Second Time's The Charm

Chapter 18

"Aaaaaaaaaaaeeii.... It's so hot!" Kiba whined, checking on Akamaru, making sure he was ok. After all, this was his first time in such hot climate and he did have a lot of fur.

"Hn. Hinata, do you see anything?" Sasuke asked, ignoring Kiba. The three (four) of them were currently running, to keep moving to avoid enemies.

"Hai! There's a team a few kilometers ahead. We can avoid them by going south." Hinata answered, keeping her gaze ahead.

Sasuke thought back to when he was assigned to Team 8. He's first thought was that they would drag him down. He did take comfort in the fact that he was placed on the same team as a Hyuuga. The Uchiha and the Hyuuga may have not had the best relationship in the past, but that was his clan – they were dead. He, himself, was just grateful to be put on a team with the heir to such a powerful clan.

Kiba on the other hand...

Sasuke wondered if Naruto would have made a better teammate...

.

No.

Not in a million years.

.

Team 8 started a bit rocky. Sasuke had his own agenda, Hinata couldn't string three words together, and Kurenai was at a loss – this was her first genin team.

To everyone's surprise, it was Kiba that brought them together.

Looking back, Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised. The Inuzuka clan had a pack mentality. You fought for the pack, you ate with the pack, and you lived for the pack. So when Kiba was thrown into a team with a lost teacher, a by-choice-loner, and a not-by-choice-loner, he immediately took the position as team builder and motivator.

Sasuke spent more days eating with a pack of dogs at the Inuzuka's compound than he liked... But it worked. Hinata stopped stuttering around them, Kurenai gain confidence in her teaching, and Sasuke saw potential in his team.

Kurenai started focusing on their complementary skills first. The best team combination that came out of their progress was surprisingly Hinata and Sasuke. Hinata's Byakugan was the perfect complement to Sasuke's fighting style – giving him the insight and back support he required to go all out. When Sasuke earned his Sharingan – on a particularly bad mission – their combination got even better.

The best part was Kiba didn't feel left out – in fact, it was preferred. You see, since Kiba wasn't force to partner with one of his teammates, it left him more room to focus on his and Akamaru's fighting style.

Is there a better team combination out there for Sasuke? There are probably many reasons why another team would be better for him or maybe not, but he didn't care.

He sort of liked his teammates.

Sort of.

And he was never going to say it out loud.

Not even under the threat of death.

.

"Let's head south. That's the direction of the dobe's team anyway." Sasuke responded.

Hinata blushed thinking about Naruto. She was happy when he and Shikamaru contacted her about a temporary truce. Honestly, she wasn't going to attack Naruto either way, but it gave her the opportunity to make him happy. She blushed again, thinking about his large grin at her that day.

Sasuke just ignored his teammate's fangirling moment. He was forever grateful that she wasn't a fangirl of his, but... Why did it have to be the dobe?

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Kanoko was on one knee, touching the ground with her eyes closed. She was looking for Sasuke's team. The open space made searching easier, but she was still limited in reach.