You Wanna Be on Top?

by SandsnakeQueen

Shizuka Uzumaki is competing in the biggest modeling competition in all of Japan with her twin brother Naruto. As she goes through rounds and rounds of runway and photoshoots, follow along as Shizuka makes friends and, possible enemies, as she chases her dream. She may even find a little romance with a certain redhead along the way. Multiple Naruto characters and couples included!

12. Prepping for the Catwalk

Chapter 12 - Prepping for the Catwalk

"You're all free to go in three . . . two . . . one! SHOP!"

The last word barely left Yamato's mouth before everyone broke off into different directions.

It was absolutely a free for all as people dashed toward any shop that could possibly hold outfits that fit the challenge, as well as our respective budgets. While most looked to be staying within the confines of the street mall, some did end up leaving the area entirely to try their luck with the shops out on the street.

Personally, I think it's best to just stick with what the street mall had to offer. With the amount we were given and the little time we have to search and shop, coupled with the fact that we're in unfamiliar surroundings, it's best not to stray too far from home base.

"IZUKA! OVER HERE!

I had been looking at one interesting store window when I heard my name being called out. Looking up, I turn to see Temari, Hinata, and TenTen still standing in the spot where the whole group was previously standing in. With how huddled together they were, it was obvious they were going to handle things together, and I was being included in the equation.

It really is nice to have friends in this competition, even if one person is supposed to win in the end.

"It'sa good thing I managed to get your attention! We would have lost you in the crowd if I hadn't," says the dual-bunned brunette as I joined the little clique.

"Look, as Yamato and Mr. Kato were explaining the challenge, Temari and I got to thinking. We realized that it's best if we four worked together to assemble our looks instead of walking around here separately like chickens with their heads cut off." She suggests, smirking as Temari shot her a smug grin.

"Hmm, so, you guys go from insulting each other's hair one minute to wanting to work together to succeed in a challenge the next?" I say, sarcasm dripping from my voice. "Talk about turning a complete 180."

"Hey! We argue during our off hours!" says TenTen, quickly going on the defensive as she puts her finger in my face.

"But when it's competition time, we are focused and ready to compete! Personal issues be damned!" Temari adds as I swat TenTen's finger away from my nose. "Anyway, we need to figure out our game plan ladies."

"Well, we each have 21,000 yen to spend in a street mall that none of us are really familiar with. A street mall where many shops appear to be the expensive kind," Hinata conveniently summarizes as she starts messing with her fingers. "No wonder some of the others left. They must have figured that they could find something cheaper out in the stores on the nearby streets."

"It sounds like a good idea, but when you really think about it, it's a high risk, high reward move that has dire consequences if it's not successful," I add as I check the time on a nearby clock. "Okay, we only have 55 minutes to shop now. I suggest we just stick with what's here in the street mall and go from there."

"I agree. . . Hey! I see a department store I recognize just down the mall! It's always been known for selling good clothes at reasonable prices. Let's try there first!" TenTen suggests, pointing down the walkway. "If we're lucky enough, we may find everything we need there. . ."

"I hope so. . ." Temari mumbles as we start following TenTen through the crowd. When we reached the store, it didn't take us long to find the women's department, considering it dominated much of the room.

Thankfully, it did appear to be well stocked with what we needed.

"TenTen, you may be onto something here," I say as I look around at the shelves. "A makeup station off to the right, a whole back wall lined with shoes . . . We should find some good stuff in here."

"And do you know what the best part about this place is?" The brunette asks, her tone gleeful. "None of our competition is here right now! We won't have to fight others to get what we want!"

"For now, that is. . ." Hinata quietly pipes up as she looks at a rack filled with dark colored dresses. "Ooh, good price!"

"HInata's right. It won't be like this for long once people realize there's a place like this in the mall," Temari adds, effectively bursting TenTen's bubble. "Let's split up and find our outfits. Call the nearest girl to you if you want a second opinion. . . Other than that, happy hunting ladies!"

When I was a child, I was one of those kids that was willing to wear anything and everything. I'd wear bright and dark colors. I'd wear pants and I'd wear skirts. One day I wanted to dress like a girly girl, the next, a comfortable tomboy. Eventually, as I got older, I managed to tighten up my personal style, preferring dark colored ensembles that were fun, yet showed off my body.

I just had to find another one, today, within the next hour.

After spending 10 minutes searching through the racks, I managed to find a long sleeved, eggplant colored mini-dress with a noticeable V-neck. It fit my usual size, but just because it was my size, doesn't mean it would be the right fit.

Keeping that in mind, I hightailed it to the dressing room and stripped, once I found an empty room of course. I had no trouble slipping it on, and when I finally checked my reflection in the mirror, I couldn't help but smile.

The dress fit me like a glove, never puckering in areas that would make it, and me, look unflattering. The V-neck didn't look that deep when I saw it on the rack, but now that I had the dress on, I found that it stopped right in between my boobs. I wasn't much for showing off my rack, but considering the business I'm trying to break into, this was something I'm going to have to get used to.

Satisfied, I changed back into my regular clothes and made my way to the shoe department. Hinata and Temari were already there scanning the rows as their respective outfits hung from their shoulders, but TenTen was nowhere to be found.

"TenTen still hasn't found an outfit yet?" I asked as I looked at a section that only featured black and silver heels.

"She did. Last time I saw her, she was heading for the dressing rooms,"Temari bites out as she tries to force her feet into a pair of silver stiletto pumps.

Emphasis on forced . . . The heels looked about a size too small for her feet.

"Huh, must have missed her then," I say as I pluck a pair of suede ankle booties from out of their box. "And Temari, I suggest you try a different shoe, preferably a pair in your actual size."

"Thanks for the advice, but these shoes are perfect for the outfit I picked out . . . Unfortunately, I don't see my size here among the rack, and I don't want to waste time asking a salesperson if they have my size in stock," she grumbles as she finally gets the shoe on her foot.

"So, you're going to subject your feet to a torture that's completely avoidable?" I ask as I quickly try my shoes on.

"It would only be for a few minutes . . . Besides, models have to wear shoes that are too small for their feet for jobs all the time. This is no different!"

"Hmm, Fair enough, I guess," I say, looking over my shoulder. "Hinata, what about you? Have you found a shoe you like yet?"

"I think so . . . These light blue peep toes are pretty cute. They would be a nice contrast to the all black dress I'm planning to wear," I hear her say as she admires said peep toes in a mirror. "Are you going to go with those ankle booties?"

"Yeah. I would try on another pair, but I think I'll stick with the ones I got for now," I say as I look at my reflection. "Yep, definitely going with these. . . So, should we wait for TenTen then?"

"NO NEED!"

Turning, we see TenTen appear from behind two racks of dresses. Her outfit, a sleeveless, rose colored mini-dress, hung from the hanger she held in her left hand while a shoebox was held in her right. "You wouldn't believe where I found these shoes!"

"Save it for later TenTen! Let's get our makeup, pay for our stuff, and get the hell out of here!" Temari orders as she starts walking to the makeup counter. "We're running low on time!"

TenTen instantly pouted at that, but Temari had a point, and all Hinata and I could do was send her apologetic looks before following after the older girl.

When we got to the counter, we split the work, focusing on the basics. Temari was in charge of getting all of our foundation and concealer, Hinata oversaw eyeliner, mascara, and eyeshadow, I focused on lipstick and lip gloss, and TenTen was the in-between, moving between each of us to make sure that everyone got exactly what they needed in the right shades and colors. When we were done picking out our stuff, we moved toward the cashier lanes, which, thankfully, wasn't that busy despite the heavy foot traffic outside.

"I wishwe could have bought one or two pieces of jewelry, or maybe even a nice clutch or purse!" TenTen mumbled as we exited the store. "You know, to pump up our outfits a bit?"

"I understand that TenTen, but it's for the best if we just play it safe and head over to the runway right now," I advise as we pass a group of American tourists looking into the window of a jewelry store. "Besides, if we don't get back in time, all these purchases we made would be for nothing."

"Well, not really. . . Technically, we would have some new additions for our respective closets, if you really think about it," says Temari as we near the runway. "You could wear the outfit during an elimination, for example."

"Okay, I'll give you that . . ." I admit, conceding to her point.

"So, how many people do you think have made it back before us?" Hinata asks as members of the production crew were putting the finishing touches on the venue.

"Not many, I think. . ." I say as I finally spot a clock. "Look! We still have fourteen minutes left on the clock!"

"CRAP!" TenTen whines. "I'm not fast enough to run back to the store to buy that clutch!"

"We wouldn't let you anyway!" Temari growls, glaring balefully at the brunette. "You're the one holding the bag with all the makeup!"

That shut TenTen up real quick, and she was left to pout behind us as we finally reached the runway. One of the crew members directed us to the large white tent set up in an empty lot between two high end clothing stores. Whenwe walked in, there was a station set up for each model. Most of them were set up in a U-shape, while four stood back to back in the middle of the formation.

Only seven of them were occupied.

"With us here, that makes 11 models present," I mumbled as we walked over to the four stations in the middle. "Which means there's 10 models still out there, including the boys."

"Oh, I hope they get here in time," Hinata says as she claims the station next to mine, leaving Temari and TenTen to take the ones directly across from ours. "Getting disqualified from the very first challenge is never a good way to start off the competition."

"No truer words have ever been said," Temari agrees, shaking her head in a way that sent her pigtails swishing from side-to-side. "But I'm sure they'll get here in time, well, most of them anyway."

"Most of them, Temari?" TenTen asked, shooting an incredulous look at the blonde. "You don't sound too confident there girl. Do you honestly think they'll get here late?"

"Well, not all four of them," Temari quietly admits. "Gaara will definitely get here on time. He may look like a rebel, but he's probably the most punctual person in my family, even better than our dad. . . . Neji doesn't look like the kind of guy to be late for an event either."

"He's not," Hinata admits. "Being late to events and appointments are a bit of a pet peeve of his. It's something that he shares with his dad."

"He's going to be so much fun during go-see week then, well, if he gets that far of course," Temari muses as she leaned back in her seat. "Kankuro does have a tendency to be late at times, much to our father's chagrin, and as for Naruto, he seems like a complete wildcard to me."

"That's probably the best way you can describe my brother," I say, smirking. "You expect him to go one way, but then he does the complete opposite instead. There's pretty much no telling with him . . . Oh look! Sakura's here! That makes 12!"

"Make that 14. Karin and Sasuke are close behind me," the pinkette clarifies as she looks around the room. "How much longer do we have before time's up?"

"As of now, five minutes," says TenTen as Karin and Sasuke entered the tent. They ended up completely ignoring us as they walked over to the empty seats by Suigetsu and Juugo. "Anyone else getting bad vibes from those two, or am I the only one?"

"Pfft, you're not," mumbles Sakura, her voice hush-hush as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I'll admit, Sasuke's cute, but he obviously acts like he's superior to everyone, and Karin is just the parasitic tick that latched on to him as soon as she saw him."

"They have gotten quite close to each other since the semifinals first began . . . A bit begrudgingly on Sasuke's part that is," I say as loud footsteps could be heard coming our way. Turning our heads, we witness Gaara, Neji, and Naruto almost stumble in with shopping bags in hand, all three looking like they just completed a half-marathon with how out of breath they were.

"Welcome boys!" TenTen says in greeting. "You got here with three minutes to spare!"

"Yay, we made it," my brother breathlessly mumbles. "We would have been here sooner, but the computer system went out in the store we went to just as we got in line. By the time the staff got everything working again, we just knew that we had to run all the way here to get back on time."

"Well at least you three made it, but where's Kankuro?" asks Temari. "Didn't he go with you guys?"

"He was with us when we left the mall, but while we went one way, he went off in a completely different direction," Gaara calmly explained as he claimed a station for himself. "Who else is missing again?"

"Besides Kankuro, only three other people," says TenTen as she starts to organize all of our makeup. "Ino isn't back yet, as well as Choji and Lee. Pfft, if they don't get here within the next 90 seconds and counting, they can kiss this challenge goodbye."

"Well, good thing I got here just in time then!" Came Kankuro's voice, all eyes now on him as he entered the tent with a smile on his face and his purchases in hand. Soon enough, Choji entered, looking absolutely relieved as he checked the clock before moving to where Shikamaru was seated.

"What took you so long Kankuro?!" Temari exclaimed as she greeted her brother with a glare. "You almost got yourself disqualified!"

"Calm down sis. I made it in time, didn't I?" says the middle Sabakuno as he joined our little group. "And to answer your first question, I decided to try a store no one else was going to. Managed to find my outfit real quick, but it took a while to find a decent pair of shoes to go with it."

"MODELS! GATHER ROUND PLEASE!?"

"Well that didn't take long. . ." I mumbled as we moved toward the entrance, where Yamato awaited us with a small smile stretched across his face. He looked around to do a head count, but it didn't take long for his smile to slip when he realized that not everyone was present and accounted for.

"Welcome back models! I see that most of you didn't have any trouble during your shopping trips . . . However, it appears that not all of you have made it back here before the time ran out," he announces, looking slightly disappointed. "Of the 21 models that remain in this competition, two of you remain unaccounted for."

"And speaking of missing. . ." I hear Sakura mumble as the tent flap suddenly flips open. Lee comes barreling in, followed by Ino, who was dignified enough to quietly step inside. They both looked guilty, and it was obvious why. . .

. . . After all, Yamato did not look too pleased with them right now.

"Ino, Lee, I'm glad you two could finally join us . . ." He says, taking in a deep breath as the two stood separate from the rest of us. "Whether it's a few minutes, or a couple of hours, late is late, and you two were late getting back here. Therefore, you are hereby disqualified from the challenge and will not be participating in the show with the rest of your fellow models. . . I will talk to you two about your tardiness after I address the others, but for now, if you two can just wait outside for a bit?"

"Of course." Lee mumbles, his enthusiasm deflated, but still remaining composed as he digested the news. He was taking it well, but Ino was an entirely different story.

She looked downright frustrated as she walked out of the tent, Lee slowly following right behind her in silence.

"Let this be a lesson for you guys! Time is a very precious thing in the modeling industry. The old adage 'Time is money' means a lot in this business. Punctuality is rewarded. Lateness is not." Yamato advised. "Consider yourselves warned!"

"Messaged received. . ." Gaara and Naruto say in unison, the twinning moment catching them both off guard.

"Anyway, you will have only 20 minutes to get ready for the show. Once that time is up, I will assess all your outfits and determine how the order of the show will go. . . Think of this as a real production! We will be doing this quickly, so keep up, look good, and we shouldn't have any problems. Any questions?"

"Um, where are the changing areas?" Hinata asks, nervously looking around the tent for any sign of them.

"OnYou Wanna Be on Top? we prepare you guys by emulating scenarios that happen in real life, and today is no different," says Yamato, looking quite amused by her question. "Most runway shows don't utilize standard changing areas, including this one."

"Well that's nice. . ." Sakura mumbles, but her sentiments weren't shared by everyone. Some didn't look eager to strip down in front of members of the opposite gender, while others looked pretty indifferent to the entire thing. A few, most notably Suigetsu, looked quite eager to get things started.

"You're free to create your own makeshift areas within the tent, but if you ask me, I suggest you start getting used to changing in front of others right now. It's a common part of the model lifestyle after all . . . Any other questions?"

No one spoke a word.

"I'll take your silence as a no," Yamato mumbled as he started backtracking. "Your twenty minutes start as soon as I walk out of this tent. Good luck!"

"Do we really have to strip down and change out in the open like this?" Hinata asks as everyone else scrambles back to their stations.

"Pretty much . . . Hinata, are you going to be okay with this?" I ask as I start taking off my heels. "You don't sound too comfortable right now."

"I'm fine with changing in front of girls. I've done it plenty of times for gym and dance class," she explains as she looks around the tent, but as soon as she spots Naruto shirtless, she is quick to turn around, a light pink blush giving her face some added color. "Changing in front of a group of boys though, that's another thing entirely."

"Hmm, I see your point," I say as I spot Gaara changing from the corner of my eye. He already had his shirt off, but I turned away before I had a chance to blush myself, just as he was about to take off his pants. "C'mon, we better get ready before all our prep time disappears!"

I quickly changed and slipped into the dress and shoes I bought earlier. The feeling of getting stared at, or at least glanced at, from all angles, was always there, but I ignored it as I managed to successfully pull up my zipper without any help. I quickly combed my fingers through my hair to give it a bit more volume before moving on to my makeup, but that's when I hit a bit of a snag.

"I know I was the one that picked out all the lipstick, but I can't decide which shade I should go with," I mumble as I scan through our stash. "Girls, any ideas?"

"Don't use any of the purple shades! You don't want to go too matchy-matchy." Temari was the first to suggest as she forced her feet into her shoes.

"Stick with a more natural look!" TenTen advises as she appears behind my shoulder. Her hair was now down, and she was already dressed in her rose colored outfit, but the pair of seriously sky high stilettos strapped to her feet definitely made me give it a second look. "You can't really do much with your eyes, but with the very strong color you're wearing right now, I'd stick with a nude lip and some natural blush."

"Thanks TenTen, and are you sure you'll be able to walk in those heels alright?" I ask, just as she started wobbling on her feet.

"I'll be fine . . . I'll admit. I'm not used to walking in heels so high, but I'll make these work. I promise you that." She says with a grin, grabbing the peach lipstick from off her counter.

"Why do I have the sudden feeling that people are unnecessarily taking too many risks for this first challenge?" I mumbled to myself as I grabbed the foundation closest to my skin tone and started brushing it along my cheeks. Once that was done, I grabbed a lipstick in a shade that was closest to my natural lip color. "Sheesh, people are doing too much, too soon."

"You're not the only one with that belief."

Even though I recognized the voice as soon as I heard it, it still startled me enough that I ended up dropping the lipstick onto my counter.

Luckily, it landed right side up.

The voice started chuckling, so I turned around to see Gaara stoically looking straight at me, as if he stopped himself from laughing just as I was turning around. He was dressed in a casual gray blazer with black lapels with a black t-shirt underneath, black jeans, and black dress shoes. He completed the outfit with a silver chain necklace with a small outline of a gourd hanging from the metal.

"I see you've dressed nicely for the occasion. . ." I mumble as I grab my discarded makeup.

"Thank you. You look very nice yourself Izuka." He tells me, even looking a tiny bit bashful as he said it.

"Thanks . . ." I say, looking away because I knew for sure that a blush was going to appear if I continued to stare at him.

"Oi Gaara, what have I told you about sneaking up on people all silent like that?!"

"You know I didn't mean to startle her Temari." The redhead bites back as I watch his eyes - his beautiful green eyes - move from me to his older sister. "And are you really going out on the runway with those shoes on? They look painful from where I'm standing."

"I'll manage!" She tells him, waving off his concern. "And are you really going out on the runway with your tattoo so apparent on your forehead? You should get some foundation on that, stat! I'm sure Izuka would be happy to help you with that!"

"Would you?" Gaara asked, suddenly curious.

"Maybe. . ." I mumble, applying my lipstick as quickly as possible without staining it. "If you ask nicely . . . Do you want me to cover it up for you?"

"Nah; I don't think you'll have time to do it anyway," He tells me, reminding me of our time crunch. "I'll keep your offer in mind though."

"MODELS! YOUR 20 MINUTES ARE UP!"

"Well that was quick. . ." I mumble,turning my head to see the runway coach standing at the entrance, a smile gracing his face as he looks over all of us, nodding his head at some while not reacting to others.

"From what I have seen so far, you guys definitely kept to the brief that was assigned," he tells us. "However, your real test is about to begin. It's time you all strut your stuff!"

A/N: Leave a comment if you like!