Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Nine
Team Eight fell into a schedule that Kurenai planned almost effortlessly.
The morning started with warm ups, stretching and going on a run around Konoha, and then three hours of team training and synchronization, followed by one or two D-Rank missions, and then they were dismissed for the day.
The warm up had been taxing at first, but Team Eight got used to it, and then Kurenai made it a bit harder. Team training got better with time and then Kurenai upped that as well. And one or two turned to three when Team Eight was able to complete the missions more quickly.
The first day of training had been...a bit on the side of a problem.
Shino and Kiba, while friends for years, had polar opposite personalities and tended to disagree. Leaving Hinata to mediate the arguments as best as she could, and Kurenai only watched, wanting to have a good look at the friendship and bond between her three students.
The stretches took about ten minutes, and the lap around Konoha took fifteen minutes. Kurenai hadn't told them a particular pace, so Team Eight stuck together and ran at the best pace all three of them could keep up with.
While Naruto's stamina and chakra levels seemed to be unbeatable, Kiba had the second best in class.
Shino's intelligence and control over his beetles was nothing to scoff at, and while Hinata had him beat in the Taijutsu department, being teamed with her only made his skills grow.
Hinata's speed, stamina, and chakra levels grew with this new training, and she slowly refined her Taijutsu.
And Kurenai, well, her skills as a Genjutsu Mistress, enhanced all three's skills in that field.
The team training went a bit differently.
Hinata, Kiba, and Shino knew each other as friends, had a tight bond of friendship, and nothing could seperate them.
But that didn't translate to their team synchronization, while they had faint ideas of each other's skills, they never saw each other in battle before.
So Kurenai had a lot resting on her ability to increase their teamwork and ability to not only rely on their skills as an individual but on their skills as a team, and rely on each other more than themselves.
Kurenai admitted that Team Eight seemed far easier to teach than Team Seven or Team Ten, but she still had a lot to teach her new students, and she knew this wouldn't be an easy path.
Hinata fell backwards with her arms spread wide as she welcomed the ground, "Hinata, a trust fall is when you fall backwards into someone else's arms not the ground," Kiba states, chugging his water, they finished team training and had a twenty minute break before missions.
Hinata looks up at her friend, "I'm well aware of that Kiba-Kun, but I'm trying to rest right now."
Kiba shrugs, "I know, I'm trying to see how long it'll take before you snap at me, I'm trying to slowly run down your patience."
"That isn't a good thing to do. Why? Because we all know that if you succeed, neither Kurenai-Sensei nor I will hold Hinata back from attacking you," Shino states from his seat in the shade a few feet away.
Kiba scowls, "I have brute force!"
"And Hinata knows how to use her brain," Shino counters, unfamiliar with what his friends called 'sass' and 'sarcasm' but slowly getting used to it. Seeing how red he could make Kiba's face from anger was oddly satisfying in a strange way.
Kiba growls at him, "What did you just say?!"
Kurenai watches from her place on top of a training log, her students were..something else, but she enjoyed listening to them bicker like old friends. The life of a ninja changes you for better or for worse, usually worse, and she knew that this might not last forever. So she enjoyed it while she could.
"Kiba-Kun, your rubbing off on Shino-Kun...where else would he get that level of sass from?" Hinata asks, suddenly interfering in the conversation.
Kiba huffs, "Whatever," he smirked despite his 'annoyance', because none of Team Eight could deny that they liked to bicker like this too.
"COME ON MY YOUTHFUL STUDENTS! PUSH YOURSELVES TO YOUR LIMITS!" They all wince when they hear Gai's loud voice coming from...somewhere.
Hinata perks up and activated her Byakugan, spotting Team Gai in a training ground near their's, all three Genin were attacking Gai together, by their appearance they had been training for a long time now.
"Isn't that your cousin's crazy Sensei?" Kiba asks, rubbing his sensitive ears, he looks over at Akamaru who was laying out on the ground enjoying the feeling of the sun, gently snoring away. Kiba sweat drops, 'How did he not hear him yelling?!'
Kurenai chuckles, "Gai was my classmate at the academy you know...he hasn't changed much at all," she says with a small smile.
"What about Asuma-San?" Hinata asks curiously.
The three Genin don't miss the slight blush on Kurenai's face when Hinata's mentions the Sensei of Team Ten.
"Y-Yeah," Kurenai clears her throat, "Asuma was also in my class, along with Team Seven's Sensei, Kakashi."
Hinata looks up at the name, she hadn't gotten a chance to speak with Naruto yet, and neither had she heard anything about his Sensei.
"Oh yeah...I bet Naruto is training right now," Kiba murmurs, it was closing in on noon, and today was their first day of training, and from now on their mornings were dedicated to training and afternoons to missions so far.
(Somewhere in Training Ground Nine Kakashi held two bells and Team Seven was starving.)
Kurenai was impressed with how well they had adapted to the new schedule, especially on the first day, "It's unorthodox for a brand new team to get a mission on their first day, but I wanna test your abilities."
And so the Third Hokage and Iruka were surprised to see Team Eight, "It's good to see you've adapted to your new role as a Sensei Kurenai," Hiruzen says, "Your here for a mission?"
"Yes, a simple D-Rank," Kurenai replies.
"We just received a new mission, an elderly woman needs her garden to be weeded and replanted, the big storm awhile back wiped out her garden, her neighbor has dogs to be walked, and also a bug infestation...seems your first mission was made for you," Iruka says with a chuckle.
Kurenai smiles, "It seems so."
Hinata had never mentioned it to her friends, because it really hadn't come up much, but gardening was one of her favorite pass times at the Hyuuga compound. Hiashi had given her a small patch of the garden to tend to herself, it grew her favorite flowers, tea leaves, and herbs.
A hobby of hers was to make special salves that were her Clan's specialty, she kept a jar in her weapons pouch at all times, it was perfect for scratches and bruises.
So Hinata found herself enjoying her first mission immensely, the woman who had asked for the help was very kind, and watched over the diligent Genin as she replanted her entire garden.
On her own it took about fourty five minutes, the garden was average sized but the weeds were numerous.
The woman thanked her and Hinata went to meet up with her teammates, Kiba and Shino had finished before her, which wasn't surprising, and Kurenai praised them for their quick work before deciding they'd get another mission in that involved team work.
And then Team Eight found themselves cleaning litter from one of the many rivers in Konoha.
The task was tiring and tedious but Team Eight kept their minds focused on the task, even Akamaru, though he did play in the water most of the time.
When Kurenai dismissed them, Team Eight was tired and cold, but they were satisfied with their first day as Team Eight.
Line Break
Hinata kept her balance when Hanabi sudddnly tackled her, hugging her little sister back happily, "Hi Hana-Chan."
Hanabi looks up, meeting her older sister's calm and patient eyes, "How was Hina-Nee-Chan's first day?" The brunette asks curiously.
Hinata beams, "Amazing!" She says, before retelling her entire day to Hanabi who listened attentively, pleased to have gotten her sister's attention.
With Hinata's promotion as a Genin, Hanabi knew she'd be much busier and the brunette planned to savor every moment she had with her Hina-Nee-Chan.
"Hana-Chan, want to help me with my garden today?" Hinata asks, Hanabi nods excitedly.
"Thank you! But first I need to report to father, go get ready and meet me there," Hanabi hugs her once more before heading to her room to change into a better outfit.
Hinata heads to the dining room, around this time her father usually has tea, and finds him peacefully drinking tea.
"Father," Hiashi looks up and meets her eyes, "I've returned from my first day with my team."
"How did it go?" Hiashi asks.
"Kurenai-Sensei said she's very impressed with our teamwork despite just being formed, we also went on two D-Rank missions, both successful," Hinata explains.
Hiashi nods, "As expected of my daughter, now go and attend to your garden," Hinata usually tends to her garden at this time.
Hinata nods and bows respectfully before leaving the room and out to the garden.
Hanabi was looking at the garden, Hinata walks over to her, "Are you ready?" Hanabi nods eagerly and the girls spend the next hour tending to the garden.
Line Break
Hinata was reading a scroll on chakra affinities when Neji came back from training with his team.
Neji was walking tall, but she could tell he was tired, "Hello Hinata-Sama," Neji says, spotting his younger cousin.
Hinata smiles brightly at him, "Hello Neji-Nii-San, I heard Gai-San shouting at your team earlier," she says with a giggle.
Neji scowls, "Don't remind me of today," he says, his voice deathly serious.
Hinata holds back her laughter as she nods along, trying to stay serious, "Of course Neji-Nii-San," Hinata replies.
Neji relaxes, "How did your first day go?" He asks.
"Amazing! We worked on team synchronization and then went on two D-Rank missions!" Hinata exclaims.
"Impressive Hinata-Sama," Neji says with a nod, "Well now that I've arrived home...I am going to my room."
Neji walks passed her and towards the Branch House.
Hinata puts her scroll down and stands up, heading towards the Main House to get dinner, she see's Hanabi stick her head out the door, the brunette smiles and waves her sister over, "Neji-San just got home and he looks like crap!" The girl whispers with a giggle once Hinata is close enough to hear her.
Hinata giggles, "I know, Neji-Nii-San trained today."
Hanabi hugs Hinata who smiles and hugs the brunette back, "Alright let's hurry to the dining room."
To be continued...
AN: Happy Sunday everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
To Crazy Chimera: I don't know Kurenai's character that well, so I wrote her as canonically as I possibly could lol. I hope you liked this chapter, the training has begun!!
To Splaaash-attack: I'm so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! And I'm glad you like the way I've written their friendships! I hope you like this chapter too!
To Hinatapaths: I don't know who Hinata's love interest will be yet. I am open to hearing your opinion though! If there is a pairing you want to see let me know!
To Sorra Boo: I'm glad my explanation helped you! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
To SakuraKoi: Thank you for Favoriting Altered and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
To Guest: I'm glad you like how I characterized Kurenai. I was worried I hadn't portrayed her correctly, I'd be concerned if I was a newly appointed Jounin assigned to three future Clan Heads too lol. ShikaHina huh? I don't read a lot of them, but I will definitely consider the pairing. They are a cute crack ship. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
A special thank you to Matt Freeman for Favoriting and Following Altered! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Don't forget to leave your thoughts by reviewing! And don't forget to Favorite and Follow! And don't forget to tell me what ship ya want to see!
See ya next chapter! Bye!