"I thought when you said I could come over to the studio, it would be fun,"
Naruto said, bored out of his mind as he sat down on the nearby swivel chair, spinning back and forth.
Karin just ignored her cousin's childish behaviour as she focused on her work.
"Like doesn't music happen here? I was promised some form of entertainment at least," He said as he slowly got on her nerves.
"If I remember correctly YOU asked to come," She said, glaring at him from the corner of her eye.
He grinned sheepishly, "well I had nothing to do after practice and I didn't think it would be this boring."
"And Kim wasn't around for your hopeless romantic ass?" She retorted.
"Haha very funny," He said dryly.
Silence fell between them as her attention went back to the laptop in front of her as she continued working, leaving the blonde alone to boredom.
Getting tired of hearing his chair squeak back and forth, she got an idea.
"You know what?" She asked seeing her cousin trying to balance a pen on his nose.
"Why don't you listen to one of the songs I've been working on and tell me what you think about it?" She asked.
"Sure," He said excitedly, like a child who had been given a new toy to play with.
"Here," She passed him her headphones which were plugged into her la,ptop.
"Tell me what you think."
Ghostride by Crumb
"Woah that's pretty good," Naruto said taking off the headphones.
"You're sure?" She asked seriously.
"Yeah it's Pretty good, can't wait for the album," He grinned giving her a thumbs up.
She had to bite her lips to keep her blush down but was successful as she just laid back into her chair.
"Thanks, I needed to hear that," she sighed, "The album has been super stressful to do. Like this is my breakout chance to get my music out there," she said with hope in her eyes.
"I just want it to be good,"
Naruto looked at her slightly taken back, he'd never seen his cousin so vulnerable... They were silent for a few seconds until he spoke.
"What about if I gave you a shout-out on social?"
He said as she raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"Well I have a bit over 200 thousand followers on Instagram alone, what if I have my-"
"No," She stopped him.
"You didn't let me finish," She shook her head at him.
"Naruto listen. I appreciate what you want to do but it's not me." She said.
"I don't understand?" He said a little bit downhearted.
"Well it's the same way you don't always want to be known as uncle Minato's son, you see?"
She said as his eyes widened in realization.
"That's the same way I am, I want people to know my music as mine, not as ''his cousin's''" She emphasised.
"Oh... I didn't see it like that, sorry I offered," He chuckled sadly.
"Nah it's alright," She assured him. "Ugh... I'm so tired" She yawned, "You wanna get outta here?" She asked.
"Definitely!" He said.
"Great, I know a place."
.
.
.
"That's some good Takoyaki," Naruto sighed with satisfaction, finishing his take-out.
"Told you they were amazing," Karin said, gently placing her toothpick on the table.
Seeing he was done with his meal, Karin decided to ask a question that had been bugging her for a while.
"Hey, I've been meaning to ask..."
Naruto stopped picking his teeth with his toothpick and brought his attention to his cousin, raising an eyebrow.
"Have you talked to Sasuke since you guys fought?"
His once cheerful mood dropped, becoming a sober look.
"...No," He said dismissively, staring at the table.
"Listen I don't mean to probe but it's just not like you guys to fight like this-"
"Let's just change the subject," He said interrupting her.
Karin sighed as she looked at her cousin, she could see that he was bothered by it but was proving stubborn. She decided to give it a rest and leave him be, he had a lot on his plate already.
"So an El Clásico in two days, how are you feeling?" She felt happy inside as her cousins face brightened with the mention of football. It always brought a smile to his face since he was a kid.
"I dunno really..." He grinned, sheepishly scratching the back of his neck, "I'm nervous but also excited, it's kinda hard to explain but I'm happy to be playing," He said.
"Well that's great, just remember I'm in the stands if your looking for support." She smiled.
"T-Thanks," He blushed.
"Oh my gosh, your blushing, man you're too easy!" She laughed as Naruto did his best to control his flustered cheeks.
"Shut it, I'm just touched okay! It's not my fault I get emotional sometimes," He fought back.
"Calm down," She said controlling her outburst, "I'm just messing with you jeez... I wonder how you get with Kim," she quickly dodged one of Kurama's toys as naruto aimed it at her.
She couldn't hold it in anymore as her laughter bellowed out. Naruto's face was beet red, a mixture of rage and embarrassment.
"Hahaha, you're as red as my hair." She laughed, "Ah that was fun," She said ignoring the death glare she got from him.
"Alright alright, I'm done." She waved her arms in a surrendering fashion.
"Alright, Kurama, where you at? Mommy needs a plushy. Come on, yip yip," Karin called out.
Naruto sweat dropped, "My fox isn't a stuffed animal..."
"Yeah Yeah," She disregarded him, her attention was now focused on finding the fox.
"Run boy Run!!!"
.
.
.
It was one of the last practice sessions the team had before the El Clásico. The first team definitely wasn't taking it easy, as they continued working on every facet of their game plan, not skipping on any area, the coaches made sure of it at Zidane watched his players on the sideline, a frown on his face as he watched Naruto get easily dispossessed of the ball from a tackle by Varane. A quick work to a member of his coaching staff at he addressed his displeasure.
"Come on, get physical out there! Namikaze stop letting your man bully you off the ball,"
Standing bent over his knees, Naruto was exhausted as he was yelled at by the coach. "I'm giving it my all coach," Naruto managed to say in-between breaths.
"Your all isn't going to be good enough against Barcelona, Barca have one of the strongest defence in the league and won't hesitate to use their physical advantage to stop you from running past. Run the drill again!"
Naruto sighed as he couldn't disagree with what the coach said, his physical strength was definitely a weakness in his game, he'd been in the gym for a few weeks prior but that hadn't yielded any significant change.
"Come on mate, let's run it again," Naruto felt a tap on his back as his Welsh teammate encouraged him. The blonde just sighed as he followed the rest of his teammates as they practised the play over again.
.
The practice was over as Naruto sat alone in the dressing room. His face was buried in his palms as he was deep in thought.
'What the fuck was that?!' He berated himself. 'Ugh, the look on coach's face... Will he still start me? Maybe I'll come off the bench?'
"What are you still doing here?"
Naruto looked up to see Ronaldo at the door, dressed in his tracksuit, holding his gym bag. "N-nothing just lost in thought," He chuckled nervously.
Ronaldo just sighed. Dropping his bag, he sat beside the blonde who was a bit surprised by the action. "I know what it's like... being young and talented, the pressure when people are counting on you, it's a heavy burden to carry on your shoulders."
"Y-yeah... but you don't need to worry about me, I'll be ready for the match-"
"I wasn't talking about the game," He said looking at the young striker, "I was talking about you, your at a new level where it's going to be demanding more of you physically and mentally. Talent can only get you so far, without hard work it's going to be impossible for you to succeed, the coach already knows you're talented, he just needs you to show more dedication to your game." He said as Naruto listened intently.
"You know I used to have the same problem as a kid" The Portuguese legend chuckled as he reminisced about his past, "They always said the same thing 'I'm too skinny', even though I had the talent. So I put it in my mind that my body could be improved, so I hit the gym. With dedication and hard work you can improve, just like I did," He said smiling.
"Thanks, I really needed to hear that," Naruto said, smiling as he was in a better mood. "It's no trouble, we're teammates after all, we need each other to be at their best." He said, "I'm glad we had this chat, you remind me of a younger me." He finished as he got up to grab his bags.
"You're heading home?" Naruto asked.
"No, still some work I have to do on the pitch," He said as Naruto observed the bag he was holding and saw the outline of a football inside. "Do you mind if I joined you?" He nearly blurted out, "I kinda need some extra work after my previous performance," Naruto scratched his neck sheepishly.
"Sure, as long as you're up for it and ready to work," He asked.
"Definitely,"
.
The two trained alone on the empty pitch, working on their game as the hours went by, becoming the last of the players to leave training. Naruto could honestly feel himself becoming more confident as a player as he and Ronaldo talked as they trained, he was even able to correct some errors in his footwork thanks to his teammate's advice. To think only a couple of months ago he was playing high school football back in Japan. He smiled at the thought as he walked alongside his idol in the parking lot.
"That was some good work we did back there," The Portuguese international praised. Naruto smiled at the praise as he nodded in agreement. "Thanks mate... I can call you mate, right?" Naruto asked a little awkwardly. Ronaldo only smiled, "Yeah I'm fine with it?"
'Oh thank god' Naruto thought, panicking a little.
"So where's your ride?" Ronaldo asked. "hehe, I can't drive, at least legally. I don't have my license, still too young so it's the bus for me," He chuckled sadly as he was pat on the shoulder by Ronaldo, "I've been there," He laughed, "When I started at united I always took the bus too before I got a car,"
"You know what, why don't I drop you off," He said shocking the blonde. "For real? I don't want to burden you anything," He raised his hands defensively.
"Nonsense, I don't mind, I didn't park too far from here," He said as he pressed a button on his keys as the car sounded causing Naruto to go wide-eyed at the beauty in front of him.
Jogging towards the car, Naruto whistled in amazement as he saw it, "A Mclaren Mp4-12c," He said clearly impressed. "You know your cars," Ronaldo said. "Yeah, I went to car shows a lot as a kid, I'm obsessed with them," He said observing the car closer.
"Wait till you see the interior," Naruto didn't need to be told twice as the car was unlocked, he got in as his hands went through the interiors leather.
"You ready?" Ronaldo asked with a smirk as he was about to fire the engine.
"Absolutely," He said as it came to life no sooner than he spoke.
"Whoo!!!" Naruto yelled excitedly as they drove off.
.
.
.
"Thanks for the ride," Naruto waved from his pavement as the Mclaren drove off. He smiled as he walked to his front door, he was welcomed to the sight of Karin sleeping on the couch.
'She's probably been working all day' Naruto thought, walking past her carefully, doing his best to make not to make much noise. He returned later with a blanket as he gently laid it on top of her.
"Thanks" She mumbled.
"Goodnight Karin," He whispered, turning off the lights, letting darkness take full access to the living room.
Sorry for the 1 month hiatus, college has been something else 😅. I know the chapter is short but I felt I had to write something at least. Next chapter is gonna be the El Clásico, so stay tuned guys. Please do leave a comment and vote, I'm so happy we got to 6.2k reads, thank you so much.
Peace out,
Hakeemj