Enjoy this moment of peace, cause next chapter is when the action is going to pick up!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Naruko. I only own this fan fiction. But if I had all the money in the world I'd probably own it (along with other stuff).

TheBeauty: Thank you for the review! :D

Benji. : Will do! Haha, thanks so much for the review :)

PrincessAnime08: Super, ultra high-school level thanks for the review!

Naruko-ナルコ-

Chapter 9

Team 7

"Today's the day!" Naruto raised his chopsticks "Lets chow down!"

Slurping his noodles like there was no tomorrow Naruko just stared at her brother in disbelief "You do know there is other stuff in the fridge besides ramen right?"

"Yeah but today is the day we get put into squads so why not celebrate it with a cup of ramen!" If she hadn't have told him ramen isn't a breakfast food seven times already she would've said something now.

"Don't worry," he told her "I promise it won't be an everyday thing."

"You said that yesterday," she sighed, fixing herself a bowl of cereal as she listened to Naruto's excuses.

"Well tomorrow is a new day! Come on, aren't you excited?"

"I am," she said "I'm just looking out for you. Wouldn't want the future Hokage to die from a poor diet."

"Haha, very funny," he pouted, drinking the broth from his ramen.

Picking up the milk, Naruko caught whiff of a terrible odor. "You didn't drink this yet right?"

"I did, why?"

"Its expired," she stated, looking at the carton's expiration date.

"What?!" he nearly choked on the rest of this noodles.

"Now do you see what happens when you eat poorly?" Naruko told her concerned brother. "Anyways, if you start to feel a stomach ache just take some medicine and you should be good."

"Uh..." for a moment, Naruto felt like he was talking to an adult "Right. I'm going to get ready. Wait for me okay?"

"I'll be here," picking up her headband Naruko examines it front and back. For the past few days she had been wondering how she should wear it. She considered wearing it around her neck, but it would just bother her from moving around too much. Naruko didn't care too much for materialistic items, but if it was something she had to wear for awhile it wouldn't hurt to put a little effort into looking good.

After a few minuets passed, she finally came to an agreement with herself. She would wear her new headband the traditional way, around her forehead.

"Alright! Lets go!" Naruto cheered, throwing fists in the air as he walked out of his room. Naruko smiled and followed her twin out the door.

"Hehehe," Naruto could hardly contain his excitement. It even started to rub off on Naruko.

"You look like you're about to jump out of your seat," Naruko chuckled. For the past few minuets he had been changing his posture, nonstop.

"Huh, Naruto? What are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked, while walking down the aisle.

"Can't you see?" Naruto pointed to his headband "I'm here for orientation! Believe it!"

Hearing someone take a seat next to her, Naruko turned her head to see Sasuke. She hadn't talked to him in days since their little argument the other day. She wasn't even sure on whether to say good morning or not. Where they even in an argument still? Naruko couldn't tell, the Uchiha had become more difficult to read.

She decided to take her chances, "Good morning." Sasuke just glanced and ignored her. "You're still angry huh." Still, no response. Naruko sighed and crossed her arms. It was obvious he wasn't going to talk anytime soon.

"Morning Sakura!" Naruko heard her brother shout.

Sakura...thats a pretty name. Naruko mentally spoke too soon.

"Move it Naruto!" A girl with pink hair growled while pushing Naruto out of his seat. Naruko's mouth slightly dropped. The girl slightly reminded her of Aka, only she had a slightly bigger forehead. Naruko then glanced up and saw Ino besides her. Though she wasn't on good terms with her, she didn't exactly hate her.

"Ino, is this your friend?" Naruko asked.

"What? Hell no! Why would I be friends with billboard brow?"

"Shut up Ino-Pig!"

"Oh uh, did you guys need something then?" Naruko blinked.

"Are you sitting there?" asked Sakura. A mischievous smile grew on Naruko's face, she could tell right away this girl had a crush on Sasuke.

"Would you like to sit here?" Naruko offered, she could practically feel Sasuke's eyes glaring daggers at her.

"What? I wanna sit next to Sasuke!" shouted one girl.

"I was here first! I should get to sit next to him!"cried another.

"Well the seat is open now," Naruko stated. She then took a seat next to Hinata, who sat in the back of the classroom.

"N-naruko! Good morning," Hinata smiled warmly.

"Good morning Hinata," Naruko was relieved to see at least somebody was in a good mood "Are you excited for today?"

Hinata nodded her head "I...I just hope I'll be with uhm..." she then glanced to the knuckle-headed ninja who was staring at Sasuke, from the top of his desk. The two seemed to be in an intense glaring contest, like a cat and dog about to duke it out.

"Naruto! Stop glaring at Sasuke!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Hopefully you guys do get into the same squad," Naruko winked. She expected Hinata to turn red but instead her eyes widened. Naruko then looked in the same direction as the shocked Hyuga to find an interesting scene. If Sasuke wasn't angry at Naruko, she would've felt bad. But at the moment, she was enjoying her vengeance. Hinata on the other hand, was left speechless along with everyone else who saw it. The most popular guy in class, Sasuke Uchiha, had lost his first kiss. And not to just anyone, it was to Naruto of all people.

"Sorry, did I bump you?" apologized a ninja who sat in the row in front of them.

"Uh..." Naruto gulped, within mere seconds he found himself getting pounded by at least every member of Sasuke's fan club. It would've escalated too if Iruka hadn't have walked in. It took him awhile, but after a few minuets he was able to settle down everyone and begin the orientation.

"So have you tried to talk to my brother?" Naruko whispered low, to avoid getting yelled at by Iruka.

"Uhm..." Hinata began, fumbling her fingers. "Well...not really..."

"Would you want me to talk to him about it?" Naruko offered. If Naruto was going to end up with somebody, she would prefer it be with somebody who actually took interest in him.

"I-its okay...besides, he likes Sakura so..." her voice then faded out. Naruko glanced at the pink haired kunoichi. The girl who had pushed Naruto out of his seat and then pounded on him. Though she only knew the girl for a half an hour, she could tell she didn't really like Naruto. No, scratch that, she seemed to hate him.

"I will now announce the squads," Iruka stated as he read down the list of names. It wasn't until he reached squad seven did Naruko start hearing familiar names.

"Squad seven: Naurto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno..."

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered. Sakura dropped her head down as if all hope was lost.

"And Sasuke Uchiha," after Iruka finished. Immediately Naruto's and Sakura's expressions switched. Naruto was bummed out, while Sakura literary jumped for joy.

"I won't be with Naruto then..." Hinata sank into her seat. Even Naruko was a bit sad too. She wouldn't be with Naruto or Sasuke.

"Hey, maybe we'll be in the same team," Naruko mumbled.

"Squad eight," Iruka continued "Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame."

Naruko figured her luck was running short. She was well aware that these squads were no social gathering, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't bummed out about the squads.

"Now for the last one. Squad ten: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, And Choji Akimichi."

"Iruka-sensei," Naruko shot her hand up "You never called my name."

"Ah yes, I'm sorry Naruko. I wanted to tell you in private but I guess now would be an appropriate time." Iruka said as he scratched the back of his head. "Since we didn't have any time to register you, the Hokage has given me permission to assign you to any squad."

"What?! Hey thats not fair!" Ino complained.

"Why does she get special treatment?" yelled another voice.

"Hey, hey! Settle down!" Iruka shouted "Since we ended up with an odd number of students this year, creating another group would be impossible at this time! Now Naruko, which squad would you like to join?"

Naruko couldn't believe she was actually given the choice "You're allowing me to choose?"

Iruka nodded his head "Since you did so well on the graduation exam, I'm giving you the option."

"Thank you," she said, while bowing in respect. "I choose squad seven." As soon as she said that, she immediately got the reaction she expected from a certain fan club. Tons of comments and insults began to spread like fire.

I'm sorry Hinata, Naruko spoke mentally. As much as she wanted to be in a team with Hinata, she'd rather be with her brother and Sasuke. Even if it meant dealing with Sakura.

"Hey sensei!" Naruto yelled, throwing his hand up "I got a question too! Why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group as Sasuke?!"

Iruka sighed, putting his clipboard down "Out of the graduating students Sasuke had the highest scores. Naruto, you had the worst scores. In order to create a balanced group, we put the best student with the worst student." the class then broke out in laughter.

"Hey, hey!" Iruka shouted "Let me finish before I dismiss you. You are to report back here to meet your new jonin teacher after lunch. Do I make myself clear? Good, now class is dismissed."

"Hey!" Sakura called out as she walked up to a certain blonde "Naruko is your name right?"

"Oh Sakura," Naruko noticed "Did you want to have lunch together?" She would've asked Sasuke and Naruto to join but as soon as class was dismissed they both vanished into the crowd.

"What?" Sakura acted surprise "No! Why would I want to eat lunch with you?!"

"Well we're in the same group, so I thought it would be a nice way of getting to know each other."

"We're only in the same group because you chose to be here," Sakura said with an annoyed tone.

"Whats so bad about that?" There was no point for Naruko to add fuel to the fire. She knew Sakura's hatred towards her was bias.

"Well I don't like it. Not. One. Bit," Sakura glared at Naruko. "Let me give some advice, since we just met. Sasuke is mine." Naruko stared at the pink haired kunoichi for a moment. As the wind blew past them both she could tell Sakura was being serious. Very serious. Naruko began to snicker. She wasn't aware Sasuke had become a possession. Seems like his fan club was as competitive as ever.

"Whats so funny?" Sakura frowned.

"Oh nothing," Naruko replied. "But hey, since you gave me some advice, let me return the favor and share some knowledge..." Naruko's expression then went cold and serious.

"If you keep letting your blind infatuation cloud your judgement your as good as dead. No ninja lives long if he or she allows their emotions to sway their actions." Naruko stated as she began to walk past Sakura "I suggest you start learning that quickly."

Sakura would be lying if she said she didn't feel a sudden chill go down her spine. After seeing such an eerie yet wary look through Naruko's eyes she couldn't stare at her, let alone say anything back. The pink haired genin had realized that the girl who stood in front of her was in no way like her twin.

For her sake I hope she is a fast learner... Naruko was well aware that death was inevitable, especially in the shinobi culture. But at the end of the day, she wasn't in control of anyone's actions. All she could do was hope her small efforts would pay off.

After Naruko's argument with Sakura, she went back to the classroom in hopes for peace and quiet. There she found Hinata's team, squad eight, eating lunch together and enjoying each other's company. In a way she was envious. The team had appeared to develop a bond with one another already unlike her team, which had several ticking time bombs.

"Hey Naruko!" Kiba greeted her "Where's your team?"

"Kiba," Naruko waved as she headed to the trio. "And as for my team. I'm not sure, they all just headed in their own directions."

"Well that is weird," he said while eating his lunch. "You should've picked our team, we'd love to have you!"

"I'm starting to realize that," she had only been a member of squad seven for twenty minuets and already things were taking a turn in a negative direction. "You guys don't mind if I join you for lunch right?"

"No, not at all." Hinata said "P-please, sit."

"Thank you," Naruko replied, taking a seat.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't introduced you to my partner yet."

"Partner?" Naruko wondered.

"You mean Akamaru," Shino stated.

Kiba nodded his head "Yeah. He may be little, but hes got a big bite for a pup. I'm sure he'd love you."

"I've never seen a dog with shinobi skills before," Naruko admitted, mentally excluding the summoning spirits she had seen on her travels with Jiraiya. "Where is he?"

"Hes back at home, since the academy doesn't allow animals inside," Kiba spoke. "If you want, uh, you can stop by and visit later."

His facial expression looks just like Hinata's. Naruko noticed, seeing Kiba's cheeks turn a light shade of red.

"Sure," she told him. It wouldn't do any harm if she went to the Inuzuka residence, but she would make sure she didn't overstay her welcome. "I'll come by later."

She had a feeling that once she met her new sensei they would be dismissed early... Still, no body could ever replace Jiraiya-sensei. Not in Naruko's perspective at least. To her, Jiraiya was the strongest shinobi she had ever met, and even though she was aware her new sensei would not be as strong or wise she knew she would have to give him or her the same respect as she did with Jiraiya.

I hope he is doing okay, Naruko mentally sighed. I miss him.

As she continued her conversation with the rest of squad eight, the classroom began to fill up again. With most squads sitting with their groups everyone waited until each of their sensei arrived.

"He's late," Naruto complained as he kept walking back and forth.

"Just sit down Naruto!" Sakura shouted, though it was obvious she was just as impatient as he was. Even Sasuke was beginning to grow irritated too.

"But I can't! Everyone else got to meet their teachers plus Iruka-sensei is gone too!" He had a point there. Iruka-sensei had left twenty minuets ago.

"Yeah, we know already." Sakura sighed.

"Hmm..." Naruko murmured as she walked to the door. Trying to fix the door she jammed the other day she only found herself breaking the door even more.

"What are you doing?" asked her pink hair comrade. Naruko just ignored her and focused on the sliding door.

Okay, maybe if I try to push it back in...

"Argh!"

"Ah!" Naruto gasped "You just broke the door even more!"

"..." There goes the rest of Naruko's money for the week. She was going to have to cancel her plans with Kiba to stay after and fix this. "I'm sorry."

"Ehh, I don't think we're the ones you should be apologizing too..." Naruto said.

"Well this is interesting..." immediately, everyone's attention darted to the door where a jonin was stepping over the broken door "A squad of four huh?"

As Naruko looked in the door way she saw a familiar face. Though she had never met him in person she had seen pictures and heard a lot about him . The man with the sharingan eye. Kakashi Hatake.

"My first impression of you guys..." he began as he rested his hand on his chin "Is your a bunch of idiots."

Naruko and the rest were left speechless, unsure of whether to comment on his insult or not.

Cha! He has the nerve to insult us after being hours late? Who the heck does he think he is?! Sakura shouted mentally. For another minuet, the four of them stood in place. It wasn't until Kakashi told them to follow him to the rooftop of the academy did they do anything.

"Alright, why don't we start by introducing ourselves," Kakashi spoke in a bored tone. "You can say what you like, dislike, hobbies. Or maybe your dreams for the future. That kind of stuff."

"Well can you give us an example on how we should start?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi sighed "Alright then. I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate...I'm not really sure. My hobbies are...I don't feel like telling you that. My dream for the future. Hm, I never really thought of that."

Sakura then whispered a comment on how vague he was being. Naruko couldn't help but agree. In a way, he reminded Naruko of Jiraiya. Except unlike the Toad Sage, Kakashi came off as more aloof and mysterious.

"Alright, you on the left." Kakashi ordered. Sakura immediately tensed up and straightened her back. She wasn't expecting to go first.

"I'm Sakura Haruno!" she spoke cheerfully. "What I like, I mean the person I like is..."Sakura quickly blushed and looked at Sasuke "My hobby is...My dream for the future is...kyaa!"

"And...?" Kakashi spoke, with an uninterested tone "What do you hate?"

"Naruto!"

Most girls her age are more into boys than into ninja training... Kakashi could only hope that the other one wouldn't be like her. Naruto on the other hand, was deeply upset by Sakura's words.

"Alright, next girl."

"I'm Naruko Uzumaki. I like reading, the Leaf Village, and ramen, but not as much as my brother Naruto. My hobbies are, as I said before, reading, and also training. What I hate is...well lets skip that. Anyways, as for my dream...Its to live in a world full of peace."

How naive, yet interesting...The jonin could remember what the Hokage told him about her. Unlike the rest of the graduating students this one was different and trained by none other than Jiraiya.

"I see...next."

"Believe it! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I like instant ramen in a cup, especially Ichiraku Ramen. My hobby is comparing ramen and trying different types of I hate the part when you have to wait for the ramen to cool down. And my dream is to be to greatest hokage! That way everyone will look up to me like I'm somebody!"

The other twin is interesting in his own way... Kakashi mentally thought. He was unsure what to expect from him. From what he was told, Naruto was known as the class clown.

"Alright, last one."

"My name, is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything." His words were filled with venom. "What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone."

A cold silence swept in and left an almost chocking sensation. Along with everyone else, Naruko's eyes were glued onto the Uchiha. Everyone had different thoughts. Kakashi had expected no less. Naruto was scared. Sakura was amazed. Naruko was speechless.

So much has changed... To think, Itachi had done all of this. Naruko didn't like thinking about it, but no matter what those events were burned into her head.

"...Good," Kakashi spoke, cutting through the suffocating silence. "You are all unique in your own ways. Tomorrow we will being our survival test."

"Survival tests?" Sakura repeated "But I thought we were done with all that. We graduated now!"

"Oh you mean the graduation test? That was just a way of gathering candidates," Kakashi was practically smirking from behind his mask. "Truth is, out of all the students that passed only nine will actually become genin. The others will be weeded out and sent back to the academy. Of course, if you guys pass it would raise the number to ten."

"What?!" Naruto gasped "We worked hard to get here! We can't just get sent back!"

"Well then, I hope you're prepared for tomorrow then. Be at the training grounds at 6:30am. Be there early. Oh and one more thing, don't eat. Or else you'll puke."

Naruko-ナルコ-

Chapter 10

Survival Test