Okay! Hiatus is officially over! Sadly i only get to update two stories today. Kinds funny; i come home from college and everyone has a two hour time limit on the computer...well, at least when their just messing around on the thing. :( Oh well, i'll still get these chapters done, even if they're a little shorter than i want them to be. I was up to averaging about 4k words a chapter, but it's down a bit with my new ones. Please forgive me!
Anyways, dislcaimer, yadda yadda, enjoy the new chapters!
"Alright," Naruto said, leaning over his desk, "who do we have available to be sensei's this year?" Shikamaru looked down the lists. "Well, let's see…we have most of the Rookie nine," he said, "except for Sasuke, of course, you and me, and also Choji. He's a little busy with a high level escort mission. He'll be gone for another few weeks. Not good timing. Oh, and Sai has a team right now as well." Naruto laughed.
"Shikamaru, we both knew those already! Who else?" Shikamaru sighed. He'd hoped he didn't have to go down the list. What a drag…
"Neji said he doesn't want a team for now. He's busy trying to get married and off on the honeymoon. Took him long enough," Shikamaru mumbled and Naruto grinned, of course. They both knew how Neji was with 'being emotional'. "Ten-ten is the same, of course, since she's been trying to get him to propose for years now. Lee… is available, but as always, he's a little crazy."
"Didn't stop the old man from making Gai a sensei," Naruto pointed out. Shikamaru grunted, going over a few more names before getting to some old friends again.
"Then of course we have a few older Shinobi, like Kakashi-sensei and Kurenai-sensei. While normally, I would say that they wouldn't want to be sensei's and instead just enjoy a nice quiet retirement, this year might be different…"
"But I don't want them to be teaching just now," Naruto said, his face now serious. "Their kids need something else, don't you think?" Shikamaru grunted. He knew very well about Shika, and Naruto wasn't as dense as he used to be, especially since he used Sage mode to train just a little outside the village. He could sense everyone in the village, and he knew about Shika's dark aura, even if he didn't know what caused it.
"Well, that's it then. Now it just comes down to who we think will actually pass, and matching them up with the right senseis."
"Wait, just a second." Naruto stood up, walking quietly to a spot off to the side of the room. He stood there for a second, then jumped up and kicked a spot. Out came tumbling what would have been a dignified Anbu member… except he'd been sneaking around like a little kid again.
"Ow boss! What was that for?" Naruto sighed, smiling a little.
"Konohamaru, did you really think I wouldn't know you were hiding there, trying to figure out if I'd make you a sensei?" The younger man jumped with the same energy that Naruto had always had.
"Yeah, well, if I'm gonna be hokage one day, then I need to catch up to you, and how can I do that without being a sensei!" Naruto smiled at his younger rival.
"Well, fortunately for you, I already decided on someone that I wanted you to teach." Konohamaru looked up eagerly.
"Say what boss? You've got someone for me to teach?" Naruto nodded.
"Yes; I just need to figure out his team mates now, so you go and make arrangements to tie up any loose ends you may have from being in Anbu. You got that?"
"Sure thing boss," Konohamaru shouted as he saluted before rushing out of the room, whooping with excitement. Shikamaru looked over at Naruto curiously.
"Already got someone in mind," he questioned. Naruto walked to his seat and leaned back in it.
"Yeah, I decided on that one as soon as I passed this kid for graduation. They'll be perfect for each other! I just need to decide on who his teammates are now." Shikamaru shrugged.
"Alright then. We'd better get on with this if that's the case, even though it's gonna be a real drag." Naruto nodded, and they got back to work.
"So, let's see," Naruto said some time later. "We've got most of them taken care of, now we just need to take care of these nine, our best guesses for the new rookies."
"Though I still don't think Shibi's as ready as you say," Shikamaru said.
"Hey, you're family. You have to be biased, whether it's for or against." Shikamaru sighed. "Anyways, I want him to be with Konohamaru. They've both got some spasticness in them, and Konohamaru needed to learn to slow down, too, when he was that young. I did it for him, and maybe he can do it for Shibi. However, even Konohamaru is a little too spastic. Who do you think will balance them out?" Shikamaru looked over the list.
"I'd keep him and from being on the same team as his sister, Shiba. She'd only keep her attitude of his idiocy and talk down to him all the time, hindering all the progress he's made, according to you. He'll try and speed up again. However, That Hyuuga kid, Hisame, he's a bit of a stoic kid. It'll be a good balance to them, without going overboard on the seriousness.
"Then I'd also suggest Inuzuka Kashike. She's a good kid, somewhere between the middle, keeping either side from being too crazy. Meanwhile, we'll have someone with brute power, Inuzuka, someone with a level head, Hyuuga, and Shibi is actually fairly good with strategy and stealth, despite his impatience. Not really much in terms of long range, but they'll do." Naruto nodded.
"Okay, sounds good. After all, with a Hyuuga like Hisame, they should be able to get close enough, and once Shibi really starts getting the hang of your clans shadow techniques, they'll be able to handle more of the long range. Shall we move onto his sister then?" Shikamaru nodded.
"I know who I don't want on that team," he said, Naruto nodding in understanding.
"Yes, I understand. She's a bit too serious for her own good, and takes her intelligence as a little too much of a reason to think down on others. She assumes a certain degree of superiority." He grimaced. "No sense of humor, either." He looked over the list, sighing. "Sadly, I'd say that the best match here will include her friend Touji Kaori. That girl's almost as dour as she is! However, they have good teamwork for mid-distance and close range combat. Each one knows how to tag in for the other so they can take a break. So, who do we put as their teammate?" Shikamaru thought for a moment.
"Well, while they do work well together, they don't have much power, and only a little endurance because they rely so much on their tag teaming. I'd say that Topha girl, Shizuki. She's a tough girl. Possesses strong taijutsu with a lot of endurance. She should be able to take anything that the other two can't until they learn better." The two men looked at each other and smirked.
"I also hear she's a rather merciless sparring partner," Naruto commented.
"Yup," Shikamaru nodded. "She'll have their endurance up in just a little while." Naruto flat out laughed.
"Haahaa! Yes, yes she will!" After a moment he calmed himself down. "Okay, sorry about that. Um… let's see… who do we pick as a sensei here?" They both mulled over that one for a little bit.
"What about Lee?" asked Shikamaru. "His…energy might balance out the two girls. I mean, even Topha's a bit serious, even if it's not as much as the other two." Naruto shook his head.
"No, I've got something else in mid for him." Shikamaru quirked an eyebrow.
"Hmm. Good thing I was only joking then. I think you took that seriously. " Shikamaru looked at Naruto for a moment. "So, what special assignment does Lee have?" Naruto waved a hand lazily.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'll tell you in a bit." He paused. "You know… I think that maybe…" He rifled through his desk for a moment. "Ah, here it is," he said, pulling out a file. He blew a bit of dust off of it.
"Naruto, what in the world is that?" Naruto explained as he opened the file.
"Well, you see, over the years, we've accumulated a few other members of the village, some of them that actually have a bit of shinobi training. In this case, this friend of mine knows quite a bit of water jutsu, but more importantly, she's a girl that knows what it's like to have a loner's attitude, and what it takes to change people." He tossed over the file. "Isaribi, is her name, and she's a good friend. Another bonus: because she focuses in water jutsu, she can be the long range of the group, if they need it." Shikamaru looked over her file.
"Naruto… it doesn't look like she's actually a shinobi at all… can we trust her with this?" Naruto smiled.
"She's done a fair bit of training, don't worry. She has a good grasp of the basics, which really is what we look for most for training our genin anyways, right?" The other man sighed.
"Yes, of course, but still, I'm not sure it's such a good idea, Naruto. We need someone with more skill!"
"No, what we need is someone who can teach them the things they need to know. It doesn't really matter their skill level, even if that is what we usually use to choose teachers. I mean, look at Iruka sensei! He was chuunin level for years, but one of the best teachers Konoha has ever had. You get my point, Shikamaru?" The man looked somewhat perturbed, but finally shrugged.
"It'd be too troublesome to make you change your mind," he muttered, "so I guess I'll go with it." Naruto smirked.
"Yeah, people seem to have a lot of trouble making me change my mind," he replied. He looked down at the list of genin remaining. "So, I guess we have our last team," he said, "along with their teacher."
"Yes of cour-wait… along with their teacher?" Naruto's smirk had yet to leave his face as he waited for the genius to catch up. Sure enough in a couple of seconds the man's eyes opened widely. "No… no way! Surely not even you could be that cruel! I mean, come on! I was thinking of a worst case scenario here, but this? No way!"
"Oh yes way," Naruto replied. "Yes way."
.
.
.
The next day at the academy was a tense one to start with, just as it is every year for new academy graduates as they wait for their Sensei's. Hardly anyone was really talking, being a bit nervous. Shibi and Akashi were talking, though, just a little bit. Akashi was congratulating Shibi on his graduating while Shibi kept making little jokes and trying not to bounce his legs at a hundred miles an hour in his nervousness, and occasionally glanced over at one of the girls in the class.
Shika just leaned back in her seat. She was looking forward to getting out on missions. She didn't want to have to keep up her face too much, and it had been getting tiring in the academy. Now, though, now she wouldn't have to do it as much. She wouldn't have to pretend to be happy all the time. They would be doing serious ninja stuff, and under the guise of concentration, she could drop her mask. She opened her eye suddenly as she felt someone next to her desk. It was that Nara kid, Shibi. He was smiling a little nervously.
"Hey, how ya doing Shika?" She quirked an eyebrow. She well knew that he was about the worst in the class. No, he was the worst. She couldn't hardly believe that the kid had passed, he was so weak and useless. She just shrugged and he chuckled. "Well, anyways, I just wanted to say congrats and um, well, I hope I can be on your team," he said hopefully. She couldn't help herself. She snorted.
"Why the heck would anyone want to be on a team with someone as weak as you," she asked, a little of her underlying coldness in her voice. He looked a little taken a back, but he kept going.
"Yeah, I'm not the best by any means..."
"No kidding," she muttered. Shibi blushed as he continued.
"But I'm not gonna give up! I know what I was doing wrong now, and I'm not gonna stop getting better!" Shika let her chair fall down so all four legs were touching the ground.
"Listen, I don't what you're trying to do, but once we're outta here, I'm not gonna let all you losers keep me down," she said quietly. "Now get away from me and hide in your corner with your loser friend Akashi. It's a wonder either of you goofballs graduated." Something flashed in Shibi's eyes, but all he did was smile.
"Just wait," he said. "One day, one day I'm gonna make sure you acknowledge me, and then you'll see I'm not a weak loser! Just wait," he said, and he walked away. Shika watched him for a moment, and her face lost its mask. She looked after him with a look of almost bored anger. She'd been feeling this anger for so long that on a normal person it would just look like exasperation, but anyone could feel the hate and anger that was come off of her. However, before anyone could try and fid the source of the hate, she was back to her reclining. No one even had a clue, except Shibi, of course. Akashi was too busy burying his head in his arms.
"Oh come on! You get a crush, and it has to be her?" Shibi just shrugged as he sat down in his seat again. "Come on, Shibi, she's the most annoying person I've ever seen! She even painted on the Hokage faces the other week, remember?"
"So did Hokage-sama when he was our age," Shibi pointed out. Akashi slapped his forehead.
"Ah, look, she didn't even care when you went over! Doesn't that tell you that you need to stop wasting your time on her?" Shibi looked over at the girl again, thinking.
"Actually, she just gave me more reason. She's… not what we think she is," he said.
"Whatever," his friend said. "I just hope I don't get put on her team. That would suck beyond al belief."
"For you. Personally, I don't think I want to be on her team right now either, maybe; then I can grow without her knowing, and then show her how I've changed, and then if you were on her team," he said, grinning as Akashi groaned at the thought, "then you could tell me what she'd done and then I can stand a chance of beating her after all!"
After that, everyone just waited for Iruka to come in. A couple of students were there that had repeated, and they were the only ones that weren't excited. They knew what was coming, at least, but they'd promised not to tell anyone. They figured they'd probably be back soon, anyways, but no reason to give the other kids a heads up before them. After a little while longer of waiting, not only Iruka but also the Hokage, Naruto, came in.
"Well, everyone, it's good to see you again," the blond said. "It seems like just a little while ago that I was in this room with my friends, becoming genin and getting ready to be real shinobi. So, I just wanted to give you all my congratulations, and of course to announce the teams." He held out his hand to Iruka who gave him the folder with the assignments him and Shikamaru had worked on. Iruka took a moment to speak.
"Now, I want you all to know that you will probably be disappointed for your first bit as genin, but don't let it bother you. After all, you are beginning shinobi, and as such your main focus will be to know learn the really important skills for your selves as individuals, rather than how we do things in the academy, focusing on the group. Still, remember the importance of teamwork, and you'll make it through. Got it?"
"Hai, sensei!" Iruka smiled, though he knew inside that he'd been seeing some of them again. It was a good thing this class was so small. Only six would be sent back. Though in the future they were preparing to get even smaller class sizes. They hoped it would improve the quality of the genin if they could do more individual focus in the academy, and that would mean that the shinobi would be ready to be chuunin faster, and they could maybe even start graduating classes more often, in the end holding fewer students back, but they weren't sure how that would go yet. Still, for now it was this group's turn to become shinobi.
"Alright," Naruto said, "here are the teams along with their team number!
"First we have team 2! Team two will consist of Nara Shiba, Touji Kaori, and Topha Shizuki." The first two girls smirked at being put on the same team while the third chuckled, arms folded, at them being on an all girl squad. She could have preferred teammates with a little more humor, but she could make it work.
"Team 3, you will consist of Hyuuga Hisame, Inuzuka Kashike, and Nara Shibi!" Shibi looked both put out and eager, while the Hyuuga eyed his new teammates a little warily. He knew both to be a bit light hearted, though the Inuzuka was less so than Shibi, but he supposed it would work out. Kashike was a little disappointed to be with the spaz, but at least he would be fun. Shibi just figured that their mesh of taijutsu would be good for him to improve with and be ready to face Shika one day. Another team was read, and then…
"Alright, and now for team 6! Team 6 will consist of, Hatake Akashi!" Frik! It's my turn! There's only 5 other people left! That means about a two in five chance for any of them! Including Shika!
"Sarutobi Shika!" CRAP! I KNEW IT! Akashi's thoughts were fairly well echoed by Shika. She turned to stare at the boy who always second guessed himself. He was currently banging his head on his desk. She smiled, though inwawrdly she was hardly amused. At least he felt the same way she did about being on a team. Maybe he would just stay out of her way…
"And Miazaki Cho!"
"YES!" A small brunette girl wearing her headband so that he held up her bangs jumped up in excitement.
"Well, glad to see someone is happy with this team assignment," Naruto said, one corner of his mouth twisted up in a grin. The girl immediately sat back down in her chair, hands in her lap and looking down, and embarrassed blush on her face.
"Gomen, Hokage-sama." Naruto chuckled.
"Meh, don't worry about it. When I got assigned my genin team I did the same thing." He crinkled his nose a little bit. "Course, it was because my crush was on my team… still can't figure out why I did it…" He shrugged. "But hey, I found the girl of my dreams later, so who cares! But, still we have one more team to announce, not they you don't know who you are now. So, team 9…"
A few moments of seat changes later as everyone was given a chance to go sit with their new teams (Shika and Akashi chose not to move, however… though that Cho girl sat rather close to Akashi) and Naruto made his final announcement.
"So, now that you all know your team numbers and team mates, you will have one hour to get some lunch and get a chance to know your team mates a little better as teammates, in addition to-" but Naruto never got to finish as a green blur entered the room
"YOSH! It's time to move forward, my young genin, and bask in the might of youth!" Naruto smacked his head.
"Lee," he said, as the green jumpsuit clad man stayed in his pose (gleaming teeth, pointing to the sky, hand on his hip, yeah, typical Lee). "Lee, you aren't supposed to be here for another hour. Your genin still haven't had a chance to even eat lunch!"
"Ah, gomen, Naruto-kun! However, if they are to prepared for the trials ahead, it is best to face it now than to put it off for later!" Naruto rolled his eyes. The class was staring in fear at the strange man that had rushed into the room. Some were even cowering in their seats (though one particularly frightened lad and managed to jump up into the lap of the teammate next to them… they were quickly and roughly pushed off). Everyone was praying the same thing the moment they heard Naruto confirm that this crazy man was one of their senseis: Please, please, PLEASE don't let that be my sensei! Well, sadly, the lot fell on three poor genin.
"Yosh! Team 6! Meet me on the roof top in three minutes!" Then he ran away screaming, "for the power of youth!" Every genin in the room breathed a sigh of relief, though a few gave their 'final farwells' to the three doomed genin of team 6.
"Hehe, nice knowing ya, Akashi!"
"Hey Shika! Maybe he can teach you how to drive people new fits of laughter… in your green jumpsuit!"
They quickly ran from the room, not wanting to bear anymore of that kind of taunting. Shika kicked a random cup that had been left in the hallway as they walked to the roof.
"Why'd we have to get a creep like that as a sensei?"
"Yeah," Akashi said, "he doesn't even look like he knows where the roof is!" Shika looked at him a little surprised, and he did the same. They had never agreed on something before. Cho looked back and forth at them quickly before intervening.
"Well, maybe there's a reason! I mean, isn't a shinobi supposed to look underneath the beneath? May it's a trick to fool people." Akashi thought for a moment.
"No," he said, shuddering. "My dad's talked about a guy almost just like this one. I've even seen him a couple times. Randomly challenges my dad to crazy games. Might Gai I think was his name. Acts just like this guy. Dad says he was born that way, bowl cut and all." Cho dropped her head in despair.
"We're doomed!"
"Not yet," Shika said, looking at a clock on the wall. "If he's as crazy as this 'Might Gai' your dad knows, Akashi, then if we don't get to the roof in another 55 seconds, then we're doomed." She then took off, laughing maniacally while the other two rushed to catch up, suddenly in even more fear than before.
Meeting them on the roof was a much calmer Rock Lee than they had met in the classroom. He was leaning against the fence while his head was turned and looking at the horizon of trees outside the village. His three new pupils walked quietly over to him and sat down. Cho was sitting on the steps next to Akashi who was sitting attentively on the same step. Shika, however, had jumped up and sat on the edge of the railing on their right. They stayed like that for a few moments before Lee turned around and looked at them.
"Very well," he said, smiling widely, "I've made you wait long enough. I apologize for not paying attention, my young pupils," he said, flashing them a huge smile. "So, let's begin by introducing ourselves!
"My name is Rock Lee, and I specialize in taijutsu! I have no true talent as a shinobi, but through sheer hard work and youthful energy I became a Jounin though I possess neither ninjutsu nor taijutsu, proving my dream that you can be a splendid ninja without being a genius!" There was a moment of silence while he looked at the three genin and they looked back at him. "Well," he said, "what are you waiting for? Tell me about yourselves!" The three looked at each other for a moment now before Cho spoke up.
"Well, my name is Miazaki Cho. I… I don't really think I have any particular talent, but I became a shinobi because I wanted to help people and protect them."
"That is good," Lee said. "I true shinobi should always be looking out for those in need because after all, you never know who's help you may need one day. Hokage Naruto is a fine example of that; he has always looked to help others and because of that we now have the allegiance of many powerful villages, nations, and individuals! Follow this dream and I know you will be able to help many people!" He gave her a thumbs up with his right hand (arms still folded) and his teeth sparkled as he smiled. Cho shuddered a little bit. How does he DO that? Lee then looked at the next person expectantly. Akashi rubbed the back of his head.
"Well, um, my Name is uh, Hatake Akashi." There was a gleam that showed in Lee's eye for a moment. "I guess I'm good at note taking, but not much else. I guess what I want to do as a shinobi is…" and he thought for a moment. "What I want to do is stand out on my own instead of everyone only thinking of my dad when they see me." Lee nodded.
"Yes, Kakashi sensei casts a most large shadow, but with hard work and applying what you learn, you will one day shine so brightly with your youthfulness that you will outshine his shadow!" Akashi's eyes widened. Ooookaayyy….is this guy really a jounin, or is Hokage-sama playing a joke on us? Lee finally turned to Shika, motioning for her to finish. She smiled brightly and swung back and forth from her perch on the rail.
"My name is Sarutobi Shika," she exclaimed, taking a hand to point her thumb back at her chest. "I'm the daughter of Yuuhi Kurenai and Sarutobi Asuma! My grandpa was the third Hokage, and one day I'm gonna be a great shinobi like they were!" Lee looked at her a little oddly. She shrunk back a little bit. True, he had shown that he was a little deeper than she initially seemed back in the classroom, but she had thought that he was a really straight forward guy and would accept that kind of 'perky' attitude.
"I see," he said. "Hmm. Well, I'm sure that one day you will be a great Shinobi, but right now I sense that your youthful spark is missing something…" She gulped, but he smiled again as if nothing had happened. "No worries! Well get that taken care of as soon as you pass your test tomorrow." Akashi gagged in surprise while Cho turned white and Shika looked at him in surprise.
"Lee sensei, what are you talking about? We already graduated! We're Shinobi now, aren't we?" Lee smiled and shook his head, waving a hand back and forth.
"Not quite. You see, the academy is only a way to find out who might have the youthful power to become a shinobi, but it is up to us, the Jounin sensei's, to discover if you truly have what it takes by testing you in way that is different than that of the academy, or else," he said, smiling dropping, "you will be sent back to the academy."
"WHAT!" This came from Shika most, but all three new genin yelled out. Lee ignored it.
"I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning at 6:30. Be at training ground fifteen at that time, or you will fail automatically…" All three gulped and looked at each other nervously as he flipped over the side and leaped away over the house tops.
Yes, yes, did it; i made LEE a sensei! That's the way my friend and I came up with the story working when we first came up with the idea for this story, and it's just kinda fun to write cause that guys so crazy!
Also, to those of you who can remember from the previous chapters, yes, I wrote Cho as a blond before, but when i started writing again, i will admit that i forgot until i reread some of my past chapters, and by then i already had a pretty firm image in my head what she was going to look like, so i kept her with brown hair and i'm changing the reference to her with blond hair. Thanks for bearing with me!
Hey, don't forget to review! I like to get feed back on all my chapters! Hope you continue to enjoy the story; have a good one! (and don't forget to read the next chapter, too!)
