Quest of the Green Beast:

The Impossible Challenge

Disclaimer: Naruto is the copyrighted property of its creator, whom is in no way me.

Summary: A brilliant idea, shining like the most glorious of stars, descends from the heavens and crosses paths with the ever so beautiful Green Beast of Konoha, or rather, Maito Gai to his friends and rivals. Sometimes, to be a Shinobi, means that there are times when you must socialize with others and there are also times where you must speak more than three words in each sentence. Gai-sensei and his dazzling thumbs-up signs now must tackle the largest challenge in his lifetime: to turn Aburame Shino, Hyuga Neji, and Uchiha Sasuke, into happy, smiling, socializing citizens of the Hidden Leaf Village. Will Gai succeed? Or will his quest be in vain? Read on to find out... or not...

Pairings: There probably will not be outright pairings in this fanfic, although there may be many small hints, just to keep readers content.

Also featured in this story: All the other Leaf Genins and their teachers (with similar missions)

Warning: Mild character bashing once in a while, a bit of Gai bashing (but nothing very severe), mild OOCness and mediocre not following the Naruto timeline,

(Key :)

"................." talking

'.................' thinking

--- Beginning/End of Chapter

-- Change of Scene

(End of Key)

Prologue: The Start of a Quest

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A golden fiery ball of gas, many, many light years away, suspended in the lonely reaches of space, burned on in place, like it always had been for the last billion and some years, casting its warm glow on the planets, all rotating accordingly around it. Its rays traveled through the seemingly endless vacuum that we mortals call outer space, before striking a certain small blue planet. The globe shifted its position as it spun on, causing some of the golden sun beams to peak through the white, foggy substance that were clouds.

Now, as we leave the aerial perspective of this story, we will move on to a more terrestrial view.

The birds chirped and sang, signaling the dawn of a new day, as the morning dew, dripped off the forest green leaves and grasses and other beings, before dropping with a splash in the tiny pools of water that had been formed beneath them. Meanwhile, in a humble sort of home, not too far away, lay yet another creature, of forest green. Gai-sensei stirred as the first beams of sunlight were cast on his thick-eyebrowed visage and he lazily stretched out all four of his blanket- entwined limbs and let out a yawn before bringing one of his fists to his face to rub sleepiness from his eyes.

With a bit of difficulty and reluctance, the Jounin who was superior to Kakashi (or so he claims) pulled open his eyelids revealing... not especially stunning black eyes. He peered around his surroundings for a while, as if taking them in for the first time, before snapping them shut again and rolling onto his side in an attempt to return to sleep.

"Kakashi is always late so, I should also sleep in a bit," he reasoned sleepily. But wait! Another voice inside his head spoke up. If he sinks to Kakashi's level by being even a little bit late, then he would also be losing to him! No! He couldn't let that happen! If he lost to him this time, than he would do fifty laps around Konoha! Jolting out of bed with his newfound logic and yet another self-enforced rule, Gai ran around in record-breaking speed, getting himself ready for yet, another wonderful, exciting day to see his student Lee again. Selecting a new outfit from his closet, (which consisted only of forest green bodysuits) the Shinobi dashed out of his home to meet his students.

As he ran up the road, and stuffing his jam and toast into his mouth, he spotted a figure ahead of him, walking at a leisurely pace with his hands in his pockets. Squinting through his not very impressive eyes, Gai could just make out a small red and white fan on the back of the boy's navy blue t-shirt.

"Now who could that be?" Gai mused to himself. Yes, who indeed would wear a fan symbol on the back of their clothing? Oh, that's right: the Uchihas! But still, who could it be? Could Itachi be back in town? But why would he be? Aren't the ANBU after him? After all, he WAS a missing-nin... Wait... didn't he have a little brother? Sakesu or something... Hm... Kesasu... Susake... Kesusa... Sasuke... wait... that's right! His name was Susake! Uchiha Susake!

...apparently, Gai's brain was still a tad bit muddled with sleep.

"Good morning, Uchiha Susake!" greeted Gai loudly, performing the "Good Guy Pose" and flashing his gleaming teeth at the back of the Uchiha Genius. If Sasuke had a Byakugan, then perhaps he may have seen it. But he doesn't. Instead, he ignored him completely and continued on his way to the meeting place of Team 7. If Gai had a Byakugan, then he would have seen Sasuke narrow his eyes slightly in annoyance. But he doesn't.

Gai's teeth stopped shining as he watched the silent boy simply walk away. "Hmm, that boy sure is antisocial... unlike Lee!" Nodding to emphasize his point, Gai turned to his left and continued to his team's meeting place. He couldn't wait to see his favourite pupil's joyous smile.

When he arrived, he was greeted by the sight of Lee's watery, admiring eyes, when he rushed forward to embrace his teacher and of Neji's cold, blank stare... not that you could really tell. Ten-ten had not arrived yet.

'Yes!' Gai mentally cheered, 'I have beaten you once again, Kakashi, my eternal rival! Our score is now 49:52! With me as 52 and you as 49!'

He patted the emotional boy that he was embracing on his bowl-headed... head. "Good morning, my dear Lee!" he exclaimed, his voice full of emotion. "Oh, and good morning too, Neji." He added as an afterthought. Neji ignored him and turned his head away, causing Gai to frown.

'Neji is so antisocial... like that Susake boy... and unlike Lee!' (A/N Yes, yes, I know its Sasuke, in case you're wondering.)

Ten-ten arrived minutes later and their day of training and missions officially began.

"What are we doing today, Gai-sensei?" questioned Lee, his admiration and awe of the man before him, dripping from his voice in little rivers. Gai flashed his perfect white teeth which went: 'Ping!'

"Today, my dear student, we will be performing various C- and D-class missions, all for the good of the people!" he announced.

"Roger!" cheered Lee ecstatically, saluting his sensei as one of his teammates groaned and the other glared at their teacher through the back of his head. Gai looked at his students that weren't Lee, somewhat disapprovingly.

'Why can't they act a little more like Lee?' he thought.

"What is our first mission, Gai-sensei?" Lee asked eagerly. Gai beamed down at him. Yes, he wouldn't mind if there were a few more of him.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Lee, Neji, and Ten-ten were introduced for the first time to Tora and its loving owner (who had earned a nasty reputation with the lower ranked shinobis; but the Hokage welcomed the business with open arms) and Lee came out with a couple of scratches, running down the side of his cheek. Then they were instructed to weed an elderly woman's garden, filled with rather poisonous weeds. ("Ow! My face! It burns!" "Can't you take care of yourself, idiot?" "Be quiet, Neji! One day I shall defeat you!" "Neji, apologize to Lee!") All in all, it was the typical day for the team.

After the day of training and missions finally came to an end, Neji and Ten- ten, immediately parted, with Ten-ten calling a polite 'goodbye' and Neji saying nothing. Lee stayed behind with a tearful farewell with his role- model and idol.

"Farewell Lee! Now we shall depart, but when we meet again, we will both be even stronger!"

"Gai-sensei!"

-HUG-

... Er... that was awkward to write...

Anyhow, after the duo went their separate ways, Gai was walking slowly back to his shac— er... house, feeling depressed about the fact that it would be another 12 hours or so before he would see his student Lee again. Life was so tragic, sometimes... AHEM

Then, he spotted Kurenai— a fellow Jounin teacher— and her students, making their way back from their day of missions and training. Smiling good- naturedly, Gai waved to them.

"Hello, Kurenai! Hinata! Kiba! Akamaru!" he greeted. "And Shino." He added. "How was your day?"

"Hello, Gai. The students are doing quite well. How was yours?"

"H-Hello, G-Gai- s-sensei..."

"Hi!" "Woof!"

"..."

Gai smiled until he heard Shino's reply. Or rather, his lack of reply.

'Shino is so antisocial!' he thought. 'Like Neji and Susake. Unlike Lee!'

With that thought still inside his head, he arrived at his shac— house. Throwing open the door (which fell off a moment after) Gai stepped inside to ponder the day's events.

"Lee is exceptional! He is a genius of hard work and he grows stronger everyday! He is a charming boy who is brave, loyal, kind, happy and social! But then... for every boy like Lee, there are three more like Neji, Shino and ... the Uchiha boy." He gave a dramatic and manly sigh, to show his frustration.

"Those three boys are wasting their precious youth, by spending their time unhappy and brooding! I wish I could do something for them!" Just then Gai was hit with an idea so hard that he was momentarily stunned. Just for a moment.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, "I will save their flaming youth, by making them learn to be happy and socializing citizens of Konoha!"

And so... the Quest of the Green Beast... began...

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Announcer: Beware... Aburame Shino... Hyuga Neji... and Uchiha Sasuke (Not Susake, Kesasu, OR Sakesu) ... beware... beware the green beast!

Will the boys fall victim to their "saviour"? Or will they survive this upcoming ordeal? How should I know? Find out, on the next: Digimon: Digital Monsters! Er... I mean: on the next Dragon ball Z! Wait... that's not right either... Escaflowne? Gundam Wing? Zoids? Ah, what the heck, forget it...

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(A/N O.o... That... was... rather... odd... But I hope I made you smile at least...

Sorry if it was short... it is a prologue.

I hope that no one will be too upset about the way I portrayed Gai... and Lee. I hope that didn't go too overboard with the dramatics... . I tend to over exaggerate a bit. Tell me if I should continue.)

(A/N Also, please vote for the hints of pairings in this fanfic. I don't mind if they are het or yaoi.)

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Frontier of Darkness