Alright, this is one story that has been swirling around in my head for a while. And I honestly was so distracted by this that I couldn't focus on my other story. I'll be back to it though!

Konohagakure, Two Years after the 4th Shinobi World War…

It was a beautiful morning in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The birds were chirping, the leaves were fluttering, and the villagers were walking back and forth doing their regular business, most with smiles on their faces. The reconstruction of the village had gone smoothly thanks to the efforts of every ninja and civilian in the village.

However, for two certain Konoha ninja, it wasn't a good morning. Not by a longshot.

Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruto was currently sitting on top of his father's house, staring out to the horizon as the sun lazily finished coming up. His thoughts were greatly troubled. To put it bluntly, he was severely depressed. And the reasons, he noted, were coming right around the corner of the street he resided in.

One was a bubbly, yet fierce, pink-haired medic. She was wearing the usual Jounin outfit of Konoha, but instead of a black shirt under the flak jacket, she had a light pink, short-sleeved one.

The other was a stoic man that had a hairstyle similar to the behind of a duck, with two long bangs that went down to his chin framing his face. He was wearing the standard Jounin outfit as well, and he had a sword strapped to his back, the handle poking over his left shoulder.

These two were people he recognized easily. They were his two teammates. His best friend… and the girl he loved.

They were Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Sasuke.

And they were holding hands.

That in and of itself wasn't what really bothered Naruto. It was what they did when he wasn't looking.

See, Naruto had finally managed to convince Sasuke to return to Konoha around the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. They had met, yet again, in the Valley of the End, the famous place of the battle between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. They had both wielded their new powers and abilities. And they both fought like there was no tomorrow. Finally, it ended up being a standoff, and Sasuke retreated, leaving Naruto disheartened. But in the final battle against Uchiha Obito and the revived Madara, Sasuke had joined the fray, this time in Naruto's side. With that, Team 7, consisting of the newly reinstated Sasuke, Tsunade's heir Sakura, and the Kyuubi Jinchūriki Naruto, battled both men until the very end.

Afterwards, Sasuke finally agreed to come back to Konoha, where he was allowed on a probation period of a year due to Naruto's coaxing, and a psychological analysis that said that he had gone temporarily insane due to a combination of the Tsukuyomi Genjutsu Itachi cast on him as a child and Orochimaru's Curse Mark.

During this entire time, Naruto and Sakura began catching up to Sasuke, making up for the years that they had been separated. They were allowed to do team spars, and most were very fun, although the use of Kyuubi's chakra and the Eien no Mangekyo Sharingan were strictly prohibited, the first for fairness and the second as for security purposes.

And during the entire year of his probation period, Sasuke had begun getting closer and closer to his pink-haired teammate. Not that Naruto minded at first. He understood Sasuke wanting to get to know Sakura better, due to the fact that she hadn't been more than a fangirl before he left. However, a few months after Sasuke's probation period was over, the day that he had hoped never came… had come.

Flashback, 5 months ago…

Naruto was currently at his father's estate, which now belonged to him. He had a total of 250 Kage Bunshin all around the estate doing different things. A couple were doing maintenance on the grounds, such as gardening, cleaning, or just fixing up the place. Another two groups were working on different chakra control exercises. The original was simply working on his body by practicing his Taijutsu on a reinforced Kage Bunshin who was acting like a punching bag. Hey, no use having knowledge of different things when your body can't handle it.

His training was interrupted by the sound of someone walking up the path to his place. Deciding to end his training well, he shot out a right punch, catching the clone right in the face and making it stumble back. He followed up by swinging his left leg up and around, kicking the clone across the face. Continuing the motion, he twisted his body and shot his right foot out behind him in a straight kick, which he followed with an uppercut on the clone that made it fly up. And finally, he used his speed to appear right above the clone and, forming a Rasengan, he smashed the spinning blue orb of doom into the clone's stomach, causing it to fall to the ground in a heap and dispel. Landing next to the crater his clone, he turned to greet the newcomer, who turned out to be none other than Ino Yamanaka.

The blonde kunoichi walked up to Naruto, blushing slightly at his topless form, before handing him a paper with a small smile. Naruto grabbed it, glancing at the girl, then read it.

"A party for the Konoha 12?" Naruto asked.

"Yep. Be there, fox boy! All of us are gonna be there! It's a formal party, so wear something that looks professorial, mm-kay?" Ino exclaimed.

Naruto looked at her and noticed an odd glint in her eye, but shrugged and said, "Sure, why not? Sounds fun."

Day of party, two weeks before present time…

Naruto walked inside the building in which they were having the party. He was currently wearing a black button-up shirt that had a large orange spiral on the back, some dark blue slacks, and regular shoes. Looking around, he noticed that a number of the group were already here.

The tables were set up by teams, and there was something like a stage that they were placed around. Naruto could see Team 10 sitting at their place, currently without a sensei. Team 8 had yet to arrive, but Kurenai was already there with her little boy sitting in a tall baby chair. And Team 9, a.k.a. Team Gai, were missing only Tenten and Neji.

Team 7 as a whole was already there. Sasuke and Sakura were chatting lightly. The raven-haired avenger was wearing a blue shirt with the Uchiha clan symbol on the back, and some cream, almost white, pants, similar to his attire in his Genin days. Sakura looked amazing in a spaghetti strap red dress that went well with her hair and eyes and which showed her cream shoulders and some cleavage. Kakashi, surprisingly, was on time and, unsurprisingly, was reading his infamous orange book, although he kept stealing glances at his two students. He was wearing a simple V-neck black shirt with similar black pants.

Naruto walked up to his team's table and said, "Hey guys!"

Sakura immediately smiled at him and responded in her usual manner that thankfully did not involve a punch to the face or head area. Sasuke settled for a nod of acknowledgement, and Kakashi did his usual two finger wave and said, "Yo."

Taking a seat in between Sakura and Kakashi, he said, "So what's up? Is this just a reunion or what?"

Sakura shrugged and said, "I suppose. Ino wasn't very informative with it."

Naruto smiled and continued studying everyone around him.

Team 10 were complimenting each of their personalities. Ino was in a light purple, almost lavender, dress, similar to Sakura's, but hers only had one diagonal strap. Shikamaru had a simple white button-up shirt with an unmade tie around his shoulders and some black dress pants. Choji was using white shirt similar to Shikamaru's, but he had wine red pants on instead.

Team 8 was just getting to their table. Hinata was in a stunning lavender dress that accentuated her eyes and hair perfectly, and went down to her knees. Her hair was done up in a small ponytail. Kiba had cleaned up rather nicely, and his face didn't look as rugged as usual. He was wearing a brown shirt, similar in color to his hair, with black slacks. And Shino, ever mysterious, was wearing a full suit, which had a black jacket and pants, a blue inner shirt, and a simple tie. Kurenai was wearing a one piece dress, red like her eyes. And baby Sarutobi was wearing a little suit that looked great on him. The baby was gurgling with laughter, holding his arms out to Hinata so that she would pick him up.

Finally, Team 9's two missing members had just arrived as well. Tenten was wearing a red dress that went well with her figure, and her twin buns were missing, instead put into a braid going down her back. Neji, like Shino, was wearing a full suit, which was a simple black and white. Black for the jacket and pants, and white for the shirt. Rock Lee and Maito Gai were wearing similar suits as well, both with black jackets and green inner shirts. The difference was that Gai was wearing his flak jacket for some reason, but it didn't look too bad on him. Naruto immediately noticed how Neji and Tenten were holding hands while walking in, and that Lee's usual upbeat expression had dimmed considerably for a few short moments before he replaced it with his "youthful" nature yet again.

Finally, everyone was present and mingling amiably with each other. The tables were set close enough to each other so that the ninja could talk without yelling, but far enough so that people could walk in between them.

Ino walked up to the stage and said, "Alright guys, welcome to our Konoha 12 party! Now, this is an event I came up with that Hokage-sama approved to have the Konoha 12 meet up at least once a year, maybe more if people want! Considering we're popular now thanks to the war efforts, we might as well meet up in a place that doesn't involve us having to sign autographs all the time!" Laughs went all around, and some people sent knowing looks to Naruto, who blushed and looked down, chuckling sheepishly and scratching his cheek. "Well, right now you guys can just mingle between one another and have fun! Later on we'll have some fun watching movies and having some karaoke, and afterwards we'll have a little section for important news or things you guys may have!"

The entire room cheered and the party began.

Some hours later…

The party was beginning to die down by the 5th hour. Kurenai had already gone home due to little Sarutobi, but the rest remained. They had already watched the movie they had chosen for today and done some karaoke as well, with some notable appearances: a duet of Rock Lee and Maito Gai; Tenten; Kiba and Akamaru; and surprisingly, a small duet of Hinata and Shino. Naruto had sung a small piece as well, which had stretched his voice to as high as it could go but had surprised his friends as they had no clue he could sing. Truth be told, he hadn't known either until he found a music sheet in his estate and began to practice it.

Finally, the section for announcements came, and many people were bubbling with anticipation and some with anxiety. Naruto noticed that Lee seemed to be in between both.

"Alright, guys, who's got something to say?!" Ino said in her cheery voice.

A total of six people stood up simultaneously: Kiba and Hinata, Neji and Tenten, and Sasuke and Sakura. Naruto looked up at his two teammates in curiosity, and noticed Kakashi was giving them a knowing look while glancing at him.

"Whoa, guys, one at a time!" Choji chuckled.

The three pairs looked between each other and nodded to each other, then Kiba spoke up.

"Well, guys, I just want to let you know that…" He slung his arm around Hinata's shoulder and pulled her next to him, causing her to blush, "… me and Hinata are officially going out! And Hiashi even approved it!"

Rounds of gasps went around the room. Not about the announcement of the two being a couple, but of Hiashi's approval!

But a second later, a number of squeals rang around the room, coming from Sakura, Ino, and Tenten. The guys that were teammates of said girls face-palmed, Naruto included, and watched as this time Neji and Tenten stood up. All the while, a small knot of fear tied itself in the back of Naruto's brain, but he ignored it for now.

Neji and Tenten looked at each other, smiling, then simultaneously said, "We're also a couple!"

More squeals rang around the room and some congratulations as well, but out of all, Naruto kept an eye on Lee the most. And his hypothesis was proven when Lee looked between Neji and Tenten with a forlorn look and a depressed attitude, something Naruto hadn't seen in him since Tsunade had announced that the surgery he had to undergo a few years back had a possibility of ending his ninja career. And he now understood.

Lee either had a crush on or was in love with Tenten!

This made Naruto understand and feel for the green-clad ninja even more.

And the knot inside his mind intensified. He looked to his two teammates, who had just stood up. His eyes widened a bit.

"I'll have to say that… Sakura and I have also become an official couple." Sasuke said in his usual stoic voice, but his eyes shone with some happiness. Sakura was smiling happily and clutching on to his arm, almost like she used to do when they were Genin.

That was it.

That was the announcement that broke him.

He could feel a number of glances on him, some sympathetic, some just waiting to see what he'd do.

The thing was, even he didn't know what to do.

He had promised Sakura to bring the teme back to Konoha, for both their sakes, but mostly for hers. He had told her that he understood what it was like to feel a heartbreak, and promised her to bring him back. 'A promise of a lifetime!' The words rang in his head. It had happened again. He had lost Sakura yet again to Sasuke. But what could he do? He couldn't force Sakura to love him! Even if he could, he wouldn't, because that wasn't something he would do. He had tried to shower affection on her, show her his feelings, protect her above all else, and be there for her whenever she needed. And yet, it was all for naught.

But he wouldn't risk her being angry or sad on this day. This was supposed to be a happy day for her. So he steeled his resolve and placed his goofy mask onto his face for one last time.

Smiling widely, he looked towards his two teammates and began clapping along with the rest, saying, "Well, Sakura-chan, seems like you finally caught the teme!"

A number of reactions went around the room. Most were surprised that he was so readily accepting of their relationship, Sasuke included, but some, Naruto noted, didn't buy it. Among those were Sakura herself, Kakashi, Shikamaru, and surprisingly, Rock Lee, who looked at him with serious eyes.

"So, when's the wedding?!" Damn, the pure thought of the teme getting married with Sakura made his already broken heart be almost obliterated. Watching as Sakura made her way to an altar, looking amazing, and got married to none other than Sasuke…

"Naruto, we haven't gotten that far in the relationship!" Sakura gently chided, smiling.

Naruto smiled back, but inside he was hoping beyond hope that something saved him from having to witness any more of this. And his prayers were answered, for they all heard the sound of flapping as a bird, which they recognized as a messenger bird, came flying through the window and landed neatly on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto took the message on the bird's back and sent it on its way, then read the message, whereupon he stood up, said that the Hokage needed him for something, and promptly left, but not before he caught sight of the sad look Sakura was sending him and the understanding one that Lee sent.

Flashback Kai.

As it turned out, Tsunade had only called for him because she had decided to check on the party with the Hokage crystal ball and tuned it at the exact same moment that Sasuke had announced him and Sakura a couple. She had asked how he felt and he had pretended to be fine, but Tsunade had seen through that easily. The next few minutes ended with him being hugged by his surrogate mother as he cried on her shoulder because of his lost love.

He was broken out of his musings by the sound of steps coming up to his house. Looking over and noticing that Sakura and Sasuke still weren't at the entrance to the estate, he got up and began walking to the other side of the ceiling, wondering who it was. The answer became apparent when he saw the green-clad form of Rock Lee about to knock on his door. He stealthily landed behind the boy and said, "Hey Lee, what's up?" scaring the ever-living daylights out of the boy.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," Lee said, surprising Naruto with his lack of enthusiasm, "I have come to ask if you're coming."

Lee handed him a paper that read, 'The Konoha 12 party is in a month! Don't forget! And bring whatever you may want to show anybody! The Sand Siblings are coming!' along with the address and the names of people who were attending. Apparently, it had been decided to have the party once a month. The ones that were crossed out were attending. Therefore, Naruto crossed out his name from the list and gave it back to Lee.

"What's wrong, Lee?" Naruto then asked.

Lee looked up in mild surprise, then said, "Nothing, Naruto-kun, why do you ask?"

Naruto gave him a skeptical look and crossed his arms, saying, "You're not your usual, upbeat self, for one. Secondly, I saw how you acted during the last party, and that was completely unlike you." Lee hung his head in acceptance of his words. Deciding to be blunt, Naruto said, "Do you have feelings for Tenten?"

Lee's head snapped up so quickly that Naruto swore he heard a crack, but the boy's anguished expression spoke volumes to Naruto. The blonde continued, "And now you feel incredibly sad and depressed because she's going out with Neji, correct?" Lee nodded, his eyes downcast.

Meanwhile, outside Naruto's estate, two couples had just met up. Ironically, they were the very same couples that the two dead lasts inside the Namikaze Estate were thinking about. Sakura and Tenten immediately began to exchange gossip and other topics, while the Uchiha and Hyuuga prodigies simply nodded to each other and let the girls do the talking, occasionally speaking when needed. A lone spoken thought by one of the girls made the guys actually pay attention.

"Hey, isn't that Lee?" Sakura asked.

The group looked over to where Sakura was pointing and noticed that it was indeed Rock Lee. He was standing in front of Naruto and talking with the blonde man. What happened next surprised the group to no extent. Naruto crossed his arms and said something, and Lee hung his head, looking defeated. This surprised mainly Neji and Tenten, and to some extent Sasuke and Sakura, because they knew the boy to have a 'never give up!' attitude. So what brought this on? To further add to their confusion, Naruto said something else, and Lee nodded, before seemingly bursting into tears. Naruto's face softened and he actually hugged the green-clad ninja, allowing him to cry on his shoulder.

"Lee's… crying?" Tenten asked, more to herself than anybody. "I wonder what happened to cause this."

"Must be pretty tough if it made Lee of all people cry." Sasuke commented.

"Yeah, and Naruto looks like he understands what Lee's going through." Sakura said. Indeed, Naruto seemed to have a sympathetic look in his eyes, which, even from their distance, they could see clear as day.

Neji made a hand sign and concentrated his chakra, causing the others to wonder what he was doing. Opening his eyes, Neji pointed to his ear and the others understood. They gathered chakra to their ears and listened in discreetly.

"… You and I are a lot alike, Lee." Naruto said. "We're both the dobes of our respective classes. We both had trouble in the Academy, but flourished once out of it. We're both very outspoken, as well as being very energetic. And… both of us have lost the one we love to our best friend and rival."

This made the entire group freeze in shock. Lee pulled away from Naruto and looked at him with teary eyes.

"So I was correct in my assumption two days ago? That you truly felt like how I feel?" Lee asked hopefully.

Naruto nodded and said, "More than you know, Lee. You know how much I've loved Sakura-chan, as does everyone else. But to be honest, I never knew you loved Tenten this much."

The group froze yet again.

"Yes, Naruto-kun, I do. I was never as outspoken about it, but I have been in love with her since our Genin days. I tried again and again to tell her, but my own insecurities held me back. I am not as outspoken as you in the matter of love, Naruto-kun." Lee explained.

Naruto smiled sympathetically, then asked, "Hey, Lee, do you know how to sing?"

Lee thought for a few seconds then said, "I do not know. Never really tried."

"Then you and I are going to surprise everyone in the next party!" Naruto exclaimed, then grabbed Lee by the wrist and dragged him inside the house.

The group of Jounin Konoha ninja stood there in shock. They had just overheard two love confessions, and while they weren't directed to the girls themselves, and one of them wasn't exactly new, it still surprised them how calm the two sounded, plus how shaken Lee was.

"Guys… I think I'll be going train a bit…" Tenten said slowly, as if she were thinking very hard of the words.

"I'll accompany you," Neji said, still looking at the spot where Lee was moments ago. Tenten gratefully nodded, and both of them jumped on rooftops, headed for the training grounds. Sasuke and Sakura shook off their shock, and Sasuke said, "Hey, Sakura-chan, want to go get some ice cream?"

It took Sakura a second to process the question, but then she smiled and nodded, holding Sasuke's offered hand as they walked to the ice cream parlor, the conversations still in their minds.

A month later, on the day of the monthly party…

The entire group had been assembled yet again, wearing clothes that were less formal than the last party. Another table had been added after Team 10's table, where the Sand Siblings Kankuro, Temari, and Gaara now sat.

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi were yet again sitting at their own table, chatting lightly with each other. Kakashi, for some reason, wasn't reading his regular orange book, and when Sasuke brought this up, he simply said, "I'm waiting for the next book to come out." This made his two students nod and smile. The Copy ninja was wearing a black shirt with some khaki pants and normal shoes. Sasuke was wearing a red shirt with three tomoe in a circle, like the Sharingan, on the center, and black shorts. Sakura was wearing a black shirt with tan capris, much like her sensei.

Naruto had not arrived yet. This wore on the minds of the three ninja, because although Sasuke and Sakura, and by extent Kakashi, knew that Naruto was coming, they didn't know how he would act around them, considering what they heard a month ago. They didn't want him acting happy when they knew he wasn't, but at the same time, they didn't know how badly or how angrily he would act around them.

At a table two spaces to the side, Neji and Tenten were having similar thoughts. They knew how their teammate was, but didn't know how he would act around them. Would he be his usual "youthful" self or be stoic and barely acknowledge them? Tenten was thinking on how she could have been so blind to the feelings of her teammate, but she supposed that her crush on Neji did that.

Finally, after everyone had been assembled, both ninja arrived, and the girls, Tenten and Sakura included, openly gaped at the boys that came in.

Naruto was in a tight black shirt that clung to his muscled form, over which he had an open button-up dark red shirt. He had black loose pants on, and red sneakers. He had no hitai-ate on, so his golden locks came down his forehead to the tip of his eyebrows, and it made him look handsome. All in all, he could have more than half the village girls making a fan-club for him if they had been there.

Lee was the more surprising one. He was wearing a similar tight shirt as Naruto's, only it was a dark forest green, and it showed that he had developed quite the body during his training. Instead of a shirt, he had a short-sleeved black jacket, slacks of a fully black color, and simple shoes. The most surprising thing was that he had combed his hair out of its bowl-like haircut, and instead had it was wilder and split on one side, making it look like a mix between Naruto's and Gaara's! This, if the girls were honest, made him look exponentially better looking.

Spotting their respective teams, both Naruto and Lee split off, after pounding each other's fists, and went to sit at their tables.

Naruto slid into his seat after saying, "Hey guys, what's up?" Hearing no response, he looked around and noticed his teammates were still openly gawking at him, and his sensei was just staring at him with a glint in his eye. Next thing he knew, Kakashi was behind him with a kunai at his neck, saying, "Who are you and what have you done with Naruto?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his sensei's antic, and simply entered Chakra Mode, activating his yellow cloak and startling Kakashi. He quickly disappeared from his seat, grabbed Kakashi's kunai, and put it at its owner's neck in a matter of a second, saying, "Now what were you saying, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi gulped and shook his head, so Naruto dropped Chakra Mode, gave Kakashi his kunai back, and sat at his seat.

At a table two spots to the side of Team 7's, Tenten, Neji, and Maito Gai were openly gawking at Lee. The boy had simply walked up to his chair, pulled it back, and slid into it, saying, "Hey guys," as smoothly as if this was a 70's movie about gangsters. Gai had been the first to come down from his shock and immediately began crying that his eternal rival Kakashi's pupil had taken all of his youthful student's youth away before Lee quickly shut him up by saying, "Gai-sensei, I have not forgotten my youth. I am simply releasing it in a different form." This had made Gai shush for a while and caused Neji and Tenten's brains to jump into a new reboot from the 99% mark they were previously at. Lee said nothing, allowing them to sort it out themselves. After they were done loading up all the files of the case happening before them, their thought quickly rambled on.

'Is this really Lee?! Oh my Kami, he's such a hunk! And I can tell he's not forcing it either, it's natural for him right now!' These were Tenten's thoughts as she stared at the ex-youthful ninja.

'Hmm, it seems as though Lee had decided to forgo our sensei's teachings. This is a great occurrence, now I'll finally be rid of one annoying person. Was this Naruto's doing?" Neji's thoughts were noticeably different from his teammate and girlfriend.

From then on, the party went smoothly, if five girls openly gawking at two guys for a couple of minutes then stealing glances at them for the rest of the party could be called smooth.

In no time at all, meaning by the near end of the party, the karaoke part came by. Naruto had waited until most people went before raising his hand. This meant he had to endure Kiba singing Who Let the Dogs Out with Akamaru, Ino singing I'm a Barbie Girl, Temari singing Don'tcha Wish Your Girlfriend Was Hot like Me, and Kakashi singing a song about pancakes and porn, among others. Finally, when it seemed like no one else was going to volunteer, Naruto sent a discreet nod to Lee, who caught it and nodded back discreetly. They both stood up, saying simultaneously, "We have a song we'd like to perform." The group was slightly stunned by the finesse these two had, but Ino simply chirped a, "Sure! Get up here!" and the two walked up.

Naruto walked to the back part of the stage and opened a scroll. Setting it down, he placed his hands in the Ram hand seal and said, "Kai!" In a puff of smoke, there stood an entire band set: three guitars, a bass, a drum set, and two rather large speakers. Walking back to the front of the stage, where two microphones were, Naruto put his hands in a cross seal and said, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." Three puffs of smoke appeared, and three Narutos walked back and chose an instrument: Two Narutos chose two of the guitars, while the other picked up the bass. While they were getting their instruments ready, Naruto looked over at Lee, who nodded and began gathering his chakra.

The next moment flabbergasted everybody.

Lee reached up with his hands, and did a seal when his hands were chest-high. A cross-shaped seal.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Lee exclaimed, and in two puffs of smoke, and to the surprise of everyone minus Naruto, two perfect replicas of Lee stood behind him. Lee hunched over, seemingly tired, before Naruto placed his hand on Lee's shoulder and transferred a good amount of chakra into the man. Lee straightened up after that, and told the clones to go use the other two instruments. The clones did as instructed, one taking the last guitar while the other went to the drums and began spinning the drumsticks in his hands.

The two originals turned back to see a flabbergasted crowd. Naruto grinned sheepishly and took a hold of his mic, then said, "This song that we're about to perform is called Blind. It's meant for two very special kunoichi." He gave a signal, and the drummer Lee counted down with his drumsticks.

(Begin song "Blind" by Lifehouse here…)

The two Narutos on guitar began a double entrance, one strumming a number of chords while the other was in the background with single notes. Then the drummer and the rest of the clones picked up after 11 seconds, and they all continued together until they were 22 seconds into the song, whereupon Naruto began singing:

I was young but I wasn't naive;

I watched helpless… as he turned around to leave…

And still I have the pain I have to carry;

A past so deep… that even you could not bury if you tried.

Whoaaaaaaaa-ohhhhhhhhh-ohhhhhhhh…

After all this time…

I never thought we'd be here;

Never thought we'd be here

When my love for you was blind…

But I couldn't make you see it;

Couldn't make you see it

That I LOVED YOU MORE… than you'll ever know…

A PART OF ME DIED… when I… let… you…

Go…

Sakura was almost in tears by this part of the song. She understood what Naruto was trying to convey. The part about 'Watching him leave' was when Sasuke left the village, and the other… was his love for her, and how he simply loved her unconditionally.

The next part was taken up by Lee, who surprised them all with his deep, yet rich voice, rather similar to Naruto's:

I would fall asleep

Only in hopes of dreaming…

That everything… would be like it was before.

But nights like this it seems are slowly fleeting…

They disappear… as reality is crashing to the floor…

Ohhhhhhhhh-ohhhhhhhh…

After all this time…

I never thought we'd be here;

Never thought we'd be here

When my love for you was blind…

But I couldn't make you see it;

Couldn't make you see it

That I LOVED YOU MORE… than you'll ever know…

A PART OF ME DIED… when I let you…

Here, the clones of both ninja took up a chorus as Tenten sat there and wondered just how blind she had been:

DOOOOOWWWWNNN… NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA! DOOOOOOWWWWNNNN… NA-NA-NA-NA-NA! DOOOOOWWWWNNN… Whoaaaaa…

At this, Sakura and Tenten wracked their brains, wondering where and when the bakas had let them down. Sakura assumed Naruto meant when he failed to bring Sasuke back a couple of times, but Tenten couldn't understand what Lee meant. But then, both the original Naruto and Lee took up the song:

Lee: After all this while…

Naruto: Would you ever wanna leave him;

Lee: Maybe you could not believe it

That my love for you was blind…

Naruto: But I couldn't make you see it

Couldn't make you see it;

All Narutos and Lees: That I LOVED YOU MORE… than you'll ever know…

A part of me died… when I let you go…

And I loved you more… than you'll ever know…

A part of me died… when I let you…

Go…

The Narutos and Lees on the instruments finished off the song with a rather nice ending. Naruto and Lee had both closed their eyes, and they both opened them to find an open-mouthed crowd. They were all broken out of their stupor by Shikamaru actually standing up and clapping, followed by Gaara as he stood and clapped as well. Kankuro emulated his brother, followed by Temari, Gai, Kakashi, Shino, and Sasuke. Then Kiba, Hinata, Kurenai, and Neji stood and clapped as well. Finally, everyone sitting down followed, even little Sarutobi was clapping and gurgling. Naruto and Lee both smiled and took a bow, an action replicated by the clones behind them. And then, as if it had been timed, a messenger bird flew in through the same window that the one that came to him a month ago had come through. Naruto took the message and looked over it, then smiled and told the clones, "Guys, pack it up! We have a village-wide concert to do!" The entire Konoha 12 cheered and followed Naruto and Lee as they ran out of the building.

The Next Day…

Sakura Haruno was currently walking up to the Hokage Tower to meet with her shishou. As she walked, she continuously heard the gossip about the concert that had taken place the night before.

Naruto and Lee, all 7 of them, had run out and went straight to the Hokage Mountain, where they set up their equipment thanks to a clever lightning jutsu, courtesy of Kakashi, and a sound amplifying jutsu that Naruto had used on the area around them. As the music started, the entire village had begun to come to the Hokage Mountain, just content to sit and watch. Once the lyrics came about, people were both surprised and awed by the singing ability of both Lee and Naruto, especially Lee. Around halfway through the song, a number of the people in the crowd had become teary-eyed, due to either the meaning of the song hitting deep in their hearts, or them realizing how much the lyrics fit their situation. Soon enough, people had begun sending love confessions back and forth, and by the end of the song, the crowd was separated into three factions: those who were clapping and cheering at the duo, those who were making out with each other, and those who were crying for lost love. It had made both Sakura and Tenten feel both happy and sad: happy because of how their respective hyperactive knuckleheads could stir up a crowd like this, yet sad when they remembered why they were singing the song in the first place.

Approaching the Hokage Tower, Sakura noticed a certain bun-haired girl approaching from the other direction.

"Hey, Tenten!" Sakura called out.

Tenten started a bit at hearing her name

"Oh! Hello there, Sakura!" Tenten said, smiling widely. Once Sakura caught up to her, they started going up to the Hokage's Office.

"So, what brings you here, Tenten?" Sakura asked conversationally.

"Just going to check on my team's mission roster. Sensei somehow forgot to check it, probably due to Lee's change…" A blush sported her cheeks at the mention of Lee. "Anyways, Lee is… somewhere. I haven't been able to locate him! And Neji-kun had a meeting to go to, so it fell to me."

"That's funny. Never heard of Lee disappearing like that. But funnily enough, the same thing happened with Naruto. We were supposed to meet up with Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun today, but he never showed up, although Kakashi-sensei didn't seem too worried, so I suppose he knew where he was, but he refused to tell us." Sakura explained.

Before Tenten could respond, however, they had reached the door to Tsunade's office. Sakura immediately opened it without knocking, and the two kunoichi immediately deduced where the two missing shinobi were. Naruto and Lee were currently in a meeting with the Hokage, who looked unusually serious, and even a bit angry.

"… need to enter and find any info you can before destroying it." Tsunade was saying, "Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Lee said coolly.

"Sure thing, Baa-chan," Naruto said in a similar manner, before turning around to greet the newcomers. "Sakura-chan, Tenten, what brings you two here?"

Sakura and Tenten took a while to respond to this. Naruto and Lee were back in their usual attires, but Lee had kept his hair in his messy style from the day before and Naruto was wearing a black trench coat with an orange trim instead of his usual orange and black jacket. Lee gave Tenten a simple salute and turned back to the Hokage, picking up a scroll on the table and putting it inside a pocket of his flak jacket. This surprised and depressed Tenten a bit. Why was he so… quiet towards her? Had the song last night only meant that her blindness had made him give up?

"Uh… I just came to check in with shishou." Sakura explained. "Tenten here was going to check on Team Gai's mission roster."

"No need to bother, Tenten," Lee said, "I've already checked. No important missions are coming up for our team, although you, Neji-kun, and Gai-sensei are supposed to take a scroll to Suna in about a week."

Tenten found her voice yet again and, hiding her sadness, she asked, "Wait, just us three? What about you?"

Naruto and Lee both turned back to the Hokage, their eyes asking if they could tell the girls. Tsunade sighed and nodded, but stressed them all not to tell anyone else.

Naruto turned back, all traces of playfulness gone from his face. "About an hour ago, Baa-chan received a message from one of Ero-Sennin's spies. As it turns out, one of Orochimaru's old subjects decided to rebuild Otogakure again, and also plans to attack the other nations, especially Konoha, with a large number of Curse Seal soldiers."

Tenten and Sakura both gasped. They had been told by the Sasuke Retrieval Team of how the Curse Seal affected the Sound Four, Kimimaro, and especially Sasuke. It made them wilder, deadlier, and much stronger.

"Therefore," Lee continued, "Naruto-kun and I are to go to Otogakure and slip in. Once inside… we will find as much info as we can on the Otogakure ninja… and then annihilate Oto in its entirety."

Sakura and Tenten gasped in stereo at this.

"But that means…!" Tenten said

"Yes," Lee cut her off, "if we are caught, then we'll have roughly… nine hundred thousand Curse Seal soldiers against us, plus the might of the jinchūriki of Saiken the Rokubi and Chomei the Nanabi…"

Sakura immediately voiced her concern. "But that's impossible! You can't go at this alone! You two may be strong, but you're no one is at the level where you can take on so many soldiers, especially if they have Curse Seals, and two bijū!"

Naruto gave her a look that said, 'Stop it!' "Sakura…" the blonde Tokubetsu Jounin said, surprising her with the lack of honorific and slightly scaring her with his look: it was full of anger and… was that regret? "We're gonna get in, get the info, and kill anyone in our way. Then we will sneak back out and I will destroy the entirety of Oto with a Bijūdama or two. It's a done job. Unfortunately, there's not much we can do against the jinchūriki without harming the bijū themselves. They have somehow taken control of the bijū… and we don't know how. That's something we have to find out, and find a way to counteract."

Sakura wanted to argue with all her life, but the look Naruto was giving her prevented her from doing so. Tenten had the same dilemma with Lee. Sakura, however, had one last thing to say.

"Why don't you take anyone of the rest of the Konoha 12? We could totally help you guys, especially Sasuke with your teamwork of Susano'o and Kurama!"

"The reason is simple, Sakura." Tsunade said, "A small team is best for this kind of mission. Too many people would make it harder to infiltrate the village, and in the Konoha 12, with the exception of Sasuke, these two are the strongest there. This is why I'm sending them. The reason I cannot send Sasuke is because he is only freshly off his probation period. I cannot yet send him on a mission of this scale. He has to start from the bottom."

Sakura and Tenten looked down, both trying to hold back tears. They were about to walk out when Tsunade said, "Boys, you're dismissed. Please escort Sakura and Tenten out. I have much work to do."

Naruto and Lee nodded. Each holding the shoulder of their respective love interest, they steered them out of the room, the girls too far in shock and fear to resist.

Once outside the office, the boys stood in front of the girls in a slightly awkward silence. The boys didn't know what they could say to allay the fears of the girls, and the girls didn't know what they could say to convince the guys not to leave to their possible deaths.

Finally, Naruto broke the silence. "We have to get going soon, Lee. We can't waste too much time. Any moment, those Curse Seal temes could attack."

Lee simply nodded and said, "Right, Naruto-kun." Looking back at Tenten, he said, "Well… I guess this is goodbye for now."

Tenten looked up, her eyes red and watery. "What… what are you talking about?!" Sakura looked like she wanted to ask the same.

Naruto looked at them both with an unreadable face. "We're not dumb. We know what this mission entails…"

Sakura looked lost for a bit, until it clicked in her mind, and she immediately began crying. "No… No! You can't!"

Naruto walked up to Sakura and calmly and softly held her chin, which shut her up. Something seemed to pass in between their eyes, because the next moment Naruto leaned forward and connected his lips to hers for a few seconds. Sakura closed her eyes at the kiss, and leaned into it a bit. Lee followed Naruto's example and did the same to Tenten, who reacted the same way.

Finally, both couples separated, and Naruto and Lee said simultaneously, "Remember… No matter what, I love you." Then Naruto grabbed Lee by the shoulder and, in a yellow flash, they were gone.

Tenten and Sakura stood rooted to the spot, both out of shock, but more for Sakura than Tenten. The latter finally turned to the pinkette and asked, "What was that all about?"

The next words that the pinkette said made both of them run to the Village Gates, only to break down crying an hour later along with the rest of the Konoha 12 after seeing a tall dome of orange light viewable even from their distance…

"They knowingly went… on a suicide mission…"

And that's that! Tell me how I did! I honestly think this song fit NaruSaku and LeeTen rather well. Now... back to my posted and not yet posted stories!