Chapter 7 - Snack Party

"Well, this has been a very fun day . . . Who am I kidding?! I'm beat!" Temari's sarcasm moved to grumbling as we stepped into our suite after a good hard day's work. "Like seriously?! I don't know which was more tiring, the multiple rounds of runway or the photoshoot session with Kakashi afterward. . . So many fashion photographers, so little time."

"And we were only allowed five close up shots and five full body frames to work with, so there wasn't much room for error either," TenTen adds as she kicks off her heels, narrowly missing a vase with one of them. "At least we didn't have to wait too long to take our turns though."

"Anyone worried about their photos?"

"I don't know about you Temari, but I just hope I didn't look like I was thinking too much in my shots. Overthinking things has always been a big no-no in this competition, for obvious reasons of course."

"It's like you read my mind TenTen," I say as I close the door. "There's a big difference between posing while feeling and posing while thinking, and unfortunately, I think I may have leaned more to the thinking side during my turn."

"It's pretty simple if you ask me," Hinata chimes in as she sits on the couch. "With posing while feeling, you just have to really focus on the emotion or idea you are trying to convey in the shoot. You really have to get into the moment, but if you consciously keep thinking about how you should move your body and how your face should look, you just become way too focused on the image rather than the idea. You get what I mean?"

"I think so, and damn Hinata. You make it sound so easy, and you made it look easy too," Temari says, a little obvious with the jealousy in her tone. "I witnessed your session girl, and you were taking all of us to school. Sure, you seemed to have lost it for a couple of shots, but still, you made it seem so natural, so effortless. . . You have any other tips that could help the rest of us out?"

"Um, I'm flattered you are even asking me such a question, but I honestly can't say I'm a natural though. It was only ten frames, so if my frames end up being good after all, I'm chalking it up to beginner's luck." Hinata defensively says, raising her hands up like she meant no harm.

"You are so damn humble that it's almost sickening Hinata, and who could that possibly be!?" mumbles TenTen as we all hear the sound of someone knocking at our door. Then she visibly paled. "You think that's one of the assistants coming to deliver the news!?"

"There's no way they could have made cuts that quick!" Temari grumbles in what I guess was her way of being reassuring, though it was sort of coarse in the delivery.

"I agree. Remember, there is a hundred of us in this competition, and there is a lot of stuff the judges have to go through before they can render a proper decision," I say as I walk back over to the door. "You know what I'm hoping for? Complimentary room service!"

"Massages! Please let it be massages!" TenTen exclaims, the others immediately shaking their heads in agreement.

"Ok, that works too!" I concede as I open the door open. It wasn't room service or a masseuse, but it was the boys, and they were carrying snacks and drinks. "Hey guys! What's going on here?"

"Well, you guys were a little too quick to come back up here once the photoshoot was over. If you had stayed a little longer, you would have learned that the hotel was offering us a huge table spread of snacks as a complimentary treat," Kankuro gladly explains as he and Naruto showed off the stuff they managed to gather. "So, we thought we'd be nice and bring up a few goodies. Anyone up for a little snack party?"

"Don't worry, according to the hotel worker that was overseeing the table, none of the snacks are fattening. It's mostly low fat, low calorie stuff. The kind that actually has some taste to it," Gaara adds as he held up the packs of soda cans he held. "So, can we come in? My fingers are getting tired."

"Let them in Izuka!" Temari commands. "It'll be nice to let loose for a little bit. Plus, who in their right mind would say no to free food!?"

"Well, when you put it that way . . . Come in guys!"

I move to the side, letting the boys walk in one by one before closing the door behind us. All the food was deposited onto the coffee table, covering a good swath of the table's surface. TenTen didn't bother waiting any longer, quickly going for the bag of mini pretzels in the center of the pile.

Unfortunately for her, Temari grabbed the bag before she could get a hand on it.

"Are you planning to share those pretzels?" TenTen asks with a tense look on her face, obviously not liking the fact that she got beat out by the blonde. "It would be kind of you if you did. You are holding the only bag of mini pretzels after all."

"Of course, I'm going to share. I just wanted first choice, that's all," Temari quickly bites back with a sickeningly sweet smile, which ended up inciting a small growl from the brunette in return. "Is letting me have first choice that problematic for you?"

"It is if you're going to hog all the unbroken pieces for yourself." TenTen claps back as she grabs the bag, inciting an impromptu game of tug-of-war between the two.

"I never realized that TenTen and Temari liked pretzels so much . . . You guys should have brought more with you," I mumble as the rest of us stood off to the side, witnessing the tugging match unfold. "If they keep this up, the bag is going to rip for sure."

"So much for the snack party having a fun beginning . . ." my brother further adds as he scratched the back of his neck. "So, any suggestions on how to stop them?"

"I think I may have one," says Neji, turning to Hinata. "Cousin, care to assist me on this one?"

"Oh, sure. If you say so."

We watch Neji as he whispers something low in her ear before moving to stand behind TenTen. Once Hinata was standing behind Temari, the two Hyuugas reached out and pinched the dueling girls in the area where their necks met their right clavicles.

The result was quite fascinating to see, as Temari and TenTen ended up visibly relaxing immediately. In ten seconds, they went from glaring at each other to wearing expressions so serene, you'd think we were watching a spa commercial unfold right before our very eyes.

Oh, and the pretzels were saved, but they still ended up falling to the floor, narrowly missing the table. ". . . There, that should do it. They won't be arguing for a while now, so the party should be relatively peaceful from this point forward."

"Damn Neji! What the hell did you two just do to them?" Kankuro ends up asking for the rest of us as the Hyuugas eased the two onto the couch. "And can you teach me that move?! I could win a lot more arguments against my siblings with that!"

"Really?!" Came Gaara's immediate reply, shaking his head in disbelief. "You lose one too many arguments against me and sis, so this is your plan B? Learn how to pinch us into submission?"

"YES!" Kankuro exclaims, having no shame in his intentions. "So, can you teach me?"

"It's probably not a good idea," Hinata advises, shaking her head. "What we did is part of a very complex, and precise practice. One touch can mean the difference between full body relaxation and an induced medical emergency."

"Well that sounds dangerous," Naruto mumbles, instantly nervous of the implications. "Wait a minute . . . How did you learn to do this anyway?"

"Well, there are some advantages to being a part of a body-focused family, so to speak . . . Medicine is practically in our blood. Doctors, surgeons, acupuncturists, you name it. If you can name a profession that requires a knowledge of the human body, we guarantee you that someone in our family has done it for a living," says Neji as he eased TenTen's head onto the sofa cushions. "What we did just now was a little something that one of our acupuncturist cousins taught us when we were younger."

"So, your cousin taught you guys how to apply pressure to a pressure point that eventually calms people down?" Gaara bluntly asks as he turns to his serene looking sister.

"Basically . . ." Hinata admits as she picks up a bag of chips. "But that's not the only pressure point we know about. The human body has many points that can be used to cause pain, pleasure, and sometimes, even sleep. It all depends on what kind of point you're targeting."

"I would like to know about these sleep-inducing pressure points please."

"That would be a useful trick to know." I say in agreement, only because I was the only other person in the room that could relate to his predicament.

"Hey! I asked first! Get in line!" Kankuro argues, rubbing both of us the wrong way immediately.

"Yeah, I think it's best we don't teach you anything right now," Neji concedes, dashing our collective hopes immediately. "Wouldn't want you guys misusing our teachings under our watch after all."

It wasn't hard to see that the dig was meant for the middle Sabakuno.

"Anyway, speaking of your family, have your parents, or anyone in your clan for that matter, been encouraging, or pressuring, you guys to, uh, join the family business?" I couldn't help but ask, curious to know the answer. "I'm sure when you told your family that you were going to try out for this competition, not all of them were totally enthusiastic over it, right?"

"Yeah, not everyone in the family were totally happy about us modelling, but they warmed up to it, well, in time," Neji concedes as he picks up the discarded pretzels. "As for them encouraging us to join the medical field, well, some of our elders have said that medicine is always a good back up if modeling doesn't work out."

"And what about you three?" TenTen asks, having regained some semblance of her wits as she turned to the three siblings with a smirk on her face. "Your father is the mayor of one of Japan's biggest cities. I bet he had some reservations when he learned that you guys were joining this thing."

"Oh, he did alright!" Kankuro agrees, chuckles escaping past his lips as he took a seat on the floor. "Our dad is a rising force in the political world, and if you give a crap about politics, you know that the cleaner your background, the better your future will be, and our old man really takes that to heart."

". . . And what does his three kids do in response to that? Go off to join the country's biggest modelling competition, that's what!" Temari exclaims, not the least bit repentant. "He honestly thought we were joking when we first brought the idea up to him. I think he's still unsure about it to this day."

"Is he worried that whatever you guys do here may reflect negatively on him?" I ask, a tense look suddenly appearing on Gaara's face. "Gaara, you ok?"

"I'm fine. I just thought of something real quick," he mumbles, shaking it off. "You don't have to worry about me."

"He's probably thinking of all the things he did that probably reflected bad on good old dad," Kankuro adds, earning a sharp glare from the redhead. "WHAT!? It was all rambunctious, little kids stuff, and we were practically partners in crime for some of that shit. . . We both know that you were far from being an innocent kid growing up. Mayhem was practically in your blood during those times. Good times . . ."

"Ok, I so need photo evidence of this," I say, shaking my head. "Since, again, we've only known you for a couple of days now, I'm willing to give Gaara the benefit of the doubt here. If I don't see photos or video, I'm not believing it."

"But what Kankuro is saying is right! Gaara, you were such a troublemaker when we were kids. . . Damn, If only we were allowed on the internet while in this competition, I could show you plenty of evidence stored up in our family's Cloud," Temari says, a smug grin stretching across her face as she enjoyed the shook look that was showing on Gaara's face. ". . . You forgot about the family Cloud again, didn't you little brother?"

"Yeah, I forgot . . ." he grumbles, shaking his head as he slammed a palm into his forehead. ". . . Damn that fucking Cloud."

"Anyway, back to the main discussion at hand," Temari continues, ready to leave the redhead to his misery. "Politics isn't just about the issues plaguing the community and creating new laws. It hasn't been for a long time now . . . When you're a politician, your image is everything! Maintaining a squeaky-clean image is crucial because the press is basically on your ass at all times, ready to write something bad about you if you give them even a hint of weakness."

"Isn't that the m.o of the media in general?" Neji asks, completely unfazed.

"Not all the media is like that. The more well-respected publications will always try to remain impartial, save for their opinion sections of course. Some media outlets tend to lean toward one certain direction, and thus report with a bias, so how they report on a subject all depends on the subject's affiliations," Temari further explains.

"But you know those trashy gossip magazines and papers you can always find by the cashier in the supermarket? They live for telling tall tales. They have no qualms when it comes to their reporting, especially if the news is so big that everyone's covering it," Kankuro adds. "Simply put, controversy to the press is like the scent of blood to a shark. It lures them in an instant, and once they have a general idea of what's going on, it's off to the computers and the printing press to try to get the story out first."

"Ah, you gotta love the media," Naruto sarcastically grumbles, shaking his head. "So, any bad run-ins with the media you'd like to tell us about?"

"Hm, not really. Unless there's an active campaign or election going on, a politician's family doesn't garner 24/7 media coverage like most famous celebrity families do. Something pretty major would have to happen for that kind of coverage to happen," Kankuro further adds as he digs into a pack of powdered donuts. "We've had a couple of close calls over the years, but nothing really big has happened that would have landed us the front page headline. . . Gaara here has a bit more experience in the news compared to me and Temari, so if you really want to know what that's like, you should ask him."

"Please don't! I only got mentioned in the media because of all the stupid stuff I did when I was younger, nothing more, nothing less," Gaara quickly says, as if he wanted the attention diverted away from him as soon as possible.

Considering the stuff his siblings said about him on his behalf just now, I could not blame him for his lack of response.

"Hmm, such interesting stories. . . My mom ended up reacting the exact opposite way of how your folks did," TenTen reluctantly admits as she grabbed the bag of pretzels out from Neji's hand, opening it up with a quick tug. "She was all for it when I told her I was joining this competition!"

"Why? She figured this would be the quickest way for you to get out of the house?" Temari snidely asks as she quickly snatched a few pretzels before TenTen could move the bag away.

"Not in the slightest Temari!" TenTen bites back with a grin. "My mother has always been my biggest supporter. She's a big fan of fashion and modelling, so when I told her I was doing this, she was jumping up and down and all that good stuff! I think she was more excited about this than I was, and damn it, I should have caught her reaction on film! You guys would have loved seeing it . . . Anyway, Izuka, Naruto, you're next."

"Wait a sec! We're next? For what!?" I ask as my brother and I look on with matching blank expressions on our faces, a sudden feeling of dread was starting to nag at me from somewhere in the back of my mind.

It was my 'You're not going to like this too much' feeling, and I was dreading it more and more by the second.

"Don't get all blank-faced on us guys! You know exactly what I am talking about," TenTen argues as everyone started turning their gazes our way. "C'mon, spill it. How did your parents react when you guys told them that you were doing modelling? Please, tell us. We promise we won't laugh if the story is funny."

"Uh, honestly, that's not an easy thing to answer," Naruto answers for the both of us as a somber look appears in his eyes. "You see, our parents tend to be a sensitive subject for us. We don't talk about them much . . ."

"Oh shit . . . Did you get into a fight with them before coming here?" Temari is quick to ask, looking apologetic. "Your parents don't approve of this career choice. Is that it, because trust me, you wouldn't be the first ones to have parents that don't like your life choices."

"It's not really that Temari . . . There was no fight with our parents," I say as I fight back the lump that was beginning to form in my throat. "Actually, we've barely lived with our parents in the first place."

"What do you mean by that?" Hinata innocently asks, her shyness more apparent as I took a walk over to the far side of the room.

"My sister means exactly what she just said Hinata-chan," Naruto answers, shrugging his shoulders. A small smile was on his face, but it was nowhere near the usual smiles that I'm so used to seeing from him. "To tell you the truth, we barely know our real parents because, well, uh . . . How do I say this? Um sis? Can you help me out here with this?"

"Wait! Let me guess this one," Kankuro practically exclaims, butting into the conversation once again. "So, you barely know and barely lived with your parents . . . They put you up for adoption didn't they!?"

"That does sound plausible . . ." TenTen murmurs, her hopeful face faltering once she saw my expression. "Oh, it's not adoption. it's something much darker than that . . ."

"Yeah, definitely darker than adoption . . ." I mumbled as I spot a certain redhead edging closer to me from the corner of my eye. ". . . Care to wager a guess Gaara?"

"After all that I've heard so far, there's only one guess I could make at this point," he admits as he comes to a stop a couple of feet from me. "They're, they're deceased, aren't they?"

"Yeah . . . they are," I say as I tuck a few strands of my hair back behind my ear, my admission stunning the rest of the room into silence. "They passed away when Naruto and I were really young, like really young."

"How young are we talking here? Two, three years?" Kankuro asks, right before Temari elbows him in the gut. "OW! Oh, and sorry! My tone sounded rude didn't it?"

"It's alright," I say, accepting it with stilted grace. "You're not the first to ask, and you likely won't be the last either. . . Our parents died when we were barely weeks old."

"That young!?" Hinata asks, somehow paling even further despite her already pale complexion.

"Yeah, that young," I admit. "They left us in the care of a family friend so that they could run a few errands, and they never returned."

"The family friend that took care of us that day ended up becoming our legal guardian. He looked after us until we were legal ourselves." Naruto further adds as he throws me a bag of chips. He ended up throwing the bag closer to Gaara than to me, which left my fellow insomniac to catch it instead.

"Did you ever find out what happened to your parents?" Gaara asks as he handed the bag over to me. I knew from the look on his face that he was unsure about asking the question - probably out of concern for how either Naruto or I would react - but I wasn't really fazed by it, offering a small smile to show that I wasn't bothered by it as much as I thought I would have.

"When we were old enough to understand things better, our guardian, Iruka, sat us down and told us that our parents died in a car accident on their way to the store. . . Our dad died instantly, but our mom managed to hold on during the entire ambulance ride," I say as I rip the bag open and start digging in. ". . . She passed away hours later."

"Oh . . . I-I don't know what to say," says Temari, her face somber. "I'm so sorry if our line of conversation was uncomfortable for you guys, you know, talking about parents and all . . ."

"Oh, that's okay. Besides, you didn't know . . . We try not to let it bother us. We did have a decent childhood, and Iruka has been a very good father figure to us," says Naruto, his usual grin now back in place. "Although, I must admit. There were a few bumps in the road we had to overcome as we got older."

"Like your refusal to eat anything that was classified as a vegetable until you were eleven?" I ask, grinning at the look my brother was giving me. It was a harmless question, but Naruto looked like I offended our entire lineage. "What? Don't look at me like that! Every time Iruka would serve up vegetables during dinner, you ended up throwing them away or outright refusing to eat them! All you wanted to eat was ramen when we were kids!"

"And that's a bad thing!?" Naruto asks, as if eating ramen was the most innocent thing in the world.

To him, it probably was.

"It's not healthy eating one food every day for weeks and months on end Big Bro!" I remind him, playfully throwing one of my chips at his forehead. "One of these days, you're going to get sick off that stuff!"

"Too late sis. I already did get sick off ramen, but it was only once," he claps back with a cheeky grin. "And yes, it was well worth it!"

"When it comes to feasting on your favorite food, it's always worth it," Kankuro chimes in, firmly finding himself in my brother's corner. "For me, it's all about the hamburger steak! One time, I absolutely gorged myself on the stuff during an eating competition I entered on a whim . . ."

"Wait a damn minute!" Neji mumbled, looking annoyed. "You entered a competition - one that people are known to train for - on a freaking whim? You just wanted to get a free meal, didn't you?"

"YEP!" says the brunet, showing no shame. "I ended up throwing up chunks afterward, but I don't have any regrets."

"Yeah, his quick trip on the professional eating circuit was one of the things that made Kankuro newsworthy a couple of years ago, for all the wrong reasons. You ended up barfing right on our dad's shoes, right in front of the media pit!" says Temari as Gaara started chuckling. ". . . And they were his favorite pair of loafers too."

"I got him a new pair, eventually . . . Anyway, I'm in the mood to hear something funny. Anyone got a good story or joke to share with the rest of us? I'll take anything at this point."

Knock-knock-knock

"Hold up one second Kankuro. Someone's at the door," Neji announces as his head swivels to the door. He moves to open it, and when he returns, a Tsunade Mail is coming along for the ride. "I wonder what this will say. . ."

"Considering the circumstances, it's not hard to imagine what's possibly written inside," TenTen mumbles. "But just for kicks, why don't you open that pretty little envelope up and read what's inside to the rest of us hm?"

"Hm, might as well . . ." says the Hyuga as he rips open the mail and takes out the purple paper.

"Hello models!

You all just got your first taste of the model life,

Tomorrow, some of you will have to say goodbye to it.

Meet Kakashi and Yamato in the main conference room at 10 AM sharp.

There you will see who will move on . . .

. . . And who will go home.

Sweet dreams!

Love, Tsunade

"Although I knew this was coming, it's still not a great thing to hear." Gaara murmurs, his deep voice breaking through the sudden silence.

"Well, all we can hope for is that none of us are among that first group going home tomorrow . . . It's not a fun thing to go through, but this is what we decided to go up against when we first signed up for this. " Naruto reminds us, becoming an improbable fountain of wisdom in a suddenly dour moment. "Now, let's eat. These snacks aren't going to eat themselves."

I think that fountain of wisdom just dried up for the moment.

"Does he always think with his stomach more than his brain?"

I did not expect Gaara to ask that question by whispering in my ear. The feeling of his breath on my neck instantly sent goosebumps up my skin, and if it weren't for the people here with us, I probably would have jumped out of my shoes.

"At times . . . Does your brother do the same thing?" I manage to ask, trying to keep my tone leveled as I turned to face him, just as our brothers started arguing over the popcorn.

"You have no idea. . ." Gaara says as I offer him some chips, which he eagerly took. "So, are you ready for tomorrow?"

"Is anyone ready?" I ask in return. "I don't think I'll ever be ready for eliminations, but I will say this. Expect a lot of happiness, disappointment, and overall, a whole lot of pandemonium that will ensu-"

"Hey Gaara, stop flirting with Izuka or else you'll miss out on the snacks!"

"I'm not flirting with Izuka Kankuro. I'm just talking to her!" Gaara quickly exclaims as he sends a sharp look his brother's way, a blush quickly appearing on his face. ". . . Once again, I'm sorry for my brother."

"Don't sweat it . . ." I say with a shake of my head. "Besides, that's what brothers are for right?"

"Correct Izuka. Older brothers are here for their younger siblings, no matter how embarrassing they can get. That's just the natural order of things," Kankuro says with a grin as we rejoin the group around the table. "And speaking of embarrassing moments, have I ever told you that whenever Gaara actually sleeps, he does it with his favorite teddy bear? He's had it ever since he was a toddler."

"Damn you Kankuro. Damn you!" Gaara grumbles as his face goes from a blush to beet red. Some laughed, but the rest of us reacted with more subdued, and bemused, expressions. "Must you be so annoying right now?"

"Hey! Don't let your brother get under your skin Gaara," I advise as I pat his shoulder. "And to be honest, I don't think there's anything wrong with a grown man sleeping with the stuffed animal he's had since he was little. I actually think it's pretty cute."

"Uh . . ." Gaara stutters out as his face somehow goes an even deeper shade of red, almost matching his hair. He quickly gets up, asks where the bathroom is, and quickly leaves to compose himself, grumbling something about annoying siblings along the way. . .

. . . Hmm, he's such a tough looking guy, but he does seem to be a bit sensitive on the inside.

There's definitely more to him than meets the eye, and well, I can't wait to see more of it.

A/N: Leave a comment if you like.