A/N Hey Guys! I apologize for month hiatus, but I was busy with schoolwork and I just did not feel like writing at all over the Christmas break, even though I had planned to write. Anyway, here is the first chapter of my new fanfiction, "The Fourth's Legacy"! If you have not already read the two chapters in "Introducing the Cast", I recommend you do so, or else you will not know who Haruna Namikaze is.
This story takes place during the original Naruto series, and will be told mostly in Haruna's POV. It will be mostly in-canon, with some changes regarding certain characters (not stating who). It will also follow the manga more than the anime, as I do not feel it necessary to include anime-exclusive arcs in my story.
Now, after that long A/N, I present to you the first chapter! Please R&R!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto. All OC's except Haru Hyuga belong to me. Haru Hyuga belongs to my friend, nightbyday223.
Chapter 1: A New Team
Normal POV
All of the recently-graduated academy students sat anxiously in the orientation room, anxious to officially become Genin. Even Naruto, the dead-last who had not passed the exam, had entered the room.
"What are you doing here, Naruto? This class isn't for dropouts." Shikamaru Nara said, taking notice of Naruto's presence almost immediately.
"See this? See this? Open your eyes, Shikamaru. It's a regulation headband." Naruto said, pointing triumphantly at the headband tied to his forehead.
Shikamaru sighed and left to go sit somewhere else while Naruto looked around for a place to sit. Unknown to him, a certain shy Hyuga was watching him closely, twiddling her fingers and blushing slightly.
Naruto…You graduated after all. I'm glad, Hinata Hyuga thought, smiling slightly.
To Hinata's left sat her identical and younger twin sister, Haru. Despite how shy Hinata was, Haru was perhaps even shyer, not socializing with very many people outside of her sisters. Haru was also the most motherly of the twins, having raised their youngest sister Hanabi practically since she was born. Haru's shy demeanor was perhaps caused by something that happened to her in the past, but despite it, she was still very kind to those she opened up to. Her one friend, Haruna Namikaze, had graduated the year before, leaving Haru alone once more.
While Haru was lost in thought, a fight erupted between Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha, the class heartthrob. Naruto sat perched on top of the table in front of Sasuke, glaring hard at him. This gained the attention of Sasuke's many fangirls, who angrily told Naruto to stop glaring at Sasuke. One in particular caught Naruto's attention, and that was Sakura Haruno, one of the biggest Sasuke fangirls. While the fangirls attempted to get Naruto to stop glaring at Sasuke, one of their classmates accidentally bumped into Naruto from behind, causing him and Sasuke to accidentally lock lips. They let go seconds later, both making obnoxious gagging sounds.
"Naruto…you are so dead." Sakura said, cracking her knuckles.
"Hey, it was an accident!" Naruto said. His efforts to persuade Sakura not to "kill" him were futile, and he got beaten up.
Iruka entered the room a few minutes later, and began addressing the graduating students. He then went on to explain that most of the teams will be three-man squads.
A three-man squad? Sakura questioned in her mind.
"Well, someone has to be in Sasuke's group. I wonder who?" Ino Yamanaka asked, who was sitting right behind Sakura.
"Cha! I'm gonna be with Sasuke, so stay away from him, you hag!" Inner Sakura said.
Groups of at least three….that'll only slow me down, Sasuke thought, frowning.
"We want each group to have a balance of strength and abilities, so that's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads." Iruka said as he began to read off the paper in his hand.
"Squad Seven will be Naruto Uzumaki, Haru Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka said.
Ino and Sakura sat in their seats, sulking at not being in Sasuke's group.
I won't be with Naruto then… Hinata thought, disappointed.
"Next, Squad Eight. Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame." Iruka said.
"I don't get it. What do you see in a guy like that? He's not so special." Shikamaru said, taking notice of Ino's sulking.
"You are so beyond clueless, Shikamaru. Don't you get it?" Ino asked.
"No I don't get it, because I'm not a girl." Shikamaru said.
"You're so full of yourself. Jealousy is a terrible thing. I'd hate to be on your squad." Ino said.
"Now Squad Ten. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Sakura Haruno." Iruka said.
"Did you say something about hating to be on my squad?" Shikamaru said, smirking.
"Iruka-sensei, why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group with a slug like Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduating students. Naruto, you had the worst scores." Iruka explained.
The rest of the class laughed at Naruto. Just then, another one of the teachers came in and whispered something into Iruka's ear. Iruka looked surprised, then faced the students once more.
"There will be one more member to Squad Seven. Haruna Namikaze." Iruka said.
Sasuke perked up slightly at this.
Haruna? Really? I haven't seen her since she graduated last year. But wait, I thought she was already on a squad, Sasuke thought.
"After lunch, you will meet your new Jonin teachers. Until then, class dismissed." Iruka said.
Haruna POV
I sat on one of the benches outside of the academy, waiting for my new squad to exit the building. With me sat Akari, Sasuke's four-year old sister. She got up and ran over to Sasuke, tackling him the minute she saw him. Akari is perhaps one of the few who can get Sasuke to at least crack a smile.
"How'd it go, nii-san?" She asked, facing Sasuke.
"Well, I am on a squad with Naruto, Haru, and Haruna." He said, looking at me as he said my name. I blushed slightly.
"That's great nii-san! Haru-chan is nice, and of course so is Haruna nee-san! But I don't know about Naruto-san. What is he like?" Akari asked.
"Naruto is annoying and a loser." Sasuke said.
"Well I will reserve my judgment until I actually meet him. He can't be that bad." Akari said, not fully understanding what Sasuke had meant.
Sasuke poked her in the forehead.
"Come on, squirt. I'll take you anywhere you want to go for lunch. How does that sound?" He asked.
"Okay! How about the onigiri shop?" Akari asked.
The two siblings set off, and I couldn't help but smile as I watched them go. Akari was already becoming so much like how Sasuke used to be before the massacre, while Sasuke, even if he won't admit it, is becoming like Itachi. It's interesting how history repeats itself, even in the case of three siblings. Akari has no memories of Itachi, since she was only 3 months old when the massacre happened. It's probably better that she doesn't, otherwise she would also remember the massacre. I am glad that she naïve. Because of this, she has been able to have a happy life. Sasuke had to mature at least enough to care for Akari, and other than the times he was gone at the academy, he has been a wonderful older brother.
After reminiscing for a while, I decided to go get lunch myself, going to my favorite stir-fry place. After lunch, I headed straight back to the classroom, where Sasuke, Naruto, and Haru already were. Sasuke smiled discreetly when he saw me.
"Hello, Naruto. Long time, no see." I said politely.
"Yeah, it has been a while. Good to see you, Haruna." Naruto said, giving his usual cheeky grin.
H-hello H-Haruna-san." Haru said quietly.
"I guess our sensei is late, then?" I asked, knowing full well that our sensei, Kakashi, is notorious for being late. After all, I was already on his squad, having been his sole student for an entire year.
We sat in the classroom for at least a couple of hours. In the meantime, Naruto put one of the chalkboard erasers at the top of the door, making it so that it would fall right on Kakashi when he entered the room. Kakashi entered the room minutes after the trap had been set, and the eraser fell right on his head. Naruto laughed at the successful prank, while Sasuke and I rolled our eyes at his antics.
"My first impression of you…I don't like you." Kakashi said simply.
I sighed. Typical Kakashi….
"Meet me on the roof." Kakashi said, leaving the classroom.
We got up to the roof, where he was already waiting for us.
"Now then, I want you all to introduce yourselves. Your likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams for the future." Kakashi said.
"Why don't you start, sensei?" I asked.
"Well, my name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate…I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future…never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies." Kakashi said.
All we learned was his name, I thought, disappointed.
"Now it's your turn. You, on the right. You go first." Kakashi said, looking directly at Naruto.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop, but I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them. My future dream is to be the greatest Hokage!" Naruto said, pumping his fists up and smiling proudly.
"Alright. Next." He said, looking straight at me.
"You already know me, sensei." I said.
"True, but they don't." He said.
"Alright. My name is Haruna Namikaze, daughter of the Fourth Hokage. I like reading and being with my friends. I hate people who think they can bully others just for the heck of it. My hobbies are training and taking walks. I don't really have a dream for the future, because I have never really thought about it." I said.
"I-I'm Haru H-Hyuga. I l-like my sisters. I h-hate jerks. M-my hobby is t-training. My dream for the future is…um…w-well I haven't given it m-much thought." Haru said quietly.
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things. I like only my friends and younger sister. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone." Sasuke said darkly.
I flinched, knowing he meant Itachi nii-san. Sasuke had changed so much since that horrible day, and not at all in a good way. Sure, he had grown closer to Akari, but had grown somewhat distant from me. I couldn't help but wonder if he even still cared for me. What was I thinking? I can't like him in that way…could I? I mean, we had been raised as siblings, and I am the only one who truly knows Sasuke, as opposed to those so-called fangirls. I thought I was out of my mind for having these thoughts, so I chose to ignore them.
"I hate to break it to you, but you four aren't officially Genin yet. You now must complete a survival exercise tomorrow, which will determine whether or not you are sent back to the academy. Meet at training field seven tomorrow morning. Oh, and you may want to skip breakfast, or else you'll puke." Kakashi said.
Next morning
The four of us met at the training grounds. For me, it was a bit nostalgic, being here again. I was on a team the year before, with the top boy and class dobe. My clueless teammates failed the exercise while I passed, and so they were sent back to the academy. I was the youngest on my team, yet I was the only one who saw the purpose of the test: teamwork. My teammates fought each other almost the entire time, instead of fighting Kakashi. Instead of sending me back as well, Kakashi decided to take me in as his sole pupil. Perhaps he did it for my father, but I will never know what his motives were behind it. So, I stayed his sole pupil and became a Chunin less than six months later. When I learned Sasuke would graduate next year, I decided that despite my status as a Chunin, I would place myself on his team. Luckily for me, I didn't have to change senseis, even though I would have done so if I had to. I didn't want any of my former classmates to know I was a Chunin, at least not at that time.
Our exercise started as soon as Kakashi explained the rules. They were the same as last year. We had three bells to take from him within the time limit. If we failed to get a bell before lunch, he would make us miss lunch. We each set off to hide somewhere, while Naruto stayed in plain sight.
Idiot, I thought.
We each took Kakashi on, one at a time. It didn't take long for me to get a bell from him, but we had agreed earlier that he would allow me to take a bell as a way to encourage the others. Sasuke was soon plunged underground with his head sticking out, as a victim of the headhunter jutsu. I pulled him out, while Haru stood there somewhat terrified of what to do. I knew she is capable of fighting, but she doesn't like hurting anyone she is close to. That is the kind of person she is. It was soon lunchtime, and as I was the only one who got a bell, Naruto was tied to a stump because he had attempted to eat one of the lunches. Kakashi said that he would drop all four of us from the program for our failure to work as a team, but I knew he was just saying that to get them to still work as a team. Besides, he couldn't send me back anyway. SO, Kakashi decided to give them a second chance, letting all but Naruto eat the lunches. The rest of us began eating, while Kakashi instructed us not to feed Naruto before vanishing in a puff of smoke. Sasuke sighed, and held his bento box up to Naruto after Kakashi had left.
"Here. You will need your full strength if we are to take on Kakashi," Sasuke said.
I offered up my bento box and began feeding Naruto. Just then, Kakashi came.
"You broke the rules. I hope you're ready for the punishment. Any last words?" Kakashi asked.
"Yeah! The four of us are one, believe it!" Naruto said.
"The four of you are one, huh? That's your excuse? You pass." Kakashi said, calming down from his supposed rage.
I breathed a sigh of relief. They had passed….excellent. Teamwork had been established for us, and I hoped our squad would succeed. I had a new team, and I wasn't willing to lose them this time around.
A/N My chapters keep getting longer. But, this was one of my more favorite stories to cover.
Next time: The Land of Waves, aka my least favorite arc from the original series. I don't know when I will have it up, but I will start it as soon as I can.