Usually, Lee and Gai would seize every spare moment to train, while Neji, being reliable, only needed to be ready to join them when the time came.
Normally, Tenten would take her own route to scout, but now she was still dazed, standing motionless, which even Gai found odd.
"Yo, Tenten, what's with the lack of energy today? Don't you usually go hunt for the boar?" Gai asked.
"Huh? Oh, I'm going now!" Tenten snapped out of it and rushed off in a different direction from Neji.
"Should I go with her?" Ayato asked Gai.
He saw Gai and Lee already starting push-ups on the ground. Joining them felt awkward, and standing around was worse. Following Tenten seemed like a chance to get to know her better.
"Don't you want to embrace youth with us?" Gai roared dramatically, mid-push-up.
"No, it's not that. She seems off, so I thought I'd help. Once the mission's done, we can train more focused, right?" Ayato said, not entirely meaning it.
"Three, four! Five hundred push-ups before Neji finds the boar! If we don't finish, we'll add a thousand back at the village!" Gai shouted.
"Teacher Gai, I won't lose!" Lee's voice echoed nearby.
Ayato saw the two were fully absorbed in their workout, ignoring him. Tenten was already far off, so he stopped making excuses and followed her direction.
Tenten wasn't moving fast. It almost seemed like she'd heard Ayato's offer to join her and slowed down on purpose.
Her movements didn't look like scouting. Their team had been genin for a year, handling countless D- and C-rank missions. A boar hunt was nothing to them—Neji could handle it alone.
Even when Ayato caught up to her side, Tenten kept her head down, lost in thought.
"Tenten?" Ayato called.
"Huh?" Tenten jumped, startled by her name.
How does he know my name? Did he hear Neji say it? So sneaky! she thought. Or… has he been watching me before?
"You okay?" Ayato couldn't help asking, oblivious that he was the cause of her distraction.
Tenten, still a teenager, hadn't fully matured, though you could already see she'd grow into a beauty. Ayato wasn't some creep planning to act on anything now. His "marriage" talk was more of a future invitation, but he didn't realize how off his approach was. He had no experience in this area.
"Nothing, I'm fine," Tenten mumbled.
Ayato followed behind, shrugging. She says she's fine, so she's fine, right?
Still, he didn't get why she was so distracted during a mission. This wasn't the village—the wilds of the Naruto world weren't exactly safe. Being careless could get her hurt.
He decided to stick close, ready to help if danger popped up.
The two wandered aimlessly through the forest, not searching for the boar or talking. Yet, somehow, the awkwardness between them eased, even without words.
Bang! A signal flare shot up in the distance, a standard Leaf Village notification. Even without a team, Ayato recognized it from academy lessons.
"We found the target!" Tenten exclaimed softly, then leaped onto the branches, darting toward the flare.
Ayato followed, hopping from branch to branch.
By the time they arrived, the boar's corpse was already on the ground. Lee and Gai were training at the "crime scene."
Neji, however, eyed Tenten and Ayato suspiciously.
Meeting Neji's gaze, Ayato's heart skipped. Can his Byakugan see something wrong with my eyes?
The changes in his eyes were subtle, barely noticeable, but Neji's piercing vision made him nervous. Still, Neji probably wasn't bored enough to scan under Ayato's sunglasses.
Damn those X-ray eyes. No wonder the Hyuga act like passionless zombies, Ayato thought, then added, But soon, I'll have my own. Black-and-white's better than being blind.
Ayato nodded to himself, his colorful thoughts unnoticed.
"Tenten, why were you so slow? Did you scout that far?" Neji asked.
"Sorry," Tenten said, head down. She never made excuses.
"Whatever. Let's head back to turn in the mission, then train," Neji said, glancing at Ayato again.
In his mind: As expected, this guy's a burden. Tenten's off her game because of him. We'll crank up the training this afternoon—tire him out so he quits, and we're back to two reliable workers.
Tenten, scolded by Neji, felt down. She was usually the one keeping Neji and Lee in line. Being called out like this stung.
It's all that guy's fault. I messed up the mission. No more thinking about this—I need to train harder and become a great ninja like Lady Tsunade!
Meanwhile, Lee volunteered to carry the boar, calling it training.
Back in the village, after turning in the mission, the group gathered at the training grounds. Finally, Ayato's long-awaited lesson began.
"Mission's done! Let's warm up with two thousand pull-ups and three thousand jump ropes!" Gai declared.
The team started immediately. Gai approached Ayato. "You, youth-seeking boy—what's your name?"
"I'm Ayato."
The team, doing pull-ups just a meter away, overheard.
"So his name's Ayato?" Tenten thought, mid-pull-up.
"A civilian with no surname?" Neji mused, pulling himself up.
"Five, six…" Lee counted, focused.
"Just graduated as a genin?" Gai asked.
Ayato nodded.
"To embrace youth, you need the right gear!" Gai said seriously.
Ayato nodded eagerly, thinking of Lee's weighted leg guards. Where do you even buy those?
"This is it! Only with this can you truly feel youth!" Gai whipped out a green spandex suit, identical to his and Lee's.
…
Ayato scratched his head awkwardly. "I think I can feel youth… some other way."