Sorry for the long the delay on this and my other stories. My schedule is hectic and the time I do have off I spend working on updating my stories. For this one in particular I watch hours of basketball film looking for moves for Naruto and I also read articles about life on the road for NBA players. None of my stories are abandoned I have just been super busy some people may not want to hear this or like this but my life isn't centered around this sight. I will continue to update my stories and hope you all keep reading.
Chapter Thirty Three
Naruto let out a breath as he took his soaked shirt off and threw it on the ground. He was a month into filming and despite having never acting before he took to it like a fish in water, the acting classes that he took also helped. They orginally began filming under the name Bigfoot, but once he was spotted on set fans quickly picked up on what they were really filming, they flocked to their sets and it always brought a smile to his face. Despite all this Kobe's words to him kept playing over and over in his mind and after a few days he decided to act. Shikamaru made a few calls and Under Armor was able to secure a warehouse which they quickly renovated to suit his needs. They put in hardwood and made a court and built an entire weight lifting area with a squat rack, leg press, cable fly machine and more than enough dumbells.
Amanda did her job as his trainer and put together a work out regimen that would get him ready for year two of his NBA career, this included running across the Golden Gate Bridge and to set twice a week. Kendall hung around and she called it a break from all the cameras for her show but ultimately her mother called her back because she needed some more screen time. As much as he didn't want her to go it was better than the alternative which was for the cameras to come to them.
He took one more shot before walking off the court where Shikamaru threw him a water.
"I see some more of your teammates stopped by the food truck."
"Of their own will, Jimmy is hooked to the stuff."
His friends held up their end of the bargain and opened up their truck so he held up his. He sent them the money and asked a few of his teammates to stop by which helped their popularity grow. He could tell they were doing well because Shana constantly sent him pictures of stacks of cash.
"Yeah well they're doing well, I think they might even start paying their own rent."
Naruto laughed as he pulled a dry shirt out of his bag.
"That would be the day that hell freezes over."
Shikamaru laughed and the two left the warehouse where a black SUV was waiting for them outside.
"So what's on the schedule for tomorrow?"
"Sunts, since you opted out of a stunt double you will be hooked up to a crane and thrown all around."
The blonde smirked. "That's going to be awesome. And were you able to look into that other thing."
"It's just us in here why are you speaking in code. And yeah I looked into it, gonna have Temari look at the list she's better at that shit then me."
Next Day
"This is not what I had in mind when I thought of doing stunts on a superhero movie."
He saw the flash from camera and turned to a smirking Shikamaru.
"Your sister is going to be so mad that she missed this."
Naruto looked down at the motion capture suit he was currently wearing.
"After only a month, I've only worn the suit for a day, what kind of superhero am I."
Shikamaru could only smirk as the stunt coordinator came over to get the blonde.
"Alright Mr. Uzumaki we are going to start off with a few simple scenes. This will some running, rolling and we'll set up a few simple falls. After that we'll have some real fun."
Naruto nodded and started with some of the simple actions. They put a mat on the ground so he could roll around and after about thirty minutes he was completely exhausted and the coordinator laughed as he chugged a bottle of water.
"Now that we got the easy shit out the way, let's start cooking with gas."
He was quickly strapped into a harness and was walked through the next stunt.
"Alright so this stunt is going to be for Scott's first shrink, he's standing in a bathtub, hits the button and bang. Next thing you know water is running in the tub and he tries to escape but the water catches him. So basically you will start here and take off into a sprint, the camera's will track you and then we'll pull you back with the cables."
Naruto nodded and took a deep breath as everyone cleared the set. Once everything was set the director nodded to him.
"When ever your ready."
The blonde nodded and took off into a run, he got about twenty feet before he was pulled back by the cables.
"Oh shit!"
To prepare for the stunts the studio got him in touch with a stunt guy and he went over tumbling and some basic parkour. They went over the harness but he never got strapped in so he was not prepared when the rig dug into places that where not comfortable.
He hung in the air for a few moments before he was sat on the ground. He approached a monitor where the director and a few people watched the scene with frowns on their face.
"I wanna redo the shot and this time I want you to wear the suit, looks too cartoony in CGI."
Naruto's face broke into a full smile as he nodded and broke into a full sprint towards his trailer. When he got there Jen was already waiting for him.
"The stunt suit is already laid out for you in the back."
The blonde nodded and headed to the back room in his trailer where he quickly shed the mocap suit and put on the Antman costume. He took a few moments to admire himself in the mirror before he grabbed the helmet and left. When he got back to set they ran through the stunt again and everyone agreed that it looked better. After running through that stunt a few times they moved onto the next one which involved him falling a few feet and onto a padded platform and then to the ground.
They ran through a few more stunts that left the blonde exhausted and bruised before they dismissed him for the day. Naruto took a shower in his trailer and was about to put on some gym clothes but Shikamaru came in with a bundle of clothes.
"Put these on you have a very important meeting in an hour."
"With who."
Shikamaru only smirked and left the trailer leaving the blonde to get dressed. He quickly changed into the clothes the Shika left, a black short sleeved shirt and a pair of black jeans. Once he was changed the two drove to the airport and into a hanger where another black SUV was waiting. Naruto stepped out and watched as Maverick Carter stepped out.
"Naruto I'm sure you recognize Maverick Carter, he handles all of LeBron's marketing and off court opportunities. Community work, film and TV."
Naruto nodded and shook Maverick's hand.
"Of course I know who Maverick is, he's who I've been trying to mold you into."
Shikamaru laughed. "I know your joking but that still hurts."
"How do you two know each other?"
Maverick smiled. "I reached out to Shikamaru after you were drafted gave him some advice and we've kept in touch all season. I've also been keeping tabs on you. I wanted to give you the Nike pitch but I had other things to attend to. Heard that meeting went terrible by the way."
The blonde nodded as he remembered the meeting back in the off season. "Yeah it was pretty bad."
"Yeah those guys no longer work for Nike. But look Naruto, I like you, so does Bron. We had lunch once and I have never heard him complain so much about having to guard a rookie."
Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah those switches were rough. I caught the ball in the post once and it was like hitting a brick wall when LeBron put a body on me."
"Yeah guarding him in scrimmages all those years ago was the same way. But I'm here to talk to you about something me and LeBron are looking to start. We're calling it UNINTERRUPTED. What we want to focus on is giving athletes a voice by giving them a platform to be more than just an athlete."
Shikamaru nodded. "Tell him what you told me on the phone."
"Look I know you've been focused on your career and your brand which is all cool cause you earned that right. But look I heard your story and Shikamaru told me all about how you want to work with orphanages and that's the work that this company wants to do. He told me that you've been hesitant and I understand why and I know at the end of the day no matter what I pitch it's ultimately up to you to decide what kind of athlete you want to be. So I'm gonna leave this with Shika, it has all the details and if your interested give me a call and we can talk investments. We just locked down Ronda Rousey this morning."
Maverick handed Shikamara a folder and Naruto nodded. "Thanks man but why did you want to meet at the airport, weird location for a sales pitch."
Maverick smirked. "You actually aren't here for me, I just used this as a chance to talk."
The sports agent pointed to a private jet that was landing. Once it taxied closer the door opened and Shikamaru gestured him to step forward.
"This one is all you big guy."
Naruto took a deep breath and walked towards the jet. Once he boarded he was surprised to see a smirking two time NBA champion, LeBron James.
"Take a seat lil bro."
Naruto took a seat across from LeBron as he felt the doors close and soon the aircraft was moving again preparing to take off. Once they were in the air a stewardess handed them some drinks and James began speaking.
"When I first came into the league, I was just trying to prove myself. It was all about ball. It took me awhile to understand the responsibility, the opportunity that I was given."
Naruto remained silent and let LeBron keep speaking.
"You know I speak for those without a voice. People who grew up like I did, poor and without hope. Those people, those kids. They exist on every corner of the globe and they're all deserving of a chance. I believe no one person is capable of turning the tide but we all have an obligation because somewhere along the way somebody picked us up and that's why we pay it forward."
Naruto looked down and though of Amanda who took him in when he had nobody. He thought of Mia and no matter how much of a pain in the ass she was now she used to stay up at night with him when all he did was cry over his parents. If it wasn't for those two there's no telling where he would be in life now.
"Do you think you ready for all of that?"
The blonde nodded. "I know I am."
"Good then allow me to officially welcome to the league. Your not a rookie anymore, time to swim with the big fish."
The two raised their drinks and Naruto smiled.
And Done!
Let me know what you guys think. Looking at having Naruto be outspoken at ideals that are close to him so I decided to make him a part of the early stages of UNINTERRUPTED. Probably looking at starting the next season soon. Now that I'm feeling better I'll work on updating my other stories. The poll for this story is also still up so if your new go vote.
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Duces!