“So it’s just the three of us tonight, huh?” a confident blonde kunoichi asked. Her sand colored hair was arranged into four short and spiky ponytails, a peculiar hairstyle that was unique to her. She wore a Suna headband, the piece of metal separating tow long bangs that cascaded down the sides of her face. The wind mistress wore a black one-piece outfit that resembled a dress, however still allowed her great mobility in battle. A white contrasting sash was tied around her waist, and her black outfit matched with the black gloves she wore on her hands. They allowed her to wield her oversized fan easier, and prevented the calices she would sometimes get without them. The said fan was secured on Temari’s back by several straps. And of course, the Sand kunoichi wore the all too familiar fishnets that would further emphasize her curves.
“It seems that way Temari. I’ve heard that Hinata is out on a scouting mission with her team,” replied a slightly taller brunette. She had dark brown hair which was tied into two buns that sat aloft her head, and short bangs which slightly obscured her headband from view. Tenten sported a miniature pink sleeveless jacket, similar to the one she wore back when she was a genin. Underneath the jacket she wore a white shirt with sleeves that went a few inches past her elbows. The weapon mistress wore large black baggy pants that didn’t descend all the way down her legs. Since she always handled weapons, Tenten wore gloves similar to Temari’s, except these were pink and matched the color of her jacket.
“Forehead girl is working overtime at the hospital tonight,” a kunoichi with long blonde hair stated. Her hair had a much lighter hue than Temari’s, and was arranged in a ponytail that went all the way down to her waist. The hair that wasn’t in a ponytail was pulled back behind her head, however a large portion of locks cascaded down the right side of her face, so much that it almost obscured it from view. The loud kunoichi wore a small vest that stopped at her bellybutton and showed off her stomach. The deep purple vest also had a high collar that obscured most of Ino’s neck. The girl also sported a tight purple skirt that went down to her knees, and was the exact same color as her vest. The Yamanaka had also put fishnet on her arms, and the material covered the area around her elbows.
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot she was a medic nin!” Temari said.
“Sakura has to work at the hospital a few days a week in return for Tsunade-sama’s training,” Tenten explained.
“I think you’re just jealous that she became the Hokage’s apprentice instead of you Tenten,” Ino teased.
“Well Tsunade-sama is my idol!” the brunette defended.
“Sakura does have better chakra control than you, so she was more fit to become the Hokage’s apprentice,” the wind mistress commented.
“Hmph!” Tenten huffed.
“Well enough of this little dispute we’re having! We met up to have a girls’ night out, we have to have fun tonight, right?” the Yamanaka called out.
“Yup, definitely!” he weapon mistress exclaimed.
“Three people is plenty to have fun,” Temari smiled.
“Alright let’s go!” Ino declared and punched her fist into the air.
“Don’t get too obnoxious on us now,” Temari laughed.
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” the loud blonde asked, an offended look on her face.
“No, I agree with Temari. You really can get too loud sometimes,” Tenten voiced her thoughts aloud.
“Sheesh, you guys…” Then the group of kunoichi burst out into laughter. The girls had become close friends over the two passing years, even more than they thought they would.
“Now let’s stop wasting time and go find something to do,” the brunette suggested. “The night may be young but it doesn’t last forever.” And so the three girls departed into the buzzing nightlife of the town.
Over the months the girls of the genin teams were slowly becoming close friends with each other. After year an alliance between the Sand and Leaf was further established, and Temari was declared as an ambassador between the two villages. The wind mistress ended up spending more time in Konoha than she did in her own village. Due to this, it didn’t take her very long to bond with the rest of the girls, and by then the five would already spend time together quite often. It was only a few months ago that the kunoichi decided to have a weekly “girls’ night out”. They would gather in the evening and head into the town to eat and hang out, as well as do any other activities that came to mind. They all agreed it was a great way to spend time together.
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The group of girls walked through the streets of Konohagakure no Sato. Even though it was late and the sun had set a while ago, the roads and alleyways were crowded with villagers. Various stands were advertising the items they were selling, and there was even a group of street performers. This just added to the commotion of the many townspeople enjoying the evening breeze. The three kunoichi were walking steadily, ice cream in hand, and were enjoying the sites of the village as well as chatting about various subjects.
“You know this part of town is really lively at night, how come we didn’t come here before?” Temari questioned as she took a bite of her ice cream cone.
“I never really went to this part of Konoha before, so I didn’t really know about it,” Ino replied sheepishly and chuckled.
Tenten took a large bite of her ice cream and quickly swallowed it. “Yeah, I didn’t even know this place exists!”
“I wish I had discovered this part of the village earlier,” the Yamanaka said.
“Not knowing your own village, that’s pretty pathetic,” Temari scoffed, taking another lick of her ice cream.
“Hey, Konoha is really big! It’s not our fault!” Ino countered.
“Geez, I was just joking,” the wind mistress smirked, amused at how easily her friend could get offended.
Tenten was rapidly eating her ice cream, and didn’t even seem to listen to the other two kunoichi. There was a brief silence between the girls, that is until Ino decided to talk about a new subject.
“So… how is the relationship with my teammate going?” the blonde asked, focusing her gaze on Temari.
The fan wielding ninja growled under her breath. “How many times do I have to tell you? There’s nothing going on between me and Shikamaru.”
“Are you sure? Even I thought you and the Nara were a couple,” Tenten said, her ice cream already devoured by now.
Temari sighed. “I don’t get why everybody thinks that. I mean he’s an okay guy, but he really isn’t my type. Plus he is so lazy.”
“Well you two do hang out quite a bit,” the brunette added.
“Since the lazy-ass is so smart, he’s assigned by the Hokage to deal with many matters of the village, like chuunin exams and such. Since I’m an ambassador between Sand and Leaf it’s likely that we will sometimes be paired up on assignments,” the wind mistress explained.
“Oh, are you sure you’re not just trying to cover up your relationship?” Ino teased, and smirked at the Sand kunoichi.
Temari punched her hand in a threatening manner. She towered up above the blonde and glared at her. “Does this look like a face that’s trying to cover something up?” If glares could kill, Ino would be dead a thousand times over.
“Eh, ehehehe! Of-of course not, Temari!” Ino laughed, fear evident in her voice.
“I thought you would see it my way,” the Suna kunoichi replied smugly.
“Seesh, don’t make that face, though. You almost gave me a heart attack,” Ino remarked, sighing in relief.
“Temari can be pretty intimidating. Especially in battle. I still remember the first chuunin exam we took…” Tenten reminisced.
“Hey, hey Tenten! I already apologized about that a long time ago!” the fan wielder replied, feeling a bit guilty.
“Yeah, but I never forgave you,” the brunette said bluntly.
“Tenten…” Temari slumped over in depression.
“Hah! Just kidding!” the weapon mistress exclaimed, and stuck her tongue out.
“We’re a pretty lively bunch, aren’t we?” Ino questioned, a smile gracing her features.
“Of course! It’s more fun that way,” Tenten replied.
“Oh yeah! Tenten, what about that Neji guy? I’ve heard you have the hots for him,” Temari said smugly, a smirk making its way to her lips.
“Yeah, what is going on with you and Neji? Are you two doing anything naughty during those so called sparring sessions?” Ino asked.
A small blush made its way to Tenten’s cheeks. “Geez, Ino. Is stuff like that all you think about?”
“You’re avoiding the question, Ten-chan,” the Yamanaka teased.
“Look, we’re not a couple or anything. I kinda had a crush on him when we were little, and I did admire him. I still like him a little, I guess, but I’m no longer crushing for him or anything. Plus he doesn’t show signs of liking any girls,” the brunette explained.
“Oh, you think he might be gay?” Temari questioned.
“Of course not!” the weapon mistress nearly yelled. “Well, I mean he doesn’t show signs of liking boys either… I guess he’s just not thinking about having any relationships for the time being.”
“Aww, poor Tenten, having her love denied,” Ino said.
“I told you, I like him a little but it’s not a big deal,” the brunette replied, slightly annoyed at her friend’s behavior. “But hey, Ino. You have no love life at all.”
“You don’t have to be so blunt about it!” the Yamanaka whined.
“It’s not bad not to have one. Besides when you are a shinobi love can screw things up. It doesn’t really belong in the ninja world,” Temari stated.
“Temari, that’s totally not true! Whether you’re a ninja or not, you should have love!” the blonde argued.
“Well it won’t help you’re carrier any, it will just drag you down,” the wind mistress said flatly.
“Let’s just change the subject, this is getting boring,” Tenten interrupted the two.
“Fine,” her fellow kunoichi replied.
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“You really want to go into this place?” Temari asked, some hesitation evident in her voice.
“Of course Temari! Karaoke bars can be fun! There’s very few in Konoha, we’re lucky that we happened to stumble across one,” Ino replied happily.
The three girls were standing in front of an average sized building. The sign above the door read “Matsumoto Karaoke Bar”, and there was a picture of a microphone and a cup of coffee next to the writing.
“I agree with Temari, I’m not really that good at singing,” Tenten said rather shyly.
“Well its karaoke! Don’t worry, a lot of people aren’t that good!” the loud blonde responded.
“I guess I could give it a try…” the Sand kunoichi stated, looking curiously at the sign.
“Don’t worry Tenten, if you don’t want to you don’t have to sing,” Ino said to her friend.
“Well, okay then,” the brunette responded.
The three kunoichi took a deep breath and opened the door. They slowly walked into the building.
“Wow, this place is pretty crowded!” Ino exclaimed.
“It’s rather fancy, too,” Temari commented.
There were many large tables spread across the area, and most of them were filled up with people. Traditional lanterns hung from the ceiling, giving the bar a serene glow. The walls were covered in actual bamboo, and the floor had many various designs painted onto it. At the end of the room was a large stage, with a live band sitting in the background.
“Wow, this place is rather… unique,” Tenten said. Her friends nodded in agreement. Before the group could walk farther into the bar and a find a table to sit at, a man with long black hair walked onto the stage.
He was approximately in his thirties, and was dressed rather formally. “Alright then, without further ado…” The crowd began to cheer; some actually stood up from their seats and began clapping.
“That guy must be a really good singer or something,” Ino whispered to Tenten and Temari, and the two nodded in agreement.
“The one you’ve all been waiting for. Here he is! The one, the only… Naruto Uzumaki!” The crowd let of another huge cheer after this was announced.
“Huh?” the three kunoichi simultaneously said aloud.
A boy clad in orange and black walked up to the stage. He had three peculiar marks on each cheek and blue cerulean eyes. He had wild and unruly hair, the blonde spikes pointing randomly in all directions.
“Hey, that really is Naruto!” Temari exclaimed.
“I didn’t know he went to karaoke bars, hell, I didn’t even know he could sing!” Ino replied, very surprised as well.
“Well, you did say some people weren’t that good,” Tenten commented.
“Well, yeah,” the blonde replied.
“We should actually hear him sing before we judge,” Temari stated. The other two girls agreed with the fan wielder.
“Thanks, Matsumoto-san! But really, you give me too much credit!” Naruto smiled at the man and scratched the back of his head.
“Nonsense, Naruto! Now take it away,” the dark haired man handed the blonde shinobi the microphone. He then quickly walked off the stage and went to find a seat.
Naruto took a gaze at the band behind him. “You guys ready?” the Kyubi container asked. The band nodded. “Alright!”
The blonde ninja brought the microphone to his mouth, and stood silently on the stage. The audience didn’t make a single sound; all eyes were glued on the orange clad boy.
The band began playing, and the music echoed through the room. Naruto closed his eyes, and let all the emotion out into his voice.
“Hitotsu hitsotsu omoidaseba subete wakkatte ita ki ga shite ita no ni
Iroaseta kotoba wa boku no sugu soba ni oite atta
Kotae no denai yoru to
Hitohira no nukimori to
Haruka kanata no akogare to
Tada sore dake wo kurikaeshi boku wa ikite iru
Kono ryoute ni kakaete iru mono toki no shizuku
Sotto nigirishimete wasureta kioku nakushita kotoba
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah.” Naruto finished, and the lights in the room slowly went out as the music subsided.
When the lighting returned, the audience in the room stood up and began madly clapping. Many yelled and applauded the blonde ninja, the sound was almost deafening. Naruto looked happily at the crowd and bowed, the cheering and applause kept going, however. The orange clad boy smiled widely and scratched the back of his head.
Tenten, Temari, and Ino stood there, unable to move a muscle. Their jaws dropped to the ground and they stared dumbstruck at the blonde on stage.
After about a minute Tenten was finally able to ask aloud, “W-was that… really Naruto singing?”
“I didn’t think anybody could possibly sound that amazing,” stated a dazed Temari.
“W-wow…” was all Ino could say.
The three just continued to stand their shocked and astounded that their fellow shinobi was this, well, this unbelievably talented at singing.
“Thanks everybody!” Naruto called out, and began walking off the stage. The crowd cheered again, the applause was probably loud enough to hear from outside.
Before Naruto could step off the stage he was stopped by the black haired announcer. “Now just a sec, I think the crowd wants an encore!” he shouted. The audience hollered back in agreement.
“Heh, I didn’t really plan that…” the Kyubi container said sheepishly.
“Oh come on Naruto! Can you resist this crowd?” Matsumoto asked. On cue the people let out a wave of applause.
“ENCORE! ENCORE! ENCORE!” the audience began chanting.
“What do you say Naruto? I think this crowd might have a riot if you don’t agree.”
“Well, I guess I have no choice, huh? I’ll sing another song!” the blonde smiled.
“Wooooooo!” many people in the audience shouted.
Naruto walked back to the middle of the stage and faced the band behind him. “Alright guys, you know which one!” The band gave the orange clad ninja a thumbs up.
The next second, a beautiful melody flowed through the room. Naruto put the microphone to his lips and began singing.
“Cultivate your hunger before you idealize
Motivate your anger to make them realize
Climbing the mountain. Never coming down?
Break into the contents. Never falling down
My knee is still shaking like I was twelve
Sneaking out the classroom by the back door
A man railed at me twice but I didn’t care
Waiting is wasting for people like me
Don’t try to live so wise. Don’t cry coz you’re so right.
Don’t dry with fakes or fears
Coz you will hate yourself in the end.
Don’t try to live so wise. Don’t cry coz you’re so right.
Don’t dry with fakes or fears
Coz you will hate yourself in the end.”
As soon as the song was finished applause louder than the first time thundered throughout the room. It lasted several minutes and then finally began to cease.
“Well, well Naruto. I think you’re the only one who can make the audience cheer this much!” the dark haired announcer complimented.
“Haha, thanks everyone!” the blonde shinobi beamed.
“That was just… purely amazing,” Tenten said, still frozen where she was standing.
“Incredible…” Temari gasped.
“That almost made me cry,” Ino said aloud.
Naruto stepped off the stage, several people still coming up to praise him. The blonde thanked all his fans and sat down at a table, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He still couldn’t help but get nervous on stage, even though he hid it quite well.
The three kunoichi standing near the entrance to the building were finally able to move, and simultaneously rushed at the orange clad ninja.
“NARUTO!” Before the Kyubi container could even turn to see who yelled his name, the three girls were already surrounding him.
“Ino? Tenten? Temari?” Naruto asked, startled at their sudden appearance.
“Naruto, that was-”
However Ino was cut off by the blonde. “W-wait! you saw that?” he asked nervously.
“Yes, it was just-” But before Tenten could finish Naruto was gone, and in his place was a large cloud of smoke.
“Hey, why the hell did he just disappear like that?” Temari exclaimed.
“I don’t know…” Ino replied.
“We didn’t even have time to tell him how great he sings,” Tenten stated.
Ino looked around the area, and then found the one she was looking for. The Yamanaka walked over to the dark haired man who was standing next to the stage. “Umm… Matsumoto-san?” she asked, barely remembering the man’s name.
“Yes?” he replied, wondering what the girl wanted to talk to him about.
“Was that… actually Naruto singing?” By now, the two other girls were standing by Ino’s side.
“Why?”
“Well, we know Naruto, but we had no idea he could sing like that,” Temari explained.
“Of course that’s him singing. But I guess it kind of is hard to believe, I’m still amazed at the kid’s talent myself. Not to mention he wrote those songs,” Matsumoto answered.
“He-he wrote them?” Tenten asked in pure shock.
“I helped him a bit with composing the music, but yes he did.”
“That’s… that’s unbelievable!” Ino exclaimed.
“It sounds like you know Naruto fairly well,” Temari commented.
“Well, he first came here when he was eleven. The kid was great back then, but now that he grew up and his voice matured he sounds just incredible,” the black haired man replied.
“Amazing…” Ino said.
“I’m sorry, but I have to announce the next singer, plus I’m the owner of this place. Excuse me, but I have to leave,” the man said.
“Oh, we’re sorry for taking up your time,” Tenten apologized.
“No problem.” The dark haired man then walked away from the trio.
“I still can’t believe that was… Naruto,” the Sand kunoichi said.
“You’re not the only one, those songs were so beautiful and had so much emotion in them,” Ino stated.
“I can’t believe he actually wrote them,” the brunette replied.
“But still, why did he run away? And so suddenly too!” Ino exclaimed.
“I have no clue,” Temari responded.
“He might still be around this part of town. If we’re lucky we might find him,” Tenten mentioned.
The three kunoichi walked out of the bar, no longer caring about participating. However, Naruto was nowhere in sight in the village streets.
“Alright, we’ll split up. In ten minutes we’ll meet up back here,” Temari stated bossily.
“Okay, fine with me,” Ino replied.
“K’,” Tenten responded.
The three girls leaped in different directions, searching the surrounding streets and alleyways as well as rooftops for the orange clad boy.
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“I didn’t find him.”
“Me neither.”
“No luck here.”
The three girls sighed.
“Seriously though, why would he run away so suddenly? It’s a bit rude,” Ino said as she crossed her arms.
“We already went over this, we don’t know,” said the rather agitated Temari.
“Well sorry, I just want to know,” the Yamanaka retorted.
“Wondering about it won’t give us the answer anyway,” Tenten mentioned.
At that moment a familiar shinobi walked across the street. He wore a chuunin jacket with a grey shirt underneath it, as well as average black pants. His black hair was tied into one spiky ponytail that would stick upwards, making his head slightly resemble a pineapple. His hands were resting in his pockets and the lazy boy looked up at the sky as he strolled.
“Hey, Shikamaru!” Ino called out.
The lazy shinobi turned to the direction of the sound. He saw the blonde teammate that was calling his name, as well as Temari and Tenten.
“Shikamaru, come over here for a second!” Ino yelled.
“Uh, I can tell this is going to be troublesome,” he muttered under his breath, yet walked over to the three kunoichi anyway. “What do you want, Ino?”
“You know Naruto pretty well, right?” she asked.
“Sort of. What’s this about?” he questioned.
“Well, we saw Naruto in a karaoke bar,” Ino began.
“Naruto? In a karaoke bar? Doesn’t seem like he would go to a place like that,” the Nara stated.
“Hey, don’t interrupt me!” Ino yelled.
“Geez, sorry,” he replied. ‘Women are so troublesome,’ the chuunin thought to himself.
“Anyway, he sang and it was incredibly good.”
“Naruto… can sing?” Shikamaru asked.
“It was amazing,” Tenten added.
“It really was unbelievable,” Temari agreed.
“Okay, so what do you want from me?”
“I’m getting there, okay?” Ino shouted. “Anyway when he was done we ran over to tell him how good it was, but he just disappeared. We’re just wondering why.”
The lazy cloud gazer scratched his chin and thought for a few moments. “Did he know that you were watching him when he sang the songs?”
“No, he didn’t notice that we were there,” Tenten answered.
The Nara thought for a few more seconds. “Well, since he seemed to have kept this a secret… it’s possible he’s ashamed of it and doesn’t want us to find out.”
“But isn’t Naruto really obnoxious and energetic, I find it hard to believe he could be ashamed,” Temari replied.
“I said it was a possibility,” Shikamaru responded. “What’s likely is… Well, ever since he was little he would make a clown of himself and get teased and laughed at. It’s possible that singing is personal to him so he doesn’t want to be teased about it. That’s why he kept it a secret.”
“That sounds possible…” Ino said, remembering how the blonde would always act out and cause mischief in his early days.
“There’s also a possibility that he faked singing and felt ashamed of it,” Shikamaru added.
“No, we asked the manager of the karaoke bar about that. He really did sing the songs,” the weapon mistress replied.
“He could have also gotten summoned at that moment, or remembered that he really needed to be somewhere at the time, but the possibility of that is very small. Well, those are the only things I can think of right off the bat. Now if you don’t mind, I’ll leave,” the lazy ninja said.
“Thanks Shika! I guess your oversized brain is still good for something,” Ino called out.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Shikamaru replied and walked away.
“We just have to eventually find Naruto and question him about it then,” the fan wielding kunoichi said.
“I’m definitely not leaving this issue alone!” Ino exclaimed.
“Well guys, the night isn’t over yet, where should we go next?” Tenten asked.
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Naruto sat upon the roof of the apartment he lived at. He gazed aimlessly into the night sky and tried to count the stars. A gentle breeze passed him and ruffled his blonde locks. The orange clad ninja couldn’t help but hum a tune. However humming a song reminded him of the encounter not too long ago.
“Damn it! I can’t believe they found out! It was supposed to be kept a secret!” the blonde ninja yelled out loud. He took a deep breath of air. “Well it’s not like I see those three very often. So if I avoid them long enough, they are bound to forget about it.”
Naruto decided that he was content with his plan and went back to looking at the stars. He hummed another tune which faded into the night sky.
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Number of reviews: 34 Print: 
Chapter Notes: Ok, the general idea of this story came to me one night when I was trying to fall asleep, and I couldn’t help but write the first chapter in my journal (where I write rough drafts for most of my fics). And since I wrote it there, I though, might as well type it and turn it into a real story as well. As for who Naruto will end up with, I still haven’t decided, it’s quite hard! Anyway chapter one, I hope you like it and leave a review while you’re at it! IMPORTANT NOTE: This fanfiction takes place a few months after Naruto returns from his two and a half year training trip. So just keep in mind the characters are all a bit older. Also most of the things that happened in the manga will not affect this fic, just for the sake of the anime watchers. DISCLAIMER: Naruto is the sole property of Masashi Kishimoto and I do not own it in any way. | |
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