Heyo!
How you been? I bet you're questioning everything you knew in the world; three updates in so little time, and it's not even Christmas!
Side note: I've been trying to post this chapter for the past couple of days and it hasn't been working. I don't know if you guys have been getting notifications or not, but I noticed a review asking if I'd reposted chapter 10. To answer that; nope, it's probably just me trying to post this chapter, sorry for the confusion ^.^
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
Onwards!
The morning of the orientation, Hinata woke up early as she always did. Taking her time to dress and place her forehead protector around her neck, she decided to call for breakfast on her way to the academy.
What should we go for, Daichi? She asked as they made their way out of the compound.
Her amulet vibrated softly against her skin as Daichi contemplated what she had said. Oyakodon. I've been craving some for a while.
Hinata hummed in agreement and headed in the direction of a restaurant she came to regularly for Oyakodon. Once she had arrived there, she was seated near the back in a secluded corner. This was what she preferred, as it meant that Daichi could transform into a pocket sized version of himself so that Hinata could share her meal with him.
"You're still nervous." He observed after she'd checked the clock that hung on the wall one again. There was still thirty minutes until she needed to be at the academy, but Hinata was constantly glancing up at the clock between bites.
"I am," she admitted, "but at the same time I'm excited. I just hope that I am placed in a team with people I will work well with."
Daichi hoped for the same thing as Hinata, but he knew that the road ahead would be full of obstacles they would have to overcome. As the current Dragon Mistress, Hinata would most likely gain many enemies now that she was a full fledged ninja, which was why they had both decided to graduate at the usual age rather than earlier, which she was more than capable of.
"I'm sure your teammates will love you." He assured her, taking the food from her outstretched chopsticks.
They both finished up not long after that, and Hinata walked at a leisurely pace towards the academy. She wasn't worried about being late, as there was still plenty of time before the orientation officially started.
Thinking about that, she almost failed to notice two girls racing down the street. Ino and Sakura. She noted, and assumed that they were having a competition on who could get to the academy faster. The two were known to be rivals throughout their academy days, and it seemed that nothing had changed even now that the two were ninja.
She continued walking at her much slower pace and got to the academy around five minutes later. By this time, Ino and Sakura were surrounded by the rest of the girls in the class and they were all arguing over who would get to sit next to the Uchiha.
The scene amused Hinata greatly, but what was even funnier was the accidental kiss between Naruto and Sasuke that followed. She almost fell on the floor laughing, and couldn't help the giggles that erupted from her as the females in the class then turned on the blonde boy.
After watching for a minute or two, Hinata was about to step in and help Naruto, but Iruka bet her to it when he called the class to order. She took a seat next to Shino, waving at Shikamaru and Kiba before watching the girls all stalk back to their places and turn their attention to Iruka-sensei.
He informed them about the three man squad grouping, which to her surprise shocked a lot of her fellow classmates. Hinata had assumed that everyone knew about the genin team rule, but then she remembered that most of them most likely didn't read as much as she did, nor did any of them have a companion dragon and well informed senseis to tell her about things like this.
"I will now announce the squads."
Hinata focused her attention on Iruka as he proceeded to call out names, but it wasn't until he got to squad 7 that her name was called. "Squad 7: Naruto Uzumaki," After hearing his name, Naruto's head lifted up. He glanced around once the second name was called and the two met eyes for a few seconds. "Hinata Hyuga,"
Hinata wasn't sure whether it was relief or disappointment shining in his eyes, but she didn't have much time to think about it before the third and final name was called, "and Sasuke Uchiha."
What? She thought to herself. She wasn't disappointed with her team, as she knew that both Sasuke and even Naruto had their strengths, but she wasn't sure why she had been placed on a team with the two of them. As far as she knew, teams were supposed to balance each other out, but she and Sasuke were the top of the class.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the glares of many girls in the classroom directed towards her, though when she looked towards Ino at least the blonde was giving her a comforting smile.
"Iruka-sensei!" She heard a voice shout, and knew by now that it belonged to Naruto. "Why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group with a slug like Sasuke?!"
"Sasuke had the best scores of all the graduating students. Naruto, you had the worst scores. To create a balanced group, we put the best student with the worst student."
At this Hinata hummed in thought. She had purposely not done her best in the exams as her senseis had warned her not to stand out to much at the start of her genin career. However, now that she was on a team with the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan, and the jinjuriki of the nine tailed fox, she decided it would be much harder for her to blend in.
I wonder what grandpa Hokage was thinking. Hinata wondered, but didn't put too much thought into it, as she trusted the old man to do what he thought was best for everyone.
"Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser." She heard Sasuke tell Naruto from across the room, and let a sigh escape her mouth. It would be much harder to work in a team where both the males constantly fought each other, but Hinata wasn't one to turn down a challenge so she decided to just take things in her stride.
They were dismissed for lunch shortly after that, and Hinata was planning to have one final lunch with Shikamaru and Choji before they had to give their full commitment to their teams for who knows how long.
"Shikamaru, how about a quick game of shoji?" Hinata asked and she watched as the boy before her smirked before pulling out a shoji board from who knows where. Choji sat down next to the two and offered some of his crisps to Hinata, which she accepted as she knew how rare it was for Choji to share his food.
"I win." Shikamaru stated and Hinata smiled at the board. They had only been playing for a short portion of lunch, but Hinata had been more distracted than usual, so the game didn't last as long as it usually did.
Hinata tipped her head back and allowed the sun to dance along her features. "Good game." She said with a smile, but the frowned when she noticed a figure sitting on the roof a fair distance away.
Activating her Scope channel, Hinata realised that it was Naruto and took that as her queue to be her friends goodbye for the time being. "Thank you for the game, Shikamaru," she said, standing up and stretching slightly, "and thank you for the food, Choji. I've got to go now, my teammate appears to be in need of a companion."
Shikamaru waved lazily and Choji nodded at her while continuing to munch on his crisps. "Good luck with that team of yours, Hinata. They sure are going to be a lot of work." Were the parting words that Shikarmaru shot at her and Hinata couldn't help but agree, though oddly enough she was looking forward to it.
However, as she got closer to Naruto, she saw him launch himself into the one of the windows of the academy. She was curious as to what he was doing, but decided that she would wait until he had finished rather than activating her Byakugan channel.
Seconds later, Hinata saw a figure exit the window. It looked like Sasuke, but Hinata could sense Naruto's chakra a mile away, though why he had decided to transform into Sasuke was beyond her.
The young genin decided to see where Sasuke was, rather than following Naruto, as she was sure that the hyperactive ninja was looking for trouble.
With this in mind, Hinata jumped through the window that Naruto had come from and took in the sight in front of her. The great Uchiha, the number one rookie of the year, was tied up and rolling around on the floor in an indignant fashion.
"Sasuke," Hinata greeted and when she got a grunt in return, a small giggle escaped her mouth, "would you like some help?" She asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, she knelt down and grabbed a kunai from the pouch on her leg.
Cutting through the ropes with ease, she watched as the raven haired boy stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm gonna kill him." He said with a serious look gracing his features before getting ready to jump through the window in the direction Naruto had went.
However, before he did, the boy hesitated for a moment, then turned around and thanked Hinata hurriedly. It was so fast and quiet that she wouldn't have caught it had she not had really good hearing thanks to her dragon heritage.
She did, however, miss the faint blush that adorned the boy's features as he rushed through the window and out of sight.
Hinata decided to head back towards the classroom. Any chance of talking with my teammates will come after lunch I suppose.
They're a funny pair. Daichi commented, and Hinata couldn't help but agree. Then again, she supposed that a dragon mistress would fit right in with regards to the odd category. She couldn't help but wonder who her sensei would be with slight apprehension. Knowing her grandpops, he would have definitely given them an odd ball teacher to match the dynamic they had going on.
Once Hinata had reached the classroom, she placed herself down in her seat and took out the bento that she had bought from the same restaurant she went to early in the morning. There was about fifteen minutes left of lunch, but Hinata knew it was enough time to eat a considerable amount of her food before the room started filling up.
"Hey Hinata!" Kiba greeted as he entered the room. Surprisingly, the Inuzuka was one of the first to arrive, which was strange in Hinata's opinion, as the boy was usually one of the last.
Hinata smiled at Kiba and packed away her bento. There wasn't much left, and she was full at the moment so she decided to save it until later. "Hello, Kiba." She said in the soft yet clear voice many of her classmates admired. "Are you happy with your team?" She asked curiously.
Kiba had been placed on a team with Shino Aburame and Sakura Haruno, and from what Hinata knew, he hadn't really ever spoken to them much.
The Inuzuka held his chin in thought before answering the small ninja in front of him. "I guess, I mean I haven't talked to Sakura or Shino much, but they seem cool. Apart from the Sasuke obsession thing." He muttered the last part under his breath but Hinata heard him loud and clear, and giggled quietly to herself.
"Shino is nice," she agreed with a firm nod, "but I haven't really spoken to Sakura much either."
Kiba grunted in reply, as he seemed deep in thought about something, before turning his full attention back to Hinata. By this time, others had began to enter the room, so Kiba started making his way to his seat. "Yeah, but hey! Good luck with your team! If you ever need a break you know where to find me." He told her and Hinata smiled in gratitude.
She had been to Kiba's compound a few times over the years, when they had been paired up for projects that required more than one lesson's worth of time. The atmosphere in the Inuzuka compound was a stark contrast to her own, and so Hinata had welcomed it every time she had been invited over to Kiba's.
Hinata turned her head to nod at the Nara who had placed himself next to her, and he gave her a lazy smile before placing his head on the desk. All of her classmates had filed in by now, and they watched as Iruka announced that they would be meeting their Jonin sensei.
One by one, a Jonin came in and called out the number of their respective team. When it was Shino and Kiba's turn, the latter gave Hinata a huge thumbs up while the other just nodded his head in a sign of farewell. Team 10 was next, and Shikamaru wished her good luck while Ino gave her a quick hug. Choji placed a lollipop on her desk, and once again she smiled in gratitude.
"Gee, Hinata. Everyone likes you." Naruto commented while rubbing the back of his neck.
Hinata wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to that. She hadn't done anything in particular for people to develop a liking towards her, but when she thought about it she supposed that there were many people in her class that showed her friendly affection.
"Thank you." She said quietly and then turned her attention towards the door as they sat in silence, waiting for their sensei to arrive.
The silence didn't last long, however, as Naruto began to get impatient a while later. "He's late." He stated and Hinata nodded her head in agreement.
She had grown bored of sitting at the desk and was now sitting on the desk with her legs crossed. Sasuke had given her a funny look when she had first moved, but now the two were quietly watching Naruto as he paced around the room in agitation.
"Do you want my lollipop, Naruto?" Hinata asked and held it out to the boy in question.
Naruto eyed it for a while before he eventually took it. "Thanks, Hinata!"
Hinata then turned towards Sasuke, who was watching the two with an unreadable expression. She didn't have anymore sweets, but she dug through her backpack until she pulled out an orange and threw it at the boy. She had a feeling that if she offered it him, he would have refused, so she decided to just give it to him without asking.
The raven haired boy caught the object with ease and looked at it for a moment before he began to peel it. He shot Hinata a small look of gratitude, and she smiled in return.
By this time, Naruto had finished the sweet Hinata had gave him, and was sticking his head out the door in search of their sensei. "When is he going to get here?!" The boy shouted and Hinata sighed slightly at the boy's impatience.
"He shouldn't be much longer, Naruto." She assured him, but she stopped the rest of what she was going to say when she noticed what he was doing.
Standing on a chair behind the door, Naruto placed the blackboard eraser in the gap between the wall and the door. "That's what he gets for coming late!" He shouted and Hinata sighed again, but a look of amusement coloured her features.
She sensed a foreign chakra approaching and activated her Byakugan channel in order to check who it was. Hinata deduced that it was their Jonin sensei due to the strength of the chakra, and she was about to notify the others before she decided to wait and see how everything played out.
Deciding to help Naruto out slightly, she placed a small, barely noticeable genjutsu over the eraser. If her sensei wanted to, he could easily have broken it as Hinata wasn't trying very hard, but at least Naruto had a slightly better chance of his prank succeeding.
"Our teacher's a Jonin, and elite ninja. You think he'd fall for that?" Sasuke questioned and Hinata looked over to him from her spot on the neighbouring desk.
"You never know." She mused and watched as the Jonin arrived just outside of the door. He seemed to pause for a second, and neither of her teammates had noticed him yet, but then he placed his hand on the door and slid it open.
PLONK!
Hinata almost couldn't believe her eyes for a second, but then she cracked a small smile and congratulated Naruto while Sasuke looked between the blond and their new sensei, obviously puzzled as to how a trick like that worked.
"I got him! He totally fell for it!" Naruto yelled and pointed at their new Jonin teacher, who still hadn't said anything.
He changes his moods very fast. Hinata observed and Daichi voiced his agreement.
Jumping down from the desk, she walked towards Naruto and gave him a slight pat on the back. The Jonin chose that moment to speak up, and what he said shocked the three young ninja in the room.
"Hmm, how can I put this? My first impression of this group…You're a bunch of idiots."
Sasuke and Naruto looked crestfallen while Hinata giggled slightly. She'd been called much worse than an idiot, and by the looks of things she had been right. Her sensei was an oddball.
"Meet me on the roof." With that he disappeared in a poof of smoke, but Hinata could see that he was only down the hall and steadily approaching the stairs to the roof.
"Hey! Where did he go?" Naruto exclaimed and Sasuke shook his head at the blond's actions.
"Probably to the roof, you idiot." He said and Hinata then shook her head at the raven haired boy's actions.
She began to make her way up there and the two boys behind her followed. They started to race along the corridor, and Hinata kept up with them but stayed slightly behind as she didn't want to get caught in whatever macho competition they were currently having.
"Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves? One at a time." Their sensei, whom none of them yet knew the name of asked.
"Why don't you go first?" Naruto said and Hinata silently praised the boy for his suggestion. "I mean, before we talk, tell us about you, so we can see how it's supposed to work."
"Me?" Their sensei questioned and the first thing Hinata hoped he told them was his name. "I'm 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 lot's of hobbies." He finished and Hinata scrutinised the man while Naruto whispered something about that not being helpful at all.
"Okay, your turn." Their sensei, Kakashi¸ Hinata reminded herself, nodded towards Naruto.
"Believe it! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen in a cup, and I really like the ramen Iruka-sensei got me at the Ichiraku noodle shop, but I hate the three minutes you have to wait after you pour the water in the ramen cup. My hobby is eating different kinds of ramen and comparing them and my future dream is to become the greatest Hokage. Then the whole village stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I'm somebody, somebody important!"
Kakashi observed the loud boy in front of him for a few moments, while Hinata smiled at his introduction. He seemed to like ramen as much as she liked cinnamon rolls…which was a lot.
He moved onto the boy who sat in between Hinata and Naruto. "Okay, next."
"My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke started and Hinata had a feeling that his introduction would not be as light hearted as Naruto's had. "I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything."
Everyone stared at Sasuke as he paused for a moment before carrying on. "What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and destroy a certain someone."
There was an awkward silence as everyone took in what Sasuke had just said, before Kakashi turned to Hinata. "Last one." He said, while secretly hoping in his mind for a semi-normal introduction.
"I'm Hinata…Hyuga." Hinata looked down as she said this, and no one missed her hesistation at saying her clan's name. "I like a lot things, but I love cinnamon rolls and dango." She softly informed them, trying to keep the subjects light. "I also dislike a lot of things, but I don't think you really need to know that."
At this, the two boys on her team looked at her in surprise. They'd never really spoken to Hinata much other then the few times Naruto had eaten with her at Ichiraku, or when they'd worked together on projects. The young girl before them didn't really look like she was the type to hate many things, but then again they didn't know her very well.
"I don't know if you would call it a dream, but I want to show that compassionate people can still make strong and powerful ninjas, and I want to be able to protect those close to me."
Her introduction was over quickly, and once again Kakashi looked deep in thought as he peered at the only female on the team.
You did well. Daichi voiced and Hinata thanked him.
"Good, you're all different. Our first mission is tomorrow."
At this Naruto perked up in excitement and questioned what the mission was going to be. After Kakashi had explained it, they all sat there in silence for a moment before Naruto shouted his displeasure.
"That's crazy!" He declared and Hinata couldn't help but agree.
Is there something I'm missing? Hinata questioned in her head, but Daichi was as clueless as her for once. Their teacher wasn't someone they knew personally, and it was hard to figure out what he was thinking.
"What was that graduation test for anyway?!" She heard Naruto exclaim and then realised that she had missed most of what he had said.
"Oh that? That was just to select candidates who might become Genin, or not." Kakashi informed them and Hinata wondered how he could say something like that with such nonchalance.
She would be lying if she said that she wasn't nervous, however she had faith in her abilities and knew that she was prepared for whatever their teacher threw at them tomorrow.
"Be at the designated training spot at 5am, and bring your ninja gear. Oh and tomorrow you better skip breakfast or else, you'll throw up."
After that their sensei seemingly vanished into thin air, or that was what it seemed like to the two boys next to her. Hinata could still see him in the range of her Byakugan channel but decided to deactivate her Muteki no mi as she didn't want to spy on him at that moment in time.
"We should go." Hinata told the boys in front of her, and she received a blank look from them both, before they seemed to snap out of whatever daze they were in.
"Yeah." Naruto agreed, but what surprised Hinata was that they all made their way down the stairs and out of the academy together.
They all continued down the empty streets until they got to a point where Naruto split off from them. "See you tomorrow!" He yelled as he ran off, not giving either of them the chance to reply.
Sasuke continued to walk beside her for a while after, before he too split off. "Goodnight." Hinata said and the boy turned around long enough to give her a small smirk. "You too."
They're different. Daichi commented and Hinata once again couldn't help but agree. She was right when she said that things were getting interesting.
How was it? Did you enjoy it?
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Also, I think this might be the end of my sudden burst of activity as my exams are drawing near, however after this next month or two I'll have plenty of time to write and I hope to continue with these steady updates.
Until next time,
See ya later alligators!
