Disclaimer: I doth not own any part of Naruto or iCarly, but we already did knoweth yond fact, right?

(A:N Honestly, I thought my Shakespearean was pretty good. Although I don't own that either. I am also appreciative of all of your reviews! Makes me happy receiving such support. Hope you enjoy the chapter!)

Tan eyelids opened to reveal twin ocean orbs staring at white rosy features of a teenage girl. She appeared to be blissfully asleep in an unconscious euphoria, looking as peaceful as ever. Naruto's cheeks heated up, not because of the sight of her, but because of how close they were. Her face was merely centimeters away, her breath being warm as her mouth was slightly open due to how she snored in her sleep. Naruto smiled, feeling so much comfort in the bed he was lying in.

He could lay there forever he figured, maybe even head back to sleep before the day could truly begin. So, he would do just that, slip back into his blissfully rest. He closed both eyes, embracing the darkness that greeted them with nothing else but content acceptance.

That is, until an aroma snuck into his nose.

What was that plentiful smell? That scent that seemed to have alerted all of Naruto's senses? Whatever it was, it smelled eerily familiar. It was a warm scent, like a soupy substance. But what kind of substance could bring such warmth to his body? His memory was hazy but it was scratching at his brain just thinking about it. He looked down at the bed that he slept in, and then he glanced at the serene sight of Carly in front of him, still blissfully unaware of the world around her.

He didn't want to get up.

But, if he didn't he wouldn't figure out what that nagging fragrance that polluted the air was.

Although, this bed was really soft, and the girl he slept next to was a very pretty sight.

Decisions, decisions..

"Fuck it." He muttered, carefully slipping out of bed so as not to disturb the teenage girl laying in the double layered feather mattress. He figured that he couldn't go back to sleep anyways, and this feeling of familiarity was seriously bothering him. So, he decided to investigate, find out what's hounding at his brain before he drives himself crazy thinking of the possibilities.

Naruto rubbed his eyes to rid himself of whatever exhaustion he felt from being fresh out of the bed, sometimes he felt like he deliberately gets himself out of the most comfortable situations that other human beings would jump at the chance to stay in. But if he kept slothing around all day, then what could he get done?

Nothing. Not a damn thing would get done. Such a shame though. Naruto couldn't just lay around all day in his own comfort most of the time. He just wasn't a lazy person in general and that definitely won't change any time soon.

Funny, he was sure that he had a friend who was the exact opposite on things like that. A friend that would just lie down on his house roof and look up at the clouds all day. He would watch them all the time, gaze at the clouds until night came and the stars lit up the sky. It had been a long time since he had conversed with that certain someone.

What was his name again? Shidon? Shin? Shia? He guessed it had been too long, because his name had all been forgotten. Maybe if he ever saw him he could put the pieces together.

On that note, Naruto had arrived downstairs, his exhaustion leaving him after he had finished his rain of thoughts on past things.

What he saw was a bedraggled young man rubbing his eyes tiredly while stirring a pot full of a boiling brown colored liquid which had noodles inside of it. The man was currently wearing a pink apron with a t-shirt and gray sweatpants along with purple fuzzy house slippers. He gave out a loud yawn while stretching, scratching his disorderly hair as he stared into the boiling water lifelessly, rubbing his eyes to rid him of his drowsiness.

He was obviously a distinguished man. This claim was proven when the man burped and scratched his rear end simultaneously.

Spender Shay everybody.

Naruto continued to watch the brunette to see what he would do next, he couldn't help it. He was curious.

Spencer dug in his pocket, searching for something. He took out a pair of white earphones while also pumping up his fist up in victory. He took out his pearphone and started listening to music. He kept humming to himself as he got sucked into the beat of the song still none the wiser to Naruto's presence.

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world. Life in plastic, it's fantastic! You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere.." And that's when Naruto had enough, he erupted into gut wrenching laughter at the unbelievable sight. Nothing could get better than watching a young man sing passionately along to little kid's show mostly tailored to girls.

Spencer spun around faster than a speeding train, an appalled look on his face at the fact that he was caught doing, 'Spencer Stuff.' The two stared at each other, the silence of the room becoming impeccable. Naruto tried his best, his damn near hardest not to burst out into giggles again, but with Spencer puffing out his cheeks in a kiddish pout made the task seem impossible.

After an intense ten seconds one of them finally spoke, it was the latter of the duo.

"So, how long were you there for?"

"Long enough apparently."

"I see. So.. you heard me sing the part where you could undress me everywhere huh."

"Oh most definitely."

"Please don't tell Carley about this."

"He wouldn't have to tell me anything anyways." At the sound of the higher pitched voice the two males turned toward the source to find Carly standing on the stair steps in her pajamas and her hands on her hips, a sly grin on her face.

"I caught all of it on recording, right here safely in storage on my Pearphone." She smirked displaying her purple Pearphone for all to see. Once Spencer heard of this he made a face that was unconditionally grim.

"Might even put it on iCarly honestly. This is pure gold." She laughed. Naruto simply raised an eyebrow in question.

"What's iCarly?"

"Oh, it's a little webshow that me and my friends do." Spencer scoffed at her explanation.

"Yes because a few million people watching live every webcast is little." His sardonic response did not go unnoticed.

"Talking like that won't help you Spencer." Carly coddled getting Naruto to chuckle. Spencer simply smirked.

"You know what, it's completely okay. Use that on your webcast and let the millions of people know how great of a singer I am. The viewers will love it!" Spencer dared nodding his head in satisfaction.

Carly laughed as she pressedthe play button on her phone.

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie worl-"

"STOP! I BEG OF YOU! HAVE MERCY!" Spencer ran toward Carly kneeling on his hands and knees as he begged in sorrow. Eliciting two separate points of laughter from the teens.

"Relax Spencer, I was joking. I'll just keep it so that I can use the video whenever I need a laugh or two. I'm not that cruel." Carly assured getting a breath of relief from her older brother. Naruto glanced at the both of them before looking at the boiling pot of water and noodles on the stove.

"Uh, Spencer I think you should go back and tend to what you're cooking before you burn the whole place down y'know.." Naruto reminded still looking at the boiling water.

"Oh, you're right. Well it was done anyways so I'll just turn the stove off. You guys hungry?" He asked turning the knob on the kitchen hardware. Naruto and Carly simply sat down at the kitchen table with a resounding yes.

"So what did you cook?" Carly asked to which Naruto was curious to know the answer to also. After all, he did just get out of bed just to find out what that smell was.

"Just ramen. Figured I could go for something simple." Spencer shrugged getting three bowls out of their kitchen cabinets. That's when it hit Naruto.

Ramen.

That was the familiar scent that he found sneaking into his nose when he woke up. The delicacy that only few could truly experience in their lifetime. The food of the divine was sitting right there on the stove in their kitchen.

It was a dream come true.

"R-ramen?" Naruto asked his blue eyes widened to their maximum capacity. The Shay siblings nodded as Spencer set down the bowls.

Now, Naruto thought of himself as a bright, composed, and sometimes an eccentric young man. But when it came to fresh ramen, he just felt that he couldn't help himself. Albeit Carly and Spencer did not know this. Hence their surprise at seeing Naruto gorge down his bowl at inhumane speeds.

Seriously, what?

"Oh that was great." Naruto admitted plopping down on the chair with a full belly and a complacent look on his face.

Carly and Spencer's jaw dropped. Naruto literally refilled his bowl four to five times in the span of ten minutes! Their eyes literally widened out of their sockets at Naruto's pure ramen gluttony. What a weird quirk.

"I don't think I can move anymore or my stomach might explode.." Naruto whined noticing his belly shaping up into an overblown balloon.

"So you must really like ramen huh?" Carly ventured getting an unrestrained grin from the blonde. Naruto looked at her with such a serious face that she couldn't help but feel slightly taken aback.

"Ramen. This delicacy was made by the dvivine spirits of creation. They are meant to be served to all, by all, and in all places. Ramen has no limitation for it is infinite and still growing in purified greatness. Don't. Diss. The ramen." He finished off with a resolute smirk on his face, shocking the siblings with his compassion for such a simple food.

"Right. Well.. I'm gonna go hit the gym. So later!" Spencer said quickly moving toward the door before Carly scoffed and tugged at his arm.

"Hold on, wait a minute. Spencer, you never go to the gym. In matter of fact, you absolutely despise extensive movement! So, what's really going on?" Carly asked suspicion laced in her words.

Spencer laughed nervously. "It's nothing really. Just gonna go work out. You know, push-ups and stuff." Spencer sweated nervously flexing his stick arms for emphasis. That explanation was good enough right?

Judging by the disbelief in Carly's face and the way she crossed her arms while tapping her foot, this was not to be the case. He looked over to Naruto who was simply staring idly at the two, raising an eyebrow at the sibling's interaction.

"You're going to the gym just to stare at other girls that are actually working out aren't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Once she layed it all out there, that was when he knew the jig was up.

"Ugh. Fine, you caught me. But I am completely justified, and I'm still going. And there is nothing you can do to stop me. Ha!" Spencer said pointing and sticking his tongue out at Carley in victory.

After that they both headed into a heated argument about their moral compasses. One siding on how it was perfectly okay to go to the gym even if it was just to pick up girls. And the other explaining how shallow it is and how wrong it is to exploit a place made for physical exertion to just pick up girls who were minding their own business.

Naruto tuned them both out however.

'Physical exertion, working out. This sounds like something I can use. It can help me, help me get stronger. After what happened with Bates.. I can't let that happen ever again. I need to be prepared to face him just in case he finds out that I'm not dead and is still out there looking for me. I need to make myself ready, and a gym seems like the perfect place to do it.' He frowned, before shaking his head. No need to think negatively now, he just needed to let his exercise work out any displeasing kinks he still had. He turned toward them.

"Hey, can I tag along?.." He asked while raising his eyebrows once he noticed the predicament the Shay duo were in. Their foreheads pressed against each other in anger and a battle of wills.

"Oh sure, go ahead. I'll be there soon." Spencer said as the two siblings glared each other down, gritting their teeth in pure fury.

"Okay, but. Where do i go?"

"It's across the street right next to the flower shop. Can't miss it." It was Carly who answered this time not even bothering to look at him as her ire was too focused on the older brunette in front of her. Naruto nodded and went to the fridge to grab a bottle of water before heading into the closet right across from Spencer's room to grab a small black towel.

Luckily, he was already dressed up in a black tank top and orange joggers. He looksd over himself and shrugged. He didn't mind his body or his clothes. It was comfortable and suitable, and he figured he was around the skinny, lean body type. Which was surprising considering his nutrition over the years. Although, there was still much to improve on.

Once he was set he turned the knob on the door to open before stopping himself. He turned around to ask one last question before leaving.

"So, what's the name of the flower shop anyways?"

"The Yamanaka Flower Shop."

Naruto put on his orange and black running shoes and left.

'Yamanaka.. Yamanaka.. ah there it is.' Naruto thought as he stopped right in front of the flower shop, seeing an assortment of potted flowers and plants on display. He looked over to the right of the flower shop to see a sign that said. "The Gym of Might."

'The Gym of Might. Weird name, but it'll do. Can't judge a book by its cover after all.' He thought with a shrug before heading inside.

He stepped into the building right after the two automatic doors opened for him. The thought of two automatic doors for a gym seemed like a pretty good design for the whisker marked blonde. After all, after someone works their ass off they're not really going to want to open a door to exit the gym afterwards.

Naruto noticed that once he was inside he saw that most of the gym was green with hints of black. But that wasn't all, apparently there was also a ring shaped like a mini octagon that was used in those live fighting competitions.

There were typical gym things, punching bags, olypticals, weight machines, free hand weights and the like. Over all the gym looked as if it was meant to work every fiber of muscle a person had in their body.

He liked that a lot. After all if he was to be ready to take on Bates, he was to going to have to get into serious tiptop shape.

Naruto went to the nearest bench and set down his towel and the water bottle he had and started to stretch. He may had been on the streets for a whole decade but he still remembered the common sense to stretch before intense physical exertion of his body. After all, his parents usually took him to gyms when he was younger to keep in shape.

Ouch, bad memory. He should focus at the task at hand before he starts to overthink.

Once done Naruto took to a nearby treadmill and turned it on. He saw the track of the treadmill loop over and over as if the track was an endless road. The thing about the treadmill was that there was no destination to its usage, only a limitation on how long you can travel this road that was unceasing.

So, Naruto ran. Ran for as long as he could.

An hour passed Naruto finally stopped, his body drenched in sweat, his heart beating faster than a speeding bullet, and his legs feeling like jelly.

He had one thought on the matter.

'Holy fuck. That sucked so much, whew.' His exhaustion was inconceivable. What was his time, an hour? He thought that was pretty good considering he hadn't ran like that in over ten years. But holy hell was it draining. He always was a person with huge stamina but still, this surprised him.

He took a sip of his water, feeling the cold liquid wash down his dry throat whilst also cooling down his overheating body.

He just sat there for a moment, thinking over things. Bates, his new predicament in the Shay household and overall everything that has happened in the past few days. He stared at his water bottle until he heard someone plop right next to him on the bench. Naruto looked over to his side to see a skinny white male, who was a brunette, had dark eyes and seemed to look as exhausted as he was. Naruto paid him no mind when he sat down, he was tired, so was he, it was a gym it was expected.

Then fifteen minutes passed by.

He was still trying to recover his breath. Naruto turned toward him with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, you alright?" The teen nodded his head as he still wheezed.

"Yeah.. just, really tired. Just got back from.. the treadmill." He breathed drinking his bottle of water.

"How long did you run for?"

"I jogged for probably.. ten minutes?" He said as he was finally starting to recover his breath. Naruto visibly widened his eyes. He was still out of breath fifteen minutes after he ran. He was recuperating longer than he took to work out and that shocked the blonde. It took him at least five minutes to recuperate after his hour long run but, fifteen minutes to regain your breath. Damn. Oh well, Naruto guessed that's why the brunette was going to the gym, because of a problem like that. Unless he had asthma, but he didn't see an inhaler anywhere on his person so that option was out.

"So, what's your name? Mine's Freddy." The teen introduced taking another sip of his water before wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"Naruto. Nice to meet you." Naruto said leaning back on the bench to relax a little bit before he would start to work out again.

"Wanna be my partner for the punching bags? I've been meaning to try them out." Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. And Freddy started waving his hands in front of him frantically.

"I-I mean if you don't want to, that's cool too.." Naruto nodded before smiling.

"Sure I'd love to help you out." Freddy gave off his own smile too before going to the nearest punching bag, getting two sets of fingerless gloves that were placed on a nearby rack. Black for Naruto and dark blue for him. Naruto placed the gloves on, securing the fabric tightly around his hands. They seemed comfortable enough, and Naruto soon held the black punching bag in place waiting for Freddy to start.

When a solid minute passed by and Naruto felt nothing hitting the bag he looked around to bag to see Freddy punching the bag with visible effort. Naruto raised an eyebrow as Freddy kept hitting the bag feeling no physical force coming from the blow.

"Uh, are you actually punching the bag Freddy? I don't feel anything over here." Freddy's face looked noticeably shocked at Naruto's comment.

"What? I've been hitting this stupid bag with everything I've had up until now." Freddy said slapping the bag with his right hand.

Still no force.

Naruto didn't want to be the guy to downright tell someone about a flaw that they had about themselves when he knew he wasn't perfect but-

This was just sad.

"It could be that you're just that weak y'know.." Freddy took on an angered expression before changing into a small devious smile.

"I guess you're right, how about we switch? You punch and I'll hold the bag." Freddy suggested switching to Naruto's position. Naruto shrugged thinking nothing of the gesture. Now was the time to test himself and see what he could dish out.

Naruto cracked his knuckles in preparation. He rotated his wrists in a tiny stretch before taking a swing at the bag.

'Psh I'm not weak. I doubt he could be much stronger anyways.' Freddy thought in confidence. Sure he wasn't the strongest guy around but he had to be pretty strong right? Right.

Naruto's fist reached the punching bag and he felt the satisfying impact of the bag absorbing his brute force-filled punch. The bag went a foot backwards even with Freddy holding it. It probably would've went further if Freddy wasn't there but that was the whole point of having a partner holding the bag. The partner was supposed to keep the bag placed so that it would allow for a succession of more blows.

Naruto soon wailed on the bag with a flurry of punches putting more force into each punch he landed.

Freddy was having a terrible time with this. Every punch that Naruto threw he had to use all of his strength just to keep he bag there, otherwise the punching bag would literally fly into his face delivering its own makeshift punch. Who was this guy?

With every blow Naruto dealt the more he would sink into his thoughts. The more he thought of preparing for Bates, the guy who almost killed him. The more he thought of bringing Bates justice for almost murdering him. With each thought that Naruto had the more force he brought out in his punches. Naruto sank into his thoughts and at one point he didn't even think about punching anymore, he just did it subconsciously with how furious he was and it was not good for the bag of the person holding it.

Naruto let out a wrathful shout as he let out one more blow to the bag, his punch dealing an insane amount of power.

During the whole time Freddy's eyes were closed out of fright at how Naruto had an innate amount of strength in his punches. Once his fright had subsided and once Naruto's blows had stopped he cautiously looked around the bag to see an unbelievable sight.

Naruto with his head down breathing and his bangs clouding his blue irises. But that wasn't where the disbelief had began as he saw where Naruto's fist was and what it did to the bag that he was holding.

Naruto had punched into the bag.

No, he did not make a dent into it, he did not tear it, he punched into the bag. He punched the bag so hard that his fist made its own landmark within the bag.

What. The. Fuck.

Naruto breathed in and smiled sheepishly. He took his fist out of the bag seeing the gigantic hole he had made within it. The blonde rubbed his head sheepishly as he looked at the brunette who had his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.

"Guess I kind of overdid it huh."

Freddy could only nod.

Once the shock and awe of what had happened subsided Freddy could only stare at Naruto with an interested gaze.

"Um, are you okay?" The blonde asked a little nervously. Freddie shook his head at the question.

"I think I should be the one asking that. I mean, you punched a hole through a punching bag! I only know of one person who could possibly do that and she's a monster." Freddie sighed before getting an idea.

"You know, since you can do that to a punching bag, imagine what would happen if you actually fought someone. I'm pretty sure they're going to have a tournament like a month from now and I think you should enter it." Freddie suggested getting a raised eyebrow from Naruto.

"A tournament? What for?"

"It's to promote the MMA to catch more viewers. Apparently the prize for wining the whole thing is that you can train with Shelby Marx who is the best female MMA fighter right now."

Naruto took on a thoughtful look at that prospect.

'Best female fighter huh? She has to have some really good moves. Moves that I can use to beat Bates so that he won't hurt anyone like he did to me ever again. This tournament might be a good idea. But, I would have to face other people and that would be troublesome. But if I can win the tourney I would be able to train with Shelby, the pros definitely outweigh the cons here.'

"You're right, that sounds like a great plan. So, where do I sign up?"

Freddie pointed over to the front of the gym where they saw a desk with a pen and clipboard on top of it, and a vacant chair behind it.

"Come on I'll come with." Freddie said, leading the way to the desk.

Once they reached the desk they saw that someone got there before them. Someone who might have been a year older than them who was also signing up for the tournament.

He was fairly tall, was wearing a green jumpsuit with orange leg warmers and had bandages on his arms. His hair was shaped into a bowl cut and he had thick eyebrows with charcoal black eyes.

Freddy visibly cringed at the eyebrows that the teen before them had. Naruto had to admit, they were pretty thick.

Once the teen signed up his attention was caught by someone who looked exactly like him, but definitely older.

This man had a bowl cut, thick eyebrows, black eyes, was also wearing a green jumpsuit, and orange leg warmers. The difference was that he was taller and had on a green flak jacket and did not have bandages on his arms.

"Hey Lee! So you're signing up for the tournament huh? I'm glad that you're showing off your spirngtime of youth!" The exuberant individual said giving off a shiny white smile that blinded the other two teens. Although Lee seemed to be unaffected.

"Of course Guy-sensei! I would never miss such a youthful opportunity!" Lee shouted giving off his own smile, which also doubled the brightness from his teeth. Naruto and Freddie recoiled further at the sight, feeling their eyes water and burn from the damage it was doing to their retina.

"I'm so proud of you Lee! You're growing into such a fine young man!" Guy yelled holding Lee into an embrace, tears running down his cheeks.

"Thank you so much Guy-sensei!" Lee cried out, returning the hug with tears visible on his face.

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"LEE!"

"GUY-SENSEI!"

"LEEEE!"

"GUY-SENSEEIIII!"

It became so loud that everyone in the gym had to cover their ears, so blinding that they also had to cover their eyes.

Some people who were running on the treadmill fell down in an embarrassing heap, suffering from both the blinding and physical agony that they were experiencing.

Freddie immediately turned to Naruto and shoved him toward the desk.

"Sign up quick! I don't know how much I can take!" Naruto nodded with gritted teeth. He picked up the black pen on the table and looked for the first vacant spot that he could find on the list. Once he saw an empty slot he wrote his name down with speedy finesse and was about to high tail it out of there.

He was about to do that right before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Naruto looked back to see a bandaged hand, which led to a determined looking Lee. Naruto was curious as to what Lee would have wanted with him. But it was odd, how did he garner his attention anyways?

"Excuse me, but I have noticed that you signed up for the tournament that will be happening a month from now. If you don't mind, I would like to fight you right now in the ring."

Ah. So that's what it was. Naruto stared at him in surprise at his request before looking at Freddie who shrugged at him. He didn't know what to say to that.

Naruto turned back to Lee who still had that determined look on his face. Naruto didn't see the harm in it. Besides, this could help hone his skills even if he were to lose.

Although, Naruto did not plan to lose at all.

"Alright. You're on."

Thus the preparation for battle began.

(A:N whew! That took a while. I hope you guys enjoyed it. You sure didn't see that coming huh? I just had to get Lee and Guy in here. I loved those two in the anime and I just love writing their characters. So please review and I hope you have a fantastic day, a cool afternoon, and a lovely night. Ciao!)