Chapter 12: Three-man Squad

The next morning, Hina woke up early with the intention of stopping by Kasai's apartment before heading to the academy. Upon her arrival, she discovered that Kasai was still sound asleep. Frustrated by his loud snoring and his apparent reluctance to wake up, Hina couldn't contain her irritation. She raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap to his face, causing him to stir awake, his left cheek tingling from the stinging sensation.

Shocked by the sudden slap, Kasai scrambled to a sitting position, clutching his stinging cheek. His eyes widened as he met Hina's furious gaze, confusion and fear welling up within him.

Hina's angry expression made him tense, and a nervous sweat formed on his forehead. "What did you do that for?" he stammered, unsure of what had provoked her ire. 'What is wrong with her? Did I do something wrong?' Kasai wondered, his mind racing to make sense of the situation.

Hina tried to contain her anger, her clenched fists slowly relaxing. She managed a smile, attempting to lighten the atmosphere as she asked, "Didn't you forget something today?"

Kasai glanced at her anxiously, his heart still racing. He shook his head lightly, attempting to downplay any potential oversight. "Hehe," he forced a nervous laugh, then asked nonchalantly, "D-Did I?"

Kasai's indifference to her question infuriated Hina even more. She gasped, feeling her ears turn red with irritation. "Idiot! Today is the day they announce the team formations!" She yelled in exasperation and couldn't resist delivering a light, frustrated hit to his forehead.

Kasai's eyes widened involuntarily as he jumped up to his feet, his face flushed with embarrassment. In his haste to change his clothes, he froze midway while taking off his shirt, realizing that Hina was still in his room, her eyes locked onto him.

Hina, too, found herself momentarily captivated by the sight, but her irritation quickly resurfaced, and she scowled at Kasai.

"AAHHHHHHHH!! IDIOOTTTTT!!!" Hina's high-pitched scream echoed through the corridors of the apartment, attracting the attention of anyone within earshot.

The classroom buzzed with energy as Kasai and Hina stepped inside. The lively atmosphere filled the room, with about half of their classmates already present and engaged in their morning chatter, spread out in their usual spots.

In the back row, Aoki sat with his hands calmly placed on his desk, his demeanor giving off an air of confidence. Yumi and Haruto occupied seats in the center, engrossed in a lively conversation, laughter occasionally escaping their lips. Meanwhile, Manaka sat a bit apart from the duo, engrossed in a book and comfortably occupying two chairs in the front row.

By the window, Nihotoshi Yuuto, Kajihonto Asahi, and Nin Fuji, three other classmates, chatted animatedly among themselves. On the opposite side of the room, the Hara triplets huddled together, their voices filled with excitement as they exchanged gossip.

"It looks like everyone's here already," Hina remarked, her enthusiasm palpable.

Kasai, still feeling uneasy about the earlier incident at his apartment, gave her a sidelong glance. Unintentionally, he received another slap to his left cheek, causing both sides of his face to flush red.

"I'm happy that we graduated together," Hina said as she looked at him with a smile.

Seeing her carefree attitude now, Kasai shook his head, putting aside his earlier discomfort, and asked, "So, half of our classmates failed?" He was surprised that only 50% of them made it to become genin. Initially, he had expected a higher passing rate.

Haruto, who was sitting behind Hina, leaned forward and suddenly chimed in, "They can try again next year."

"Haruto! You scared me!" Hina exclaimed, throwing an elbow toward his face, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Aw, you're truly a Gorilla, Hina!" Haruto groaned. "That hurts, you know?"

Yumi, sitting behind Kasai, giggled and said, "You deserved it, Haruto. You always go around scaring people."

He pointed his finger at Yumi with wide eyes. "Ah! You too, Yumi?" he exclaimed.

In response to Haruto's reaction, Hina and Yumi let out light chuckles, and Kasai joined in the laughter.

Just as Haruto was about to scold them for laughing at him, the classroom door suddenly opened, revealing Hotaru Sensei with four Jounin standing behind him. Hotaru Sensei walked to the podium, and the four Jounin positioned themselves behind him, scanning the room as if looking for someone specific.

Hotaru stood there, gazing at his students, who fell silent upon his entrance. He cleared his throat and threw a serious look at his students. "Alright, everybody, come forward and form a line horizontally."

Every student followed his instructions, lining up in front of him, their anticipation building as they awaited the announcement of their respective teams.

"I'm proud to see you all graduate and become genin, who will be led by these four Jounin," Hotaru began, then looked back at the Jounin behind him, nodding to signal that they should introduce themselves.

The first Jounin on the right, Noguchi Omoi, nodded and introduced himself. "I am Noguchi Omoi."

"Tsuchiya Yui," said the second, a female Jounin.

"Masaki Kaito," introduced the one beside the female Jounin.

"Kazama Gin," said the last Jounin.

When the four had finished their introductions, Hotaru nodded and smiled at the students. He paused for a moment before continuing, "As I've told you before, a three-man squad is a team you can depend on during dangerous missions. Each of you is responsible for each other's back. I hope you will remember that."

Kasai and his classmates nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, Hotaru Sensei!"

Hotaru nodded in satisfaction and proceeded. "So moving on... Noguchi Omoi will be leading Team 37." He gave Noguchi Omoi a nod, who then stepped forward. "Please come to Omoi's side as I call your name. Nihotoshi Yuuto, Kajihonto Asahi, and Nin Fuji, you will be Team 37 under Omoi."

Nihotoshi Yuuto, Kajihonto Asahi, and Nin Fuji followed Hotaru's instructions, each approaching Noguchi Omoi in turn and bowing to greet him.

"Alright, stop the formalities and follow me out of the room," Noguchi said, slightly flustered by the trio's formality. He gave Hotaru a nod before leading the three students out of the room.

"Team 43 will be supervised by Tsuchiya Yui," Hotaru announced, and the female Jounin, Tsuchiya Yui, stepped forward. "Hara Ichisato, Hara Nisato, and Hara Sansato, all three of you will be Team 43."

"Yes, Sensei!" The triplets replied in unison before turning to follow Tsuchiya Yui out of the room.

Kasai stood beside Hina, feeling nervous as only six of them remained, wondering who his teammates would be.

"Moving forward, Masaki Kaito will be in charge of Team 28," Hotaru continued, and Kaito stood beside him. "Anai Haruto, Kiyomoto Manaka, Yamazaki Yumi... All three of you will be on the same team."

Kasai rolled his eyes when he heard this announcement and thought to himself, 'I knew it!' He glanced at Aoki, expecting him to cause a scene, but to his surprise, Aoki remained frozen, clenching his fists but not daring to voice his complaints about the team formation.

"The rest of you will be Team 20: Hyuga Aoki, Ryuuzaki Kasai, and Fukushima Hina," Hotaru Sensei finally announced. Aoki didn't seem pleased with the team formation, but he managed to keep his emotions in check, much to everyone's relief.

Kazama Gin, who stood beside Hotaru, took a step forward towards the three newly formed team members. "Listen up. I am Kazama Gin. Follow me to the stadium," he said bluntly, then nodded to Hotaru before leaving the room. Kasai, Aoki, and Hina followed him.

Once they reached the stadium, Gin Sensei positioned himself at the center and stood upright, waiting for the trio to join him. When he noticed they were taking their time, he let out a light laugh and said, "Come up here. I want to see you give it your all in a fight."

Confused, the three glanced at each other but followed his orders. As they reached the center, Hina couldn't resist asking, "Sensei, why do we have to do this?"

"I want to gauge your capabilities and limits before assigning you a mission," Gin replied.

Hina continued, "Didn't the academy provide you with information about our abilities?"

"This is to see and experience it for myself. I can't rely solely on the information provided," Gin explained.

The trio now understood the reasoning behind the impromptu battle. They nodded thoughtfully and replied, "Yes, Sensei."

Gin Sensei smiled and held up his hands, adopting a battle stance. "Alright, whenever you're ready."