" Who's the blonde kid?" Tenten asked one of her friends, pointing down to a kid a year younger then them sitting where Neji usually did. The Hyuuga, who had been ruled as the Number One Rookie, had been sick during his exam and failed, though just barely.

" That's Naruto Uzamaki." replied the girl, peering though her glasses with a scowl. " He's the boy who keeps pulling those huge pranks. My mom said to stay away from him."

" I still can't believe Neji failed." said Tenten, leaning against her desk. " I wanted to be on his team."

" Yeah." said the girls in unison, sighing sadly. The cold, moody Hyuuga was the default crush for their class.

" Whoever gets stuck with Naruto or Lee is in trouble." said one of the girls as Tenten took several senbon and began balancing them on her fingertips. She was easily the best with weapons in the class, due to her 'obsessive' practice with them. She didn't like the claim she was obsessive about objects that could be used to slash or cut or stab or smash or pierce or mutilate or…..

'kay, fine, I'm obsessed. she thought, sighing. It's not like it was her fault, though. She orphan and a foreigner, so it's not like much of her time was taken up by her family. She'd just always distracted herself by practicing, driving herself to one day be as good as Tsunade.

" Which team am I on, sensei?" asked Lee, nearly leaping out of his seat, the moment the teacher entered. The instructor, who had never quite gotten used to the boys intensity, sighed as he took a seat at his desk. Tenten didn't miss the small scowl that formed on his face as spotted Naruto. Besides being the best with weapons in her class, one of the best at taijutsu, and highly intelligent, she had highly acute vision and was able to spot things that everyone but Neji would miss. Why would sensei be upset about Naruto being here? It's not like the boy's going to pull a prank in this class.

" Hey, who's the squirt?" said one of the boys, wandering in late.

" Naruto Uzamaki, the villages next Hokage!" said the orange clad boy, leaping onto his desk dramatically and taking what he must have thought was a impressive pose.

" Yeah right. I could take you even if I had two broken arms." said the boy with a laugh, walking past.

" You want a fight?" said Naruto, flipping and landing in front of the boy.

" That's a good idea." said the teacher, standing up. " I'd rather be sure you didn't just pass due to a fluke."

Liar. thought Tenten, watching the mans eyes and reading his intentions. He wants to throw Naruto out.

" Great!" said Naruto, giving the man a genuine smile. " Where?"

" Oh, here should be good enough." said the teacher with a smirk. The older boy turned to Naruto.

" Tell you what." said the boy with a sneer. " I'll let you go first."

Not hesitating a moment, Naruto formed a hand seal which resembled the clone technique. There was a bang and smoke covered the entire classroom, fading slowly. The boy was surrounded by thirty clones of Naruto who stood smirking widely. Tenten noticed that Naruto's incisors were larger that most, and when combined with the tattoos on his cheeks, it made him look like a fox. The Inuzuka have similar markings and a bloodline relating to dogs. I wonder what the Uzamaki have? she thought.

" Clones?" said the boy with a laugh. " Come on! You could do anything!"

" That technique is suitable only for distractions." said the teacher. " Perhaps you were not taught when to use it correctly."

" Not clones." said the real Naruto, voice laden with triumph. " Shadow clones."

" That's not possible." said the teacher with a laugh. " First, that's a jounin level technique. Second, for a average jounin with appropriate chakra reserves and control, forming more than seven would be exhausting."

All color drained from the teachers face when one of the clones walked over and handed him his coffee cup.

" Wait, what are they?" said the boy, becoming concerned.

" P-physical clones." said the teacher in shock. " They can fight as well as the creator."

" Oh, so their still wusses." said the boy, relaxing. " Bring it." he said, taking combat pose.

Tenten was surprised at how fast the first five clones landed their kicks, sending the boy to the floor with a crash. While he was younger then them, the boy was quick. Like how foxes are quick. she thought, filing the assessment away mentally.

" That's all?" said Naruto, blinking as the clones vanished. " Mizuki-sensei was able to take down twenty before I beat him up."

" What?" said the teacher, backing away.

" He tricked me into stealing a scroll from the Hokage last night, then tried to kill me and Iruka-sensei and escape with the scroll. I kicked his ass." said the boy, smiling proudly.

" You stole a scroll from the Hokage?" asked Tenten, remembering hearing that there had been a incident the night before.

" Yeah. It was pretty easy after I used my best technique." said Naruto, smiling.

" What technique could be better than that?" asked Lee, sounding jealous. Tenten looked to the boy sympathetically. As he could not mould chakra, he had a severe disadvantage. This Naruto kid looked to be quite the prodigy with ninjutsu, so Tenten wouldn't blame Lee if he disliked the boy.

" This!" said Naruto, forming another hand sign. There was a puff of smoke around him and everyone waited with bated breath as it faded, revealing a….incredibly attractive nude woman?

While the girls looked on in confusion, every boy (including the teacher) collapsed to the ground with a severe nosebleed.

There are stories about foxes turning into women to trick people. thought Tenten, grimacing. I guess a fox clan would develop some technique like that.

" You pervert!" shouted the teacher, leaping to his feat as Naruto changed back and began to laugh.

" The Hokage loses against that every time!" said the boy between guffaws.

" Hey, can you teach me that?" asked Tenten. Everyone turned and looked at her, faces blank. " What?" she said defensively. " 85 of the ninja you'll run into are men. If you could do something like that, you could take most of them down easy."

" But you're a girl." said one of the boys. " Aren't you mad at him?"

" Uh, no." said Tenten, as if it should have been obvious. " I'm a ninja. If a technique works, go with it!"

" But…you don't need to transform to do that." said the boy.

" If you think I would take off my shirt for something like that," said Tenten, killer intent radiating from her like a hurricane, " you are sorely mistaken. That technique allows me to get the effects while keeping my modesty."

" Sorry! Don't kill me!" pleaded to boy. The entire class had backed away from the notoriously temperamental tomboy.

" If were on the same team, sure!" said Naruto, plopping back into his seat.

" Are we?" Tenten asked the dumbfounded instructor. He looked down the list.

" Rock Lee, Tenten, and Naruto Uzamaki." said the teacher.

While Tenten smiled, happy to be on the interesting boys team, she felt sorry for Lee. Besides prodigies like her and Naruto, he'd be constantly overshadowed and probably ignored.

" Yosh!" said someone loudly. Everyone turned in unison and spotted a large, muscular man in a green jumpsuit standing in the doorway. " My apprentices, follow me! The first test of the power of your youth is to get to training ground fifty before I do!"

Tenten scrambled to her feet, wanting to make a good impression. She, Naruto, and Lee raced out the door quickly, following the peculiar man who was prancing away at lightning speed. It was a incredible race. Rock Lee, as she knew well, practiced and trained at taijutsu and endurance constantly and Naruto was uncannily fast. However, Lee was clumsy and tripped over multiple trash cans and fruit carts while Naruto leapt onto the rooftops nimbly, taking a shortcut Tenten wasn't aware of.

However, Guy seemed to be the physical incarnation of speed and they didn't have a chance.

Naruto arrived first, mere seconds before Tenten. She leaned over, puffing for breath as they waited for Lee, who arrived a minute later. The boys white shirt was stained with mud and his black braid had twigs caught in it.

" Yosh!" said Guy loudly. " While you all must work on your speed and endurance, you have done well! You, my youthful apprentices, have the fortune to be trained by the legendary Green Beast of Kohona, Might Guy! With my exercise regimens and training, you shall become legends as well!"

Rock Lee looked shocked, Naruto looked dumbstruck, and Tenten felt creeped out by the giddy man. I've heard of the Green Beast….a little. He's supposed to be Kohona's leading taijutsu instructor. But he just seems….so….gay.

" Now, let us do our introductions youthfully!" said Guy, leaping backwards and landing on a small log with one foot. " You shall each take up this position while we speak!" he commanded, balancing on one leg. There were a number of the short poles in a grid, so Guy probably would have them train on them a lot. There were man training dummies, combat posts, and targets around them as well. While odd, it seemed Guy's training ground was well prepared.

Sighing, Tenten got onto the post and balanced nimbly. She was rather graceful, so she didn't have to struggle and much as Naruto and Lee.

" I will introduce myself first!" said Guy with a shining smile, giving them a thumbs up. " I am Might Guy! I enjoy taijutsu, endurance training, and challenging my rival Kakashi, the Copy Ninja!"

" I will go next!" said Lee, face red with strain. " I am Rock Lee. I cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu, but I train every day to improve my hand to hand skills. It is my dream to prove that even though I can't use chakra, I can still be a splendid ninja!"

" I'm Naruto Uzamaki!" said the blonde boy loudly, swiveling in midair. " I like ramen noodles. I hate how long it takes to cook instant ramen and stuck up people! I'm going to be the next Hokage, believe it!"

" Tenten." she said, stretching lazily. " I like weapons. I want to prove that kunohchi can match shinobi in combat and become a famous ninja like my hero, Tsunade the Sannin!"

" Yosh!" said Guy, throwing his hands into the air. " The fires of your youth burn most fiercely!"

The genin grimaced as they realized that 'youth' was going to be a common motif during their training.

" I must now leave you to go face my rival Kakashi in our weekly challenge!" said Guy, leaping high into the air and landing gracefully. " We will meet back here after lunch for assessment of your skills!"

The genin hopped off of the poles as the jounin raced away.

" I had hoped to begin training." said Lee, looking annoyed.

" Hey, you guys want to go get ramen for lunch? The ramen stands pretty close." asked Naruto, smiling.

" Sure." said Tenten, smiling. She usually ate back at her apartment the village had provided for her since she didn't have anyone to go to meals with.

" Do they have curry?" asked Lee, looking hopeful.

" Uh…no." said Naruto, blinking. " Why would you want curry?"

" Curry is the best!" said Lee, looking insulted. " It is far superior to ramen."

" Take that back!" shouted Naruto angrily, glaring at Lee. Tenten sighed and threw a kunai between them, getting their attention.

" We don't want to get in a fight on the first day, guys." she said, giving them a look of disapproval. " That's a bad way to start, and I hear some jounin send teams back if they don't work together."

The boys looked shocked. Tenten smirked. Looks like I'm going to be in control. Nice.

" So, uh….what if hit the ramen stand, then go get curry?" suggested Naruto.

" That would be acceptable!" agreed Lee.

" All right! Ramen! Ramen ramen ramen!" the blonde boy ran down the street triumphantly as he lead them to the stand.

----

" So, I don't really know you two." said Naruto as he slurped up some noodles. They were back at the training grounds with some take out.

" We just met." said Tenten, taking a bite of curry flavored chicken.

" I mean, like, anything." explained Naruto. " If we'd been in the same class, I'd have had a chance to pick up some things about you guys, like your families or something."

" Oh." said Tenten thoughtfully. " Well, I'm a orphan. I was found in a shipwreck on the coast by a ninja from the village and brought back here."

" I am also a orphan." said Lee though a mouthful of curry. " My parents were killed when the Kyuubi attacked."

It was impossible to miss the look of pain on Naruto's face.

Did he lose his parents then too? thought Tenten. But his clan's got something to do with foxes.

Her eyes sprung open as a thought crossed her mind.

What if it was their fault it attacked? Naruto would have grown up feeling guilty for something like that and it would have been shushed.

" Uh….okay." said Naruto absentmindedly, stirring his broth with a chopstick. Tenten and Lee looked to each other, silently searching for a answer for the boys reaction.

" I have returned, my youthful students!" said Guy, appearing from nowhere. Tenten sighed, as she now wouldn't have the opportunity to dig any farther into Naruto. " For today, I shall merely test your skills. Tomorrow, in the early morning, we shall begin the true test of your youthfulness!"

" How do you test that?" asked Lee, seeming bewildered.

" There is a traditional exam the jounin give to determine if you are truly capable of becoming genin." said Guy, smiling widely. " If you fail, you return to the academy for another year."

" What?" blurted the genin in unison.

" First, I wish to see what equipment you are carrying!" said Guy, continuing on as if he hadn't said anything surprising. Grumbling, the genin took out their weapons and laid them out. Naruto and Lee both had the standard sets, which was three kunai, twelve shuriken, bandages, two smoke bombs, and a belt pouch.

Tenten, however, had ten kunai, thirty shuriken, eighteen senbon (not counting two she used to keep her hair in place), five explosive tags, forty feet of wire, a medical kit, two smoke bombs, two knives she kept concealed in her shoes, three collapsible shuriken that were hidden in her belt, and brass knuckles.

Naruto, Guy, and Lee looked impressed as she sat there contentedly.

" That is a impressive arsenal." said Guy, looking thoughtful.

" Where did you fit all that?" asked Naruto, looking at Tenten's pink shirt and cargo pants in surprise.

" While Naruto as Lee's equipment is sufficient for basic missions, Tenten's equipment is suitable for long, extended operations. You would do well to build a similar arsenal." said Guy, giving Tenten a look of praise. Had it come from someone who wasn't wearing spandex, Tenten would have enjoyed it. She tried to smile politely and fight back her shuddering.

" Uh…I don't think I can afford all that." said Naruto, sweating nervously.

----

Guy tested them in hand to hand, weapons, and various physical exercises. Tenten was, as she could have predicted, the most accurate with weapons. Naruto's taijutsu wasn't very good, but he was fast and unpredictable, and if he was using clones he'd be a serious opponent. While Lee tried hard and was physically stronger than Tenten, he seemed to have no manner of luck. He would manage to trip over a root at the worst possible time, dodge into attacks that should have missed, and one time his braid had hit him in the eye as he had attempted a spinning kick, blinding him at the critical second.

When Guy ended the training near sunset, Lee left immediately. Tenten felt sorry for the boy, who had been constantly embarrassed throughout the day. She wanted to apologize to him, but she felt that might make things worse.

" Well, I'm going for ramen. See ya tomorrow, Tenten!" said Naruto cheerily.

" Uh, hey, mind if I come with?" asked Tenten, pushing her thoughts aside for the moment. She didn't feel like another evening of throwing sharp things at a target before eating a microwave dinner alone.

" Sure." said Naruto, blinking in surprise. They began to walk down the street, side by side, watching the orange sun slowly set over the Hokage's monument.

" So, uh…." Tenten began, but trailed off as she chose her words. She wanted to find out a bit more about Naruto and his clan. Unfortunately, her conversation skills were rather…nonexistent. She stated the facts bluntly and moved on to the next topic. However, given Naruto's reactions earlier, she was not sure than would be a good thing. " Why do you like ramen so much?" she said, mentally sighing and going with something less likely to cause a incident.

" Because its awesome!" said Naruto, smiling widely. " The warm noodles, the delicious broth, the wonderful smell….." he trailed off, smiling as if anticipating the food. " And it's cheap."

That's the second time he's mentioned money like that. she thought. His clan might be poor. That would explain why I haven't heard of them. If they are poor, they might be weak and low in standing. Someone with Naruto's skills, however, probably is one of their hopes for the future. If he becomes jounin or Hokage, they might be able to establish themselves.

" So, what's with your hair?" asked Naruto, pointing to the buns that Tenten kept.

" Is something wrong?" she asked, feeling them. They seemed to be in place.

" It's just…weird looking. It makes you look like one of those…things…those foreign bears…a panda!" said Naruto, brightening as the name came to him.

" Oh. I keep my hair like this because this is how it looked when I was found. Anyways, your one to say someone looks like a animal." said Tenten with a giggle. " Those tattoo's make you look like a fox."

To her utter confusion, that strange pained look returned for a second.

" Uh, yeah. I don't think about them much." said Naruto, quieter than he had been talking before. There was an awkward silence as they continued forward.

Good going, girl. Tenten thought sourly. Figures you found his button and pressed it. He doesn't like his clan, so you brought it up in a teasing manner. And why? Cause he said you looked like a panda? Come on, what's wrong with that? Panda's are cute!

Ding. The light lit in her head.

He was calling me cute. Dammit, he called me cute and I insulted him!

" Hey Naruto!" said the old man who ran the ramen stand, waving to them. He had been friendly to the boy earlier, which was different than that looks of hatred the other villagers that Tenten could see were giving Naruto. The Uzamaki had to be a pretty unpopular clan. Sure, Naruto had defaced the monument a few times, but it had been cleaned up. No way they'd look at him like that for some stupid prank.

" Miso please!" said Naruto, cheering up instantly. He sat and began to eat, letting out contented sounds and he devoured the noodles.

" I'll have a pork ramen." said Tenten, handing her money to the cook. He gave her a approving smile and a glance to Naruto.

" Hey, where did you keep all those weapons?" asked Naruto, looking up from his food.

" In my clothes. Duh." said Tenten, smiling. " I designed my outfit to hold things easily."

" Mpgh." said Naruto as he slurped some noodles.

" Uh, I have to ask." said Tenten, looking at the boys jacket. " Isn't orange a bad color for stealth?"

" Isn't pink?" replied Naruto with a smile.

" Good point." said Tenten with a laugh. " I guess stealth is out."

" Lee might be good at it, but things…just go wrong for him, so probably not." said Naruto, looking down at his noodles.

" Yeah. How unlucky can someone get? He's clumsy, an orphan, and can't use chakra."

" He can't?" said Naruto, eyes bugging.

" He said that a couple times today, Naruto." said Tenten with a sigh. " Didn't you hear?"

" I was probably thing about ramen." said Naruto, sighing contentedly as he put down the empty bowl.

Brawn: Yes. Talent: Yes. Brains: No. she thought as she sweat dropped.

----

After a wonderful half hour of polite conversation they parted ways. Usually, Tenten would have gone home, but tonight she had a plan. She made her way to her favorite ninja outfitter and entered. It was twenty minutes until the store closed, which would give her just enough time.

" Oh! Tenten!" said the merchant happily. She was one of his best customers, so he was always happy to see her. " How can I help you this evening?"

" Well, I just made genin, so I figured I should buy a few bingo books." said Tenten, hatching her plan. If the Uzamaki had a bloodline, they would be listed. Plus, it was time to begin learning them. " I'd like one for each of the major countries and Kohona's."

" Our villages too?" said the merchant, smiling as he took out the tomes. " Looking for challenges?"

" Well, mostly trying to keep busy." said Tenten with a giggle. " But it's kinda a personal project."

" So, what's your genin team like?" asked the merchant, ringing up her total.

" Well, the jounin is Might Guy. He seems….knowledgeable…."

" But weird." said the merchant with a knowing look. " He's infamously eccentric. His page in the book's almost comedy." he said, tapping the book. " But, he's a S-Rank individual none the less."

" Theres also a boy my age named Rock Lee. He's struggling, but he gives it his all. And another boy named Naruto Uzamaki." Tenten watched the mans face paled, as she had planned to gauge his reaction.

" I shouldn't tell you this." said the man in a whisper, as if they were being watched. " But find a new team. That boy….he'll probably kill you or worse."

Tenten left feeling confused. The merchant was usually a friendly, jovial man. But he'd been terrified for her at Naruto's mention. The Uzamaki must have some seriously dark history. she thought unhappily. But I don't think Naruto's….like that.

-----

She spread herself out on her pink blanket which was emblazoned with shuriken and opened the first bingo book which listed Kohona. She began to read though the index, looking for the Uzamaki. After failing to find them in an of the books, she sighed in frustration and lay back.

Naruto…dammit, if I wasn't such a idiot I could just ask you what this is all about. she thought, looking to the ceiling. If your clans not listed, they either are so weak that they aren't worth mentioning or they did something so bad that their being kept secret.

She nodded off quickly and dreamt of weapons.

----

" Hey!" said Tenten, waving as she walked up. Rock Lee had gotten to the training ground first and was practicing on a dummy.

" Good morning." replied Lee politely, keeping his focus.

" Good morning, my youthful students!" cried Guy as he skipped merrily onto the training field. " Are you ready for your final test?"

" Uh, sensei, Naruto's not here." said Tenten, looking around.

" Hmm." said Guy, looking thoughtful for no real reason. " I prefer when my students are on time. Lateness is a sign of fading youth."

Tenten sweat dropped.

" Uh, maybe he's just running a little behind, sensei." said Tenten, smiling and trying to placate the jounin.

" We can begin without him." said Lee determinedly. " Since we were here on time, there is no need for us to hold back."

" Sorry!" Naruto called out, running into view. " I overslept!"

While Tenten was happy that Naruto had arrived, Lee seemed a little put off.

" Yosh!" said Guy, taking a pose and holding out two bells. " We can now begin! Your mission is to get these two bells from me before nightfall! If you fail to get one, you will be sent back to the academy!"

" But…there are only two bells." said Lee, pointing to them.

" Correct." said Guy with a blinding smile. " One of you must fail."

" It won't be me!" yelled Naruto, charging straight towards Guy.

" Or me!" cried Lee as he dove for the bells.

Before their attacks connected, however, Guy vanished in a blur. The two boys collided and fell to the dirt.

" Hold it!" said Tenten, racing over and separating them quickly. " If you two just go head on, he's gonna win. A jounin is way above our level."

" Then how do we beat him?" asked Naruto, standing up and brushing himself off.

" By planning." said Tenten with a smirk. " See ya." she raced into the trees to search for Guy, getting a head start on the boys.

Not far away, she found Guy perched in a tree, looking about warily. She snuck around his position and found a spot that gave her a good view of her teacher. There were no branches or trees in her way, but there was a bush suitable for hiding. She drew three senbon and waited. She was going to let Naruto or Lee attack first and draw Guy's attention, then hit him with a needle in the leg and get a bell when he stumbled.

" Yahhhh!" She didn't have to wait long. Lee came racing though the forest towards Guy, leaping onto the branches and charging Guy. Despite the advice she had given him, he was still attempting a frontal attack. He leapt in a flying kick towards Guy, but Guy countered with amazing precision, knocking Lee back. However, Lee caught a branch with one hand and spun around, flipping himself back onto a bough.

Woah. thought Tenten, amazed at the move. When something didn't go wrong, Lee was actually quite acrobatic. He charged Guy again and attacked with a flurry of punches, but Guy was able to block them all with little effort. However, Tenten could see a look of approval on his face and he began to lead Lee through the combat, positioning himself and his attacks to shift Lee into a more correct form. He really is a incredible instructor she thought.

However, Guy was not giving up the bells. He drove a strike into Lee's shoulder, paralyzing the boys arm, then quickly knocked the boy to the ground. Siezing her chance, she threw the senbon, which arced perfectly towards Guy. However, before they hit, Guy spun. He wore the typical sandal with the exposed toes, and to Tenten's amazement he caught the three needles with his toes. He gave her a smile and leapt though the air in her direction, kicking his leg out and launching the needles back.

"Damn!" she swore, drawing a kunai and deflecting the needles. A moment later Guy landed and swung a mighty kick she was barely able to duck. He hit a tree and shattered the bark, riposting and launching another attack instantly. Tenten had to block the second kick and was knocked backwards, falling into a bush.

" Now!" screeched someone from above. A dozen clones leapt from the trees towards Guy, catching him by surprise. However, the jounin reacted and the last second, leaping high into the air. Naruto didn't faulter a moment, however, and the clones leapt into the air. He leapt in a series of kicks, knocking himself off the clones in a chain until the last one caught him and through him at Guy as he formed more shadow clones. Guy fell slowly towards the ground, fending off the clones vicious punches.

Naruto is amazing! thought Tenten, getting to her feet. I'd never have thought to use clones like that!

As Guy displaced the last clone and landed, Tenten charged, unleashing a small hail of shuriken. Guy deflected them and blocked the flying kick she aimed at him, then rolled away as Lee leapt in a flying tackle towards him. He was blocked by a team of clones, however, and found himself caught between a recovered Lee, Tenten with a kunai in each hand, and a squad of smiling Uzamaki.

" Yosh!" said Guy, pumping his arm. " Your youth burns fiercely! Of the genin I have tested, you three have the most potential!"

" Uh, thanks?" said Tenten, settling into a position that allowed her to dodge and attack easily.

" Your going down!" cried a clone, leaping at Guy. Without looking Guy smashed a fist into it's face, causing it to vanish. The other clones charged, entangling the jounin in a melee. Lee and Tenten entered the fray, fighting their way through the clones. Guy, however, was a whirling hail of fury. He kept the clones and the genin at bay with ease, leaving no opening for anyone to get though. Lee launched several intense taijutsu combos, Tenten threw a hail of weapons, and Naruto sent scores of clones against Guy, but it made no difference. Guy blocked everything and beat everyone.

After minutes of ineffective combat, the three genin collapsed, panting for breath. Tenten had used every one of her weapons, which lay in the grass uselessly. Lee was covered in scuffmarks and small bruises, and Naruto seemed to have exhausted his massive chakra supply. The two bells still hung from Guy's belt, completely untouched.

" I believe a short rest to restore your youthfulness is in order." said Guy, giving them a dashing smile. Tenten almost gagged. " Take ten minutes, then try again." He vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving the exhausted genin alone. Tenten struggled to her feet and began to recover her weapons.

" How are we supposed to beat him?" whined Naruto. " He's faster, stronger, and more experience. This isn't even fair."

" He was able to beat all of us at the same time." said Lee, sounding discouraged.

" Well, it's not or fault." said Tenten, pulling a kunai from a stump. " We're really good genin, but were just genin."

" Were good?" asked Lee, blinking.

" Lee, you have the best taijutsu in our class." said Tenten, explaining it to the somewhat dense boy. " Even without ninjutsu, your still really good. Naruto's got his crazy chakra and can do shadow clones, which is way beyond his level. And I broke every accuracy and weapon skill record the academy had."

The boys looked at her in surprise.

" What?" she said, confused by their reaction. " It's the truth! Of all the genin that passed, were easily the best."

" I didn't know anyone else who passed." Naruto pointed out.

" I spend most of my time focusing on training." said Lee. " I don't really know my classmates abilities."

Tenten put her face in her palm. Great. I have the wonder dummies for teammates.

" Look, you have to do more than just fight to be a ninja." explained Tenten. " You have to gather information and stay informed. Say that we had to fight someone. Would you rather go in knowing their abilities or not? If they use fire jutsu, we could have counter techniques prepared. Sure, the punchy-stabby part of being a ninja is the fun part, but the sneaky-thinky parts more important."

The boys were staring at her, dumbfounded.

" What?" she asked, becoming annoyed.

" I've never met a girl who liked fighting." said Naruto, sounding surprised.

" Could you say that again?" asked Lee, taking out a small notebook and tearing the plastic wrapping off. It looked new.

" Yosh!" came a voice from above. They looked up and found Guy standing there, looking down from a branch. " You pass!"

" What?" said the genin in unison as Guy leapt down.

" While I was impressed with your combat abilities, what I was looking for was a willingness to use your youthfulness together!" said Guy, giving them a thumbs up. " Individually, you are strong, but when you combine your abilities, you become stronger! Lee is willing to learn from his teammates to improve, Tenten readily shares her knowledge, and Naruto lets the power of love help him bond with the beautiful Tenten!"

Naruto couldn't have blushed deeper.

" I…wait…uh…" he began, struggling with the words.

" Now!" Guy said, continuing. " As you are officially genin, we need to discuss your roles within the team."

" Roles?" asked Tenten, trying to carry on so Naruto's embarrassment could be left behind. Figures Guy knew he liked me as fast as I did. she thought with a grimace. She was rather inept and things like that.

" How you shall work with the others." said Guy, looking thoughtful. " In our fight earlier, how did you attack?"

" Well, I formed a bunch of shadow clones." said Naruto, scratching his head.

" And I attacked at hand to hand while you were distracted by the clones." said Lee, his wide eyes brightening.

" Correct!" said Guy, clapping his hands. " Using your skills together, you can form a more effective formation. Your first assignment as a team will to be make a plan while I go fetch your supplies."

" Okay then." said Tenten, focusing as Guy pranced away. " So, I'm decent at short range but better at long range with my weapons."

" I have only hand to hand techniques." said Lee, nodding his head.

" I've got the Sexy Technique and Shadow Clones." said Naruto, joining the huddle.

" Well, I guess the simple thing to do is have me weaken opponents from long range until Lee and the shadow clones can get into combat." said Tenten. " That way, they can't just keep you two at bay with long range attacks and I don't need to worry about being caught in melee."

" I see." said Lee, writing furiously.

" Wow." said Naruto, sitting back. " Your really smart."

Tenten blushed slightly from the compliment.

" I have returned, my youthful genin!" said Guy as he ran towards them. He was carrying a large box. " I have your new uniforms!" he said, taking out a spandex jumpsuit and holding it out to them.

"Are you serious?" said Naruto, looking terrified. " Those things are horrible!"

" Could we…just wear our uniforms?" asked Tenten hopefully. Guy looked disappointed but not surprised. Lee looked torn between the jumpsuits and his friends, but finally nodded with Tenten. (Sorry. I just like Lee's pre-Guy outfit and hair better. It made him look like Jackie Chan.)

" If you do not want them, that will be fine." said Guy with a sigh. " But I have other tools for you. First, some light training weights for you, Lee."

" What are they for?" asked Lee, taking the metal bracelets. The looked like they would fit on the wrists and ankles.

" If you wear them at all times, you will become stronger and faster." explained Guy. " And when you remove them, you will be able to move with even greater ease and power. I am currently wearing similar weights." he said, pulling down the legwarmer to reveal heavy looking metal bars. " Tenten, since you use so many weapons, it will be useful to have one of these." Guy handed her a medium sized scroll. She unrolled it, revealing a series of seals with a black circle in the center of each pattern.

" A storage scroll?" she asked, surprised that Guy would provide her with something so expensive. She had once looked at the smaller storage scrolls which could hold five or so items, but they had cost more than she was given in a month. This one looked like it could hold three times her current armory.

" I will teach you the technique for using it before we leave. It will allow you to carry far more weapons than before with greater ease. However, you should still keep weapons on your person. It is not always possible to be drawing weapons from it during battle."

" And me?" said Naruto, smiling expectantly.

" This." said Guy, handing Naruto two wrist bracelets that were covered with seals. " Chakra disruptors."

" Huh?" said Naruto, not understanding.

" You have a superhumanly large chakra reserve." said Guy, explaining the tool." But you have poor chakra control because you don't have to worry about running out quickly. This make it more difficult to use chakra, so they are sometimes used to give you extra practice doing so. If you master controlling your chakra, your reserve will go far farther than before."

" Awesome!" said Naruto, snapping them on and forming a seal. A single shadow clone appeared next to him. " Woah. There was supposed to be four." The clone looked disappointed as he dismissed it.

" Now, what roles do you believe you will play in combat?" asked Guy as the genin fiddled with their new tools. Lee took out his notebook and began to read from the plan Tenten had made.

" Tenten will use her weapons to attack from long range, providing cover so that Rock Lee and Naruto Uzamaki can enter into close combat." Lee read.

" Good." said Guy with a nod. " A simple yet effective plan. However, I wish to dig one step deeper. What type of ninja do you believe you are?"

" Uh…." The genin didn't seem to understand, so Guy explained it for them.

" Naruto, with his exceptional chakra, is a ninjutsu type. He has show the ability to learn unusually complicated jutsu and he will be able to use them more often than usual. This lends him to a short to medium range style." Naruto beamed as Guy talked him up. " Tenten is a long range taijutsu type. Using her skill with weapons, she can pick off enemies before they can attack and aid her teammates if they get in trouble. She is also more than proficient in hand-to-hand, meaning that she can also fill that role. However, Lee will typically fill that role."

" I will?" asked Lee, blinking.

" Yes. I selected you as a student specifically because I believe that I can make you the most effective taijutsu specialist you can be." said Guy, giving him a thumbs up. He selected Lee thought Tenten, smiling as the boy sat dumbfounded. That's great. Finally, someone with some belief in Lee.

" As you are required to focus on hand to hand, you will always be attacking at that range. This gives out team a good balance. With a long range, medium range, and short range types on one team, we can face anyone without worry. If the opponent is easier to fight head on, Naruto and Lee will be the primary fighters. If the opponent is best at long range, Tenten and Naruto will be able to match him long enough for Lee to get into close quarters. "

The genin were, simply put, amazed. Guy didn't seem that thoughtful, but he had lay their abilities out simply and effectively.

" Now, to continue the test!" said Guy, leaping to his feet.

" But I thought we passed?" asked Lee.

" You passed the genin test, but you have yet to get the bells! If you fail, we shall do ten laps around the village!" Guy shouted back as he ran off. The genin leapt to their feet, racing after the jounin.

----

Sore, tired, and battered, the genin walked down the street, heading home from the training.

" Man, this is way harder than I thought it would be." said Naruto, looking to the chakra disruptors.

" Yeah, but it's gonna make us better." said Tenten, looking though the scroll. " You guys want to go get dinner?"

" Ramen!" shouted Naruto as Lee yelled " Curry!"

Tenten sighed. Is this going to happen every time…?

----

After knocking some sense into the boys ( Literally. She had to use a club) they went to a restaurant that served both of the boys favorite foods. Naruto drew a number of hateful glares, but he didn't seem to notice.

" So, are we going to hang out like this all the time?" asked Naruto, slurping some broth.

" Well, we could." said Tenten. " Since were on the same team, we might as well be friends." Naruto seemed to like that answer and gave her a smile.

" I like Guy-sensei." said Lee, taking a bite of his dinner.

" Yeah." said Naruto, nodding. " He's the first person who didn't laugh when I said I wanted to be Hokage."

" And he selected me as a student." said Lee, smiling. " I had assumed that I would simply be assigned to a jounin."

" Well, he's the best taijutsu instructor in the village. Since you have to focus on you, it's a good match." said Tenten, crunching her way though a egg roll, crumbs falling from her mouth. Another thing she liked about the two boys were their table manners were as bad as hers.

" What's all that rival stuff he was talking about about?" asked Naruto, thinking back. " I didn't understand that."

" Well, by constantly testing yourself against a peer, you can continue to improve." Tenten explained.

" Naruto, I choose you as my rival!" declared Lee quickly, pointing at the blonde with his chopsticks. " I shall train every day until I can match you, no matter how many clones you create!"

" Your on!" said Naruto with a wide smile.

Boys. thought Tenten, smirking at her teammates.

-----

So, how was that? I wanted to do another big story but couldn't find one I liked. Kept fishing around with them, until I decided on a "What if Naruto was with Guy's Team" fic. I also wanted to do a fic where Lee wasn't wearing spandex. I don't mind it, but I wanted to avoid the typical "mini-me" style jokes. Lee's still going to be creepily close to Guy, but not a clone.

But that wasn't enough.

I like doing odd things. And I like Tenten. So, this is a 'what if' fic that is Tenten centric, as if the show was around her.

God save us all.