Sayaka didn't know what to think.

Again there was that wish for failure; to get far, far away before it's too late. This time, though, it was chased away by a sudden reminder of their current standings.

As their assigned Sensei, Hyuuga Nanao had just as much right to put them through hell and back as she did to fail them. And from that ominous declaration, she had every intention to.

She wasn't even beating around the bush about it.

They were given less than a whole minute to comprehend the meaning of her words. What interrupted them? Well, a couple things.

Firstly, there was this kunai rain. And a little thunder.

Just a little.

•

Personal experience made Hyuuga Nanao a huge disbeliever in teamwork.

Okay, so maybe it was important — lone wolves only got so far, according to most people — but what she wanted to see was quick thinking. Adapting. It didn't matter how well you worked as a team — once you were caught off guard, that was the end.

What was even more important, however, was will: the will to keep going. Was that what the Fourth called the Will of Fire? She didn't know, honestly. It always just sounded like gibberish to her, although she'd never really say that out loud.

All she had to do was push them into a corner, taking it slow — since they had just graduated and all — and see how it played out. She needed to see if this team was worth her efforts.

If not, they could go right down to hell for all she cared.

And she was really hoping they'd fail.

So bad.

•

Sayaka hadn't really been paying much attention to how the others were doing. They'd scattered quick — or, at least, she'd separated from them. She had vaguely heard a scream from who she assumed to be Shiki — since Kazuto seemed very calm and cool and unlikely to screech like a banshee — but that was it. The latter hadn't made his presence very prominently known, or maybe that was just her wandering off into her own daydream.

In fact, it really did turn out to be her in a daydream. In a way, at least, and not nearly as pleasant as they generally were.

What gave it away? When the dead walked.

She froze in her place, finally noticing the sheer impossibility of the landscape she had suddenly been thrown into, as well as the sight of a blonde woman who looked very much like an older version of herself, fully clothed in her mission attire.

A sight from over eight years ago.

Her fingers twitched, frustration seeping into her veins. Sayaka had heard her father tell her of her own affinity with Genjutsu multiple times. While she was rather reliant on Taijutsu, that didn't change the fact that she had gotten some of her mother's talents.

So either this was some really, really high level illusion, or she'd just been caught off guard and her head just wasn't in the game.

She could easily fix the latter.

The lady she recognised as her mother was smiling at that point. Her long blonde hair was tucked into its usual braid, blue eyes shining as the smile on her face extended to their depths. Splayed around them was a familiar and heart-wrenchingly nostalgic scenery that couldn't have possibly been known to anyone of the living world but herself and her father . . . and three others.

The realisation wasn't paid much mind as she focused on the situation at hand. A smile curled her own lips, though not nearly as carefree and light as the older woman's — rather, it was strained and dark. In what she knew to be a method of releasing oneself from such techniques, she sent a large amount of chakra to her head, although quite controlled so it wouldn't cause other side effects.

The serene meadow that seemed to have been plucked right out of her memories faded away, replaced by the familiar landscape she recognised from just before the living nightmare. The image of Mizumoto Miyuki flickered, her features remaining in that painful smile, and then before her stood her new Sensei.

The Hyuuga's eyes were wide, trained on the girl in front of her. It looked as if her mind was taking its dear time catching up with what had transpired. Sayaka assumed it was due to her effortless dispelling of the illusion.

Before the woman had a chance to react, a rain of shuriken descended upon her from somewhere above them, with a few meeting their target. In a puff of smoke, what had been a clone was gone.

Sayaka looked up as her new teammates leapt down from the same tree right above where Nanao had been standing. The black-haired boy cast her a concerned look, causing a frown to touch her face. Had her mask failed her?

"You alright there?" he asked. "You looked a bit . . . shaken."

Neither of them was sure of what she meant when she shook her head.

She heard a scoff from Shiki, who had been strangely silent, as well as a low hiss that she couldn't understand. The sounds had drawn her attention over to the boy in mention, allowing her eyes to meet with a rather strange sight.

The redhead's left arm was smeared with blood, most likely his own, and his right hand was clutching it, a green aura surrounding it. Healing jutsu.

She blinked once, twice, staring at the boy as if he'd grown a second head — one that actually worked.

Healing jutsu took incredible chakra control. That was certainly . . . unexpected, to say the least.

Don't judge a book by its cover, was it?

•

Kazuto quickly filled her in on the situation.

Apparently, she'd been going for sore spots for the two of them: Lightning Style jutsu against Kazuto — who was apparently a user of the Earth Style — and speedy attacks against Shiki. She'd even separated them, testing them individually. It wasn't teamwork she was looking for, according to Kazuto's analysis.

The thing that really struck Sayaka was how the Jounin had picked out their weaknesses. Genjutsu was supposed to be her specialty, not a fault.

Frowning as she considered that, she willed herself to focus on what the black-haired boy was saying. Apparently the 'Nanao' they'd both faced were clones, meaning the real body had yet to be found. Now that bothered her — it meant she wasn't even taking them seriously enough to face them for real.

Well, it was to be expected. Why would a Jounin even bother to consider just-graduated Academy students as worthy opponents?

"What happened with you?" Kazuto asked, having completed his explanation. Sayaka blinked, looking up to see both boys staring at her with mild interest in their eyes.

"What do you mean, what happened?" she responded with a question, her voice remarkably even.

Identical frowns found their ways onto both their faces as they stared back at her — the similarity highly unsettling for the female member of the team. "You know exactly what I mean," Kazuto insisted. "What happened? What did she do?"

"I'm quite sure Genjutsu is a visible-for-all kinda thing."

Shiki snorted at that. "Or maybe it was so low level neither of us saw it?"

Oh, so he's up on his high horse now, is he?

"It could have been specific to just one person," Kazuto pitched in. "What'd you see?"

Oh, and now he's being nosy. Yippee.

Her hesitation lasted long enough for them to run into yet another clone. This time, though, they were prepared. As the boys leapt into their own battle stances, a soft whisper left her lips, going unheard to them both.

"A ghost."

•

Nanao wasn't sure if she was impressed or dismayed.

On the one hand, there were Shiki and Kazuto, who seemed to get back in the game real quick. Her initial impression of the former hadn't been so great, but with the revelation of his capability with healing jutsu came a certain amount of respect.

Her initial analysis had brought her to believe he was the type who wanted to be the hero of every situation, but he seemed to understand that he had limitations, so turning to healing jutsu. He wanted to assist the front-liners rather than be a front-liner.

Or maybe he was just afraid.

Kazuto was, without a doubt, the brains of the group, as Sayaka was the limbs and Shiki the heart. He was quick to respond to the changes in the environment that were thrown his way, and he had effectively passed her own personal test. He also knew that they needed the whole team together to win. His presence on the team was probably what would make them pass, as a whole — if they did, anyway.

Then came the matter of Sayaka. Daughter of geniuses, she was called, and a genius herself. She was . . . conflicted on her stance towards the girl. She'd taken her dear time noticing the Genjutsu — she could've killed her twelve times over — but when she had, she'd immediately dispelled it, something a just-graduated Genin shouldn't have been able to achieve.

There'd been a dangerous amount of rage in that instant too, which was rather worrisome.

Overall?

They'd stuck her with an infuriatingly talented bunch of brats.

Why did she have to be on such a great team?

•

Teamwork was something completely unfamiliar to Sayaka.

Shiki and Kazuto? Not so much. They covered each other's backs so well that it made her question her own standing on the team. The black-haired boy was on defensive, while the redhead went for the offense. Meanwhile, all the blonde could do was stare.

Until she got sick of doing that, anyway.

Clone or not, it was still a Jounin they were facing. And no matter how great their teamwork was, they were still getting pummelled into the ground easily.

Groaning in exasperation as she realised what she had to do, she quickly leapt into the fray, taking 'Nanao' off guard as she leapt into a familiar sequence of attacks.

Sayaka threw a sweeping kick that the woman jumped to avoid and, using her left hand to balance herself by placing the palm against the ground, swung her other leg in another kick. This one was blocked, giving Kazuto the chance to deliver a surprise attack from behind. The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke as the ground behind her jutted out and extended to right in front of the blonde — scarily close to her face, actually.

Shaking off the shock that came with almost being impaled by earth, Sayaka pulled the two boys together, her mind set and intent on finishing the test before sunset.

"You have a plan? And you're only saying this now?!"

Oh, sure, yell it to the world, it's not like we were trying to be discrete or anything.

Judging by the look Kazuto cast her, she must've spoken out loud.

"Mostly because I just thought it up," she replied quickly, "and it's . . . not something I want to do." She didn't give either of them a chance to speak up before she continued.

"Would either of you happen to be familiar with the Yamanaka's special technique?"

•

Had they heard of the Yamanaka's special technique?

Gee, this girl sure was funny.

The Ino-Shika-Chou formation could obviously only be pulled off by a Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi. For anyone else, attempting the Mind Body Switch was simply suicide.

Nanao-sensei would never see it coming.

The question, though, was how they would pull it off.

"No clue," came her blunt response.

Cue the boys falling over.

A roll of her eyes preceded her response. "That's your field, isn't it?" she asked, her question directed at Kazuto.

The other male sighed exaggeratedly, shaking his head. "No, no, no. You never leave it up to Kazuto. Not unless you want to die."

"Actually," the aforementioned cut in, shooting a glare at his friend, "I'd like to think I use my brains, unlike you." Ignoring the protests from the redhead, he continued, "If we're going about it that way, then the first step would obviously be to immobilise her." He pointed at himself. "I've got that. But I'll need a distraction . . ." This time, he jabbed a finger in Shiki's direction, causing him to pale at the job he'd been assigned.

"A—ah, ahaha, n—nah, t—that's too easy f—for me, y—you see—"

"You're terrified," the sole female cut in bluntly. "It's obvious. But it's not up for negotiation." Turning back to Kazuto, they finalised the plan, before nodding to each other and taking off.

A certain redhead wouldn't stop muttering curses the whole time.

•

Those brats sure kept her waiting.

Did they finally give up and run home? If she found them setting even a foot out of the training grounds, she'd fail them on the spot. And then she could go home and pretend none of this had ever happened.

She quite liked the sound of that.

The constant cloning was wearing her thin, so she killed the technique entirely. Not that it mattered, anyway. They didn't really know the terms of the test, so it was most likely that they thought they had to win against her to pass. Which was untrue — she just wanted to see what they'd do in this situation. Genin weren't really expected to get a win against full-fledged Jounin, after all.

A frown touched her features as she saw Shiki stride into the centre of the clearing right below her, the other two nowhere in sight. She could hear him yelling.

"N—N—Nanao-sensei!"

It was so obviously a ploy that she almost laughed out loud.

"C—come out! I—I k—know you're t—there!" he stammered, his voice not nearly as loud as usual, most likely due to his obvious fear.

She could almost hear the Mizumoto slapping a hand against her forehead.

Deciding to humour him, though — and because she wanted to see what they were up to — she leapt down from her perch, startling the boy with little effort. A sweet smile was fixed onto her face, the sight of which caused the boy to pale even more.

"Well, here I am. Did you need me for something?" she questioned, eyes fixed on his trembling form.

He seemed to waver for a second before he replied. "Y—yes, actually." He paused, clearing his throat. "What do we need to do to pass?"

The Hyuuga blinked, momentarily stunned. She hadn't been expecting that. However, she was quick to snap out of it and regarded him with a frown as she thought on how to answer.

"Well . . . impress me, I suppose," she answered vaguely. "Before sunset," she added as an afterthought.

In yet another confusing action, the redhead laughed airily, his previous fear forgotten. "Oh, phew. Here I was worrying we actually had to beat you." A bright grin painted itself across his features as he continued, "Although, looks like we really might."

A frown tugged her eyebrows down as she opened her mouth to question his confidence, only to be cut off by a faint yell from her left.

"Earth Style: Earth Entrapment!"

The ground at her feet rose up, surrounding her body like a second skin and keeping her glued to the spot, ending just above her chest. Her eyes widened, and in her peripheral vision, she could see the other two members of the team, both of them with their hands in familiar signs.

It was strangely reminiscent of the Nara's Shadow Copy technique.

And that was when it hit her.

Immediately, she expelled chakra from all over her body in a rare moment of using her clan's techniques. It was too late, though, as Sayaka's body slumped forward, and she felt the familiar sensation of a second mind in her own.

•

A grin was on the Hyuuga's face, much to the boys' displeasure.

"Sayaka, please stop," Shiki requested, grimacing at the sight.

Kazuto nodded in agreement. "It's creepy as hell." The blonde's limp body was held in his arms, the Entrapment technique having been dispelled the moment he eased out of the hand sign. "Also," he added, "I think that's enough."

With a nod, the Hyuuga's body went limp, and shortly after, Sayaka stirred in his arms.

It didn't take long for Nanao to regain her bearings.

Although she did seem quite . . . disgruntled.

"You," she enunciated slowly, "recreated the Ino-Shika-Chou formation. Rather terribly, considering the absence of the last part, but somewhat reasonable."

Shiki sheepishly scratched the back of his head, laughing awkwardly. A grin suddenly stretched his lips as he spoke, "But forget that, Sensei. Did we pass?"

". . . I don't think that's even a question at this point," Nanao responded evenly, her blank expression seeming to kill all their hopes. She nodded at the blonde girl. "Making use of your Yamanaka roots. Impressive."

Her word choice seemed to reignite what hopes they had left. A startled Kazuto looked up, meeting her gaze with wide eyes. "Y—you mean . . ."

The Hyuuga rolled her eyes in response. "You better be here bright and early tomorrow morning, or you won't be taking part in our first mission."

All three wore identical grins, glancing between themselves. For once, no complaints met Shiki's jubilant cheers — although they were still present in the blonde's mind as she halfheartedly covered her ears. Nanao raised an eyebrow. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Sensei!"

Their elation must have been the reason why they all failed to notice the discomfort that their now official Sensei was trying so desperately to hide.

•••

Word Count: 2,953
First Posted: 03/03/2016
Rewritten: 16/06/2016
Last Edited: 29/07/2016