3
Hinata's POV
The Hyuga was scared. It was normal for her to feel anxiety attacks ever since the Hyuga incident, resulting in the loss of her whole family. But, this.
This was terrifying.
She was smart, albeit a little shy. She worked hard each and every day to become an equal to Naruto's, as a rival of sorts. She trained tirelessly to surpass him, but she felt weak when the shinobi life took over. Competition would be a challenge. She'd sworn to herself that she would avenge her clan. Find and kill the man who killed her whole family.
Even though, deep down inside, she didn't have the guts to kill another. She hated seeing blood. And war. And ninjas dying one by one, like domino pieces. She remembers her grandfather warning her to meditate and drink green tea to calm her nerves. To an extent, it did. But, it wasn't enough to stop her screaming in the middle of night. It didn't stop the spasms she experienced every now and then.
It didn't stop her insecurity. She was alone, and had been lonely as a child. Nearby villagers shot her looks of pity because the was the last of the Hyugas. She hated it all. They never understood the pain of losing the people she loved. They weren't shinobis. They were just elders who didn't know any better.
It hurt.
After a few years, she met someone who knew pain. Who had no family, no friends, no anything. His name was Naruto.
She stalked him, day in, night out. It became an obsession. But, there was something so fascinating about a sad boy who fooled everyone with a smile and a mask. Why didn't she know this before? Somehow, she felt content. She was the only one, besides Naruto, who knew that about him. She sort of felt...special, in a way.
Hinata sighs fondly at the memory of the beginning of their friendship. She was by the docks, watching the water, trying to combine those elements into a jutsu. And she almost succeeded, too, if a certain blonde had popped out of nowhere. "N - Naruto-kun!" she growled in surprise, curling herself into a ball. He laughs, scratching his sheepishly. "Neh, neh. Sorry, Hinata. Just kinda curious is all," he opens his mouth and closes it, as if he wants to add on, but stops, "So, uh. Yeah. Bye!"
At that, he's left at the speed of light.
Hinata remembered hating him after the incident. But, now that they were on the same team...
...things could get interesting.
"15 minutes left!" Mighty Gai's clone calls, and looks at the remaining two shinobi. "Ah, Hinata and Naruto. My little heroes. Shouldn't you be hiding with Sasuke?" Hinata gulped, exchanging a look with Naruto. She crosses her fingers and hopes for the best. "I'm with Naruto-kun," she says with a brave face, "and...wait." She activated her Byakugan. It was a fake.
"Liar! Naruto-kun," she spins around and looks at Naruto, bravely. "that's not the real Mighty Gai! We have to catch him!" He nods in agreement, and they scout the area, looking for something that even looks remotely suspicious. And yet, nothing out of the ordinary.
Sasuke, feeling left out, sneaks around and hops tree to tree. He hears something behind him.
"Got you, young one."
He screams and is knocked out (and would be put under an Infinite Tsukuyomi, or a genjutsu, if his sensei was a certain Sharingan-user. But, no. Instead the Sakura-reversed role known as Sasuke is knocked out by a 'Thousand Years of Death' by yours truly, Mighty Gai. Good times, good times.)
Hinata didn't do much better in the trapped department. In fact, Mighty Guy had her stuck underground. Only her head popped out and she was completely hopeless.
Meanwhile...
"This is crazy!" Iruka says, snapping his book shut. "None of the other teams have a task so excessive! Much less, something like this? How will the genin team pass?"
"It is true. But, Gai-sensei wants to see them shine, see what they're capable of as a team. That's the whole reason why he's one upped the standards of the bell test. That's why his teams before have failed multiple times in the past. They only had one goal in mind at the time, and they only worked for themselves. They need teamwork, and that is why he's doing this. I trust my life on him."
"I - if you say so, Lord Hokage."
All that was left was Naruto. And he was wet, from the clones tossing him aside to the water. He coughed water out, and was completely drenched. Somehow, he found himself standing up even after all that, and wiped his mouth with a determined look on his face.
And he was summoning clones all around him and throwing them at what looked like to be Mighty Gai. But, then out of nowhere, it turned into a log. From what Hinata could see, it was a replacement jutsu. She blushed, she wished she could help her childhood friend - and rival -somehow.
"Just gimme the bells, already!" he growled, trying to snatch it away, but the speedy shinobi was way too fast for his own good.
"The day you do taijutsu is the day I will hand it over gladly," mused Mighty Gai, enjoying playing with this...silly youth. Naruto's nostrils flared. He had had enough of this sensei. He'd show him! He aimed a punched, but the Mighty Gai leaped into the air, pounding him down into the ground again. His head hurt. Holding a hand to it, he threw some kunai he had saved up money for, but even that was avoided. It seemed Mighty Gai was not a force to be wreckoned with. "Is that all you go, lad? You must prove your worth to me, with your fists or with your jutsus! A true ninja does not dilly dally!" He tuts.
Naruto grunts; he knew THAT already. It's not like he was twiddling his thumbs all day and burying his head in the sand. He KNEW what to expect the ninja world to be like. Experiencing it for himself was another. "Maa, maa, I'm trying!" he snaps in frustration, trying to kick or even punch, but each one was evaded. Damn teacher.
"NARUTO! To your right!" He turns around and sees Hinata calling to him from a distance. He smiles, relieved. He punched the real Mighty Gai, and grabbed the bell. But, once he did...
...he was tied up upside down. Drats.
Third POV (not Naruto's, Gai's, Hinata's, nor Sasuke's)
"All of you failed!" Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto sputtered in shock. "N - no way! But, we worked so hard to get here!
"He's right. W - we did o - our very best? C - can't you see that? W - we weren't t - that bad!" She squeaks, trying to regain her strength.
"I agree," Sasuke says, glaring at his appointed jounin. "That was uncalled for."
"That'll teach you, you wee lass~!" Mighty Gai says in a singsong voice, patting the blonde on the head with a smile. Naruto wailed about, trying to wriggle his way out. "SENSEI! Lemme go! And, I'm not a girl! I'm a guy!" Everyone else was already freed from their traps. Now, it was only Naruto left.
And he was not happy. At all.
"H - here, Naruto-kun." Hinata says shyly, handing him a bento. Sasuke does the same, not wanting to feel left out once again. 'Why do I always feel like the third wheel here?' He asks himself, glaring at Naruto and Hinata. 'I swear, those two lovebirds...'
"Hn. That's a good idea," Sasuke offers an onigiri to Naruto with a blush evident on his face, but trying to hide his embarassment. Not that he cared or anything about the baka. Pfft.
"Now, now, you three. The point of the exercise was not to share your food with him. And your teamwork as heroes was...lacking at times. However," He held up a finger, and wiggled his bushy brows. He claps his hands together. "You have exceeded at working together! As I have seen, you did not hesitate to help out your teammate when he was in need! You've won the day, my friends! We're official, now!"
And, they were.
