Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Never have, never will. I do own a Naruto video game, though!
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Each team in Konoha is given a set of rules by their senseis when the team is first formed. Like, a set of guidelines, one might call them. Team Gai is no exception to this idea. However, what makes Team Gai so special is that Gai did not tell them their rules. Instead, he left them to figure out their own team rules, or guidelines, that the team would live by, deciding that making their own team guidelines would make them closer as a team...
However, what Gai got by doing this was totally unexpected. His team did make guidelines for themselves, but they never once spoke of these guidelines. As time went on, these guidelines in a way created themselves, and none of the members on Team Gai questioned any of them. The guidelines were never written down or spoken, for they didn't need to be: everyone on Team Gai just automatically knew what they were and understood them.
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Number 1: The first time Team Gai met as a team when they were young genin at the age of 12, fresh out of the Ninja Academy, Gai had no interest in telling them when the team would meet. He decided that at the end of their first time training tomorrow, they would discuss when it would be best to train together as a team, and they would go from there. So, when Gai met his students, he told them where they would meet the next day and said simply to come by noon. With that, everyone left for their homes.
The next day, Gai was very surprised to find his students waiting for him in a clearing in a forest at the break of dawn. A young boy with black hair waved exuberantly at his sensei, a girl with her hair up in buns smiled at her sensei as he approached, and a boy with long, brown hair and milky eyes simply nodded in acknowledgement of his sensei. Gai informed his students of what they would be doing for the day, and as soon as he was done they got right to work. At the end of the day, Gai was so proud of his students for all of their hard work that he completely forgot to converse with them about when they should meet. However, his students continued to come every single day at the crack of dawn without complaints, and it was only a few weeks after this had gone on that Gai realized that his team had already created their first team rule.
Number 2: During overnight missions, Lee, Neji, and Tenten always slept in the same bed or tent, no matter where they went. Contrary to what some thought, they didn't do anything with each other. Ever since their first mission when Tenten crawled into bed with the two boys because she couldn't sleep when they were staying in a small village, the three slept at least in the same room. The three slept easier when their teammates were present, if only because they felt as if everything was right in the world. However, the three tossed and turned all night on their first night back home in their own rooms without their teammates, thought Neji will never admit it.
Number 3: About a year after Team Gai was formed, Neji and Lee began to wonder why Tenten always had her hair up in those buns. So, one day, they got up the courage to ask her. Tenten thought about the question for a moment before replying, "I want to be treated as an equal." She said nothing else, but she didn't have to. The boys understood what she meant and never questioned her about her hair again.
Number 4: Pretty much everyone in Konoha knew about the team rivalry between Neji and Lee. When Team Gai was first formed, Neji told Lee he couldn't be a good ninja because he truly believed that he couldn't. However, as time passsed and Lee became stronger, the rest of Team Gai realized that this rivalry was fueling Lee's passion to become stronger. When Lee was finally strong enough to actually compete with Neji, Neji continued to insult his skills as a ninja. This got Lee even more determined, causing him to work harder towards his goal to becoming a stronger ninja. No one in the village understood why Neji had to be so mean to Lee, or why Gai would allow it, but Team Gai didn't care what the village thought. All they knew was that this so-called 'rivalry', if it could even be called that anymore, was pushing Lee to be the best that he could be which, in turn, pushed Neji to work harder so he would not be outdone by Lee. It was a wonderful cycle that had the two boys feeding off of each other's growth. After a while, the team suspected that Lee actually knew what Neji was doing, but if he did, Lee never spoke of it.
Number 5: Many times, Ino, Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten would get together and gossip and talk about their lives, as many teenage girls do on occasion. A common topic in these little get-togethers would be Tenten's love life. This was simply because they really didn't have anyone else's love life to talk about, since Sakura and Naruto started dating after Sasuke left, Ino and Shikamaru were a relationship, and Hinata was completely happy with Kiba. Out of nowhere, Ino would screech, "So Tenten, when are you going to settle down with Neji?" This would cause Tenten to stare at Ino, appalled at hor she could suggest something like that. Right when Ino is about to talk again, Sakura would cut in with, "I think Tenten would go better with Lee, right, Hinata?" Hinata would just shrug as Sakura and Ino got into a fight over who Tenten should date. Tenten just stared at the scene in front of her, trying to control her laughter. She didn't know how ANYONE could expect her to date Neji or Lee. It just seemed so...wrong. Tenten decided a long time ago she would never date her teammates, and she was pretty sure that Neji and Lee had made the same decision. They were like her brothers, but no matter how many ties she told people that, they never listened. So, in these situations, Tenten would just change the subject, remembering every detail of what hapened so she could retell the story to Lee and Neji later. They were always up for a good laugh.
Number 6: Just because Tenten didn't date her teammates doesn't mean she didn't date at all. She had quite a few boyfriends, none of which Neji or Lee particularly liked. The two boys were extremely protective of her, and stories of what they would do or say to Tenten's boyfriends would travel all through Konoha, scaring many boys away. The only boys who actually ever asked her out would usually go to Lee or Neji first for permission to get on their good side. They would usually say yes, or rather, Lee would usually say yes, for he decided that the boys deserved at least one chance, whereas Neji decided none of them deserved anything. However, Tenten knew that none of the boys that asked her out would be good enough for her in Neji or Lee's eyes, and that was fine with her. Most of the boys who asked her out, with or without her teammates' permission, were jerks anyway.
Number 7: No matter how goofy their sensei may act, Team Gai thinks very highly of their sensei. Lee obviously has the strongest bond out of the three with his sensei, even going as far as to imitate his wardrobe. Tenten also has a strong bond with her teacher, as she can be seen shopping with him for new weapons and scrolls on any given Sunday afternoon. She even trusts her sensei enough to confide in him and ask for advice on occasion. Neji, as much as he tries to deny it, also has a strong connection with his crazy teacher. Neji is the one who keeps Gai's antics under control, and he is the one who helps Gai come up with ways to challenge Kakashi. Gai, in return, cares deeply for all of his students, and would put his life on the line for any of them. Because of this strong bond, the four eat lunch together every day when they take a break from training. They have done this every day since their team first formed, and they continue to do it now. Even if they are all off training on their own for the day, they all meet at the exact same time they always do to eat lunch.
Number 8: When Tenten finally became a jounin after Neji and Lee, Gai was both happy and sad. He was happy that his students had succeeded in achieving their dreams, but he was sad that he was losing his team. Gai went into a state of depression for at least two weeks after Tenten became a jounin. His three former students noticed it every day when they ate lunch together, but they never mentioned anything to Gai, instead conversing amongst themselves about what should be done. Finally, the three knew what they needed to do. The day after making their decision, Lee, Tenten, and Neji took their former sensei to the village they stayed in while traveling to their very first mission. The village was only a couple of miles from Konoha, so it was an easy walk. The four stayed spent the weekend in this village, bonding and cathcing up on everything that has been going on in their lives that they couldn't really begin to discuss over a ten or fifteen minute lunch. The team returned to this village every month, and after the third visit, Gai realized that his team had made their final rule.
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Everyone on team Gai took something different from their experience on the team. Neji learned the value of teamwork, Tenten learned the value of trust, Lee learned the value of hardwork, and everyone learned the value of friendship. When other people looked at Team Gai's relationship, they didn't quite understand it. They didn't undertand how people who were so different could have such a tight bond. It didn't matter to Team Gai what they thought, however, because all they cared about was how they felt abut thier own relationship with each other, and they didn't need to say a word to each other to know that.
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Yes, I know that was extremely random for me to write.
Yes, I know that I should start updating my other stories.
Yes, I know this sounds nothing at all like what I usually write. What can I say, I felt like being somewhat serious for a change. This idea just kind of popped into my head, and I thought that it would be really interesting to analyze Team Gai's relationship, since they are my favorite team, and here is the result. Hope you like it! Reviews and constructive criticism would be great!
Pooh Bear Is My Hero