Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter 1 - Recruitment
Surrounded by lush green grass and ladened with large trees that bloomed throughout the year, Konohagakure was a picturesque village. The streets were constantly busy with adults rushing around, getting their work done for the day and children running carelessly with one another, playing happily till they tired. Finally, peace had settled upon the village after months of conflict between opposing countries.
All corners of the village felt the attack in some way, none left untouched, the majority of the force directed to the village main. The unexpected attack had left the village surprised and vulnerable. Their protection fell to the KPU, Konoha Protection Unit. They were responsible for retaliating to any foreign attacks and keeping the village safe. The Unit, known as the best, had responded quickly and kept the innocent villagers safe and so defeating the intruders successfully. However, the joy and jubilation wasn't felt by the Hokage, who remained wary of the surrounding countries and concerned of the vulnerability of the village.
As per routine, the KPU would host sign ups every 2 years where people would have the opportunity to join them, if they met their requirements. The last sign up had only been a few months ago, just before the unexpected attack and unfortunatley for them only a handful of people joined, due to the diminishing interest. Presently, the constant threat to the village mixed with the reduced number of people having joined previously added as a concern for the Hokage, Tsunade.
Therefore she had immediately decided to hold another signing to recruit new members for the unit and issued the villagers to sign up, hoping the new found respect and enthusiasm for the Unit would be advantageous. As a result the current members of the KPU were in the village, adding to its liveliness. They were roaming the streets and enjoying some free time, whilst advertising the KPU to awe-struck passers-by.
The Unit had always been greatly respected and as were its members, although the villagers were less open to praise them publicly with most deeming the unit a waste of time and money. However, the recent heroics of the Unit led them to now being the pride of the village and people where now openly respectful of them. When they were granted visitation to the village from their camp, based outside the village, the residents were more than welcoming. Inviting them to their restaurants and bars, giving them flowers and presents as a token of gratitude. They were treated as celebrities with young children dreaming to join them.
The recruiting section of the KPU had asked those who had joined previous to the mass sign up to make an appearance and collect their confirmation letters while the rest of the village signed their names. This instruction had led Haruno Sakura and her best friend Yamanaka Ino to the busy street where they had collected their letters and were now trying to get past the numerous villagers.
The two girls had been friends for years and had once shared the same dream - to be a part of the infamous KPU. Whilst Ino had wavered on it as she grew, Sakura remained determined and kept it as her one goal. She had successfully persuaded her friend to join the unit with her, after a small stage of being unsure and they were now meandering past the numerous natives, making their way down the street.
"Oh my g- okay-hey-alr-OUCH!" Ino yelled clutching her foot, after squeezing past the hordes of people.
"Urgh! Are you okay?" Sakura asked, squeezing herself through two villagers and jumping out towards her crouching friend.
"No of course I'm not! Some big oaf crushed my foot!" She yelled through her pain.
"Oh...right..." Sakura replied, acknowledging a man's apology after being lightly pushed by him whilst trying to make his way through the crowds.
"Geez you sound sympathetic." Ino murmured annoyed at the lack of concern from her friend.
Sakura walked over to her and bent down, "It's not that bad and you know it isn't!" She exclaimed, laughing at her melodramatic friend.
"Hey! I could've broken my foot!" She protested, "I think its bruised too, so you're gonna have to carry me on your back now." She added, smirking slightly.
"Seriously?" Sakura eyed her friend suspiciously.
"Yes, seriously! I can't walk through all this!" Ino replied, gesturing at the sea of villagers.
Sakura stood up and rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips and looking out at the crowd. She had known Ino long enough to know when she was lying and she knew just how to play her.
"You really can't walk huh?" She asked, looking down at the girl who shook her head innocently. "Right, well I'll just ask someone to help us then..." She continued, scanning the passers-by.
"What?!" Ino shrieked, her eyes shooting up to the rosette.
"Well I can't carry you! I was doing some work yesterday and hurt my back so I can't put any pressure on it...SO the only other option is to get someone to help us out!" Sakura replied, smiling at her.
Ino stuttered at her friends reasoning but failed to retaliate, allowing Sakura to move forwards towards the crowd, "Ahh look! Isn't that the oaf who 'crushed' your foot?" Sakura asked, pointing to the familiar man, "I'm sure he'll help once I explain everything to him!" She smirked, stepping out.
She was stopped by a hand suddenly gripping her arm tightly. "NO!" Ino yelled. Sakura stopped and turned to face the girl.
"No?" She repeated.
"No! It's ok, we dont need help!" Ino replied, cheerily.
"But I thought you can't walk? You're injured and your foot's bruised remember?" Sakura responded, looking down at her unhurt foot.
"Oh, heh, yeah well, it's not as bad as I thought!" Ino answered, tapping her foot against the ground, "See! All fine!" She exclaimed looking up at her suspicious friend.
Sakura shook her head, amused at her friends antics and chuckled, "What a miracle!" She joked, sarcastically.
"Ha ha." Ino replied. The girls were so caught up in their conversation that they hadn't noticed that they had wound up in the middle of the busy street once again.
"Keep moving girls!" A man yelled going by them.
"Keep moving..." Ino mimicked, "That's all we've been doing!" She yelled back at him, her frustration growing.
Sakura looked around to her right and found a way out of the bustling street. She grabbed her annoyed friend and pushed past the villagers, apologising as she went along while pulling along a complaining Ino with her.
"Ouch! Sakura you're worse than the guy who crushed my foot!" Ino complained, rubbing her arm.
"Sorry I just didnt want to lose you. But look! We're out of the rush!" Sakura exclaimed, stretching out her arms.
"Ahh! Thank god!" Ino replied, looking around her and sighing with relief.
The side street they found themselves on wasn't as crowded as the main street they were at previously. Villagers still occupied it, but it gave the girls more space to walk freely and slowly. They were making their way down the street when they saw two individuals walking towards them. They had on the standard KPU uniform, navy blue trousers, black boots, and a dark green trench coat with the Konoha symbol emblazoned on the back in grey and a smaller version of the symbol on the top right hand side pocket.
Sakura and Ino stopped to stare at the two men as they walked past them and remained there, looking down at the backs of their jacket.
Sakura turned around with a large smile, "Ah! I can't believe we're gonna be one of them!" She exclaimed, her hands bound tightly together at her chest.
"Luckily!" Ino agreed, "Only the first 20 get admission and now the whole village has practically signed up!" Ino said, huffing.
"It's always been the first 20 to get in because of the lack of interest in it really. I mean, when we signed up there were only a few of us. But I guess, now after the attacks and the unit becoming more popular and respected the interests grown so much that most of the village wanted to join. I think even Tsunade-sama didn't expect this many people to want to join." Sakura explained to her friend, receiving an acknowledging nod from Ino.
"I'm just so glad we got in!" Sakura exclaimed, suppressing the urge to jump gleefully.
"'Haruno Sakura, you have been awarded a place on the The Konoha Protection Unit Recruitment Sqaud!'" Sakura declared reading aloud from her letter, followed by squealing.
"This time last year, I was dreaming of this, hell I've been dreaming for this all my life! And now, now we're there!" She shrieked earning a laugh from Ino.
"Yeah, Shikamaru and Chouji luckily just made it in time. Those lazy idiots. Thank god we applied earlier huh?" Ino asked.
"Oh yeah, definitely! With the amount of people wanting to join now, I dont think we would even have a chance!" Sakura replied, shaking her head, grateful at the fact that they had applied for a place in the unit earlier, when they had initially begun recruiting.
"It's a good thing we've got most of our things pac-huh?!" Sakura yelled, gasping at her surroundings. She stepped back to Ino as Ino stepped towards her, the girls now side-by-side, looking around in horror.
"Great, we're back here!" Ino complained, referring to the busy street they had just escaped.
Sakura looked around, "No, we're not. Look, it's not the same street. This one isn't that packed." Sakura replied, gesturing at Ino to turn around.
The street they had now ended up at wasn't filled with rushing villagers, inconsiderate of those around them. Although this street had many villagers occupying it, it had more of a 'go about your business' sense to it rather than a stampede feel.
Ino breathed a sense of relief and walked along the street with Sakura beside her.
"Now, you have packed your stuff right?" Sakura inquired, looking at her friend suspiciously.
"Yes I have Sakura!" Ino cried back, "How could I forget with you constantly telling me and coming round mine every 10 minutes." Ino finished, rolling her eyes.
Sakura smiled widely at her, "Good! I'm just making sure! I dont want to be late because of you and then not be let in!" Sakura replied. "Y-you do know when to be ready...right?" She asked, looking at Ino worryingly again.
Ino sighed loudly and stopped walking. She crossed her arms and gave Sakura, who was standing in front of her, a hard glare.
"Sakura. I know everything I need to." She said, trying to compose her frustration. "We need to have all of our belongings packed and meet the recruitment team by the front gate at 8pm sharp." She continued, memorising the letter they had both received.
Sakura opened her mouth to add further information, but was stopped by a hand reaching out in front of her face.
"And we need to bring our confirmation letter too as evidence." Ino finished, smiling triumphantly at an unexpectedly surprised Sakura.
"Hmph!" Sakura huffed, putting her hands on her hips, "Maybe you are quite organised!" She smirked at her friend.
"Yeah, maybe you should have more faith in me!" Ino replied.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Come on lets go, we haven't got that long left to say good-Ahh!" Sakura yelled as she fell forwards, narrowly missing Ino, and fell flat on her face.
"Sakura!" Ino yelled, running over to her.
"Owww, my head!" Sakura whined, clutching her head as she sat up. She turned to look at the crouched blonde on the floor next to her, "What the hell?" She mumbled, confusingly.
"Oops." Was the blonds' reply, he himself sitting up. Clad in a plain black t-shirt and orange pants, he was facing away from the now angered girl.
Her eyes shot up, mixture of anger and annoyance evident, "Oops? Oops? That's all you've got to say?" Sakura shouted.
"Huh?" He replied, looking over his shoulder.
"You go barging into someone, knock them down and your reply is...oops!?" She shrieked, her left eye twitching.
The blond looked at her confusingly.
"Well aren't you going to apologise?!" She demanded.
"Nope." He answered bluntly as she stood up.
Her eyes widened and her fist clenched, the building rush on the street adding to her frustration.
"What's there to apologise about, it's not like I meant to do that, besides you've got two eyes." He continued, smirking at the latter. He turned away from her and began brushing some dirt off his clothes.
"You should apologise to me, getting in my way." He mumbled, loud enough for her to hear.
"Wha-I.." An exasperated Sakura tried, taken aback by his response. "Are you being serious?" She questioned, the male remaining silent.
"You're the one who barged into me and now you're acting like an immature brat!" She yelled, standing up, anger seething through her.
The sitting male turned around to look at her and quirked his eyebrow. He slowly rose from his seating position, and stood facing towards her, towering over the rosette. Sakura could now see him properly, his blond hair falling over his forehead, stopping at his deep blue eyes.
"What did you just call me?" He demanded, his voice harsh and his strict gaze boring into her.
Unnerved, Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, not breaking contact.
"You got two ears." She retorted, smirking at the similarity at his previously similar statement.
"Yeah." He scoffed, "And for your sake, you'd better hope I didnt hear right." He said, smiling at her threateningly.
Sakura clenched her jaw and tried to contain the anger building up within her. Ino spotted her clenched fist and quickly jumped in front of her friend, acting as a barrier between the two angered individuals, holding her by the shoulders, "Sakura! Come on now! We've wasted so much time here already!" She smiled at her, attempting to calm her down.
Sakura turned to her friend and then back at the male behind her, who was looking at the two, with a raised eyebrow. She narrowed her eyes at him then sighed, "Yeah, you're right, let's get out of here." She said, turning away and marching past the villagers, with Ino after her.
"Who does he think he is? Making it so I'm in the wrong then threatening me like that!" Sakura complained, her arms crossed.
"Hmmm, yeah but you did kind of insult him..." Ino muttered.
He watched them walk away and looked around himself at the growing crowd. He sighed loudly, "I really can't wait to go back." He said, shoving his hands into his pockets and walking down the street.
Sakura lived in the east in the quieter parts of the village. Small houses made up the side road, with trees lining the street, separating each house. Unlike Ino, who lived in a more lively area due to her family's successful flower business, Sakura lived in a more peaceful area, comprising of people of the elder generation and so was one of the few youngsters around the area. It was a place where everyone was familiar with each other, there was no rush to get to places, no pushing past people, no public arguments. People kept to themselves and news from the central village travelled slow.
Luckily, the outer parts of the village hadn't been greatly attacked and so weren't under any major danger, unlike the central village. The heroics of the KPU had reached the tranquil area, further igniting Sakura's desire to join them, however the individual heroics of the members had skipped her ears, masked by her high expectations of the unit and her constant dream-like state regarding it.
She had packed her belongings and was saying her goodbyes to her parents. Her mother launched herself at the rosette, "You make sure to visit, as much as you can!" Mebuki wailed, clutching her daughter harder.
"Yeah I know mum!" Sakura choked, being crushed against her mother. "Mu-mum! I...cant...breathe..." She wheezed, causing her father to break the two apart.
Sakura breathed a sigh of relief, only to then be crushed by her father's arms around her, pulling her in tightly, "Now you be good. Treat everyone with respect and dont forget our Sunday's!" Kizashi bellowed above his daughters head that was crushed, flat against his chest.
"Mmmph...gmmghhh." She mumbled.
Kizashi looked down at his daughter, releasing her from his stronghold and laughed. "Oops." He chuckled, straightening her up. "You've said good bye to Hiro and everyone else right?"
Sakura regained her composure and looked up at her parents, "Yes, I've said goodbye to Hiro and all our friends! Dont worry mum, I'll visit as much as I can! And no dad, I won't forget our Sundays!" She reassured them, smiling widely. She grabbed her bags and looked down the road, "Well, I'll get going then!" She said.
"Are you sure we shouldn't accompany you? I dont like the idea of you going alone..." Mebuki said, worryingly.
"No mum, its fine! I won't be alone, Ino will be there too!" Sakura reassured her. After seeing the concern still evident on her mother's face, she dropped her bags and hugged her mum tightly, giving her a light kiss, "I'll be fine." She whispered and turned to her bags.
She began walking down the streets, trying her hardest not to look back at her parents. When she got to the end of the street she looked back and saw her parents walking back into their home. Smiling lightly to herself, she turned around and made her way to Ino's.
"I thought you said you were ready!" Sakura yelled from outside Ino's house.
"I am ready!" Ino screamed back. "I'm just getting the last bits!"
Sakura looked down at the clutter of bags piled around her. Purple bags and brown boxes of all sizes were spread out, making up Ino's luggage. She looked down at them confused, "What do you mean 'the last bits' it looks like you're bringing your whole room!" Sakura complained, gesturing to the piles of boxes.
Ino walked out of her house with a lilac duffle bag over her shoulder. "It's just a few things!" She replied looking down at the boxes.
"A few things? A few things!? I have a few things! You! You look like your moving houses!" Sakura bellowed, annoyed at her friend. "How exactly are you going to get this to the gate?!" She said, crossing her arms.
"Oh calm down Sakura, my dad's going to help!" Ino explained, followed promptly by her father's arrival.
"Ahh Sakura! You're here!" Inoichi exclaimed.
Sakura smiled faintly at the man and looked down at the boxes. "Erm, will you be ok with all this...?" She asked.
"Oh yeah! Dont worry! It looks heavy but it's not!" He reassured her, bending down to grab them.
Sakura nodded unconvinced and followed her friend down the street.
"How was your mum?" Sakura asked her friend.
"She's alright. Well obviously she's upset, but she knows how good this is and how capable I am." Ino replied, proudly. "What about yours?"
Sakura looked to the floor, "She's a wreck. Hasn't stopped crying the whole time I was getting ready! Nearly crushed me when she was hugging me too." Sakura chuckled lightly.
"Well that's expected right?" Ino replied, looking at her saddened friend.
"Yeah it is." Sakura said, after some silence. "I dont think she wants me to go though." She continued, earning a confused look from Ino.
"What do you mean?"
"I dont think she thinks I'm capable for this. She's been trying to talk me out of it ever since we signed up. Whenever the subject would come up in a conversation, she'd change it immediately." Sakura explained, becoming saddened at each thought.
"That doesn't mean she thinks you're incapable." Inoichi interrupted from behind the two girls.
Sakura jerked her head back, startled at the man's interjection, but before she could speak he had already begun.
"It's just her way of showing her concern. She's worried about her daughter going off to take part in dangerous events, especially when it's her only child." He explained, "Parents only want to see their children happy and safe, but they can't control everything they do. Sooner or later they grow up and have their own decisions to make and we parents just have to accept it and hope for the best." He continued, whilst walking with the two girls. "Your mother just seems to be finding it hard time to accept it for now. Dont worry, she'll come round once she sees how well your doing." He added smiling at Sakura.
"Your father, he seems okay with it right?" Inoichi asked, earning a nod from Sakura.
"Well there you go then! Your father accepts it so your mother won't be too far behind! You'll see!" He said, cheerily.
Sakura looked up at her friends dad and smiled earnestly, "Yeah your right!" She said, Inoichi smiling back at her, while Ino fiddled with her bag.
As she opened her eyes a big brown box had been thrown by her feet, mirroring the one at Ino's. The two girls looked up at each other, confused, then at Inoichi.
"Sorry girls. Looks like you're going to need to carry some stuff too." He said, rubbing his back.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "Aren't you the one who said 'it looks heavy but it's not!'?" She murmured, mimicking him. She reached down and grabbed the heavy box and proceeded towards the gate, walking past a whining Ino, "Come on Ino! These are your things anyways! Hurry up, I'm not afraid to throw these away if we're gonna be late!" She yelled behind her.
Ino groaned and followed her friend, also carrying heavy box.
When they had finally reached the gate there was a large huddle of people there, all ready and awaiting further instructions. The girls were now out of breath and bent over by the luggage trying to regain their composure.
"Wha-what...the...hell...did you...pack...in...these!?" Sakura wheezed, earning a weak shrug from Ino.
"Well this is goodbye then!" Inoichi said, walking over to Ino. He hugged his tired daughter and placed a kiss on her forehead, after a few words he turned to Sakura, who was now sitting on the box with her head down by her knees.
She gave him a weak smile, indicating to him her lack of speech which he understood and chuckled, patting her on the head.
"Ahh Ino, Sakura! You guys made it!" Shikamaru greeted, walking towards the girls with Chouji.
The girls had just got their breaths back and before they could reply, a tall man came over to the new recruits.
Ordering them to gather their belongings and place them to the right of the huge gate in a large pile. After collecting and checking their letters, along with some other members, he led the group of new recruits outside the village and on the long march across to the large Unit base.
Sakura looked around at the group rushing with her after the stern looking man. She jerked her head left and right quickly, as if lost, "Ok, there's definitely more than 20 of us here." She said to Ino, beside her.
Ino nodded approvingly, "Definitely." She repeated, joining Sakura in looking around at the new recruits, "I guess they needed more people." She suggested.
"Yeah...I hope it doesn't affect our place though..." Sakura muttered, a wave of uneasiness hitting her as she continued the walk to the unit's compound.
When they had finally arrived they were greeted with large steel gates opening to reveal what looked like a mini village. Brown cabins laid across the area with unit members walking busily in and out of them. On the right of the entrance stood a tall watch-tower, currently occupied by members who were staring down at the new recruits. To the left of the tower, against the wall, were a row of beautifully sculpted white houses.
At the top of the compound was a large grey building with an equally large, oval door. Sakura immediately recognised this as the main hall of the KPU, one she had seen so often in newspapers. Two tall chalky, flat-like buildings stood connected to the main building, on either side, with members walking in and out of the entrances, happily and relaxed.
They were led to the main building and greeted with a packed hall. Members littered the hall, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. Sakura looked around at the great hall, whose roof reached so high up and was made of a mosaic of colourful stain glass windows. Rows of pillars were on either side of the hall, giving a sense of separation and there were doors on both sides, leading to different parts of the wide building.
The new recruits were gathered at the front of the hall, ahead of a black stage, purposefully put up. The current members in the hall quietened down notably and turned their attention to the newbie's.
A dark haired man made his way to the stage and looked down at the anxious faces, "Good evening! And welcome to The Konoha Protection Unit!" Iruka exclaimed, his arms opening wide. "My name is Iruka Umino. and I am the unit General" He added.
"We are aware of the increase interest in the Unit and know how many people were wanting to join, so you should be proud that you've been picked out of the hundreds that had applied."
Sakura and Ino looked at each other and smirked, proud at the cleverness of their applying earlier, before the sudden interest.
"However your place at the Unit is not guaranteed." He added, earning a few gasps and shocked faces, including Sakura and Ino's mixed with confusion.
"You have been picked because you hold skills beneficial for the Unit. How beneficial, we do not know. Therefore, to separate those capable for the Unit and those not, you will be put through your paces in various activities to help us determine who will gain a place at the Unit and who will be turned home." He declared loudly, embedding nerves into the prospective recruits.
"What?!" Sakura yelled, Iruka's eyes darting towards her, as were those around her.
"Excuse me? Do you have something to say?" Iruka asked softly.
"Wh-what about those of us who joined earlier? The ones who received a confirmation letter of our place here?!" She asked, through her frustration.
"Mmm, I take it you are one of them?" He replied, smiling at her, receiving a simple nod from Sakura.
"Well then, you obviously didnt read the letter correctly." He said, keeping his smile fixed on her confused face.
She looked at Ino, who shrugged her shoulders.
"The letter states you have been awarded a place in The KPU's recruitment programme. Said programme's introduction of which you are present in right now." He continued, "The programme is designed to help us figure out the best among you and those who will prove valuable to the Unit. Under no circumstances are you guaranteed a place by simply signing your name on a piece of paper." He finished, the smile wiped off his face to give way to a more serious look.
Sakura moved back, attempting to hide herself from Iruka and the rest of the Unit members' gaze, embarrassed of her outburst and the stern gaze of Iruka.
"Now you will all be split up into three groups and assigned a Captain. This person will be your Commander for now and in the future, if you should be successful. Anything and everything you do will be reported to them. Whether you wish to leave or change groups for whatever reason, they are the ones you are to tell. Also, if they wish to, they are allowed to ask for your removal from the unit, given they have a good reason. Therefore it would be beneficial to stay on their good side." He finished giving the, now worried recruits, an eerie smile.
"The Commander will overlook your recruitment training and may ask you to do anything in addition to the programmes activities if they feel the need to do so, maybe just to check your resolve!" He joked, earning light laughter from the established members.
"The Commander will be the one to decide who will stay in their Unit and who won't." He said slowly, prolonging his words adding to the built up nerves in the hall.
Sakura gulped at his explanation and looked over at Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji, all of whom were giving each other a worried look.
"I will call out your name and once you hear it please go to the appropriate spot." Iruka commanded, unravelling a rolled up paper.
The doors on the sides of the hall had placards taped to them indicating the Unit numbers to where the trainees would be assigned.
"Inuzuka Kiba, Unit 2." He began.
As the names were read out, Sakura kept being shoved and moved around by the called upon recruits, rushing to their designated spots.
"Nara Shikamaru, Unit 3." Iruka declared.
Shikamaru patted Chouji on the back and gave Ino and Sakura a nod before walking over to the group by the large brown door at the front left of the hall.
"I really hope we're in a good group." Ino whispered to Sakura, glancing around the room at the growing groups.
Sakura nodded, while Iruka continued his calling.
"Akamichi Chouji, Unit 3." An elated Chouji rushed over to his designated place, greeted by an equally happy Shikamaru.
"Oh man, I hope we're together too." Sakura said to Ino, her nodding along.
"Yamanaka Ino, Unit 3." Iruka commanded, a shrieking Ino jumping. She gave Sakura a reassurance hug and joined her 2 friends and the rest of her team.
Sakura looked around at the few recruits left. All of them seemed to be in the same state she was in, nervous and worried. She counted the members in each group.
Unit 3 has the most members so far. She thought looking around the hall. There's no way I'll be with them too, she worried, referring to her friends.
"Haruno Sakura," Iruka spoke, Sakura's breath hitched and she looked up at the man, her heart racing wildly. She gulped as he opened his mouth.
"Unit 3." He finished, with Sakura releasing her closed breath. She grinned widely and jumped over to her team, greeted by an open-armed Ino.
"I was sure I wasn't going to be with you guys!" Sakura shrieked to her friends, who laughed lightly at her excitement.
When he had finished assigning the teams, he rolled up his paper and looked around at them.
He stretched his arm towards the first group, "Unit 1 your Captain will be Might Gai." He announced, with a wide smiling man, walking over to the group and giving them a thumbs up accompanied with a toothy smile.
"Unit 2 your Captain will be Hatake Kakashi." He said to the group watching a silver haired, relaxed man, stroll over to them, giving them a weak wave.
"Unit 3, your Captain will be..." He started, narrowing his eyes around the room, unable to find the person.
"Has he arrived yet?" Iruka said loudly, scratching his head.
"I'm here." The person in question announced.
Iruka looked to his right and sighed, shaking his head with a small smile.
The group had turned around to look at their Captain and some had begun whispering excitedly. Unfortunatley for Sakura, as she was the last to be assigned to the group she was now near the back and so couldn't make out the person, although she had thought the voice sounded familiar.
Iruka cleared his throat and started again, "Unit 3, your Captain will be..." He began.
"Uh oh..." Ino remarked looking down at the floor after getting a glimpse of the Captain.
Sakura looked at her in confusion and pushed her way past the group, making her way to the front and looked up at two cerulean eyes and a head of blond hair.
Iruka finished his sentence as Sakura's mouth dropped looking at the familiar blond haired male, "Uzumaki Naruto."