READER INFO:
Hi everyone. Sorry, it took me a bit longer than usual to get this chapter out but I've been so busy that it couldn't be helped. I hope you all enjoy it.
Ch. 6
Day 5 (9:27 AM) – Song Selection: Not Yet Revealed
Location: Hokage's Office
Naruto started laughing a bit at what had just been suggested and said, "NOOOOO way!" as he began to rise from his chair. Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him and said, "Now hold on a second…" He slowly made Naruto sit back down and said, "Let's not be too hasty... I think this could actually be a good thing for the hospital. The patients love your little visits."
Naruto snorted and replied, "Yeah, great for the hospital and deadly for me. Sorry, but I pass."
"Naruto, I thought you were supposed to like doing these types of things…" said Tsunade while wearing a teasing expression.
Naruto used his left hand to lift his shirt and reveal a few bandages, then slightly lifted his right arm which was in a cast. "I do Granny Tsunade, but I also like not having to feel pain all over my body." He once again rose from his chair then said, "I'm not making Sakura-chan mad again anytime soon."
"Why are you complaining so much? Don't you heal way faster because of Kurama?" asked Kakashi.
Naruto gave an annoyed eye roll and replied, "Why does everyone think that having a healing factor somehow translates to not feeling pain?"
Tsunade brushed aside the comment and said, "Look, it doesn't matter. Isn't the prank itself enough? I know the prankster side of you wants to do this, so just do it."
Naruto turned to Tsunade with a smile and said, "I'm not gonna lie, the prankster in me does want to do this, buuuuut the survivor in me is very adamantly telling me not to do this…so I won't do it."
"Just let me heal you up a bit and you'll be fine." said Tsunade with a seemingly innocent smile.
Naruto dropped both eyes and said, "So let me get this straight… You're gonna heal me up just so that I can go do something that will cause Sakura-chan to beat me up again?"
Kakashi smiled and said, "Exactly!"
Naruto laughed a bit as he started walking away and said, "You guys are crazy…"
Before Naruto reached the door, Kakashi decided to try the only asset he had left. He summoned the most enticing voice he could manage and said, "I could take you to Ichiraku's after…"
Naruto let out a small sigh and said, "My answer isn't changing, Sensei." as he reached for the door.
Kakashi's shoulders dropped a bit but he wasn't planning on giving up that easily. "What if I promised you a week's worth of Ichiraku's?" asked the gray-haired nin with a bit of a squint.
Naruto let out an exasperated sigh then turned around and asked, "Why is this so important to you guys?"
Kakashi gave a small chuckle and said, "Well, Tsunade's in it for the laughs. Me, on the other hand…" He scratched his head a bit and continued, "Uhhh… How should I put this?..."
Tsunade gave a roll of her eyes and said, "What Kakashi is trying to say is that he's been on a betting spree. He's convinced you're gonna do it, so he's been betting with anyone who will pay him any attention."
Naruto turned to Kakashi with a squint and said, "Now it makes sense…"
Kakashi gave one of his eye-closed smiles and said, "What can I say? I have the utmost faith in you, Naruto."
"Oh yeah, I'm sure you do…"
Kakashi gave an impish chuckle at Naruto's reply then said, "Come on, Naruto. Just do your old Sensei a solid one last time. I've got a lot to lose here…"
He looped an arm around Naruto's shoulder and added, "Besides, you know you want to do it anyway…" while wearing a somewhat evil smile under his mask. The smile was rather unsettling if Naruto was honest.
Naruto let out an annoyed sigh as he thought about it. After standing there in silence for a while, he finally resigned himself and said, "Fine, I'll do it…but I want Ichiraku for two weeks! Two weeks, you hear?!"
Kakashi used his arm to pull the blond a little closer and said, "You drive a hard bargain, but you've got a deal! Two weeks' worth of Ichiraku's."
Tsunade chuckled and said, "This is gonna be priceless."
Naruto wagged a finger towards Tsunade and said, "And you also have to promise me that you'll be around to heal me after. Yesterday, Ino had to do it!"
"Oh, trust me…" started Tsunade as she let out a small laugh. "…I'll be around to heal you. I wouldn't miss it…"
She sat up straight in her chair then waved in Naruto's direction and said, "Well, you better get over here so I can heal you up the best I can. That Ichiraku's won't be worth anything if you're too dead to enjoy it."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." grunted Naruto as he slithered out of Kakashi's grip and walked over to Tsunade.
As she started to tend to his injuries, all Naruto could do was sit and wonder just what he had gotten himself into.
…
Location: Konoha Hospital. 12:47 PM.
"Come on, Forehead. He likes you and you know it. How else would you explain the fact that all the songs he's singing are love songs?" asked Ino before taking a bite of salad.
Sakura finished the food in her mouth then said, "He essentially trolled me with the 1st song, I didn't even really hear the 2nd one, and he only sang the 3rd and 4th ones because he knew I liked them." Sakura took a sip of water and continued, "Besides, if he liked me, he wouldn't be coming over here and purposefully humiliating me over these past few days."
Ino laughed while using her fork to pick up some more salad. "You know Naruto's a weirdo. That's just his way of showing his love." she said in a singsongy voice. "Why don't you actually listen to some of the songs, then see if you feel differently."
Sakura snorted and said, "I'll pass. Those songs are now permanently etched into my brain as bad memories. I don't care if I never hear them again…"
Ino dropped her head and said, "Are you serious?" in a somewhat annoyed tone.
"Uh, yeah." replied Sakura without missing a beat.
Just then, Kakashi and Tsunade walked up to a table near the two kunoichis and sat down. Kakashi gave a small wave and said, "Don't mind us. We're just waiting for Shizune to finish up some paperwork for us. We thought we'd grab a bite to eat while she finished up."
Sakura refused to look at Kakashi and said, "Whatever…" not hiding the fact that she was upset about Kakashi's blabbing to Tsunade the day before. Kakashi let out a nervous chuckle and decided it best not to say anything. He simply turned to face Tsunade and whispered, "If she's mad now, then I'm almost afraid of what she'll be like soon…" Tsunade wore a sideways smile and whispered back, "You don't need to tell me…"
Sakura ignored the whispers coming from Kakashi and Tsunade then turned to Ino and said, "As I was saying, those songs are now connected with the memories of me being humiliated. I've filed them away as bad memories and, hopefully, my brain will repress them one day…"
Ino put her elbow on the table to lean on the palm of her hand then gave a small smile and said, "Forehead, you are something else."
Sakura shrugged nonchalantly then took another sip of water. While she was putting her cup down, she noticed Shikamaru and Choji walking up to their table.
After exchanging greetings, she furrowed her eyebrows at the two and asked, "What are you guys doing here?"
Shikamaru wore his usual lazy stare then pointed a thumb towards Choji and said, "Choji has a doctor's appointment. We were already hanging out, so I decided to keep him company."
"Oh ok...but why are you guys in the cafeteria?" asked Sakura still looking a little confused.
Choji gave an awkward smile while holding up some applesauce he had picked up in the food line and replied, "I like having hospital applesauce before an appointment. I don't know why but it helps me calm my nerves."
Sakura looked at him a little weirdly and said, "Whatever works for you…" deciding she probably didn't want to know much more than that. Shikamaru chuckled a bit at her silence and said, "Don't mind us. We'll just be sitting over there." while pointing to a table that was pretty close to theirs.
Ino nodded as the two sat down but noticed that Sakura was giving them an unreadable glance. "What's wrong?" the blond asked with a bit of a frown.
Sakura looked at them and replied, "Nothing, it's just been an unusual day… First, Kakashi and Tsunade have to grab some paperwork and now Choji has a doctor's appointment…"
Ino looked towards the two and said, "It is a bit strange. I didn't even know anything about him having a hospital appointment and those two usually tell me everything…"
Sakura squinted at them a bit more as she started to think about what was wrong with this picture. Usually, Naruto would be one of her only visitors in the hospital. She was used to seeing people like Ino and Shizune around, and maybe the occasional Kakashi, but just about everyone else steered clear of the hospital for the most part. Tsunade was usually buried under paperwork in the Hokage's office but for some reason, she had to pick up whatever paperwork she and Kakashi were waiting for personally? Something wasn't adding up…
After thinking about it for a bit longer, Sakura felt a headache coming on and decided to just drop it. She turned to Ino with a small smile and said, "Just drop it, Ino. I'm probably just being paranoid anyway."
If only she had known...
"AHEM!" was the sound heard through the hospital speakers as Naruto's scratchy voice called for everyone's attention.
'You've gotta be kidding me…' thought Sakura as an annoyed frown crept up to her face. Ironically, everyone else in the cafeteria was starting to smile at the same time.
In the audio room…
Naruto once again shook his head at the thought of what he was about to do then looked over to Lou and quickly warned, "As soon as it starts, you better get out of here or you'll be collateral damage..."
Lou looked at Naruto with an unsure look and said, "Are you sure you really want to do this, man?"
Naruto looked at him with a wide smile and said, "No, not really…" then finished with, "…but since when do I get what I want…" while turning back to the microphone with a smile.
The audio technician laughed a bit then pushed a button and said, "Good luck, kid." as he walked out of the room.
Naruto took a deep breath as he waited for the metronome to start counting down to let him know when he should start. 'No backing down now…' he thought with a small smile. Before he was finished that thought, the rhythmic ticking of the metronome started…
4, 3, 2, 1…
*Start Playing: Treasure – Bruno Mars*
Naruto smiled into the microphone and said, "Sakura Haruno, you's a sexy m0t#3rf^c%3r…"
As soon as he finished the statement, the music started, and the blond knucklehead was blissfully singing once again.
"Give me your, give me your, give me your attention baby (attention baby)…"
This time, instead of snickers and giggles, the lunchroom burst into laughter with a large portion of the people starting to cheer at the blond idiot's relentless attitude and another portion joining him in his blissful rendition of the song.
"…oooh you're a sexy lady (sexy lady)…"
Tsunade nearly fell out of her chair laughing while Kakashi found himself holding his stomach from his bout of laughter. Shikamaru and Choji were laughing so hard that they looked like they might blow a gasket, and Ino was now laughing harder than the two of them combined. Even Sasuke couldn't resist chuckling to himself from his dark corner. But with all of the laughing and cheering, there was one person who wasn't laughing at all. Sakura Haruno. Sakura turned redder than a tomato from embarrassment and anger before clenching a raised fist and yelling at the top of her lungs, "I'M GONNA KILL THAT KID!" while running out of the lunchroom and towards the audio room as fast as her legs could carry her.
"…Oh girl, I'm gonna show you when you're mine, oh, mine (mine, oh, mine)
Treasure…"
"I'm. Gonna. Kill. Him." muttered Sakura through ragged breaths as she neared the audio room.
"…you're my golden star
You know you can make my wish come true…"
"Oh, I'll make your wish come true alright…" interrupted Sakura from the doorway as she gave him a death glare scarier than the ones he used to get from Yamato.
Naruto turned to the pink-haired girl who looked like she practically had steam coming out of her ears then gulped a bit and said, "Oh, Sakura-chan... You got here a lot quicker than yesterday…"
Sakura cracked her knuckles as she marched into the room and said, "Yeah, I didn't have any trouble finding the audio room…BECAUSE YOU DID THE SAME THING YESTERDAY!" while landing a punch across his head and proceeding to pummel him with heavy punches as best she could. Naruto once again curled up into a ball in the corner while trying to protest. He tried everything from acting like he was in more pain then he was actually in, to letting her know it wasn't his idea. None of it worked though, and just as Naruto had feared, he was left all alone having to deal with the rage of a very angry Sakura.
Author's Note
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