The Sound Flowing Through These Cables

Hello SasuNaru fans,

I felt bad about how short the first chapter was so I decided to add chapter two early. I didn't really realize just how short the first one was until I posted it. So starting with this chapter I'll be updating once a week ^_^. I'm really happy that people have actually reviewed my story already; I honestly didn't think people would take to it right away. Thanks so much for the love!
I'd like to clarify something before moving on. I'm taking a bit of artistic liberty with the way I present music in this story. You'll notice throughout that Akatsuki plays songs from various artists. I basically use songs that match how I imagine Akatsuki to sound if they were a band in real life. I hope it's not too confusing.

This week's playlist consists of:
Massive Attack - Risings On
Massive Attack - Future Proof

EDITS I changed a bit, especially at the end. This will be the only chapter that I do this too. Now that I have someone to beta I’ll take care of all of the revision stuff before posting. Sorry! I hope you still like the story and stick with it!
Bebop out.


Chapter Two: Welcome to Avalon

Due to a forced detour, the trio ending up strolling into the packed Avalon as the opening act was just finishing their set. Naruto sighed in relief. His life was spared.

“Oh, thank god,” Sakura breathed out, relaxing her closed fist that was ready to pummel Naruto if she had missed out on any Sai goodness, “they haven’t started yet. I knew you could get us here on time, Naruto!” Her sweet smile didn’t fool Naruto one bit.

“Yes, yes. We knew you could do it,” Ino agreed. “You owe us some drinks for stressing us out.”

Naruto decided it was best not to argue and made his way over to the bar as Sakura and Ino struggled to find themselves a niche in the crowed room. The venue was relatively small considering all the hype around the performance and Naruto now understood why it was such a big deal Ino got tickets. There may have felt like a lot of people inside but in reality there couldn’t be more than a couple hundred.

Naruto ordered their signature drinks, a hearty Shirley Temple for Sakura, a Bloody Mary for Ino a Jameson and Ginger for himself. After paying up the ouch $30 for the drinks he found that his friends waving to him from a carved out a little space close to the left side of the stage.

“Come on, Sakura. Lets drink this quick so we can squeeze in another one. I want a buzz by the time they start playing.” Ino knew she sounded totally adolescent but at the moment she didn’t care.

Sakura downed her drink, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut, “Gaaaaaaaah! I like how you think Ino!”

Ino grinned evilly and clapped her hands together, “Naruto! Chop, chop! Another!”

Naruto winced, “Come on Ino, those things are expensive. Plus, you don’t want to be drunk before this stupid thing even starts do you?”

“That’s enough nonsense out of you, foxy boy! Do as I say!” Ino commanded, pointing towards the bar while Sakura chanted “Foxy boy! Foxy boy!”

Naruto sighed and handed his drink to Sakura, “Okay, okay. Just drink this and shut up, will ya? I’ll be back.”

As soon as Naruto opened his mouth to order another round for the lightweight girls, the lights of Avalon flickered out and the blond found himself being shoved by a pushy audience. Hot palms pressed him forward until he was a breath from the center of the stage. He struggled, not wanting to be separated from the only faces he knew in the group of unfamiliar energetic bodies. “Sakura! Ino!” His yell was no more than a whisper compared to the unified roar of a suddenly very loud crowd. Blue lights began to glow, pulling Naruto’s eyes forward. His eyes squinted as the lights intensified to outline a slender form behind a DJ booth. Headphones could be made out from his silhouette. Beside the booth stood another figure; blockier, but still slim. Silence fell like a deep breath before a scream and soft moans were heard. The beat dropped and everyone erupted. The bass fell heavy and pumped into Naruto’s chest, forcing his heart to move in time. His fingers pulsed with the music and his eyes continued to strain against the new lights of the stage. Naruto grabbed as many details as he could in the distorted light. The headphones on the DJ held back his long, silky black hair. His eyes were closed and his face calm as he absorbed the sound. A thin black cord clung to a delicate neck and long piano fingers lightly worked the table. Feminine features graced the man’s body.

“I see you go down to a cold mirror, it was never clearer in my era so.” A husky voice pulled all eyes to the figure behind the microphone. Sexuality pour from his voice as the singer gripped the mic with one hand, letting the other slide down the stand. “You like a shine on your forehead or check it by the signs in the corridor.” He was lightly hunched, causing his shaggy jet-black hair to sway close to his lustful eyes and frame his pale face. “You light my way through the club maze, we would struggle through the dub daze.”

Naruto’s ears filled with the seductive sound and eyes couldn’t help but roam over the equally seductive being on stage taking in the man’s black clad physique. A tight midriff shirt exposed hard abs and sharp hipbones rose out of leather pants so tight they were like a second skin.

“I see myself in there upon my lover. It’s how you go down to the men’s room sink. Sad, we talk of how madmen think.” Naruto couldn’t shift his eyes from the stage. He just stood there as the sensuality of the music seeped through his skin, finally understanding what all the fuss was about and absolutely hating that everyone was right. Faintly he felt hot bodies swaying around him, pressing him here and there as he stood still, feeling the beat merge with his blood.

*****


Sai’s dark eyes looked down into the relatively small crowd of fans below as he continued to pour himself into the song. It wasn’t too small of a venue but they had definitely played much bigger. He caught the wide blue eyes of a blond boy who looked like he was having a epiphany. He loved watching the birth of a fan. Behind the mic Sai’s lips twitched into a smirk as the boy blinked himself back to reality. After sparing a suggestive wink at the new fan, Sai continued onto the rest of the crowd. Just because he found a new fan didn’t mean he could neglect the ones who’ve obsessed over him from the beginning. He spotted a pink-haired girl near the edge of the stage looking positively edible in her dangerously short skirt, causing visions of Catholic schoolgirls to run through Sai’s mind. “See me run now you’re gone.” He sung, voice low and eyes locked with hers, letting her know full well he was undressing her with his eyes. He loved that she was loving it. She would be invited backstage. “Dream on.”

“Why you want to take me to this party and breathe, ‘I’m drying to leave.’” Gaara makes his sublet debut, mic in hand, deep voice booming. He casually walks towards Sai, acting like he was just making conversation. A camo army cap covered his mop of amber hair and shadowed the kanji tattoo on his forehead. “Every time we grind we know we severed lines.” Dressed in faded grey denim that contoured to his hips and a blue vintage Journey shirt over a white long sleeve, Gaara’s voice is calm and cool as he slides across the stage towards the black figure behind the mic. His free hand moves with his words. “Where have all those flowers gone?” Sai gave Gaara a shrug as he continued, “Long time passing. Why you keep me testing, keep me tasking? You keep on asking.” Both singers turned to the crowd as Itachi at the booth boosted up the sensual sound the crowd was all to happy to sex up to.

*****


In a bland back room of Avalon with cinderblock walls painted white and covered in promo posters, Sasuke heard Sai reach what he guessed could be called the chorus of their first song. He felt it more than heard it really, as the couch he was sitting on did little to absorb the vibrations of the bass drumming through the thinly carpeted floor. Faintly he heard a “Toy like people make me boy like” but then it faded back into a mumbled murmur of music and crowd noise.

Sasuke tapped his figure on the couch armrest, sinking back into it’s deflated cushions, and tried to calm the knots of fear that had been winding in his stomach since he woke up on the Akatsuki bus that afternoon. After a week or so of late nights working on the song he was to sing tonight for his Akatsuki debut, he thought he would be confident enough to take on the small venue. Instead, the late nights of singing in harsh whispers had only resulted in a bit of a scratchy throat and his limbs felt jittery from too much caffeine. The band’s manager, Iruka, gave him a cup of tea to help with the throat and the head of the maintenance crew, Kakashi, added some rum to help with jitters. All-in-all a downright shitty concoction. But it’s working Sasuke thought as he noticed the music dying down. The trio was probably working up the crowd before the next song.

Sighing, Sasuke topped of his mixed drink and decided to make another, minus the tea. He had a feeling he was going to need to feel really good to get past this sudden attack of stage fright that was making his legs ache and each finger feel like it was being pricked by needles. He hated feeling this way and hated it even more when it was noticeable. Figuring the rum would help hide any sort of nervousness he might be feeling, he poured a bit more into his coffee mug. After giving it a good swirl the rum was to his lips and burning down his throat. He repeated the process, wanting to hurry up and start feeling the results of the alcohol and stop looking so twitchy. Sasuke has traveled around with his brother’s band since their creation some three years back and in that time had developed a fair tolerance for drugs and booze. He knew how much to drink to achieve just a buzz and how much it took to have him retching in a public toilet. After just one more refill Sasuke was confident he would feel much calmer in a few minutes.

They must be on the third or fourth song by now. Sasuke wasn’t supposed to go on stage until the encore. He had quite a while before he even had to think about prepping to go out there. When Iruka said everyone was going to leave him alone in the backroom to “mentally prepare himself for this exciting and important moment in Akatsuki history” he thought they were just going to give him a few minutes to himself and then file back in to rest up before the traditional backstage party. But here he was, almost 20 minutes into the set, and no one had even come in to ask if he wanted anything to eat, which he did. Normally Sasuke didn’t mind being alone, in fact it was a rare treat he usually cherished. This nerves thing is fucking with my psyche. Sighing, he pushed himself off the couch and walked to a cracked floor mirror that was leaning against the far wall.

He figured he looked okay. Itachi, being the meddling older brother he is, insisted on picking out what he wore. After raiding Sasuke’s closet as well as the other band members’, Itachi settled on dressing his little brother in a pair of simple but fitted black denim jeans with a blood red patent leather belt looped through. A charcoal short sleeve woven shirt with military straps at the shoulders hugged his torso. The first few buttons were undone and a choker that matched Itachi’s clung to his neck. A long, black leather cord was wrapped around his right wrist a couple of times. Sasuke leaned forward, peering into the mirror. Yeah, he looked alright. Flashing his pearly whites, he made sure there wasn’t anything gross hiding there. Satisfied, he straightened and swiped his hands through the back of his thick black hair making sure his spiky style was holding up then pushed his bangs out to the side. Okay, he was hot, he was feeling a buzz, he was ready to go. He looked at the clock above the mirror. Fuck, I still have at least a half hour.

Sick of the little room everyone left him in, Sasuke took one more swig of rum for good measure, grabbed a handful of VIP passes for the backstage party, and headed out the door to check out the crowd who would see him make his singing debut.

*****


Ino and Sakura had managed to wiggle their way through the crowd until they found Naruto to demand where their drinks were. When they finally did find him, he was thoroughly rocking out, arms at angles above his head, eyes closed, hips swaying, sweat beaded on his skin causing his shirt to stick. A random girl was pressed up against his front while a random guy was pressed against his back.

Sakura couldn’t help but grin and Ino couldn’t help but roll her eyes with an I told you so flair. They closed in on their blond friend moving with the music.

“Chemicals. Chemicals captured in winter’s grip. Turn us on.” Ino heard Sai’s suggestive voice rasp out and hipped the girl front of Naruto out of the way to take her place while Sakura stepped in behind where the random guy once stood. Naruto didn’t even seem to notice, which the girls did not like. They looked at each other and nodded knowing that they would have to kick it up a notch to draw Naruto away from the music and back to the physical present. And of course to remind him of the drinks they were promised.

Ino turned to face the still lidded eyes of her friend, swaying with the music she raised her hands to feel Naruto’s hard chest, lightly guiding her fingers over his pecks and up towards his neck. He still didn’t seem to care. Sakura leaned in from behind sliding her arms around the boy’s narrow waist rubbing the space between sharp hips and a hot groin. His face finally gave some reaction and eyes opened to see the familiar blue eyes of his friend. Naruto breathed out a sigh and shook head head with a smile. He gently turned feeling Ino’s fingers laced behind his neck to see a grinning Sakura. With a light shrug that said he would play along, Naruto let them dance with him.

Ino had to admit she was excited by her friends reaction and the combination of still sort of feeling her drink from earlier and not getting laid in quite awhile made her decide to take advantage of the situation. She closed any remaining distance between her and the blond boy she’d know since before she could spell her own name; she pressed herself against him and avoided her dancing partner’s questioning gaze. She could feel Sakura’s hands transfer from Naruto’s hips to her own and back again, working both friends up and down. Hands still on the back of Naruto’s neck, Ino tilted his head down, lips towards hers. She could feel the heat coming off of him, his breath hot, his dick hardening against her. He was enjoying this. Ino leaned in and captured his bottom lip in her mouth.

Sakura watched the interaction from behind, feeling a surprised noise rumble through Naruto’s chest as Ino worked his mouth. Sakura decided to back off, seeing that Naruto was clearly feeling awkward with what was going down. Ino, seemed to noticed too but took the opposite route from Sakura deciding to go for the gold, or in this case the package. Figuring it would creep Naruto the fuck out and give her and Sakura a great laugh, Ino broke the kiss, slid her hands down and grabbed Naruto’s junk. Ino cackled in glee as Naruto retched away from her, offended, panting, and holding himself.

“You are such a slut, Naruto!” Ino tisked, a grin never leaving her. “I thought you were gay! Why are you boning from a couple of girls grinding on you?”

Naruto pointed an accusatory finger and stuttered not sure if he was more embarrassed by the fact that he was just publicly groped by his friend or by the fact that he got semi-hard from a girl. The girls were busting a gut and he was livid. “You—” He didn’t know what to call them and settled with a blurted “vile things” which only induced more laughter and earned them a few questioning looks. “Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I don’t respond to touch. I was thinking about a guy.” He didn’t like how unbelievable that sounded. “Why the fuck were you sexing me up anyway!”

“Calm down, foxy.” Ino yelled holding her hands up in defense as the music continued to pump in their ears. “We couldn’t resist your sexy self enjoying the music. Oh and you were enjoying it, weren’t you?”

Naruto would not calm down. Naruto was pissed. He only came because they wouldn’t shut up. So what if he happened to find he liked the stupid band a little. So what if he thought the stupid vampiric members were kind of hot. So what if he got swept up a little in the sensual beats and allowed his friends to grind on him. He wasn’t a crazed fan like them.

“And where are our drinks!” Sakura managed to squeak out between fits of giggles. Naruto just looked at her. He was not their servant; they were running him into the ground tonight. They were having way too much fun at his expense. The worst part was he knew by the time he brought back their drinks he would forgive them.

“Fine, fine. I’ll be back,” Naruto gritted out.

****

Wow lots of edits! At least at the end. I wanted to make Sakura more sweet and Ino more, well bitchy and controlling, so I switched who was messing with Naruto at the end. I think it’s better this way and more believe able. I promise something hotter soon!
Bebop out.