Disclaimer – Kishimoto owns Naruto and the characters therein.
A picture of Team 7 (Reformed) can be found on my DeviantArt page.
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Memories Of Others
Chapter 59
A New Team Seven
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Tayuya looked up as three people entered the clearing where she was sat. Rising to her feet, her eyes widened as she recognized the leader. Dressed in a black Jonin uniform with an undersuit of mesh armor and a metal gauntlet was Sarutobi Hiruzen, with two genin following him, a green-haired white-clad girl being orbited by an odd bug of a sort that she'd never encountered before and a pale-skinned dark-haired boy who wore a trousers and a shirt that left his stomach exposed.
"Ah, Tayuya." Hiruzen smiled. "How did your induction go?"
"…okay." Tayuya muttered, remembering the odd feeling of the loyalty-genjutsu that Ibiki and the red-eyed Jonin had implanted in her mind.
"Excellent." Hiruzen smiled as he motioned for her to sit back down on the log. As the other two sat down next to her, Hiruzen produced a camp-stool and unfolded it before sitting down.
"So, good morning, team." He smiled. "Just so you know, you are the new Team Seven and the second Team Seven that I have been the Sensei of. Now, let us introduce ourselves, I'll demonstrate. I am Jonin Sarutobi Hiruzen, formerly the Sandaime Hokage. I have a wide range of skills including the Monkey Contract and I taught the Sannin, although Orochimaru was my greatest failure. My likes are learning new things, teaching and calligraphy. I dislike those who try to harm the innocent or those I protect and my dream is to ensure the Will of Fire is spread to all Shinobi."
Tayuya stared in shock at the old man, his benevolent smile totally at odds with her memory of how he looked destroying Orochimaru in combat.
"Fu next! Fu is Genin Aburame Fu of Konoha! Fu knows strong moves, but is weak in basics, but Fu is ready to learn! Fu likes Chomei, Naruto, Hinata, Fu's new family and all of Konoha! Fu not really like Takigakure… Fu's dream already true, Fu has friends and can make more!"
Tayuya blinked several times at the younger girl's entheusiasm, then stared as the giant bug spoke in a buzzing voice.
"Chomei is friend of Fu and lucky to know her. Chomei helps make Fu strong. Chomei likes Fu, older brother Kurama and Fu's new family and friends."
"Thank you, Chomei." Hiruzen said as Chomei settled on Fu's back, claws digging slightly into her padded jacket for purchase.
"I am Sai." The boy said almost tonelessly. "I have been trained to be a strong shinobi and follow orders. I have no real likes or dislikes, neither do I have any dreams."
"I'll see what I can do to help you with that." Hiruzen said with a slight frown.
"Ummm. I'm Tayuya." Tayuya said after she realized that everyone was watching her. "I specialize in long-range genjutsu and attacks by summoned entities I control with my flute. I don't know what I like any more, but I hate Orochimaru for what he and his pet rat Kabuto did to me. My dream is to see him dead… again."
"We'll have to expand your repertoire of moves and find you a hobby." Hiruzen mused. "Alright. All of you are, please don't misunderstand me, broken to a degree. Fu, you're the least broken, but how Taki treated you has left scars, scars which I hope will fade in time, especially now that you can manifest Chomei thanks to Naruto's help. Sai, your Root training has left you woefully incapable of understanding emotion. You will undergo therapy to undo some of the damage. Other than that, only time will heal you. Tayuya…"
"I know." Tayuya sighed. "I'm bloodthirsty, don't really trust anyone, rely too much on my flute and without my curse seal, I'm far weaker than I used to be."
"But you understand yourself." Hiruzen said approvingly. "After our training and testing is over, I've asked another former Sound-nin, Tsuchi Kin, to show you around Konoha."
"Wait, Kin's the one that scary-san was talking about?" Tayuya gasped and Hiruzen chuckled.
"Scary-san… I wonder if Ibiki knows you call him that?"
"Wow." Tayuya mused. "Kin's still alive? How?"
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"You look like you were training with Gai-san."
Tayuya cracked open an eyelid to see Tsuchi Kin smirking at her with amusement.
"…Gai?"
"Taijutsu master." Kin supplied as she dropped down to sit beside the prone kunoichi. "Wears a green spandex unitard, has an apprentice named Lee who looks like a smaller version of him. If you hear them starting to shout each other's names, look away as quickly as you can, otherwise it'll scar you even more than anything the Hebi-teme did."
Tayuya opened her other eye so that she could give Kin a disbelieving look.
"I'm serious." Kin stated. "The others call it the Sunset Genjutsu, although I once heard Asuma-san call it the Excessively Youthful Man-hug."
Tayuya's disbelieving look intensified.
"So." Kin said as she knelt down by Tayuya's side. "I heard they rebuilt Team 7 in order to take you in. You should be honored."
"Too tired." Tayuya moaned. "Chakra exercises… new taijutsu style… so much to learn…"
"I felt the same way." Kin nodded. "I adapted. The training here's… different. No scrambling for your life as people who want to take your position try to kill you, no constantly sucking up to those stronger than you in the hope they'll slip up and show you something you can use to try and get stronger yourself. Nope, here, we learn from those who want to teach us and help us grow stronger. Of course, once again, you end up with a better teacher…"
"I didn't hear you complaining earlier." A new voice laughed and Tayuya managed to lever herself into a sitting position despite her aching muscles. "Hello, I'm Jonin Yuhi Kurenai, Kin's Sensei."
"She's cool." Kin grinned, then she scowled. "Although she seems to be affecting me. I've laughed more since joining than I have in my entire life up to that point."
"That just means you're getting used to actually living." Kurenai countered as she pulled Tayuya to her feet and slung one of Tayuya's arms over her shoulder. "Speaking of, I sent my friend Anko to round up the girls and… oh, come on, Kin. She isn't that bad."
Kin looked up from her shivering crouch. "She is!"
"Kin."
Kin sighed and slowly walked towards Keurenai and Tayuya. "Fine. So, what did you have planned?"
"Not sure I can do it." Tayuya groaned. "So… tired… need… to… relax…"
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"This is so relaxing…" Tayuya moaned as she floated in the warm water.
"I had to be pulled out the first time I came here." Kin remenisced, causing Ino to giggle in memory.
"So, taught by The Professor himself." Anko said from across the pool. "Lucky girl. All I got was the snake-bastard."
Kurenai placed a hand on Anko's shoulder as Tayuya shrugged.
"Yeah, I get the one who's killed Roachy once. Damn bastard had Kabuto use me to bring him back, though."
"How did you escape, though?" Anko asked curiously. "I mean, it must have been quite a journey for you and 'nai-chan mentioned that your chakra control was still iffy…"
"I recovered in time to avoid being thrown into the Gladiator Pits by the regular patrol." Tayuya said, her voice dark with memory. "I made my way to the medical halls, but when I got there, I overheard Kabuto talking about disecting me to see what effects the Curse Seal had caused on me. I managed to sneak out and almost literally stumbled across a Konoha border patrol, I had them shove me in a prisoner scroll and send me here by messenger hawk."
"Why the hell didn't we ever think of doing that?" Anko groaned, slapping her forehead. "What a way to get the wounded off the field and to the hospital…"
"I wondered where that idea came from." Kurenai admitted, causing Anko to look at her curiously. "You haven't checked the Jonin Board yet? The technique's mentioned in the new tactics section."
"I've been busy!" Anko protested.
"Jonin board?" Kin queried. "Is there a genin board?"
"Ye-eeeesss, but generally your Jonin-Sensei makes sure you know everything you need to know." Kurenai said. "The board… well, room-slash-archive actually, is mainly for independent genin."
"Like Naruto-kun before he was promoted." Hinata supplied. "I… wonder if I qualify as an independent genin now…"
"With all the training you've done and the mission you just completed, I think you'll be in line for a promotion to chunin before long." Kurenai replied.
Tayuya glanced at the Hyuuga girl, then looked up to where Chomei was perched on the fence surrounding the pool.
"I never got to ask…" She began. "Chomei… summons?"
"It's… complicated." Hinata said after a long look at the half-asleep giant bug. "But, yes, I think that the term Summon can be applied."
"Chomei helped by Gamamaru." Fu chirped from where she was floating just by the small waterfall that fed the hot pool. "Chomei is Fu's first friend and…glubglub!"
Fu broke off as she drifted under the cascading water, emerging spluttering and coughing as Ino swam across to check on her.
"Fu is alright." Fu stated as Ino helped her re-wrap the towel covering her hair.
"Summons. Huh, explains a lot." Tayuya mused as she looked once again at Chomei.
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A snake made of ink slithered into the bushes and an instant later, the bushes ahead of them rippled as a barrage of blunted shuriken were fired out of them.
"…and I thought that Kidomaru was good at traps." Tayuya said in awe as the three genin began slowly advancing towards the next safe-square which was barely visible along the path.
"This is only Ino's course." Fu grinned as above them, Chomei fluttered between the branches, scanning for the other traps that they knew were almost certainly there. "Fu has heard terrifying stories about courses that Naruto buil-deeeek!"
Sai leapt into the air, his tanto flashing and Fu tumbled back down to the ground, a severed noose-trap around her right foot.
"Fu not like snares." The Jinchuuriki grumbled and Tayuya nodded in agreement, having had the annoying experience of being dangled upside-down near the start of the course.
"Sai," She said, "How come you haven't been caught in a single trap yet?"
"My training included instruction in the setting, detection and disarming of traps." Sai replied emotionlessly.
"Great!" Fu chirped. "Sai can warn us where traps are and we can learn from him how to spot them!"
Sai blinked a couple of times, then gave a fractional nod.
"Three paces ahead of us is a tripwire." He stated and both kunoichi froze, their eyes scanning the ground.
"I don't see it." Tayuya finally admitted and Sai dropped to one knee, carefully moving a solitary leaf to show the gleam of metal underneath.
"…how?"
"The leaves on the path did not match the trees that were on the side of the path." Sai droned.
"So someone moved them simply to cover the wire!" Tayuya realized. "Wow, Ino's sneaky!"
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"Good morning, team."
"Good morning, Sensei."/"Morning!"/"Hokage-sama."
"Sai…" Hiruzen began, then he sighed. "Never mind. Anyway, I know it's been only a fortnight, but you have made enough progress to begin performing missions. Now, the missions themselves may seem pointless, but they double as traiing in the skills you will need in your careers. For instance, the infamous Tora mission provides training in tracking, interception, non-lethal capture and keeping a prisoner from escaping. Cleaning one of the parks can provide excellent training in stealth, as you don't want the civilians to see you, as well as observation skills meaning you will learn to spot things, no matter how well concealed. Gardening helps you to learn different types of herbs which can be a life-saver on missions outside Konoha."
"Fu thinks she gets it." Fu said with a firm nod. "All missions are training?"
"No, but you can include training in all your missions." Hiruzen gently corrected. "Now, as we head for the mission room, what other missions can you think of and how would they count as training?"
"Babysitting, bodyguard duties." Tayuya said after a thoughtful silence.
"Shopping! Identifying targets and making sure that the costs aren't too high!" Fu said excitedly.
"Dog walking. Chakra control to prevent yourself being pulled off your feet as well as physical workout." Sai supplied, earning surprised looks from his team-mates at the fact that he had actually volunteered information without direct orders.
"Excellent, you get the idea." Hiruzen smiled at them. "Well, let's see what mission awaits us."
Fu grinned happily as they approached the tower and Tayuya found herself smiling as well.
Being part of a proper team was the best thing she had ever experienced.
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Author's Afternote - 1 chapter to go.