Left. Left, right. Right, left, left, right, Naruto thought as he slammed his fists into the hanging weight, his boxing gloves sending resounding bam-bam-bam's echoing through the empty gym. He pulled his fists close to his chest, rocking side to side slightly before quickly sidestepping his imaginary opponent and unleashing another flurry of blows into the giant bag. As he furiously pounded into the sand-filled weight, it swung violently on the metal chain; not missing a beat, Naruto weaved around the thrashing weight and continued to pummel it until the chain finally broke under the assault. With a pow!, Naruto drove his right hand into the middle of the bag and sent it sailing through the air. It crashed into the wall and then to the ground.
"Another one?" came an exasperated voice. Panting, Naruto glanced over his shoulder to see his trainer Kakashi gazing forlornly at the hanging bag his protegé had just destroyed. "You're going to kill my business, Naruto."
"I'll make enough money in my next fight to buy you a hundred new bags, old man," Naruto grinned cheekily and undid the straps of his boxing gloves, tossing them onto the floor as he rolled his shoulders to work out the tension. Sweat dripped down from his messy blonde hair, and he flicked his bangs out of his eyes, sending a shower of drops shattering across the concrete floor. Still not strong enough, he thought with a frown as he opened and closed his hands, feeling the muscles of his arms flexing. "One more!" he decided and bent down to retrieve another hanging bag.
"Not so fast, Naruto. The gym is closing. Go home and rest," his mentor called, and Naruto glanced up at him with pursed lips. The silver-haired man stared intently at him, so the young boxer groaned and obediently dropped the bag he was about to hang up. Stretching his arms above his head and feeling his vertebrae pop satisfactorily, he shuffled across the gym to join his teacher. "You're getting stronger. You broke five today," the man remarked as he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked with Naruto to the locker rooms.
"Yeah, but I'm not good enough yet," the boy frowned with a sniff, dropping his arms and glancing up at him out of the corner of his eyes. "I'm not gonna be satisfied until I can break twice as many!" At that declaration, Kakashi sighed as he lamented the loss of his gym revenue, then smiled and reached up to pat Naruto's sweaty head.
"Keep training like you are, and you'll be unbeatable. But no more exercise for tonight. Do nothing until your morning run, got it? If you push your body too hard, you won't be able to fight at all," he warned with a pointed look. Naruto scowled and turned away with a haughty sniff.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it! You don't have to lecture me, you know!" he whined, but was secretly disappointed that he wasn't permitted to go for a night run. He loved running at night the most, when the air was cool and the city was silent and he could see the stars glittering in the black night sky. It wasn't like in the morning, when the birds were awake and the early morning commuters were on the roads; it was all noise. At night, jogging through the slums of Konoha City that he called home with only the shadows and alley cats for company, Naruto felt truly at peace.
Pausing in the locker rooms to change into fresh clothes and retrieve his items, the pair walked out of the gym and into the light. As Kakashi locked the door behind them, Naruto paused to close his eyes and enjoy the feeling of the cool night breeze trailing over his warm skin, and listened to the sounds of distant traffic and barking dogs echoing around him. He jumped when a sudden car horn interrupted his peaceful listening, and he cracked an eye open in irritation to see a beat-up old car parked on the curb with his best friends hanging out of it with stupid grins on their faces.
"Heyyyy, Naruto!" Kiba cried, then cursed as his dog Akamaru shoved his massive head through the driver's side window and barked happily at him. "Damn it, Akamaru, what did I tell you about staying in the passenger seat? Down, boy, down!" he laughed and shoved the ecstatic dog's head away, returning his attention to the boxer. "Did you forget? It's drinking night!"
"Kiba, damn near every night is drinking night for us," Shikamaru sighed from the back seat. He had one of his arms hanging outside of the car, a beer bottle clutched in his hand. That was typical for him. The lady man sighed and then grinned at Naruto. "So? You in?"
"Hell yeah, I'm in!" Naruto beamed stupidly and looked up at Kakashi. "Hey, coach, do you wanna come with?" Kakashi sighed and scratched the back of his head as he mulled it over, then shook his head.
"No, not this time. You see, I have a new book I want to read…" he frowned. Naruto screwed up his face in disgust.
"Fine, you read your nasty porn books! I'm going to get trashed!" he laughed and ran over to the car, running around to the passenger side to jump into the car. As Kiba howled with laughter and threw the car into "drive," Naruto heard his coach yelling after him to practice moderation. He wasn't going to get drunk, of course, but he just loved giving the old man a rough time. He smiled happily as he stared out the window of the car watching the shoddy buildings and ramshackle shops roll by, scratching Akamaru's head absent-mindedly.
Konoha City was the largest city in the surrounding area, and was where Naruto was born and raised. Like all cities, it paraded its high-end retail stores and stellar school district and white-washed, picket-fenced housing complexes while trying to hide its dirty underbelly- the slums, the ghetto, the realm of the poor and the unfortunate. That was where Naruto grew up, running across the cracked concrete with dirty bare feet, playing outside with a cheap basketball and the one goal the entire block shared at the rundown public park, attending a school with three security guards and a field instead of all-star coaches and a football stadium. He didn't mind that one bit, though.
One thing about growing up poor is that the entire community was in one collective effort to survive. Naruto knew everyone personally within three square miles. There were neighborhood barbecues somewhere happening all the time, and family and friends gathered for no reason but to simply celebrate being alive. Everyone around would give the shirts off their backs to help someone in need, even if that shirt was all they had. Naruto found that more beautiful than anything, and he would gladly take the unwashed houses and characteristic, knick-knacky yards and public park over the coldness of the pristine city across the tracks, because here, love flourished in the place of prosperity. Here was home.
That being said, the city had its merits- namely, the rinky-dink little bar where the love of Naruto's life worked as a part-time singer.
Well, she wasn't actually the love of his life, but she had the potential to be. One day, she would be his.
"So, Naruto," Kiba sneered at him through the rearview mirror. "Are you finally gonna work up the courage to ask out Yume this time?" Kiba and Shikamaru immediately burst into a fit of giggles, and even Akamaru howled and wagged his fail furiously, bouncing his head like he was laughing. Naruto snorted and hugged the headrest in front of him.
"That's right! I'm gonna get her number, just you wait! Then I'm gonna take her on a nice date!" he snorted determinedly. In reality, he was already breaking out into a cold sweat just thinking about the girl, and his heart began to hammer against his ribcage. Ah, she's so beautiful, it's intimidating! He thought miserably as his shoulders slumped.
"Well, you might want to move fast," Shikamaru smirked as he took a swig of his beer. "I hear there's a particular patron of the bar who is quite smitten with our star singer."
"What? No way!" Naruto wailed and pulled at his hair with a whimper. They laughed at him again, and Naruto felt his stomach tie into a knot as Kiba swung the beat-up car into a parking spot. Naruto wrung his hands nervously as they got out of the car and walked up to the bar, as he furiously tried to work up his courage to talk to the pretty girl. Come on, Naruto! You can do it! Believe it! He told himself, but that did little to boost his self-esteem. As they walked into the small building, he felt like turning tail and taking off for home.
"Come on, Naruto," Kiba mused and clapped him on the shoulder, his other hand holding Akamaru's leash. "Relax. What girl can resist a sweaty, muscle-headed idiot like you?" He snickered. Blushing, Naruto punched him in the shoulder and stomped up to the bars, ordering a beer to ease his nerves. He joined his friends at a table facing the stage, and as the lights dimmed, he felt his heartbeat speed up and all his senses go on high alert. He leaned forward, his eyes widening, as she stepped out onto the stage. No matter how many times he saw her, he still felt enchanted.
Smiling shyly with a guitar in her hands, Yume Utabi gave the crowd a little wave before walking over to the small barstool perched on the stage and hopping up into it. She was wearing dark blue jeans with holes in the knees tonight, slim ones the hugged her figure. Her raven hair, black with hues of violet, shone under the little lighting, and her sea-blue eyes caught Naruto's for a moment. He brushed darkly and averted his gaze, and then he glanced back at her when she strummed the guitar and began to play.
When she opened her mouth and began to sing, Naruto swore that she was an angel descended from heaven, filling the bar with the sweet sound of her melodic voice. Naruto slumped in the chair with a wide smile on his face, leaning his cheek in his hand as his mind became filled with the tune of her voice. He wasn't even sure what she was saying, as her voice went low and then suddenly high, filled with passion and emotion. She bent over the guitar, foot tapping and head bobbing with the beat, and Naruto could not help but sway along. He was dimly aware of his friends laughing under their breath at him, but he didn't care. She's gorgeous, he thought with a forlorn sigh. She doesn't deserve a bum like me. That's what he told himself every time he saw her. After all, what did he have to offer her but his heart? To him, that was far less than a sublime creature like her deserved.
Her gaze caught his again, and he felt his heart stop. His held his breath as she slowly stood up, still strumming the guitar as she walked to the edge of the stage. Gazing at him intently as she sang, she suddenly hopped onto his table, and the three of them jerked back in their chairs at the sudden appearance of the woman. Naruto stared wide-eyed into those gorgeous, perfect, blue eyes like the sea as she slowly sat down cross-legged on the table, and then suddenly it felt like it was just the two of them, all alone in the entire world, as she sat there singing to him. It was right then that he knew, they were destined for each other, that even if his heart was the only thing he had to give he would hand it over still beating if that was what her wanted. As she strummed the last note, she smiled sweetly at him, then turned abruptly and hopped off the table. Hips swaying slightly, she strolled purposefully to the back of the bar and entered the employees-only door.
"Wow," he breathed. "What a woman!"
"I see you're still eyeing that one," came a casual remark from behind him, and Naruto turned to see his friend and roommate Sasuke standing with his arms crossed, still in his police uniform.
"Yoooo! Sasuke, you made it!" Kiba grinned stupidly, holding up his beer as if to make a toast. Sasuke snorted and pulled up a chair beside Naruto, who had turned to stare longingly at the door. She came back out, and was immediately bombarded by a crowd of male fans.
"You know, Naruto, women don't take kindly to being stared at," Shikamaru mused as he hung an arm over the back of his chair.
"Just let him do as he likes," Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes. "He's not gonna do it."
"I'm gonna do it!" Naruto cried and jumped to his feet, startling his three friends and making Akamaru bark in alarm.
"What? Are you serious? She's never gonna go for street rats like us, man! Hang it up!" Kiba sighed and reached down to comfort the startled dog. "It is what it is, dude. She's from the other side. They don't mix with our kind."
"You don't know that!" Naruto huffed.
"I say let him go for it. It'll be funny to watch him get shot down," Shikamaru chuckled and waved at the bartender to bring another round of beers. "I wonder if she'll be nice about it, or slap him?"
"Naruto, don't be an idiot," Sasuke sighed, but the boxer had made up his mind. His resolve steeled, he scooped across the bar and right up to the pretty singer, who had just managed to fend of her flurry of fans. She blinked up at him in surprise as he stopped in front of her, standing straight up with his fingers digging into the sides of his pants as he struggled to force out the words.
"Yume! My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" he introduced himself loudly. He hadn't intended to shout, but he was nervous, and he tended to be a nervous yeller. Blushing brightly, he bowed his head low to her, making her jump. "I-i-i… I REALLY WANT YOUR NUMBER!" he cried, and bowed his head even lower when he realized he had screamed at her. I'm making a fool of myself! He lamented silently. "I-if… You don't find me disgusting…" he added in a whisper. He raised his head with wide eyes as she suddenly began to laugh, and he felt his blood turn to ice as the possibility of rejection grow suddenly likely. But she smiled sweetly at him, and he didn't see revulsion in her eyes, but genuine amusement.
"Disgusting? Why would I find you disgusting?" she chuckled. His cheeks turned red, and he scratched the back of his head shyly.
"W-well… Because I'm obviously from the slums… I don't have much money… I can't take you out to nice places, o-or buy you nice things…" he admitted. He then grabbed both hands in her own. Blue eyes met blue eyes. "But I promise, I'll treat you right! So please, can I have your number? And take you out on a date sometime?" he cried, once again raising his voice to an unnecessary volume. She blinked up at him, and he grinned as her expression relaxed into a small, happy smile. He felt his heart do a somersault as she grabbed a nearby pen from a passing waiter and took his hand to scrawl a series of numbers over his palm.
"Don't disappoint me, Naruto Uzumaki," she murmured, and looked up at him with alluring eyes. He slowly closed his hand over the black ink as she retreated back to the employee section of the restaurant, and as the door swung closed, the entire restaurant exploded with cheers and wails of dismay. People were clapping him on the back while others were shaking his shoulders asking him how he had done it, and Kiba was running around with a beer in each hand toasting Naruto's victory. Akamaru jumped up onto a table, knocking over two men's drinks, as he leaped onto Naruto and sent him to the ground. Naruto was barely aware of it, though. He felt like he was floating in a dream. He opened his hand and looked down at his palm, his eyes running over the numbers and letters scrawled there. I'm looking forward to our date! -Yume Utabi.
"I DID IT!" he screamed suddenly and threw both fists in the air, flopping backwards onto the wooden floor. He laughed as Akamaru perched on his chest and licked his face excitedly, and his friends squatted down next to him to shower him in a pitcher of water to clear his clouded head. Even as the cold water splashed over him, he felt like he was sailing high, high above the clouds, and nothing could bring him down.
That was the beginning of it all, the dramatic moment that set all the events in motion, that would test their dreams to their very limits. Two very different people who came together in the river of destiny, guided by their hopes and dreams.