Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own many of the characters. I do own Kaori, Ichiro, Akiko, and any villains who are not members of Akatsuki.
Chapter 1:
There was a loud knock on the door. Kaori woke up startled by the noise.
"Who is it?" He asked.
"It's Akiko, hurry up. We're already late for the graduation ceremony!"
Kaori looked at his watch. "It's this late already?"
He got dressed quickly and hurried out. Akiko was already waiting for him.
Akiko and Kaori had been friends since they were little. Their appearances were so similar that people usually thought they were siblings. They were both very tall, with black hair and green eyes. Kaori always spiked his hair, and Akiko had long, straight hair, extending to the middle of her back. She usually wore it in a ponytail, but for the ceremony she had curled it and let it flow. They ran as fast as they could towards the ceremony's location.
When they arrived, the ceremony had already started. The Hokage was about to begin calling those who graduated from the academy to present them with their headbands, a symbol of maturity and the symbol of the ninja. They had been waiting for this moment ever since their first year at the academy.
The three years they had spent working on their genjutsu and taijutsu had been worth the while though. From this day on they would be working for the feudal lords, taking missions, and training to become stronger.
As Genins they would only be taking "A" ranked missions, but when they became Chuunins, they would start taking rank "B" and "C" missions. Then they could become Jounins, which met they'd be allowed to take "D" rank missions, as well as training their own group of Genins.
They took their seats trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, yet they felt a wave of stares in their direction as they sat down.
"Thank god that our parents' group is out on a mission, I couldn't look at their faces if they saw me arrive this late" Whispered Kaori.
"What happened? Why are you here so late?" Asked Konohamaru who was sitting on Akiko's other side.
"I overslept." He replied.
"Really? That doesn't sound like you at all…"
He was right. Akiko was known for his punctuality. This was the first time he ever arrived late to anything, let alone the most important event he had ever attended.
The Hokage called Akiko. Tsunade had already been the Hokage for three years now. She had long blonde hair, and though she was about fifty years old, she looked like twenty three.
Akiko got up and went to the altar. The view of the Hokage Mountain was clear. The mountain had the faces of all the Hokages' heads sculpted on its side. They had recently finished sculpting Tsunade's face onto it.
When he reached Tsunade, she presented him with the headband, as well as his diploma, and a list of the members on his three men group. He was happy to find that Kaori had been assigned to his same team. The other team member was Ichiro, a mysterious kid, rumored to be the last living member of his clan.
He had always been in good terms with Ichiro, though he had never really been too close with him. Ichiro was shorter than Akiko, with tan skin and shoulder length hair which always fell over his face covering his eyes. He also wore shades wherever he went so his eye color was a mystery to everyone. This air of mysteriousness was something that caused all the girls in the class to like him.
Akiko was fairly popular himself. His height made him stand out, and girls in his class seemed to like that. He found them annoying; they always crowded him whenever he was trying to study, and at lunch. Ichiro had the same problem for a short time, but the girls seemed to be afraid to speak with him.
Kaori walked into the room with a big smile on her face. She had feared that she would be separated from Akiko in the team selection, and was relieved to be in the same team. Now there was only one question left:
"Who do you think our team leader will be?" She asked.
"That would be me."