A/N: Thank you christianleerod, flamesofyouth22, MissProduce, rogue23gw and Tobirama666 for you supports =D
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A solemn Maito Gai entered the house, walked to the garden and saw Mai sitting on the ground, hugging her knees.
Gai sat down next to her and said "Hokage told me"
Tear-streaked face turned to him, hugged him and cried her heart out.
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"Gai" called the Hokage.
Gai stayed. He had just returned and finished giving his report.
"Team Yui had an encounter with a missing-nin. An S-rank missing nin"
Gai's eyes widened a bit.
"They were en-route to Konoha with Lord Oden's family when they were ambushed, twice. They got away from the first attack-"
"-but the second attack-" the Hokage shook his head as he read a report "-the attacker was an S-rank missing-nin from Iwagakure who possessed an Explosion Kekkei Genkai. Fights were ensued and somehow Mai's attacks triggered more explosions. She tried to shield Oden's family with Earth Barrier but when she opened the barrier, they all have died-"
"-I have the autopsy reports of Oden's family, there's nothing she can do as the bombs that killed them were miniscule, and they were bound to trigger-" the Hokage sighed.
"-she didn't know about the last part. Kakashi reported that she's beginning to shut everyone's out. So Gai-"
"I'll see what I can do, Hokage-sama" Gai bowed and left the office.
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"Hokage told me of the autopsy report, too. There's nothing you can do to prevent them from dying. The coroners found miniscule bombs in their blood. As a result, the whole area has to be decontaminated" Gai attempted to joke.
Mai turned away "Still, it was my attacks that triggered the bomb that hurt sensei, Hana and Izumi".
"Not intentionally. But I heard you helped your sensei with the sealing of bodies and carried your friend to Konoha. Your team returned, focus on that-"
"-Learn from this experience, use it to fire your spirit and improve yourself. Find out what had gone wrong and ask yourself, how to correct it" advised Gai as he looked at Mai's downcast face.
"I'll give it a try, nii-san"
"Good! Now come! There's still time before dinner!"
"Eh?" Mai looked bewildered.
"A Youthful Run! Rekindle your Spirit with a Youthful Run!" cried Gai as he took off and dragged Mai.
"Wait-"
"-NII-SAN!!!"
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From his hiding place, Kakashi facepalm, followed by a smile 'Good for you, Mai'.
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"I'm sorry, Izumi, Hana" said Mai to both of them at Konoha Hospital.
"What for?" asked Izumi.
"If it's about your attack, you don't have to" said Hana "I should be able to detect them with my nose"
"Sharingan would be easier, if only I trained hard enough to increase my chakra" countered Izumi.
Mai blinked "What?"
"It's my fault for not detecting-" said Hana and Izumi simultaneously before turning to each other and said "Hey!"
Mai laughed, and once she started she could not stop until she cried.
"Feeling better?" asked Izumi.
"Yeah, I guess we each blame ourselves, huh?" said Mai.
"I suppose" Hana answered before turning to Izumi "Anyway, Izumi, your genjutsu was amazing"
"Yeah, Izumi. We escaped without having to fight" added Mai.
Izumi blushed.
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Flashback
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Team Yui was escorting the family of Lord Oden to Konoha when Haimaru Brothers growled.
"Sensei, two groups of four, five hundred meters, non-shinobi" said Hana.
"If non-shinobi, may I try sensei?" asked Izumi.
Yui nodded.
Izumi walked down the path cautiously when she can be seen by the attackers.
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Tani gripped his sword when he heard footsteps; they were promised tons of money if they can kill their targets. With that kind amount of money, he would not have to do this kind of work ever again.
A brunette appeared in front of them, then she was gone.
Tani blinked.
Then he heard it. A sizzling. And pain, lots of pain. On his skin. He looked down and saw steam and lava that melted his skin. Tani screamed.
He wasn't the only one.
They all screamed in pain and scrambled to thenearest water source to wash whatever was causing the pain off their skin
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Izumi grinned. Inwardly, she was jumping wildly and shouted 'It works! It works!'.
She signed for others to tell them that the path is clear and they could continued with their mission.
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Flashback End
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"I guess we have to train harder now" said Mai solemnly.
"We will" swore Hana and Izumi.
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Yui looked at the scene and smiled 'Now they are ready for Chūnin Exam'.
Her smile turned to sadness as she looked at the message in her hand 'Lord Oden was murdered'
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End
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