Konoha Summer Festival 1/3
something i wrote really long ago, back when i was a mad Naruto fan and an avid supporter of KakaSaku.
Sakura had never been the musical type until she heard the violin at the summer festival.
Being a ninja, one did not have breaks regularly. Sometimes mission would come after mission and one could barely breathe in between. Sometimes there were so little missions available that even the laziest ninja could get bored.
But there was one break which everybody in Konoha, civilian and ninja alike, looked forward to - the summer festival.
Summers in Konoha could get really hot sometimes and many people would stay indoors. This could get pretty boring as one might guess, so the Hokage suggested to the council to hold a festival once a year during summer. This way, people could come out and have fun, and as the venue was usually near the lake, everyone would be able to keep cool.
This year was no different. On the 15th of June, the festival would be held at the lake. As usual, there would be games and snack stalls, as well as souvenir stands, mainly for the tourists who came to attend the festival. As far as Sakura knew, Konoha was the only village who organized such a festival. She could hardly wait for the festival - she would finally have a break this year! For months she had been going for mission after mission; one after another. Finally, she would have some time to chill out and have fun.
****
Today’s the day! Sakura thought as she dressed and prepared to leave the house for the Festival. Along the way she would meet up with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. Or just Kakashi, considering that all three of them were now of equal ranking. She checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror and dashed out of the house.
As she walked, she saw Naruto at Ichiraku, as usual. She yelled out his name.
“Naruto! How are you!”
Naruto turned around and seeing it was Sakura, waved back.
“Sakura-chan! I’m fine! Oh by the way, Kakashi said he wouldn’t be meeting us and told us to go to the festival first.”
Sakura frowned. For the past few years they had always met up and gone to the festival together. So why was Kakashi not meeting them this year?
“Oh well, then let’s go to the lake then!”
****
By the time they reached the lake, it was close to noon. The river banks were crowded, with stall holders advertising their goods as well as games loudly. Many people were standing around chatting and eating snacks - many were shinobi who only had today as a break.
“Ne Sakura-chan, I’m getting something to eat. How about you?”
Sakura shook her head and said no thanks, she wanted to watch the talent competition that was starting in ten minutes’ time.
“Oh alright then, I’ll see you near the stage then!” Naruto replied, and ran off in search of food.
Sakura smiled. That Naruto, always hungry. Though I wonder… what kind of talent would there be this year? And who would wow the audience with their amazing talent?
She walked towards the stage, occasionally stopping at stalls to admire the interesting goods and souvenirs on sale. When she reached the stage area, it was so crowded she could barely breathe. Luckily, she found a spot where she could see the stage without difficulty.
As always, the emcee was Tsunade-shishou, who would jump at any chance to skip work. Though she was overly fond of sake, she was a genius with crowds. Her humour was very popular with her audiences, who cheered whenever she stepped onto stage to host any event.
Tsunade picked up her mike and began speaking.
“Hello one and all and welcome to the fifth Konoha Summer Festival! Today has been the day all of you have been waiting for! Without further ado, let’s begin the competition! To all the other visitors who are not at the stage area, do come over to watch the show! First I would like to present the judges of this competition…”
Tsunade gestured to the table with two people seated there.
“First up, we have Jiraiya the legendary Toad Hermit!” Jiraiya grinned madly and waved to the audience. “Next we have Iruka-sensei from the ninja academy!” Iruka smiled and waved as well.
“And finally our last judge is none other than myself” Tsunade said, and continued. “Alright, without further ado let’s bring in our first contestant! Presenting Akahoshi Tenjou!”
A red haired man of about twenty years stepped onto the stage. He did a simple self-introduction and said “Today I will sing for everyone. I hope you will like my performance!”
Tsunade took her seat and gestured for the young man to begin. In an extremely high (and out of tune) voice he began to sing.
“Raindrops falling children singing
Rain rain go-” He paused and took a deep breath.
“ AWAYYYYY!”
The pitch of his voice and his tone-deafness is unbelievable, Sakura thought as she clapped her hands over her ears. She watched as Tsunade, with slightly shaky legs stood up to speak.
“You have a good singing voice Akahoshi-san. Thank you! And next up is…”
Sakura shivered. If all the other contestants were like this…
“Hakami Gurei!”
A black haired man of about thirty appeared on stage. Dressed simply and with an eye-patch over his left eye, he held a battered-looking violin. “Konichiwa minna-san. I am Gurei and today I will perform on the violin a piece I have composed myself.” Picking up his bow, he began to play.
As each clear liquid note rang out, Sakura was mesmerized. Was it possible to produce such a wondrous sound with such an instrument? She watched as his long and slender fingers flew across the violin strings. His eyes were closed as he played, absorbed in the music as the audience were. Whispers could be heard among the audience
“That guy’s a genius! I have never heard such a wonderful performance!”
“Such confidence and such wonderful music. I think he will be the winner today!”
Sakura felt strange. Why did the music seem so familiar? The emotions it evoked… Why did it seem so… so much like her?
As the last note faded into the silence, there was silence. And then thunderous applause and cheers rang out from all corners of the stage. The man smiled and took a bow.
Tsunade walked up to the contestant with shaky legs (again-this time for another reason)
“That was the most amazing violin piece I have heard! What is the name of this wonderful piece may I ask?”
The man smiled again and looked at the audience.
Or rather, directly at Sakura.
“Sakura.”
Her mouth fell open. Who was this man?!?!?!
Tsunade followed the man’s gaze but it was too late, he had looked back at her - she would never find out who this man was looking so intensely at! She sighed inwardly.
“Thank you very much Hakami-san! Let us continue with the competition, shall we?”
****
When all the contestants had performed, Tsunade invited them onto the stage. “We will now have a conference between the three judges. Please give us a few minutes of silence as we make our decision.”
The chattering crowd fell silent. Still, Sakura heard a few whispers.
“It’s so obvious who will win already, what is there to decide?!”
“I support the violin guy!”
Sakura held her breath. Who would be the winner of this competition?
After discussing their choices and making the final decisions, the judges began to speak. Jiraiya spoke first.
“Everyone has displayed exceptional talent today and it is rather hard for us to decide but we have decided that Takoba Aki, Hokuto Usada and Hakami Gurei are the top three performers today! Please take a step forward.”
Cheers and applause could be heard as the three contestants stepped forward. Jiraiya continued, “Iruka will now announce the winner of this competition.”
Iruka cleared his throat and spoke, “It might be rather rude to say this but the winner’s talent really cannot compare to the other contestants. I hereby announce that Hakami Gurei is the winner!”
Wild cheers and applause was heard. Tsunade stepped up to the stunned Hakami to present him with his prize - a golden trophy and a reward of a thousand ryo.
“Congratulation Hakami-san! On behalf of the judges I would like to thank all the contestants who have participated in this competition as well as the audience for being wonderful supporters. Thank you for watching this competition and do continue to enjoy yourself at the festival!”
As the crowd dispersed, Naruto ran up to Sakura.
“Ne Sakura-chan! Do you know that Gurei person? He was looking at you wasn’t he?”
Sakura sighed. “I don’t know him Naruto. He doesn’t seem to be anyone from our village.”
Naruto seemed to be in deep thought. “I know! How about we follow him! This way we will find out who he really is!” Sakura slapped Naruto on his head.
“Baka! He’s just some stranger who happened to look at me alright? Just let it be already!”
In the end Naruto had his way.
****
Childish as Naruto’s plan sounded, they were pretty capable of tailing the man. He did not seem to have any ninja traits and even if he did, Sakura and Naruto had suppressed their chakras to the lowest level possible. It would take a top ninja to sense them.
Carrying his violin in a case, Hakami Gurei walked briskly towards a block of old apartments. Sakura frowned. He’s from our village? Or is he just renting a room- No why rent a room for just a day? Who is he?!
“Sakura-chan. Isn’t that guy headed to Kakashi’s apartment?”
Sakura snapped out of her reverie and looked to where Naruto was pointing. Sure enough, the man named Gurei was standing at Kakashi’s doorstep and fumbling for something in his pockets. Eventually he fished out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.
Naruto seemed ready to pounce on the stranger but Sakura stopped him
“Don’t do anything yet Naruto! We need to confirm who this guy really is and why he’s in Kakashi’s apartment!”
With the stealth of a top jounin, both of them moved slowly to the window of the apartment and peeked inside.
Only to see the man do a seal and in a puff of smoke, was replaced by…
Naruto’s jaw dropped. Sakura’s heart began to beat faster.
It can’t be… It can’t be!
He would have sensed their presences a long time ago. Or he pretended not to.
Kakashi set his violin case on his coffee table and plopped down on the couch. He knew Naruto and Sakura were just outside watching him. He should’ve known that he would be followed.
He put his face in his hands. What spirit had possessed to do what he had just done?
Sakura had never been the musical type until she heard the violin at the summer festival.
Being a ninja, one did not have breaks regularly. Sometimes mission would come after mission and one could barely breathe in between. Sometimes there were so little missions available that even the laziest ninja could get bored.
But there was one break which everybody in Konoha, civilian and ninja alike, looked forward to - the summer festival.
Summers in Konoha could get really hot sometimes and many people would stay indoors. This could get pretty boring as one might guess, so the Hokage suggested to the council to hold a festival once a year during summer. This way, people could come out and have fun, and as the venue was usually near the lake, everyone would be able to keep cool.
This year was no different. On the 15th of June, the festival would be held at the lake. As usual, there would be games and snack stalls, as well as souvenir stands, mainly for the tourists who came to attend the festival. As far as Sakura knew, Konoha was the only village who organized such a festival. She could hardly wait for the festival - she would finally have a break this year! For months she had been going for mission after mission; one after another. Finally, she would have some time to chill out and have fun.
****
Today’s the day! Sakura thought as she dressed and prepared to leave the house for the Festival. Along the way she would meet up with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. Or just Kakashi, considering that all three of them were now of equal ranking. She checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror and dashed out of the house.
As she walked, she saw Naruto at Ichiraku, as usual. She yelled out his name.
“Naruto! How are you!”
Naruto turned around and seeing it was Sakura, waved back.
“Sakura-chan! I’m fine! Oh by the way, Kakashi said he wouldn’t be meeting us and told us to go to the festival first.”
Sakura frowned. For the past few years they had always met up and gone to the festival together. So why was Kakashi not meeting them this year?
“Oh well, then let’s go to the lake then!”
****
By the time they reached the lake, it was close to noon. The river banks were crowded, with stall holders advertising their goods as well as games loudly. Many people were standing around chatting and eating snacks - many were shinobi who only had today as a break.
“Ne Sakura-chan, I’m getting something to eat. How about you?”
Sakura shook her head and said no thanks, she wanted to watch the talent competition that was starting in ten minutes’ time.
“Oh alright then, I’ll see you near the stage then!” Naruto replied, and ran off in search of food.
Sakura smiled. That Naruto, always hungry. Though I wonder… what kind of talent would there be this year? And who would wow the audience with their amazing talent?
She walked towards the stage, occasionally stopping at stalls to admire the interesting goods and souvenirs on sale. When she reached the stage area, it was so crowded she could barely breathe. Luckily, she found a spot where she could see the stage without difficulty.
As always, the emcee was Tsunade-shishou, who would jump at any chance to skip work. Though she was overly fond of sake, she was a genius with crowds. Her humour was very popular with her audiences, who cheered whenever she stepped onto stage to host any event.
Tsunade picked up her mike and began speaking.
“Hello one and all and welcome to the fifth Konoha Summer Festival! Today has been the day all of you have been waiting for! Without further ado, let’s begin the competition! To all the other visitors who are not at the stage area, do come over to watch the show! First I would like to present the judges of this competition…”
Tsunade gestured to the table with two people seated there.
“First up, we have Jiraiya the legendary Toad Hermit!” Jiraiya grinned madly and waved to the audience. “Next we have Iruka-sensei from the ninja academy!” Iruka smiled and waved as well.
“And finally our last judge is none other than myself” Tsunade said, and continued. “Alright, without further ado let’s bring in our first contestant! Presenting Akahoshi Tenjou!”
A red haired man of about twenty years stepped onto the stage. He did a simple self-introduction and said “Today I will sing for everyone. I hope you will like my performance!”
Tsunade took her seat and gestured for the young man to begin. In an extremely high (and out of tune) voice he began to sing.
“Raindrops falling children singing
Rain rain go-” He paused and took a deep breath.
“ AWAYYYYY!”
The pitch of his voice and his tone-deafness is unbelievable, Sakura thought as she clapped her hands over her ears. She watched as Tsunade, with slightly shaky legs stood up to speak.
“You have a good singing voice Akahoshi-san. Thank you! And next up is…”
Sakura shivered. If all the other contestants were like this…
“Hakami Gurei!”
A black haired man of about thirty appeared on stage. Dressed simply and with an eye-patch over his left eye, he held a battered-looking violin. “Konichiwa minna-san. I am Gurei and today I will perform on the violin a piece I have composed myself.” Picking up his bow, he began to play.
As each clear liquid note rang out, Sakura was mesmerized. Was it possible to produce such a wondrous sound with such an instrument? She watched as his long and slender fingers flew across the violin strings. His eyes were closed as he played, absorbed in the music as the audience were. Whispers could be heard among the audience
“That guy’s a genius! I have never heard such a wonderful performance!”
“Such confidence and such wonderful music. I think he will be the winner today!”
Sakura felt strange. Why did the music seem so familiar? The emotions it evoked… Why did it seem so… so much like her?
As the last note faded into the silence, there was silence. And then thunderous applause and cheers rang out from all corners of the stage. The man smiled and took a bow.
Tsunade walked up to the contestant with shaky legs (again-this time for another reason)
“That was the most amazing violin piece I have heard! What is the name of this wonderful piece may I ask?”
The man smiled again and looked at the audience.
Or rather, directly at Sakura.
“Sakura.”
Her mouth fell open. Who was this man?!?!?!
Tsunade followed the man’s gaze but it was too late, he had looked back at her - she would never find out who this man was looking so intensely at! She sighed inwardly.
“Thank you very much Hakami-san! Let us continue with the competition, shall we?”
****
When all the contestants had performed, Tsunade invited them onto the stage. “We will now have a conference between the three judges. Please give us a few minutes of silence as we make our decision.”
The chattering crowd fell silent. Still, Sakura heard a few whispers.
“It’s so obvious who will win already, what is there to decide?!”
“I support the violin guy!”
Sakura held her breath. Who would be the winner of this competition?
After discussing their choices and making the final decisions, the judges began to speak. Jiraiya spoke first.
“Everyone has displayed exceptional talent today and it is rather hard for us to decide but we have decided that Takoba Aki, Hokuto Usada and Hakami Gurei are the top three performers today! Please take a step forward.”
Cheers and applause could be heard as the three contestants stepped forward. Jiraiya continued, “Iruka will now announce the winner of this competition.”
Iruka cleared his throat and spoke, “It might be rather rude to say this but the winner’s talent really cannot compare to the other contestants. I hereby announce that Hakami Gurei is the winner!”
Wild cheers and applause was heard. Tsunade stepped up to the stunned Hakami to present him with his prize - a golden trophy and a reward of a thousand ryo.
“Congratulation Hakami-san! On behalf of the judges I would like to thank all the contestants who have participated in this competition as well as the audience for being wonderful supporters. Thank you for watching this competition and do continue to enjoy yourself at the festival!”
As the crowd dispersed, Naruto ran up to Sakura.
“Ne Sakura-chan! Do you know that Gurei person? He was looking at you wasn’t he?”
Sakura sighed. “I don’t know him Naruto. He doesn’t seem to be anyone from our village.”
Naruto seemed to be in deep thought. “I know! How about we follow him! This way we will find out who he really is!” Sakura slapped Naruto on his head.
“Baka! He’s just some stranger who happened to look at me alright? Just let it be already!”
In the end Naruto had his way.
****
Childish as Naruto’s plan sounded, they were pretty capable of tailing the man. He did not seem to have any ninja traits and even if he did, Sakura and Naruto had suppressed their chakras to the lowest level possible. It would take a top ninja to sense them.
Carrying his violin in a case, Hakami Gurei walked briskly towards a block of old apartments. Sakura frowned. He’s from our village? Or is he just renting a room- No why rent a room for just a day? Who is he?!
“Sakura-chan. Isn’t that guy headed to Kakashi’s apartment?”
Sakura snapped out of her reverie and looked to where Naruto was pointing. Sure enough, the man named Gurei was standing at Kakashi’s doorstep and fumbling for something in his pockets. Eventually he fished out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.
Naruto seemed ready to pounce on the stranger but Sakura stopped him
“Don’t do anything yet Naruto! We need to confirm who this guy really is and why he’s in Kakashi’s apartment!”
With the stealth of a top jounin, both of them moved slowly to the window of the apartment and peeked inside.
Only to see the man do a seal and in a puff of smoke, was replaced by…
Naruto’s jaw dropped. Sakura’s heart began to beat faster.
It can’t be… It can’t be!
He would have sensed their presences a long time ago. Or he pretended not to.
Kakashi set his violin case on his coffee table and plopped down on the couch. He knew Naruto and Sakura were just outside watching him. He should’ve known that he would be followed.
He put his face in his hands. What spirit had possessed to do what he had just done?