Mshinata: Yes…I do play piano.
Sasuke: Who would have known? –Rolls eyes-
Mshinata: Eh? –Blinks- What's that supposed to mean?
Sasuke: Exactly.
Mshinata: o.o…okay…by the way, good point Hali-chan. I was planning to scandalize what Sai-kun said, but since everyone was "good friends" with each other I decided not to. Lol. Yes…Sasuke is hard to figure out. I'm trying to make him unpredictable unlike Sakura or someone else. Yeah, Sakura has a little crush on Sasuke. I haven't made her show it yet but…that was only the first chapter. I focused on Hinata-chan and Neji-kun more. –hugs Mizuki-chan back- T-T I'm okay. As long as I'm writing, I'm fine.
Sasuke: Is this that "girl talk" that you always talked about before?
Mshinata: Yes…why?
Sasuke: Just curious. –Shrugs-
Mshinata: It's alright ShyAnimeGirl-chan. :D I'm just happy that I'm one of your favorite writers! Yay! –Squeals- Sasuke's relationship with Hinata…will be…unknown for a while. I might reveal it…I might not. –Snicker- I do not own Naruto or any characters specified in this fan fic. This fan fic is still dedicated to Marshie-chan. Yay!
"Ne…are you sure you want this piece?" Gaara raised a brow, looking at the music sheet. Hinata nodded.
"If…it's alright with you, I mean." Hinata smiled nervously. The two were still sitting in the club room on the piano bench. Gaara sighed.
"Sure, why not. I don't mind." He replied. Hinata smiled brightly. Gaara took a look at his watch.
"Oh hell…I gotta go." Gaara stood up. "You understand ne?" Hinata nodded. "Okay…then I'm off. We'll start practicing tomorrow." And he left the club room. Hinata sighed. Picking a song for the competition took longer than expected. Oh well…they had plenty of time to practice.
"Hinata-chan?" Sai walked in 10 minutes after Gaara had left. "You're not in class?" He blinked.
"E-eh…I thought maybe…skipping once or twice was good for the s-soul…" Hinata smiled nervously. Sai smiled and nodded.
"That's the spirit! My little Hina-hime is growing up to be like us…" Sai's eyes sparkled. Hinata sweat dropped.
"That reminds me," Hinata started. "Where is everyone?" Sai dropped his bag on one of the couches and sat down next to it. Sai shrugged.
"They said they were making preparations for the competition or something…I don't know." Sai said. "Hey Hinata-chan," He sat up straight.
"Hai, Sai-kun?" Hinata replied. He started to dig through his back pack.
"Can you help me with these papers that have to do with the new members?" Sai cried Anime style and held out the papers. "Sasuke-kun was being an ass hole and gave all the work to me. And besides…you said you would help." He pouted.
"U-um…sure." Hinata said. Sai's face brightened.
"Arigato! We should get started before the nuisances come." Sai said. Hinata laughed and took a seat next to Sai to start on the paper work.
oO0Oo
"Ne, Neji…" Naruto put his hands behind his head. "Do you have a partner yet?" The two were walking down the halls after Neji was done with class.
"Why?" Neji asked. "It's none of your business." Naruto sweat dropped.
"Well…it would be pretty weird if you played a duet by yourself…" Naruto mumbled. (Credit to HopeoftheForgotten for giving me the idea. :P)
"There is no human that can play primo and secando at the same time." Neji said. (Primo is the part of the duet in the high keys. Secando is the part of the duet played in the low keys.)
"Eh…well…I've always thought of you to be an alien." Naruto flashed a smile. Neji had an angry mark on his forehead.
"If we're late, I'm blaming you." Neji said, starting to open the club door.
"Sai-kun…like this?" Hinata asked, showing him a piece of paper.
"Hai, hai. You can replace Sasuke-kun any day, Hinata-chan!" Sai smiled. Neji and Naruto found Hinata and Sai sitting on the couch, doing paper work.
"Hello, President." Neji put emphasis on "president."
"Hello, Neji-kun." Sai greeted back.
"Why are you two the only ones here?" Naruto asked, dropping his bag on the floor.
"Hinata-chan decided to skip class for once! I just happened to meet her before anybody else did." Sai exclaimed proudly. Neji now had two angry marks on his forehead.
"Wait…Hinata-sama, you skipped class?" Neji asked her. Hinata reluctantly nodded. "Why?"
"U-um…-"
"She thought skipping class once or twice was good for the soul." Sai smiled. Neji, Naruto, and Hinata sweat dropped.
"Sasuke-kun, you have to tutor me. I don't get anything we're learning." Sakura whined.
"Sakura, we don't even go to class!" Ino yelled back at her. Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino entered the club room while the two girls started to fight.
"Still," Sakura reasoned. "I'm fifth! I need to get my grades up!" Sakura said confidently.
"Even if you tried your hardest than usual, the results will be the same." Sai smiled. Sakura twitched.
"I don't need your "sympathy," Sai." Sakura huffed and crossed her arms.
As Sai and Sakura started to bicker, Ino slid over to sit next to Hinata.
"Hey…how's practice with you-know-who?" Ino whispered and winked. Hinata blushed from embarrassment.
"F-fine…we haven't started to practice…d-demo…we picked a song." Hinata said.
"Really?! That's great, Hinata-chan." Ino smiled.
"So anyways," Sai ignored Sakura's harsh comments. "What were you guys doing while we were doing paper work that HINATA-CHAN volunteered to help?" Sai glared at Sasuke, but he ignored it. Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke all sat on the couch across from the couch that Sai, Hinata, and Ino were sitting on. Sakura was still standing up near Sai.
"Well…" Ino said, digging through her backpack. "Lookie!" Ino pulled out a flyer. Sai was amazed.
"You guys made flyers for the competition?!" Sai grabbed the flyer out of Ino's hands, and his eyes sparkled. "Wonderful!" He cried tears of joy.
"Not really…" Neji rolled his eyes. Ino glared at him.
"I know! Ino made me, Neji, and Sasuke-teme put all the flyers around the WHOLE school! I mean…it took us forever!" Naruto whined. Sasuke sighed.
"So what are today's activities?" Sakura asked, heading towards the club room's mini kitchen to prepare tea and some cakes. Sai shrugged.
"Don't know…right now…we're just focusing on the piano competition. So…the lessons for the new members will just have to wait." Sai said. "Anyways…we need to announce who's partnering up with whom. Hinata-chan, Neji-kun…who are your partners?" Neji and Hinata shared a quick glance with each other.
"U-um…do we have to tell everyone? Doesn't that just…ruin the tension of the competitors?" Hinata asked nervously. Sai raised a brow.
"It's more of a competition if the two competitors know who they're up against!" Sai stood up and declared. "Neji-kun! Who is your partner?!"
"TenTen. Senior, knows a lot about weaponry, has six years of experience for playing piano, and is my partner." Neji said plainly.
"TenTen?!" Ino and Sakura shouted in disbelief. Sakura set the plate of tea and cake on the table. "No way!" They both said in unison. Hinata blinked.
"TenTen…?" Hinata repeated.
"TenTen," Ino started. "She's the girl with the two buns on her head. Without those, she could be a model or something." Ino said.
"Also," Sakura started as well. "She's dated every guy and has only lasted with them for at the most a week."
"So what does this have to do with anything?" Sasuke asked, uninterested.
"Neji-kun," Sai interrupted. "Why did you choose TenTen? As president of this club, I have to know all of the students that have played an instrument before. I know there are other pianists that are seniors that can. So why TenTen?" He asked seriously. Neji shrugged.
"She seemed like a good candidate." Neji said bluntly. Hinata twitched at that. Good candidate? What did that mean? Sai saw Hinata's expression and brushed aside Neji.
"Hinata-chan," Sai started. "Who's your partner?" Hinata blushed furiously. Ino nudged Hinata.
"Sabaku…Gaara-kun…" Hinata said quietly.
"WHAT?!" Sakura shouted and grabbed Hinata's hands. "Gaara-kun?! I never knew you had it in you, Hinata-chan! I'm so proud of you!" Sakura squeezed her. Sasuke's eyes darkened.
"Why the hell did you choose that bastard?" Sasuke beat Sai to it. Sakura let go of the suffocating Hinata.
"Isn't it obvious, Sasuke-kun?" Ino waved a finger in the air. "Gaara-kun is only second to you…not to mention, he looks natural in every pose possible. Who would have known he was a pianist?" Ino sighed dreamily. Neji scoffed.
"It's not like they're getting married, you two." Neji said.
"It's not that bad." Naruto finally spoke up. "Gaara's a good guy. I think that's great, Hinata-chan!" Naruto flashed Hinata a smile. Neji stood up and stood in front of Hinata.
"Guess this means we're rivals." Neji said. Hinata snapped.
"We were and still are rivals!" Hinata shouted back confidently and also stood up. Neji smirked.
"I'll be looking forward to the competition then." Neji walked away.
And Hinata stood there…shaking. She didn't know what she was shaking from. It was either the fact that he was partnered up with one of the prettiest girls or that he actually challenged her rather than herself challenging him…
oO0Oo
"What's wrong?" Gaara stopped playing.
"Nothing's wrong…why do you ask?" Hinata faked a smile. She had learned it from the president of the Musical Club.
"You're faking a smile, again." He said. He removed his fingers from the keys and set them on his lap.
How did he…Hinata didn't get to finish her thought.
"Besides…you played with less emotion today rather than the other day." Gaara replied. She clenched her fists that were on her lap. "It's Neji…isn't it?" Hinata quietly sighed.
"I guess you can say that…" Hinata mumbled.
"I've always seen you two do whatever to compete with each other…but I've never seen you actually…lose confidence with him." Gaara said.
"This time's…different…somehow." Hinata said.
"It's okay to lose, you know. There's always next time." Gaara said. Hinata snapped.
"What if…what if there wasn't a next time? If we give up, everything we worked for has been in vain!" Hinata shouted. Gaara's lips formed into a smirk.
"Tomorrow's the big day. You'd better play with more emotion then if you want to win." Gaara smiled warmly.
"…yes!" Hinata smiled.
The day of the competition had arrived. Naruto carefully asked his uncle for the four competitors to play in the huge auditorium. His uncle was the principal after all. He couldn't resist his nephew's cute face.
Hinata was backstage and sitting in a chair. She fidgeted and sighed from time to time.
"Hey," Gaara said, walking towards her.
"H-hi." Hinata nervously said.
"Nervous…I can tell." Gaara said. Hinata nodded. "Take a deep breath…and just look forward. If you look down at your feet, you can't see where you're going. Okay?" Gaara said, lifting Hinata's chin with his hand. Hinata smiled.
"H-hai."
Somewhere else backstage there was Neji and TenTen.
"Ne, Neji-kun…what if we lose?" TenTen asked. TenTen was a girl with long brown hair with short bangs in the front. She usually wore her hair in buns but since this was important, she wore her hair long.
Neji didn't answer. TenTen raised a brow.
"Aren't you scared of your reputation?" TenTen asked.
"Unlike you, my status in this school doesn't matter. You care for those things too much." Neji plainly said. TenTen sweat dropped. "And unlike you…I don't have a reputation for having a lot of boyfriends." He said.
"Eh?! I…I would never do such a thing!" TenTen blushed furiously.
"Our first team is Neji and TenTen!" Naruto announced from the microphone from the stage.
"Time to go." Neji said as TenTen followed behind.
"Gaara-kun," Hinata tugged at his sleeve.
"Hn?" Gaara replied.
"I want to listen to them closer…is that okay?" Hinata said.
"Sure." Gaara said and pulled Hinata along to listen to Neji and TenTen play. They were on the right side of the stage behind the curtains.
As the two played along, Gaara noticed something.
"Hey…does your cousin always play like this?" Gaara asked.
"U-um…what do you mean?" Hinata blinked.
"He's playing with more emotion than I can remember…" Gaara looked at Hinata. Hinata smiled.
"Maybe he wants to win." Hinata said.
"But he's a genius. He doesn't need to try hard to win…unless…" Gaara looked back at Neji. Unless he…wants…someone's attention…hm…Gaara secretly glanced at Hinata.
When the song was over, the audience clapped loudly. Neji bowed, earning squeals and screams from fan girls.
"Thank you, Neji and TenTen!" Naruto ran onto the stage and pointed to the two as they left. "Okay…next are two of my best friends, Gaara and Hinata!"
Since when was I his best friend? Gaara sweat dropped.
The two got on the stage and Hinata was amazed by all the students that came to hear her and Gaara play.
"We're much honored to play for you today," Gaara bowed. All the girls squealed and screamed. "Let's do this."
"Hai." Hinata said confidently.
Hinata gracefully placed her fingers on the keys and waited for Gaara's signal. The two played and Hinata didn't feel anything at that moment. She felt as if…everything she was doing right then…was gone. She and Gaara were the only ones at that white room that Hinata imagined…playing a duet just for fun. She closed her eyes and let her fingers do the work. And when the song finally stopped, cheers from the audience woke Hinata up from her illusion.
Gaara pulled Hinata onto the front of the stage and bowed with her.
"Thank you, Gaara and Hinata!" Naruto ran onto the stage and suddenly congratulated them for some random reason. "Now…what did our judges think?" Naruto looked at the two men sitting at the judges' table.
"Neji."
"Hinata-chan."
The two answered in unison.
"Sasuke-kun, you're only choosing Neji-kun because you hate Gaara-kun!" Sai, one of the judges, shouted at Sasuke.
"And you're only choosing Hinata-chan because you're fond of her!" Sasuke, the other judge, shouted at him.
Neji and TenTen joined Gaara and Hinata on stage. Hinata giggled.
"They're so funny." Hinata said. Neji stood by Hinata and warmly smiled.
"You were great, Hinata-sama." Neji said, boldly holding her hand. Hinata flinched at the contact but relaxed to it.
"Arigato…you weren't so bad yourself." Hinata teased.
"I gave you a compliment and that's all you have to say?" Neji said emotionlessly. Hinata laughed.
"Yes." She said. "Arigato gozaimasu for playing with me, Gaara-kun." She turned to face Gaara.
"You're welcome. I can play with a princess anytime." Gaara said. Hinata blushed from embarrassment. Neji glared at Gaara. Naruto laughed nervously.
"Hinata-chan!" Sai started to fight with Sasuke.
"Neji!" Sasuke punched Sai but he dodged it. Neji sighed.
"What idiots."
oO0Oo
"So in the end, there wasn't really a winner." Ino sighed, crossing her arms.
"Demo…it was fun." Hinata said.
"Fun or not, you worked so hard!" Sakura said. The trio was walking down the hallways the day after the competition.
"It's alright…someone told me that there's always next time…" Hinata said, thinking about Gaara. Ino smiled warmly.
"Hey…how much did the principal charge for using the auditorium?" Ino asked Sakura. She shrugged.
"Who knows…but…it wasn't free, that's for sure." Sakura replied.
"Eh? It wasn't?!" Hinata was shocked.
"Nope." Ino said bluntly. "And yes, Naruto's uncle is that mean. There's only two ways we can solve this. Either each of us raises a share of money and gives it to him, or…" Ino looked at Sakura.
"I already told him…HELL NO!" Sakura shouted.
"But it's only dating Naruto!" Ino whined. "Wasting money on such a thing is a waste."
"You shut up!" Sakura shouted. Hinata sweat dropped.
"I think…I'm going to get a job…" Hinata thought aloud.
"EH?!" Ino and Sakura shouted in disbelief.
"My Hinata-chan getting a job?! That's so…unimaginable!" Sakura said, shaking Hinata's shoulders. "I won't allow it! Say…I'll even pay for your share too!"
"Sakura!" Ino scolded. "Hinata-chan…you're serious?" Hinata nodded. Ino sighed. "There's only one person you can come to help and that's..."
"SASUKE-TEME!!" Sai shouted from the club room. The three girls ran into the club room.
"What's wrong?!" Hinata shouted. Sasuke and Sai were on the ground, fighting each other.
"Hinata-chan! I won't forgive him for choosing Neji as the winner while I chose you!" Sai shouted. He was on top of Sasuke, strangling him.
"Opening." Sasuke said calmly and was now on top of him and pinned him down.
"Sasuke-kun…onegai…" Hinata said. (Onegai means please.)
"Tch. Fine." He got off of Sai and stood up. "What do you need?" He was looking at Hinata. She blinked.
"Nani?" Hinata asked.
"Sasuke-kun," Ino started. "She wants to tutor your brother so she can help pay off her share of the auditorium thing." Everything was silent and dead.
"TUTOR?!" Sai regained consciousness and stood up.
"Why the hell do you want to do that? Don't you have a place where you have money stored?" Sasuke asked. Hinata sweat dropped.
"She's not rich, dumb ass." Ino replied.
"There's no need." Sasuke answered. "My brother can fail for all I care."
"You don't…care about your brother's studies?" Hinata asked sadly.
"No…I don't care about how he fails life." Sasuke stuffed his hands into his pockets. Everyone sweat dropped.
"I think Uchiha's actually making sense for once." Neji came into the conversation with Naruto.
"Yeah! Of course Sasuke-teme doesn't want little angelic Hinata-chan into his house. His house is a mess! He doesn't want to be embarrassed." Naruto nudged Sasuke.
"Baka." Sasuke said to Naruto.
"W-well…I can clean it then…" Hinata said, taking Naruto's joke literally. Naruto burst into laughter. Hinata blinked.
"You're so cute, Hinata-chan." Naruto said. Neji and Sai glared at him.
"Another reason is that Uchiha is scared that Hinata-sama will rape him…WHICH…she won't." Neji added. Sasuke had angry marks on his forehead.
"FINE, DAMN IT." Sasuke said. "You can tutor my brother…and I'll…I'll pay you…" Sasuke said, his words seething with anger. Hinata trembled in fear.
"Yay! Hinata-chan got a job!" Ino said.
"Aww, no fair! She gets to go to Sasuke-kun's house!" Sakura pouted.
"ONLY you…can come, Hinata." Sasuke emphasized.
oO0Oo
Hinata and Neji stood in front of the huge Uchiha estate. Hinata looked at it in awe while Neji was disgusted.
"Ready to face death?" Neji asked seriously. Hinata sweat dropped. He slowly opened the door.
"Welcome, Hyuuga-sama." Two lines of maids greeted Hinata. One line was on one side of the room while the other was on the other side.
"I thought I told you to come….ALONE." Sasuke said, walking down the stairs. Hinata trembled.
"For your information Uchiha, I do not trust you in any way shape or form." Neji held Hinata close to his side. Sasuke scoffed.
"I'm not paying you." Sasuke said, referring to Neji.
"That's fine with me." Neji glared. Sasuke had an angry mark on his forehead.
So as Hinata sighed, she was thinking of all the torturing that Neji could do to Sasuke or Sasuke could do to Neji. At that moment, she wished she tied up Neji at home.
To be continued…
Mshinata: YES!! I was very confident to finish this. 'Cause…I love this fan fic. –Smiles-
Sasuke: She hates all the others.
Mshinata: That is not true! I do have two other stories I have to write…but I'm not complaining unlike SOMEONE who's always CRITICIZING me. –Glares at Sasuke-
Sasuke: -sighs- Itachi being mean to you again?
Mshinata: It's you, stupid! T-T
Sasuke: Thought so. –Smirks-
Mshinata: Oh…if you're a SasuSaku fan or you just want to read another fan fic of my cousin's and mine please go to wittokaawit's profile and click on No One. We wrote it together so…yeah. I like it. –Smiles-
Sasuke: Pshh, it's because wittokaawit and you wrote it. –Rolls eyes-
Mshinata: Still! You gotta admit…I love her writing.
Sasuke: I think that-
Mshinata: -duct tapes Sasuke's mouth shut-
Neji: Hey…didn't you do that to me in the past?
Mshinata: -blinks- Yes…why?
Neji: Never mind…he's better quiet.
Mshinata: -nods- Agreed.
Neji: Please give the person who duct taped Sasuke's mouth shut lovely reviews, or she's never removing the duct tape from Sasuke's mouth.
Mshinata: Neji-kun…that's not a nice thing to say.
Neji: -whispers- That's the only way to get reviews.
Sasuke: -trying to rip off the duct tape-
Mshinata: HEY!! If you try to rip it off, it might rip your skin off!
Neji: -smirks-
Sasuke: -cries Anime style-
Mshinata: Btw, I think it's "Secondo" instead of "Secando." I haven't been playing duets since my partner/best friend quit piano (T-T). So...I forgot how to spell it.