Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto….
Chapter 1: Unlikely Teams
"How'd the idiot make it here?" a hurtful remark coming from one of the ex-academy students. Naruto looked with a hateful glare. It was that arrogant jerk Kiba, the only one in the academy who had a mouth to rival his own. If only they'd known what he went through the night before? The heroic deed he accomplished. No one would ever hurt Uzumaki Naruto! "I passed the test dog breath!" he yelled to the top of his lungs. The two began to argue as Kiba's pup Akamaru began to growl at the blond. All of their former classmates began to sigh. The constant argument between the two was getting old.
"Put a sock in it you two," came Iruka's voice as everyone looked toward the door he was standing in front of. The battle scarred chuunin walked to the front and faced his nine former students. Kiba growled at Naruto before walking away. Naruto stared at him as the dog-like shinobi sat next to the quiet and overdressed girl with lavender eyes. She quickly looked away when she made eye contact with the jinchurriki. He quickly turned back around thinking he did something wrong.
Seeing that he had everyone's attention he began to explain everything. "Congratulations everyone," he began. "You are now all shinobi and kunoichi of Kohona. He stopped to allow cheers from some before he cleared his throat, silencing the class once more. "Everyone will be put into teams of three and put under a jonin sensei. But this year you will not be teamed up the way we usually go about it." Everyone leaned forward anxiously, interested in what their old sensei was saying. "I am not allowed to explain the details, but the team-ups today are in hope of a higher success rate in missions.
The genin looked around confused. Some had already 'figured out' the way teams were picked and hoped to be with their friends. "Team seven will be made up of Uchiha Sasuke……" Sakura and Ino simultaneously crossed their fingers in hope of being called next. "Haruno Sakura," A muffled scream was heard from the pink-haired kunoichi. Ino shot her a death glare. "and Inuzuka Kiba." The two boys of team seven remained silent as Iruka moved on to the next team. Naruto sighed in relief. Both of the jerks were on the same team so he didn't have to worry about either of them being on his. He was still a little sore that he didn't get to stick with Sakura-chan and there was still the fact that he didn't know who he would be teamed up with. His unasked questions were answered as Iruka continued. "And team eight will consist of Aburame Shino, Hyugga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto," he said casually as some looked at Naruto's teammates with sympathetic eyes. Naruto slowly looked toward Hinata who looked even paler than usual. Then his eyes met Shino who showed no sign of emotion on his barely visible face.
"And finally will be team ten with Nara Shikamaru, Yamananka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji," Iruka concluded looking up from his document. "You all may take this time to get better acquainted with your teammates and meet back here tomorrow to meet your jonin sensei's," Iruka said, sounding much older than he really was. Sasuke took that as a cue to leave, Sakura close behind. "Hey wait for me!" Kiba yelled as he and Akamaru tried to catch up. The other teams began to group up as Naruto just sat there, trying to figure out how to approach them. When he looked back he saw that they were both staring at him. Hinata's head dropped when he looked but Shino kept his eyes fixed on him. "Well, better now than never he thought as he finally began to approach them.
Naruto was now sitting in front of his new sensei with his teammates on either side of him. It was just his luck. Out of all the jonin in the village his sensei had to be a woman! Yeah sure she was pretty, but what could he learn from her? "Okay," she began. "Since we already know each others names, how about we start by telling each other our likes, dislikes, and goals for the future? I'll go first. I like successfully completing missions, drinking tea every morning and getting a good workout. My dislikes are tardiness, failure and I most definitely hate being underestimated because I am a woman," she said with a dark look spreading across her gorgeous features. Naruto gulped when he heard this. He was known for at least two if not all of the things she mentioned. "And my goal is to make sure you all reach your goals," she smiled, all malice left from her voice. There was silence for a moment before Naruto decided to take his turn. I like ramen, sparring and the color orange!" he yelled, badly startling Hinata. "I dislike punks that think their better than everyone, injustice and…and people that judge without knowing the whole story." By the end of his last sentence he got very quiet, his voice barely a whisper. Kurenai looked as the blond put his head down. He was acting out of character from what she heard about him. Before now, she was almost furious that she got stuck with him after his 'late graduation.' She tried to tell the Hokage that she would be just fine with the two genin that were already assigned to her. She heard that he was an emotionless menace. But sitting here with him for the few minutes they were there, she realized that the boy had problems, and he would talk to anyone who would listen. Not that anyone he ever knew would listen. She was snapped out of her thoughts as Naruto continued. "And I will become the Hokage someday!" he yelled. He was now standing with his fist in the air. Shino pushed his glasses up on his nose as Hinata glanced at her crush from the corner of her eye. "Interesting," Kurenai said as she waited for one of her other genin. Surprisingly, Hinata spoke up next. "I like sushi, learning new things and the color purple. Naruto sat back down and looked at her with an interested look making her cheeks a bright red color. I dislike being unprepared and I want to someday prove myself to my family." Kurenai decided to bring that up later as Shino began to talk." I like learning about insects and figuring things out. I dislike those who shun things that are different from them." Though his voice was steady wrinkles were clearly visible on his forehead. "And my goal is to take my family's use of insects to a new level."
Kurenai sat in silence for a while, thinking about everything she just heard. "I noticed that everyone on the team has something in common," she finally said. "We all have something to prove to someone. The three genin nodded as she continued. "If we work together we can help each other reach our goals. We are now the underdogs, but if we work for it we can prove to everyone that they are wrong about team eight."
I know the first chapter was short and boring but I was anxious to get it out. I promise the next one will be better.
For those who missed it, the reason for the team changeup was because Naruto graduated late, and Kurenai was the only one with room on her team.
I'm going to skip to their first C-rank mission next chapter and I'm open to all comments. So please read and review!