So, new story! The whole point of it literally is to have some fun with characters put into different teams. The first chapter will be short and deal with their reactions and such. The following chapters will be longer. But there won't be more than ten chapters. So don't expect a saga! I'm not in business for that!

Anyway, please enjoy!~

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Hardships are a Required Part of the Ninja Experience

She wasn't prepared for today.

She never felt prepared, though, but still wound up fine, so it was kind of okay. No matter how unprepared she felt, she was usually always prepared for things that happened.

Repeating this like a mantra, Sakura found some semblance of comfort.

It wasn't much though.

Today was the day.

As long as she was assigned to a team with Sasuke, she would be happy. No Naruto, though. She couldn't stand that guy.

As long as he was on a competent enough team, Sasuke would not fight for proper accommodations. But if they dared put him in the same team as the Dead Last, he'd make his displeasure more than clear.

All he needed to do was get into a competent enough genin team so he could pass the Chunin Exams. After that, he would finally be able to be completely on his own.

Just like he had always wanted.

Team assignment day. The day they would no longer be Academy students, but instead fully fledged genin of Konoha.

Naruto couldn't wait to meet his team!

He just hoped he wasn't on a team with that stupid Sasuke… Anyone but that jerk!

And if he wound up on the same team with Sakura, he certainly wouldn't argue.

His team would be the best genin team to ever grace Konoha! Believe it!

Naruto. That's the only person she really wanted to be on her team. Just Naruto. The other person didn't matter to her as long as she was on the same team as her crush.

… But… Wait a minute… If she was on the same team as him, she would never be able to concentrate…

Scratch that; anyone but Naruto.

He had Akamaru. That's the only partner he could ever need. The other people on his team didn't really matter as long as they stayed out of his way.

All Inuzuka saw their genin team as their pack, but Kiba didn't have a strong feeling about that. Most of the kids he went to the Academy with were annoying and idiotsl He highly doubted he'd ever be able to think of any of them as his pack.

But that didn't matter. As long as Akamaru was by his side, he'd be able to take on the whole world.

A team of the most intelligent people within their grade would not be wise. To have only the wisest minds on a single team would hinder the other teams that were formed. So he would not be put onto a team with Haruno Sakura and Nara Shikamaru.

Having a team composed of completely similar attitudes and personalities would fail as well- quiet and thoughtful people were not to be his teammates, so Shikamaru was thrown away once more. Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata could be discarded as well.

It was only logical to believe that a team would be composed of differing fighting styles and thought patterns. Inuzuka Kiba, Uzumaki Naruto, and Yamanaka Ino were all loud, so they might be considered as good counters for his usual quiet ways. Akimichi Chouji was quiet and more of a follower, though. He was an unstable and difficult to truly fit into just one description to assign him as a variable in the equation.

There were other students to choose from, of course. But it would make no sense to pair any of them with the Aburame- they all feared his insects. Only the Clan kids and Naruto seemed to not be completely disgusted by his constant buzzing.

He just wished to have teammates that would not cause him headaches too frequently.

Ino-Shika-Cho was a given. Their fathers had just about begged for it, how could the Academy break them up?

Ino wasn't sure about any other formations. But she knew with complete certainty that she would be put on the same team as her boys. And she was okay with that. She wouldn't be on Sasuke's team, but her boys weren't half bad… As long as the Billboard Brow wasn't on the same team as Sasuke too, there would be no problems.

Ino and Shikamaru were his best friends. Their fathers wanted them to be together. Chouji was aware that there really was only team in which he would be put in.

His only true regret was that Ino's cooking stunk and Shikamaru was too lazy to cook anything. He would, unfortunately, be stuck on perpetual cooking duty because of this.

Chouji was alright.

The harpy was troublesome.

But Ino-Shika-Cho was a given. There was no doubt about it. And there was also no getting away from it. So there really was no need for him to worry about any kind of team formations.

When the teams were called out, she found herself feeling confused. She was happy, in a way. But she had been disappointed as well.

"Haruno Sakura, Akimichi Chouji, and Aburame Shino will be Team 7."

Well, there was no Naruto… But there wasn't any Sasuke either.

A bittersweet victory indeed.

Chouji was nice... But Shino was kind of creepy...

Truly bittersweet.

What? They broke up Ino-Shika-Cho?

Chouji was confused by this. He had been so sure that they would continue the tradition that he would be paired up with his friends.

Well, Sakura was a nice enough girl, although kind of obsessed with Sasuke. But Ino was too. So there wasn't much of a difference there. And Shino was quiet, even though a bit intense... He was kind of like Shikamaru, just with more tension behind his silence rather than laziness.

He could work with this, though. He was sure this team would be great!

Ah, they had put him on a team with Haruno Sakura. Interesting. Akimichi Chouji was a surprise as well; most had believed that Ino-Shika-Cho would be replicated this time around.

It was odd, truly. But he could see value in the design of the team. Sakura was to be their medical support and Chouji their strength. It would only make sense for him, then, to be the brain. An interesting team, indeed, but one he was sure he could work with.

When she heard her own name, Hinata squeaked. When the rest of the names on her team were called; she couldn't help but be both disappointed at not having Naruto in her team, but also kind of relieved.

"Hyuga Hinata, Uchiha Sasuke, and Nara Shikamaru will be Team 8."

She swore she heard the collective whines of the rest of the females in the class. But she was much too busy celebrating yet sulking over not being on the same team as Naruto.

Shikamaru was lazy. Sasuke did not value him.

Hinata was weak. He did not trust her.

But at least he wasn't stuck with the Dead Last.

A small victory, unfortunately.

No Ino-Shika-Cho? Bummer… But at least he wouldn't have to be on the same team as the harpy… Although Sasuke could be just as pissy as Ino, it seemed.

Well, at least Hinata was quiet. She wasn't about to bother him too much...

Not being in an Ino-Shika-Cho combination was troublesome. They had been taught from the beginning how to work with each other...

With a small sigh, Shikamaru laid his head against his desk.

Great. He'd have to learn whole new formations now.

"And Team 10 will be composed of Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Uzumaki Naruto."

She wouldn't be with her Sasuke!

Damn that Hinata!

No Ino-Shika-Cho?

Damn that Nara… He must have had something to do with this! He'd never liked her tone of voice!

Stuck with the two loudest, most annoying, most obnoxious jerks of the grade? Life hated her!

The Dead Last and the Prissy Princess?

"Oh, Akamaru! We're ruined!"

The pup whined in agreement.

Kiba lamented not having worried more. Maybe, if he had worried, he would have been put on another, much better team.

How could he possibly consider this team to be a good one when Naruto had barely passed the graduation ceremony and Ino put more thought into her looks than her training?

"Dog Breath? Ew!"

Ino was bad too, but not as bad as Kiba. He couldn't believe he hadn't been put into a team with Sakura!

With a huff, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Kiba.

Akamaru smiled back at him... And Naruto found that, as long as the puppy was around, then he wouldn't want to kill Kiba... Too often.

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So, what do y'all think? Please review and tell me what you think of this little chapter.

Also, just to give a big recap, these are the teams:

Team 7- Sakura, Chouji, Shino
Team 8- Hinata, Sasuke, Shikamaru
Team 10- Ino, Naruto, Kiba