Author: R. Anthony Roth
Beta Reader: Noble Spirit
Pairing(s): Naru/Hina, with potential for others
Language: Canadian English
"Speech"
'Thought'
"Kyuubi/Inner Sakura speech"
'Kyuubi/Inner Sakura thought'
A/N: This story begins after Iruka gave his forehead protector Naruto, and before the announcement of the team pairings. Some slight differences include that Tenten, Lee, and Neji are all in the same class as Naruto, and as such, the four potential sensei jounin are Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, and Kakashi.
In addition, note that although I like fluff and all, the romance will be realistic and gradual. As one other author put it, "I don't like seeing Naruto go from not noticing Hinata, to cleaning out her tonsils within one chapter."
A warning to fans out there, I plan to avoid Naruto and everyone else from becoming overpowering. Indeed, I have trouble understanding why the genin seem to be better than most chuunin and some jounin.
Other than that, please enjoy, ohh, and review or face my wrath. First fanfic, give me some understanding.
In a small apartment in the middle of Konohagakure, a young blond boy stirred in his bed. Although still half asleep, Naruto's subconscious knew there was something he needed to do today, but as usual, his single-track mind was stuck in sleeping mode.
As luck would have it, his alarm clock went off. Looking over at the clock, he realized a dangerous fact. "Damn! I'm late!" exclaimed Naruto as he jumped out of bed, attempting quickly to don all his assorted ninja equipment. "Stupid alarm clock, always ringing at the wrong time!" raved Naruto as he lamented his rotten luck, the only element of his life that seemed consistent.
He had five minutes to get to the Academy, so he rushed out of his house, jumping from rooftop to rooftop in a hurried attempt to not be late… again.
----------------------------------------At the Ninja Academy---------------------------------------
"Naruto!" Screamed Iruka, as the subject of his ire walked into class late for what seemed like the thousandth time.
"But Iruka-sensei! My alarm clock is busted," whined Naruto.
"Yeah and a dog ate your forehead protector, right?" replied Iruka.
"It did?!" shouted Naruto. He panicked before he felt his forehead, realizing it was there from the previous night. "Geez sensei. You scared me for a moment."
"That was sarcasm dobe," drawled a dark and (supposedly) handsome boy in the corner of the class. This was coupled with assorted dreamy sighs of, "Sasuke-kun you're so cool!"
"Teme!" said Naruto while he clenched his fists. He approached Sasuke as he said, "Why don't we see who the better—" However, before things went any further, Iruka stopped the conflict and settled Naruto down. As Naruto returned to his seat, several of the girls in the room sent him glares more intimidating than any genjutsu.
"Today you will be given your team pairings. Three genin will be grouped together with one jounin, each of these teams will the complete missions together." said Iruka after the class settled in.
Each genin had his or her own assortment of thoughts about the information as Iruka announced the first set of teams.
'I hope Sakura-chan is with me' thought Naruto as he looked at the pink-haired kunoichi with dreamy eyes. Noticing Naruto was staring at her, she turned her gaze to Sasuke.
'I don't need a team!' Sasuke thought. 'These weaklings will just hinder my vengeance'
'Sasuke-kun will be mine!' Both Sakura and Ino thought at the same time.
'Ohh' Hinata thought, 'I hope I can be with Naruto-kun…'
'This is so troublesome…' Shikamaru thought.
'I'm so hungry!' Choji thought as he bit into another chip. 'I NEED FOOD!'
'This should be interesting' Neji thought. He glanced at Hinata and gave his cousin an icy stare. 'It's time to separate the real ninjas from the losers.'
'Yosh! I won't disappoint my team!' Lee thought. 'I can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, but I'll work hard to make up for it!'
"And the pairings for team 7 are Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura, and Hyuuga Neji, with Hatake Kakashi as their sensei."
The male Hyuuga and the Uchiha glared at each other, each trying to intimidate the other with fierce stares. Many people noticed the two angst-ridden boys, and gave them wide berth.
'Yes! I'm on a team with Sasuke-kun!' Sakura thought as she smiled wide. She turned to Ino and stuck her tongue out.
'Guess Sakura and I won't be on the same team.' Naruto thought as he lowered his head.
"For team 8, we have Tenten, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. Yuuhi Kurenai will be your sensei"
The three genin looked at each other, nodded, and listened to the other announcements.
"Hyuuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto, and Rock Lee will form Team 9, with Maito Gai as your Sensei"
'Great," Naruto thought. 'On my team is thick eyebrows, and a girl that faints all the time.' He picked his head up from the desk and continued, 'Oh well. I'll have to carry the team!'
'Naruto is on my team?' Hinata thought. 'I can show him how strong I can be.' She glanced at Naruto who was smiling at the thought of going on missions. Thinking he was smiling at her, Hinata began to blush quite profusely
'Yosh!' Rock Lee thought. Together we will shine as amazing ninja!'
As the three ninja exchanged glances, Neji thought, 'Three losers on the same team. They probably won't survive a C-rank border patrol.'
"Finally," Iruka said, "Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Choji shall form Team 10, with Sarutobi Asuma as their sensei"
"What kind of team is this?" Ino yelled. "I'm stuck with a lazy bum and a chubby pig!"
Choji glared forks at her while Shikamaru mumbled, "... I see you're going to be troublesome to deal with."
Meanwhile, Naruto decided to approach Hinata. "Hey Hinata-san! Looks like we're going to be teammates!"
Naturally, Hinata never thought that she'd get to be this close to Naruto physically. With her senses overwhelmed, she executed her usual reaction, and dropped in a dead faint.
--------------------------------Meanwhile at the Hokage's Tower-------------------------------
"Your choice of teams was unusual sir," noted the Hokage's chuunin attendant. "Team 10, I understand with the family influence. Team 8 is also a logical choice. After all, an accurate ranged attacker can benefit a reconnaissance team."
The assistant glanced at some papers as he continued, "However, Team 7 and 9 are mysteries to me, Team 7 has three of the top four scorers. If the Haruno girl showed any significant aptitude in fighting, she'd be a higher prospect than Tenten." The Hokage nodded as he continued, "On the other hand, Team 9 seems to be extremely weak. Granted, Hinata shows potential, but she doesn't compare to her cousin. Lee can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, which makes him a liability for any team, and Naruto barely graduated from the academy."
"I understand your concern, but Team 8 has a balance of tracking, combat, and …" The Hokage paused to think how to classify Sakura. Aside from her grades and chakra control, she was quite possibly a below-average ninja. "A potential genjutsu user. Also, Hatake Kakashi is perfect for training the Uchiha and a tensai (A/N: tensai means genius)."
"Okay, your logic is flawless as usual Hokage-sama. What about team 9 though?"
"That's why I picked their sensei." Replied the Hokage as he took a drag from his pipe. "Naruto has no perceivable taijutsu training, but he shows great potential. Combined with the ability to use the forbidden Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu, he could become a formidable opponent. Lee can only focus on taijutsu and since Maito Gai is a taijutsu specialist, he'll train him well in that area. Hinata's Byakugan would be an excellent complement to the teams' strategic importance. That, and she can use the confidence boost from three of Konoha's most… inspiring… characters."
The assistant nodded in agreement, understanding the Hokage's rationale.
"Besides" The Hokage said as he lowered his pipe. "Between you and me, I think Naruto needs a positive female presence."
"Uhh sir… what do you mean by that??" inquired the surprised chuunin.
"Hey I can see everything with this crystal ball," retorted the Hokage. "Unlike Naruto, I'm not a complete blockhead."
"Point well taken Hokage-sama" acknowledged the now mollified attendant. As he bowed, the assistant thought, "I wonder if he can see naked women with that crystal ball."
----------------------------------------Back at the Academy-------------------------------------
"Ano… Iruka sensei, what do we do if one of our teammates dies? I think we are going to need a replacement for Hinata-san," queried Naruto
"She just fainted you imbecile!" yelled Iruka
"Why?" Naruto asked. "Was it something you said Iruka sensei?"
Everybody in the room sweat drops.
"Anyway, before somebody else interrupts again," Iruka said, "each team's respective sensei will be meeting you in this room in a few minutes, so sit tight. As new ninjas, make Konoha proud! It has been a pleasure teaching you." Then Iruka's thoughts flooded to the multiple pranks that Naruto pulled, the lack of attention that some of the boys gave him, the fights he broke up between the Sasuke obsessed fan-girls – those amongst many other transgressions.
'I think it was a pleasure teaching you.' He thought.
Afterward, the assorted sensei's picked up their teams. Even Kakashi showed up after two hours.
The only team that remained was Team 9.
During this span of time, Hinata was revived twice. Naruto revived her the first time, only to watch her faint again as she realized whose arms she was in. Rock Lee, observant enough to notice what was going on, revived her the second time.
Still, Gai hadn't shown up yet.
Naruto was getting extremely twitchy, and even Lee's abundant energy was beginning to wane.
As all hope seemed lost, a green spandex covered man wearing a jounin vest entered the room… upside down doing bunny hops on his thumb.
"Yosh! My Springtime of Youth still runs strong!" exclaimed what would seem to be their sensei, the unique Maito Gai.
"Uhh sensei why are you positioned like that?" asked a now thoroughly puzzled Naruto
"Yesterday my eternally hip rival Kakashi beat me in a heated Thumb War! So to improve my thumb reflexes I vowed to travel like this until I met my new genin team" replied Gai.
Hinata and Naruto crashed onto the floor anime-style.
Meanwhile Lee recognized and admired a kindred spirit. "Oh Gai-sensei! I too shall train my mastery of thumbwork" Exclaimed an enraptured Lee before joining Gai.
After much embracing and crying over the power of youth, Lee and Gai settled down and the team began their introductions.
"I am Rock Lee. I cannot use either genjutsu or ninjutsu, but I have trained my taijutsu to compensate. I like people who work hard and enjoy having a good sweat. My goal is to become a genius of hard work!"
"My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I am heir to the Hyuuga Byakugan, and I fight using the Jyuuken style. I like cooking and… ano…" She glanced at Naruto before she continued, "People who t-try their best and never back d-down on their word. My goal is to make my father and the Hyuuga name proud"
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, my favourite technique is the Kage Bunshin no jutsu. I like pranking, ramen, and people who don't judge others without knowing them. My goal is to become recognized by the villagers and become Hokage! Believe it!"
------------------------------------------Elsewhere in Konoha--------------------------------------
"He used that line again," Sarutobi said as he sighed in defeat. Looking at the crystal ball, he pulled out a scroll and a pen as he continued, "I'll have to make a law banning that phrase."
---------------------------------------------Back to Team 9------------------------------------------
"My name is Maito Gai. I am a taijutsu specialist and a master of hard work. I enjoy spandex attire, challenging myself to improve my skills, and battling with my eternal rival Kakashi. My goal is to help my students embrace the Springtime of Youth!"
This was followed with several rounds round of "Ohh Gai-sensei, Ohh Lee" and Naruto and Hinata having another encounter with their new acquaintance – the floor.
He pulled out three green spandex suits for each of his genin to wear. Hinata was the first to decline Gai's offer, albeit in a polite but firm fashion. Although intrigued with the suit, Naruto followed Hinata's lead.
Lee on the other hand was a lost cause.
But we knew that already.
------------------------------------The next day at training area 3149562-------------------------------
Gai had gathered his team to perform the general assessment test carried out by jounin instructors on their new students. However the unconventional Green Beast of Konoha (A/N: Gai's self-ordained title) had his own ideas regarding the assessment of his genin.
"Good morning youthful charges!" exclaimed the perpetually exuberant Gai "Today I am expected to give you three an assessment"
"Whaaat?! Another test, this better not involve doing normal bunshins… (A/N: Naruto still can't control his chakra)" whined Naruto
"I said that I am expected to give an assessment, I didn't say it had to be a simple test of shinobi skill" replied Gai "Instead I will have each of you assess yourself"
All three genin were rendered momentarily bewildered by this proposal.
"Ano… Gai-sensei what do you mean by that?" queried a puzzled Hinata
"Simple really, each of you will give a self-assessment of your strengths, weaknesses, skills etc." responded Gai "Imagine that you are a jounin instructor who has been asked to analyze your genin self"
"Gai-sensei!! Your unconventional methodology inspires the fires of my youth!" sobbed Lee
"Well then, you can begin first Lee," stated Gai
"Yosh! As a shinobi my main strength is in taijutsu, though I have no particular natural talent I have honed my abilities through hard work" began Lee "However, due to my stunted chakra coils I am unable to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, as such I barely passed the genin exam"
'Ah good, he is unafraid to point out his own flaws' thought Gai 'Humility is as great a virtue as any'
"Despite my apparent disability I will not relent in my pursuit of excellence as a shinobi, perhaps my greatest strength is my will to continue." Finished Lee
"Good, Naruto its your turn next" beckoned Gai
"Here goes nothing…" started Naruto, "As a shinobi I am proficient in taijutsu, and although my knowledge of ninjutsu is limited, I am by no means incapable. My greatest strengths lie in my usage of subterfuge and genjutsu, as demonstrated by my pranking exploits and my usage of the forbidden Tajuu Kage Bunshin no jutsu."
"Is that all Naruto?" questioned Gai, 'no lack of confidence here'
"Well…" Naruto hesitantly began while sheepishly scratching the back of his head "I am unable to perform regular bunshin, and I technically failed the genin exam… I was the bottom of the class in terms of marks."
"Well its your turn now Hinata" noted Gai
"Ano…… I'm n-not particularly skilled at taijutsu, ninjutsu, or genjutsu, and my scores on the genin exam were only slightly above average…" began Hinata meekly before trailing off
"Please continue Hinata" encouraged Gai
"… Although I can use the Byakugan, I'm not as s-s-skilled as a H-hyuuga h-heiress s-should be…" concluded Hinata softly
'Well there is certainly a confidence issue here, definitely something to work on' thought Gai
"Well that's all for now, however we have just been assigned an important mission by the Hokage to complete" said Gai
"Yatta! Our first mission, I'm gonna kick some ass!" whooped Naruto exuberantly
-------------------------------Countless pointless D-class missions later--------------------------------
"Ero-Jiji! (A/N: Perverted grandfather) These missions are completely useless! We are ninja now! I want to capture some criminals, not an old lady's cat!" shouted Naruto after making it back from yet another mission retrieving the infamous Tora, the cat that belonged to the Daimyo's wife.
"Naruto!" Iruka yelled, "How dare you speak to the Hokage like that! Each new genin team must complete a fixed number of D-class missions before advancing to a harder mission!"
"Bah!" replied Naruto. "How stupid is that?"
However before Iruka could blow a gasket, the Hokage interrupted. "Very well. Is it your team's desire to perform a harder task… Maito Gai, are they ready for more?"
"They are all undergoing consistent weight training Hokage-sama, and Naruto has progressed with his taijutsu significantly. I feel that at your discretion, their Fiery Passion of Youth could be channeled through a C-class mission!"
"Well then that's settled, you will be escorting a bridge builder named Tazuna to The Land of the Waves. Get a good night's rest, as your mission begins tomorrow" stated the Hokage.
"Ano… Arigato Hokage-sama" Hinata softly replied.
"All Right! Finally a chance to test my skills!" replied a rambunctious Naruto.
"Yosh! If a single hair on Tazuna-san's head is touched, I shall eat my rations with my feet!" vowed an emotional Lee.
"Ahh the brilliant display of youth!" sobbed a clearly emotional Gai.
----------------------------------------------End Chapter----------------------------------------------
A/N: Here's a fact for those who don't really watch Naruto:
Most people know that Tenten (among many characters) doesn't have a last name (or at least a known one.) There's two theories behind it. First, some people say that Masashi Kishimoto was too lazy to give her a last name. Second, some people say that until 18th Century Japan, most people didn't have a last name – only those with a significant social standing had last names. Meaning if you're a peasant, you didn't have a last name.
So either Tenten is a peasant, useless, or both. shrugs -- Sorry Tenten.