Ne, ne, I don't have much time to talk since my project still isn't done so here it is, chapter 10!

Also, procrastination is a b*tch huh? And the polls still open for those who haven't voted yet... "Only Naruto" is still in the lead... but that could change easily...

Specially thanks to everyone who reviewed and a very big and appreciating thanks to Adran06 who really kicks ass!!! He's my new BETA and you can all thank him for making this chapter even better than it was before... Really bro, I appreciate it!

"Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean."
*Ryunosuke Satoro*

Chapter 10: Teams and Missions, What are you doing here Inuyasha?

I don't own Naruto or Inuyasha

"Ah! This is soooooooo good!" Inuyasha commented as he finished slurping up his fifth bowl of ramen. Naruto, while eating his third bowl, was glaring at his aniki; he really didn't want to pay for all of this. Hinata, who was looking at our favorite blond at the moment, was slowly eating her first and last bowl, not really hungry. She was only eating because they had already ordered a bowl for her.

Yawning, Hinata really wanted to go home and sleep for the next twenty four hours. However, since it was around seven in the morning, she would have to rush home and prepare for the last day in the academy that started in about an hour and a half from now. Finishing up her ramen Hinata stood and bowed as both Inuyasha and Naruto got fresh, new bowls of ramen,.

"T-Thank you for i-inviting me to… b-breakfast but I must g-go now." She said, getting both the hanyō's attention. Inuyasha nodded before continuing to gobble up his ramen. Naruto held up his index finger while lifting up his ramen bowl and quickly eating up his ramen and slamming the empty bowl on the counter.

"Hold on Hinata-chan. Thanks for the ramen old man, aniki's paying!" Naruto shouted before grabbing his envelope, grabbing Hinata's hand and disappearing from sight as Inuyasha ignored everything around him, obliviously eating away his ramen at unprecedented speeds.

After they managed to get away from Ichiraku's, Naruto let go of Hinata's hand and put both of his hands behind his head as they walked down the street.

"Hey Hinata-chan, there's something I want to ask you." He said with a reflective expression on his face.

"W-what is it Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked nervously, wondering what he wanted to ask her. He kept quiet while looking at the sky ahead of him, seeming to be hesitant on asking the question.

"How did you know… I was a, well you know." He said as he looked at her. She blushed a little at the intensity of his stare and she looked down.

"I f-followed you after y-you skipped class. Y-You know, the one w-where Iruka-sensei stopped your f-fight with Sasuke?" Naruto nodded with a confused look, wondering where she was going with it. "Y-You went to the Hokage's o-office and… said that you were a… hanyō." Hinata whispered the last part, hoping no one but Naruto heard her.

"So that was you? I knew I smelled lavenders but I thought that was the old man. Phew, I was getting a little scared; lavender does not go well with the old man." Naruto said as he chuckled, making Hinata giggle. "Anyway, that's a long time ago Hinata-chan and you still see me in the same light as you did before. Thank you." Naruto said, making Hinata's blush darken.

'I don't see you the same Naruto-kun… I actually like you more than I did before' Hinata wanted to say, but was too scared to do it. "Y-You did become my f-first real friend, I-I couldn't hate you j-just because you're… special." Hinata said with a warm smile. Naruto looked incredulous at Hinata before smiling and nodding. It didn't take long for the two to reach the Hyuga compound and Hinata stopped at the edge of the compound.

"T-Thank you for walking me t-to my house, Naruto-kun." Hinata thanked and Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't worry, it's the least I can do as a friend. Besides, I was going this was anyway. The hospital isn't too far away from here and I have to pay Iruka-sensei a visit." Naruto said.

"T-Tell him I said h-hi." Hinata said as she walked up to the front gates to her compound. Naruto nodded and would've left if not for Hinata holding on to his hand.

"Hmm?" He looked at her hand before looking up and seeing her red face.

"I-I… I don't think you should hide who you really are from people, Naruto-kun." Hinata told him, shocking him. Not only because she barely stuttered but because of what she was saying.

"I don't think that'd be a good idea Hinata-chan." She tilted her head to the side a little. "I was almost killed the first time because of my looks." Hinata smiled sympathetically before enveloping him in a hug, surprising them both.

"I'm sorry about that Naruto-kun but… you'd be surprised by how many people will accept the real you." Hinata said and after a while, released him from his the hug. She smiled warmly before bowing and walking away. Naruto, still in shock, watched her go, her words echoing in his head as he legs started to move again.

"M-Maybe… maybe she's right." He mused to himself as he started to think of everyone's reaction to his real self.

[*.*.*.*]

Iruka Umino sighed as his head was tilted to the side and the outside world was in his vision. The birds flew by and sang without a care in the world. He could hear footsteps and small conversation taking place right outside his hospital room since his window was open. Not that it mattered, since they were talking quite loudly.

Not much time had passed since he woke up and he already wanted to go home, or at the least go to the academy to see his students for one last time. As loud and annoying as they could get sometimes, he was going to miss them. This year's class was more interesting than any other class he'd ever taught; especially Naruto. No matter how much trouble he caused, no matter how many pranks he was the victim of because of Naruto, Iruka knew he would miss the hanyō in disguise.

Knock, Knock Knock…

Iruka turned his attention to the closed door across the room and groaned. It was probably that frisky nurse coming to give him that sponge bath she said she'd give him. As a man, he couldn't say that he'd hate to be given a sponge bath by an attractive nurse. However,he had his eyes on a special girl already and really didn't see any point in getting any other girl.

"Come in." Iruka said loud enough so the person behind the door could hear him. The door opened with a slight creak to it and when it was fully, Naruto was in his sights with a contemplative look on his face. However, as soon as Naruto saw Iruka-sensei, he forced a smile on his face and he went to his side. He sat down on a nearby chair and folded his hands together on his lap. "Ah Naruto, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Iruka asked and Naruto shook his head.

"I just came to make sure you were alive and well from yesterday's… event." Naruto said with a guilty smile.

"Don't worry Naruto; I don't blame you for what happened yesterday. Besides, what hit me?" Iruka asked as he picked himself up and sat up. Naruto looked away for a second before looking at Iruka.

"It was my aniki's older brother; well half brother but either way." Naruto said, waving his hand in front of him to show t hat it didn't matter. "He came looking for me and aniki and you just came at the wrong moment. Anyways, don't worry about it; me, aniki and Hinata-chan were able to solve it before it got too out of hand." Naruto told Iruka when he saw his concerned look. 'Unless you count Sesshōmaru changing to his giant dog form as out of hand… but Iruka-sensei doesn't have to know that.'

"Oh, ok then. So, is that all you wanted to do? The academy starts in another thirty minutes and even if I'm not going to be there, I'll still make sure you get in trouble for being absent." Iruka said and Naruto nodded.

"You worry too much Iruka-sensei and you are going to be there today. Today's our last time together with the class and I'm not going to let you miss it." Naruto said as he stood up from his chair and walked to Iruka.

"What do you me- Naruto!" Iruka shouted as Naruto picked him up and put him on his shoulder with ease.

"Hold on Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said as he jumped out the open window. A few minutes later, a nurse came with a perverted smile and a sponge. Her smile disappeared when she saw that Iruka was missing.

Outside, Naruto was chuckling as Iruka had this panicked expression plastered on his face. If Naruto dropped him, he had no doubt that he'd become a human pancake.

"Naruto, put me down!" Iruka ordered and Naruto shook his head.

"If I put you down, you'll just go back to the hospital and that's not going to happen. Like I said, today's the last day and you're going to be there, whether you like it or not, so just shut up and relax." Naruto said and Iruka sighed with a defeated smile.

"If I promise that I'll go to the academy, will you let me walk on my own?" Iruka asked and Naruto stopped in the middle of an empty sidewalk.

"I guess. So… you promise?" Naruto asked and Iruka nodded. Naruto put Iruka down and Iruka dusted himself off before they both were slowly walking to the academy. Iruka didn't want to push his body to much and Naruto didn't want Iruka to hurt himself by trying to catch up to him. "Hey, Iruka-sensei........."

"Hmm?" Iruka looked down and saw Naruto with the contemplative look on his face. By the look of it, he seemed to be debating whether or not to say what he wanted to say.

"Did you mean what you said yesterday… you know, about me and fuzzbutt being two different beings?" Naruto asked skeptically. Iruka had a mildly surprised look on his face before he smiled.

"Yes Naruto, I did. Even if you do sometimes look like him, you are still Naruto just like fuzzbutt is still fuzzbutt." Iruka said as he chuckled at Naruto's choice words for the chakra beast. "Why do you ask Naruto?" Naruto looked down at the ground with new found interest while kicking a pebble he spotted.

"Well, I've been thinking, maybe I should drop the genjutsu and just be myself. To show everyone the real me and let them deal with it." Naruto said and Iruka turned his sights on the almost clear sky. He hummed as he thought over what Naruto wanted to do. To him it didn't seem like a bad idea until he remembered something.

It seemed that since Naruto was presumed dead, the advisers were able to convince the Third Hokage to remove the law that made talking about Kyuubi's attack and it being sealed into Naruto forbidden. After that, they forced Iruka and the other instructors to teach the students what really happened when Kyuubi attacked and how it was sealed in a newborn before it combined with the container. Just because he didn't want to ruin Naruto's name, the Thrid made sure the instructors never mentioned Naruto's name in any of the lectures.

This was when Iruka didn't know Naruto all that well and he cared very little about what laws were passed or what he had to teach concerning the hanyō. Now however, he had wished that they never passed the law; that they never taught the academy students about the Kyuubi and of Naruto. If he were to reveal who he really was, it would be much harder for Naruto to be accepted by his peers.

"Naruto," Naruto looked up at him with a questioningly gaze. Something in his eyes and just the look itself seemed to change Iruka's mind; besides, it was the last day he'd be in the academy, what harm could be done in such a little time? "I think you should do it." Iruka said and Naruto smiled before looking ahead. After a couple of minutes, Iruka grew curious.

"So, are you going to drop the genjutsu?" He asked and Naruto shook his head.

"Not here; the villagers still hate me even if I've been gone for seven years. Some people have been able to see through my disguise and still glare at me but not as much as they did before. For now, I am human and nothing more but in the academy, I'll show everyone what I really look like." Naruto said with conviction even though his voiced wavered a bit.

"You know, it's funny, I always knew you wore a genjutsu but I still don't know what you look like." Iruka said with laughter in his voice. Naruto laughed as they saw the academy at the end of the street.

"Don't worry Iruka-sensei, you'll see what I really look like. Everyone will see."

[*.*.*.*]

Hinata let out a sigh of content as she felt the water wash away the soap that helped clean her now naked body. Changing the temperature of the water so that it was warmer, Hinata applied shampoo to her short, dark blue hair and spread it out. Closing her eyes, Hinata savored the feel of the warm water running down her body and down the drain.

Letting the water from the shower head rinse her hair, Hinata looked down at her body and felt annoyed because of it. She had the misfortune to have developed at an early age and was not happy about it. That's why she wore her baggy tan sweater, so no one would notice her development. She didn't want to get the wrong attention from the opposite sex, she didn't want to be glared at with hate and envy by the other sill developing girls and most importantly…

She didn't want to lose her chance to be with Naruto who, in her mind, could get any girl he could want. He was something special, something she didn't see in any other boy; she saw the real him. Every other boy in her class would either put up a front or claim to be something they're not; Takeo was a prime example. He always proclaimed he was the best in everything but Naruto, Sasuke and occasionally Kiba would inadvertently prove him wrong.

Sasuke Uchiha… he was good looking, she had to admit. However, his cold demeanor and just secret ways did nothing to convince her to pursue him for romantic purposes. Even if he did, by some miracle, open up, she would still not see him as anything but a fellow comrade and citizen in their village. It just wouldn't feel right.

Kiba Inuzuka… well, he did remind her of Naruto but the thing was that Kiba didn't know where to draw the line when it came to his pride and enjoyment. Naruto knew when to stop when he felt he needed to, while Kiba didn't. There was also the fact that she also knew Kiba was a bit of a pervert, too much of one for her tastes.

Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure if Naruto was a pervert. Was he? Was he a closest pervert like the instructors he accused? Hinata wasn't sure but a small, perverted side of her hoped he was.

She mentally scolded herself for thinking such thoughts; she was the Hyuga Heiress and as such, shouldn't be thinking like that. Calming herself down as she shut off the shower, she took her towel and started to dry her body off as her mind wandered to what happened earlier today. She blushed as she wrapped her towel around her slightly moist body. She hadn't expected to say or do anything she had done to Naruto. She would've fainted if it wasn't for the fact that the hug only lasted for a short time. And what happened after that…

"Hinata." Stopping, Hinata turned to see her father looking at him with his stoic expression placed on his face. The difference was that in his eyes twinkled a little emotion that she identified as worry. "Where were you all night?" He asked with his voice as dead as usual.

"I-I'm sorry father but y-yesterday night I w-was involved in a-a B-rank mission." She answered hesitantly. Hiashi's eyes twitched before relaxing.

"I see. So what did you do on this mission?" Hiashi asked, wanting to know more.

"I-I am sorry father but H-Hokage-sama told us t-to keep the detail o-of the mission to o-ourselves." Hinata answered and Hiashi nodded after thinking about it.

"Was the mission successful?" He asked and Hinata nodded smartly. "I am proud then. Now go wash up, the academy should start in another hour." Hinata nodded and ran to her room to get her clean clothes before heading to the shower.

Putting on her baggy tan sweater, Hinata walked out of the Hyuga compound with a sense of sincerity and peace of mind. She wasn't sure why but, something told her that by the end of the day, at least half of her wishes would come true. She walked with a skip in her step and with a smile plastered on her face; either her shower had magical powers to cheer people up or she was happy that she survived the whole ordeal that happened last night. If it really was the former, she had to get her whole family to take a shower in her bathroom… er, as long as they brought their own soap, shampoo and conditioner.

Seeing the academy just around the corner, Hinata picked up her pace and made it to the front doors of the academy in no time. Stepping in, Hinata walked through the halls of the academy, looking around with a nostalgic air surrounding her. She would truly miss this place; this was where her friendship and feelings for Naruto developed and where she met her other friends.

Hinata opened the door to her classroom and walked inside but abruptly stopped at seeing the person who was filling in for Iruka.

[*.*.*.*]

Iruka winced a couple of times as he walked into the academy with Naruto holding the door open for him. No matter how amazing the medic nins were in their fields of expertise, they were no Tsunade, that was for sure. He could still feel the wound in his chest burning away from whatever had attacked him yesterday.

Walking up to the classroom door, he looked down at Naruto who, without his knowledge, had dropped his genjutsu. His golden, black tipped fox ears twitched at every sound they heard. His matching tail swished in a calm yet nervous manner, occasionally lightly hitting Iruka's leg. His fangs overlapped his bottom lip but were also barely noticeable. In his clenched fist were sharp claws that made Iruka have no doubt that Naruto could easily cut the door in front of them in half. Last were his slit pupil blue eyes, which was really the only difference in his eyes.

He smiled at Naruto and turned the door's knob.

"You ready?" Iruka asked and Nartuo nodded, albeit a bit hesitantly. Pushing the door open, the first thing Naruto saw made him freeze in his place.

"So you finally decided to show up eh? Oh? And you decided to drop the stupid act?" Naruto growled as he walked into the room and grabbed his aniki by his collar and brought him down to his level; ignoring the muttering he heard coming from his classmates.

"Shut up! I've had enough going through my mind already without you making my morning worse then it's probably going to be!" Naruto said and Inuyasha just smirked.

"Yeah, yeah just go sit down." Inuyasha said nonchalantly as Iruka walked behind his desk and sat in his chair. Some students waved at him and he waved back; cherishing the little time he was going to spend with his students.

As Naruto walked up the steps to his desk, his fox ears were twitching wildly as the murmurs and hushed tones of his fellow classmates and future comrades were heard.

"What is wrong with him?" "Is this his idea of a sick joke?" "Wasn't the Kyuubi's container transformed into a hanyō?" "Is he the Kyuubi?" "My father warned me that the Kyuubi was still alive and I didn't believe him… till today."

Naruto growled as this and other conversations were continuing around him. He wished for silence at the moment, nothing but sweet and calming silence. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth but the talking continued. Something had to be done before he snapped.

"HEY!" Naruto, along with the entire classroom stopped whatever they were doing and looked to the front of the classroom to see an angry Inuyasha and Iruka. "THE HELL IS UP WITH ALL THIS TALKING?!" Inuyasha roared as his voice held no room for arguments or for comments.

"Is there something anyone would like to say about Naruto's appearance?" Iruka said as he stood and wobbly stood beside a furious Inuyasha. Since his hearing wasn't as good as a hanyō's, he hadn't heard what the students were exactly talking about but he had a guess it had to do with Naruto's bold move. Inuyasha on the other hand had heard their whispers and gossip and to say he was angry was a huge understatement.

One student, whether brave or student depending on the eyes of the beholder, stood and pointed an accusing finger at Naruto.

"He's taking his pranks to far; he should be kicked out for doing something so stupid." Inuyasha, Iruka and Naruto glared at the boy, making him sit back down. Suddenly, another two students stood glaring at the young hanyō.

"I heard from my father that the Kyuubi was formed into a boy with fox ears and tails almost thirteen years ago."

"I heard that too. So that means that Naruto is the Kyuubi that killed my brother!" One boy yelled as he took out a kunai from his pouch and readied it in his hands. This was Naruto's response…

"Hn." The boy was angered by this response and also by the uncaring way he just walked up the steps to his seat. However his next comment caught him off guard. "I'm sorry." The boy looked at Naruto in shock before something in him snapped.

"You… Yo-You're sorry?" The boy gritted his teeth and tightened his hold on his kunai. Without prior warning, the boy sprang into action and ran to Naruto. Naruto turned and just stood there as the boy pushed his kunai forward. In a blink of an eye, Inuyasha was holding on to the crying boy's wrist as the kunai penetrated Naruto's skin and was buried in his midsection, letting blood flow freely from the wound.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Naruto heard Hinata yell out of concern. Naruto slowly grabbed onto the boy's hands and slowly removed his kunai from his body. Naruto felt his shirt stick to his body as his blood moistened his shirt. Raising the kunai to eye level, Naruto watched his blood fall down the kunai's blade. After the boy's tears disappeared and its dry trail was visible on his cheek, Naruto returned the kunai to the boy.

"This is yours." Was all he said before walking away to his seat. Normally, he would've defended; normally, he would've countered, normally he wouldn't have let himself get stabbed by something as simple as a kunai. However, the situation he was in was different.

Naruto knew he was barely born when the Kyuubi attacked; that he couldn't even harm a fly at the time, let alone an entire village filled with assassins, experienced shinobi and the occasional civilian that knew some form of self-defense. However, Naruto couldn't help but feel guilty that his other half was responsible for destroying the village and taking away the lives of many shinobi. Yes, his other half.

He was a hanyō; half human… half demon. Following this logic, while one half of him was laying in the Yondaime's arms, the other was in front of them, destroying and killing everything in sight… until the Yondaime did what he had to do. So of course, using this logic as the foundation, his guilt grew and never once had he stopped the beatings he received, never once countered or defended himself when he was teased or cursed… never once had he once thought he didn't deserve what was done to him.

The only reason he hid his real self from the village wasn't because he wanted to end the village's taunts and beatings… it was for his friends. Ever since he found a friend in Hinata and Shikamaru, he didn't want them to be the scorn of the village like he was. He wanted them to have nothing to do with him however; he didn't want their kindness and friendship to end. He knew he was being selfish but what could he saw; he was human, if only partially.

"Kazoku Akimoto, you know you don't attack a fellow comrade. That's-"

"Don't punish him." Naruto said, interrupting Iruka and shocking everyone in the room. "It's a stupid reason to punish him; I'm alright aren't I? Let it go Iruka-sensei… I already did." Naruto said, whispering the last part. Inuyasha watched Naruto walk up the steps and take his seat next to Hinata who was already asking him if he was alright.

'He's doing it again.' Inuyasha thought as he sighed and pushed the boy back and walked down the steps.

"Kazoku, I'm going to need to-"

"Drop it Iruka, the kid didn't want him to be punished so let him be." Inuyasha said as he finally reached the bottom of the steps. Iruka looked incredulous at Inuyasha. Catching him staring, Inuyasha scoffed. "Leave it alone; when he gets like this, it's better to let him calm down." Inuyasha whispered as he turned around and watched as the other academy students talked amongst themselves.

Sakura, Ino and Kiba were still in shock of what happened, still debating whether or not Naruto was the Kyuubi or not. Shino was thinking along the same lines except his was debating on whether or not to trust Naruto since he hid his other half from everyone for the entire year. Choji and Shikamaru were looking at Naruto though they were hoping he was alright. Kyuubi or no Kyuubi, he was still their friend and nothing would change that. Sasuke was looking at Naruto with an unreadable look. He was contemplating something and his mouth seemed to twitch upward.

"Naruto-kun, are you sure you are alright?" Hinata asked for the third time. Naruto sighed as he lifted his blood stained orange shirt and she saw no wound; no indication that he was stabbed besides the dry blood.

"My body works differently than a human's body Hinata-chan." Naruto said before releasing his shirt and letting it fall. Clearing his throat, Inuyasha returned everyone's attention back to him.

"Alright you brats, you better listen now because I'm not going to mention this again. Team 1 will include Takeo…" Naruto tuned out his brother, not really caring for someone as troublesome as Takeo and who was on his team. He knew Hinata wouldn't be on his team since… well he didn't know how but he just did. Messing with the lint in his pockets, Naruto leaned back on his chair to allow his hand to have more room.

Shikamaru found nothing more troublesome than unnecessary conflict. He would avoid it at all cost and would occasionally help resolve it if his lazy mood permitted him. What Naruto had just done had gotten said blond more respect from the lazy Nara. No normal demon would let himself get attacked and let the attacker get away uninjured. 'Naruto Uzumaki… certainly an entertaining and unique character… unique indeed.'

Hinata just watched as Naruto, with his eyes closed and breathing regulated, continued to play with the lint in his pocket. Hinata felt her heart pounding, almost begging to fly out of her chest. Her fondness and admiration for him seemed to solidify itself in her heart after witnessing what happened not long ago. Not only had he faced their classmates without his genjutsu, he stopped his attacker from being punished after being stabbed. Courage and benevolence; characteristics she wanted and saw in Naruto; her idol and object of her affections.

"Team 7: Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki…" Hinata's world seemed to freeze as Naruto returned from the world of the waking, having barely caught his name being called on. It clicked in his mind that he was on the same team as Sasuke. As if everyone seemed to freeze in time, the now two teammates locked stares with each other. There seemed to be an understanding between the two; 'get in my way and you will get knocked back.'

Hinata's heart was starting to beat even quicker than before as one though ran through her mind.

'Please Kami-sama, please let me be in Naruto-kun's team… please…' Hinata thought as her now clenched hands started to tighten and her palms started to pale by the lack of blood in her hands. The same thoughts were going through Sasuke's fangirls… well, more or less.

"… Hinata Hyuga…" Hinata's eye widened as Inuyasha said her name. "You're wanted at the main office for something, I don't know what." Inuyasha continued as a chunin left after giving him a note. Hinata's whole world came crashing down, her hopes shattered and broken by her feet. She stood up and walked to the back door of the class with her bangs covering her eyes to hide her disappointment. "Wait before you go, you need to know that you're also on team 7." Inuyasha ended with a smirk.

He knew he was evil for messing with the girl's feelings for his little brother but he couldn't resist. But after seeing her broken form stand and walk to the back door, he started to think he went a bit too far. Luckily, she wasn't in a hurry to leave the classroom. Everyone in the room but Iruka, Inuyasha and Sasuke were shocked. Hinata was staring at Inuyasha in disbelief and hope.

"Aniki, you better not be playing because I'll kill you if you are!" Naruto roared as he saw Inuyasha raise his hands in defense.

"If you don't believe me then come read the list yourself." Naruto stood and walked down the steps, ignoring the stares from his classmates. Grabbing the clipboard that held the list, Naruto murmured as he skipped the first six teams. After finding his team, a smile broke out on his face. "See? Now go sit down!" Inuyasha said as he snatched the clipboard from Naruto and hit him on the head with it. Naruto flinched as he rubbed the injured area and walked up the steps.

As he reached Shikamaru's desk, he smiled at him.

"Good luck with your team Shikamaru… you're going to need it." Naruto said and Shikamaru groaned; getting what Naruto meant.

"What is it Shikamaru?" Choji asked, out of the loop.

"I'm going to have a troublesome team." He said and Choji nodded.

"Go Hinata-chan, I'm sure they're waiting for you at the main office." Naruto said with a forced smile. Hinata frowned a bit; it wasn't a fake smile since he was excited about being on the same team as her but it was forced; it seemed that he was still thinking about what Kazoku said. Nodding, Hinata left the room and walked down the hall.

"When Hinata gets back, tell her your team's jonin sensei is going to… damn it not that guy." Inuyasha said after getting a good look at Naruto's sensei. "Kakashi Hatake." Naruto and Inuyasha simultaneously groaned; it had to be that pervert.

[*.*.*.*]

Hinata walked back to class with a note wrinkled up in her hand; he had done it again. Tightening her fist, Hinata further crumpled up the already wrinkled paper. Her father just didn't understand; she didn't like fighting Hanabi and would never feel right hurting her even if it is just a spar. The note was from her father delivered by one of the branch members.

Hanabi

Spar

Elders

Test

These were only a couple of the words scribbled neatly on the note. Finding the nearest trash bin, Hinata threw away the note and continued on her trek to her classroom. Coming to the door, Hinata stopped a few feet away when the door opened and Naruto solemnly walked out of the classroom. She had caught his look and frowned again; he was thinking about it once again. Walking in front of him, Hinata put on her best, real smile.

With his head down, Naruto hadn't seen Hinata standing in front of him until her blue, open toed sandals appeared in his sights. His eyes traveled up and were met with Hinata's warm smile and closed eyes.

"Oh, hey Hinata-chan, so what did they need you for in the main office?" Naruto asked innocently, hoping to distract himself from his bothering thoughts. Hinata's smile faltered a bit as she opened her eyes.

"Just t-to give me a n-note… that's all." Hinata answered, her smile a bit more forced than before. Naruto became aware of this and saw some sadness in her eyes. He wanted to ask what was wrong but she looked behind him to see other students leaving the classroom.

"W-What's going on?" She asked. Naruto looked behind him and saw everyone leaving.

"Oh, after the teams were assigned, we were dismissed to go to lunch. Did you bring lunch or do you want to go to Ichiraku's?" Naruto asked and before Hinata was able to answer, Choji came from behind Naruto and placed an arm on Naruto's shoulder as Shikamaru appeared on the other side.

"Your treat?" He asked with a lick of his lips. Naruto sweat dropped; in his mind, there was no way in hell he was paying if he AND Choji went to go to Ichiraku's.

"Nah, I'm paying." Inuyasha said as he walked up to the group. "Let's go already, I'm starving." Inuyasha said. Choji and Shikamaru started to walk out of the academy with Hinata, Inuyasha and Naruto walking slightly behind them. Naruto still had a sober aura around him and he locked Naruto in a head lock.

"Hey!"

"Cheer up brat; you know it's not your fault." Inuyasha said quickly before Naruto was able to say anything else. That shut up Naruto quick and he looked down.

"Do I? It doesn't feel like it." He retorted and Hinata frowned again.

"But it's true Naruto-kun. You're not the Kyuubi, you didn't destroy half the village or kill everyone in sight. You're Naruto-kun, nice and friendly Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a sympathetic smile. He looked at her and shook his head.

"Don't act so troublesome; we all know you're anything but the Kyuubi. Annoying, loud, random maybe, but not murderous, angry and spiteful." Shikamaru said with a bored tone as he rubbed the back of his neck. Choji nodded as he smiled at him. Naruto would've replied to that as well but Inuyasha's applied more pressure on the hold to get his attention.

"Just shut up and get over it already; you didn't do it and if you talk about it again, I'll make sure you forget it… one way or another." Inuyasha threatened as he released Naruto from the headlock. Naruto rubbed his neck and smiled; glad to have friends and a brother like them. After arriving to Ichiraku's, everyone ordered their ramen and waited for it to arrive. As they waited, they started talking about how they thought their teams would be like and for Shikamaru, how to effectively block out the shriek of their blond banshee.

"Well, I gotta go, I still have something, or well, someone to get and it might be a while before I find him. See ya!" Inuyasha said putting money on the counter and walking out of the food stand. Naruto looked at the money and chuckled.

"And I thought he was going to walk out on the bill. So what do we do now?" Naruto asked and everyone was silent, not really having anything in mind. "Aw come on, someone has to have some sort of an idea." Naruto whined.

"A-Ano…"

"Hmm?"

"W-Why don't we t-try to find Sasuke and t-try to talk to him? S-Since he's on our t-team." Hinata suggested. Naruto groaned and looked at Shikamaru and Choji, asking for their input.

"As troublesome as it sounds, she's right; we should find our other teammates and at least try to be friends with them. Well, at least try not to kill each other." Shikamaru said as he stood and walked away with Choji walking beside him. Naruto stood after he saw Hinata stand and they started to walk in a random direction. Who knew where chicken butt was at the moment?

[*.*.*.*]

Sasuke sat on the window sill of an empty room while eating his first onigiri. While ate, his mind had wandered to what happened before in the academy.

'Naruto…' Naruto was similar to him; special and treated differently because of his origin or looks. Of course, the different treatment between the two was… different but nonetheless, they were basically one in the same. They were both strong because of their heritage. Both knew what it felt like to be alone at some point in their lives.

Even with this revelation however, Sasuke was not going to give Naruto any special treatment. He respected the hanyō for his skills but aside from that, he knew nothing of the blond kid and saw him as nothing but a comrade, a teammate.

Speaking of which, his other teammate, Hinata Hyuga… why would they pair a Hyuga with an Uchiha? They were natural rivals, especially when the entire Uchiha clan was still alive. So why now?

Groaning, Sasuke realized that he forgot the rest of his lunch back at his apartment and jumped down from the window and began to head back to get it. Getting to his apartment quickly and getting his thermos full of red bean soup, Sasuke walked back to where he was eating lunch and his mind wandered again. However, before he was able to give his thoughts his complete attention, a loud shrill yell was heard and he flinched.

"Sasuke-kun!" Staying still, hoping that he hadn't been spotted, he let out a disappointed sigh as Sakura glomped his right arm.

"What is it Sakura?" Sasuke asked, his voice dripping with annoyance.

"Well since we're not on the same team, why don't we have lunch one last time?" Sakura suggested with a flirtatious smile.

"No, I'm a little busy at the moment." Which wasn't a complete lie; he was human and had the right to eat, right?

"Come on Sasuke-kun, I thought that since you have someone as annoying as Naruto on your team, you'd like to spend the last moments of freedom with a normal person." Sakura continued.

'And you think you're that normal person?' Sasuke thought with a sweat drop.

"I mean, all he ever does is cause fights with you and because he's the Kyuubi, that means he never had any parents." Sasuke's eyes twitched before they narrowed. "Without parents, he does whatever he wants. I know if I did half the things he did, then my parents would ground me for life. I guess in a way, he's lucky he doesn't have any parents to tell him what's wrong and right. But that is why he gets in trouble all the ti-"

"You're ignorant." Sasuke said, earning a gasp of surprise from Sakura.

"W-What?"

"He is not the Kyuubi, the Kyuubi was a giant chakra beast that could cause natural disasters with a flick of its tails. Even if Naruto is a walking disaster, he is not the Kyuubi. Even then, you have no idea the kind of loneliness he has gone through." The Uchiha continued, shocking Sakura with each passing word. "Just because he had no parents around to scold him doesn't mean he's annoying…"

"What are you trying to say Sasuke-ku-"

"Sakura… you're annoying." Sasuke stated as he freed his right arm from Sakura's grip and headed back to the empty room his was eating in. Sakura stayed in her place, Sasuke's words registering in her mind. With a slump of her shoulders, she knew Sasuke was right… about everything.

[*.*.*.*]

Naruto grumbled under his breath as he saw Team 8 walk out with their sensei who he knew as Kurenai. Naruto noticed that Sakura was acting different; instead of giving a heartfelt goodbye to Sasuke, all she did was say goodbye to the glooming emo, before walking up to Naruto, saying goodbye to him as well, and apologizing. For what, Naruto had no idea but he could only guess it had to do with the Kyuubi.

At the moment, Naruto was glaring at the Uchiha suspiciously; what was his deal? The impression he got from him during lunch was… for lack of a better term, un-Sasuke like.

Hinata and Naruto walked through the forest that led to the shopping district to find Sasuke. They had been searching for him for about ten minutes and still they hadn't found him. Naruto's nose twitched slightly as Sasuke's scent became stronger. Looking up, he smirked and saw Sasuke eating in an empty room on the third floor of a building. Nudging Hinata and showing her where he was, they jumped on the roof of the nearest building and continued upward until they were right outside the window of the room Sasuke was in.

"Yo Sasuke!" Naruto greeted and Sasuke started to choke on the onigiri he was eating. After struggling for a few seconds, Sasuke was able to spit out his food and reached for some water he had. He glared at Naruto while he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Heh-Heh, sorry about that, didn't know you'd choke on it." Naruto joked**

"What do you two want?" Sasuke asked while composing himself.

"W-We came to spend lunch t-together… a-as a team." Hinata answered and Naruto nodded with a defeated look. His still blood stained orange shirt reeked of dry blood and it was really driving him crazy and trying to make peace with his rival was not helping. He just knew he was going to say 'get lost' or 'why would I hang around with losers like you two' or…

"Ok." Naruto was snapped out of his mental rant to stare at chicken but- er Sasuke incredulous. Did he just say 'ok'? Ok to what?

"What?" Naruto asked, wanting to make sure he heard right.

"I said ok; since we're a team, it won't do if we're always fighting." Sasuke said with an uncaring tone. Naruto was still looking at Sasuke; what was going on?

There was something suspicious about Sasuke's sudden change in attitude and Naruto wanted to know what caused it. After half an hour later and still no Jonin sensei, Naruto groaned loudly; where the hell was the perverted scarecrow? He knew he was always late but… half an hour late?! Naruto smirked as he got an idea. Hinata, who was sitting beside the blond hanyō, didn't like the look he had on his face; it screamed 'prank.'

"N-Naruto-kun, what are y-you up to?" She asked and he shook his head.

"You'll see." However, before she had a chance to see, the sounds of two footsteps were heard out in the hall before a muffled argument began. Suddenly, everything was quiet… then, it happened.

Bursting through the door was what looked like a black and green ram that flew into the room and landed on the other side of the room. Walking in was Inuyasha while he dusted his hands. He looked at the only team in the room and smirked.

"Here's you Jonin instructor," Inuyasha said and pointed to the black and green 'ram' who was really an unconscious Kakashi Hatake. His only visible eye had a swirl as he mumbled incoherently. "And I'm… *sigh* his assistant." Inuyasha finished, shocking Team 7 to its core… assistant?!

"Ne, aniki, what's up with that?!" Naruto asked and Inuyasha glared at him.

"I don't know, talk to the old man about it, I wasn't the one who arranged the thing. Besides, what's wrong with me being your second Jonin instructor?" He asked and Naruto looked at the ground with a pout.

"I get enough of you as it is." He muttered and an angry tick mark appeared on Inuyasha's head.

"At any rate, meet us at the memorial stone in exactly ten minutes." Kakashi said as he stood up, acting as if he hadn't crashed into the room a minute ago. Inuyasha smirked as Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder and they both disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto and Sasuke sighed while Hinata looked at both of them. With a shrug, they walked out of the academy and headed for the memorial stone, wondering why their sensei chose that place.

"So… were you serious back there Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he made eye contact with said boy.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"What you said during lunch, you know." Sasuke nodded his head when he realized what Naruto was saying.

"Don't get me wrong dobe, you're still not better than me but it wouldn't be smart to always be fighting." Sasuke said before turning serious. "But I won't let you get in my way. You drag this team behind and I won't let you hear the end of it." Naruto looked at him surprised for a second before smirking.

"Same goes for you teme." Naruto said and all conversation between the two ended. Hinata was walking behind the two when they had their talk and Sasuke's words stung her. Would she drag her team behind? Was she really only a burden to everyone just like the clan elders told her? She didn't want to be the reason why their team was weak; she didn't want to drag Sasuke and especially Naruto down to her level. Was she really cut out to be a kunoichi, to fight side by side with someone as strong as Naruto?

"Oi Hinata-chan!" Hinata snapped out of her thoughts and looked up to see Naruto smiling at her. "Cheer up, we're finally genin and are in a team! There's no reason to be sad!" Naruto said with a fox like smile. It seemed to be contagious because Hinata smiled and nodded. Seeing the memorial stone ahead and their two sensei already there, the three genin walked up to them and waited for them to say something.

"I see all of you made it, good." Kakashi said as he eye smiled. "Now we can begin with the introductions."

"Introductions?" Hinata asked and Kakashi nodded.

"You go first Kakashi seeing as they don't get it." Inuyasha said as he leaned on the pole near him.

"Hmm… how about you field this one?" Kakashi asked while Inuyasha glared at the Cyclops. "Or I could… ok, let's see my name is Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate... I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future... never really thought about it. As for my hobbies...I have lots of hobbies." Kakashi said with an eye smile while everyone sweat dropped.

"All we really know is his name." Naruto commented and his teammates nodded. Inuyasha appeared behind Kakashi and punched his head.

"You lazy scarecrow, you're not doing it right!" Inuyasha shouted as Kakashi crouched down and held his head.

"Looks like I don't have the hang of it either. Show it to us then." Kakashi said and Inuyasha growled before folding his arms over his chest.

"Hn, fine. The name's Inuyasha, no last name. I like ramen, fighting and torturing that poor, unfortunate soul." Inuyasha said pointing at a deadpan Naruto. "I hate how prejudice this village is and a majority of the civilians. I also hate you Hatake." Kakashi eye smiled as he stood up.

"Aw, you don't mean that."

"Sure, believe whatever you want to believe. My hobbies are eating ramen, completing missions and torturing that poor, unfortunate soul." Naruto face palmed while Sasuke smirked; he was starting to like Inuyasha. "My dream… well, it's nothing important." Inuyasha said and Naruto nodded, knowing what his dream was. "Now do it right this time Hatake."

"Fine… my name's Kakashi Hatake. I like salt-broiled saury and miso soup with eggplant. I don't particularly hate anything except for foods that are fried or sweet. Oh and I hate it when people try to take a picture of me with my mask off. My hobby is reading a certain series made by the Yondaime's sensei. My dream, well more of a wish, is to fight my sensei that passed away thirteen years ago." Kakashi was then surrounded by a solemn aura and looked down at the ground. It wasn't long before he pepped up and pointed at Hinata.

"You, you go next." Hinata flinched and then poked her two index fingers together when everyone's attention was on her.

"Oh? O-Oh ok. M-My name is Hinata Hyuga. I like h-hanging around N-Naruto-kun and his a-aniki." Inuyasha smirked, glad that he was mentioned. "I l-like to eat zenzai and cin-cinnamon rolls. I don't l-like it when p-people are bullied or are h-hated for something they c-could not control. M-My hobby is p-pressing flowers and making m-medical herbs. My d-dream…" She paused as her face became scarlet. "I-Is to surpass my f-father, help my clan and… and marry N… get married a-and have a nice f-family." Hinata stuttered, mentally scolding herself for almost saying that she wanted to marry Naruto. She fidgeted in her place as everyone smirked at her, knowing what she wanted to say; everyone except the blond idiot himself.

"That's a nice dream Hinata." Kakashi teased, making her wish she was somewhere else. "You, the one with the gloomy face, you're up next." Sasuke scowled at Kakashi.

"My name's Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like a lot of things and hate more things than I can count. My hobbies are training and taking walks around the village when I need to think. What I have is not a dream but an ambition and that is to restore my clan and kill a certain someone." Everyone was staring at Sasuke as his face retained its scowl. Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk; he kind of liked the kid.

'Just as I thought…'

'I heard of what happened; I'm not surprised his so angry. I know the feeling of hating your older brother.'

'What's wrong with him? What's he so mad about?'

'Father told me what happened… poor Sasuke.'

"Your turn blondie." Kakashi said with a bored expression.

"Yosh! My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen, hanging out with Hinata-chan, Shikamaru and Choji and messing with aniki. I hate the three minute wait for the ramen to cook and prejudice people and my dream…" Naruto smirked as he pointed his right thumb at him. "No, my goal in life is to become Hokage, so people will stop hating me and treat me with respect!" Inuyasha chuckled and Hinata smiled at him. Both Kakashi and Sasuke appeared neutral but were both somewhat happy to hear that.

"Ok, now that we're done with that, you can all go home. Tomorrow, we'll start our duties as shinobi of the Hidden Leaf." Kakashi said.

"And what duties is that?" Naruto asked in a cheerful tone.

"Something between the four of us, Inuyasha won't be joining us, he'll just watch."

"Hmm, what are the four of us going to do?" Sasuke asked.

"Survival training." Team 7 looked at Kakashi oddly.

"S-Survival…"

"Training?" Naruto finished for Hinata. "We had enough training at the academy." Naruto said, waving off the training. Inuyasha smirked evilly and this made Team 7 become unease.

"This isn't some academy training. This time, I'm your opponent." Kakashi answered with a yawn.

"So, what kind of training is it?" Sasuke asked and Kakashi chuckled. "Hmm?"

"The training doesn't matter but… well; I'll let Inuyasha answer this one." Kakashi said and Inuyasha pushed his back off the pole and walked in front of the genins.

"Of the twenty seven of you brats that just graduated, only nine of you will stay as genin. The rest… well, they'll go back to the academy." Team 7's eyes widened at this.

"That means that this training is extremely difficult with a failure rate of sixty six percent." Kakashi finished and chuckled when he saw his genin in a state of shock and/or fear. "I warned you. Oh and you might want to skip breakfast… or you'll puke." Kakashi said the last part so seriously that everyone flinched except for Inuyasha. "Everything else you need to know is on this paper." Kakashi handed out a piece a paper to each genin and waved goodbye.

"Good Luck."

[*.*.*.*]

Inuyasha woke up the next morning after falling off the couch… for the second time in the last two hours. He growled as he stood; no matter how comfortable the couch was, it was still not as good as sleeping on a bed or even on a tree. Stretching out the sleep in his body, Inuyasha walked to the bathroom to relieve himself. After finishing his usual morning rituals, Inuyasha walked into the kitchen, took out an instant ramen and prepared the hot water.

As he waited for the water to boil, he thought about how Naruto would do in the Survival Training Kakashi had set up. He knew the point of the training and what was supposed to happen for them to pass but, he sort of doubted that Naruto would be able to get the main point of it in time. After the water started to boil, Inuyasha poured it in the cup and waited for the ramen to cook. Deciding to leave already, Inuyasha took the ramen cup and walked out of the apartment.

While he was wandering around the village, Inyasha couldn't help but let his mind roam to his brother and his team. He was glad that Hinata was on the team since she would probably help the hot head cool down. The Uchiha, well, he was just an interesting character, that's all. Maybe they would pass Kakashi's test, just maybe.

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks at the scent that he caught in a breeze; blood, dry blood. Running in the direction of where the scent was coming from, Inuyasha passed the east gates of the village and saw, not too far away, what he guessed was a person under a black cloak. Dropping his ramen, Inuyasha closed the gap between the two and turned over the person in the cloak. What he saw shocked him.

The person was a young woman, probably no older than fifteen. She had fair skin and was beautiful, even if she had a bit of blood smeared on her left cheek. Her eyes were closed and her dark blue bangs were just over her eyes. Feeling something warm hold her caused the young woman to slowly flutter her eyes open and look at Inuyasha. Inuyasha held in his shock as her tired brown eyes stared into his.

"H-Help… me." She said, her voice a little hoarse and forced. She then closed her eyes and became limp again.

"K-K…" Inuyasha stuttered and searched his entire being for his voice. "K-Kikyo?"

Silence was all that replied…

HOLY CRAP! I'M SO FUCKING HAPPY!!!

Ok, here's a small story for some of you... Today, while writing this chapter, a thought occurred to me... 'I have a project due tomorrow'....

To say the least, I panicked... I was spray painting things... procrastinating... cutting things... procrastinating... tracing... looking up things... procrastinating... procrastinating... typing things down and writing things down... procrastinating... procrastinating... procrastinating... procrastinating... and I'm pretty sure procrastinating somewhere in there...

So anyways, after finishing this chapter while simultaneous doing my project, I decided to listen to some music... Coincidently or not, it was a christian rock song called "There will be a day" by Jeremy Camp [Who is a really good christian rocker for anyone who likes rock, christian rock or any combo of the two.]... I smiled and continued working, with my lord and savior on my mind while I worked... Soon enough, my parents wanted me to sleep and I still didn't finish my project... Just when I was about to give up, my sister comes to me with a devious smile and tells me school is cancelled tomorrow...

THANK GOD FOR SPONTANEOUS SCHOOL CLOSINGS...

I was so happy that I didn't have to hurry and rush through my project that I told every freaking person I know and they all cheered along with me... I am so thankful to god right now I feel like I'm neck deep in debt... Which is a lie since I owe so much to god that I don't think it's possible to pay him back... In my mind, the best I can do is better myself and follow the bible as the guide that it is...

Heh heh, sorry for going religious on everyone, I am just so happy...

Oh and Hidden Rose sends her regards, she caught the flu [or something similar to it... let's ust say she's sick ok?] after she play in the snow... I warned her that the snow melts and gets her jacket, glove and pants wet but she didn't want to listen... Anyways, after visiting her, she told me that she wanted me to mention to everyone to never play in the snow without the proper equipment...........

Yeah, I thought the same too... 'Seriously? We already knew that'.... Haha but still, she says hi and I'm currently being forced to help her as best I can... Long story short, she really likes hot ramen... And no its not because she watches Naruto... Me and her loved ramen way before Naruto even came on and invaded our lives...

** If you saw the astericks, that is reference to my say "Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it..." Get it? Cuz Sasuke was choking on his onigiri and Naruto said "Heh-Heh, sorry about that, didn't know you'd choke on it."....

Heh heh sorry but that was actually an accident and I didn't catch it until before I sent it to my BETA... Again, awesome dude!

If some of you are wondering why I arranged the teams like I did, here are some reasons:

1] Sasuke is the top of the class, Hinata is the top of the class[in place of Sakura from cannon for the females] and Naruto was, like in the anime/manga, dead last... If you wonder why, I did mention in this story that his test grades were, to put it lightly, pitiful... The obstacle course and more spars and target practice wasn't enforced until at least three months prior to the graduation exams, give or take... By that time, the damage was done... And for a bonus, I wanted her to make that small slip up of wanting to marry Naruto... Haha funny Naruhina moment...

2] Why is Inuyasha their secondary sensei? The only information I'm going to release at this time is that the Third thought it would be a good idea that Inuyasha see how a real jonin sensei handles his kids [since Hiruzen had seen through Naruto how cruel Inuyasha is to kids...].... There is another reason but that will be said at a later time...

Moving on... damn, Kikyo? Is she really back?! Where did she come from?! Is this like canon and she died, brought back to life by a crazy witch or is she fanon and Inuyasha's long lost lover?! Damn, I bet it's killing everyone on the inside huh? Fortunately for me, I know better...

Next Chapter: Pass or Fail, Who are you mysterious girl?

Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it...