Prologue
Karamaru stood before his desk, holding a manila folder in his right hand. "Shikamaru-sama," he began, looking into his eyes. "Your predications are chilling." He dropped the folder on the desk, next to Shikamaru's crossed feet.
"Undoubtedly; they weren't just predictions, Karamaru." He straightened his back and took his feet off the desk, planting them on the ground. "I'll look over the information you've acquired; hopefully it's something new."
"Should the team leave immediately?" questioned Karamaru.
Shikamaru sat quiet, the folder open on his desk. "Simply tell them that the Hokage has a mission for them, in which they'll need to use excessive caution. Leave first thing in the morning. It's essential that you don't tell the squad the entire truth." He flipped over a sheet of paper, scanning the back of it. "Remember that, Karamaru."
The man nodded and headed out the door.
Chapter One: Congratulations
"Stop being like that -- just give me it back!" yelled Makato as he jumped up in attempt to grab the picture that Makizu was holding above his head; his towering height often led to games of keep-away.
A chubby girl who seemed to come to Makizu's waist walked beside Makato. "Oh, c'mon! Just give him his picture back!" scorned Shiranai, as she put her hands to her hips.
Makizu began to laugh. "Whatever... you bore me quickly, Makato!" He dropped the picture; it began flapping on its way down. Makato jumped up, grabbing the picture and holding it to chest tightly. Shiranai grabbed his arm, pulling him to the other side of the room, away from the other scattered shinobi.
"Hey, thanks Shiranai! I hate that creep... he's always messing with people! If the Hokage was here, he wou--"
She threw her arm up at Makato's chin, making a soft impact. "When are you going to be more aggressive? Things like this wouldn't happen if you were!"
"I... I know, Shiranai! I'll try to be, I promise!" He put his picture in pants pocket, patting it down.
"Being a Genin means that we're super ninja! We're super strong ninja who can overcome anything, Makato! Think about it!" She grabbed his shoulder and pressed her face against his, gesticulating. "Our team... fighting the strongest ninja... ever... and winning!"
Makato's eyes gleamed as she spoke. "R--really?" His eyes began to sparkle as the thoughts continued.
"Well, not unless you learn to become aggressive!" she said, pushing him to the ground.
Across the room, Makizu's voice was heard taunting another shinobi.
Makato adjusted his headband, his eyes becoming slimmer. "That's it, Shiranai -- I worked hard for this headband, and I'm going to prove I deserved it!" He tightened the knot in the back, making sure it was snug. In an instant, he began to run across the room to Makizu, evading all the chairs set up in the middle of the room.
Two shuriken shot across the room, centimeters away from Makizu face. Shikaku sat up, rubbing his hazy eyes. "Can't we all behave like regular Genin?" Makizu felt a trickle of blood run down his cheek from where the shuriken had come by. He began to growl, staring at Shikaku. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to continue my nap." Almost immediately, soft snoring was heard. Makato simply stopped, watching.
Makizu pulled out two kunai, speaking under his breath: "…Bastard!" He threw them directly at Shikaku. Tenzen shifted in front of him to guard, pulling out his chain; there was a kunai at one end and a sharp sickle at the other. He flew the sickle in front of Shikaku, preventing Makizu's attack from hitting him.
"Idiot..." said Tenzen, looking over to Makizu and then to Shikaku, who remained asleep. Shinobi around the room peaked with interest. "You're not even worth it." He threw his chain back, locking it within its holster. He sat down, propping himself against the wall. Makizu spun a kunai around his finger by its base, glaring at Tenzen.
The doors at the most south of the room opened; Shikamaru walked into the room, but stopped once he saw the state of the room. "If you could take your seats, that'd be nice." The room halted. He opened a folder, sliding a paper out to the top of it as he walked to the front of the room. Tenzen and Shikaku got up, walking to the center of the room to sit. Makizu slid his kunai back into his pocket, gripping his fists angrily. The shinobi around the room got up and sat down in the preset chairs.
"Tough year…" thought Shikamaru, gazing around the room. "Only… 15 of them." He looked at one shinobi who remained sitting in the corner. "Odd…" He inspected the shinobi, smiling. "Tough years bring tough ninja." He looked over the paper once more.
"Congratulations!" Shikamaru said, projecting over the room. "You've all passed the Academy exam and are now Genin." Aryame and Henko looked at each other, grinning. "Give yourselves a round of applause." A few in the room busted out in yells of happiness, while the others simply clapped. "As you can see, there are very few of you this year; nonetheless, your Jounin assignations will not be of lower quality."
From the side doors, five Jounin walked into the room and stood behind Shikamaru. "We'll go ahead and get to assigning the teams."
"The first team will consist of the following: Tenzen, Shikaku, and Taku." Tenzen and Shikaku looked at each other, perhaps even a grin riding across each of their faces. At the front row, a boy with short, spiky red hair stood up.
"I will do my best to fight with honor, purpose, and meaning!" He turned around to face his two teammates. "You may count on me for anything, anywhere, with anybody!" He stuck his tongue out and released an unearthly high-pitched scream, perhaps only previously accessed by banshees.
Shikamaru winced, motioning for them to come to the front. "Thank you, Taku; I'm sure that nobody now doubts your dedication. Will the three of you please join Neji?" Neji stepped forward, and then to the side for his team to meet.
"Team Number two will be Makato, Shiranai, and Shiriasu." Makato and Shiranai stood up quickly, butting their heads together. Shiriasu rubbed the side of his head at the sight of his two teammates.
"...Great." murmured Shiriasu as he walked to the front with his team.
"Your Jounin will be Kiba." Kiba stepped to the side as well, welcoming his new team.
"Team Three will be Bruutaji, Makizu, and Hexi." Bruutaji and Makizu each stood up; Bruutaji's stone cold expression was a polar opposite of Makizu's cocky grin.
In the corner, a girl stood up; she was wearing a green Oni mask, to match her green clothes; the mask had a chilling, smiling expression on it, hiding the frown that was underneath. As the girl stood up, gasps were heard around the room.
"Interesting…" thought Shikamaru. "This is the one I missed before; I suspected that this is how she would be." She stood up and walked to her two other teammates, not looking in their direction. "Please join Tenten." They shifted to a separate part of the room, remaining quiet.
"Almost done." remarked Shikamaru. "Next, Team 4: Tsubasa, Aoji, and Zaaryu. Your Jounin will be Shino." Shino gripped his cloak tightly and walked beside his team.
"Great, we get a weird one!" said Aoji, quite loudly to his team. Shino glanced in his direction, unaffected.
Chouji, the only Jounin left behind Shikamaru, stepped forward. "Chouji," he said, quickly turning, "You will be joined the remaining three: Eric, Henko, and Ayame." They gathered near the middle.
Shikamaru smiled, glancing around the room. "I hope you're satisfied with the teams I've given you." He nodded and headed for the door. The room burst into chatter as Genin sprint across the room to one another.
"Oh, and one more thing." said Shikamaru, before he exit. "Congratulations!"