. Could this be what they were talking about?
The girl nodded quickly and gave him a big grin. “I guess you haven’t heard have you? Let me guess, you’re one of those people here for the celebration, but you don’t know what’s going on do you?” she stared into his black eyes for a few seconds before looking to the right. She turned back to him putting on another big grin “I know what I can do for you I’ll take you with me to the concert. It’ll be really fun!” She bounced on the heels of her feet as she said her brilliant or so she thought idea.
‘No’ was the first thing that his lips were about to say but he gave it another thought. He didn’t know anyone or anything that was going on around here and this girl was more then willing to help him in that aspect. ‘You can question her as well on what has been going on in this village,’ his inner voice contributed. Mentally sighing he did something he never thought he’d do.
“I’ll go with you.” he agreed. In less then a second the girl was gripping onto his arm and squeezing it painfully as she led him down the street.
“So where are you from?” she inquired never letting go of his arm. She looked at him, light brown eyes gazing at him, begging him to answer her.
“The west.” he was brief and very vague about where he was from, but this didn’t seem to please her.
“C’mon you have to give me a little more then that, tell me what country at least.” Pouting, she flashed those brown eyes in his direction again. He sighed and wondered if she knew how futile the attempt to get him to like her was. He was used to ignoring fan girls so this wasn’t really different from that, yet he could at least give her the country.
“Fire country,” it was a quick response and that was all he was willing to give her as she griped his arm harder and laughed.
“Oh? That’s awesome I went there last year and had a blast; it’s a lot warmer than it is here. Then again it never snows there does it?” she looked to him hoping for a response but all he did was shake his head and she continued. “I like the cold more than I like the heat and it never really gets that warm here, it’s only going to get colder after this week.” she grinned at him again.
Sasuke chose to tune her out then as he looked at the path they were walking. Dozens of people were rushing past them and coming from every direction. They were all approaching a stage that was elevated a few feet off the ground. Several spotlights hit it and cause the stage to glow a bluish green color. The surface was reflecting the light and causing it to shine brightly.
Around the stage were about five people who were tuning various instruments, playing scales and generally warming up. There were several huge speakers surrounding the general vicinity of the area all turned towards the stage and the several around the stage turned outwards towards the crowds. There was currently no one on the stage, but by the way people were running he believe that the show would be starting soon.
A guitar riff was heard as the speakers came to life. A firework was shot in the sky and exploded in bright colors a number ten lit up in a bright golden color. Another firework was shot this time a nine in red. Again another burst of light as another firework was shot up an eight appeared this in blue. The crowed continued counting down their anxious voices keeping a steady pace.
Seven
Six
Five
Four
Three
Two
A silence fell over the crowed and no one moved. Even the woman who was clinging to him earlier let him go as she aptly watched the stage waiting for something to happen. White lights surrounded the area illuming a portion of the stage. The speakers came alive at this time a saying.
What can I do for you?
More lights of varying colors came on and hit the center of the stage as a young looking woman with short brown hair took her place in the center. She began walking forward till she stopped and spun once. She gripped a part of her kimono while spinning before stopping and throwing the garment off the stage. She was wearing a blue shirt underneath it as well as black shorts.
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
I can hear you
The performer danced around for a few moments before catching a microphone that was tossed in her direction. Catching the object, she twirled it in her hands before bring it down to her mouth and singing with the chorus of the song.
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
The crowed cheered loudly after her singing the chorus and began to jump up and down. Sasuke scowled as someone bumped into him from behind. He turned around only to see no one standing in that close of a proximity to him and wondered what could they have wanted. If that person was a thief they wouldn’t have even gotten anything as he left everything of value back in the hotel room. He looked over at the woman who brought him here and he noticed that she seemed too entranced in the show to be paying him any attention.
Sasuke allowed his eyes to go back to the stage as he looked at the singer again. She was walking closer to the front of her stage and her voice rang out clear, piercing through the cheering as she went into her first verse.
Far beyond the hazy borders of my heart
I could see a place that's something like this
Every now and then I don't know what to do
Still I know that I can never go back
Four dancers appeared in a cloud of smoke at the center of the stage and began dancing to the lyrics. The two men and two woman moved forward until they surrounded her and she smiled at the while maintaining her singing. She performed a few dance steps her self while counting to sing.
But the things I've seen in those hazy dreams
Can't compare to what I'm seeing now
Everything's so different
That it brings me to my knees
Dropping her knees another male appeared on the stage and held a hand out to her, picking her up as she began singing the chorus. They danced together him matching her movements as they danced like a couple. He grabbed her arm and spun her around, holding her close for a second before spinning her out and releasing her. She made a motion to him and he came closer before she turned toward the audience and seemed to singing to them.
And though I know the world of real emotion has surrounded me
I won't give in to it
Now I know that forward is the only way my heart can go
I hear your voice calling out to me:
"You'll never be alone"
The lights changed to blue and red with just a bit of white in the mix. The male who was dancing with the singer went to the back as she lowered the microphone from her mouth. The speakers were still pounding with the chorus as she walked to the back where he dancers were. They all seemed to sync up as she began dancing with them. They were all mimicking each other moments perfectly and did a series of twist and turns Sasuke knew not every person could do.
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
I can hear you
The males and females paired off and began to dance with each other. The crowed cheered louder as the males flipped and the females did some motions of their own. They seemed to laugh as they all stopped for a second as there was a break in the music. They grinned at the star of the show as she walked back to the front of the stage.
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
The lead brought her mic back up to her mouth as she started the next verse. The lights around her changed back to the colors they were earlier. Her voice was just as clear as when she first started. She began the second verse as the dancers backed up everything she did.
I don't plan on looking back on my old life
I don't ever plan to rely on you
Even if by chance everything should go wrong
You'd come anyway and try to save me
“You know its funny.” the sharp voice caught his attention and he turned to look at the woman who was still mesmerized by the performance.
“What?” his own voice was low enough so that only she could hear it. He wondered if she was even the one who spoke earlier.
“This song is funny because don’t we all want a person like that in our lives?” Her lips moved and he knew that it was her who was talking. She turned to look at him, the tears in her eyes sparking as she tried not to cry. He wondered what happened to make this song have such an effect on her.
Though from time to time it's an upward climb
All I know is that I must believe
'Cause the truth I'm seeking
Always was inside of me
“I thought I found that person once,” looking at the sky she allowed the tears to begin flowing down her cheeks. “He was always with me and by my side we did everything together.” She laughed bitterly.
And when I find the world of real emotion has surrounded me
The many things that you taught me then
Will always be enough to get me through the pain
Because of you I am strong enough to know I'm not alone
Curiosity wasn’t something Sasuke was used to experiencing, but he never had a woman crying in the middle of a packed concert type event. To say he was curious about her tell wasn’t far from the truth--he hoped that she would continue without him asking her to and was grateful that after a few moments she did.
“I got home one day and he was gone. His stuff was still there his clothes coat all his belongings everything he owned in the world was there. The only thing missing was him, I didn’t even get a note or anything he was just gone.”
She laughed just as bitter as she did before as her red rimmed eyes locked with his. Bringing a hand up to her face she began to wipe away tears.
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
“Did you ever find him?” he asked her curious how the rest of this tell was going to play out.
She looked at him before shaking her head. She wiped away the remaining tears as she started to laugh this time it wasn’t as bitter as it was earlier. It was just a laugh as if she found something very funny, clutching her sides she began to laughed harder at something that was only funny in her mind.
What can I do for you?
“What’s so funny?”
What can I do for you?
“You.” Her breathing evened out as she stopped laughing to look at the last Uchiha. Her gray eyes held a secret behind them and a certain mischievousness he didn’t like the look of.
What can I do for you?
“What?” He said, eyes narrowing as he looked at her. He was not someone to be laughed at and if need be he was willing to show her just how much he hated anyone laughing at him.
What can I do for you?
“You like him.” she stated simply as her eyes looked back to the stage, everyone on it was doing more dance steps as the speakers thrummed with the chorus. The lead singer brought the mic to her face as she began going into the final stages of the song and performance.
I can hear you
The woman danced around the stage doing elaborate spins moving around the stage making the crowd go crazy with every little movement she made.
And if I find the real world of emotion has surrounded me
And I can't go on
You are there the moment that I close my eyes to comfort me
We are connected for all of time
I'll never be...
“Who?” he asked as he watched the stage, he didn’t know why, but this song was touching him in a foreign way.
And though I know the world of real emotion has surrounded me
I won't give in to it
Now I know that forward is the only way my heart can go
I hear your voice calling out to me:
"You'll never be alone"
He looked back to the woman expecting an answer from her but she didn’t do anything. She hummed with the song as if she knew the lyrics but if anyone were to really listen to it they can tell she didn’t.
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
I can hear you
“Who?” he asked again, this time getting angry. If she wasn’t going to tell him she was going to be in a lot of pain pretty soon.
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
What can I do for you?
I can hear you
She turned to look at him one more time before point to something. “Him” was all she said. He turned around and looked only to see his blonde haired teammate rushing through the crowds trying his hardest to reach him.
I can hear you
The woman made a motion with her hands at the last line of her lyrics. When she finished that movement the song ended as well as fireworks shooting with smoking coming from the center of the stage. When the smoke cleared the woman and her entourage were gone. Sasuke looked to the position where the gray eyed woman was but saw that another person moved to take her spot. He scanned the crowd quickly just to see that she was nowhere to be found.
“Sasuke!” Naruto yelled trying to get his attention. The blond was pushing past people who were pressed together so close not even a bug could squeeze through.
Sasuke stood frozen as the words the woman said played in his mind ‘You like him.’ He was dazed as he looked at his blonde hair companion. He couldn’t like him, could he?
“Sasuke.” Naruto muttered as he finally made his way to the black haired teen’s side, his eyes seemed to be darting back and forth as if he wasn’t able to comprehend something. “You’ll never guess what I saw.” His voice held a slight trembled as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying.
Black eyes narrowed as he looked at his companion and gave him his full attention. He began to ignore all the surrounding noises just so he could hear the blonde ninja better. “What did you see?” was asked. His undivided attention was given to his companion wondering what could have shaken him up so badly.
“I saw-“
“Kido!” They both looked in the direction they heard that voice come from. Seeing a small girl by herself who looked around frantically for someone they began to approach her. As they got within a yard of the girl a man taller then them both them came to her side and he knelt down. She put her arms around his neck as he picked her up. Turning around he began to walk in their direction till he pushed passed them both and made his way to an unknown area. His face was illuminated by the stage lights and both Konoha citizens were shocked by what they saw. Sasuke was the first person to break out of the trance, when he did he turned to looked at the blonde who was still staring in the direction that that man had traveled.
Another song began to come on, the piano intro soft and sweet, but neither of the two dazed teens focused on it.
“Was that?” Sasuke questioned wondering why he didn’t use his sharingan to verify what he saw was accurate.
“I think it was. I thought I was seeing things earlier and came to tell you. I saw him again and I’m not sure if it really is him or some imposter who looked like him.” The blonde shook his head as he though of an imposter looking exactly like the old academy teacher. “We should talk to Kakashi and see what he says about all this. Have you seen which way he went?” Naruto said his shock a lot less than Sasuke’s since he saw the man earlier.
When you walk away
You don’t hear me say
“He headed that way,” the black haired teen pointed his head in a direction as he began walking that way. Naruto turned around once looking towards where the brown haired teen went before hurrying after Sasuke. If anyone knew what to do it would be Kakashi. At least Naruto hoped he knew what to do.
“Please oh baby don’t go”
Simple and Clean is the way that
You’re making me feel tonight
If Sasuke looked to the stage after the first line of the song he would have realized where the woman who dragged him went. Then again, to Sasuke there were more important things than watching her perform
It’s hard to let it go.
Countinue.