Team Gai were getting worried about their teammate and friend, he hadn't been to training in nearly a week and when they asked Gai or any other Jounin they were brushed off saying he was fine, Tenten had taken it the worse and was almost reduced to tears In training as her aim started to fail for the first time in years, even Lee the ever cheerful was acting differently, his training was falling as well as his passion for it and Neji was becoming slightly colder towards all those who believed themselves better than him and had openly shouted at Hiashi when he said he didn't know where Naruto was. All in all the team was falling apart and it pained Gai deeply to see it and not be able to do anything but he had been ordered not to tell them anything only that he was fine.
Then the day came where Neji actually struck out at him with Lee and Tenten trying to force him to tell them where Naruto was. Gai wish he didn't have to but he had to knock out his team and take them home but stayed with Tenten as she woke up as he left her off in her bedroom and started crying and apologizing to him, and so he sat with her unable to do anything but comfort her and say he was fine until she fell asleep. He tiredly walked into his apartment that night dragging his feet, he didn't let his pupils know but it was affecting him too, his determination and he was sure he was what held their team together in the long run and when something disastrous happened to any of them, himself included. As he walked into the kitchen he saw a note on his table and curious, he picked it up and read it, a large smile broke across his face and he started dancing around his apartment his lost joy returning,
"The flames of youth are returning to me! May they never leave me again or my faithful pupils!" he cried into the night.
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Tenten woke up in her wrinkled and filthy clothing; she hugged her legs as she pulled them to her chest seeking comfort, she'd been able to release her feelings and emotions last night on Gai, she was glad that he had stayed with her she had needed it. With a tired sigh she got out of her bed and stripped off her clothes before stepping into the shower. When she came out she felt slightly better, and she pulled out another of her usual outfits and put it on and re-did the buns in her hair, grabbing her weapon scrolls and an apple before leaving.
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Lee sat up in his bed and looked out the window to the blue sky and birds that flew in it, swooping and diving around. He sighed, stepping out of his bed and found a clean spandex suit and dragged it on over his body and applied his weights. He ate some breakfast slowly and left his apartment locking the door behind him.
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Neji was having a pretty shit day, to be blunt. He has been woken by the sun in his face and fallen out of bed when he turned away from it, and also he hadn't been able to find a battle kimono for him to wear so he had to wear a white shirt and black pants with his sandals, this of course made many of his fellow female clansmen stare at him blushing slightly. Then they didn't have anything he wanted for breakfast so had to settle for an apple, and when he was leaving he had snapped at his cousin simply because she had said good morning to him. Shaking his head he berated himself, as Naruto would say he needed to get his ass in gear.
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Gai was bouncing around his apartment happily as he ate some toast at the same time, today was the day, his team would be re-united and he couldn't wait. They needed it and so did he if they wished to stay as a team and with the chuunin exams so close they needed to get it together. Schooling his features and actions he left his apartment but he found a grin plastered on his face as he walked to the training grounds where he saw three quarters of his team already there. He could see they were all looking sullen even Lee but he felt better when Tenten smiled at him, no matter how small it was it made him feel better. And when his team was completed he was sure they would be laughing and messing around again after beating him of course.
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"Good morning my youthful students!" he exclaimed happily causing all of them to look at him and raise their eyebrows, "I have great news for you! Today will be the day that..." he was stopped abruptly as a kunai landed in the middle of them, he followed its line up to a tree and saw a man looked at them with a look of indifference, "Who are you?" he asked without his vibrancy as he eyed up the man, he was wearing a long black trench coat that was open and he could see a black shirt under it, with his black glasses, combat boots and black hair he looked powerful, and was much taller than him and muscular, if he started a fight they probably wouldn't win, the man looked at him,
"I am looking for team nine," he said with no emotion, "I hear they are the strongest genin team in Konoha,"
"Yes that is us, what do you want?" the man raised an eyebrow,
"You, don't make me laugh, even I can see that you are weak, I could destroy you all with minimal ease. But I can see something holds you back, you need him don't you? Naruto that is," shock crossed all their faces,
"You know where he is?" Neji asked hope in his voice as he looked at the man;
"Of course I wouldn't be very good if I didn't know where I was would I?" a smile appeared on his face as he observed their faces ranging from disbelief, shock and a blush from Tenten, "Of course if you don't believe me I can prove it," they all nodded at him, "Very well, Lee is a master Taijutsu user training under Gai-sensei and hopes to be able to defeat him and take his title and further his flames of youth," they saw his disgust at talking about flames of youth, "Neji wants to surpass his clan and prove that the main family is not superior to the branch and wants the two families to merge and become one, Gai loves his pupils and wishes nothing more than training them to become the best and defeating his rival kakashi once and for all, and Tenten.." he trailed off and walked up to her and whispered in her ear causing her blush to deepen with each passing second and when he pulled away she jumped onto him hugging him tightly muttering,
"Naruto-kun," and crying into his chest as he held her. The other three stood still all thinking the same thing, 'It must be him, Tenten wouldn't do that unless it's him.' When he set her back down on the ground they actually noticed the height difference between them, it was enormous over a foot, she had to bend her head right back to look at him. He turned to the guy's of the group,
"Hey," he said simply,
"Where the hell have you been!" asked a very pissed off Neji as he glared at him,
"Well I would suggest you sit down for it cause I'm not picking your ass up when you faint, it all happened after our training session and I was with Hana-chan.." and for the next two hours he told them everything having been informed by Shibi and the doctors what had happened to him while he was unconscious, but he was able to tell them what happened with the battle as he was watching it take place. Of course when he had told them he was a jinchuuriki and that the Kyuubi had been sealed with him they were taken aback but got past it easily knowing who he was, and when they found out Kyuubi had been killed they did faint except for Gai who asked him to continue. Explaining that he had its power and abilities to the man was great fun to him as that made the man faint at the end with his pupils. Grinning he left a note on Lee's head and left to look for Hana.
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She was hiding in her room covered by the blankets, her eyes red and puffy from crying so much, she hadn't heard anything about Naruto since she took him to the hospital and no-one would tell her anything. After the first few days she became worried and when she asked about him they wouldn't answer and recently she had just started crying when she stood in the training ground when it all happened and had been in her room since. Her mother had tried to get her out and find out what was wrong but she refused and threw out anyone who came in. She heard footsteps outside her door and voices as her door was opened slightly,
"She's in here, please get her out," she heard her mother's worried voice,
"Don't worry Tsume I guarantee I can," a second voice that she couldn't place, one person walked away and she was alone with this male who closed the door as he entered,
"Leave me alone," she said hoarsely to him, the man chuckled and she felt him sit on the edge of her bed,
"Do you really think that this is doing anything? It is trapping all your emotions with yourself and that is not good Hana, you need to release them. What do you think he would say if he saw you like this?" that really shook her up, what would he do? Shout at her for being weak or comfort her? She slowly pulled back her covers and saw him looking at her with a small smile, "There you go," she immediately started to cry again and he pulled her into his arms getting her cry against him and release it all. She needed this and she knew it but from a stranger? She smelled him, he smelt of earth, the forest... her eyes widened and she looked up at him,
"Naruto?" she said and a grin came across his face,
"Yes Hana-chan?" her resulting hug knocked him onto his back as she sobbed into him and was shouting at him incoherently, "Hana, what happened to you? I've never seen you like this and I practically lived with you all my life," he said over her shouts,
"What do you think Naruto? I didn't know what was happening to you, you could have died for all I knew and I wouldn't have known," she shouted back at him,
"I'm sorry but it was explained to you that I may not come out alive, besides I had to come back remember? I owe you a date for our last fight," he heard her crying stop as she looked up at him with a small blush on her cheeks,
"You...you really want too?" she asked quietly, he nodded and she slid up his body and kissed him on her lips gently, "Thank you Naruto-kun,"
"Hmmph hmm," came a voice from the doorway and they turned to see Tsume standing with her arms crossed and a shit eating grin on her face, "So can I expect grandchildren anytime soon?" both blushed bright red,
"Mom!" Hana whined at her.