Ch. 4

Day 3 (11:58 AM) - *Start Playing: Amber – 311*

Sakura had just gone on her break and was getting ready to walk into the lunchroom when she heard a soft voice coming from one of the patient rooms. It was definitely someone singing another song. At first, she thought that it was Naruto again, but this couldn't be Naruto. The singing wasn't obnoxiously loud enough for it to be him, and on top of that, the singing actually sounded pretty good. It had a more mellow vibe than the two previous songs, and as she got closer, she noticed that she actually knew this song. It was one of her favorites. 'It can't be Naruto…' she thought with a slightly puzzled look as she continued to head towards the sound.

"Brainstorm, take me away from the norm…"

As Sakura got closer to the room where the sound was coming from, she couldn't help but notice that it actually sounded more and more like that blond knucklehead was the one doing the singing. She had known him so long that she could recognize his voice anywhere. 'Since when did that idiot actually learn how to sing…' she thought to herself with a confused frown. She finally reached the room he was in and found him staring out of the window as he began to sing the song' chorus.

"…I had to put it in a song, and it goes like

Whoa, amber is the color of your energy…"

After that line, Naruto stopped for a second then turned around with a small smile. He turned down the music then gave Sakura a soft smile and said, "Hey Sakura-chan."

Sakura leaned against the doorway as she cast him an inquisitive stare. "Since when did you learn how to sing?"

Naruto kept his hands in his pockets and started walking towards her. "A while ago, I just keep it a secret. It was around the time I was traveling with Pervy Sage. He always said singing was something I had to learn because it worked wonders with the ladies."

Sakura shook her head and said, "Why am I not surprised. It was always about the ladies with him..."

Naruto thought about it then said, "Eh, not always. He had his moments." wearing a small smile at the thought of his former sensei.

After a short pause, Naruto squinted at Sakura and said, "So…I thought you said that if I came in here singing again, you'd make sure I had to be put in the hospital permanently." Naruto looked at himself from head to toe and finished, "So far I don't have a scratch…" while wearing a proud smile.

Sakura looked a little caught off guard by the question but decided to cover it up with a shrug. "Well, you weren't as obnoxious with your singing today, and you know that I kinda like that song…"

She crossed both of her arms over her chest and argued, "I'm not heartless you know…"

Naruto looked up to the side with a hand on his chin and said, "Errhhh, that's debatable…"

Sakura responded by punching him in the shoulder and saying, "Very funny..."

Naruto responded with a playful, "Ow…" as he rubbed his shoulder.

Sakura leered at him and said, "You'll be alright."

"And that makes it ok?…" said Naruto with a playful smile.

Sakura stood her ground with a sassy glare and replied, "Well, I didn't tell you to come to my job and start singing your lungs out, so whatever happens while you're here is your fault."

Naruto gave a small chuckle and said, "Ah, I see. So, I guess I should get going then…"

Sakura propped both hands on her hips then stepped into the doorway and said, "Nope. You're not going anywhere until you finish the song."

"You actually want to hear me sing?" asked Naruto with a surprised but playful smile.

Sakura matched his smile with a playful smile of her own and said, "Not really, but maybe if you have to sing for me, you'll feel some of the embarrassment I feel whenever you come here. And maybe if you feel some of what I feel, you'll actually stop with these annoying little visits…" she said while patting him on the head.

Naruto raised a hand to his chest and said, "Ouch…" acting like he had been hurt by her words.

Sakura smiled then crossed her arms and said, "I lost all sympathy for you when you came in here again yesterday…" She quickly wiped the smile from her face and sternly said, "Now sing."

Naruto gave her a small scowl and mumbled, "You're mean…"

Sakura responded with a raised eyebrow and simply nodded to signal for him to get to singing.

Naruto scrunched up his top lip as he gave another small scowl then proceeded to restart the song on his mp3 player. Sakura immediately stretched out her hand and snatched one of the earphones out of his ear. "I'm gonna listen too." she said while casting him a teasing smile. "I wanna hear how close you sound to the actual song…"

Naruto started scratching the back of his head and said, "That's really not necessary Sakura-chan…"

Sakura gave a small shrug to show she didn't care what he thought then said, "The song's starting, so get to singing…"

Naruto let out a bit of an annoyed grunt then obliged as he waited for the song to start.

"Brainstorm, take me away from the norm'

I've got to tell you something…"

As Naruto continued to sing, Sakura couldn't stop a tender smile from creeping up to her lips. It was so unusual to see this version of Naruto. Usually, he was such a jokester that it gave him this larger than life personality, and when he wasn't being a jokester, he was literally the strongest shinobi alive. Seeing him singing his lungs out on a normal song just made him look so utterly…human.

"Whoa, amber is the color of your energy

Whoa, shades of gold display naturally…"

As he continued to sing, she was tempted to join in at some points, but in the end, she decided it was worth not singing if only to watch him squirm under her intense scrutiny. As far as she was concerned, he deserved it after embarrassing her for the past couple of days.

After he was done, he cleared his throat a bit then asked, "Soooo…what did you think?"

Sakura smiled then gave him a pat on the back and said, "That wasn't half bad."

"You really think so?" responded Naruto with a proud grin.

"Yep, and I've got it all recorded." she said while pulling out a small recorder she had hidden in her back pocket. She waved it in his face and said, "Now if you come here singing again, I'll be sure to show everyone we know just how talented you are." She raised an eyebrow tauntingly and said, "Maybe I'll start with Sasuke…"

Naruto let out a shocked gasp after realizing he'd been set up then said, "You tricked me..."

Sakura wore a satisfied smirk and said, "Sure did. I was initially planning on recording you while you obnoxiously sang some random song, but since you decided to actually sing properly today, I'll have to take what I can get."

She wore a smug smirk and finished, "I've learned by now that the only way to make you stop is to stoop to your level."

Naruto wagged a finger at her disapprovingly and said, "You're getting smarter Sakura-chan…in a bad way…"

"Yeah, I know. Now get outta here and don't come back..." responded Sakura as she stashed the recorder into her back pocket with a proud smirk.

Naruto leaned forward to squint at Sakura for a few seconds then slowly nodded and said, "Nice. I like it…" as he let out a small grin. He then swung both hands behind his head and started walking away.

"Thank you." replied Sakura with a bit of cheeky smile as she walked off in the opposite direction.

Naruto smiled to himself as he glanced over his shoulder at Sakura's retreating form. 'Sakura-chan is getting good at this game but you can't surpass the master… Time to think about how I'm gonna retaliate…' he thought with a wicked smile.

Author's Note

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