Chapter Text
~~~
Sasuke Uchiha hated unnecessary noise.
Which, unfortunately, meant he hated Naruto Uzumaki.
The raven-head leaned back in the dark interior of the band van, earphones in, eyes closed….not to sleep, but to block out the chaos that followed the blonde’s latest viral performance.
Their manager, Karin, had her phone tilted toward Suigetsu in the front passenger seat, both watching with interest. The video was of Naruto jumping off a stage into a screaming crowd mid-song, mic still in hand, grin splitting his face like he didn’t care if he broke a rib. His voice rang raw and alive, vibrant and annoyingly captivating.
“He’s good,” Suigetsu admitted, chuckling. “Insane, but good.”
“Of course he is,” Karin said, scrolling through the comments. “Even I like his stuff. He writes his own lyrics, can dance insanely well and knows how to work a crowd. He reminds me a little of us when we started out.”
Sasuke scoffed under his breath.
“That’s cute,” he muttered. “You mean when we had to claw our way out of basements and ramen gigs? Meanwhile he jumps straight to sold-out domes after two years.”
Jugo, quiet as always, offered a gentle remark, “He seems passionate about music, though. Just… came up differently.”
The Uchiha opened one eye. “Differently doesn’t mean better.”
Their manager raised a brow. “No one said it did. But maybe your ego’s showing.”
He didn’t respond. He didn’t have to. Naruto Uzumaki was everywhere lately: top charts, magazine covers, interviews with tearjerker backstories about being raised by a single caretaker and chasing dreams with nothing but his voice and a half-broken keyboard. Fans ate it up. Labels fought to sign him. The internet painted him as the perfect mix of reckless and heartfelt.
Sasuke didn’t believe in “perfect.” Especially when it was this loud.
Still, the murmurs had started. Whispers of a merger. New label heads. Restructuring. Hebi’s contract wasn’t up, but the ground was shifting beneath them, and the raven-head didn’t like where it was heading.
He especially didn’t like it when, two weeks later, the rumors proved true.
~~~
The new company’s name: Shinsei Entertainment, shone in sterile chrome across the glass building, too polished for Sasuke’s taste.
Inside the conference room, the air buzzed with tension and excitement that wasn’t his.
“Man, this is kinda exciting,” Suigetsu said, flipping a branded water bottle in his hands. “Imagine what we could do with Naruto on the hook. He’s got that clean tone that’d cut through your vocals like silk.”
“I’d rather eat glass,” Sasuke muttered.
Jugo smiled lightly. “It could reach new audiences. Heal some of the fighting between the fans.”
“Exactly,” Karin chimed in. “You saw how bad it got just last year. That fanwar over the ‘Album of the year’ award? It was trending for three weeks.”
“And we didn’t even win,” Suigetsu laughed.
Sasuke’s jaw clenched.
Then, the door opened….and he walked in.
Naruto Uzumaki looked even more like trouble in person.
Messy blond hair, bright cerulean eyes scanning the room with too much energy, and that same easy swagger Sasuke had seen on screen. He wore an oversized orange hoodie with sweatpants-shorts and high-tops, like he’d come from a skatepark, not a high-level business meeting. A lollipop twirled between his fingers.
And then, that smile.
Too sharp to be innocent. Too casual to be fake.
“Yo,” the blonde greeted, sliding into a seat directly across from Sasuke. “Nice to finally meet the famous Hebi in the flesh.”
Karin returned the smile instantly. “Naruto, good to have you here.”
“Good to be here,” Naruto replied, tossing a grin toward Suigetsu and Jugo. “Love your live sets, by the way. That last album? ‘Dead Veins’? Sick bass lines.”
Suigetsu beamed. “You listen to us?”
“Of course,” Naruto said, spinning the lollipop before popping it into his mouth. “I’m a fan of real music.”
His eyes flicked to Sasuke. “Even if the frontman’s a little stiff.”
Sasuke didn’t blink. “At least I don’t fake emotion for likes.”
The air chilled.
Suigetsu coughed. “Oookay, so that’s our intro phase.”
The infamous CEO, Tsunade, cleared her throat and stepped forward with a forced smile. “Thank you all for coming. As you know, Shinsei Entertainment is committed to reshaping the industry by combining the strengths of its artists. Hebi, a proven rock staple. Naruto, the rising solo icon. Together, you’d be unstoppable.”
Sasuke crossed his arms. “We don’t need help being unstoppable.”
Naruto’s smile turned smug. “Yeah, but a little boost couldn’t hurt.”
“I don’t want a boost.”
“Good,” Naruto said. “Because I wasn’t offering.”
Tsunade clapped once, pointedly ignoring them. “We’ll start with a collaborative single. You’ll co-write it. Rehearsals begin next week. It’ll end in a live stage, streamed worldwide.”
Karin leaned in, whispering like it would help, “Try to look like you don’t hate each other. Just for optics.”
Naruto smirked. “I don’t hate him. He’s kinda cute when he’s brooding.”
The raven-head stood up so fast his chair groaned against the floor.
“Keep him out of my studio.”
“You’ll be sharing one,” the CEO said sweetly. “Welcome to the new era.”
Sasuke stormed out.
Naruto bit into his lollipop with a crack, smiling to himself.
“Nice to meet you, too, Sasuke Uchiha.”
~~~
Sasuke couldn’t sleep.
He lay in Hebi’s high-rise apartment, staring at the ceiling while the city buzzed far below. The room was dark, silent….exactly how he liked it. But tonight, his thoughts refused to shut up.
Naruto Uzumaki.
The name burned like static in his head.
He hated the way the guy walked into the room like it belonged to him. Hated his fake-smile confidence, his instant chemistry with everyone, the way he didn’t hesitate to talk back. And most of all, Sasuke hated how quickly the rest of Hebi had warmed up to him.
Suigetsu called him “fun.” Karin thought he was “smart, in a chaotic way.” Even Jugo said Naruto “had good instincts.”
And maybe they were right.
Maybe that was what made Sasuke angrier.
Because underneath all the showboating and sugar-coated charm, Naruto wasn’t talentless. That raw, husky voice. His ear for melody. That unshakable stage presence. It was all real. Unpolished…..but real.
Sasuke hated real. Because real got under your skin. Real forced you to look.
And he didn’t want to look.
~~~
Naruto bounced on the balls of his feet as he stood outside the rehearsal studio, coffee in one hand, lyrics sheet in the other. His manager, Shikamaru, had texted him six times that morning to "be respectful," "dress appropriately," and “please don’t flirt with anyone, especially Sasuke.”
Naturally, that made him want to flirt more.
But deep down, Naruto wasn’t just here to stir the pot. He was here to make music. No matter how cold Sasuke’s stare was, or how annoyingly beautiful the guy looked doing it. Naruto wasn’t going to mess this up.
This was his chance to write something powerful. Maybe even legendary.
He opened the door with a wide grin.
“Morning, rockstars.”
~~~
[Rehearsal Room, 9:07 A.M.]
He was already seated, guitar in hand, fingers mindlessly strumming a clean progression when the blonde entered like a sunbeam wrapped in sneakers and caffeine.
Suigetsu lit up. “Yo! You made it.”
“Of course,” Naruto grinned, holding up his drink. “Didn’t wanna miss the awkward silence and death glares.”
He looked straight at Sasuke.
Sasuke didn’t respond.
Karin gave Naruto a wave. “We were just getting started. You got the draft?”
Naruto held up a folded sheet of lyrics. “Yep. I scribbled some chorus ideas too, if we’re open to them.”
“We’re open,” Jugo said.
“I’m not,” Sasuke muttered.
“Oh, come on,” Suigetsu grinned. “Let’s at least hear him out. His fanbase might finally stop trying to murder ours.”
Naruto sauntered to the mic stand like he’d done it a thousand times…which he had, and unfolded his sheet.
“Okay. I figured the first verse stays gritty. Keep that signature Hebi edge. Then soften slightly on the chorus. Something people can scream and cry to.”
He sang a line, half-humming, low and raspy.
"If I'm the flame, you're the fuel—
Burn me down, but make it cruel…"
The room stilled.
Even Sasuke had to admit, it sounded…good.
The kind of line that stuck to your ribs.
Karin blinked. “Damn. That’s actually—”
“Too soft,” Sasuke interrupted.
Naruto shrugged. “I can scream it if it’ll make you feel better.”
Suigetsu laughed. “Please do.”
Jugo added, “The contrast works. That kind of tension between vocals and instrumentation can be powerful.”
Naruto gave Sasuke a sideways glance. “You know, if we both sing the chorus, it’d sound like two sides of the same fight.”
“Or a mess,” Sasuke said flatly.
“Or a masterpiece,” Naruto shot back, flashing a quick grin. “Guess we’ll find out.”
~~~
Naruto could feel the tension in the room whenever Sasuke was quiet….which was, like, always.
But he was getting used to it.
The rest of Hebi? Solid. Suigetsu was quick with jokes, and when Naruto complimented his drumming during a break, the guy practically adopted him. Karin was all business during rehearsals but had a wicked sense of humor outside them. Jugo was gentle and precise, and surprisingly supportive when Naruto asked about key changes.
The raven-head, meanwhile, barely spoke unless he was disagreeing.
Still, Naruto could feel something simmering under the cold. A spark in how Sasuke played: fierce and deliberate. When their voices clashed during a trial chorus take, it wasn’t disharmony.
It was fire meeting gasoline.
Naruto stepped closer to the mic.
“I say we try it. One pass. If it sucks, we scrap it.”
Sasuke met his eyes, dark and unreadable.
“One take,” he said. “Then I’m done for today.”
~~~
He didn’t know what annoyed him more.
Naruto’s persistence.
Or the fact that it worked.
When they started the take, something shifted. Naruto’s voice: warm and sharp….slid over Sasuke’s like oil on steel. They were opposites, but not in a way that clashed. In a way that cut deeper.
The harmonies weren’t perfect. Not yet. But the energy? It was electric.
By the end of the chorus, even Sasuke had forgotten to glare.
Suigetsu gave a low whistle. “Okay. That gave me goosebumps.”
Karin nodded. “We keep that. Build from it.”
Naruto raised a brow at Sasuke. “Still think I’m faking it?”
Sasuke looked away.
“Doesn’t mean you’re not still annoying.”
Naruto smirked. “I’ll take that as progress.”