Disclaimer: NARUTO and its characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi. I also don't own any real life brands mentioned in the story.
Coming Home To You
by yunotsuki
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Chapter 4
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After my conversation with Sakura-san one week ago, for some reasons I feel like good lucks often greet me and say hi. For example, my Amazon order came earlier than scheduled, the kids in hoikuen aren't as mischievous as they usually were, and just yesterday Temari and her family invited me to a dinner in a super fancy French restaurant (one that is very popular to the point you have to make a booking first several days earlier for a seat) which was quite out of the blue in my opinion.
But this particular one though was just utterly unbelievable.
That day was supposed to be no different than any other typical days. After hoikuen time ended at five in the late afternoon, all the kids got picked up one by one by their family member, including one certain boy called Boruto. I was on my way sending him to his father who was waiting in the genkan (entryway).
"Otsukaresama, Yamanaka-sensei, is Boruto being a bad kid today or not?" Uzumaki-san, his father, greeted me as we came into view.
"Daad, I'm not a bad kid!" I heard Boruto protesting while putting on his outdoor shoes. But, well, like usual both his father and I basically ignored his protests hahaha.
"Otsukaresama, Uzumaki-san." I messed with boy's blonde hair instead. "Boruto is being a really good kid today. During the lunch break he even shared the strawberries he brought from home to Sarada and Chouchou, didn't you Boruto?"
That kid nodded being proud.
"Oh, now that's impressive! Next time we should bring more strawberries so you can share them to all of your friends in Kuma class."
"No! If I share then the strawberries at home will be gone!"
"Hahaha, once it's all gone we can buy them again, right?"
"Hm, okay! But I also wanna give edamame (green soybean) to Sarada because she likes edamame more than strawberries!"
"Edamame?" Uzumaki-san was about to ask further but his son already ran towards the front yard through the hoikuen's door. He then shouted at his son. "Boruto, wait for me there don't go anywhere! Dad wants to talk with Yamanaka-sensei just for a little while!"
I raised my eyebrow hearing that. That's quite unusual. Something's up?
"Is it okay, Sensei?" asked Uzumaki-san while grinning widely.
"I don't mind, but is there something wrong, Uzumaki-san?"
"Um... so how do I begin..." I saw him rubbing the backside of his head. "If I'm not mistaken, Yamanaka-sensei is a fan of The Falcons right? Because I remember you asked me whether my wife was actually Neji The Falcons' relative or not on the hoikuen's entrance ceremony."
I was then reminded of that exact event and nodded. "Hm, that's right. Indeed I'm their fan, but is there something with it?"
"That's cool!" Uzumaki-san then reached into his briefcase and took something from inside. He handed me something that looked to be a pair of same tickets—somehow I didn't know if it's just me but did I actually see The Falcons' infamous logo printed there?
"Then I take it you must've already known that The Falcons are going to have a live concert this Sunday in Kiri Dome." The man continued. "Are you going to go watch it?"
"The Golden Week Tour isn't it? Yes, I'll be going as I bought the ticket already..." I stared at those pair of The Falcons tickets in Uzumaki-san's hand, but why did I feel like something was not exactly right with them?
"Oh, no, no. These are not the tickets to The Falcons' concert, but instead the special tickets for the backstage access."
In an instant my eyes moved to look at Uzumaki-san's face. My jaw literally dropped.
"Exactly. These are the tickets to get inside the backstage and meet all members of The Falcons in person. Tickets like these are usually given to press or special guests such as family members or relatives. I got these from Neji for me and my family, but my wife hasn't been all that well lately so Boruto and her are not going to their concert this time. However, I just think that it'll be such a waste if these two aren't being used, and so..."
I glanced back at those tickets in his hand.
"And then I suddenly remembered that Yamanaka-sensei was a fan of the Falcons. Therefore, as an expression of gratitude for taking care of Boruto who's been pretty difficult lately, I'm giving these tickets to you for free. Since there are two of these, you can also bring one friend with you," he continued, "I already told Neji about this and he said he didn't mind me bringing my acquaintances who are The Falcons fans."
I still found it hard to process everything that came out of Uzumaki-san's mouth back then, so I couldn't really manage to say anything in response. It was really hard to believe—was everything he said happened for real?
But then, when those two tickets finally were in my hands after I nodded to him in affirmation and saw 'Backstage Special Entry' clearly written there, that was when it finally came down to me that everything happened just then undoubtedly was a reality.
"Alright, see you again this Sunday at the concert then, Sensei!"
This Sunday... The Falcons's concert... backstage... meet and talk with all members of The Falcons in person...
This is totally insane...
OH MY GOD TOMORROW I'M LITERALLY GOING TO MEET SAI THE FALCONS IN PRIVATE! KYAAH—!
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Sweats soak some parts of my body, my blonde hair has become so messy, and my throat feels so hoarse from screaming loudly, but nothing is stopping me and my spirit from swinging my light sticks and singing along with thousands of other Falconers inside the Kiri Dome.
"SAAAAIIII—!" I scream once Sai's face became the focus of one big screen right over there. The real him is standing on top of the stage far away from where I am so I won't be able to see his face clearly without the help from the screen.
But that doesn't matter at all to me.
"Ino-sensei, this is the first time I've ever seen—" I can no longer hear Tenten's voice due to the loud screams from all of the Falconers attending this concert—90% of them are females I think, including me.
"Whaaat? Can you say it again much louder because I can't hear you!" I shouts and incline my head to the side closer to her who's currently standing next to me on my right.
"I said thank you for inviting me! I didn't know that it would be this much fun! So once again thaaanks!" She also shouts after that.
I nod then give her a high five. I got one more more person as a Falconer again today. Heh.
But actually the one who's supposed to come together with me was actually Temari, but that woman suddenly canceled at the last moment because she said she has to visit her brothers in Suna on the day of the concert. She also added that there are some issues back home, but I totally have no idea what they are because she didn't tell me much about it. Even though I've told her about the backstage entry tickets, but still family matters are much more important, or that's what she said. Well she's right though.
Because I didn't want to go with just myself—going alone is not fun after all and yeah... not my fault if I have no boyfriend to accompany me at times like this, but then listen, think about it again, what boyfriend would be excited escorting his girlfriend to her favorite boyband concert? Perhaps things would be different if it was a metal band concert instead—anyway, so I tried to find someone else I could invite to go watch The Falcons together with me.
The first person I could think of was Sakura-san.
However, after I told her everything about Temari and The Falcons' backstage entry tickets through Line, that woman literally declined. There's another matter to attend to on that day, she said. At first I thought, didn't she tell me that time she would clear her weekend schedules to be able to spend time with Sarada? And she could even entrust Sarada to that neighbor her daughter referred to as her papa if she agreed to go with me. That's why I still tried to persuade her to go with me because, honestly speaking, I really didn't want to go alone. It's not fun!
But no matter what Sakura-san still declined. She absolutely couldn't leave whatever that matter was because it's still related to her family, or so as she said.
If she's said that then I no longer had a choice. It would be rude of me if I kept insisting to invite her to come together with me after all. Even though we can be considered friends right now, but I'm still not as close to her as I am with Temari after all.
Because Sakura-san couldn't come, so I tried to ask Tenten next. Even though we both work at the same workplace, I don't really talk that much with her as she's only a part-timer in the hoikuen, so I had no idea whether she actually liked The Falcons or not. But since I was so desperate, I still tried to invite her.
Although it turned out she's not a Falconer, fortunately she still said yes to my invitation because normally who would refuse such a generous invitation to attend the live concert of the most popular boyband in the country for free? Furthermore, even being offered a chance to meet that said famous boyband directly in person.
(Except Sakura-san of course.)
Loud screams ring in the air all of a sudden, surprising both me and my thoughts. Those loud, high-pitched screams coming from all the females in the audience's seats apparently were caused by a figure who's currently the focus of the big screens.
Who else if it's not the leader of The Falcons, Uchiha Sasuke?
"Falconers, thank you for coming to the first concert of our Golden Week Tour!" His deep baritone voice shouts out loud due to the headset microphone he's wearing, followed by even much louder screams coming from the fans.
I've mentioned before that more than half of the Falconers in the whole country are Sasuke's fans, so this is what typically happens in every The Falcons' concert whenever Sasuke becomes the main focus of the stage. I admit he's indeed the most handsome member of the group (followed closely by Sai of course) and the most talented one with an impressive vocal techniques complimenting his baritone voice (but Sai's own vocal also doesn't lose to him though).
Moreover, according to many of his fans on the internet, he's always very humble and friendly to his fans, especially when they have the chance to meet him at his exclusive fansign events. I heard he's always trying to start a conversation with his fans who come to him and it will even last as long as five minutes sometimes. Perhaps that's the reason why his exclusive fansign tickets are the one most limited out of the members of the group. His tickets will always be gone so quick to the point even a hardcore fangirl like me has never ever managed to get even just one.
And, well, if you've watched The Falcons' behind-the-scene videos or some reality show episodes in which they're featured, Sasuke indeed seems like a fun guy. Not to mention that many short clips of his funny and adorable scenes loitering in the internet, which were edited by the Falconers, often get thousands of likes in just a matter of seconds.
Too bad that I personally am more into Sai. If I were to be asked why, honestly even I myself couldn't come up with the exact answers. Some people online (mostly antis) have said that Sai's smiles are kind of twisted (and I would usually get into a rage mode whenever I see that kind of comments), however in my most personal and humble opinion, Sai's smiles always and always look cute. There's just something about him that attracts my full attention, yet it's hard for me to explain what, even though I've met him twice in person during his fanmeet events.
"Once more we'd like to offer our biggest gratitude to all of you here—" KYAA SAI! "—if it's not because of you guys, dear Falconers, then we wouldn't be here standing in this stage right now."
"Sai's right," Neji chimes in, "and even from now on, we're still going to be in need your unwavering supports. Therefore, will you keep supporting us just like before?"
All of the Falconers, including me, scream, 'WE WILL!'
"Also don't forget to vote for The Falcons in Konoha Music Awards this year, alright!" exclaimed Kiba while eagerly raising his fist into the air.
"If we win again, we will bring a special present for our dear Falconers," Suigetsu adds.
Screams once again reverberating the entire Kiri Dome, including one of mine. Because of course I'm going to vote for them! I'd even vote one thousand times more if it were possible so that The Falcons can win big. And I can't help but be curious what kind of presents they're talking about? A new single? New album? Free fansign tickets? Or an exclusive holiday trip with The Falcons?
"If you're wondering what the present will be, of course you have to vote for us first,"—OMG SAI ARE YOU READING MY MIND?—"because if you don't then we will end up losing, and then we will have to say bye bye to the present."
"Hey now don't be like that Sai!" Kiba and Suigetsu shout in unison while playfully smacking Sai on each side of his arms. Those adorable gestures attract more screams from the Falconers, including mine of course.
"The next song, as well as our last today, is the most precious one to us The Falcons," said Sasuke after that, "and especially to myself because it was the first song I wrote myself for The Falcons. Can you guess what it is?"
One solid scream then can be heard from the audiences' seats at the same time. 'GIRLS LIKE YOU!'
Exactly in the next moment, the prerecorded heartbreaking yet soft melodies of a classic piano start playing in the air. All of the audiences scream their best as the intro to Girls Like You, The Falcons' second single solely written by their leader himself, Uchiha Sasuke, and which was also their award-winning hit, fills the entire corner of Kiri Dome in the most epic way possible.
"Spent my night wondering—
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—why do I feel so empty?
My life feels incomplete
Something is missing
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'Cause boys like me only become perfect
coming together with girls like you
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To be continued
A/N: Sorry if this chapter is quite short because the next one is going to be much longer. Thank you everyone for reading. Perhaps some of you might think that my storytelling in this fic is quite unusual for an English fic, as most likely because this one is based on a non-English storytelling, but I really hope you'll consider it as a different kind of a reading experience, of course in a positive way.
I wanted to reply to a review here because I can't send a reply to that person privately.
booboboo: Thank you for reading! Actually it's because of you I became determined to continue updating this fic (google translation is shitty and I wouldn't recommend it if I knew). Thank you! Btw, you already know how this story would progress but still... please enjoy this one as well.