Chapter 5

All of us sitting at the table looked at the new arrival in disbelief. Sasuke Uchiha had arrived. He appeared to have showered and cleaned up a bit before deciding to join us. Why did he bother rudely rejecting our invitation if he planned on showing up anyway? Is it because he wanted to freshen up so he could impress Sakura's friend?

Ino, who's by far the most successful out of anyone at the table, needed no other queue to lean forward with her chin resting on her hand and a smile on her red lips, "You must be Sasuke. I'm Ino."

Her voice was more sultry than before and the way she was leaning slightly forward made her breasts push against her low cut dress for Sasuke's appraisal. He didn't bother hiding that he was checking her out, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Gone was the blunt and abrasive Sasuke. Instead, this man was flirty and charming. It's like he's a different person altogether!

I glanced over to see the normally passive Gaara leering at Sasuke in annoyance. Does everyone have to have beef with each other all the time?

Ino allowed Sasuke to take her hand and kiss it, but growled when Sakura yanked her ponytail and hissed, "That's my bandmate, you hoe! Off limits!"

Gaara, Sasuke, and I all held similar looks of shock. There's no way an esteemed model such as Ino Yamanaka would take kindly to being teased.

Said blonde instantly turned to pinch Sakura's cheek and made a face before erupting in amused laughter, "Sakura, you're such a cockblock!"

My face warmed instantly. I'm very unfamiliar with sayings like that for obvious reasons, but I didn't want the others to know the extent of how inexperienced I am so I started sipping on the water that was placed in front of me to try and calm the nerves. Now I understand why Gaara had been focusing on his drink so steadily a few minutes ago.

Sakura slapped the girl's hand away before the two erupted in a fit of laughter. They were interrupted when the food arrived. We ate while talking about random stuff. Well, Ino and Sakura did most of the talking, with Sasuke commenting here and there while Gaara and I silently observed.

After a few hours of hanging out, Ino was starting to get a little tipsy because she hadn't been sipping on water the whole time. It made sense because she's twenty-one and gives off the vibe of a party girl.

We decided it'd be best to head back before it got dark so we could avoid getting a talking to from Kakashi. Once our bill was split and paid appropriately (finally putting use to those Hyuga credit cards), we followed the two giggly girls outside where they hugged and exchanged goodbyes before Ino's bodyguard pulled up in a large SUV and the blonde girl was gone.

Sakura hailed us a cab in a similar way as before and soon we were seated in a very uncomfortable silence. Gaara was forced to sit in the front while Sakura, Sasuke, and I sat in the back. The driver was a middle aged man who seemed to sense the awkward air and kept quiet.

Sakura wasted no time trying to talk to Sasuke, "I thought you didn't want to come?" The dark haired young man rolled his eyes, the friendly demeanor vanishing as soon as our seat-belts had clicked, "Don't be stupid. We need to be seen together pre-debut, as a group. It gives our future fans something to look back at."

That was the weakest attempt at an excuse I've probably ever heard. He likely wanted to see what kinds of friends Sakura had. The way he acted toward Ino as soon as he arrived pretty much confirmed that theory.

I stared out the window as Sakura held back a sarcastic reply and settled on glaring at the back of the driver's head. Gaara remained silent as ever in the front seat. The rest of the ride was uneventful, minus a few bickering lines exchanged between the more talkative members of Prestige.

After Sakura and I took our respective turns showering, I sat at my new keyboard with the sheet music Tenten'd given me propped up where I could read it.

Sakura was laying on her stomach on my bed with the same notebook she'd been writing in earlier. Her pink pencil was moving so quickly, it wouldn't surprise me if it started smoking against the paper.

I learned on our ride home that she has quite a temper. She told me while I showered (she was doing a skin-care routine at the sink, refusing to leave the bathroom despite my discomfort. Don't worry, she couldn't see me naked since there was a shower curtain)that she's trying to make a good impression on the boys since we'll be stuck together for at least two years regardless of our relationships. The pinkette wanted us all to be friends and get along and I agreed wholeheartedly.

After reading over the first song's notes a few times, I played the melody slowly so I could get a feel for the note patterns. Sakura looked up from her notebook and smiled, "I didn't know you could play!"

I smiled, allowing myself a bit of pride, and continued reading the sheet music.

Tenten'd taken it upon herself to put notes on the papers with who would be singing where and some stylistic ideas that she'd do if it was her song.

A thought crossed my mind and made my small grin fade. When my fingers stopped moving, Sakura looked up again with a curious expression.

I turned slightly to face her, nervousness washing over me.

Sakura and I are going to be at least decent friends and it was common to talk to your friends about your troubles, right? "Do you think Tenten was telling the t-truth earlier? Do you t-think I made it in because they think I have talent or j-just because I'm a H-H-Hyuuga?"

Sakura clamped her mouth shut and moved to sit on the foot of the bed with her legs crossed, just a foot or so away from me. She stared at me for a moment before bravely touching my shoulder, "Hinata, Tenten scouted me a few months ago and I've spent a lot of time with her. There's not a doubt in my mind she's telling the truth. I haven't spent a lot of time with Kakashi so I can't speak for him, but Tsunade and Jiraiya are also very honest people. If they thought you weren't cut-out for something like this, they wouldn't keep you here just because of your name."

She gave me a sweet smile and leaned over to give me a small hug before pulling back and speaking in a much more energetic voice, trying to lighten the mood no-doubt, "Anyway, let's practice this song if you're so nervous! I'd love to hear your singing voice."

I was still stunned by how caring she was. No one's ever spoken to me in such a reassuring way, not even Neji, who I considered the nicest member of my family. She may be short-tempered and much more outgoing than me, but it's obvious she has a big heart and means well. Sakura isn't afraid to speak her mind or stand up for others and I admired her for it.

She sensed my hesitation and jumped to her feet to stand next to me, looking at the sheet music, "I'll sing the guy parts so I'll lead!" Her head motioned toward the keyboard, "Go ahead, start playing!"

I turned back to face the instrument, since Sakura'd shown once again that she wasn't taking no for an answer. After flipping the music back to the first page, I let my fingers dance across the keyboard only slightly slower than the sheet music intended. After a short intro my new friend started absentmindedly walking around the room and singing.

From the way you smile

To the way you look

You capture me

Unlike no other

From the first hello

Yeah, that's all it took

And suddenly

We had each other

Her voice brought a small smile to my lips. It's obvious she'd been taking lessons. Her voice wasn't soft, but also wasn't overbearing. It seemed perfect for pop or r&b music.

And I won't leave you

Always be true

One plus one, two for life

Over and over again

So don't ever think I need more

I've got the one to live for

No one else will do

And I'm telling you

Just put your heart in my hands

I promise it won't get broken

We'll never forget this moment

Yeah we'll stay brand new

'Cause I'll love you

Over and over again

Over and over again

The time had arrived for me to come in and I pushed past my nervousness and did my best to sight read the music, using Sakura's verse as a guide to the melody. I was much too nervous to look at her while I sang quietly and was grateful she didn't demand me to do so.

From the heat of night

To the break of day

I'll keep you safe

And hold you forever

And the sparks will fly

They will never fade

And every day gets better and better

And I won't leave you

Always be true

One plus one, two for life

Over and over again

Sakura came back for the next part.

So don't ever think I need more

I've got the one to live for

No one else will do

Yeah I'm telling you

Just put your heart in my hands

We then sang together for the first time, a nice harmony forming as the notes danced around each other. Whoever wrote this song was obviously talented.

I promise it won't get broken

We'll never forget this moment

Yeah we'll stay brand new

'Cause I'll love you

Over and over again

Over and over again

Girl when I'm with you

I lose track of time

When I'm without you

You're stuck on my mind

I'll be all you need

Until the day that I die

I'll love you

Over and over again

So don't ever think I need more

I've got the one to live for

No one else will do

I'm telling you

Just put your heart in my hands

I promise it won't get broken

We'll never forget this moment

Yeah we'll stay brand new

'Cause I'll love you

Over and over again

Over and over again

Over and over again

As the final note played, Sakura's note was cut off by her squealing excitedly, "We sound so good together!"

She pulled me from the keyboard and to my feet so she could hug me tightly, "I'm so happy they found you, Hinata!"

I felt tears well up in my eyes at her kind words, but held them back in fear she'd be weirded out by my reaction and settled on laughing and hesitantly hugging her back. Afterward, we lay side by side on our stomachs atop the bed and she showed me what she's writing in her notebook.

"Jiraiya told me to try my hand at writing songs so anytime I have ideas I write them down. One day I'll be able to put it all together and we'll sing it as a group."

I looked down at the small sectioned off phrases that littered the pages. None of it went together yet, but I could tell she was putting in quite the effort.

After focusing on our music for a while, she haphazardly tossed her notebook to the side and gave me an evil smirk. I stared at her with a confused expression until she spoke in a mischievous voice, "So who one do you think's hotter, Sasuke or Gaara?"

My face felt hot and I knew it turned red because Sakura started laughing, "Well I think Gaara's boyfriend-hot. Like, you can totally picture him taking you on dates and buying you presents. Sasuke, though, is like the sexy vampire guy with a bad attitude from those Netflix shows that you just want to let ravish you."

She started cackling when she looked over and saw my face, "Oh my god, you're so red!"

I buried my face into the comforter in embarrassment and she slapped my shoulder playfully. Her voice was slightly more serious, but she still held a grin, "You don't mind if I try to get with Sasuke, do you? You don't like him, right? If you do, just say so and I'll back off."

My head shot up, "H-How can you like him when he's such an...he's an ass!" I felt proud of myself for being so informal.

Sakura didn't take offense and shrugged her shoulders, picking at her nail buds, "I think it's kind of exhilarating when guys act like that. It makes it even more satisfying when they eventually start to like you."

I was utterly lost. There's no way I'd ever find someone who talked to me like that attractive. Well, that's a lie. Sasuke's undoubtedly one of the most flawless men I've ever seen in my life. His personality's the issue.

"I thought you said Gaara was boyfriend-hot? Shouldn't you go for him instead? Surely he'll treat you better." I was unfamiliar with male and female dynamics when it came to romance, so my question was purely out of curiosity.

Sakura didn't seem to mind my inquiry, "Yeah he probably would, but I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I'm looking to lose my virginity."

My body rolled off the bed and onto the floor in disbelief. Sakura's hysterical laughs didn't even register with the humiliated haze that created a buzz in my ears. After I managed to pick myself up and sit on the side of the bed, Sakura's laughter died down and she wiped a tear from her green eyes, sobering up, "So you don't mind, then?"

I shook my head, still too surprised to speak.

My alarm went off at four in the morning, causing me to shoot up out of bed in a frenzy and click it off. I slept surprisingly well in my new bed and awoke feeling refreshed and ready to face my first day of training head-on.

After eating a banana and brushing my teeth, I got dressed in a plain black shirt with distressed blue jeans. Once I was sure I had my schedule, sheet music, phone, and keys, I headed out to the hall and into the elevator.

My schedule said to be there at exactly five and I didn't want to be a single minute late. Upon arrival, I discovered that the room was identical to the one I'd auditioned in. Jiraiya was playing the piano absent-mindedly and didn't notice me until I was right next to him.

He jumped as if I'd scared him before letting out a boisterous chuckle, "Ah Hinata. It's so nice to see you again. Have you been settling in alright?"

I nodded and he stretched his arms above his head before looking at his watch, "Of course, Tenten is late. Do you mind if we go ahead and get started with some warm ups? We really need to get you on track with the rest of your band mates."

I shook my head and he instructed me to stand with my hands stretched above my head as far as I could, "Good now notice how your ribs aren't sitting, for lack of better words, on your gut. This is how you should hold your torso when singing. Having the correct posture will help you maintain healthy breath control. Now, drop your hands but keep your torso elongated as if they were still up."

I did exactly as told.

He then started playing running notes on the piano, instructing me to sing along to warm up my voice. I did as asked, only for him to stop me again a few moments later once the notes got high, "Now whenever you sing higher notes, you're going to raise your soft-palate. Go ahead and yawn. It should be easy since it's so early. Pay attention to what the back-roof of your mouth does when you yawn."

I yawned, easily as he'd said, and noticed the soft part of the roof of my mouth stretched upwards. He smiled as he noticed I understood. "Now try to sing the higher notes again while keeping your posture up and raising your soft-palate."

I did it and immediately noticed a difference in the stability in the higher notes that I sang. After a few more runs of warm-ups, Tenten finally busted through the door in sweatpants and a hoodie.

Jiraiya and I both stopped to stare at her. She had sunglasses over her eyes. It was obvious she was hungover from partying the night before. The older man simply shook his head at her. Tenten popped some gum into her mouth before flashing a bright smile at me, "Good morning, Hinata! How'd you sleep?" She tossed her bag and bottle of water on the floor near the piano before doing a few stretches.

"I slept fine, thanks!"

The taller girl's hair was up in a messy bun and she didn't have a single ounce of makeup on. I was astounded at how beautiful she was even with her hungover looks. If she didn't have that incredible voice, she could've easily become a model. The partying the night before did little to dampen Tenten's ever-ecstatic mood. She gave me a quick greeting hug (I've been receiving an awful lot of hugs lately) before standing next to me to finish the warm ups.

Jiraiya didn't say anything to her, but continued playing the piano. He wasn't angry, but did seem to want to stay focused on our lessons. After finishing warm up, we spent the next hours finding out where my range was, what style of music best suited my voice, and many other things. By the time the lesson ended, around noon, I was exhausted but felt I'd improved by leaps and bounds.

Tenten walked with me back to my room and stole one of Sakura's green teas. The pink-haired girl herself was out being a guest on some radio show in the area to promote our group's debut. We're set to perform in less than three weeks on LMC (LIVE MUSIC CHANNEL, very creative), the biggest music channel on tv. I was to finish my training in two weeks and then that weekend we'll officially be public.

I sat on the couch and munched on a snack as Tenten flipped through channels on the large tv. After settling on some random channel, Tenten turned to me and took her glasses off. Her eyes were dark underneath as if she hadn't even been to bed. "Don't judge me, Hinata. You're not gonna believe what happened last night."

I stared at her as I chewed and waited for her to continue.

"Well other than hosting the grand opening of the agency's new club, I saw your cousin there! He was there on business, of course, and I thought he'd blow me off because he's all business-y and stuff, but he bought me a drink!"

I nearly choked, speaking through my mouthful of food, "He did!?"

Tenten's cheeks got slightly red and she continued with a reminiscent smile on her lips, "Yeah! We drank, we danced, we kissed, he took me to his condo and we did some other things..."

I did actually choke this time.

Tenten laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm not giving you the details since it's your cousin. I have a serious question though." After successfully clearing my breath canal, I nodded for her to continue, "Are you going to be mad if I go on a date with Neji? He asked me out."

My answer was instant, "Of course not!"

Excitement rushed through me. Neji'd managed to woo Tenten enough to get her to accept an invite for a date? What if they're great together and end up getting married and then Tenten will be my relative! I took a soothing breath. There's no need to get my hopes up just because of one date.

Tenten, though, giggled, "That cousin of yours is such a gentleman."

I couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, he's the only n-nice one."

After my lunch break was over, Tenten went off to take a nap and I headed down to the dance studios to meet Tsunade for my first dance lesson. The room looked like any typical dance room: shiny black floor, a whole wall full of mirrors, and a sound system built into the back wall.

She was waiting for me with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall with the remote to the sound system in her hand. Once I'd tied my hair back and stood before her, she pushed the play button on the remote before tossing it to the side and hollering over the loud music that poured from the speakers, "Let's start with some stretches. Follow my lead."

She led me through a thorough set of stretches that left me breathing hard even though we hadn't even started dancing. Kakashi wasn't joking when he said that Tsunade was the real deal. It was like she's an army instructor training her recruits, or recruit since it was just me.

She yelled words of encouragement at me as we rose to our feet, "Good start, Hyuga! Now just keep following my lead." The blonde woman began doing a small series of dance moves to the beat of the music.

Despite my slight discomfort, I did my best to follow along with her. For the remainder of the practice I mimicked her moves to the best of my ability as she gradually made her moves more difficult and intricate.

As much as I've been falling lately, you'd think I'd be ungraceful, but dancing actually came quite naturally to me. When I was a young girl, my father made me take lessons on how to waltz in case the opportunity arose during an event for me to impress others with the skill. If memory serves, I'd loved it.

Once the dance instructor turned the music off, my ears were slightly ringing with the sudden change in volume. I was dripping with sweat and my water bottle was empty. Tsunade looked unfazed by the hours of physical activity we'd just performed with only a few breaks.

She stood before me before I could leave and nodded with her normal rough expression, "You're not bad, Hyuga. Thank God, too, because I don't have time to whip a lost cause into shape in just two weeks. Tomorrow we'll start learning the choreography for Prestige's first album." With that, she strolled past me and disappeared into the hallway.

Each time I walked through the halls, young men and women from the company passed by me. Some may work for the company while others may be trainees just like me.

On my way to the studio (I had a map of the building), I bumped into Gaara and Sasuke. Even if I knew they'd probably be annoyed by my intrusion, I stopped in front of them and smiled, "Hey g-guys!"

Gaara greeted me with a soft, "Hello," and the slightest curve of his lips that came the closest to a smile I'd seen on his face.

I just felt relieved he wasn't glaring at me, like somebody.

Sasuke was looking down at me with a scowl, "You're so sweaty."

I rarely get angry at others, but the dark-haired man just couldn't seem to say anything nice to me and I couldn't stop myself from snapping back at him, "Well that's what happens when you take dance lessons, Sasuke. If I r-recall, you were sweaty y-yourself yesterday."

Gaara avoided eye contact with any of the people passing by us and settled for averting his gaze to the ground while Sasuke very briefly looked surprised that I'd talked back to him. He recovered quickly, though, and leaned forward with a smirk, pretending to sniff at me, "Yeah, but I didn't smell that bad."

Annoyance boiled in my blood and I felt uncharacteristically inclined to push the boy away from me. It wasn't like me to be so short-tempered, so I made my way out of the conversation so I wouldn't say or do anything that I'd regret. I forced a smile and started walking past the two, "W-w-well, I have to go meet Sakura. See you later!"

Sasuke let out an amused chuckle and Gaara gave a small wave before the pair continued to wherever they were headed and I continued toward the recording studio. Once I was out of the hall and away from any strangers, I met eyes with Sakura who was warming up her voice in one of the chairs beside the soundboard and sighed, "I-I don't get how you t-think Sasuke is hot. What a jerk." I was quickly losing my stutter around her.

She laughed and waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively, "It's easy to ignore the words he says if you imagine what he looks like naked." I shuddered with a small blush before joining her to re-warm up my voice.

We're recording one of the two female-only songs on the album. Once we were in the booth and starting, I didn't feel an ounce of nerves. They really made it comfortable and stress free. We did a few takes of the song, called Hold My Hand, before Kakashi arrived in the room outside the booth.

Sakura and I both greeted him through our microphones since we weren't recording and the man gave us one of his brilliant smiles. The CEO held down the speaker button and spoke to us, "I'm being told you ladies are doing great. How're you feeling?"

My grin widened at his friendliness. Sakura replied quickly, "We're feeling good, sir! It's a great song so we want to do it justice!"I glanced at her then back to Kakashi and nodded in agreement.

He chuckled light-heartedly, "Well let's go through it one more time so I can hear where we are and then we can wrap it up early for the night. There's something I need you and the guys to do tonight."

We both nodded in understanding before the music started again and we both did our best to impress our boss. Once we'd finished, Kakashi clapped his hands a few times with a grin on his lips before motioning for us to come out of the booth. We grabbed our items and stood in front of him by the exit.

He grinned down at both of us, "Hinata your voice has improved so much after just one lesson! And Sakura you're steadily getting better and better. I'm very happy with the rate you two are developing. Now head up to your room and dress in something nice. I have some friends I'd like you to meet."

We were ushered out of the room and didn't need to be told twice to go clean up. I felt grimy since I didn't have a chance to shower after my dance lesson.

Sakura was doing her makeup in the mirror as I showered, "Who do you think we're meeting?"

I rinsed the conditioner out of my hair, already more comfortable with her being in the bathroom than I was the previous night, "I don't know. They must b-be important if he canceled the rest of our studio time, though."

The young woman sighed happily, "He said the guys will be there so I'm gonna try and make my first move on Sasuke!" I peeped my head out of the curtain to give her a look of disapproval, to which she laughed.

After we were both dressed up and looking as though we were ready to meet the president, we headed out into the hall only to run into Gaara and Sasuke again. I couldn't tell which one it was, but one of them was wearing an intoxicating cologne that made my knees feel weak.

Sakura gave me a wink after locking the door and pushed herself in between Sasuke and Gaara as we all headed silently toward the elevator. She seemed to be taking a more subtle approach than her friend Ino had and didn't cling to him or try to make him talk to her.

Gaara stared blankly ahead, glancing every once in a while over at the rest of us as if he wanted to be sure we were still there. I stood on Sasuke's other side, deducting that the smell was coming from him. It was becoming more and more obnoxious how everything about him was destructively attractive except his personality.

My body reacted to the scent in a way that it hadn't ever responded to anything or anyone except for Naruto. I hadn't thought of the blond boy in over a day and it made me feel hopeful that I'd soon be over the decade-long crush I've had on him. If I can admit, at least to myself, that I'm attracted physically to someone else, maybe I can finally move on from the unrequited love. I glanced over at the taller young man before swallowing nervously. He couldn't be more different from the Uzumaki boy.

We headed through the now-empty halls of the agency since it was technically closed to the public at this time of day. When we arrived at Kakashi's office, we were ushered in and the sight of blood-red hair and cat-eye glasses quickly had my blood running cold. I glanced over at Sakura in panic and her face had paled drastically.

Karin stood with her parents next to Kakashi with a smug look on her face.