PREVIOUSLY:
One of them sat on the edge of the booth, and when he caught sight of Hinata, he immediately rose from his seat.
She had no choice but to greet him, "H—Hello, Neji."
"What is she doing here?" Neji asked Sasuke suspiciously.
"Hinata!" said Gai. "It has been too long! How has my princess been?" He sat at the other end of the booth so he was able to stand up and greet Hinata with a hug.
"He—ello," she said as he squeezed her against him.
When Gai let her go, he turned to the third man, someone Hinata had never met before.
She was mentally taken back at how strikingly similar his appearance was to Gai's.
"This is a man of many talents, someone like a son to me, my rock, Lee! Ha ha ha!" Amused at his own pun, he wiped an invisible tear from his eye.
"A great pleasure to meet you! Miss Hinata, was it?" Rock Lee extended his hand.
"Yes," she said with a small smile, placing her hand in his. If it weren't for Gai's introduction, Hinata would've mistaken him for the photographer's son.
"Ah, Hinata! What a lovely name."
"Isn't it?" Gai said, taking his seat again.
As the men to their seat, a waitress came just in time to bring an extra chair for Hinata. She sat across from the three men and next to Sasuke.
Gai was ready to start conversing, "So—"
"What are you doing here, Hinata?" Neji interrupted, asking her directly since Sasuke ignored his previous question.
Caught off guard by his stern voice, she suddenly felt in the way. She herself actually didn't know why she was with them. And she never thought she would find herself sitting across from her estranged cousin this way. They hadn't seen each other in months or years.
Thankfully to her, Sasuke answered. "She could play the female part."
"Oh! She could!" Lee said.
"She cannot because she isn't an actress," said Neji, eyes still focused on the meek girl. "Correct, Hinata?"
"So you know her too?" Gai smiled to Neji.
"She's my cousin," Neji told him.
Hinata held her gaze at the table in front of her.
"What's your business with—"
"Stop worrying, Hyuuga," cut in Sasuke, crossing his arms. "She's just a colleague."
There was a moment of silence until Gai added in, "I saw your pictures you two, the one about the Versace fragrance. A-plus!" He gave Hinata thumbs up and a cheeky grin.
She brought herself to look at him and responded with a shy smile in return.
He leaned in toward her with one hand beside his mouth, "It must've been nerve-racking posing without clothes, huh?" Then he put his hand down and leaned back to face Lee, "I tell you Lee, she would be a doll to work with."
Neji, having heard what the older man said, squinted his eyes at Hinata, "You were naked?"
In Hinata's defense, Gai added with a toothy grin, "That's Versace for you."
She hadn't realized her hands were rubbing themselves excessively until Sasuke told her, "Stop."
Looking up at him, she met his eyes. Mumbling an apology, she turned her attention back to the table.
Out of place. This defined what she was feeling. Why was she sitting with them all in the first place? She didn't anticipate this happening when she left her apartment to eat simply eat a quick dinner.
As the doppelgängers started up random chatter, Hinata tried to keep her mind from acknowledging the awkwardness of her situation by pondering the idea of her cousin being friends—or at least some sort of an acquaintance—to the brooding man beside her. She never imagined them to know each other. But then realized it wasn't much of a surprise considering their careers: an actor and a cinematographer.
Her gaze had fallen upon Sasuke's side profile and had he not caught her eyes, she would have continued to stare.
She abruptly turned away, a light pink adorning her cheeks.
To her embarrassment, her stomach growled too loudly for her comfort, catching Sasuke's special attention. She brought her hands to her stomach as her cheeks turned a darker shade.
"Order something," Sasuke told her.
"I… I can't." Seeing as how the men at the table were content at simply drinking, she didn't want to be the only one eating. Well, also, if she ordered something, it meant having to stay where she felt she wasn't supposed to be.
Though his indifferent expression remained on his features, she knew his eyes were asking for a reason.
It was at this time that Hinata realized the other men had stopped conversing to watch her.
"Don't starve yourself," Sasuke said, turning his head away and raising a hand.
She didn't hear the underlying sarcasm, "No, no it—it's not that—"
"May I help you, sir?" came a waitress abruptly.
Again, it seemed Sasuke ignored her as he asked the waitress for a menu. When she handed him one, he directed it to Hinata. She took it hesitantly, thanking him quietly.
As she read the content slowly, she felt even more resolved to not order anything at the sight of the cost. But she wouldn't be fooling anyone if she suddenly claimed she could make due without food, what with her stomach speaking against her.
When the waitress came to take her order, she made her careful decision and was relieved when Gai and Lee too ordered something along with her. They sounded like veteran customers of the restaurant, not needing a menu to know what they wanted.
Small chatter was had as they waited for their food, mostly coming from Gai and Lee. Once they were given their orders, Hinata then began to realize the reason they were all together.
Rock Lee is a singer and he wanted Sasuke to star in his latest music video. Gai was to be the director but wanted Neji to handle the camerawork. The song is about a youthful love, and with any love story you need a couple. If Sasuke was to be the man, he needed a female counterpart.
Hinata finally understood why Sasuke led her to this meeting. From what Hinata could make out of the conversation, Sasuke had rejected many women who could play the part opposite his. He had his reasons. But what Neji found suspicious, and Hinata found puzzling, was that Sasuke was willing to work with her of all people. She was to fix the casting problem.
"You sure love isn't blooming between you two?" Gai teased. In a singsong voice he said, "I've been hearing things."
"Now we can hear the truth straight from the horse's mouth," said Lee.
"Nothing better be true, Hinata." Neji told said girl, eyes narrowed.
Gai and Lee leaned toward Hinata and Sasuke expectantly.
Sasuke conveniently happened to be taking a sip of his alcoholic beverage, leaving Hinata to answer the inquiring faces before her. She shook her head almost violently.
"So they're not true? A pity. There's no shame in a relationship. Don't ever hesitate to water the bud of love. Let it sprout!"
"That was beautiful, Lee," Gai said, wiping a stray tear from his eye.
"Thank you," Lee's eyes glistened to his mentor.
"No," cut in Neji. "She cannot act beside Sasuke. I will not have her a victim of the media's scrutiny. It is disrespectful for the Hyuuga name to be accused of demeaning allegations."
"But, Neji," said Lee, turning to said man. "We found a winner! We finally found an actress Sasuke's willing to work with!"
"She's not an actress. Find someone else."
"This isn't your project, Hyuuga," said Sasuke, whose elbows were propped on the table.
"I'm the one filming it."
"And I don't have to do this."
Neji glared at the raven-haired male.
"Now, now," Gai cut in, before the tension grew further. "We'll make the storyline tasteful. Hinata's a good girl. She won't bring unwanted attention. Besides," Gai concluded, "having worked with her before I know she's simply perfect for the role!"
"I'm not okay with this," Neji replied.
Sasuke looked directly into Neji's eyes with a hint of amusement, "What. You think I'm going to taint your precious cousin?"
"Shut up."
Hinata looked at Sasuke, her mouth parted slightly. Why does he have to anger him?
Sasuke chuckled subtly, his lips forming a smirk. He leaned back in his chair and brought his arm to rest behind Hinata, if only to taunt Neji, whose eyes glared holes at the raven-haired man.
"She's never acted before," Neji said, his eyes locked with Sasuke's. They silently dared each other to look away.
"Modeling is like acting," Gai started, his hands moving with his words. "Depending on the clothes you wear and who you're marketing towards, the model has to act accordingly. I've worked with Hinata before and she can give you both innocence and confidence." Then with a cheeky grin directed to Hinata, he said, "She definitely can act the part."
"Hinata it is!" exclaimed Lee, his fist up. Then almost forgetting they needed her consent, he turned to her and said, "If that's okay with you?"
Hinata had never given thought to acting and though she wouldn't have to speak in the role, she couldn't imagine herself as Sasuke's love interest. And besides, she would need Tsunade's permission too, right? But despite her nerves at such thoughts, Hinata couldn't object under Gai and Lee's hopeful, cheery expressions.
She nodded. "Okay."
After that, there were no more complaints. Lee was sure that Hinata would be a wonderful co-star to Sasuke. After all, Sasuke's name would be beneficial enough to have.
Their meal had just about ended then, their meeting coming to a close.
When he felt his presence no longer needed, Sasuke stood up from his seat. He took out his wallet, left cash that was enough for his drinks and Hinata's plate, and gave the men a simple farewell nod. He then proceeded to leave the table without a proper goodbye, which the men didn't expect from him and weren't surprised about.
Hinata watched him turn and walk away. Each step he took worsened the twist in her stomach. She didn't want to be left behind to face the judgmental stare of her estranged cousin because she wouldn't be able to act properly. Neji didn't want her to be paired with Sasuke, and the fact that she didn't reject the offer despite his objections made him suspicious.
Turning to address the men, she quickly stood up, bowed her goodbyes, then excused herself from the table.
"It was lovely meeting you," Lee told her.
"I guess we'll be seeing you!" Gai said with a toothy smile.
Before she turned to follow Sasuke, she glimpsed at her cousin, who held his gaze at his drink whilst carrying his usual refined, serious expression. Having not seen him in a number of years, he seemed to be doing well, as she knew he would be when she left home.
Rushing to leave before Sasuke disappeared, she was relieved when she caught sight of him leisurely strolling not too far down the sidewalk outside the restaurant. She quickened her steps to reach him but she ended up tripping over her feet, stumbling against Sasuke's back. Catching herself by clutching onto his jacket forced him to stop.
He looked over his shoulder and saw the top of her head. Then he turned around and caught her looking back up at him, her hands up in defense. One eyebrow lifted slightly, causing Hinata to blush and apologize.
She brought her arms to wrap around herself since suddenly the night felt much colder. Sasuke simply watched her with his hands in his pockets.
Hinata found what little courage she had to ask him what she had been wondering ever since he led her to the restaurant, "Why, um, did you…?" She didn't necessarily know how to word the question, mostly because various ways to word the question suddenly ran through her mind.
Sasuke too didn't understand what she wanted. Exhaling, he decided, "I'll take you home."
He continued again on the path he was originally walking on, leaving Hinata no time to object. So she obediently followed him to his car.
As they walked, Hinata contemplated his sudden decision to give her a ride home. This man wasn't obliged to take her home, so perhaps he was just… being nice? But Sasuke wouldn't be nice for no reason.
They approached his car not long after they turned the corner. As Sasuke headed toward the driver's side, Hinata slowly opened the passenger side door and climbed into his car.
The drive was silent. It wasn't until he had glimpsed her meek posture during a red light that he decided to say, "Someone sent me those pictures of you."
He watched her liven. Hinata looked at him, at first confused as to what he meant. Then, remembering the pictures of her in magazines, she thought he might've been talking about that.
Sasuke turned back to face the road once he caught sight of the green light. A hint of amusement laced in his voice, he watched her with his peripheral vision as he said, "'Sasuke's girl gets around?'"
If possible, Hinata's pale complexion grew paler almost immediately. That was the title that went along with the supposed naked pictures of her. She had caught the headline when she had seen the pictures. He saw too? "I—I," her heart was racing and her palms felt sweaty, "I didn't—"
"I know," Sasuke said simply, his eyes still on the road in front of him.
"You… You do?"
Another red light allowed Sasuke to lean toward her. "I know what you look like naked, remember?" he said with a smirk across his lips and a glint in his eye.
Hinata looked away from him and to her window to hide her blush from both his tone of voice and the memory. The first time they had met and worked together, and she had to be nude in front of him!
"Besides," Sasuke leaned back as the light turned green and recalled his memories, the smirk still evident on his features, "you're bigger than that." Teasing her was too easy.
Hinata felt pressure on her chest at his words, and her already-pink cheeks reddened further. Still, she was embarrassed, so much so that the more she thought of what people might think of her, might imagine of her, the harder it was for her to hold back the tears that threatened to fall.
Sasuke could feel her aura darken at her complete silence. By this time he had parked against the curb in front of her apartment complex.
Looking at her, he watched as she hid her face behind her hair and brought her hand to the door handle. Before she left his car, he grabbed her arm. She slowly brought her attention to him, her eyes glistening. He didn't know what to say, what he could say. He was never good at these things and didn't like being in these sorts of situations.
He let go of her arm. She opened the car door.
Once she was out, she blinked away her tears. Then Hinata bent down to lightly thank Sasuke for the meal and the ride.
He nodded in response. But before she closed the door, he called her name. A short silence passed until he finally said, "Don't worry about it."
In that moment, his unwavering eyes made her feel reassured, if only for the moment. Taking in a deep breath, she closed the car door.
Hinata awoke the next afternoon to the sound of her phone ringing. After slowly sitting up, she took hold of her phone from the small nightstand beside her bed. The caller ID claimed to be from Tenten.
"Hello?" Hinata answered, both hands holding her phone. She tried hard not to sound groggy.
"Hinata," a male voice greeted. "This is Neji."
"O—Oh. Hello."
Before she could inwardly question why Neji spoke to her using Tenten's phone, Hinata was caught off guard when her cousin suddenly spoke straightforwardly, "I don't want you to cause any inconvenience to the family."
Concerned, she replied, "I… I don't understand."
"Your name is linked to a major corporation and if you do anything that causes unwanted attention, the family image and reputation may suffer. Do you understand?"
His words were too serious to consider their conversation a pleasant outreach. Suddenly, she felt burdened, "Y—Yes."
"Because you chose another path than what was expected of you, you must take caution in any future exploits. I'm telling you this on behalf of your father."
The moment Neji finished speaking, Hinata could hear a familiar voice faintly heard in the background over the phone, "You wanted my phone to call Hinata? You could've just added her number to yours and called her from there you know. Let me have it."
Hinata wondered if it was without protest when Tenten reclaimed her phone and spoke her name to the receiver.
"T—Tenten?"
"Hey, Hinata. Haven't spoken to you in a while, huh? How've you been?"
"I've been fine… and you?"
"Pretty good. As you know I'm with Neji right now. By the way, sorry about that, Hinata. I had a magazine out and he was bored and it happened to be the one with your picture in it. I didn't think he would actually wanna lecture you," she chuckled awkwardly. "I'll talk to him later."
After a few more exchanges, Tenten bid Hinata farewell, as she had to get back to Neji. Those two knew each other for some time so it wasn't surprising knowing they spent casual outings with one another every now and again.
When the two ended their conversation. Hinata's mood darkened. Is she inadvertently burdening her father?
She hadn't the energy to contemplate her actions so she climbed out of bed with her phone still in hand and went into her small kitchen to prepare tea. Soon after she finished making herself a cup, she received another phone call, this time from Tsunade.
Her agent began the conversation by informing her of the obscene photoshopped pictures of Hinata that had come to her attention by an informant, who also claimed he knew who purposefully spread them. She avoided revealing the man's name. "What we can do about this, Hinata," Tsunade said, "is we can file a lawsuit against this person for false allegations and defamation of character. Now I doubt we'll go as far as to bring it to court, but if we threaten these suits to the person responsible for these pictures, then she's sure to retract her statements and pictures. I'll have her write you an apology as well."
"Y—You don't have to," Hinata told her, suddenly feeling that on top of threatening lawsuits, it would be too much to force someone to apologize.
"You sure?"
She nodded.
"Well, I know you, Hinata. And I know this isn't okay. I'll take care of this. I'll make sure she doesn't bother you or do anything like this again."
Before Hinata might plead mercy, as her agent knew her to be too kind for her own good, Tsunade changed the conversation to the topic she originally was going to call about.
Hinata was given more details on the lingerie campaign she was to work for. Her first day for the shoots started tomorrow and the photographer was Orochimaru. In the morning she would be taking solo shots and in the evening, couple shots. She would be working with two different men, actors, for the couple shoots.
Tsunade reminded her that Sasuke was to be one of them. But then her agent mentioned her second partner-to-be. This came as a surprise, was definitely unexpected, making her pulse race and her heart flutter.
She was to work alongside Naruto Uzumaki.
To Be Continued
A/N:
Gosh I didn't mean to make this entire chapter around Neji. So much Neji!
Thank you for your reviews! Thank you, thank you! I'm excited for your reactions to the next chapter.
Oh modeling and its sexual factor… I guess there ain't nothing like being naked.
I hope you enjoyed this as some of you wanted some Neji. See you next time!
