Chapter One: The Note
The warm sun crept over mountains over Konoha. In the distance the crow of a rooster could be heard. Many people were still asleep, with the exception of one certain Jonin. Kakashi stood on the roof of a tall building, watching the sun rise. From his angle it seemed that the faces of the past Hokages were glowing with a powerful radiance. Kakashi breathed in a heavy sigh, his slivery hair blowing in the cool, morning breeze. He glanced down to the street to see a few shop owners preparing their shops for the day. He caught the scent of the Icaraku Raman Shop making their morning recipe.
"Well," he said out loud, "time for breakfast."
Elsewhere in the village, in a small apartment, the light of the sun was just creeping into the windows of those that rested there. One room however was so clustered and messy that it was surprise that light could even enter. Most homes of ninja were rather untidy but this particular ninja, well; let's just say his home is like this everyday. The young boy felt the warm light on his face and stirred slightly. He opened his eyes, sat up, and blinked a few times before yawning and getting up. After a quick shower, and some breakfast, he got dressed and stepped outside. He locked his door, took a few steps back and hopped on his roof. He looked around, smiled, and then said, quite loudly, "Get ready world, Naruto Uzumaki is awake and ready to roll!" If you listen carefully you can hear groans coming from all over the village.
Naruto walked down the street looking to see what every one was up to. He pasted a food shop and noticed Choji munching away at whatever he was eating, which could be any number of things. He also noticed Asuma sitting across from him which suggested that he was paying for the food. As he continued walking down the road Naruto spotted Kiba standing in front of a book store looking at something posted on the window. He ran over to talk to him. "Hey, Kiba!" Naruto said out loud. Akamaru barked happily as Naruto neared them.
"Hey, Naruto come check this out!"
"What is it?"
"It's a note from the Hokage."
"What does it say?"
"It says 'Attention all ninja of the genin and chunin rank. This is a contest to determine who is most suitable with a partner. For registration and rules please see me in my office. Signed, The Fifth Hogake, Tsunade.'"
"A contest, huh?"
"Hey, it says with a partner. Wanna go sign up together?"
"Sure! Ever since we all went after Sasuke we've been on all kinds of mission's together, right?"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
So Naruto and Kiba, and Akamaru, ran straight to the Hokage's office. But they weren't the only ones. Every genin and chunin in Konoha was there. There were even a few Jonin, too.
"Well now that everyone is here I'll explain the rules." Tsunade said. "First, you must find a partner that you can cooperate with. Second, it can be anyone from our village or the village of sand. They will be arriving later. Lastly, it has to be with someone of opposite gender." There was look of surprise on nearly everyone's face. Kakashi glanced up from his book; Guy was almost about to jump out of his pants in excitement, and Iruka, for some reason, looked worried. Both Naruto and Kiba were upset. They worked very well with each other. Lee was about as excited as Guy, Neji seemed irritated, and Shikamaru, as always, could care less about the whole situation. "Any Questions?" she asked. No one said anything. "Okay then, go partner up then return here for mission details." With that Tsunade dismissed everyone. After everyone had left Shizune approached Tsunade, "What is the point of all this?" she asked her.
"I'm curious to see who bonds well with whom. Besides, this is excellent betting material."
"Lady Tsunade…"