Chapter 19- The Big, Big, BIIIIG Night…
'Twas the night… The big night… The REALLY, REALLY BIG NIGHT! The Ninja Academy was beautifully decorated with streamers and ribbons! The streets were packed with food stalls and game stalls as well. The whole town of Konoha was adorned with lights and flowers…
Everything was so beautiful! As seven o' clock neared, more and more people gathered at the academy to see the show. The seats were all occupied in a matter of minutes. All of them were getting restless…
"Go, Sakura-chan! Woo!" Lee shouted, "Give it all you've got!"
"I can't wait for the show to start! My magnificent costumes will be seen by everyone in this town! I'm so excited!" Shizune said, with sparkly eyes.
"I hope Shikamaru'll be alright…" Choji said, crunching on some chips.
"I wonder how Ino is… She hasn't been quite herself lately…" Inoichi worried.
"Don't worry! I'm sure your little girl is just fine!" Chouza said, "Now… If I'm not mistaken, Shikaku should be back from his mission right about…"
"…AM I LATE! DID I MISS ANYTHING! HOW'S MY SON! IS HE HURT!"
"Wow! You've made it just in time! How was the mission?"
"Huh? Well… It went well, really! Those bad guys were easily taken care of!
But the important thing is…
SHIKAMARU! HOW IS HE!"
Inoichi smiled at his friend and said, "You should be very proud of your son, dude! He's playing as the prince in this play together with my lovely daughter, Ino!"
Shikaku slowly smiled and jumped around the place hysterically.
"OH YEAH! SHIKAMARU'S THE LEADING MAN! YEEEAAAAH!"
"H-hey! You better sit down if you don't want anyone to take your chair!"
"Oh, okay." Shikaku sighed, then took a seat.
Suddenly, Hiashi arrived in with his daughters, Hinata and Hanabi.
"I hear your son fainted a few minutes ago… But don't worry, he's alright now."
Shikaku's heart stopped and he said, "I see he's still quite sick… Darn. I told him to jog every morning, but noooo! He's just too lazy!"
Then, Inoichi patted him on the back and said, "Don't worry, buddy! I'm sure he'll turn out just fine, you'll see!"
Shikaku slowly smiled back at Inoichi and calmed down. He knew his son had a special someone who'd be there to make him feel better.
Meanwhile, backstage…
"Alright! The people are all here… This is gonna be a big success! Just think of all that money…" Tsunade smiled.
"…and GIRLS! I spot lotsa cute ones in the audience!" Jiraiya added, rubbing his hands together.
"Look, I'm thankful you did such a wonderful script for the play, but could you please take the pervertedness somewhere else?" Tsunade sighed, "Darn…"
"Oh, okay! I'll lay it off a bit… If…"
"…if what?"
"IF YOU PROMISE TO GO OUT WITH ME TONIGHT, TSUNADE!"
Tsunade's eyes grew bigger.
"What! Go out! Ya mean like a date!"
Jiraiya nodded, grinning at her.
"Well, uhhh…"
"Is it a 'yes', then?"
"Uhrrmmm…"
"YES!"
"…on second thought, go ahead and look at the lovely girls in the crowd! I'll go check up on Gai. See ya later, Jiraiya."
Then, Tsunade left.
Jiraiya stood there, with his jaws dropping.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME! WHY WON'T TSUNADE GO OUT WITH MEEEEE!" He cried.
"DAAAAARRRN IT!"
"Gai? Gai, are you here?"
"Tsunade-sama! You're here!"
"Uh, yeah. The people are all here and, well-
"Don't need to say it, Tsunade-sama! I've got all the luck I can get!"
"No. I just wanted to tell you the crowd's getting a bit restless…"
"Oh. I'll be out in a minute, then! I came up with a really cool intro!"
"Well, that's good! Now, get out there and do your thing!"
"Yes, ma'am!"
LEE: Yeah! You go, Gai-sensei!
GAI: (nice guy pose) (cries) Thank you ever so much, my beloved student! It is because of you my life seems so complete!
TSUNADE: Okaaaay! Let's get moving now!