Naruto's Belated Date

In the downtown part of the Hidden Leaf Village, crowds were buzzing and were walking throughout the streets like cars in traffic. But there was an even bigger crowd than that, because there was an exciting couples' dance at a recreation hall, and the theme was cosplay. There was also a cosplay contest to be held at the event, and the winners would receive a very special prize. But the excitement had yet to be released, as there was already a problem arising for one couple.

Sakura Haruno was dressed up as Super Sailor Chibi Moon from Sailor Moon, and she was dialing a number on a phone near the entrance to the hall. She was furious that she had been waiting for her date, Naruto Uzumaki, to arrive for nearly thirty minutes, and the dance was about to begin at seven o'clock.

I can't believe that I've been waiting for half an hour, and Naruto still hasn't showed up! she fumed inside of her mind. He promised me that he'll be there at six o' clock sharp, but he lied! I'm going to give him a call and he'll better show up, or else we're through!


At Naruto's house, Naruto was sound asleep on his armchair in the living room. His summoning frog, Gamakichi, was curled up on his master's lap and he was dreaming of being with his family.

The dream was suddenly disrupted by the ringing of Naruto's phone, and he quickly hopped over to the handheld phone, which was placed on a wooden oak desk next to the window. He grabbed hold of it with his webbed hands and pressed the dial button to answer it while holding it close to the left side of his head.

"Naruto?" Sakura's voice said.

Feeling alarmed by hearing her voice just now, Gamakichi yelped and dropped the phone on the floor.

"Naruto!"

Gamakichi leaped from the desk to the floor and sat next to the phone. He leaned in toward the speaker and blinked curiously.

"Naruto! Answer me!" her voice spoke once more.

A smile of excitement lit up on his face once he finally recognized her and he let out a gasp of surprise.

It's Sakura! the tiny frog thought of her.

"Hello? Sakura?" he said to her.

Sakura's aqua green eyes blinked curiously the moment she heard the frog's voice. It sounded much more different than Naruto's, though she didn't know it was him rather than her beloved sweetheart's.

"It's me, Gamakichi. You know, one of Naruto's summoning creatures?" he said through the phone.

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled once she finally recognized the tiny frog's voice, yet she wanted to speak to Naruto right away.

"Gamakichi. Let me talk to Naruto," Sakura said to him. "I've been waiting for him for about half an hour now, and the couples' cosplay dance starts at seven o'clock sharp."

The little frog grabbed hold of the phone and hopped over to Naruto, and then he placed it next to Naruto's left ear.

"Kid! Wake up!" he said to him loudly.

"Go away…," Naruto yawned, shooing him away. "Don't bother me. Can't you see I'm trying to sleep…?"

Sakura's jaw dropped and her eyes leered at the phone, and she could hear him snoring through the speaker. Her shocked look then formed into a frown, and she was starting to boil inside her mind. Two red veins popped up on both sides of her head and she was gripping the phone tightly with her right hand.

Oooh, that baka…, she thought furiously.

"NARUTO!" she shouted into the phone.

Naruto's eyes rapidly opened up and he let out an alarmed cry as he rose up on the chair. The phone flew up from his left ear and juggled around him like a tiny ball before it landed in his right hand.

"Uhhh… hello?! Hello!? Sakura?" he said, once he held it up to his right ear.

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice replied through the speaker.

With a nervous chuckle, Naruto said to her: "Oh, oh! Hello, Sakura!"

"Naruto Uzumaki! You're late for our date!"

"Wait… date?" Naruto repeated, blinking as he sat up on the chair. He could hear Sakura's voice ranting about his forgetfulness about the big night, even though he always remembered about it throughout the week.

"Oh, my God. I completely forgot about it! I was so tired that I fell asleep, and it must have slipped in the back of my mind!"

"You better meet me at the cosplay dance in thirty minutes, or we are done!" Sakura demanded.

"Alright, alright! I'll be there! See you then, Sakura!" Naruto replied, and he hung up his phone. He quickly rushed to a silver analog clock that was placed on his dresser and looked at it. The clock read six thirty.

I've got to shower quickly! he thought frantically.

"Gamakichi! My Helios costume!" he said to his companion, as he ran over to the bathroom. "It's in my costume closet!"

The little frog nodded to his master and hopped over to the open closet door to see a pair of white shoes beneath the actual costume, which was hung up on a rack of Naruto's many costumes. He picked them up with his mouth and made his way over to the bathroom, where he could hear the shower running. Naruto was just about to get in the shower when he spotted the shoes near him.

"No!" Naruto's voice shouted, tossing the shoes at the tiny frog. "On my bed! On my bed!"

Gamakichi scurried away from the bathroom and placed the shoes on Naruto's bed. He hopped over to the closet and looked up to see Naruto's costume. It was much higher than his mere petite height, making the little frog feel uncomfortable.

"It's too high for me to reach..," he said. "But I might as well just try."

With no time to lose, Gamakichi leaped up to the left leg of Naruto's costume pants and grabbed hold onto it with his mouth. He pulled onto it as hard as he could until the costume fell off of the hanger and it landed onto him. The little toad emerged from it and hopped out of it, and he quickly dragged the costume and placed it on Naruto's bed. He let out a sigh of relief as he wiped his webbed hand across his forehead.

Now, to wait for Naruto…, he thought to himself.

"Gamakichi…," Naruto said, as he finally came out of the bathroom with a cyan bathrobe on and a white towel wrapped around his waist. He had just finished his quick shower, and he was dripping wet from the washing he had done to keep himself clean. The Leaf Ninja spotted the costume and shoes on his bed and took them from there, feeling satisfied that his companion was able to help him.

"Ohh, good, you've got my costume. I'm going to put it on in the bathroom real quick."

Naruto returned to the bathroom and dried himself off first, then he changed into his costume and came out of there. His towel was hung on a towel rack that was next to the shower.

"Now, to put on my wig," he said when he was done.

Gamakichi nodded to him and watched Naruto take a short silver wig that was on a Styrofoam head, which was on the left side of his dresser, and put on a wig cap first. The blond Leaf Ninja set the wig on his head, and then he placed a fake gold horn on the top of it. He dabbed a tiny ruby onto his forehead and clipped diamond earrings on his earlobes right afterward. Two golden necklaces were the finishing touch to his look, and they were wrapped around his neck like a ribbon would to a present. He also slipped on a golden watch that he would need to check the time.

"Lookin' good!" Gamakichi complimented, grinning as he gave him a two thumbs up and winked at him.

Naruto smiled at his companion in response to the kind comment, and he then made some final touch-ups to his wig by brushing it gently with a wide-tooth comb. Now all that was left was the tickets needed to enter the dance.

"My tickets," he said.

The little frog nodded to his master and hopped over to a white coffee table in the living room. He grabbed a tan envelope with his mouth and hopped over back to Naruto, but the tickets slipped out of the opening and fell onto the floor.

"Thank you," he said to his companion.

Gamakichi smiled at his master and watched Naruto stash the envelope in his right pant pocket. Just as Naruto was about to head out, however, he turned to his clock and it read six forty.

"The dance starts in twenty minutes! I'm gonna be late!" Naruto exclaimed.

The Leaf ninja frantically raced to his front door, but Gamakichi was following him there. He halted at the door with his right hand in front of him and the frog stopped right where he was.

"Sorry. Gamakichi. Three's a crowd," he said, petting his head gently. "See ya later!"

Naruto opened the front door to his place and raced out into the street. Gamakichi stepped out of the doorway, only to halt by Naruto calling his name.

"Uh-uh! Inside!" he ordered the frog.

With a glum look on his face, Gamakichi slowly returned to the open door. He was feeling disappointed that he would not be able to attend the dance with Naruto and Sakura.

"Go on!"

Naruto's voice frightened him and the webbed-foot creature hopped back inside the house.

With no time to waste, Naruto dashed down the road and made a right turn at the end, only to crash into a clothing rack at a thrift shop. He landed on the ground, but quickly got back up and resumed running again. The next big obstacle for him was a crowd of Leaf residents, and he was dodging them as quickly as possible. He tripped on his knees after bumping into one, but he apologized and continued running.

Gamakichi let out a tired yawn and was about to curl back up on the floor to resume his nap when something came to his mind. His eyes widened in shock and he spotted the tickets on the floor, as he didn't notice they fell out of the envelope when he brought it to Naruto. Naruto had forgotten the tickets to the cosplay dance!

"Oh, no! The tickets!" he exclaimed.

Gamakichi grabbed the tickets in his mouth and frantically hopped out of Naruto's place, and then he made his way to the corner and turned right from there.

Naruto was still racing through downtown, dodging some additional residents and saying "Excuse me! Pardon me!" to them. He could hear their exclaimed cries, yet he was still in a hurry to get to the recreation hall before the dance would start. His relationship with Sakura was on the line, and he must arrive in time in order to salvage it.

Sakura's counting on me! he thought of her. She'll dump me if I don't make it to the dance in time!

Naruto looked down at his watch and it read six fifty. Time was running out for him!

"Oh no! The dance starts in ten minutes!" he exclaimed.

Just then, Naruto's face lit up when he saw a sign that read "COSPLAY DANCE AND CONTEST TONIGHT" in big red letters. He was getting closer to the dance!

Yes! I still have a chance to save my relationship with Sakura! Naruto thought again, as his negative thoughts had shifted into positive ones.

Gamakichi was hopping through the crowds at a rapid pace, and he could hear panicked exclaims of some women and angry rants from men. He was still holding the tickets in his mouth as he was inching closer and closer toward Naruto.

Naruto finally spotted the entrance to the recreation hall after about ten to fifteen minutes rushing through the evening crowds, and he was panting in exhaustion. His right hand was placed against the wall and his left arm was limping down to his side.

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice called out to him.

Naruto looked up to see Sakura, and he was delighted to see her standing right in front of him. His mission to arrive at the dance on time was a success, and he couldn't have done it without Gamakichi's assistance.

"Oh, Naruto! You've finally made it!"

"Yeah… I did…," Naruto said, nodding to her.

"Now get out the tickets and we'll go right inside," Sakura said as she walked over to him.

Naruto reached into his right pant pocket, but it was empty. He checked his left pocket next, but it was also empty.

Uh-oh! he thought worriedly. Naruto had just realized he had forgotten the tickets, and he let out a nervous chuckle as Sakura was frowning at him.

"You see, Sakura, I…"

Just as he was about to explain, Gamakichi hopped over to him and tugged onto Naruto's costume. Naruto swiftly turned around to see him and frowned at him.

"Gamakichi, I thought I told you to…," he started to scold him, but he spotted the tickets in the frog's mouth and took them from him.

"Bring the tickets…"

Naruto was relieved that his froggy companion had brought what he had forgotten; he and Sakura would have had broken up if it weren't for him.

"Thanks, Gamakichi," Naruto said to him, patting the frog's head. "You're a life-saver. I'll dismiss you for now."

Gamakichi nodded to him happily and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Thank goodness for him," Sakura said, placing her hands on Naruto's left arm. "Now that you have the tickets, we'll be able to enter the dance."

"Yeah! And I hope we win the couples' cosplay contest!" Naruto added, grinning merrily.

"I hope so too. Let's not worry about it right now and enjoy the dance."

Naruto and Sakura made their way into the recreation hall and handed the tickets to one of the shinobi on volunteering duty, Kotetsu. After all the rushing that had happened that evening, Naruto and Sakura were now awaiting a fun event that they would never forget for the rest of their lives…

The End


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