A/N: Don't own Naruto, never will, would love to write for it. Same 'ole.
Here's chapter three. Please don't forget to review, or favs, or something- motivation, people, it's all about the motivation!
Chap. 3 Not quite failures
It didn't take very long after her talk with Naruto to figure out what kind of sensei she wanted to be. While those he'd listed had all been great sensei in their own right, there was another teacher she had always looked up to more- Senju Tsunade. While the young woman had never been close to the much older Godaime, she had heard a lot of stories about the woman and her training methods, from her sister, Sakura, and their mutual friend, Ino. Each had been trained, in part, by the old matron, and the tough- well, if she were honest with herself, brutal training style she'd displayed had turned relatively weak, non-combat oriented kunoichi into individual powerhouses.
And that was the least Hanabi would accept from her own team. They might be worthless now- or next to it, at least- but by the time she was done, they'd either have washed out or be ranked among the very best Genin that Konoha had to offer.
Of course, there was only one way to do that...
Take a few lessons from Gai-sensei's book. A few more from Naruto-sama and Sakura-nee-san... and quite a few from Tsunade-hime. Stir ingredients dry...
In a seperate bowl, combine three parts Onee-chan, two parts Neji-nii-san, one part Ojou-sama, and five parts Hanabi. Stir well.
Combine, pour into baking pan...
Cook on 'lethal' for three months...
And Bam!
A recipe for instant Über-Genin!
They might even be ready in time for the next Chunin exam... too bad the cutoffs already passed for this one, though. Not that they'd be ready anyway. Still, it might have taught them a valuable lesson about how far they have to go.
She was broken from her musings by the sound of her teammates arguing again. For the third time that week, since she'd first been assigned, two of them had, once again, ganged up on the other. The surly Ioka Toride leaned back against the tree in silence, with his arms folded firmly across his chest, while the slightly taller but much lighter Gendo Kenkei and the pretty Shiba Kinyue both insulted his lack of personality and many other traits the pair either refused to see or simply wanted to tear out of the other boy.
Well, shit. So much for my plan... guess I'll have to put it back some more. Maybe we'll make the next Chunin exam...
"All right, you two, shut the hell up."
At least, Hanabi thought, the two had learned to be quiet when she told them to- they shut their mouths at once and turned as one to face her. Toride simply turned his head, but at least it was in her direction instead of away from it.
"I've finished designing our training plan, so no more dinking around. This half-assed stuff we've been doing up till now doesn't mean shit out in the real world. From today on, we're gonna work to be shinobi. We clear?"
The two young lovebirds shared a groan, but, as usual, Toride only gave the faintest of nods and said nothing. Though it's pretty clear he's as annoyed as they are- good. It's time to learn a few lessons. "I had originally planned to have a mission today. But you little shits aren't ready to spend a day pulling weeds- you haven't earned that right."
Hanabi was pleased to see the girl wince at the thought, but at least she stifled the groan this time. "That being said, you are closer than you were. The biggest problem we have is lack of esprit de corps. You twerps know what that means?"
Kenkei spoke up at once, "It's camaraderie, Sensei, isn't it?"
Hanabi nodded, folding her arms across her stomach, "It is. But before I explain why that's a problem, let's do a hypothetical excercise. Say... I was standing in the bushes back there," and hooked a thumb behind her for a moment, "for the entire between the time I told you to arrive and the time I showed up myself. What do you think I'd have heard and seen?"
Toride's scowl deepend further. He hated, Hanabi knew, to be protected. Especially from something he thought he dealt with quite well. Just like I used to. Shit doesn't fly at all in the real world. Naruto-sama's always had the right of it.
It was Kinyue who worked up the nerve to answer, though Hanabi could see her struggling to admit her own guilt. "You... you'd have heard us picking on Toride, Sensei."
"And?"
"We... that was it, Sensei. Wasn't it?" Kenkei asked, his eyebrows raising.
Hanabi smiled wickedly. "I haven't any idea, Kenkei. I just got here. This is a hypothetical excercise."
Surprise lit up all three of the Genin's faces at once, forcing Hanabi's mouth to twitch up into the faintest of smiles at how easily she'd gotten them to walk into it. "Well... since you've fessed up without me forcing it out of you, I think I'm going to let this time slide. Next time, though, any team member I find tearing down another is off the team- and won't have the chance to go back to the Academy. Is that clear?"
Toride took this chance to speak up for the first time that morning, "Sensei, you really have the authority to keep people from going back to the Academy?"
Hanabi's wicked smile was back in force at once. "No... not the authority. But if I permanently sever your chakra channels, you'll never be ninja again, now will you?"
So it wasn't the most subtle threat... but it worked. At least, temporarily. The sudden fear in their faces was priceless.
"So here's the plan. The three of you are joining me for survival training. I haven't decided where, exactly, but we're going to be gone as long as I can get permission from Hokage-sama. So pack for at least a week, probably a month or more. You all know what supplies that requires, right ?"
The sudden growl at the end of the sentence shocked any already-planned supplies right out of their little heads, making Hanabi smile inwardly yet again. Shock training is a great thing. Give me another month, and not a damned thing in the world will phase these kids.
Kinyue stammered out an answer yet again, "Umm... the Academy said never take more than a week's worth of clothing, but always take two spares. Between two days and a week's rations... wasn't it a Soldier Pill, whatever weapons are required, and..."
As the young girl continued to rattle off the list, Hanabi's mind began to wander. Technically right. I guess I could tell them how the standard kit works in real life... but I think they'll learn better the hard way. And then there's the specialization of kits. But we don't have a medic, so that'd be pointless, at least. Maybe later.
When the younger girl had finally finished, Hanabi gave a curt nod, "You have two hours to get all that shit ready. I'm going to meet you at the main gate. If you're late, you're not going- and you don't want to know what's going to happen to you then."
As the three Genin tore away as fast as they could, the Hyuuga distinctly heard three separate gulps.
* * *
Naruto had been surprisingly agreeable to the idea. Hanabi, at first, hadn't known what to make of it when he agreed as soon as she'd explained her plans, even suggesting Suna, or perhaps Iwa as a destination. He had, however, asked that they take no longer than a month, as he had a mission upcoming he thought would be perfect for their team.
He signed the necessary paperwork off at once and handed them to the new sensei before she first noticed the subtle signs.
Slightly dialated pupils. Reddened cheeks and neck. Rapid, shallow breathing. Those, alone weren't enough to make her more than mildly suspicious. She'd never known Naruto to be sick, but it wasn't outside the realms of possibility. However, when her actute eyes picked up the tremble in his hands, a catch in his breath, and the sound of someone else breathing that she couldn't see, Hanabi put one and one together all too quickly. Onee-chan or Sakura-nee-san... under the desk... Hokage Office... OhcrapHanabigetoutnownownow!
She only prayed that by the time she'd returned in a month, both she and Naruto would be able to escape the embarrassment... or better yet, both forget it had ever happened. And that's to say nothing of whichever of her Hokage's wives was actually under the desk. No, don't think about it, you don't want to know!
* * *
Unlike her Genin team, Hanabi had already learned a lesson that most ninja learned within their first month- always be prepared. For anything. Her one-week kit was already safely sealed away into a scroll occupying her Jonin vest. A backup occupied the bottom of her main weapon's pouch. And, if worst came to worst, she had a few supplies sealed onto the inside of the one piece of jewelry she wore, a black anklet that fit so snuggly and was so thin that a cursory glance would most likely mistake it as a tattoo. Three kits may have seemed overkill to many, but Hanabi had learned from the best- and the best usually had more. In addition, she had to take into account the possibility that one or more of her Genin would be missing something vital- another reason for more backups. I'll be damned if I lose one of them just because we ran out of wire or something stupid.
The wait for the Genin, as a result, seemed interminable. The speed with which Naruto had agreed, signed the paperwork, and Hanabi had then fled the office meant that she had more than an hour and a half to kill. Means more time for me to think up evil plans, though.
She hadn't gotten far, though, before the first of her team showed up. "Sensei."
It wasn't the most eloquent of greetings, she knew, but then, Toride didn't speak much. One of the reasons he's my favorite- or at least, the only one I can stand.
"Toride."
Nothing else was said until the other two- together, as usual- approached from a side alley.
Glancing at the sun, Hanabi had to hide another smile. Well shit. Fifteen minutes early. There might be hope for these worms yet.
Without another word, she started walking, the Genin, not daring to question her just yet, followed silently.
* * *
They had been moving almost directly north for two full days at a steady clip before Kinyue worked up the figurative balls to ask their close-mouthed sensei where she was taking them.
The answer, of course, was no more than they'd come to expect- but at least she answered them.
"Tea."
"That once country that's between Oto and Taki?" the girl asked, looking backward at the older woman for a moment.
Hanabi nodded. "We're going to the far north coast. We'll spend a day or two on the cliffs, then hitch a boat there to our final destination."
At once, she could detect more annoyance coming from at least two of them. Some, she was sure, because of the promise of more travel to come, and some because the thought of spending more than a day on a cliffside was a daunting task for almost anyone, shinobi or not.
* * *
The smell of salt was powerful when they crested the incline, giving them their first view of the ocean, vast and ice-blue, stretching out further than they could ever hope to see- Byakugan or otherwise.
It wasn't until they followed their sensei up to the very edge of the cliff, held together mostly by the roots of the thick, scraggely grass that frequented shorelines, that they really got a good glimpse of their purpose, though.
There was a ledge, wide enough for the four to camp on, almost exactly half way down the bluff. The dark stone was dry, so far as Hanabi could tell, but in the slightest of storms- and a squall seemed to be approaching, if her weather sense was any good- the whole ledge would be sodden as if it'd been underwater in minutes. She knew from experience that only the worst waves would reach the ledge, it was over fifty feet up, after all, but the rain running down the cliff above would drench anything on it.
"So, here's the deal. Get out your wire, climb down to the ledge. Don't fall. Take your full kit, you'll need it."
Kinyue almost began to whine, but a warning glare from her boyfriend cut it off before Hanabi had a chance. Good.
"Come on," she said after a moment, "what are you waiting for? Sunset? That'll help! Really!"
It was the first time any of her team had even considered that she might use sarcasm. It wasn't well done, to be sure, but it still shocked them into action- which was, of course, the Jonin's reason for acting at all.
Once they'd secured their lines and begun rapelling down the cliff, Toride first as usual, doesn't scare easy, that one, Hanabi stepped up to the edge again and looked down, watching from above.
"Don't fall, now..."
Kenkei looked up, his eyes wide, but the others seemed too focused on the task to bother.
Grinning widely again, Hinata moved one foot over to the pin holding the taller boy's line in place, and made in painfully obvious that she was about to kick it out.
Just like taking candy from a baby.
Horrified, he loosened his grip enough to slide down the rest of the way as quickly as possible. He dropped the last fifteen feet without holding onto the line at all, and even from here Hanabi could see that the kid had burned his hands so badly they'd be bleeding for hours. Moron.
She rolled her eyes, forced some chakra into her feet, and stepped over the cliff with a forward lean.
Toride was, like his teammates, wide-eyed at their sensei's actions, but only he was currently watching her as she walked calmly down the cliff.
Kenkei was holding his arms out, whimpering softly, pussy,and Kinyue was holding her hands out to them to get a better look.
A few feet above them, Hanabi stopped walking and started talking, her arms folded once again over her chest. It was a little harder to see them with her hair hanging in front of her face, but she could still read expressions well enough. "All right, lesson one. Trust."
Kinyue looked up at her coldly, not even reacting to the apparent miracle. "Trust, Sensei? Trust that you won't try to kill your own team?!"
The girl's growing volume did nothing but amuse Hanabi. "Yes, exactly. Sure, I made a few motions with my foot. But the line's still secure. Trust. It's my job to keep you brats alive, and I'm not going to hurt you or kill you unless I have to. Notice, I don't threaten you like that."
Still hurting visibly, Kenkei almost yelled, "Don't threaten us?! You threaten us all the time!"
Hanabi's smile widened a bit, "Yes, yes I do. But not with harm. I can kick you off the team, I can ruin your career, but I won't kill you. I won't throw you off a cliff. I won't let anything happen to you, on my life. That's my biggest job as a sensei."
She could see it in his eyes. Grudgingly, even Kenkei had to admit that she hadn't, in fact, been the one to hurt him- it had been himself. He still wasn't very happy about the deception, though.
"Lesson two- and this is the killer. Always, always, look Underneath the Underneath. At first glance, yeah, it looked like I was gonna pull out the pin and let you fall, right?"
Kenkei nodded.
"Right... so, look underneath. Why would I do so? What motivation did I have?"
Toride smirked, "'cause he's a prick and probably deserves it, that's why."
Hanabi glared at once, and he fell silent. Both of them ignored the glares of their other teammates. "Wrong. On the surface, maybe. He is a prick, after all. But he's still my teammate, and I wouldn't hurt him unless I had no choice. To save his life, I'd cut off a leg. That's about it. With me so far?"
Behind the conversation, Hanabi's eyes could still pick out the growing realization in the other two that she was talking to them while standing sideways on the cliff face above them- but they weren't there yet.
"Instead, how about we look deeper- We could say that the only reason I did it was to prove a point. To teach a lesson- even this one. Could that be right?"
Again, all three agreed quietly.
"Okay, so what's deeper than that?"
Again, it was Kinyue who answered, "You were warning us not to take trust for granted? 'cause you never know who's gonna stab you in the back, right?"
Damn brat. So close, but so damned far.
"No," Hanabi returned with a soft sigh, "but you're close. You should trust your teammates and friends. Yes, they might stab you in the back, might betray you in the worst way- but we're ninja. We're supposed to be able to handle shit like that. The lesson is, don't take shit for granted. It has nothing to do with trust. Just because it looked like I was gonna kill you," eyeing Kenkei severely, "doesn't mean I was going to."
Once she'd seen them all nod, still thinking hard about it, she took the last few steps down and took the taller boy's hands in her own.
"I'm not a pro medic, but I've picked up a few things. I can help you out."
* * *
The squall was getting closer, Hanabi could sense it. The air was electrified, but the clouds hadn't yet solidified. Soon, though- no more than two more hours. Their lunch had been light enough, but examining Kenkei's hands again, she pronounced them strong enough to bear his weight.
"Right then, here's the first part of your cliff training. Your lines are still secure- so go on up."
They each groaned, but only for a moment. A glare sent towards the trio had them up and moving in seconds, leaving Hanabi to secure the few possessions they'd left lying around the ledge against the growing wind.
A few minutes later, she'd had time to watch them each reach the top. When Kinyue, the last up, had called down that she'd made it, Hanabi said, "Come on back down. No resting. You each have to make ten reps up and down each before you can rest."
The wind prevented her from hearing the groans, but she knew full well they were loud. She grinned again.
* * *
The two boys had finished fifteen minutes before Kinyue, she had a full round-trip climb left on them when Toride finished. At first, the two boys couldn't fathom why she was glaring at them with steel in her almost-white eyes. All they knew was that they were becoming more and more uncomfortable as time went by. The wind, the cold rain that had started a few minutes before, those were bad enough- but the disapproving look on their scary sensei's face was the worst by far.
A few minutes later, when Kinyue had dropped, panting, to sit beside Kenkei, Hanabi shouted, "Stand up!"
All three of the Genin jumped.
Yeah, she's a decent kunoichi in one respect, at least. Good reaction time.
"All three of you fail today's lesson. All for different reasons."
"What?!"
"Nani?!"
"But Sensei!"
"Shut up."
Kinyue, still visibly exhausted, looked quite hurt that she'd failed after all her effort, forcing herself to finish that last lap after the other two had started resting.
But the majority of her glares were fixed on the two boys.
"Kinyue, you took too long. No dinner for you. You also have to have first and last watch. Get bundled up now, it's going to be a long night and you need to keep warm- away from the fire."
The girl and her boyfriend both looked mutinous, but both knew better by now than to argue with the Jonin.
"Kenkei, Toride, I'm very disappointed in you. What is the whole purpose of this training trip?"
"Cam- cameraderie?" the taller answered, sharing a questioning look- the first non-hostile one she'd seen between the two- with the other boy.
Hanabi nodded curtly, "So why didn't you stick with your team? Why did you abandon Kinyue on her last run?"
The brunette caught on first, "I... I'm sorry, Sensei. Should I have kept going?"
"No," causing his eyes to widen, "you both should have kept going. Training- no matter what- isn't done until you are all done. That's one of my big rules. A team is only as strong as the weakest member. So if she's taking longer at a task, you do it with her. Encourage, give tips, whatever it takes- but you don't stop until she's caught up. Same goes for her when you're lagging on something. Talent's one thing- if Toride is better at Taijutsu, I don't expect you to be as good as he is. But if he's still training in it, so are you. Make up the gap as much as you can, whenever you can. That's the route to strength in my team. You got it?"
The boys nodded, and she could just hear the subtle shift of cloth over the wind that told her that Kinyue had agreed as well.
"Right, then. Kenkei, you have second watch, Toride, you have third. I'll take fourth- only one hour watches, tonight. You probalby won't get much sleep, anyway."
Tonight's definitely going to teach them to bring tents next time... wish I'd thought to bring my own, damn it all.
A/N: Always, always, remember to review please. :) I can't say I'll stop writing without 'em- that's tacky and dumb. But it does help to keep me going, especially at a good rate. :)
