Disclaimer: No Characters within are mine. They all belong to the Naruto creators.

She put a CD of sappy love songs into the karaoke machine. Her parents had bought her the machine to increase her confidence. They thought that singing pop songs, even if she were only alone in her room, singing into her mirror, holding a hairbrush instead of a microphone, would be good for Hinata-sama. It might help her come out into the world a little bit.

When Hinata sang alone in her room, her usually shy exterior broke down. Her quiet, stammering voice hit the notes on every track she sang flawlessly. In her mind, she was no longer timid, ordinary Hinata. She had transformed into a pop diva. Touring the world, she would wow millions with her beauty and talent.

"Hinata! Hinata!" they would cheer.

"Hinata." Someone was actually calling for her.

"J-just a minute." She turned down her music. Sakura was standing in the doorway of her room. "Sakura-chan, how are you?"

For five minutes or so, Sakura had merely stood in the hallway listening to Hinata sing. She was amazed to find that someone like Hinata possessed such a wonderful hidden talent.

"Wow! Hinata, you sing really pretty." Sakura complimented her.

"Th-thank y-you." Hinata had slipped back into her usual speech patterns.

"The reason I came by was to invite you to a party all the genins are having next Saturday. It's Naruto's birthday. It might be fun if you brought your karaoke machine."

"Sure…um…Sa-sakura-Chan."

"The party's at four. See you then, Hinata."

"Naruto-kun's birthday," she whispered after Sakura departed. A special song would be required for such an occasion. She needed a song that would illustrate how important Naruto had been to her for all the years she'd known him.

She chose her favorite song, turned on the CD and tried to sing. She started out right on target, but a few lines into the song, her tongue tripped over the words. She giggled nervously, and then she started over. Suddenly, she couldn't focus on singing because she was terrified about what everyone would think if they heard her sing.

"Naruto-kun." She whispered again. What would Naruto do if she dedicated a love song to him? For as long as she'd known, he'd been captivated by Sakura. Hinata understood why. Sakura wasn't afraid of anything, especially standing out. Hinata needed to use her as an example.

She tried again. She envisioned the crowd. Neji, Lee, TenTen, Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were all present, Naruto in the center. Hinata was the one who had always believed in Naruto, even when everyone else had thought him a loser.

In her mind, he cheered her.

"Do your best, Hinata-chan."

Her voice came out clear, the lyrics distinct. It was going to be her time to shine, not for herself, but for him.