"I'm so jealous, [Firstname], really!" Naruto whined, slamming his head onto the counter he sat at. "I mean, you passed your first graduation exam, while I've failed all my early graduation chances." You knew the feeling he had - he was ashamed. Something you weren't sure Naruto could actually feel, but he was only human.
"Don't worry about that... I'm sure you'll graduate next year, like everyone else." You tried your best to comfort him, hands on your lap. "I mean, just because you didn't graduate early doesn't mean you're not meant to be Shinobi..." He didn't look to relieved by your words, didn't sound like it either when he sighed loudly.
"Maybe you're right. I will graduate next year, and believe it, when I do I'll get to training to beat Sasuke." He finally sat up, just in time for his Ramen bowl to be set down infront of him.
"Back on the Sasuke thing..."" You muttered under your breath. Suddenly unimpressed by how quickly he bounced back. "You two don't get along anymore?"
He was silent for a second before shaking his head. "Nah," he answered. "He just mopes around now, he thinks he's really too cool for anyone.... So I've decided I'll make him my rival! We were never meant to get along." He scoffed, you were hesitant to believe that. He was already a stand-off kid, plus Sasuke had been through a lot. His behavior made sense in your opinion, and insensitive as it was, someone like Naruto wouldn't be able to understand the pain of loss on that level. Because, well, he never had any parents.
At your silence, Naruto looked up. "Hey, aren't you gonna eat something?" He asked. Your gaze shifted toward him before a small smile made its way onto your face.
"Oh no, I already have a meal planned." You excused. "It's something I can afford... Kind of." You trailed off before turning your attention back toward him. "Speaking of, how do you afford to pay your rent?" You asked.
"Huh?" He asked, eyes going wide as if the question surprised him. "I don't pay my rent, Lord Third does that. I just have to pay the rest." He didn't notice the shock on your face initially, instead eating his meal.
"What? You don't have to pay?" You asked, one part of you didn't want to accept it, that Naruto was living so leisurely. But the other part of you was glad he didn't have to. You lowered your head in defeat, sighing. "I'm going home."
"Huh? Why?" Naruto finally looked back at you. Now that he thought about it, you were a lot more expressive now. He remembered the days he'd be shocked at any new reaction, but now they were apart of your everyday life. His stare was prolonged before he shut his eyes, shaking his head. "Hold on, I'm almost done. I'll walk you home, it's a friendship thing." He grinned, lifting his bowl to quickly finish the rest.
You stood by for at least a minute, waiting for him. Him walking you home wasn't a grand gesture, seeing as the two of you were neighbors. But you didn't comment on it, even though it wasn't grand, it was nice. Once he was finished with his meal, he stood up - thanking Teuchi for the meal before making his way toward you.
"So, your teammates.." He began, arms behind his head. "They're not as cool as me, right?" He asked, trying to act nonchalant, but he clearly cared for your answer.
You hummed thoughtfully, thinking your answer through. "Well, I've been friends with one of them for years, I know him pretty well..." You trailed off. "And the other is.. Pretty annoying. He's a big jerk."
"Heheh, so that means they're not at good as me, I get it." He grinned, giggling as he closed his eyes. He didn't notice your teammate land in front of you out of no where. When he opened his eyes, he let out a startled yell, confused as to why you were so unfazed.
"Guy Sensei needs us all to gather." Neji said, deactivating his Byakugan. "I suggest you come with us."
Lee landed next to him, nodding. "If you do not mind.." He looked toward Neji, like a silent plea you didn't leave him alone with him for another second.
"Oh, are we being sent on a mission?" You asked, remembering how Guy had said the group of you would be beginning missions soon.
"There's no other reason he'd be calling for us in such a hurry." Neji practically scoffed, face blank. "Lord third choice our team specifically because you were on it." He mentioned, making you surprised. You never thought that the third Hokage would ever seek you out personally for a mission.
"Really? Then we have no time to waste!" You said excitedly, turning toward Naruto. "I'll see you later, Naruto." You smiled lightly, sparing him a wave before the three of you jumped off. Naruto watched you disappear, rendered to silence after the number of things he didn't understand being said. But he quickly got a hold of himself. "No fair! It's only been a week and she's already getting missions!"
Once you made it to your meeting sight, Guy filled you all in on your assignment. Which was - "Gathering up training Ninja puppies..." You sighed, your head lowered in defeat. You were no dog whisperer, or animal trainer, so why you were wanted for this mission was a mystery to you.
"Oh, they are so cute!" Lee said in adoration, crouching down to get closer to one of the dogs. This one seemed friendly. "This will be no problem, no matter how dangerous they may be!" He declared boldly, reaching his hand out to the dog he was in front of so it could sniff his hand. "People could even mistake me for an Inazuka! Rock Inazuka!" He said happily as the dog licked his hand, "Or Dog Lee- OW!!" And just like that, Lee was standing up, flailing his arm as the dog that latched onto his hand refused to let go. "Ow, ow, ow!"
He continued to flail his hand before Neji came up to him, unlatching the dog from his teammate's hand with ease - and surprisingly, the puppy seemed to calm down, accepting Nejis hold. "There's the first one." He said plainly, "That leaves us with nine more to catch. Lee, you're lucky this one didn't know Ninjutsu." And with a plain face, he said the dumbest sentence you'd ever heard "This is the real Dog Lee."
Lee stared in disbelief, eyes flickering from Neji's face down to the dog various times before he fell onto the floor in defeat. "I cannot believe this! Neji is the true Inazuka! While I... Stay plain old Rock Lee!" He whined.
Nejis face contorted into one of disgust, he'd let go of the dog to let it attack - but he wasn't going to go through more trouble than it was worth to get it back. "Can you try to not act a fool for two seconds?" Neji scoffed in disbelief. "Seriously, how do you plan on becoming a true Shinobi like that?"
You turned your head away to roll your eyes. "Always so stuck up. Our lives aren't in danger surrounded by dogs."
Neji narrowed his eyes at you, you turned your head back to look at him. "That's the type of mindset that assures you'll never become a great ninja, or that means you were never meant to be one in the first place. How about you give up now?"
You grimaced, already feeling yourself get defensive. "What do you know? You act like your life is in danger all the time, doesn't that get bothersome?"
Somewhere in Nejis unexpressive eyes, you could see something flare in them. "You don't know a thing. I suggest you keep your mouth shut if you don't know what you're talking about." He retorted, clearly defensive.
"You don't know a thing, either. If you don't know what it's like to have a dream for the future, you can shut up, too. That's the saddest way to live, without any goals or hopes—it's no wonder Hinata said you got along with no one."
It seems that was Nejis last straw, he extended his arm so fast that you couldn't avoid the hit he aimed for your chest. It all happened in a split second, first, the hardly noticeable movement coming from your teammate—and next, crashing into the floor as a result. You didn't know what move he pulled, but it made your chest ache. A great pain you'd never experienced before. It made breathing normally a struggle, your eyes shut in a way to make it feel just a little better.
"I suggest you watch what you say around me. You don't know a thing." He seethed.
Lee scrambled to his feet, a silent gasp coming from his lips. He felt like a defenseless bystander—like there was nothing you two could do.
You glared up at Neji, sucking in a breath. "Sensitive topic? I thought you didn't care about your clan." Like an idiot, you kept talking—like you were on a mission to provoke him.
"Please, you two! Fighting is not worth the time, please, focus on our mission!" Lee pleads from the sideline, attention flickering between the two of you. Truthfully, Neji had instilled a bit of fear into him that he wish he didn't feel, but the three of you were teammates now. For the rest of your lives, your relationship would make an impact.
Neji glowered, "This is a waste of time." He jumped away into the forest.
You didn't take your eyes off of the forest as you stood. "That asshole..." You fumed, noticing the way Lee stepped up to your side to help you up. The Gentle Fist technique, you've heard of it, but you never thought it'd hurt so bad considering the name 'gentle'.
"Are you okay?" Lee asked urgently, letting go of your hand as you finally got up.
You nodded your head, a hand pressed against your chest as you caught your breath. "Yeah, I'm fine... Let's just go find those dogs."
Lee couldn't could help but sweat, he knew of the gentle fist technique as well. The internal injury you received was a bad one, no doubt. But he went along with you.
And you quickly learned why you were wanted for this mission as you wandered aimlessly with Lee, an attack came from the right side - and conveniently, you were the one in the way of it. A fire jutsu... That came from a dog.
Lee called out your name as he jumped back from the fire, eyes wide to watch the smoke clear from around you. He was worried he'd see you on the floor, unconscious and badly burned - but instead you were standing unscathed, putting out the fire the that caught on your clothes. He'd question it, how the hell you could walk away from having a fire thrown at you, but you turned toward the dog that attacked you.
"I need that dog, now! I'm hungry!" You said, disappearing into the woods. It was a strange sentence to say without any context.
"Wait! Do not eat the dog! We need him to complete the mission!" He called out for you, running after you. For once in your life, you managed to outrun Lee in your search for food. It was impressive, never would he have thought hunger could drive people to do crazy things like that.
You were a little way in front of him, managing to corner the poor puppy. You'd feel bad for scaring him so much, but your hunger was blinding you as you stepped closer. "Don't be scared, little guy... I just want you to attack me one more time!" You plead.
The dog didn't let its guard down, instead barking at you. It was a puppy, sure, but it wasn't dumb. He saw you tank the attack he caught you off guard with, for all he knew - you absorbed it into your skin or something and.. Made you stronger!
"Just one!"
Well, it was worth a shot. It's not like he had a choice other than attacking. So the puppy moved his head back before letting out a Fireball with a loud bark. You stared at it in all of its fiery, flaming goodness. A starving person truly would do anything for a meal; that much was obvious as you ate the fire directly out of the air. Fireball Jutsus... Were much tastier than match-lit fires. A lot more filling too. So just like that, you found yourself scooping the dog up in your arms with a smile. "You really are like a meal to go, thank you." You said, scaring him with your poor choice of words. But now that it took the time to take in your scent, you didn't smell of malice. Just like that, you ended up unintentionally capturing and securing one of the dogs you were meant to capture.
Gathering back at the middle of the forest, your team came back to show which dogs they each managed to capture. You had one, the fiery one. Lee had one - a lightning one that evidently shocked him more than a few times. And Neji... Well, it was clear he was being honest when he said he had spotted each one of them; he had seven of them following him. Including the one he was previously holding. Guy had appeared from out of nowhere, presenting to you the last dog that had to be found.
"Mission complete! Good job you three." Guy praised, eyes scanning his three students to get a good idea of how well they did. "Neji! I had no idea you were an Inazuka..." He commented - Neji didn't find humor in it, his face deadpan.
To spare himself awkwardness, Guy lead you all toward the trainers home - at the very edge of the forest. He was a nice guy, but as to why he'd live so far out was beyond you.
Once you were done with that, the group stood a little ways away from the house. "We'll send in a mission report. I want you all to write your timeline of events in here..." He explained, pulling a scroll out of his Jounin uniform pocket. "I already wrote mine down... So I want..." He looked back and forth from each one of his students before he handed it to Lee. "You to continue it, pass it along to your teammates to write and we have a complete tell of events from this mission." He said proudly.
The pride didn't last long as he read through the report. He should have been more specific about how a layout should be; or that only necessary details should be included - sudden attacks and such. Lee had listed down every detail of how his time during the mission went, from the very beginning where he was bit and what Neji said and did to the moment he got lost in the forest and shocked by a dog multiple times before he was able to capture it. Your mission report was too short and missing any sort of details - it was a single sentence, 'I caught the dog.' Nejis was... Well it was what a mission report should be, only keeping in key details and mentioning the mission was complete.
'Nobody even bothered reading mine through, I thought it'd be a good example.' He thought, an eyebrow raised before he rolled the scroll up. "It looks like we're done in here. As celebration to our first mission completed as a team, I will take you all out to barbecue." You were truly assigned the best possible Sensei.
It was inevitable that you'd meet Kakashi, Guy's childhood rival, after a month of being on team Guy. He was the rumored Sensei that had failed his three students, you weren't sure what kind of criteria he made up for his exam, but it seemed hard. The two of them would pull the most ridiculous acts of rivalry you had ever seen, which consisted mostly of Rock Paper Scissors. If Guy didn't win, he'd set the most ridiculous conditions onto himself.
"I don't know why he continues with these ridiculous games." Neji sighed, arms crossed. "Guy Sensei has great skill, but that's not needed for a game of luck."
"We should play Rock Paper Scissors, too." You suggested. "It would determine which of the three of us would be the leader."
Neji spared you an unimpressed look before he shook his head. "Ridiculous. Absolutely not." He denied, looking back at his Sensei who put his entire body into the arm he was about to throw out. "To me, it looks like our sensei is only getting toyed with. Kakashi shows no interest in this." He added. Lee also watched, face a mixture of worry and curiosity directed toward his strange sensei as he tuned out whatever conversation you were having with Neji.
After watching his Sensei lose his whatever number he was on match of Rock Paper Scissors in a row, he sought him out during the afternoon - watching him on the street during his 500 hand-walk laps around the village. That night, the two of them had made a deal. If Lee could keep up with his Sensei during his remaining laps, he'd do everything in his power to make Lee the best Ninja he could be.
Lee ended up winning that bet. And that's what led to the unexpected event a week after that. Guy Sensei had three jumpsuits ready for his three students, you and Neji had the same idea of it - ridiculous. But Lee had a differing opinion, he was ecstatic, accepting the gift with open arms. You thought that'd be the end of it, that he'd be okay with Lee alone accepting the gift - but he turned toward you and Neji, urging you to accept it.
"Not a chance! I'd never hear the end of it as I wore something as ridiculous as this!" He rejected it loudly, a bead of sweat forming on his temple. Suddenly, his destiny wasn't set in stone. He was already envisioning his life from now on - he'd be dressed up in a ridiculous jumpsuit and disowned by the Hyuga clan; if they didn't activate his curse mark before that. It was almost a worse destiny than the one he already had.
You felt bad for Guy, so hesitantly, you reached out for it - grabbing it before staring down at it in horror. The next day, you were stuck staring at your reflection for half an hour in disbelief. It looked stupid, someone like Might Guy might've been able to pull it off... But you... It was horrible. You gulped, thinking maybe you'd be able to deal with it. But the shame in your house alone was so strong that it has you jumping out of your window to meet with your team rather then using the door. If Naruto had seen you wearing this, you'd never let your face be shown again.
When you met with your team that day, you kept your head hung low in shame. Neji was the only one who could be told apart from the three of you at that point. Lee had moved his headband to his waist to match Guy further.
"You two are full of youth!" Guy declared loudly, pulling the two of you in for a hug. You couldn't find it in you to be happy, you felt bad - after this, you'd probably never wear it again.
"Yes! Thank you, Guy Sensei! This is truly the best gift I have ever received!" Lee said happily, returning the hug. You just groaned in shame, shutting your eyes. Once Guy let go of you, he put his hands on his hips. "If you liked the jumpsuits, I recommend a bowl-cut next." He suggested, a hand under his chin as he hummed thoughtfully.
Lees's eyes lit up, fists clenching as an admiring blush spread on his cheeks. "Ah!! Guy Sensei! You think it would suit me!?" He asked excitedly, stary-eyed before turning toward you. "What do you think, [Firstname]? The two of us can be even closer it we got matching haircuts!" He declared.
You felt your eye twitch in horror before you shook your head. "I can't." You denied. "I like my hairstyle." You excused, surprisingly enough that was enough to make him drop it.
"I cannot believe it! I made you believe that I disliked your hair!" He gasped, "That is not true! I love it! Your hair is perfect, believe me!" You didn't believe for a second that he didn't like your hair, but seeing how passionate he was about it was something.
"I'm not sure." Neji intervened. "If you want to look like a true member of Team Guy, I say you should get it," Neji said it with a straight face, but you knew he was mocking you.
"Personally, I can go without embarrassing myself." He shrugged, arms crossed. For someone with such a calm, nice voice, everything he said with it pissed you off.
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I AM ON FIRE W THESE UPDATESSSS also i got a new phone today. dont be jelly 🥱( its a hand me down)