JKL: I updated because it's Neji's birthday...this chapter actually has zero things to do with Neji's birthday, but...he is introduced so...? :D
Tenten sucked in a breath, trying her best not to move. She kept her lips pierced together as she tried to focus on the man in front of her. His ivory orbs scanned the six other people in the room.
"So far, I'm unimpressed." Though the man shared his daughter's milky white eyes and beautiful features, he sure as hell didn't share her personality. Tenten dug her nails into her thigh, trying her best to keep from out-bursting. "However, looks don't mean that much to me. How well you play will help me decide whether or not I want you on Hyuuga Records." Tenten shifted her gaze to Temari, who stood up at the same time Hi5's father did.
"Sir, we will blow your mind," Temari bowed slightly. Hi5's father extended a hand out to her and she shook it. "Thank you, Hyuuga-sama."
"No. thank you, Uzumaki-san." With that, the other four Leaves and Itachi stood up and made a single file line out of the room. Tenten let out the breath she didn't even realize she was holding in and mentally reminded herself to never sit between Sai and Itachi again. She patted her dress and followed her bandmates out of Hiashi's office and into the staircase, which led to the main part of the club. Itachi continued to climb up the stairs as they climbed down.
"I'm going to start setting up the instruments; be cool," he called over his shoulder. Tenten, who seemed to be the only one who heard him, nodded and followed Temari out. They walked to the bar and each took a seat in a metal stool. Tayuya was preparing herself to order something, but was stopped by a small voice.
"T-tayuya-san, no drinking before you g-go on." Tenten jumped out of her stool as soon as she saw the sight before her. There stood Hi5, wearing a tank top that matched her pearly, white, eyes, navy-blue khakis, and a two white clips in her long indigo hair. Tenten ran over to her, a huge smile on her face.
"Oh my god, you're even more beautiful in person!" Tenten exclaimed, wrapping her skinny arms around the pop star. "I'm Tenten! It's so nice to finally meet you!"
"Hello, T-tenten-san. I'm Hinata." All of Hinata's shyness seemed to dissolve when Tenten squeezed her. Hinata couldn't resist the urge to pat the brunette, slightly loosening her buns. "The club opens in a-about an hour, at eight, but Black-n-White is c-coming at about seven-thirty. Don't kill each other." Hinata shot Tayuya a look. "You guys are performing at nine."
"Alright," Temari nodded. Hinata walked over and hugged each and every one of them, and Tenten couldn't help but smile when she saw how red Hinata turned when it came time to hug Naruto.
"Just as a little tip…my dad likes to be first at everything, so I suggest performing a song that you've never played before." Hinata put her hands on Tenten's shoulders, squeezing them lightly. "Y-you'll do great, I just know it." Tenten smiled and hugged the girl once more. After Hinata wandered off to go do something else, Tenten sat back down. Tayuya and Naruto soon began to shout at each other about the football game that was being displayed on the large TV above their heads. Temari was glaring at her phone, typing rapidly. Sai quietly ordered warm milk from the bartender, a young man with a bunch of tattoos. He looked like he was ready to punch Sai, who seemed unfazed by his demeanor. After a few more minutes of silence—excluding the shouting about football—Tayuya spoke up.
"Let's play…that game…uh, truth or dare!" She bellowed. While the others contemplated this idea, she reached over and took a sip of Sai's drink. "Eh." She made a face of disgust. "It's warm." Sai rolled his dark eyes and returned the glass to its proper place in front of him.
"That's because it's warm milk," Sai snarled, rolling his eyes. Tayuya was about to snap back an insult, but Naruto's yelling interrupted.
"I go first, I go first!" Naruto slapped his hand down. "Tema, Tema, Tema! Truth or dare, big sis?" Naruto turned to his sister. Temari set her phone down and shrugged.
"Truth, I guess." Naruto frowned and shook his finger 'no'.
"I already know everything about you so no, not truth. I dare you to go lick that table." Naruto smiled and pointed to a table that was situated in the back of the club, towards the back door. Temari stood up and neared the area, mumbling about her evil brother. Everyone watched in astonishment as she slid her tongue across the table. She strutted back to triumphantly and sat down.
Ten," she shot a glance at the dango-haired girl. Tenten's ears perked up and she turned her body to face Temari's direction. "Truth or dare?" Tenten pressed her index finger to her lips and thought.
"Dare," she responded quickly, partially hoping that Temari didn't hear her. Her hopes were shot down when Temari flashed a grin, her pearly, white teeth shining in the darkness.
"When Black-n-White comes, you have to ask Hinata's cousin what it's gender is," Temari's grin widened as she spoke. Tenten frowned and looked daggers at the sandy-blonde guitarist.
"That's not fair!" She protested, jumping out of her seat.
"You agreed to do a dare," the bartender cut in. Sai, Temari, Tenten, Tayuya and Naruto all stopped what they were doing and shot him a look. "Hey, it's true!"
"Nosy-ass is right!" Naruto bellowed. Tenten cursed herself silently, hoping that a strike of lightening would shoot out of nowhere and paralyze her forever.
"I hate you all," she murmured, resting her head in her hands. "Sai, truth or dare."
"Truth," Sai responded, quickly. He flashed a fake smile. Tenten nodded, ignoring his oddness, and continued with her question.
"Do you like me as much as, y'know, you liked Ino?" Tenten glanced at all of them.
"Of course." Sai beckoned with his head. "Probably more, even."
"You sound better!" Naruto chimed in. Temari patted his back and nodded in agreement.
"And you're prettier." Temari beamed. Tenten grinned happily and threw her arms around the shoulders of the two closest people—Sai and Naruto.
"I love you guys!" She announced. Sai nodded slightly before shifting in his seat so that he was facing his sister, an evil grin on his face.
"Yuya," he began. He knew she'd pick dare, so he didn't even bother to ask. "I dare you to flirt with the little drummer boy in Black-n-White. You remember Gaara, don't you?" Sai tilted his head to the side.
"Je ne crois pas!" Tayuya stood up, shaking her head. "I don't do flirting, especially not with h-him!"
"You have to." Naruto pointed out. "We don't care if he stole your job or whatever the heck. You have to do it. You picked dare, and that's a commitment! You can't go back on your word, you know it!" He began to bang his fists on the bar. The other leaves repeated this action as they all began to chant "do it, do it, do it!"
"Fine, fine, FINE!" Tayuya slammed her fists onto the metal bar, silencing them. "I'll do the stupid freaking dare!" They all began to cheer. "Alright, Alright, enough. Naru', truth or dare?" Tayuya wiggled her eyebrows, causing the blonde to burst out in giggles. He clutched his stomach, trying to contain his laugher.
"D-dare." He stated between giggles. Tayuya grinned evilly.
"After you do our intro on stage," she paused for a few seconds to create suspense, "I dare you to kiss Sai. Don't worry, it's nothing major. You don't have to…French kiss, as you say."
"Are you insane!" Naruto and Sai both shouted, standing up from their seats at the exact same time. Tayuya shook her head. "Nu-uh, no, I'm not doing that." Naruto crossed his arms and sat back down. "If it was Itachi, fine, but Sai? No. Hell no."
"Itachi won't be on stage, though," Temari pointed out. "And wait…gross, Naruto."
"What?" Naruto shot her a look of confusion. "If I'm gonna kiss a guy, I want him to be good looking!"
"You probably shouldn't say things like that out loud, Naruto." Sai rolled his eyes at the bassist. In seconds, Sai, Tayuya, and Naruto were arguing with each other while Temari continued to text and Tenten…well, who knows what Tenten was doing.
"E-excuse me." The Five Hidden Leaves all shut up and turned to the entrance of the club at the sound of Hinata's voice. "Err…Black-n-White has arrived." Tenten sat up straighter in her seat and scoped out the people behind Hinata. The first one, who was standing at the far left, had on a dark green blazer, a fishnet shirt underneath, and plain black pants. His dark hair was tied up in a pineapple-like ponytail and he was staring at the floor, choosing not to acknowledge anyone. The one who stood next to him was the guy she had encountered the other night, Sasuke. His expression was twisted into a scowl and his dark aura matched his all black outfit. On Hinata's right side was a young male with red hair that was fierce enough to match Tayuya's, and turquoise eyes that looked just like Temari's. He wore a light red shirt and dark red khakis. Tenten held back a giggle as she realized that he looked like Temari and Tayuya's love child. Next to him stood a short blonde with blue eyes. She was wearing a purple crop-top and a short skirt, that looked like it was missing fabric. The last person, who was standing relatively far away from the blonde, nearly knocked Tenten's breath out. He had long hair that blended in with the darkness of the club, milky white eyes that matched his cousin's, and a tall, toned frame. Tenten shot Tayuya a glare and reddened at how stupid she would look when she asked what his gender was because it was quite clear that he was a male. Tenten swallowed, shivering at his stoic expression.
"Some ground rules," Hinata muttered. Tenten redirected her attention to the indigo-haired young woman, but took note of the blonde—was her name Ino Yamanaka, or something?—who was glaring at her. "Black-n-White please don't boo at the Leaves when they go on." Hinata turned around to look at the blonde. "Leaves, please no drinking before you go on. Be nice to each other, please. I know you guys have some…unsettled differences but for the sake of the club, try to be civil." Hinata didn't wait for any of them to answer as she slowly walked away. Tenten gave the members of Black-n-White a smile. The redhead returned it with a slight smirk.
"Hello, I'm Tenten! I don't know who any of you are but I hope we can become good friends!" The bun-haired girl announced. Tayuya took her arm and swiveled her around.
"What are you doing?" Tayuya growled. "They are the enemy." Tenten rolled her eyes and turned back to Black-n-White.
"Hey, Tenten, I'm Sakura, Black-n-White's manager." A pinkette smiled, her green eyes shining. "This is Gaara," she pointed at the redhead, "Shikamaru, Sasuke," she nodded in the two boys' directions, "I'm assuming you know…Ino, and this is Neji." Tenten raised an eyebrow at the last boy.
"I hope you know that if you didn't win Hiashi over with me, then there's no way you'll win him over with her," Ino snarled. She glared at Tenten and shook her head. "Look at her. She's so plain." Temari began to laugh, shaking her head at Ino.
"That's what you think, blondie. But when you hear this little lady's voice—"
"Fuck you, Ino! You can go eat shit and die, you…you…" Tayuya trailed off to think of an insult, "…you shithead!" Temari shot her a glare for cutting her off and Ino let out a gasp. The other members of Black-n-White sat down on the other side of the bar, completely ignoring the fact that their vocalist was just insulted. Before Neji could take a seat, Tenten tapped his arm.
"E-excuse me." She coughed slightly. "I have a question." Neji didn't say anything, but nodded for her to continue. "You're a boy…right?" Neji's calm expression immediately turned into a frown. Tayuya and Naruto exchanged glances and covered their mouths, trying to stop the laughter that was threatening to come out. Tenten chuckled nervously. "Because, you're really, really attractive…I mean, you're more beautiful than Tayuya and…well, that's okay because boys can be beautiful! But, even as a girl, you'd still be beautiful, I'm sure." By this time, even Gaara was trying to hold back a laugh.
"Hn." Neji turned away from Tenten, who had to duck to avoid from getting hit with his long ponytail. Tayuya continued to laugh and Tenten looked daggers at her. She coughed and glanced in Gaara's direction, earning her a middle finger from Tayuya. Shikamaru turned over in his stool, so that he was facing the members of Five Hidden Leaves.
"Unlike my bandmates, I have no idea who you people are. I don't know, you guys had some problems with each other in High School or something. I'm not a part of that, and I don't want to be. Making enemies is far too troublesome and pointless. I'm Shikamaru, and I hope that I can be good friends with you guys." Shikamaru looked at the expressions of the Leaves. Tayuya and Naruto both wore angry scowls, Sai had a blank expression on his face, and Tenten was mustering up the fakest grin possible. Shikamaru spent extra time studying Temari, whose expression was just as bored as his, was. She glanced over lazily and flashed him a small smile. Shikamaru clamped his mouth shut and looked down immediately.
"Any drinks?" The bartender suddenly reappeared. Ino ordered a beer, Gaara and Neji ordered a small glass of sake, and Sasuke ordered a shot of vodka. "And for you, sir?" The bartender turned to Shikamaru.
"Apple cider." Temari smiled at his response. Before she could make a comment, Neji stood up abruptly.
"I'm going to the bathroom." He shot Tenten a look. "The men's bathroom." Sasuke stood up as well.
"I'm going to go do something fun." He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away.
"Well, Leaves, I think it's time we go set up to perform." Temari announced, checking her watch. Sai, Tenten and Naruto stood up and began to follow her. Tayuya stayed behind for a while and stared at Gaara.
"Yo, it's been a while," Tayuya grinned sheepishly. Gaara looked at her, his expression remaining impassive. Tayuya let out a sigh. "Look, I know we had some problems sophomore year—"
"…you thrashed my car."
"Well, you took my place as drummer in Black-n-White!" Tayuya snapped. Gaara just stared at her like she had five heads. Tayuya narrowed her eyes and let out another sigh. "Okay, okay…can we just put that all behind us….start a new?" Tayuya held out a hand and glanced away from him, embarrassed. Gaara just stared at her hand and nodded. "Great." She put her hand down. "I must go perform now, but once I'm done, we should hang for a while." Tayuya smirked and stood up. She waved slightly and walked off. Gaara watched her leave before turning back to the bar, where Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru were sitting.
Tenten rubbed her clammy hands against the hem of her dress and let out a deep breath. She waited backstage and listened for her cue from Naruto.
"I'm sure some of you are wondering how we managed to be up here tonight." Naruto was clutching the microphone as he scanned the dimly lit club, with his bass behind his back. He shot a glare in Ino's direction. "You're all thinking 'how are they still around? Didn't the vocalist quit?' Well, I'll tell you how. Everyone, here's Tenten!" He walked backwards to his place in front of Sai, but not before planting a kiss on the guitarist's lips. Sai's eyes widened and he stepped back slightly. Everyone in the audience stared cracking up laughing. Sai wiped his lips and began strumming his guitar and tapping his foot. The audience hushed, watching in awe. Temari soon began to strum similar chords. Tayuya started off with a low drum roll. Tenten's voice was being heard faintly and it got louder as she walked out on stage.
"I tried to kill my pain,
But only brought more;
So much more.
I lay dying,
And I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal." Naruto stepped aside slightly as Tenten walked past him, patting his shoulder as she went.
"I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved?
Am I too lost?" The Leaves began to play louder and Tenten swayed slightly. Naruto grinned as she continued to sing.
"My God, my tourniquet,
Return to me salvation.
My God, my tourniquet
Return to me salvation." Tenten stepped back a bit as the audience cheered. She glanced back at Tayuya, who was biting her lip calmly.
"Do you remember me?
Lost for so long
Will you be on the other side,
Or will you forget me?" Someone in the crowd whistled and Tenten laughed lightly. She swept her bangs from her eyes and continued.
"I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved?
Am I too lost?" She shot a look at Temari who flashed a thumbs up. Tenten turned back to the crowd and smiled.
"My God, my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God, my tourniquet
Return to me salvation.
Return to me salvation." Tenten looked at Temari again. Temari nodded, and grabbed a hold of her mic. Temari cleared her throat until she let out a loud, hissing scream,
"I want to die!" The audience erupted into loud fits of applause. Tenten smiled at Temari before turning back to the audience.
"My God, my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God, my tourniquet
Return to me salvation." Neji was washing his hands in the bathroom as he heard the sound of Tenten's voice. He could feel goosebumps running down his back and he shivered ever so slightly.
"My wounds cry for the grave
My soul cries for deliverance
Will I be denied Christ?
Tourniquet,
My suicide." Shikamaru was sipping his apple cider and staring at the stage with interest.
"Return to me salvation.
Return to me salvation…" The music slowly died out. Tenten grinned happily as the audience cheered and whistled. She high-fived Naruto and bowed to the crowd. Ino was sitting at the bar sipping—or more accurately, angrily chugging her beer after that less than terrible performance by her former band. Shikamaru, who was to her right, shot her a glance before turning around and ordering a shot of vodka.
"I thought you didn't drink?" The blonde etched up a questioning brow. Shikamaru shook his head and his whole body appeared to shake with it. If Ino really looked into it, it almost seemed like he was laughing at her.
"I don't, but you're going to need this once Neji's through yelling at you for your 'incompetence'."
Neji is actually a huge part of the next chapter so damn it. -.- My timing is so inconvenient. Still, happy birthday boo-boo!
You can listen to the song Tenten sung here by copying and pasting the URL (remove the parantheses and the spaces first): http (:) / .com (/) watch?v=YSC0zQnLIWQ
Or by searching 'Tourniquet' by Evanescence on youtube!
