Chapter 7: New Guy - New Team

"Are you ready for this? I almost couldn't sleep last night I was so excited for this," Naruto chattered, rubbing his hands together giddily. They sat on a log in the clearing of their old training grounds. "Chips?"

Sakura pushed the greasy barbecue snack away. "Come on, Naruto, shouldn't you be a little more sympathetic to Sasuke's case?"

They stared at each other for a moment.

"Oh, who am I kidding? Gimme those chips, this is gonna be good."

"Keep quiet over there." Sasuke called, scratching his head as he looked at the two kids sitting on the grass in front of him. Actually, one had a dog.

Wait a minute. Two kids.

Two kids.

Meaning one was missing. Unless that dog was supposed to count.

"Alright," he sighed, rubbing an eye with one hand, "Where's the other one."

A shaggy, auburn-haired boy stood up indignantly. He was adorned in a blue shirt and a navy colored vest, accompanied with black shorts and a wrapped left leg. "It's that stupid Manami! She's late for everything." He crossed his arms with a huff, his rusty-brown eyes glaring. His dog yipped in agreement.

"Oh yeah? And who might you be?" Sasuke groaned inwardly, already knowing this boy in particular would be a hassle.

"Inuzuka Teru!" he announced proudly, his chest jutting out. "And this is Hiyake." He ruffled the little dog's brown and tan fur.

Sasuke's brows raised. "Inuzuka?" he repeated, noticing the purple fang-like spikes on the side of the boy's cheeks. He should have connected it the moment he saw the dog.

"That's right. I think you know my cousin, Kiba!" The boy's face squinted in concentration. "I think he said something about you... Something like... wannabe cool-guy? No, no, hot-headed emo?" He shrugged.

Gritting his teeth and ignoring his yellow and pink-haired comrades' giggling, the Uchiha made a mental-note to blast Kiba in the ass with Chidori the next time he saw him.

Teru, also noticing Naruto and Sakura, walked up to them and jutted out his thumb. "Who're they, anyway? I thought you were our sensei," he said, staring pointedly at Sasuke.

Sakura waved her hands reassuringly. "Oh, no, no. We're just... observing. Right, Naruto?"

"Yup," the blonde grinned, leaning back against the log. "Won't even know we're here."

The brunette ignored this, choosing instead to stare at Sakura. "What's with your hair?" he asked, rudely pulling at a strand. "It's the weirdest color." He shuddered. "Pink. You're like a freak."

Suddenly, Sasuke was there, grabbing the boy's arm in a tight grip. "Let go," he said severely, gritting his teeth. Something about his comments on Sakura's hair just made him snap a little. Or maybe he was just already sick of the boy's attitude.

Sakura stood up quickly, nervously laughing. "Sasuke, it's okay, I really don't care! It's fine!"

He didn't let go. He glared at the mini-Inuzuka, making the boy gulp nervously. Hiyake growled, preparing to pounce on the person who dared offend his master.

"Sasuke," she repeated, speaking in a lower voice. She laid a hand on his shoulder.

Finally, he released the blue-shirted boy, who stumbled away quickly, rubbing his arm tenderly.

"Jeez," he mumbled, "Sorry, I didn't really mean it to be that bad."

The other boy, silent until now, stood up and walked over. He wore a white pair of pants and a white jacket, both seemingly too big on him, and his jacket was unzipped, revealing an emerald green t-shirt underneath. His pale skin was complimented by his spiked-up-in-the-front sandy-blonde hair. "You're in the wrong, Teru," he said calmly.

Damn it. Sasuke thought to himself. At this point, he was hoping the boy would be a mute.

"That's no way to treat a woman," the boy continued. He flashed a green-eyed smile in Sakura's direction. "I like the color of your hair, ma'am."

"Ma'am?" Sakura repeated, eyebrows raised. "I'm liking this one." She smacked her two comrades in the arms. "Why can't you two be more polite like him?" She offered a kind smile to the white-clad boy. "So, what's your name?"

"Kohaku Kin," he answered. "Nice to meet you." He politely shook her hand.

"Dude, Naruto muttered. "How the hell are we supposed to complete with that?"

Sasuke sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. "Whatever. Where the hell is the other one?"

"I'M HERE!" came a high-pitched yell from behind them. A streak of black and purple skidded to a halt in front of them. It was a girl, quite tiny, even for her age. "S-sorry... Sorry I'm late," she panted, hands on knees. She wore a sleeved black shirt that reached to the middle of arms paired with a dark purple skirt. Her shoes reached the top of her calves, and her long, wavy black hair hung down over her lower back, covering what Sasuke noticed to be a small string sack.

"Yeah, you should be, stupid," Teru grumbled. "We've been waiting for you for forever. What were you doing anyway?" Despite his owner's hostility, Hiyake's tail wagged as he looked at the girl, greeting her as a friend.

Violet eyes glared back at him. "I don't have to explain anything to you." She crossed her arms. "Idiot." She paused in the fight to give a quick head-scratch to the dog.

The amber-eyed boy fumed. "Ugly."

"Pig-nose."

"Dimwit."

"Moron."

Sakura poked Naruto in the side. "They kinda remind me of how you and Sasuke were," she whispered.

"Yeah," he replied. "But Sasuke's the girl, right?"

"Okay, okay, you guys," Kin said, walking over to diffuse the argument. "Let's not start fighting already. We're supposed to be a team now, remember? Team Four?"

Sasuke watched from a far, deciding just to let this play out for now. Two hot-heads, a dog, and a makeshift mediator, he thought.

"Kin!" the girl beamed, her personality changing faster than you could snap. "I'm so glad you're here! Sorry I was late."

"It's alright," he said, smiling easily in reply. "You didn't miss much."

Sasuke wasn't so deft as to miss the look of anger and, more surprisingly, jealousy coming from Teru's face as he glared at his new green-eyed comrade. He smirked. Maybe there's more to that boy than bad manners and anger after all.

"Okay," he clapped, getting their attention. He looked at the new arrival. "Teru tells me your name is... Manami? Right?"

"That's right!" she grinned cheekily. "I'm Ume Manami! And you must be Sasuke-sensei!"

He blinked. Sasuke-sensei. Nothing had ever sounded weirder. Inwardly shaking himself, he nodded. "That's right."

Manami peered behind him, noticing Sakura and Naruto just as Teru had. She squealed, pointing at Sakura. "Is that your girlfriend? She's so pretty! Did she come to support you today? That's so romantic!" She paused, looking at Naruto. "But who is he? Could he just be a friend of yours? Another supporter? Or is he secretly trying to win the heart of your girlfriend, right under your nose?" She squealed again. "Ohhh! It's just like a shoujo love triangle!"

The three of them stared at her in confusion. She had spoken way too fast for another to even react to what she was saying.

"Um," Sakura started. "I'm not his girlfriend."

"And I've already got a girlfriend!" Naruto piped in.

"Just friendly supporters," Sakura chucked awkwardly.

"Oh," the girl said, looking disappointed. She snapped back up with a mischievous grin. "But it could happen, couldn't it? You and Sasuke-sensei? You never kno-ow!" she sang.

Sakura blushed. "Uh, I-I think I know it won't happen."

Sasuke frowned inwardly. He could remember a time when Sakura would be squealing over this too, or blushing happily. Now she just looked uncomfortable. Did she give up on him? Not that it mattered.

"How come? Did he reject you? Why isn't sensei saying anything about this?"

He did reject her, didn't he? Even if it was a long time ago when he was leaving the village. And since then he hadn't even shown a hint of returning any feelings, it's only natural she'd give up on him now.

"That's enough." Sasuke's words cut through the conversation like a knife. He noticed Sakura's instant relief. "We're done with this. Come over here. We'll discuss your guys'... abilities or whatever you want to do."

The dark-haired girl shrugged. "Alrighty then."

As they walked away, Sakura put her hands to her face and groaned. "How embarrassing."

"Wow." Naruto said, gripping his bag of chips in awe.

"What?"

"That was even better than I expected."

A/N: GAHHH that's was hard. Tell me what you think of the new characters, I thrive on feedback! And thanks for all the support!

Interesting fact: All of the current known Inuzuka members are named after dog body parts while their nin-dogs are named after colors. For example, Kiba means "claw" and Akamaru means "red." So, I named the Inuzuka in this new group Teru, meaning "tail," and his dog Hiyake, meaning "tan." Just in case you wanted to know. The other two I just kinda winged. :)

... So yeah I tried pretty hard on this one. APPRECIATE ME. XD