Chapter Two

"Oh my God!" Sakura squeals.

After Kiba had gotten off work, they all decided to grab some burgers and hang out in front of the mall. Hinata and Neji, who had been working elsewhere in the mall, joined them.

Haku drools as he looks over Sakura's shoulder. "A full body picture!"

Haku rips open his own CD and opens it, reverently pulling out the packet inside and unfolding it. He drools at the full body picture of the lead singer of Okami Yokai. "Oh man… you can just barely see the tattoo on his hip!"

Sakura and Ino start to whimper. "Yeah, but you've seen the real thing!"

Haku grins. "Yeah, I have seen it." He sighs and places his left hand over his heart, his right clutching the poster. "And, oh, what a sight it was! He has such a nice package…" A lecherous grin spreads across his lips, "if ya know what I mean."

Sakura and Ino glare at him. "You bastard!" They both proceed to tackle the brunette to the ground.

"Ugh!" Naruto whines. "I don't want to know about some guy's package!"

"Ahhh… but it was such a pretty sight!" Haku says. He grins and glances at Sakura and Ino. "Especially when he had his hands all over it."

Sakura and Ino pull at their hair and tackle him again, banging him into the cement.

Neji raises a brow at the scene. "I'm not sure I should ask this, but what is he talking about?"

Naruto, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji shake their heads. "Trust me Neji, you really don't want to know."

Hinata stares at the three wrestling teens worriedly. "Are they going to get hurt?"

Kiba grins. "Don't worry Hina-chan! They'll just bash Haku's head into the cement until his brains spill out onto the ground." He sighs. "Just like Haku was probably going to do that guy in the record store."

"Huh?"

Naruto sighs. "This bastard came into the record store and started spouting shit about the lead singer of Okami Yokai and it pissed Haku off. He landed a punch to the guy's face, but then we got a hold on him and he stopped." He snorts. "But that guy deserves it… all the stuff he was saying."

Haku looks up. "Oh, right!" He sits up and glares down at the cement ground. "That bastard… I can't believe he called Sasuke a slut."

"Oh, that reminds me!" Ino squeals with excitement. "They're running this drawing contest and the winner gets seven backstage tickets to the next Okami Yokai show, which is going to be here in a month!"

Hinata smiles. "If you win, who will you bring?"

Ino blinks. "Oh, didn't think about that. Well, Sakura and Haku are a given."

"I love you Ino!" Haku yells and jumps onto her back.

Ino giggles and holds up three fingers to show how many tickets would be gone. "So… there's four tickets left. I guess, you Hinata, that is if you'd want to go."

Hinata nods. "Sure! I like their band."

Ino smile and holds up another finger. "Great! Okay that's four, umm…"

"Don't forget Neji!" Haku chirps.

"Why me?" Neji grumbles, glaring at Haku.

The brunette smirks. "Because when you went with me to stalk out his trailer, the last time they were in town, you got a hard on seeing Sasuke shower!"

Neji's face goes completely red and he turns his head away from them.

Ino grins and holds up another finger, all the fingers on her right hand up. "Alright then, Neji can have the next ticket. And then…" She looks back at Naruto, Choji, Kiba, and Shikamaru.

"There's no way in hell I'm going!" Naruto yells.

Ino grins and raises the pinky on her left hand. "One for Naruto."

"No!"

"And one for…" Ino looks at the three remaining teens. "I don't know…"

"I know, I know!" Haku cheers. "We can buy two tickets, that way everyone can come!" He smiles brightly, before frowning. "Although… that excludes Shino, Tenten, and Lee."

Sakura rubs her chin thoughtfully. "What if we all pitched in on the tickets and bought five? That way everyone can go."

"Yeah!" Ino and Haku cheer, Sakura soon joining them.

"Umm…" All eyes turn to Hinata. "But what if you don't win?"

Ino, Haku, and Sakura stop cheering. They stare at each other sadly before slumping.

"I didn't even think of that." Ino says.

"But we put six slips in! How can we not get picked?!" Sakura asks. "There's no way one of us won't be picked."

Haku crouches onto the ground, brooding. "Face it, Sakura-san, they're a famous band. Thousands of people are probably signing up for that concert… there's just no way that we can win."

Sakura puts her hands on her hips. "What are you talking about? Of course, we'll win!" She frowns. "Do you want to see Sasuke Uchiha or not?"

"Yes." Haku grumbles.

"And do you want to meet him face-to-face or not?"

"Yes."

Sakura grins. "And do you want to get into his pants or not?"

Hinata cheeks go a bright red and her eyes widen.

Haku grins and stands, jutting out his finger and pointing to the sky. "I, Haku, want to get into Sasuke Uchiha's pants!"

Sakura cheers. "That's right!"

Ino smiles and removes herself from her slump. "Who wants to get into Sasuke Uchiha's pants?"

Sakura, Ino, and Haku jerk their arms into the air. "We do!"

Kiba laughs. "That's something you don't see every day."

Hinata hides her face in her hands, slightly embarrassed by her three cheering friends.

"Would guys quiet down?" Neji asks irritably, people staring at the three cheering teens. "You're bringing too much attention to yourselves."

Sakura grins and puts a finger on Neji's cheek. "Aww… come on Neji-kun, you want in his pants too!"

Neji blushes furiously. "I do not!"

Haku squeals. "He's blushing, he's blushing! He does, he does!"

Neji growls and lunges at the brunette. Haku easily evades and shakes his hips at Neji, sticking out his tongue in a childish manner. Neji snarls and chases after the other brunette, Haku laughing and chirping along the way.

Naruto laughs and points at them. "Now that's something you don't see every day."

The rest of the group nod in agreement and laugh along with the blond, minus Hinata, Choji, and Shikamaru.

Naruto sighs as he opens the front door to the apartment he shares with his foster father, Iruka. Said foster father is humming merrily in their small kitchen, apron around his waist and raw food in his hands.

Upon seeing Naruto, Iruka stops humming and smiles brightly. "Hey Naruto! How was your day?"

Naruto smiles to the brunette man and sits at the table in the dining area. "Eh, it was alright."

Iruka chuckles softly and pours chunks of red meat into a frying pan before placing a big pot of water onto the stove. "So, do anything exciting?" The brunette looks up to his blond foster child while putting herbs into the heating water.

Naruto stares down at his hands, his mind replaying the day's events. "Well, I went over to Shikamaru's after I left here. Ino and Sakura were at his place, bugging him to drive them to the mall."

"Oh!" Iruka exclaims. "He has his driver's license now?"

Naruto nods. "Yeah, but anyways, so finally Shika cracks and agrees to take them to the mall. We picked up Choji on the way and headed out to Konoha Main Shopping Center." He rolls his eyes and sighs. "Of course their first stop was to that damn-"

"Naruto…"

"Sorry." He scratches the back of his head sheepishly at Iruka's disapproving gaze. "To this dumb music store that Kiba's working at. So yeah, Ino found this new CD this…" Naruto pauses to search for a word to use other than one he knows his foster father would disapprove of his using. "Weird band just got out. She and Sakura were going ballistic over the stupid thing. Kept going on, and on, and on about 'how sexy' the leader singer of the band sounds when he sings." He crosses his arms in front of his chest with a huff. "So, of course, Ino forces me to listen to a piece so I can hear the guy's dumb voice."

"And?" Iruka presses, staring at the blond. "How was his voice?"

A blush adorns Naruto's cheeks and he coughs into his hand. "It, ah… he has a good voice."

Iruka smiles and stirs the browning meat. "What's the band's name?"

Naruto sighs. "Okami Yokai. Apparently, they're new. Anyways, so then Haku pops up out of the blue and-" Naruto thumps his head onto the table. God… Haku's gay for the lead singer of Okami Yokai. "And apparently he's in love with the band too… and also with their lead singer."

The brunette blinks. "Haku? Hmm… I would have never thought that he was into men."

Naruto frowns. "I don't think the lead singer's a 'man'… but Haku never said how old he was. And God! He would know, believe you me, he would know. Apparently, the band has been here before and Haku stalked them." He laughs hysterically at that.

"Oh my." Iruka says worriedly. "I hope he wasn't caught!"

An even brighter blush tints Naruto's cheeks now. "He caught me one time when he was taking a shower. Neither one of us were getting very clean." The blond shudders. "Uh, no, I don't think he was caught."

Iruka nods. "Good. So, anything else new?"

Naruto sighs. "Yeah. Apparently, in a month the band is coming here. They're holding a contest for seven backstage tickets to the show. Ino, Sakura, and Haku forced us all to enter." He smiles slightly, remember how excited they had been. "I hope they win. You should have seen them when Hinata reminded them that they might not win. I seriously thought Haku was either going to cry or throw himself out in front of a car."

"Naruto!" Iruka gasps.

The blond shrugs. "It's true. Haku is obsessed with that band, and even more so with their lead singer. He's made it his life's mission to meet him. If he doesn't get to go, it'll crush him. And Sakura and Ino too. They really want to go and meet him."

"What's the name of the lead singer?"

Naruto stares at his foster father. "Actually, I was wondering about that. They said his name was Sasuke Uchiha." He doesn't fail to notice the shudder go down Iruka's frame. "Do you know anything about him?"

Naruto didn't tell anyone, but his foster father had tight connections with the police and all those three-letter organizations.

Iruka sighs, dumping the meat into the now boiling water and going to chop up vegetables. "Yeah, I've heard of him. His name was in the news constantly about eight years ago. The Uchiha family were big in the law enforcement industry. He has an older brother… Itachi I think his name is. But anyway, Itachi supposedly went insane and killed off everyone in their family except Sasuke himself. Sasuke was in the news because of what all happened. The hospitals and police were really hush-hush about the ordeal, but with my connections, I learned about how the survivor was fairing. I was told that he was wounded in the massacre, but it was apparent that his brother hadn't wanted to kill him. His brother completely vanished and he stayed in the hospital for about a month."

Naruto's eyes go wide. "A month?! That's way too long! What the hell was he doing?!" He ignores the look his foster father gives him.

Iruka finishes chopping up vegetables and puts them into the water before adding a couple beef cubes as well. He puts a lid over the pan and then walks into the dining area, wiping his hands on his apron. "I imagine he was being watched for his physical and mental safety." At his foster son's confused look, he explains. "His entire family was killed in one night, and by his own brother. And also… what his brother did to him…" a shiver runs down his spine, "they were worried he might try to-"

"Kill himself?" Naruto asks, eyes wide and expression showing his bewilderment.

Iruka nods.

Naruto frowns and looks down at the table. "You said 'what his brother did to him'… what exactly did he do?"

Iruka stares into cerulean blue eyes sadly. "I'm afraid I won't tell you that Naruto. Even for me to hear it, and I'm a grown adult, it's awful. You have enough to worry about without that added on top of it."

Naruto nods. He knew when his foster father chose not to tell him something it was for the best. "How old was he… Sasuke, when it happened."

Iruka's eyes lower as he searches his memory for the answer. "Nine."

Naruto frowns. "And if it happened about eight years ago, that would make him…" His eyes widen. "Seventeen! He's just a year younger than us!" At Iruka's nod, Naruto leans back into his chair. "Wow… I wonder if Haku knows he's older than his idol."

Iruka smiles. "Who knows."

Naruto laughs. "Haku thought I would hate him and not be his friend anymore if I knew he was into guys." He smiles cheekily to his foster father. "If he knew your orientation than he'd know he had nothing to worry about."

Iruka frowns and blushes slightly, remembering exactly how his foster son found out he was gay… or at least bisexual. "N-Naruto… I hope you don't' go around telling everyone about that."

Naruto grins. Point for Uzumaki. "Of course not."

Naruto moves his hands behind his head and stares up at the bright sky. He's currently in Shikamaru's car, the top of the convertible down. Ino, Sakura, and Choji sit in the backseat, the two girls fanning themselves.

"Shika!" Ino whines. "Turn on the radio, or else turn on the AC! If I don't get some music or air I'm gonna die!"

"Yeah!" Sakura cries.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes and moves his right hand to turn the radio on. "You control the radio Naruto. But if you play anything stupid, then you can move to the back and Choji will take your place."

Naruto glances lazily to his friend, the summer heat making him feel tired and sluggish. "Yeah, yeah."

I'm a Barbie girl,

In a Barbie world

"Oh my God!" Sakura places her hands over her ears. "If you don't change the station I'll kill you!"

Naruto chuckles and turns the knob, changing the station. There's a fuzz sound for a while until what sounds like a piano plays from the radio. He looks to the backseat to see how the girls react.

Ino's brows furrow. "You can't be serious."

Naruto shrugs and turns the channel. "I don't know. It was classical… Iruka listens to a lot of classical music."

Ino pats the male blonde's shoulder in mock sadness. "Poor Naruto. Having a gay foster father must be hard."

Naruto glares over his shoulder at the blond female. "Don't talk about Iruka or else, Ino."

Ino giggles. "Alright, alright. I'll be quiet now. Just turn on something good and I won't have to make any more cracks."

Naruto stares at the radio and a moment later he's hit upside the head.

"Turn back, turn back!" Sakura howls. "I'd know that voice anywhere!"

Naruto frowns and slowly turns the knobs the opposite way he'd been going. He had his hunches, and they're confirmed when he hears a soft, sensual voice bleeding through the radio.

"Oh my God!" Ino and Sakura squeal.

Can't you see that you're smothering me
Holding too tightly afraid to lose control
Cause everything that you thought I would be
Has fallen apart right in front of you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
Every step that I take is another mistake to you
(Caught in the undertow just caught in the undertow)
And every second I waste is more than I can take

"Holy shit!" Sakura's eyes bug out. "It's from their new CD!"

Ino laughs. "Fuck yeah! Sing it louder Sasuke!"

I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you

And I know
I may end up failing too
But I know
You were just like me with someone disappointed in you

Sakura frowns. "It's almost over… dammit."

I'm becoming this all I want to do
Is be more like me and be less like you

I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
I've become so numb I can't feel you there
I'm tired of being what you want me to be

Ino flops back into her seat, arms crossed in annoyance. "Man… I wish we could'a heard all of the song."

"Oh shut up Ino, the radio guy is talking." Sakura snaps.

Hey, hey all you rock fans! You're listening to 102.9, The Rock! You just heard the new song from Okami Yokai's newest CD! The song is called 'Numb'! Call the station to rate this song and you can enter in a drawing to win free, backstage passes to the concert at the end of the month! The concert features Okami Yokai…

"Oh my God! You guys!" Sakura screeches. "This is how we can get extra tickets!"

Ino nods her head vigorously and quickly grabs her cell phone from her pocket and flipping it open. She scrolls through her 'Contacts' and reaches the one for the station. She quickly dials the number and brings it to her ear.

Shikamaru sighs. "Man, what a drag. Why do you girls have to be so troublesome?"

"Hush!" Ino growls, waiting for the station to pick up. She gasps when someone picks up. "Is this 102.9, The Rock?" Sakura brings her ear up to the phone Ino's holding.

"Yes, this is 102.9, how are you doing?"

Ino squeals. "Oh my God! Awesome, just awesome!" Sakura howls. "Fuckin' great!"

The man chuckles on the other end of the phone. "Are you girls calling to rate the song?"

"Hell yeah!" Ino and Sakura shout at the same time. "It's awesome! We loved it!"

"Well ladies, tell me your names and they'll go in the drawing!"

"Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno!"

"Aright! Good luck girls!"

Ino flips her phone closed and howls. "Hot damn! Are we lucky or what?"

"You guys are weird." Choji says.

Sakura grins. "Yeah, but so is everyone else."

Naruto rolls his eyes. Girls are so weird.