((Author's note. I have no idea why this is suddenly so popular on Wattpad. I will continue moving over chapters here so long as y'all like it. There is a time skip between the last chapter and this one, just fyi. I've attached a picture of Hanako and Momiji for your viewing pleasure. Thanks for your support, Wattpad peeps!))

Might Guy looked down at his adorable young genin, pride swelling in his chest. The boys were total opposites in personality and skill set; one was brash, the other cool headed; one could not mold chakra, the other was, well, a Hyuuga. As a result, they often butt heads over even the simplest of things. However, Guy could see the influence they had on each other and, though it was still small, the difference it made.

Tenten, the kunoichi on his team, was a good balance between them, but she was currently on medical leave for a torn tendon in her wrist and would not be cleared for missions for another couple weeks. Poor girl, and with the chunin exams right around the corner, too.

Ah, well, he'd just have to push her extra hard to build up her strength! She had the power of Youth™!

"Sensei," Lee asked, a hand raised firmly above his head as he gazed imploringly up at Guy. "Are we really taking a mission without Tenten-san? Will she not be disappointed to have missed it?"

Guy nodded. "Indeed, Lee-kun, but it cannot be helped. The Hokage has requested our assistance, and we cannot disappoint him!"

"Yosh!"

Neji was silent, as usual, his pale eyes set on the road ahead. Normally, Tenten would have engaged him in conversation, and Guy felt her absence keenly. The young Hyuuga was entirely too withdrawn, even for one of his clan. It was troubling, especially because, as far as he could tell, the boy had no friends outside of his team.

The three of them stepped into the Hokage's office, joining two other people.

"Hanako-san!" Lee exclaimed, wrapping the smaller genin in a happy embrace. "It has been too long since I last saw you!"

His rival's daughter smiled beneath her mask, dark eyes filled with visible mirth. It had been some time since Guy had seen the girl, and he was glad to know she was well. Her dark brown curls were cut short, just brushing her shoulders, and her freckles had faded a bit as she aged and spent less time outdoors. She was still short, though. Too short, in his mind, and he would have been concerned were he not good friends with her father. It seemed she was destined to be petite.

Guy often marveled at how much she resembled Kakashi despite being adopted—that had been an interesting conversation—and he was humble enough to admit the familiar twinkle in her eyes was a bit disquieting.

"Lee-kun, hello! And Neji-san, how are you?"

Guy looked to his quiet genin in surprise as he nodded in greeting. "Hatake, you have been well, I hope?"

Her eyes smiled brightly. "Of course! It's nice to see you both. And you, Uncle Guy."

He smiled down at her and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her curls gently. "Hello, dear Hanako! I am glad to see you! Are you also here for a mission?"

Her straight brows rose in surprise, black eyes landing on the Hokage. "So, I'm going with Team Guy?"

The old man nodded with a smile. "Yes. They are down a kunoichi, for the moment, and it will be easier for you to accomplish your mission if you are believed to be one of three, rather than a standalone force."

She nodded, bowing slightly. "As you say, Hokage-sama."

The girl's sensei, the jounin commander, Shikaku Nara, let out a lengthy sigh. "Well, I guess this is where I leave. Good luck, tiny."

She waved him off with a good natured scowl that gave Guy flachbacks to a young Kakashi. "Yeah, yeah, don't waste away while I'm gone, you old coot."

With the Nara gone, the Hokage focused on Guy and his genin. "Thank you for your patience. As I'm sure you've gathered, you will be joining young Hatake-kun as she completes her own mission. Yours is a C-Ranked escort mission. You will be accompanying a young noble and her entourage to our border with the Land of Wind. Once there, you will meet a group of Sand ninja. Your clients will continue their journey without you, and you will escort a team of Sand genin back to the village for the chunin exams. Any questions?"

Guy accepted a scroll with the mission details as Lee raised a hand high above his head.

"Yes, Lee-kun?"

"May we know what Hanako-san's mission is? If only so we may keep from interfering?"

The girl in question cocked an eyebrow at the Hokage, who leaned back in his seat and took a puff of his pipe before nodding.

"I'm protecting the noble from a threat within her entourage. They aren't aware that we know about them, so I'm planning on hiding within the three man team structure. I will stay with the noblewoman as both bodyguard and entertainer while the three of you perform more traditional guard duties. It is our hope that my youth will encourage the threat to underestimate me and reveal themselves while the lady and I are alone, allowing me to apprehend them."

Guy nodded. "I see. Will you need anything from us, my dear Hanako?"

She shook her head with a smile. "Hopefully, no. Just be yourself!"

He gave her a thumbs up. "Yosh! You can count on us!"

She laughed behind her mask, raising a hand to cover her mouth despite it. "Un! I look forward to working with you!"

Guy watched as she fell into step with the boys, linking arms with Neji as if he wasn't more standoffish than her father at that age. He even let her! How astounding. It occurred to him that he'd never seen the young Hyuuga and Hatake together before then. Perhaps this was why they existed in separate spheres in his mind and he'd so wrongly assumed that Neju had no friends beside Tenten and, to a lesser extent, Lee.

Hmm, he'd have to pay more attention, then. And maybe change his bet in the genin shipping pool, if the soft look on Neji's face was any indication.

Ah, the power of Youth™!

Three pairs of eyes let him know he'd said that out loud.

Oops. At least Lee was enthused. Neji's exasperation was tempered easily by Hanako's amusement, and she led the boys down the road toward the village gate. They had a little while before they had to leave, of course, and the boys would likely need time to gather their things. He doubted Hanako realized that, however. If her father's stories were anything to go by, she carried everything she needed within her seal, her own body functioning like a storage scroll.

To be able to get up and go whenever she was needed, no preparation necessary—

How Youthful™!

Ah, it looked like he'd said it out loud again.

Too bad! Youth™ cannot be contained!