P.S. Just to let you all know, a guest reviewer gave me the idea for Gaara's photo in the last chapter. So, whoever you are, thank you for the review/idea!
Chapter 43: Four Down, Seventeen to Go
When we walked back into the waiting room, our large group became distinct factions. Some converged around Shino and Matsuri to offer them comfort over their low placements - although the former didn't seem keen on getting it - while others were congratulating Sasuke on his strong rebound.
By far the biggest group was the group of friends that were currently giving Gaara his well-deserved props, myself included. We had taken over the two largest sofas in the room, and one by one, we were giving the redhead his well-deserved kudos. Gaara managed to take it all in good grace, but he looked delightfully flustered, as if he still couldn't believe he did such an excellent job this week.
Humble and cute . . . An incredibly good combination in my book.
"Dude, you okay?" My brother asks as he leans forward in his seat. "You look a little out of it."
"I'm fine," Gaara was quick to say as he scratched the back of his neck, which only made him look more adorable in a slightly unsure kind of way. "This, it's taking some time getting used to, that's all."
"Aw, little brother's just not used to getting so many compliments," Temari practically gloated as she wrapped her arms around her brother's shoulders, much to his chagrin. "He doesn't know how to manage it."
"It's okay to revel in your accomplishments Gaara," Kankuro added as he patted him on the shoulder. "As long as you don't get a big ego, that is. Orochimaru does have a point after all."
"With siblings like you two, I don't see that happening," He admitted as he looked around the group, his eyes finally settling on me. "And if they fail, I hope that the rest of you are willing enough to keep me grounded?"
"I don't think any of us will have a problem with that," TenTen admits as she looks around for confirmation. "Be warned though; each of us will have our own tactics in setting you straight, and they may vary from the vocal to the physical . . . Pick your poison wisely."
"Well, that doesn't sound ominous at all. . ." Gaara mumbles, and if he had eyebrows, one of them would be raised by now. "Still, I appreciate the sentiment."
"Then again, Gaara doesn't seem like the kind of person that will go on a serious ego trip if he wins best photo," Neji cuts in as TenTen starts chuckling at the look the redhead was giving her. "After all, when he won the last one, he didn't go all diva on us."
"No, no he did not," Naruto agreed as he looked around the room. "But I wouldn't be surprised if at least one person in this competition does if they ever got the chance."
"Who do you think will go on an ego trip if they win a best photo then?" Hinata asks as she turns to the whiskered blonde.
"There's a few possible candidates among the group, if I'm being honest," Naruto admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "For some reason, I could picture Sasuke going that direction if he won."
"Hmm, I don't think he'll go complete diva on us, but I can see him getting a little snobbish, well, more than he actually is now that is," Kankuro concedes as he too looks around the room. "If there's anyone in here that could go full diva on us if they won best photo, it's gotta be either Ino or Sakura."
"Both do have the disposition to make that possible, but then again they could surprise us."
"Like how Ino surprised everyone by not accepting her makeover?" TenTen asks Neji as she not so subtly looked the blonde's way. "I'm still amazed that she wasn't called for the bottom this week."
"I guess she did well enough in her photoshoot that the judges were willing to move her on to the next round," I say as I spot Ino talking to Sasuke. "Besides, it's not like they could really justify putting her in the bottom this week based on what happened during the makeovers. Tsunade did give her the choice to refuse."
"Okay, fair point. I'll concede to that," TenTen admits before setting her sights back on Gaara. "Now that I think about it, if Gaara wins best photo, it really would be safe to say that he's the current front runner of the entire group."
"You really think so?" He asks, looking slightly unsure.
"If you really think about all of our performances up to this point, TenTen has a point," Temari admits, her words bringing out a big grin on TenTen's face. "Gaara and Hinata both already have a best photo to their name, and Izuka is close behind with two high placements. Kankuro was in the top once before, but the rest of us. . ?"
"SAFE!" Everyone that Temari didn't name chorused together, being loud enough that half the room could hear them.
"Yeah; the rest of us need to get our asses in gear," Naruto gripes, frowning slightly. "I know it's still pretty early, but it's only a matter of time before the judges get tired of those that simply coast on by."
"All the more reason to up our game then," TenTen mumbles as she grinned from ear to ear. "But for now, congrats Gaara, and may your good fortune rub down on the rest of us."
"If anyone hopes to get any benefit from being around Gaara, it's us!" Kankuro argues, gesturing at himself and Temari. "Hinata and Izuka work just as well. Hang around with them more!"
"But Gaara's the one on the verge of winning a second-best photo!" TenTen bites back as she points to the redhead. "Compared to the other two, he's scorching hot right now! No offense Hinata, Izuka."
"None taken," I mumbled as Hinata simply shook her head. "Just try to keep Gaara's feelings in your thoughts, okay? Remember, he's a person, not a ragdoll."
"A ragdoll that apparently has a crush on you. . ."
I would have said something, but the annoyed glare Gaara was shooting his sister after not-so-subtly whispering that last line was enough of a reaction for the both of us.
Y ~ W ~ B ~ O ~ T
With the judges . . .
"Well, we have quite the decision to make, again. . ." Tsunade mused once the doors closed behind the models. "We have Sasuke and Gaara going for best photo, and we have Matsuri and Shino, who are vying not to be sent home."
"Decisions, decisions," Orochimaru murmured as he twiddled his fingers. "Which one should we tackle first?"
"Which one are you hoping that we tackle first?" Jiraiya teased as he leaned his arm against the table. The smug expression on his friend's face was all the answer he needed. ". . . As if we needed to guess then."
"Um, am I missing something?" Kurenai asked, switching her gaze between the two men. "Is there something I'm not seeing?"
"Kurenai, have you ever heard the rumor that Orochimaru tends to have at least one favorite contestant per season?"
"Well, yeah Tsunade, I've heard it, but don't you all have your share of favorites every year?" The cosmetologist answered in return, looking unsure.
"We do, but Orochimaru tends to be a bit more . . . blatant with his favorites compared to either of us," Jiraiya mumbles with a wave of his hand. "And it appears that our pale skinned friend has figured out his latest favorite quicker than most.
"Considering that Orochimaru has always had a preference for dark haired, dark eyed types with a bit of an edge to them, I think it's not hard to guess that Sasuke is well within his radar." Kurenai admitted, having finally caught on.
"Why just Sasuke?" Tsunade teased as she looked over at the younger woman. "Shino technically fits the bill too, well, from what I've seen from him so far."
"Shino and Sasuke may share similarities, but I think Sasuke is much more appealing to Orochimaru. I just have a feeling . . ." Kurenai mumbled as she looked over at the designer. "Care to comment?"
"I think I'll leave you all to your suspicions for now," Was all the pale skinned man was willing to say as he looked around the table. "Now then, can we please get back to the actual task at hand?"
"Fine, but we are not dropping this subject," Tsunade conceded, grinning from ear-to-ear. "In fact, let's see our choices for best photo again, shall we?"
Gaara and Sasuke's photos appeared on the monitor before the supermodel could fully get her question out, standing side-by-side in a battle of suave intensity. The judges took a moment to observe both photos, their faces lighting up in delight at such amazing shots. . . Only to slightly deflate when they realized that they had to choose one of them to be the best photo.
"We can't just let them tie, can we?" Kurenai dared to ask, looking bemused as she turned away from the monitor.
"No; we must always choose a winner," Orochimaru declared, pouting slightly. "These decisions are always going to be hard, but the models are certainly not making things easy this year."
"Just shows you the amount of talent that we have on tap this go around," Jiraiya added as he weaved his fingers together. "We have Sasuke, who has certainly redeemed his last showing with this latest photo, and then we have Gaara, who's hoping to go two in a row with the top photo. . . Like Orochimaru said before: decisions, decisions."
"They are really showing their potential, and if they can keep up their consistency, it's not hard to imagine either of them still here in the final weeks," Tsunade admitted. "They both have looks that definitely fit an edgier, high fashion aesthetic, and it certainly worked for them this round."
"Makes you wonder how they'll perform in some of the commercial photoshoots we have lined up for them down the line," Orochimaru muses as he keeps his eyes on the screen. "Could be the difference maker between them."
"I believe you meant a difference maker rather than the difference maker Orochimaru," Jiraiya cut in. "Taking photos is just one piece of the puzzle. . . When you're trying to win You Wanna Be on Top?, you want to be an all-rounder, not a one trick pony."
"I couldn't have said it better myself Jiraiya," Tsunade admitted with a smirk, before turning back to the screen. "Still, that doesn't answer our main question. Who should win best photo? Gaara or Sasuke?"
"I applaud Sasuke for turning things around, but I'm leaning toward Gaara on this one," Jiraiya admits as he looks at the redhead's photo. "His eyes . . . They're vexing, but in an effective way. They just pull you in and you don't want to break away from it. . . Sorry, Orochimaru."
"Don't apologize Jiraiya," The designer mused as he brushed his fingers through his long black hair. "For the most part, Gaara and Sasuke's photos are evenly matched, but the redhead certainly has the edge in terms of facial expression."
"What did Kakashi have to say in his after shoot critiques?" Kurenai asked as Tsunade rifled through the paperwork in front of her. "I would love to hear his input on this one."
"Let's see . . . He says here that Sasuke was a little slow to start, but once he got in the zone, it was smooth sailing for the rest of the shoot," Temari explained, reading off the form that she got in her email earlier. "As for Gaara, he snapped into focus immediately, and his shoot was practically seamless. No real complaints for him."
"So, with photos that are practically evenly matched, we must decide between Sasuke, who was slow to get it, but did excellently once he did, and Gaara, who had it as soon as the first photo was shot." Jiraiya mumbles as he looks between the photos.
"Just as it's going to be difficult to choose the best photo, I think it's going to be just as difficult to decide who goes home," Kurenai mumbles as the monitor switches out the best photos of the week with the worst ones. "Which one do we lose? Matsuri? Or Shino?"
"The Morticia Addams wannabe versus the man that went too far down the literal rabbit hole," Orochimaru mused, shaking his head. "Well, I think you already know my vote."
"You can't just penalize Matsuri because she didn't do justice to one of your favorite characters, Orochimaru!" Kurenai argued, smirking as she noticed the slightly petulant pout that crossed his face . . . The man wasn't known for being a pouter, but when it did appear, it was noteworthy.
"Of course, I know that. . . It just feels nice for me to say, that's all," Orochimaru murmured as he looked off to the side. "Justice for Morticia Addams and all that jazz."
"It's been a long time since I've seen you so childish at panel," Tsunade muses, her eyes dancing with mirth as Jiraiya tries to hold back a laugh. "It's a pleasant change of pace. I'm not gonna lie."
"I'm glad you can find some amusement in the depth of my surprising behavior," The designer complained. "Still won't get us close to our goal though. . ."
"That's true," Tsunade conceded as she fixed her gaze back on the monitor. "Now then, where were we?"
Y ~ W ~ B ~ O ~ T
Back to Izuka's POV
"Guys, the doors are opening again!" Lee calls out, our heads immediately turning to see the act for ourselves.
It wasn't long before we were all moving back into the judging room, where Tsunade awaited us, standing right in front of the judges table with our photos in her hands. The judges behind her watched us silently as we got into position, their expressions giving nothing away as their blonde leader took the time to look at every one of us.
"Welcome back models!" She announces, her face squarely in 'Head Judge' mode. "This week, not only did you get to embrace your new looks, but you also got to shine in your photoshoots, well, with a little assistance, of course."
"Not your finest pun Tsunade!"
"I tried my best Jiraiya! Sue me!" Tsunade bites back, expertly not breaking face as some in the group tried to hold back a laugh. Kurenai really couldn't hold back a chuckle at the exchange, while Orochimaru simply looked amused, as if this were nothing new to him. . . Truthfully, it wasn't. "Anyway, best photo goes to . . ."
Even though the pause before the best photo announcement has become a competition staple, it still generates the anticipation and tension that makes it such a well-known trope. Sneaking a look around, I spot Sasuke with a slight eagerness to his eyes, as if he expected to hear his name first. Gaara appeared more neutral, but his siblings looked eager enough on his behalf.
"Well, it appears that someone just went two for two," Tsunade concedes as she flipped the top photo over. "Gaara!"
"Again?" I managed to hear the redhead say as Kankuro started nudging him forward, while the rest of us looked on with various expressions, most of them positive. The only one that could be considered negative was Sasuke. . .
. . . But then again, he did just lose out on best photo, so who could blame him?
"You won the best photo last round, and you've won best photo this round," Tsunade starts to say as Gaara finally stands in front of her. "This photo is phenomenal, but don't get complacent."
"Thank you, and I promise that I'll try not to fall complacent in future rounds," Gaara admits, sounding like he just remembered to say the last part as he took the photo from her hands. Nodding at the judges, he moves off to the side, his attention half on his photo, and half on us.
"I believe the second photo needs no introduction," Tsunade murmurs as she reveals said photo. "Sasuke, please step forward."
The Uchiha does just that, and though he just lost out on the best photo, he still has a bit of a swagger to his step as he moves to stand in front of the woman.
"It was a very close race between you and Gaara for best photo, but still, this was a breakthrough week for you," Tsunade admits as she hands him the photo. "You're on an upward trend. Keep it up!"
Sasuke simply nods before walking off to stand next to Gaara, and for the next few minutes, we're called up one by one to retrieve our photos. By the end of it, Shino and Matsuri were all that remained on the main platform, with the latter looking stoic, while the former was trying hard to not feel like the world was on her shoulders.
"Shino, Matsuri, please step forward. . ."
The two took their walk, stepping forward until they were standing a couple of feet away from Tsunade, who remained silent as she observed the two, just enough that Matsuri was starting to visibly grimace.
"Nervous?" Tsunade asked as she looked between the two.
"A little. . ." Matsuri managed to squeak out as Shino quietly grimaced. "This isn't the best position to be in after all."
"Hmm, that's a fair point," The blonde concedes as the judges behind her couldn't help but nod. "But is a part of this competition, and you two, unfortunately, are the latest models to find themselves in this position. . . I'll start with you Shino. Leaning into the theme of your set is not always a terrible thing, but you need to always keep the point of the shoot in mind. You were supposed to highlight your flashlight, but all you did was make it an afterthought."
"And then there's you Matsuri," Tsunade says, pivoting to the brunette as Shino looked like he was really absorbing her words. "Embodying a famous figure never hurts, but you have to be on point when you go that route. . . You chose Morticia Addams, but you did not do her justice, and when you fail in that regard, the photo suffers as a result."
"I understand. . ." The brunette mumbles as Tsunade reveals the photo, her eyes widening slightly when she sees her face looking back at her. ". . . What?"
"Put it simply: You followed the brief slightly better than your fellow competitor Matsuri," Tsunade tells her, her voice even. "You may join the others."
"Thank you!" The relief was evident on Matsuri's face as she quickly bowed her head. She gave Shino a quick hug before scurrying over to the rest of us, leaving our quiet compatriot to get some farewell advice. ". . . I'm so glad to survive another day."
"Count your blessings girl," Temari advises her as Shino starts shaking hands with the other judges. "Let this be a lesson to ya!"
"Trust me! I got the lesson loud and clear," She mumbles in return as Kiba and some of the other guys go out to say their goodbyes. "I walked a fine line using Morticia Addams as inspiration . . . Never again!"
"You're being too hard on yourself Matsuri," TenTen tells her, patting her on the shoulder. "You just have to learn from this and push forward."
"And if you don't?" Temari mumbles as we watch Shino get a well-meaning punch to the shoulder from Kiba. "Well, there is a walking example of what could happen instead."
Truer words have never been said.
A/N: Please review!
