A/N Hinata and Neji are identical twins with a not so pleasant past. Their mother abandoned them when they were young, their father was a drunk who is in jail, and their aunt who had been taking care of them died when they were only 7. Left alone, they lived on the streets until taken in to separate homes. Contact was lost between the two for over 8 years. Now, enter Kitsune, with band mates Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai. And let the story begin to unravel.
Chapter 1
"One pork ramen, Hinata." The teenaged schoolboy still in uniform sat on a stool and watched as a raven hair girl made the food easily and placed it in front of him with practiced ease and a delicacy that only came with being her.
"Here you are, Konohamaru." She dipped her and stepped back from the counter, standing straight yet almost hiding within herself as she watched him but didn't make any conversation. Leaving it to him.
"Heya, Hinata, did you hear about Kitsune? Apparently they were searching for another singer, and they found some kid from around her." He ate a bit of the ramen before looking up at the girl, who stared at him with curiosity. "What? Do I have something on my face?"
Hinata shook her head quickly, a small smile on her face. "No, it's not that. Just… Who is Kitsune?"
Konohamaru stared at her for a few seconds before scrambling to find his iPod. Pulling up a video, he held it towards her. "Only one of the greatest bands every! How do you not know them? Aren't girls your age supposed to know all the popular bands nowadays?" He threw a smile her way to tell her he was joking and finished eating as he put the music device away. "Thanks for the food!" Throwing down enough money to cover the food and a generous tip, he spun off the stool, waving as he walked away. "See ya later, Hinata!" With that said, he turned around and started running back towards his school, glancing at his watch with a worried look on his face.
Hinata cleaned up the abandoned bowl and placed the money away, taking her tip and stuffing it into her apron. Seeing no new customers, she turned around and began cooking something new as she waited for more people.
Not too far away, a man in a suit leaned back on a building, looking between the girl working the ramen shop and a picture, clicking his tongue on his teeth as he did so. "She looks just like him…"
After the final customer left from the shop, he pushed himself off from the wall and made his way over there. She barely looked up from a boiling dish as he stepped inside. "Hinata?"
Finally, she stopped to look at him. "How do you… who are you?" Grabbing a knife from the table without him seeing, Hinata stared him down. "How do you know who I am?"
He sighed and sat down while pulling out a card and handing it to Hinata. She took it carefully, never taking her eyes off the man. "I'm Asuma Sarutobi. I'm guessing you know who this is." He held up the picture he had been comparing her to, and her eyes widened. "I'm the manager for your brother. And I need you to do something."
Stepping forward to get a better look at the picture of her brother, Hinata let the knife fall from her hand, clattering to the floor. "Is Neji okay? Did anything happen to him?"
Asuma rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, he had a little accident. That's where you come in." He leaned forward, tearing the picture from Hinata's gaze to stare her straight in the eye. "I need you to take your brother's place today."
"That-that's absurd!" She stepped back, her foot only inches from the fallen knife. "Look, I-I can't help you with that, okay? I'm sorry, but I was never the one to do things like that. That was always Neji." She glanced around, her eyes falling on a packaged bag by the door. "I have things to do. I would appreciate it if you left me alone to do my job." She picked up the knife before walking over and grabbing the bag and a set of keys from the counter. Opening the door, she yelled something in English before closing the door and starting to walk away. "Why are you still here?"
She stared Asuma down with the same stare Neji would use when he was angry. He shook his head to rid it of the thought. "I need you. Neji needs you. Please."
"My answer is no. End of story." She glanced at him before placing the bag over the counter. Placing both hands on the bar, she jumped over, landing on her feet on the other side. Again, all Asuma could think of was when Neji would do the same exact thing. They even wore the same sneakers and jeans. They truly were twins, through in through, if they could manage that without any contact in 8 years.
"Hinata, listen to me. This is extremely important to Neji. If you won't do it for me, do it for him." She stopped walking out of the shop but didn't turn around to face Asuma.
After what seemed like a mental battle in herself, Hinata sighed. "What do I have to do?"
"Sign something. With your brother's name."
"Isn't that fraud?" Hinata turned to stare at the man, who only looked at his feet. "Who? What company? Why?"
"Kitsune. Your brother is going to be the new singer."
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"You sure this is going to work?" Hinata pulled at her shirt a little, making sure it laid perfectly, and then twisted the wig a little, checking in the mirror if it was perfect. When it was, she stepped out of the little bathroom in the company's building, handing the bag with her original clothing to Asuma.
"Yes. You look exactly like him." Asuma patted her on the back before leading the way through a maze of hallways to a set of double doors. "You ready?" She nodded, pulling a cap over the wig to help keep it in place and making sure it looked good before opening the doors.
The two walked into the room with a few people sitting around a table. Everyone looked up as they entered and a man walked forward to greet them. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, but I guessing you already knew that." He grabbed Hinata's hand, shaking it and giving an eye smile, the rest of his face hidden by a mask so she couldn't tell if he actually was.
"Neji." She took the seat she was directed to and glanced at the paper in front of her.
"I'm guessing you read over the contract already?" Kakashi glanced at Hinata, but it was Asuma who answered with a yes. "Well then, let's get this over with. Shall we?" Grabbing a pen from his pocket, he signed it quickly before handing it over to Hinata.
Keeping her fingers crossed in her pocket, Hinata signed her brother's name on the paper. Asuma patted her back when she was finished, and Kakashi placed the pen back in its proper spot. "That is about it, then. I was hoping for you to meet your new band mates, but it seems they haven't gotten back yet." He went to stand when the doors burst open, revealing a black haired boy Hinata vaguely recognized as Sasuke from the quick recap Asuma gave her on their way over.
"I heard the new kid was here." He glanced at Hinata, so small in the chair. "Stand up, twerp."
She did as he said, but stared him right in the eyes. "I'm not a kid."
"Yeah, you are. How old are you, anyways? 12?" He circled her like a hawk would prey, but Hinata stood tall under his gaze. Asuma could only stand back and watch, hoping she was fine without him for a few moments.
"15. Almost 16."
"Well you look like a 12 year old kid. Sort of like that Bieber kid from America?" Sasuke snorted. "And you are still 2 years younger than me, so I can call you a kid if I want. Kid."
"Don't compare me to trash like him!" Hinata whipped around to face Sasuke, stopping his circling around her.
He stared at her for a few seconds before grabbing her wrist and dragging her out of the room. Kakashi turned to a stunned and slightly horrified Asuma. "Looks like they like each other."
"It looked like they were going to kill each other!"
"Where are you taking me?!" Hinata tried to fight against Sasuke's grip on her wrist, but he just held on.
"For someone who says they aren't a kid, you sure as hell whine like one." He stopped and pushed Hinata into a room. She flew into someone else who grabbed onto her to steady her. Jumping out of their arms, she hit someone else, only to jump away from them too. Sasuke just locked the door behind them. "If you think you are good, prove it." He grabbed a sheet of paper and shoved it into her hands. "Sing this."
She glanced around at the other two boys, Naruto and Sai, who looked at her with the same expectancy as Sasuke. As she wondered how she would get out of doing such a thing, there was a pounding on the door and some yelling from Asuma and a few others. Hinata glanced from the door to the band, who seemed unfazed. "You can't, can you?" Sasuke sneered at her and Hinata gulped as she looked between them and the door once again. There was some yelling about a key being somewhere.
"Sing something else if you want. Just prove it." The blonde—was it Naruto?—looked at her, almost pleading with his eyes. Hinata glanced down at the paper one last time, and just as Sasuke started to snort at her, she began.
It's Just Another Story saranghage dwaehsseo Aha han ibangin
Yeah And It's All About Me eotteohke nareurihaeshikyeoya halji
Uh jeo meolli geomeun geurimja neol mannandamyeon sucheon gillo naneun
Tallyeoga
Haha gaseume chongsoriga Bang chulbarhae neol hyanghan Race Right Now
Beautiful Stranger keodaran du nune ppajyeo
Ontong shinbiroun gamjeong keu eoneo nan mameul yeoreo
Beautiful Stranger saramdeureun marhae You're Dangerous
Naega paraboneun neoreul keudeureun jeonhyeo boryeo haji anha No
Sasuke stopped mid-sneer as she sang, and the pounding on the door stopped as well. Naruto's jaw dropped as he stared at her with amazement, and even Sai leaned forward to study her more. As she finished, the door was opened, Asuma the first in to sling his arm over Hinata's shoulders. "What did I say? Is he good or is he good?"
Sasuke schooled his face back to a neutral expression. "He's not bad, at least."
Kakashi patted Asuma on the back, ignoring what Sasuke said. "You sure pick the kids good, buddy."
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"I can't be here any longer. I finished helping my brother; I have my own things to do now." Hinata handed the bag of clothes and the wig back to Asuma, fixing her hair under a cap at the same time.
"Like what? Working a ramen shop?" Asuma didn't mean for it to sound harsh but it did. Hinata didn't seem to mind or care.
"Like packing for Korea. I am supposed to leave tomorrow, and you just wasted all the time I was going to pack." She turned to walk away, only for Asuma to grab her wrist.
"You can't go!" He tried to pull her back, but Hinata stood strong.
"Yes, I can. Let go of me." She shook her arm out of his grasp and turned back around to continue walking.
"Hinata, I need you still. Or, your brother does." He watched as she stopped and turned to look back at him, her gaze cold. "Why don't we talk in the car?"
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"Why the hell is Neji in America?" Hinata glared at Asuma with all the hate she could muster thrown into it. He was trying—failing—to not shrink back from her stare.
"I told you. He's getting the surgery corrected. He… uh," he fought against the cold stare of the 15 year old kid who could strike fear in pretty much anyone, "he can't quite close his eyes."
"This is all because of you!"She started shouting at him in Korean, lunging forward to punch him only to be held back by the seatbelt. After fighting against it for a little and losing, she gave up, leaning back in the seat and resorting to staring him down, something she had been doing a lot of recently. "Asshole," she muttered again in Korean.
"I don't want to know what you are saying about me." Asuma pushed his unnecessary sunglasses up his nose as he watched her. "But will you do it? For Neji at least?"
"Look, normally, I would give my life away for my brother, but I've spent years working to finally be able to do what I am. I haven't seen my brother in over 8 years, and here you are, asking me to give up over a month of my own life to live as an almost complete stranger." She went to unbuckled and jumped out of the car to walk the rest of the way.
Asuma scrambled to the door, stick his head out to yell after her. "You know why he wants to d this? He wants to find your mother! He wants you three to be a complete family again!" He knew she heard, but Hinata continued walking, not turning back to him again.
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Hinata sat in the middle of a small room with a few candles in front of her, the only light for her to read the small card Asuma handed her. After staring at the paper for some time, she sighed and pulled out a cell phone. Dialing in the number, she put it on speaker and held it in front of her. "Hello?" Asuma's voice came through the phone, not sounding the least bit tired despite it being past midnight.
Hinata didn't answer for a few seconds, instead glancing between her suitcase, the card, and a picture of her brother Asuma gave her, before sighing once again. "I'll do it."
"Hinata?" He seemed surprised to hear her, and it took a little for what she said to register. "Really?"
"On one condition. I'm giving up going to Korea, giving up on my chance to work in SMTown for this. You have to make that up to me." She pulled out a paper as she spoke, stroking her hand over the acceptance letter to the singing program, before holding it above the flame and watching it catch fire and burn.
"Consider it a done deal. I'll meet you-"
"At the airport. People still think I am going there." Hinata cut him off, never taking her eyes off the flame climbing towards her hand. She didn't let go, even when it started touching her skin. "I'll see you then." Without waiting for a reply, she closed the phone and threw it down on a pillow. "I can't believe I am doing this. Neji, you better be happy."
If only she knew how happy he would be when he found out all of this…
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Hinata stared at the mirror in the men's room, watching herself as she cut off her own hair, completely detached from her body. Asuma stood on the other side of the door, making sure no one entered until she left. After the last clump of hair was thrown into the trash, Hinata took the gel from her bag and tousled her hair with it, before putting a new cap over it.
Knocking on the door for Asuma to let her out, she left the room looking like an exact copy of her brother. Asuma glanced at the girl for a few seconds to long, and she noticed. "What?"
"Nothing…" He started to lead her away, towards the car she would be leaving in. "You just look a lot like your brother."
"I know." They reached the doors and she didn't even wait, pushing her way through. Asuma stumbled after her, apologizing for anyone she might have push as she went through so rudely.
"I meant that in a good way, you know. This just might work now." He leaned on the wall next to her, waiting for the van to pull up. When it did, she sighed and climbed in quickly, leaving Asuma to take her small bags of luggage. By the time he had gotten into the car, Hinata was already leaning back in her seat, eyes closed and headphones in.
Asuma glanced at her but let her be as they drove off. After some time, he finally leaned forward and tore one of the earbuds out of her ear. She tried to glare him down, but it was ruined by her I-just-woke-up look on her face. "Listen to me, Hinata. You're going to be staying in the same penthouse as the band for the whole month. You got that?" She nodded, finally some-what obedient. "Good. Remember what I told you?" She nodded again before grabbing her headphones and sticking them back in, ignoring anything else he was going to say. Though he guessed it was better than nothing.
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"Woah…" Hinata twirled around in the middle of her room, taking in the sheer size of it. "This place is huge…"
"Yeah." Asuma threw her other bag down on a chair before pointing to a set of double doors. "That's your closet. And your stylist is-"
"Right here." A girl not much older than Hinata, 20 at most, appeared in the doorway. "I'm on your side." Hinata's eyes widened slightly before she turned to Asuma to glare at him. However, he made sure to turn his back to her so he wouldn't have to see it. "I'm Kurenai. And I know who you are already."
"I'm famous already?" she joked, kicking back in a chair in the room before turning to look at Kurenai again.
"Yeah, you actually are." Kurenai placed her makeup case down, ignoring the startled look from Hinata.
"I am?"
"Didn't I just say that?" The red-eyed lady grabbed Hinata's face, holding her straight to study it closely. After nodding a few times, she reached into her case and pulled out a colored pen. "Don't move and I'll explain it as I work." She started putting makeup on Hinata's face as the girl sat completely still. "You have quite a few anti-fans already, who don't want you in the group. They want Kitsune to be the way it was."
"Oh." She stilled again when Kurenai glared at her for moving.
"So just make a good impression on them today." Hinata's eyes widened again, and Kurenai reached behind her to hit Asuma across the back of his head without looking. "You didn't tell her what is tonight?"
"I didn't want her to worry, okay?" Asuma held his hands up in surrender from his seat on a set of steps in the room, backing away from Kurenai's glare.
"Like that would help. Listen, Hin-Neji," she corrected herself quickly, "the whole band is having a press conference tonight. It's introducing you to the band." Kurenai continued doing her makeup now, letting her take that in. When she was still silent, Kurenai stepped back to look at her. "You okay?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Kurenai brushed off the question when she saw Hinata really was. It surprised both Kurenai and Asuma that she didn't act at all shocked by the fact of the conference later.
"You knew, didn't you?" Asuma leaned forward while still staying far away from the two girls.
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." That was all Hinata said, and she dropped the topic after that, leaving the two wondering. Though they guessed they knew the answer.
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