-Hinata's POV-
Yet another yawn managed to get past my lips and I reached up to cover my mouth with one hand and a blush. Yamato, the host of Top Tier, has been giving us a general tour of his show's set and introducing us to some of the staff as well.
Last night I had a mountain of trouble falling asleep and it's all thanks to the filming that's soon to begin. Well, Sasuke and I still haven't addressed the fact that we had a short makeout session and that might've had a little tiny bit to do with it, too, but that's beside the point. I'm not sure if and how I'll be able to make it through this filming seamlessly both mentally and physically demanding show without blunder. Then, rather than get a day or two to relax after, I have to immediately go car shopping with Sasuke, yet another stressful event. Life's sure been giving me a run for my money lately.
Yamato, who's proven to be nothing less than kind and accommodating, waved over one of his aides, "Can we get Miss Hyuuga a coffee please?"
I smiled, "Thank you."
He returned it, "I've heard from many guests that the life of an idol can be tiring." Then he glanced at the other three members of Prestige, "Would you all like any refreshments as well?" Without waiting for a response, he instructed the young aide to fetch a variety and waited for them to flit off before motioning for us to continue following him as he gestured toward a closed door that had a small sign on it saying "contestant waiting room".
When he spoke next, his tone was a bit more professional, "This concludes our tour. Now, let's introduce you to your co-stars."
One moment we were walking into the room and the next I was hitting my forehead on Gaara's stiff back when he suddenly froze in place. One hand raised absently to rub the spot on my head that'd hit him as I leaned to the side to look around his taller frame in an attempt to figure out what had him so stunned.
Anger seeped heavily into my blood and a heavy breath sucked in through my teeth as I narrowed my eyes at Sasori, who returned the hateful look without missing a heartbeat. Both Akatsuki and Konan's band rose to their feet to politely greet us. Hidan's bright pink-ish eyes locked onto mine, distracting me from Sakura's ex-boyfriend's, and he grinned widely when I turned my glare onto him instead. That is, until I realized Gaara and Sakura both still weren't moving and I had to tighten the reins on my emotions before Yamato and the others figured out there's some bad blood between us.
When I stepped around Gaara, I caught a glimpse of his dark expression in my peripheral vision and swallowed nervously before lightly touching his shoulder and standing tall at his side, allowing Sakura to dip slightly behind me to hide from Sasori's unhindered stare. My redheaded teammate snapped out of it, face paling when he met my gaze, before he nodded and spoke softly, "I'm fine." I leaned my head against his arm for a moment before stepping ahead of the group, sensing Sasuke follow my lead, and we bowed to the other celebrities.
The Uchiha spoke calmly, "We've already been acquainted with our co-stars, Yamato." He's so very proficient at faking it for those who don't know him personally.
Top Tier's host sure seemed fooled. Yamato smiled in delight, "Oh, that's wonderful! Please try and be yourselves while filming. Viewers always react more positively when our guests are genuine."
The aide from before came rushing in behind us, causing us to enter the room further to make room for her to bring a small cart stocked full of canned drinks, bottled water, and healthy snacks. The host thanked his employee before glancing at his watch, "Please help yourselves to some refreshments. I have to speak with one of the producers real quick and then I'll come back and take you all to hair and makeup."
The young aide handed me a carry out coffee cup from one of the bigger name brand cafes, making me wonder how she retrieved it so quickly, before bowing and following her boss out of the room.
For a very long moment, everyone remained silent and still, but then Kisame broke the tense air by stepping forward to pull Sakura and I into a friendly hug. I embraced him lightly, happy the statuesque man had a personality akin to that of a teddy bear, as he spoke in his naturally raspy voice, "It's good to see you guys. I was worried when I couldn't find you again at the party and I haven't been able to get a hold of you since. I thought something bad might've happened!"
My pink-haired bandmate remained tense as he, obviously unaware of the situation, brought up the uncomfortable topic of the party. I spoke quickly in hopes of distracting everyone from Sakura's traumatized face, "I-I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye!"
He gave me one more squeeze before releasing us both and greeting the boys before falling back to stand with the rest of Akatsuki, "No worries. I'm just glad you guys got home safe."
Konan and Yahiko were the next to step forward and Sakura somehow managed to pull herself together so she could greet them properly as leader of Prestige. Once the three exchanged short hellos, the tenseness in the air finally seemed to fade. It became clear, to me at least, that Sasori and Hidan weren't going to do anything with this many witnesses.
I was finally able to officially introduce myself to the last two members of Konan's band: a tall, dark, and quiet man named Kakuzu who plays bass guitar and a short, thin, and bashful redheaded boy named Nagato who plays guitar. We've all been at the same events over the past few months, but just haven't had the chance to properly become acquaintances.
Kakuzu has lots of tattoos that make it look like his skin has been stitched together almost all over his visible body and long dark brown hair. If I ran into him at night in a dark alley, I'd be terrified, but since I know who he is, I'm able to manage. Nagato's almost as shy as me, but is otherwise very polite and friendly. He seems to be the closest to Konan out of everyone in the room, which makes sense given that the rumor is they've known one another since childhood.
After meeting them, I came to stand near Sakura, but she honestly didn't need me there to play guard dog for her. Gaara was doing a much better job at it, his seafoam colored eyes flitting over to Sasori every so often with a look that'd kill the drummer if it were possible. I wanted to covertly nudge him and tell him not to be so obvious, but I was also finding it hard to keep my composure with both he and Hidan shooting our group looks as they stood away from everyone else and spoke quietly to one another.
Finally, after another few minutes, Yamato returned. The room silenced upon his arrival so he immediately began speaking, "Alright, it's time to head over to hair and makeup. I'm sure you're all familiar with how things work, but just in case someone's not I'll explain. Each team will have matching outfits with different colors. Prestige, your color is yellow. Akatsuki, your color is red. Konan's team, your color is blue. Any questions?" When no one said anything, he motioned for us to follow his lead and we did in silence.
After being shown where the hair and makeup studio was located, as well as the bathrooms, Yamato spoke to us again, "Once everyone's changed and ready, we'll begin filming. I've spoken with Kakashi and we've agreed that it'll be more efficient if we host everyone here for three days, two nights, so we can finish ahead of schedule and give you guys a couple days off afterwards."
Konan let out an unfiltered groan, "You mean we have to sleep here?" There wasn't a single bit of disdain held back in her tone.
The host grinned sheepishly, "We'll do what we can to ensure you're comfortable. Please let me or one of the other staff members know if there's something you need." I glanced at the blue-haired beauty nervously. She crossed her arms with an unhappy frown, but didn't offer any other comments so we were given our uniforms and instructed to change and have our hair and makeup done as quickly as possible.
Top Tier usually goes for almost bare-faced looks and sporty-casual hair, so I didn't feel nearly as nervous about it as I do when we're heading into a music video shooting without being told of the concept prior. They ended up putting my hair in a high-ponytail akin to how Ino often wears hers, though I obviously have bangs when she doesn't. Sakura's long hair was put into pretty french braided twin-tails and Konan's hair was pulled up into a half-ponytail where half of it was still loose around her shoulders.
Sakura and I then excused ourselves to the women's bathroom to change. After double checking that no one else was present, I whispered, "Are you going to be okay with Sasori around like this?"
My pink-haired friend gave me a small smile, "If I were alone, no, but I have you guys here so I'll be alright." I returned her smile, but could tell she was just putting on a brave face. I bet even Sasuke could tell something's off.
The door to the bathroom opened and Konan slipped in, glancing at us before wordlessly beginning to undress so she, too, could change into her team's uniform. My gaze dropped awkwardly to the floor as I focused on my own clothes. Please, for the love of God, don't let her bring up Matsuri because then Sakura will start asking questions and I won't be able to lie to her like I did Sasuke.
My friend spoke up in a friendly voice, "Are you letting your hair grow out? I've never seen it this long before. It suits you!"
The blue-haired rockstar's hair is usually just an inch or two above her shoulders, but currently it falls just slightly below them. The young woman's voice was as irritated as usual, "I haven't decided yet."
Her amber eyes turned onto me and I tried to wordlessly beg her to keep her mouth shut about our most recent conversation, my expression likely panicked and desperate. She looked me up and down before speaking in an emotionless, dead-pan tone, "Why do you hide tits like those? I'd be flaunting them if it were me."
Sakura's spine straightened and she looked over at me with wide eyes as I swiftly tugged my shirt over my head and down over the topic of Konan's question with a bright red face. Then my bandmate was cackling loudly, just like Ino or Tenten. The familiar cloudy haze arose within my head and I gave both women a pleading look, but Sakura was too busy holding her stomach and Konan just gave me a teasing smirk.
I tugged on the hem of the shirt, trying to make it reach the band of my shorts, but it wouldn't stay stretched. The staff of Top Tier were obviously fooled into thinking I have a smaller chest as well because the item of clothing was at least two sizes too small and left almost two entire inches of my skin bare.
Sakura struggled to speak through her laughter, the sound loud enough to echo through the room. There's no doubt those outside could hear her clearly. "You look like..haha..some kinda...haha! cheesy cheerleader from a movie hahahaha!"
Our uniforms consisted of basic black shorts and a t-shirt, ours being a very light yellow. The shirts have the Top Tier logo on the front and Prestige's members' names printed on the back. With a frown, I snatched up my old clothing and left the room in a shaky huff before the two could embarrass me further and risk making me faint.
I grumbled to myself as I walked through the hallway to the makeup studio and tried to calm down. Once I entered it and knelt down to stuff my clothing into my backpack, I heard a low whistle from the other side of the room. I didn't have to turn around to know it was Hidan, but still did so I could glare at him. Kisame was sitting in between him and Deidara, elbowing the two in the ribs as they snickered. The blush on my face reheated and I left to stuff my bag into my assigned locker in the hallway outside the showers like instructed before returning.
Thankfully, the remaining members of my group were headed in and I joined them so I wouldn't have to face the three Akatsuki men alone. Someone was still snickering, but I chose not to look their way this time around and kept my gaze low. Sakura and I sat cross-legged as we waited for the boys to finish up having their makeup done. Gaara joined us first and he and Sakura quietly began talking about some choreographer they both like that was recently hired on to work with Akatsuki for their second album.
I tuned them out and glanced over at Sasuke as his stylist finished touching up his styled messy hair. If we're all being honest with ourselves, he's been finished for a few minutes now and the pretty young woman was just milking the clock for more time around him. She was tall, attractive, and confident, three things I'm not, and it put a bad taste in my mouth. He flirted with her shamelessly, obviously knowing she was smitten by the look on her face. Then I realized what I was doing and took a calming breath, closing my eyes.
These jealous thoughts need to go away and never come back. There's no reason for me to feel like this because one: Sasuke and I aren't dating and two: even if we were he'd have to keep up appearances in public so this type of thing would be inevitable. After a moment, I felt better and opened my eyes with a small, proud smile. That wasn't so hard, was it?
The pretty stylist's giggles then met my ears and the corners of my lips dropped back down, a groan rumbling through my chest quietly and making the other two look at me. I put my hands up in defense, "S-Sorry, it's nothing!"
Sakura and Gaara glanced at one another, before the former lowered her voice and teased me in a sing-song voice, "You wouldn't happen to be the jealous-type, would you?"
The blush that just couldn't seem to go away flared up substantially and I stuttered trying to deny her accusation, "N-N-No, I'm n-not! S-Shut up before someone h-hears!" My bandmate laughed loudly like she had in the bathroom and even Gaara had to cover his mouth to muffle his chuckles.
"What's so funny?" We looked over to see Sasuke finally joining us, coming down to sit near us. The stylist from before was standing with a few of her coworkers, gossiping and sneaking peeks at him every so often.
Sakura sighed loudly, pulling my attention back ahead, "We're just making some jokes at poor Hinata's expense."
I groaned when the Uchiha's eyes turned onto me, averting my glare onto Sakura. She just leaned over to hide behind Gaara's shoulder, her own moving as she laughed.
"My favorite pastime!" Sasuke mused.
Yamato arrived just moments later and addressed the room, "Everyone's ready, so let's move out onto the set of our first challenge and begin filming!" Everyone did as asked and followed the host. He advised as he walked, "Keep in mind that everything from here on out will be filmed both onset and off. Fans love behind the scenes content and we love making fans happy so please be mindful, but also be yourselves."
As we arrived on set, I realized he wasn't lying when he said everything would be filmed, but he didn't mention the sheer number of cameras that'd be filming us. On top of the manually ran ones, there were remote controlled and even hidden cameras disguised as everyday objects around the massive room. It shouldn't have come as a surprise since this is one of the most successful celebrity game shows out there today, but I suppose I'm still getting used to some aspects of celebrity life.
Yamato explained the concept of our first set as we stood in a group, hyper aware of all the electronic eyes on us. It's a giant obstacle course. Each team will perform it as a relay and get to decide on their own who does what section.
The first portion tests speed and flexibility as the person will have to jump over or duck under oncoming vertical poles before army crawling through a dirty pit with a net atop it. Once they come out of the pit, they'll reach a platform where the next person will take over. That next section is literally just a foot race that leads to a raised platform where the next person will cross a long balance beam, suspended over a giant pool of water that looks ice cold even from this distance, and then they'll climb a net to the next platform. The last person of the relay will be waiting there where they'll then have to make their way across upward-angled monkey bars and then tackle a rock-climbing wall.
At the top of the last obstacle is a pedestal with a big red button. When the last person finishes, they press the button to lock in their time. Simply put, the team with the best time wins.
Once the instructions were explained, we were given five minutes to strategize with our teams. It was instantly decided that Sakura would do the first portion since she's more flexible than the rest of us and Sasuke would do the last one since he has experience with rock-climbing. Gaara and I played rock-paper-scissors for the remaining two and, alas, I ended up being stuck with the balance bar while he got the foot race.
Blood drained from my face as I finished climbing up to the pedestal leading to the balance bar and finally stood up to look at the water below. A slight tremble met my legs when I turned to look for my other teammates in the distance, the ones going before me. Gaara was knelt down tying his shoelaces at the starting line of the race. It was impossible to see Sakura's face from this distance, but I could tell by her body language that she was desperately using Deidara as a buffer between her and Sasori, who undoubtedly convinced his team to let him be on the same obstacle in hopes of talking.
Anger met my blood. When I get my hands on that man…Who am I kidding? There's not a damn thing I could do to him, but I'll make a fool of myself trying, that's for sure.
I nearly jumped out of my skin when Konan suddenly appeared beside me. The blue-haired woman ignored me completely and turned her attention to her teammates like I had. To my disdain, Hidan soon joined us with a big grin on his mouth.
I did my best to avoid his gaze and appear professional, but he decided to break the silence, "I like that there's only one bar. It makes this all the more competitive, right?"
A dread came over me when I followed his eyeline to confirm that, indeed, there was only a single bar. If two or three of us try to use it close to one another, it'd take very little to make the other fall into the water. This could and probably will turn into a shoving match if Hidan's anywhere close to me when the time comes to cross. My nervous trembling worsened and I focused on appearing calm for the cameras, looking back to see who'd be performing each obstacle to distract myself.
As previously mentioned, Sasori and Deidara are doing the first portion with Sakura. Nagato and Yahiko will be racing Gaara. That leaves Kisame and Kakuzu to compete with Sasuke.
Yamato's voice came over the intercom, loud and clear, "We're about to begin, folks! I want to bring your attention to the sidelines. There are staff members in neon stationed at each obstacle. Please wave one down if you need help. Without further ado, begin when you hear the buzzer! Let's have some fun!"
Multiple aides stood at either side of the obstacle course with bright vests on and I felt my nerves ease ever so slightly. At least if someone gets hurt, they'll quickly get help.
On cue, a loud buzzer sounded through the speakers and excitement instantly overran my anxiety. Sakura took off from the starting line, making my heartbeat pound fast in my chest. She jumped and dove and ran and dodged, surprisingly keeping up with the much taller men she was competing against and ended up reaching Gaara only seconds after them. The redhead surprised me by taking off like a rocket, easily catching up to and even surpassing his opponents.
My stomach rose into my chest as he approached and I reached down from the platform so he could jump and slap my hand with more ease. The moment he did, I turned on my heel and rushed onto the thin metal bar. In the back of my head, I was proud of myself for letting my competitive nature take over rather than overthink things.
In all honesty, I was doing great and moving at a steady pace before someone suddenly put their hands on either of my shoulders and made me wobble, a small cry leaving my lips as I regained my balance and glanced back. It was Konan. She seemed nervous, which took me off guard, but she wasn't trying to shove me off so I just let her hold onto me and returned to making my way slowly further.
We couldn't take three more steps before an uncharacteristic yelp passed her lips and I turned my head in time to see Hidan's outreached hand from pushing her. The rockstar's grip on my shoulders was so tight that it pulled me down with her.
I squeezed my eyes shut as the icy water hit my skin and quickly swam to the side to climb up the ladder in an attempt to get back into the race. Then I stopped when I heard shouting from the sidelines a couple dozen meters away. When I turned, a few of the neon-vested aides were making their way toward the large pool and I realized Konan wasn't coming up from underwater.
With a quick glance between them and me, I determined I'd be able to help her much more quickly than them and dove back into the freezing water. I swam as fast as possible, worried about Konan since she seemed so nervous up on the bar, and felt chlorine sting my eyes as I opened them to look for her. She was flailing her arms wildly. That's when I realized she doesn't know how to swim.
As I got closer, one of her hands hit my face, causing me to wince and lose some of the breath I was holding, but I grabbed onto it before yanking her against me and paddling as hard as possible upwards until we reached the surface. My eyes and chest stung and both of us coughed as oxygen finally reached our lungs. I did my best to keep her head above water as I guided us to the edge so the aides that'd finally arrived could pull her to safety.
One helped me up to sit on the ledge and I covered my face with both hands as I coughed a few final times to clear my lungs from the chemical-thick liquid. The loud buzzer sounded again and I winced as I looked over to see Kisame turn from the end pedestal before realizing what was going on and jumping down to follow everyone else in coming toward Konan and I.
I looked down at my shaking hands and noticed there was quite a bit of dark red blood on them and began to panic. My eyes widened and I pulled my feet out of the water to climb toward Konan, who was still in a fit of coughs as the aides tried to get an oxygen mask onto her face.
Someone pulled me back and to my feet by my arm and I tore my gaze from the blue-haired woman to see who it was, shivering. It was Sasuke. His face was blank, but his eyes looked me up and down for a moment before he motioned for one of the aides.
Sakura and Gaara finally arrived, the former pulling me into a hug, "You were so brave!" When she stepped back, an aide handed me some tissues. She looked just as confused as me before looking at my face and bringing her hands to her mouth, "Oh! Your nose is bleeding!"
I mirrored her expression and pressed the tissues to my nose with a red face, still shivering. "Lean forward a bit and breathe through your mouth," Gaara instructed softly and I nodded, giving him as grateful a look as possible in my current state.
How humiliating. Those cameras undoubtedly got plenty of footage of me all bloody and looking like a drowned rat. There goes the last of my dignity. Rather than focus on that, I turned my attention back to Konan and sighed with relief. She'd finally stopped coughing and was breathing into an oxygen mask with a towel around her shoulders and a mortified expression on her face.
Someone placed a towel around me as Yamato stepped away from the staff members catching him up on what happened and our conditions and I gripped it more firmly around me without looking back, "Let's take a break for lunch and we'll decide if we'll continue on to the next competition, alright?"
There were a few sounds of agreement and the host gestured towards Kisame, "Akatsuki has won the first competition. Congratulations and great job!" We all clapped for them, but Kisame shook his head with a frown. Yamato nodded once the group quieted down, "Let's also take a moment to recognize Hinata for jumping back in to save a competitor!" The group clapped again and I felt my face warm further as I held my tissues to my nose and lowered my head slightly, not knowing how to react.
Everyone except Konan and I were ushered back to the break for lunch while we were taken to the infirmary to be looked over by a medic. I sat awkwardly in a chair as Konan was checked over by the doctor. My nosebleed finally stopped and I was given the all clear to continue both filming and competing.
Once the doctor stepped out of the room to fetch us both a change of clothing, Konan finally spoke and her voice was more raspy than usual from all the coughing, "Thank you."
I opened my mouth to respond, but she cut me off, "I know it was stupid not to tell anyone I can't swim, but I honestly didn't think I'd fall in."
I gave her a look as if to say she knew well that we didn't fall. We were pushed, but I couldn't say that out loud because I'm not sure if there are any cameras in this room that'd pick it up. She seemed to understand and frowned, "Still, you didn't have to come back for me and you did, so thank you." It almost sounded like she was trying not to get emotional, but the doctor returned before I could investigate further and I didn't want to make things weird for her so I went quiet again.
After changing, we were taken to have our hair and makeup redone and then joined the others in the break room. I offered a small smile when an aide handed me a plate. Even if Konan would never say it out loud, I think she kind of likes me a little bit. I hope she comes to consider me a friend someday.
With all the animosity, my appetite was gone so I nibbled on a bit of the sandwich I was given and tried to soothe Sakura's worries as she tried to dote on me like a protective mother. No matter how much I assured her I was perfectly fine, she kept asking if I was alright, if I was hurt anywhere, or if I felt faint.
Eventually, Sasuke let out an irritated groan and barked at her in a whisper, "She's not a fucking toddler, Sakura, damn. Chill out already." We all, me included, looked at him in surprise. It's been months since he's lost his temper like that with any one of us.
Gaara quickly changed the subject, trying to keep things positive just in case a camera was recording, "Hinata, you really are a good swimmer. I'm impressed!"
Sakura took his lead, nodding slowly whilst eyeing Sasuke cautiously, "Yeah, I thought you were just making that up because you were nervous in front of Haku, but you're really fast! You actually helped someone today so you should be proud of yourself."
I squeezed my eyes closed, sighing in defeat, "C-Can we please stop talking about me?"
A tap came at my shoulder and I turned to see Kisame crouched down beside me with a frown, "You alright?"
I nodded, offering him a reassuring smile, "I'm fine, Kisame. Thanks."
His frown deepened, "I'm sorry for not noticing sooner what was happening. I feel like such an ass for finishing the race."
I shook my head, patting his shoulder affectionately, which made his eyes widen slightly in surprise, "No one's mad at you. Y-You're a really nice guy. We all know that." He patted my hand atop his shoulder a couple times before nodding and leaving to rejoin his own group.
Shaking my head, I looked down at my plate before offering it to Sasuke, who usually finishes any food I don't want whenever we eat together as a group, but he shook his head before closing his eyes and letting his head fall back as he stretched his neck as though something was stressing him out.
Concern quirked my brow. What's gotten into him today? Even before he snapped at Sakura a bit ago he's been off. His usually perfect acting was more tense than usual and every smirk or smile he forced was anything but natural.
Yamato arrived before long to signify the end of the break, "Now that everything's settled and our girls have been cleared for duty, so long as there are no objections, we'll get back to shooting. Sound good?" No one argued.
After having everyone touched up, we remet on set. To my surprise, it'd been completely remodeled in our absence. Gone was most of the obstacle course and instead there was a large boxing ring, complete with the ropes around it and all.
My heart dropped into my stomach as Yamato spoke with an excited grin, "The next challenge: Wrestling!"
Oh no.