Disclaimer: Naruto and co. along with Naruto-related names are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. The plot/story/ideas are all by me and I do not receive profit from writing this, and this is only for my own enjoyment. And as mentioned the lyrics below in italics are by Des'ree with her song You Gotta Be.

Hope you enjoy the story.

Italics for thoughts, titles, lyrics, flashbacks, etc.

Normal text for the story in general.

Bold for setting, chapter title, and notes at the bottom.

Chapter 2: Keep Your Head Up

Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
Stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry

You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

You Gotta Be –Des'ree

Konoha High School

April 22

Walking on the streets of Konoha to go to school was never considered to be a 'breath of fresh air' or 'a walk in the park'. To Naruto Uzumaki, it was the rain filled with lions, tigers and bears since glares were a common thing in his life; horrible, but common. However, today wasn't as glare-morous as he thought. Earlier, on the streets, he was surprised that he wasn't the center of attention, well not as much. There was still some disgusting looks towards him. Even during the first few minutes of class he didn't receive the typical looks and jeers.

And it's all because of Jin Churriki.

Naruto scratch his head in puzzlement. Why would he be the thoughts of others that quick? It was only two episodes he had done so far. It would be three by after school. So what's up?

So he had to ask…Hinata Hyuuga. Although her family could be on the stuck-up side of life and her friends despise Naruto, she was—and still is—nice to him after all this time. It was probably the crush on him, Naruto thought. Sadly, as the joker, he had to ignore that little tidbit of information and go on as the oblivious fish in the sea. Plus, an heiress of a famous optical company with Konoha's urchin equals said urchin gets killed.

So being friends was a safe choice, even if the other person gets disappointed by that.

It was during Advance Biology class when Mr. Yamato allowed the students to watch a movie on the life of plants (it was Earth Day). As usual as it is for a teenager, anything boring was ignored. Being in the back of the class in a seat next to Hinata's was a plus as well.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto said.

"Huh? Oh, h-hi N-naruto," stuttered Hinata with her all-famous blush. "What do you need?"

"One, remember, Hinata, try not to stutter. And two, um, all around school I see girls squealing about a 'Jin Chuuriki'. Do you know why?" Naruto asked while staring at Hinata for an answer. With that look, Hinata blushed even more like a tomato. It was one of the things Naruto tried to do to allow Hinata to be more confident (the non-stutter exercise; not the tomato thing). Even if no one helps him in the past, why not help someone with a self-confidence problem? However, Naruto find the whole thing as a funny irony since he has some self-esteem issues of his own.

"W-well, as you probably heard, Jin brought up Fox Talk on KWIN…"

"And?"

"And, well, girls find it sweet when a guy is mature enough to explain his life experiences to others to make them feel better." Oddly enough, Hinata made it sound like a question instead of a statement.

Naruto turned to the left as he leaned back on his desk chair with that revelation in mind. "Oh. So that's why."

"Yes, Jin," Hinata said with a small sad smile on her face.

Naruto turned to face her in surprise. His blue eyes were wide as his mouth opened up in a 'O' shape and his then pale hands clutched onto the top metal bar attached to both the desk and chair. What! I thought no one would know! "How?"

With her hands fiddling each other on her light blue jean-covered lap, Hinata quietly spoke to the blond boy in front of her with a piercing gaze and no stutter. "When we were in elementary school, I saw you crying by the lake almost everyday after school. It wasn't hard to notice what you see in your life everyday. You see other children being taught with ease and happiness by the teacher as if he or she was delighted to teach. However, when you're around, those "nice" people spat on you and wished that the pest—you—was dead to the world with no deserving education."

Then Naruto noticed that her unwavering eyes let go of the tears and allowed them to fall on her lap. "Naruto," the dark-haired girl continued, "I was—and am not—taking pity on you. I just despise when others do not see what I see."

The blond couldn't help himself but be drawn to her. "What do you see?"

"I—"

The bell suddenly rang and jolts the two acquaintances away from their own conversation—from their own small world of the moment. When everyone left the classroom, Hinata whispered to Naruto before they went their separate ways, "I see an honest and kind heart behind the loudmouth". Then she left the gaping Naruto in the hallway and went to her next class.

In the middle of student traffic, Naruto gaped for a moment before closing his mouth in the shape of a small smile.

I've gained more than just a believer; I've found a real friend. With that thought in mind, Naruto rushed to Literature class.

Lunch

Since Sasuke took over the cherry blossom tree with his group, Naruto happily sat by the peach tree instead.

"Mmm, spaghetti. Not like ramen, but good enough," Naruto whispered to himself. It was nice of his boss to give him a gift such as money for his groceries once she found out about his lack of dough as well as the ramen-diet. Although he was hesitant about it, Tsunade barked at him to keep it so he did.

And it brought out such a beautiful result: actual food. The smell of the tomato sauce with the hint of garlic sitting on the soft noodles excites his mouth and stomach. He couldn't believe it! All these years of just instant ramen or the one in Ichiraku's restaurant somewhat bored him a little. Cereal didn't do much of a difference, neither did the occasional sweets. So something as simple as spaghetti was a gift to Naruto.

Halfway through his lunch, he took a break from eating and instead shuffles his things through his blue backpack with an orange swirl to find the orange notebook of ideas. Then once he found it with a pencil in hand, Naruto began to ponder on what would be the next topic of discussion.

Done masks and frazzled nerves. So what also concerns with my life? Naruto continued to think as he started to eat out the rest of his meal before a shadow grew in front of him.

The shadow was none other than Shino Aburame. "Hey."

"Hey," Naruto said as he looked up with a smile.

Shino shuffled his black Doc Martens boots on the green ground a bit before pulling down his black turtleneck down to show his small yet pleasant smile to Naruto before pulling it back up underneath his nose. Some of the students nearby were shocked as it was the first time the closed off bug-lover showed the rest of his face in public sans the eyes. However, they couldn't see the face; only the action of him pulling down the turtleneck.

"So…," Naruto started. The blond was trying to hide the notebook from Shino, but the covert teen noticed the orange book.

Shino tilted his head. "What's in the book?"

"N-no-nothing!" Naruto stuttered.

Shino just shrugged. "May I sit down, then?"

"The floor is yours."

"Thanks." After that it was pure silence in their small area. And it freaked Naruto out a little.

"Er, uh…all right. Why…uh…why hide behind the clothes and glasses?" Naruto asked.

Uncharacteristically, Shino asked with a small hint of sarcasm, "Why pretend to be a ladybug when you're really a blue Morpho butterfly?"

Naruto's jaws slacked open in confusion despite the fact that he looked more like his idiotic mask. "Huh?"

Shino sighed. "Exactly; you're doing it right now. As a ladybug, it's like you are part of the infestation; once you annoyed most people with oozing a strong odor—or in your case, loud personality—they want to get rid of you in many ways. Although the Morpho also does the same thing, when you show your Morpho side, you present a rarity among the sea of unoriginality, which would lure others to your mere presence. So why act this way? Wouldn't it tire you?"

Surprisingly, this was the longest Shino ever talked with anyone.

Naruto closed his jaw long ago, and became a man of silence until he spoke. "There are times that I just want to quit it all, but I can't. It's hard to let go of something that works."

Shino raised one of his eyebrows.

"Why become my true self," Naruto continued in a low voice that only Shino could hear, "when others would only accept me—not as much as I would like—enough if I act like an idiot. I won't be up to their thinking standards as they wish. At those times, though, I had part of my conscience saying 'I'm not up to your standards fool! I'm above them! And that will never change!' But I sound too conceited for comfort, and continued to be the main ladybug of the annoying infestation instead of being the Morpho that you see me as."

The bell rang, but neither one of the boys got up from the peach tree.

"Why did you actually explain all this to me?" Shino asked quietly. "We barely know each other."

Naruto gave him a small smile. "'One, you're smart enough to look through me. And two…I trust you." Shino, then, nodded in acceptance. In seconds both the boys rushed towards the door of the school in small chuckles like friends.

On the opposite side of the same peach tree, someone sighed sadly. Did he really feel that way? The person thought in anger as they crushed the purple soda can in their hands. Then, the person sighed deeply before running during the tardy bell with their bag on their shoulders. Naruto, love, I'm sorry. I wish I could've helped you when you need it the most.

Unknown Residence

Business was terse as usual; the man never failed at getting to the point without the use of emotions except the passion of authority that he had over the company. Back to his home office, the man loosened his tie and sighed in relief from his persona burden.

The home office contained a black leather couch behind a glass coffee table, a mocha-colored finished u-shaped office desk in front of the window wall, and a surround system on the opposite wall.

The home was more of a modern condo to the rich residence of downtown Konoha that has from the most booming corporations to the shadiest business of prostitution. However they didn't interest the man unless they are Konoha's popular radio station, KWIN. His eyes flickered down to his gold Gucci watch.

'3:58', the watch says; a few minutes before Jin Chuuriki's Fox Talk start. The man showed a sweet smile, which was never shown to anyone else, only in his own place. Thinking of Jin and his sweet and down-to-earth voice calms the man. It seemed as if the tension at work and his burden was off of his shoulders and can be normal for the whole time while Jin talks.

Then the man snapped his self away from his mind and rushed to his remote that was on the coffee table, which turns on sleek Bose surround sound system that was adjacent from the leather couch he was currently sitting in. One click and he started to here the last minute commercial about a hair-care product. He sighed in relief and suddenly smiled when he heard the familiar voice of his moment of freedom.

"Hey…"

KWIN Station

"…were you shocked when someone says you have hidden potential? I do. Just today I couldn't help but be surprised yet happy at the same time when my friends said that to me." Naruto smiled softly to himself.

"I'm shocked that they can see me behind my mask," Naruto said with a chuckle. "One said why hide my rare yet alluring personality with an annoying one, while the other said that they were disappointed that no one sees such an honest person behind this loudmouth." Naruto sighed in happiness. If one didn't notice that, one should notice that Naruto's cheeks changed from a plain tan to light pink.

"I appreciate those compliments. However, it doesn't stop the fact that others see me as a nuisance," Naruto said softly. The blond host then looked into his tanned hands in sadness as he quietly spoke. "I know my mask presents a loud troublemaker, but when I take it off, everyone still see me as trouble. So w-why should I show something everyone else despise? Stupid as that sounds, I used to—still do—want some attention. Like I said in my last talk, it's like a drug. Once I used it and see the good results from it, it's hard to just take it off." Naruto dropped his hands onto his jean-covered legs. "However, to the ones I've deemed special to my heart, I'll try my best to show you who I really am."

On the opposite side of the glass, Tsunade smiled lightly. Although it's not much, it's a start, she thought.

Naruto then sniffled a little before saying quietly yet proudly, "I'm Jin Chuuriki, I love to read and write, and also love to continue as the host of Fox Talk. So my listeners, since my declaration of a little show of my true personality, if you have something to talk about, call me now—if you want to—about any problems or some declarations of love or anything!"

After he said that, there were at least five or so red lights flashing at him to choose.

"All right, all right," Naruto laughed. It wasn't his loudmouth laugh, but his true one that he rarely uses. "Before I answer any calls, remember from me that although I—and maybe you too—deal with so much in life, better to have your head held up high than rolling around in shame."

All right, sorry for being slow since I realized I had to switch colleges in the last minute during last week and yesterday. Anyways, I appreciate the two people, NaruKitX3 and Manga154, for reviewing my last two chapters. Thank you for making me feel so loved. :) Remember my other readers, it would be nice for you to either review and/or favorite this story since it seemed that I had lots of hits (okay, not that extreme), but not enough reviewers. Oh well, that's how life goes, I guess. But I just thought at least a little review if you think I need to do better somehow.

Anyways, happy reading,

Chiharu Hikari