Please try to read this along with the song "Elephant Love Medley" from Moulin Rouge. It makes the scene better! This was just a little plot bunny that attacked me. It's not supposed to be good and it's not supposed to be involved.

Kakashi stood under the bright lights, and for the first time in his life, was absolutely terrified

Kakashi stood under the bright lights, and for the first time in his life, was absolutely terrified. No mission was ever this horrible, so completely paralyzing, rendering him speechless. Not for the first time, he thanked his decision long ago to don the mask.

"Are you ready Kakashi?" A light female voice floated past his barrier and broke the paralysis.

He looked down, into the green eyes of his former student. The object of his terror was outstretched in her hand, lightly dangling as if it held no more significance then a chopstick. Kakashi swallowed hard and took the microphone from her hand. Turning toward the karaoke screen, he cursed his bad luck for having an unshakable honor code.

It all started a week ago. He was perched on a tree branch in one of the less frequently used training fields. Icha Icha Paradise was in front of his face and he was enjoying one of his favorite pages.

"Ah! My eternal rival! I found you at last!"

Kakashi groaned internally. Pretending not to notice, he calmly turned the page in his book. He stoically gazed at the page while Gai ranted and raved about the next great contest he had for them.

"So Kakashi, are you ready?"

Kakashi grunted and finally set his book down. "What do I have to do?"

Gai grinned magnificently and pointed at the silver-haired ninja. "You and I, will have a race around the village!"

Sighing, Kakashi said, "How many laps?"

"Two hundred. The loser must sing at the bar during the next Karaoke night!"

Blinking, Kakashi stood up and looked toward the sun. "We have three, maybe four hours until sunset. Shall we do it today or tomorrow?"

Gai was stretching his legs on the ground underneath the tree, giving Kakashi his answer. Fine, Kakashi thought to himself. I better not lose.

3 HOURS LATER

Kakashi was sauntering to his apartment, his glazed eyes watching the road. He didn't know what to do. He had lost. How had he lost? It was quite simple actually.

"Kakashi! Help!"

Kakashi paused in his run to see his former female student hanging by her ankle from a tree. He glanced to see Gai pulling ahead steadily and groaned. He went over and untied the rope that held her up.

"I'm going to kill Naruto… just wait until I see that little bugger again!" Sakura was pissed and Kakashi had no doubt that she would indeed put Naruto in the hospital.

"Don't hurt him too badly, he is one of the village's most needed ninjas right now." With that statement, Sakura turned to see him dashing off after a green-spandex blur.

The next Karaoke night was in a week. He had to do something to get out of it. His voice wasn't that nice when he was just talking and he had no doubts that people would run out of the room with bleeding ears or die from ear-drums bursting.

"Kakashi! Hey, Kakashi! Come over here fool!"

He looked up to once again see Sakura, looking much happier then she did two hours ago. She must have really hurt Naruto. Hope he isn't too injured. He lifted his hand in his customary greeting and sighed out a half-hearted "Yo."

Sakura ran over to him and looked into his eye. "What's wrong?"

"I lost."

She was confused. "Lost what? You never lose anything, unless it's your train of thought or the time."

He sighed. "I lost to Gai, now I have to…" he trailed off, not wanting to say it out loud because that would make it real.

Sakura was persistent though, "What do you have to do? Why did you lose?"

Kakashi slumped further, if it was even possible. "I lost because I stopped to help you out of the tree. I have to sing at the next Karaoke night at the bar."

Stunned, Sakura could only gape at him. "I'm sorry! Here, come with me!" Grabbing his hand, she pulled him hurriedly through the streets.

"Sakura! Where are you taking me?"

She glanced back at him and was surprised to see him shocked at her strength. Inner Sakura was smirking and doing a victory dance at finally forcing some emotion from the Copy Ninja. "My apartment."

Kakashi's eyes widened. Moments later, they were inside the modest apartment and Sakura was rummaging through a box she pulled from the back of the closet. She pulled out a dusty machine and a microphone.

"Well, since it's my fault that you lost, I'm going to sing with you."

Turning around, she handed him a booklet filled with song titles. "Pick one out, that's all duets so we should be able to find one that suits both of our voices."

Kakashi stared dumbly at the book. "I don't sing."

Sakura laughed. "You must! In the shower?"

Kakashi shook his head.

"On a solitary mission?"

Another negative head shake.

"When you were five and playing in the forest?"

"I've never sung in my entire life. Ever."

Apparently that was very uncommon. Sakura stood with her mouth open in shock. Kakashi was getting annoyed. "Sakura. Can I leave now?"

"No!" Sakura walked over and poured a glass of water. Turning back to him, she motioned for him to take a seat on her couch. Sitting across from him, she asked, "What songs do you like to listen to?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Wasn't much into music when I was young. Never really picked it up."

Sakura rubbed her forehead. "Ok, this will be harder than I thought. Well, not to fear Kakashi! When you walk into that bar next week you will be the best singer this town has ever heard! After me of course." She winked at him and placed her radio on the table.

I'm worried, very worried. Kakashi thought to himself.

And that's how he ended up on this stage, with all of the ninja in the village packed into the bar. Naruto and Sasuke grabbed a table up at the front while his normal drinking buddies snagged the table next to them. All were eagerly waiting for the song to start.

Whispers floated around all week. "Did you hear? Kakashi's going to sing karaoke!"

"No way! Do you think he has a good voice?"

"Probably not, have you heard him talk? Not the most pleasing to the ear."

Kakashi had heard all of them and told Sakura that he would just take a mission out of the village for two years and this would all blow over. She would have none of it though and kept him on a strict schedule for learning the duet she picked. She said that he was doing wonderfully, so he hoped for the best and nodded to the DJ to begin the song.

"Love is a many splendid thing," he began. "Love lifts us up where we belong. All you need is love."

Sakura replied, "Please don't start that again."

"All you need is love," he sang.

"A girl has got to eat!" Sakura walked around to his other side, a dance routine that they had worked out in her apartment over the week.

"All you need is love!" He turned and followed her across the stage.

"She'll end up on the street," Sakura turned and pushed him back. "Uhh!"

"All you need is love!"

"Love is just a game."

The music picked up and the couple on the stage didn't hear the whispers of the blond ninja sitting with Naruto and Sasuke. "It's funny, one would think that Kakashi would be singing about love being just a game."

"Shut up Ino!" Naruto whispered angrily. "I can't hear!"

"I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me!"

"The only way of loving me baby, is to pay a lovely fee!" Sakura made a motion of rubbing money between her fingers as she sauntered past Kakashi again.

He followed her again, singing, "Just one night, give me just one night!"

Sakura turned and shook her finger in his face. "There's no way, 'cause you can't pay."

Kakashi grabbed her hand, "In the name of love! One night in the name of love!"

Sakura ripped her hand away. "You crazy fool, I won't give in to you."

"Don't leave me this way, I can't survive without your sweet love," Kakashi put his hand over his heart. "Oh baby, don't leave me this way!"

Walking over to the edge of the stage, Sakura looked wistfully into space. "You think that people would have enough of silly love songs."

"I look around me and I see it isn't so, oh no." Kakashi made a show of looking around the bar, waving his arm in a big sweep of the bar, but didn't really see any of the people staring in shock. He was caught up in the song and the choreography.

"Some people wanna fill the world with silly love songs."

"Well what's wrong with that? I'd like to know, 'cause here I go again!" Kakashi moved and swept Sakura up with one arm and spun her around. He set her down gently and gazed into her eyes.

"Love lifts us up where we belong!" He smiled and he continued to sing with gusto. "Where the eagles fly on a mountain high!" He swept his arm out again, encompassing the crowd.

Sakura pushed herself away, "Love makes us act like we are fools." She shook her head. "Throw our lives away for one happy day."

"We can be heroes!" He walked forward. "Just for one day."

"You, you will be mean," Sakura nervously stepped back.

Kakashi laughed, tracking her steps. "No I won't."

"And I, I'll drink all the time!" Sakura took another step back, almost to the edge of the stage.

"We should be lovers!"

Sakura gasped. "We can't do that!"

"We should be lovers, and that's a fact." Kakshi reached out to grab her hand.

"No nothing would keep us together."

"We could steal time," he pulled her closer.

"Just for one day!" they harmonized. "We can be heroes, forever and ever. We can be heroes, forever and ever! We can be heroes!"

Kakashi spun Sakura like a ballerina and brought her close up to his chest. "Just because I, and I will always love you!"

Sakura gazed into his eye, also caught up in the performance. "I can't help…"

"Loving you!" They ended in a perfect harmony.

Whispering, Sakura sang "How wonderful life is now," Kakashi joined her for the last line, "you're in the world." The song ended and the lights on the stage blacked as Kakashi and Sakura stared into each other's eyes.

They barely noticed the uproar of applause. The shocked yells and cheers from their core group of friends. Kakashi only saw green and Sakura was likewise fascinated with gray. Kakashi leaned forward and brushed his mask covered lips over hers. The lights were thrown back on and Kakashi let Sakura go and turned her to face the audience.

The cheers were thunderous. Sakura blushed and bowed. Kakashi stood awkwardly and Sakura grabbed his hand and forced him to take a bow too.

Looking at Sakura, Kakashi threw his head in a gesture of "let's get out of here" and pulled her hand slightly. Sakura looked out at the crowd and saw Ino lock glances with her. A grin broke out over her face and two ninjas suddenly disappeared from the bar.