Forever Youthful
Title: Beginnings
POV: Gai
Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. If I did this would all be in the manga.
Notes: Enjoy :P
Gai had never really considered being a sensei, until he met Rock Lee. After that day, he was determined that he would be the one to train the boy. He went to the Third Hokage and a deal was made, Lee would be tested on his taijutsu alone. Gai would be his sensei. He would have three years to prove that you could become a ninja with no genjutsu or ninjutsu. It was to be an experiment, a test to see if they could make ninjas out of anyone.
Gai didn't care about the stipulations. The word of what was happening had gone out to all the jonin and many of them were laughing at him, but Gai blew them all off. He would make a splendid ninja out of Lee. He was determined. The power of youth would overcome their doubts!
When he saw who his team was to be, he frowned. Lee, of course. Neji Hyuuga and a girl with no clan, Tenten. According to the village, a failure, a genius, and a nobody.
Gai quickly decided didn't mind. He was going to turn them into the greatest team the village, the world, had ever seen. He was going to prove the village wrong. Really, it was a youthful mix!
But they weren't exactly helpful with that. Neji thought he was better than all of them. Tenten was insisting on learning medical ninjutsu and wasting her potential. Lee's progress was slower than Gai would have liked.
Some nights, after a particularly bad training session, he thought that maybe he had been wrong. After days when Neji beat Lee, again. After the time Tenten skewered the boys by accident in kunai training. After the run where Lee kept up with wearing weights, then passed out and didn't wake up until the next day.
Those were the times that he thought he was failing. That he wasn't cut out for this sensei thing. That they would have all been better off without him.
But then there were other days. Like when Lee mastered a new technique everyone said he wouldn't be able to. Or when Neji did something without his infernal smirk and there was a glimpse of who he might be under the layers of ice. The moment when Tenten decided that she would be a taijutsu expert, and proceeded to match the boys in sparring.
Those were the moments that made it all worth it and when Gai went home for the night he realized that he couldn't remember what life had been like without them.
A/N: Following will be a series of Team Gai drabbles and short stories, not necessarily canon, and from different points of view. If you read, reviews are very appreciated!