Putting the T and Bond in Team Bonding

Today was the big day.

He had a big breakfast before he literally danced all the way to the Academy, 'Happy' seeming to accompany him. He leapt over obstacles and his haters, munching on an apple with joy.

He didn't even care when Shikamaru pointed out he should not be in class, having 'failed'. All he did was beam a joyful beam ad point to his headband, elated to finally be on the way to starting his career….and praying whatever team he was on did not have Sasuke Uchiha.

Just then, two familiar faces burst into the room; Sakura and Ino, in the last of their races to the classroom. Naruto chuckled at the two; it had been a cute little sight whenever he was on time/early for class; something he could honestly say he was going to miss.

He then noticed his rosette crush was making her way over to his direction, and he stood up to greet her.

"Naruto, could you move please?" Sakura asked, a little forcefully. "I want to sit to next to Sasuke."

"..I'm sitting next to him?"

He looked to his left and saw the class prodigy, who glared at him with unyielding hatred.

"By all means, Sakura!" Naruto said after letting out a scared 'eep.' He then leapt out of the way into the next row of seats and began distracting himself with medical terminology.

Sakura plopped down beside her crush, who paid her no attention, focusing his glare on Naruto's back. Sensing this, Naruto fiddled with a scalpel to distract himself.

"Good morning and welcome to the beginning of the rest of your lives." Iruka smiled as he walked inside. "I know you're all excited for this, so let's begin."

Naruto paid no attention to the first six teams; they were all civilian born that he was sure he'd never truly work with unless he was patching them up.

His mood was brightened when he heard that Sasuke was on the same team with Kiba and Shino, and chuckled at the Inuzuka boy's outraged:

"Why the hell am I on a sausage fest?!"

"Kiba, Sasuke and Shino's marks were among the highest in the Academy's history." Iruka explained. "You scored the lowest in the class. Just barely I should add, but still. We put the best with the worst to balance things out."

Kiba let out a groan out of anger and sadness as Iruka continued.

"Team 8….Hinata Hyuuga, Sakura Haruno and….wow, I am reading this right; Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto perked up at hearing his name being called as Kiba and several guys screamed in anger.

"No fair! The doctor gets two of the hottest girls while I'm in a sasuage fest?"

"What am I, chopped liver?" Ino pouted, giving her friend/rival a triumphant smirk before it dawned onto her who was on her team.

Hinata blushed in happiness while inwardly squealing, Naruto smiled and praised the Sage of Six Paths he WASN'T on Sasuke's team and Sakura…

"I'm doomed…." She moaned, inwardly crying and having her Inner demand that Naruto better not hold her and Hinata back.

Iruka finished up with the teams and dismissed the kids for lunch, telling them back in a half hour. The majority of the students jettisoned out of the room, leaving Team 8 alone.

'Well, can't run off, we are a team now….' Sakura mused to herself, still disappointed that she hadn't ended up on Sasuke's team. With a sigh, she was about to suggest they go outside for lunch when she found a round object in front of herself and Hinata.

"Apples?" Naruto offered with a warm. "They do keep people in my profession away."

The kunochi smiled and accepted

"To teamwork, I guess." Sakura cheered, the three ligtly bumping the apples together and enjoying them. As they munched on the fruit, Naruto reached into his bag and pulled out a book Sakura had never seen before. He then reachedin again, searching for something else in apparent vanity.

"Aw, nuts." He mused. "Thought my bag was lighter today…left lunch at home."

"Um…excuse me?" Hinata asked her two teammates, pulling out three lunch-boxes. "I-I m-made bent-o…"

Sakura smiled, grateful that sweet little Hinata was on her team; confidence aside, she was a welcome addition to any team with her caring nature and dojutsu.

Naruto's eyes widened as he swallowed the first bite of the bent-o.

"Oh wow…" He mused. "This is really good. Thank you, Hinata."

The heiress blushed at her crush's praise and delighted as he began to devour the bent-o, savoring every bite while reading his Fujinjutsu book.

Sakura, sharing Naruto's opinion of the bent-o, made her way over to Hinata

"So Hinata, can I ask you something?" She asked, getting a nervous nod from the heiress. "Why Naruto?"

Hinata rose an eyebrow in confusion.

"I mean yeah, he's interesting in taking up medical ninjutsu, but aside from that…well, he's no Sasuke." Sakura mused.

"I can hear you, you know." Naruto said, not even looking up from his book. "I'm absorbed into this book, not deafened by it. But please, continue."

Sakura blushed in embarrassment, making Hinata giggle slightly.

"It's true that Naruto-kun isn't Sasuke-kun." The heiress agreed with the rosette, smiling at the boy on her team. "And that's what I like about him."

She then lost her nerve and began twiddling her fingers.

"A-and…um…w-w-well…?"

Sakura, her interest peaked, leaned in so that Hinata could answer:

"H-he saved me from a group of bullies years ago." The heiress confessed. "Got himself hurt, but didn't care about that at all."

She looked down at her feet, not noticing the shocked and tehn proud look on Sakura's face.

"If I had to choose one thing, it's…his confidence."

"I can still hear you." Naruto repeated himself, before processing what had just been said. "Wait…you mean…? That little girl…all those years ago…was YOU?"

Hinata nodded, a blush on her face. Naruto's jaw dropped, his eyes widened and he cupped his chin in his hands.

"OOOH MY GOOOOOD I AM SUCH AN IDIOT!" He said quietly.

"For once you realize it." Sakura mused, a light chuckle escaping her lips, along with Hinata's. Naruto beamed back, giving a thumbs up.

"Well, at least I got two great teammates to knock that out of me!"

XXX

The new team enjoyed their lunch break together and were chatting animatingly as their classmates returned, getting some shocked reactions and more looks of jealousy towards Naruto. Just then, the doors opened, and in strolled in two familiar faces to Naruto:

"Hey Asuma, hey Kurenai!" He waved

"Yo." Asuma waved to the blonde

"Please don't pull a Kakashi." Kurenai begged as she waved at Naruto as well. Asuma merely chuckled before glancing around the room.

"Team 10, follow me."

The new Ino-Shika-Cho team followed him

"Team 8, let's move." Kurenai motioned her group down to follow her. Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he dashed down to greet his teacher

"Oh, and Team 7? You may wish to grab a book or something….your teacher won't be here for a while. He's chronically tardy."

Across the village, Kakashi sneezed.

XXX

10 minutes later, the group came to a small restaurant, where they found someone waiting for them: another beautiful woman in a trench coat and fishnet attire.

"This is you secondary sensei." Kurenai explained. "My good friend Anko, second in command of the village's T & I divison."

Naruto and the women locked eyes with each other.

"Oh, hey Anko." Naruto said.

"Nar." Anko replied.

The two stared in silence for a full minute, the air growing thick around them.

Sakura and Hinata began to feel nervous: How did Naruto know this woman? Why was the feeling in the air so…negative?

"Right, right….you two may wish to get behind me. And plug your ears." Kurenai suggested.

The staring continued for another minute, their brows furrowed…

"ANKY!" Naruto raised his hands and beamed joyfully

"NARY!" Anko followed in suit.

The two dashed to other, pushing their arms backwards and bringing them closer as they neared each other.

"PADDY CAKE, PADDY CAKE, BAKER'S MAN!" They shouted as they clapped each other's hands at incredible speeds. "BAKE ME A CAKE AS FAST AS YA CAN!"

Sakura and Hinata looked from behind an unamused Kurenai, some confusion on their faces.

"This isn't that bad." Sakura mused. "It's not…normal…but it's not bad."

"Give it a moment." Kurenai said.

The two had stopped paddy-caking and head-butted each other, flying backwards while laughing manically before rushing back to each other to begin what could best be described as a mix of arm-wrestling and judo-flipping each other over and over.

"…Still not seeing what's so bad." Sakura mused, Hinata nodding in agreement

"Oh right." Kurenai slapped her forehead. "This is Anko's favorite place, of course they'll hold back."

She snapped her fingers

"Okay you two. You can catch up later." She smiled.

"Sorry Nai-chan…" The two pouted cutely as their teammates wondered in and placed their orders; the 'calm' trio' ordered tea and a single order of dango while the other two demanded:

"The food of the gods! Ramen/ Dango."

They realized what the other had said and began to glare at each other.

"Oh Kami, not again…." Kurenai sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose.

"Ramen."

"Dango."

"Ramen."

"Dango."

"Ramen."

"Dango."

This went on for a full minute, before Sakura turned to Kurenai.

"Um, sensei? Should we…?"

"Leave them be." Kurenai sighed. "They'll tire themselves out….eventually. And besides, they haven't seen each other in a full year, this IS normal for them."

The group sat down and ordered a light meal

"Well, I'd say we should begin with introductions." Kurenai mused. "My name is Kurenai Yuhi and I'll be your primary sensei. I enjoy evening drinks like shochou and vodka. My favorite food is takowasa, my least favorite is cake."

Hinat let out a shock gasp

"B-but Kurenai-sensei, what about…"she started

"You and I grabbing cinnamon rolls is different Hinata." Kurenai assured her student. "And from here on Sakura, you and Naruto are welcome to join us. Back to introductions; if I had to say something that I dislike, I suppose it would have to be those who look down on Kunochi and a certain clan head in this village. I suppose my dream for the future is to have a full on fight with a certain jounin and see the day you three go down in history."

The gennin smiled warmly at Kurenai's introduction

"Alright, Anko." Kurenai smiled. "Let Naru-chan enjoy his ramen…"

"WHICH IS STILL NOWHERE NEAR AS GOOD AS ICHIRAKU!" The blonde shouted.

"Shut it, blondie!"

"Make me, snakey!"

"Oh, you are cruising for a bruising runt!"

A chop on their heads ended that fight.

"…And introduce yourself." Kurenai sighed, making a mental note to schedule therapy sessions from all the stress this dynamic was going to cause.

"The name is Anko Mitarashi." Anko beamed as she picked her teeth with a dango stick. "The sexy and single snake-mistress of Konoha. My hobby is conducting tea ceremonies."

That flew everyone who heard for a loop.

"What? You thought I was ALL kinky torture and sex toys? I got a limit to that shit, you know. Anyways, my favorite food is dango, obviously, but I do love me a good sweet bean soup. I hate spicy food and a certain man who I WILL kill one day, buy I ain't in a rush for that. I really don't have a dream at the moment, so I guess…I'll settle for seeing one of you become my successor."

She then turned to Naruto, who was already finished his 'sub-par' ramen and had ordered some dango.

"Okay, Nary." She announced. "Since the female to male ratio on this team is 4-1, you go for first."

Naruto finished one dumpling before starting.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." The boy said proudly. "I like learning new jutsu and making people feel better in any way I can. My favorite food is Ichiraku Ramen, my least favorite is ANY green veggie or fruit that is not an apple, onion or lettuce."

His brow suddenly furrowed and he took a breath before continuing.

"I dislike the waiting time for ramen to boil and hate those who hurt others for no good reason or assume they know everything without researching, and above all else….doctors who care more about making money than healing the ailing. Oh almost forgot; and I absolutely LOATHE those who call kunochi weaker than shinobi along with calling Medical-ninjas useless."

His surprisingly long list of dislikes, along with the conviction and venom in his voice when he listed them, struck a chord with his teammates.

'Maybe having him as a teammate won't be too bad.' Sakura mused to herself.

"My hobbies are growing plants and reading medical journals." Naruto finished, coming back to his normal tone. "My dreams for the future are to become the greatest Medical-ninja the world has ever seen and cure at least one disease in my lifetime."

"Lofty goal." Kurenai mused with a smile on her face. "Hinata?"

The Hyuuga heiress took a sip from her tea before beginning.

"M-my name is Hinata Hyuuga. My hobby is pressing flowers, and I really l-like…"

Her eyes darted to her male teammate as her face became flushed with a blush.

"…I-I dislike my clan's branch system and those who judge others without getting to know them. My d-dreams for the future…"

She once again glanced over to Naruto, which did not go unnoticed by her female teammate and sensei.

'She has it so bad…' Sakura mused with a smile

'I can see babies already…' Anko smirked.

"…is to have the one I like acknowledge me, end my clan's branch system and become strong."

"…but you already are strong, Hinata." Naruto said. "And anybody who says otherwise is an idiot. And that's coming from me!"

Hinata let out a giggle as melodically beautiful as a bird, and her blonde teammate found his hair getting messed with by Anko.

"Okay, silver-tongue." Kurenai teased. "Save that for missions. Pinky, you're up."

Sakura twitched at her nick-name, but composed herself and replied:

"I'm Sakura Haruno. What I like…I mean the person I like this…"

She blushed and covered her face in embrassment as she giggled. "My hobby….my dream for the future is…!"

"And?" Anko asked, irritation in her voice clear "What do you hate?"

The answer was an absolute:

"Ino-pig!"

The female blonde in question sneezed halfway across the village during a ranting session, which Choji and Shikamaru were grateful for.

Anko and Kurenai sighed; Hiruzen had warned them about Sakura's fangirl nature…but geez this was bad.

"At least she didn't say she hates Nary…" Anko whispered to her friend. "Otherwise I'd be having words with her."

Kurenai nodded in agreement, although she was disturbed when she thought of her friends' definition of 'words.'

"Well then, let's finish this little meal and begin your first test as Gennin." Kurenai said, turning an evil smile to Anko. "Anko, why don't you tell them?"

"Why Nai-chan, I'd be delighted…." Anko smirked

"Uh oh." Naruto said quietly, already dreading what was coming.

"What?" Sakura asked

"Whenever anyone let's Anko lead, it never ends well." Naruto explained through his teeth.

"Your test…." Anko smiled evilly as she moved closer to Kurenai, suddenly wrapping an arm around her waist and the vanishing in a puff of smoke. "Is to find me and Nai-chan in Training ground 44, YOU GOT ONE HOUR GOOD LUCK!"

The three gennin were stumped for a second before dashing off in search of said training ground.

1 hour later

Training Ground #44 (The forest of death)

"Excellent job, kids." Kurenai smiled. "You found us rather easily and in such a…

"Awesome place?" Anko added

"…I was going to say dangerous, but I suppose that works."

The three gennin were shaking in their sandals, recalling (or trying to at least) everything that had transpired in that single hour.

"Welp! I think the rookies deserve the rest of the day off to celebrate, don't ya Nai-chan?" Anko mused, getting a nod from her friend.

"Well, you all head on over to wherever it is you need to go, and we shall see you first thing in the morning in front of the dango place." Kurenai smiled, a little worried at how quiet the trio were; Hinata wasn't shaking in terror or worry, she was perfectly still, Naruto was mumbling something and Sakura was reciting 'this old man.'

"And we'll be sure to not come here again until you're ready." The genjutsu mistress assured them.

"ARIGATO SENSEI!" The three 12 years old shouted.

"See you in the morning, shrimps!" Anko beamed

For a full half hour, no one said a word.

"Team pact…" Naruto whimpered. "This never happened…and we shall never speak of it again."

"I think my dad still has a couple of coupons for Yamanka mind-erasing…." Sakura whispered

"J-just look at this way…" Hinata tried to soothe her teammates. "One day, we'll look on this…and we'll laugh."

20 years later…

"Remember the survival tests?" Choji asked.

"WE DO NOT SPEAK OF THE SURVIVAL TESTS!" The team formerly known as Team 8 screamed before going into a corner and whimpering.

"Just what did Kurenai and Anko do to them?" Kiba asked.

"Trust me on this," Ino started. "You don't want to know. Shikamaru, don't tell him. You shouldn't have told me, but you did and now I'm telling you, Kiba….You don't want to know."

Present day

"Maybe not." Hinata mused.

"Definitely not." Naruto agreed.

"No way in hell I'll ever find this funny." Sakura finished.

The trio then gave each other a look, and burst into laughter.

"We are so going to be screwed in the head…." Sakura mused.

"Yep." Naruto agreed with a nod.

"No doubt about that." Hinata said, then turned her attention to her crush. "U-um…N-Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah?" The boy asked.

"I-I…w-was wondering i-if maybe….if you weren't busy….mayber you'd like to go to Ichiraku's with me sometime?"

Sakura gave the shy girl a thumbs up in encouragement and prayed for Naruto to accept.

"Sure, I'd love to." Naruto smiled honestly, filling Hinata with happiness before a sad look crossed his face. "But not today, I'm afraid. There's…something I got to do first. I'll see you tomorrow."

The two kunochi watched their male teammate walk towards one of the more respected, but still treasure parts of Konoha. This instantly popped up questions for them, but they had no time to press

"Well, I think we better head on home." Sakura sighed. "Mom and dad want to give me some lessons and I can only imagine your dad will want to know how everything went."

"Right." Hinata agreed, shooting a worried look to Naruto's fading form as she and Sakura began the trek back to the village.

XXX

It took him a full five minutes to find what he was looking for.

"Hey." Naruto smiled at the grave weakly, pointing to his headband. "Finally did it."

As he expected, no response.

With a sigh, the blonde lit a candle, said a prayer and sat down for a while, laying down a bowl of ramen in thanks.

He sat there in silence for a half hour, the image of the late person's face on his mind. A smiling face. A happy and loving face. One that had meant a good deal to not only him, but….

Then the memories of THAT night played over in his hand. He had only been 8 and just started at the hospital when….He'd done his best and everything he could….for naught.

The blonde boy clutched his hands so hard he drew blood, only for a gentle breeze to pass by as if to calm him.

"No one will go through what you went through." He promised as he traced the name engraved lovingly, fighting the tears in his eyes.

For another half hour, he sat in comfortable silence. As the sun started going down, he got up and gave the stone a salute.

Once he was gone, someone else came to the grave and smashed everything he'd set up in a fit of rage.

Read and review, would ye kindly?

Before anyone complains, there is a reason that Naruto seems scared/ reluctant to be around Sasuke that'll be revealed in chapter 5. Guess the correct reason and you get a virtual cookie and the chance to decide how an arc goes.

The same for anyone who guesses who the mystery deceased and smasher are correctly.