Prologue: Failure and Departure
Naruto sat staring at the roof of his apartment. He had failed the test to become a Genin. He wouldn't bother trying another year at the academy, what was the point really? Sakura-chan had passed along with that Sasuke-teme and the rest of his class, meaning he was the only failure.
Such was his depression at the failed year, that when Mizuki-sensei told him of a way to qualify for Genin, Naruto was just not interested. He'd had enough of the ninja lifestyle. Besides he had only decided to become a ninja to force people to acknowledge him, which the academy suggested would never happen.
There was a knock at the door.
"Naruto?" Iruka's voice called out.
"Come in, Iruka-sensei, the door is unlocked." Naruto let out a heavy sigh as his 'almost' father walked in.
"Ah, I see you are still down about the test huh?" Iruka sighed. "I'll bet I know something that could cheer you up, how about a nice bowl of ramen?"
"I'm not hungry." Naruto continued to stare at the ceiling.
"Not…hungry?" Iruka blinked in shock. This was serious; Naruto had to be seriously upset to turn down free ramen. "Come on, you can always try again next year!"
"Why?" Naruto sat up, "Let's face it, I have no skills as a ninja."
"What?" Iruka chuckled, "Of course you do! Think about it, how else would you be able to pull of such amazing pranks, if not for your natural skill as a ninja!"
"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Iruka sensei, but it's alright…I mean if I don't become a Shinobi I will probably lead a happy life."
Iruka doubted this but said nothing. He truly hated the Kyuubi more than ever. Not only had he lost his parents to the monster, but even after its defeat, it was still making this young boy's life a misery, and there was nothing he could do to stop that.
"Well…what will you do instead?" Iruka asked.
"I don't know…maybe travel the world a little?" Naruto scowled, "I haven't had much time to think it through.
"Well…" Iruka didn't know what to say, "I'll go talk to the Hokage and see if we can get you to re-take your exam for this year."
"No…I don't want any special treatment," Naruto's blue eyes bore into Iruka.
"If you are sure…" Iruka sighed and got up to leave, "Don't do anything drastic, okay Naruto?"
"Sure," Naruto lay back down and stared at the ceiling, as if willing it to tell him what to do.
Sasuke glanced around the room. Despite his emotionless exterior, he was actually quite worried. It seemed all of his efforts had been wasted, he tried to turn the dobe into something resembling a rival, someone he could use to increase his own strength, but then the dobe had gone and failed the exam, it made Sasuke want to beat the blonde-haired idiot to a bloody pulp. He had even avoided telling Sakura to leave him alone, knowing Naruto had a thing for her and would willing fight Sasuke to earn her heart. All that effort spent to avoid yelling at the pink-haired Kunoichi was wasted. Glancing around the room, he tried to see if there was anyone else who would make a good rival.
Shikamaru; Far too lazy
Chouji; far too busy eating
Shino; far too quite
Ino and Sakura; far too fan-girlish
Hinata: far too shy
Kiba: Ah.
Sasuke smiled internally. If anything, Kiba was a more competent version of Naruto and would make a fine rival to defeat. Then he would be one step closer to reaching the power needed to kill his brother and avenge his family.
"Everyone quiet," Iruka looked up at his class, sadly noting the empty space where Naruto should have been sat. "Today you will be assigned to your teams. Each team will have a Jounin captain, and three Genin, with some exceptions. The teams are as follows…"
While Iruka read out the list, Sasuke looked at his new rival. Kiba was drifting in and out of consciousness while Iruka was talking. The little puppy on his head had fallen to sleep long ago. 'So very like Naruto.' Sasuke thought to himself, 'Except not alone.' In truth, that was one of the main factors that had caused Sasuke to focus on setting up a rivalry between him and Naruto, they were similar in that they were both alone (Sasuke had found this out after talking to a ANBU member, who was all too happy to help the Uchiha prodigy), but completely different in the way they dealt with it.
"Team Seven," Iruka called out, "Consists of the Genin, Shino Aburame, Sasuke Uchiha and finally Kiba Inuzuka…"
"What?" Kiba shot upright at hearing his name.
"You are in team seven along with Shino and Sasuke."
"Oh," Kiba blinked for a moment, then decided to go back to sleep, oblivious to the angered fan girls who were cursing their luck at not being in Sasuke-kun's group.
"Team 8 will consist of Hinata Hyuuga and Sakura Haruno." Iruka sighed, "Seeing as there was a shortage of people who passed, your team is one man short, but will receive a Chuunin to make up for this on missions."
Sakura merely nodded, angry at being robbed the chance of being on Sasuke's team. As for Hinata, she wasn't paying attention, seeing as her favourite blonde-haired ninja was nowhere to be seen. While Iruka read out the next team, Hinata stared at the empty seat and felt as if her very reason for becoming a Kunoichi was taken from her.
"Team 10 will consist of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Akimichi Chouji." Iruka looked up from the list. "And that concludes the teams; everyone is to wait until they are collected by their representative Jounin. That is all."
The students nodded and got into their respective groups.
Kiba and Shino found themselves sat next to the Uchiha prodigy.
"So, Sasuke…" Kiba shuffled uneasily. He had to be put in the same group as the two quietest people in the class. Even the usually upbeat Akamaru was sat on Kiba's head, not stirring. "What do you think our Jounin will be like?"
"Who cares," Sasuke responded coldly.
"Ah," Kiba turned to Shino, "What do you think?"
"I would assume that they are capable of the task they have been assigned." Shino replied.
"Ah," Kiba nodded and settled down. 'This is going to be so boring…'
Team 8 was not having a much better time of it. Both girls were brooding about the boys they loved and how they were denied them.
'At least Ino-pig isn't on Sasuke-kun's team' Sakura thought to herself, cheering her up a little. She decided to get to know the shy heiress. "So…Hinata, I was wondering if you would want to get to know me a little better."
"Er…o…of course." Hinata blinked and smiled.
"Well…I am Sakura, my likes are…" Sakura glanced at Sasuke and she giggled a little, "My dreams well…" she started giggling again. "Anyway, how about you?"
"Er…well…I am Hinata, I am the heiress to the Hyuuga clan and I…like…a b…boy and my dream is to…"
"A boy?" Sakura pounced on the common topic, "Is it Sasuke-kun?"
"Oh no," Hinata shook her head. "The boy I like is…full of courage and never gives up no matter what. He won't let anything hold him back from what he wants." Hinata smiled warmly as she thought of a certain blond-haired ninja.
"I wonder who that is." Sakura scowled, but didn't dwell on it, so long as Hinata knew that Sasuke-kun was hers, then everything else would be fine.
Naruto was walking by the academy when he saw several Genin with their new Jounin captains leaving. He felt envious, but stemmed such feelings immediately. He was no longer a ninja; he was a civilian and as such had no interest in the affairs of the ninja. He had already taken all of his money and possessions and got them all together. He had decided it would be best if he left this village behind, and moved on with his life. Hopefully there would be another village that would accept him.
"Watch it you little brat!" a villager hissed as Naruto accidentally bumped into him.
"Sorry," Naruto sighed.
"Why don't you just disappear?" The village snarled.
"I am planning to," Naruto responded coldly and walked away, leaving an ecstatic villager behind him.
Keeping his head down, Naruto quietly made his way out of the village, without drawing any suspicion to himself. The ANBU agent on duty watched him leave and went to inform the Hokage, but found a kunai lodged in his throat.
"There is no need to inform the Hokage," The assassin grinned. He too was wearing the ANBU uniform and was simply ecstatic that the demon child was leaving Konoha. He would buy the little boy time enough to get himself killed by some wild animal.
"So, you two have the pleasure of serving under me now," Kurenai Yuuhi, Jounin, surveyed her squad. The two Kunoichi looked up at her with a mixture of awe and fear.
"My name is Kurenai, and before you point out the obvious, I am aware that we are a team member short. The Chuunin we were supposed to receive has been…killed on his mission. As a result I sent out a request and we should receive our new team member in a matter of days. Before then I want us all to get to know each other a little better, that way we can become an effective team (in theory)." Kurenai kept the last bit to herself. "You can go first, Hinata Hyuuga."
"H…Hai Kurenai-sensei," Hinata bowed and began to introduce herself.
While she talked Kurenai noted her lack of confidence, and marked it down to her upbringing. When she finally finished stammering, Kurenai merely nodded and turned to the other girl, "And you Pinkie?"
"Hai, Kurenai Sensei," Sakura smiled and started to introduce herself, but burst into a fit of giggles at every pause.
'So…one shy girl lacking in confidence and one fan girl, and I have to turn them into fully fledged Kunoichis. This is going to be a long task…' "Well…now that we know each other a little better, it is time for a sort of…starter test. Meet me at training ground number…12."
"Hai!" Both girls nodded as their sensei disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
"We should get going," Sakura turned to her teammate who nodded and followed her.
Sasuke scowled. He had been stuck in the same room as Kiba now for several hours, and was starting to wonder if he could murder the idiot and get away with it. 'And to think I used to find Naruto annoying…'
"So me and Akamaru, we were like 'Who do you think you are!' and charged at him," Kiba continued telling the silent Shino and brooding Sasuke about how he and his pet dog had foiled a robbery some days ago.
Sasuke merely nodded, he had heard the real story, and how Kiba had practically wet himself. It was all Akamaru's doing, but the idiot was taking almost all the credit. Sasuke finally realised that Kiba was no replacement for Naruto; even Naruto would have found Kiba annoying.
"Sorry I'm late," A silver-haired Jounin walked into the room. He had most of his face covered but judging by the shape of his one showing eye, he was smiling.
"No worries!" Kiba grinned. "We were just getting to know each other!"
The Jounin looked around at the three Genin. 'Somehow I have a feeling only one person was doing the talking though…'
"So! What happens next? Me and Akamaru can't wait to kick some enemy nin but!" Kiba punched at the air, and got a bark from Akamaru, who awoke from his nap.
"That won't happen for some time," The Jounin looked thoughtful for a moment before saying, "My first impression of you all is…you are pathetic."
"WHAT?" Kiba yelled, reinforced by a growl from Akamaru. "Pathetic? Come over here and say that Cyclops!"
"Cyclops?" The Jounin shook his head. "Not exactly the best way to address your superior; Head to the roof now." The Jounin vanished in a swirl of leaves.
"Awesome! Let's do this!" Kiba charged onwards, rage forgotten.
"How irrational," Shino frowned, "To leap forwards with no concept of what his actions will lead to."
Sasuke didn't reply as he walked out of the classroom with Shino in tow. When they reached the roof top, Kiba was bouncing around, much like you would expect from the dog he carried. The dog however, merely sat and yawned, watching Kiba.
"You two took your time!" Kiba noted that his team mates had finally shown up.
"We were conserving our Chakra, it is highly logical that we are to be tested by our Jounin to ascertain the true limits of our capabilities." Shino frowned. He was a great believer in logic, but this team made no sense to him. He could see that he and Kiba were together due to their skill in scouting, but the addition of the Uchiha made no sense. He didn't seem to have any special abilities in the art of scouting. In his eyes, the Hyuuga heiress was a more logical addition, the Byakugan was a valuable addition to any scouting force, but even if the Uchiha awakened his Sharingan his use in a scout situation would be limited. The Sharingan was more of a combat ability.
"Smart," The Jounin nodded, "It is true I will be testing you."
"To see what missions we are capable off?" Kiba all but howled.
"No, to see if you are ready to be Genin, but before all that let's introduce ourselves shall we?"
"It would be logical for you to lead this exercise, as you are in fact the leader of the squad." Shino stated.
"Ah, yeah," The Jounin nodded, "The name is Hatake Kakashi. My likes are…not important, my dislikes, you don't need to know and my hobbies," here Kakashi giggled in a fashion very similar to Sakura before turning to Shino, "You're next."
"Understood," Shino nodded, "My name is Shino Aburame, I like collecting bugs and cataloguing new types. It is my dream to show the entire village just how useful bugs can be."
"Fair enough," Kakashi nodded, "And you?"
"Kiba," Kiba practically barked. "I like dogs and all that, but I can't stand cats! My dream is…"
"That's enough," Kakashi smiled, "I think I've got the general idea. And you?"
"Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke looked up at Kakashi, "I don't have any likes as such, and I dislike loud idiots and fan girls. My dream…is not such a dream as it is an ambition. My ambition is to revive my clan…and kill a certain person."
"WHAT? I swear I didn't mean to kiss you!" Kiba waved his arms widely in front of himself (A/N: Rather than Naruto, it was Kiba that accidentally kissed Sasuke in this version)
"Not you, dobe," Sasuke snarled, forced once again to remember the horror that was Kiba's kiss.
"Oh…" Kiba calmed down considerably.
'Great…' Kakashi thought to himself. 'A brooding avenger, a complete idiot and a logical thinking bug collector. What fun. And add to that one of them is the last Uchiha…I should have stayed in ANBU.'
Well…I hope you enjoyed and review if you want to!
-DazBoz
