Chapter 11: Rookie Life Arc

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or I would make everyone on Might Guy's team wear green jumpsuits.

Playing the Role of the Byakugan Princess

Rookie Life Arc

Chapter eleven

When I came home that evening, I informed my father how my day went and which team I was on. He expressed satisfaction when I mentioned that I had passed the Genin Exam and had become an official Genin. He didn't seem to surprised by my news so it made me feel good to know that my father had faith in me of passing. However, he did not seem to thrilled about my team's arrangements. Being on the council with other Head clan members from Konohagakure, I was pretty sure he was given a heads up the day before about who was going to be on who's squad. When I asked him why I was put on a team with Sakura and Shikamaru, when it made more sense to put me on the tracking team and Shikamaru with Ino and Choji, he only said to just take the reason Asuma told me. I could tell that he was withdrawing information from me, but figured that he probably is not allowed to disclose anything out of a council meeting. I guessed that Shikaku stayed calm and quiet about the situation during the meeting while Inoichi and Chouza complained even if a little. I would not have been offended if they did because I would have completely understood. Ino-Shika-Cho is the perfect formation and have stuck together for generations. Why would they want to change that now? Is it because of me? Did I somehow do something in the past that sent little ripples into the future, altering it?

As I lay in bed now thinking about these things, I feel panic begin to fill in my chest. What if I have changed the future? Everybody being on different teams is a huge deal! Even though the Jounin leaders stayed the same for each squad number, nothing is actually the same. Because of this, what if nothing in the future is the same anymore and I have no clue what is coming? What if my team gets the Waves mission instead and we die because we weren't compatible for it like the original Team Seven? What if Sasuke never gets his Sharingan? I guess that could prevent Orochimaru from coming after him, or not. But, then he would end up wanting to seek power from somewhere because he would see Naruto getting stronger. What if Sakura never gets the urge to better herself because she feels weak compared to her teammates and gets trained by Tsunade? She becomes very important later on because of her medical abilities and monstrous strength. There is just too much what if questions for me to keep listing and the panic settling inside of me right now will just expand if I keep on thinking about it.

Okay, take a deep breathe. Calm down. Let's think of some positives. Being on team with Asuma, Shikamaru, and Sakura can be a blessing in disguise. Maybe we end up saving Asuma's live in the future. Maybe I can continue to push Sakura to become a strong kunoichi and depend less on other people during battles. Maybe Shikamaru can teach us to sharpen our minds to quickly come with successful tactics when needed. I snort and shake my head. Nah, that is thinking too positive. Shikamaru is not motivated enough this early on to teach anybody anything. Okay, back to thinking of more realistic objectives. Training as an ambush and diversion squad can possibly help us out for the future, especially taking on Akatsuki members. A major part of being a Shinobi is blending into an environment and being able to go undetected. If we can learn how to effortlessly achieve that, and learn proper ambushing tactics, we can take on most opponents swiftly. Heck, if we are good enough, we could even become Anbu! Just kidding. I would not survive.

I attempt to ease my mind and drift off to sleep, but it is too restless. I toss and turn for a few minutes before sitting up in frustration. I need to let off some steam to stop myself from worrying and overthinking things. I will never accomplish anything if I keep doing either or. I believe a little sneaking out and training is the remedy to my problems right now. I change out of my pajamas and into my usual training outfit. I silently slid open my window, grabbed a blanket, and crawl out, landing on the ground a few feet below. My room faces the wall that is the furthest away from the front gate. We always have two guards positioned at the gate and they rotate shifts with other men every few hours. They used to only watch the gate during the day, but that changed after I was kidnapped when I was three. They only have to guard the front gate because their Byakugan stays active at all times, always surveying the compound.

Kō is one of the guards at this time of night and always turns a blind eye when I sneak out to train. He must have convinced the other guard awhile back to ignore me as well because no one has ever confronted me. Kō did once when I decided to sneak out for the first time a few months ago. After I informed him on what I was doing, he allowed me to go and promised to not tell my father. I was shocked when he had told me that, but he told me it was because he knows I am trying to improve myself to impress my father and to become stronger for my clan. Over the years, he has actually crawled out of my father's ass and into mine. He knows how strict and harsh my father can be and has voiced his displeasure to me about it. He always tells me that he knows how kind and caring of others I am and how he believes I can change the clan one day, for the better, when I become the leader. After he expressed such thoughts to me, I grew to like the guy better than I did when I was a child. I am glad I am not the only Main House member that thinks our clan's traditions are screwed up.

After making sure no one is straying around, I hop over the wall and make my way towards the Third Training Ground. Maybe I am being bias, or since I have not explored all fifty or so Grounds yet, but I think that the Third Training Ground is the best place for a Shinobi to train. It has a clearing, three stumps to beat the shit out of, many trees, and a small pond. Tonight, the pond is going to be my best friend. When I arrive, I approach the pond and activate my Byakugan. I can not sense anyone so I deactivate my Byakugan and begin stripping off my clothes to prevent them from getting wet. Now, it may seem like that I am just copying original Hinata's techniques: Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms and Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms. However, when the Gentle Fist is one of the the hardest taijutsu styles to learn, and when you are born with a weak ass awkward body that does not flow well to its movements, one must take the longer path and revamp the style to suit their needs. After going through hell to achieve the Thirty-Two Palms, I instantly began developing the Protective Eight Trigrams. Nobody knows that I am out here creating a new technique. Even though Neji and Kō know that I sneak to train most nights, they do not know the details of my training. Neji has been helping me out when it comes to modifying the Gentle Fist fighting style to compliment my body, but I been mainly practicing alone. I have not hung out with Neji in a long time, other than short greetings as we pass by one another when he heads off for a mission or to train with Team Guy. I really miss him and would like to tell him about my new team, but now is not the time to be thinking about my older cousin.

I neatly fold my clothes and set them on the grass. I walk over to the pond and send spurts of chakra to my feet. I place both feet on top of the water, cringing slightly at the sudden chillness of it, and glide towards the center. I kneel down on the surface of the water, lift up two fingers, and begin to concentrate my chakra outwards. Water vortexes form around me as I continue concentrate. When I open my eyes, I raise both my arms up and streams of water shot upwards. I spin my body and start to dance around the pond, water following my movements and enveloping my figure. When I feel that I am total control of the water, I exert a thin, sharp blade of chakra from my tenketsu in my palms and begin to slice up the floating water, exploding into many water droplets. As I continue to rotate my hands around and twirl on my toes, the water droplets glisten beautifully from the moonlight above as they rain down around me.

After a few minutes of cutting up water, I decide to change gears and switch to a more defensive approach. I dissolve the small chakra blade and allow for the water droplets to fall into the pond. I lift two fingers once more and took more time to concentrate my chakra this time around. What I am about to do this time takes more chakra and control so the extra moments are required. Water shot up around me again as I slowly start moving my hands around in a circular motion. The water flows gracefully around in the air as I begin to create larger, arc-shaped chakra blades. Blue chakra lines mixed into the water and begin to surround me until I am trapped in an aquatic chakra-based sphere. I pick up the speed and move my hands around faster, with precise control, thickening the sphere. With a wave of my hand, I push the protective chakra wall outwards causing water to fling around sparkle around me. The waves from the pond ripple from the aftershock of my technique as I kneel back onto the water to catch my breathe.

While I have grasped the basics of the Protective Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, I can only keep up the chakra blades for so long before I grow tired. The thin ones are easier for me to use, but it gets draining when I create my defensive sphere with larger and stronger chakra blades and have to concentrate and be precise as I make perfect continuous chakra lines around me. This technique is difficult learn, especially since I am creating it myself without any guidance from anyone else. However, it is pretty badass and I cannot wait to use it in battle when I become better at it. Practicing this has been a really good method to relax my mind from my worries and the future and just focus on myself and this technique. For now, I only use it strictly for training purposes until I have mastered it.

After resting, I hold up two fingers and begin to repeat the same process all over again.

"Is it really necessary to be up this early?' Shikamaru complains as he yawns and rubs one eyes.

"It is 9:00am, Shikamaru," Sakura says, eyeballing him.

"And?" Shikamaru asks, shoving his hands in his pockets. Sakura sighs in response as I sweatdrop. Sheesh, he is going to get annoying if I have to up with that behavior every morning.

Asuma chuckles. "We have a mission to complete this afternoon so that is why we are training now."

"What of mission are we going on?" I ask, crossing my fingers behind my back. Please don't it involve a cat!

"You will be babysitting triplets for a client while they run some errands, pick weeds out of a garden, and patch up a roof," Asuma casually replies.

I grin. Yes! I do not have to deal with the spawn of Satan today! I glance over and notice that Sakura and Shikamaru are not as thrilled as I am. "Those sound more like chores than a mission," Sakura points out.

"Great, hard labor," Shikamaru grunts.

"All Shinobi start out with missions like these," Asuma explains, popping a toothpick in his mouth. "I did. D-rank missions like this one are set up so you rookies get the chance to contribute to the village. You get to connect with civilians and remind them why they live in a Shinobi village; for safety. They can always depend on us for anything, even if it means doing something as simple as babysitting. Many civilians get the idea that we are a bunch of adrenaline junkies with magical powers who only hide and kill every other all day. So, missions like these help build that trust." I can see how some civilians mistake chakra as some kind of magical source. To them, randomly expelling fire out of one's mouth is an exhilarating yet frightening sight. "These missions are also designed to help you guys build up your fatigue, strength, stamina, and teamwork."

While I want to believe the bullshit that Asuma is spewing to us, I know this is just grunt work. It is like starting a new job. The newbie's job requirements is to do crappy work until they become more experienced and move up in the ranks. You would think this would be common knowledge, but everybody in this universe likes to keep everything a damn secret for some reason. If Genin are alerted ahead of time about the duties of a D-rank mission, it would lower the chances of people, like Naruto and Kiba, from throwing a hissy fit.

"What are we doing this morning?" I ask, diverting the conversation elsewhere. I do not want my teammates to start whining and make Asuma lecture us some more.

"I was thinking we can start with a few workouts to wake your bodies up," Asuma begins. "You know, some laps and push ups or something. After an hour or so of that, we can move on to group training. This will include coming up with formations, chakra control, weapons, jutsus, etc. Basically anything that I think will strengthen your teamwork. Finally, the last part will be specialized training. I will create two Shadow Clones and the three of us will train you each individually. This is so we can improve in areas you are slacking in and enhance skills you already have. We will have the same regime every morning at the same time unless I say otherwise. After training, I will either dismiss you for the day or send us off on a mission."

I nod. "That sounds fine to me," I tell him. I am used to strict and difficult routines, so this should be a piece of cake. "I especially like that we get specialized one-on-one time with you."

"While you three are on a squad and teamwork is important, that itself is not going to help you grow individually as a Shinobi," Asuma says. "All of you have different abilities and excel and struggle in various areas. It would be impossible to train you all 100% the same way. I mean, I guess I could. But, I prefer to be unpredictable."

"The same tedious schedule everyday? This is already getting so troublesome," Shikamaru groans.

Asuma runs a hand through his hair. "I can already tell you're going to be the one that gives me a hard time, slacker." He looks over at Sakura. "You're going to be the loudmouth." Sakura narrows her eyebrows. He glances over at me. "And, you're either going to be the know-it-all or the suck up."

Blunt much? "Wow, I get two possible nicknames. I feel special," I grumble, rolling my eyes. I usually keep my sarcastic comments to myself, but I am not suck up!

Shikamaru shrugs. "I know what I am so the nickname doesn't bother me."

Sakura remains silent, but I can telling she is fuming inside with her Inner Sakura and mentally punching Asuma in the face. I guess you can say I have an Inner Hinata with my internal cursing and sarcastic remarks. They should totally be best friends!

"We wasted enough time already," Asuma tells us as he slings off the backpack he had on and begins rummaging through it. He pulls out three sets of weights and hands them to us. "Here. Put these on."

"Are you sure it is a good idea to wear these while we train?" Sakura asks as she examines the weights. "Aren't they going to slow us down?" Okay, Sakura. You are smarter than this. These weights are only ten pounds a piece. They are not that heavy. You're just trying to get out of breaking a sweat.

"They are meant to help increase your speed," Asuma explains to us as we wrap the weights around our ankles. I struggle to lift up a leg. Maybe Sakura has a point to be worried then. The three of us aren't the strongest people around and if he is expecting us to run laps in these, I am dead.

"This is such a drag," Shikamaru says as he adjusts his weights to fit properly.

Asuma smirks. "I thought you would be the one who gets the most excited about this."

Shikamaru gives him a baffled expression. "What in the world made you think that?"

"I know how you like to run away to avoid things you don't want to do," Asuma says, shrugging. "Well, like I said before, these weights are going to help improve your speed so you can run away quicker from anything you find 'troublesome'. Hey, don't give me that look. I'm just making sure you get in a longer nap here and there. That's all!"

Shikamaru gives him a blank stare as I cover my mouth to prevent a giggle from slipping out. Okay, I do not mind Asuma's bluntness now if it meant I get to see Shikamaru get roasted every now and then. Fortunately, Shikamaru is a good sport about the joke. He drops his blank stare and rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He is trying his best to hide it, but I can tell that he is slightly amused.

Asuma spits the toothpick out of his mouth. "Alright, let's get started!"

Remember when I said earlier that this training regime was going to be a walk in the park for me? Yeah, excuse that. I do not know what I was talking about back then. We start out with some stretches. As I expected, running laps around the field became my own personal hell as I begin to wheeze after only the fifth lap out of forty. Forty laps! Who in the world starts out freshly new Genin with forty laps?! This crazy ass sensei, that's who! I have never been much of a runner so this is not fun for me right now. After laps, we completed a series of pushups, situps, pullups, and jumping jacks. By the time we are done with our warm up, I really want to pull what Shikamaru is doing right now and take a nap. I lean back against the tree as I hear my muscles scream in pain. We haven't even done half our training yet! We still have to two more parts to go! God, I am going to be so sore tomorrow.

After fifteen minutes, Asuma claps his hands together. "Breaktime is over!" he barks. "It is time for some group training!" Sakura grunts as she forces herself up while I drag a sleepy Shikamaru over to our squad leader. "Today, we are going to work on formations. Since our specialty is in ambushing and creating diversions, it is important that we have multiple formations already planned for almost any situation. Our first formation we are going to create is called "Formation A" and it is going to be used in situation where you are ambushing an enemy from an offensive approach. While I already have something in mind, I would like to see what you three can come up with within the next two minutes."

I arch an eyebrow. "Why do we only have two minutes?" I ask. "We cannot surely come up with a good enough plan in that short amount of time."

"On a mission, there will be times where you will have to improvise and come up with a plan on the spot," Asuma explains. "This is the hypothetical situation I am putting you in right now. Like I just said, I already have a formation in mind. But, I want to see what you can do."

"What do we know about our hypothetical enemy?" Shikamaru asks.

Asuma rubs his chin, thinking for a moment. "Absolutely nothing except the fact that he is a criminal that you three stumbled across." Hence why we have to improv.

He steps back, giving us the floor. My teammates and I exchange glances. "The enemy is nearby," I tell them. "How do we attack?" Yes, I know I am not being useful right now. I suck at making up detailed plans on the fly.

"Since we do not know nothing about his background and skills, we need to approach quietly and cautiously," Sakura suggests. "But, we also need to be swift. He may have already sensed our presence."

"Sakura, use your Genjutsu:Mist to create as many illusionary clones as you can so they will momentarily blur his vision when they explode," Shikamaru orders while yawning. He glances over at me. "While he is blinded, you need to surround him with your Shadow Clones and block some of his chakra pathways to paralyze him. I will hit him with my Shadow Possession Jutsu to increase the chances even more of capturing him and prevent him from moving." How can he come up with a plan like that while he is yawning and half-awake? This kid, no matter how lazy and slightly irritating, never ceases to amaze me.

We all nod towards each other that we understood the plan, then turn towards Asuma. "How was that?" Sakura asks, smiling. She seems confident in the plan Shikamaru just created.

Asuma didn't seem impress. "That was okay, for starters. Thought, I noticed some flaws," he tells us. "First, what would you have done, Sakura, if the enemy saw through your genjutsu and attacked? Hinata, what would you have done if the enemy suddenly used a Substitution Jutsu to avoid being struck by you? While Sakura and Hinata had some protection from their clones, what would you have done, Shikamaru, if the opponent found you and attacked? You were left wide open."

Shikamaru frowns. I can tell he isn't used to his tactics being broken down in a negative manner. "You only gave us just two minutes to come up with a plan. That was the best I could come up with in a short time span like that."

"Which allows me to bring up this matter," Asuma says, ignoring Shikamaru's excuses and focuses his attention on us girls. "Shikamaru shouldn't feel like he has to be the one to alway come up with the plans. Granted he is the best strategist out of the three, you shouldn't always rely on him. What if he gets knocked out or something? What would you two do then?"

Damn, he's not holding back. Though, Asuma is right. I relied on Shikamaru yesterday, and just now, to come up with a strategy for us. While he may not mind and will do the planning most of the time anyways, Sakura and I have to sharpen up on my critical thinking skills incase we get into a worse case scenario without his guidance. Asuma gives us a small smile to lighten the dampened mood. "With practice and time, you will all be able to think of more elaborate and futile plans on the spot," he tells us. "I just wanted to see how you were going to do. I promise that you will not have to be doing anything like that anytime soon."

I sigh in relief. Good. That is reassuring to hear.

We spend the next twenty minutes just listening to the details from Asuma about Formation A before we just into our individual training with him. As promised, he creates two Shadow Clones and spreads us out. Sakura and I end up with a Shadow Clone while Shikamaru ends up with the real Asuma. I am not surprised though. I think he is already growing to be Asuma's favorite. For what reason? I have no clue.

"According to your file, you are better at evading and defending yourself than going on the offensive," Asuma tells me.

They have files on us? I guess I should expect that. I nod. "While I am skilled in taijutsu, I am not all that confident in it. I work at it a lot in my spare time." Which is why I have been creating my own styles and moves. While I did learn the Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms, I perform it in my own way instead of the traditional way.

"I'm not really worried about your taijutsu," Asuma admits. "You just continue to practice that on your own accord. What I want to focus on is improving your advantages."

"What do you have in mind?" I question.

"How do you feel about the Substitution Jutsu?" he asks me.

I shrug. "I mean, it is my favorite jutsu over the ones that we were taught at the Academy." Where is he going with this?

Asuma smiles. "You are going to become a master at it."

I cock my head to one side. "Become a master of it?" Stupid response. I sound like Sakura right now, repeating everything back to my sensei.

"Yes, like I just said," Asuma says as my face grows slightly red from embarrassment. "You are quick and light on your feet, you have great reflexes and flexibility, and you can perform Shadow Clone Jutsu. Add the Substitution Jutsu to the mix and you will become almost untouchable in battle. After you have been trained, of course."

Now, that's intriguing. I've never thought about that before. It would be pretty cool to be referred to as "Konoha's Most Untouchable Shinobi!" Or, now that I think about it, some other title. I can see people making so many inappropriate jokes if I was ever called that.

"How do I master the Substitution Jutsu?" I ask. "Are you wanting me to be able to use it with a single hand seal or something?"

Asuma nods. "That is one of the reasonings. It takes five hand seals just to use the jutsu once. A lot of things can happen in those seconds. I would like for you to be able to perform it with a flick of a finger. You're chakra control is excellent so I do not think you will have any problems with that. I would also like for you to practice changing positions with other objects besides blocks of wood."

"I have to be able to switch with something similar to my size," I say. "So, like a straw dummy?"

"I mean, if you have one on hand," Asuma replies, shrugging. "Or other things in nature. Get creative." Get creative? You're the one training me. Tell me how I can get creative! Asuma pulls out a handful of shurikens. "I am going to throw these at you one by one. To avoid getting struck, I want you to use the Substitution Jutsu until you get tired. That way, we can see what your limit it."

Before I can react, he flicks his hand causing a shurikens to hurl towards me. I barely dodge it in time as I spin out of the way. I give him a crazy look. Is he trying to kill me? "Um, I was not it expecting that," I tell him.

Asuma arches an eyebrow. "Your enemy is not going to tell you when they are going to attack." Technically, they do since we all have the urge to yell out the names of our jutsus before performing them.

He throws two more shurikens as I quickly weave the correct hand signs and escape to a different spot a few feet away. Asuma gives me no time to rest as he continues to toss his weapons at me causing me to evade each time with a log. After seven contentious times of using the technique, I am exhausted. It takes a lot of chakra and stamina to use such a jutsu many times in a row.

"Not bad," Asuma tells me as I stop to catch my breathe. "Most rookies can only use the Substitution Jutsus three or four times in a row before getting tired."

Hey! I got a 'not bad' from Asuma! I will accept that. He pulls out some kunai knives this time. "Alright, let's go once more."

The rest of our training went pretty well. Asuma has Sakura training to make her reflexes faster since they suck, our sensei's words, and she is a slow mover. Shikamaru is working on his taijutsu because his grades in that field were one of the worst in our graduating class. Asuma even tells him that the girl's skills in taijutsu on his team is better than his! I decide to take that as a compliment over an insult because I know Asuma is only saying as a motivator to get Shikamaru's ass going. However, unlike me, Sakura is not as accepting towards the sexist comment as I am. After four hours total, training is over for the day. We sit down to rest and eat our packed lunches that we brought with us before heading off to our first mission.

"For a mission, you will usually report to the Missions Desk and receive a mission from there," Asuma explains to us as we head towards one of our client's house to babysitting their triplets. "Since this is your first mission, I had went ahead and picked it up this morning before meeting you three for training. For the future, we will be heading to the Missions Deal after our morning regime. Since you three are still rookies, we will be going on D-rank missions twice a week until I say otherwise. Each D-rank mission will contain three to six objectives that we have to complete."

"Objectives? I think you mean chores," Shikamaru argues.

Sakura sighs in annoyance. "Just drop it already, Shikamaru! Complaining isn't going to solve anything."

Shikamaru shrugs. "I don't know. It has always helped me out."

"Our first objective is only babysitting some toddlers," I say, trying to reassure him. "How hard can that be?"

The answer is: very. As soon as the mother left to run her errands, all hell breaks loose. The triplets, all boys and all identical, were nothing but complete brats. They would not listen to us and kept on running around the house as we chase tirelessly after them. Asuma is no help out all as he chills outside on the patio, smoking a cigarette and reading a newspaper. Even though these kind of missions are more meant for us and to build our skills and experiences, Asuma still could've lend us a hand. He would look up from time to time and smirk at our misery. Finally, Shikamaru gets tired of the triplets' bullshit and used Shadow Possession Jutsu on them to control them. By doing this, we quickly force lunch down their throats and then send them off for a nap. While they were napping, we quickly tidy up the house before their mother arrives home. She is surprised that her sons were actually asleep when she came back and decides to make us a reoccurring babysitter for them! Great. I would rather have the cat mission.

Our next objective is to pull weeds. This one is not as bad as babysitting. I am used to pulling weeds anyways since Hanabi and I garden together back at the compound. One of Hanabi's hobbies is to garden and I participate with her in this activity sometimes for some sister bonding moments.

Things became bad again when we went off to our final objective: to patch up a roof. None of us have ever patched up a damn roof before we were clueless as to how. After trying to figure out how, we decide to beg and plead to Asuma to help us out. After some time, he finally gives in and does so. I think the only reason he helped us out is so he can go ahead and go home already since dusk is already settling.

After we are done for the day, I trudge home with dirt in my hair, food on my clothes, and with sore muscles. All I want to do right now is take a shower and go to sleep. Screw dinner. I hope my father is not expecting me because I am heading straight to the showers when I get home. When I arrive, I am walking across the courtyard that lies in between the Main courtyard and the Branch courtyard. As I walk through, I notice Neji training in his courtyard out of the comer of my eyes. Despite being tired as shit, I decide to make my way over towards and chat for a minute since I have not in a couple of weeks.

"Neji-nii-san!" I call out.

Neji drops out of his fighting stance and gives me a small smile. "Good evening, Hinata-chan." He takes one look at my disgusting state and grimaces. "You look terrible."

I roll my eyes. "Gee, you really know how to make a girl feel beautiful."

Neji's cheeks flush red. "I-I didn't mean it like that," he stammers. "It is just-"

I wave my hand. "I am just teasing with you," I tell him.

Neji sighed. "I hate when you do that."

I just shrug and ignore his whining. "I haven't spoke to you much lately. But, I wanted to tell you that I made Genin and I have my own team now!"

Neji smiles again. "That is great, Hinata-chan. I would have been shocked if you didn't pass the Genin Exam."

"Speaking of the Genin Exam, what was yours like?" I ask, suddenly curious.

I raise an eyebrow in confusion as Neji turns pale. "D-don't ever ask me about that again."

I giggle. "Was it that traumatizing?" I know Guy is… Well special in his own way. I wonder what he made Neji go through that spooks him out so badly.

Neji scowls and looks again. "Humph. Let's just say, it involved a race on our hands." Wow, he's so serious. It must've of been a bad experience for him.

I nod in understanding. "I'm so sorry," I tell him, giving him sympathetic stare. Then, I ruin the moment by snorting, breaking my mask, and bursting into a fit of laughter. Neji just gives me an evil glare as I quickly stop laughing for his benefit. We talk for a couple more minutes before I took myself on a date and took a long ass shower and instantly hit the bed up afterwards.

After training the next day, which we did the exact same things as yesterday, we have the rest of the day off since we do not have any missions scheduled. Since I have not seen Naruto and Sasuke in a few days, basically since we found out our teams, I decide to search for them and hang out for awhile. Right now, it is around noon. That means Naruto should be hungry and seeking out food that this very moment. And I am pretty sure I know where to find him. I just hope he decided to drag along "teme". I was right. Sitting at stool, in his favorite ramen shack, is my blonde-headed best friend. He didn't have Sasuke with him, but Naruto is good enough for me right now!

"Naruto-kun!" I greet as I climb up on the seat next to his.

"Oh, Hinata-chan!" Naruto says as he swallows a mouthful of ramen. "What are you doing here?"

"I have been looking for you, duh," I tell him. "I haven't seen you in a couple of days! Do you like your new team? How is your sensei? Where's Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto gives me a crazy look. "Sheesh! Calm down with the questions! What's wrong with you?"

I smile. "I'm merely copying your reactions when you get excited and want to know about something."

"I don't act like that!" Naruto exclaims. "Do I?"

I wave my hand. "Nevermind that! Just answer my questions."

Naruto brightens up as he launches into his tale. "My team is so badass! Kakashi-sensei is okay I guess though he is super weird. All he likes to do is read some stupid book and he is always late! And he always creates these lame excuses like 'Oh, I'm sorry. I lost my way on the path of life.' It doesn't make any sense!" I giggle. That is something Kakashi would come up with. "I like Sasuke being on my team. It just helps prove even more on how much of a better Shinobi I am than him!" I sweatdrop as he says that. "But, Ino can get on my nerves. I don't know what her problem is sometimes! I never understand her mood swings. One thing can make her happy; another thing can set her off. She's a really scary person." He shivers as he says that.

"She is… one of a kind," I reply, trying to choose my words carefully. Even though Naruto doesn't mean to, sometimes he says the first thing that pops into his mind and I do not want to have Ino angry with me if I say something bad about her and he accidently tell her.

"Tell me about it," Naruto says, crossing his arms. "I invited everyone to eat here with me before we go on our first mission, but Sasuke wanted to eat alone and Ino decided to chase after him. She is so obsessed with him! All she talks about is him! Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke! What is so great about Sasuke? I just don't see it. Anyways, Kakashi-sensei told me that he has some business to take care of, but I think he is really hiding somewhere and reading that book. I bet he will make us wait again after this when we meet."

"Your sensei sounds pretty cool," I tell him. "I would love to meet him sometime." I would like to make myself acquainted with Kakashi so I can, maybe, have him train me later on down the road. Though, that plan is still under construction.

Naruto shakes his head. "Ehhh, he's not that great," he tells me. "I mean, he even fell for one of my pranks! He was late picking us up, after all the other teams had left, so I left an eraser on top of the door with some chalk dust in it. When he opened the door, the easter landed on top of his head! Never expected it!"

I giggle. "I bet he totally hated you after that," I say on purpose.

Naruto widened his eyes and gives me a strange look. "Weird," he says back. "He actually did say that his first impression of us is that he hated us." I smirk. Oh, I know that.

I shrug. "How did your Genin Exam go?" I ask.

Naruto raises his eyebrows. "Oh, so you had one, too?" I nod. "It went okay. I mean, at first we were not doing so well. The goal was to capture two bells. If one of us didn't have a bell by a certain time, that person would fail and be sent back to the Academy. I thought I could take Kakashi-sensei by myself so I attacked him head on. That… didn't turn out so good." He cringes. I bet he is thinking about the Thousand Years of Death. Psssh, secret technique my ass. "Then, Sasuke gives away his hiding spot by attacking from a tree. The shurikens hit sensei, but then he goes up in smoke like poof! Finally, Ino throws a smoke bomb be coming out and dragged us to her hiding spot. She yelled at us to stop acting like idiots and to work as a team." I give Naruto a "yeah right" stare. He nervously laughs. "Uh, I mean she said that to me while she only suggests nicely to Sasuke that we all work together."

I nod in approval. "Much better."

"That is when I realized that Ino is super smart and actually knows her stuff!" Naruto continues, waving his arms around. "She tells us how Shinobi usually work in three man squads anyways on missions so it wouldn't make any sense to fail just one of us. Plus, she tells us the test was designed to pit us against each other when we should be teaming up to overthrow Kakashi-sensei."

Ino came up with that on her own? Is she actually a secret reborn Naruto fan like I am? Nah, just kidding. Her father was on the Ino-Shika-Cho team, so that is how she probably knows about the rules of a three man team. Since she should have been on this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho squad, she probably has been practicing teamwork tactics most of her life with her father.

"So, she comes up with this plans to retrieve the bells. It went really well until Kakashi-sensei tricked us and jumped away from us. By then, the timer went off and well thought we all had failed. But, he surprised us and said that the goal of this test was to see how well we worked together. Even though I can't stand her sometimes, I have to admit that Ino helped us pass."

I'm pretty sure they would have passed anyways, but whatever. She did save Naruto from stealing the lunches early and kept him from being tied up. Though, he will never know that and neither will she. Now that I think about it, it makes some sense for her to be on a team with Naruto and Kakashi. Since I encouraged Sakura to back off of Sasuke and focus on herself and her training, Ino took her "spot" and continued to fangirl over Sasuke while yelling at Naruto for being an "idiot" at times... just like the original Sakura did. Also, like Sakura, Ino is very intelligent and ranked second in our class and was Top Kunoichi of the Year. I do not know how she pulled that off, but I probably had something to do with that because of my influence on Sakura. While she can teach Sasuke about teamwork, she is also compatible with Naruto, personality wise. They are both hot-headed, loud, outgoing, attention seekers, and the list goes on for miles.

I shake my thoughts away and grin. "I am glad you all passed!" I tell him as Naruto cheers and excitedly pumps his fits in the air.

As Shikamaru would say, this next month was a drag. Nothing exciting happened as we repeated the same routine everyday. Since we are just starting off, we get two days a week off. On my days off, I divide my time up between training on my own, hanging out with my friends and sister, and studying. For the last few months, I have been reading up on different topics such as nature chakra and the Byakugan. For nature chakra, I did the little test with the piece of paper that determines what your affinity is. I figured out that my affinities were the elements of Fire and Lightning. While I am not going to practice any jutsus related to those elements anytime soon, it is good to have knowledge on the topic for when the time comes. I have been studying the Byakugan because I believe that, like the Sharingan, there are upgrades to the dōjutsu. excluding the Tenseigan. Though, it would be cool to be able to activate the Tenseigan without obtaining a billion Byakugan eyes or having Ōtsutsuki chakra flowing through me. Even though there isn't any proof just yet to back up my theory, I will not give up searching. The Sharingan cannot be the only dōjutsu with cool ass powers. What if I want to do things like blow up chakra pathways with my eyes instead of just being able to view them? Okay, that would actually be both scary and awesome at the same time.

One day, things grow exciting as I bump into Naruto and Sasuke while I am heading to the Training Grounds to meet Team Ten. "Hi, guys!" I greet as I notice them.

"Hi, Hinata-chan!" Naruto greets as Sasuke nods.

I notice they are both wearing backpacks. "Where are you two going?" I ask. If they are going on an adventure without me, I am going to be pissed! We are the unofficial Three Amigos!

Naruto opens his mouth to speak, but Sasuke ignores him my jabbing his thumb over to his face. "Dobe here throw a tantrum and now we are about to embark on a C-rank escort mission," Sasuke explains.

I widen my eyes. They are going to the Land of Waves already?! We have only been Genin for a month! I never realized they received that mission so fast! Ughhh, I know they will be fine, but I am still going to worry about them like crazy. Naruto breaks my thoughts as I watch him shove Sasuke's thumb away. "I did not throw a tantrum!" he hollars. "I just simply told the Old Man that I am to good of a Shinobi to keep going on D-ranked missions."

Sasuke grunts. "Yeah, simply."

Naruto crosses his arms. "He obviously agreed with me since he gave us this mission!"

"Or so he can shut you up and not deal with you anymore," Sasuke says.

Naruto is about to argue back, but I quickly interrupt. "Just be careful," I tell them, giving them both a serious look. "I want you two to come back safe and sound."

They dropped their silly moods and Naruto raises his eyebrows as Sasuke narrows his in concern. "It is just an escort mission," Sasuke reassure me. "You do not have to worry about us."

Naruto nods. "Don't look at us like that or you're going to worry me instead."

Crap. I didn't realize that my expression and words were that intense. I soften up my features and wave my hands. "I'm sorry," I tell him. "I just overreacted for a moment. I know this is your first time out of the village so I am just fretting too much. I bet you will have an exciting time and see a lot of neat things! I am expecting to hear all about it when you two get back."

Naruto grins back at me and sticks his thumb out. "Are you sure about that? This is mission is going to be so successful that you are going to be so jealous when I tell you about it!"

I playfully roll my eyes. "In your dreams, Naruto-kun."

Sasuke glances over at Naruto. "We need to go now or we will be late," he tells him.

Naruto shakes his head. "I doubt that. I bet Kakashi-sensei is going to be three hours late!" He looks over at me and wavs. "See you in a couple of weeks, Hinata-chan!" He walks off as Sasuke follows him.

Before Sasuke fully passes me, he quickly grabs my hand and gives me a reassuring squeeze. "I promise you we will be fine," he says as I look over at him. He gives me his trademark smile. "So, stop worrying."

If Sasuke is telling me not to worry, then I will listen and believe him. That is how our relationship goes. He is right, most of the time, about these things anyways. I nod and give me a squeeze back. "Good luck," I tell him as he let's go of me and walks off.

I stare at my two best friend's back for a few more seconds before turning back around and head towards my destination. After a few minutes, envy suddenly hits me like a brick wall. I want to go on a C-rank mission! I am tired of these D-rank missions! I want to leave this village and explore beyond the walls! This past month has been boring as hell and I need some excitement in my life. When I arrive at the Training Grounds, we go through our routine as usual before heading off to the Missions Desk. On our way there, Shikamaru decides to get into my head.

"What's wrong?" he asks me. He slows down to match the slow pace I am going at today, allowing Asuma and Sakura to go on ahead.

I shake my head. "Nothing is wrong," I lied. "I am just lost in my thoughts. Oh, look how nice that cloud is!" I look up at the sky and pointed upwards.

Shikamaru rolls his eyes. "Distracting me like that isn't going to work," he tells me as I sigh. It didn't hurt to try. "All morning, you have been spacy when you are the one always working the hardest out of the three of us."

I am about to tell another small fib before I stop myself and smile. "You will find out why I have been acting odd in a few minutes," I admit to him.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Should I be concerned?"

I shake my head. "No! It isn't like I'm going to blow something up."

"I never said that you were," Shikamaru says, giving me a suspicious look.

I roll my eyes. "Oh, don't start with me and act like I am implying something. It is something innocent. I promise!"

"Whatever," he replies as he puts his hands in his pockets.

When we arrive at the Missions Desk, the Third Hokage and Iruka greets us with a smile. "Good morning, Team Ten!" Iruka says. "Ready to go on another mission today? I am happy to see that your all are taking your missions so seriously. Your team has been the one that receives the best feedback out of the other two teams." Huh, really? That's great to hear! Confidence booster!

"Thank you," I tell him. I take a step forward and take a deep breathe. Okay, just ask. The worse he can do is say no. "May I request that our team takes on a C-rank mission this time?"

Sakura gasps as Shikamaru shifts his eyes over to me. "Are you serious?" he asks. "This was what you've been thinking about?"

I ignore and keep my focus on Iruke and the Hokage. "You just said yourself, Iruka-sensei, that our team gets the best feedback out of anyone," I press on. "That should be proof that we have an excellent record of being successful in our missions while pleasing the client. A C-rank mission will not be any different."

The Hokage has an amused expression on his face while Iruka appears torn. I know that he knows that we are more than capable enough to handle a C-rank mission, as long as it doesn't turn into an A-rank one like Naruto's will. The Rookie Nine is the most talented group of Genin that the village has seen in the last few years, but I know he is worried about if we are experienced and mature enough yet to handle one. Skills and power aren't everything.

"I understand where you are coming from, Hinata," Iruka finally says. "I do not disagree with you, but are you sure your team is ready for one? There is a huge difference between a D-rank and a C-rank mission. While you may be ready, are the rest of your teammates in the same boat as you?" See, this is why I do not plan things. I just assumed they were ready since I believe they are. I didn't even bother to ask them. Another stupid move by me.

I look back at my teammates. "What do you guys think? I do not want you to feel pressured if you are not ready," I tell them. I look up at my sensei. "Asuma? What are you thinking?"

They is some silence before Shikamaru speaks. "I guess I am okay with it," he tells everyone, lazily shrugging his shoulders. "It is just going to be a lot more work for me, though."

Sakura appears concerned, but she gives up a small smile. "I'm fine with it, too," she says. "That is, if Asuma-sensei is okay with it."

Asuma looks at us and smirks. "I do not see why not."

I resist the urge to jump for joy. Great! C-rank mission here we come! Iruka smiles and looks over at the Third. "There must be something in the water today," he says to him. "First Naruto and now Hinata."

The Third chuckles. "We might as well go ahead and give Team Eight a C-rank mission before we hear it from Kiba." Ugh, do not put me in the same category as those two loud-mouths. At least I asked with respect and not by pouting.

"What are the details of our mission?" Asuma asks.

Iruka shuffles through some files before finding the correct one and opening it. "Team Ten, if you choose to accept, is going to be escorting two clients to Yugakure no Stao in Yu no Kuni. They came to Konohagakure for a vacation. One of the clients is a older male named Takara Norio and the other client is his young daughter, Takara Michi. It typically takes about two days for a Shinobi to reach Yugakure. Since you will be going at a civilian's pace, it will take about five days to get there, six max, so pack accordingly."

So, we are going to the Village Hidden in Hot Water. It is a village that used to be Shinobi based before they converted over to a tourist village. Though, they are considered a hidden village because they still have a handful of Shinobi running around to protect the village since it gets so much visitors every year because of their hot springs. I call going to one when we arrive!

Asuma looks down at the three of us and then back at Iruka, nodding. "Team Ten accepts the mission!"

Author's Note: Team Ten is going on their first C-rank mission thanks to Hinata being a little jelly of her best friends. I wonder how this is going to go! I have had mixed reactions about Team Ten, but they are awesome. I promise! Unless, you can already see that. I am excited to write about this escort mission. It is going to be a few chapters long so be prepared!

Oh, and I have also made a poll if you guys want to check it out. I know many of you suggested I create one for future pairings with Hinata and I didn't know how to create one until now! If you want to check it out and vote, it is on my profile.