A/N: Proceed with caution. But it's probably not like it's something you haven't seen before.
Hinata slowly, painstakingly swiveled her head around, all the while wishing it was only her nerves playing games on her mind, or that perhaps maybe the person was referring to another Hinata.
All her fleeting, silly hopes were dashed, however, when she spotted him. The unmistakable blonde hair that was like a sore thumb, even in all the blinding lights of the club. The disarming smile that shone straight, pearly white teeth. And those insinuating eyes that drank her in its sight and made her feel like drowning. Cloud Nine was sitting at the bar illuminated by green neon, making him seem like he himself was glowing green. The singer's fingers were wrapped around a slender glass with amber, and he perpetually surrounded by his posse.
It was now or never. Hinata clutched her small handbag tighter and straightened up, hoping that even in a place where everybody just totally let go and allowed desires to run rampant, Cloud Nine would get the message that she was here for business, and she wanted business done fast. He had not seemed to understand last time, but now, the situation was dire. She wasn't going to let anything get in the way of completing her article.
Uchiha Sasuke had a good day today.
He had managed to go through twelve articles, get the next issue's layout all planned out, and that five pages worth of crap article that he had crumpled up into the size of a golf ball written by that slut, who had been too focused on getting into his pants rather than improving the quality of her writing, had gotten personal with its owner's forehead and found death in the trash bin had really done well to vent out a bit of his pent up frustrations.
He had just finished going over the layout for the next issue that he, Sakura, and Naruto had been working on for the past couple of days again. It had cost him a total of two days worth of sleep, a week of scrounging around in the fridge in the staff room and nicking off pieces of whatever looked edible without requiring heating (not that he'd get the finger pointed at him, anyway), and a near breakdown, if it hadn't been for that Hyuuga girl (what's-her-face, Hinata?).
Sasuke frowned, recounting her little speech she had last night. Him, 'running'? Who did she think she was kidding, anyway? Alright, maybe he was pushing it a bit, but aren't all writers a bit of a masochist, anyway? And he, with the weight of the highly popular Konoha Heat that he had founded, in a rags-to-riches story after his father had left his little newspaper stand for ruins, all while being at the ripest age for wild parties, sleeping in, and letting his testosterone do all the thinking for him, the biggest masochist of them all?
What a bleak title to behold.
Maybe she did have a point. And thanks to that tea that she concocted, that migraine that had been hovering around him since about forever finally left, and in response to such a liberating feeling, he let loose his usual uptight demeanor (too bad he never really left his office for anyone to see), and he supposed it was more productive this way. After all, he did actually have a good day.
Maybe he should do this more often.
"Hey, man-whore with the loose tie! What do you say for some celebratory, it's-finally-Friday-and-the-night-is-still-young ramen at Ichiraku's?"
Then again, maybe he shouldn't.
Naruto had popped his head from behind the door to his office, looking a bit more on the weary side, but never without the grin slathered on his face.
Sasuke gave him a patronizing stare.
"I invited Sakura too, wouldn't you like that?"
He continued to glare, and resisted wrinkling his nose. She wasn't some piece of alluring meat.
"Oh, I know. You wanted me to say that Hinata was going to come too, didn't you," he quipped, and the ends of Naruto's lips curled into a sinister smirk.
"No, that wasn't it, stupid," said Sasuke, surprised that he actually bothered to defend himself against Naruto's childishness.
"Whatever." Naruto's smile didn't leave his face, and that for some reason, irked Sasuke more than it really should have.
"Sorry to disappoint you, Sasuke, but she can't. She left already. Said she's got a last minute interview to do, or something like that."
Oh. Right. Didn't she owe him an article or something?
"Yeah, I forgot where Sakura said she was supposed to be." Naruto scrunched his face up in thought. "I think it was something about fire, and leaves…Oh yeah, that club…Leaves on Fire?"
Sasuke was right in the process of pinching the bridge of his nose, dully debating on whether it was more troublesome to concede to Naruto and actually join him or continue to resist him, until Naruto's words had left his mouth, and Sasuke's mind came to a screeching halt.
"Wait, what? Did you just say Leaves on Fire?"
Naruto nodded hesitantly, uncertain of how Sasuke would respond.
"Is that seriously where a girl like her should be hanging out at?!" Sasuke cursed under his breath, and hastily reached for the keys to his car.
The nightclub, although obscure, had a notorious reputation. "Whatever happens there stays there," its regular goers would whisper lewdly. They say that even the officers of Konoha would turn a blind eye to the place. It provided the security that some would need to come out of their shell, yet there were still those who would use that to their advantage in ways not so pure…
And Sasuke was sure that gullible, determined, blind Hinata had been lead into trap.
"H-hey! Where're you going," Naruto shouted as Sasuke was heading out of his door at a breakneck pace.
"Sorry Naruto, but I don't think I'll be joining you and Sakura for ramen tonight."
The gulp of alcohol burned and made her eyes water and she nearly gagged on it. Hinata didn't know where she ever got the idea of using it to make herself as…gregarious as Kiba was they had gone out for dinner with Shino once and he had a saucer too many of the sake.
But Hinata was never one to be able to hold her alcohol very well, and her mind was getting all foggy, her face as heated as the atmosphere, and her skin felt like it was on fire. She couldn't tell if she was falling ill or if it was the effects of the drink (after just a sip?). Her bare arms and shoulder made her feel so exposed. Hinata unconsciously rubbed her arms.
"Cold, Hinata-chan?"
The singer beside her snaked an arm around her shoulder, but Hinata's energy was starting to suddenly leave her, and she found it very difficult to brush or squirm away from his arm.
It had all went downhill when Cloud Nine had called her name and she mustered up the courage to give him a saccharine smile and answer him in a voice that she didn't even know she had. Hinata had decided that in order to beat him, she would have to enter his arena and play his game. But one thing lead to another, from her actually accepting a seat next to him to sipping a drink that he offered her, Hinata was helpless to fight the feeling of foreboding that was lapping at her ankles. She had to get this job done quick before that feeling grew any more dangerous.
"Hinata-chan, I'd like you to meet somebody that I have known for a very long time."
He gestured to the dark-haired man that was seated on his other side. He had sick that was a sickly pale, and slits for pupils that eerily reminded Hinata of a snake. Even the way hiss of his speech made her skin crawl.
The man took Hinata's hand and pressed his lips upon it. His cold lips.
"Hello there, Miss Hinata. Quite a pleasure to meet you. My name is Orochimaru. I am the owner of Cloud Nine's modeling agency….along with owning a couple of other things.
"He's the one that got me started. I wouldn't be the star that I am today without him," Cloud Nine interjected. "What luck that we met each other tonight!"
"Ah, t-the pleasure's all mine, Orochimaru-san."
Orochimaru drank in Hinata from head to toe with his serpentine eyes, and grinned with a satisfactory smirk that made Hinata feel uneasy.
"My, what pretty eyes you have there, Hinata. The industry could use more people like you. Of course, there can be no one else like you out there."
Hinata gulped.
"Y-you're too kind."
She really needed to get this done. Now.
"Ah, um, Cloud Nine-san, we have to get started—" Hinata said, turning to the star. He made a dramatic gesture as he suddenly looked like he remembered something.
"Oh yes…That. Well, we did come for business after all, isn't that right, Hinata-chan?"
He slid off the stool and bid farewell to the friends all around him, who snickered lewdly, and Hinata thought she even comments like "Be gentle, she might break!" Some also slinked off their barstool and told Cloud Nine that "we'll be seein' ya later," after giving an affirmative smirk.
"I hope you enjoy yourself, Orochimaru-sama. I'm about to go give is lovely lady an interview to die for. Come, Hinata-chan, I've saved us a private room, away from all this noise."
Alarms went off in Hinata's head. Somehow a private room didn't thrill Hinata. But before she knew it, Cloud Nine's hand was pushing at the small of her back up the narrow, spiraling staircase leading to the more secluded rooms that the club offered. Hinata ignored them. She was finally getting somewhere.
Cloud Nine directed her down a corridor that lead them further away from the main dance floor and crowds. She could still hear the thunderous beat of the music pound dully. Many doors lined the hallway, and when Cloud Nine had stopped in front of theirs, he slid a card key into the slot, to which the door responded with a click. He pushed the door open and flipped on the lights.
The room was not remarkable; it had the atmosphere of the rest of the club. The lighting was dim. Two loveseats were across each other, with a coffee table resting in the middle. In one corner, a bar equipped with drinks of different colors in different shaped bottles was found. In another corner, partially hidden by the shadows, a karaoke machine was stashed messily, and apparently had not yet been turned off; a blinking red light still remained. Grungy urban paintings hung on the wall.
"I know it isn't much, but I prefer that we are away from all the noise and people."
He strode across to the bar and grabbed two glasses and a bottle.
"Something more to drink, Hinata-chan?"
She shook her head, settling in the squishy loveseat. She was feeling perhaps even woozier than before. He filled the two glasses anyway.
"Fire away, my dear little Hinata."
He planted himself close to her on the loveseat. His face was only inches from hers, and she could feel the heat and alcohol radiate off of him.
"U-um, alright."
With great difficulty, she brought out her notebook and pen. She was starting to feel so tired.
"Cloud Nine, to what do you attribute your success to, and what message would you give to all the aspiring?"
"Well Hinata…You can't just make it big by just having the talent and the looks."
Hinata gave a surprised gasp as he tipped her chin up, making her look directly into his smoldering eyes.
"You have to know how to get your way around."
He scooted closer and Hinata retreated back closer again the armrest. She was trapped. His hand ran through her hair, down her neck, to her shoulder.
"C-cloud Nine-san, what are you…"
"You have to be daring."
He moved even closer until he was almost on top of her, and his hands traveled past her shoulders to the length of her body, brushing the sides of her breasts, her ribs, her hips, finally stopping where her skirt stopped on her thigh.
"S-stop…"
Her hands clawed at his, but he was too adamant, and the effect of the drink, or whatever Cloud Nine had spiked it with without Hinata's knowledge, was taking into full effect.
"And most of all, you have to be ruthless."
To her horror, his hands disappeared underneath her skirt and cupped her bottom while he kissed her hard and rough on the lips.
"Please. Stop."
Her pleas came muffled. She was helpless to defend herself, all because she was too set on keeping this job of hers and ignored all the warning signs. Now she was in danger, and no one could hear her scream. Not Naruto, not even Sasuke. Tears threatened to spill out, barely clinging on to her lashes.
"Stop. Please stop. STOP!"
Before Hinata's last dregs of energy fizzled out by the potent drug that threatened to overcome her, she recoiled her arm, gathered all her remaining strength, and delivered to Cloud Nine a swift punch to the nose.
He immediately backed off and held his nose while he yelped in pain, but she was still pinned by his body.
"YOU SLUT! You're lucky it's not broken! Where the hell did you get the energy to still fight in you, anyway? Just for that, I guess I won't let you enjoy this after all!"
He roughly tugged at her top, sliding it down and revealing creamy white skin and the swell of her breasts.
"B-but, Cloud Nine, why?"
"Are you stupid? Do you know what kind of blackmail material it is to be able to screw a Hyuuga?"
Hinata's eyes widened.
"That's right, I knew it all along. How you ran off and fell from grace. Do you know much the Hyuuga are trying to keep you under wraps? Now imagine, how much they would pay to keep an embarrassing tape from ever seeing the lights from the shelves of stores?"
Hinata gave a horrified gasp.
"Y-you—"
"Correct again, Hinata-chan. See that blinking light over there, that's not from the karaoke! I've got guys who are real pros at filming and making movies."
Hinata winced. She would have never guessed that Cloud Nine, the singing sensation that enthralled crowds, who had girls throwing themselves at his feet and blessed with fame and fortune, could be such a vile person. Now on top of surely being fired, her family was going to be blackmailed. And then she was going to be fired. And then disowned, more ostracized from the family than she was already.
And it was all because she was too busy chasing a dream.
"Now shut up. You can try to enjoy it. I know I will, with that impressive pair," he said, as his eyes roamed over her, and Hinata would have brought her arms to cover herself, if it could only move. "And just imagine, thousands would kill to be where you are right now."
Just when he was about to continue, a loud crash was hear as the door was busted down, and brighter light came filtering through.
"Don't you hate it when things don't go the way you want?"
Hinata had never felt more overjoyed to hear the voice of, and see, Uchiha Sasuke before.
Behind the singer, Sasuke held a pen, its tip poised at base of the singer's neck.
"You…You can't kill me," taunted Cloud Nine, although Hinata could notice a little quiver in his voice.
"Don't underestimate the power of the pen," said Sasuke, coolly, without ever moving an inch from the position he was in. "And most of all, don't underestimate the power of the person with the pen."
Cloud Nine only let out a low growl.
"Now get off of her."
And the other man complied and slowly stepped away, his hands up in the air as if Sasuke was pointing a gun at him.
"You won't get away with this, Uchiha Sasuke. That camera's still going, and I've got this all on tape, you know. When I get this through to Orochimaru-sama, you're de—"
"If you haven't forgotten, you are also guilty," said Sasuke, as he whipped out a small videotape from his pocket.
"You! How did you get that?"
"Your friends who wired up this room for them to watch and record all your disgusting deeds were easy to beat the info out of," Sasuke snarled. "Your precious Orochimaru-sama can't help you against solid evidence."
His face then turned devious.
"I'm sure you've heard of me, and how I have the power of the press. I could have this story out and in the hands of Saturday early birds before you can say 'It wasn't me.'"
Without any means of a defense or an upper hand against Sasuke, Cloud Nine cowered and begged him not to disclose the events of what happened in this room tonight, promising to donate and fund for whatever he needed, even turning to Hinata, to which she recoiled, and consenting to do the interview that was he was supposed to do. But Sasuke's dark, piercing eyes only stared at him like he was a decaying, maggot-infested piece of flesh.
"Get away from her. She doesn't want any more of your lies."
Sasuke faced Hinata.
"Hyuuga. Fix yourself before you get some more unwanted attention. We're leaving."
Hinata quickly readjusted her disheveled clothes and wordlessly followed Sasuke out the door, casting one last glance at Cloud Nine, who was whimpering on the floor, with his head in his hands. She kept her head down at the turmoil of emotions brewing in her, nearly bumping into a man who was waiting outside the door. Hinata jogged to keep up with Sasuke's brisk pace.
Once they were finally outside and the music behind them could not overcome even a whisper, Sasuke broke the silence between them.
"Did you lose your mind, Hyuuga," he hissed furiously. "Or did you want to use your body to reel him in for your article? Because you know—"
"That's not it! I just had to do what I could…" Hinata tried to reason.
"That's no reason to run headlong into what you know is a trap! You put your job over your own safety, Hyuuga, are you crazy? Why'd you do it?
"Now get in."
Hinata looked up. He was holding the door to his car open for her.
A silence blanketed them again, while Sasuke started to drive.
Hinata gripped the edge of her skirt and nervously chewed on her bottom lip. As if it wasn't already intimidating enough to be alone in a car with Uchiha Sasuke.
"I did what I could....because I don't want to go back to the Hyuuga."
Hinata looked at Sasuke expectantly, waiting for him to interject or say something. But he continued to concentrate on the road. She continued.
"As you might have known, I am supposed to be the heiress of Hyuuga Teas Corporation. But I'm not a prodigy who can run a whole company. Against their wishes, all I wanted to do was write. But they kept on fitting me to be one, as to not make me the disgrace of the prestige of Hyuuga. I couldn't take their pushing and molding and the looks anymore. So my father and I, we came up with an ultimatum that he smothered from any media attention. He would allow me a chance out of the Hyuuga if I promised to not be so disappointing in what I wanted to do. But at the first sign of a failure, he would force me back, without ever another way out."
"So then he had me moving out without much anything in my pockets. Supported by my two friends, I stayed with them, until I met Naruto. And then he introduced me to here. Here, at the famous Konoha Heat. Where 'the heat is hot, but the boss is even hotter.'
"Oh, I apologize."
Hinata had nearly let out a giggle despite what had happened tonight, but quickly smothered it with her hand. She was glad it was so dark, or else the heavy blush for her inappropriateness would have been quite visible to Sasuke. She was surprised though, at how easy it was to talk to Sasuke despite the fact that he was her boss and how intimidating he usually was.
"The point is that I did it to keep this job. And the thing that scares me the most is being sent back to the Hyuuga. If…what happened…is what it takes, then I…I will do what it takes."
After Hinata had finished talking, Sasuke still did not make any notion at a reply.
Hinata was surprised, though, when he actually stopped the car right in front of her complex.
"You're on the database, Hyuuga. I'm not stalking you."
"U-um, Uchiha-sama?"
"What?"
"Could you…could you actually not disclose the contents of that tape? It would be great trouble to me if anyone ever caught wind of what is on it."
"Fine. Consider it our secret, Hyuuga," Sasuke smirked that trademark cocky smirk of his.
Hinata flushed at how scandalous he had actually made it sound.
"Thank you, Uchiha-sama."
Thank you for everything tonight.
He grunted in reply, and Hinata exited the vehicle.
"Oh, and Hyuuga?"
"U-Uchiha-sama?"
"You're not off the hook. I'm still expecting an article from you sometime soon, Hi-na-ta."
And he promptly sped off, leaving Hinata to blink and stare confoundedly at the retreating image of his sleek black car.
That meant that she still wasn't fired, right?