Geniuses of Hard Work

Daily Routine

To say Naruto was pissed off again would've been an understatement.

Naruto was not out in the world saving princesses or fighting giant monsters.

No, instead Naruto was in his home village, walking dogs. Some ninja mission this was. Naruto hated dogs. Not that they seemed to like him either. Thankfully they were almost back to the Inuzuka's. When their house came into sight Naruto was reminded of when they first got there.

Naruto had been surprised when it was Kiba who had greeted them that morning. Although Kiba looked just as surprised.

"What are you guys doing here, and who the hell are the two weirdos in spandex?" Kiba had asked Naruto and Hinata but it was Guy who answered.

"Ah, a classmate of Naruto and Hinata. It is a pleasure to make your youthful acquaintance. I am Might Guy, I am Naruto and Hinata's Jonin Sensei. This here is Rock Lee and he is their fellow teammate." Kiba had to cover his ears. Sometimes having enhanced hearing was a pain.

"Is he always like this?" Kiba seethed.

"You have no idea." Naruto whispered back.

"Umm…w-we are here to walk your dogs. It is the mission assigned to us." Kiba turned to Hinata as she spoke.

"Man, one quiet girl with three loud guys. Whatever, follow me. I'll lead you to my mom, she's in charge of all that stuff." Kiba stepped inside followed by Team Guy.

The first thing Naruto noticed as he stepped in was the smell. It smelled like a hundred dogs lived there. Naruto didn't know how right he was until a dozen came running out of an adjoining room. They were barking wildly and Naruto took a nervous step back.

"Hey, hey, down! Come on guys, what's wrong? Sit!" Kiba barked out orders to his dogs before turning around and giving the team an apologetic smile. "They aren't usually like this. Sorry, I don't know what's gotten into them."

"They smell the boy." Tsume, Kiba's mom, answered as she also walked into the room. She was staring straight at Naruto.

"Who, me? Why should they be mad at me?" Naruto looked peevishly down at the dogs.

"You just have an odd smell about you is all." Tsume waved Naruto's question off. "Now, here are all the leashes." She threw a bundle of them which Lee caught. "They need to go all around the village. Make sure that if they poop, you pick it up, and try not to let them attack anyone, including your orange teammate there." Tsume was again looking at Naruto and he wasn't sure he liked the look on her face.

He was pulled out of his recollection by Guy's loud knock on the door. "Inuzuka-san! We have returned from our youthful mission with our flames burning even more brightly than when we started!" The door flew open quickly. It was Kiba again. He gave a meaningful look to Naruto.

"Does this Sensei of yours have a volume switch?" When Naruto shook his head Kiba scoffed. "Anyway, show yourselves in, I was just leaving to meet with my team. Maybe we'll get an awesome mission. I hope we get to save a princess." Kiba was now walking off. Naruto couldn't help but feel a little sad for the boy who was about to have his dreams crushed.

"You guys wait here. I will go in and get this stamped and we'll be on our way for the next mission." Guy went inside, followed by the herd of dogs. After just a few moments he came back out. "Okay team, let's have a quick lunch and then get back to the Hokage tower for our next mission. Guy whipped out eight ration bars and handed them out. "Two for each of us. Eat up!"

Naruto blanched as he crunched into his. "What the hell kind of lunch is this? How can these things possibly be filling?"

"Ah, Naruto, you have much to learn." Guy was in lecture mode now. "These bars contain all the essential nutrients to keep the body going through a day of hard work. They are important in our diet and are the main food of shinobi on missions. So you better get used to the taste!"

Naruto didn't like it but he ate it anyways. Guy-sensei had yet to be wrong. Soon they were off towards the tower again.

At first Lee couldn't place the uncomfortable feeling he had been getting. The whole walk with the dogs and now to the Hokage tower it felt like everyone in the village was glaring at him. Lee couldn't understand why they would glare at him so he followed their eyes and realized it was Naruto.

The entire village was shooting Naruto dirty looks.

Lee couldn't fathom why they would be so mad at him though. According to Hinata, Naruto had pulled a few pranks. They couldn't have been bad enough to piss off the whole village though, right? Guy-sensei definitely didn't hate him. So he couldn't be all bad.

As they walked into the Hokage's office, Lee turned his thoughts away from his teammate to listen to the Hokage give them their next mission.

"Excellent," The Hokage smiled at the team. "Here is your pay for this mission, for your next mission I would like you to assist the Ikoma's with moving. They have all their boxes packed but just need them and their furniture moved across the village." As the Hokage spoke he passed out their pay.

Naruto made a grunt of displeasure but otherwise remained silent. Guy-sensei had explained to them the point of the missions, how they developed teamwork and were a great way to make quick pay. He had also thrown in that they were stuck with them for two weeks thanks to their team arrangement. Lee couldn't complain. Sure, he didn't like the boring missions but they left it easy to stay in the village to have training time.

As they set off to do their next mission, they started walking as they normally did. Guy-sensei and himself were in the front with Naruto just barely behind them. The orange-clad boy had stepped on Lee's sandals a couple times he was so close. Hinata held a good distance back.

"Hey Sensei, what do we gotta do to get off of this two week of D-ranks?" Naruto jogged up to the other side of their Sensei to ask the question. Taking this opportunity, Lee noticeably fell back and started walking with Hinata. She just glanced at him curiously.

Lee spoke quietly. "Have you noticed the looks Naruto has been getting?" Hinata nodded. "Well, do you know what is up with that, you had mentioned about him pulling pranks but were they really that bad?"

Hinata shook her head again before speaking up. "A-as far as I know, Naruto-kun has received these looks since before he pulled even his first prank." Hinata looked suspiciously at the people who walked by as they talked. "E-even my own family forbade me from talking to him, they said he was dangerous."

Lee frowned "Dangerous how?"

"What's dangerous?" Lee and Hinata both jumped. The topic of their conversation was now walking backwards right in front of them. He gave them a weird look before Lee managed to jumble out an excuse.

"W-well, C-rank missions. Hinata here had been questioning what they were like and they are dangerous, you know?" Lee gave a nervous chuckle.

"Guy-sensei just said the same thing. But I think we can handle them no problem. After all, I'm gonna be Hokage!" Lee gave a sigh of relief, Naruto had accepted his excuse easily enough. He didn't know why, but he didn't feel like bringing it up with him. Lee doubted it would've made him comfortable. Naruto appeared oblivious to the looks, but Lee was almost sure it was a farce.

Naruto walked with them the rest of the way, asking Lee questions about the kind of missions he had been on and if he had ever saved a princess. Lee answered the best he could but he was distracted now. How could Naruto be dangerous? It didn't make sense. Once he could talk more with Hinata he might have more insight. He would just have to wait. They were here.

"Ikoma-san! We are here to help you move!" Guy screamed at the building. A confused looking elderly couple stepped out of the building. When they saw the leaf symbol on Guy's belt, recognition dawned on their faces.

"Ah, yes good. We were wondering when the Hokage would send you shinobi. We would appreciate it if you would get started right away." The husband said.

"Right, you guys heard them, get to work." Lee watched Naruto nod excitedly and start to form the ram seal. "No clones, Naruto. You can't improve if you rely on them all the time." Naruto frowned at his Sensei's words but nodded. This act pulled the couples attention to Naruto though.

"What is that doing here?" The elderly woman practically spat. "I don't want him anywhere near my possessions. That little...thing...will rob us blind!" Lee turned quickly to Hinata and saw her glance at him quick too, then they both turned to Naruto to see his reaction. To Lee's surprise it wasn't anger. It wasn't even sadness. What Lee saw was much more confusing than that. What Lee saw in Naruto was fear. But what was he afraid of?

"I assure you, Naruto is no thief. He is a ninja of the leaf and is sworn to protect its citizens and everything they own." Guy set his hand on Naruto's shoulder. Lee noticed Naruto visibly relax at the touch. Guy-sensei was amazing. "Of course, if you are still uncomfortable with my team then we can head back." The women started to nod. "I'm sure the Hokage will understand when I tell him that you decided to reach into your lingering youth and move everything without the aide of shinobi."

The woman started to sputter at that. "What, but, you can't do that." She screeched.

"I fail to see why not, after all, if my team of youthful ninja isn't right for the job, I couldn't possibly see any other ninja to be bothered with this assignment."

The woman was about to say something again before her husband interrupted. "We would be honored if you young ones would help us. Just keep an eye on your student. You know? To put my wife at ease."

"Of course." Guy said in clipped voice. The old man gave Naruto a little glare before he let them in.

Lee was even more curious now. The more that happened the more badly he felt he had to hear what Hinata had to say. It might be nothing but any little bit of information was welcome at this point. This outright hostility was not the result of pranks.

Alas, he had no time. Between the four of them moving boxes and furniture at their own paces he rarely saw Hinata during the time of the whole mission. That didn't stop him from trying to talk with their employers though.

Coming back from just doing a stack of boxes Lee met the elderly man at the door. "I was wondering," Lee hoped this was coming off casually. "I did not know that my teammate had stolen things from people before, where have you heard such things?"

The old man scoffed. "Heard such things? You don't need to have heard them to know he's done it. The brat's a demon. They do worse than just steal."

Lee was confused but tried not to show it. He had to hold a look of just casual interest. "I am sorry, I am afraid I do not understand what you mean by demon?" The old man seemed to be considering his answer. Like he was nervous of saying the wrong thing.

How strange.

Unfortunately for Lee, he was interrupted.

"Lee, this is no time for breaks. Let your fire burn brightly and transport with all your might!" Guy-sensei was running towards them on a handstand.

"Yes Guy-sensei! I apologize for slacking off while the rest of you are working so hard! I will lift four times the amount I had been before as punishment!" Lee dashed inside and quickly stacked four boxes in each arm and started running to the other end of town.

'Darn, I was about to find out something big too, I know it!' Lee silently cursed to himself. It didn't matter though. There would be more chances, there were a lot of boxes after all. However, to Lee's annoyance there weren't anymore chances. It was like Guy-sensei was following him now. Almost like Sensei knew he was asking things he probably shouldn't be. But surely Sensei couldn't have known that. Guy-sensei wasn't really that all-knowing.

Right?

Soon enough the mission was over. The couple thanked them, although Lee doubted they meant Naruto, judging by the final glare they gave him. Now they were on their way back to the tower. As they were walking Guy started talking.

"It appears to be about three o'clock. We will go collect our reward but stop missions here for today. I would like to treat you all to some lunch before continuing our training!" Naruto began to say something but Guy quickly cut him off. "No ramen, you need to eat more than that." Naruto didn't respond but dropped his head in defeat. He was too predictable at times.

He stayed quiet the whole way to the Hokage's office, where they received their money.

"So, Lee-kun, tell me how you like your new teammates, I do hope you are getting along well with them." The Hokage's question caught Lee off guard.

"Their flames burn very brightly Hokage-sama! I am honored to work with them." Lee bowed as he spoke.

The Hokage laughed and waved his bow off. "No need for that dear boy. I am curious though? Are you upset having lost your old teammates?"

Lee thought before answering. "I have not lost them, Hokage-sama, I can still see them and hopefully I shall get to do more missions with them sometime." The Hokage seemed pleased with his answer.

"That's the spirit, Guy has trained you well, I look forward to seeing you all again bright and early tomorrow morning." The Hokage dismissed them.

The team exited the tower and began following Guy as he led them through the bustling streets of Konoha. During this time Lee had hoped to talk with Hinata about what she had meant earlier. Only to be thwarted again by Naruto who fell back into line with him.

"Heh, isn't this great! A free meal, too bad it isn't ramen though." Naruto's huge smile looked awfully fake to Lee now that he was this close.

Lee glanced quickly around to see the ever-present glares before responding. "Yosh! Free food is fantastic! I cannot think of the last time that Guy-sensei felt so inclined to treat me out to eat! He says my stomach is far too full of youth for his wallet to handle!" Naruto and Lee continued to converse about food with an embarrassed Hinata in the middle.

Suddenly her stomach growled. Hinata gave a small "eep" If her face had been red before it was absolutely glowing now. "I-I'm s-sorry. I d-"

She was interrupted by Naruto's laugh. "Guess you're really hungry too. Guy-sensei is in for it tonight!" Naruto's smile seemed a little more loose and honest as he spoke.

Just as Lee thought this, Guy spoke up, "We have arrived! Let us enter and dine to our hearts content!" Naruto and Lee grabbed Hinata and dashed inside followed by their laughing Sensei.

Their excitement was cut abruptly short. When the genin ran in they could practically feel the tension in the restaurant. The fact that the whole place got silent very quickly didn't help. It didn't take anyone on the team long to figure out why. Guy was standing silently behind them now. A waiter emerged from the back and quickly approached them, sweating profusely.

"I-I'm sorry to inform you Guy-san, but we are booked full right now." The waiter mumbled nervously.

Guy glanced at all the empty tables around the restaurant. His students were watching him for his reaction. Unfortunately, Guy didn't see much he could do besides leave. Calling the waiter out on his obvious lie would only cause problems. "I see. Then we shall be sure to take our business elsewhere."

Lee had had enough. Naruto was getting treated like garbage everywhere they went. He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve any ill-will at all for that matter. In short, this was bullshit. Lee was about to vocalize these thoughts when Hinata surprised them all.

"You're all despicable." She had spoken quietly but due to the silence in the restaurant, there was no doubt they all heard her. Her head had been turned down when she first spoke but now she lifted it. The waiter gave a controlled yelp and jumped back. The sight of Hinata's active Byakugan apparently had unnerved him. "I'll make it known to the rest of my family the gravity of this insult. They shall see to it that you are out of business."

Hinata knew this was an empty threat. She actually had very little sway within her family. But they didn't know that. Her unmarked head clearly marked her as main branch and to her silent pride, she actually kind of sounded like a heiress for once in her life. She found if it was for Naruto, she could do almost anything.

Besides, once word of what she said got around, more than enough people would probably avoid the restaurant anyways. So they might go out of business without her clan's interference. The waiter seemed about ready to sputter out a response but Hinata didn't even want to hear it. She turned on her heel and left the restaurant, the rest of her team in tow.

"Wow, she is scary when she is mad." Lee whispered to Naruto.

Naruto could only nod dumbly to Lee's words. He was so stupefied by Hinata's reaction he had completely forgot why it was necessary in the first place. It seemed all women were scary as hell when pissed to him.

Guy was for once in his life torn. While he didn't want to see the restaurant that served such delicious food go out of business, they definitely deserved it. No one treated his students that way with him around. He had made that clear while on their second mission. But Hinata's reaction had in a strange way almost made it worth it, the passionate flames that were flying off of her were tremendous. Guy could have cried. He just hoped it wouldn't take another incident like this to pull them back out.

As they walked out Hinata began to realize what she really just did. How could she have done that to Guy-sensei, to Lee, and most importantly, to Naruto. She had definitely just ruined the rest of the day. She turned around to apologize but was met with what appeared to be hesitant looks from her teammates. That couldn't be good.

She began to bow but Guy cleared his throat. "No apology is needed, what you did was definitely within your bounds as a teammate. So how about some ramen?" Guy felt he had to change the subject. Surely Naruto would be happy at the thought of ramen. In fact, if Naruto had been upset at all he didn't show it. At the word ramen, Naruto started jumping around before he grabbed Hinata and Lee by the hands and started pulling them off to his favorite stand. Guy allowed a small grin. The wonders of youth.

Naruto was actually quite relieved. He had expected his teammates to ask by now about the looks he was being given. He wasn't that unobservant. He saw them glance at the other citizens. He knew they saw the glares. When that old hag had called him a menace he had been afraid they would ask about that too. How was he supposed to explain that one? Now this restaurant crap. He really had expected a "Hey, what's up?" but instead his teammates got angry for him and were now trying to cheer him up. It made him feel oddly warm inside. He knew they were curious, but as long as they didn't ask he was okay. He could always just blame it on pranks if they did ask though.

"And here we are, the greatest ramen stand in all of the Fire Country!" Naruto stood looking at his team, both hands gestured to the stand.

"Naruto! You make an old man's heart warm!" Lee looked over Naruto to see an elderly looking man smiling brightly at them. "Well, come have a seat and introduce me to these friends of yours!"

Naruto nodded "Come on guys, over here." He ran over and plopped himself on the far right seat. Lee sat next to him, Guy next to him and Hinata on the far left. "Alright guys, this old man is Teuchi, the owner of the stand. That girl over there is Ayame-neechan." Naruto gestured to a slightly older girl as she came into view from behind the stand.

"Old man, Ayame-neechan. These are my teammates, Lee and Hinata, and this is my new teacher, Guy-sensei." Naruto gestured to the left as he talked.

"It's nice to meet you all." Teuchi greeted. "Naruto here is our best customer, any friend of his is welcome here anytime."

Lee liked this guy. Finally there was someone who wasn't treating Naruto like scum, but more like family. Guy-sensei seemed to share his sentiments. "Your fires burn most brightly! I see why Naruto comes here so much already. I can only imagine the excellent quality of your noodles!" At the mention of food, three stomachs growled.

The old man laughed. "Sounds like we're making good business tonight. What'll you all have?" The team ordered their food, and then made light conversation as they waited for their noodles. When they got there, everyone dug in. Even Hinata seemed to eat with a distinct haste.

As they started to get done, Guy cleared his throat. When he was sure he had his students' attention, he began talking. "I wanted to discuss what you can expect us to be doing for the next couple of weeks." All of his students nodded. "As you know, we start practice at five in the morning. We train for three hours, or an hour for each rotation. Same as we did this morning. After we have done that, we break for an hour breakfast. Be sure to get your proper nutrients, or you will have a most unyouthful day. At nine we report to the Hokage for missions. Some missions are longer than others so we may only do a couple a day. Between missions we should have another meal, but not a big one, we have to be diligent. Those ration bars work just fine. We will end missions as close to four as possible. After which we will eat as we are now."

"So, what do we do after this?" Naruto asked.

"We train some more!" Guy answered, "Now run back off to where we met this morning, I will take care of the bill. If you are not there before me you will all run five hundred laps around Konoha!" Guy stood up and pulled out his wallet and his students were gone in a flash. The ramen stand owner started cracking up.

"You sure are an interesting fellow. But then again, Naruto is an interesting kid so I suppose it's only natural."

"That he is! His fire burns more brightly than most, despite all that he's been through. I offer my thanks to you for helping him out."

"I couldn't turn my back on him, he's a good kid." The old man waved off Guy's thanks. "Just do me a favor and make sure that he and his teammates become fantastic shinobi."

Guy smiled. "Of course, I wouldn't settle for anything less. Now if you'll excuse me, I can't give them too much of a head start. I wasn't joking about those laps." Guy disappeared, leaving a laughing Teuchi.

Fortunately for the Genin they got there just before their speedy Sensei. "Good, good. I see you are improving all ready." Guy beamed at Naruto and a panting Hinata. "Now on to training!"

"Yes, so what kind of training is this, some awesome taijutsu killing moves?" Naruto guessed.

It was Lee who answered. "It is better than that."

"Better? What's better, Ninjutsu?" Naruto couldn't think of anything else better than learning sweet new moves.

"No, physical exercise!" Lee pumped his fists in the air. "There is nothing better than doing ten thousand push-ups, followed by five thousand sit-ups, and then one hundred laps around the leaf village as a cool down!"

Naruto's mouth hit the ground. "What kinda work out is that?" It sounds like suicide!" He couldn't fathom doing all that and still being done while it was light out. Then it hit him that they may well be out until midnight. "Wait, how long are we doing this for?"

"Only until seven." Guy answered. "It is almost five now. I won't start you at what I'm having Lee doing but I expect you to progress fast. This work-out is the best way to strengthen your muscles and it puts those weights I gave you to the real test! Now, Lee, I like what you suggested, get started!"

"Yes Sensei, if I cannot finish in the allotted time I will do ten thousand more push-ups with one hand and a boulder on my back!" Lee leapt down and began doing push-ups at a rate that made Naruto sweat just looking at him.

"Great thinking Lee! Let your fires of youth scorch the sky!" Guy gave Lee the thumbs up.

"Is it just me or does their crazy behavior just become that much crazier when we train?" Naruto whispered to Hinata.

She tried to suppress a giggle but it slipped out. Her face burned brightly again but Guy-sensei didn't give her long to think about that.

"For today, I am just going to have you do random exercises for a set amount of time. This is so I can get an idea of your limits and then I will know how far to push you in the coming days. Let's take after Lee and start with push-ups." Naruto and Hinata spent the next hour doing all sorts of things, ranging from jumping-jacks to running around the clearing on their hands, something that proved very difficult for Naruto.

Soon though the two hours was nearly done so Naruto and Hinata collapsed to the ground as they waited for Lee to finish his laps. Even Naruto's seemingly endless stamina had shown its limits during their intense work-out. Hinata didn't even have the strength to be embarrassed from her close proximity to Naruto.

"You have done well. You would do even better to rest up tonight, for tomorrow will be just as rigorous." Guy started to lecture just as they heard Lee's panting as he slowly jogged into the clearing. Lee collapsed next to his teammates.

"I-I have finished t-the assigned task, Guy-sensei!" Lee got out between gasps. He gave a lazy salute which Guy returned with full vigor.

"Excellent job Lee! I am sorry I did not join you today but now that they are set I will be sure to engage fully in the training myself tomorrow. For now, go home and rest. That goes for all of you!" Guy disappeared in a swirl of leaves, to where, the Genins could only guess.

"Well, I shall see you both early tomorrow then." Lee staggered to his feet and was about to leave when Naruto called out to him.

"Hey, wait, Bushy Brow." Naruto stood up and brushed himself off. "Hinata and I were gonna go shopping for something green, you know, we think Guy-sensei might appreciate it. You could come with us, it'll be fun. Right, Hinata?"

"Y-yes!" While Hinata said this she inwardly hoped Lee declined. She liked Lee but she had been hoping it would just be Naruto and her. While she knew she lacked the courage to actually do anything and it would have been embarrassing she would have been able to at least pretend it was a date.

Lee thought about it. This was actually a good opportunity. He had yet to finish his conversation with Hinata and he needed to bond with them outside of training he supposed.

"Alright, I will happily accompany you on your venture for new clothes. With you two also in green, we will become the Leaf's Green Ninja Team!" Lee said much to Hinata's disappointment. Not that she showed it and neither boy took notice.

"Awesome, let's get going!" Naruto already seemed to be recovered from the two hours of brutal training. Lee and Hinata tiredly followed after him.

Guy was pacing inside the Hokage's office. Some of the things he'd seen today greatly disturbed him. He just had to figure out how to voice his thoughts to the Hokage himself.

Said old man looked greatly disturbed. It took a lot to get Guy to get like this. He hadn't seen it in years himself. He had a good idea what the source of his inner turmoil was though. It had to be Naruto. The Hokage sighed. Might as well get it over with. "You can speak freely, Guy. It is apparent things have disturbed you today, tell me what they are." It was an order

Guy stopped pacing and straightened. "It's about, Naruto." The Hokage grimaced. Sometimes being wise had its downfalls. One was being right when you didn't want to be. "The treatment the boy gets is down right unforgivable. He keeps them safe every day of his life and they call him a demon, accuse him of things he has never done, and bar him from their establishments."

The Hokage sighed again. He always felt more his age when the boy's treatment was brought up. "Tell me exactly what happened. Start from the beginning." And so Guy did. He recounted everything from their missions, to the glares, and finally what had happened at the restaurant. After each telling the Hokage sunk lower into his chair. He seemed to have overlooked so much. When Guy finished the Hokage sat up straight again. "I have missed so much concerning the boy. How is he doing? What of the reactions of his teammates?"

"The boy just goes on smiling. I would never guess something was wrong if I wasn't there myself to witness everything. He hides it so well. I take comfort in saying I am most proud of all my students. The others have not questioned him but they are definitely on to something. Yet they have asked him nothing and instead already treat him like a friend. While this is to be expected of my Lee, it warms my heart to see a kind Hyuga." Guy smiled slightly at the end.

The Hokage could not return his smile though. "Maybe, it would be best if we brought them in and informed them of what-"

"No!" The Hokage looked at Guy curiously. It was not often anyone interrupted him anymore. Especially to refuse a suggestion from him. Guy seemed to realize this but held his ground. "Forgive me Hokage-sama, but I feel Naruto has to tell them himself. That is the only way for him to feel that they truly accept him. If we go behind his back and tell them he will never be able to open his heart up to them. Please leave it to them." Guy was practically begging now.

The Hokage looked at Guy awhile longer before nodding. "I understand, thank you for your report Guy. I hope to hear more in the future. Perhaps some with more good news. Dismissed." Guy nodded and left out the door. When he left the Hokage took a long drag on his pipe. He had a lot to think about tonight.

Meanwhile, Guy's team was again walking through the busy streets of Konoha. Naruto was still in the lead, Lee and Hinata following closely behind him. Suddenly Naruto stopped hard. Lee bumped into him.

"What gives, Naruto?" Lee backed up slightly to give Naruto his space. Naruto himself, turned around and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Well, you see, I just realized, I don't know where we're going." Naruto gave a small chuckle. Lee sighed. He should have figured.

"Well, where do you normally buy your clothes?" Lee regretted the question. Naruto's eyes lowered to the ground and his smile faded. But his smile quickly returned and Lee almost thought he imagined it.

"Well, I've never actually been clothes shopping." The grin plastered on Naruto's face made Lee feel sick.

"B-but where did you get your orange jumpsuit." Hinata squeaked out. Lee suddenly had a bad feeling about the answer they were going to get.

"Yeah, one of our old instructors gave this to me. It was super nice of him, huh?" Naruto just kept smiling, oblivious to the look Lee and Hinata now gave each other. Lee realized Hinata had come to the same conclusion as him. Someone had intended to get Naruto killed on a mission. Orange wasn't exactly a stealthy color after all. It wouldn't have surprised Lee if it was the same instructor that taught Naruto his taijutsu.

"W-well, I know of a good shop to get ninja clothes. G-green shouldn't be hard to find there." Hinata was upset. How could so many people be so mean to Naruto? She was definitely going to make sure he didn't have to suffer anymore. She just needed to find the courage to make good on her silent promise.

So, with Hinata now in the lead the team was off again. Soon they entered a clothing store, just a block away from where they had been. As they walked around, Hinata noticed Lee grab a couple items, run up and buy them. He then went running to where Naruto was to help him choose. Hinata couldn't help but be curious as to what Lee had just purchased. She supposed she would find out soon though.

Soon she was ready. She had found a nice hooded-sweatshirt. It was striped green and gray horizontally and was just a little big for her, just the way she wanted. She also found some pants that were a dull green but seemed to fit her well so she grabbed a few pair of those too. She was now outside of the changing room with Lee waiting for Naruto.

Soon the boy stepped out with camouflage pants and a jumpsuit just as green as what Lee was wearing at the moment. She also noticed an orange tee-shirt underneath, but what was Naruto without a little bit of orange? Lee gave him the thumbs-up and Hinata nodded her acceptance as he peered at them inquisitively. He smiled at their reactions, went back in and reemerged with his orange attire back on.

"I-I'll take all the clothes and you can just give me your pay." Hinata offered sticking her hand out. In reality, she just didn't want them to do anything to him. The way he was treated she wouldn't be surprised if they charged him double.

"Nah, that's okay, I can do it." Naruto held his clothes protectively. "I'm totally capable of doing this by myself." It appeared he had misunderstood her intentions. Hinata gave a pleading look to Lee who seemed to catch on.

"Come on, Naruto, let her handle it. Do you not know how much women love to shop? Just buying the product is another part to that experience!" Naruto started to nod slowly as Lee took his clothes and handed them to Hinata.

"I suppose that makes sense, thanks Hinata." Naruto handed her the money and Lee led them out of the store. Hinata went and paid for everything without incident. But when she walked outside she didn't immediately see her teammates. For just a second she got depressed and thought that maybe they ditched her. That is, until she heard them.

"Psst, Hinata quickly over this way!" She heard Naruto's not so quiet whisper and turned to see both him and Lee hiding behind a nearby sign. She walked over curiously.

"Umm, what are you guys doing?" Naruto and Lee both turned to her and maybe a "shh" noise before turning their attention back to the store across the street. Hinata looked over but didn't see anything in particular. Not until Haruno Sakura walked out of a building anyway.

"Sakura-chan…" Both Genin were practically drooling, their eyes had a strange glow about them. Suddenly they both seemed to realize the other was staring as well. "Wait, you know Sakura-chan? Of course I know her, she's mine." Their mimicry of each other almost seemed rehearsed and would have made Hinata laugh if she didn't feel like her heart was crumbling apart. Sure she knew of Naruto's crush on Sakura, but it still hurt whenever he looked at her that way. If only he would give her a glance like that. Even just once.

"This can only be settled one way," Lee declared, no longer trying to be quiet. "Jenken!"

"How is that supposed to solve anything?" Naruto apparently gave up on being quiet too.

"Simple, the loser must give up on Sakura-chan and must help the winner get a girlfriend. What do you say?"

"I say let's do this!" Naruto and Lee assumed their 'ready' positions. Hinata knew it was a terrible thought but she just couldn't help but pray that Lee won.

"Okay, ready?" Lee asked. Naruto nodded.

"Rock."

"Paper."

"Scissors."

"Shoot!"

Lee threw rock.

Naruto threw scissors.

"Yosh! Sakura-chan is mine!" Lee jumped in the air.

"Best two of three." Lee fell hard to the ground.

"What?" He shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Naruto.

"I thought that was how we were doing it. That's how it's always done."

"Fine!" Lee stood up and they both got back into position.

"Rock."

"Paper."

"Scissors."

"Shoot!"

Lee again threw rock…

...and Naruto again threw scissors.

"Best three of five."

"Umm…she's walking away." Hinata interrupted their game as she watched Sakura walk down the street. She was also just trying to get Naruto to give up, not that she would ever admit it.

"Right, sorry Naruto but time is up! I look forward to your assistance in getting me a girlfriend!" Lee bowed low before looking expectantly at Naruto.

Naruto seemed to be in an internal struggle for just a second. "Damn, fine but let's hurry, we gotta catch up to her!" Naruto started running down the street. Lee was quick to be after him. A relieved and slightly happy Hinata trailed behind them both.

Naruto didn't like to admit it but maybe it was time he did give up on Sakura. After all, he had teammates now. They actually didn't treat him like dirt. They were even quickly becoming what he figured you would call friends. And if his friend wanted a date with Sakura than he would be damned if he didn't get it for him!

With this in mind he called out to her "Sakura-chan!" She stopped short. He noticed her shoulders go rigid but she turned around all the same. At least she didn't jolt on them. That would have made things complicated. As they ran up Naruto gave a nervous wave but then paused. Crap, he didn't come up with a plan at all. Time to wing it.

"What do you want, idiot?" Sakura was pissed. She had just bought more perfume to impress Sasuke but instead of her dream boy showing up, the class clown came running up instead. If he asked her out again she would have to beat his brains out, again.

"Hey, I, uhh, I wanted to introduce you to my teammates." Naruto started lamely, scratching the back of his head.

"I already know them, Naruto, I was in your class." Naruto gulped. Yep, she was short on patience.

"Well, yeah, you know Hinata of course," Naruto gestured to his female teammate. "but I doubt you know this handsome stud! This is Rock Lee. He graduated the year before us and he is one kick ass Taijutsu expert." Naruto built Lee up.

Sakura had wanted to ask why they were paired up with a Genin a year ahead of them, but her question was blown from her mind when she saw the so-called "stud". The boy had the most atrocious clothes she had ever seen in her life. His eye-brows were thicker than should have been possible, not to mention his bowl-cut was so out of style she almost cried. The worst yet was the creepily bright smile and thumbs-up he was giving her. That damned idiot Naruto was making fun of her. If this was some kind of revenge for her rejecting him all the time he was dead. It didn't matter, he was dead anyway she decided.

Lee couldn't think of what to say. His mind froze now that they were so close to her. She was staring, that had to be good. Now if he could get himself to drop the thumbs-up and talk to her he would be good. He never got the chance. Sakura suddenly sent a fist down on Naruto's head.

"Naruto, you idiot! What kind of joke is this? You're retarded and will never be funny, cool, or smart! Just get outta my life!" As she spoke she wailed on Naruto. Hinata just watched in mute horror as she saw Naruto get his typical beating from Sakura. Meanwhile, Lee, who'd never witnessed this before, couldn't bring himself to watch anymore. He was about to intervene when she stopped, looked up and ran past them, all the while screaming, "Sasuke-kun!" Lee was so surprised by the sudden change in her demeanor he turned to see who she ran after.

Lee grew wide-eyed and his heart stopped for a fraction of a second. Sakura had run after who Lee could only assume was the last surviving Uchiha. But that wasn't who he was looking at. Walking on either side of Sasuke were his old teammates, Neji and Tenten. He was pulled out of his shock by Naruto.

"Sorry, Bushy Brow, with that bastard Sasuke around it is gonna be hard to get her, but don't worry, I'll make Sakura yours." Naruto seemed totally unfazed by his beating. Maybe a little heartbroken, but physically, it looked like she never touch him. "But man, she sure does pack a punch still, almost like old times." Lee couldn't believe it, this was commonplace? Lee found his infatuation for Sakura dieing quickly. Just as he was thinking this Tenten must have caught sight of them because she was calling out to him. She grabbed Neji and pulled him over. A begrudged Sasuke and ignored Sakura followed.

"Lee, it's so good to see you again." Tenten said as she ran up and gave Lee a hug. "Isn't that right Neji?" She gave her cold teammate a meaningful look.

"Yes, it has been…quiet without you and Guy-sensei. Our new sensei has a knack for being late. Fortunately, we are able to train just fine without him. He spends most of his time on the rookie anyways."

Lee nodded quickly. Coming from Neji, that quiet comment was the closest thing to a compliment Lee had ever received from him. He found himself just a little happy. Naruto cleared his throat and looked at Lee expectantly. "Ah yes, Neji, Tenten, these are my new teammates. The blond one is Uzumaki Naruto and the girl is-"

"Hyuga Hinata-sama." Neji finished coldly, practically spitting out the -sama.

"Neji-nii-san" Hinata said quietly.

"Whoa, he's your brother?" Naruto asked

"Cousins, idiot." Sasuke answered for him. "Not that you'd know anything about clans."

"Watch yourself when talking about clans, Sasuke." Neji gave Sasuke a side-ways glance. "As fate has it, yours isn't around anymore either." Sasuke just glared at Neji. There was nothing he could do to the older Genin and he knew it. Sakura had even gotten quiet from the tension that was beginning to build.

"We'll be taking our leave then." Neji said after a moment of silence settled over the Genin. "It's funny though. Looks like Guy-sensei seems the one to get all the misfit shinobi." With that he walked off. Sasuke followed quickly as did Tenten but not before she gave an apologetic smile to Guy's new team. Sakura of course, ran after them as well, trying to get Sasuke's attention again.

Naruto had been about to set off at Neji and teach him a thing or two but Lee held him back. "I know how you feel, Naruto, but Neji is the reason we must train to become geniuses of hard work. Neji was at the top of my graduating class, just like Sasuke was yours. When we are ready, we will take them on. But that is not until Guy-sensei says we are." Naruto finally seemed to calm down.

"Sorry Bushy Brow," He said panting heavily. "next time, we'll get Sakura for sure."

Lee shook his head. "That is alright, I think I will have you help me with someone else. The way Sakura acted towards that genius has put a bad taste in my mouth."

"So then it's okay for me to go for Sakura-chan again?" Naruto looked slightly hopeful.

"Nope, remember the terms of our agreement was the loser had to give up on Sakura. Just because I do not want her does not mean you can go for her." As Lee was talking he gave Hinata a wink, unnoticed to Naruto. Hinata gave another small "eep" and a blush spread on her face.

Naruto turned to Hinata when she squeaked. "I can't believe that Neji guy is your cousin, Hinata. He's no where near as nice as you are." Hinata's blush got even deeper but she managed to mumble out a small thanks to his compliment. Satisfied, Naruto hefted his bag of clothes over his shoulder. "Well guys, it's getting late. I'm gonna head home. We have a long day tomorrow after all."

Lee nodded. "Yes, I will see you tomorrow bright and early Naruto. Try not to be late."

"G-goodnight, Naruto-kun" Hinata muttered.

"Yeah, yeah I won't be. Goodnight guys." With that Naruto was off in the direction of his home.

An awkward silence passed between Lee and Hinata. Naturally, Lee was the one to break it. "You like him, do you not?" Hinata gave one of her usual "eeps" and began blushing harder than Lee had ever seen. "Sorry, sorry. Not what I expected to say either. It is just strange. Earlier you told me that your family said he was dangerous and that you should stay away from him. And so you go and develop a crush on him? What is with that?"

Hinata quietly stared at her feet. It took her a minute to gain her composure. No one had ever called her out on her affection for the boy. She knew she didn't hide it well and yet no one had ever bothered to ask. Now when someone did she didn't know how to answer. So she just tried being honest.

"B-back before we started the academy. I was being picked on by some boys. N-Naruto came to my rescue and the boys beat him up. I just left him there." Lee had to stand close to hear Hinata. They were still in the middle of the street which was still fairly noisy. "After that I started paying attention to him. I was fascinated by him. Everyone picked on him, called him names, and told him he would fail. But he just kept on trying. Anytime someone told him he would fail he simply replied he was going to become Hokage."

Hinata's voice was getting louder. "I admired that. That strength he had. That confidence. To me it looked like he was absolutely glowing." Hinata began to blush heavily again before continuing. "Gradually, I just fell in love with him. He was everything I wanted to be, if I could be with him, surely some of that would rub off on me. And now I'm his teammate. It makes me so happy to be with him and yet so sad to see the way he is treated." Hinata stood straight and looked at Lee suddenly. "I have to know why he is treated that way. So I can help him, no matter what it is."

Lee was shocked. He had definitely not expected that. Lee could now honestly say he knew Hinata better than he ever knew her cousin, and it had only been one day. That confidence at the end seemed to blow all the other times out of the water. She was determined. He was too. They would help Naruto together. They would be there for him. As his friends, they would make sure he didn't have to suffer.

"Right, so first we need to pool everything we know." Lee started knocking off points on his fingers. "Tomorrow we shall see if Guy-sensei has any insight to give us. From there we will start doing things such as looking up stuff at the library and asking people who are close to him. There has got to be something."

Hinata nodded. They both started walking down the street. "Good," Lee said "We know dogs don't like his smell." Lee began knocking off points again as they continued their conversation into the night.