Chapter 18

The next two days passed in a work-filled blur. We finally mastered all the songs on our album as a cohesive group: both singing and choreography. My sore throat healed fairly quickly since I seriously laid off talking unless necessary. In short, things went back to a relative normal where we focused on our rapidly approaching debut and getting to know each other better. Sakura and Sasuke argued like siblings, while Gaara and I quietly enjoyed the company of our new friends.

My favorite part about our co-ed training sessions was singing with everyone else for Jiraiya and Tenten. An indescribable feeling washed over me more strongly as each moment passed because our voices were adapting to one another at a steady pace.

It's not like I don't love singing with Sakura and Gaara, but it made me the most excited when Sasuke and I would sing together because it was like we were starting to be able to read one another's intentions. The first few times we sang together, it was awkward because we weren't familiar with the other's artistry or vocal habits, but we gradually got more comfortable. The more we sang together, the better we sounded and that fact made my heart soar.

I'm sure Sakura and Gaara feel the same way about one another in regards to their dancing. The more they practiced together, the more effortless it looked. Even if they hadn't noticed, the rest of us sure did.

Since I forgot to ask him about his position within the Uchiha family hierarchy, I ended up shamefully googling Sasuke. The results shocked me thoroughly. As it turns out, he is the younger brother of the massive playboy Itachi Uchiha and the second son of the current CEO. So many things suddenly made complete sense.

He acted so formally toward my father at the hospital because he knew word would likely get back to his family if he hadn't. Not only that, but his familiarity with paparazzi and public relations were a given. Though I didn't say anything to him about it, the young man suddenly seemed like a completely different person: someone whose upbringing was incredibly similar to mine. It's no wonder he said such comforting words that day at the hospital. He knows exactly what I've had to go through whilst growing up.

It also made me wonder how he possibly convinced his parents to let him pursue a music career. I said it before and I'll say it again: I've met his father and he's nearly the exact same person as Hiashi Hyuga so I know the man can't possibly approve of his being here. Regardless, it felt like forbidden territory to ask so I kept my curiosity to myself.

Karin apologized profusely for Naruto's actions and desperately tried to convince us that she had nothing to do with it. Truthfully, I believed her, but none of us had time to worry about her because we were too focused on our work.

Speaking of the Uzumaki boy, he received the job offer he'd been inspecting, but not without a strong warning not to meddle in any groups' affairs. Jiraiya and Tenten gave him a harsh tongue lashing and Sakura told me that his face was as white as a sheet of paper by the time they let him go.

After calming down and taking a few hours alone at night to seriously think about my emotions, I realized that I could forgive him for what he did. Despite being devastated that I wasted ten years of my life focused on a boy that very clearly doesn't, and will never, feel the same way, it's true that his actions aren't in his nature. He really did just make a huge mistake and obviously regretted it.

Yes, I still felt a bit of leftover feelings for him, but they'll undoubtedly fade with time. It's for the best, honestly, because it would mean the world to me if we could somehow end up remaining friends in the end. Sakura severely disagreed with my choice to be forgiving and warned me that if he pulled something like that again, she would castrate him and send the removed pieces to his family in the mail. The boys agreed with her, but I couldn't bring myself to hold a grudge.

Tenten told us she formally apologized to Neji for the wreck of a date they'd gone on, but he politely told her he thought it'd be best if they stuck to dating people more similar to themselves. Our mentor, of course, was absolutely brokenhearted by his rejection even if she wouldn't come out and tell us. We could tell because she started spending more time in my and Sakura's room whilst trying to be even peppier than usual to mask her disappointment. I told her I'd try and help her after the debut since we're too busy to worry about it currently and she visibly cheered up a bit.

Come Thursday morning, I was startled awake by loud music suddenly blasting from the living room. I groggily glanced at my phone and it told me it was nearly nine o'clock and I was running incredibly late. I shot out of bed like a bullet and rushed out of my room only to freeze at the odd sight that reached my eyes.

Tenten was leading a very sleepy looking Sasuke and Gaara in a yoga routine. The furniture had been moved to make room for a massive yoga mat. All three people turned to look at me and then looked over to Sakura's doorway. I followed their gazes and saw Sakura very clearly in the same state as me.

Tenten paused the music, which seemed inappropriate for a yoga session if I'm being honest, "I turned your alarms off so you could get some extra sleep for the big weekend coming up. Now, come join us!"

Sakura groaned loudly, "Tenten-"

Tenten barked, "On the mat, now!" A vision of Tsunade swept over our minds and we scurried to join the other half of our group, who looked just as intimidated as us.

Sakura stomped over with her hair up in a messy bun, a comfy pair of short shorts, and a yellow sweater with some band name on it that I didn't recognize. I, myself, wore comfy pajama shorts with one of Neji's old college shirts that was way too big for me.

Tenten pushed play on her dance music and we followed her lead as she did a series of stretches over the next half-hour or so. I glanced over at the others as we were in downward-facing-dog and saw Sasuke smirk at me. I shook my head as best I could in the odd position and rolled my eyes before refocusing my gaze on Sakura, who was in between us.

She looked as though she were trying to burn a hole in the mat as she glared down at it. Our group leader was one of the most grumpy people I've ever met in the morning. It was kind of comical that she's a natural at almost everything, but couldn't triumph over the early hours of the day.

A snicker slid past my lips at her enraged face, surprising even me, and her eyes shot over to direct her dangerous glare at me. Somehow, this caused me to burst out into full-on laughter. I moved to cover my mouth in an attempt to muffle it, only to lose my balance and tumble down onto the mat in a fit of giggles.

The pinkette quickly got over her surprise and started wrestling me down, tickling at my sides, "Oh, I'll give you something to laugh about!"

She, too, was soon in a fit of giggles as I tried to fight her off and Tenten suddenly yelled over the pulsating music, "You bitches are going down!" before jumping on top of us and joining the fight.

After a few more moments of the three of us rolling around laughing, the music suddenly stopped. We all looked up to see Sasuke standing with an annoyed look on his face, "We're leaving if you guys are just gonna mess around."

Tenten shot to her feet and quickly circled the Uchiha before jumping onto his back with a squeal, "Quit being such a pain in the ass!"and the pair landed on top of me before I could move.

Momentarily, I was too stunned to react. Sasuke barely caught himself in time to not crush me and held himself up by his elbows, but his body was still pressed firmly against mine. I thought he would be mad, but behind his serious mask, I caught a glimpse of mischief and proceeded to laugh and tickle his sides.

He let out a roar, "Hyuga!" before all hell broke loose.

Sakura got to her feet and tackled Gaara to the mat right next to us, both of them laughing as they tried to overpower one another playfully. Tenten pulled Sasuke off of me and onto his side on the mat, trying to hold his arms back while I tickled him, but struggling to do so. The air was filled with laughter for nearly ten whole minutes before we all became too breathless to continue. We all lay side by side on the large mat, breathing heavily with a stray laugh escaping here and there.

Tenten was the first to speak, "I just wanted to do some organized yoga…"

We all let out varying sounds of amusement. I glanced over at Sasuke, who was by my side and noticed he'd already been looking at me. I smiled at him and nudged his side shyly. He wasn't smiling, but there was a sliver of something in his eyes that told me that he was at least content. I was getting better and better at reading him. I felt kind of proud.

We eventually got the energy to roll up the giant mat and place the furniture back where it should be before Tenten spoke up, "Oh! I forgot to tell you! The reason you're not training right now is because your makeovers at Lee's Salon are scheduled for noon today!"

We all let out a collective "What!" before Tenten cackled loudly and sprinted out of the room with the rolled up yoga mat in her arms, "I'll be back in a bit to pick you up!"

Sakura squealed excitedly once the door was shut, "Yes! I'm so ready for this! You guys get out of here and go shower." She pulled me away from the two sweaty guys and made a waving motion at her face as though they smelt bad.

Gaara looked down at his damp clothes and nodded before giving a small wave and heading towards the door to do as told, but Sasuke scoffed, "I'm the best smelling one here," before he followed.

Once they were gone, Sakura and I took turns using the shower before eventually getting dressed and ready to go. Lee was a prodigy in the fashion world. He opened his salon on his eighteenth birthday, waiting until then only because he couldn't legally own it unless he was of age, and has been one of the highest requested celebrity beauticians ever since. His clients are always very wealthy and/or famous. He was also Might Guy's, Evolution's personal trainer, son.

Prestige joined Tenten in her short-limo and rode silently to the salon across town. There were two large bodyguards arming either side of the front door, which made the place look almost like a fancy night club. Tenten instructed us to walk past them, head straight in, and tell them who we were. I really wanted her to come in with us, but she unfortunately had an interview to attend so she couldn't. After wishing us the best of luck with our makeovers and promising to be back as soon as her interview finished, she left us on the curb in front of the modern-looking building.

Sakura took a deep breath before motioning for us to follow her, "Well, we might as well go in."

She was truly our leader, both on stage and off. She had a good sense of what we ,as a group, need. The rest of us followed her through the front doors. I eyed the doormen nervously as we passed them. The moment the door shut behind us, there was a manly scream of distress.

I jumped in shock, looking ahead to see a muscular man with a bowl-cut and green jumpsuit throw himself onto the ground in front of Sakura's feet and begin planting kisses on her hand. I heard Sasuke start snickering behind me. Sakura's face was turning red at a steady pace and it wasn't from her being attracted to the young man.

She quickly slipped her hand out of his grip and took a step back, bumping against Gaara's front but seemingly preferring that to this odd man's kisses, "H-Hello! We're Prestige…Is Lee available?" Her voice wavered slightly as she tried her best to keep her composure.

The strange man leapt to his feet in a grand gesture, "Yes, my beautiful angel, I am the one you seek! It is what I seek that I wish to converse about!"

We all stared at him with wide eyes as he twirled in romantic circles in front of us, sneakily grabbing one of the roses from the vase on the bored looking secretary's desk and kneeling down in front of Sakura once more, "My love, you are the most exquisite creature I've had the pleasure of meeting! Please be my girlfriend!"

Sasuke's snickers became poorly muffled laughter and he leaned his head down to try and hide behind my much smaller frame. His laughs were slightly contagious and I even had to cover my mouth to hide the amused smile that was forming from Sakura, who looked ready to kill.

She gingerly accepted the rose, "I'm, um, flattered, Lee, but I have to respectfully decline."

I could practically see the steam flowing out of her ears. Her hands were shaking with effort to control her anger. There was a ruckus from behind Lee that distracted us all from the amusing situation and a tall blond woman came out from a side room to greet us. She had beautiful tan skin and dark blonde hair in four messy ponytails.

Gaara stepped past us and immediately rushed into her open arms. A knowing grin was on her lips as she squeezed him tightly. The rest of us looked on in confusion. It was rare to see Gaara approach someone in such a casual way. Even with his roommate, Sasuke, he always kept some level of formality as though he was constantly worried he'd offend someone. We waited as the woman ruffled his hair and said something quietly in his ear.

The secretary had Sakura, Sasuke, and I sit at work stations next to one another and Gaara finally pulled away from the stranger. His face was pink as though he were embarrassed or trying not to cry. My heart tugged slightly at the sight. Whoever this woman was, it was obvious he cared for her deeply.

The girl let out a raspy laugh once he was seated at the station on Sasuke's other side and stood with her hands on her hips to acknowledge us, "I'm Temari, Gaara's big sister. Tenten wanted to surprise him."

Gaara's face got a deeper shade of red and he looked at her with admiration clear in his eyes. He spoke more comfortably than usual, "When did you start working here?"

The blonde started placing the large cape over his front so she could start doing his hair. Two other assistants came out to work on Sasuke and I while Lee personally started working on Sakura, to her despair. The rest of us eavesdropped on the siblings' conversation.

"Tenten helped me get on here a few weeks back. I've been retaking some beauty classes to brush up my skills so I don't let her down."

Gaara seemed at ease with her more than anyone we'd seen, "What about Kankuro? He hasn't been responding to my texts."

Temari snickered, "The dumbass lost his phone at some party. Who cares about that, though. Let's talk about this group of yours. Are they treating you well?" She glanced over at us with a crazed look in her eye, "I don't have to hurt anyone, right?"

I gulped nervously and waited for Gaara to reply, avoiding her sharp gaze and focusing on my reflection straight ahead. "They're nice people." His answer was short and to the point, unlike how he'd been speaking to her before.

She paused before replying, "...What's that? Ohoho, I never thought I'd see the day. Which one do you like?"

Sasuke started snickering again and I glanced over at my peripheral to see Gaara's face matching his hair, "Don't be weird, Temari."

The blonde left his hair for a moment and came to inspect both Sakura and I, walking around each of us with a studious look before pointing at Sakura with a triumphant grin, "It's this one, I can tell." The girl in question was too preoccupied listening to Lee's endless declarations of love to listen in on the conversation and didn't even know she was being checked out.

Gaara groaned, "Stop, Temari. You're embarrassing me. Just cut my hair or whatever."

It was kind of cute to see him whining about being teased by his big sister. I smiled to myself and looked up to see the blond staring at me through the mirror again.

My smile left my face and she cackled before returning to Gaara and pulling at his ear, "Don't talk back to me or I'll shave your head." She leaned down to get closer to his ear, "You should've gone for the other one. She has bigger tits."

Heat rushed to my face and Sasuke let out a short laugh as he scrolled through xstragram on his phone. Gaara simply groaned and sank lower into his seat as our haircuts continued. I wasn't even paying attention to what my stylist was doing and was finished before I knew it. She'd simply given me a trim and cut my bangs back into their straight across look. They'd grown out and I'd been pushing them to the side of my face in the past week.

She turned my chair away from the mirror and proceeded to start doing my eyebrows. I zoned out somewhere during this process and snapped out of it when they were finished with that and had moved on to prepping my skin for makeup. At the risk of sounding spoiled, I actually really like going to the salon every once in a while. It was relaxing. It was also nice having my makeup done by others because I'm personally not talented with it at all. I can handle the everyday look that I'm used to, but outside that I'm useless.

While my stylist was selecting a lip color, I glanced over and noticed Sasuke and Gaara were already done with hair and makeup and had moved on to male mani-pedis. They didn't look that much different than before, but it was still noticeable that their looks had been refreshed. Sasuke was playing a fighting game on his phone as he ignored the stylist trying to give him skincare tips and Gaara was speaking quietly with his sister, who had insisted on being the one to take care of him throughout the whole process. The older woman looked annoyed, but he didn't seem to care.

Then, I glanced over to look at Sakura and nearly jumped out of my chair in shock. They were in the middle of putting waist-length extensions into her hair. She was already gorgeous before, but the extra hair made her look nearly ethereal. She pouted as Lee worked on her hair with expertise. It was obvious he was doing a very thorough job and it looked painful having to hold her head in one spot for extended periods of time. I gave her an encouraging smile before returning to face my stylist, who had selected a pink that nearly matched my natural lip color.

Nearly an hour later, we were finally finished with our makeovers and Tenten was on her way to pick us up. Sakura and I had gotten our nails done, mine in an elegant lavender and hers in a vibrant green with diamond decals on the fourth fingers.

Everyone, even me, had trouble looking away from the pink-haired girl. She looked absolutely incredible. It was no wonder Lee was so famous. If I didn't know her and saw her walking down the street, I'd automatically assume she was a model or something. Her hair was parted to the side and held naturally romantic waves that rolled down all the way to her lower back.

The girl was still pouting, anxiously turning to look in the mirror nearby every few moments to fumble with her hair. Prestige was standing near the doorway since Tenten was supposed to arrive at any moment, waiting on Lee to finish up some paperwork so we could bid him farewell. Sakura turned yet again to mess with her hair and I grabbed her hand away from the pink strands.

Her eyes were wide when she looked at me and I shook my head, giving her a reassuring smile, "You look amazing."

She blushed slightly at being caught worrying and pulled me into a tight hug, "You look beautiful, too. I already thought you were super pretty, but seeing you like this reminds me of those idols that also act in dramas and stuff."

Lee finally approached us, effectively distracting me from having to respond to my friend's generous compliment, Temari following him with a camera, "My new friends, let's take a photo and save this glorious moment in time! Please pose with me!" We all glanced at each other before frantically gathering together with Lee in the middle and smiling for Temari's camera.

As soon as that was finished, there was a honk outside signaling Tenten's arrival. We turned to see her flouncing through the front door with an annoyed look that quickly turned into one of shock as she lay eyes on us. "Oh my God, you guys look stunning!"

After checking each of us out individually, she turned to Lee, who had a hopeful look in his eyes, "You did such a great job, Lee! Thank you for your hard work." She gave him a quick hug, which he surprisingly accepted calmly, before ushering us all back out to the limo.

The ride home was filled with Tenten's non-stop compliments on how "sexy" and "refined" we all looked now. Honestly, they didn't really change anything about my appearance so I was a bit relieved. When I learned we'd be getting makeovers, I immediately worried they'd cut my hair super short or something.

When we arrived back in our room, Sakura and I spent the rest of the day practicing even though it wasn't instructed before going to bed earlier than usual. Tomorrow was going to be the very last practice day before our debut show and the nerves were running incredibly high.