Naruto x Digimon
Alive - Team Minato's Digidestined
Chapter 016
Originally Written: Wednesday, January 25, 2023 528PM to 813PM
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Gai Might was a loud, bright, cheerful teen. His hope shined bright, even in the face of adversity and strife. He took the rude comments people would say about him and his father in stride, even though his father did embarrass him on the best of days. In the end though, he didn't really care what they said. He just hoped he didn't prove them right.
It was that fear that kept him down most days. Grandma Masumi was one of the many there in rotation to pick him up on those days. She reminded him that when the team setup ended and he returned to his original teammates Ebisu and Genma, he would still belong on Team Seven just as much as Obito did.
Kakashi and Rin reminded him of that too. Kakashi would always have his back in battle, and vice versa for Kakashi. He knew it was just a distraction for him, but Kakashi started to more freely accept any challenge that Gai asked of him. The way that Rin's barrier would shield them when she was patching up his wounds in the luls during a fight. She'd heal him as though she were far more concerned with doing that than the danger surrounding them. He made sure not to hurt himself too often.
Obito was always a friendly face, especially since Gai started helping both Kakashi, Rin and Grandma Masumi throughout their daily lives. Gai wasn't sure who was doing it, but the ground around his father's marked grave was always pristine, and new flowers were always placed. If he had to guess, it was mostly Obito replacing them. Ebisu once tried to tell him, but he hadn't wanted to know. Genma made Ebisu stop trying.
Minato Namikaze was an interesting individual. Always kind and respectful to him, and usually with his youthful friend, Kushina Uzumaki. He didn't understand it, but Obito started making kissy and gagging sounds whenever the two were in the same area. It made him laugh. The same way Minato would encourage him in his training as though Gai was his own student. It almost felt like he was. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened to him if he hadn't failed his Entrance Exams. His father would tell him not to worry about such things, yet he still couldn't help but think about it.
Maybe he would handle the villagers' snide comments about Team Seven better. They whispered that Kakashi Hatake was a cannon as loose as his father, and would likely try to kill you if you were on his team. It made his blood boil. Before Rin, they were impressed with his skill. Obito's situation only made them feel sorry for Kakashi, and before that they still disliked him too. How could anyone comfortably support Konoha's villagers if their opinions on those helping them changed like the weather each day?
It made his blood boil. He was used to them talking about him and his father. Yet there was something about their comments and fears concerning Team Seven that drove him up a wall. Ninja called Kakashi bad luck, and felt sorry for anyone on his team. The civilians called anyone who didn't throw a fuss about being partnered with him insane.
One day in Konoha's market, Gai had enough. He wasn't sure when it happened, but a civilian, a young man was on the ground, holding their cheek. "You don't know him! You don't know any of them! How dare you say these unyouthful things about him! About any of them!?" He wasn't sure when he walked over to the guy. Just that he had crossed the street to get to him.
"Y-you cannot even say it to their faces! You whisper like a coward! All of you! Because you know! You know you could never ever survive a third of what they have been through. You could never complete any of the missions they have! Shut up! Just shut up already!" Someone was pulling on his arm, but he ignored them.
Gabumon and Moonmon in the alley, hidden by the shadows, whispered cheers. 'Here! Here!' and 'You tell them!' and 'Maybe not with your fists though.'
The man looked up at him, surprised that a shinobi would break a sacred rule of their village: to not attack civilians. Well, this civilian didn't know Gai Might. He glared down at the man, as if daring him to speak. He ignored the villagers surrounding them, staring at him as if they never really knew Gai Might. They didn't.
"It's…okay." Kakashi whispered behind him. "They…they don't matter." Kakashi's hand shook ever so slightly, grasping his arm. Rin had his other arm.
Odd that he was okay with people badmouthing him, but the moment they started on someone else he was at the forefront of ending their nonsense. He wondered when that happened. He let Rin and Kakashi pull him away to their assigned training grounds.
He was punished, as expected, for attacking a civilian unprovoked. Obito fully and loudly disagreed, but had no say, as he wasn't a ninja. Being a medic, Rin agreed with the punishment, as she believed Gai could have said his peace without punching someone who couldn't defend themselves against him. Ebisu lectured him. Genma patted him on the shoulder with that same bored look he always sported, and started joining him partway through his morning jogs. Kakashi ignored him for the rest of the week, the length of which he spent doing the harshest D-Ranks not even the most seasoned of Genin wanted to do, by himself. Gai took on the punishment as another challenge.
"You scared him." Chouza Akimichi, his original sensei, found him and watched over his progress.
Gai looked at him in confusion.
"You scared Kakashi." Chouza held a finger to his lips. "Your 'speech' mimicked the same things Sakumo Hatake used to say behind closed doors. And we all know how that went for him." And then he was gone.
Gai looked at the muddy ground he was clearing of debris and detritus. His father was right. There was no winning when one stooped to the level of those that had nothing nice to say. The only thing one could do was prove them wrong by being themselves.
A few days later he was somehow moved from performing D-Ranks that overall inhibited his training, and was placed in the presence of a skinnier than usual, but still heavyset Akimichi named Hanku.
Gai eyed the wide yellow scarf around Hanku's neck. "You are not…red. I thought Akimichi were red?"
Hanku flushed, and chuckled, "Would red go better with black?" He ran a hand through his spiky black hair.
Gai blinked in confusion, before remembering that he wore a red scarf. "Yes!"
"Alrighty!" Hanku switched scarves with him and put him to work in the back of the Akimichi bar and grill.
He wasn't allowed to cook, but he was put to work, cleaning up after the renowned chefs of the Akimichi clan. Hanku's wider and longer scarf didn't hinder him. He wrapped the item multiple times around his neck and shoulders. The Akimichi were kind, but they were all giving him teasing smiles. The kind of smiles Obito gave right before someone met the business end of one of his pranks. Gai worked with a chill down his spine the entire time, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
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A/N: Ever been on such a roll with your writing that you just push your other tasks back just a little further down the timeline to be done later. When I started this chapter, I was supposed to have started on dinner a half hour ago. I love this feeling. XD
Also, that's another one added, from my Chapter Six A/N. Naginata, Hato, Fara, Takashi and now Hanku. One more.
One last note, it's my own head canon, but Gai strikes me as the type of dude who is just a few really bad days from being badass in the other, more negative direction. You know, Joker style… -shifty eyes-
