A.N.: Umm, Hi everybody! This would be the first fic I've placed in the Naruto section. Hope you guys like it. All of them are connected in one way, or another. But first, I should probably give you some info about the part where there is watching, thinking, or singing; and yes, there is singing if you think I just mistyped something. So here it is:
'Thoughts'
Watching
"Lead Singer Singing"
"Call and Response"
"Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke singing together"
AN: So that's all I have to say...oh wait there's this thing too:
Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even my soul...
Spare Time
"Hey Sakura? Sasuke?"
"What is it Naruto," the pink haired Chunin asked as looked up from her magazine on the counter.
"What do you think Kakashi-sensei does in his spare time besides going on missions and training us?"
"What are you talking about loser?"
"Well, we all know that he has to have some sort of hobby besides reading porn-and I'm not a loser you bastard!"
Sakura sighed heavily when she saw the telltale signs of another Sasuke-Naruto Argument. Picking up her magazine, she relocated herself to the couch anticipating the violent shouts and rampages about to happen.
-
It was raining cats and dogs outside on a Saturday morning, and all three of them were stuck in their teacher's cramped and extremely unorganized apartment. He, Asuma-sensei, and Kurenai-sensei were assigned a mission to the Land of Water. He said that it would range from one-two weeks tops.
So not wanting any of his precious belongings (coughIcha-Icha Paradise bookscough) to 'fall into the wrong hands' Kakashi decided to ask someone to housesit for him. Originally, he had asked Iruka, but the Chunin teacher declined saying that with the end of the year exams coming up, he couldn't even spare a second to blink. He tried to find out and see if some of his other friends could housesit, but all of them had missions to go to as well. Genma had come up to him three days before Kakashi was scheduled to leave for his mission, and told him cheekily that Gai-sensei was mission free for two whole weeks.
So he was left with two choices:
Choice A: Suck up his pride to ask Gai to house-sit for him and expect to come home from a life-threatening mission to find that his apartment suddenly changed from its normally bare state…into a green haven with goofy looking lampshades and lava lamps with the smell of incense in the air and wall to wall shag carpet that a renegade hippie would be proud of…
OR
Choice B: Ask his three fifteen-year-old highly destructive Chunin students to house-sit for him and expect to come back to a totally desolate apartment with all his belongings thrown out of their normal places as if there was a hurricane, and his kitchen charred with fragments of the wall coming off in huge black chunks of burnt wood and plaster…
So it was a decision between green walls with lava lamps, or a place similar to Mt. Vesuvious after it erupted.
And considering the current situation, it seems Kakashi chose the latter.
-
"Well if I'm a bastard, then you're a bitch!"
"Take that back you ass!"
"Make me!"
"Just wait until I get you! I'm going to wring that lousy neck of yours until you stay red permanently!"
Rolling her eyes at their stupidity, Sakura continued skimming down an article.
So far, the day had gone off without any hitches, just like the other two days. There was only the occasional argument from Naruto and Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, or all of them against the other two (…okay, so the week hadn't gone off without any hitches, but at least they hadn't burned the place down yet). But either way, they fought outside to avoid breaking anything.
Thinking back the contents of the apartment, it was already a mess when they had first stepped in, so she had no idea why Kakashi thought that they would make it look even worse. The floor of the living room were so cluttered, you couldn't take a step in without stepping on some article of clothing, scroll, or empty ramen cup. And with a disgusted grimace, she remembered the only place that was organized was the bookshelf that held his 'precious books'.
When she first suggested that they clean their sensei's apartment, she had received a glare from Sasuke and a loud 'WHAT?' from Naruto. Anticipating this, she menacingly cracked her knuckles, silently reminding them that she was the girl that could split a tree in half and cause earthquakes without so much as breaking a sweat. As they became aware of this, the two immediately complied mentally deciding that cleaning an impossibly messy apartment was better than being sent to the hospital with almost all the bones in their body broken.
So for the first two days, all three of them cleaned up his apartment. Sakura wouldn't have been surprised if Kakashi weren't aware that he had white carpeting and a blue couch. When they moved to the kitchen, they actually had to wear gas masks and protective gloves to protect themselves from the smell and any chance of their skin coming in contact with the expired food in the fridge. Even Sasuke gave a disgusted scowl when he saw all the spoiled fruit. Before passing out, Naruto wearily commented that the fridge smelled like rubbing alcohol and a garbage can.
The kitchen and living room were now sparkling clean with only dust spots here and there. So on the next day, while the boys were finishing some of the final touches in their cleaning, Sakura had stepped out and bought some groceries for the clean fridge and pantry. After 2 hours, she gave in to Naruto's constant begging and whining for food and had cooked them something. While eating, the three friends decided that they would tackle the hallway closet after lunch and the bedroom as soon as they finished.
Stopping midway when turning the page of her magazine, Sakura heard Naruto yell out:
"Come back here you Uchiha Chicken!"
"You're going to regret ever calling me that…"
Sighing for the ten millionth time that day, Sakura tried desperately to block out the noise in the background.
'Stupid boys! Why the hell did Kaka-sensei have them house-sit with-'
CRASH
'-Me…Sometimes I swear that man wants me to suffer…'
Getting up from her place on the couch, she walked over to the source of the crash only to find Sasuke in Kakashi's bedroom. Seeing that he was nowhere near the actual source of the noise, she scanned the room until her eyes fell on what appeared to be Naruto. Half of his body was outside the closet and the other half under clothes that had fallen off of the hangers which were on a rod…which was connected to the shelf above that also had various items on it that were currently littering the already messy floor.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU TWO IDIOTS DO TO KAKASHI-SENSEI'S BEDROOM!"
"It was him," Sasuke and Naruto yelled simultaneously.
"I would've expected this from Naruto, but not you too Sasuke!"
Glare
"That's what he gets for calling me an 'Uchiha Chicken'…"
"Well he started it when he called me a loser," Naruto's muffled voice came from underneath Kakashi's spare Flack Vest.
"I guess we'll just have to clean this place-"
BONK
"OOOOOWWWW! What the HELL was THAT!"
Jumping up and clutching his bruised head while crying animatedly, Naruto looked at the offending object which just so happened was conveniently shoved to the back of the closet's shelf and was now laying on the floor after coming in contact with his head. After shutting him up so she could heal his bruise, Sakura squatted down and studied the strong box. It didn't have any design, just that it was black and had a line that showed where the opening was. And the only sign of a lock a little latch in the front.
Being the curious person she was she cautiously lifted the latch but was stopped by Sasuke and Naruto's questioning gazes. While Sakura was looking over the box, Sasuke had knelt down beside her and Naruto was looking over her shoulder. Feeling nervous under their intimidating stares, she cried out 'What?'
"Are you sure that you should be doing that?"
"I just want to see what's inside."
"Yeah, but Sakura, we might get into trouble and-"
"Sure Naruto, as if we won't get into trouble for what you and Sasuke did to his room."
"That's different, we can fix that easily. Kakashi would find out about this easily."
Sakura looked at the two boys and gave them a pointed stare.
"Well what if there are pictures of Kakashi without his mask in here? Or maybe something really, really big that he keeps under wraps from everyone in the village? Either way I'm going to find out with or without you…unless you two are too chicken…?"
Naruto and Sasuke glared at her for insinuating that they were cowards.
'Hook, line, and sinker,' Sakura thought as she smirked inwardly.
"Well what are we waiting for? Open the box Sakura!"
Turning back to the box in front of her, Sakura flipped up the latch and opened the lid. Looking inside, the three of them were surprised at what they saw. In the bottom of the box, there were three items: a sheet of guitar chords and corresponding lyrics, a smaller piece of paper with some scribbling on it, and a DVD. Each of them took out an object and looked it over. Sasuke had picked up the sheet with the lyrics and chords, Naruto had the paper with scribbles, and Sakura was holding the DVD.
"The title to the song is 'Dirty Little Secrets'…"
"Hey, isn't that the one sung by-what's their names-oh yeah, The All American Rejects," Naruto yelled out.
"Okay Naruto, no need to yell. What does that paper say?"
"Umm…it says:
'Kakashi-sensei,
Because you lost our bet, you now have to pay in full. After completing your task, you are to transfer the footage to DVD and keep with you for all eternity. I will come by monthly to make sure you still have it…otherwise you shall be forced to show it to all the villagers of Konoha. Keep your ever-withering flame of youth burning.
–Gai-sensei'"
"So Kakashi lost another bet to Gai? Wonder what he had to do."
"Well then lets find out, come on. I think I saw a DVD player on his bed stand."
Getting up, she dragged her legs to the bed and cleared some clothes off as she sat down. Following in suit, Sasuke and Naruto sat down on either side of her and watched as she loaded the DVD into the portable player in front of them. Pressing play, they stared intently at the blank screen.
"Hey Sakura, what if it's something really, really inappropriate? This could be bad!"
"Quiet dobe. Gai has too many morals and chivalry and all that junk to have Kakashi being filmed like that. Think with your head for once."
"But-"
"Shhh…it's starting," came Sakura's whispery shout.
-
The stage was dark without any lights. All that could be seen were the silhouettes of four figures. One seemed to be sitting behind something that looked like five or six round cylinders. Another was standing behind a tall stand and was holding something. The person to the right was holding something as well. And the one in front was standing behind a tall stand.
"Kakashi, why are we doing this again?"
-
"Was that Iruka-sensei," Naruto asked as he stared dumbfounded at the screen.
-
"Because you guys got me into this mess by getting me drunk. So if I go down, I'm bringing you all with me."
-
"Kakashi," the three shouted surprised that their sensei was there as well.
-
"But does he have to record it?"
-
"Was that Genma?"
-
"Yeah, so just stop whining Genma and deal with it."
-
"Asuma-sensei too?"
-
"Aaaaall right everybooody! Are you ready to rock?"
From the background, you could see everyone's shoulders droop at the sound of Gai-sensei's voice.
"Don't say that Gai. It's bad enough I lost to you and have to do this stupid thing. And you got your dumb 'bonus prize.' So don't push it."
"Awe, but Kakashi! This is supposed to be a happy occasion! You should always smile when you're performing!"
Snicker
"You know Kakashi, I was wondering why you didn't have it on today," Iruka added quietly as he laughed behind his hand.
Eventually, the snickers and laughs died down and the four Jonin could be seen shuffling around a little waiting for their cue. After an annoying countdown from Gai, guitar strings began strumming, forming the opening notes.
"Let me know that I've done wrong
When I've known this all along
I go around a time or two
Just to waste my time with you"
-
By now, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto's jaws had fallen to their laps. At first, they thought that Gai had them attend a concert of his choosing or something. That would've been fine, but hardly blackmail material. And then there was that one thing about a 'bonus prize' that they didn't read about in the paper. So it was crystal clear as to what was happening.
The Hatake Kakashi was singing 'Dirty Little Secret.'
-
The stage they were on suddenly lit up brightly revealing the dark figures. Then the camera started zooming into each of the members. In the back, Asuma was playing on the drums while he through dirty looks at the camera. Iruka was one of the people holding something in his hands, which was a guitar, averting his eyes when the camera looked his way. Genma was pouting angrily when the camera came his way and just continued strumming the base guitar.
-
But what they saw next was something that nothing in the world could have compared to.
-
"Tell me all that you've thrown away
Find out games you don't wanna play
You are the only one that needs to know"
-
Hatake Kakashi singing without his mask.
The three friends stared intently at the screen.
"It's."
Blink.
"Kakashi."
They turned to face one another with blank faces.
"Without."
"His."
"Mask…"
Stare.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH! IT'S NOT POSSIBLE," Naruto and Sakura started screaming watching their sensei sing.
Sasuke continued staring at the screen blankly, not knowing how to react. It finally happened. They had seen their teacher's face. An eye patch replaced his hitai-ate while his face was absolutely bare. There were no deformities, no buck teeth. No obscenely large lips, nothing at all; just a normal looking, fair skinned face of a twenty-nine-year-old Jonin.
-
Now Kakashi, Genma, and Iruka were singing in a 'call and response' style. Asuma just tried to concentrate on the drumbeats. The camera now wove itself in and out of the four and then turning around to catch their faces.
"I'll keep you my dirty little secret"
"Dirty little secret"
"Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret"
"Just another regret, hope that you can keep it"
"My dirty little secret"
The look on their faces seemed to relax as they continued playing. They actually seemed to be enjoying it. Asuma's scowl had left, Iruka gained more confidence and was smiling brightly, Genma was now smiling a little instead of pouting, and Kakashi was smirking a little.
"Who has to know
When we live such fragile lives
It's the best way we survive
I go around a time or two
Just to waste my time with you"
-
Naruto and Sakura eventually calmed down and were now bobbing their heads to the beat of the song. Sasuke was doing the same as he watched his teacher enjoying himself. Soon, all three of them had picked up on the song and began singing to it or mouthing the words to themselves quietly. Silly smiles found their way onto their faces as they sang along with Kakashi.
-
"Tell me all that you've thrown away
Find out games you don't wanna play
You are the only one that needs to know"
"I'll keep you my dirty little secret
"Dirty little secret"
"Don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret"
"Just another regret, hope that you can keep it"
"My dirty little secret…"
"Who has to know
The way she feels inside"
"Inside"
"Those thoughts I can't deny"
"Deny"
"These sleeping dogs won't lie
"Won't lie"
"And all I've tried to hide
It's eating me apart
Trace this line ba-"
-
All of a sudden, there was a burst of light from outside and everything went dark. Three pairs of eyes could be seen looking around. After waiting for three minutes, the lights came back on and the DVD player's screen was blank. Quietly, they decided that they would stop there, and put it back in the closet, never to speak of it again. Their life was worth more than the gossip they could spread from this.
So standing up, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke began cleaning around the room without a word.
-
One Week Later
-
Kakashi walked down the familiar path as he took his sweet time to meet with his students. He had barely returned from his mission a day ago, and had sent the three of them messages to meet him at the bridge to resume their daily training.
When he had returned to his apartment, he was surprised to find it not only in one piece, but as clean as the day he moved in. Like Sakura had predicted, he had forgotten that he had white carpeting and a blue couch. His fridge was restocked and now smelt of chemical cleaners and some day old lasagna. When he went inside his room, he found everything organized and put away neatly. But what worried him was when he saw that his closet had been reorganized.
So for most of his walk, he had been wondering whether or not his students had come across the strong box he hid at the back of his closet.
"No, I hid it too far back for them to see even if they had cleaned it. Sakura and Sasuke would have prevented Naruto from opening either way if they had found it. Besides, they would know better than to do that…Right. Nothing to worry about."
Pushing aside his thoughts on the strong box, Kakashi pulled out his book and continued to read from where he left off. But as he got closer to the bridge, he heard something familiar.
He slowly looked up from his book and stared at the scene in front of him. There, his three students stood calmly against the railing, unaware of his presence.
"I'll keep you my dirty little secret"
The three of them were smiling a little as they sang the song that filled his mind with dread.
"Dirty little secret"
Shaking his head, he closed his book and walked up to them with his carefree smile as he gave thought what his excuse of the day would be.
"Just another regret"
'Just a coincidence…'
"My dirty little secret"