Chapter 19 - Working Out

". . . Rest up, cause it's only going to get harder from here on out."

"Yeah, no kidding . . ." I think to myself as I looked out the window, trying to relax as the events of the past couple of hours continued to reverberate in my consciousness.

Any hope for the ride back to the house to be a peaceful one was dashed as soon as everyone had settled into their seats. Everyone was still buzzing about the double elimination, and I could barely hear myself think, so I was resigned to simply look at the scenery that was passing us by.

I had just looked up at the moon when some clouds started to pass in front of it, and though I knew it was only going to last for a moment, I couldn't help but scowl at how convenient the timing of it was.

"Missing the moon too hmm?"

"Huh?" Looking up, my eyes found Gaara looking at me from his seat right behind my own, his jade eyes looking slightly curious. "Have you been watching me all this time?"

"No!" He immediately says, his eyes widening slightly at my words. "I just noticed that you looked a little miffed when the clouds passed in front of the moon just now."

"And you could tell all that from sitting right behind me?"

"I saw your expression change in the window. . ."

"So, you have been watching me for a while," I conclude, trying to keep my expression neutral as I start to see his face grow a little pink.

"Uh, maybe a little. . ." He quietly admits as he looks off to the side. "You're definitely one of the better sights to look at on this bus."

Okay, now it's my turn to blush.

"Thank you for the compliment," I say, leaning my head back against the headrest, hoping he didn't notice the effect that his words were having on me. "And, yeah . . . I figured the moon would be a better thing to focus on than what happened earlier back at judging."

"Eliminations are one thing, but double eliminations can feel especially jarring, even when they're warranted. As for the moon. . ." He says, looking up at the pale-white ball in the sky. "It definitely gives you a sense of peace the more you look at it."

"I guess moon gazing is a bit of a hobby of yours as well?" I ask as I look up at him. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"I have to fill my time at night somehow," he says in his defense as he looks down at me. "Moon gazing just happens to be one of the things I do to bide my time . . . Actually, it was the main thing I did when I was a kid."

"Wow, so, you managed to spend hours just sitting down looking up at the night sky?"

"My ideas for hobbies were really limited back then . . . At the very least, now you know why I'm considered the patient one in my family."

"Hmm, that is a good tidbit to know for future reference. . ." I quietly admitted as I looked around the bus, just to see what everyone was up to.

Kiba, Matsuri, and TenTen were now the only ones that I could confirm were still talking about the elimination. Everyone else had broken off into their own little conversations, except for Sasuke, who was brooding out his own window, and Shikamaru, who fell asleep as soon as he dropped into his seat.

In other words, it was a sight I pretty much expected. "So, Gaara, what do you make of what happened tonight?"

"To be honest, I thought the judging was fair," He admits, his face now as stoic as his voice. "After seeing the photos, I think the bottom three deserved the positions they got."

"And the top five?" I couldn't help but ask, since I honestly wanted to hear his view on things.

Also, his voice is so husky and deep and sexy that I just wanted to hear it again, and again.

Damn, I'm really crushing on his voice, aren't I?

"Well, I honestly didn't expect for Matsuri to get second place. That was a total surprise to me. . ."

"Really Gaara?!"

"I honestly thought either you or Hinata would get first or second. I had no idea which order it would go, but that was always my first thought, but then again, you never know with the judges . . . You think one way, and they'll think the exact opposite," He mumbles as he turns left, only to turn back so fast I thought he gave himself whiplash. "Shit!"

"Something wrong?"

"It's just Matsuri. She's been sneaking looks at me ever since we got on the bus, and it's getting a little weird . . . Don't look!"

"Um, I'm going to look," I immediately say in return, only to be greeted by stunned eyes. "What?! You made me too curious!"

"Haven't you heard the phrase 'curiosity killed the cat'?"

"Yes, but Matsuri's practically harmless!"

"I'm still not sure about that. . ."

"I think you're being a tad bit paranoid," I say in return. "And yes, I'm still looking."

"Suit yourself," He concedes, looking a little miffed by my previous remark. "But you should make it quick. She's probably still staring right this minute."

"There's only one way to know for sure. . ."

I barely turned my head, moving just enough to get Matsuri in my line of sight. She was seated further back, and true to Gaara's word, she was staring right at the back of his head.

She didn't look creepy or stalkerish though. She just seemed curious, and is that amusement? And do I see a slight blush creeping up on her cheeks?

Wait a sec, now that I think about it, it looks like she's trying to hold back a laugh.

"But, why would she-okay now I see it?" I think to myself as I turn back around, shaking my head.

"Now you see it?"

"Yes, she's staring, and she's blushing too," I tell him, his face now looking moderately concerned. "But I highly doubt it's because of the reason you're thinking of."

"And why do you say that?"

"Let me ask you this in return. . . Did you ever notice who was sitting next to Matsuri by any chance?"

"No, I didn't get that far. Why?"

"Because I think she's blushing more at what your brother is saying to her about you than at you specifically."

He gave me an unsure glance before turning around, and with no hesitation, he started scowling as he watched Kankuro whisper something into Matsuri's ear, and despite her best efforts, she couldn't help but laugh at what he said. "Whatever he just told her, it must be quite amusing Gaara."

"Great, I should have known my brother was going to pull something like this," He mumbles as turns to me. "Whenever he sees a cute girl he likes, he'll speak in a way that props himself up . . ."

"But it has the adverse effect of bringing someone else down in the process," I say as he shoots his brother a quick glare. ". . . And that someone is usually you right?"

"Pretty much," He admits as the bus starts to slow down. "Oh good, we're home."

"Do you plan to get back at your brother?" I ask as the bus pulls up to the house's driveway.

"Maybe; I'm just not sure how. . . I would ask to borrow some of your markers to paint his face something stupid, but Kankuro is way too comfortable with his face being made up, so it would be useless, even if I drew the worst image possible."

"If that's the case, then yeah, Kankuro sounds like someone who's very comfortable wearing any type of face paint, or anything on his face for that matter . . . I'm sure you'll think of something else."

"I hope so."

After disembarking our ride, we walked up the driveway and into the foyer to find Hinata's face greeting us on the TV screen. It was her first place photo, taking center stage until it got replaced with the next best photo, but for now, the Hyuuga held the crown, and I hope she was enjoying it.

After all, there were plenty of other faces that wanted to be up there just as much.

"That is such a beautiful photo Hinata," Sakura was the first to say, breaking the silence as she turned to said woman. "You really did deserve it this week!"

"Thank you Sakura," She says in return, still looking mildly shocked as she looks at her photo. "That means a lot. . . To be honest, it feels a little odd to see my face up there."

"You better get used to it because it's going to be up there for quite a while," Kiba reminded her with a boyish grin on his face. "And you better enjoy it while it lasts, cause I'm taking your spot come next panel!"

"Are you sure about that Kiba?" Ino asks him, a smirk playing on her lips. "Saying it and doing it are two different things after all."

"There's no point in boasting about it now . . . Not when I'm going to win the best photo next panel anyway."

"You just said there's no point in boasting about getting the best photo, only to immediately boast about getting the best photo next panel," Naruto exclaimed, making a very good point as all eyes went to Uchiha. "Being a bit hypocritical there, don't you think?!"

"Oh, shut up dobe!"

"Ah, can't handle the truth then?" Naruto further asked before walking into the living room, getting the last word as he left a glaring Sasuke, and a few chuckling models, in his wake.

"Sorry Sasuke, but I think Naruto got you there on that one," Suigetsu adds, scurrying away before the Uchiha could train his glare on him.

"If only we got that on video . . ." I mumbled to myself before making my way into the lounge room. With Juugo and Sai having to vacate the premises, Lee and Naruto would likely claim their beds now, which meant that the living room would now be free. . .

. . . Which means that the sectional was going to be mine!

I was the only one in the lounge room, so I quickly grabbed my bags, ready to claim my territory, but as soon as I turned around, Gaara walked in, his eyes moving toward my bags.

"Moving so soon?" He asks me as I start dragging my stuff to the doorway.

"Well with Sai and Juugo gone, Naruto and Lee are bound to move out of the living room to claim their beds, leaving the living room available again, which means. . ." I say, pausing for dramatic effect. "The sectional is mine, and you aren't stopping me from getting it!"

"But that sectional is big enough to fit both of us though!" He counters, smirking slightly as he tucks his hands in his pockets. "You shouldn't keep it for yourself."

"Oh, so you want to share it then?" I ask, smirking slightly in return.

"It would make for a much more comfortable bed than the runway!" He says in return. "And I seriously don't want to wake up one morning with a bad back."

"Ooh, we wouldn't want that," I cooed, and apparently my change of tone was enough to throw the redhead off-kilter a little. . . Well, if his suddenly widening eyes was anything to go by.

"GUYS! WE GOT TSUNADE MAIL!"

"Hmm, I guess we'll have to save this conversation for after the Tsunade Mail then?" I ask, swiveling my head to see Gaara looking down the hallway, his eyes no longer wide.

"Um, yeah, yeah . . . We'll talk later."

I couldn't help but smirk at his reaction as I left the room, and once I dropped my stuff in the living room, I walked into the foyer to see that everyone had re-gathered in front of the TV, which now showed the latest message from our supermodel host.

Models,

I hope you all are fit for the challenges ahead.

If not, don't worry, I heard exercise is good for the soul.

Be ready at 7 A.M. sharp.

Love, Tsunade

"Oh, we're definitely heading to the gym tomorrow!" Kiba cheered, pumping his fists in the air in celebration. "Physical fitness, here we come!"

"Should have known this was coming," Choji mused, shaking his head as Shikamaru grimaced at the screen, a look that didn't go unnoticed by most of us, especially not Choji. "Is something wrong, Shikamaru?"

"Tomorrow is going to be such a drag," He ended up mumbling as his head rolled back.

Yeah, something tells me that he's not a fan of exercise. . . Not in the slightest.

"And why do you say that?" Temari asked, smirking slightly. "Got an aversion to exercise you'd like to share with the rest of us?"

"It's not that I have an aversion to exercise . . . I just think it's a drag."

"Yeah, that doesn't explain much," Naruto cuts in, shaking his head at the Nara's lack of an explanation.

"I'm willing to admit that exercise can be a bit of a struggle, but it's well worth the effort," TenTen adds, a grin lining her face. "After all, it's not like you can wish the pounds off and hope for a set of abs to show up in the morning."

"I don't think you're going to convince him that way, TenTen," Temari advises, her smirk only growing when she saw how much Shikamaru was growing to dislike their current topic. "Something tells me that the only way he's gonna exercise is when he's forced to do it."

"To be honest, Temari's right. . . I'm not a fan of physical fitness, so can you blame me for not being excited for it like the rest of y'all?" Shikamaru asks as he starts walking away, joining the departing crowd, barely missing the shocked look that crossed Temari's face. "Anyway, I'm going to bed. See ya in the morning everyone!"

"What a lazy ass . . ." Temari mumbles once he's out of earshot, but the bite that I expected wasn't really there. In fact, she honestly looked a little flustered, like she didn't really mean what she said, and I wasn't the only one to notice.

Both her brothers, and TenTen, noticed too. ". . . What?"

"You okay sis? Your retort wasn't as snappy as usual," Kankuro couldn't help but ask as a big cat-like grin started to stretch across his face. "Could your opinion on Shikamaru be, hm, changing?"

"As if," She says, trying to laugh it off. "Don't be ridiculous Kankuro!"

"I don't know. I think your brother has a point," TenTen cuts in, jumping into the fray. "I didn't feel much conviction behind that 'lazy ass' remark either. . . Did something happen to change your view?"

"Oh, don't start Dumpling Head!" Temari growls, sounding much like her usual self as she glared at her rival. "I'll make sure your pillowcase is filled with wasabi paste if you keep this up!"

"I'm willing to risk it!"

"TenTen, you shouldn't encourage her!" Neji advised, shaking his head, but his fellow brunette simply ignored him.

"Guys, lay off Temari will ya?" Gaara cuts in, coming to his sister's defense. "You don't need to tease her about Shikamaru."

"Thank you Gaara. I really appreciate the he-."

"Besides, with her tendency to overthink things," The redhead adds, cutting his sister off. ". . . She'll just torment herself by overanalyzing everything connected with herself and Shikamaru. She doesn't need the rest of your help."

Temari's face went red with shock as she glared at her youngest sibling, aghast at the fact that even Gaara had gone against her. Her reaction was enough to make Kankuro, TenTen, and Naruto doubled over in laughter, while the rest of us were a little impressed, and a bit shocked, at his unexpected audacity.

"Damn Gaara," I say, shaking my head. "I never expected that out of you!"

"Well, let's just say that I can be quite surprising when I want to be, and leave it at that. . ." He cryptically says, giving us a quick nod before leaving, but not before he shot his sister a quick smirk before walking into the hallway.

"You okay Sis?" Kankuro then asked, turning to the still stunned Temari who I was starting to worry for.

After all, she hadn't moved since Gaara laid the verbal KO on her. "You need some aloe for that burn?"

"Oh shut up Kankuro!"

Nevermind, she's going to be just fine.


Y ~ W ~ B ~ O ~ T

By the time it was 6:55 the next morning, everyone was awake and ready for the bus to arrive.

Since what we were doing next likely involved working out, we were all dressed in our athletic wear. Sports bras, t-shirts, shorts, tights, sweatpants . . . we were all dressed in our athletic best.

Well, everyone except Lee that is.

He was wearing something you would probably see in a dance studio, or maybe a special effects one. Compared to everyone else, it was definitely the most unique look of the bunch, but the idea of a spandex bodysuit in a blaring shade of green being conducive to physical fitness was a thought that was just seriously beyond me.

Like seriously, how did he even put that thing on in the first place?

"Lee, are you sure you're going to be okay wearing that?" Naruto asked as he watched Lee do a few jumping jacks. "That bodysuit doesn't even seem to have an exit."

"I'm with Naruto on this one," Kiba added, looking understandably perplexed. "How the hell did you even squeeze yourself into that thing?!"

"With practice of course!" He says, his grin wide and beaming as the bus finally pulls up. "Also, I know it looks very constricting, but the fabric has a lot more stretch than you'd think."

"But, how exactly did you even put that on?" Kankuro asked as watched him in disbelief. "There's no zipper, no velcro, no buttons to be seen. . . How exactly did you do it?"

Not wanting to learn the gritty details, I tuned out of the conversation. Finding out how Lee got himself into his bodysuit was just something that I didn't want to know.

Once we were all onboard, we were driven to the northern part of the city, and after about forty minutes, we eventually came to a stop in front of a squat two-story building with windows that were tinted enough to obscure what awaited us inside without completely obscuring it.

"The 'Might' Gym?" I say as I look up at the green and gold sign hanging above the front door, the letters as blocky as the building it was pinned to. "That's a peculiar name for a gym, but somewhat familiar."

"It's vaguely familiar to me too." TenTen pipes up as we start disembarking. "But I don't know why. It's just not coming to me right now."

"Well, maybe whatever we see inside will help jog your memory."

When we walked into the lobby it felt like we just stepped into a martial arts dojo in the middle of the jungle. The walls were painted dark green, patterned with leaves and palm fronds in a lighter green that gave it that jungle effect. A large set of shoji doors stood just off to the side of the receptionist's desk, which was made entirely of bamboo with two green, metallic palm fronds crossed together on its front.

A very good-looking man with shoulder-length dark hair and gray eyes was manning the desk, busy on his computer. When he looked up, he quickly did a head count before breaking out a pearly, white smile.

I think Matsuri swooned a little.

"Ah, the 7:45 appointment is here, good . . ." He says; more to himself than us. "Hello everyone, my name is Shinji, and I'm the receptionist here at the Might Gym."

"It's called the Might Gym, but it has a jungle theme?" Choji asked, looking perplexed.

To be honest, he wasn't the only one.

"Yeah, pardon the name. . . Naming things isn't really my boss' forte," He explains as, shrugging slightly. "Then again, calling it The Jungle Gym would have been too expected as well, don't you think?"

"Still would have fit the decor better!" Kankuro calls out, gesturing to the walls.

"Hmm, fair point," Shinji concedes as he walks around his desk. "If you all could just follow me please?"

We followed him through the shoji doors and into a large room that continued with the jungle theme, but with photos of some of Japan's natural landscapes lining the walls, jungle themed motivation posters, and a small bamboo fountain in the far corner. The only noticeably modern thing about the room was the exercise equipment that almost seemed out of place.

It wasn't the room Shinji was leading us to. Instead, we were led to a second room that was simpler than the first. The near wall was made of shoji paneling, separating the two rooms from each other, while the walls that made up the width of the room were all mirrors, giving it a dance studio feel. With the back wall being all windows, giving us an unobstructed view of the mini track outside, and there being no furniture in the area, the room was definitely a lot more open than its predecessor.

Standing in the middle of the room was a tall, middle aged man dressed in a light green t-shirt, form-fitting black sweatpants, and matching black sneakers. Looking at us with a big smile on his face, he kinda looked like a more chiseled version of Lee's.

And speaking of Lee . . .

"OH, MY KAMI! YOU'RE MIGHT GUY!" He yells, unable to hold it in any longer.

He looked so awed by the mere sight of the man, if it weren't for TenTen and Neji clamping their hands down on both his shoulders, he probably would have been jumping for joy, no doubt about it.

"Huh, I see I have a fan in the group. That's nice to see!" He says with a megawatt grin that probably made Lee's heart skip a beat. "Anyway, nice to meet you all! I'm Might Guy, as one of you has already realized. . ."

"Yeah, no kidding!" Kankuro whispered as Lee continued to practically bounce in his shoes.

"Along with being a business owner, I'm a physical trainer, martial artist, stuntman, and stunt choreographer," He explains as he clasped his hands behind his back. "My talents have led me to work on some of the biggest action films to have come out in recent memory, including all the films in the Tales of the Wayward Shinobi franchise. . . All those action sequences you see in those flicks, they were all thanks to me."

"Even the iconic bamboo scaffolding scene?" TenTen asks, her eyes widening slightly.

"Even the bamboo scaffolding scene," Might Guy confirms with a thumbs up, which admittedly, was a little cheesy. "I would love to show you all some moves, maybe even a couple of sequences from a few of the movies, but I'll save that for another day."

"For now, today is about your physical fitness," He says, gesturing at us with a simple movement of his hand. "As models, one of the requirements of your job is to maintain your body and keep it at a peak physical shape that's good for you, regardless of what anyone else will say . . . Sure, you may meet someone that'll say that you could lose or gain a few pounds. Hell, you may have people like that already."

"Now isn't that the truth. . ." Choji mumbled, his words immediately getting some whole-hearted agreement from some of the rest of us.

"However, you don't need to listen to those people . . . You need to do what's best for you, but also make sure that you're making healthy choices while doing it, and we're going to start with this session!" Might Guy practically exclaims, clapping his hands together so hard it sounded like a hammer knocking into a wall. "Today, I'm going to treat you all like how I would treat any class of new members that come into my gym. . . Right now, it's time for boot camp!"

Boot camp . . ? Yeah, I did not like the sound of that.

A/N: Leave a comment if you like!