ii. The Competitors

"Miss Blenn . . . are you interested in a trip to Konohagakure?"

Predictably, the girl in the television screamed.

"AAAH! Oh my god oh my god oh my god. Seriously? I—I get to go to Konoha? EEEEK!"

Even Kurenai, a judge herself, plugged her ears from the girl's high-pitched voice.

Sakura sighed. She switched off the TV and snuggled closer to her pillow, arms hugging her legs.

Ino clicked off the phone with the last "I know, Mom. Love you too!" and walked out of the bathroom. Judging by her sigh of relief, the conversation with her parents went fine.

"Thank goodness . . . I thought Daddy would never stop telling me about rapists and molesters in Konoha. You'd think we're already there! I mean, even if it is a movie-production city, everyone says that it's been rated one of the safest places in the whole world and—wait, you turned off the channel?"

"Yeah. No offense, but I really, really can't stand that girl's screaming."

Ino snatched the remote from Sakura's hand anyway. "No no no! Sakura, haven't you ever watched Just Sing?"

"Once or twice . . . ?"

Ino clucked her tongue. "You're hopeless, aren't you? Know thy enemy, Sakura. Know thy enemy," she said sagely.

"Um, what enemy are you—"

The television screen blinked to colors.

"Shh," Ino shushed as she pulled the bed sheets over her knees. "Watch this."

Sakura obliged.

A bowl-cut haired man with thick eyebrows smiled to the camera. When he struck a pose, his green spandex suit seemed to shimmer and wobble. Sakura saw Ino suppress a wince.

This man was Gai Maito, or Might Guy, the eccentric host of Just Sing.

". . . the judges have finally decided. Now, my dear viewers!" he exclaimed. "The audition rounds are officially over! Let's take a look at this year's future stars!"

Behind him, the swirly, red-and-emerald logo of Just Sing dissolved into dozens of tiny blocks that filled up the background. Each block contained some sort of photo that was undecipherable to Sakura.

"From day one in Sunagakure, here is Gaara Sabaku—"

Music cued. The photo-block expanded into full screen, showing a clip of a redhead boy with heavy bags under his eyes.

He sang, "Darkness surrounds me with every step I take—"

"—Kankuro Sabaku—" the spandex man's voice continued.

The photo dissolved into another. This time it showed a different boy with a black cat-ear hoodie and purple markings on his face.

"Are you a puppeteer, the devil, pulling strings?—"

"—and Temari Sabaku!"

"And hey, baby, dear dear, you blow me away—"

"Next," the announcer's voice continued as the girl's voice faded, "here we see the shining candidates of Otogakure! Kin Tsuchi!"

"The devilish melody you sing/My heart goes thud thud thud in every beat—"

So it continued, from city to city, showing each passing contestant's abridged audition clips. Ino squealed particularly when Huaer City, the city they lived in, was announced.

"—Miss Ino Yamanaka—"

"Eek! That's me, Sakura! That's me!"

"Don't underestimate me/I'm not your typical blondie, you see—"

"—and Sakura Haruno!"

"For you I find solitary a peace . . . for you I sing this song."

After the scene was cut to another city, Ino pouted. "Forehead, you're such showoff. 'For You I Sing' is not even your favorite song."

Her friend grinned. "Whatever, Pig. Don't be jealous of me/'Cuz I'm not your typical pinkette, you see,'" she sang.

"As if."

They laughed.

The rest of some sixty people flashed pass the screen. Some, like Kiba Inuzuka or Lee Rock, stood to mind because of their diverting singing skills from the rest of the talents. Others Sakura only remembered as "Oh, he sings pretty well," or "Oh, her voice range is kind of impressive."

After twenty minutes, there were only a few more towns to go, and Sakura was getting a little sleepy. These past few days of Just Sing paperwork and hotel reservations after her and Ino's successful audition tired her out. Tomorrow they had to meet up with the JS crew at Academy City for the drive to Konoha, too. Perhaps she should rest now, not because she actually cared about Just Sing or anything, but because she had a feeling she was going to need that sleep . . .

"—last but not least, Sasuke Uchiha!"

Ino's scream jolted her awake.

"Wha-What? What happened? Did someone—"

"No, Sakura. It's Sasuke Uchiha! I never thought—"

"And so I walk down the road
Never stopping for a thought of you
Because this is my destiny to fulfill
This endless dream of mine."

"I bet he's even hotter in real life. Oh my god. To think, we're going to meet Sasuke Uchiha. He's—"

Ino stopped at the look of Sakura's face. She hit the mute button on the remote.

"Billboard Brow? What's wrong?"

"He . . ."

"Sakura?"

"He—Sai . . . I—" Sakura blinked. "I mean, how biased! They gave him four lines of screen time!"

"Sakura . . . ?"

"I bet his rich parents bribed him in Just Sing too. The things people would do in show biz!"

"Sakura . . ."

"Yes, Ino?"

Ino frowned at Sakura's behavior and chose her next word carefully.

"Are you, um, alright?"

Sakura smiled. "I'm fine. Why shouldn't I be?" She didn't give her friend a chance to answer the question. "Anyway, I'm a bit tired, Ino. I'm gonna sleep now."

"Sure . . . I'm hitting the pillows too. It is getting pretty late."

"Uh-huh. Goodnight, Pig."

Ino turned the TV off, and replied, "Goodnight, Forehead."

Somewhere, a family of four, or a couple snuggled in front of the television perhaps, would see a black-haired boy who looked much like Sasuke Uchiha, standing on the audition stage, singing:

"—and Sai!"

"I didn't mean to break your heart,/I just didn't understand if what we felt was love . . ."

a/n: This chapter ended weirdly. -_- It was supposed to be longer too, but it's cut short so the other chapters won't be a killer. Like my other fics.

My fanfic projects are supposed to be on hiatus too, but this chapter is an exception. It just got too dusty, sitting in my fanfiction folder all completed and ready to go. So here it is.

For all my fellow NaNoWriMo participants, good luck~ And for all of my readers, hope you had fun reading~