Let the Music Do the Talking, a Naruto fanfic

Naruto © Masashi Kishimoto

A/N: Hey there, a little High School fic I wanted to try out! This is a one-shot but I may be thinking of expanding it at some point; have fun!

Update 28th April: This has now become a full fic!


Chapter 1: Let the Music Do the Talking

A sunny Friday afternoon greeted the students of Konoha High as the final bell rang for the week. The trio of Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka and Karin left their final class with the weekend in sight and two days of relaxation. In the main corridor, they gathered around Sakura's locker as she grabbed her gym clothing to take home.

"Jeez, I am so glad we're done for the day," Karin murmured, rubbing her forehead in frustration. "I swear if Sarutobi carried on, I was going to chuck something at him!"

"Are you still sore at the time he gave you detention because you made that lewd joke regarding Henry the Eighth's wives?" Ino chuckled, texting her dad a quick message.

"Look, it's kind of obvious, isn't it? That king having all those wives, and he doesn't get outed for being a whore? I swear men got away with so much back in those days, I just had to say it!"

Sakura closed her locker door and hoisted her backpack over her shoulders. "Karin, you really should know when to hold your tongue y'know? It will land you in serious trouble one day…"

"Hmph." The red-haired huffed with her arms folded. "I'm not an ass-kisser. If teachers can't handle the truth, then what hope do we have?"

"I'm glad to be out of there is all," Ino added. "Did you hear how loud Kiba was being? I swear I got a headache from him…"

To say it had been an easy Friday would be an understatement. Two periods of English in the morning, followed by Psychology, a session of Gym before lunch and finishing off with History in the afternoon. It was the final hour of the day that always seemed to drag on, especially in Asuma Sarutobi's History class. For Ino, she was hoping to get out of here as soon as possible to divulge in her own hobbies.

"Speaking of boys, what's the deal with Sasuke lately?" Karin noted. "He's not been very….what's the word…socially active lately?"

Sakura looked puzzled. "You're right there; we do have mid-terms coming up so maybe he's just been so engrossed in that. You know how much pressure his family puts on him, especially since his older brother was a prodigy here."

"I work my arse off twice as hard as he does and yet for some reason, my grades are slacking!" The redhead snapped. "Like I make time for you two and work so what gives?" She sighed heavily. "I swear they're playing favourites with Uchiha lately…"

"You got to admit though, he is pretty hot though!" Sakura squealed with delight. "When do you think he'll ask one of us out?

"Probably when hell freezes over." Ino snorted. Unlike her two friends, she hadn't taken much of a liking to the Uchiha boy. Sure, he was attractive, but as she put it, he had the personality of a brick. Frankly, she was wondering how anyone could fall for a guy like him.

"Up for the usual today, girls?" Karin said as they approached the doorway to the exit.

"Sure," Sakura replied.

"Not today for me I'm afraid." Came a half-bored response from the blonde. "I've got other plans."

Karin turned around, hands on her hips. It was not like Ino to turn down a group invite like this. "Are you serious? It's Friday, time to forget everything for two whole days and chill! I thought we could all go to the coffee hut around the corner and grab some food?" She thought it was quite suspicious that Ino of all people would turn down their usual Friday afternoon ritual.

Ino rolled her eyes, wanting to get out of the conversation. "Thanks anyway but I'm going to hang back here for a bit. There are some things I need to do before I head home."

"Okay, suit yourself." The red-haired shrugged. "If you want to meet up tomorrow, drop me a text." She turned to her other friend. "Sakura, you're still game for some coffee right?"

"Yeah, sure." Sakura gave Ino a small smile. "Catch you later, Ino."

As she watched her friends walk out the front doors, Ino quickly headed into the nearby bathroom to change her clothes. Being the end of the day, she decided to dress down out of her school uniform into something more comfortable. Moments after, she left and headed towards the staircase next to the entrance that led down into the music and performing arts department. For a few months now she had a secret that she hadn't wanted to share with anyone else. It was bad enough being labelled as the popular 'dumb blonde' of her group of friends, but if anyone found out what she was really like, who knows what could happen. She reached the bottom and headed left past a few more rooms, reaching a large set of double doors which she opened and stepped inside. This one in particular was a classroom that focused on musical theory, but in addition had been set up with a drum kit, keyboards, amplifiers and brass instruments. Seeing the place devoid of people, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank lord, it's just me. I don't think I could take anyone else being here."

She dropped her backpack in the corner next to the door, walking towards a tall locker against the rear wall. Pulling out a key from her back pocket, she turned it into the lock and opened the door, revealing a crimson-coloured bass guitar donned with a white lightning pattern. There was another locker like this one on the opposite side that had been untouched for months. Who could that belong to? She pondered. The thing wasn't in the best condition, and she was curious as to why none of the teachers had thrown it out.

"Thank god Iruka lets me keep this here…" She retrieved it and pulled up a chair. She placed her phone down next to a set of speakers, plugged the aux cable into the headphone jack and turned on the speakers. Ino positioned herself on the chair, guitar resting on her lap and plugged it into the amp on the floor before beginning to tune it.

"Now let's see…" She fiddled with the tuning keys at the head, hoping to get right the sound for herself. She plucked a few strings. "No…wasn't it…E, A, D, G?" She clicked her tongue, taking some more time to tune as her ears resonated to the sound. A few more attempts and she found the sweet spot. "Perfect."

Ino reached over to her phone, and brought up the music player to load up one of the tracks she had been practising with for a while now; Enter Sandman by Metallica. Pressing play, she began tapping her foot as the song began its opening.


Unbeknownst to her, another student had stayed behind that very same day. And it just happened to be Naruto Uzumaki; the boy who was known in his year group as the 'hyperactive ramen-obsessed knucklehead'. He wasn't as popular as Sasuke Uchiha, the stoic, brooding loner who seems to be perfect in absolutely everything academic and sports-wise, but he was able to get by with B's and C's mainly. His main passion was playing the guitar, however, he was constantly reprimanded by his parents that he should focus on his grades more often rather than playing music. Naruto really wished his parents were more supportive of his endeavours, but at the end of the day, he just hoped he would pass with somewhat good grades that wouldn't lead him to be sent to summer school.

"Damn Hatake…" He groaned as he left his locker. "Giving me detention all because I missed one deadline by a few hours; I'm glad that's over." He opened his water canister, taking a quick sip of liquid before his hearing was drawn to a heavy bass sound coming down the corridor.

"Hm?" He looked ahead to see no one there, but the sound continued. "Who the heck is playing that?"

Naruto carried on walking until he reached the staircase and peered over the railing. "Hello, anyone there?"

No response.

He headed down the stairs towards the origin of the sound. He was curious about who could be playing as he remembered his friend Kiba was a drummer and found anything with strings to be a nuisance to handle. Was it Lee or Neji? He had heard that both of them were trying out for different music classes but they hadn't been clear on what they were trying to accomplish. The Hyuuga had some piano skill but wasn't the type to be listening to anything heavy like he was. For Lee, he had dipped his toes in playing keyboard but didn't say how far he had progressed. Finally, he reached the doors and peered in through the small glass panel to see none other than Ino finishing up her song.

Hold on…that's Ino Yamanaka, isn't it? His eyes widened at her appearance, noticing the bass guitar in her hand. Isn't she meant to be the popular dumb blonde out of that trio? Since when does she play bass? Or listen to rock music for that matter?

As she placed down the guitar pick to look at another song, her vision caught sight of Naruto's face in the glass.

"Naruto!?" She exclaimed, almost dropping her instrument in fright. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The blonde boy pushed the door open and stepped into the room. "I should be asking the same thing…" He chuckled sheepishly. "Since when do you play an instrument?"

Her face turned slightly red, her eyes trailing off to the side. "That's….That's none of your concern!" Her expression sharpened into one of frustration and anger. "And I swear if you tell anyone about this you're dead!"

Naruto blinked, wondering how he had ended up here. Normally, he had only shared classes with Ino a few times a week and didn't take much notice of her due to her brash attitude and dolled up appearance. But now, here she was sat wearing a white hoodie, stone-washed jeans, and her hair in a one-sided ponytail with zero make-up to boot. The boy couldn't help but admire how cute she looked, but then mentally reminded himself of what she was like.

"Wait…so all this time you've been hiding your appearance and your love of music?" Naruto scoffed, amused at the revelation before him. "And here's me thinking you were such a girly-girl!"

The blonde girl gritted her teeth at his remark "For your information, Naruto." She replied with a tinge of venom in her voice. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me. So, if you wouldn't mind, this is my only space to practice, so kindly just leave."

"Jeez, I'm sorry." The boy held up his hands to defend himself. "It's just weird seeing a girl that plays the bass guitar. I don't know even know that many girls in this school that are into that sort of thing…" He placed his sling backpack down. "…not to mention anyone else who is into heavier music that isn't in the Top 40 or some weird casual music playlist…" He walked over to the second locker that stood next to the onyx-coloured drumkit, opened the door, and pulled out a silver guitar. Closing the door, he propped himself up on the desk and began tuning his instrument.

"Wait, that's your locker?" Ino asked. She had been wondering for some time about the locker that was discoloured and covered in different stickers. "Shouldn't you be keeping your own stuff at home and not at school?"

"Yeah, but this is my spare." He commented as he plucked a few strings. "My pride and joy are kept at home, and I don't want to risk damaging that beauty."

"Your pride and joy?" She was confused at why he was describing a musical instrument like it was a piece of gold.

"It belonged to my Dad, and he would kill me if I even got a scratch on it."

Ino scowled. What was his deal anyway? She knew him as the loud, obnoxious boy who used to pull pranks on a lot of people, didn't do that well in class and was practically everything Sasuke was not.

"Enter Sandman by Metallica huh? That's a classic." He said softly. "What else do you like?"

She locked eyes with him. "I thought I asked you to leave."

"Yeah, I heard you. But I have every right to practice here as much as you do." He smirked with pride. "So, what else do you like then? Or am I to assume you've heard one song by a popular band and all of a sudden, you're the queen of the world and decided to play an instrument to impress somebody?"

Ino was fuming at this point. "Don't patronize me you asshole!" She hissed. "For the record, I've actually been doing this for six months. My dad gave me a head start in learning basic chord progression and learning how to read music, and his record collection is something else too…oh shit-!" She clasped her hand over her mouth, realizing she had just said, leading to Naruto's smirk extending from ear to ear.

"Is that so?" He teased, knowing that he could do so much with this new information. "Name me five famous bass players then?"

She growled before taking a deep breath. "Cliff Burton, Geezer Butler, Geddy Lee, John Paul Jones, Roger Glover." She managed all at once before exhaling. "Is that good enough for you? I'm not as dumb as you think I am…"

The blonde boy's mouth turned into an 'O' shape, recognizing that this girl knew what she was talking about. "I see." He spoke quietly. He had not anticipated that response from her. Ino did look like the kind of girl who would probably listen to pop-punk or dance music, not rock and heavy metal. He placed his instrument down flat on the table and crossed his legs, eager to hear more of what she had to say. "Okay, what is your favourite band currently?"

Ino lightened her expression, her lips forming a straight line. "Hmm…I'm tied between Deftones and Killswitch Engage. Deftones have this weird sound that I'm trying to grasp; like, I don't know if I'm supposed to feel happy, sad or angry most of the time. I personally think Koi No Yokan is an underrated masterpiece, but I love Diamond Eyes a lot more. Oh and let's not forget the magnum opus that is Saturday Night Wrist. Plus Chino Moreno is kind of sexy...but then Killswitch have this primal raw energy…I don't know how to describe it; when I first listened to My Last Serenade, I was hooked! Their new stuff is pretty cool though."

"Are you a Howard or a Jesse fan?"

"Both." She answered amused. "Jesse has a primal, animal instinct about his vocals while Howard goes for a more baritone, operatic feel which I can get behind..." Her lip turned upward into a sign of frustration. "Wait, why am I telling you all this!?"

Naruto laughed. "Well, looks like you do know your stuff I'll give you that." He lightly drummed his fingers on the table. "I'm a Jesse fan myself, no disrespect to Howard, just my preference." He looked at the bass she had in her lap.

"So, why all the secrecy, Ino? I'm sure everyone would love the fact that there's a girl in this school who is playing the guitar and not a string instrument like everyone else."

The blonde girl turned her head slightly, her body looking a little deflated. "It's just…this is kind of special to me, that's all. It's embarrassing enough having to hide this side of me from people; everyone always assumes I'm the 'dumb, popular blonde' who belittles everyone but that's not the case. Doing something like this helps me destress from schoolwork, homework etc. Why do you think I'm not on the sports teams as much? It's mainly because I got sick of playing into other people's ideas of me; the girl who plays badminton and runs in cross-country marathons, that sort of thing. Also, in regards to my 'uniqueness'?" She continued with air quotes. "You should know your rock and metal quota; how many women do you see in bands that aren't vocalists for Symphonic Metal groups like Nightwish and Epica?"

"-Jeanne Sagan from All That Remains, Lzzy Hale, Orianthi, Emma Anzai, Lita Ford, Joan Jett." He responded promptly. "Need I go on?"

"Oh, now you're just showing off." She pouted. "But do you see my point? You hear it all the time around here; 'Rock music is dead', 'No one likes Rock anymore', 'Rock music is for old people'. I just wish I could share it with other people without being judged."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "That's what's got you so down? You shouldn't be so ashamed of liking something different, Ino. It just makes you stand out more. Who cares what others think?" He popped off the table, walked over to his backpack, unzipped it, and pulled out a pack of Oreo cookies. Opening the wrapper, he offered one to her.

"No thanks, I'm on a diet."

"Girl, you are looking down and distraught and I swear if there's one thing that lifts my mood, it's chocolate. Besides, you look great the way you are."

Her face flushed at the compliment, folding her arms with a huff. "Flattery will get you nowhere! Also, I thought you liked ramen?"

"Oreo cookies are possibly the greatest snack known to mankind and you are disrespecting the snack gods by not indulging in one." He shook the pack. Ino rolled her eyes and picked one, going for a little nibble. Her face lit up as she chewed some of the biscuits and swallowed.

"Hmph…guess you're right about that." Her thoughts shifted to Karin and Sakura, her two best friends. Would they be as supportive if she told them about her little secret? Maybe, but this was a big deal for her.

She hadn't anticipated how this afternoon had turned out; all she had wanted to do was practice a couple of songs, pick up a katsu curry on the way home at the nearby deli, then go home and enjoy some films for the night. Meeting Naruto and him discovering her secret was NOT part of the plan. However, she couldn't help but feel a sense of relaxation from being in his presence. She had known about his love of music because he always walked around with a pair of headphones around his neck, the sound blaring out as he walked into class. But she didn't realize he actually played something too. Perhaps she had judged him too harshly from his initial appearance of being loud and obnoxious, and there was more to him than she had thought. She gazed upon his messy blonde hair and deep cerulean eyes, which seem to project an ocean of clarity and comfort. He was no Uchiha, but he did look quite attractive.

"So…" Naruto spoke, noticing the room had gone quiet. "What shall we play then?"

Snapping out of her gaze, the blonde shook her head. "Say what now? I came here to practice a few songs and go home-"

"-I get that." He interrupted. "I figure it be more fun now to play with somebody…" He walked back over to the table and picked up his guitar. "Think you can match up to my playing?"

Ino's mouth widened with surprise. First, he interrupts her day and now he was challenging her? "Fine." She replied firmly, flicking her ponytail. "What did you have in mind then?"

He pondered for a second. "How about 'My Curse'by Killswitch Engage?"

"Sure." She wondered why he had chosen that particular song. "That's a C Tuning right?"

He nodded as she adjusted the tuning keys again; plucking a few strings with her pick, producing a thick, hollow sound.

"Ooooo…that's nice…" He muttered as he heard the low rumble coming from Ino's amp. "Now let's see…" He plugged his guitar into the spare amp next to him, adjusted some of the knobs and tuning keys to achieve his desired sound.

"Try to keep up." She stuck her tongue out, leading to a huff from the boy opposite her. As the song began playing, both teenagers began tapping their feet, emulating a drum sound.

"I watched you walk away, Hopeless with nothing to say, I screen my eyes, Hoping to see you again…" Naruto sang, much to the surprise of Ino, who almost got thrown off her rhythm by his seemingly smooth voice. As the song continued, he seemed to sing in the right key as well, which led to the blonde girl wondering what else he was going to do. While he was singing, she noticed he was not doing the distinctive scream which the song was notable for. He's singing the radio-friendly version so he doesn't embarrass himself…smooth… She chuckled in her head. A moment passed and they reached the bridge and second verse (to which Ino increased her playing speed), Naruto looked up and shot her wink like he was egging her on to join him in crooning.

"To see you again. Dying, inside, these walls. Dying, inside, these walls." Came the boy's voice again, once again he accompanied the aforementioned gesture towards her. Not wanting to feel intimidated by him any longer, she decided to do something about it.

To hell with it.

"And I see your face, in these tears, In these tears, And I see your face." The platinum blonde girl sang out in a soft poetic tone, with her face flushing red as she caught her breath on the last line. Ino had been ashamed of her singing ability for a while, and this was the first time in ages she had actually sung in front of someone.

Naruto smiled as they both entered the last part of the song. "There is love…There is love…" They sang together, just as Howard Jones and Adam D had done on the original. Twenty seconds passed and the song ended. The two looked at one another with a sense of accomplishment, their eyes locked on each other. Ino's blush grew more as she laid down the guitar on her lap.

"That was pretty good…" She said half-heartedly, but let out a quick huff. "But you egged me on! I didn't want to sing!"

"I thought you were awesome." He replied with another grin. "You play bass and sing? Colour me impressed."

"I…" Her lip quivered with hesitation. "I…took singing lessons when I was younger…I didn't think much of it, just something my mum wanted me to do. I-I don't think it's that good personally."

"Don't be so bashful. You sound more like Adam D, then Adam D could Adam D."

Ino's eye twitched at his response, holding in a stifled laugh. "Was that line even grammatically correct, Naruto?"

"No, but it sounded cool." He placed down his instrument and stretched out his arms. He grabbed his bag and pulled out his water canister. "Drink?"

She nodded gracefully as he tossed her the bottle, taking a few sips for herself. She didn't want to admit it but this boy had impressed her and it had only taken a short time to do so.

"So, what did you have planned for the weekend then?" He asked, wanting to start some conversation that wasn't music.

"Relaxation and homework really; that and I was probably going to hang out with Sakura and Karin. How about you?"

He placed his hands around the back of his head. "Going to have a quiet day, just sleep in and leave homework until Sunday night."

She raised an eyebrow, "Do you always leave your homework to the last minute? You don't worry about failing at all?"

"Nope." He beamed with a look of confidence. "I'm good as long as I pass with a 'C' average." He looked off the side briefly. "Damn Hatake's class though; guy gave me detention all because I submitted one piece of my work a day late."

"Hatake's strict like that," Ino replied, taking another sip of water. "I barely got by the last term with his demands; just about scraped by with a 'C'."

"That's not so bad."

"Not so bad!?" She retorted. "That jackass got me pulling all-nighters thanks to the so-called 'please add citations to your work' crap!" She rubbed her forehead annoyingly. "Why did I take psychology again?"

Naruto chuckled. "Like me, you're a sucker for punishment. Or you wanted a challenge but didn't expect how difficult it would be."

She giggled at his remark. "Hehe…I guess you're right there."

"Anything else I'm going to learn about the 'great Ino Yamanaka' while I'm here?" The boy began teasing her again. "Or have I bitten off more than I can chew?"

Ino stared him off with daggers, just wondering how and why she had gotten herself into this situation. All she wanted to do was practice! Though, she felt she just couldn't stay mad at him. There was just something so charismatic that oozed off him like a pleasant smell. Her face softened slightly, knowing there was no point in feeling negative around him.

"I think you've heard enough." She said softly, her cheeks tinging pink again. "Do you honestly promise not to tell anyone about this?"

"I promise." He replied with a small smile. "I always keep my promises. Although there's one thing you can do for me…"

Great, bribery was the last thing she needed. She swore if it was going to be something personal, she would knock him into next week.

"Ye can sho' me 'ow to slap di'bass like da mad'mon' Flea from di red hat chilli peppas."

He had said it in a weird, fake Jamaican accent that was so bad, she couldn't help but burst out laughing hysterically. Naruto sounded like one of those guys who was on a Jamaican food commercial. He looked at her and she continued laughing, having to put down her instrument in fear of dropping it, to the point that she was now crying with laughter.

"I didn't think it was that bad…" He mumbled disapprovingly.

She wiped her eyes as regained composure. "No…no…." She continued, trying to calm her laughter. "…it's just I've never heard anyone do an impression so bad I had to laugh…hahaha….Oh, dear….my sides…." She took another breath. "Oh my, Naruto, you are full of surprises…"

The blonde boy couldn't help but blush at her compliment. "So, do you know how to slap bass then? I've only seen it in videos."

Ino pulled the band out of her hair, brushed it through with her fingers and retied it into a normal ponytail. "Yeah, I can show you. But promise me you won't ever do that terrible accent again."

"No woman, no cry ya?" He remarked again in the accent, causing him to receive a quick punch in the arm.

"Don't push it, buddy!"

The two blondes resumed their little jam session with Ino showing Naruto the slap bass technique. She chose a favourite song of hers, Higher Ground, having been practising that one for a while. It had taken her time to get the finger and scale work down, but she managed to pull it off quite well. Naruto himself was impressed with how she handled it.

"Very nice." He commented as she finished playing the song.

"Thanks." She rested her instrument down again. "You're pretty good yourself." Noticing how the boy had played the lead guitar part of the song with her.

"Ah, I try." He laughed timidly. "Not going to lie here, I thought you'd be the kind of girl that listened to pop-punk or something…you'd make a good Avril Lavigne cover artist that's for sure."

She didn't know whether to feel complimented or downright insulted at that statement. "Look, I like a little pop-punk, but it's not really my thing…there's no 'oomph' if you catch my drift. Besides, old Avril will always be cooler than new Avril…Sk8r Boy? Classic." She scratched her cheek. "And I guess Blink 182's not so bad…"

"I love heavier stuff, but Blink's my guilty pleasure…" He smiled sheepishly.

"Ha! So I'm not the only one with secrets huh?" She poked her tongue at him while resting her chin in her palm. "What else you got for me?"

His smile grew wider. "How about something more challenging?"

"Oh?" The girl responded with interest on what else he was going to throw at her. "Do tell."

"Cemetery Gates by Pantera or God is Dead by Black Sabbath."

Ino bit her lip. "It'll have to be the former. As much as I admire Geezer Butler's unique style, I'm still trying to wrap my head around it. What's the tuning for those two?"

He retrieved his phone and brought up the results from a quick internet search. "D# Standard; and for Sabbath its half step; Eb, Ab, Db and Gb."

The two of them stayed together for about an hour or so, playing along on various songs and talking about their favourite artists and albums; Naruto showing off his knowledge of Progressive Metal with bands like Dream Theater, Opeth, Mastodon, Queensryche, Meshuggah, Periphery, and Devin Townsend. Ino was intrigued by all the songs she had listened to, particularly Blackwater Park by Opeth, fascinated by the combination of extreme sounds and melodic compositions.

Their time with each other continued until they were interrupted by one of the teachers entering the room; a tall man with shaggy brown hair, wearing a black suit, white shirt and coupled with some white sneakers.

"I was wondering who would still be here this late after a Friday. It's Uzumaki and Yamanaka right?"

"Mr Yamato." Naruto said, surprised to see his chemistry teacher. "We should be asking you the same question."

The teacher sighed. "Well, I had to take care of some extra marking from my class earlier today; I wanted to get it done before the weekend started. I heard a lot of noise coming from downstairs and I know there's no extra after school classes down here that often." Noticing the instruments the teenagers were holding, he smiled. "Having fun jamming together I see?"

The two teenagers blushed together. "It's not what you think, Yamato…" The girl replied nervously.

"Ino Yamanaka; and here's me thinking you were on the sports teams, and I find you playing music." He pulled out a ring of keys from his inside jacket pocket. "Sorry to do this to you both but I've got to lock up now; it's practically half past five and I was left in charge of everything because the caretakers wanted an extra day off. I'll give you ten minutes to pack away, sound good?"

"Sure, thanks, Mr Yamato."

As they began packing down the equipment they had used, Ino couldn't help but smile to herself. She was surprised at how much fun she had had with Naruto, even though she wanted to be alone for the time. She no longer felt ashamed about hiding what she really felt and enjoyed. The two finished in the room, heading back upstairs and outside the front of the school.

"That was pretty awesome," Naruto said. "I had a blast playing with you."

Ino felt her heart flutter slightly at his compliment, accompanied by a small tinge of pink encompassing her cheeks. "Not gonna lie, but I had fun too. But you still promise to not tell anyone what you saw right? Her face switched to a more serious look, reinforcing her previous statement. "Maybe it's best that no one else knows. I just don't feel comfortable expressing myself like this yet-huh!?" She was startled by the boy playing a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't sweat it." He said with a reassuring smile. "As I said, you shouldn't care what other people think. I saw another side of you today Ino, and I personally think you're pretty awesome. I think really you need a bit more confidence in yourself."

Despite her wanting to deny it, he was right. Perhaps she just needed to work on herself a bit? She was only sixteen, but like most teenagers, felt that the world was against her and it was asking her to be something that other people wanted her to be, not what she wanted. She gently nodded. Maybe he's right…I should have a bit more belief in myself and stop trying to live up to other people's expectations…damn this boy has a way with words… She took another look at his blue eyes and whisker marks on his cheeks. …kind of cute too in a weird goofy way…

"Anyhow." Naruto stepped back and strapped his backpack across his body. "I'd best be off. Gonna have a quiet day tomorrow, perhaps a lie-in. We should do this again sometime." He turned to head in the other direction towards his home. "Have a good weekend, Ino."

As he began walking away, she called out to him. "Hey, Naruto!"

"Hm?" He looked back. "Something wrong?"

"I was wondering…" She said with a soft expression. "I'm going to grab some katsu curry from the takeaway deli down the road before I head home…do you want to join me?"

He sniggered at her choice of food. "I thought you were on a diet?"

She flushed red. "Shut up! It's just something I enjoy now and again that's all!"

"You keep telling yourself that." He teased her. "But sure, I'll join you."

As the two began their walk together, Naruto himself wondered how this Friday evening had all come about. He served detention, found out one of the popular girls loves rock music as much as she does and was a lot of fun to hang out with too? Life has a weird way of throwing people together…wonder if she'd like a date sometime…

To Be Continued...


A/N: Hey there, glad you made it to the bottom. So, I decided to do a Naruto x Ino one-shot because it's something I've never really done before and the same goes for the High School AU as well. A key difference I wanted to do here is that whenever I read these fics, Ino is ALWAYS portrayed as the 'preppy/popular girl' stereotype and I wanted to break the mould a little by portraying her a little differently. The high/secondary school described in this fic is similar to the one I went to years ago (we had a building that was textiles/woodshop/metal shop on the top floor and the bottom floor was the music and drama department comprised of several rooms)

Little Easter Egg; Naruto's description of Kiba being a drummer who 'hates anything overly complicated' is a callback to the anime/light novel series K-ON and the character of Ritsu. Also, the title of the fic shares its title with the song by the band Aerosmith.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed reading this, let me know what you think; this has been a little break from my crossover fic I've been working on so I'll be back at that soon. If you're new here and you're new to my stories, click my profile to read more. Thanks again and see you next time.