'Sup? I realise this is a much quicker update than usual but this originally was part of chapter 3.

I don't own any of the song in this chapter, I have only used some of the lyrics, not the whole song, if prompted I will remove them. I've only used them so that people without sound can understand what's going on.

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All too soon the week drew to an end, it was time for the talent show. A stage had been placed in the arena more commonly used in the chunin exams. Around the stage had been submerged in water, the ripples would reflect the lights to give a good effect, the lights themselves had been rigged up earlier in a range of colours. Big screens were places on the roofs similar to that at football games on earth. Genin were scurrying around setting up the first act, they would be doing the scene changes. Max watched in amusement, it was good training for them, teamwork, speed and stealth. Better training than painting a fence anyway.

Gaara took his seat in the Kage's box next to Tsunade, they exchange pleasantries before turning to the stage down below waiting for the show to start. Tsunade had been hard pressed to find a pair of comperes for the show who would work well together but had decided on Izumo and Kotetsu to make up for sticking them on guard duty for most of the week. The show started at 7 pm, the stage lit up by floodlights as it got darker.

The duo appeared on the stage with little embellishment, they weren't there to show off, they were there to link the acts.

"Welcome to Konoha's first annual Talent show, here you will see acts from our very own shinobi, whether it be song, music, dance or sketch"

"First up, an Earth song, sung by Sakura Haruno, 'Girlfriend'." They disappeared to be replaced by a microphone and the pink haired girl. A discreet signal from her started the fast paced music and she burst into song right on cue.

"Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend." Max had to admit, it was a good imitation but as usual Sakura was as subtle as a brick to the face.

"I don't think she likes me," Laura murmured just inside Max's hearing range. They both giggled for the rest of the song. They watched as Sakura bounced around the stage. Both girls secretly hoped Sakura would misstep and fall into the water.

"I can almost guarantee Shiba does something similar," Max added as the song ended and Izumo appeared on stage.

"Well I think someone's a little bit jealous," he announced smirking, being friends with Max and by association, Laura meant he knew exactly what was going on. "Next up is…" Max tuned out, she wasn't until about the seventeenth act and she would notice if something interesting was on.

She remembered from the running order that there were about thirty acts in total, split between two segments. A couple were down as surprise acts that no one knew of except the comperes and participants in the act. Max had found out what a few of them were in the short time she had been back.

She had no idea what Itachi and Sasuke were doing and that bugged her, they had kept it a good secret. Laura had a slot as well. In fact Laura was up next. the fourteenth act. It was getting darker and son some lanterns had been lit and put to float on the water. Laura had that elegance that seemed impossible to pull off she wore a full kimono in different shades of blue.

Max looked up as she head the familiar opening bars from the speakers. She knew this song.

"No sits with him, he doesn't fit in. But we feel like we do when we make fun of him. Cause you want to belong, do you go along? Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong..."

Looking around the stadium there were people musing over the lyrics. The situation wasn't unfamiliar to them.

"Heroes are made when you make a choice..." Max gave a small smile, the choices she had made, did they make her a hero?

"No one talks to her, she feels so alone, she's in to much pain to survive on her own. The hurt she can't handle overflows to a knife, she writes on her arm wants to give up her life..."

By now a lot of the audience were tearing up, not a single civilian had a dry eye. Many feeling the guilt from their behaviour to Naruto, Anko and others they had ostracized.

"No one talks to him about how he lives, he thinks that the choices he make are just his. Doesn't know he's a leader with the way he behaves, and other will follow the choices he's made…"

Max listened to the lyrics, she loved this song, she was wondering which version it would be when Sasuke appeared on stage for the rap at the end.

"Little Mikey D. was the one in class, who every day got brutally harassed. This went on for years until he decided that never again would he shed another tear…"

The last chorus finished in almost silence, before the crowd burst into applause. The song really touched most of them, some people would never change, Danzo for instance was still bitter and ignored the song's message.

The half way mark came up and people moved around to get drinks and snacks. Max stayed where she was sat and was joined by Itachi.

"Nervous?" he asked.

"Never"

"You don't seem that sure." He held up her wrist to show it trembling slightly.

"It always does that," Max insisted.

"We both know it doesn't," Itachi pointed out, in ANBU they had managed to suppress reactions like that.

"I need to get ready for my act." Max didn't want to get into a debate now about it. She stood up and stretched a bit and turned to leave but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder spinning her around to face him. She felt lips on hers briefly.

"Good luck," he whispered before returning to when he had been sat with his brother earlier. Max stood there stunned for a few seconds before heading of to get changed. Her mind was on what had just happened, He'd kissed her, he had a girlfriend, girlfriend was not her. While he had done that before she hadn't known that he had a girlfriend then.

Max stood on the stage, her bamboo panpipes in hand, she looked around the stadium, it seemed fuller than at the chunin exams. She stood so the sound would be picked up by the microphone place on the stage for her. For the first time she wore a kimono, white with green vines and red flowers, its wide sleeves covered her arms but the kimono itself barely reached her knees and was very loose.

She was silently cursing Laura, she had handed it to her earlier that morning along with some blood pops. Max had been happy at the sight of the blood pops she had agreed to wear the kimono without thinking. She tried to tug down the skirt part but the obi held it firmly in place.

She cleared her mind and raised the panpipes to her lips.

The piece she played had no name, and was her own composition, switching seamlessly from haunting to cheerful and then to calm. Behind her was a screen she moulded chakra into to create an image relating to the music, it changed as the melody did.

As all music starts, all music must finish, Max finished with the image of a sunset, the silhouette of a swing hanging from a tree branch. She took a bow as the audience gave their applause. Then she disappeared in a cloud of smoke returning to her previous spot where she had been observing the show. She didn't want to miss whatever Shiba would come up with, hers had been one of the ones Max hadn't found out. She smirked as the song began.

"He was a boy, she was girl. Can I make it any more obvious? He was a punk, she did ballet, what more can I say?"

Max was tempted to sabotage the rest of it but she wasn't about to rise to the taunt. Stooping that low was a place Max rarely went. After the show however was fair game. She glanced around, see if anyone else cared about the song.

Laura was laughing, to be expected, Shiba was predictable in her choice of song. Itachi was smirking, Max wasn't sure about why, her mind immediately jumping to several different conclusions.

It wasn't helping Shiba's case when she hit some bad notes with her singing. Despite the audience not really knowing the song, it was still evident.

Finally her song ended, some people applauded her, most were obviously out of politeness than anything else.

Now that what she had wanted to observe was over Max headed back to get changed into her normal clothes, while she would be getting changed again later she didn't want to give away the finale. She was intercepted on her way by the woman who she had just been laughing at.

"Get out of my way Shiba, I want to get changed"

"I just wanted to let you know that your slutty attempt to get Itachi's attention failed," Shiba sneered blocking Max's path. It would have been easy to push past but Max had an excellent opportunity to taunt her.

"Slutty? I'm not the one looking like a prostitute. You are aware there were little kids in the audience. Besides, if I wanted his attention I wouldn't need to wear as little clothing as possible to do so." Max then walked around the chunin to get changed.

Due to the fact Max really couldn't be bothered to watch more of the acts yet she wandered around the village. Pretty much everyone was at the show, it gave her the best opportunity to set up the fireworks. She place the different explosives in places she thought would give the best effect for them, some on the roof of the stadium, the roman candles and such, while some of the rockets were set on the Hokage mountain so they would explode high up above the stadium for the best view for everyone. The only problem had been getting 3 dimensional fireworks or some people would only see the side and no pattern but she had managed.

The finale would be a work of genius, especially at such short notice. Max reluctantly returned to the stadium after giving a final check and hiding the fireworks under a genjutsu so no one would see them. The last thing she wanted was someone to notice and dismantle her hard work.

She got back in time to see Tenten shooting weapons at target set up around the stadium walls and even some floating ones. The blades glowed enough to be easily tracked by a civilian, Max assumed someone had charmed them for her.

Thinking about it Tenten's act was the twenty eighth act so only to more before Max would take to the stage again.

That meant that there was one more act until Itachi and Sasuke's part. She couldn't help but be curious at what they would be doing.

Only Tsunade knew about the firework act at the end but had made Max have another act as well, the fireworks were just an extra. Max quickly got changed for her finale, she didn't want to miss either of the next two acts.

She watched Ino, Kurenai, Laura, Hinata, Anko, and surprisingly Temari all take to the stage, standing in a circle each holding a fold up chair facing outwards. Their clothes were ripped and in various stages of disarray as if they had been in a street brawl. It still covered more than Shiba's had. A snap of their wrists opened the chairs and they were placed with a thud on the stage in unison.

"And now, the six merry murderesses of Crookem County Jail, in their rendition of 'The Cell Block Tango'," Izumo introduced in a deeper voice that usual.

"Pop"

"Six"

"Squish"

"Uh, uh"

"Cicero"

"Lipshitz"

Max smirked the entire way though the song. Hinata had picked up the Hungarian words of her part easily. Their dancing was well choreographed and had all of the precision that took a lot of practice, none of them were even half a second out of time.

They disappeared in a puff of smoke, echoing their words as the smoke cleared.

"Well I don't envy anyone who pisses those six off," Kotetsu decided. "Up next, Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, they have two songs for us, both from Earth"

The genin scurried to put the drum kit, keyboard and microphone on stage how it was meant to be. The brothers appeared on stage, Sasuke sitting at the drums, Itachi by the microphone, electric guitar in his hands, a clone that looked like a mix of both turned up on bass and another behind the keyboard. The screams were almost deafening, even Max couldn't help but drool a little, she had found a very nice combo, Uchiha and leather, skin-tight leather.

"She cold and she cruel but she knows what she's doin'. She pushed be in the pool at our last school reunion," Itachi sung, the screams from the stands getting louder. A few people guessed they had used Sharingan to learn how to play.

Max had to wonder who he was singing about, Shiba wasn't that kind of the girl, so was he singing about her?

"Cause she's bittersweet, she knocks me off my feet. And I can't help myself, I don't want anyone else. She's a mystery, she's too much for me. But I keep coming back for more. She's just the girl I'm looking for"

The song ended and instead of going into the next song Itachi pulled the microphone close.

"I bet you're all wondering who I'm talking about." Screams gave him his answer. "Then this song should clear it up for you"

"She calls me baby, then she won't call me. Says she adores me, and then ignores me. Maxie, what's the problem?" There was a gasp throughout the stadium but they kept playing. "She keeps her distance, sits on fences, puts up resistance, builds her defences"

Max was frozen, stuff was no longer making sense to her. Why did things have to be so confusing.

"First you say you won't, then you say you will. You keep me hanging on, and we're not moving on. We're standing still, Maxie. You've got me on my knees. Maxie, it's killing me."

The lights blacked out as he finished, a single spotlight lit up Itachi as he spoke into the microphone again. The genin started to take away the rest of the equipment and Sasuke moved to watch.

"In case people still aren't sure about this I'll say it loud and clear. Shiba and I are no longer together, it would never have worked. Max, even when you aren't here you rule my heart, and when you are around I can't help but watch. I can't imagine my life without knowing you, though I can guarantee it would be dim." Itachi paused, he'd been hoping Max would turn up even if it was to hurt him.

"Is there more to your speech or should I just guess?" Max stepped into the spotlight from behind him. Itachi spun to face her pulling her into a kiss. Many wolf whistles were heard before Max withdrew but stayed close enough to feel his breath on her skin.

"If you don't mind, I believe the stage is now mine," she whispered, her eyes were dancing in excitement. Itachi kissed her briefly again before disappearing off the stage taking any remaining equipment with him.

Max stood centre stage, her hand's pressed together as if she was praying, her clothes this time were completely white and slightly loose. She pointed to the Kage's box, setting of the first firework planted on the roof above the box, then she spun in a circle lighting the rest of the initial roof top ones. Trails of sparkles lit up the roof. Max sped up her movements, dancing to silent music, setting of the fireworks with specific gestures.

The crowd watched as the sky was lit up by the colours, Max had used a couple of techniques to keep the crowd attention, moving the focus around the sky.

Then there was the finale. Max held a device in her hand, holding it above her head she activated it, sparkles started to pour out like a waterfall surrounding her. Max started to spin causing the light to twist. She sped up and lowered her arm to just above her head, then launched the device into the air. It still spun in the air showering the stadium in the glow as a spiral formed in the sky.

The colours changed, cycling through the rainbow as it spun. People were to amazed by it to wonder how it was staying in the air, only Laura noticed Max holding it in place with a charm.

The spiral turned back to a glowing white, the spiral expanded in the sky covering the visible sky, now instead of the whole thing changing colour, strands of light flickered.

The spiral then started to fade, the device falling out of the sky to be caught by Max who then bowed and then faded out of sight. Izumo and Kotetsu both took to the vacant stage lit up by spotligts.

"Thank you for attending the Konoha talent show, I'd also like to thank the company, the crew of genin who prepared the show and worked behind the scenes-"

"-and finally Tsunade-sama, who suggested the idea. Travel safely guys, peace out." The spotlights disappeared as the rest of the lights lit up so people could see where they were going.

Sitting on the stage, once everyone had gone, was Max, the light of the lanterns cast an orange glow around her. She dangled her feet in the water and idly wondered if Tsunade would keep it like this to make the next chunin exams interesting. Not that her life needed more livening up at the moment, Itachi had taken care of that for the moment.

"You are always thinking." Max turned to the voice. Itachi stood in the centre smirking.

"And you will always be guessing what on it," Max grinned.

"Can I guess over dinner tonight?" Itachi asked coyly, a hint of mischief visible in his eyes.

"I suppose." Max held out a hand and Itachi helped her up, both disappearing in a puff of smoke.

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Song's used:

Girlfriend – Avril Lavigne

Heroes - Superchic[k]

Sk8er boi – Avril Lavigne

Cell block tango – Chicago (musical)

Just the girl – Click five

Jenny (slightly altered) – Click five

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As I've said, songs belong to artists, not me.

Review please