𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐘𝐒 | shisui uchiha

Team 5

"Alright, team. Listen up. My name is Hyūga Haruki, and I'll be your team leader. Why don't we start with introductions so I can know who I'm working with?"

When March arrived, Haruki was introduced to the three students she would be mentoring and training in preparation for their chūnin exams; two boys, Ryūsei and Haruma, and one girl, Hiyori. 

Ryūsei was fairly tall for his age, towering over his mentor and teammates alike. He wore his dark hair long, and tied up in a high ponytail. From what Haruki had analysed from his records and his demeanour as he stood before her, he was a very strict, uptight student, whose only care throughout his time at the Academy had been to succeed in all activities and tests.

Haruma, on the other hand, reminded Haruki of Naruto in the sense that he was friendly and outgoing, something which she had observed from afar when the students had first gathered. Haruki had hidden herself as the three students met at their allocated meeting area, with the intention of evaluating how well they fared with each other without her around. Of the three, Haruki pinpointed Haruma as the life of the team.

Finally, Hiyori was a quiet girl with dark purple bangs and her hair cut in a bob that framed her small face, and was rather short and petite. Although she had responded more to Haruma's attempts to talk than Ryūsei, she remained overall silent.

"Ōtsuka Haruma! Nice to meet you, Haruki-sensei!"

"Sano Ryūsei."

"I'm Hiyori. Tachibana Hiyori."

Haruki nodded as her team introduced themselves, rubbing her chin as she thought of how she would approach their dynamic. How could she improve their teamwork, as well as their individual skills? Aside from Haruma, they were already proving unwilling to get to know each other.

"Alright." Haruki straightened up and exerted her authority. "You three aren't just classmates anymore- you're teammates now. And that means, everything you do, you need to do together. As shinobi, working in a team is one of the most crucial skills you need to learn; without it, you might as well just kiss your job goodbye. Communication, cooperation, and coordination are key when you're sent out on squad missions. Although there's plenty of time for you to attend to individual missions on your own, for now, if the rest of your team doesn't succeed, neither do you. You need to be fluent in these ideals if you want to become a good team out there on the battlefield. So, here's your first task together, as Team Five."

All three students stood at full attention, waiting for their teacher's instructions.

"Team Five, your first task is..."

Haruki paused, watching as the trio held their breath in suspense.

"... to try and find the real me before sunset! The catch? You all have to be there at the same time! If one of you finds me alone, then you all fail. If two of you find me together, you still fail. And trust me, you don't want to know what'll happen if you all fail. Alright?"

"The real you?" blinked Haruma, tilting his head as he stared up curiously at Haruki.

The Hyūga winked at her students before dispelling into a cloud of smoke, leaving the three standing in discouragement.

"This is a waste of time."

"Don't say that, Ryūsei-kun! We have to find Haruki-sensei!"

"Yeah! Come on, guys! It's just an upgraded version of hide and seek! We can do it!"

Haruma held out his fist to Hiyori, who eyed it out before gingerly meeting it with her own.

"Alright! Ryūsei, what do you say?"

"..."

"Ah, that's fine! Should we go now?"

"Yeah!"

As the three students shot off together into the village to look for their teacher, Haruki watched from her hiding spot with a sigh. She wondered how long it would take them to figure out she'd been under their noses the whole time.