Chapter 1
Eating together had always been a tradition in the Hatake household. Ever since Narumi could remember, her dad would always make sure to be home in time when it was possible to have dinner with her. They would then eat at the small dinner table together, sometimes talking about their day or sometimes enjoying the peaceful atmosphere. It gave them a little normality in their otherwise unpredictable lives. Kakashi was still on the active roster after all, and someone had to pay for the bills. His schedule wasn't always the most family-friendly, and he went on missions in irregular intervals.
Even if Kakashi was often gone, Narumi knew that he still loved her with all his heart. He gave her all his time when his was home to make up for the days without seeing her. Their family was weird, perhaps, but healthy and loving.
At a young age, Kakashi had taught his daughter basic shinobi skills like kunai-throwing, chakra control and some taijutsu. She has caught on pretty quickly, which was no surprise to him considering his own past and her mother's skill. She could have been a late bloomer like Sakura, but she took after her father for that one.
Another bittersweet discovery was that she was proficient at controlling her chakra. Narumi had climbed the tree as fast as her mother had without any trouble.
Even though she could be considered a genius, she rarely showed off her skill at the Academy and received rather average marks. She did not like to show off in front of the other students, so she kept everything she knew to herself. She thought that having average grades and skills would not make her stand out, and she was right.
The ever popular Uchiha twins were the first of the class with their amazing skill in every category. Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu… name it and they were already way better than all the other students. Takeshi and Akira Uchiha were usually snobbish and arrogant: they were the best and they knew it. They had a lot of admirers, but they would rudely tell them to go away every time they tried to approach them. Their father was the "traitor Uchiha Sakuke" as many people called him.
Narumi's dad had told her that Uchiha Sasuke had once been his student before deserting the village to pursue his own dreams of vengeance. He had come back when Narumi was four however, and had not been successful in his plans. His brother was still alive with the remaining Akatsuki. When Narumi had asked what the Akatsuki was, her father had looked at her with a grim expression and said nothing.
She didn't ask another time after that.
Her only friend was the troublesome, as Nara-san would call him, Boruto Uzumaki. He would play pranks all the time in hopes of getting his father's attention, the busy Rokudaime Hokage. He was good too, but not as good as the Uchihas. Their haughty comments always ticked him off and he had gotten a black eye once when he had tried to punch Takeshi after a rather rude remark directed towards Narumi. She had felt guilty after seeing her best friend's bruise, but he had assured her that everything was fine with one of his trademark smiles and thumbs up.
Every aspiring shinobi in her age group that had graduated the Academy were going to be assigned to a team of three tomorrow. They would then train with a jounin sensei and try to ascend the shinobi ranks.
Noticing that Narumi was playing with her soup rather than eating it, Kakashi spoke up.
"Thinking about life again, eh, Narumi-chan?"
Startled, Narumi looked up at her father. She had been in deep thought again.
"I'm a bit worried about tomorrow, that's all" She replied with a shrug.
"Don't worry about it, I'm sure everything will be fine." He told her with a smile. "After all, the worse that could happen would be if you were in a team with Sato-san's kid. He really isn't the brightest one in the bunch, is he? Maybe you'll even be paired up with Boruto if you're lucky." Her dad smiled at her. He didn't wear his mask at the table with her, only when they had guests did he put it on.
Yes, she thought, I really hope so. I wouldn't want to be stuck with a bunch of strangers.
She looked back down at her soup and wondered about her dad's own genin team. She knew his teammates were not alive anymore. She also knew that he paid his respects to them very often, like he did to mom. However, she had never really asked him about them.
Almost as if sensing what his daughter was about to say, Kakashi spoke. "How about we clean this up and get ready for tomorrow's big day, Narumi-chan?"
Agreeing, she stood up and helped her dad wash and dry the dishes. After that, they watched Narumi's favourite TV show together, Golden Kunais, a show about a kunoichi's many adventures. Kakashi watched it for the laughs and often pointed out the many inaccuracies of the show, but Narumi still enjoyed even if she knew that it did not really depict a shinobi's life. It was a show, after all!
It was late now, and she really needed to go to bed. She did not want her sensei to be unimpressed with her if she showed up half asleep and looking like she had just risen from the dead! After getting ready, she pecked her dad on the cheek and went upstairs. Peeking her head out of the door, she said "Goodnight dad, I love you."
Kakashi smiled. "Goodnight sweetheart, love you too."
With that, she went to bed and fell asleep, dreaming about her future team.
It was her alarm that woke her up the next morning. She quickly bolted out of bed, already choosing her outfit for the day. After getting dressed, she went downstairs to join her dad for breakfast.
She did not hear nor find him in the kitchen however. His weapon pouch was also absent from its designated place in his bedroom upstairs. He was gone on a mission, apparently. She went downstairs again to find a small note on the fridge that she had missed the first time.
"Sorry, sweetheart, something came up. Last-minute mission, probably will be gone for a few days, 7 tops. Sleep at Naruto's house. Love you, dad."
Putting the note back where it first was, Narumi walked to the cupboard to get some cereal. Her dad had only begun teaching her how to cook, and she did not want to burn the house down in one of her attempts at making scrambled eggs. She took out a box of Sugar Loops, her and her dad's favourite. As its name suggested, they were not the healthiest out there, but a hard-working shinobi could at least afford to eat some once in a while now, couldn't they?
She sat down at the table with her now milk and cereal filled bowl. She only had the time to eat half her bowl when she heard a loud knocking at the door. Smiling, she stood up to awnser, already knowing who was there.
"Open up the damn door, Narumi-chan, we're going to be late! Why do you have to be like your lazy dad at a day like this? OPEN UP!"
It was Boruto, like always, and he was exaggerating, really. School only started in 10 minutes and it was a… 20 minute walk from her house to there. Looks like they had to run to get there in time. Again.
Grabbing her bag, she opened the door and stepped outside. She and Boruto started running like they always did. She had not tied up her pink hair this morning, a rare occurrence. It was freely whipping in the wind as they ran towards the Academy.
"What's with the hairstyle, Narumi-chan? Trying to impress a boy?" Boruto said with as he pulled a face at her.
"…"
"I'm just joking, Narumi-chan! I know that you're too head over heels in love with me to even think about ARGH." He ran head-first into a post. Narumi continued running, sniggering.
"You have to catch up to me, Boruto-kun!" She said mockingly. He was the only one that could make her be this mischievous. "You wouldn't want to be late to school, wouldn't you?" With that, she took off even faster.
As she ran off, Boruto looked at her with a smile and stood up. "I'll get to you, Narumi-chan!"
Boruto arrived at the Academy shortly after her. She was not her playful self anymore however, and was sitting alone, waiting for him to arrive. When she saw him coming her way, she smiled at him.
"They're about to start, Boruto-kun, come take a seat."
He sat down next to her and looked around the class. There were only a few people missing from class today, the ones that had not graduated. The Uchiha twins sat together in the front row, looking as arrogant as ever, even going as far as sneering at another student sitting at the table to their left. The poor girl nearly started crying and went to sit at the back of the class.
Akira and Takeshi did not lose their time before looking at Boruto and Narumi, raising their eyebrows. "Well, did you see that? Useless and Air-Head passed after all." Everyone looked at them, no one daring to intervene.
"Shut up, baka! Don't ever insult Narumi-chan or I'll kick your ass." He said in all seriousness.
"You tried that the other time and it didn't really work out. Do you really want to try your luck again? She doesn't even have the guts to defend herself and lets you do all the dirty work for her."
"Please stop, Boruto-kun, it's alright." Quietly said Narumi. "You know they say things like these to everyone." That, they did, but Boruto was the only one who spoke back to them, defending both himself and his best friend.
Everyone was looking at them now, and Boruto knew that made Narumi uncomfortable. He sat back down, not looking back at the Uchihas who had already turned their backs to them. Narumi patted his back, wanting to calm him down.
"You know, Boruto, you don't have to let them rile you up all the time. You know they're not worth it."
"Stupid Uchihas and their conceited asses."
They both laughed loudly at that. The bell rang and their sensei came in the room with a stack of papers. Finally, the big announcement! Iruka-sensei sat down at his desk for a few moment. The class was dead silent. Even the twins had stopped talking, waiting for him to deliver the news.
After a few minutes, he finally stood up. Everyone was listening attentively to what he was about to say. Friends were holding hands, hoping to be put on the same team. Narumi was doing the same thing with Boruto, who was blushing slightly. She looked at him.
"Are you okay, Boruto-kun?" she whispered.
"Y-yes!" he gulped. She gave him a look and went back to looking at Iruka-sensei.
He began to announce the new genin teams. "Team One, Yamanaka Daisuke, Nara Aki and Akimichi Katsuo. As jounin sensei, Rock Lee." The three looked at each other with a worried look. Everyone knew how… unique the shinobi was.
"Team 7, Uzumaki Boruto…" Boruto and Narumi looked at each other, hoping that they would be would be put together. Time seemed like it was slowed down to them. "Rock Sayumi…" Tenten-san and Lee-san's daughter, Boruto thought. His parents were going to love hearing the news. They often came at parties at his home. "… and Hyuuga Kaito."
The rest was a blur to them. How could they possibly be separated? Everyone knew how close they were and how well they would have worked together. Narumi began to tear up, not wanting to know on whose team she was.
"Finally, last but not least, Team 9 composed of Uchiha Takeshi, Uchiha Akira and Hatake Narumi. As jounin sensei, Uchiha Sasuke." Everyone looked at each other. How could their father be their sensei? That had never happened before on any genin team. Narumi did not like how this was going at all.
"Please meet up outside with you team and your teachers will arrive shortly after. Thank you, students, and I hope you achieve your future goals. You are dismissed."
Everyone ran outside, some cheering, some already speaking to their new teammates. Two figures remained in the classroom however. The two looking extremely disappointed.
"It's not the end of the world right, Narumi-chan?" Boruto said "We'll still see each other every day even if we don't train together as often. Besides, you're sleeping at my house for a couple days." He gave her a smile, trying to be comforting.
"You're right, Boruto-kun… we'll still be best friends! At least you don't have to be stuck with the cold Uchihas." She said to him, feeling less down than earlier.
"That's more like it! Now hurry up, we'll be late!"
We say that now, but everyone knows how time consuming being a ninja is, Narumi thought grimly. With that sad thought in mind, she slowly walked outside to join her new team.