The Showcase
The small auditorium was filled to capacity at five thousand fans. This was finally it. They were about to sing their first song in front of their fans. And shortly after that, their music video would go live online.
Sasuke was nervous. But trying not to show it. He was glad he hadn't eaten much at their celebratory lunch four hours ago.
They had rehearsed their opening number, debut song and the outro again since lunch. And now the stylists were working on putting Haku's hair into an elegant ponytail while the battery pack had fallen out of Gaara's headset- twice… Neji's favorite earpiece was suddenly missing and one of the wires had come off of Sasuke's pack too. But he fixed it himself and he was pretty confident that the techs would be able to finish everything else before they were scheduled to go live.
"Hey," A gentle arm wrapped around his shoulders. "Nervous now?"
Sasuke nodded. "But, not as much as I probably should be. After all, you're here, Itachi."
"Well, that's good. But, where's my son-in-law?"
"Talking to the mirror- again."
"He'll get used to it. But being the leader is a tough job. That's why no one else wanted it."
"Neji tried it for a week, remember? But of course, the Dobe didn't listen to him, so we made Naruto the leader and there hasn't been a problem since."
"How come you didn't go for it?"
"Are you kidding? I'm already the center, main dancer and the sexy one. I don't want another job. At least Neji's the visual so I don't have to worry about that too."
"Being in charge of sexiness looks fun though, and you're great at it. I heard Danzou said you made a scene at the West Studio again. He actually called it a striptease."
"A striptease? Are you serious? I went like this!" Sasuke snorted, demonstrating with the waistband of his underwear what he had done at the studio. "He's such an asshole. Why couldn't we have had Kakashi as our manager today?"
"I have a manager I hate too, you know."
"No one alive is as boring as Danzou. At least Hidan is just a moron. This bastard won't even let us talk in the van now…"
"Sponsors are a taboo subject for a reason, you know that."
"He told you guys about that too? He's such a tattle tail… Everyone knows sponsors are really out there. Isn't it weird that we've never met one when they've been taking those trashy pictures of us since we were like twelve. What are they for? Neji says it's blackmail… Is it?"
"Probably." Itachi sighed, releasing him. "It's normal to be curious about it because of how we grew up, I just don't want to see you get hurt by one."
"Two minutes, Sasuke." A man with a clipboard said.
"I better let you get to work. I'll see you after the show. Have fun. I'm so proud of you."
"Thanks…" Sasuke said as Itachi hurried away. He knew he was lucky to have such a supportive brother. Itachi was a solo artist. His brother captured the fans' hearts and imaginations on stage all by himself.
But Sasuke wanted to be in a group because that was what Naruto wanted. They had been best friends for almost as long as Sasuke could remember. It wasn't until they were nine that they'd been accepted for training with the company though.
Itachi had started his training at eight. But, Itachi and Sasuke's parents were still alive back then and they were part owners of the company so it was easier for Itachi to get accepted. When Sasuke turned eight his parents wouldn't tell him why they said no, but at least he got accepted once they died...
"Alright! Get out there! Positions. You know what to do!" Said Anko, the stage manager as Naruto, Gaara, Haku and Neji followed Sasuke onto the dark stage.
Naruto was the only one standing. The others were crouching down around him, waiting for the music to start.
Their first song was part of the cheesy soundtrack for an old martial art film. Which was appropriate, because they were about to do a three minute martial arts demonstration. It was to get the crowd hyped up. Even though their debut song would do that too, the company wanted them to show off their martial arts training and tumbling skills first.
The stage was still dark and the crowd was holding its breath.
They had done this routine flawlessly hundreds of times in the company's practice room, but Sasuke was still nervous. Hopefully no one would slide on the stage again like Naruto did at the first rehearsal early this morning. Thankfully he wasn't hurt or they wouldn't be able to throw Gaara at the beginning of their debut song choreo later-
Finally, the music started. But Sasuke was the last to move. As the group's best dancer and one of its best martial artists, he usually got the most dangerous stunts and hardest parts of the choreo. This beginning sequence was no exception.
As soon as Naruto was finished with his tumbling pass, Sasuke did a front walkover to get to his feet with the bo staff. He twirled it, warming up to twist, jump and strike repeatedly.
The crowd was going absolutely crazy as Gaara and the others were doing katas behind him. Sasuke couldn't help smirking as Naruto suddenly struck at him with another staff.
Sasuke twisted his body to avoid it and flipped backwards away from him before charging at him with a low sweep attack. Naruto evaded it easily, jumping over him and Sasuke rolled to put more distance between them. There were more tumbling passes and Sasuke's "fight" with Naruto wandered all over the stage. The others knew how to avoid them and finish their parts of the routine. Honestly, there hadn't been an accident in training for over a month. And it looked like they were about to score another flawless victory on it.
Finally, as the music stopped, Sasuke and the others put their weapons down and they came to the edge of the stage, bowing deeply to the audience. They were all relieved and happy that they got through a live performance without any mistakes on their hardest number.
The crowd was still cheering wildly. Naruto picked up a microphone that was laying at his feet. "Hey, everybody! Did you like that? We're Shadow! I'm Uzumaki Naruto, leader and lead rapper!"
The crowd shouted happily.
Haku was standing beside him and got the microphone next. "Haku, main vocalist, from the Water Country! Thank you, Konoha!"
The crowd was getting more and more excited.
"Hyuga Neji, lead vocalist! How is everyone tonight?"
The crowd screamed back.
"Gaara of the Sand, main rapper. Are you all having fun?"
More screaming.
"Uchiha Sasuke, Shadow's main dancer and of course, in charge of sexiness. Are you ready to hear our debut song?"
The crowd screamed even louder.
The stage lights went off again and they hurried to get into position.
This song was a party song and fun to dance to. Gaara and Naruto's back and forth rapping was great. And during the bridge Haku and Neji got to show off their beautiful vocals. Sasuke could sing too, but he was so busy flirting with the audience and dancing that he was glad his parts in this song were minor. Then at the end when he did a backflip, Naruto shoved him in midair so that he wouldn't land on the others who were now crouched between them.
The crowd was really loving it. And the five of them all went back to the front of the stage as the lights came back on.
"Did you like that?" Naruto asked them over the mic. "Make some noise! We have been working on some solo stuff. Would you like to see that too?"
The excited crowd eagerly agreed, waving their deep purple Midnight lightsticks.
"But first, we've got a surprise for you!" Naruto said. "We'll be right back, but this is our music video, for our song, Obsession! It'll go live online right after this!"
They hurried off stage to change out of their shiny, black mesh and silk shirts and black pants and Sasuke put on skin tight white jeans and a black and silver belt with a white tank top.
By the time they were done changing, the MV was over and the crowd was buzzing with electricity. Gaara was the first to return to the stage. His solo was a rap that he wrote himself and Haku would be singing beautiful background vocals that Gaara also wrote for it.
Naruto's solo was a rap also, but his was very much a famous party anthem. It was a cover but Naruto loved this song and he was great at performing it- in the practice room, the shower or anywhere else. Sasuke was proud of his boyfriend for getting the crowd so hyped up with it that they were singing along.
Neji and Haku were singing a duet- a ballad. Their voices went together so well that it still gave him goosebumps. Most of the crowd was in tears when it was over.
Then, finally, it was Sasuke's turn. He was ready, he'd been waiting forever to perform this song as his first solo. It was one of his brother's most famous songs and it started out as a normal, pretty ballad, but there were some nice moves in the choreo too. Honestly though, his favorite part was pulling his shirt up behind his head and doing the sexy body rolls down to the floor.
The crowd loved it too. Since he was still only sixteen, he had to fix his shirt after it was over though. He couldn't actually tear it off like Itachi always did.
"Thank you!" He said, bowing as the others joined him on stage. Haku and Neji ruffled his hair, but Gaara couldn't resist dumping part of his water bottle down his abs. Naruto looked mischievous too, but ready to drag him into a closet somewhere…
Since that was the reaction he wanted, Sasuke was quite pleased with himself.
"Before we sing our last song for tonight, we wanted to thank you all for coming tonight. And we hope that you'll continue to love and support us!" Naruto said.
They left the stage again to change into new outfits that went together again.
Their last song was by their seniors in the same company. It was a group of guys who were a lot older than they were, called Flash Fire, the song was called Power. It was another dance track and while the original choreo was good, Shadow's was even harder even though they were still singing live. Then again, Flash Fire didn't have as many years of training as Shadow did- well, and they were all old.
Orochimaru was really enjoying pushing them to show off tonight. Speaking of the Snake, Sasuke saw the company CEO standing beside his brother backstage and noticed they looked tense- like they'd just been arguing- again. Why the hell did those two fight all the time? Especially when they were both just going to lie and act like everything was fine?
Sasuke finished the performance flawlessly along with everyone else, but he wasn't really thinking about it anymore. He could literally do these moves in his sleep.
Gaara elbowed him. "Smile, oh sexy one."
They spent a while longer with the crowd, sitting at the edge of the stage to snap some pictures that they could post from their phones later.
But, finally it was time to go. He knew he'd be tired, but Sasuke was ready to take a nap in the car, something he never did.
"Very impressive, guys!" Itachi said as they finally got to go backstage to pile into the van. Their staff would take care of the cleanup. For now, they were heading home to the dorms or hopefully out to get some ice cream with Itachi…
"You were awesome! But, that's why you wouldn't tell me what your solo was, Sasuke. You did great, and I'm honored that you picked Love Song. But why did they let you do it? I had to wait until I was 18 to release that one."
"We had the documentary crew turn off the cameras during the last part, of course." Orochimaru said, joining them as they waited for Danzou to bring the van. "No need to worry, Itachi. There's no official video of it."
"Are you kidding? What about the dozen or so fancams that are going to pop up online?"
Orochimaru just shrugged. "It'll generate just the right amount of buzz. Congratulations, boys. You were flawlessly amazing tonight. Come along, Kabuto. Let's let them celebrate on their own."
"What's the big deal?" Haku asked. "Sasuke's half naked all the time."
Itachi groaned. "I hope not. But, anyway I'm proud of you all. So, who still wants to go out for ice cream tonight?"
"We do!" The answer was unanimous.
"Alright, shall we make Danzou take all of us?"
"Yeah!"
"You really wanna leave that Mercedes, here?" Neji asked, looking at him like he thought he was nuts.
"It'll be fine!" Itachi said, climbing into the back of the van with them. "Kakuzu is my babysitter for the night. I'll make him take it home for me later."
"So, you're heading out later?" Haku whispered as Danzou scowled at all of them, but the big jerk driving didn't actually complain.
"Are you trying to get me killed? I just want to spend some extra time with you."
"You know we love you too. But usually you end up in trouble on Monday when you leave your car in random places…"
"Actually, I have a date later."
"You have a date? Tonight?" Sasuke snorted. "You mean you do have a date, he just doesn't know it yet?"
"Nope. Kurenai and I are going to Club Inferno tonight."
"Kurenai? You mean the famous actress?" Neji asked. "How did you meet her?"
"She came to one of my concerts a few months ago and we've been texting since. We both have the night off and the boss likes me to be seen with females occasionally."
"It's not fair. You know all the hot girls."
Itachi patted him on the head. "Someday you will too, Neji. And I think it helps that I'm… how does Anko like to put it? I'm practically one of them."
"Yeah, right." Sasuke snorted. "Anko's just jealous because she's old and she doesn't have your shoulders."
"She almost has the abs though," Naruto said.
"That's so not fair! I want to go to Club Inferno! That place is the hottest club in town!" Haku huffed.
"I promised to take you when you're 20, remember? I always keep my promises, right? Don't be in such a hurry to grow up."
"Yeah, but-"
"Knock it off, back there!" Danzou scowled. "I have a-"
"What? A headache? That makes all of us. You've been here less than a week and you're already acting like this? The kids are right. You are worse than Hidan."
"Hidan? You mean the asshole who's always talking about Jashin this, Jashin that?" Danzou glared at him through the mirror.
Itachi nodded. "Yeah. Him. That jerk is one of my babysitters and yet I'd rather have him around all day than five more minutes of you. You're really going to act like this on their debut day? Are you going to muzzle them after they get their first music show win?"
"You, maybe…" The man grumbled. "Well, we're here. Everybody get out."
"Like you could." Itachi snorted. "I couldn't care less what you think of me. But, it won't be long before they're paying your salary. So, you should probably be at least a little nice to them if you want to keep this job. Alright, my duckies, everybody inside!"
By the time everyone had finished ordering, Danzou was ready to go again. He kept motioning to his wrist watch and scowling.
Naturally, they found a quiet booth in the far corner of the small dining room and sat down to wait for their ice cream.
"Danzou's such a jerk," Haku growled as Danzou climbed back into the van. "Tonight really was fun though! I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be! I can't wait to do it again!"
"Well, that's great. Because your first music show is on Monday. So you'll get to sing again then, but on live TV this time. Unfortunately, you're rookies so it'll be a long day of waiting and rehearsals. You'll get there and rehearse first and then probably perform last. You won't be eligible for a win until the following week, but it's good to have that extra time to practice on stage. And no matter what you are doing, remember to greet all of your seniors politely. Even if they don't greet you."
"We've talked about all of this a hundred times," Sasuke yawned as their server delivered their ice cream to their table.
"It's still important. Orochimaru will tell you the same thing. Netizens tear even established groups apart for even the slightest mistake for even seeming like they are being rude or disrespectful. Just smile and greet everyone politely and you'll be fine."
"By the way, Itachi, what were you and Orochimaru arguing about this time while we were on stage?"
"All you should be thinking about on stage, is your performance. You know that."
"I know but-"
"You've all trained too hard to lose focus now, right?"
"Yeah, but…"
"Just let me deal with him for all of us. I've had the most practice."
"That's why we want to help," Sasuke said. "We can tell when you aren't happy. You can hide it from most people, but we know."
"You looked like someone just kicked your puppy backstage while we were changing into our last outfits," Gaara said. "Was that about the time?"
Sasuke nodded but before he could say anything Itachi snorted. "Yeah, like I would ever have time for a dog."
"Get another cat." Haku said, finishing his ice cream. "You loved Isis. You have a housekeeper anyway. She might as well have something to do while she's at your house. You could adopt one from the animal shelter."
"I'll think about it," But before they could say anything else, Itachi's phone rang. "That would be Kurenai. Would you like to meet her?"
"Yeah!"
As the others were finishing their ice cream, a gorgeous woman in a sequined black and red minidress sauntered in. She had long black hair and dark eyes like Itachi. They were going to make a particularly stunning pair.
"Wow, Itachi, when you said you had a little brother I wasn't expecting him to be prettier than you." The woman smiled at Sasuke. "Hello, boys. I'm Yuhi Kurenai. You must be Shadow? Shall we post a selfie together and see if we can get you guys trending on Twitter?"
"Really?" Neji blushed.
"Of course!" She smiled and they all gathered around her. Itachi took the picture on Kurenai's phone. "Congratulations on your debut, Shadow. Love Kurenai!"
"Wow," Naruto said as she showed them her phone after she posted it. "Thanks! That was awesome!"
"I'm happy to help! It can be hard to get attention when you're just starting out. I'll be sure to check out your MV later too. Are you ready, Itachi?"
"Yeah, you guys better be good tonight, and get some sleep."
"It's fine, we're off tomorrow, we'll probably spend all night watching the counter on the MV." Neji grinned. "Thanks again, Kurenai!"
"Yeah, thanks! Have a good night Itachi, and thanks again for everything!" The others agreed. As the boys got back into the van with Danzou, the man was clearly furious with them for taking so long, but Sasuke didn't care.
He was busy thinking about what Kurenai said- prettier than Itachi? He snorted. Yeah, right. Rather than looking at their picture on Twitter, Sasuke rested his head on Naruto's shoulder and decided to take a nap on the way to the dorm.