His Gift to Her (Mary Sue Series)

Chapter 3

"Of all the people I have to get stuck with, I have to get stuck with him," Sakura whined, glaring at the boy she hated the most.

Naruto was messing up Qui's cube puzzle, turning and switching up all the panels.

Sasuke hadn't moved an inch from his seat from this morning. Sakura had slid into the desk next to him beaming all the while.

"And you're no better," the pink haired girl continued, glowering at Qui who was entertaining Naruto by letting him scramble the cube.

"I'll pretend to care," Qui drawled, shifting her weight in her seat. 

"No! You can't look!" Naruto grabbed the cube and furiously scrambled it even more before holding the cube out to Qui. "Now let's see you solve it!" Confident that she might be stumped, Naruto grinned a winning smile.

"This team would have been perfect if it were only me and--" Embarrassed and shy since Sasuke was right next to her, Sakura cut herself off.

Qui took the cube in her hands, then without looking, started to unscramble the puzzle. "Mhm."

"Woah!" Naruto watched in awe, as the cube slowly began to match up with its color panels.

Sakura remained quiet for a moment before muttering, "I don't even know who is worse, Naruto or Qui."

"Maybe it's...you," Qui answered absentmindedly. "Don't be a weak link." She placed the solved puzzle back in front of Naruto.

"You don't know anything--Naruto! What are you doing?!" Sakura yelled, watching the blond boy carry a chair to the door.

"This Sensei needs to learn what it means to be late!" Naruto chuckled, wedging a chalkboard eraser in between the door and the frame. "There! If he's a real ninja, he should be able to dodge that!"

"You'll get in trouble for that," Sakura hissed, watching Naruto put the chair back. Naruto made no move to undo the prank and only plunked down on the desk in boredom.

"Then you move it," Qui said, taking out another puzzle, one she hadn't solved yet.

"Um, I guess it's a good way to see if he is a ninja or not..." Sakura didn't move, glancing at the door occasionally.

"So, I guess we wait for him, huh?" Sakura sighed.

"Hn."

"Mhm."

"HE'S LATE!"

Several more hours passed before finally, Kakashi Sensei arrived.

"Hey--" the four Genin watched as the door opened, and the chalkboard eraser clapped on a man's head and dropped to the floor.

"My first thought is...I hate you all."

After instructing them to meet him on the roof, Sakura said, "I thought he would dodge it!"

"Expect nothing, and you'll never be disappointed," Qui replied, heading out the door. Sometimes, people weren't always so professional. Some ninjas were excellent in their work but lousy in other areas of their life. 

"And you're here. Great. Let's do a quick introduction," Kakashi Sensei said. He was positioned against the railing and stuck his hands in his pockets. 

"What should we say?" Ever the teacher's pet, Sakura asked to make sure she got on her Sensei's good side.

"Oh, I don't know...your likes, dislikes, hobbies, uh, goals and dreams."

"You go first, so we know how to do it!" Naruto demanded.

"Alright I guess," the man answered. "I'm Hatake Kakashi, and I like a couple of things, I do have a few things I dislike. Hobbies, oh, I've got a few. Uh, goals, I don't have any, and no dreams. Great, your turn," Kakashi ordered, nodding at Qui.

"All he told us was his name," Sakura whispered to Sasuke who only grunted.

"I'm Kurisani Qui and solving puzzles is my hobby. I absolutely hate fighting. My dream is to become an Intellectual, hopefully international, historian," Qui said dutifully.

"To even be eligible to apply for that position, you would need to reach Jounin rank and fulfill at least a minimum of three years of field service, understand?" Kakashi Sensei warned the girl. 

Qui grimaced but answered, "Hai."

"Wait, why?" Sakura asked, confused. "Why do you need to be a Jounin to just look at old books?" 

Qui dropped her head into her hands, feeling awfully exhausted. "Ever heard of the term 'classified'? Maybe 'covert action'?" 

"But isn't the minimum rank for becoming a historian at least Chunin and two years of field experience?" Sakura sneered right back. "I read that in Iruka Sensei's hand guide for career paths." 

Kakashi Sensei stepped in. "Becoming a Chunin with two years of field experience only qualifies you to study and teach Academy-level history, not history that isn't public knowledge. But there's a higher level of historians that deals with even more uptight knowledge and only shown to few people. That level requires extensive field experience and high rank." 

"I mean, you're still just going to look at old stuff," Naruto pointed out. "So it's a lame job!" 

Qui sighed even heavier. "It's not just about reading book after book; it's about different trends, exchanges of powers, and the effects of one event to another. Oftentimes, the only people allowed to look at certain materials are historians who know what to look for, not ANBU." 

Sakura flushed at being corrected but could only glare right back at Qui, who ignored her. 

"Next." Kakashi Sensei moved on.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen! I hate waiting for ramen to cook! and My goal is to become Hokage one day!"

"And you."

"I'm Haruno Sakura; I li-like--I mean l-l-l-love!--" she trailed off, staring at Sasuke.

"Dislikes?" Kakashi Sensei prompted.

"Naruto and Qui!" Naruto gaped in shock, while Qui nodded. She and Sakura never got along well even during the Academy. 

"Your goals and dreams?"

"My goal is...my dream is...!" Sakura couldn't even finish any of her sentences and just went into a blushing trance.

"...Next."

"Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like many things. My goal is to kill a certain man and avenge my clan."

Both Sakura and Naruto stared, intimidated and awed at the menacing aura he was emitting. Qui rolled her neck, stretching out the chinks and knots. Unlike Naruto and Sakura, Qui was fully aware of the Uchiha Massacre and hearing Sasuke's resolution was no shock. But it was none of her business, so she didn't care either way.

"Alright. I have a test for you four tomorrow. Get up early, uh, skip breakfast! Bye!"

"But we already passed all the--" Sakura started, but in the next second, Kakashi Sensei had vanished. "Huh? Where did he go?" She lept from her place, running to the railing and down at the streets.

"Bye," Qui said slinging her bag more securely over her shoulder. She left the group through the stairway and went just as quickly as they came.

"Hn."

"Sasuke-kun, what should we do?" Sakura asked ready to do whatever he said.

"I'm going to go train."

"Sakura-chan, want to go get ramen from Ichiraku's? I've got a coupon!" Naruto said, beaming.

"No, go away!"