TEAM SEVEN

Prologue



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It was a very ordinary day, just like any other. The temperature wasn't cold, or hot, and that only meant one thing: summer was coming to an end. Hinata knew it the moment she saw the leaves beginning to turn slightly red. Soon, there would be children playing all over the place; happily running and jumping from one pile of dry leaves to another, annoying a certain teammate of hers that preferred silence and tranquility when it came to training.

The sun was in its 9 o'clock position up in the sky, ideal to start the training session.

Hinata always tried to make it there on time so she wouldn't make him wait. Although, being the obsessive man he was when it came to anything having to do with becoming stronger, he would still always beat her there and then tease her for being tardy.

For three years she had listened to him swear again and again that he would become strong enough to defeat him if they ever met each other again. Every time she heard him say that, she felt a tiny bit of hope in her heart that the wish would come true and he would return to the Leaf Village.

The young woman walked towards the training spot she was supposed to meet her teammate at. The idea of being alone with him didn't make her nervous the way it had in the beginning. So many days had gone by with them training by themselves, that those very same days had turned into months and then, months had become years.

Years. Alone. Just him and her.

Together they had seen snow, the flowers blossom, sun, leaves falling, rain, flowers budding again, fruits, festivals and new years. The awkward, clumsy and quiet relationship between them had become an everyday thing. There weren't as many uncomfortable moments where neither of them said a word and their gazes could meet now without the necessity of Hinata looking timidly away.

They had once been a group of three, but now they were only two. They had been only two for three years now. Occasionally Kakashi would join them on a mission and when they needed a fourth companion on the team, Sakura Haruno or Ino Yamanaka would always gladly offer to fill the void in their group.

At the very beginning, his absence had been hard to bare. Even if he didn't say so, he missed him just as much as she did. After all, they had become Team Seven from the Leaf Village.

From that very first day, back when they were just kids, they hadn't gotten along too well. She smiled at the memories as she wrapped her hands in bandages, reminded of Sasuke-kun and his silence. He was so quiet, but he had always looked annoyed and he was constantly giving her orders. He would even yell at her when she couldn't keep up with them, but then ignore her when she talked to him only to then question her about things that made her blush.

Naruto-kun on the other hand was loud, hyperactive and cheerful. He would jump to defend her every single time Sasuke was being hurtful. And many times they had ended up rolling on the floor punching each other because of his hero complex, always needing to save a lady that was in trouble. Naruto-kun had been obsessed back then with ramen and Haruno-san. Remembering that brought a sad smile to her face. Would it still be like that?

She started hitting the log on which on Kakashi-sensei had tied Sasuke-kun down for survival training; their very first mission. She smiled softly; she could still see that irritated look on his face. They had stood right in front of him eating, and all he could do was watch. He had insisted over and over that he wasn't hungry anyways but he had ended up screaming at Naruto to stop making fun of him. She could still hear that bell sound that he had been bragging about in front of Sasuke, because, for the first time in his life, he had beaten the Uchiha in something.

"Hinata! Training so early in the morning?" A kind voice greeted her from behind. She turned around to see Kakashi-sensei standing there. "Are you waiting for a certain student of mine?"

"Yes, sensei." She answered with a smile. "He wants to practice his new technique with you today, but he told me to come watch because he wants to spar with me afterwards. Although… I'm a little puzzled by the fact he isn't here yet. Have you seen him?"

"No…" He answered raising one of his hands, the other was was holding something else. His single visible eye was completely focused on reading one of those horrible erotic books he liked so much. "But I did happen to see another student of mine, one that left the Leaf Village without even saying goodbye to me."

"W-what?" Hinata asked surprised. After all, three years had gone by without hearing anything about him. "Where…?"

"I saw him at the Village." Kakashi answered shrugging. "It looks like Team Seven is complete again. That's nostalgic."

"Are you sure? Are you completely sure he is back?" Hinata edged closer to Kakashi, her normal shyness gone. The news had erased her anxiety at being so near to someone else. "Is he staying?"

"Hinata…Hinata… Why so many questions all at the same time? Calm down…" Kakashi hadn't seen her look so spirited about anything in a long while. "He said he is staying this time. Go give him a nice welcome… that other baka is surely with him already, that's probably why he isn't here. I'm sure he wants to see you. Tell them both that Team Seven is complete once more and that you must report this news to Tsunade-sama."

"Yes!" Hinata shouted.

She ran through the woods, so fast she felt her legs burning. She couldn't stop smiling. She didn't care if she ran out of breathe and once again wouldn't have anything to tell him, only blushing and stuttering when she looked into his eyes. The only thing that mattered was that if Kakashi-sensei was right, he was back!

As she ran she couldn't stop thinking about the first day the three of them had started their journey together, the day they had become a team.




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"Dobe." He said coldly when he spotted that blond hair of his. He was much taller than he remembered. "Time goes by quickly."

"Teme…" Half a smile appeared on his face. So much time had passed since he last saw that arrogant bastard, but his eyes looked as hostile as ever. "I really hope you haven't been wasting your time these past three years; I don't want it to be that easy to defeat you this time!"

"Of course I haven't wasted my time." Sasuke answered, stepping forward to meet Naruto. "Have you?"

"I learned plenty of new techniques just so I could definitely beat you." Naruto said raising his hands so he could fix the position of his forehead protector.

"So have I. I became an expert in kenjutsu (swords jutsu)." Sasuke answered sliding a katana from its sheath. He was carrying it tied to the belt around his hips. "It's called Chokuto".

"Swords and katanas? Did you give up with ninjutsu and genjutsu then?" Naruto also took a step towards him, curious about the fact that Sasuke had gotten that sword. "That's disappointing. Now that I finally know how to deactivate a genjutsu, you've given up on them."

"No. My genjutsu, taijutsu and ninjutsu have all reached a very advanced level." Answered Sasuke. "Either way Naruto, there is something we must discuss. Now."

"Sure, let's go eat some ramen; we have a lot to catch up on." Naruto placed one of his hands on Sasuke's shoulder, not really caring much about what he had been about to say. "Your clothes look weird Sasuke. Hehe. I wish Hinata-chan was here to see you… then we could laugh together at your diva complex."

"Can you get serious for a moment, dobe?" – Sasuke shouted.

Whatever it was that he wanted to tell him, he obviously wasn't going to wait any longer. He had resolved to tell him as soon as he saw him again.

"Stop shouting at me!" Naruto answered, suddenly serious. "God… when you make that face you scare even me. It's the same look you had when you were tied up to that log."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm talking about our first day training as Team Seven" Naruto answered. "Damn, it's strange to remember that."

"Hmph." Sasuke muttered, slightly blushing in embarrassment about what had happened that day. "I had already forgotten all about it."

"Don't you think it's odd the way everything turned out? Nothing ever came out as we planned."

Sasuke's mind drifted to the day it had been announced that they would be a team. It hadn't been the best of choices and he had definitely not been pleased about it at the time. Months had passed before he had realized and accepted that destiny had put him together with Naruto and Hinata. He hadn't seen Naruto in three years…. and yet, he could still feel their friendship. Now, he couldn't even imagine living in a world where those two hadn't been his teammates. He was sixteen now, but back then when Team Seven was first assembled, he had just turned twelve.