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Team ⑨

Chapter 1: Formation

Kurenai Yuuhi has always been a great observer, and today was nothing different. Under a cloak of a simple genjutsu which made her presence ignorable to most ninja, she sat at the highest point of the Academy building. She was on a mission.

Under her, the pre-genin students are milling about, spending time in their own social circles. Kurenai had been scouting them for a few days now, in light of her impending appointment as a genin team instructor. The Hokage had appointed her, Asuma Sarutobi, and Hatake Kakashi to train future shinobis, in light of the prodigious amount of talents spotted in the academy. Kurenai had made a short-list of the talented children, and needless to say she was quite impressed herself. No less than twelve names had been in the list, which tallies to a full four complete teams. The Hokage had been briefed of this yesterday, and in light of Kurenai's discovery, agreed to appoint one more instructor.

While toying with the idea of who the fourth instructor will be, Kurenai's gaze locked on the sole heir of the Uchiha bloodline. Famous for their uber-powerful Sharingan eye, she could see that his strength, perception, endurance, intelligence, and agility are well above genin standards. If there's someone who will ace the pre-genin exams, Kurenai won't be so surprised if Sasuke is the one. However, Sasuke is clearly faring badly in the social circle, Kurenai duly noted. His personality contained so much drive that it is certainly unhealthy. Coupled with his antisocial tendencies, Kurenai was pretty sure that the boy was a walking time bomb. She had noted it in her last report, and The Hokage said that he would think of measures to remedy the matter.

Kurenai sighed heavily. The old man deserves a good break from all the hell. If she had the managerial and leadership skills for it, she would gladly step in and relieve the grand old man from his heavy responsibility. Alas, she has not.

A flash of chakra spike suddenly alerted the kunoichi, bringing her sense to full alert. She saw some altercation down below, but she did not have to glance the second time to discern the culprit. It was no other that Naruto Uzumaki, who apparently just dumped a bucketful of something on Sasuke. Kurenai smirked as she witnessed Naruto getting pounded by the so-called Sasuke Fans' Club for playing a prank on their beloved prince. She understood well that the Yondaime's descendant has a fair potential to pass the pre-genin test, although his position on Kurenai's shortlist is quite precarious at the number twelve. Kurenai noted the happy-go-lucky boy had tremendous amount of endurance and power, but sadly his intelligence and perception is hampered by his antics.

Shifting the gaze from the pounded boy, Kurenai locked on another genin aspirant who was Hinata Hyuuga. The girl sat comfortably in the middle of Kurenai's list, but right now she only watched the spectacle unfolding by peering from the blind corner of the nearby sport equipments' shed. Kurenai sighed again. She could be quite the stalker if it was linked to Naruto. The heir to the Hyuuga clan was shy to the extreme, a fact that had been pretty familiar to Kurenai. She was the one who acted on her ignorant parent's stead on many occasions. It was painful to see the talented girl being scorned by her own father, just because she did not meet his ridiculously high standards... Kurenai silently mused.

On a swing not far from the site of Naruto's beating, Kurenai saw another star candidate for the genin exams. The class belle, Tenshi Hinanai has been idly sitting there for about seven minutes now, with pleasantries exchanged to and from passersby every so often. The older kunoichi noted that the long-haired girl was also high on her list, probably second only to the prodigy who is Sasuke. The girl had been studying the art of Koken kenjutsu practically since she could walk, and Kurenai noted that it molded her mind and body nicely. The Battle Angel, as she was aptly nicknamed, can turn from a refined and polite schoolgirl into a fierce combatant whenever the situation calls.

As if on cue, something that looks like a water balloon exploded over the heads of the rabid Sasuke fangirls, who were still on the vicinity of the place where they beat Naruto to submission. From what expression she could read from this distance, Kurenai concluded that it was something that tasted or smelled pretty unpleasant, even both. A nearby tree emanated a shrill, female laugh, betraying the presence of another prankster of Naruto's class, Michiru Nogami. Kurenai noted that Naruto's partner-in-crime was only slightly better in terms of ability to the blond boy, but the fact that she unabashedly played and sometimes exchanged pranks with the most hated boy in Konohagakure filled Kurenai with pride. Her judgment of character, Kurenai mused, was already much better that the other kids and most adults, who will jump to any slight chance to blame, beat up, or shun Naruto outright. There was hope for him after all.

Over the next minute, a girl with silvery-white short hair went for the initiative to break the commotion. The girl, much to Kurenai's delight, is another genin aspirant: her name is Momiji Inubashiri, and also studies kenjutsu like Tenshi, albeit of a different style. Kurenai noted the presence of the two budding sword-bearing girls, and wondered what role they would play in Konoha's stride for the future. After all, sword-masters were somewhat hard to come by lately, Kurenai mused inside.

*.*

"Good evening, sir," a long, silver-haired ninja geared in battle raiments greeted, as he entered the Hokage's Room, "Undercover Jounin Agent, Eino Yagokoro reporting with the completion of contract."

"Ah, Eino! Good to finally see you again!" the Hokage said happily as he gestured for Eino to sit at the chair opposite across the table from him, "I trust that you had completed your final mission before coming here?"

"But of course, sir," the foreigner-looking man replied, "I trust that the smuggled designs for the so-called ARMS weaponry had been delivered via vegetable mail as per my written report."

"Well, yes... and now the intel department is piecing the peel from that crate of carrot as we speak," Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled as he spoke. "The last report coming to me is that they had decoded merely about 24 percent of the whole document... Really Eino, you should just come up with something easier to decode. I am starting to take pity on those poor decoder people."

"At least it is perfectly safe and unattractive to our enemies, sir," Eino said seriously.

"Then at least devise a way to make them more manageable the next time around," the Sandaime retorted in a friendly way, "By the way, have you met your sister?"

"Yes sir, I spent the night at Eirin's for this past two days," Eino said, "and I'll be doing that while the housing contracts are being taken care of."

"I see then," The Sandaime replied, "How would you like a teaching job, Eino?"

"Well, that's quite new to me, sir..." Eino pondered as he rested his chin on his hands, "I'm not sure if I can be a good teacher."

"Aren't we all, when we are offered our first teaching job?" The Hokage mused in a wizened way, looking far across the room, "I'm sure you'll do your job well, Eino. You just have a flair on that."

"Ah, yes," Eino said as he remembered the long-past events, "I suppose I am, sir…"

"More importantly, Eino," the Hokage said as he leaned back to his chair and stroked his beard, "Your skills with chakra bullets must be preserved at all costs. Its practitioner is so rare right now, that it's practically something akin to a kekkei genkai of your family, even when it's not."

"Yes, I understand now, sir," Eino replied resolutely, "May I suggest a few improvements based on my soldiering experiences abroad?"

"Of course you are, Eino," Hiruzen beamed. "Exotic military knowledge may give us better edge against our competitors."

"I have envisioned a three-men team, specialized in assassinations done from afar," Eino elaborated, "The people abroad called them 'snipers', since they are supposedly able to kill the notoriously flighty shore-bird from a far distance away."

"Hmm, it breaks the mold quite apparently, I see," the old shinobi commented with an interested tone, "Do continue. I'm intrigued."

*.*

"... and so, that's my vision for the last genin team, which will be led by Eino here," The Sandaime concluded his explanation on how he envisioned the ninth genin team to be formed.

"If I may, Hokage-sama," Kakashi raised his hand.

"Go ahead," the Hokage said, while sitting back on his seat.

"The visions you have for this team... I find them a bit too heavy for a genin to shoulder. You don't hope to send kids out to the fields doing the killing this soon, do you?" the jounin explained his motion. "Your notion of a complete... long-range team is also hard to swallow. Shinobi in general has always been ones to excel in stealth and short-range..."

"But then, there's me," Eino's cool voice, coupled with a sharp tone, cut the Sharingan bearer in mid-sentence, "you don't suppose this Eino Yagokoro happened overnight, do you?"

"Duly noted, Kakashi," the Hokage complemented, breaking the slight tension. "However, covert long-range skirmishers like Eino have been rare to the extreme, and training a cadre of them from youth would give us a significant edge over our competitors. Before they are ready for grisly appointments, we could always place them in recon jobs, since their recon capabilities should prove adequate."

"I can see where you're going with this, sir," Kurenai Yuuhi said pensively, "but finding the right candidate for a team of such role will be hard. More so with the training."

"Well, that is for Eino to work on," the supreme leader of Konoha chuckled. "I see that you have lived up to my expectations, Kurenai. Let's see what your... recon has yielded."

"What do you mean; you've been spying on our own kids?" Asuma snapped. Evidently, the brawler had ran out of nicotine in his system due to the 'no smoking' sign in the room he had been the past few hours.

"Wouldn't call it 'spying'... I believe 'scouting' is a more appropriate term," Kurenai retorted. "Well then, out of the twelve graduates, I only see our next-to-last to be fitting in the skills needed for a long-ranged skirmisher like Eino. Of course, Sasuke Uchiha could make for a great candidate too, if not for the workable limitations of his fire-based jutsu."

"You must mean that Michiru Nogami," Iruka commented, "her kekkei genkai is perfect for ranged combat... if she trained more, that is."

"What's her kekkei genkai, anyway?" Eino asked quickly.

"It's called Fuyukaze… or something akin to that," answered the pre-genin teacher, "I suppose it's like manipulating ice without the use of hand seals."

"I think I'll take her nonetheless. Sniping requires distance, and I think I can work at the distance after hearing about her kekkei genkai," Eino commented. "This Sasuke may sound more well-rounded, but I think I could polish Michiru's skills to the best of her ability by teaching her my infamous Danmaku no Jutsu."

"She could do well with plenty of training, that I believe," Iruka replied.

"I can see that the matter is resolved, so that brings us to the next candidate," Kurenai resumed as Eino jotted the name into her note pad. "For the spotter role Hokage-sama outlined earlier, there are more candidates. Four of them had the proper kekkei genkai to do it, namely Hinata Hyuuga with her Byakugan, Shino Aburame with his kikai bugs, Kiba Inuzuka with his heightened senses, and Momiji Inubashiri with her Takagan."

"Tough choice indeed... especially with the scout setting an eye to the same target," Eino commented playfully.

"Well, sow-ry for having a recon-based team," Kurenai teased back amidst Asuma's scowl. "Take your pick, anyway. One team could only be occupied by three people, and we have four candidates. No hard feelings."

"Let's see here… as far as I remembered, Takagan is limited by its dependency to adequate lighting, while kikai bugs and Kiba's senses are of poor use to snipers since they rarely need to concern line of fire..." Eino mused seriously. "Sorry Kurenai, but I have to pick the Hyuuga girl and her Byakugan."

"Fair enough, I guess... Momiji could be a good asset to cover us with her kenjutsu," Kurenai commented on the jounin's choice. "Hinata could be a good addition to teams of any specialty, really… if she ever opens up..."

"Oh, I assure you, I'll be gentle on her," Eino retorted before laughing.

"Coming from you... it sounded soo Kami-damned wrong," Kakashi grunted.

"That leaves the commando role for your team, then," Iruka said pensively. "I guess that should be the easiest to pick from the remaining 10, as all of them are of passable taijutsu abilities. You might as well take Sasuke Uchiha for that role. He's the best of many this year, not to mention that his other capabilities are near the top, too."

"Or you could take that Sakura Haruno. I heard she made off with a good grade in the first aid course," Kakashi commented, joining the fray at last. "You might want to have a combat-capable medic in your team."

"I'm impressed, Kakashi~" Kurenai said cheerily, "I thought the only thing on your mind is only a three-letter word, beginning with an F and ending with a P?"

"Aw, shaddup..." Kakashi grunted. "I can't have a hard-on twenty-four hours a day, however many Icha Icha books I read..."

"Of course, that dead-last Naruto is also a candidate," Iruka commented, "his taijutsu had the power, if not the form."

"Interesting… I think I'll take the dead last," Eino said confidently, surprising Iruka, Kakashi, and to a milder degree, Kurenai and Asuma.

"You can't be serious, man," Iruka commented. "Although he could use Kage Bunshin no Jutsu to create thirty clones in one sitting, he's just too unfocused to handle training! Hell, even his preference to orange garbs can betray your team's presence…"

"Well, now you said that he could make thirty shadow-clones in one sitting," Eino replied. "It shows how immense his potential is. Even I could only make one or two clones, and four is the absolute maximum I would do."

"I see the logic behind them, Eino," Kurenai said, "but I should warn you that you have to deal with his many issues before making him into a great ninja."

"That's what we'll all do eventually…" the silver-haired undercover ninja said as he leaned back to his chair. Meanwhile, The Hokage re-entered the room, having conducted his business outside. Apparently the old shinobi slipped out from the discussion partway.

"Well well, I guess we have some of our first teams constructed, do we?" the Hokage concluded their discussion, "If you will iterate your picks for me, jounin instructors?"

"Very well, sir," Eino said with a smile, "Ninth Genin Team, instructed by Eino Yagokoro. Members, Hinata Hyuuga, Michiru Nogami, and... Naruto Uzumaki."

"Eighth Genin Team, instructed by Kurenai Yuuhi. My picks are Momiji Inubashiri, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka," Kurenai told her choices.

"Hmm, well-made choices, Kurenai," the Hokage commented, "Oh, and Eino… are you sure you want to take both Naruto and Michiru on your team? Those kids are pretty hard to handle, not to mention our tradition of placing the first and last students on the list in the same team to balance them out."

"I'll consider that as an in-house training challenge, sir," Eino replied the elder with a smile.

"I concur to Eino's decision, sir," Kurenai added, trying to vouch for the silver-braided man, "Naruto and Michiru can work quite well together, and together their cheerfulness might draw out Hinata's true potential."

"If that is what you two say, then. Eino, I would want written progress report every week," the wizened elder said after sighing. "How about you two, then? Asuma, Kakashi?"

"Well then, for the Tenth Genin Team, I think I'll just pick the Ino-Shika-Chou juniors," Asuma voiced his choice, "Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chouji Akimichi."

"That leaves the Seventh Genin Team with yours truly in charge, eh… Guess I'll take the rest of the list," Kakashi commented, "Let's see here… Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and… Tenshi Hinanai. Hmm, I actually got the best candidates for this…"

"Okay. I had it all down, and that leaves me to break the news to the genin," Iruka concluded.

*.*

The morning had always carried a little less color in Hinata Hyuuga's fairly spartan room. With a slight hesitation, the eldest female scion of the main branch Hyuuga pulled her body upwards. Another huff, and the scion readied himself for the big day that is today. Today is the genin graduation day and announcement for the team.

With slow and gauged steps, the young scion made her way to the bathroom. She relieved herself, while idly thinking of who she will be with in her team. Her family's kekkei genkai, Byakugan, makes it quite clear to her that she will be teamed with other recon specialists. Of course, Hinata would never know what fate had in store for her today.

After dressing herself in her everyday clothes, Hinata walked in ease to the common dining hall. The time was nearing seven, and her father most likely had finished his morning exercises and was waiting in there.

"Good morning, child," the stern, almost-emotionless voice of Hiashi Hyuuga greeted the daughter as she entered the dining room.

"And a good morning for you too, Father," Hinata warmly returned the greeting.

"You seem… expectant today, Hinata," Hiashi said rather flatly as he took the chopsticks, setting it on his hands in a fluid motion.

"Yes Father, in the matter of fact I am," Hinata replied with gauged tones. "Today is the announcement for the genin team placement."

"Ah, it figures," the older clan-leader remarked as he surveyed the dishes for that morning's breakfast: lightly-roasted river trout complemented with generous daikon shavings, cucumber pickles, and misoshiru.

A moment of silence ensued as Hiashi gauged her daughter, who is sitting neatly just across him.

"Although you are not as talented as your sister, Hinata, it is of my grounded belief that you will make a ninja at least worthy in upholding our family name," Hiashi spoke with an impeccably flat, yet slightly condescending, tone.

"I strove to fulfill your wishes, Father," Hinata replied, cautious of the scorn in her father's word.

"Let us eat, then," Hiashi concluded the exchange of words.

*.*

It was halfway after seven strokes of the clock when Hinata arrived at the class. Some morning birds already showed up for the last class of their life before genin. Her light steps quickly took her to her preferred place, the middle seat of the sixth row from the bottom.

Although force of habit drew Hinata to come early today, the class was not going to start until nine. She idly sat about, watching some children she knew ambling over, quickly mingling with their social groups. She recognized a maiden clad in black pants, bowler hat with a peach insignia, and white long-sleeved shirt to be Tenshi Hinanai, the heir of the Koken school of kenjutsu and class belle. Tenshi even carries a more aristocratic air around her compared to my own, Hinata mused dejectedly.

Not too far to the left of Tenshi, sat a girl with eye and hair coloration mirroring Hinata's: her short hair was almost bone-white with a tinge of silver, but her eyes are black. The girl had a large dao resting on her table, and by Hinata's recollection her shield should be laying somewhere nearby. Momiji Inubashiri, the white-haired girl, was a practitioner of the rival style kenjutsu of Koken, a sword-and-shield style called Tenchigen. The white-haired girl has been trying to be just to everyone, a fact that Hinata rather liked if not because of the girl's bluntness.

"Atai teba~ Saikyou darou~ Atai Chiru no destiny~"

Hinata perked up as she heard the somewhat-familiar off-tune song. It belongs to a girl in blue dress bordered by a pattern of white triangles. Her name is Michiru Nogami, reputed to be the class' second biggest idiot, only losing by a slim margin to the number one. Hinata has always been somewhat awed by her ability to shrug off the many indirect insults driven to her by the other girls.

"Okay you gossip guys, get in, we're announcing your teams, chop chop chop!"

Hinata reflexively glanced to the wall clock to confirm the time, upon hearing their homeroom teacher Iruka Umino outside the door. It showed that it was almost nine, prompting Hinata to muse about how fast the flow of time goes by when one does not pay attention. A rush of boys quickly filled the remaining seats, including one orange-clad boy, whom she had admired.

"Alright, people. This is it, the big day for you genin aspirants, because today I will announce the placement result for the teams," Iruka announced as the commotion died down. "The only people who are called are those who pass the test yesterday, and those who are didn't get called, well, good luck next semester. Once called, the chosen people must report to the room next door to receive their official, sanctioned hitai-ite. Are we clear on this?"

A resounding "yes" filled the room, then it gradually was silent again. Hinata could only hold her breath in anticipation. She was certain she would pass, but she had heard some whispers that the object of her affection would not.

"Jeez, you people are unexpectedly calm today," the pre-genin teacher mused.

As the names are read out by Iruka, the ranks in the 60-strong classroom begin to thin. While excited for their own prospects, the remaining children in the class were quite sure that the teachers are saving the best teams for last. The departing children were sent off with some measure of respect, as well as gasps.

"Alright, this is for Team Seven, who will be instructed by Hatake Kakashi-san. Tenshi Hinanai, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, please report to the next room…"Iruka iterated as he read from his paper, as if confirming his pupils' suspicion.

There were some fierce snickerings and not-so-secret whispers accompanying the departure of the two top-of-the-class prodigies and an average genin. It was no big secret that Sakura is head-over-heels over Sasuke, but the presence of Tenshi with her beauty and refinement presents a great challenge to the girl with strawberry-red hair color. Hinata's thought wandered to that time once, when she had witnessed a slight perturbation in Sasuke's chakra flow when the cold boy faced off with the aloof girl in a mock battle…

"Clam it down folks, you people could still hope for the next nine spots in the three teams," Iruka said as he got back to his list, "Now for Team Eight, who will find themselves under the tutelage of miss Kurenai Yuuhi-san. Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Momiji Inubashiri, please report to the next room."

Hinata's heart sank a bit when she knew that she would not be tutored by Kurenai-sensei. She has always been Hinata's favorite, not to mention she had a degree of kindness and affection that appealed to Hinata. However, a glimmer of hope remained, as Hinata could still hope to be teamed with the orange-clad boy…

"Next we come to Team Nine, who will be tutored by Eino Yagokoro-san…" Iruka reads on, "the members will be Hinata Hyuuga, Michiru Nogami, and… Naruto Uzumaki."

The class fell into utter silence upon knowing that the class' two biggest idiots and the Hyuuga cast-away are thrown into the same team. However, Hinata's heart was in the greatest uproar in her life.

*.*

The class concluded a little over halfway to twelve, so the normally-training youths are free to go. Hinata took her usual spot on a bench in the academy's grounds, letting the world pass by and marveling at her new hitai-ite. The steel padding, etched with an engraving of Konohagakure's leaf insignia, glinted on the mild midday sun.

The hitai-ite is a kind of head protector, mostly made from durable linen cloth combined with a moderately-thick steel plate bolted on the middle of the length of cloth. Its use has dwindled much from its beginnings, and now they mainly serve as identification markings for ninjas of the surrounding countries. Hinata slowly rubbed the cloth tail of her hitai-ite on the steel padding, still somewhat unbelieving of today's fortunate events happening on her.

"Hellooo~!"

The sudden spike in voice volume and a pat on her back surprised the timid Hinata. Her hands went astray as she unknowingly flung her own hitai-ite to the air.

"Kyah!"

Instinctively, Hinata took a stab on grabbing her hitai-ite, but it chose to fall on her assailant's hands. The pale-haired girl dressed in blue quickly extended her hand towards Hinata in a kind gesture.

"So sorry to startle you, Hinata-san~" Michiru said quickly.

"Ah… No, no need to apologize really, Mi-Michiru-chan…" Hinata falteringly responded as she received the hitai-ite from Michiru, "Here… have a seat…"

"Ah, yeah… thanks," Michiru chimed happily as she sat beside Hinata, "I wonder how our sensei would teach us."

"Yes, I am curious too," Hinata reiterated her new team-mate, "I had heard that Yagokoro-sensei usually works abroad, so he is rarely seen in the village. One of the branch family Hyuuga is his acquaintance."

"Wow, you sure know much, Hinata-san~" Michiru complimented, "I don't even know half of the team supervisors…"

"Ah, N-no! Not at all… Shinju-san mentioned him a good few times, that's all…" Hinata quickly corrected Michiru's assumptions, "and please, Hinata-chan is okay for me…"

"Okay then, Hinata-chan it is," Michiru idly noted as she brought her eyes up to challenge the sun. "Ooh, such a fine day…"

A few minutes of silence ensued as the two girls just sat idly beside each other with their own thoughts. After that few minutes, Michiru conjured a small spiky ice crystal and fiddled around with it to pass the time. Hinata was a bit too nervous to start a talk with her new team-mate, but after a few seconds she found herself staring at the form of ice the pale-haired girl had conjured.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Michiru mused, "It's my kekkei genkai, Fuyukaze. My father had said that I'm still too little to freeze bigger things though…best thing I could do is frog-sized things."

"A-… yes, Michiru-chan, i-it's quite pretty," Hinata commented.

"A lot of people from the class say I suck even with this kekkei genkai," Michiru added. "It sure makes me wonder why we get to be a team. To top it off, we get to be with the so-called biggest idiot of Konoha…"

Hinata froze up. She realized that she is in a similar position with the ice-wielder. Most of the Hyuuga family held her cousin, Neji Hyuuga, and her sister, Hanabi Hyuuga, on the highest regard due to their excellent Jyuuken and Byakugan ability. She also knew how bad the townsfolk treat Naruto, for reasons she couldn't quite understand aside of his mostly harmless, albeit annoying, pranks.

"I-I'm sure… the teachers had other reasons…" the Hyuuga scion meekly replied.

"Well, might as well make the most of it," the ice-wielder exclaimed as she got up. "Not that I'd enjoy a team experience with those stuck-up bastards… Speaking of Naruto, let's grab some lunch together at his favorite place, Ichiraku-ya! It's good for team bonding, team bonding!"

"Ah-… but…" Hinata meekly protested as Michiru pulled at her hands, forcing her to stand up, "I- I brought my own bento…"

"No matter, Teuchi-jiji usually lets you bring outside food if you buy something from him," Michiru added without skipping a beat, "Let's go, let's go!"

*.*

When they arrived at Ichiraku-ya, the lunch rush had much abated, although it left them with no seats to spare. Michiru immediately scoured the establishment for Naruto, meeting some people's gazing at her condescendingly. Hinata, on the other hand, seemed to shrink under the gaze of so many eyes, and her grip on Michiru's hand tightens slightly.

"Oe, Michiru-chan! Here, here!"

"There you are, man!"

Unconsciously, Hinata followed her new team-mate's footsteps, bringing her to Naruto's empty table. She winced for a bit, knowing that everybody but her and Michiru was giving Naruto a wide berth. The loneliness was familiar, but by all means not welcome even for a shunned girl like Hinata.

"Kami be damned, Naruto! Let me guess, fifth helping?" Michiru playfully asked.

"Already well into the seventh, Icegirl~" the kitsune jailer replied, before unleashing a nasty burp that made Hinata wince.

"GAH! I hate it when you do that!" Michiru grunted, before turning to Hinata, "Oh well, might as well order myself some food, then… What can I get you, Hinata-chan?"

"Kyah!" Hinata yelped a bit as Michiru tapped her shoulder, "Unhn… well, could you… get me some milk, Michiru-chan?"

"Okay, Just be seated for a bit… won't be long," the Nogami girl concluded.

"Oi Michiru-chan! Get me another Kitsune Ramen!" shouted Naruto behind Michiru's back. Michiru only grunted an affirmative while making her way to the counter.

"Oh, hello Hinata-chan!" Naruto greeted sheepishly, as if just remembering that Hinata was there all along, "So I think we are to be team-mates from here on…"

"Ye-yes…" Hinata stuttered as she put her neatly-wrapped bento box on the table, "Please take care of me gently…"

"Uh… er, yes, of course, Hinata-chan! We team-mates must guard each other's backs!" Naruto exclaimed to quell a certain wrongness welling inside the pit of his stomach. However, soon they descended back into an uneasy silence.

"Order's here~" Michiru broke the uneasy silence as she put a tray on Naruto's table, "One tall glass of milk for Hinata-chan, one kitsune ramen for Naruto-baka, and my own Tonkatsu Ramen. Itadakimasu~"

The relative silence lasted for a full seventeen minutes, until Hinata finally broke it down.

"F-friends… at what time… are we supposed to meet the sensei?"

"Half to two or something around that league, I guess," Naruto said without a care in the world.

"Er… Na-naruto-kun… but isn't it like… half an hour from now…?" Hinata meekly remarked.

"Well, we'll wrap this up quickly enough," Michiru said as she wiped her lips with a tissue, "C'mon, you hog! Finish that morsel and pay up!"

"I'm hurt, Michiru-chan~" Naruto whined in reaction of that mock insult.

Author's Note:

Well then, since i think this story had endured enough pre-viewing, I thought its time to feed the carnivores :D

For you people not familiar with Touhou characters, you are advised to go and see the wonderful TouhouWiki at Wikia. They detail the abilities of many Touhou characters there, including the three most apparent here (Eirin Yagokoro, Momiji Inubashiri, and Tenshi Hinanai).

A great shout-out to my first beta, Erendhyl, and her great skills in grammar-correcting. Also, a good one for the fic which inspired this little romp of mine, Team 8 by S'TarKan. No, i'm not trying to rip you off on this one, oh great writer S'TarKan... yours merely gave me the impetus to do mine. Lastly... a small mention for the people down Shrinemaiden and Infantrum forums for their pushes, cold shoulders, and in case for guys down Shrinemaiden, some healthy skepticism (partly because many NaruTouhou crosses are popping out lately, i guess).

Additional Note:

A small bit of continuity fix, since I apparently forgot the fact that there are more than three genin teams at the beginning of Naruto (the most widely-known was teams 7, 8, and 10). Don't bite me, I'm no Naruto expert!