I know, I stink at updating and I'm a hypocrite, because I hate it when people do that. But I wanted to actually fishing writing a couple chapters so I would be ahead. I should've just waited till I finished the story to publish. But no, I just have to be impatient. So unfortunately that makes me annoying because I won't update as quick. Yeah, I know. I'm stupid. Oh, by the way. I suck at battle scenes. So I kinda left most of that out. Believe me, it's for the best. And just ignore it if the print is bold in the middle. I don't want to have to bother fixing it. It got messed up and I tried to fix it but it was just... stubborn.

Chapter 4- Put Up a Fight

The training grounds were empty when Sasuke arrived early that morning. First one here. Tch, Figures. Maybe I'll actually get some peace and quiet in the mean time. Sitting down, Sasuke closed his eyes. He was ready to relax, after having to get up early and drag himself out of bad. And what do you know? He was still the first one there. He had figured the Hyuuga would be here before him. She seemed like the type that obeyed the rules. Loser.

It was no more than a minute after Sasuke arrived that did Hinata get there. Speak of the devil. "Good m-morning Sasuke-san," Hinata greeted him quietly. Sasuke… san? She must really not be a fan girl. I thought she was. Sasuke knew that she was somewhat friends with Ino and Sakura, so he just assumed that she was a fan girl. That she was the shy type, so she was to embarrassed to confront him or tell him about her 'feelings' for him. He did get sort of lucky with his team then. Better a girl that blushed and stuttered than one who hung off his every word.

Giving her a short nod, Sasuke responded, "Hyuuga." He had since opened his eyes now. Hinata was sitting a comfortable distance away. Good. He was still on the fence about her being a fan girl or not, so he figured he should still be somewhat weary of her. Who knows what she might be willing to pull on him, shy girl or not. Don't they always say that is was the shy ones that surprised you most? It was something like that. Well, Sasuke would only have to worry about that if she was a fan girl. As long as she didn't bother him things would be okay. Knowing she was most likely going to be quiet, Sasuke thought it acceptable to shut his eyes again.

Only with the arrival of his other teammate, whatever his name was, and his sensei did Sasuke get up. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night; he wasn't sure if that the weird dream from the night before would occur again. He had many dreams; restless nights were more often than not. But he had never had that dream before. It had made him wonder what it could possibly mean. Unfortunately, thinking about it meant a lack of sleep. No sleep meant a very pissed off Sasuke. His teammates and sensei better learn to not disturb him when he's sleeping. He was most definitely not a morning person either.

"Alright, you three, here's what we're doing. I have planned a little test of sorts, I guess you could say," Kurenai said with a smile. I have a really lame sensei. "This is what we'll do. Well, actually, it's more like what you're going to be doing. I'm going to set this timer right here at a 2 hour time limit." He hadn't noticed the timer in her hand before. That was different. "During that time I will be hiding. You are all going to have to find me. Yes, this may sound like it's going to be extremely easy, but remember, I am a jounin. I know how to conceal my chakra so it's more difficult for others to find me. If the 2 hours are up and not every single one of you has found me… well, let's just say you won't like it. Just hope it doesn't come to that." This team she smirked. Tch, this will be too easy. And this is supposed to be a test? I could do this with my eyes closed. "Okay! Ready? Good. Now, all of you turn the other way, facing away from me." Sasuke, Shino, and Hinata all turned around, listening to what she had told them. Once she knew that none of them were looking, Kurenai went on," You have to give me one minute, but as soon as that minute is up you're all free to come and find me. Start counting down now. Good luck."

All of them had to find her, huh? It just sounded like a really bad game of hide and seek. That game wasn't even fun to begin with. It was just too easy. Just like Sasuke knew he would have no problem with finding their sensei. He probably wouldn't even break a sweat. If they aren't able to find her, I swear, those fools—

"A-ano, Sh-Shino-kun, Sasuke-san… w-we should w-work together. I could u-use my bayakugan,Sasuke-san can u-use his sh-sharingan, and Sh-Shino-kun can use h-his k-kikai. Th-that way we w-will be able to find Kurenai-sensei." Hinata was pretty much beet red after saying that. She must have serious problems, blushing and stuttering like that. It was really annoying. She wanted them to work together? Sasuke was sure he could do everything on his own. In fact, he knew he could. There was no doubt about it.

"I agree with you Hinata. Why? It would help us to find Kurenai-sensei much faster and more efficiently." Bug Boy agreed with her. They were both fools. Sasuke didn't necessarily need to work with them… but with the way Hinata was looking at him he left like just needed to say yes. What the heck?

"Sasuke-san? W-what do y-you think?" Hinata was looking at him, waiting for an answer. They should have started already. Oh well. He was going to end up working with them anyway.

"Hn. Let's go." Time was up.

It had only taken them 47 minutes. Hinata had immediately activated her bayakugan and Sasuke had taken on his sharingan after they jumped away from the spot their sensei had left them at. Plus Shino had his bugs to back them up and help them search, of they needed it. It was not surprising when Hinata had locked onto their sensei's chakra signature almost right away. That was what the bayakugan was for anyway; locating.

Kurenai's chakra signature was very faint, but they were still able to tell where she was. Finding her hadn't been the hard part. She had set up various traps along the way, ensuring that it wouldn't be easy to get to where she was. No one had been injured, and when the three of them got to where their sensei was hidden, they were met with a surprised yet proud look.

"Excellent job, you guys. You really acted like a team for this. It seems that you figured out what the real test was then; teamwork. While you all may have your own individual strengths, working together is what really makes you strong. Now you all are really ready to be genuine ninjas! How about some sparring? I'd like to test how well you all match up together. Sasuke, Shino, you guys go first. Whoever of you wins your match will spar Hinata." Kurenai meant business.

Sasuke had ended up beating both of them. It hadn't surprised him at all. Shino had actually been better than he expected. Having to use his sharingan more than he anticipated was what made him realize that he had underestimated his opponent. Shino's bugs or whatever they were, were surprisingly powerful. Of course, Sasuke had still come out the victor. He was pretty much convinced that he could beat anyone. Well, at least out of the Rookie 9.

Hinata was a whole different story. Sasuke had thought that all it would take to knock her out was to hit her once. He had gravely underestimated her, even more so than Shino. And because of his fault she actually got to land a hit on him. Her movements were quick and precise; just like a Hyuuga's should be. She wasn't the strongest, but Sasuke knew that with good training she would grow to be one. Although he had kept her constantly on the defensive, Hinata held her own. At least she won't be a burden on missions. She shouldn't be.

"Excellent work today team, I mean it. It's really good to see you all working together. Now I have to go to an important meeting with all the other jounin-senseis, but I should be back before dawn. I want you up and ready to go before I return tomorrow. Remember, we're camping out here for a while, so get to know each other a little better. Until tomorrow, you three." After saying that Kurenai was gone for the night, or as she said, dawn. But she wanted them to get to know each other. How crazy was that? It was a joke. Yeah right. All I'm going to be doing is training.

Sasuke went out further away from his other two teammates. Sparring may have been a welcomed exercise, but it wasn't enough to satisfy him. He wanted to be pushed to his limits, to feel that sheer power coursing through his veins. He had already begun to get pretty intense, and he had only been training for roughly 10 minutes. Feeling a slight pain in his shoulder, he shrugged it off. Pain was not something new. The weather seemed to have something other than training planned for him though. It had begun to rain. Hard.