I am so, so sorry this is late. I thought I would finish this chapter by the 20 of last month, but then the holidays happened. But some good news is I already finished writing the next chapter and only have to edit now. Thank you to BloodyLoved, Onepicelover4ever, and two guest for reviewing last chapter. And to my amazing beta laternenfisch!
Chapter 11: The Test to end all tests
"Oh, you're back already."
Ayame just glared at Kakashi who was already eating.
"Don't worry, I left some for you." The man said as he pulled his mask back up, pointing at the plate with his other hand.
"Thanks." Ayame said as she rubbed her eyes.
She ended up spending three hours with Lee looking over everything they could get on Fūinjutsu with with Genin clearance. It ended up still being way more then the two of them could realistically get through. Yet Lee refused to give up (not that Ayame was going all the way to give up) and so the two filled one of her journals completely with two word notes. One being the name of the object the other a one word description. They did some pretty good work considering, though they were only able to go through half of the information.
She ended up running laps with Lee. Even fresh out of school he was still faster than her.
"So, what do you think of your team mates?" Kakashi asked in a tone that let Ayame know the he knew exactly who her team was. Which isn't too surprising since Kakashi was a bit nosy when he wanted to be, and the team set up should be something all the Jōnins know.
"They're fine. Rock Lee is very determined; he reminds me of Naruto but more willing to study." Ayame said between bites as Kakashi hummed. "Then there's Hyūga Neji. He's some kind of prodigy and seems like a loner. And as you know, Guy is our Sensei."
"So you think it will be a good team?"
A good team? They had been one of the best teams when Tenten was on it.
"It could be." Ayame said before shaking her head and grabbing her plate. "Anyways, I'm going to bed now since I'll be waking up early tomorrow."
"I'm also making my little Genin meet up early tomorrow."
"So you'll be there around noon." Ayame said giving him a blank look.
"How rude, what happened to the little girl that would follow me around?"
"I never followed you around. You might have early signs of alzheimer's old man." Ayame joked, nearly laughing at Kakashi overreacting at being called old.
"I'm not old yet."
"Right, you are just full of hip and cool vibes."
"Ok, off to bed. You're starting to get delusional." Kakashi said as he picked Ayame up.
"Awe, but I wanted to practice my Guy-Sensei impression some more. Maybe I could even get a youthful green jumpsuit like his." Ayame continued, causing Kakashi to physically shudder at the mental image.
"I liked it better when you just wore my old clothes. That was cute."
"Well maybe if I was on your team I would go back to wearing that."
"Nah, you'll do better on Guy's team. If he passes you that is." Kakashi said tossing Ayame into her bed like a sack of potatoes.
"I'll pass." Ayame said with more confidence then she was feeling.
Kakashi gave a nod as he left Ayame alone to get ready for the next day.
Ayame ended up bringing what would have been way too much if it wasn't for storage scrolls. As it was, she had three small scrolls and two medium sized ones in different pockets. One filled with an assortment of supplies and the others filled with projectiles and explosives.
Hopefully she wouldn't have to use them since Ayame had only tested them a few times against Sasuke, and that didn't turn out as well as she planed. Ayame didn't want to go back to the academy nor go into the Genin Corps, so for now she'd just have to remain on Guy's team. Assuming that she could even pass the test because this was the first time the memories of her past life wouldn't help her.
Ayame had no idea what to except and her mind was racing through hundreds of different scenarios.
Making her way downstairs, triple checking her stuff, only to pause on the stairs when the smell of food hit her.
Why was Kakashi cooking?
Ayame turned the corner to see Kakashi wasn't cooking, but there was food that was still warm on a plate. As she sat down to seat, her eyes caught a note sticking out from under the plate.
You were pacing too loudly so I made breakfast. Good luck.
Ayame snorted to herself, but was still touched by the note. It was something that her parents in both lifetimes would do.
Then come five'o clock, Ayame arrived at the training ground to find that Lee and Neji were already there.
" 'Morning." Ayame mumbled, stiffing a yawn.
Lee whipped around to see her while Neji gave something that could count as a nod.
"Good Morning Ayame-chan! Did you sleep well?" Lee said way to animated for this early in the morning.
"Ya, and you?"
"I had quite the restful night."
Ayame nodded absentmindedly as she sat next to the two boys, giving the training ground a good look. It was on the mountain side of the village with one of the forests bushing against the other side. The standard training posts around the place looked to be well used.
Is this were Guy prefers to train? Or is this just a generic training ground? Ayame wondered before noticing that Lee was talking.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?"
"Oh, I was just wondering if you had any more ideas of what the test will be. I already told Neji-san what we talked about yesterday while we were waiting for you."
"Wait, how early did you two get here?"
I got here just at five, and they were not talking when I arrived...
"I skipped my morning training today and came straight here! Then Neji-San arrived not to much later to take a look at the place."
Which didn't really answer Ayame's question, but since digital clocks had only been around for a few years, 24 hour time isn't strictly kept in their minds like in the world of her past.
"Did you find anything of interest?" Ayame asked Neji, as she was planning on doing a survey of their surroundings in case Guy's test would stay in this area.
"If there is a fight, there are some different terrains to be of use."
"No traps?"
"Not even a stray kunai." Neji said, which is odd.
Most of Naruto's supply came from strays they found lying around. The fact there were none that the Hyūga could see was concerning.
Only a few conversations passed as they stretched and waited for Guy to arrive. Then as the alarm clock Lee brought rang, there was...
"A turtle? Where's Guy-Sensei?" Lee yelled, causing both Ayame and Neji to flinch.
"Naahh!" the turtle yelled, though it sounded muffled. Like a dog trying to bark with a toy in their mouth.
"Is that a scroll in it's mouth?" Ayame asked, feeling like the test has started and she studied the wrong book.
"Oh, so we must fight this turtle to get the scroll?" Lee asked before dropping into the academy standard stance.
Ayame looked at the large turtle, that was probably a tortoise, but that wasn't important at the moment. Neji already has his Byukugan out and was frowning.
The brown hair girl didn't even had time to take a step before Lee started, already moving faster then anyone Ayame has seen.
"Ah aaa!" Lee yelled after being bit on the leg and thrown into the trees. All without the turtle/tortoise removing the scroll from their mouth.
"Idiot." Neji mumbled before racing to also try, only slightly slower as Lee.
Maybe I should invest in some weights. Ayame thought briefly as she watched the prodigy trying to get the turtle who looked to be sleeping now.
"Taijutsu doesn't seem to be working," Ayame said, noting the shell was absorbing Neji's punches. Most likely this was Guy's summon, not a fighting type but a defense type. Meaning while slow it would be great for transporting important information.
As soon as Neji got out of the way, Ayame started signing to send a small fireball at the turtle.
"Well, I suppose I can't just ask you to give us the scroll, right?" Ayame joked as she inhaled a deep breath.
Only for the turtle to drop the scroll and disappear in a puff of smoke.
Ayame released the chakra she was building for the Jutsu, which felt like she snorted milk out of her nose, before walking over to pick up the scroll. It was the same as the one Guy gave then yesterday, and once Ayame took the seal off, she read it out loud.
"To My Most Youthful Students, In Order To Become Part Of Team Guy You Must Find A Set Of Items Around The Village. Then When The Sun Sets Over Our Youthful Past, I Will See How You Three Did. Your First Hint Is To Find What Is Missing." Ayame read in her Guy-sensei voice.
Neji took the scroll as Ayame glared at it fearing the worst.
"Is he really making us go on a scavenger hunt?" Ayame asked with thinly veiled disgust.
"It seems so." Neji said sounding equally disappointed.
There had been a few times Ayame did participate in a scavenger hunt, mostly for team building. It tended to be a thin line between fun and annoying, more often crossing the line more than once during the hunt.
With her ninja career on the line, Ayame didn't feel like treating this as a joke like she normally would have.
"To find what's missing..." Lee repeated to himself in thought, seeming to be the only one who was excited about Guy's 'test'.
"The kunais!" Lee yelled causing Neji to look away from the scroll.
"So a weapon shop? Or a Shinobi weapon repair, something in the shopping district." Ayame theorized with a slight sigh.
"Only one way to find out!" Lee said with a wide smile that Ayame unenthusiastically returned before turning to Neji.
"Can you see Chakra signatures left behind by seals with your Byakugan?" Ayame asked noting Lee's confused look from the corner of her eye.
"You think since he took the time to seal both scrolls that this 'item' we need to find will have something similar?"
"Oh! That's how it connects, Guy-Sensei must be really smart to come up with that. We can not fail now!" Lee announced and this time Ayame gave a real smile.
It was much easier staying in a good mood when surrounded by positive people like Naruto and Lee.
"We should get going then. Depending on what this item is, the set could be anywhere from two to ten things." Neji said as he took the lead, not even bothering to see if Ayame and Lee were following his half-run.
This is going to suck, isn't it? Was Ayame only thought as she followed Neji.
Naruto felt his smile fall as he waved goodbye to his friends. A week ago, this would be when Ayame appeared out of nowhere to walk home with him. But his oldest friend was now a ninja.
Naruto wanted to pass so badly this time, he practiced so much and took time every night to read the scrolls Iruka-Sensei gave him. Naruto really thought he would pass this time, then Ayame and him would both be ninja. But instead only Ayame passed. And he was the one who pushed her to try for the test early.
"Urgh, that's enough. I'm just going to get some ramen to cheer me up!" Naruto yelled to the world, earning a few looks that the blond expertly ignored.
With the self-promise of Ichiraku's, Naruto's fox grin was back in full and soon the boy was running through the streets.
That is until he heard a very familiar voice.
"Neji, just get it over with then we can be done with this idiotic search!"
Naruto stopped to see Ayame with two boys standing in front of Ichiraku's that was less busy then usual. He was too far away to hear what this Neji person said in return, but soon he saw the long haired boy move... and dance?
"Oh thank you very much Hyūga-San." Naruto heard the older Ayame say, looking like she was getting ready to laugh.
"No, thank you Ayame-chan." His friend said before the three ran off, leaving Naruto in the dust.
What did he just witness?
"Well, You Three Made It Here Before Night Fall." Guy said with his back turned.
"Here's you tea set Guy-Sensei." Neji said as he placed the box down.
The sun was just starting to set, and honestly Ayame wanted nothing more then to sleep and never remember this accursed day again. But Guy still hadn't said they passed yet.
"Thank You. Now There Is One Last Part Before You Three Can Pass. I Have A Question For You Three."
A question?
The three newly made Genin waited for Guy to continued. Ayame figured that the point of the scavenger hunt was team building, similar to the bell test. Then the meet and greet yesterday was about their motivations. So what else does a Jōnin need to know to put them on the Jōnin track instead of Genin Corps? What's the difference between a Genin team and the Genin Corps?
"What Do You Think Of My Outfit?" Guy said dramatically as he turned around, the sunset firmly behind him so his head was blocking the sun.
"You, want our opinion about your clothes?" Ayame asked, because what was the point of that? Ayame would expect Kakashi to pull something like this just to troll people, but Guy? She thought he was a bit more... serious?
"That Is Right Ayame-Chan. Now You Have Until The Sun Finishes Setting To Tell Me Your Honest Opinion."
Honest opinion? What does honestly have to do with being a ninja?
"I think you're outfit is great Guy-Sensei!" Lee said to only Neji's surprise.
Does he just want this team to be honest? Like how Kakashi had his 'look beneath the underneath'.
"I think it isn't practical." Neji said, probably wanting to say something else but Guy was a Jōnin. Not a person you want to hate you.
"Um, I think... It fits you." Ayame said because she still has trouble looking at Lee and not seeing the mini green jumpsuit. She couldn't even consider what Guy would look like without it.
Guy nodded at their answers and started humming loudly to himself.
Ayame looked behind the man to see the sun had almost set. Was he really waiting to the last moment to tell them if they passed?
"WELL!" Guy finally said, make Ayame jump a little. "I Can Only Think Of One Outcome. Welcome To TEAM GUY!"
Lee yelled along with Guy and Ayame smiled as Lee hugged her.
She didn't even notice that Neji had left as soon as Guy told them to meet up at the training ground tomorrow
Also, I posted a poll on my profile that I would like your thoughts on. I have the year before canon really starts maped out, but I am unsure of how long I want that part to be. So vote if you want or leave a review.
Happy New Year everyone!