(A/N) Yup, I know. A Naruto fic. Probably a one-shot, though I left it off so that if I ever decided to get off my ass there could be another chapter. Sasuke isn't in this one, since I'm not sure what time frame it takes place it. Nor do I care, frankly. Call it AU if it makes you feel better.

Naruto Uzumaki yawned loudly, alone in his one-man apartment. Warm, full of ramen and therefore content, he flopped backwards onto his small bed, arms and legs splayed in any direction. Only a few minutes had passed when he awoke. Eyes that were supposed to be pale blue were now dark red, with tiny blue flecks, giving them an anti-bloodshot look. "Finally…" he rumbled in a voice not his own. "Last month went on forever." He threw back his head and cackled.

"The children of Konoha will cry tonight!"

)-(

Sakura Haruno wandered the streets, full moon suspended above her. She shook her head, happy just for the calm weather. She had gone to Ino's for dinner, and the Yamanaka girl had caught her in a conversation that seemed to have no end. Finally having escaped it's grasp, Sakura had started out walking quickly on the short route to her house, but had ended up meandering through the side streets. If her parents got mad, she could simply blame Ino.

Eventually, she decided to head back home. A few seconds before she turned the corner onto the street that would get her there the fastest, she heard loud yelling and music about a block in the direction she was going. Something about the raucous voice sounded familiar, yet she couldn't place it. Like an older version of somebody she knew very well. Pausing for a few seconds, she decided to keep going in the same direction.

The source of the noise was an arcade. The pink haired ninja knew it vaguely, having passed it by a few times. She wasn't sure how she recognized it, as it was the only source of light on the blackened avenue. It was like a concrete cave, just a squat building in a row of only slightly taller ones, with practically the entire front end carved out as what could be considered a door. Approaching from the side, the warm light spilled out of the wall of black and into the street. Sakura peered into the door and was met with a strange sight.

Uzumaki Naruto, her friend (when he wasn't too annoying) and teammate, was playing on one of the machines. But not a shooter. Not even a roleplaying game.

He was playing DDR.

Sakura blinked in wonder. The sun had already set ages ago! Why was he here and what was he doing?

The song ended and he stood there, thinking about his next selection. "Naruto-kun?" She asked as she walked towards him. "Naruto-kun?' She repeated a little more loudly, having walked a few feet closer. "Naruto!" She yelled, touching his arm. The blonde started. "Oh, right, the kitling's name." He muttered. "Yes? Who are you?" Sakura blinked again. Since he usually pranced around professing his love for her, forgetting her name was the last thing she expected him to do. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked, putting a hand to his forehead. A low growl was uttered in response. "What are you doing?" he said, jerking back. "I could ask the same of you!" She countered. Maybe he was some other gennin with a genjutsu on because he didn't want to be bothered.

A young boy, not even a gennin yet, approached the occupied machine. "Mister? You had the DDR for an hour. Could I play now?" Sakura expected Naruto to grin and yell that he lost track of time, or to get into a scuffle with the boy over it if he really wanted to play. Therefore, what he did next surprised her considerably.

The blonde growled, from deep in his throat and narrowed his eyes maliciously. "No." he said simply, without taking his eyes off the screen. The kid walked away, big fat tears rolling down his face. Having selected a song called Mr. Wonderful, Naruto's eyes returned to their normal size and a barely noticeable smile played across his lips. Sakura noticed he was mumbling under his breath as he danced.

"Left left left left left right right right right right up up down down down up-down down…"

Shaking her head, Sakura grabbed his arm. "Come one, you need help." Sadly, at that moment the song ended and he selected the next, as though he hadn't heard her.

'Aiyaiyai,

I'm your little butterfly,

green black and blue

make the colours in the sky…'

Sakura LOVED this song. When she rarely did play DDR with Ino, she always made the blonde play this song at least once. Against her better judgment, she climbed onto the platform beside Naruto, who gave her a quizzical look before returning his attention to the screen. The pink haired girl twitched. Both of the pads were set to standard, so they were on totally even ground. Well, perhaps not even ground. If what the little kid said was to be used as an example, Naruto was here often and for great lengths of time.

The song really got into gear as the arrows floated up onto her screen, with her stomping in time with all of them, missing maybe one or two. Naruto followed seamlessly, confirming her suspicions. The song went into it's short break, prompting Naruto to mutter some more. "Right-left, right-left, right-left, right-left, right-left…"

'Aiyaiyai,

I'm your little butterfly,

green black and blue

make the colours in the sky…'

Left, left, left rightrightriiiiiiiight!

Laughing hysterically at how badly she had screwed up the last part, Sakura leaned back onto the bar. Naruto Looked sideways at her. "You just failed, did you not?"

Still laughing, Sakura pointed to the screen, which showed a B.

"Yet you did not perform to your full capacity? And still you laugh as though joyous."

Sakura smiled at her teammate. "I screwed up. It was funny, since I always mess up at the same part."

Sakura immediately regretted the words when a familiar look crossed her friend's face. It was one of sheer determination, and one she saw fairly often. In this context, it meant that she had a long night ahead of her. The next words to come out of Naruto's mouth confirmed that.

"Then you shall practice."

)-(

"YES! HAHAHA! TAKE THAT KONAMI!"

Startled from his game, a boy with short black hair and dark skin looked up to see a girl prancing around in a circle near the DDR machine. Her pink hair was tousled and her face was flushed, and she was making more noise than he cared to deal with. Having lost all his lives, he walked outside and turned down the corner towards his house. On his way out, the fat man that owned the arcade pointed at him and yelled. 'NO FUTURE!"

Naruto nodded, a smug look on his face. Sakura stopped and caught her breath. "Ha! I finally nailed it. Can't wait to show Ino-pig…"

Her companion turned around and dumped more money in the machine, selected two player and chose Candy. "Hey!" Sakura yelled. 'What are you doing?" He turned his shoulders and neck around, head tilted slightly. "I'm continuing." His face said 'What does it look like, retard?' "Oh no, you don't!" Yelled Sakura. She grabbed his elbow and hauled him away, her fellow gennin whining and making grabbing motions for the dancing machine as it got farther and farther away.

Having exited the building and stopped, Sakura looked around. "Where do you live, anyways?" She was starting to think the boy was under some sort of influence. "In the kitlet's stomach." Naruto said without hesitation. Sakura adopted a blank expression, while Inner Sakura twitched.

"Er, I mean…. I can get home on my own, thanks anyway."

Sakura cocked an eyebrow at him. It was a strong possibility that he was, in fact, drunk. Either that or Iruka had told him that you could get high off of ramen. "No way. Now where do you live?" Naruto sighed and started to lead the way towards his house, in the opposite direction of his beloved DDR machine. He would not see it again for a month! Sakura followed a few feet behind, making sure he wouldn't turn around and run back towards the arcade.

Stopping at the bottom of the stairs for his apartment building, Naruto turned around and said "Goodnight." mildly. Sakura smiled. "See you tomorrow." Naruto rolled his eyes as he turned around and muttered under his breath, barely audibly. "Wouldn't count on it."

Pretending she hadn't heard that, the girl turned around and walked off, picking up the trail that she had started too many hours ago.

)-(

The sun had been up for only a few hours, but already there were bangs and yells coming from Naruto's house. The demon-vessel, unaware of the escapades of his occupant, was rifling frantically through his clothes for change for the day's laundry and other important things. Like ramen.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE ALL MY QUARTERS?"

Deep in his inner workings, Kyuubi smiled and curled up, humming Butterfly.