Chapter 5
Kakashi reappeared a distance away and looked at the three preteens who could become his team after today. He sighed. "Why do they insist on sending me these teams? It's not like any of them are ever going to pass. This is just becoming a farce lately," he thought to himself. Then he noticed the three Genin-hopefuls standing together, none of them bothering to hide, none of them moving, just standing where he'd left them. "What the...?" he thought to himself, then moved closer to them.
Kiba chuckled to himself, then turned to his two teammates. "He couldn't have given us an easier test could he?" he said, his voice light, teasing.
Naruto grinned. "Testing us on teamwork huh? He must be a real fool," he said. Hinata giggled at the antics of her teammates. Both smiled at her. "All right, Hinata, where is he?" Naruto asked. Hinata activated her Byakugan and scanned the area. She pointed.
"He's in a tree about two hundred feet into the woods there," she told them.
Naruto and Kiba both turned to the girl. "All right, Hinata, what's the plan?" Kiba asked.
Had the three of them not done this several times before, Hinata would have probably blushed, stammered, and maybe even fainted, but as it was, the shy girl was used to being the brains of the group. As such, she quickly outlined a plan of attack in her quiet voice.
Kakashi wondered what the three preteens were talking about, but he wasn't about to get close enough to see in case Hinata had her Byakugan activated. He watched as they slowly separated. "And now they fail," he thought to himself, thinking they were going to come after him on their own.
A few moments passed after Kakashi lost sight of the three students when, suddenly, Kakashi found a kunai sticking in the tree he was perched in, mere inches from his head. Looking to one side, he suppressed a groan when he found Kiba sitting in the tree next to his, looking smug.
"Found you, Kakashi-sensei," Kiba snickered. Kakashi lunged at Kiba, wondering if the young boy would be able to dodge, given his precarious position. He wasn't expecting the dog-user to jump, but he did. Kiba curled himself into a ball in the air and rolled into a kick.
The feral youth's attack landed on the back of Kakashi's head, sending him toward the ground and Akamaru. The small dog had been waiting at the base of the trees in his Man Beast Clone form for just this occasion. He leapt and began to spin. Kiba grinned as he watched Akamaru use Fang Over Fang. "Yes, Akamaru! That's putting our training to good use!" he yelled out.
Akamaru stopped spinning and landed. He turned a feral grin up at his master. Both turned toward their sensei and groaned when they found a log in two pieces laying where the silver-haired man had landed. "Good call, Hinata," Kiba thought.
Reappearing near the clearing where the team had originally met, Kakashi looked around, not expecting to find anything. Just as he was about to pull out his book, though, he felt a tug on his foot and leapt. He was a split second ahead of the trap Hinata had left.
Naruto leapt from the edge of the clearing just then. He launched a punch at Kakashi's head, which the silver-haired man ducked, then tried for a sweeping kick, which he evaded by jumping. Hinata had predicted this, naturally, and jumped up to intercept him, Byakugan active. Kakashi barely deflected the Gentle Fist strikes. Then Kiba rejoined the two and launched into Fang Over Fang with Akamaru, aimed at where Kakashi would land. From Kakashi's perspective, it looked like Kiba was about to barrel through Naruto to get to him.
"Going to attack your own teammate, Kiba?" he thought. Sure enough, Kiba slammed into Naruto, spinning madly. However, Naruto simply disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "A Shadow Clone?" In his shock, Kakashi neglected to dodge, so Kiba's Fang Over Fang plowed straight into him.
Kakashi barely had time to substitute again. He took a deep breath. Was this team actually working together? Having moved to behind a tree from the team, he thought he'd be safe for a moment at least. He thought so, anyway, until Naruto appeared in front of him, a grin on his face and Kiba and Hinata beside him.
Kakashi, surprised, had to ask. "You do know that attacking me straight up like this is a bad idea, don't you?"
Naruto chuckled. "It would be if I was alone, sure," he said, his eyes glinting. "But I've got my team with me."
Kakashi was about to say something when all three people in front of him vanished in a cloud of smoke. He couldn't see more than a foot in front of him, then suddenly he found himself dealing with Hinata, whose Byakugan was active again.
With a well-placed kick, Kakashi sent Hinata flying out of the smoke and into the clearing again. Hinata breathed deeply, trying not to cough; he'd hit her chest pretty hard. Kakashi was going over to her to talk to her, when suddenly Kiba and Naruto appeared in front of him. "Test is over, Kakashi-sensei," Kiba said.
"Is that so?" he answered. "I wouldn't be so sure, you haven't gotten the..." Kakashi trailed off as he reached for the bells on his belt, only to find them gone.
"You mean these?" Kiba asked, pulling the two bells out from somewhere and holding them up in front of Kakashi.
"All right, Kiba, you hold your teammates' future in your hand. What will you do?" Kakashi asked, expecting him to hand one bell to Naruto, maybe, and to leave Hinata out, or the other way around.
Surprising the silver-haired Jonin, Kiba tossed both bells, one to Naruto, the other to Hinata. Both students came to Kiba and tried to force their bells back onto the dog-user.
"We won't move on without you, Kiba," Naruto said. "You're our friend and our teammate, and we won't go on without you." Hinata nodded her agreement.
"So, they really get it," Kakashi thought. "I'm impressed. Then again, I guess I should have expected nothing less from Minato-sensei's son." He stopped for a moment, wondering when that particular bit of information had dawned on him, then shook his head at how obvious it was now that he thought of it. He turned to his new team. "Don't worry about it," he said. "You won't have to move on without Kiba. You all pass." He eye-smiled at them. The three now-official Genin whooped and cheered. Kakashi smiled at them from behind his mask. "Team Seven!" The three Genin came to attention and smiled at him. "Dismissed for today. We have our first mission tomorrow. Meet here at 7:30, got it?" The three nodded, and the Jonin disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Naruto chuckled. "See you guys around nine then?" he asked. Hinata and Kiba looked surprised. "Well, if today's any indication, he'll be here around ten-thirty or so." The other two nodded after a moment, seeing the logic in that.
"See you guys tomorrow, then," Kiba said and left.
Naruto smiled at Hinata. "I'll see you around eight tomorrow, all right?" he asked her. She blushed, then nodded. "It'll be nice to have some alone time. We haven't had that in a while."
Hinata giggled. "All right, Naruto. Walk me home?" Naruto nodded and held out an arm. Hinata linked hers with it, and the two began the trek toward the Hyuga compound.
xxxxxx
Kiba turned to Akamaru. "All right, pal, where's Ino?" he asked. Akamaru barked; the puppy liked Ino, too. The two best friends were soon running through Konoha's streets, following the scent of the blond.
Ino turned when she heard a yap. "Hey, Akamaru," she said, smiling. The puppy bounded to her and into her arms. Then she turned to the puppy's master. "Hey, Kiba," she said softly. Kiba smiled and put an arm around Ino.
Ino laid her head on Kiba's shoulder. Kiba looked surprised. They'd been trying to do this for months, but it had never worked before. Ino nodded. Kiba started to walk, and, sure enough, Ino fell into step with him. Kiba smiled, tears in his eyes. Ino had literally been working to be able to do this for him for months, if not more.
Holding Ino closer to him, Kiba decided it was time to tell Ino something he'd known for a while now but never said. "Ino?" he said. Ino looked up at him, her blue eyes curious. Somehow, the changed view didn't hinder her steps as she continued to keep pace with him easily. Kiba smiled, the tears in his eyes overflowing a little.
"Kiba, what's wrong?" Ino asked, worried. She'd never seen Kiba cry before. "What is it? Did I do something wrong?"
Kiba shook his head. "No, Ino, not at all. These are tears of happiness," he said, blushing a little. Ino smiled, her eyes still curious. "I've been thinking a lot the last few weeks, and there's something I need to tell you." Ino noticed at that point that they were passing through the park—she hadn't been paying attention to where they were—and directed Kiba to a nearby bench, where both of them sat down. Kiba took Ino's hand in his and looked into her eyes. He blushed as he saw his reflection in the deep blue of Ino's eyes. He felt himself being drawn into them as he always did when he looked into them like this.
Ino blushed at the intensity of Kiba's look. His chocolate brown eyes were moist and full of emotion. Ino felt herself floating in his eyes. She always did think Kiba's eyes were the best thing about him. Just looking into them, she felt herself getting weak at the knees. Kiba blinked after a moment, then kissed the back of Ino's hand. Ino blushed at the romantic gesture. "So, Kiba, what is it you wanted to tell me?" she asked.
Kiba blushed again, then relocked his eyes with hers. He smiled. "I love you, Ino," he said. Ino gasped. She hadn't been expecting that.
Wrapping her arms around Kiba, she whispered in his ear, "I love you, too, Kiba." The two pulled back a little, arms around one another, and smiled at one another. Then they kissed. It wasn't their first kiss, but, to both of them, it was by far the best. "June 12," Ino thought. "I'll always remember this day."
xxxxxx
Kakashi entered the Hokage's office. "Lord Hokage, I'm here to report on my team's test," he said, bowing.
Hiruzen nodded. "Report, Kakashi," he said.
"They passed with flying colors," Kakashi said. "I've never seen a team work together as well as those three do, and that includes Ino-Shika-Cho."
"Really?" Sarutobi asked. "That good, huh?"
Kakashi chuckled. "I was surprised, too," he said. "Then again, I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given who their parents are."
Hiruzen chuckled and blew smoke from his pipe. "Hiashi and Tsume, you mean?" he asked, not sure if Kakashi knew who Naruto's parents were.
"And Minato-sensei," Kakashi said back, giving the old Hokage a glare. Sarutobi froze. "Thought so. Why didn't you tell me my sensei had a son, Lord Hokage?" The respectful title was said with just a hint of venom.
"Because, no offense, Kakashi, if you had known who Naruto was when he was born, everyone in the Elemental Nations would have known within a month. I hope you've grown enough since those days to know better than to blab about it," the old man commented.
Kakashi thought about his leader's words, then nodded. "I suppose that's true, but now that I know, I want to be the one to tell him. And I'm going to take care of him now, too," he said, his tone telling the Hokage that no argument would be tolerated, even from him.
Hiruzen gave a small smile. "Good, Kakashi, I'm glad to see you see the jailer rather than the prisoner," he said. Kakashi nodded. "I take it you'll want a mission for your team tomorrow?" Kakashi nodded again. "Very well. Dismissed." Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke. "I'm proud of you, Kakashi, and your father would be, too," Hiruzen commented to the empty air.
xxxxxx
Naruto smiled at Hinata and kissed her softly as they approached the Hyuga home. "I love you, Hinata," he said softly.
Hinata blushed as she always did when he said that. "I love you, too, Naruto," she said back, smiling.
Naruto smiled. "See you in the morning, all right?" Hinata nodded, and the two separated.
Naruto made his way home and made himself a light dinner, not ramen for once. He had a recipe he'd been holding onto for a long time and he'd decided to try it that night. It was a recipe for gyōza he'd found in the bottom of one of his drawers some years back. Tasting the fried concoction, Naruto had to smile at how good it was. Then and there, he threw together the rest of the ingredients he had for the stuff and made a huge batch for his team to have while they were on their first mission tomorrow.
xxxxxx
Hinata entered the Hyuga compound with her head held high and her back straight. She had nothing to be ashamed of this day; after all, she was part of the first team ever passed by Kakashi Hatake! And her team had used her plan to boot!
Hiashi saw his daughter coming into their family home and marveled yet again at the changes he'd seen her undergo during the course of her years in the Academy. She had changed from a shy, withdrawn girl into the proud young woman he saw before him now. Yes, she was still shy at times and still stuttered and was still very kind, but her confidence had grown in leaps and bounds.
"Hinata," he said. Hinata turned toward him and smiled. "How did your team do today?"
Hinata grinned. Yes, that's right, Hinata Hyuga, the shyest Hyuga ever, actually grinned at her father! "We passed easily, Father," she said back. "Naruto, Kiba, and I are a perfect team, and we managed to get the bells from Kakashi."
Hiashi looked surprised. "Kakashi gave you the bell test, huh?" he asked. Hinata nodded. "And you got them?"
Hinata nodded again. "Well, technically, Kiba was the one to swipe them while Naruto and I distracted him, but yes, together we got them," she said.
Hiashi chuckled, much to the shock of Hinata. "Ah, the bell test," he thought to himself. "I remember the day when Jiraiya-sensei gave that test to Minato, Tsume, and me. I guess the Third was trying to recreate that team with this new generation." Hiashi turned a smile onto his daughter. "You have done well, Hinata. I presume you need rest for your first day as a full-fledged shinobi of the Leaf tomorrow, so I won't keep you." Hinata left, eyes glazed in shock. Hiashi, alone, pulled out a small picture. It showed Minato, Tsume, Hiashi, and Jiraiya after their first day as an official team. "I miss those old days. Oh, my, what would Minato and Kushina say about their son being friends with my daughter?" He thought about that a moment, then chuckled again. "Kushina would be trying to get them married, and Minato would be laughing at how obvious it is—hell, Minato missed Tsume's crush on him, and I don't think even he could miss this!"
Hinata made her way to her room and laid down. "What in the world came over Father tonight? I've never seen him laugh before! That was creepy. I hope nothing's wrong and that this doesn't cause any problems for Naruto and me!" With that thought in her mind, she slowly fell asleep.
She had a very odd dream of her father as a kid and some blond man—she didn't recognize him but he looked like Naruto—arguing about something. As she watched, a redheaded woman approached them, snarled something about them both being idiots, and smacked them both on the back of their heads. The two boys—it felt odd thinking of her father as a boy, but in this dream he was one—clonked foreheads with one another. With that, the dream ended, leaving a very confused Hinata to sleep through the rest of the night with no dreams whatsoever.
xxxxxx
Kiba opened his clan home's door and looked around carefully. He was late coming home, and he did not want to deal with his mother or sister just now. He sighed. No one was in evidence. "Yes, I'm home free!" he thought, just as the lights flicked on.
"So, you finally decided to come home, eh, Little Brother?" a voice said.
"It's about time, Pup," said another. Kiba groaned. Not just Hana, not just his mother, but both of them were sitting in the living room and glaring at him. At least neither of them had their canine companions with them. Akamaru gave a seemingly amused yap and ran out of the room.
"Wimp," Kiba said to the puppy.
"So, little brother, where have you been all night?" Hana asked. "Out with your little giiiiiirlfriend?"
Kiba snarled. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I was out with Ino, if you must know," he said, knowing better than to lie to either of the women of his home.
"Just don't get her pregnant yet," Tsume commented, chuckling. Kiba just glared at his mother as she left the room.
Hana rolled her eyes at their mother. "Seriously, Kiba, be good to Ino, she deserves it," she said. "I doubt you need me to tell you that, but seriously, she's a good girl, and she deserves the absolute best you can give her."
Kiba gave Hana a small smile. "I know, Sis, and I always give her my best. Don't worry, I'll be good to her," he told her.
Hana ruffled Kiba's hair and smiled. "You're growing up well, Little Brother. You'll be a fine man one of these days," she said. "Now get your rest, you'll need it."
Kiba chuckled. That went better than he'd expected. "Thanks, Sis," Kiba said. "Good night."
Hana smiled again. "Good night, Little Brother," she said, and the two parted, each falling into bed and sleep almost immediately.
A/N: And there's the chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed it, and I'll do what I can to get the next chapter out soon.