title: The Extravagant Challenge Anthology

scene: 01. The Composer, pt 7.

summary: Behind every singer's successful song is a composer.

disclaimer: The Composer is inspired by Skip Beat!

Scene 01

The Composer

Take 7!

There are three voice mails. None are from Sakura. They were all from...

"Hello, foolish little brother."

As soon as he recognised the voice, Sasuke stopped listening and pressed the call button.

Itachi answers even before he heard a ring. He's been waiting for him.

"About time you finally call, little brother," he hears his older brother say, tone obviously reprimanding.

"What happened?" he doesn't bother to hide the frantic and panic in his voice, his brother knows him too well, "Where the hell is Sakura?!"

There is no way this is happening. He did all he could, didn't he? He gave Sakura everything and more, just to keep her safe.

"What took you long?" Itachi acts as if he didn't hear anything.

"Why the fuck does that matter, Aniki?! Just—dammit! I was busy, okay? My assistant took my phone from me to keep me focused."

"Tch. I thought you were going to look after her. That's the reason why I let you go, remember? Why I let her go with you, because you promised. That the deal. I let you go, you take care of her. Or did you let your fame get to you?" the older man sounded pissed and so is he.

Sasuke doesn't have time to listen to his older brother's lectures. He can do it later but now, he has to find Sakura.

"Just tell what happened to her dammit!"

He hears him sigh wearily before answering.

"Do you know how long she's been gone? Three weeks, Sasuke. And in those three weeks, you didn't even check up on her. No calls, no texts, no visits."

How does he...

"How do you know all this?"

"Sakura told me," Itachi says in that as-a-matter-of-factly tone of his.

No way.

No way.

This means Sakura is back in Kyoto. This means he really fucked up. This means he didn't keep his end of the bargain with Itachi. This means he failed her.

"Is... is she—"

"She's in the Senju manor, as we speak."

Damn. Of all places.

When he didn't say anything more, Itachi continues, "and they've got a restricted order on you."

"What?" he bristles. Is he kidding? No, his brother doesn't kid, and this is no joking matter.

"You can't go anywhere near her, and contact her in any way. You do and they call the police on you. And Sakura doesn't want that. She told me to tell you to stay away from her."

Of course, even at her worst situation she's still thinking of his well being over hers. He hates that about her but that's also the reason why he—

He shakes himself out of those thoughts to focus on more pressing things.

"Do you know how they found her?" Because there is just no way they could've done so so easily. He didn't list Sakura as one of the tenants. Everything is named to him, never hers. Even her mailing address is directed to a post office box. He did every possible precaution. There is no way they could've gotten to her.

"They had a feeling she's with you all this time but they didn't have a proof."

If that is so then... "What changed?"

"Your latest hit. Sakura's co-composer."

Sasuke stiffens, the grip on his phone tightening. Just by that?

Because he wanted to credit her for her work, they found her?

"But..." even in his ears, his voice sounded pathetic—like that of a whining child, "I tried everything to protect her."

tbc.