"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square hole. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

-Apple Computer Inc.

Chapter 1- Teams

"Congratulations! Everyone in this room has PASSED! You are all officially ninja of Konoha!" Iruka appeared to be almost as excited as the kids, for they had finally completed their 4 years of training and were off to save the world (or at least Konoha).

The entire class screamed in excitement, glad to finally be rid of this building that held so many bad memories amidst only a couple fond ones. The only person not screaming was Uchiha Sasuke, not that anyone was surprised. On the contrary, most of the girls stopped screaming early on, just to look at him with dreamy eyes.

Only two girls didn't look at Sasuke, and only one of them didn't look at Sasuke at all. The best friends, Hyuuga Hinata and Hoshi, stopped screaming pretty quickly too but only because Hoshi felt the need to glare at the too-cool-for-you Uchiha and Hinata was just too shy to scream for long.

It took the boys a little longer to settle down, though, and only once they did would Iruka start to read out ranks. The class knew this, and Ino, wanting to know if she had gotten a rank anywhere close to Sasuke's (everyone knew that he was going to be number 1), yelled quite loudly for the rest of the guys to shut up. Everyone's attention, including Sasuke's, turned towards her, and Sakura looked ready to tackle her for managing to draw Sasuke's attention. She would have too, if Iruka had not gotten tired of all the noise by then.

"ENOUGH!" He screamed, feeling the need to vent his frustrations out loud. Really, it was no wonder he was as excited to get away from the kids, as they were to get away from him. The past two days of testing had driven him to be slightly more insane than usual. "I shall now read out the ranks, after which you may all leave. You must be back tomorrow though, at the same time as a regular day, in order to receive team assignments." He knew he had to announce this now, since he was sure all the kids would rush out as soon as ranks were finished. He didn't blame them either; in fact, he'd be right behind them.

"Okay, we'll start with the end. Uzumaki Naruto, rank 30." Naruto, who was sitting in the back with his Hyuuga Hinata and Hoshi, his two best friends, looked a bit more down after this announcement. He knew it was coming, but still… he would never like hearing his name called first. Hinata and Hoshi both noticed this sadness and knew the cause but they also knew that this was something he needed to come to terms with on his own. Still, Hoshi put her hand over Naruto's in a gesture of support. Hoshi knew he needed it and that Hinata would be too shy to.

"Hoshi, rank 15." Hoshi looked up in shock for a second before a pleased look took over her face, which confused Hinata immensely. They had all studied and trained together for this exam, and she had come to know that Hoshi was very advanced for her age. She probably could have gotten rank 1 if she tried. Heck, she could have gotten that rank without even trying. So how did she get so low? Hinata was about to voice these concerns when she heard her name.

"Hyuuga Hinata, rank 4." And Iruka continued on, oblivious to the mini panic attack in the last row. Rank 4? Hinata found herself being torn between pride and fear. She knew that she had done her best and she had ended up in the top ten, which was her goal. Even better, she had ended up in the top 5! However, her father's goal was aimed much higher, a goal which she knew she could not and thus had not reached. What would happen now? Her fearful musings were interrupted when she felt a hand grasp hers. Startled, she looked up to see Hoshi. She looked into her eyes, and suddenly she felt much calmer. She knew Hoshi was telling her that she was there for her no matter what her father said. The point was that she had done her best. Feeling better, Hinata gathered her strength to listen to the first rank, the rank her father had wanted for her.

"Uchiha Sasuke, rank 1." This surprised no one, although it did cause most of the girls to sigh and look at Sasuke dreamily and all the boys to look at him with a mix of envy and admiration. Sasuke took the attention and the news of his rank like he always did: he smirked before walking out of the room. Out of all the people in the room, only two remained unimpressed. Unfortunately for Sasuke, these were two of his teammates.

All the students—now genin—rushed out of class wearing their hitai-ite proudly. Most ran into the arms of the waiting parents, all of whom seemed very proud. Only four of the students walked out of the school with no parent to run too. Three of these students walked toward the Hyuuga clan house, walking just as proudly as the rest of their classmates. One walked towards a lonely apartment building. Out of these four, only two received the expressionless, cold looks associated with being a jinchuriki.

"Everyone, be quiet please and hold all questions and concerns until the end." The Hokage said this to a room of 11 Jounin at 7:00 that night, 10 of who would be taking on new teams this year. The Hokage was standing at the front of the room with Iruka standing next to him. They were preparing to tell this room who they must become teachers to in the graduated genin class.

The Hokage cleared his throat. He assumed he had the attention of everyone in the room but he really only had the attention of the jounin whose name was being called. It was in this way that 6 teams were named without comment, but the 7th team was a different story.

"Team 7 will be led by Hatake Kakashi who will be in charge of Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto." Scarcely a second had passed before chaos erupted.

"We can't put the Uchiha with that monster! Something could happen to him!"

"The beast passed? How can this have happened? There is no way that I will stand by and let Konoha be guarded by the very thing we should guard against!"

"BE QUIET!" This yell, which silenced the room, came not from the Hokage, but from the only woman present.

"Now," she said in a much calmer voice. She started to address the Hokage alone. "Hokage-sama, I do agree with putting Naruto-kun with Sasuke-kun, but I do not agree with Sakura-chan being placed with them. Where were you planning on putting Hyuuga Hinata and Hoshi?"

An uproar almost broke out again, but the Hokage was having none of it. He glared at the jounin before looking at his foremost kunoichi with interest. "Why do you ask, Kurenai-san? Do you want to make Kakashi-san take on four students? And such an odd bunch too. Please, explain yourself."

Kurenai smiled, for the Hokage was allowing her explain herself instead of immediately discounting her suggestion. She had a lot of respect for the Hokage, and she would have been disappointed had he not let her speak. She noticed everyone looking at her with disinterest, condensation, or humor, which irritated her greatly. Only two men seemed to be greatly interested in what she had to say other than the Hokage: Kakashi and Iruka.

"Hokage-sama, I agree with putting Naruto and Sasuke together because the Uchiha is far too arrogant and introverted to become friends with anybody else. Naruto is friendly, outgoing, and loud. Only he can become friends with him. Only Naruto and Hinata.

"Hinata is the one of only two students in the class who does not hold Sasuke in either contempt or admiration. On the contrary, the only thing she seems to feel for him is pity. She is very shy, but she is also very sweet and patient. She is someone who will really try to help and understand him, which I am sure Sasuke will appreciate. Besides, she is already good friends with Naruto, for only him and another person can get her confidence to try and actually do well. I doubt she would have gotten her rank if she didn't have Naruto and her other friend there helping her and cheering her on. She is also good at calming Naruto when he needs it.

"The only other person who gives Hinata confidence is Hoshi. She is a strong girl with a very kind heart, which is something that draws people to her. Despite her background, almost every kid in the class is a friend with her. She is best friends with Hinata and helps her to succeed, so the two must be kept together. She is very good friends with Naruto when most people shun him, so he is attached to her too. It's likely that Hinata only became friends with Naruto because Hoshi was there to push them together. Plus, she never seems to take any fluff from anyone, which is what most of the Uchiha's words are. She seems to be very understanding, and very strong. I saw her while she was training alone, and I was astounded. She could probably best Sasuke if she wanted too. Out of the entire class, the only person whom Sasuke has a chance of respecting is her. She is the only one who can stand up to him, who is not enamored by him. She is so strong yet so kind that I'm sure they will become friends with mutual respect for each other.

"As to the issue with teachers, I think it would be wise for another teacher to be partners with Kakashi-senpai. That way, these kids will get the attention they deserve, for none of them have had an easy life. Plus, all four of these kids have tremendous potential, which they will be sure to reach with the right guidance.

"Thank you for hearing me out, Hokage-sama and senpais. Please think about what I have said."

With that she was finally silent, with many men staring at her in awe. This didn't surprise her. She was smart, and she was glad that some of these pigs were beginning to realize it.

Kakashi, Iruka, and the Hokage looked thoughtful. Kakashi completely agreed with what Kurenai had just said, and he would be happy to teach these kids with another teacher. Iruka was very happy, for this was exactly what he had hoped would happen at this meeting. He had told the Hokage that he had wanted them four to be put together, but the Hokage had said no, for he knew that it would cause an uproar bigger than the one they had originally seen. The Hokage had hoped, as Iruka had, that someone would suggest the team like Kurenai had: so logical that it was hard to refute. Iruka glanced first at Kakashi, who nodded, and then at the Hokage, who nodded to. He smiled.

The Hokage smiled too before announcing, "Thank you, Kurenai-san, for such a well thought out suggestion. After some thought, Iruka and I are agreed that what you have suggested will come to pass." The Hokage was already glaring at the Jounin, so none of them made a peep, although some expressions indicated that they would have been happy to object. "We were originally going to put Hyuuga Hinata with Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba as a reconnaissance team with you leading, Kurenai-san, and Hoshi with Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Yamanaka Ino with Asuma-san leading, but I am happy to change that. We shall instead put Sakura with Shino and Kiba and simply leave Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino together. However, I would like for you, Kurenai-san, to be the other teacher on Team 7, which I would like to be called Team 8, and have Gekko lead Sakura's new team, which is now Team 7. Is everyone involved okay with this?"

Kakashi and Kurenai nodded, both very pleased with the way things turned out. Kurenai had hoped she would be put onto that team. Gekko nodded as well, having a good feeling about his soon-to-be new team.

After that, calling out the teams went smoothly. Nobody disagreed with anything else, and the Jounin dispersed, feeling good about what was to come.

While the Jounin, Iruka, and the Hokage discussed their fates, the genin in question were going out for their nightly dinner. Kiba, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru, and Naruto were all at their regular meeting place, Ichiraku Ramen, at the regular time, 7. And, as usual, the girls were late.

All 5 boys were deep into a discussion about potential teammates and teachers when they felt an ominous presence behind them. They stopped talking and exchanged glances before turning around simultaneously, only to have…

Water squirted into their faces by a giggly girl who, despite her cute looks, was a genin of Konoha and their best friend. Laughing, she dispelled her clones and sat right in the middle, in between Shikamaru and Kiba. Another girl walked over with a small, guilty smile on her face. She came and sat next to Naruto at the end.

These two girls were very close to these guys. They were all very good friends who had made it a ritual to come every school night to this restaurant to just hang out. The girl who was fond of pranks, Hoshi, could not help but laugh as she saw her best friends Kiba and Shikamaru wipe water out of their eyes while attempting to glare at her.

Hoshi was very proud of herself. She knew that this night is an important night for all of them, and she figured she might as well achieve some goals she had set for herself. With this prank she had outwitted the prankster, made two looks of shock appear on two faces who never show emotion, caught the paranoid one of guard, and gotten the forever hungry one to stop eating. She couldn't help but smile charmingly at the boys before looking at Ayame and ordered as though nothing at all had happened, leaving Ayame's barely held laughter to burst out.

"So, what's up?" Hoshi asked nonchalantly. She looked side to side, waiting for Shika or Kiba to answer. Eventually, Kiba sighed and gave up his failed attempt to remain angry with Hoshi.

"Nothing much, only can you believe we're FINALLY genin? I mean really, it took forever!"

"Forever and a half," muttered Shika, also unable to stay mad at Hoshi. "It's not like those ranks were that surprising anyway. We all knew the Uchiha genius would get first rank and this idiot," he said while smirking and jerking a thumb at Naruto, who was sitting behind him, "would be last. Nobody was surprised by the rankings. Except," he paused, suddenly looking intensely at the girl next to him, "yours. We all studied, sparred, threw shurikens, practiced everything we were going to be tested over. We all knew you were holding back, but even then you still beat us by a mile. How did you get such a low rank?"

Hoshi looked down, cursing herself. Shikamaru is very smart, and she had been stupid to think she could fool him. However, she was not comfortable with telling everyone why she had done this. Maybe if it was just Kiba, Shika, and Hinata she would. But in public? No way. "I have my reasons, Shika." She stared into Shikamaru's eyes while saying this, telling him to ask her later, when it was just she and her super close friends.

And that was that. All the attention that was on her immediately shifted, since everyone knew that once she said back off, she really meant it. Talk shifted back to what the boys were talking about before the girls had arrived.

"What do you think the teams will be, Hoshi-chan?" Her other close friend, Kiba, asked her with a slightly serious face. "I wonder if we'll be on the same team… you know the teams will be uneven. I wonder how that would work out…"

Hoshi opened her mouth to answer him, but then ramen was put in front of her. She immediately forgot whatever response she was about to make, her mind taken over by her stomach.

Kiba smiled as Hoshi dug in, for he knew that she was practically dead to the world when ramen was in front of her. Unfortunately, Chouji and Shino had to leave early. After a quick goodbye, Hoshi turned back to her ramen.

By the time she was finished, Hinata was only half way through her own bowl of ramen. Noticing this, Hoshi asked with a giggle, "What was the question again, Kiba-kun?"

Kiba smiled at his best friend who was a girl and said, "How do you think teams will turn out?"

The red-haired beauty could only shrug. "Who knows, Kiba-kun? All I know is that I'll be happy with anyone as long as I'm not with Sasuke or one of his fangirls." She said this with a shiver of apprehension, and she got an odd feeling of foreboding.

Shaking it off, she said, "Well, I should probably go now. It's getting late, and we need a full night's sleep for tomorrow! Come on, Hina-chan, Naruto-kun!" Leaping off her chair, she walked away with Hinata and Naruto next to her. Looking back, she called out, "Bye Shika-kun! Kiba-kun! See you tomorrow!" Hinata and Naruto followed with their own byes and they were off.

Kiba smiled to himself. "She really is something." Shikamaru yawned. "I actually agree with you, Kiba. Troublesome, that's the only word to describe her."

The Next Day

"Hey guys!" Shouted Naruto as he entered the room, grinning with his hitai-ite across his forehead. Hinata and Hoshi, who were already there, turned and smiled at the blonde ninja.

"Hey Naruto," they said together. Hoshi moved in so that Naruto could sit next to her. She and Hinata had just been having an intense discussion about said blonde, and she felt bad. She figured she could show Hinata that she had no hard feelings by sitting next to the object of her affections and saving her from, what Hinata would think of as, potential embarresment.

Unfortunately, Sasuke was sitting right behind Naruto. His fangirls were currently having a fight as to who was going to sit next to him while he simply stared impassively ahead. Hoshi smirked at him before turning back around.

"Hey Naruto-kun, have you heard?" she interrupted his staring at Sakura. She had no clue what he saw in her, but she knew that it was hurting Hinata, something the dobe had probably not even noticed. She was killing two birds with one stone. Naruto turned to look at her with a question in his eyes.

In an overly loud whisper with a mischievous smile on her face, she said, "Sasuke-teme is GAY."

This caused quite the commotion. All of his fangirls and Sasuke turned to look at her with disbelief in their faces. Naruto and Hinata would have too, but they recognized the look on her face. Hinata sighed, knowing that interfering would do nothing. Besides, she was grateful that Hoshi ad gotten the blonde's attention off of the pinkette. She sat back a bit and decided to watch the show. Hoshi has really outdone herself this time. She's in over her head.

Naruto grinned back at Hoshi and played along. With a whine in his voice, he said, "Everyone knows that Hoshi. Come on, if you're going to tell me something, at least make it something new."

Needless to say, the fangirls blew up. "Sasuke-kun is NOT gay!"

"You'd think we would know if he was!"

"There is NO WAY he is gay!"

Hoshi looked at the reason of all the commotion. "If he's not gay, why does he never give any of you the time of day?"

The fangirls considered this. Sasuke looked ready to explode. Hoshi smirked at him, wanting him to go over the edge. "Hey, Naruto-kun, do you want a shot at him?" She winked.

Naruto looked shocked, and the fangirls looked horrified. Sasuke exploded. "I AM NOT GAY!" He yelled, seeming unable to keep his emotions in check as everyone looked at him in astonishment. This was the first time any of them had seen him lose his cool. Hinata, Hoshi, and Naruto had to stifle their laughs. Hinata had been right. Hoshi had put on quite the show. She may be many things, but boring was certainly not one of them.

Sasuke clapped his hands over his mouth and glared at Hoshi. She had done what he and the entire class had thought was impossible. She had gotten a response out of him, an emotion out of him. Hoshi smiled back charmingly, unaware of the emotions now churning inside the Uchiha. This caught him off guard. He had thought that perhaps Hoshi was just a fangirl trying to get his attention, but it looked like now she was just having some fun. She's different.

It was at that moment Iruka entered the room. "Quiet down everyone! I have the team assignments for you!" All the new ninja immediately sat up a little straighter and got quieter, excitement and nervous anticipation showing on all their faces.

Hoshi and Naruto zoned out, until they heard their respective friend and crush's names. "Team 7 under Gekko: Haruno Sakura, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba."

The two best friends slumped, disappointed. Hoshi would have loved to be on the same team as Kiba, since they were such good friends. Besides, nobody but her, his sister, and his mom could get him to behave. She hoped he would behave despite their watchful eyes. Oh, he'll be fine, she scoffed to herself.

Naruto was saddened that he was not put onto the same team as his crush. He would have been sure to get to spend some quality time with her and show her that he was way better than the teme. Well, at least she wasn't put on the teme's team. Here's hoping that I won't be either.

Hinata, on the other hand, brightened with a ghost of a smile playing on her face. She was being selfish, she knew that, but she couldn't help it. If Hoshi had been put onto Kiba's team, then her and Hoshi would slowly drift apart. Hinata was sure that she wouldn't be able to handle that. If Naruto had been put onto the same team as Sakura, then she could just give up any hope of them being together. This is for the better.

"Team 8 under Hatake Kakashi and Yuuhi Kurenai," That introduction dragged every genin's attention. Two instructors for one team? It was almost unheard of. "Uchiha Sasuke," Every single girl who hadn't already been put onto a team sat up a little straighter, while Hoshi sank a little lower. Of course the genius gets the two instructors. "Hyuuga Hinata," Hinata jumped a little bit and looked from side to side in surprise. Hoshi smirked. Trust the one girl not chasing after him to be put on his team. Instructors: 1 Fangirls: 0 "Uzumaki Naruto," Both Naruto, who had gone straight when he had heard Hinata's name, and Hoshi, who had been slouching this whole time in an effort to appear uninterested, looked shocked. Hinata looked ready to faint, and Hoshi could barely stifle her laugh. On the inside, she was almost ready to cry. My best friends are on the dream team. She was happy for them, of course, but she would have just loved to be on the same team as them. "And Hoshi." Hoshi sat straight up. What just happened? That was pretty much the collective thought of the whole room. A 6-man team? Hoshi was torn between screaming for joy and banging her head against the desk in confusion. Oh to heck with it.

Hoshi jumped onto the desk and started to do a little dance. "! SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOREEE! INSRUCTORS: 2 FANGIRLS: ZIP!" Suddenly she blushed and sat back down. She muttered, "Did I really just say that out loud? Not just say it, but scream it?" while the rest of the class burst into laughter. Hinata and Naruto shared glances, both stifling their own laughter. They had to ask what she meant by that score…

Iruka cleared his throat, both in an effort to cover his laughter and to regain attention. That's one student who I'm going to miss. Number one unpredictable ninja, that was for sure. "Team 9…"

Iruka was still going strong with the teams, but the fangirls and Team 8 were really not listening. All the fangirls seemed to be having the exact same thoughts as they tried, and failed, to glare at the two lucky ones. Of course the two girls who have no feelings for Sasuke-kun get onto the team with him. If it were anybody but Hinata-san and Hoshi-chan, they would be so dead.

The girls on Team 8 was oblivious to their almost-would-be-deaths. They were too busy celebrating, but they, along with Naruto, managed to be much quieter than Hoshi was before. The only member of Team 8 not on Cloud 9 was Sasuke. What as interesting turn of events, but I can't really say I'm disappointed. Better having dead last than a fangirl. He suppressed a shudder. That would have been horrible.

The three friends turned back into the real world when they heard their favorite sensei say, "That's all. Come back here after lunch to meet with your teachers. I had so much fun teaching all of you. Good-bye."

Most of the students didn't hear his goodbye in their rush to leave the classroom. However, his three favorite students had and they were now standing before him, two of them with tears in their eyes to match his.

Hinata spoke first, her tears threatening to spill over. "Thank you Iruka-sensei. You have taught me so much. Goodbye." With a hug, she walked out of the room and down the hall. Iruka smiled. It was so like her to keep it short and sweet and giving them privacy.

Naruto was next, barely holding back his own tears. "Without you, Iruka-sensei, I definitely would not have been able to graduate. Thank you so much for all you extra effort and time. Come visit me anytime, I will never say no. Goodbye." He hugged his teacher as well before joining Hinata. Iruka's smile was stretched from ear to ear. That's one kid who has had a hard childhood. I know your life will be filled with all the happiness you have been deprived of, Naruto. Good luck.

Now, only Hoshi was left. She was without a doubt his favorite student, the only one with no tears. Her feelings were only shown with her shaky smile. Iruka braced himself for what he knew would be a melodramatic goodbye. "Iruka-sensei, words cannot describe how much thanks I want to give you. You have helped my best friends and me to be all that we can be, a lesson I'm sure none of us will forget. You're the older brother I never had, and if you ever need your little sister for any reason at all, don't be afraid to ask. We'll come and visit often, just make sure you do too, 'kay? See ya, Iruka-otouto." With this speech, which did not disappoint, she gave him a hug as well as a kiss on the cheek before leaving to catch up with her friends. Iruka's tears spilled over. That's one person who always went against the grain, who always played the hero, the only one who is friends with everyone in the class. Iruka wiped his tears before telling his empty classroom, "I have never met a person more determined to be different. She is going to change the world. I know just it. Rest up, Hoshi-imouto. You have a lot of work to do."

"Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary."

-Cecil Beaton

Author's Note:

Italics: Actual thoughts

Boldand Italics: Flashbacks

"Boldand Italics with double quotation marks": quote

Hey guys, thanks so much for reading this! It's my first fanfic, so criticisms will be welcome! Share all your thoughts in the form of a review please! Also, if anybody's interested and has the time, I really need a beta. Please apply! Thanks again!

Peace!

-gimmecookiesorDIE

PS- sorry about all the explanation points, I'm just really excited. Until next time!