Kankuro was as pissed as a high-schooler could get at being roughed up by some middle-schooler and expelled from Apprentice Instiution. His parents were still furious at him for treating Sakura like dirt and getting her classmates involved in her affairs. At least if the police were involved in this they could pay them to shut up. Kids now a day won't just do anything for money like adults would. Kankuro had it up to his head with dating immature grade-schoolers anyway; older women were more his thing - rich older women, that is. He actually met up with a hot red-head, but she blew him off like it was second nature.

Dumb bitch... Kankuro thought. She's already got a man, she says. That prick had better be Orochimaru or someone even more famous than him!

"Dude, what are we gonna practice for the charity?" Shikamaru asked, looking at Naruto. "We don't even have songs written."

"Depends on the gig," Naruto answers.

Kankuro stopped walking completely at his attacker's voice and hid behind a wall to listen in on his conversation. He heard something about a charity and songs. If that blonde asshole just scored some major spot on MTV or something for a kid's charity, he was so going to sabotage everything! His reputation would be done for!

"Some events want you to perform songs that they pick and others might ask you to play whatever you want. I think we should sing other people's songs like we did before first to get a feel on our styles. After that, we can figure out what to do for the gig if they say sing what you like," Naruto continues.

"Oh, we gotta think about graduation, too," Shikamaru reminded. "Kakashi-sensei said that'd be the day he'd watch us perform, so that's like our most important debut date."

"Well...yeah, but..." Naruto started.

"But?" Shikamaru prompted.

"I already sang to you a part of my graduation song," Naruto answered, looking at Shikamaru. "We only have room for one. Principal Sarutobi said I can only sing one song as a special addition for the program and made the arrangements. If you think about it, that's really just more pressure on you."

"On me?"

"Yeah, I know my lyrics and my rhythms," Naruto says, pointing to himself. He took in a breath then pointed to Shikamaru, saying, "If you want to be a part of the program, you have to write lyrics that actually flow with mine, and you have to sing to your fullest because you only get one shot at this."

"Wha - what?" Shikamaru questioned, staring into Naruto's eyes. He was right, though. Shikamaru had no room for error. If he wanted to sing with Naruto, he had to be on equal grounds with him. "What about you, though? Isn't it the same?"

"My first time performing was in front of Itachi's classmates during some school picnic," Naruto answered. "I know what it's like to be nervous and be set up with little room to fuck up. Besides singing in front of you, graduation is really nothing. I've even sung at my dad's business meeting. I know the drill."

"But the charity event is even worse, isn't it?"

"Yep," Naruto said, plucking Shikamaru's forehead. "Total different ball game. The audience, depending on whether the event will happen, will be way bigger. When the crowd gets larger, your nervous tension hits the roof. Your first gig ever will either be the graduation ceremony or the charity thing. You can't fuck up either way, and you only have one shot at this. Pretty dangerous, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's fucking major," Shikamaru whispered, afraid and nervous. "I don't want to fail 'cause so many people are watching, and I don't want to disappoint you because this is your dream. It's a double-edged sword!"

"True, but this could also work for your benefit," Naruto suggested, smirking mischievously. "The point of the charity is to help Ao Stadium make more money. You've never struggled for money before, right?"

"Right," Shikamaru agreed, nodding.

"But you've worked for it before, right?"

"Right."

"What's something you're struggling with right now that could involve money?"

Shikamaru took some time to think about the question then said the first thing that came to his mind, "Ms. Tayuya."

"Why her?" Naruto asked, confused by this answer. He thought for sure he was going to say something else.

"She wants to date me and talk to my parents about letting me date her, but I don't have the kind of money I'd like to take her out to places I think she deserves since she's led a hard life. Not just that, though. If my mom or my dad doesn't want me to see Tayuya, they'll either turn her away or abandon me. I'll end up having to pay for my own shit and stuff like that, but I'll also have to make enough to stay in school. If Tayuya still wants to date me, she'll probably have to struggle even harder to support herself and support me if she's that type of woman. I don't want any of that to happen, and I'm more scared that it will than if it won't."

Naruto smiled at his blushing friend and softly gripped his shoulder. He couldn't see it at first, but now it was clearer: Shikamaru actually does like Tayuya. He wants to date her, but he's afraid she may be either too old or way out of his league. Then, Naruto thought about his situation and understood where the fear was really coming from. Shikamaru's mother caught her husband kissing another woman while he was drunk and the woman was actually a younger girl who was really interested in Shikamaru. Should she have to face that same problem, she might snap and not be able to recover. Shikaku had told the truth to her the entire time, but she was so afraid of Shikamaru being taken from her she didn't know what to do. Now, Shikamaru was faced with a woman he really liked, so what will become of his mother if she found out?

Shikamaru shook his head and led Naruto back to his house while talking about other things like his first gig and how to handle it. Kankuro waited until the brats were out of eyesight then growled to himself. Those retards have the opportunity to make a debut at two of the most important places in Konoha? Oh, it was on! He was not going to be made a fool of twice by some blonde in middle school and his partner.

"Consider yourself sabotaged, kid," Kankuro mumbled to himself, arms trembling with anger and anticipation. "They said Ao Stadium, right?" Kankuro bit his lip then smirked evilly and continued, "Funny he should say that. My family's been supporting the idea of tearing it down but didn't have a valid reason for it. Perfect!"

"Okay, so errand five is…clean my room," Naruto said, looking at his spotless sleeping quarters. It was shiny enough to blind someone! Plus, it smelled fresh. He checked his fifth chore off the list and walked into the den. He read his next errand aloud and wasn't exactly surprised by it, "Take out the trash accumulated after having done chores 3 to 5. Brilliant, there's a chance I might meet someone to piss me off."

Naruto went into the kitchen first to get rid of the four garbage bags that were filled and smelly after cleaning the kitchen spotless. He carried two at a time since they were heavy and walked to the front door. Once he opened the door, he saw a pretty interesting sight: his voice of reason and stalker, Hyuuga-sama, was bending over to re-strap his rollerblades.

Cute butt for a guy, Naruto thought, continuing his venture to the dump. Maybe he'll ignore me if I just mind my own business.

With that, Naruto walked down the stairs of his second-floor apartment and proceeded to the dumpster about half a block away. Once he got in front of the black iron prison, he heaved his bags off his shoulders and into the window. It looked like he was the only one going to fill up the dump today. He let out a breath then felt someone else's on his neck and heard a faint, deep…

"Fuu-desu," Hyuuga-sama blew, startling Naruto to the point of freezing in his place.

Naruto snapped his head around then covered his neck and blushed a vibrant pink. He said, "What the hell?"

"It's rude to walk passed me and not say hello, superstar," Hyuuga said, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you still going on about that?" Naruto argued, wiping the sensation off his neck. "I'm not a star that everyone looks up to – "

"Yet," Hyuuga finished, silencing Naruto with that sense of encouragement.

Naruto suddenly thought of the boy before him being one of those groupies, a pretty hot one for a guy. He might not have minded him so much. It's not often you get a pretty boy following you on every tour you have for the love of the music.

"Are you not going to use that voice to get into showbiz?" Hyuuga asked, slicking some of his hair back.

"What about you, huh?" Naruto questioned. "You've been stalking me since you heard me sing Orochimaru's song. Got any pipes of your own?"

"I'm starting a band soon, so maybe and maybe not," Hyuuga suggested, smirking seductively. "Would you like to hear it?"

"Hear what?" Naruto questioned, growing cautious and almost afraid.

"Us play, doofus!" Hyuuga insulted, poking Naruto's forehead. "We're playing at Konoha's Sand Bar on Kuchiki Street and Raharu Boulevard. If you want to hear my voice, you can watch the show. It's free entry for students, and the place is a great start for newbies like you."

"Wha – why are you…always…helping me? Didn't your mom ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" Naruto asked, clenching his fists.

"Of course, blondie," Hyuuga said, scoffing and rolling his eyes. "I guess…I want to help you…because your voice is what I'd like to work with someday. It's strong, moving, reaching out for something. I like it, and that's all there is to it."

Naruto was quiet as he stared into the pearl-like eyes of his stalker. He was very sweet for someone he didn't know. As the Hyuuga walked away from him, Naruto suddenly realized he didn't know his voice of reason's name.

"Hey, wait! Who are you?"

"Just look for Neji at the Sand Bar. Neji Hyuuga."

Okay, so pretty brief chapter. Uh, my ideas haven't been flowing well as of late, so be patient with me. I'm actually happy that people have been reading this story. I hope to keep it going since it was my first story published. This story may go through some changes as it progresses, but I'm not sure. Until I get to the important stuff, I can't say for sure that this story will go under re-editing changes like my other ones but please keep supporting this.

I hope you all enjoyed the series so far, and have a nice spring. Toodles! 3