Author's Note:

Hey everyone! I know I've been away for a very, very long time, especially after my other story, Enervis. I truly apologize for that, as life has been a bit hard for me as I'm struggling with a few personal issues, as well as handling my first adult job related to my career. Adulting is hard.

On another note, I wonder how many of my readers will still read my works, as I know that I don't frequent this site as often as I used to.

I hope you guys will be receptive to my new piece. Aiming for weekly updates!

Please leave a review, because I honestly did miss you guys, and I would love to hear your guys' opinion on my current writing style and my ideas.

Much love - Kanryu. 12/02/2017

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own the PS3 game Eternal Sonata by tri-Crescendo and Namco Bandai Games.

Prelude

Sasuke barely contained a yawn behind a slender hand as he sat in the dimly lit auditorium. He straightened his posture in the red velvet seats, his expensive suit rustling quietly against the velvet upholstery as he did so. He sensed a pair of eyes on him, and immediately stopped his restless movements before he laced his fingers together and placed his hands just above his belt in a crisp manner, his elbows resting lightly on the armrests. The gaze on him relaxed, but not even minutes after, he felt a light nudge on his forearm.

Annoyance flashed across his face as he slightly tilted his head towards the woman to his left, his black eyes narrowing at the older woman whom he lovingly called mother.

'No.' He glared meaningfully at her.

'What is wrong with this one now, Sasuke?' Her eyes narrowed at him in return.

In the dimly lit auditorium, it was a wonder that they could even read each other's expressions. But it must've been the numerous times that they've been in this position that they already know what the other is thinking.

'Mother, you know the reason why.' He looked away from her and back at the brightly lit stage when the auditorium was filled with loud applause, where a lone white grand piano now stood. The violinist had just finished the performance, and was bowing to the crowd with a practised flourish, the violin neatly tucked against his side, the bow held gently in his hand. A backstage personnel quickly rushed through the stage to carry away the music stand the violinist had been using for the performance to the back.

After minutes and a couple bouquet of roses being thrown onto the stage as well as cheap plushies, the violinist finally exited the stage with his arms full of the gifts. Other stage personnel carried the rest of his gifts to presumably hand them to him in the back as he started to pack up from his performance.

Again, he sighed as he waited for the next performer to walk across the stage. He placed his elbow on the left arm rest and propped his cheek onto it, the stage now slightly tilted in his vision.

"Sasuke, would you please be so kind as to pay attention to your date?" Mikoto lightly whispered in his left ear, the one closest to her and farther away from his…date.

Just as he was about to give a sarcastic remark to his mother about his date not even having the balls to stutter out anything but a mere greeting, the announcer's voice gently boomed out from the speakers in the auditorium.

"Now, ladies and gentlemen, this will be our last performance for the night, but it will definitely not be her last. Please, welcome the wonderful lady, Haruno Sakura, to the stage, where she will be playing a selection of Frédéric Chopin's fantastic works." His dulcet tones nearly lulled Sasuke to sleep, and he wondered if they all went to the same announcer-training school to learn how to bore the crowds to death with their monotonous and quiet voices.

The only thing interesting he heard was the fact that a lady will be performing Chopin's pieces. Very rarely has he heard or seen anyone perform Chopin's pieces played well, and it always disappointed him so when people couldn't understand how to Chopin properly.

Yes, he used Chopin as a verb.

Sasuke straightened in his seat once more, and reached into his right pocket to slip out the set list. The young woman beside him slightly jumped in her seat as his hand accidentally brushed the side of her forearm. It's shit like this that makes him so annoyed with the dates his mother sets him up on. None of the women has a back bone.

"Don't worry, I'm more interested in the set list the next performer is going to be playing than in you. You can rest assured your reputation's still chaste by the end of tonight." He lazily drawled out, his voice barely audible.

The woman flushed pink, and out of his peripheral vision, saw that his mother was once again exasperated at his attempts to…charm his date.

On stage, a young woman was being led out by another man - presumably another performer from earlier on in the night. He couldn't care to remember. Her hair was a nice light-pink rose, the white and lacy sleeveless dress she wore nicely accentuating her pale skin as well as her slim frame. One hand was lightly resting on the left forearm of her guide, her other hand freely at her side. She did not have any sheet music with her.

He definitely appreciated that.

Some performers still have sheet music, but he preferred a performance with no sounds of pages flipping. It annoyed him to no end, and to him, it was a stab at a musician's professionalism. If other musicians can memorize their sheet music for mere recitals, then so can a professional performer for concerts.

The young woman turned to the crowd and gave a small bow before seating herself on the white piano bench. He noted her beautiful green eyes as she did so. Her lacy dress prettily cascaded over the side of the bench, revealing a pair of small feet in white strapped heels, with barely any added height to the back of them. He assumed it was for practical reasons, as it would make it much more difficult to use the pedals if the heels were any higher.

She held her hands briefly over the black and white keys, before gently pressing down on them. Light melancholic tones filled the auditorium as she played, the music starting at a low swell before crescendoing to a more difficult part of the piece, and retreating back to minute tones. He found himself relaxing in his chair at the Mazurka she played, the minutest of details captured on the keyboard by her skilled hands. There were no mistakes, and he watched her small figure at the piano on the stage below, her wrists moving flexibly in front of her, her posture refined, her feet pressing down on the sustain pedal at just the right time to allow the sounds to vibrate freely from the strings within.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard, almost as if though they were feeling the flow of the music rather than just her muscle memory coming into play. Sasuke noticed how delicate they looked, the pale slender fingers that seemed to carry so much force within them to be able to play Chopin's pieces so fluidly. A small sigh escaped his lips as his gaze traced from the pianist's fingers, then up towards her torso, where his eyes lingered briefly on her chest - the cut of the dress nicely accentuated her chest, her breasts just barely spilling from their lacy hold. Her eyes were closed, which is not unusual for a performer, but he thought it was rather a shame, as her eyes at such a startling green must have captivated more individuals than just him. Her shoulders went down just a slight touch as she finished off the Mazurka, only to rise again briefly after the last tones had settled, to start the tumultuous beginning of Fantaisie-Impromptu.

He found himself drifting off, his eyes slowly fluttering at the lulling melody before it reached another crescendo peak in the music, the increasing volume snapping his eyes wide open. The piano solo piece was well-played, the smallest diminuendos still clearly defined by precise touches. It was strange; never has he felt so comfortable that he could fall asleep at a professional concert. Certainly he had been bored to sleep due to the performers displaying terrible technique which were very audible in the music they played, but never had the music been so…soothing and melancholic to say the least. He was also enchanted by her pale figure which went so well with her matching outfit to the white piano on stage; it gave her such a beautiful and ethereal glow to her as the stage lights focused only on her.

Unfolding the pamphlet to distract himself from sleep, Sasuke noted in the dim auditorium that the last piece would be Chopin's Nocturne in B-flat Minor. If this woman played Mazurka Opus 33 No. 4 and Fantaisie-Impromptu with such precision and control, he has no doubt she would perform a spectacular rendition of the nocturne.

A small voice piped up from his right. "S-Sasuke-san, do you enjoy Chopin's works very much?"

He sighed heavily on the inside, just so not to disrupt the other attendees from the performance. "Yes, you could say that. I much rather listen to music where the performers don't make mistakes." He paused for a moment before continuing. "This young lady is the best performer of tonight, and it'd be a shame if we talked for the rest of her performance, don't you think?"

Sasuke turned to his date to look at her straight in the eyes to make a point. Even in the darkness he could tell she was blushing from embarrassment as she meekly nodded at him. Poor girl. She definitely wasn't ready to face up against his smart-ass personality, which meant she wasn't ready to date him. Period.

Reclining back into his seat to face the stage, he listened to the last few measures of Fantaisie-Impromptu, which brought about a nostalgic and melancholic feel in the spacious auditorium. The last few notes were breathlessly played, almost as if her fingers merely danced across the keyboard in the lightest manner.

He stayed still as she adjusted her position on the piano bench after the piece. Her hands lifted her skirts with practiced ease as she adjusted her right foot on the sustain pedal. He noticed the way the muscles in her back shifted as she moved, the back of her dress sheer enough for him to see. She started playing the nocturne, her fingers delicately playing the first few measures, the music flowing happily across the black and white keys. It dipped lower into a more heartrending melody, the way the music was written making it hard to decipher if it was a joyful or sad transition.

He would definitely interpret the music as bittersweet. But it definitely takes someone of an empathetic nature to be able to depict the music in its intended view. This performer certainly intrigued him, and he doubted it would hurt him much to acquaint himself with her. After all, his mother had always been encouraging him on to see more women, so how bad could it be…aside from him planning to ditch his supposed date.

When the music ended, the whole auditorium stood up to give her a standing ovation. A gentle smile flitted across her features as she stood up and slowly walked to the front of the stage, as if she was counting her steps. She bowed to the crowd, and as she rose, her fellow performers joined the stage with her and waved amicably to the crowd.

Sasuke was a part of the standing crowd, and as he finished clapping, turned to the woman to his right. "You have a pretty face, and if I were to look for a one night stand, you'd probably be one of the top picks. But I like brains and sass with women I take seriously, and you seem to lack both in the two hours we sat together for. Hope you have a good rest of the night, and that you find someone who is more suitable for you in the future."

With that, he left an increasingly perplexed mother with a tear-filled woman in his wake.