A Tale of Love and Loss

Maito Gai/Original Character

Disclaimer: The fandom is Naruto and it of course does not belong to me along with many of the characters portrayed. I will do my best to remain true to the characters.

Chapter: A Team is Formed

Moriko glanced at Katsuko, a grin coming over her face as she raised her goggles, pulling them down to hang around her neck. She glanced back at their sensei who was watching her closely. Katsuko looked her way with a questioning look, a look of almost-warning. Moriko laughed, jumping into the air and spinning in a graceful backflip, throwing out three kunai and a handful of shuriken.

"Look out Kouichi-sensei!" she called playfully, jumping off with her commendable speed. She knew he'd catch her, but she was getting faster and she wasn't about to make it easy for him. The ten-year-old genin pressed a button on her stopwatch. She had to beat one-hundred-and-sixty-seven seconds which was two minutes and forty-seven seconds. That was how long it took last time.

Katsuko jumped in front of her with a serious expression, surprising her teammate, but it didn't hold her up long. She jumped, landing a hand on either of Katsuko's shoulders and pushing off hard. Her teammate was left unmoved, and she was given an extra push with the chakra-filled move. She landed on her feet upon the next branch she came to and jumped off hard, sending as much chakra to her feet as she was able. The branch cracked under her feet, but she didn't slow. She felt his chakra signature blaring behind her.

She knew better than to drop to the ground. She was already outmatched. Her sensei was a special jounin after all. She would be ending her chase in an instant if she dropped to the earth below. Her sensei's second specialty was earth-element jutsu, following only his fire jutsu. She stuck to the trees, jumping straight up in the air as she felt a gust of wind. She looked down, her kekkei genkai activated as a gust of wind tore through the trees below her. She grinned wildly, not having seen that jutsu before. The laughter bubbled up within her, but she swallowed it down, jumping right, just as her sensei came flying up with a serious look on his face.

"One-hundred-and-twenty-five seconds Kouichi-sensei!" she grinned. He leapt towards her. Her eyes widened at the speed. "Fast," she whispered, but she performed a swift set of hand-seals and he was forced to back away as she sucked in a large breath and blew out hard, spitting fireballs that went flying at him. She had used more chakra than ever before and consequently the fireballs were larger than ever before. She frowned as she blinked and he appeared behind her. She tried to perform another jutsu quickly, but there wasn't time. She felt a kunai bite at her skin gently.

"You're dead," he said, darkly. She frowned in frustration. He reached for the stopwatch around her neck, clicking the button as she balanced upon the tall branch of the tree, looking out over the forest. They could see Konoha ahead from up here. "Next time your enemy comes that close to you, don't waste you're time with a jutsu. Fight him like a true shinobi," he said, pushing her hard from the branch with his open hand. "One-hundred and fifty-five seconds. You haven't been training very hard obviously," he said, coolly tossing her stopwatch to her.

She spun hard, her movements as fast as his. She caught the stopwatch in her left hand, right coming up as she jumped his way. Her kunai met his and she pushed back hard, glaring at him. "To prove myself, I shall perform five-hundred laps around Konoha when we return!"

"Moriko! You can't be serious!" Katsuko grumbled softly from behind her.

"Of course I am serious. I do not break my word, Katsu-chan! I am Uchiha Moriko future ANBU Captain of the greatest village in the world and if I am not jounin by fourteen years of age, I shall give up being a shinobi forever!"

"Moriko, that's ridiculous! Four years is too short of time to become a jounin, especially for a kunoichi and there is no way you will ever be ANBU," Katsuko argued, her calculating blue eyes narrowing on her teammate. She was of course used to her teammate's ridiculous promises, but they didn't cease to irritate her in any case.

"Don't worry Katsu-chan. I will not let you down," she said, with a grin. "Tsunade-sama has been a jounin since she was fourteen years old and I wish to become a great kunoichi just like her!"

"Tsunade-sanin was a medic. You are not," Katsuko reminded her seriously.

"I don't need to be a medic with an amazing teammate like you!" Moriko grinned.

"If you are done interrupting our mission, Moriko, we have about six minutes to get to the hokage's office," Kouichi-sensei sighed.

"Gomen, Kouichi-sensei, we must of course complete our mission" Moriko said scratching the back of her head. Her black hair fell down her back, her bangs spilling over her Konohagakure headband while it was half-tied back to keep it from her face.

"If you can call that a mission," Katsuko whispered, as they all leapt off.

"Kouichi-sensei, Katsu-chan's right. When will hokage-sama give us a real mission? I'm sick of weeding gardens and chasing down lost animals," Moriko complained.

"When the two of you receive a new teammate you are likely to pick up a few decent missions," Kouichi-sensei said, glancing at them. Moriko's face grew dark and cloudy, her carefree smile drawing into a small frown. "It will be nothing high-ranking, but enough to hopefully shut you up for a while."

Katsuko chuckled softly, glancing at her Uchiha teammate whose eyes were still dark. "Nothing will accomplish that feat, Kouichi-sensei. You know Moriko can't be keep quiet for long," Katsuko said, nudging her teammate who suddenly snapped back to her carefree self.

"Anything I say is spoken in the spirit of a true shinobi with a will of fire!" Moriko cried, frowning. Her sensei and teammate were not the most talkative. Kouichi-sensei rarely spoke on missions and anything Katsuko said was generally softly-spoken. The girl could be rather harsh and negative towards others, but if she did say it, it was always just loud enough for Moriko to hear.

"Of course we both appreciate you taking all the responsibility of filling the silence with meaningless chatter upon yourself Moriko. It's really quite kind of you," Katsuko said, with a smirk. Moriko scowled, turning her head away from her friend and teammate, but Kouichi-sensei was only smirking on her other side. the silence reigned for another minute or so, before Moriko couldn't stand it any longer.

"Aren't you excited to get back? Those three days in the border villages working on those boring farms was so long! It's nothing I can't handle of course. I admit that I am tired, which simply means I'll have to work twice as hard at improving my stamina. Kouichi-sensei, will you help me train tomorrow?" Moriko rambled. Katsuko slapped her hand to her forehead, shaking her head.

"What?" Moriko huffed.

"You remember the Uchiha festival tomorrow night don't you? You're Uchiha. You must attend," Katsuko said, with a smirk. "That also means that you get to wear..." Moriko groaned.

"Why do I have to wear those stupid kimonos?" she grumbled, darkly.

"If you make chuunin soon it won't matter anymore. The Uchiha do not make chuunin or above dress in traditional attire," Kouichi-sensei reminded her. Moriko nodded, dully... then she froze.

"Chuunin! Ichi-sensei, you believe Moriko will be a chuunin in six months!?" Katsuko questioned with alarm

"Yosh, I knew I would not fail. I must try ten times as hard. If I am not chuunin in three months I will train twice as much every day. Yosh!" she cried, pumping her fist into the air.

"He said six months, Moriko!" Katsuko exclaimed. "Besides, is it even possible for you to double your training time?" she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"My average training time during a day is 9.54 hours," Moriko proclaimed, pulling her precious stopwatch out of her shirt and waving it at her teammate, who rolled her eyes turning her attention away from her overenthusiastic teammate to their much calmer sensei.

"Really, Kouichi-sensei? Chuunin?" Katsuko questioned. She quite obviously didn't believe him. After all, Moriko was two full years her junior and she acted like it. Moriko raised her hand to knock her teammate on the head for being doubtful, but Katsuko leapt aside, neither breaking their run.

"Your reflexes have improved Katsu-chan!" Moriko said with a light laugh.

"You should be picking up a better mission load which will improve your chances of proving your competencies, provided your new teammate doesn't cause any setbacks. He has just graduated the academy. He is a bit younger than you, but he is apparently very gifted" Kouichi-sensei explained.

"Who is it Kouichi-sensei? Someone younger than me?" Katsuko questioned.

"Younger than Moriko," he corrected. "His name is Maito Gai."

"They let HIM graduate? Gai!?" Katsuko asked in shock with a swift recognition in her eyes. He was the goofy boy a few classes before them who practically tripped over his own clothes every other step. The pending war caused any worthy academy students to be recognized and advanced to training under a jounin, but he was probably no more than 7 years old. A whole five years younger than Katsuko, three under Moriko.

"Gai-san will not have trouble fitting into our squad. I will personally ensure that he does not hold us back, Kouichi-sensei!" Moriko said. "I shall do everything in my power to make him as strong as possible! I pledge to carry him on missions, to fight twice as many enemies as Katsuko-chan and to defend him whenever necessary to allow us to better serve the village." Katsuko sent her an irritated glare. Kouichi was silent for a few moments.

"You might want to worry about keeping up with him actually," Kouichi-sensei said, seriously. Moriko's eyes narrowed and she stopped on a dime, staring at the back of Kouichi-sensei waiting for him to explain that blasphemous comment. Kouichi-sensei glanced back dispassionately, turning forward and not slowing as she grew further behind. "At seven years old he can already perform a summons." Moriko's jaw dropped. Not even Aoba-senpai could perform a summons and he was a jounin and a genius! She chased after Kouichi-sensei and Katsuko, coming up between them with ease, making it to them as they reached the gate. Katsuko was staring at their sensei in surprise as well.

Moriko grabbed Katsuko's arm, pulling her aside as Kouichi-sensei spoke with the guards. "Do you really think it's true? That Gai-kun can perform a summons?" she hissed.

"I don't know. I know he's terrible at taijutsu. He couldn't fight off a squirrel!" Katsuko hissed.

"Really? I didn't think he was that bad," Moriko whispered.

"You were probably too busy training with Obito-san! It was my class that went down to help the worst dropouts, but your class that got to train with all the good ones in the same group," Katsuko exclaimed irritatedly, her voice staying low enough to not draw attention from the guards or their sensei.

"Heh, uh, sorry about that, but he is my younger cousin and Tai-kun was always paired up with Asuma-kun," she said, with a shrug. Katsuko and Moriko both darkened a bit for a few moments. Still, they couldn't say the name of their former teammate, Moriko's elder brother without a sharp and raw pain. He'd been killed on the border on a horrendous mission known as the Steel Kunai. No one talked about that mission, but they'd lost something important there, Moriko more than anyone and they'd not been right since. This war had taken quite a bit from many, but Moriko had lost a brother and two parents. She was all alone and it was hard for her.

"Right, anyways I was always stuck trying to train Gai at the academy and he's really weird. He has no genjutsu and his clones weren't even good! He is hopeless at taijutsu. I didn't think he'd ever pass. He's such a loser!" Katsuko said wrinkling her nose.

"Hey, you don't know that! He might have improved dramatically since then. It would take more than a summoning jutsu for the academy to graduate him at his age," Moriko said softly, contemplating that. The chances were pretty low. She'd seen the clumsy boy herself though she feigned ignorance of his failings. Maito Gai was definitely not an impressive sight. He had some rather big shoes to fill too. Their last teammate had been a shinobi of incredible caliber, someone very important to Moriko.

"If Kouchi-sensei says he can perform a summoning jutsu then he's no joke. That takes chakra control," Moriko argued in his favor.

"Kouichi-sensei can't see how badly he does, though. Got it? Training him is up to me and you. If we have to, we've got to trick Kouichi-sensei into thinking Gai-san is better than he is. I want to be chuunin and the more strong missions we take on the better we will become," Katsuko said.

"We have to come from the blind side with these other teams though. Not even the other teams should know what we can do, got it? No running that big mouth of yours. If they actually wait for a chuunin exam to determine advancement, we need every advantage possible, got it?" Katsuko asked. Moriko nodded. That was something she was one-hundred-percent on board with. They had to keep their true strength under wraps for as long as possible Not even Obito knew all of what they were truly capable and he was her closest family member. He was very young though… something that made it easier to keep things from him.

Katsuko nodded in satisfaction, glad that Moriko understood the plan and didn't have any complaints. Moriko wanted to be chuunin so bad she could taste it after all and she said so quite often. Katsuko understood that while Moriko didn't like the idea of tricking Kouichi-sensei, she'd do it if necessary. It would take a lot of effort turning Gai into a good genin in so short an amount of time from what Katsuko had seen of him, but they had to do it themselves. They couldn't let Kouichi get too involved, not that he ever went out of his way to train them. She sighed... lazy uncaring jounin.

"What are you two talking about over there?" Kouichi demanded, eyes narrowing at them.

"Boys!" Moriko blurted out with a girlish grin. It took a lot for Katsuko to keep a straight face. Her ten year old teammate was extremely annoying, but she was very smart as well, a trait rightly claimed by most Uchiha. It was the response most likely to draw their sensei's attention elsewhere immediately Their sensei paled and it was quite obvious that he was going to be much-relieved when there was another Y chromosome on the squad once more. He always complained about having to deal with two insolent females who were always plotting behind his back as he put it. He avoided their teen girl topics as much as possible. It was quite easy to get him off their case by simply pretending to gossip about Kumade-san, who was of course the most attractive of their year.

Katsuko was of course absolutely in love with the sullen, gray-haired chuunin, not that she'd say that aloud. Half the genin in the village were stumbling over themselves to fall at his feet after all and the other half were all about his Uchiha teammate: Shisui. It didn't matter that neither of them hardly cast them a glance. Moriko was quickly learning to pick up on these things and she knew Katsuko didn't want to come off as all the other females that followed after Kumade, like his teammate Hideko. Katsuko's feelings for Hideko were anything but kind though Moriko had to disagree when Katusko went off about how helpless Hideko acted. Moriko found Hideko to be a competent and tenacious comrade one who often assisted the orphaned Uchiha in her training.

Moriko shook her head at the thought. She didn't like to think about boys in that way, not yet at least. For her, being a shinobi came first. That was how she'd been raised. The Family would choose her a husband when they deemed the time right, a husband from within the clan of course, probably Obito… Their parents had been pushing for that since his birth. He was a few years younger, but that was of little consequence. It was the most rank-appropriate match. Both their families fell rather low in the clan's hierarchy.

The most sure way to gain rank on other families was to marry inside the clan. To marry outside the clan when ones level was already so low was to lower your family further. In any case, Moriko wouldn't be given a choice in the matter so it was better not to think about it. There was one thing that would help her avoid that fate… one choice she could make, but she only had four years to pull it off, four years to prove that she could be more than a homemaker, more than a breeder of strong Uchiha children.

Being a kunoichi was her life. She could not let her family down. Few Uchiha were anything less than great and she therefore had to aspire to greatness as her parents hopes had been dashed when her brother had been killed during that mission along the border. Moriko had to draw a deep, steadying breath as she thought of that. Her twin brother was the better of them. There had been no doubt about that, but she'd spent years chasing his standard of excellence. She knew that she'd never feel like she was as good as he should have been.

In any case, the expectations for females were lower than the men in the clan, but without a male heir, after Tai-kun's… her father had left it to her before his own death and told her as such. Her parents and brother may have had to leave her behind, but she carried on their legacy and their memory was strong within her. She needed to make them proud, even in death.

Katsuko seemed to notice her teammate's sudden shift to somberness and turned to look at her. "Moriko-chan?," Katsuko said, eying Moriko closely.

"Hai, Hai! Gomenasai my friend. Kouichi-sensei, don't we have to report?" Moriko questioned, placing her hands on her hips and raising her eyebrow. He looked up from the chuunin kunoichi he had undoubtedly been flirting with and sighed, nodding. He took off running, his two young pupils followed swiftly, landing in front of the hokage building with the grace of more superior shinobi.

They were surprised at the team they saw coming out. "Shisui-san, welcome home," Moriko said, respectfully with a slight bow, her Uchiha manners kicking in as she was faced with one of her own, one whose status far shadowed her own. He inclined his head in response, looking pretty tired but otherwise unaffected… another success no doubt.

"Success niisan?" she questioned.

"Ah, a success," he said. She nodded. He was the closest Uchiha to her in age, being the same age as her teammate Katsuko, but they rarely had occasion to interact. She was at least ten families below his and a child in his eyes. When they'd been very young her brother had been afforded the privilege of playing with him, but that was before the two of them had entered the academy. There had been no time for such childish things after that.

"Hideko-san, thanks for the help with my weapons work last week. I hit three more targets in ten seconds less over the last twenty-eight trials which is an increased improvement ratio of-" she said, getting very loud again.

"Moriko, she doesn't care how much your improvement ratio-" Katsuko began, but Moriko was difficult to quiet down once she started on training, times, and improvements it was nearly impossible to stop her unless… Kouichi's look hit her full force and she looked to him, locking it up quickly, straightening.

"You're welcome, Moriko. You are a very good training partner," Hideko said, with a small smile. She was one of the few that understood that even though all these new genin were being graduated from the school, they were both prepared for the shinobi world and still kids. At fourteen, she had the patience of a saint dealing with Moriko in Kouichi-sensei's opinion, not that anyone cared to listen to it anyways.

"Minato, B-rank?" Kouichi-sensei questioned. Moriko looked to her own sensei in surprise, then to Kumade who stood beside him, his height already rivaling that of his jounin captain's though he was only 14 years old.

"Ah," Minato-sensei nodded. "My team performed well. I had something to discuss with you, an important matter," he added with a glance to the man's genin squad. "I'll walk you up?" he suggested.

"Hai Minato-senpai. Katsuko, Moriko… you will follow in a couple minutes so we may discuss this privately," he said.

"Hai Kouichi-sensei," they both said immediately.

"So how did it really go, Hideko-san?" Moriko asked, obviously seeing that there was something not quite right with the three of them.

"Minato-sensei is right. It was a success and the team did well, especially Kumade-san. He deserves more praise than either of us by far," Hideko said, looking down ashamed.

"If you would stayed of of his way, he wouldn't have to work twice as hard," Shisui said, unkindly.

"Shisui!" Kumade snapped, his already deep voice reverberating with warning.

"Kunoichi do nothing but get underfoot," Shisui muttered, low enough that he probably thought no one could hear, but Moriko's extensive training in auditory sensitivity made it very clear to her and she was furious.

"Kunoichi are worth just as much as any male shinobi," Moriko snapped.

"That's a joke coming from you," he replied, uncaringly.

"I will become twice the shinobi you could ever dream to be Shisui-san and then I will beat you into a pulp just for thinking that you were ever better than me!" she shouted, without thinking.

Shisui's eyes were blood red in an instant and hers changed as a natural response. Before anything could even happen, Katsuko had grabbed hold of Moriko and spun her around so her back was facing her cousin, and holding her in a deadlock while Kumade stepped in to push his own teammate back roughly. Katsuko had not reacted quite quickly enough though… Shisui had seen them…

"Three tomoe," he muttered confused. "How did you…? When…?" he took a step towards her, but Katsuko was already pulling her away, growling at her to calm down and dragging her towards the building. Moriko continued struggling to be released.

"What are you thinking, baka!" Katsuko snapped, smacking her on the head which seemed to get through to Moriko finally who fumed out an angry breath before jerking fully away and straightening.

"I'm sorry, okay. I can't always help it. It's a reflex!" she exclaimed.

"Well you need to learn to control it alright? We've talked about that. Our best strength is that we are kunoichi and they do underestimate us. Wait until you're stronger than all of them and then show them you are so, got it?" she asked. A few moments later her face had reddened again. Katsuko hit her again.

"Ow, Katsu-chan, stop that!" she snapped.

"Save it for training, Moriko," she said, looking seriously at the black-haired girl, but she shook her head, brushing her teammate aside, her black eyes reflecting an emotion uncommon for the girl, unadulterated fury. "Save it for training, Mori-chan. You know our rule," Katsuko ordered with an edge to her voice, a warning on her lips. "2300, report to the main gate," Katsuko said, sharply. The elder girl naturally took the lead and Moriko snapped to at the command.

"Hai!" Moriko said gravely, stopping in front of the desk as Katsuko requested an audience with the hokage Kouichi-sensei coming up behind them slowly, obviously done speaking with Minato-sensei.

"Kouichi, it is good to have you back in the village," the third said, graciously. He smiled upon them all. Moriko was glad as his pleasant aura appeased the darkness that hung like a cloud over her. She offered a small smile in response.

"Your mission was completed of course?" the hokage said, eyes shifting from Kouichi to his two young kunoichi.

"Hai!" Moriko and Katsuko said, swiftly. Kouichi-sensei nodded to the affirmative.

"Good, you all have been working very hard and the village is very grateful. Please take the next few days off from missions. It should give you time to get to know your newest squad member. I already sent for him, but it appears he has not arrived yet." There was humor in the hokage's tone, but Kouichi's eyes darkened. He hated tardiness. Moriko wondered if he would scold the boy when he did arrive. No, he would wait until they were alone. Kouichi would not embarrass one of his students before the hokage, especially when he was so new.

Moriko watched with a serious expression as a green-clad shinobi stumbled into the room. Katsuko chuckled a bit cruelly. Moriko elbowed her teammate in the ribs, indicating that she should shut it. The green-clad shinobi was rather uninteresting in appearance as they both remembered well, the only outstanding trait being those horrendously-bushy eyebrows. Katsuko's eyes were watching him closely, and Moriko knew that her thoughts could not be very kind.

He had long hair which was pulled back into a tie at the nape of his neck. They had gone through the academy with him of course, but the time they had spent away from him made him appear even stranger than then with his large eyebrows and pale skin. He was a scrawny little blighter though his face still retained its baby fat. His long green sleeves hung over his hands and his pants were rather bulky. His headband was tied at his neck, making him look that much goofier. It was generally only kunoichi that wore their headbands in that particular place.

"Ah, Gai-kun, good of you to show up," the hokage said with a small smile.

"Hai Hokage-sama! I am rather excited to be placed on a team after all this time!" Gai said loudly. Katsuko sniggered again, fighting to keep a straight face. Moriko however was watching Gai with a very serious look without an ounce of disdain or humor. The look on the ten year old's face would look silly to most, but this was Konoha and students were growing into genin at a much earlier age than ever before as war loomed before them. To the Hokage whose eyes were on Moriko rather than the newly-minted genin, the young Uchiha's hard, contemplative expression was one of a budding leader, a child who had the potential to make a great shinobi captain one day. Moriko's black eyes were sizing him up, trying to determine how she could best help the strange boy who would have to improve greatly or they would not be able to make the transition as a team from genin-level to chuunin-level.

Moriko turned fully to the strange boy and marched up in front of him, drawing together all her Uchiha diplomatic ability. She paid no mind to the others in the room, though she could feel their eyes following her, watching her every move. She held out a hand determinedly. "It is an honor to be in your presence once more Gai-kun. I hope we can improve together and bring honor to ourselves and become great assets to this village."

"Mo-Moriko-san...?" Gai said softly. He stared at her strangely before slowly taking her hand. She pulled him sharply forward, grabbing the back of his head and spinning him around, locking him in place one hand holding both his wrists together in a firm grip while the other held his throat, not too tightly so as to choke him, just enough so he knew she was there.

"You and I will train every night and every day for the next two weeks or until we are assigned a mission…" she whispered in his ear, her voice darkening. She spoke so quietly he struggled to catch her words. He swallowed hard, nodding. "You will sweat, you will bleed, you will cry, but you will not give up because you are better than that, because you are Team Four and Team Four does not give up. Do you understand?"

"H-hai!" Gai said faintly.

"Kouichi-sensei," the hokage said, probably expecting Kouichi to interfere with Moriko's rough-handling of the new genin, but their sensei simply stood aside his arms crossed, with a blank look on his face.

"Moriko is practical hokage-sama. She needs him. She won't kill him," Katsuko said with a dark glance towards her teammate, whose words were too softly spoken in Gai's ear for any of the others to hear. Moriko released her new teammate, wrapping an arm over his shoulders. She pulled him forward swiftly, her grip still more suffocating and confining than supportive.

"Gai-kun will become ANBU one day, hokage-sama. That is the promise of a lifetime," she said with certainty, winking confidently. "He will be one of the village's strongest shinobi in the future because the will of fire burns strongly in his heart!"

"Mori-chan?" Katsuko said softly, frowning. Moriko had made quite of few crazy promises today. She always did make exaggerated exclamations like that and all that she'd made she had seen through in the past. That however, was one promise Katsuko doubted was even a slight possibility. Gai would be lucky to make chuunin someday. He was an embarrassment as was shown in his awkward step, his uncomfortable gaze. She thought how stupid he looked wearing that strange red color on the cloth holding his headband. Sure, he was only seven, but she was convinced he'd been graduated to cover the types of missions Katsuko and Moriko were trying to move away from, to free up stronger shinobi so they could face rising unrest along the borders of the smaller ally nations. Any seven year old could still pull weeds and chase down cats which would clear them up for more difficult missions. What she couldn't understand was why he'd been placed with them.

"I believe you are right, Moriko," the hokage said with a smile. Gai was looking at her in shock then looking to the hokage, a blush rising on his pale cheeks. Moriko smiled, ignoring Katsuko's incredulous look or Kouichi-sensei's raised eyebrow. All it took was one person believing in her to make her strive for the best, to make her want this more than anything in the world. She wanted to be that person for Gai. She wanted to help him because as strange as he was, she knew that he wanted to be a great shinobi. They had all known that at the academy even the older kids and no matter how hard the other kids had tried, no matter how much they'd bullied him, they had never deterred the strange shinobi-to-be.

"You're all dismissed for now," the hokage said.

"Arigatou, Sandaime-sama," Moriko said, bowing respectfully then grabbing Gai by the hand and dragging him towards the window ignoring the ANBU in the room as they tensed up a bit. Gai gasped in surprise, but she merely yanked him along with her as she leaped from the window, landing on the next rooftop and continuing, dragging the clumsy boy along with her.

"What is our destination, Moriko-san?" Gai asked, trying to remain polite as he was carted across the village by the kunoichi, her small hand gripping his in a vice-grip he would not be able to break if he were to try.

"I made a promise to my teammate and sensei. I have 500 laps around Konoha to accomplish before training with Katsu-chan," she said.

"500 laps around the village?" Gai gasped. "That is impossible!"

"It is definitely not impossible Gai-kun and you are going to join me. If you cannot keep up with me I shall carry you the rest of the way!" she swore, landing at the main gate with a fiery look of determination.

"Moriko-san, I will hold you back!"

Moriko smiled. "That's what everyone else thinks right now Gai. Are you ready to prove them wrong?" Moriko asked, eying him carefully, from long scraggly hair down to his too-baggy pants and shirt.

Gai's eyes lit up with shame but that was replaced with determination. "Hai!" he said sharply. Moriko smiled.

"You're my new comrade, my new friend and no matter what I will protect you until I die. That is the promise of a lifetime," she said, winking. Katsuko appeared at her side, back to looking somber. She looked at Moriko strangely once more.

"Ari-Arigatou," Gai said, and it looked for a moment that he was going to cry. That passed however and Moriko laughed.

"Shinobi are forbidden tears; that is true Gai, but I have never held back my tears of happiness," Moriko said.

"It is our rule. No one outside of our team is allowed to see you cry from this time on, unless your tears are tears of joy. Our pain is something that only we can share," Katsuko said, softly.

"What about... what about Kouichi-sensei?"

"Kouichi-sensei will not be at most of our training sessions. He is a jounin and he has more important things to do than train with us every day. We are at war and it is growing along the borders and once it reaches the next level we will see even less of him. We're running out of time now Gai. From here on out, you live, eat, sleep, and breathe Team Four. Can you deal with that?" Katsuko questioned, looking doubtful. He nodded meekly.

"Katsuko, are you joining us?" Moriko asked, softly.

"No, I'll leave his taijutsu to you, Mori-chan," Katsuko said. "I will practice my chakra control until 2300. Do not forget that you must finish by that time."
"I shall do 100 pushups for every minute that I am over our meeting time," Moriko said. Katsuko sighed but nodded while Gai gaped at her.

"Yosh, ready for the training of a true shinobi, Gai-kun?" Moriko asked, turning her coal black eyes on her new teammate. He paled, but swallowed hard and nodded. He'd never even spoken with Moriko much. In the academy she'd hardly acknowledged him. His fists clenched. He had been the weakest of his class, having to graduate months after the others. He didn't want to be weak anymore. He didn't want to let Katsuko and Moriko down. They were counting on him.

"I will try my hardest," Gai said.

"That's what we're afraid of… that not being enough," Katsuko muttered to herself, frowning at Moriko and wondering why she was taking Gai so much under her wing. He was only bound to disappoint her as he had all of their instructors before, as he was bound to disappoint Kouichi-sensei.

"Let's go," Moriko said, tapping her stop-watch and taking off like a bullet. Gai struggled after her, stumbling over his pants as he tried to get going. Moriko whirled around to catch him, but he gritted his teeth, lifting his feet higher off the ground as he chased the more experienced genin.

Moriko was surprised at how much stamina Gai had. She had not seen that in him before. He had the build for a genjutsu user, which they would have to change... and fast. He would never make a good genjutsu specialist. As he ran, she noted his every movement, her sharingan activated to take it all in. Many would think it was a waste of chakra, but she knew better. Gai was her biggest priority now and she was determined to make him strong. Kouichi was too passive. He had never been an active jounin sensei and much of Moriko and Katsuko learned was from their families. Gai was from a non-shinobi background. He needed them to advance more than they needed him to become chuunin.

"Team Four, Never give up. Never back down. Never show weakness. Never show fear," she breathed out. The words were their words… the motto of team four

"What... was that Moriko-san?" Gai rasped out breathlessly.

"Nothing Gai-kun. Keep going. Focus your chakra to your legs to ease the strain. Concentrate on your chakra at all times," she instructed swiftly. She remembered her father telling her that once, years ago, just before she'd made genin. She looked down at the ground under her feet. He had been killed on mission years ago. He'd destroyed his own body to keep it out of the hands of the enemy so she had never seen him again. That combined with the loss of her brother so recently before it had nearly destroyed her. She had, however, inherited his mask and one day... she hoped to be able to wear it and carry on her father's legacy.

"Moriko-san?" Gai questioned, obviously noticing her melancholy.

"You're falling behind, Gai," Katsuko said as they passed her again. Gai gritted his teeth with determination and with his first chakra-infused step caught up with Moriko in a single bound. Moriko smirked and pushed herself faster. That was the first true spark of fire she'd seen from the boy and she hoped it was the first of many.

Once a student had made a comment to Gai in front of the entire class that he would never make it as a shinobi because he had no skill in taijutsu which was the base technique for shinobi. That was ironic as the other boy had dropped out this year. Well, Moriko knew that she and Katsuko would help Gai to prove him wrong in any case. In that moment she decided that Gai would become the greatest taijutsu specialist in their generation if not in the entire village!

Her eyes spun momentarily before she deactivated her three-tomoe-sharingan, concentrating on her own chakra distribution and sending as much to her legs as she knew was wise. She had to conserve for the rest of the run. The village blurred past her and time slipped away as she focused on her chakra control. Gai fell further and further behind, but each time he did, Moriko dropped back to his side, urging him along. He wasn't going to make it and she knew that. She had expected it. She had conserved enough chakra to carry his weight to the end if she had to. What she didn't expect was how far he had made it. They had nearly gone four-hundred laps according to Katsuko's diligent count each time they passed.

He was dead on his feet. His movements were sluggish and he was hardly able to catch a breath to continue. She was impressed with each step as his feet continued to land in front of him, somehow his momentum continuing to propel him forward. As they rounded their four-hundred-sixty-fifth lap, Gai finally collapsed, breathing erratically, legs twitching from the exertion. His heart was thudding so loud her shinobi-refined ears could hear it's beats. She glanced at her ever-useful stopwatch before grabbing Gai by the arm and hoisting him up onto her back. He stared at her.

"You have no chakra and your legs are now useless. Your only task now is to stay conscious and keep a tight grip around my shoulders. Can you do that Gai-kun?" Moriko questioned.

"Hai," Gai gasped, coughing and choking on the air as he worked to fill his lungs.

"Yosh, thirty-five left," Moriko whispered to herself. She took off, Gai's arms tightening around her. He was small so it wasn't difficult to carry him. He didn't have much muscle so his weight wasn't about to hold her back. She felt his head fall to her shoulder and she jumped hard, jostling him when she was in the air. His head jolted up. "Awake," she snapped.

"Hai!" he cried exhausted, keeping his head up as she continued to run.

Finally they reached the end of the road. Katsuko held out a hand to stop her teammate and Moriko stopped on a dime, her teammate's palm inches from her face. Katsuko smirked and Gai collapsed. Moriko turned swiftly, breathing hard and aching, but still having enough strength in her to catch her newest teammate and carefully lower him to the ground.

"He is impressive. I am proven wrong," Katsuko said, softly.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Moriko joked, glancing at her teammate who shot her a glare.

Sweat beaded down her face, the salt stinging her eyes as it leaked out from under her headband. She winced as she glanced down at her stopwatch, stopping it and switching to the time setting. "2303," she muttered. Without a word she dropped beside Gai's prone form and began to push her body from the ground, calling out the numbers to Katsuko as she went while Katsuko paid her no mind, concentrating on the skinny, green-clad boy who was currently unconscious. She began to heal the muscle damage to his legs. Moriko watched the skilled new healer work out of the corner of her eye, all the while counting loudly.

"You know what I'm thinking Mori-chan?" Katsuko questioned as she healed Gai, wasting no chakra of course in the process.

"Yes," Moriko replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh really?" Katsuko chuckled.

"One..." Moriko said.

"Two..." Katsuko chimed.

"Three... Taijutsu!" they said together. Katsuko shoved her teammate out of her push up and Moriko threw a kunai that grazed past her teammate's cheek, giving her little more than a paper-cut-sized wound. Without missing a beat, Moriko was back on her hands pushing once more, her numbers never off, never unsure.

"I think he actually could be good," Katsuko muttered.

"There are no weak links on Team Four. He will not be good. He will be great," Moriko said, without cracking a grin.

Katsuko sat back on her heels, looking down at Gai closely. "He has something in him... he reminds me of you somehow," Katsuko said glancing up at Moriko, who stared at their new teammate. She didn't look away no matter how many pushups she did.

"I can believe what Kouichi-sensei said now. I think he has the potential for a summons," Moriko said contemplatively, pausing in her push ups so she did not lose her count.

"He's still a weirdo," Katsuko muttered, her eyes narrowing slightly. Moriko glanced at her teammate with a wave of irritation shooting through her, but she swallowed it down. She began to push faster, wanting to get through her promise and onto her further training.

"Who are we to ask him to change who he is?" Moriko said.

"Fine, you can have this your way. I think it would be for his own good," Katsuko grumbled, rising to her feet.

"What should we do with him?" Moriko said, stretching her exhausted arms as she rose to her feet a bit wobbly.

"Bring him for our training. He's just going to sleep through it anyway. I'm not carrying him though. You made a promise, not me," Katsuko said, glancing at the strange boy with distaste.

"No problem," Moriko said. She knelt down and without any difficulty at all, lifted Gai up in a dead-man's carry as if he weighed nothing. He groaned softly, but settled over her shoulders after a moment. She shifted him slightly. He was a bit awkward, but not too heavy.

"Bet he's never worked hard in his life. This is going to take a lot," Katsuko grumbled as she noted the ease with which he was lifted. Moriko was strong, but she hardly looked to be bothered an ounce and she didn't use a bit of chakra.

"What do you think you have something better to do hime-sama?" Moriko mocked. "Team Four: Uchiha Moriko, Nara Katsuko, Maito Gai, sensei: Itou Kouichi. We are a team now and from this moment on no one will ever turn up their nose to Maito Gai again unless they want my fist to break it, not even you Katsu."

Moriko pretended she couldn't feel Katsuko's glare as she headed towards the training ground, slightly ahead of her teammate, lugging Gai with her. She had been feeling that more and more often that nasty glare, but she had faith in Katsuko. That irritation would not turn into anything more. They were comrades, through thick and thin.

They made quite a sight as they headed out further from the village, the forest echoing around them as Moriko's declaration hung in the air between the two squad mates and best friends like a heavy blanket of fog that one could practically taste. Moriko had never thought ill of Gai before. She had made it a point to never thing negatively about others without true knowledge of them. However, she'd never before acknowledged him as anything other than a sub-par student at the academy, but that was before he was hers: her mission, her comrade, and her friend. No one messed with Moriko's precious people and Maito Gai was now among those select few. If Gai were to act towards Katsuko as she was towards him she would have exactly the same reaction. She would not allow it. She'd seen too much of the pain of loss, too many shinobi that never made it home. This was the result of being a part of an important Konoha clan. She had lost her own parents. She'd lost her brother and she'd seen how it affected a community and a team. It had happened thousands of times over and usually it was because of a weak squad, a shaky foundation. She would not be part of a squad like that.

"Moriko," Katsuko said, pretending she couldn't hear her teammate breathing heavily and that she couldn't see that she was finally beginning to feel the strain of her new teammate's added weight. Her voice was serious, worried and dangerous at the same time.

"Ah?" Moriko muttered.

"Are you going to tell me why you blew up at Shisui-san earlier? It is unlike you to act disrespectful to another member of your clan, especially a higher-ranking one," she said. Moriko was loud and annoying but above everything, she was very good at maintaining her bearing with her clan-mates. It was something that was nonnegotiable with the Uchiha.

They were shinobi and control of emotions was an important part of that. With Moriko and Katsuko, they had one acceptable outlet and that was each other. They had made that pact long ago. When they'd been assigned to the same team, they'd made a blood vow that their secrets were to be with each other and no one else: their problems, their hopes, their dreams, all top secret.

A couple years ago when Moriko's father had become one of the long list of the Konoha shinobi K.I.A., Katsuko had been the first and only person Moriko had gone to. Katsuko's parents had not said one word about the two weeks the new genin had spent locked up inside her teammate's room, refusing to see her uncle, her aunt, or any other members of her clan. Even Kouichi could not break the strong wall of Nara that stood between him and his genin. Nara were more loyal than most and one word from Katsuko and none allowed anyone near her heartbroken teammate. She had cut herself off from everyone, except Katsuko. In return Katsuko had taken care of her, fed her or force-fed her in some cases, comforted her when she could not stop the tears and listened when she could not sleep because the thoughts were so rampant in her that she needed to get them out.

"I apologize for exploding like that. I did not mean to embarrass you," Moriko said darkly.

"I'm not worried about being embarrassed, Moriko-chan," Katsuko frowned.

"I've been angry, since… I had to do something Katsuko, something that is expected of a shinobi. I knew it would happen, but it has been difficult and since I have had difficulty controlling my emotions," Moriko said.

They were quiet for a while until they reached the training ground. Moriko laid her teammate down, removing her long blue jacket which bore the Uchiha crest. She folded it up sliding it under Gai's head carefully. Her blue shirt beneath was much the same, simply sleeveless. Her long blue, perfectly-tailored pants bore the Uchiha crest on the left leg, opposite her weapons pouch. She dropped her bag from their mission beside Gai and Katsuko did the same.

"You… killed someone?" Katsuko asked softly after a while. Moriko glanced up sharply, her eyes darkening. She looked up at the moon, Kouichi-sensei's face flashing behind her eyes, then the masked face of Hatake Kakashi. She gripped her hands into fists tightly. "You've only had three missions without me since you became a genin. Have you really...?"

"I do not wish to speak about it," Moriko mumbled defensively. Gai stirred, but did not awaken.

"I feel like you are not being sincere. It was the one to Iwa, wasn't it? The one with Aoba, Ibiki, and Kumade? You were chosen specifically for it," Katsuko murmured. Moriko stiffened.

"If you continue to push this subject I will leave," she said, her voice devoid of emotions.

"If you continue to avoid it you will die inside," Katsuko countered. "My father told me about how a shinobi's first kill can destroy them." Moriko did not respond. Her eyes were on the moon still. She was not going to respond.

"Mori-chan, this isn't something you can just-"

"You don't know anything Katsuko! Just shut up already!" Moriko shouted, birds taking flight from the trees around them as her voice echoed in the forest. Gai stirred in earnest this time. Moriko glanced to him as he groaned, sitting up.

"Show us your summoning jutsu," she said, a bit sharper than their new teammate deserved as she activated her Sharingan. He blinked dazedly, looking around in confusion.

"Team Four," he said a small smile dawning on his face, but it faded when he realized he had been given instructions. He leapt to his feet, surprised that they didn't scream in protest. He whipped out a scroll in one smooth motion, "Kyuuchose no jutsu!" he shouted, slamming his hand on the ground.

There was a large poof and the moonlit clearing filled with smoke. Katsuko stepped back slightly, blinking dazedly. Moriko however did not even blink. Her sharingan eyes whirled as she watched. He smiled widely as the smoke cleared. A rather small tortoise appeared. Its head was pulled inside its shell. Katsuko started laughing, staring at the shell with mirth.

"Your chakra-control is very precise," Moriko said softly, staring at him.

"Uh... thanks," Gai said.

"Couldn't you have summoned something bigger?"

"At this hour?" Moriko cut in before Gai had to respond. The tortoise promptly poked it's head out of its shell looking around dazedly. It was perhaps the size of Gai's foot. "Perhaps if he wanted to be crushed," Moriko muttered more to herself than Katsuko.

"What the hell do you want, Gai-kun?" the tortoise demanded indignantly.

"I apologize tortoise-san. I was just hoping to meet one of the powerful and noble summonings I have heard shinobi speak so highly of," Moriko said, bowing respectfully to the small creature.

"Sharingan-user... what is your name?" the tortoise questioned.

"I am Uchiha Moriko and I will be Gai's close comrade from now on," Moriko explained. "This is our other teammate, a medical ninja, Nara Katsuko."

"Hn," the tortoise said, glancing back at Gai momentarily. "I shall convey this information to the master, yes?"

"Ah! Tha-Thank you," Gai said with a grin that sparkled in the moonlight. Moriko glanced at him in surprise, an unfamiliar feeling sparking inside her. She swallowed hard, trying to forget it, but it nagged at her, not allowing her to simply wash it away. His tortoise comrade disappeared in a puff of smoke and Moriko stared at the place he had been for a moment after his disappearance.

"Moriko-senpai!" Gai exclaimed. Moriko looked at him, surprised at the change in address. "I see that my new squad works differently than others. Kouichi-sensei is not as involved as many jounin sensei." Moriko nodded, not about to argue that one. Kouichi-sensei was on jounin missions more often than training them. "Since this is the case, I humbly request that you and Katsuko-san teach me anything that you are willing to and not hold back. I wish to prove wrong the 'everyone' you say is expecting me to fail! I wish to become a strong shinobi."

Moriko smiled softly. "First of all, do not call me senpai, Gai-kun. You are my equal now. You are Katsuko's equal." Katsuko stiffened slightly, but didn't negate her friend's comment as much as she wished to. She had already felt a bit insulted when she'd been teamed with a ten year old, but at least Moriko was a ten-year-old with a powerful kekkei genkai. Now she was teamed with a seven-year-old who could summon a miniature tortoise. She glared slightly into the air, trying not to open her mouth because she knew Moriko could shut it. They'd found that out before a couple of times though Moriko never got out completely unscathed.

"Also, we do not train each other... we learn from each other." Katsuko said. "That is very important."

"You getting all this?" Moriko questioned.

"H-Hai!" Gai exclaimed.

"We decided something for you, Gai," Katsuko told him, looking as if she didn't want to be speaking to him at all as if he were a piece of dirt she'd rather brush aside. "You have been heading in the wrong direction."

"Katsuko-san?" Gai said, questioningly.

"You were born for taijutsu and we have a very short amount of time to make you a taijutsu specialist. It will be difficult since you are so weak in that particular area and you will not like it. Are you willing to commit to that training?" Katsuko asked.

"Are you sure I shou-"

"We wouldn't have decided it if it wasn't true. Your chakra and your personality lend towards your excelling as a taijutsu master," Katsuko growled.

"So are you willing to commit?" Moriko pressed in a softer, more careful tone.

"I am!" Gai said, saluting swiftly.

So was reborn a complete Team Four, a three-man genin squad that would rival the strength of Team Eight when even the senior genin in teams One and Three could not. A rivalry was born and unbreakable bonds were forged between two of the three promising young shinobi in particular: Uchiha Moriko and Maito Gai who would from that day on be inseparable. Together they would become stronger, because in wartime, weakness was not an option, weakness amounted to certain death.

Please let me know what you think. It's just below so if it isn't too much trouble. This story will have much longer chapters than my other Naruto fanfiction