It was bound to happen eventually.

Naruto, out on a mission with some of the other former Rookies, got kidnapped in his sleep.

To insure cooperation, the kidnappers also took the person in the next sleeping bag over.

Thus, when Naruto and Ino awoke, out in the middle of nowhere, all tied up, they were understandably confused.

It seemed that Akatsuki had finally caught Naruto...and one of them seemed to be holding some kind of religious service?

"Hidan, we don't have time for this. Yes, I know you're sorry that you weren't allowed to kill them, but we need them alive! We get paid so much more if they're alive, especially since he wasn't even our target to begin with!"

"Fine, fine, I was done anyway. Why haven't we kept on moving, anyway? Hell, they've even woke up now!"

"...Because, Hidan, I need to verify something for myself."

It was at this point that Naruto spoke up, "If you're after me, why the fuck did ya take Ino too?"

"Insurance, kid, any smart man take's out insurance to insure that he doesn't lose his money. She's here to make sure that you don't try to run."

It was early morning, the sun barely beginning to rise. Naruto had by now verified who these guys were. The only things he knew about them was that Hidan couldn't die, and that Kakuzu had some REALLY old records with bounty hunting.

Ino was freaked out, though kept her mouth shut. She had no clue what was going on, who these guys were, or what they wanted with Naruto. She just hoped to God that Naruto had some kind of plan, because she had none.

"Run? You got me tied up pretty well here, old man. How am I supposed to run?"

"It's funny that you call me 'old man'...I happen to be a great older than most even suspect. And imagine my surprise when I heard that there was some kid running around singing some VERY classic music...stuff I haven't heard in forever.

"Than when the Boss tells me that you're one of the very people we were hunting...well, that made me happy. I get to be paid twice for doing one job!"

"So, what's the deal here? You want me to sing to ya or something?'

"You sing something, anything, from your collection, and I let this little girl here go. Than we take you to the Boss."

"Anything, eh? And you'll let her go?"

"Kakuzu, you're the one whose always rushing me, and now you want to waste time with this boy singing? Let's just kill the girl and take him with us!"

"Hidan, you just sit around mumbling and stabbing yourself. This kid is gonna put on a performance the likes of which I haven't seen in forever. Just watch the girl if you can't appreciate the music. And we don't kill the girl because he'll perform better with some kind of motivation. THEN we take him to the Boss."

"...The Boss, eh? Ok, I got you a good song."

Kakuzu stood up, untied Naruto, and walked to the side, leaving Ino over with Hidan.

"I'm going to need to use some jutsus, so don't freak out."

And with that, Naruto created a couple Kage bunshin, and began the music...a rock drum-and-guitar beat.

"In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway Konoha dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected
and steppin' out over the line
Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run"

At first, Kakuzu had begun to smile. The kid had a sense of humor, picking a tune by "The Boss" himself. But then his smile started to fade, as he remembered how this song exactly went.

As Naruto got halfway through, and one of his Bunshins henged into a motorcycle, he started to stand up.

When Naruto jumped onto the motorcycle, and started driving, he began to move.

But it was too late. Naruto drove straight at Hidan. Hidan, freaked out with no clue what on earth the bike was, dived to the side.

Naruto swept up Ino, cut her ropes, and placed her behind him on the bike, all in one move.

Luckily, Hidan and Kakuzu had chosen to stop in a field, figuring that even if Naruto had escaped, he would have nowhere to hide. This made it easy for Naruto to ride off, but it also made it easy for them to give chase.

And as he rode, he continued to sing, to the terrified Ino, in an effort to calm her down. And to also to get her to sit right on the bike-bunshin.

"Ino let me in I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
and strap your hands across my engines
Together we could run from this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
Will you walk with me out on the wire
'Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta find out how it feels
I want to know if love is wild
girl I want to know if love is real"

Ino could feel herself calming down, a little. If Naruto could keep on singing to her, as two dangerous nin were chasing them down in the middle of nowhere, its gotta still be ok.

And with all the noise his engine made, someone was bound to find them, especially if a team was sent to look for them.

Kakuzu was cursing himself. He should have seen this coming. But for a chance at a live performance of music that he hadn't heard since before the hidden villages formed...he was willing to risk it.

And at least the kid was still singing.

But damn, his motorcycle (which he also recognized, and wondered why he had never thought of marketing the things himself...he planned on calling his accountant as soon as possible to see the possibility of making a line of bikes himself) was fast.

Hidan was just wishing that he could kill the brat and be done with it...at least he was allowed to kill the girl. If he managed to catch up.

Naruto and Ino managed to reach a nearby highway, and began really gunning it.

And Naruto kept on singing.

"Beyond the Field hemi-powered drones scream down the boulevard
The girls comb their hair in rearview mirrors
And the boys try to look so hard
The amusement park rises bold and stark
Kids are huddled on the beach in a mist
I wanna die with you Ino on the streets tonight
In an everlasting kiss"

'I could get really used to traveling like this,' Ino thought. Hair streaming out behind her, holding tight to Naruto, with the wind streaming all around them. It was exhilarating. And she REALLY liked the lines Naruto was singing.

Hidan was really pissed. They had the goddamn jinchuriki tied up and knocked out, and then Kakuzu lets him wake up and UNTIES HIM!!!! For Jashin's sake, he never realized his partner was that much of an idiot.

And that...thing...he was riding was a pain in the ass to keep up with, and made way too much noise.

Kakuzu was just thinking about all the money he wasn't going to make if the kid managed to get away.

And then the rescuers appeared. The rest of Team 10, along with Kakashi, Jiraiya and several other 'Rookies', attracted by the noise of the motorcycle, had made a run for the road. They were just a little bit further down from Naruto, Ino, and their pursuers.

And Naruto continued to sing.

"The highway's jammed with fellow ninjas on a last chance power drive
Everybody's out on the run tonight
but there's no place left to hide
Together Ino we'll live with the sadness
I'll love you with all the madness in my soul
Someday girl I don't know when
we're gonna get to that place
Where we really want to go
and we'll walk in the sun
But till then tramps like us
baby we were born to run"

Kakuzu and Hidan saw the newly arrived Konoha-nin.

The ninja saw Kakuzu and Hidan.

Naruto and Ino just drove on through them, in the direction of Konoha.

Kakuzu slowed down to a stop, Hidan following.

"It wouldn't be profitable to continue the chase now...they have too much backup."

And with that, Kakuzu disappeared, with Hidan following shortly after.

Kakuzu may have lost the jinchuriki, but at least he had a new idea (motorcycles) to make a profit from.

Hidan was just pissed that not only did he not manage to kill anyone, but the brat he DID catch got away.

And Sakura was pissed that it was Ino who got to ride on the bike with Naruto like that, off into the sunrise.

Author's Notes: The Song- "Born To Run", by Bruce "The Boss" Springsteen.

This snippet was written completely because I had realized that I didn't have a Springsteen song done yet. It took a lot of brainstorming, and this was the result. Not perfect… But it's the best I could do.

The next chapter is also the last one, before I do the finale musical. It's actually a scene that I had mentioned in other scenes, so it had to be done before I could finish.

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