Yay 9th chapter up and I hope you like it. Please Review. :-) Yeah also if you didn't catch about how the stage and arena is set up refer to chapter 8 in case you missed it. Also for these next chapters when they are singing it helps if you knows how the songs go and the rhythm or beat of them or just listen to them when you read.
Disclaimer: yeah unfortunately I don't own Naruto. But hey a girl can have a dream can't she? Oh yeah I also do not own the song How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20.
Thoughts
"Talking"
Singing
Chapter 9: The Contest Begins- Team 7
6:50- ten minutes before the contest is supposed to start
All of the teams were backstage getting ready. You could feel the tension and anticipation in the air. Tsunade had just come backstage to visit the teams. While standing on the stage facing the teams she announced in a loud voice. "All right you have 10 minutes until I introduce the first performer. I just wanted to say good luck. All right who wants to go first?" No one raised their hand to volunteer "Fine since we have no volunteers I guess I will just have to pick. I will pick uh eeny, meeny, miney, you," Tsunade said while pointing at Naruto. "Your team will go first."
Everyone just sweat dropped while various people were seriously wondering why one of the three legendary sanin was using a child's game to pick the order.
"Granny Tsunade, That's not fair!" screamed Naruto.
"Sure it is and quite complaining. You're up first and that's that. Hm, I guess team 8 can go second and then team 10 can go third and team Gai can go last. And the finales I guess guy team 2 can go first then the girls then the last guy group. All right it's settled. Remember you order and good luck," said Tsunade as she made her way back to the judge's box. The teams started to go back to their designated areas all except for one pink haired kunoichi and a blonde kunoichi who were quietly discussing something in hushed voices.
"So, Ino-pig did you bring the stuff"
"Sure did Billboard Brow. What did you think I forget it or something?"
"No, nothing like that. Never mind. I was just checking. It isn't too extreme is it?"
"Of course," replied Ino with a smirk to a worried looking Sakura. "I'm just kidding. Everything will be just fine and we will….."
"SAKURA, COME ON ALL READY! WE DON'T HAVE ALL DAY! WE HAVE TO GET SET UP," screamed Naruto who was carrying his drums on stage and started to set them up. The two girls glared at him for interrupting their conversation. Sakura then sighed and turned to look at Ino again.
"Yeah, well I better get going. Good luck Ino. I'll see you later for the finale." said Sakura who waved as she quickly jogged over to the stage to help the guys finish set up.
"Yeah same to you too, Sakura," yelled Ino to the retreating back of Sakura. Ino soon made her way over to her team who were just sitting around not doing anything at all to get ready even thought it would be their turn soon.
"Hey guys," greeted Sakura as she grabbed her pink acoustic guitar and joined the guys on stage.
"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG," yelled Naruto who was sitting on the drum stand where his drum set was now fully assembled.
"Naruto, there is no reason to yell; and for your information I was talking to Ino."
"About what, I thought you two hated each other?" asked a very confused Naruto.
"No we're friends and it is none of your business Naruto." Sakura then turned to look at Sasuke, "So do we have everything ready to perform?"
"Hn," grunted the distant Uchiha prodigy who was sitting on the edge of the stage tuning his blue electric guitar.
"Well is that a yes or a no, Sasuke?"
"I have my guitar"
"All right and I have my guitar. What about you Naruto?" asked Sakura who turned to look at Naruto.
"I have my drum set and the two microphones you asked me to bring," stated Naruto proudly.
"NARUTO! YOU IDIOT, I TOLD YOU TO BRING THREE MICROPHONES NOT TWO," screamed Sakura who was being held back by Sasuke so she wouldn't kill Naruto right then and there.
"Sakura, calm down," whispered Sasuke into her ear, "If I let you go do you promise not to kill the only drummer we have at the moment?"
"Yeah I guess," answered Sakura who had calmed down a little, "But I swear if he does anything else I'm going to kill him," she whispered to Sasuke.
"Fine by me," said Sasuke who reluctantly released Sakura. Considering he realized how nice it was to hold her and how she smelled sweetly of cherry blossoms. Sakura started to pace back in forth muttering about not having enough microphones and how nobody was going to loan them once since it was a competition and they were competing.
"Sakura you need to settle down. You and me will just have to share a mic," stated Sasuke.
"Huh? Oh I guess that could work. Thanks Sasuke," said Sakura who was now beaming at Sasuke. "Ok, here is the plan we go out there perform and win this whole competition. Got it?"
"Hn."
"Sounds like a good plan to me, Sakura."
"I am still mad at you Naruto and if you screw up this performance in any way I will kill you. You go that."
"Yep loud and clear," said a very terrified Naruto
Man Sakura sure is scary when she is mad thought Naruto.
While Team 7 was setting up Tsunade was talking to the crowd and introducing the judges.
"Welcome to Konoha's Battle of the Bands. I would first like to thank you for coming. Next I would like to introduce you to our judges. Our first judge is Jiraiya" said Tsunade into her microphone and with a big poof of smoke Jiraiya appeared beside Tsunade.
"Jiraiya's here," said Jiraiya into his microphone while the audience went wild.
"Our next judge and my own personal assistant is Shizune," continued Tsunade. Shizune appeared standing beside Jiraiya holding TonTon while the audience gave her a big round of applause.
"Thank you Lady Tsunade," said Shizune as she bowed.
"Our next judge and also the third proctor in the Chunin exams is Genma," said Tsunade.
Genma walks on the stage and lifts his hand in recognition as the crowd continues their cheering.
"And the final judge will be me of course. All right our first contestant will be team 7 consisting of Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki"
The crowd goes crazy as the judge's poof in a cloud of smoke up to the judge's box and the curtain slowly rises.
Backstage just before their introduction
Naruto was behind his drum set with his microphone all set and ready. Sakura and Sasuke were standing a little ways apart from each other with a microphone a little in front of them but still in the middle.
"Oh god here we go! Good luck guys," said a very nervous Sakura as the curtain began to rise. She sneaked a quick glance at Naruto who gave her a reassuring smile and at Sasuke who just nodded his head.
The curtain rises and team 7 finally get to see how many people had come to watch the Battle of the Bands which turned out to be a ton considering that all possible areas were covered with people. The stage goes black while suddenly (Author Note: It helps to play the song while listening. I think that will make it easier to understand.)
Hello, Hello, Hello Naruto sang before crashing the cymbal and starting to play his drum part.
"Naruto," hissed Sakura in a deadly voice as she whipped her head around to glare at Naruto.
"Sakura play," Sasuke whispered because they were about to miss their entry.
Sauske and Sakura start their guitar part just as Naruto again crashed the cymbal. Now the whole stage is lit up with the white stage lights as the guitars and drums are playing. Another crash on the cymbal from Naruto and while still playing Sakura moves a little closer to the microphone to start singing her part.
Waking up at the start of the end of the world,
But its feeling just like every morning before,
Now I wonder what my life is going to mean if its gone,
The cars are moving like a half a mile an hour if that
I started staring at the passengers waving goodbye
Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this timeSakura sang while she glanced sadly at Sasuke wondering if he thought there was anything special about her. Naruto crashes the cymbal again and Sasuke moves over to Sakura and they turned back to back still playing to sing their duet. (Author Note: Whenever Sasuke and Sakura are singing a duet they are standing back to back sharing the mic.)
But I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find outthey stepped back a bit to let Naruto sing his part. A crash from the cymbal and Naruto started to sing.
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've comeNaruto finished his solo with another cymbal crash just as Sakura and Sasuke stepped back up to the microphone to sing their part.
Well I, believe, its all, coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,once again they stepped back, another crash from the cymbal, and Naruto began sing his solo.
Let's see how far we've come
Let's see how far we've come another crash from Naruto's cymbal, Sakura stepped back from the microphone, and Sasuke started to sing his solo.
I think it turned ten o' clock but I don't really know
I can't remember caring for an hour or so
Started crying and I couldn't stop myself
I started running but there was nowhere to run to
I sat down on the street and took a look at myself
Said where you going man you know the world is heading for hell
Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye toafter singing that part Sasuke looked over to Sakura and wondered if she would care if he left. He hoped she would but he couldn't be sure since she hadn't been as flirty with him this week and he found himself starting to miss it. In fact she has been acting kind of distant with him. Naruto's cymbal crash got Sasuke out of his daze as him and Sakura once again started to sing their duet.
I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find outSasuke stepped a little back from the microphone as Naruto sounded the cymbal and started his part while Sakura would sing the oh yeah and right now backup.
Let's see how far we've come right now
Let's see how far we've comeAnother cymbal crash ended Naruto's part as Sasuke again stepped up to the microphone to sing his duet with Sakura.
Well I, believe, its all, coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend,another crash on the cymbal from Naruto as he started singing.
Let's see how far we've come (oh yeah)(Author Note: The oh yeah is Sakura still)
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash from the cymbal. Sauske and Naruto continued playing as Sakura stopped. Then with both the electric guitar and drums going Sakura started her solo guitar part. Sasuke then stepped up to the microphone and began to sing. Sakura stopped playing her guitar so now it was just Sauske and Naruto playing.
Its gone gone baby it's all gone
There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home
It was cool cool, it was just all cool
Now it's over for me and it's over for youSakura then stepped up and sang her part while starting to play her guitar again.
Well its gone gone baby it's all gone
There is no one on the corner and there's no one at home
Well it was cool cool, it was just all cool
Now it's over for me and it's over for youA crash came from the cymbals while the guitars played then suddenly it all stopped there was no noise from anyone on stage or in the audience. A couple beats later there was a crash and Sakura and Sasuke started to sing and the three continued to play their instruments.
But I believe the world is burning to the ground
Oh well I guess we're gonna find outanother crash from his cymbal and Naruto began to sing
Let's see how far we've comeOh yeah) (Author Note: Sakura sang the oh yeah part.)
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash of the cymbal and the duet started again with the music slowly building up in tempo.
Well I, believe, its all, coming to an end
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretendanother crash as the two once again stepped back from the microphone. Naruto then sang.
Let's see how far we've comeagain) (Author Note: Sasuke sang the Again)
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash of the cymbal. Now all three where singing together.
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash sounded.
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash came from the cymbal
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash of the cymbal
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash from Naruto's cymbal
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash
Let's see how far we've comeanother crash and the song finally ended. The audience was going wild and cheering. Team 7 took a bow and walked off the stage. The curtain closed. Meanwhile in the judges box Tsunade who was sitting by Jiraiya was in awe because she couldn't believe that Naruto's team would be that good.
"Wow that is going to be a tough act to follow," stated Jiraiya.
"Yeah," said Shizune who was sitting by Genma who was just nodding his head. TonTon who was sitting in Shizune's lap just blinked and oinked in agreement.
With Team 7
After the curtain had gone down, team 7 quickly got their stuff down from the stage and made their way over to their dressing area. Sasuke set his guitar down gently in its case and quickly threw the two microphones to Naruto who had just finished setting his drum down. Naruto easily caught the microphones and set them down beside his drum. Sakura was strangely quiet while she put her things away. Suddenly Naruto broke out into laughter.
"Hey, I think they liked us."
"Naruto! I could have killed you out there for pulling that stunt at the beginning, but I think it was a great way to open so I might just let you live," replied Sakura laughing while she finally turned around to face the guys.
Naruto had a huge grin on his face while Sasuke just stood there with his hands in his pockets. Sakura couldn't hold it in any longer and let out an excited scream. She ran over to Naruto and gave him a huge bone crushing hug. Naruto returned the hug. After Sakura had finally released Naruto he looked around and the rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Hey Sakura, I'll meet you two out front. I want to wish Hinata good luck and see if she needs help with anything. You'll be sitting in the performer's box right?"
"Yeah, Naruto. Can you tell Hinata good luck for me too?" asked Sakura.
"Sure thing. See ya in a bit," replied Naruto with a wave as he ran over to where team 8 was getting ready to get set up on stage.
Sakura then turned to Sasuke and hugged him. She knew he hated this but she just couldn't stop herself she was just too excited about how well their performance went. Sakura was surprised when she felt an arm wrap around her waist. Sasuke was holding her even if it was with only one arm while the other was still in his pocket.
Oh my god! Sasuke is hugging me even if it is only with one arm. Maybe he does like me. Maybe there is still a chance thought Sakura.
"You think we did good. Don't you Sasuke?" asked Sakura who had her head on Sasuke's chest.
"Yeah I do."
Sakura loved how she could feel his voice vibrating through his chest. She also loved the way he smelled just like the air before a storm, a smell that she just absolutely loved. Sasuke couldn't shake this feeling but maybe he really did like Sakura. Sakura quickly pulled away and gave Sasuke a quick peck on the cheek. She then made her way around the stage to go find the performers box. Sauske just stood there in shock for a moment. That was totally unlike Sakura. He quickly touched his cheek where she had kissed him. He realized what he was doing and quickly dropped his hand and started to make his over to Sakura who was talking to Ino who she had run into.
"I still can't believe that we are going to be in the guy's performance. Ours is so going to be better thought. We are definitely going to break…. Oh hey Sasuke ready to go?" Sakura asked with a smile like nothing had happened.
"Hn"
"Well I'll see you in a bit, Ino."
"Yeah, later Sakura. Oh and the performance you put on was amazing a tough act to follow. Poor Hinata. Our performance is so going to beat yours though just you wait and see," replied Ino.
"Yeah right. Our finale will be even better than anyone's performance. We are going to blow everyone away just you wait and see," said Sakura as she and Sasuke walked away from Ino.
"Yeah you bet," Ino yelled after them.
They do make a cute couple thought Ino too bad Sasuke is too dumb to realize that he likes her. Oh well hopefully we can knock some sense into hopefully all the guys tonight.
"You seem to be getting along with Ino."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Hn," replied Sauske wondering what the girls were up to considering the part of Sakura's and Ino's conversation that he overheard.
The two made their way to the box and found Naruto waiting on them.
"So where have you guys been?"
"We ran into Ino and I had to talk to her about something"
"Again?" asked Naruto.
"Yes again," replied Sakura with a little laugh as she took her seat in between Naruto and Sasuke. "Hey Naruto how is Hinata?"
"Fine nervous she is stuttering really badly. Worse than usual."
"Ah poor Hinata. At least she doesn't have to sing."
With that the three sat back waiting for team 8's performance to start.
ALL RIGHT I AM NOW FINISHED. PLEASE REVIEW. I WILL TRY TO UPDATE SOON TOO. HOPE YOU LIKE IT!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW.
