Chapter 3: Kakashi's visit
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any associated characters.
Author's Notes: Chapter 3 is up, and more are coming! Thank you to all my reviewers for the invaluable input. I hope no one was too upset about my team arrangements. I think the three will have a good dynamic. In addition, I am trying to play the personalities as close to early cannon as possible, so Naruto will be annoying, Sakura will be a bit of a tsundere, and Hinata will be sweet but a little creepy. Some may not like that, but the characters make the story. Read and review if you like it.
After the area had cleared, Hinata began to come to. She mumbled a bit, and blinked once or twice. Sakura was kneeling beside her, holding a warm rag to her forehead. Naruto was rubbing a bump on his head a few feet away, and Kurenai-sensei was saying something to him that Hinata could not hear. At the moment, she couldn't hear much of anything. Her ears slowly adjusted, but the first thing she heard was not Naruto, but Sakura. Her voice had a bit of concern, but more relief than anything. She was smiling down at Hinata, and as the purple-haired girl rose, Sakura held her down and offered some water.
"Take it easy for a bit Hinata," she said. Hinata took the water and leaned back down. "Are you okay, Hinata? You fainted for some reason." After that, she scowled for a moment and turned to Naruto. "And then someone had to drop you!" Naruto winced in fear for a moment, and Hinata frowned. Then Sakura's expression softened, and she turned back to Hinata. "But don't worry. I am sure he's sorry. Can you get up?" Hinata nodded and stood, feeling a bit shaky. After a moment, she was able to stand steadily. Her legs felt stable now, and she could walk. "Good. You seem okay now."
She had never really seen that side of Sakura before. The Sakura she knew was just another girl who swooned after Sasuke, and hated Naruto. Girls like that were common in Konoha. She never knew that she could be so…nice. However, she did not have long to think on it. Once she was standing and walking, Kurenai called the team together. She pulled herself up nice and straight, and addressed her students. "Okay, listen up!" she yelled. "Training will start in one hour at the east training ground, so be there on time. Go get ready, discuss the teams among youself if you would like, and come to the training ground in one hour. Goodbye." With that, Kurenai-sensei left the students, never dropping her air of authority.
The children watched the teacher walk away, Hinata feeling a bit intimidated by her. Naruto saw the fear in her eyes, and felt the need to compfort her. He just hoped she didn't faint again. He walked up to her, aware of Sakura's glare on him. She must still be upset with him, he thought. Well then he'd just better say sorry." Hinata…" he began. Like clockwork, she began to blush. Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "I just wanted to say, well, I'm sorry. You know for earlier…" He could still see how nervous she was. He wanted to help, but was sure how.
"Th-thank you," she said, in a small sort of voice. "But it wa-wasn't your fault. I'm just sorta weak I guess." She envied him so much. Even as they began training and facing suck hardships, he was unphased. She wanted to be like that. "Umm…Sensei can be a little scary. I hope I can be strong enough…" Why can't I ever talk to him, she thought. He was nice and encouraging, but speaking to him made her nervous. He seemed confused by her statement, and she turned her face down. She felt so useless. Then Naruto smiled his wide, goofy smile, and she felt a little better.
Naruto grinned widely and held out a big thumbs up. "Don't worry, Hinata, we'll do fine. I'm sure we will all become powerful ninjas someday soon, and I promise to help you as much as I can along the way. This is my promise to you, so believe it!" As he spoke, Hinata began to smile. He liked that. She looked good with a smile, and he decided he had to make her smile more often. Behind Naruto, Hinata could see something she didn't expect. He had no way to see it, but Sakura was looking at him with a small sort of smile. Hinata was glad top see she didn't hate him as much as she seemed to. A few moments later, she looked away, and the smile had gone.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun. I… needed to hear that." With that, she started walking toward the town. "Um… Well we have some time," she said looking back to them. "Do you guys maybe want to get food at Ichiraku?" She seemed rather nervous, but not as much as before. Naruto and Sakura both agreed to go. The three went off to lunch, looking forward to their first training session.
Nearly an hour later, Kurenai waited for them at the east training ground. She had spent her time setting up for them, and had some surprises for them. She had no intention of going easy on anyone. She had told Naruto as much while Hinata was unconscious. Leneance was never her policy, and if theey couldn't handle it, that was their problem. As one of only a few female jonin, she had to be as tough as possible. That was just how it worked, and she didn't mind.
At the far end of the field, she saw someone approaching her. At first, she tought her students were coming, but soon she saw it was only one man. Kakashi Hatake, the grey haired jonin, was walking toward her with his nose deep inside the latest book in the makeout paradise series. She scowls at him for a minute, and then her face relaxed.
"Well, my trainees certainly showed some strength. Not to say they're perfect though. Sasuke needs to learn teamwork, and kiba must learn to think before he acts. SO hpw did training go with that little degenerate of yours?" Beneath his mask, his face was hard to read. She thought he might be smiling. "I don't envy you Kurenai-san. It will take plenty of work to whip that one into shape."
"We haven't startyed yet, but they'll be here soon. And hard work has never been something for me to shy from. Thank you for the concern." Her face was just as unreadable as his was. She had never had much trouble with Kakashi. The man could be nice, funny, and cared for his comrades. She did not like to see him being so harsh on her students. "I have confidence in my students, Kakashi, so do not degrade them in front of me."
Kakashi grinned, and sht his book. "I'm sorry to offend, in that case. Either way, it appears you are soon to be busy. I'll talk to you soon." He pointed to the approach9ng children, and began to walk away. Kurenai turned to her students, and watched as they came foreward. They seemed much more comfortable around each other now. They would need that friendship. When they were close nough, she called their attention to her.
"Okay!" She said. "This will be your first training session. The objective is simple, so try to pay attention. I shouldn't need to repeat myself." Everyone listened carefully to their sensei. "Before this session is over, each one of you must land one strike on me, or all three of you go back to the academy. All for one, team. That is how it works in this world. Training begins now!"