Chapter 4
Note: Before anyone asks me, Shino won't be in this story. I looked over all of the original nine genin and the one who contributes the least to the story was Shino. As such, Janus will be taking his place on his team and in his fights. Oh, I've recently found out that sealing jutsus are referred to as fuuinjutsu, so that's how I'll be referring to it from now on. And thanks to animewatcher and Victor-Ko for being my first two reviewers. Oh and Victor, I do have stuff planned, you just have to keep reading to see. I try to explain my scroll shelves more in later chapters so it's easier how its set up is easier to understand, ok? Thanks for reading.
I walked into my old class room. It was empty. But I intended on being the first here, so it wasn't a problem. I took my usual seat; the second row on the instructor's left side. I took a scroll from my pouch and started reading. It was a scroll I had picked up that morning describing the most common ninja specializations from the five main villages and how to identify them. I reached Earth Village puppeteer by the time the next student came in.
Sasuke, Naruto's sworn rival. He's never really told me why he sees him that way. I've never had a problem with me. We have an unspoken agreement between us where he doesn't bug me, I won't bug him. He nodded my direction and I nodded back as he took his seat. After Sasuke arrived, the rest of the students slowly filled in afterward. I didn't really pay any attention to them till Hinata showed up and sat down next to me.
"Morning, Janus-kun. What you reading today?"
"It's just a scroll that teaches you ways to identify ninja specialists from other countries. Thought I should start looking into it for when I get a mission I might encounter them, you know, so I'd know what to expect. Example, according to the scroll, a specialization in Earth Village is using puppetry." Hinata let out a small giggle. "I know, it sounds funny, but in actuality it is quite a frightening specialization. They use human sized dolls to fight with. The dolls can hold any number of weapons in nearly every compartment and space inside. The really scary part is that the puppeteer can hide as the he fights his opponents with his puppet. The only thing that connects the puppet to the puppeteer is a group of about a half dozen thin charka threads that are used to control the puppet."
"Sounds dangerous."
"They are. But they are easy to identify. They have their puppet with them in a backpack of some kind. They also usually have fingerless leather gloves so they can have a direct charka link to the puppet and still be able to handle the weapons inside the puppets. And it goes into that much detail on seven or eight different ninja specializations for each village."
"Reading again? How tiresome." I looked up to see Shikamaru listening in on my conversation as he entered again.
"Hey, you know it drove me insane when you I lost that bet to you and couldn't read for a week." Shikamaru shrugged me off and took his seat in the back of the room. Besides Hinata, he was the closest thing I had to a friend. All we ever did was play shogi and go together, but it was always fun. I hold the title of the only person to ever beat him at shogi, even though I was only mimicking a championship match from twenty years ago, but still. He asked me how so I told him. I've never won a match after.
The room was mostly full, so I put my half read scroll into my pouch and looked around. Only a few people were missing, Naruto one of them. But I soon heard a loud voice echoing down the halls announcing his presence. He entered the room grinning broadly, as whispers were heard around the room. I only caught a few, but the sounded kinda like "didn't he fail the exam?" and "where did he get that headband." I was about to tell him off when Sakura and Ino came barging into the room, shoulder to shoulder.
"Oh great, the Sasuke-hunting club is here," I whispered to Hinata, who giggled quietly.
"Naruto move! I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" The two girls screamed at him, catching his attention. Sasuke looked annoyed as hell over the whole situation.
"How troublesome," I said, doing my best Shikamaru impersonation. I leaned back and pretended to watch the clouds on the ceiling. Suddenly I heard shocked gasps from nearly everyone in the room.
"Naruto-kun!" I heard Hinata nearly shout, which is barely above her normal whisper. I looked over at where my brother was and nearly choked on my tongue. What was he doing kissing Sasuke! This isn't good. When I saw the looks on their faces, it was quite obvious that kissing each other was the very last thing on either of their minds. Then I realized that Sasuke's fan club were there surrounding them.
"Umm, Hinata, I don't think you want to watch this." I covered her eyes Naruto was brutally beaten by almost every girl in the room. I looked at them; Sasuke's fan club was larger than I thought it was. I must be losing my touch already. Iruka entered the room and broke up the Naruto beating fest. Slowly, everyone took their seats and quieted down. Naruto was quite beaten.
"Beginning today all of you are real Ninjas," Iruka said after everyone had quieted down. "But you are still merely rookie Genin. The hard part has just started. Now we're going to divide you up into three- man teams and assign each team a Jounin Sensei to complete missions with." After saying this, Iruka paused to let it all sink in. I felt Sasuke's fan club talk amongst themselves about who would be might teamed up with Sasuke.
Now, if I was the senseis and I was smart, who would I team up...?" I looked around the room. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji no questions asked. Their fathers did so well together, breaking up how well that team works so well together when done properly. Their fathers would obviously help them out on it. Who else.... I looked around the room. Sasuke, the number one rookie, Naruto, last place, and......don't know. Oh well, no use fretting about it.
"We tried to balance each team's strength. I've decided on these teams. I'll now announce them..." and so, Iruka started listing off team names and numbers. I wasn't paying much attention, until...
"Next, Team 7...Uzumaki Naruto." My head perked up, thinking it was me, but it stayed up because it was my brother. "Haruno Sakura." On great, Sasuke's not going to like this, being teamed up with a fan girl. Naruto will, seeing as how he has a crush on her. She's cute and intelligent but she's always been so cruel to him. Oh well. They have to work it out. "And Uchiha Sasuke." Yep, save Sakura, I had that team pinned. Naruto's rivalry with Sasuke will push the two of them to achieve more. Sakura, I'm not so sure about.
"Now, Team 8. Hyuuga Hinata." I looked over at her as she got recognized being called upon. I assumed she was wish she was on Naruto's team. Might have been good for them both, but oh well. "Inuzuka Kiba." Ah, so she's teamed up with him. Kiba's a decent at taijutsu and could teach her a lot, if she ever tried to stray away from her clan's form. "Uzumaki Janus." What? I'm teamed up with Hinata? That's a surprise. I can understand now why they did it. We already work well together and I have been improving her self esteem. They probably assumed that it would be best for her that we keep at it. Kiba is probably here to help us both with our taijutsu, which I'm not stellar in. And his personality could help us both be more open with the rest of the world. It's going to be an interesting team.
"Team 10," I was pulled out of my self reflection. "Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji," I called it on the dot. They want to see if they can stand up to their fathers. I smiled to myself. The teachers hold nothing on me.
"That's it for the teams."
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted. I knew it was coming. "Why does an outstanding Ninja like me have to be on the same team as that bum!?" Naruto pointed over at Sasuke.
"Sasuke's marks were top among the graduates. Naruto, you were dead last!" Almost everyone started to laugh at him. The only people who didn't were Sasuke, Hinata, Shikamaru, and me. Sasuke probably didn't because he didn't care, Hinata because she has a crush on him, Shikamaru because it's to 'troublesome,' and me because he is my brother and he is ahead of me in almost everything he does. "We have to have it this way in order to balance the teams."
"Just don't get in my way, Dead Last." I cringed. Naruto isn't going to forgive Sasuke for that. Naruto started yelling at Sasuke not to call him that or something, I stopped paying attention. Now, who would be the jounin senseis...? Hmmm. I would have liked to be with Gai to improve my taijutsu, but he got a team last year so no luck there.
"This afternoon we'll introduce the Jounin Senseis. Until then, take a break!" Saying that, Iruka left the room and most of the teams collected together. Hinata and I stood up as Kiba walked over to us.
"So, I'm on a team with two outcasts, great." I felt a slight pain at that comment, and Hinata's eyes moved to the floor.
"Kiba, don't. We know that we are; we just don't like it when people point it out to us. And from what I've seen, you're one to so you shouldn't be talking."
"Got a tongue on you, I see. Interesting..."
"Kiba-kun, umm, I made lunch for Janus-kun and me, but I have extra, would you like to join us?" I looked over at Hinata, surprised. Did she somehow know we would be on the same team? Was I in the dark about it?
"Sure, Hinata. You have enough for Akamaru too, because if you don't, I need to go get something for him."
"I think that would be best. Janus-kun and I will go find someplace to eat, ok?"
"Deal, see ya in a few minutes then, ok?" We nodded and Kiba walked out of the room.
"Come on Hinata; let's find somewhere to eat, ok?" So, we left and ended up finding an empty picnic table in a nearby park. "You were actually planning on having me ask Naruto to eat lunch with us, right?" Hinata blushed.
"I did, but I couldn't do it and Kiba was there and...."
"And you thought that because we're a team now, we should start to get to know each other. Good thinking, Hinata." Hinata smiled proudly as Kiba walked up.
"Sorry for interrupting you two love birds." Hinata and I blushed.
"We're not like that, just friends, Kiba," Kiba grinned sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, sorry, it's just that the rumors have been saying the two of you have been dating for a year or so." Hinata gasped.
"Do you think Naruto-kun knows?"
"That loser, no way he'd know unless he overheard some of the girls in class talk about it, which I doubt," Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Kiba looked like nothing had happened even though she had nearly flat out told him she has a crush on Naruto. Who is denser, him or my brother? "So, Hinata, what do you have to eat." Akamaru barked at the comment and Kiba placed him on the table with his own food.
"Just a minute," Hinata reached into her pack and took out a couple of bentos. We took our chopsticks and started eating. I was astonished. I never knew Hinata was this good of a cook! It was delicious.
"Hinata, this is wonderful! Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"No kidding. This tastes better than what my mom usually cooks me," I cringed slightly at that comment, luckily, neither of the noticed it. Hinata blushed and Kiba was to busy eating. Akamaru looked at me funny though, so I shushed the dog and started eating again. I read that all ninja dogs were exceptionally smart, so I decided long ago to treat them like people.
"My family's cook teaches me."
"Oh, that's right; you're the heir to the Hyuuga clan, aren't you? How's that working out for you?"
"Umm, I'd rather not talk about it right now."
"Ok, just wondering. So, Janus, how's it like living with that loser brother of yours?"
"First, stop calling him a loser. Secondly...." At that moment, a sick looking Sasuke ran by us, running full tilt. That's uncharacteristic of him. I got up and looked at him running down the trail. Sasuke doesn't run like that, but I recognize it somehow. Then I realized what I forgot to do this morning. I drank the last of the milk and forgotten to throw out the expired milk out of the fridge. Naruto! How many times have I told you to check milk before you drink it! I shook my head as I sat back down.
"What was that all about?"
"Nothing important, Kiba. Naruto used henge to look like Sasuke for some reason and was running to the bathroom."
"Why would Naruto-kun do that?"
"You're asking me? I'm just his brother, not his keeper." I took a sip of my tea as I let my lunch settle. Kiba and Hinata did the same. "Well, we should start heading back; it's almost time to announce who our sensei will be."
"Janus-kun, do you have any idea who we might get?"
"What do you mean; you know a jounin or something?" Kiba asked as we headed back to the classroom.
"No, I've just read about all the jounin in Konoha and I have an idea on which ones aren't off on long-term missions. But I have no idea who our jounin could be. I have ideas on who would help us better ourselves, but there are too many to pick from. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
"Ah ha! So you don't know everything!"
"Another rumor?"
"Yep, because you always seem to be reading your own scrolls during lecture, yet get some of the best grades in the class."
"Kiba, ok, I guess you should know this. I have a photographic memory and I love to read. I've finished reading all the scrolls that the academy gives us three years ago. I would have taken and passed then but I kept on getting ill from Naruto forgetting to check the milk the day of the exam, so I never made a proper bunshin for the final. This year I didn't even eat breakfast for just that chance. I don't let Naruto pull the same stunt on me three times in a row."
"Well, no one can say you're not intelligent. Naruto, however..."
"Yeah, I think we can all agree," I looked at Hinata, "Naruto can be very dense at times." The three of use nodded in agreement as we laughed. After we finished, which took a while, we headed back to the academy, a close bond already forming.
The room was very noisy as teams were still getting to know each other. Well, almost all of them of the teams. Team 7 looked quite angry with each other. Well, Sasuke looked annoyed, Naruto was glaring at Sasuke, and Sakura was glaring at Naruto. Man, brother, your team has got to learn teamwork. But it's not my place to say. At that moment Iruka entered the room followed by ten jounin. I canted my head. Shouldn't there be eleven jounin? Then the jounin in question popped into my head. Hatake Kakashi, the only jounin who would probably be late to his own funeral. Of course, having the Sharingan helps that, though.
"Ok, now then. These jounin will be your senseis for the next few years. They will help you train and with missions. You may go and retrieve you teams now." As Iruka finished, the jounin walked to their groups. I watched as a tall woman walked towards the three of us. She had shoulder length hair, and was wearing an outfit that closely resembled a large ribbon that wrapped around her. But what really took my attention were her red eyes. I've never seen eyes like that before.
"So, you're Team 9. Lets go somewhere were we can talk as just a team, ok?" She said in a sweet, but battle-hardened voice. The three of us nodded, stood up and followed her. After jumping across some rooftops, we stopped at a small garden on some hotel. She directed us to sit down.
"So, I saw that the three of you got along pretty well during lunch." The three of use looked at each other. She was watching? "I was watching because I was curious how the three of you would get along, which surprised me. So now, I think we should start with some introductions. I'll go first. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. I've recently become a jounin so you are my first genin team." When I heard her name, I was curious. She wasn't one of the jounin that I thought would be assigned to this team, but when she said she had only recently become a jounin, it all clicked.
"You're a genjutsu specialist, aren't you?" She looked at me a little surprised.
"How did you figure that out?"
"Hokage-sama allowed me to read the Konoha Ninja Registry a year or so ago and you were registered as a Chuunin then."
"I'm surprised that you remember from that long ago. But I guess Iruka was right, you do have a photographic memory..."
"But I choose not to show it by purposefully answering incorrectly on tests. I just really didn't want to stand out," Hinata and Kiba gawked at me. "What? You really think I wanted to attract that much attention by scoring perfectly on every written test through the entire academy? I'd get labeled a genius when I'm really not." I noticed how Kurenai looked at me funny. I'm going to have to figure out how to read her soon.
"So then, you must be Uzumaki Janus. Would you mind telling us a little about yourself?"
"Sure. As you said, I'm Uzumaki Janus. My brother is the loudest ninja in Konoha. I'm decent at ninjutsu and genjutsu but my taijutsu skills are lacking. However, my hobby is working with fuuinjutsu." Kiba turned to and looked at me with a very shocked face, Kurenai also looked at me with what shocked look, not as blatant as Kiba's, but still a shocked look. Most people do when I tell them I've been learning fuuinjutsus for the last three years. "Other than that, I like to read and, as I said, I have a photographic memory. Oh, and I'm the only one who has ever beaten Shikamaru at shogi." Kiba was still looking at me in shock but Kurenai's face had returned to what I assume to be her normal, everyday face.
"Interesting. Young lady, you don't seem as fazed as your teammate to Janus's hobby."
"Oh, umm, that's because we're, uh, friends and he's shown me a few of them."
"Really now? So, would you like to introduce yourself net then?"
"Umm, ok, Kurenai-sensei. I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I'm a below average student who, I guess, just barely passed the genin exam. I'm trying to change myself so that I, umm, can become someone my family can depend on. My hobbies are sneaking up on Janus-kun and scaring him and, umm, watching someone...." Hinata started to trail off, blushing. I noticed the smile form on Kurenai's face. She understands, even though she might not know who.
"So, you're a Byakugan user. I don't know how much I can help you with your family jutsu, but I could help you with everything else. It's a pleasure to meet you, Hinata. Now, I see you've been itching for your turn, go ahead."
"Ha-ha, the best for last! I'm Inuzuka Kiba. I plan on following in my mother and sister's footsteps and show them that men can also become great Beast Ninjutsu users. My hobby is running through the forest with Akamaru."
"That's a really good goal, Kiba. I think we will all get along just fine. Now the, down to business," a stern look formed on Kurenai's face. "Tomorrow we will start our first mission. It will be a test of your abilities."
"What! We're genins now, why do we need to take another test?" Kiba shouted, hurting my ears. And I thought Naruto could pelt it out.
"You did, but consider this survival training. So, I want the three of you to show up on training field nine tomorrow at 6:00. Bring all your ninja tools; you're going to need them. Oh, and if you fail this test, which you probably will, you will be sent back to the academy." I gasped in shock. There is no way I'm going to fail this test. I'm not going to spend one more year at that academy. From the look on Kiba's face, he agreed with me. However, Hinata had a questioning look on her face.
"Umm, why will we probably fail this test, Kurenai-sensei?" I looked at Hinata, now why hadn't I thought of that question?
"Ah, a questing nature, it will get you far, Hinata. The reason is because this test has a sixty six failure percent." My jaw dropped. Sixty six! Uh oh, this test is going to be hard. Only the top third of the class will pass, a.k.a, Naruto won't pass. "So, if there aren't any more questions, I'll see you then, Team 8." After saying that, she vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Well, I'm off to spend the rest of the afternoon training with Akamaru. See ya two tomorrow, bright and early." Kiba started to walk away.
"See ya then, Kiba."
"Talk to tomorrow, Kiba-kun."
"Well, Hinata. Anything you want to do for our last afternoon as children?"
"Not really. I'm thinking I'm going to go home and train, if that's alright with you."
"Ok, see you then, Hinata." I waved as she walked away leaving me alone. I looked up. "Hokage-sama, don't you have some work to do besides spy on me? It's not like I'm going to kill somebody or something when you're not watching, or do I need to make a room that you can't scry into?" The slight presence I felt vanished, but I could still hear the sound of the Hokage chuckling softly in the background. Slowly I stood up and headed home. I still needed to seal Naruto's wall from Byakugan.
I rolled over to my back. For some reason, I just couldn't fall asleep. What kind of test did Kurenai have for us? I mean, we just became genin, so we are now soldiers of the Hokage. As soldiers of the Hokage, we are divided into groups where the lead by chuunin to perform missions, ranging from protection of people and locations, to information retrieval. We've already been taught all the basics to do the job, we just need real combat experience and more time to train our jutsus so we can be effective soldiers. What's the deal with another test? I can't figure it out. I sat up and hit my knees with my fists. We are supposed to learn how to be an effective team so that in the future, our chuunin leaders can effective use us to complete missions.
A light went off in my head. Why hadn't I thought of this before, it's so simple. Oh, I can't wait to tell Kiba and Hinata tomorrow so that we can frighten Kurenai on figuring it out. I doubt that Kiba or Hinata would realize this. Actually, the only other one of the genin who could would be Shikamaru. Everyone else is too caught up in themselves to think this way. I laid back down smiling, and quickly fell asleep, looking forward to our trial the next day.
Note: Before anyone asks me, Shino won't be in this story. I looked over all of the original nine genin and the one who contributes the least to the story was Shino. As such, Janus will be taking his place on his team and in his fights. Oh, I've recently found out that sealing jutsus are referred to as fuuinjutsu, so that's how I'll be referring to it from now on. And thanks to animewatcher and Victor-Ko for being my first two reviewers. Oh and Victor, I do have stuff planned, you just have to keep reading to see. I try to explain my scroll shelves more in later chapters so it's easier how its set up is easier to understand, ok? Thanks for reading.
I walked into my old class room. It was empty. But I intended on being the first here, so it wasn't a problem. I took my usual seat; the second row on the instructor's left side. I took a scroll from my pouch and started reading. It was a scroll I had picked up that morning describing the most common ninja specializations from the five main villages and how to identify them. I reached Earth Village puppeteer by the time the next student came in.
Sasuke, Naruto's sworn rival. He's never really told me why he sees him that way. I've never had a problem with me. We have an unspoken agreement between us where he doesn't bug me, I won't bug him. He nodded my direction and I nodded back as he took his seat. After Sasuke arrived, the rest of the students slowly filled in afterward. I didn't really pay any attention to them till Hinata showed up and sat down next to me.
"Morning, Janus-kun. What you reading today?"
"It's just a scroll that teaches you ways to identify ninja specialists from other countries. Thought I should start looking into it for when I get a mission I might encounter them, you know, so I'd know what to expect. Example, according to the scroll, a specialization in Earth Village is using puppetry." Hinata let out a small giggle. "I know, it sounds funny, but in actuality it is quite a frightening specialization. They use human sized dolls to fight with. The dolls can hold any number of weapons in nearly every compartment and space inside. The really scary part is that the puppeteer can hide as the he fights his opponents with his puppet. The only thing that connects the puppet to the puppeteer is a group of about a half dozen thin charka threads that are used to control the puppet."
"Sounds dangerous."
"They are. But they are easy to identify. They have their puppet with them in a backpack of some kind. They also usually have fingerless leather gloves so they can have a direct charka link to the puppet and still be able to handle the weapons inside the puppets. And it goes into that much detail on seven or eight different ninja specializations for each village."
"Reading again? How tiresome." I looked up to see Shikamaru listening in on my conversation as he entered again.
"Hey, you know it drove me insane when you I lost that bet to you and couldn't read for a week." Shikamaru shrugged me off and took his seat in the back of the room. Besides Hinata, he was the closest thing I had to a friend. All we ever did was play shogi and go together, but it was always fun. I hold the title of the only person to ever beat him at shogi, even though I was only mimicking a championship match from twenty years ago, but still. He asked me how so I told him. I've never won a match after.
The room was mostly full, so I put my half read scroll into my pouch and looked around. Only a few people were missing, Naruto one of them. But I soon heard a loud voice echoing down the halls announcing his presence. He entered the room grinning broadly, as whispers were heard around the room. I only caught a few, but the sounded kinda like "didn't he fail the exam?" and "where did he get that headband." I was about to tell him off when Sakura and Ino came barging into the room, shoulder to shoulder.
"Oh great, the Sasuke-hunting club is here," I whispered to Hinata, who giggled quietly.
"Naruto move! I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" The two girls screamed at him, catching his attention. Sasuke looked annoyed as hell over the whole situation.
"How troublesome," I said, doing my best Shikamaru impersonation. I leaned back and pretended to watch the clouds on the ceiling. Suddenly I heard shocked gasps from nearly everyone in the room.
"Naruto-kun!" I heard Hinata nearly shout, which is barely above her normal whisper. I looked over at where my brother was and nearly choked on my tongue. What was he doing kissing Sasuke! This isn't good. When I saw the looks on their faces, it was quite obvious that kissing each other was the very last thing on either of their minds. Then I realized that Sasuke's fan club were there surrounding them.
"Umm, Hinata, I don't think you want to watch this." I covered her eyes Naruto was brutally beaten by almost every girl in the room. I looked at them; Sasuke's fan club was larger than I thought it was. I must be losing my touch already. Iruka entered the room and broke up the Naruto beating fest. Slowly, everyone took their seats and quieted down. Naruto was quite beaten.
"Beginning today all of you are real Ninjas," Iruka said after everyone had quieted down. "But you are still merely rookie Genin. The hard part has just started. Now we're going to divide you up into three- man teams and assign each team a Jounin Sensei to complete missions with." After saying this, Iruka paused to let it all sink in. I felt Sasuke's fan club talk amongst themselves about who would be might teamed up with Sasuke.
Now, if I was the senseis and I was smart, who would I team up...?" I looked around the room. Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji no questions asked. Their fathers did so well together, breaking up how well that team works so well together when done properly. Their fathers would obviously help them out on it. Who else.... I looked around the room. Sasuke, the number one rookie, Naruto, last place, and......don't know. Oh well, no use fretting about it.
"We tried to balance each team's strength. I've decided on these teams. I'll now announce them..." and so, Iruka started listing off team names and numbers. I wasn't paying much attention, until...
"Next, Team 7...Uzumaki Naruto." My head perked up, thinking it was me, but it stayed up because it was my brother. "Haruno Sakura." On great, Sasuke's not going to like this, being teamed up with a fan girl. Naruto will, seeing as how he has a crush on her. She's cute and intelligent but she's always been so cruel to him. Oh well. They have to work it out. "And Uchiha Sasuke." Yep, save Sakura, I had that team pinned. Naruto's rivalry with Sasuke will push the two of them to achieve more. Sakura, I'm not so sure about.
"Now, Team 8. Hyuuga Hinata." I looked over at her as she got recognized being called upon. I assumed she was wish she was on Naruto's team. Might have been good for them both, but oh well. "Inuzuka Kiba." Ah, so she's teamed up with him. Kiba's a decent at taijutsu and could teach her a lot, if she ever tried to stray away from her clan's form. "Uzumaki Janus." What? I'm teamed up with Hinata? That's a surprise. I can understand now why they did it. We already work well together and I have been improving her self esteem. They probably assumed that it would be best for her that we keep at it. Kiba is probably here to help us both with our taijutsu, which I'm not stellar in. And his personality could help us both be more open with the rest of the world. It's going to be an interesting team.
"Team 10," I was pulled out of my self reflection. "Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji," I called it on the dot. They want to see if they can stand up to their fathers. I smiled to myself. The teachers hold nothing on me.
"That's it for the teams."
"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted. I knew it was coming. "Why does an outstanding Ninja like me have to be on the same team as that bum!?" Naruto pointed over at Sasuke.
"Sasuke's marks were top among the graduates. Naruto, you were dead last!" Almost everyone started to laugh at him. The only people who didn't were Sasuke, Hinata, Shikamaru, and me. Sasuke probably didn't because he didn't care, Hinata because she has a crush on him, Shikamaru because it's to 'troublesome,' and me because he is my brother and he is ahead of me in almost everything he does. "We have to have it this way in order to balance the teams."
"Just don't get in my way, Dead Last." I cringed. Naruto isn't going to forgive Sasuke for that. Naruto started yelling at Sasuke not to call him that or something, I stopped paying attention. Now, who would be the jounin senseis...? Hmmm. I would have liked to be with Gai to improve my taijutsu, but he got a team last year so no luck there.
"This afternoon we'll introduce the Jounin Senseis. Until then, take a break!" Saying that, Iruka left the room and most of the teams collected together. Hinata and I stood up as Kiba walked over to us.
"So, I'm on a team with two outcasts, great." I felt a slight pain at that comment, and Hinata's eyes moved to the floor.
"Kiba, don't. We know that we are; we just don't like it when people point it out to us. And from what I've seen, you're one to so you shouldn't be talking."
"Got a tongue on you, I see. Interesting..."
"Kiba-kun, umm, I made lunch for Janus-kun and me, but I have extra, would you like to join us?" I looked over at Hinata, surprised. Did she somehow know we would be on the same team? Was I in the dark about it?
"Sure, Hinata. You have enough for Akamaru too, because if you don't, I need to go get something for him."
"I think that would be best. Janus-kun and I will go find someplace to eat, ok?"
"Deal, see ya in a few minutes then, ok?" We nodded and Kiba walked out of the room.
"Come on Hinata; let's find somewhere to eat, ok?" So, we left and ended up finding an empty picnic table in a nearby park. "You were actually planning on having me ask Naruto to eat lunch with us, right?" Hinata blushed.
"I did, but I couldn't do it and Kiba was there and...."
"And you thought that because we're a team now, we should start to get to know each other. Good thinking, Hinata." Hinata smiled proudly as Kiba walked up.
"Sorry for interrupting you two love birds." Hinata and I blushed.
"We're not like that, just friends, Kiba," Kiba grinned sheepishly scratching the back of his head.
"Oh, sorry, it's just that the rumors have been saying the two of you have been dating for a year or so." Hinata gasped.
"Do you think Naruto-kun knows?"
"That loser, no way he'd know unless he overheard some of the girls in class talk about it, which I doubt," Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Kiba looked like nothing had happened even though she had nearly flat out told him she has a crush on Naruto. Who is denser, him or my brother? "So, Hinata, what do you have to eat." Akamaru barked at the comment and Kiba placed him on the table with his own food.
"Just a minute," Hinata reached into her pack and took out a couple of bentos. We took our chopsticks and started eating. I was astonished. I never knew Hinata was this good of a cook! It was delicious.
"Hinata, this is wonderful! Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"No kidding. This tastes better than what my mom usually cooks me," I cringed slightly at that comment, luckily, neither of the noticed it. Hinata blushed and Kiba was to busy eating. Akamaru looked at me funny though, so I shushed the dog and started eating again. I read that all ninja dogs were exceptionally smart, so I decided long ago to treat them like people.
"My family's cook teaches me."
"Oh, that's right; you're the heir to the Hyuuga clan, aren't you? How's that working out for you?"
"Umm, I'd rather not talk about it right now."
"Ok, just wondering. So, Janus, how's it like living with that loser brother of yours?"
"First, stop calling him a loser. Secondly...." At that moment, a sick looking Sasuke ran by us, running full tilt. That's uncharacteristic of him. I got up and looked at him running down the trail. Sasuke doesn't run like that, but I recognize it somehow. Then I realized what I forgot to do this morning. I drank the last of the milk and forgotten to throw out the expired milk out of the fridge. Naruto! How many times have I told you to check milk before you drink it! I shook my head as I sat back down.
"What was that all about?"
"Nothing important, Kiba. Naruto used henge to look like Sasuke for some reason and was running to the bathroom."
"Why would Naruto-kun do that?"
"You're asking me? I'm just his brother, not his keeper." I took a sip of my tea as I let my lunch settle. Kiba and Hinata did the same. "Well, we should start heading back; it's almost time to announce who our sensei will be."
"Janus-kun, do you have any idea who we might get?"
"What do you mean; you know a jounin or something?" Kiba asked as we headed back to the classroom.
"No, I've just read about all the jounin in Konoha and I have an idea on which ones aren't off on long-term missions. But I have no idea who our jounin could be. I have ideas on who would help us better ourselves, but there are too many to pick from. I guess we'll just have to wait and see."
"Ah ha! So you don't know everything!"
"Another rumor?"
"Yep, because you always seem to be reading your own scrolls during lecture, yet get some of the best grades in the class."
"Kiba, ok, I guess you should know this. I have a photographic memory and I love to read. I've finished reading all the scrolls that the academy gives us three years ago. I would have taken and passed then but I kept on getting ill from Naruto forgetting to check the milk the day of the exam, so I never made a proper bunshin for the final. This year I didn't even eat breakfast for just that chance. I don't let Naruto pull the same stunt on me three times in a row."
"Well, no one can say you're not intelligent. Naruto, however..."
"Yeah, I think we can all agree," I looked at Hinata, "Naruto can be very dense at times." The three of use nodded in agreement as we laughed. After we finished, which took a while, we headed back to the academy, a close bond already forming.
The room was very noisy as teams were still getting to know each other. Well, almost all of them of the teams. Team 7 looked quite angry with each other. Well, Sasuke looked annoyed, Naruto was glaring at Sasuke, and Sakura was glaring at Naruto. Man, brother, your team has got to learn teamwork. But it's not my place to say. At that moment Iruka entered the room followed by ten jounin. I canted my head. Shouldn't there be eleven jounin? Then the jounin in question popped into my head. Hatake Kakashi, the only jounin who would probably be late to his own funeral. Of course, having the Sharingan helps that, though.
"Ok, now then. These jounin will be your senseis for the next few years. They will help you train and with missions. You may go and retrieve you teams now." As Iruka finished, the jounin walked to their groups. I watched as a tall woman walked towards the three of us. She had shoulder length hair, and was wearing an outfit that closely resembled a large ribbon that wrapped around her. But what really took my attention were her red eyes. I've never seen eyes like that before.
"So, you're Team 9. Lets go somewhere were we can talk as just a team, ok?" She said in a sweet, but battle-hardened voice. The three of us nodded, stood up and followed her. After jumping across some rooftops, we stopped at a small garden on some hotel. She directed us to sit down.
"So, I saw that the three of you got along pretty well during lunch." The three of use looked at each other. She was watching? "I was watching because I was curious how the three of you would get along, which surprised me. So now, I think we should start with some introductions. I'll go first. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai. I've recently become a jounin so you are my first genin team." When I heard her name, I was curious. She wasn't one of the jounin that I thought would be assigned to this team, but when she said she had only recently become a jounin, it all clicked.
"You're a genjutsu specialist, aren't you?" She looked at me a little surprised.
"How did you figure that out?"
"Hokage-sama allowed me to read the Konoha Ninja Registry a year or so ago and you were registered as a Chuunin then."
"I'm surprised that you remember from that long ago. But I guess Iruka was right, you do have a photographic memory..."
"But I choose not to show it by purposefully answering incorrectly on tests. I just really didn't want to stand out," Hinata and Kiba gawked at me. "What? You really think I wanted to attract that much attention by scoring perfectly on every written test through the entire academy? I'd get labeled a genius when I'm really not." I noticed how Kurenai looked at me funny. I'm going to have to figure out how to read her soon.
"So then, you must be Uzumaki Janus. Would you mind telling us a little about yourself?"
"Sure. As you said, I'm Uzumaki Janus. My brother is the loudest ninja in Konoha. I'm decent at ninjutsu and genjutsu but my taijutsu skills are lacking. However, my hobby is working with fuuinjutsu." Kiba turned to and looked at me with a very shocked face, Kurenai also looked at me with what shocked look, not as blatant as Kiba's, but still a shocked look. Most people do when I tell them I've been learning fuuinjutsus for the last three years. "Other than that, I like to read and, as I said, I have a photographic memory. Oh, and I'm the only one who has ever beaten Shikamaru at shogi." Kiba was still looking at me in shock but Kurenai's face had returned to what I assume to be her normal, everyday face.
"Interesting. Young lady, you don't seem as fazed as your teammate to Janus's hobby."
"Oh, umm, that's because we're, uh, friends and he's shown me a few of them."
"Really now? So, would you like to introduce yourself net then?"
"Umm, ok, Kurenai-sensei. I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I'm a below average student who, I guess, just barely passed the genin exam. I'm trying to change myself so that I, umm, can become someone my family can depend on. My hobbies are sneaking up on Janus-kun and scaring him and, umm, watching someone...." Hinata started to trail off, blushing. I noticed the smile form on Kurenai's face. She understands, even though she might not know who.
"So, you're a Byakugan user. I don't know how much I can help you with your family jutsu, but I could help you with everything else. It's a pleasure to meet you, Hinata. Now, I see you've been itching for your turn, go ahead."
"Ha-ha, the best for last! I'm Inuzuka Kiba. I plan on following in my mother and sister's footsteps and show them that men can also become great Beast Ninjutsu users. My hobby is running through the forest with Akamaru."
"That's a really good goal, Kiba. I think we will all get along just fine. Now the, down to business," a stern look formed on Kurenai's face. "Tomorrow we will start our first mission. It will be a test of your abilities."
"What! We're genins now, why do we need to take another test?" Kiba shouted, hurting my ears. And I thought Naruto could pelt it out.
"You did, but consider this survival training. So, I want the three of you to show up on training field nine tomorrow at 6:00. Bring all your ninja tools; you're going to need them. Oh, and if you fail this test, which you probably will, you will be sent back to the academy." I gasped in shock. There is no way I'm going to fail this test. I'm not going to spend one more year at that academy. From the look on Kiba's face, he agreed with me. However, Hinata had a questioning look on her face.
"Umm, why will we probably fail this test, Kurenai-sensei?" I looked at Hinata, now why hadn't I thought of that question?
"Ah, a questing nature, it will get you far, Hinata. The reason is because this test has a sixty six failure percent." My jaw dropped. Sixty six! Uh oh, this test is going to be hard. Only the top third of the class will pass, a.k.a, Naruto won't pass. "So, if there aren't any more questions, I'll see you then, Team 8." After saying that, she vanished in a puff of smoke.
"Well, I'm off to spend the rest of the afternoon training with Akamaru. See ya two tomorrow, bright and early." Kiba started to walk away.
"See ya then, Kiba."
"Talk to tomorrow, Kiba-kun."
"Well, Hinata. Anything you want to do for our last afternoon as children?"
"Not really. I'm thinking I'm going to go home and train, if that's alright with you."
"Ok, see you then, Hinata." I waved as she walked away leaving me alone. I looked up. "Hokage-sama, don't you have some work to do besides spy on me? It's not like I'm going to kill somebody or something when you're not watching, or do I need to make a room that you can't scry into?" The slight presence I felt vanished, but I could still hear the sound of the Hokage chuckling softly in the background. Slowly I stood up and headed home. I still needed to seal Naruto's wall from Byakugan.
I rolled over to my back. For some reason, I just couldn't fall asleep. What kind of test did Kurenai have for us? I mean, we just became genin, so we are now soldiers of the Hokage. As soldiers of the Hokage, we are divided into groups where the lead by chuunin to perform missions, ranging from protection of people and locations, to information retrieval. We've already been taught all the basics to do the job, we just need real combat experience and more time to train our jutsus so we can be effective soldiers. What's the deal with another test? I can't figure it out. I sat up and hit my knees with my fists. We are supposed to learn how to be an effective team so that in the future, our chuunin leaders can effective use us to complete missions.
A light went off in my head. Why hadn't I thought of this before, it's so simple. Oh, I can't wait to tell Kiba and Hinata tomorrow so that we can frighten Kurenai on figuring it out. I doubt that Kiba or Hinata would realize this. Actually, the only other one of the genin who could would be Shikamaru. Everyone else is too caught up in themselves to think this way. I laid back down smiling, and quickly fell asleep, looking forward to our trial the next day.