Just Dance
Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter.
Site Notation: Reviews are glitching. I can usually see the reviews in emails, but your reviews won't show up on the site until they fix it. If it's like the other times, once they do…everyone's reviews will show up at the same time.
Viewers' Choice: I am debating about how long to make this story. I could see it reasonably being wrapped up in 15 chapters or less. It could also be 20+ chapters. Let me know if you would rather have this one be "short and sweet" or more intricate/long. Don't worry, I only write happy endings.
Chapter Nine
Naruto gulps. He totally understood what Suigetsu meant about Suki's father now. Damn he was intimidating.
The blonde musician was not someone who was easily intimidated. He couldn't be. The lead singer regularly performed in front of crowds of tens of thousands of people, but those crowds paled in comparison to Fugaku Uchiha's overprotective streak when it came to his daughter.
"And yet you still said that you loved my daughter." Fugaku says and Naruot mentally smacks himself.
Somehow Suki's father must have overheard him and Suki. This was bad. This was very bad. He probably thought that he was just telling the sultry brunette what she wanted to hear so he could seduce her. Yeah, this was not exactly the way he wanted his first meeting with the Uchiha Patriarch to go.
"Father…" Suki says in a pleading voice as if to beg him to stop interrogating her blonde.
"No, Suki. I think I have the right to ask him this question. He is claiming to be in love with you. If he really does, then he won't mind explaining himself." He states stubbornly.
Mikoto gives her husband a dirty look. His ass was going on the couch. She hated to do it. She'd miss sleeping in his arms for the month, but he needed to be taught a valuable lesson. She never made idle threats.
"It's alright, Suki. I mean he's right. I'd want to know if I was the father in this situation. Yeah, we haven't been dating that long or really known each other all that much longer, but I do love her. I love her more than anything. I can't explain it. It just happened so quickly." He says and Suki smiles at Naruto, lacing her fingers with his in a show of solidarity.
"Suki?" Fugaku asks.
She bites her lower lip. Suki wasn't sure how to even to begin to explain what she had with Naruto. It was a beautiful insanity. Fugaku was a very practical man. He'd never understand falling in love with someone so quickly. He'd think she was crazy.
"I feel the same way. I know it sounds crazy, but I can't imagine my life without him now. Sometimes, you just know." She replies and leans into Naruto's hold when he wraps his arms around her waist.
Mikoto smiles. That was just sweet. She was happy that her daughter had found someone that she loved.
"That's wonderful news. I am so happy for the both of you. WE are happy for you. Aren't we, my love?" She asks her husband and grabs a frying pan, just in case he decided to push the issue further.
"Yes, of course." He says and watches that frying pan nervously.
He knew his wife. She didn't make idle threats. Honestly, she was a very sweet woman. But when it came to protecting her children, she could become quite the fierce tigress in no time at all.
"Great! Did you guys want to stay for breakfast? We are probably just going to order room service." Naruto asks.
"No. We really do have to go to our hotel and pack. It's going to take all day, just to do that. We are planning to stay in the city for the music awards So we brought a lot of stuff." Suki's mother explains.
"Really? That's great. I'm sure you will love the award show. I'll get you VIP seats." Suki tells her parents excitedly and they nod.
"We better hurry. It looks like it's going to storm badly soon." Mikoto warns her husband and he nods.
"Well it was nice meeting both of you." Naruto says, giving Mikoto a light hug and leans in to shake Fugaku's hand.
That was when older man leaned into Naruto. He whispers into his ear. Naruto almost didn't catch it what Fugaku was saying, at first. When he finally did understand what the other man was saying, it made his blood run cold with fear.
"If you hurt my daughter in any way, I will make it impossible for you to have children. Do you understand me?" He asks.
"G-ot it." Naruto replies nervously as he shakes Fugaku's hand and the other couple soon left.
"Your dad is really intense." Naruto mutters.
Suki nods. She wished she had been able to warn Naruto more beforehand. Her father always managed to scare off the few boyfriend that Orochimaru hadn't. It was really annoying.
"Yeah. I know. Sorry about that. I can't believe he just interrogated as if you were some kind of criminal." She mutters in irritation.
It was at that moment, that the blonde wondered about something. Did Suki's parents know the truth behind Orochimaru? That would certainly explain her father's protectiveness.
"Do they know?" He asks gently and caresses her cheek.
"No. They have no idea. It'd rather keep it that way. My mother would worry endlessly. My father would likely be in jail for attempted murder if he knew about the Sannin. Please don't tell them unless we absolutely have to. I'm perfectly safe as long as I'm around you." She pleads.
Naruto pulls her into his arms. The blonde holds her tightly against his chest. He loved this woman. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her. He'd find a way to deal with Orochimaru.
"I won't tell them since you asked me not to. But I still think they have a right to know." He whispers.
Suki nods. They did have a right to know. But if she told them that would only make things worse. The lead singer of Chidori couldn't afford to let things get worse. Things with Orochimaru were already bad enough.
She mentally winced as she remembers being corned in that ally. She could still feel Orochimaru's lips against hers and his slimy tongue shoved halfway down her throat. The musician had never felt more dirty in her entire life than when Orochimaru had kissed her.
"Suki, are you okay?" The blue eyed man asks her in concern, noticing that she was tensing up and had gone suspiciously quiet.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Come on. We should probably tell the others about the charity concert." She suggests and Naruto nods.
Suki knew that it had been dumb luck that had saved her from the Sannin. It had just been dumb luck that Gaara happened to be nearby. What if the red head hadn't shown up he did? What if Gaara hadn't had a gun? She shivers as she contemplated what Orochimaru might have done to her otherwise.
"I still don't think this is a good idea. But I guess you are right. You shouldn't let this asshole control what you do or what you don't do. It's your life. He doesn't get any say in how you live it." Naruto mutters and Suki nods her head in agreement.
Meanwhile Orochimaru smirks. He walks around the campus grounds. The Sannin was giving him input about where to place what refreshments, banners, tables, and booths. The dark haired man never got tired of making such decisions. He truly enjoyed putting on the finishing touches of any project he started.
"Well it looks like things are coming along quite nicely." Kabuto says, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he looks around in awe at how quickly the college campus was being turned into an outdoor concert venue.
"Yes, I imagine the charity concert will be a great success." Orochimaru muses.
Frankly Orochimaru didn't care about charity. But he knew that donating to charity or hosting events for it was excellent for public relations. He was a man who carefully crafted his public image. So every once in awhile, he felt compelled to generate a little goodwill.
Of course this event was different. Orochimaru knew that Suki's pride wouldn't let her stay away. He'd get to see her again. Then at least he would be able to convince her that they belonged together. They always had.
"As is everything that you have a hand in." The silver haired man praises his mentor.
His words barely registered to Orochimaru though. No, as always Suki was the center of his thoughts. It had been that way for years. He fell in love with her the first moment he saw her.
Well to Orochimaru it was love. To most people the word obsession would have been more appropriate. He knew that society for the most part would disapprove of their relationship. That didn't bother him in the least though. Orochimaru had never been one to let social norms get in the way of obtaining what he desired. And he desired Suki, above all else.
"You are a flatterer. Have Chidori or Rasengan signed up to perform, yet?" He inquires.
Kabuto shakes his head. He saw Orochimaru twitch. He knew that the famous musicians was less than pleased that Suki hadn't signed up yet. But he could still soothe over his fury. Kabuto had gotten very good at doing that over the years.
"I'm sure they just haven't seen the flyers yet. As you said, she'll come. You don't need to worry about that. I doubt she could actually manage to stay away." The bespectacled man assures the music titan.
"Yes, of course." Orochimaru says and nods his head in agreement.
It wasn't his fault that the woman he wanted more than anyone else had been born decades after him. He was sure that if he was Naruto's age, he would have easily won her over.
Orochimaru couldn't lie to himself. It did irritate him that she was now with that blonde. He had no idea what she possibly saw in him other than a cute boy toy.
Oh well, he knew that Naruto was easily replaceable. He was just a passing amusement. He and Suki were connected on a spiritual level that Naruto would never understand.
"It should be ready in plenty of time. Everything is going ahead of schedule. Will you be performing?" His prodigy asks.
"Yes, I think it's about time that I started performing again. It has been years. It will do me some good to be back on the stage again and perhaps I can encourage her to join me." He muses.
Kabuto mentally shakes his head. He knew that Orochimaru needed help. But he didn't know how to get it for him. If he even voiced this concern out loud, he knew what would happen. Orochimaru wouldn't bat an eyelash before having him killed.
"That should do it for the day. I think I'm going to go choose a few songs to perform before I retire for the evening." Orochimaru says and he walks off, leaving Kabuto to his troubled thoughts.
Elsewhere Jirayia and Tsunade were having dinner. The busty blonde could tell something was weighing quite heavily on her old friend's mind. She decided the best way to get answers out of him would be the direct approach.
"What's wrong?" She asks.
"Kid has fallen pretty hard. I'm worried about him. Suki's stalker isn't fooling around." The white haired man admits.
Tsunade sighs. She places her hand on his shoulder consolingly. The only female Sannin understood exactly what Jirayia was feeling. She was also worried about the brat. He was playing with fire and everyone knew it.
"All we can do is wait and be there for them if something happens." She offers.
"I know. It is good to see you though. I miss the old days. You know before the band split up." He says.
Tsunade nods. Her time as a Sannin had been the happiest of her life. But Orochimaru had gotten too power hungry. He wanted to make it on his own as a solo act and it had just felt wrong to only have two Sannins working together. So she and Jirayia had gone their separate ways.
Oh they had kept in touch over the years. It wasn't like with her and Orochimaru. Orochimaru seemed to have forgotten her existence completely unless it was to taunt her in some fashion. Still things with Jirayia had never been the same after the band broke up. She regretted that.
"I miss them to. Let's make sure it doesn't have to Rasengan or Chidori. Too many band hit it big and then split up. I would hate to see that happen because some freak won't leave the poor girl alone." She mutters and Jirayia couldn't help but nod in agreement.
"Me to. You should see the kid with her though. He follows her around like a lost puppy. And she looks at him with stars in her eyes. It's adorable really." Jirayia muses.
Tsunade chuckles. Oh she would pay good money to see that. From what Jirayia told her, it sounded like both of them were whipped. Sexual chemistry could be quite the powerful force and it looked like either musician had been willing to resist it.
"That should make for quite the memorable performance at the awards show." Tsunade offers.
"Oh yeah. I imagine it's going to be the talk of the town for weeks, maybe even months." Her former band member agrees.
She was happy that the brat was so successful. He deserved it. It was rare to find anyone who loved music as much as Naruto did. The kid had talent. In a way, she was grateful that Rasengan and Chidori were collaborating. It would be good for him to get out of his comfort zone and try other kinds of music.
Naruto loved all kinds of music. But he largely stuck to upbeat pop songs. He had the potential to do songs that were far more meaningful. And in her mind, Suki was just the right person to encourage him to branch out more.
In what seemed like no time at all, the day of the charity concert arrived. Suki had dawned a tigress mask and was wearing a gorgeous white gown with black stripes on it. She had also added a matching tail and cat ears. Naruto had dressed like an orange tiger to "match" her. He was enormously fond of the colors orange and black anyway.
Their teammates had been even more creative. Gaara had decided to go as a raccoon. Suigetsu had dressed like a medieval night with a steel mask. Hianta was wearing what could only be described as a fairy tale princess costume. Karin had chosen to go as a mermaid. Jugo had dawned a green mask and was going as the Hulk. Finally, there was Sakura who had dressed up like a nurse with a hospital mask over her face.
"Ah I can't tell you how happy that I am that you all made it." Orochimaru says as he was waiting at the campus entrance to the grounds to greet all the guests he could personally.
"Great party." Suigetsu says, deciding to try to break the ice.
"Yes, we ALL made it. Chidori and Rasengan members have gotten REALLY close." Naruto says and wraps his arm around Suki's waist protectively.
It took all his will power not to just lunge at the other man. He wanted nothing more than to beat him to a bloody pulp for terrorizing Suki. He was sick. Orochimaru deserved that and worse.
"We better go to the stage and get everything set up if we are going to be performing." Suki says, wanting to get away from Orochimaru as soon as possible.
She shivers. The brunette couldn't get the memory of the Sannin touching her out of her mind. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to get out of there. But she couldn't. She wouldn't let him have that victory over her.
"Of course. And Suki, if there is ANYTHING you need, please don't hesitate to ask." Orochimaru says pleasantly.
Gaara glares at the dark haired man. He was hardly being subtle. That anything was incredibly suggestive. He just hoped that Naruto wouldn't attack the sick fuck with all these people watching.
"I'm sure that we will have everything we need." Sakura says and the band members walk past Orochimaru.
The party was going full blast. Suki estimated there were likely thousands of people there. Most were wearing costumes with masks. That meant that it was too easy to get lost in a crowd. That made her nervous.
She smiles. Orochimaru was still a creep. But at least one good thing would come out of this night. It was likely at last a couple hundred thousand dollars would be raised for charity. Orochimaru was nothing, if not a master of public relations. And charity was very good for one's public image.
" ATTENTION EVERYONE! We have a real treat for you. For the first time in years, Orochimaru is going to be performing!" An announcer blares into a microphone and Suki winces as it hurt her sensitive ears.
Suddenly, the crowd magically got quiet. You could have heard a pin drop. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. To hear a Sannin perform in person, that was every music lover's dream. This was especially true when it came to the ever elusive Orochimaru.
"Thank you for that kind introduction. Yes, I must say that it warms my heart to see so many people here having a good time and raising money for cancer research. You know I once lost a very dear student of mine to cancer. This is a cause that is very close to my heart." Orochimaru says, laying it on thick.
Suki knew who Orochimaru was referring to. Kimimaro had been one of the students at Sound University. He was a truly gifted piano player. She had never heard anyone like him before or since.
Unfortunately, he came down with a rare bone cancer and all his classmates had watched helplessly as he slowly wasted away before their eyes. So for once, Orochimaru was telling the truth. Though she doubted Kimimaro's death had REALLY impacted him that much. Orochimaru viewed people as pawns in a chess game. You didn't cry when you lost one piece.
The crowd listens with rapt attention. Appropriate sounds of sympathy were made here and there. Orochimaru was a master showman. He knew how to get and keep an audience's attention. It was a skill that very few had honed to the level of sophistication that the Sannin had.
"You've all inspired me to perform tonight. I am going to play an old favorite. I think I can say with confidence that everyone here has a most precious person. And so I would like to dedicate this song to mine. She knows who she is." Orochimaru says as the music begins to play.
Suddenly whispers erupt. Everyone was curious about who was Orochimaru's most precious person. Suki had to hold onto Naruto's hand tightly to keep him from going after the older man. She assured him that it didn't matter. Orochimaru was just being a prick.
Suki soon remembers why she had been so eager to be Orochimaru's apprentice at one point. The man was truly musical gifted. His ability to control his voice and to make the audience feel what he felt was unrivaled. It was almost hypnotizing.
"Hate to say it, but the man is good." Suigetsu mutters.
"He's a freak! Who cares if he can sing?!" Naruto yells at Suigetsu.
"Sheesh! Shesh! Calm down. I'm just saying. He's still a freak. But he's a freak with a lot of talent." The white haired man defends himself.
About halfway into the song, Orochimaru gestures at Suki. He beckons for her to come join him. The crowd was egging her on. They were trying to encourage her.
She really didn't want to. The brunette casts a look at Naruto as she slowly heads onto the stage. Her look tried to reassure him that she'd be alright. Orochimaru wouldn't try anything with thousands of people watching them.
"I'm sure you remember this song, Suki. I believe it was the first that I taught you." He murmurs.
"Of course I do." She says, knowing that she had to go along with this twisted act for the crowd's benefit.
The two perform together. As much as Naruto loathed Orochimaru, it was hard to take his eyes off of the woman he loved. Suki was nothing short of a Siren when she performed.
It didn't matter that she was likely terrified to be on the same stage as her stalker. Somehow she was able not only to ignore that, but to put on a Hell of a show. To Naruto, she was being combative towards Orochimaru. The crowd didn't seem to notice though, they were eating it up.
"Calm yourself, Naruto. I know it's hard. But making a scene right now will only make things worse for everyone involved." Gaara whispers into the other musician's ear in a voice that was low enough, only Naruto would hear it.
"I know. But it's just so hard. The bastard is taunting me. He's messing with her head. I really wish you had put that bullet in him." The blue eyed singer replies.
Gaara's eyes widen at his friend's declaration. To hear Naruto talk that way, was nothing short of disturbing. The blonde was one of the most kind people that he had ever known.
"Naruto, don't say things like that. Don't let him change who you are. You aren't that type of person. He'll get what's coming to him, but none of us should have to become killers in order for that to happen. Suki reported him to the police, right?" He asks and the blonde nods.
After the song ends, the two singers take a bow. Orochimaru drags Suki backstage. Naruto's eyes narrow. He tries to race through the crowd to get to his girlfriend. But there were just so many damn people!
"You were amazing out there, truly. I was worried that collaborating with a pop group might make you lose your touch. But that is not the case at all. You are a marvel. It is as if no time has passed at all. You still knew every word." Orochimaru smiles and reaches towards Suki to caress her cheek.
"Don't you dare fucking touch me." She hisses at him.
"Suki, I understand that I have made mistakes. But I only made them because I care about you. Sometimes, my feelings overwhelm my good sense. You should understand that. Why else would you be wasting your time with Naruto? We both know that he isn't compatible with you in the slightest." He replies.
"That's not for you to decide and if you ever try to touch me again or trick me into a meeting, it won't end well for you. I'm not that naïve girl that you lured into your camp anymore." The brunette seethes at him in a rage.
Orochimaru smirks. There was that fire. That was the fire he loved about her. She was the only woman, save for Tsunade who had ever dared to challenge him. He supposed that was a large part of the attraction.
Naruto finally makes his way through the crowd and heads backstage. He sees Orochimaru trying to caress Suki's cheek and he just loses it. He slams him into the wall.
"Don't even think about touching her. You are a freak. She doesn't want you anywhere near her." Naruto snarls at him.
"He truly is such a barbarian. Honestly, what do you see in him?" Orochimaru asks as he grunts through the pain.
"I love him. That's what I see in him and you deserve far worse than getting thrown around a bit." She mutters and walks over to Naruto's side.
"Come on, Suki. Let's go do a couple songs and get the Hell out of here." Naruto says and takes her by the hand, beginning to lead her off.
"Suki! Wait! Don't go with him! I love you. He has a silly crush, nothing more. It is nothing compared to what we have. Didn't it feel good to perform together?" Orochimaru asks.
"You don't love me. You are obsessed. I hated every second of it because I know what was going on in that sick head of yours. Just leave me the fuck alone. I want NOTHING to do with you." She hisses at him and walks off with her boyfriend.
Naruto sighs in relief once they were out of that creep's line of sight. Suki had told him off. She was okay. Now they just had to perform a couple songs and they could go.
"Naruto?" Suki asks once they were safely back in the crowd.
"Yes, Suki?" He replies.
"I love you. I just wanted you to know that. Thank you for coming after me." She says with a smile.
"I love you to. I'll always come after you. There's no way I'm going to let that freak hurt you. I can't wait to see his creepy pale ass behind bars. It's where he belongs." Naruto mutters.
"For future reference, the I love you sounds much more romantic when you don't reference Orochimaru." She offers.
"Yeah, I guess it does. I love you. More than anything. Now let's go knock the crowd's socks off and go home." He says as they rejoin the other members of Chidori and Rasengan.
"That sounds like a good idea to me." Suki replies with a smile.