Hi, everybody! This is my first Naruto fanfic, so look upon it with kind eyes, please. But criticism is appreciated.

I don't plan to bring up canon events very much. You see, I've only read the beginning of the manga and never watched the anime. Most of my Naruto knowledge comes from fanfics. My ninja knowledge, however, is quite accurate. I am a native Japanese speaker (and a native English speaker as well), born and raised in Japan. I've been reading about ninjas and the like since I was little. But if you think something is off, please tell me.

Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Obviously. I only own my OC's.

The three twelve-year-olds stared at their teacher in disbelief.

The blue-eyed blonde rose slowly from his crouched position on the ground, turning slowly to meet their gazes.

He smiled sheepishly, his hand going up to scratch the back of his head.

Behind him... was chaos.

Several weeks ago...

"WHAT!?"

The Fifth Hokage scowled at the outburst that came from the man sitting in front of her.

"I said that the council has decided for Team 7 to officially stop operating as a team."

"No, no, I heard that! Why?"

"Naruto..." This came from the young woman sitting next to him, exasperatedly raking her hand through her unusually colored hair.

"We haven't been operating as a team for years, now. You and Sai are in the ANBU, I'm working full-time at the hospital, Kakashi-sensei's pretty much retired... It's a miracle that the council didn't do this before."

Naruto stood up and started to pace.

Tsunade took this time to observe him. Aldulthood suited Naruto, she thought. He had grown much taller and leaner, with no more traces of baby fat to be found. He had discarded his orange jumpsuit when he joined the ANBU, making him look more mature, also. His bubbly personality was still there, but toned down by the years of service as a shinobi. Yet his huge grin was intact, and his blue eyes twinkled as much as ever. Tsunade sometimes missed the old Naruto's idiocy, though (not that she would never admit it).

But she had to admit, a serious Naruto was a welcome change.

Sakura, on the other hand, had grown into a beautiful young woman. Though her stubbornness and vanity was forever present, she had trained hard to become somebody she could be proud of. Her pink hair fell to just past her shoulders, and her green eyes sparked with intelligence.

Tsunade was in the middle of being immensely proud of her apprentice when suddenly Naruto stopped pacing.

"Wait..." he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "If they didn't do it 'till now, then why?"

Tsunade smiled."Finally, I can get to the point."

Both Naruto and Sakura looked at her, eyebrows raised questioningly. Tsunade pushed three files across the desk to Naruto. He picked one up and flipped through it. Frowning, he put it down and flipped through the other two as well. When he finished reading them, he threw them onto the desk and said,

"What have these kids got to do with anything?"

Sakura, who had read the files over Naruto's shoulder, humphed slightly. "Isn't it kind of obvious?"

Naruto just looked at her.

Rolling her eyes, Tsunade said, "I want you to be the jounin instructor for these three brats. Your new team will be Team 3. Take those files home and study them. They're quite an interesting bunch." She nodded to the two young adults. "You are dismissed. Now get out of my sight before I kick you out."

Sakura stood, bowed, and - dragging a Naruto paralyzed with shock by the collar - exited the room hurriedly.

When the Fifth Hokage says kick you out, she actually means kick you out.

Two days later...

Kinomiki Hazuki was entertaining the concept of having nothing to do. She had already counted the cracks in the ceiling, lined up the desks and chairs so they were in perfect rows, hopped across the room on one foot ten times in a row without stopping, and tried to have conversations with the other two people in the room, but to no avail.

In other words, she was completely and utterly bored.

She was also starting to feel very stuffy, so she opened the windows as far as they would go to let fresh air in. She inhaled deeply. It had rained this morning, but it had stopped, making the world smell fresh and clean. Hazuki loved that smell, and the slightly damp, cold wind, and how the colors would always seem to be a little brighter, more vibrant.

Hazuki turned around to look at her new teammates. There was Mizukawa Ryu, a boy with spiky silver hair and weird gold eyes. He was the tallest in their grade, easily reaching six and a half feet. He was also very quiet. Not exactly shy, just... reserved. He would speak when spoken to, and he smiled quite often.

But the other girl in the room was an entirely different story.

Her name was Yukitani Chifuyu. Hazuki had never, in the five years she had been in the same class as her, seen Chifuyu smile. Or grin. Or even smirk.

It was kind of creepy.

She didn't talk much, either.

Chifuyu had long jet-black hair that she always had up in a bun, and unusual navy blue eyes. She was also very small and slender, like a tree sapling.

But the most eye-drawing thing about her was the naginata strapped to her back. With the solid black wood handle and the wicked-looking sharp, slightly curved blade, it was an extremely intimidating weapon. Nobody wanted to get on her bad side.

She also had a strong aversion to people touching her. She would flinch every time someone brushed up against her, and since she couldn't touch people, she sucked at taijutsu.

Hazuki's appearance was unusual, as well. She had odd eyes, with one light green eye and one dark brown. She used to be bullied because of it, and she still wasn't very comfortable with them. Her light brown hair was cut into short, feathery spikes that reached her chin. Freckles sprinkled her nose.

Right now, Hazuki's nose was peeling from the sunburn she had gotten during training after school. She was scratching it idly when Chifuyu suddenly stood up.

Hazuki and Ryu turned their heads to watch the door as it slid open.

A tall man with blue eyes walked in. Hazuki could see Chifuyu backing up slightly out of the edge of her peripheral vision. She sighed.

Of course. Now I'm going to have to keep an eye on Chifuyu so she doesn't run off like a scared rabbit.

When Naruto walked into the classroom, he half expected a chalkboard eraser to fall on his head. To his relief, it didn't. But part of him wished that it had, because that would mean that a prankster like him would be in his group. Oh well. Not everybody had his awesome talent for pranking.

He observed his new students as they sat silently, staring back at him.

What first caught his eye was the boy's shock of silver hair. It reminded him of Kakashi, and he smiled at the thought. Mizukawa Ryu, the file had said. He hoped his student wouldn't turn out to be as perverted as his teacher.

Interesting eyes, Naruto thought. The molten gold orbs were studying him closely, most likely taking note of the small smile.

Next, he shifted his gaze to the girl with tawny hair. Kinomiki Hazuki. The file said that she was insolent, but she didn't cause much trouble. She was sitting, her elbow on the desk and chin in her hands. She stared back at him lazily with her unique eyes, covering a yawn with her hand. Naruto noted the sunburned face. It seemed that the girl was training.

And then, he noticed the other girl, standing behind the two almost as if she was hiding from him. Yukitani Chifuyu. Now he was paying attention, Naruto could the fear rolling off in waves coming from her. She stood tightly coiled, ready to turn and run if need be. Naruto frowned.

What's wrong with her? Did I do something?

Ryu was watching him carefully. He seemed to notice Naruto's confusion, and said,

"It's not you, Sensei. Chifuyu's just not good with people." His voice was surprisingly soft for a boy, not at all what Naruto would have expected from his height. Hazuki nodded.

"It took four years 'till she wouldn't bolt when I came near her." she added. He saw Chifuyu glare at her, and Hazuki smirking slightly.

Naruto smiled at them. "Then let's get to know each other better! I want you to introduce yourselves. Name, what you like, what you don't like, dreams and ambitions. Why don't you start?" he said, gesturing to Ryu.

The boy nodded. "I'm Mizukawa Ryu. I like reading, and helping my father at the hospital. He's a doctor, but he's not a ninja, so he can't use medical jutsu. I dislike people who talk like they know something when they actually don't, and..." here he halted, contemplating his next words. He took a deep breath, and said, "And I'm afraid of lightning."

"Your dream?" Naruto prompted.

"Oh. My dream is to work at the hospital, like my dad. I want to save lives."

Naruto nodded. "A good ambition." he said. Maybe I'll ask Sakura to take a look at him, he thought. He nodded to Ryu, and gestured for Hazuki to start.

"I'm Kinomiki Hazuki," she said. "I like training, and teasing my friends. I dislike idiots, bastards, and bullies. My dream is to become the head of ANBU," she stated proudly. Naruto grinned at her, seeing some of himself in the way she talked. Hazuki grinned back. She nudged Chifuyu.

"My name is Yukitani Chifuyu. I like being alone, and I dislike people who invade my personal space." "Which is five feet wide," Hazuki interrupted. Chifuyu gave her a face that clearly said to shut the hell up, and continued.

"I don't have a particular dream yet." she finished. She glanced at Naruto with her navy blue eyes. He nodded at her, giving a smile. He got the message; if he tried to be too friendly from the start, Chifuyu would probably never trust him. This was going to be a problem, a problem that he hoped he could fix. His new student was like a wild animal, really. He needed to be careful.

But right now-

"I'm hungry, aren't you? Let's go eat ramen!"

Well? Like it? Hate it? Whatever it is, I appreciate feedback.

Oh, and the names...

Yukitani means "valley of snow", Chifuyu is "a thousand winters"

Kinomiki is "tree trunk", Hazuki is the old Japanese name for Hachigatsu, which is August. So I'm guessing she was born in August. (The kanji for Hazuki would mean "a moon of leaves"= "the month of leaves")

Mizukawa means "river of water", Ryu is, as I think you know, "dragon".

That's it for now! If there are any questions, feel free to ask.

Bye!