Sakura was in her pastel pink and black practice clothes for today's lesson. Her hair, much like every ballerina's, was up in a bun and she was in a full split warm up exercise.
Ino beside her was in a lavender cotton top that hugged her figure snugly and pastel blue leotards. Her top flared a bit from her waist like a tutu and her slippers matched its colour. Being as excessive as she was, Ino had her nails done by Deidara-senpai but she had to live with not getting caught by Ibiki-sensei.
Hinata was uncomfortable in her ballet clothes because of how they hugged her figure. She was very endowed and the way her figure was hugged just made it very embarrassing. Sakura didn't help her embarrassment by openly admitting her jealousy of Hinata's figure.
Yugito senpai was doing warm up exercises with Utakata senpai at the far end of the room while a few filler characters whose names Author-chama has forgotten were doing their own stretches elsewhere in the room.
Sakura's eyes went to the door of the room again when it opened and sighed in disappointment when Hanabi and Moegi walked in. Those two were in middle school but from today the ballet practice sessions was going to be mixed because of the annual Inter School Ballet Competition.
The competition was big enough that scouts from various opera companies went there in search for students with potential. The competition was in two stages; the individual competition and the group competition. The winner of the individual competition had a sure chance of being scouted by one of the Grand Opera Houses of the Five Great Nations so it was natural, their anxiety.
Except Hinata. She was scared. Her father naturally wanted her to do her best and at least win an award but Hinata had the grace of a depressed elephant when it came to ballet, she could not do this!
Ino was pumped! She had been polishing her skills with the help of her father so she would do her best. Sasuke-kun might even begin to notice her if she won but that was just wistful thinking. She knew in her deepest consciousness that Sasuke wouldn't bat an eyelash even if she became a queen today but a girl can dream, can't she?
Sakura was confident that she could do well in the competition. Sasuke would definitely notice her when she won!
As if summoned by their thoughts, Sasuke came into the practice room in a grey flak shirt and black leggings. His hair was tousled in its usual style that made it look like he modelled it after a duck's butt but it suited him in a weird way. If Sasuke in ballet get up isn't the hottest thing known to girls, the sun was.
"Sasuke-kun." Ino waved him over and created a space beside her mat for him. The boy nodded and went past her to stay beside Hinata. Ouch. Ino pouted and continued her stretch. Is it just her or did Sasuke and Hinata somehow get closer over the weekend?
Sakura watched Hinata and Sasuke converse through jealous eyes that she was careful of hiding. Why are they close?! What are they talking about?! Why is she laughing?! Why is he laughing?!
"Mesdames et messieurs, veuillez vous lever." Kurenai-sensei entered the room with her usual air of grace and gentleness. Everyone stood according to her order (which they had come to understand because of how many times she repeated it) and packed up their mats.
"Bonjour Madame Kurenai." They all greeted just for the fun of it.
"Bonjour." Kurenai replied. "I suppose we are all aware of the Interschool Ballet Competition coming up in Spring. As you all know, I would not enter just anyone into the competition so you all are going to have an audition where Monsieur Kakashi and I would grade you. If you don't pass by our standards, you can not enter the competition."
The red eyed woman's gaze was directly on Hinata as she spoke for a reason only the both of them understood.
"You would be dancing the Maid With The Flaxen Hair - Richard Stoltzman for my audition so implore you to practice. I believe you can do it, dancers."
Everyone was dismissed by the school bell from their previous classes. At the locker room for first years, Hinata was suddenly attacked by Sasuke's ever loyal fans– Ino and Sakura.
"Ne Hinata, you've been pretty close to Sasuke-kun lately. Is there a reason for that?" Ino demanded with her arms crossed over her chest. Sakura pegged Hinata with a curious yet scary look that spoke of death at any wrong word.
The feeble girl blushed under the attention and looked for an answer that would not trigger any of the harpies...don't tell anyone she called them that. "Uhm, we're n-neighbours ya know...so uhm..." Her index fingers played against each other as she fidgeted for words that weren't lies but weren't true either.
Fortunately for her, Ino was easily distracted by something she said and chose to focus on that instead. "Hold on, hold on! Did you just say 'ya know?' As in the way Naruto says it?"
A new colour has been discovered! It's called Hinata's blush! The girl frantically shook her head in an effort to debunk Ino's upcoming theory but it was too late.
"Eh eh? What's this I'm smelling? Could it be–" Ino did an exaggerated sniff. "Lo lo lo lloovvee?!" She nudged Hinata teasingly.
"Heh?! Hinata, you like that murderer?!" Sakura was not thinking when she spoke, she just honestly said her mind but the backlash she received from Hinata was unexpected.
"Naruto-kun is not a murderer!" The lavender eyed girl yelled. "He's kind and so sweet and would never hurt anyone on purpose. There must be a reason behind his parents' passing, he's not a murderer!"
The atmosphere turned tense after Hinata's speech.
"Hinata I...sorry..." Sakura stumbled upon words to say.
"Sakura, that wasn't a nice thing to say about a girl's crush in their face!" Way to be blunt, Ino. Fortunately though, the blond was so good at alleviating tension (except her own) so she slung her arm around Hinata's neck and poked her cheek. "So...have you confessed your love?"
"Ino! It's not like that!" Hinata bloomed red. Fortunately Tenten barged into the locker room at that moment and stole the shy girl away from their midst.
Meanwhile on Naruto's way to the locker room after dance class...
"Achoo!" The blond sneezed carelessly.
"Gross man, I don't want your germs on me!" Kiba complained while rubbing off the spittle that fell unto his unfortunate face on Naruto's back.
"Cut it out!" Naruto tried to pry Kiba off his back but it was impossible to do. The both of them struggled in the hallway like idiots which– like every typical story along this line– would eventually lead to a disaster called bumping into somebody.
"Oof!"
What did I tell you?!
Naruto and Kiba grunted as they collided into somebody's figure with the blond ramming his face into the person's chest and the brunet, into his back. The both of them grumbled and began to talk but the person beat them to it.
"You boys should be careful when walking through the hallway. You almost caused an accident." The man's hiss like voice reached both boys' ears and they froze.
The man was a teacher from what they knew but they didn't take his class so this was their first time of meeting him. He towered above them intimidatingly; the purple shadows around his golden eyes didn't make matters better.
Naruto went rigid with fear when his blue eyes locked with the teacher's golden ones. Golden eyes. Golden eyes. Golden eyes! The dream came back to Naruto in a rush that knocked the breath out of him.
A blurry figure stood at the sidelines as he was taken away from the burning house with his hands cuffed behind him. He could barely register what was going on around him but the figure's gaze called out to him.One thing stood out on the blurry outline that gazed at him as he was whisked away by the police.Eyes.Golden eyes .The figure began to clear out into the distinctive shape of a man and his face began to fill out. Intimidating gaze. Snake like eyelids. Long black hair. Golden eyes! This man...this man!
"Minato?" Naruto was summoned out of his thoughts by the man's hissing voice. That was his father's name... "Oh, it's Tsunade's brat. Be careful next time."
Naruto could not move or blink as the man walked past him. He could barely register Kiba shaking him to get a grip of himself. Sweat built on his forehead and dribbled down his back as he trembled all over.
Fear.
He didn't know why he was feeling the emotion but it could literally be smelt off of him. Naruto was afraid.
"HEY!" Kiba yelled when Naruto suddenly took off with top speed. He felt inclined to follow his friend but he didn't know what to do if he caught up. Why did Naruto look like he saw a ghost when he met that teacher? Admittedly the teacher was scary but Naruto's expression made him uneasy.
"What was that just now?" Sasuke emerged from thin air beside the dog lover. His question connoted that he must've seen the exchange or at least most of it. Kiba shrugged in response and continued in his journey to the locker room. He would ask about it later.
Naruto barged into the staffroom with a heavy pant. Heads turned his way as he walked towards Iruka's cubicle. Said man was instantly worried and stood up to meet him halfway, why was he so pale? "Naruto?"
"Iruka-sensei...can I talk to you alone?" The blond said in a very uncharacteristic whisper that had even Anko, the sadistic gym teacher, worried.
"O-of course! Come." Iruka held his hand and squeezed it reassuringly before leading him out of the staffroom to an empty music room. The moment the door closed behind them, Iruka's restraints broke and he immediately started fussing. "What happened?! Why are you pale?! Did something happen? A memory jolt?! What-!"
"A memory jolt."
Iruka stopped talking at the interruption. "You remembered something?" Naruto nodded. "What is it?" He asked.
"The golden eyed man." Naruto ran his hands through his hair to pass out frustration. "I met him today, he called me Minato. He called me by my father's name!" The boy was pulling his hair at this point. Why couldn't he just remember everything?!
"Wait, wait, the man works here?!" Iruka's brain whirred in deep thought for a colleague with golden eyes. Only one person came to mind. "Is he...does he have purple eye lids?" The tanned man's voice was small as he asked.
"Yes." Naruto admitted and Iruka's breath caught. The man that held a clue to who Kushina and Minato's murder and could possibly be the one behind it was... "Orochimaru-san?"
Xxx symphony xxX
The way his bow glided upon the strings of his violin was fascinating. Tamaki always found herself enraptured whenever she heard Hyuga Neji play his musical instrument. Like him she played the strings, cello to be exact, but she could never be as good as he was.
Tamaki was very good at blending into the background and just being the townsperson B; never a main character. Her choice of musical instrument was not meant for the spotlight. Cellos were supporting instruments that give the violins a back up in an orchestra.
Kakashi-sensei said that the support dancers are the backbones of a performance but that applied to dance alone, didn't it? There was no way she would be a good back up with her wonky skills.
"He's awesome, right?"
"Uh?" Tamaki turned to the owner of the voice that intruded her thoughts and blushed. It was Haku, one of the most handsome boys in her grade that spoke to her.
Said boy sat next to her and propped his head on his palms, resting his elbows on his thighs. "Tama-chan, you were looking at him as if you wanted a brain transplant with him as the donor." Haku chuckled softly Tamaki's surprised sputtering.
On the other hand, the brunette was surprised that he knew her name. They had never had any interaction with each other until now it was strange. Even stranger when he bopped her nose to bring her out of la-la land!
"It's so easy to be envious of Neji-chan's skills and I don't mean the toxic kind of envy, just the admiration kind. Just look at him." The two of them went back to staring at Neji as he moved according to the rhythm of his instrument. A small smile endowed his face even.
"It's like he never misses a note!" Tamaki said in awe. "He goes on and on and in like he is not conscious of how he's playing, unlike me. I get so anxious about whether I am pressing the right string or applying the right pressure to my bow, I'm just so..." Her words trailed off with a sigh.
"You know, I used to feel that way until I saw Neji-chan's playing in another light. You, my friend, are toxic towards your instrument." Haku judged.
"Toxic?!" Tamaki scowled.
"Yes. You're not free with it, you don't enjoy it. You enjoy other people's music but not yours and why? Because you feel that you're inferiorly skilled?" The boy kept his eyes on hers to get his message across. "Have you ever seen a child who just learned how to play Mary had a little lamb before? Despite not being the best at it, they give off this aura that makes you happy even if the song is scratchy to the ears."
Tamaki thought she knew where Haku was veering to and she was correct.
"Being good at something starts from what you think about it. Make peace with your instrument and you'd see the difference. It's time for my presentation, wish me luck!" And he was gone from Tamaki's side like the wind.
The girl caught Neji's curious gaze on her but it was carried away before she could do anything. The class president turned his attention towards Haku instead. His raised brow asked silently why he was feeling holes drilling into his head while he played. Haku shrugged and climbed on the platform.
This season in the school year was a season of competitions. If there was a ballet and piano competition, there was obviously going to be a strings competition and Asuma-sensei was drilling it into their heads already to do their best. Their accompanist was going to be the one and only Itachi-senpai which made them feel like celebrities already.
Tamaki looked at the bow in her hand and the cello between her legs. She decided to take Haku's advice and be at peace with her musical instrument...but how?
Xxx symphony xxX
A pair of onyx eyes watched Deidara as he painted his clay figure to life. Nope, it wasn't Itachi– the raven had learnt his lesson from spending freaking hours admiring at the blond's artwork only for him to blow it up with nitroglycerin. This was Tobi.
The strange boy was a sculptor like Deidara and Sasori and most of his artwork included strange statues he called a 'Gedo Mazo'. Most of the time, the statue consists of a weird head that has nine arms and nine eyes and could sometimes take the form of a rabbit-ish sort of creature...only Tobi knew what weird shit he was sculpting.
Tobi watched as Deidara coated the clay spider with a thick yellowish paint, all the while cackling like a cartoon witch. What was funny?! Even Tobi couldn't understand the dynamics of his classmate's brain.
"Art is a blast un! Katsu!" The blond's sudden yell startled him but not as much as the way he threw the spider he had spent days– DAYS!– creating violently against the wall. A small explosion followed the shock and blew the poor clay figure into bits.
"Deidara-senpai is weird." Tobi commented and naturally, Deidara took offense in that statement.
"You're one to talk un!" He retorted. "This is my -my beautiful- my art, hmm. Art is an explosion, yeah. Screw you."
Sometimes Deidara's words were difficult to understand because of his tourette's syndrome but his classmates and teachers managed. The blond went to get a broom to pack the shattered clay pieces with. Too bad the spot the spider landed would remain black until repainted. Luckily, there was no fire.
"I want to see more of your art." Tobi suddenly spoke, dropping the third person speech form he normally used. His voice also grew deeper and Deidara noticed the change. He was about to point it out when he registered Tobi's words.
"Wait...you want to see more of my art?!" A grin stretched the blond's face. He had a fan! Deidara played it cool though and pocketed his hands. "So you recognise true art when you see one, un? That's good, yeah. I wouldn't want to- want to- disappoint my loyal fan un, so I'd show you my collection, yeah."
"You mean the ones you haven't blown up yet?" Sasori walked into the studio with his tools for wood carving and an unfinished doll in his hands. "Tobi, don't give him a swell head. His art is ridiculous." The redhead chose a workbench and dropped his stuff.
Of course his words pissed Deidara off, why wouldn't it?! "Sasori-danna un!" He grunted. "Your views of art is so wrong, yeah. Art is short, which is why we must appreciate it while it -bless you- while it lasts hmm."
"Brat, art is eternal. It was supposed to be appreciated for as long as you live. You're the kind to die young." Sasori monotonously refuted his classmate's view of art but as usual it only turned to a long argument that Tobi was unfortunately caught up in.
"Tobi, who's correct between us un?" Deidara asked.
"Is art eternal or fleeting?" Sasori asked.
Tobi dramatically placed a finger on his chin thoughtfully as he thought of an answer.
"Dango!"
Sasori and Deidara anime fell. Well that settled their argument...for now.
What do you think is Orochimaru's involvement with everything?