Alright people. I should have been studying for my exams or catching up on my reading assignments, but instead I found myself typing out this really long chapter filled with grammatical errors and plot holes. I hope you're happy. Two reviews aren't bad. I'm sorry one guy (or girl…I really have no way of knowing) got fed up with my pairings and the plot, but such is life. At least he was kind enough to leave a compliment.

As far as the pairings go, I haven't really been too good with that. Everyone just seems to hit everyone else, but I guess you could call that love. And as for the plot…I agree, it needs work and to some degree it isn't appealing. Still, I'm using this fic to work on serious deficiencies in my writing.

Enjoy, review, and go to sleep. I know I will.

Oh yeah, since we aren't really allowed to copy and paste the lyrics of other bands (or so I'm told) I made up a song. If you think it sucks, please don't waste your energy typing a bad review. I know it sucks. Now if you have tips, feel free to share. I get the feeling I'm going to be trying a lot more of it despite how bad I may be.

The Concert Part II: First Show of the Night

It did not take long for the arena to reach maximum occupancy. News of the bouncers' defeat spread like wildfire and rockers and groupies from many nearby villages seemed to instantly materialize within the walls. It was getting late but the sun seemed to refuse to set, as if it were taunting the attendees. After all, the concert was scheduled to start the moment the sun set. However, music was being played over speakers around the arena while the technicians set up the main equipment.

Naruto and friends moved freely amongst the crowd, trying to get a feel for things. Naruto was doing his best to find the group of people he had seen before who seemed to be sparring with each other in the gift stands. Sasuke wanted to join him but was afraid his Sakura would become to involved and hospitalize half the arena before the shows began. Instead, he allowed her to drag him off near the stage hoping to catch a glimpse of his brother. Hinata, losing track of everyone, was swept away in the crowd leaving poor Shino all alone. Not that the reclusive kid cared. He seemed mopre than glad to be rid of such unusual company.

Naruto…

"Damn it," the blond teen cursed under his breath. "Where the hell is it?"

He jumped up about ten feet into the air to get a better view, thankful for his l337 ninja skills but pissed that his height was such a hindrance. Unfortunately, he couldn't find what he was looking for and was about to give up his search, when a guy around his age approached him.

"What're you looking for? You lost or something?" he asked in a condescending tone. Naruto wanted to hurt him but decided against it. Instead he asked if he knew anything about the guys that fought with each other.

"You mean moshers?" The boy had a puzzled look on his face but it quickly changed to annoyance. "Geez, don't you know anything? They're playing a ballad right now. Only retards mosh to ballads." This was a second strike in Naruto's mind and he wasn't thinking in bowling terms either. Who the hell was this kid to tell him what he could or could not fight to? Still, he kept his anger in check and asked the guy to explain it to him.

The asshole kept up his high and mighty attitude as he spoke. "For starters," he raised a finger for emphasis, "most moshing is started during a high energy rock, punk, or metal performance. It's starting to show up in other stuff but it was made for rockers."

"You said before that moshing wasn't meant for ballads. What's a ballad?" Naruto asked looking very confused.

"Wow, you really are an idiot. A ballad, or power ballad if you want to get specific, is a type of song within rock that covers lighter themes like longing and love. A lot of times, the hard sound that characterizes what a lot of us love about rock is taken out. Ballads aren't great for moshing because they don't provide the right kind of buzz." It was at this point that Naruto felt the guy was talking out of his ass but he had him continue anyways.

"The second thing you should know about moshing is that it usually occurs in pits or circles closer to the stage, not all the way back here. Third, moshing is like a dance, not sparring. The point is to get physically get into the music. Your not suppose to hurt the people around you, but it tends to happen anyways. There, that should be enough for a newbie like you. I hope I was able to enlighten that empty skull of yours."

Strike three. Naruto grinned rather evilly and the black tattoos on his arms started to glisten in the light of the setting sun. "Oh, you told me more than enough. Thanks a lot pal. But I still have a few questions. Since the show hasn't started, the only real music is coming from speakers on the walls of the arena. Speakers like that one." Naruto pointed at a very large speaker mounted on a wall maybe fifty feet away. "So in theory, the walls become the front stage, correct?"

The kid thought to himself and then nodded. "Sure, in some freaky way I guess you have a point."

"And I checked before. There aren't really any 'pits' around. So would any area do?"

The smart ass was starting to get annoyed with the questions. "Yeah, any space that gets involved in the mosh becomes the pit."

"One more question," at this exact moment the music changed from the ballad that was playing before to a very dark and angry sounding metal song. The lyrics spoke of death and the music seemed to call it forth. "If I were to want to start a mosh pit, what would I need to do?"

"Simple," he said, completely oblivious to how screwed he was. "You push someone and they push back. Hopefully, more people will join in. Now if you'll excuse me." The boy turned to leave, but Naruto wasn't done with him.

Hey kid! Are you thinking what I'm thinking? The kyubi asked menacingly, licking his lips as if an all you can eat buffet were being presented to him. Naruto merely cracked his knuckles. He was going to milk this moment for everything it was worth.

Hinata…

"Hey, did you hear?" Hinata overheard a girl ask someone else. "Some blond kid just decked another guy and started a huge brawl near the south wall! Let's go check it out!"

Hinata couldn't help but smile at the mention of her blond crush. At least he's enjoying himself, she thought. Hinata was petrified being around so many people. The smells were also starting to overwhelm her, making her wish Kiba had not gone out of his way to train her in heightening her senses. She knew almost immediately that the guy next to her needed to try wiping his ass. She also noticed that a girl a few yards away was doing her best to hide her B.O. problem with excessive cleavage. It seemed to work brilliantly since guys were flocking from all over to catch a glimpse.

Being as shy as she was, Hinata felt as if she would explode if someone approached her, which was why she had ventured to the west wall near the water stands and had seemingly attached herself to the wall. Unfortunately for the poor Hyuga, even her byakugan didn't see what was coming.

A very cheerful woman approached her with a warm smile. "How's it going Hina-chan?" The informality in her greeting implied that she new Hinata, but Hinata knew for a fact that she had never met this woman before in her life.

"Oh, I'm hurt," the woman, who looked to be in her mid twenties, said with a pout on her face. "How could you not recognize your own editor? I thought we were so close too, seeing as how we've become such great pen pals."

Hinata blinked, trying to process what had just been revealed to her. "Suzu-san?"

"See, I knew you couldn't forget me," she said as her cheerful attitude returned.

"But how was I suppose to recognize you? We've never met face to face."

Suzu, being fairly taller than Hinata, lowered herself to stare at her accusingly. "Hina-chan, my picture is printed with every article I write."

Hinata held her editor's stare this time and responded with as much daring as she could muster. "That may be true, but you always find a way to hide your face."

There was silence between the two women as they simply stared at each other, trying to see who would be the first to back down. Their contest ended abruptly when Suzu let out a hearty laugh and pulled Hinata into a friendly hug. "I can't believe you're here! Especially after all that moaning about your father being so strict and everything!"

Hinata felt as if she were being suffocated. Thankfully Suzu finally released her and it was it this time that Hinata took the opportunity to examine her friend-through-mail. Suzu seemed very childlike, both in attitude and appearance. She wore clothes similar to those around her, wearing pants and a simple T-shirt that endorsed the Hokage-Smokage, Suzu's favorite punk band. Her hair was a dark green color and her eyes were black.

"You smell funny," Hinata said. It was true. Suzu had a very unique aroma coming off of her. It wasn't bad; it just seemed odd, like smoke but different. Suzu seemed caught off guard by this comment.

"Hey, that's no way to speak to your good friend and editor!"

Hinata's bold side wanted to make a crack at Suzu only being the editor because her uncle owned the company, but she knew that would be going to far. Suzu made sure everyone recognized her abilities so that they wouldn't assume that and saying otherwise would kill their friendship in an instant, no matter how much Hinata was playing.

"Sorry," She bowed her head apologetically. "I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that I've never smelled it before."

"Oh," she said. "Well, if you're a good girl, I might share my secret with you and your friends later. Still, what's with this bowing? We're good friends aren't we? You don't have to be so formal." A sly grin crossed her face. "That's so unlike the Hinata I saw outside the arena getting all these people riled up with such a…such an unusual speech. Was that boy you like behind it?"

Hinata turned beet red, regretting being so open in her letters. "I-I-I," she clapped her hands to her face to break the cycle of stuttering. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Suzu seemed very pleased with herself at having hit the nail on the head. "Don't play coy with me little girl. I saw the five of you conspiring by the bench. I especially enjoyed how jittery you got when he whispered in your ear. Oh the look on your face was priceless and I have it all on film!" She quickly revealed a disposable camera from out f nowhere which Hinata tried desperately to grab.

"Don't worry Hina-chan," Suzu said, "I'll send you a copy in my next letter along with one of your wet t-shirt debut. Anyways, where is lover boy? I would have expected you to be stalking him."

"Well," Hinata said as she twiddled her fingers. "We got separated."

Suzu looked at her for a while. "You mean he went off on his own and you were scared into this corner by the crowd?" Hinata nodded, not being able to deny the truth. Suzu let out a sigh but maintained her smile. "Who would have thought my best writer would be such a nervous wreck when it comes to these things. I don't blame you for being scared though. You've had a pretty sheltered life and an overprotective household to contend with. We just need to tear down the walls they raised."

"Gomen," Hinata said, staring at the ground.

Suzu landed an open hand smack on the back of Hinata's head with a large smile on her face. "Stop apologizing already!" Hinata began rubbing her head. She hadn't expected Suzu to hit her and she definitely didn't expect her to be so casual about it. Still did what came naturally.

"Gomen."

Sasuke and Sakura…………………sitting in a tree, K-I- (okay, I'm just kidding.)

"Hey, Sasuke. Do your hear something coming from behind us? It sounds like a war's going on."

The Uchiha shrugged his shoulders, but knew exactly what was going on. Naruto has all the fun, he thought to himself.

They wandered as close as they could to the front stage and were surprised by what they saw. As they moved further and further up, the number of men decreased and the number of scantily clad women increased. Sasuke described it as a sea of estrogen, but deep down his inner desire was growing stronger. Sakura was confused so she asked a random hood rat what was going on.

"Don't you know?" the girl asked rhetorically and seeming overly excited. "The first band to perform is going to be Aka Sue Me! They're so hot!"

Sakura and Sasuke both shared the same look that screamed 'WTF!' Sasuke couldn't believe how low his brother had fallen and Sakura couldn't believe how stupid the name sounded. How could anyone take them seriously with a name like that? Still, if Itachi's group had this kind of a following already, Sakura and Sasuke knew that they were in deep trouble.

Shino…

The Aburame prodigy looked left and right for something interesting to watch. There was none.

"…" Translation: Man, F--- those guys for ditching me like that!

Back to Hinata…

There was a large thud against the wall that Hinata and Suzu were leaning against. When the girls looked to see what it was, Hinata was shocked to find Naruto on the ground rubbing his head. She quickly rushed over to him with Suzu close behind. "Naruto-kun, what happened?"

"Ow," he said, looking up deliriously at the girl who had spoken to him. "Hey, you're kind of cute…" His comment left Hinata completely frozen with shock. "…In a creepy kinda way." Hinata struggled hard not to strangle him, knowing full well now that he had a concussion. She and Suzu helped him up and walked him over to get some ice and water. Very quickly Naruto was back to his old self and quickly filled the two in on his little adventure.

Apparently, after he had beaten up the smartass, he pushed him into a tough looking guy hoping to get his mosh pit started. It worked out perfectly and pretty soon the brawl took over a quarter of the arena. Suzu chuckled to herself at the thought of a mob that size just punching and kicking the shit out of everyone nearby. Naruto went on to say that he had gotten bored with the pit so he turned to leave, but just when he was about to make it out of the crowd, some asshole in a hooded cloak sucker punched him into the wall.

"Oh, you must be talking about the mysterious guitarist from Fallen Shinobi," Suzu said. "I heard he liked to get his freak on in a mosh pit, but I never imagined him to be the kind of guy to pull something as low as a sucker punch."

"Well, if I ever see that asshole again I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" He made a fist with one hand and slammed it into the open palm of the other. "I'm just glad I ran into a familiar face. Thanks for your help Hinata."

Hinata blushed slightly as she replied. "D-Don't mention it."

Suzu saw this as her opportunity to make a little trouble so she jumped on it. She quickly knelt before Naruto and grabbed his shoulders. "Please, you must tell me. What are your intentions with Hinata?" The look on her face made Naruto feel as if she were calling his morality into question.

Wait, was she calling his morality into question?

…

…

She is calling my morality into question!

Naruto, during his travels with Jiraiya, had seen many things. On one of their adventures, Jiraiya had been called to the house of a girl he had been flirting with to talk to her father. Naruto had been forced to wait outside, but it was hard not to hear everything the man had shouted at his teacher. He shouted, Jiraiya was silent, and the girl was crying. Then out of nowhere, the man demanded to know what Jiraiya's intentions were with his daughter. Jiraiya, being the super pervert he was, gave an answer that had them chased out of the village and Naruto knew that if he could remember not to say whatever it was Jiraiya said he would be fine.

The only problem was that he had completely forgotten what his mentor had said. Now, a smart man would have just picked a simple answer and be done with the interrogation, but not Naruto. No, he concentrated so hard on remembering, he did the one thing he shouldn't have.

He said it out loud.

"My intentions are completely impure!" He said, not even sure anymore what the question had been.

To say Hinata went pale would be an understatement. Casper would have flinched. Suzu on the other hand couldn't stop laughing. She smacked the blond boy hard on the back as if she were congratulating him.

"Well, at least you're honest. Crude, but very honest." She turned to Hinata who was in a cold sweat and gave her the thumbs up. "He's a keeper."

Sakura and Sasuke…Again

The sun had finally set, leaving the arena in total darkness. The crowd went quiet not being able to see their hand in front of their faces. Sasuke, Sakura and the other shinobi in the crowd could smell the fear on some of the weaker people. Sasuke was perfectly calm. He was after all trained in sound village which was nothing more than a hole in the ground with absolutely no fluorescent lighting. Who would have thought the great snake sannin could be such a cheapskate. Sakura on the other hand was a little freaked out. She grabbed watch she thought was Sasuke's arm.

It wasn't.

What she had grabbed was a loose knot to a girl's top. Sakura, however, accidentally pulled it, causing the part covering the girl's front to fall off. As Sakura wondered why anyone would wear a top that tied at the neck, the girl was wondering why there was a breeze against the skin of her breasts. As anyone could imagine, this freaked the girl out and she was very vocal about it.

"Oh my God! Someone stole my top! Someone stole my top!" This of course is an exaggeration since the article of clothing was never missing, but just not covering the goods. Of course the guys who had not cared about being near the front of the stage before were now fighting each other to get to the source of the action.

"Sakura," Sasuke said in a tired tone. "What did you do?"

"Shut your god damn mouth," was all she said to him.

Then after what seemed an eternity, the lights finally came on and there was a man on center stage. He was as tall as Kakashi with black hair that was combed forward and over his eyes. There was a smile on his face as he brought a microphone to his mouth.

"How many of you feel like Human Beings!" He shouted at the crowd. Sakura and Sasuke, unsure how to respond, waited for the crowd. Out of the thousands of people in the arena, only one person made a sound.

"YEAH!" shouted the voice, followed by a very loud laugh from the same area that sounded like a woman's voice. Sasuke and Sakura prayed that it wasn't Naruto.

"How many of you feel like animals!"

This time, everyone in the crowd erupted in roars of agreement. When the crowd died down, the voice that had answered alone before decided to speak up.

"Hey!" said the voice, "How the hell was I supposed to know there was a second part to the question!" (AN: Mitch Hedberg is a comedic genius) This had the entire crowd clutching their sides with laughter. Sasuke and Sakura, however, hung their heads in shame knowing full well that it had been Naruto.

The man on stage simply chuckled. "My apologies," he said in a very cool way. "But you are the first person who's ever answered like that." He then turned his attention to everyone in the crowd. "I apologize for the misunderstanding earlier. Had we known that someone was charging an entry fee behind our backs, we would have handled it personally. As the vocalist for Fallen Shinobi, I'd like to extend my sincerest thanks to the girl who called everyone to arms. That was some sick shit you pulled.

"This is going to be a long night and we have a lot of great bands for you so the sooner we get started –" The man was interrupted by the appearance of a short and stubby man with round sunglasses and did he look pissed.

Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke shared the same reaction at the sight of them man. "HOLY SHIT! It's Gatoh come back from the dead!" they shouted in unison.

The man stared into the crowd with a puzzled look on his face. "What the hell? I'm not Gatoh you morons! I'm Perroh, his brother." He then turned to the vocalist who had been speaking before. "What the heel do you think you're doing! You know you can't use this arena without my permission! I own the town, so I have every right to charge an entry fee into this arena!"

Serius, that being the vocalists name if you remember from the previous chapter, merely grabbed a sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and shoved it into Perroh's face. "Wrong Shorty. Check the zoning laws. Owning the town doesn't give you rights to the arena. This arena was purchased by Yondaime Hokage and signed over to me the day he died. Suck on that."

Out of nowhere, the hooded guitarist appeared behind Perroh, picked him up, and kicked him over the crowd and clean-over the stadium wall. Then he and Serius shared a moment where they lifted their arms as if to say the kick was good. Serius then spoke to the crowd again.

"Listen up everyone! This is a night among nights. We more than anyone know full well that we could have charged thousands of dollars per entry and people would have still flocked to see us. However, if we were that kind of band, we wouldn't have the fans we do. You have been loyal to us in all our years, from the good times and the bad. We felt that as our last gift to you, we should let anyone who could make it, see us for one last time at our expense!"

This last remark had the whole crowd cheering one more time. The speech brought a tear to Hinata's eye as she thought about how cool her idols were. The former members of team seven were still giddy about how the Gatoh look-alike was taken care of. Hell, Naruto even forget that he was supposed to be pissed at the hooded guitarist. Shino simply stood where he was, wondering when the hell he was going to hear any music.

"Alright, now that we have all the sentimental stuff out of the way, I'd like to introduce the first band. They're fairly new but loaded with talent. Let's hear it for Aka Sue Me!" Serius disappeared as the crowd closest to the stage erupted into deafening screams.

Now was the moment that Naruto and company had been waiting for. Sure this was a chance of a lifetime, but their mission was fist and foremost to gather information on their main opponent in the contest for Naruto's life. Their band was composed of five members. Naruto focused first on the people he recognized. Itachi, not having an instrument on stage, must be the vocalist. The human shark, whose name Naruto had forgotten, was a guitarist and so was the blond man with a ponytail. Their bassist and drummer were freaky looking dudes, one looking like a scorpion behind his drums and the other like a shadowy human plant on bass.

When they started playing, the five of them were left with the same thoughts in their mind. Aka Sue Me was good. They were 'sold their souls to the devil' good. There was no way that they'd be able to beat them with only three weeks to improve. Naruto was going to die. Sasuke would be forever shamed. Sakura would lose another teammate. Hinata would lose the boy of her dreams. Shino…well, Shino would feel like shit.

Itachi's vocals seemed to strike down at the very core of the listeners. He didn't even use his sharingan the entire time he performed and that was scary in itself. If the tone of his voice went up, it seemed to lift the listener and if his voice went down, the listener felt like he was falling. The lyrics of the first song made Sasuke sick to his stomach.

Itachi began with a soft haunting melody. The others had their small parts, but for this song it was obvious that Itachi was to be the center.

'When summer ended I learned from my father that every leaf will eventually fall.

Twisting and twirling and spiraling down, never resting 'til they hit the ground.

When I asked why leaves had to die,

He quickly supplied me a reason why.'

'Leaves live a pointless and futile existence,

Catching the sun to feed to the tree.

When Summer ends and Winter approaches,

Trees kill their leaves and continue to be.'

Itachi went silent and the instrument that filled the void was the bass that seemed to be leading up to something, playing the same riff over and over and merely changing in volume. When the bassist finally reached his climax Itachi returned with deafening scream.

'What is the meaning!

What is the reason!

Why can't I feel the change in the season!

Haven't I earned my place in the race?

Where is the answer that they couldn't face!'

The verse was similar to that of the first, but instead of using the haunting voice of before, he instead spoke the words with malice in his voice and painted on his face.

'My father was a wise man but not very smart; he never saw the change in my heart.

Why would I want to resemble a leaf, when all that awaits me is death and defeat?

Farewell to family, farewell to kin

I left only one to live with my sin'

Itachi stopped once again and this time the Kisame and Deidara played what seemed to be a battle duet to represent the clan massacre. Kisame was the victor and his prize was the first solo. It made Naruto want to wet himself with the sheer force behind it. Kisame may be a freaky looking dude, but he was one hell of a guitar player. When he was finished, the bassist did the same thing he had done before ending with another explosion from Itachi.

'Die for me, for the sake of the tree.

Die for me for the sake of the tree!

Cycles, cycles, endless cycles,

With their deaths I was finally free!'

This time Itachi sang the chorus again but with his voice descending under the sound of the instruments. The guitars died down next, and then the bass, until all that remained was the sound of the scorpion guy on drums. Everyone thought the song was over until suddenly everything came back at full volume for one last verse.

'Here is the answer they couldn't face!

In this I've found my place in the race!

My eyes are proof that Hate is the key,

To release the power within you and me.'

This last part was sung with Itachi looking directly at Sasuke and it sent chills down his spine. This song definitely didn't appeal to the women that made up the core of their followers, but it left the metal-heads more than satisfied. Naruto himself had a hard time remaining unmoved.

They had two more songs which only proved that Aka Sue Me had variety. The second was an upbeat punk song that gave Kisame a chance to show off his stage-manship. This song, oddly titled 'Fish Eggs,' was a song that Aka Sue Me lovers wanted and it revealed a very interesting fact about the band. Itachi was not the sex symbol.

No sir. The women near the front of the stage were screaming, "Kisame! Kisame!" and it didn't take nonbelievers long to figure out why. Fishman could work that guitar, playing behind his back, with his teeth, upside down, and other freaky shit. But the fan girls love for Kisame had very little to do with the sound coming from his guitar. No, when they saw his guitar, they saw his penis.

This became evident to Sasuke and Sakura, being so close to the front, when Kisame slid on his knees to the edge of the stage and held the neck out to one of the girls, the body of the guitar pressing at his waist. The girl, unable to believe what was in front of her, reached out to touch the fret boards, Kisame licking his lipless mouth as she did so. When she finally managed to touch it, Kisame strummed a chord. This vibration seemed so powerful that it sent the girl into convulsions right there. Sakura swore that it looked like she was having an orgasm and Sasuke told her to shut up because he didn't want to know.

The last song was yet another punk song but with definite metal influence. By this time, Naruto and the rest of the gang were so exhausted with worry that they just gave in and went with it. They started jumping up and down to the sound, which seemed as infectious as everything else they played. When it was over, women started throwing their panties and bras onstage. Shino finally lost it when he saw this and when people looked at him they could have swore he looked like a decorative fountain gushing out blood.

So ended their mission, but the night was young and there was plenty more to see!