A/N: Enjoying the story so far? Good! Always support the official release; it's why we're here! For those of you who have inquired about where to send fanart links for the story, feel free to PM Isumo1489 or tigerowl. All fanart, support and reviews are greatly appreciated.
Chapter Soundtrack: "Windspeaks" by Nujabes feat Uyama Hiroto
Chapter 11- New Sensei
Gaara's dreams were seldom pleasant.
For the past few nights he was constantly plagued with dark images and faces of his youth, and he made damn sure he didn't speak a word about it to either Naruto or Haku.
There were whispered undercurrents of rage in his thoughts and even with the Shukaku being under his control for nearly six years, he would wake with the terrified faces of Temari and Kankuro still in his mind, just as he had this morning.
"Hey Gaara," The red haired boy felt a large pillow impact his face with peculiar force, "You know usually you're the one waking me up, but I guess there's a first time for everything!"
"...you dunce..." Gaara sat up and threw the cushion back at the blonde, clipping him in the side of the head.
He'd have liked to have remained asleep to revel in the sight of his elder siblings memories (despite their wild fear at the time), but he chose not dwell on it. He forced himself back into the uncomfortable plain of consciousness.
Naruto grinned and threw the pillow into the open door of Haku's bedroom (from where it was stolen) and watched as Gaara let out a string of grumbling noises.
"Sheesh, put a shirt on will you?" The blonde snorted at the sight of his roommate's bare torso, "You look like some kinda ghost you're so freaking pale!"
Gaara frowned. True, he was seriously lacking some skin pigment, but he'd rather not have his bothersome friend annoy him and invade his privacy so early.
"Get out of my room, Naruto."
"Sure thing, Cranky," The Kyuubi container backed out of the doorway but poked his head back in, "Haku-kun just wants to know why the hell you slept in again. I mean, since we're genin now he thinks that you'd probably-"
The door slammed in his face with a loud bang.
Naruto grinned to himself, 'Yep, he's fine!'
Naruto wisely decided to leave Gaara alone for a while and returned to the kitchen where Haku had finished preparing the usual morning meal. The dark haired boy sat down and nibbled at a bite of egg while he concentrated on reading a scroll.
"Is he awake yet, Naruto-kun?" He asked without looking up.
"Yeah," The blonde sat down across from Haku and helped himself to some breakfast, "I had to use that shirt-excuse again though."
Haku paused and smirked to himself, "He really hates that you know...he's a bit self-conscious."
"Why else would I use it?" Naruto said before slurping his miso.
It was enough to earn a good-hearted laugh from Haku and he continued on reading, very amused with his friend's antics.
Naruto caught a brief glimpse of the scroll that Haku had been ferociously reviewing and was fairly curious about it. Haku rarely, if ever, read basic ninjutsu scrolls. Naruto and Gaara had noticed that Haku had developed an insatiable appetite for 'higher-level' techniques...or so he called them.
When of course, all it really meant was that he always had a keen, open eye for B-level jutsu and higher.
And for some strange reason, Haku had a knack for 'picking-up' certain scrolls and such in that ever-unobtrusive manner of his. All the more sense for the chunin teachers in the Academy to label him 'naturally brilliant'...which was partly true.
Anything he did absorb into that clever head of his he didn't flaunt often. Haku wasn't foolish enough to alert any high-ranking officials that he enjoyed stealing scrolls and picking apart their contents.
But what could he say? It was one of his and Naruto's favorite pastimes, and until recently (with the involvement of the traitorous Mizuki) this fetish was gradually being passed along to Gaara as well.
So Naruto didn't hesitate to ask, "What do you have there, Haku-kun?"
Haku looked up, "Oh, it's just a shinjutsu scroll. It has detailed descriptions of the human body. It's also more complicated than I thought."
"A what?" Naruto was disappointed, "You mean that acupuncture crap? What's so great about poking people?"
Haku clarified for him, "I want to use it in combination with my senbon that Tenten gave to me."
The blonde nodded thoughtfully, "Right, right...so is she cute?"
"Who? Tenten?"
"Well yeah! Gaara didn't tell me what happened while I was gone yesterday and you keep talking about this Tenten girl, so..." Naruto grinned mischievously, "What's she like?"
"She's...fun company. And fairly pretty, I admit..." Haku added, "Though I'm sure you understand I'm more focused on training than-"
"Having any sort of social life?" Naruto finished for him, smirking.
"Well...yes." A faint blush appeared on his cheeks.
The blonde's smirk widened after he finished his miso soup, "You're worse than Gaara sometimes, Haku."
"You are entitled to your own opinion." Haku went on to change the subject, "But as I was saying, shinjutsu is a very precise art and can disable enemies completely if done correctly."
"Sounds right up your alley." Naruto acknowledged, "I still don't see how sticking needles in someone actually counts as 'art' though."
Certainly Naruto was not foolish enough to bait Haku, was he?
"I can give you a small demonstration..." The dark haired boy suggested, standing and walked over to Naruto who didn't seem very much bothered as he ate.
"Make note, Naruto-kun, this is a very basic strike," Haku warned while tapping a particular point on the blonde's upper left arm.
"Wha-?" Naruto jerked as if he had been slapped, and dropped his chopsticks much to Haku's delight.
Gaara entered the room just in time to witness the uncontrollable twitching that came over the right side of Naruto's face. He stopped just next to Haku to watch the effects of the shinjutsu strike that left Naruto confused and unable to eat.
"You have to do this more often." Gaara said quietly, and Haku nodded while Naruto struggled to regain control over his facial muscles.
One tap on the side of the neck ended the Kyuubi container's convulsions. Gaara silently wondered how long Naruto's predicament would've lasted had Haku not done anything about it.
"What the hell did you do to me?" Naruto had a new respect for acupuncture and related skills.
"A simple maneuver," Haku closed his scroll with a pleased smirk, "That pressure point sent messages to your brain to contract your jaw muscles."
"That's pretty freaky..." Naruto mumbled, rubbing his face.
Gaara had sat down and began to eat, glad that Naruto had some sense knocked (poked) into him that morning. Haku was elated to get his point across to his blonde friend so vividly.
"We should leave soon," Haku announced, finishing his bowl of rice, "Today they announce the genin squads...we shouldn't miss it."
Gaara and Naruto grinned at the dark haired boy.
Their arrival at the Ninja Academy wasn't at all expected.
The few who noticed the three of them enter the classroom were either bothered or disinterested. In Haku's case, many of his loyal groupies flocked to him like a herd of dazed sheep and smothered him in sweet words and declarations of love.
It wasn't anything out of the norm.
In the mid-row, a young, pink haired kunoichi sat slumped over, with her head bowed onto her desk in despondency. Without a word to his companions, Gaara stalked over to her, leaving a troubled Haku behind.
Next to her, a thin, sickly-looking boy with light hair turned to the despairing kunoichi.
"Are you feeling alright, Sakura-chan?" He asked quietly, "You look terrible."
She lifted her face to give him a small smile, "Me? I'm fine Tadashi... just tired."
With a shrug, he stood up to talk to one of his nearby friends, and she sighed heavily to herself. Tired? Her excuses were getting lamer and lamer. Why not admit she was miserable because three of her closest friends were missing out on a crucial stepping-stone of their shinobi careers?
"Sakura-chan, you should have more faith in your words."
"See, I have this issue with lying through my teeth when I'm sad-" She prattled, before looking up at her visitor, "Gaara-kun, you did make it!"
Sakura struggled to suppress the urge to glomp him.
"You said I would."
She frowned, "Oh, I did, didn't I? Well, maybe it'll also work for other things like..." She paused in thought, "Ino-pig will disappear!"
Inanely excited, Sakura looked across the room to where the blonde kunoichi was fawning over a raven haired boy. She didn't dematerialize or anything of the sort, much to her dismay.
"Darn..." Sakura muttered, but then smiled at Gaara, "How are Naruto-kun and Haku-kun?"
"They passed too."
She leapt from her seat, "Wow! Really? How did you guys do it?"
"It's...a very long story."
"And I want to hear all of it at lunch," Sakura smiled, sitting down, "Hey, maybe we'll be put on the same team! At least, that's what I hope..."
"I'd much rather be on your team than anyone else's." Gaara ground out, shooting a venomous glare at a nearby eavesdropper.
"Except maybe Haku and Naruto's team right?" She laughed, relieved that they had all made it.
"Not really."
She blushed and nodded, wondering if he really meant it.
"Why don't you just go out with one of them already?" Naruto mumbled to Haku, "That way, you'd only have one of them bothering you and the rest of them would give up and leave you alone!"
"I'm not so sure it works that way, Naruto-kun," Haku sighed resignedly, "And that wouldn't be proper to use someone like that. It's cruel."
"You've got to stop being such a gentleman all the time," Naruto frowned at his stilted friend, "I mean, look, Sasuke's got the right idea!"
The blonde indicated the Uchiha boy near the back row who paid no mind to the lovesick girls surrounding him. Haku only frowned at Sasuke's rude method but was slightly tempted to attempt it himself. But then that would only tarnish his reputation as one of the few, courteous, well-mannered ninja of Konoha...so he brushed the idea aside.
"N-Naruto-kun? Haku-kun?" A quiet voice came from behind them.
Haku took this opportunity to focus his attention on Hinata rather than turning down date and marriage proposals. Naruto faced her with a large grin that made her heart flutter.
"Hey Hinata-chan!" Of course he was always glad to see the shy Hyuga girl, "Looks like we're all ninja now, doesn't it?"
"Good morning, Hinata-chan." Haku smiled at her, sending his groupies into an agitated frenzy.
"I wanted to congratulate the both of you and Gaara-kun on g-graduating," Hinata continued softly, "Since I didn't get to see any of you yesterday..."
"Thanks Hinata," Naruto was still grinning and Haku pondered at how his face could stay like that for so long, "Yesterday was pretty crazy!"
"I hope you enjoyed my target practice from the genin exam, Hinata-chan," Haku joked mildly and she laughed when she recalled his performance. It was a soft, melodious sound that only she could make.
"Take your seats!" Iruka's voice drifted over the noise, and after a moment, successfully managed to order them to plant their butts. Haku and Naruto took a seat on either side of Hinata, but Naruto hadn't noticed Gaara was missing until he realized the redhead wasn't next to him.
'That's the problem with quiet people...' Naruto figured, 'They sneak off and then I can't find them.'
"He's with Sakura-chan." Haku said quietly, pointing to the relocated Gaara who was currently settled in the center row by said kunoichi.
Iruka began to call out names in groups of three for genin cells, and the room fell silent as they waited for their names to be called.
Sakura looked over to Tadashi who was the first of the genin to be called, along with two others whose names she didn't catch. The second cell, however, turned a few heads...
Iruka smirked to himself, "Squad 2: Uzumaki Naruto, Haku and Gaara."
Sakura glanced at Gaara next to her who gave no indication whatsoever that he was pleased with this development, while somewhere in the back, Naruto whooped loudly. Haku merely wore the serene expression as he usually did, but was apparently glad that Iruka had a hand in forming the teams.
There was confused murmuring while other squads were called.
Sakura began to shake slightly in anticipation for her name to be called, her mind spinning with the possibilities of where she would be placed, 'Please! Not with Ino-pig!'
The circumstances were a bit limiting, she realized, since three of her primary choices had been eliminated, the rest was up to fate.
"Squad 7: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Inuzuka Kiba."
'There...that wasn't so bad was it?' She let out a shaky breath and Gaara gave her a quizzical look.
Genuinely curious, Sakura stole a peek at Sasuke who was quietly brooding on the opposite end of the room. For a split-second, their eyes met, black and green, and her head snapped back to the front as if it were on a hinge.
'Sasuke?' Sakura let it boil in her head, 'He's alright...I guess we haven't talked in a while...and Kiba? Well...' She glanced at the Inuzuka boy who was having an animated conversation with the puppy perched on top of his head, 'He'll take some getting used to...'
"Whew! Not that bad," Sakura whispered to the red haired boy beside her, "I'm just glad I'm not stuck with Ino-pig!"
"...likewise."
"Squad 8: Aburame Shino, Hyuga Hinata and Hatake Sato."
Hinata made a small squeak that was only audible to Naruto, who in turn, gave her an enthusiastic nudge. The last of the teams were called in a short time.
"Squad 10: Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino and Akimichi Chouji."
After the more important instructions were announced, the volume of the class immediately began to increase. Naruto thumped Haku hard on the back, unable to contain his excitement, "Alright! I just knew we'd be on the same team! This is gonna be awesome!"
Haku nodded while the blonde boy rambled on.
Disheartened she wasn't placed with any of her friends, Hinata attempted to shrink away to contemplate her fate with her newly assigned team. Of course, Haku stopped her before she could sulk off.
"Come and have lunch with us, Hinata." Haku offered.
Naruto nodded, "Yeah, we haven't told you or Sakura-chan how we passed the genin exam yet!"
Glad that she wasn't so easily forgotten she nodded with a small smile and followed after them, hoping that even if they were on different teams that nothing between them would change.
Sakura and Hinata couldn't stay for very long. They ate lunch together outside near the swing, while Naruto explained how they had read the forbidden scroll and how they had also outwitted Mizuki.
"I never realized Mizuki-sensei was like that..." Hinata said quietly.
"None of us did," Haku admitted, "That's why it was difficult to fight him. We couldn't fully view him as an enemy until..."
He trailed off, not wanting to describe to them how Naruto had learned that he was the vessel for the Kyuubi and other sad discoveries.
"The point is that we proved ourselves as shinobi and graduated!" Naruto cut in, much to Haku's relief, "And that we kicked Mizuki's ass!"
"I still can't believe you stole that scroll Naruto..." Sakura snickered, "I mean...couldn't you have shown it to me and Hinata-chan too, at least?"
Gaara gave her an incredulous look, "Have you no shame?"
She smirked, "Well, since the three of you just browsed through it, I don't see why you couldn't have shown it to us! Didn't you think we'd be interested?" Hinata gave a small nod and Gaara sighed, hoping that this would've taught a valuable lesson to them.
But apparently he was wrong.
"There wasn't much time to think at all Sakura-chan," Haku answered, "We were desperate."
"I'm glad you took the scroll, Naruto-kun..." Hinata said softly, silencing her companions in surprise. Naruto who was halfway through a bite of his rice ball nearly choked.
Hinata wasn't the trouble-seeking type.
"If you didn't take it, then maybe Mizuki-sensei would still be teaching here," She went on, "That...that wouldn't have been good..."
Sakura nodded thoughtfully in agreement, "Yeah, she's right. No one knows how it could've turned out if Naruto didn't steal it."
Naruto nodded, pleased that they agreed with his actions.
"But he still fell into a trap." Gaara deadpanned. It snapped them back to the reality that if Iruka hadn't arrived, things could've gone very badly indeed.
"We should go and meet with our teams now," Sakura sighed, as she and Hinata got to their feet, "We'll come find you later if that's alright."
"Sure it is!" Naruto barked, looking almost offended. He then turned to his teammates, "Maybe we should find out who our sensei is too, huh?"
The girls departed after a short farewell, leaving the boys as they returned to the Academy.
"There were a lot of graduates." Haku began to speculate, "I didn't think that there would be enough jounin to attend to every team."
"Yeah, that was weird." Naruto scratched his chin, "I guess we just lucked out, getting placed on the same team huh?"
Gaara frowned, "Or maybe we were placed on the same team deliberately."
Haku grimaced. Who would want to mentor the three of them? After learning that the elder ninja of the village knew of their identities, few jounin would actually volunteer to train such a group.
Not that they needed supervision: they had been left unattended for six years and had done very well in perfecting their techniques on their own or with each other. Still, now that they had graduated to genin rank, they were probably going to need formal guidance from a personal instructor.
Who was up to the task?
Ten minutes of waiting at the front of the Academy left the three boys particularly anxious. And it wasn't until a distantly familiar grunt caught their attention did they realize that their instructor had snuck up behind them.
"Holy shit. You all got tall."
Jiraiya reveled in the marvelous sound of dropping jaws as Naruto, Gaara and Haku instantly recognized his scratchy voice.
Naruto, ever the opponent, rounded on the toad hermit, "Ero-sennin, where the hell have you been?" Jiraiya was shocked to see him smiling, "I thought you were too busy doing that nasty 'research' of yours!"
"Well, it has been a while and I am still pretty busy..."
Naruto went on, "It's good that you're here! You see we're waiting for our instructor."
Jiraiya was affronted, 'Does he really think so little of me?'
Haku chuckled sheepishly, "Uh, Naruto-kun...it's quite possible that Gama-sennin will be teaching us."
Gaara frowned at the dark haired boy, "Don't joke like that, Haku."
Jiraiya hadn't expected the 'welcome wagon' but this was more criticism than he had anticipated. And of course the sand kid just had to be a peach as usual.
"Oh ho, sand kid! Don't think I've forgotten you!" The super pervert glared daggers at Gaara, "We have a score to settle, you and I!"
"If you say so." It was a bland, snippy retort.
Belatedly, Naruto came to the frightening conclusion that Jiraiya had reared his fuzzy white head back in Konoha for only one reason other than peeping.
"NOOO!" Naruto stared wide-eyed at Jiraiya, "Not the pervert! There's no way you're teaching us!" He gave horrified looks to both Haku and Gaara who couldn't give him an exact answer themselves, "Right?"
"What? Is this really such a tragedy?" The sage was insulted, "Look, I've already had my share of genin and you're lucky to have me as your sensei as it is!"
Haku nodded politely, while Naruto fretted over Jiraiya's naughty hobbies and Gaara pondered if he could continue throttling the hermit now that he would be teaching them.
With a sigh, the Legendary Toad Sage recalled how he ended up in such a position...
"I'm glad you could make it, Jiraiya." The Third Hokage smirked while he watched his former pupil shuffle into the office.
"Yeah well," The sennin grumbled, "This better be important, Hokage-sama. I'm on a deadline for the new sequel of Icha Icha you know."
'Time must be making him increasingly flippant...' Hiruzen reasoned. Jiraiya rarely showed disrespect, least of all to him.
"I'm sure..." The Sandaime sighed, "Jiraiya, please understand that I have called you here on strict business and I will have nothing but your full attention."
Jiraiya leaned against the chair placed in front of the Hokage's desk, "I'm listening, Hokage-sama."
"Uzumaki Naruto and his companions have achieved genin rank."
"That's..." Jiraiya wanted to say 'alarming', "Er...great."
"You will be their mentor."
"WHAT?"
The Hokage's expression was serious, "Surely you had expected this position when you brought them here six years ago, am I wrong? If I recall, you did begin their training but you haven't yet completed it."
"Wait a minute!" The hermit barked, "Why does that obligate me to train the runts? I made no promises and I didn't sign any paperwork! So why me?"
"The other jounin do not believe they are up to the task." Hiruzen answered simply.
"So you want me to do it, tearing myself away from my hard work to train up another bunch of snot-nosed brats?" Jiraiya put on a childish pout, "I'm getting old, Hokage-sama!"
The Hokage looked at him for a long moment, "Jiraiya, I myself am getting old, but have I been any less active as a result?"
"...no."
"Exactly," The Third nodded, "Furthermore, these three young shinobi have special abilities that you have first-hand experience with. That makes you the perfect choice as their squad leader."
It wasn't very flattering, "So?"
"You also have past experience with training genin..."
"So?" Jiraiya was certainly pushing his luck, "You could always order someone else to do it."
"They are familiar with you," The Sandaime added, "And it also may please you to hear that young Naruto has become skilled in summoning toads."
This caught the sennin's attention.
"Er...well, that is good," Jiraiya admitted, grateful that Naruto didn't make light of the summoning contract he had been given, "What about the other two squirts?"
"Recently the three of them went on another fantastic escapade: stealing a forbidden scroll and reading its contents. I suspect they learned some high-level techniques." The Hokage went on airily, "Why don't you ask them yourself?"
'Darn, I'm being swindled...' Jiraiya thought to himself, 'Clearly there's no way out of this one.'
"So what if I do train the kids Hokage-sama?" The sennin shrugged, "What's in it for me? I mean, I am coming out of retirement just to train the brats. I need some kind of incentive."
"I assure you, Jiraiya, you will be compensated," Hiruzen told him, "Though I must warn you...they have become quite a handful."
"Let me put it to you this way," Jiraiya sighed, "I was appointed to train you by the Hokage, and if you've got a problem with that you can march your little butts up to him and tell him about it."
They didn't budge and the sennin inwardly sighed in relief, 'Whew! I really thought that had em!'
"Hokage-sama made you our instructor because you're acquainted with our abilities,
Gaara surmised, "I can't argue with that."
Even Naruto came up with an excuse, "You may be a super pervert, but you know what you're doing..." He admitted, "And I have to show you this awesome jutsu I learned!"
"Save it for later." Jiraiya smirked as the blonde's face fell.
And of course, predictable Haku was always respectful, "I'm honored to have one of the Legendary Sennin as our mentor." After giving a small bow he had Jiraiya pegged.
He wasn't about to admit it, but he couldn't believe how much he had actually missed the 'annoying brats.' When the Sandaime had ordered him to lead their genin squad, he was somewhere between annoyed and excited to be reunited with them.
And a bitter feeling also sank into the hermit's stomach, 'Yeesh, they grew like weeds...I'm kind of sorry I had to miss it.' A large amount of guilt also hit Jiraiya when he looked at Naruto, who even in his absence, continued to summon toads as he had been told to.
It wasn't the most happy of reunions, but it was still worthwhile, Jiraiya figured.
"That's settled then. Now that there are no more complaints," Jiraiya smiled at them, "From here out you will refer to me as your sensei and I expect you to meet me at the fourth training area tomorrow at 9 AM sharp...got it?"
"Yes, sensei."
"Sure!"
"..."
The sennin frowned at Naruto and Gaara's faulty responses, "What was that?"
They spoke in unison, some more enthusiastic than others, "Yes, sensei."
"Good!" Jiraiya was grinning, "Now I'm off to continue my sequel. I have a deadline to meet!"
And he left the three new genin of Squad 2 with a very awkward feeling.
Hinata took a deep, steadying breath as she approached one of her newly assigned teammates.
"Hello Shino," She gave him a small smile, "I understand we are to be teammates?"
He nodded silently behind his dark glasses.
The Hyuga girl was honestly relieved to have the quiet boy on her team. She could relax knowing that he wouldn't be an arrogant, insult-throwing ninja as many of the boys in her graduating class had been.
As for what he thought about her...she couldn't tell. He seemed indifferent about her presence, but instead of that annoying her it actually helped her relax around him.
Hinata stood quietly next to him, supposing that since she was a girl, he would expect her to initiate a conversation.
"So, um, has Sato or our s-sensei arrived yet?"
"They haven't."
"Oh..." Hinata cursed herself. Wasn't that rather obvious? If they weren't present then most likely they hadn't arrived. Shino still seemed indifferent so she relaxed again.
Fifteen minutes of silence later...
"I w-wonder if they know w-where to meet us-?"
"Yo!"
Startled, Hinata turned to see another genin walking over to them, apparently not at all bothered by his tardiness. Even Shino raised his eyebrows over his sunglasses in acknowledgment.
The boy was just a few inches shorter than the tall Aburame boy, with a mop of silver hair and midnight blue eyes. Unlike Shino the boy's emotions were easy to read judging from the placid smile on his face.
Hinata blushed in spite of herself.
"Hey there Hinata, Shino," He nodded to both of them, "Sorry about me being late, but I see that our sensei hasn't gotten here just yet either..."
"I'm afraid s-so." Hinata said softly.
"Heh heh, I don't mind!" Sato leaned back against a tree trunk and began to fiddle with a small camera slung around his neck, "I just hope we get someone good."
Moments passed and then a formidable woman appeared near the end of the alley. She gave the three genin grouped together a short stare. It sent shivers up Hinata's spine, and she was certain that their instructor had arrived after she began to walk towards them. She looked irritable.
She stopped in front of them, settling her fierce, ruby eyes on them, "I'll have you know that I will not abide by lateness from any of you," And to prevent herself from becoming a hypocrite, added, "For now I will beg your pardon because I have just violated that simple request. I was detained and thankfully it will not happen again..."
Yuuhi Kurenai tried to shake off her dizzying encounter with the perverted toad hermit from only minutes before. His request was truly obscene and she would've made short work of him had it not been for the genin team she had kept waiting.
The three young ninja looked at her at a loss for words.
There was an abrupt camera flash and Kurenai fixed her glare at the culprit, "You."
"Yes ma'am?" Sato looked at her innocently.
"I forbid you from taking pictures of me without my permission, understood?" She was a bit paranoid of any media that could be passed along to the vulgar toad hermit, "I will excuse you just this once."
He nodded, "Understood ma'am!"
She cleared her throat and went on, "I am Yuuhi Kurenai and I will be your jounin instructor. And I would like to hear something about each of you as well."
Kurenai paused and glanced back at the silver haired boy, "You...you look familiar."
He smiled, "Hatake Sato. You probably know my uncle Kakashi." He pulled his hitai-ate down over his left eye, imitating the Copy Ninja surprisingly well.
She frowned, "I didn't know that Kakashi had a nephew. Though you do look like him."
Sato shrugged, "I get that a lot but...he and I don't get along too well. He's a closet pervert."
"I know..." Kurenai muttered, then went on, "Tell us about yourself."
"Well I take pictures of my opponent's techniques and...things that I'd like to preserve," He grinned at Kurenai and she gave him a dangerous frown, "You'll never find anyone who's better than me at setting traps..." He added confidently and Shino raised his eyebrows again, "And...I love pocky. That's it."
That was all Kurenai had to hear.
"You?" She turned to Hinata.
"I am Hyuga Hinata," She said quietly, "I am proficient in the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist style and can utilize the prestigious abilities of the Byakugan..." It sounded as if she had rehearsed this information many times, "And I...I like to spend my time with my friends and pressing flowers..." Certainly she had added that in herself.
"Good," Kurenai turned from Hinata to Shino, "And you?"
"...Aburame Shino," He wasn't thrilled to have to speak up, "I monitor the growth of my colony of Kikaichu insects. I also collect different species of insects."
He didn't elaborate further.
Kurenai nodded. This team...it could work. Still she was going to push them to their limits and make sure they reached their full potential.
"Hey sensei!" Sato was grinning again, "How about a group shot?"
She frowned at him, 'But this one is...a bit eccentric.'
"Well...this is a drag."
Shikamaru spread himself out on a picnic bench. He folded his arms beneath his head and gazed blankly at the flocks of cumulus drifting up above.
Nodding in agreement, Chouji settled down on the table next to him munching on a bag of potato chips.
"What are you two doing?" Ino snapped, upset with their attitudes, "Like, we're a team now! Shouldn't we be training or...doing something constructive?"
Sarutobi Asuma took a drag on his cigarette when Ino gave him a pleading look. He didn't really feel like stepping in at the moment. It was true they had just officially become Team 10, but not much training was needed in his opinion. The Ino-Shika-Cho formation worked well enough, and there was little the three young genin could do at the moment to improve it. Missions and experience first; refining technique later.
"It's the first day Ino, let up a little." Chouji protested, while offering her a chip.
She gave him a frustrated look, "Let up? Why don't you let up on the snacks, Chouji!" Ino turned to a cloud-watching Shikamaru, "And you! Get up off your lazy ass and do something!"
He frowned at her for a long moment and then sighed, "Fine, but only if you stop being so troublesome."
Ino smiled smugly to herself. Finally a bit of cooperation!
Shikamaru raised himself into a sitting position on the bench, and with no change of inflection asked Asuma, "Sensei, are you up for a game of Shogi?"
"Sure."
"Hey!" Ino glowered at her lazy teammate, "I didn't mean go play a board game! How is that constructive?"
Shikamaru raised his chin up a fraction, "It is a game of strategy that requires patience and planning...not like you'd know anything about that."
She wore an expression equivalent to a wrathful harpy.
Chouji paused in his munching, "Alright Ino, I'll train with you." It seemed his offer came out of the desire to end her nagging rather than the out of goodness of his heart.
Ino also noticed this.
"Oh...fine," She gave another annoyed look to Shikamaru and his opponent, "We'll leave the old men to their little game!"
"What the hell is taking so long?" Kiba groaned, leaning impatiently against his desk.
He and his fellow members of Squad 7 had been waiting inside the Academy for nearly an hour, and the passing time was gnawing away at their patience.
Next to him, Akamaru barked in agreement. The dog was in a more pleasant mood since Sakura had been patting his head for the majority of their wait.
"Maybe our sensei is just busy," Sakura sighed, exasperation weaving its way into her voice, "Jounin get called onto a lot of strenuous missions right?"
Kiba made a bland grunt in response, doubting the notion.
A short distance away from them, Sasuke sat with his fingers laced beneath his chin, just as uncommunicative as he had been for the past 45 minutes. The only evidence they had that he was actually capable of speech was his short greeting to Sakura earlier.
Without warning, Akamaru's floppy ears swiveled towards the direction of the door, and he moved his small head away from Sakura's ministrations. Kiba took a brief glance at his dog before understanding, and a satisfied smirk appeared on his face, "It's about time..."
Relieved and annoyed, Sakura and Sasuke also looked on as the door slid open, and a tall, wiry-looking ninja strolled inside, deeply absorbed in a book he was reading.
It was so anticlimactic it made their eyes sting.
"Hey teach!" Kiba barked at the silver haired jounin, "What took you?"
Reluctantly, Hatake Kakashi peeled his eye away from his favorite volume of Icha Icha Paradise, and settled it on his three would-be pupils.
"Oh, you know, I just got lost on the road of life..." He didn't bother making a good excuse.
The Inuzuka boy restrained himself from shouting out a very improper comment, and barely managed to give a highly critical look at the tardy jounin.
Kakashi swept his right-sided gaze over the freshly graduated genin, "Hm. This is an...interesting bunch. Why don't we go outside to get to know each other?"
Once outdoors, things didn't improve much for the newly-formed cell.
"So, tell me a bit about yourselves," Kakashi still had his dark eye glued to his naughty book, "Your names, hobbies, dreams; things you like and dislike..."
"Why don't you go first sensei? Just so we can have an idea." Sakura suggested.
He considered it briefly, "My name? Hatake Kakashi...hobbies...hm. I don't really have any. Dreams? I keep that to myself. Likes and dislikes? Hmm...never thought about that either..."
The genin sighed. So the only information he did give out was his name.
Kakashi glanced towards Kiba, "Why don't you start?"
"I'm Inuzuka Kiba," He said while scratching Akamaru's ears, "And this here is Akamaru. I like to train with Akamaru and hate things I can't chew..." He paused in thought, "My dreams? I'm going to be the strongest ninja in my clan!" His ninken barked fiercely at the proclamation.
Kakashi nodded, and then looked to Sakura, who seemed to be going over a mental checklist.
"My name is Haruno Sakura," She began, perking up considerably, "I like to hang out with my friends and study...and I hate Ino-pig..." Her voice lowered dangerously, "And...I will be one of the best kunoichi in the entire village!"
'She's...spirited...' Kakashi mused while turning his gaze to the last of Squad 7.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes before speaking, "Uchiha Sasuke. My sole focus is training. There aren't many things I like...and one day I will destroy a certain someone."
"Hn, I figured..." Kakashi muttered, "Fair enough."
His students looked up at him as he slowly raised himself off of the railing he had been leaning on.
"Tomorrow morning, you'll be participating in a survival exercise," Kakashi explained while turning a page in his novel, "We meet at training ground three at 6AM, oh and, you might not want to eat breakfast...because you'll throw up."
The genin were unnerved by such a menacing statement.
Unabashed, Kakashi turned on his heel with a wave, "See you tomorrow!"
Sakura exchanged a disbelieving glance with Kiba after their sensei departed. The Inuzuka boy quickly shook off the awkwardness.
"He's probably bluffing, that retard," Kiba snorted inelegantly, "I'm still eating breakfast anyway! I'll see you guys tomorrow."
The pink haired kunoichi watched as Kiba walked away as well, with a yappering Akamaru at his side. She felt slightly ill.
'Things seemed alright when we were picked as a team, but...' Sakura evaluated how different the experience was from her initial expectations, 'Kakashi-sensei...he really keeps to himself...'
"He's weird."
Sakura turned; surprised that Sasuke hadn't left yet. He had spoken voluntarily. He wore a contemplative expression, and his onyx eyes were less fierce than they had been during the introduction.
"He is." She agreed after a moment, "I was kind of hoping we'd actually get someone at least...a little ordinary."
"There are no normal jounin in this village." Sasuke replied bluntly and she took it into consideration.
He had a point. Many of the elite ninja of Konoha were...quirky. After many perilous missions and other painful strides to achieve the rank of 'high ninja', many shinobi had lost some of their more sociable characteristics. Kakashi, she judged, was no different.
As the young Uchiha began to walk away, Sakura turned back to him, "Sasuke-kun?"
He halted. It had been a while since she had called him that.
She frowned in thought, "Should we eat breakfast tomorrow?"
Sasuke gave her a reserved glance, "If he's serious we'll throw up either way."
Sakura closed her eyes and grumbled, "Right."
The next morning was a bright, cloudless day. Naruto, Haku and Gaara arrived at the fourth training area at their designated time. They were antsy.
It had sunk in overnight that Jiraiya, the pervert who had brought them to Konoha as young children, had at last returned after six years as their sensei. It was difficult to wrap their heads around. It was also a monumental development, they had agreed over a dinner of beef ramen, seeing that they would be trained by one of the Legendary Three. Few could boast the same.
Haku was still a tad more enthusiastic than his teammates about Jiraiya being their mentor. Not because he approved of the hermit's lecherous ways, oh no. It was merely because he believed there was no use in complaining about Jiraiya's flaws when they were lucky to have a familiar face supporting them.
Had he returned to Konoha for any other reason, Haku probably would've chewed him out as his friends had, being older and more aware of the world.
Jiraiya abruptly ended his scribbling of notes, and looked excitedly at his genin students, "Fwo ho! Five minutes early eh? That's better than what I had expected!"
Naruto yawned, "Can it, old man."
Apparently, not much had changed between them after all.
"What kind of training do you have planned for us, Ero-sennin?" Naruto went on while stretching his arms over his head.
Haku jabbed him lightly in the side, "Call him Sensei, Naruto-kun. Have a bit more respect."
"Okay..." The blonde grumbled. Gaara was also slightly disappointed that they would have to cut back on their casual behavior with the sennin.
Jiraiya nodded to Haku before answering slyly, "This isn't exactly training..."
There was an eerie quiet before the sennin continued, "Listen up. This is a test of skill and if you fail to meet expectations you will be sent back to the Academy." He smirked, "That way I can continue my research in peace."
"No way we're going back there, old man!" Naruto declared ardently.
Honestly none of them could say they hadn't suspected Jiraiya to plan something along those lines. The three boys radiated determination, not wanting to return to a place that they had proven their abilities were far beyond.
"What does this test entail, Jiraiya-sensei?" Haku asked.
"You have to get your hands on one of these bells," He said simply, holding up two small tinkling objects, "Anyone who doesn't will be tied to one of the poles behind me," Jiraiya gestured to the three wooden stumps in a line, "Your time will be limited. I'm giving you five hours to get a bell, no exceptions." A kitchen timer was seated on top of one of the poles.
Gaara frowned, "There are only two bells...meaning one of us will undoubtedly be sent back to the Academy once this is through."
Jiraiya scratched his cheek disinterestedly, "Yup."
A look of horror came over Naruto and Haku, while Gaara hid his outrage.
"Forget it!" The blonde hollered, "You can't do that when we've all worked so hard to graduate!"
"Uh, yes I can!" The sage barked, "You've heard the conditions so you may begin..." He paused and watched each of them tense, "Now!
The three genin scattered, disappearing instantly into the surrounding forest.
'This sucks!' Naruto was thoroughly appalled that the super pervert had managed to turn him against his best friends all for the sake of passing a ridiculous test, 'But I can't go back to that place! Still...I can't just forget about Haku-kun or Gaara-kun either.'
He waited silently at the base of a fat tree, desperately trying to calm down, 'Relax. Get a bell and see what happens...maybe Ero-sennin has a third one hidden somewhere!'
But would he risk it? Risk sending Haku or Gaara back to the Academy if there wasn't an imaginary 'third' bell?
Naruto clenched his fists, 'No I...I can't do this. Not if it means...' Memories of the years he had spent growing up alongside his friends resurfaced in his mind; of how they shed sweat, blood, and tears to get to where they had, 'No. I guess I'll just tell Ero-sennin I quit, there's always next year...but Haku-kun and Gaara-kun, I wouldn't do that to them!'
Just as he was about to leave his cover and return to the open field, Gaara appeared in front of him, motioning for him to be silent. Puzzled, Naruto followed after the sand manipulator farther into the brush and up into the high tops of an oak tree.
Balanced like a cat on the top-most branch was Haku, waiting for them.
"There's no way any of this makes any sense..." Haku said in a low voice as Gaara and Naruto perched beside him, "What's the point of a three man cell if one of us will be sent back to the Academy anyway? It discourages teamwork outright!"
Gaara nodded, "He wants us to compete with each other."
"No way in hell!" Naruto hissed, "Even Ero-sennin's gotta know that we wouldn't turn against each other!"
"Maybe his intent was to test our team effort in the face of dire consequences." Haku hypothesized, "If we turn against each other, he will have a much easier time stopping us. I think there's still a chance we can make this go our way…"
Gaara and Naruto looked at him expectantly.
"We attack him head-on, all at once," Haku resolved, "Do whatever it takes to get a bell...I'll sort out the rest..."
Jiraiya sat comfortably in the clearing while putting the finishing touches on his novel. He looked up when three copies of Naruto came careening out of the tree line, each wielding a kunai.
With a sigh, Jiraiya stood up, "There's really no rush kid, you still have..." He stole a glance at the kitchen timer, "Hm...four hours and forty-six minutes it looks like..."
"I'm getting a bell now old man!" Naruto snarled. He and his clones leapt and dove for the sennin, who wasn't at all impressed.
"Have it your way..." Jiraiya sighed, side-stepping the first Naruto and grabbing the wrists of his counterparts, "You could've put more planning into this you know!"
With a shove, he redirected the clones to simultaneously stab each other and disappear. Or at least, that's what the sage envisioned would happen. The clones didn't erupt into a cloud of smoke...they only leaked sand.
"Wah-?" Jiraiya leapt back, startled as Gaara appeared to his right, remolding his sand copies of Naruto to attack again. Naruto was already diving at the off-balance hermit.
The blonde nin dodged the sennin's counterstrike and reached for the two, shining bells tied to his belt. Naruto grinned broadly as his fingertips made contact with the cool metal surface of a bell and...
"Hands off!" Jiraiya quickly swatted him away, knocking him down into the dust with a grunt.
While Naruto staggered to his feet, the sennin smirked as he evaded Gaara's sand clones, impressed that they had made a combined effort, 'What about the farm boy though? He's around here somewhere-'
Preoccupied with Gaara, Jiraiya was unable to prevent the flurry of senbon that were rushing toward him from snapping the strings of the bells. Haku, somewhere aloft in a tree, had taken the position of 'sniper' and would only intervene if necessary.
Gaara and Naruto eyed the two, tiny flecks of light that dropped helplessly to the ground by Jiraiya's feet. They charged like beasts. All the while Jiraiya made note of how different this bell test was compared to his own as a genin, 'Sheesh, it's always a team effort with these three! I figured it would be. Unlike most other teams I suppose cooperation won't be an issue here!'
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The sage had no time to prepare himself as ten clones of Naruto materialized, surrounding him in a ring of orange jumpsuits.
"Shadow Clones, eh?" Jiraiya grinned as he knocked his assailants back with little effort, "That's new, but not good enough!" The real Naruto dove for Jiraiya again with a cry, aiming towards the glinting objects at his feet.
The overzealous nin suffered a painful knee in the side of the head, followed by an exasperated sigh from the toad hermit. Gaara wasn't pleased with the bloody nose Naruto was now sporting. If Jiraiya wanted to get rough, he wasn't going to hold back.
Gaara formed seals as Jiraiya made a grab for the bells himself, "Sand Dragon Bullet!"
"Eh?" The sand around the sennin's feet twisted into the form of a large, grainy, angry-looking dragon, "Not again-!"
Pressurized sand hurtled into Jiraiya's chest, knocking him into Naruto and sent them both tumbling to the opposite side of the clearing.
Haku sprang like a blue blur from his vantage point and snatched the bells off of the ground while the tangled, sandy mess that was Naruto and Jiraiya recovered from Gaara's powerful and as always...reckless assault.
"Get off me, Ero-sensei!" Naruto wriggled away from the super pervert and stood, brushing sand off of him, "Hey Gaara! Next time aim!"
"I was aiming."
The blonde huffed in aggravation as he returned to his teammates, but his annoyance vanished upon seeing Haku holding up two, small bells victoriously. Gaara smirked as the sage also stood, muttering curses under his breath.
Once the toad hermit had recuperated and regained his genins' attention, he glared down at Gaara, "That...that was pretty good, save for hitting Naruto. But...lay off the thrashing will you? I'm getting too old for that crap!"
Gaara said nothing, not making any promises.
"Jiraiya-sensei," Haku looked smug, "It appears we've finished a few hours early."
The sennin snorted, "Yep. Thanks to your strategy. To be quite frank, I didn't really think it would take long for you all to grab a bell," A maniacal look came over his face, "I only wanted to see who actually did get one...the outcome was...interesting."
Naruto frowned, "What's that supposed to mean? We worked together, but Haku got both of the bells!"
"I noticed," Jiraiya said dryly, "So we'll solve this diplomatically...you will decide amongst yourselves who'll be going back to the Academy. Two bells...two genin."
"THAT'S BULL!" Naruto bellowed, "None of us are going back there!"
The sennin gave him a detached look, "Life isn't always fair kid. Get over it."
Silence fell over the three genin of Squad 2. They had hoped, even been almost certain, that if they worked as a unit they would all pass...according to Haku's suspicions. The exercise was to pit them against each other, but overcoming that obstacle and working as a team should've enabled them all to remain a squad.
Apparently not.
Naruto was sweating. Diplomatically? The obvious choice would be to send him back. He hadn't been the most serious of students, he admitted, but that didn't mean he didn't learn. He wanted to stay on the team. He couldn't leave.
"I'll go back."
Jiraiya, Naruto and Haku looked at Gaara in shock.
Gaara didn't seem very perturbed at all, much to their surprise...although an ounce of regret was visible on his face after he volunteered. And unfortunately he had astonished Haku and Naruto so badly they were beyond the point of protesting.
Jiraiya showed no sympathy, "Well? Get going! Don't stick around here and waste my time!"
Haku looked close to having a nervous breakdown.
Naruto's fists clenched and he gritted his teeth, "Don't talk to him like that! He...he doesn't have to..." He turned to the red haired boy, "You don't have to do it, Gaara! This is stupid! Ero-sennin is a complete jerk so...why don't we all go back?"
Haku looked up. Naruto was right: Jiraiya was being unusually harsh.
"Yeah!" The blonde gave a fierce look to the man, "If you have a problem with one of us; you have a problem with all of us! We'll all go back to the Academy and get a teacher who's not a big asshole! We'll always be a team!"
Haku nodded in solemn agreement and a look of mangled relief came over Gaara. It was disappointing, but they would stick together no matter what the difficulty was, even failing a hopeless test.
The grave expression on Jiraiya's face began to crack and he chuckled to himself, "You three really are inseparable, aren't you?"
They looked at each other, confused.
"Well, there's no denying you couldn't give a rat's ass about the rules of any mission when it comes down to the fate of your teammates, even if it is a bit extreme, so..." The sennin grinned, "You've passed!"
Stunned faces.
Jiraiya nodded, "Right...well? Quit standing there like idiots and let me see how you've improved! You didn't actually think I'd send one of you squirts back to the Academy did you?"
Haku looked floored, "B-But, why did you push us so hard to get a bell if it was all an empty threat, sensei?"
He flipped open his naughty novel, "Oh...well, Hokage-sama said you three recently stole a Forbidden Scroll and learned some jounin-level techniques...I was just curious to see if it was true..."
Naruto was grinning, "Well why didn't you just say so? We could've showed you from the start!"
"Where would the fun be in that?" Jiraiya snorted, "You think I can't pull your legs once in a while?" He smirked, "You should've seen your faces when the sand kid volunteered! It was priceless!"
Gaara wasn't in a laughing mood. His self-sacrifice was no laughing matter.
At least they would remain Team 2. At most, they had made complete fools of themselves by chasing bells early in the morning...and Jiraiya cherished the thought.
By noon, Naruto, Gaara and Haku were seated contentedly at Ichiraku Ramen, and their sensei would've joined them if not for the fact that he was on a strict deadline and didn't have time for noodles.
"Naruto-kun," Haku began, setting down his chopsticks, "I'm just curious, but I was wondering if maybe you could demonstrate to me and Gaara how to produce shadow clones?"
Naruto stopped mid-slurp, "Huh? Why would you want to know?"
"We can only create replications out of sand and water," Gaara cut in, "Your clones are solid. They can fight for much longer."
The blonde grinned, "Well you should've looked at that jutsu yourselves when we had the scroll if you're so interested! It's not like I give stuff like that away, even if you guys are my best pals!"
Haku and Gaara sighed in resignation. It was worth a shot, but they hadn't expected him to agree.
Naruto smirked impishly, "Maybe, if you guys get some cool jutsu to exchange..."
That was a good point. It wasn't as if Naruto could manipulate water or sand, which was where his strength differed from theirs. Without the elements they influenced, they wouldn't be of much use in a fight. It was only natural that they would fall back on Naruto's aid for melee combat.
Haku picked up his chopsticks again, "That sounds fair."
Gaara caught the attention of Ayame who was wiping the counter clean, and she smiled at him, "More miso, Gaara-kun?"
"Please."
Haku and Naruto restrained a smirk as she hurried off.
"Heh heh," The blonde looked at his red haired friend, "I think she likes you."
"..."
"She does seem to favor you over us, Gaara-kun," Haku nodded in agreement.
Gaara didn't care. He never really thought much about the girl who had worked in the ramen shop. He wasn't exactly keen to notice girls, especially while he was eating for god's sake...
Haku and Naruto just liked to push his buttons.
"Good afternoon Naruto-kun, Haku-kun, Gaara-kun," A gentle voice sounded from behind them.
With his mouth full of noodles, Naruto turned to see Hinata standing behind them, smiling shyly.
He quickly swallowed and Haku was surprised he didn't asphyxiate from all the food he inhaled, "Hey Hinata-chan! How have you been?"
She smiled, "I'm fine. So I see you are all an official t-team now. That's wonderful! Some others didn't make it..."
Gaara quietly thanked Ayame after she returned with his miso.
"Gama-sennin is also our mentor," Haku added, and her eyes widened, "He returned to train us specifically on Hokage-sama's orders."
"W-What an honor..."
"Not really," Naruto sighed, "He's still a pervert as usual."
Gaara noticed two other young ninja behind Hinata, "Your teammates are with you?"
The Hyuga girl quickly turned to them, "Sorry, these are my teammates: Shino-kun," A tall boy with dark glasses nodded to them, "And Sato-kun."
The silver haired boy smirked, "They know me already, Sunshine."
Naruto gave Sato an enraged look, "Eh? Hinata doesn't need a pet name!"
"Ah, but she positively radiates light wherever she goes!" Sato declared, grinning, and she blushed terribly, "Besides, I'm glad I caught up with you three. I'm not surprised you're all on the same squad!"
Shino turned to Sato, giving him an inquiring look, "You know each other?"
Haku wore a somewhat humiliated look and Gaara turned away, busying his mouth with ramen. Naruto on the other hand was grinning just as broadly as Sato had been.
"Oh yeah! Half the pranks Gaara, Haku and me pulled were all his idea!" Naruto announced, and both Hinata and Shino looked at their teammate, not very surprised, "Now that I think about it, it has been a while...maybe we should plan another one soon..."
Haku looked mortified, "If you are planning another one, I'd prefer to sit it out this time."
Hinata giggled. So even Haku had been forced into backing up toilets around the Academy at least once.
Sato, ever resourceful, produced a picture from his back pocket and handed it to Naruto, "Maybe you remember this one, Naruto-kun?"
All of the present genin leaned in for a look. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was a simple picture of the Ninja Academy...with the roof completely missing, perhaps by other-worldly means.
Gaara couldn't help but smirk at the sight of it.
Shino's eyebrows appeared above his sunglasses, "That was you?"
"That was the best!" Naruto laughed, nearly spilling his bowl over, "We never got caught. I couldn't believe it!" He flashed an appreciative glance at Gaara for reasons one could only guess.
The silver haired boy sighed, "Yes, that was absolute perfection. It'll never be duplicated...good thing it's all on film!"
Hinata turned to her rambunctious teammate, "So, is that one of the things that you like to, um, 'preserve' Sato-kun?"
"That's right, Sunshine." He nodded, "Haku is a bit lax at times, so it's usually Gaara, Naruto, and I doing all the hard work."
"Pranks hardly count as work..." Haku said pointedly and Hinata was giggling again.
Shino, however, didn't see much humor in their adventures. He glanced sideways at Sato, "Your frivolous habits: do not let them interfere with our team's training."
After making sure his warning was heard, the bug tamer stalked off. Sato called after him, "I promise they won't, Shino-kun! Jeez! I'm a serious ninja! You have to lighten up a little!"
Naruto found Shino's behavior slightly vexing, "What's his problem?"
"Shino-kun is...quite serious," Hinata offered, sensing that her teammate's words had partially discouraged Sato, "He isn't very fond of p-practical jokes, I suppose."
'He and I could get along well...' Haku thought to himself.
"He'll unwind eventually," Sato yawned, putting away his cherished photograph, "He's probably just beat because Kurenai-sensei ran us all ragged today..."
"Maybe we can train together sometime?" Hinata asked her old friends hopefully.
Naruto liked the sound of it, "Sure! I don't think Ero-sensei will mind if you stop by, as long as you don't interrupt his 'research'."
Hinata nodded, "Alright...um, I suppose I should be going home now..."
"We'll come see you tomorrow!" The blonde announced, "Just to hang out if you like."
"O-Okay..."
Sato watched in amusement as she turned several shades of red, something Gaara was also aware of.
Team 2 bade the remaining members of Team 8 farewell:
"See you guys tomorrow!"
"It was nice seeing you two again."
"Goodbye Hinata-chan...Sato."
Naruto squinted in the bright light of the afternoon as the Hyuga girl and Hatake boy traipsed away, grinning, and then turned back to his ramen.
"So, want to go see if Sakura-chan is around later?" Naruto piped up again.
Gaara nodded, but Haku seemed deep in thought.
"I have plans later, actually," Haku said quietly, a smile creeping across his lips, "Do tell her I said hello, will you?"
The blonde nodded, "You got it! Uh...what 'plans' are you talking about?"
After visiting Sakura and listening to the astonishing tale of how she too had a haphazard bell test (but longer and more painful than theirs had been) with her sensei, and telling her that Haku says, "Hello," Naruto and Gaara temporarily parted ways.
Once again, Naruto lingered atop the stone face of the Fourth Hokage, gazing at the blazing summer sky that looked like blue fire. Shortly after he had arrived, Jiraiya also popped up, as he had expected him to.
"How often do you come here kid?" The sennin half-yawned, sitting down next to him.
"All of the time."
"Ah." Jiraiya appeared to nearly say something important, but changed his mind, "... believe me it's a good habit to get into."
Naruto grinned, "Yeah, you told me already."
"I've heard that you've kept up with your toad summoning," The sage added unobtrusively, "What do Gaara and Haku think of it?"
"They tell me all the time how jealous they are," The blonde joked, "But, I mostly just do it to annoy them, it isn't like I've been in any big fights or something like that."
"Annoy them, eh?" Jiraiya smirked, "How about you give me a demonstration of how far you've gotten? Past a tadpole I hope?"
"Shut up old man! I was just a kid!" Naruto bit back good-naturedly, and stood up, "Yeah, I've gotten better!"
In a well-practiced motion, Naruto bit his thumb, flew through the seals and called a toad. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow as the smoke cleared, and a toad not much taller than Naruto's knees appeared.
The small creature looked up at Naruto with familiarity, "Hi! Anything I can do for you, Boss?"
Jiraiya grunted, "Huh. You could've done better. Gamakichi's a little twerp. Is this as far as you have gotten, kid?"
"Nah, sorry I bothered you." Naruto said to the small toad, which departed just as quickly as he came. He then turned to Jiraiya, "I could do better if I wanted, but I call him most often if that's what you mean," He paused thoughtfully, "I'm still 'starting small and working my way up,' Ero-sensei!"
He sat back down beside his mentor and Jiraiya nodded, "Yeah, I suppose that'll do for now...there's no use rushing it."
The sennin stole a glance at Naruto, slightly upset that he was hiding his full potential. For all he knew, Naruto probably could have been summoning Gamabunta for a while now.
'I'll have to remember to ask him...' Jiraiya mentally noted for the next time he saw the toad boss.
"So...what have I missed since I've been gone?" Jiraiya then added, "Besides you and the other squirts growing a few feet taller, I mean?"
There was a quiet moment of thought before Naruto answered, grinning again, "You haven't missed that much...maybe some really awesome pranks, but that won't be much of a problem..."
The sage couldn't help himself, "Er...why?"
Naruto shrugged, "Sato's got it all on film. I can show you tomorrow if he lends me the pictures."
It was silent again, but Jiraiya was smirking.
"Rising Twin Dragons!"
Tenten leapt high into the air inside the flying double-helix her scrolls created, and launched her summoned weapons at Hyuga Neji who waited on the ground for the assault.
Nearby, ever-enthusiastic Rock Lee was busy mastering a new taijutsu technique with their equally, if not more enthusiastic sensei, Maito Gai.
As countless, razor-sharp implements of death descended back down to the earth towards her 'presumably doomed' teammate, Neji effortlessly countered with a rotation, releasing chakra from all of his tenketsu, and formed a 360 degree shield of chakra. He deflected all of her projectiles.
Haku watched all of this occur in a sheer matter of seconds from the side of the training field, unable to suppress his awe of the older, more advanced genin team. Most especially the energy that Lee possessed, fearing that if he ever tried to break a tree in half with only one kick as the latter had, he would most likely shatter his leg.
As Tenten ended her attack and drifted back down to the earth, her eyes didn't pass up the tall, dark haired boy clad in a blue gi that stood nearby. He was watching her squad train with his gentle, discerning eyes.
Once both of her feet were planted firmly back on the ground (moments before Neji ended his Kaiten) Tenten almost immediately abandoned her opponent without a word, jogging over to Haku.
There was a moment of confusion when the young Hyuga prodigy realized that his training partner was no longer training at all.
He frowned when he saw her running giddily in the opposite direction, "Tenten..."
"Haku!" Maybe she was a little too happy to see him, and she quickly calmed herself down, "What...what are you doing here?"
He smiled at her, "I came looking for you, and it seems my luck has prevailed."
Lee and Gai had also noticed the lack of battle cries from the opposite side of the training ground and were curious to investigate who or what had so easily distracted the young kunoichi of their team.
Neji had gotten there first.
Tenten paused for a moment, wondering if she should introduce him to Haku, but then recalled that it had in fact been Neji himself who had mentioned him by name two days earlier.
This registered as Neji was about to violently 'shoo' away the uninvited intruder before he saw that the 'uninvited intruder' had been none other than Haku.
"Hello Neji!" He was just as friendly as he had been when they were younger, "It's good to see you are well!"
The Hyuga prodigy merely clammed up, unable to think of any 'friendly' responses at the time. He substituted a verbal reply with a slight nod of his head, surprising Tenten. Neji did not want to be insensitive to a person who had helped save him from the Caged Bird seal.
Before Tenten could speak another word, Lee and Gai had arrived, both excited over the 'uninvited intruder.'
"Hello there youthful, young man!" Gai's teeth glinted in the sunlight and Tenten sighed to herself as the 'introduction of fiery youth' commenced, "I am Maito Gai!" His shorter, physical double then added jubilantly, "And I am Rock Lee!"
Haku's smile was plastered onto his face in semi-shock, 'I can understand Neji being Tenten's teammate, but...I have to say I'm slightly frightened now...'
"It would please us to no end if we could know the name of the youthful ninja who has befriended the fiery young flower of our team!" Gai added, posing in front of Haku.
Taking a deep breath, he managed to reply as if he were speaking to another sane person, "I am Haku."
He even managed to keep that convincing smile on. Haku always had possessed 'social nerves of steel.'
Tenten stepped in front of her overzealous sensei and teammate, "So, uh, Haku; did you want to get more practice with senbon?"
"Yes, but not right now," Haku said smoothly, "Actually, I was hoping you'd join me for some tea this afternoon if you're not busy."
"I'm not busy!" Tenten blurted it out, but hastily added, "I mean, if you can skip out on some training today, Neji?"
The Hyuga prodigy frowned. Why was she asking permission? What for? She wasn't actually going to go drink tea with that pretty boy, was she? Her work ethic was boundless and here she was pouncing on the first opportunity she could get to escape training with her team for the afternoon. Then again…
'I can't really blame her...' Neji thought to himself, seeing that half the team was bursting with so much energy it was classified borderline insanity. After putting up with the speeches of 'Fiery Passion!' and the 'Springtime of Youth!' for over a year straight, Tenten deserved a small break, that much was clear.
But only a small one.
"I'll survive." He replied blandly and she smiled.
Haku bowed politely to the rest of her team, "Forgive me for borrowing Tenten for today."
Unsummoning her weapons and wiping the sweat off of her brow, Tenten followed Haku out of the training area while asking him what sort of tea he liked, delighted to learn that they both enjoyed jasmine tea.
She had forgotten to say goodbye to her teammates.
Not that it mattered, since Lee was beginning another impassioned monologue for his remaining teammates.
A tear of joy escaped Lee's eye, "Yes! Tenten has finally accepted her youthful wishes and bloomed into a burning blossom of love! Oh! Haku certainly is the type I would expect her to take interest in!" He paused for a moment, "Gai-sensei, shall we invite Haku to return tomorrow to train with us?"
Gai placed a hand on his hard working student's shoulder, "No Lee, I'm certain he has much training that needs to be done with his own team..."
Neji snorted. He hoped what Gai had figured was true. He couldn't stand training with anyone other than Tenten on his team...for obvious reasons.
Without warning, Gai continued excitedly, "If it is what the young blossom of our team wishes, then she herself will bring young Haku along to train with us!"
And of course, Lee turned to the Hyuga prodigy, "Neji, my eternal rival! Let us train twice as hard until Tenten returns with a song in her step and love in her heart!"
Neji's eye twitched in deep irritation.
Lee was about to get a serious beating...
And it was all Haku's fault.
Next: Chapter 12- Mission to the Country of Waves