"Things are going to be harder from here on out. As such, you will all be assigned in groups of three, doing your missions under an elite Jounin ninja. These are designed to fit all of you, to make you all benefit. For those who are stronger, to be able to work together with teammates. For those who are weaker, to benefit from having battle-capable teammates. And hey, we might even make a few rivalries, who knows... ?"

Multiple responses were heard from within the class, whether they be groans out of annoyance or sighs of relief. The class' instructor, Iruka Umino, stood at the front of the class. Or, rather, former instructor, as he was standing in front of a class of Graduates, assigning their three-man teams, due to their large population, but it couldn't be helped. It's been that way for the past 5 or 6 generations. The Hidden Leaf was certainly a healthy village, after all. Three-man teams would make things easier for the Genin, anyways.

However, a certain graduate felt otherwise. "Tch... three man teams? That will only slow me down." He'd think to himself, biting his lip as he turned his head slightly and scanned the room for any worthy team-mates that he'd like to work with. Or, at least, would be able to work with. He hoped they could keep up with him. Sasuke Uchiha was like that- a little full of himself, but he did speak the truth, being this year's Number One rookie. The others... weren't a lot to speak for. Kiba and Shino were probably his ideal partners out of this year's group. Sakura was sharp, too, that was something to keep in mind, along with her rival Ino... Though, they were being assigned groups, so it was likely best to just sit and wait. Hell, he didn't have a choice.

"After I list off teams, you guys will have a few hour to yourselves. Think of it as Lunch time or something. I'd personally suggest using this time to get to know your teammates, but whatever suits you works. You'll have forever to get to know your team mates, so there's no rush." Iruka said. "After that time is over, please go to the room that I'll assign you and you'll meet your Jounin 'sensei'." Iruka had brought his clipboard to his face, and began to read out loud.

Sasuke sighed as Iruka started listing off teams, starting with Team 1. Nobody important was being listed off yet. He sighed as he closed his eyes and waited patiently, though he couldn't say that it wasn't a little bit irritating, having some of his first choices listed off and grouped with losers...

"Team 7, Report to room 207 after break; Uzumaki Naruto... Hyuuga Hinata... Aburame Shino."

He cursed under his breath has Shino was listed off. Hinata, too. How Naruto was able to get a score to match theirs was beyond his knowledge. A little jealous, but still. His scores were definitely higher. He'd suspected to get grouped with someone as smart as Sakura, or around there. Still, he had just lost two desired teammates. At this rate, he'd get stuck with people on Choji's level of skill, had what Iruka said was true. He didn't see the point in being forced to work together if he could do better by his lonesome, but still. It was best not to argue. A low growl was emitted from him out of frustration, though nobody else in the room had heard it.

"... Team 10, Report to room 208 after break; Yamanaka Ino..."

She was desirable. Ino was pretty smart, along with being quite a bit more capable than some of the other Kunoichi in the room. He'd be content to be on a team with her.

"... Haruno Sakura..."

Fuck. There goes another one of his choices. He kind of wanted to be on a team with Sakura, if she would drop the whole fan girl thing. It was old. But she was smart. He would have looked forward to working with her, but she was grouped with Ino, so that's a big no. A rivalry would help her a lot, yeah, but the teamwork would be way off. Plus, working with those two and putting up with their constant bickering, heck no. He'd be damned before he was on THAT team.

"... Uchiha Sasuke."

God dammit.

Hey, me again. Yea, I didn't want to see you either.

Anyhow, this mostly just an introduction. Later chapters will be longer. You can place Reviews for desired couples/events/etc., and I'll see what I can do.