OOC: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape or form. Nor do I own Kouji or Kouichi. The only things that are mine are the characters that I've made up to write about. This chapter is dedicated to my good friend Kathleen, who was an awesome editor for me. Thanks Kathleen!

Chapter 1, Graduation

"So. You're back, it says here you were gone for over three years," Konoha's new Hokage riffled through the pages on her desk. "That would make you a missing nin you know," she informed the young man standing in front of her desk. He nodded solemnly, then spoke.

"I'm a Panthara. Sarutoubi-sama had an exception for members of my family, because of the bloodline," he causally reached into the pile of papers, his dark gold eyes searching. "Here," he tugged the page out from the middle of the stack, coolly handing it to her over the desk. She frowned as she skimmed through it.

"I see," she murmured. "Most unusual, I'm guessing you're the inheritor of the double…"

"Yes," he said shortly.

"Very well then. Your status as a Konoha jounin will be registered later-" Tsunade was cut short as her assistant cleared her throat meaningfully. "- today," she added.

With a curt nod, the dark young man turned to go. "Ah, but there is one more thing…" the fair-haired woman picked up a list of names. "Our class numbers were a bit skewed, due to the disturbances earlier this year regarding our chunin exam. You know…we do need one more jounin, one who doesn't already have duties, to take on our last student-"

"No." his eyes darkened slightly.

"It's only one student, and you're going to take him."

"No. I don't want any mewling little guttersnipes to baby-sit."

"If you don't take a student, I'll have you arrested as a missing nin."

"If I have to take one, then give me my sis-"

"NO! She has already been assigned."

"I'm not a nursemaid."

"You're taking himand that's final!" Tsunade declared.

)( - )(

"Malao, I'm gonna kill you as soon as this wears off," the woman croaked from her bed. Her companion grinned sheepishly, rubbing his head.

"In all honesty, Yuki-chan, you shouldn't be this hung over, you only had three drinks last night," the man handed silver-haired jounin a cup of coffee, "This oughta help."

"And in all honesty, I'm never doing this again; lousiest birthday I've ever had," she groaned, accepting the mug.

"Actually, you seemed to be enjoying it last night. Whoops!" he giggled, dodging the poorly thrown pillow. "I'll just leave you to recover then," he said, skipping out the door. He had to collect his team, his first team as a jounin. He'd have to get Yuki's too though, it was kind of his fault she was so out this morning. He did feel somewhat bad about that, he'd only been trying to give his friend a happy birthday. She always got depressed about the day, since it was not only the anniversary of her birth and graduation, but also of her mother's death. He could respect that, but still, it wasn't everyday one turned twenty-one.

The man blinked in mild surprise to see a dark figure waiting for him at the corner.

"You got your status back then," he said more than asked his former teammate. The younger man nodded.

"Actually, I have a favor to ask…"

)( - )(

The newly graduated genin chattered excitedly to one another as a chunin watched to make sure they behaved until their teacher arrived with the team assignments. Ever since the Chunin exams earlier that year, everyone had been overworked, but that didn't stop the newest chunin from complaining to himself about the extra work. Still, at least he didn't have to teach them anything, all he had to do was stand up here and make sure…

"What are you doing? Put that knife down!" he yelled.

The boy ignored him, proceeding to slide it over and over in his hands. Sighing with exasperation, the youth walked up the row to where the genin sat, alone for obvious reasons, and held out a hand.

"Give me the knife, Kuromei," he sighed. The boy glared at him, then deliberately cut his left forefinger open, splitting it neatly from tip to palm.

"Nara-san," he said coolly, stabbing the knife into the desk beside him as he watched the blood seep through the incision on his index finger, pulling at the skin to revel the bone underneath. Shikamaru gagged as he yanked the blade from the desk.

"Don't do that," he groaned. Kuromei ignored him, and he sighed again. The kid was extremely troublesome to look after, but at least he didn't have something sharp anymore. He was relived when Iruka-sensei finally returned with the team listing.

Spotting his assistant holding the bloody knife, he snapped at Kuromei, "Fix whatever you've done to yourself, and pay attention."

With an irritated glare, the boy pinched the skin together as his wound healed itself, leaving a thin scab. He picked at it for a while, then sighed and listened for his name, to find out who he would be stuck with until he moved up.

Teams one through three went by amid excited squeals and disappointed groans as names were called. Iruka was in the middle of calling out team four, when the door creaked open, a tawny-haired girl standing barefoot in the doorway.

"I'm sorry!" the girl mouthed as she slipped inside, looking for a vacant seat. Her vibrant gold eyes flashed as she spotted the row Kuromei sat in, and she headed for the empty seat beside him. "Hi," she whispered. Kuromei scowled at her, and said nothing. She shrugged, apparently undaunted by his rude behavior, and instead watched Iruka, her eyes turning green as she waited to see who she would be teamed with. She ran her hand over the worn forehead protector around her neck, tracing the careful stitches and battered metal plate with the Konoha leaf insignia. It was clearly inherited from someone in her family, possibly a grandparent. Passing on a forehead protector wasn't done often, but some people like to wear the prize possession of the brave-old uncle who was retired or something.

"As I was saying, team four will be Hoshi Panda, Hoshi Ryuji, and Kimura Kouichi." The two Hoshi, evidently twins, slapped hands, grinning excitedly as they looked to see whom the other member of their team was. A pale looking boy with dark hair and navy blue eyes had looked up when the names were called. The girl waved cheerily at him, but he just looked back down at his desk.

"Team five is Joukei Moya, Matsuro Kuromei and Panthara Kaia." The girl, her eyes now gold again, purred quietly, looking excited. Kuromei just sighed; he honestly didn't care who he got paired with. He just hoped that Iruka would give him his knife back before he left, since Nara had passed it to the sensei before leaving.

Kaia looked eagerly around the room, trying to catch the eye of whomever she'd just been paired with. It seemed like the boy next to her was on her team, but she couldn't figure out who else was since nobody had looked up. "Since we have a smaller class than usual, there are only five groups."

At this, the pale boy, Kouichi, glanced at the boy sitting in the row opposite, the one wearing his forehead protector around his head like a bandana. The boy's fists were clenched on the desk as he stared at Iruka. "Although there were seventeen graduates, Aoi had to drop out, so there was a last-minute modification to our list. Team six will be Minamoto Kouji." The boy with the bandana looked confused, but his fists relaxed. Apparently, he felt someone staring at him, but when he turned to look the other's eyes were fixed on the desk once again.
"And that's everyone. You new senseis will be here to collect you shortly. I wish you all luck," he smiled at his former class, then left, taking the knife with him, Kuromei noted aggravatedly.

The first few jounin arrived shortly after Iruka left, gathering their teams and then leaving for their own special places to begin instructing the new ninja. But teams four, five, and six, if you could really call six a team, were stuck waiting for a jounin.

"I wish they'd get here soon," the Hoshi girl sighed, glancing at the clock. Her twin shrugged, and resumed his attempts at engaging the seemingly shy Kouichi in conversation. Kuromei, bored with waiting, had managed to pull a nail out from his seat and was scratching patterns on his skin. A boy with shoulder length black hair sat unmoving in the back row. Kaia hadn't noticed him before, but she had assumed he was the other person on her team. Since Kuromei was busy pulling school property apart for sharp objects, she had attempted to talk to him. He hadn't looked at her once, and, after confirming that he was Moya, refused to answer any of her questions, or even acknowledge her presence. Feeling somewhat miffed, she had tried to talk to Kouji, since she thought he might be lonely without teammates, but the boy had his head on the desk and was spacing out, ignoring all of her attempts to talk with him. Now feeling slightly depressed, the girl was playing rock-paper-scissors with Panda, neither of them keeping score and both of them watching the clock.

)( - )(

Malao strolled down the hallway, holding a scrap of paper in his hands, lips moving as he read the room numbers to himself. He smiled, remembering his own time at the academy, class clown but it had been fun. And then he got teamed with the class 'babe' and the moody enigma, who happened to be top student. Personally, he'd been amazed that they'd gotten along so well, but they do say that opposites attract. Absently twirling Shikon, his staff and favorite weapon, as he walked, he caught sight of a clock inside one of the classrooms. Uh-oh. He was so late, it couldn't even be called fashionably so anymore. He stopped outside the last room at the end of the corridor.

"Paper covers rock," he heard a girl sigh, accompanied by the impatient tap tap tapping of someone's fingernails on a desk.

He grinned, oh they were going to be annoyed with him.

"Hello everyone," he smiled cheerfully at them as he strode into the classroom. Six pairs of eyes focused on him, each clearly hoping that he was there to pick them up. The boy in the back didn't seem to react at all. "You may call me Malao, and I'm team four's sensei." The girl with her fingers curled into a 'rock' and the boy beside her who could only be her twin looked relieved, the boy behind him sat up a little straighter.

The tawny-haired genin who had been playing with the girl twin looked dejected, casting a glance at the boys. Everything was except for the scrape of a nail one of the other genin was fooling with. Malao blinked at her, she looked familiar, something about her eyes? Maybe her profile? He'd think of it later. "However, even though my team is four, I'm here for five and six too. Your jounin are… indisposed," he finally decided, the word's double meaning worked perfectly, since one was sick and the other was loath to have a student. "So, all of you are to come with me." The girls grinned at each other, as they and the others stood up to go. The boy in the back seemed hesitant, carefully standing up and walking slowly towards the group, his fingertips trailing lightly over the desks as he passed them. The boy with the nail was hastily putting it back in its place as he wiped a coating of blood off his arm.

)( - )(

The large group sat in a circle, well, it was almost a circle, in the woods near the training grounds. "Okay, everyone. Now, I know we're not all on the same team, but I want you to get to know each other and start some training exercises anyway. Anyway, we'll just start with names, and you can tell your likes, dislikes, family, hobbies, dreams, and so on. So, who wants to go first?"

Malao's cheerful question was met with silence, and a few blank stares.

"Nobody? Alright then, how about I go first, just to give an example." More silence. "Well, my name is Roiyaru Malao. I'm the middle child in my family, my little sister's name is Hana. I like jokes, both playing them and being on the receiving end. My dream used to be becoming a jounin, but now it's a little different. Okay, how about… you!" Malao pointed at Ryuji, who happened to be sitting next to him. When the boy jumped, slightly surprised to be singled out, the jounin prodded him lightly with Shikon.

"Um, my name is Ryuji, and I have a twin sister. I like stargazing, and, um, practicing with my sis. My dream is to be the most sought-after jounin for high-class missions. My favorite color is blue, and my favorite kind of animal is a dragon. And…that's all," the boy finished, his green eyes fixed on Malao, who nodded and pointed to the girl next to him.

"I'm Panda, I'm his sister in case you couldn't guess. I like pretty much the same things, stargazing and practicing, and I want to have my own genin team someday. Red is my favorite color, and I like pandas," she giggled slightly, breaking the tension around herself.

Malao nodded, and pointed at the next boy.

"Um, my name is Kimura Kouichi. I live with my mother, and, um, I, um," he glanced across at the boy with the bandana again. "Um, that's all." he mumbled.

Malao sighed, but didn't press the boy. He could wring more out of him later if he wanted. Instead, he pointed to the next genin, a boy with white eyes. When they boy didn't respond, the jounin nudged him with his staff again.

"I am Joukei Moya. I don't feel like talking about my dislikes, since there really isn't all that much that I do like. I don't have hobbies, nor do I have any real dreams, that is a word for children and we aren't just children anymore. The better term is determination or a goal, and mine is to prove that I can be a great ninja of Konoha, regardless of my eyesight, or lack thereof." Moya sat with his back ramrod straight, facing directly ahead. His eyes might have been focussed on Malao had he been able to see who was in front of him.

Malao blinked, then pointed to the next child in the circle, the only other girl in the group.

"I'm Panthara Kaia, and my nii-san is a jounin. I like exploring and learning about everything, so I ask lots of questions. My record for consecutive questions asked is forty-seven, but my record for questions actually answered is seventeen. I like playing games like Ninja, and tag, and active stuff like that. I also like practicing and traveling, especially to places I haven't been before. I don't like…shoes," she wiggled her toes as she said this, grinning, then continued, " My dream is to find a…" she paused, then finished quickly, "Be a great konuchi like my mother was." Malao looked her over, then grinned.

"Panthara, oh, I should have known!" he burst out laughing, then, shaking his head at their bewildered stares, pointed to the next boy.

"My name is Kuromei. My mother died when I was born, and as far as I am concerned, I have no father. I don't much like people. I do like fighting, and blood; especially my own," he spoke coolly, and didn't react when Malao tried to prompt him to talk more. Giving up on the masochist, the jounin gestured to the last boy in the group.

"My name is Minamoto Kouji. I live with my father and step-mother." When the boy stopped, Malao once again attempted to get him to say more. "My dreams are my business," he said softly.

The jounin sighed, what a bunch of 'wet blankets'. Yuki wasn't going to be exuberant about her team, but Kagemaru wouldn't care if his student didn't talk.

"Well, if that's all, then I guess we should move on to training…but before I forget…" The jounin's hand snapped out, sending a kunai directly at each of the students. Panda and Ryuji leaned towards each other, out of the way. Kaia clapped her forearms together, catching the blade between her armguards, while Moya, whom Malao had been most worried about, easily grasped the handle, stopping it inches in front off his face. Kuoji and Kouichi both ducked, but Kuromei didn't even seem to flinch.

"Okay, if you caught the knife, stand over there. If you dodged it, stand over there." Kaia stood up to walk to where the jounin had indicated first, plucking at Moya's sleeve on her way past him. He brushed her off, but followed to where she stood. Kouichi, Kouji, Ryuji and Panda stood and walked to the other side. Kuromei simply sat where he had been sitting, a savage look in his black eyes. Blood ran down from the blade imbedded in his shoulder.

Malao stared at him.

"Why didn't you move?" he asked incredulously.

"I chose not to," the genin said, licking blood off of his fingers with a feral look on his features.

"You realize that this was a test." The boy nodded, tracing the blade where it had pierced his shoulder; it was almost hilt-deep. "Well, how do you think you did? If this was a combat situation, what do you think would happen?" The boy finally sighed and looked up at the disgusted ninja.

"Nothing." With a shluck he casually pulled the knife out of his arm, pinching the hole closed as he twirled the knife around his fingers. The blood was difficult to see against his black shirt, making it look only wet. "I have a weapon now," he added. Coolly he stood and walked over to where Kaia and Moya stood. Malao sighed, technically the boy had caught the knife, though he didn't envy Yuki this student one iota.

"Alright then, as far as I am concerned, you pass if you're alive, or, if you're dead, at least we know your names."

Panda giggled nervously at these words, then almost jumped out of her skin at the low snarl from behind her. A massive black panther was padding lightly towards them; its fleet paws making no sound as it moved fluidly towards Malao.

"Hello there. What seems to be the problem now?" he asked it, much to the surprise of the Hoshi twins and Koucihi. Kouji and Kuromei both had an 'I really don't care' look about them, and Moya didn't quite seem certain whom the jounin was addressing. The cat snarled again, followed by a varied range of growls, occasionally punctuated with a lash of its tail. "I have no idea what you just said, but somehow I don't think you're pleased."

"He said he doesn't think much of your teaching method," Kaia translated.

"Is that all?" Malao asked. "It seemed to me he said a good deal more than that."

"Um, the rest really doesn't bear repeating," Kaia admitted.

Malao burst out laughing at this, then pointed towards Kouji. "He's the one you want," the jounin told the panther, who turned to fix its dark gold eyes on the boy. Kouji trembled slightly, then managed to look unafraid as the cat padded towards him. The black animal hissed and sprang towards him, slamming heavily into his torso as it tackled him to the ground. The cat then placed a massive paw on his chest, claws pricking him lightly as the beast pressed down. Kouji flinched slightly as it roared in his face. Kouichi looked horrified, and Panda and Ryuji looked as though they wanted to help, but were afraid of making things worse by approaching it.

"Off," Kouji gasped. "Get, OFF!" he repeated more firmly. The animal's chest rumbled slightly, but it let go of him, sitting back on its haunches. The genin stared at it, breathing hard as if his lungs couldn't quite believe that they were still in working order.

The cat was laughing at him? It certainly looked that way, the eyes were definitely filled with a kind of mocking laughter.

"Kage-nii-san, you scared him," Kaia scolded, then threw her arms around the panther's neck. It allowed her to hug it for a moment, then stood, forcing her to let go or fall over. It rumbled something, tail tip twitching. "He says you'll do," she told the dazed Kouji, offering him a hand up.

The rest of the group seemed to shake themselves out of their shock. Malao burst out laughing, again, while Panda and Ryuji rushed to try to help him up, even though Kouji had already lifted himself to his feet, having ignored Kaia's offered hand. Kouichi looked utterly relieved, but he didn't move towards him, standing awkwardly off to one side as he watched. Moya seemed to sigh a little bit, but didn't look as though the ordeal had affected him in any way.

Kuromei had looked almost disappointed, but was now busy pricking holes in his hand with the knife Malao had thrown at him. Yep, Yuki was really going to have her hands full with that one, but Malao wondered what she'd do when she found out that Kagemaru's little sister was on her team.

That would certainly be interesting.

"Alright everyone, party's over. Meet me back here tomorrow afternoon, even those of you who aren't on my team, your sensei will be here tomorrow. The only one of you who may be excused is Kouji, because Kagemaru-" the jounin pointed towards the cat as he spoke, "That's your sensei, yes, that's right, the panther," he added when the boy looked at him as though he was on something, "Anyway, he may have other plans for you…or not," Malao amended when the cat shook its head at him. "Well, until tomorrow then."

After the jounin finished speaking he flickered out of sight. The panther rumbled something and Kaia nodded. Waving goodbye to everyone, she followed him as he walked through the woods towards the village. Moya walked away, whistling quietly as he went; for someone who couldn't see, he did a surprisingly good job of avoiding tree branches and thorn bushes. Panda and Ryuji scampered away to find a place to practice and Kouji simply shrugged and walked off. Kouichi left at the same time the other boy did, but headed in a different direction.

The last one in the meeting field was Kuromei. The genin lounged against a tree, playing with the knife in a way that involved a good deal of blood. He didn't get up as the day passed into night, simply curling up when the moon replaced the sun in the sky. He was a ninja now, and even if it meant sleeping outside every night, and missing a meal here and there, he was never going back to that house. That man no longer had a hold on him, he was his own.