Author: Whew... I finally got someone up here... huh? HEY! GET OUT HERE!

Naruto: Alright, alright, I'm here, geez.

Author: Well you did tell the summary so you should've been up here since the prologue, but noooo, you wanted me to wait until we get to chapter 3.

Naruto: I had to get use to your kind of story before I start talking to you up here.

Author: Anyway, is there anything you want to say to the readers?

Naruto: Yeah, yeah, so are you readers enjoying the story so far? I know the story don't seem anything special right now, but it does get a lot better, but for now this is just telling you about MY OWN realityfor the time being.

Author: Don't give too much away and I think they got it from your little angry rant from the last chapter.

Naruto: Eh, sorry about that, I wasn't in the best of moods that time.

Author: Alright, we've ranted enough. Do the disclaimer.

Naruto: Why? It's not like they don't know you don't own me or anything in it. They have common sense you know.

Author: Still, better safe than sorry.

Chapter 3: Kakashi-Sensei

What a week… today's my last day as a 'normal' kid, come by tomorrow I'll be a shinobi. I should try one last prank since once I've become a Genin I won't have the time to do so, plus I don't want people thinking I'm a slacker (like Shikamaru).

As for my 'brilliant' prank I remembered the time when Konohamaru and I used our Transformation Jutsu to put Ebisu on the ropes that gives me the idea for this little scare.

I waited for my target to approach Ichiraku's. I have told Teuchi and his daughter Ayame about my little prank and they agreed to it since they're the few people who actually like me. Oh, he's coming, finally, time for the plan, I snickered.

I whispered 'Transform'.

Iruka-sensei walked in and said, "Hey Naru-? Y-you're?"

The look on his face was priceless. "So you must be the Iruka I've heard about teaching in the academy."

"F-Fourth Hokage? H-how? I thought you were dead!" I had to hold back my laughter and keep the straight face.

"Oh I am, you're the only one who can see me right now." I said calmly.

As if on cue Teuchi came up to Iruka-sensei and said, "Hey there, you want some ramen?"

"D-don't you s-see the Fourth Hokage right in f-front of you?" Iruka-sensei shook and pointed at me as I just smiled.

"Uh… no? Maybe you should get the doctors to check your eyes or something Iruka." he's in on it as I could see he's trying to fight back the grin.

"I told you; you're the only one who can see me." I said calmly.

"But why just me?"

"Iruka… how's the kid Naruto doing?"

Iruka-sensei's eyes widen and he said, "Well he's been great; he graduated and tomorrow he's going to be on a team and hopefully pass the Genin Exam."

There's a Genin Exam? I would ask this but if I did it would blow my cover.

"I see, you know you're a great man Iruka." I said with a smile. Now to make my dramatic exit and Iruka-sensei would believe he actually spoke to the Fourth Hokage.

"What do you plan on doing now?" I asked.

"Just continue to teach the younger generations I guess, but I am going to miss that knucklehead." he smiled fondly.

Knucklehead? Oh give me some credit man! Dog Boy's worse than I am, sheesh. "You've done well, Iruka, I hope you continue to do what you do best. And I'm sure Naruto will keep you updated on how he's doing." I said as I as I begun walking to the exit.

"Wait! I have so many questions to ask you Fourth Hokage!"

"I'm afraid I can't stay anymore Iruka, but just know you are one of my most precious people." I said dramatically as I walked out of Ichiraku's.

"Wait!" I quickly dispelled the transformation just in time before Iruka-sensei flew out and almost ran me over!

"Whoa Iruka-sensei, you almost knocked me down." I whined, mostly to avoid suspicions.

"Naruto… I just saw… I mean you… he… do you want to eat?" Iruka-sensei blushed as he pointed at Ichiraku's as I grinned; mission accomplished and he'll never know it was me.

"Sure I was on my way here for ramen anyway."

So the two of us sat and ate, boy do I love ramen.

"So tomorrow's the big day I hope you're ready Naruto." Iruka-sensei said the smile never leaving his face.

"Yeah, me too. I'm a little nervous, especially now that I'll be permanently removing my goggles and wearing the headband you gave me." I said with a fond grin towards my sensei.

"It's like a big step towards your goal isn't it?"

"Sure is, once I become a shinobi a lot of things are going to change, but I'll be ready for them." but what worries me is the fact that we will be assigned to teams, will I be partnered up with Hinata and Kiba or two other people? If I'm not partnered up with them then we may not be able to see each other as much anymore.

"Try not to be too depressed if things change too much, okay?" Iruka-sensei said patting my back to reassure me.

"That doesn't sound too reassuring." I sighed.

"Hey, you'll do fine."

So that night as I lay in my bed I kept thinking about who my team will be tomorrow. I couldn't sleep at all as I stared at the ceiling thinking about all my times with Hinata, Kiba, Akamaru and sometimes Sasuke, I guess it wouldn't be too bad to be paired up with him unless a fan girl like Ino or Sakura is with us, then I'd be screwed.

Hmm… oh I almost forgot I've been hanging out with Shikamaru lately or rather he's been teaching me some things lately though I don't know why he's doing it.

Just a few days ago he actually invited me to his house to teach me a game called 'shogi'. I was terrible at it as I lost to him after about two in half hours, but Shikamaru told me that was the longest anyone's lasted against him (other than his dad who could actually beat him). Shikamaru also told me it was 'troublesome' that I act like a loudmouth idiot but was really a smart guy… not sure if I should take that as a compliment.

Well… nothing good will come of it if I just stay awake all night and be too tired to even greet my new sensei tomorrow. So I closed my eyes and tried to relax and sleep… eventually my body finally succumbed to slumber.

*The next morning*

Oh man, I better get ready for the big day, the day I finally get to be a shinobi. I brushed my teeth and ate breakfast… wait a minute… this milk is spoiled! Whew, glad I saw that before I drank it or I'd be going on a trip to the bathroom all day.

Now despite a lot of people's belief I don't always eat ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thanks to Hinata (yet again she's like the mother) I've been eating healthier, she would often bring me and Kiba and even Akamaru some great food, though I could go without those yucky veggies. So I've been eating miso soup instead of ramen this time.

Alright, breakfast out of the way, changed into my clothes and orange jacket and now for the headband… oh this feels great! I look good with it on. Look out world, here comes NARUTO UZUMAKI! I jumped from my window towards the academy, that's where I'll meet my new Jounin sensei, I can hardly wait.

Now yesterday I've done some research on some of the Jounins, mostly I studied them from the Bingo Book Old Man Hokage allowed me to see. Now there was one who caught my attention, but I'll explain him when I get there.

Come to think of it… I haven't seen Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru since we left the academy, we were so busy getting prepared for graduation that we didn't have time to contact with each other, especially poor Hinata and her strict father. So they didn't know I've graduated… boy aren't they in for a surprise when they see me there today.

"OUTTA THE WAY INO-PIG!"

"IN YOUR DREAMS FOREHEAD! SASKUE IS MINE!"

I stopped on a roof top when I heard two loud girls screaming at each other. Oh-no… two of the biggest and LOUDEST of the Sasuke Fan Club: Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno. I use to have a small crush on Sakura, but after getting slapped, punched, screamed at and abused I just decided it's not worth it.

Looks like they're racing each other towards the academy, as if deciding the winner would sit next to Sasuke or something, can't they see the guy really couldn't care less about them or any of the girls? Life of a fan girl… not one I would ever want to explore. They're blind to everyone and everything around them except for the source of their obsession.

I made it to the academy… huh, I guess I beat both Ino and Sakura here, roof jumping is a lot faster than just running.

I sighed as I just sat in a random chair and waited for Iruka-sensei to arrive.

"N-Naruto?" Hm? Oh it's Hinata, she's here.

"Hey Hinata!" I waved happily.

"You're here, did you… graduate?" she asked shyly.

"You bet!"

"Wow, how did you do it?" Kiba and Akamaru are here too, good I can tell them.

I told them about the incident with Mizuki and Iruka-sensei and how I learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu from the Scroll of Sealing and even Mizuki's lie about the Nine-Tails Fox.

"Wow sounds like a lot happened to ya." Kiba grinned.

"But um… do you think it was true about the Nine-Tails?" Hinata asked.

"Arf?" Akamaru cocked his head.

"No way, a giant monstrous fox inside of a human is absurd. I'd be dead if that were true." I said.

"I have to agree; I mean did you read about the destruction that fox can do with just a simple swipe of one of its tail? Imagine it actually inside of knuckleheaded Naruto here." Kiba chuckled.

"Oh shut it Dog Boy." I chuckled back.

"I BEAT YOU AND YOU KNOW IT!"

Oh boy… looks like the two harpies are here.

"Sasuke! You're in luck: Sakura Haruno will be sitting with you." Sakura announced as she rushed over to where I was.

"Uh Naruto you might want to move to another desk." Hinata pointed behind me.

Aw great! Sasuke himself is sitting next to me! I guess I didn't pay any attention to him, better move before…

"Hey Naruto! Get out of my way!" BLURGH! Sakura… can really run over a person worse than a stampede when it comes to Sasuke.

"You okay Naruto?" Dog Boy was trying to hold back a laughter, good to know I have such 'great' friends.

"If I get paired with those two I'm going to die before we go on any missions!" I yelled as I rubbed my abused head.

"Okay everyone sit down!" oh I'm saved; Iruka-sensei came.

I wanted to sit with Hinata and Kiba, but they didn't know I was going to be here so they didn't have any empty seats, so I was stuck here with a fan girl and a guy with an attitude.

"Today you are no longer simple academy students, from this point on you are all full fledged ninjas. You will meet your Jounin instructors by this afternoon. Do as they say and always follow their orders, for you are the future generations of the Leaf Village. You will be paired up into three teams each, I will call out the names for each team."

"A team? They're going to slow me down." I heard Sasuke grumbled.

"Don't be like that Sasuke, nobody can do everything on their own." I said to him as Sakura, whose in-between us, glared at me.

"You shut up dork!"

I sighed as I just stayed quiet to avoid physical violence from the pink haired girl and waited for Iruka-sensei to announce the teams. It wasn't until he got to Team 7 did I finally hear my name.

"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki," I gulped, this is it, who are my other two teammates? "Hinata Hyuuga and Kiba Inuzuka."

If I could hug that man right now I would. I've been put on the same team with my best friends!

I looked over to them and gave them the thumps up. Hinata blushed as she smiled shyly and because I know her that means 'I'm so happy but too shy to show it'. Kiba on the other hand had no quarrels with showing it, "WHOO-HOO! WE'RE THE ULTIMATE TEAM!" Akamaru was no better as the pup howled.

"Okay settle down Kiba so I can finish announcing the rest of the team." Iruka-sensei said tiredly and Dog Boy sat down still grinning.

"Team 8: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno and Shino Aburame."

"YES! TRUE LOVE CONQUERS ALL!" Sakura was way TOO happy about this as she rubbed it in Ino's face.

I missed out what he said on Team 9 since I was too focused on them until he announced Team 10. "Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara and Chouji Akamichi."

Of course! I've heard of the Ino-Shika-Cho combination from their fathers, so of course they'll be put in the same team together.

"Now around noon you will wait for your Jounin instructors, until then go out and enjoy some lunch. You're dismiss." Iruka-sensei announced.

Outside in the nice and sunny park, Hinata had laid out a big picnic feast for us. "This is awesome! We're put on the same team and we even get a big feast to celebrate." Kiba shouted happily.

"I figured I should pack a lot of food so the three of us could enjoy it once we made Genin. I'm just so happy that Naruto is here too." She smiled and blushed.

"Thanks so much Hinata." I smiled back.

"Arf." Akamaru barked and pointed at Sasuke running away from Sakura who was trying to call for him.

"Sasuke! Where are you? I thought since we're on the same team we could eat together and get to know each other."

"Geez, what do girls see in that guy? He always ditches and ignores them, but whenever we try talking to them we get punched in the face." Kiba growled annoyed.

"Boy am I glad you're not like the rest of them Hinata, but I am curious as to why you're the only girl who's not head over heels for the 'genius' kid?" I asked curiously. I know Hinata is the shy and timid type but I still couldn't figure out what made her immune to the 'Saskue charm' that usually works on all the girls.

"Uh well… it might be because I… found someone I really like." She said so softly that I almost missed it. I'm surprised… she has a crush on someone else and she never told me or Kiba who?

"Oh really? Then who is it and why don't we know about it? We always told everything to each other." Kiba whined and asked her.

"Yeah who is it? It might be someone we know." I asked her just as curious as Dog Boy.

Hinata began blushing heavily as her face looked like a cherry… is that even possible? It's not healthy… "I-I… d-don't know… w-what t-to s-say." Uh-oh, she's stuttering again… that means she's uncomfortable sharing it.

"It's not that bad just tell me the guy's name." Kiba prompt.

I sighed as I smacked Kiba upside the head. "Ow! Why'd you do that for?"

"Can it Dog Boy! Can't you see Hinata's stuttering? Whoever she likes is none of our business." I snapped.

"Bah, whatever, but admit it; you're just dying to find out who this guy is too Naruto." Kiba smirked at me and Akamaru nodded.

I just glared at the both of them but when I looked at Hinata I could've sworn her eyes were looking very… longing at me but it was only for a split second because she looked down the moment she caught my eyes… maybe I'm just imagining it.

"You don't have to worry about it Hinata, let's just enjoy our lunch and get back to the classroom and wait for our new Jounin sensei." I said gently to her.

*Three hours later*

"WHERE IS THE BUM? All the other students already met and left with THEIR new Jounin sensei, even Iruka-sensei left and we're still waiting for OURS!" Kiba shouted angrily as Akamaru howled along with him.

"Cool it Dog Boy you're making my ears bleed." I snapped… yeah I was getting irritated myself, but I wasn't bored or anything because I was reading a book I've brought with me. I figured our Jounin sensei would be Kakashi Hakate and I've read about him in the Bingo Book and he's infamous for being very late to appointments unless it's urgent.

"Maybe he forgot about coming here today." Hinata suggested, in her own way she's pretty ticked too, I mean it's been two freaking HOURS since everybody including Iruka-sensei left and he's still not here!

"You know what? This guy needs to be taught a lesson." Kiba picked up an eraser and put it between the door so if it opens it will fall on that unsuspecting person's head.

"Dog Boy what are you doing? I'd rather make a good first impression on our sensei unlike you." I snapped.

"Oh don't give me THAT Naruto! You're thinking of pulling a prank on him yourself!" he pointed accusingly at me… which I couldn't deny since I was thinking the same thing.

I looked up from my book, at the eraser and the door… the prank was too… lame for that two-hour late Jounin. Well there wasn't much time to use a more complex plan right now because at that moment the late Jounin finally walked through the door and let the eraser fall on his silver hair.

This of course had Kiba and Akamaru burst out laughing, but Hinata and I were nervous that we just angered a Jounin shinobi.

Kakashi looked a lot lazier in person as he just bends over and picked up the eraser. "Hmm… well my first impression on you guys is that you're all idiots."

"Way to go Dog Boy you just gave us a horrible first impression." I snapped.

"Aw shut up Naruto!"

"Ugh… I knew I should've just gone with the Uchiha kid." that little comment made both Kiba's and my ears twitch.

"YOU DON'T NEED THAT SNOB!" both of us yelled so loud it actually shook the room… yeah neither Kiba nor I like prodigies very much.

Hinata remained quiet and face very red… I guess we really embarrassed her, now I feel bad.

"If you're done trying to scream my ear off, meet me on the roof and we can begin." he said as he disappeared in a puff of smoke… that's pretty cool.

"Sorry we embarrassed you like that Hinata… I guess we're both pretty short tempered." I apologized to the still red faced Hinata.

I guess Kiba and Akamaru finally realized Hinata's state. "Uh… are you going to be okay, Hinata? You don't look so good."

Hinata just shook her head and tried to calm her cherry face. "U-uh… w-we should h-hurry t-to the r-roof." Oh great, now she's stuttering, well I hope she feels better by the time we reach the roof and officially meet our sensei.

When we made it to the roof we sat down. Hinata was in the middle, I was on the right side, Kiba was on the left with Akamaru sitting on his lap.

"Okay, now that we're all here it's time for the introductions. Tell us your names, your likes and dislikes, hobbies and dreams for the future, you know common things like that." he told us.

"Why don't you go first then sensei? Don't the teachers usually show us an example or something?" Kiba said and Akamaru barked in agreement. Both Hinata and I remained silent thinking the same thing but didn't want him thinking we're stupid again.

"Me? Well… my name is Kakashi Hakate. My dreams for the future… haven't really thought about it. My likes and dislikes… well I have a lot of hobbies." was all he answered.

"Geez Kakashi-sensei all you told us was your name." I grumbled, though I knew more about him like how he earned the name; the Copy Ninja the man who copied a thousand Jutsus with his Sharingan hidden behind his headband.

"Well now it's your turn big yellow spiky hair." he pointed at me.

Big yellow spiky hair… Kakashi-sensei can be really annoying. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, training and reading. I dislike people who judge others without getting to know them first and traitors… and snobs. My hobbies are learning what I can by either through books or just observing. Finally my dream for the future is to become the greatest Hokage in the village, to protect others." I announced before finishing with a smile. The acknowledgment is just a bonus in my opinion, really I like being able to help protect my home and my precious people, even those who hate me.

I don't know what Kakashi-sensei is thinking but he seems to be eyeing me as if with interest before looking at Kiba and the small white puppy on his lap.

"Okay now it's your turn Dog Boy."

"HEY! Only Naruto can call me that!" Kiba snapped before continuing, "Well anyway I like running around with Akamaru and playing pranks along with my buddy Naruto and eating lunch together with both Naruto and Hinata, she makes the best meals." I saw Hinata blush before Dog Boy continued. "I dislike stuck up snobs like a certain Uchiha and how everyone is treating my friend like he doesn't deserve to live. My hobbies are training and running with Akamaru. My dream for the future is to show the world that the Inuzuka Clan is the greatest among the village."

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that many people look down on the Inuzuka Clan because of how animalistic they are and how they always partner up with dogs wherever they go.

"Okay, and now the lady with the white eyes, you're up." Kakashi-sensei looked at Hinata.

Hinata blushed and looked down. "Y-yes…"

"Come on, don't be scared it's just us and one new sensei." I spoke softly trying to encourage her.

Hinata smiled and nodded to me. I don't know why but I always seem to cheer her up, that's good at least.

"My name is Hinata Hyuuga. I dislike arguing and fighting among friends and comrades and my… insecurities. I like training and talking with my friends; Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru. My hobby is helping my friends and my dream for the future…" she stopped and blushed heavily… now I'm curious, she won't speak up on her dream for the future.

"What is it?" both Dog Boy and I asked just dying to know.

Hinata's face turned red again and started to sweat and when she looked at me she actually fainted! I quickly caught her.

"Hinata!" oh man… she hasn't fainted like this since we were only five, what's up with her?

Hinata quickly opened her eyes and started apologizing like crazy. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Okay, that's enough." Kakashi-sensei spoke up in that lazy voice as we all turned to him.

"Now that we've gotten to know each other it's time to tell you guys something that you're not going to like." Kakashi-sensei said suddenly and began looking evil… I don't like that.

"What is it?" Kiba demanded.

"Oh nothing… just that if you don't pass the little test tomorrow you'll be sent back to the academy." he announced.

"WHAT? YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" all three of us, even Hinata, shouted in disbelief while Akamaru barked loudly agreeing with us.

"Oh but I am. There are 29 students that graduated the academy, do you really think all of them will become new Genins so easily? The test is to weed out the weak links that doesn't deserve to be called ninja and only nine will become the new Genin, which means you have about 66% if not lower of passing." Kakashi-sensei warned us.

"Well that's just… what do we have to do?" I asked already feeling a headache forming.

"I'll explain it tomorrow, just know that you should bring all your ninja tools including kunais and shurikens. Oh and don't eat breakfast either because you'll just throw it all up. Well, see ya tomorrow." Kakashi-sensei waved before poofing away again.

"Well that's just fantastic! We have to do another freaking exam before we can really call ourselves ninjas." Kiba grumbled and Akamaru growled nodding his head.

"After all that hard work and almost failing… I can't go back to the academy after all this time." I sighed as I rubbed my head… yeah now my headache is eating me.

"Let's not lose hope I'm sure if we work together we can pass tomorrow, but we can't get too negative." Hinata said trying to encourage us. I looked back at her and smiled.

"You're right Hinata I'm sure we can pass tomorrow we just have to keep our heads." I thanked her.

*Dream*

I wake up in a fox's body. I was small, golden yellow and I have no idea where I am.

It looks like I'm on a beach or something. Wait, I see someone… a red orange fox and he's heading for me. Wait, this fox doesn't seem hostile, in fact it looks happy to see me and what gets me is that he has nine tails.

"I believe it's almost time." he said to me.

"Do you think we'll ever see each other again, Kurama?" I asked without my own will, it's as if my body and mouth had a will of its own.

"Of course we will. That's a promise." the fox apparently named Kurama smiled and I felt myself doing the same.

Suddenly I found myself back in the sewers in front of that massive cage again. This… isn't a dream anymore, is it?

"So you've come back." that giant fox said as he grinned sinisterly at me… it's downright creepy.

At least he's not trying to pull me into the cage again. "What is it with you and dragging me in here? Where is this anyway?"

"…" now he's ignoring me?

"ANSWER ME!" I can't believe I actually shouted at the Nine Tailed Fox like that, but the frustration was getting to me.

"Why should I answer a question you already know yourself?"

"What?"

"Don't play dumb; you know perfectly well where you are and why I'm in this accursed cage. You're just too much of a coward to admit it to yourself."

"Oh so now you're playing mind games with me, is that it? Whatever, I'm outta here because I need to pass this test to become a real ninja."

"Do whatever you like, but you can't deny my existence forever, boy." that was the same thing he said the last time I came in here.

But… how do I get out of this sewer? Did someone throw me in here or… well what do I do just close my eyes or something?

"I'm not denying anything." I snapped back.

The colossal multi-tailed fox just gave me a creepy grin, "Lying to yourself is not good for your sanity boy, I suggest you learn to accept your fate."

"I would if I believed in 'fate'." I said boldly… what's with me?

"We'll just have to see then. Now why are you still here? You're going to be late for your little ninja exam."

"I just wake up in some sewer with a giant cage trapping an oversized bunny-eared fox! HOW DO I EVEN GET BACK HOME?"

You'd think something like that would anger the Tailed Beast, but no he seemed… rather amused for some reason. "Well to get out of here you just have to concentrate on the real world. It's not that hard considering this is your…"

I didn't allow him to finish that sentence, "Yeah, yeah, maybe I can teleport whenever I'm down here." I sighed as I did just that and opened my eyes to see the ceiling in my apartment.

*End dream*

I looked out the window to see the sun was just peaking through the horizon as dawn approaches.

Author: So next chapter we will be doing the bell test, fun isn't it?

Naruto: That depends on your definition of 'fun'.

Author: Oh don't be such a joy killer Naruto, what ever happened to your 'I will be Hokage and I will never give up!' attitude?

Naruto: Excuse me, I'm not THAT Naruto, I'm the more 'calm and thinker' Naruto, remember?

Author: Still doesn't give you the excuse to be so negative.

Naruto: And what's with the fox being so chatty with me?

Author: Maybe he's lonely, hundreds of years of being locked up in isolation isn't exactly easy, he probably wants someone to talk to.

Naruto: Somehow I doubt that's the reason.

Author: Well we'll just have to see, won't we? Until next time everybody... *both of us poofs out of existence*