Today was the day. Graduation. Naruto and I had worked hard training to get to this point and, after thinking about it for a long time, I decided that I was going to do my best this year in the hopes that Naruto would pass too. I felt guilty when I thought about what I had been doing before, purposely failing to stay with Naruto, and I hoped that maybe… maybe he would be happy for me should he not make it. I know it was selfish thinking, but I would be happy for him if it was the other way around. Let's just hope we both pass.

"We will now start the final exam." Iruka announced. "When your name is called, proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on… the Clone Jutsu."

I immediately looked over at Naruto in worry, knowing that this was his worst technique and mine as well. He had his head in his hands and I bit my bottom lip as Iruka began calling the first names up for the test. It's okay. It has to be. Naruto and I have practiced very hard for this test so…we have to pass this year… I hope. It took a while, causing my panic to slowly rise, but soon my name was called and I got up and headed towards the door, only to hear a shout.

"Good luck, Takeru! You'll pass for sure!"

I looked up at the grinning Naruto and gave him a hesitant smile, before following the ninja out of the room and to the testing room. I entered and immediately felt intimidated. Iruka and Mizuki—the sensei for weapons training—sat behind a large table full of blue headbands. I swallowed thickly, trying to gather up my courage as I put my hands into the seal.

"Clone Jutsu!"

There was a puff of smoke and I clenched my eyes shut tight. Please have no ears or tail, please, please, please. Peeking open my eyes, I was glad to discover that my clones were all an exact copy of myself and there was no ears or tails in sight. I did it… I did it!

"Good job, Takeru." Iruka smiled. "Come collect your headband. You're now officially a ninja of Konoha."

I hurried up to the desk and took said headband from him excitedly, looking at it and then back at him as I remembered my manners and bowed gratefully.

"T-Thank you!"

He chuckled. "It's a lot better than before, Takeru. You've really improved and perhaps even Naruto will pass this year, thanks to you."

I straightened upright in surprise as Iruka winked at me.

"Don't think I wouldn't have noticed you two improving together. Now go on. I have other students to test."

I bobbed my head in a nod and hurried out of the testing room and outside to where the other students were, hanging onto my headband until Naruto would come out. I spotted Shikamaru and Choji hanging out nearby, but didn't want to approach them without Naruto, since they were his friends, but Shikamaru caught my eye and gestured for me to come over. I headed over and he raised a brow—his headband on his arm.

"You didn't pass, Takeru?"

I shook my head, pulling out the headband I'd tucked into my pocket a moment ago, eyeing the school door. "I-I did. I was just waiting to s-surprise Naruto."

He seemed even more confused and Choji stepped forward, stuffing some chips in his mouth—his headband on his head.

"Are you sure he'll pass?"

I bit my bottom lip nervously. "I hope so." I looked down at my own headband in worry. "He'll be really upset if he doesn't. W-We worked really hard this time."

"Hm." Shikamaru hummed. "Well, maybe he'll get lucky."

I nodded, but as I looked over at the school door again and saw the familiar head of blonde walk out, I felt a rock settle in my stomach. He wasn't bouncing around in excitement and he was staring right at the ground, dragging his feet over to his favorite swing and sitting on it sideways, clutching the rope in his hands as parents of other students began showing up.

"Oh, no…"

I hurried over to Naruto and quickly tucked my headband into my pocket, concern eating at my insides as I approached.

"Naruto?"

He looked over at me and looked me up and down before giving me a crooked grin. "You didn't pass either, Takeru?"

I bit my bottom lip, looking down and hesitantly pulled my headband out of my pocket and showed it to him.

"S-Sorry, Naruto…" I whispered, feeling bad that I had passed and he hadn't.

He chuckled, but it was dead compared to his usual jolliness. "Heh, you would pass, huh? I guess that means that I'll be taking the academy again alone."

I shook my head, holding my headband tightly. "No! I-I can still help you! I-I can… train you and stuff so you'll pass next ti—"

"I don't need your help, Takeru!" He shouted, making me flinch back in shock as he turned away from me and gripped the swing's rope tightly.

"B-B-But, I can hel—"

"Go away! I don't need you to help me, Takeru!" He shouted again, not looking at me as tears pricked the corner of my eyes. "Don't waste your time! I'm just a stupid idiot! A big monster like everyone says! So stop! Leave me alone!"

He finally turned towards me and noticed that he'd upset me, but before he could say anything, I spoke back.

"I-I really like you, Naruto. You're my b-best friend a-and the only friend I have and I'll always help you when you want me to. A-And if anyone's a monster… I am… s-so I would never ever call you a monster!" I finally shouted, before turning around and running off, not noticing the shocked expression he wore as I fled the scene.


Before I knew it, I was a bit lost in an empty part of Konoha, breathing hard and crying as I scanned my surroundings. I was too upset to actively want to find a way home, knowing that Naruto would probably be waiting there, and instead curled up on the ground with my knees to my chest as I tried to get a hold of myself. Believe it or not, what he said had really hurt me. Sure, I shouldn't be crying since I was technically older than I looked, but I was even more insecure in this world than I was back home. I didn't belong here and I stuck myself to Naruto in a vain attempt to try and fit in. It was childish thinking.

I'll never fit in here. I-I've never been trained to be a killer. There wasn't any reason in my world. And now that my parents are gone and I have no way of getting home that I know of, what am I supposed to do? Naruto is the only one I can turn to and even he hates me now. Maybe he's right. I am just wasting my time. I should just go back and turn in my headband a-and say I can't do this. I can't kill anyone! I-I don't know what I'll do when it gets to the point where I have to. I'd be better off becoming some civilian here and just selling ramen or something. I sniffled quietly, when I heard someone.

"Hm? What are you doing all the way out here, Takeru?"

I lifted my head to see Kakashi in front of me, looking a bit worried.

"You okay?"

I sniffled some more and wiped the tears from my face with a slow nod. "I-I-I'm fine."

I doubt he believed it, but he just shrugged. "Okay."

He started to walk away and I was about to let him, but I thought he might be able to help me out and hurried after him before he got too far; grabbing the edge of his flak jacket and making him pause and look at me from over his shoulder.

"U-Um… C-C-Can I talk to you for a bit?"

He gave me a confused expression, like he didn't really want me too, but I've discovered that if I looked at adults the right way, they couldn't say no. Sure enough, he sighed and nodded, starting to walk again as I walked beside him. I just didn't know where to start though, so we stayed silent until Kakashi spoke, pointing to my hand.

"I see you graduated."

I looked down at the headband still clutched in my hand and nodded sorrowfully. "Yeah…"

"You didn't want to?"

I looked up at him and turned away, sighing through my nose. "I-I don't know anymore. I, um… The first time I tried to graduate, I was too nervous to do anything right. Then the second time… I failed it on purpose."

"Why would you do that?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious.

I flushed a bit, embarrassed to be telling someone this, especially someone who was such good friends with Iruka—something I found out from Guy.

"I… didn't want to graduate without Naruto… but I guess that doesn't matter now."

"He didn't pass?"

I shook my head, feeling myself start to get upset once more. "N-No… And he hates me now too."

"I don't believe that." Kakashi said, but I shook my head again.

"No, he does. H-He said that he didn't want my help a-and that I should leave him alone and be mean like everyone else is and call him a monster but… I'm more of a monster than he is."

I wiped more tears from my face and felt a hand on my head, making me look up at Kakashi as he spoke sternly.

"You're not a monster, Takeru. You just… made some mistakes. Naruto knows that, so I'm sure he won't hate you."

"I'm so stupid." I muttered, frowning. "It was childish to think that Naruto would be happy about me passing. I'm selfish."

Kakashi raised a brow. "Don't you think it's okay to be a little selfish sometimes? And you're only, what? Twelve? I'm sure acting childish is something normal."

I continued to frown. "But m-maybe I shouldn't be a ninja… How did you do it, Kakashi?"

"Do what?"

I fidgeted, trying to figure out how to say this without being too blunt. "H-How did you, um… handle taking care of… someone… the first time?"

He looked confused, before it seemed to click. "Ah… You mean kill someone?"

I winced, nodding slightly.

He put a hand to his chin, thoughtfully. "I just did what I had to at the time."

I deadpanned, looking up at him blankly. "You're not very good at this, are you?"

He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "Mah, you caught me… but… Try thinking about it this way. Say the person you're going after is a bad guy. Now what do you think he'll do if you let him go?"

"He'll keep being a bad guy or he'll change… right?"

Kakashi nodded. "Right, but it's more likely that they will keep doing bad things. So it makes you wonder how many people will continue being hurt if you don't stop them. Does that help?"

I nodded. "Uh-huh. But, Kakashi, what if they're not so bad? Like… what if they have a good reason to be doing what they're doing?"

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?" He said, before sighing and pulling a hand through his hair. "I suppose you would try to stop them another way. Try to get them to change instead of killing them maybe."

I felt a bit better now that I had talked to someone about everything and nodded, looking down at my headband.

"Then that's what I'll be."

"Hm?"

I looked up at Kakashi confidently. "I'll be a ninja that changes the bad guys into good ones!"

Kakashi sweatdropped. "But, uh… what'll happen if you do have to kill someone?"

I frowned thoughtfully. "Then I'll just have to make up for it by saving more bad guys, right?"

I gave Kakashi a grin, feeling like that was the perfect answer. That this is what I was supposed to do and he just sighed with a shake of his head. As I looked around though, I realized that we were nearly to mine and Naruto's apartment, but I still had one more thing to ask Kakashi.

"Um… what were you doing over in that dark part of Konoha, Kakashi?"

He seemed to look sad in that moment and I wondered if I said something wrong.

"I was just… visiting an old friend's house."

"Old friend? Old house? Or a friend who is old?" I said so quickly that I barely had time to register what I said. "I-I mean—"

"No, it's okay." Kakashi said, though his eyes still looked sad. "He was just… an old friend."

"Oh… Was he a good friend?"

Kakashi nodded. "A very good friend."

"Is he… you know…"

Another nod let me know that yes, his friend was dead and I bowed my head, understanding the sadness in Kakashi's eyes now. I felt bad too. Here I was just using my new childish appearance to get answers from someone I barely knew and making them hurt for it too.

"I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't be asking… Do you think… I could have a friend like that too?"

Kakashi looked down at me and gave me a closed-eye grin. "I think you already do. Don't you?"

Naruto… I gave him a nod and realized that we were at my apartment, turning and giving him a quick hug and running off towards the stairs.

"Thank you, Kakashi! I-I'm sure your friend thinks you're a really good friend too! B-But, uh, could you not tell Asuma that I was being silly? He'll make playing shogi harder." I pouted, making him chuckled.

"Sure."

He waved then as I hurried up the stairs and opened the door excitedly, searching for Naruto to apologize, only to find him missing. I scrunched up my eyebrows in worry as I looked out the window at the slowly setting sun. I wonder where he is… but I have to make it up to him! I went into the kitchen, letting my tail out to get more comfortable, tying my headband to my upper left arm, and rolling up my jacket sleeves. I'll make him the best dinner ever! Ramen and rice and tempura and everything! And… maybe then he'll forgive me.


Hours passed and no sign of Naruto. The food I had made had long gone cold and I was starting to get really worried that maybe Naruto did hate me. Someone knocked on the door then and I quickly stuffed my tail down the back of my pants as I cracked the door open to see who it was. Oddly enough, it was Iruka.

"I-Iruka sensei?"

He looked a little out of breath as he chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "H-Hey there, Takeru. I was wondering if you might have seen Naruto?"

I frowned, shaking my head. "No. I-I made dinner to apologize for upsetting him earlier, but… he hasn't come home yet. I-Is something wrong? Is he in trouble?"

"Kind of." He said, turning to go. "Could you tell me if you find him?"

I frowned. "I-I want to help too!"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you really can't, Takeru. I would promise you that nothing bad is going to happen to him, but I can't be sure until I find him."

I slowly nodded. "I-I'll tell you if he comes back."

I then closed the door and locked it, grabbing a kunai from Naruto's set and tucking it in my jacket pocket before opening the window and climbing out. There's no way I'm going to just sit here as Naruto gets hunted down. I thought, shutting the window and jumping down, running to hide in an alleyway as I looked at the shinobi jumping along the roofs. That's a lot of ninja… Naruto, what did you do? I quickly sped through the alleys, using my enhanced nose to try and find Naruto's scent and discovered it out by the forest. Hiding my chakra, something I'm pretty good at for some reason, I jumped up into the trees and followed the scent before hopping down and sneaking closer. I had smelled Iruka's and Mizuki's scent as well, thus my sudden need for secrecy, and the iron scent of blood wasn't something that I wanted to be involved in just yet. I-I'll jump in if Naruto's in danger, b-but I don't even know who the enemy is…

"Naruto!" Mizuki shouted in the tree above me, though I was tucked away behind its large roots. "Give me the scroll now!"

"Wait a minute." Naruto said, obviously just as confused as I was. "What's going on here?"

I watched Iruka pull a kunai from his leg in concern, still not knowing where they had come from and who was right in this situation. What's in that scroll that everyone wants? And why does Naruto have it?

"Naruto! Don't let Mizuki get the scroll! It contains forbidden jutsu that could put this village in grave danger! Mizuki used you to get the scroll for himself, for his own power!"

Y-You're kidding… I looked over at Naruto as he seemed to realize who the bad guy was as well, but then Mizuki put a twist on everything.

"Naruto, Iruka's just trying to scare you, because he doesn't want you to have the scroll."

"Huh?" Naruto was confused again, but there was just something about Mizuki that had me sensing danger.

I was going to side with Iruka on this one. But how can I even help in this situation?

"Stop lying, Mizuki! Don't let him trick you, Naruto!"

Mizuki laughed. "Oh, I'll tell you who's really lying."

"No, Mizuki!"

I frowned, unsure about where this was going now. Mizuki obviously had something that Iruka didn't want Naruto to know, but why would he keep something from him?

"They've been lying to you your whole life, Naruto. Since the decree twelve years ago."

Decree? What is he talking about?

"What decree?" Naruto questioned.

"Everyone knows except you and probably that other brat you hang out with that that group of jounin picked up. Iruka's trying to hide it from you even now! He'd do anything to shut me up."

"What is this decree? Why does everyone else know about it?"

"Don't tell him! It's forbidden!" Iruka shouted.

Mizuki didn't listen. "The decree is, no one can tell you the nine-tailed fox is inside you."

I learned about the nine-tailed fox and all the destruction it caused in school when I was learning about the Fourth Hokage. I didn't really have any feelings on it and just sort of took it as another odd history lesson. I mean, yeah, I was kind of shocked that there were giant tailed beasts in this world, but they are called 'beasts' for a reason, right? Of course they would go crazy the moment they're released. Learning something like this though… It was tough. For one thing I had no idea how the Fourth managed to take something big enough to destroy a village and put it into Naruto. Plus, I didn't know why the Fourth would do something like that. Why Naruto? The biggest question for me though, was what would I do with this new information and how would it change my relationship with Naruto?

I-I mean, it's a little scary, but I haven't seen anything that makes him like a monster. I'm more of a monster than he is since you can obviously see the whole monster part but… I-I really like Naruto. Would I really change everything I've grown to know and like about him with something that happened to him in the past? I grew more confident. No. No, I wouldn't. Naruto is my friend and no stupid fox thing is going to change that. I felt and saw Naruto getting angry, his chakra flying around him and I got really worried. Naruto…

"That's why you will never be accepted in this village! Even your beloved sensei hates your guts! I bet that brat you hang out with will too, once he finds out what you're hiding!"

No! No! I wouldn't! I wanted to shout, but I knew that I needed to keep myself hidden if I didn't want to get hurt. Or if I wanted to use surprise to my advantage, but… all I have is a single kunai…

"Die, Naruto!" Mizuki shouted and he threw a huge shuriken at him.

I moved before I even knew what happened. Pain erupted in my left shoulder, having been unable to block the giant shuriken completely with my kunai as it spun, and I was breathing hard, trying not to cry out at how much this hurt.

"T-Takeru? W-Why?" Naruto whispered from behind me and I looked over my shoulder, a pained smile on my face.

"B-Because, Naruto… I-I'm a monster too, remember?"

His eyes widened as I went on.

"A-And I don't want to be alone… I know you don't either. We're best friends, r-right? So we have to look out for each o-other."

Blood seeped through my jacket and I grunted, knees giving out from under me as I flopped to the ground.

"O-Ouch."

"Takeru!" Iruka shouted, doing his best to make his way over and protect us both should Mizuki try something again; confusing Naruto once more.

"Why, Iruka sensei? W-Why are you still protecting me?"

"Because we're the same." Iruka said, voice cracking with tears. "When I lost my parents, no one seemed to care. They didn't have time for me. They just forgot I was there. My grades dropped. I became the class clown. I just wanted them to see me and to know my name. My school work wasn't good enough to get their attention, so I did crazy things, and then I had to pay for it. It was hard. I know that's how you feel, Naruto. You feel lonely and it hurts inside. And I could've been there for you more. I let you down. I'm sorry. No one should have to suffer that much. No one should be alone like that."

Mizuki laughed, drawing our attention back to him as I clutched at my bleeding shoulder.

"Don't make me laugh! Iruka always hated you! He was orphaned because the nine-tailed fox killed his parents and that beast is now inside you! He'd say anything to get the scroll from you!"

Naruto gave me a glance, before making a bolt for it, running into the forest as Iruka shouted out after him.

"Naruto! Naruto!"

I cringed, standing on my feet and grit my teeth as I yanked out the giant shuriken with a whimper.

"T-Takeru?"

I gave Iruka a small smile, eyes sad. "I-I'll go after him, Iruka sensei, but I don't think he'd betray you. I-I don't know you all that well, but you're really nice to Naruto and…" I glanced away. "…and I wish I had someone like that."

I took off running then, desperately trying to ignore the pain in my shoulder and being glad that I hadn't seen the probable look of pain on Iruka's face as I did. Iruka was Naruto's favorite, not mine, so I didn't want to take his attention off the one person who really cared. Jumping through the trees, I spotted Naruto and he caught sight of me, getting wide-eyed and stopping, allowing me to catch up and lean against him as my strength gave out.

"N-Naruto, we need to hide. I really don't think Mizuki is a good guy in this situation, and Iruka sensei will protect us."

"A-Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Positive, come on. Let's get down on the ground and hide. I smell them coming."

He nodded and helped me down, allowing me to lean up against the tree as he stared worriedly.

"D-Don't worry." I said, giving him my best effort of a smile. "I'll be okay."

"But y-you're bleeding."

"Think o-of it this way. The sooner we stop Mizuki, t-the sooner I can get to a hospital or something. Okay?"

He hesitantly nodded, eyeing my shoulder, just as we heard Iruka and Mizuki arguing.

"You're a fool! Why are you protecting that freak?! He's the one that wiped out your family!"

"I don't care what you say. You're not getting your hands on that scroll."

I saw Naruto grip the scroll tighter, and I gave him shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"As if you could stop me. Don't you get it? Naruto is just like me."

"How's that?"

"He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance. That's how beasts are. He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything."

"He might." Iruka said, making Naruto grow more depressed.

"So it's true." He whispered. "Iruka sensei never believed in me. He thinks I'm some beast. Some kind of freak!"

"Naruto…" I muttered back. What is Iruka saying? He knows we're over here. Does he really think this way?

"That is how beasts are." Iruka continued. "But that's not who Naruto is. He's nothing like that. Naruto's one of a kind. Works hard, puts his whole heart into it. Sure he messes up sometimes and everyone jumps on him, but his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong. He's nothing like the nine-tailed fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki of Konoha!"

Naruto was in tears beside me and I managed to reach around and pull him closer to me, letting him rub his tears and snot into my jacket as I smiled a bit.

"S-See? You should trust Iruka sensei."

"Huh, you really believe that dribble, Iruka?" Mizuki said, as Naruto wiped his eyes. "I was going to save you for later, but I changed my mind. You're finished!"

Mizuki went to go kill Iruka, and Naruto sent me a look.

"Sorry, Takeru. There's something I have to do."

I nodded and watched him go, moving just enough so that I could see what was going to happen next. Naruto tackled Mizuki, knocking the giant shuriken out of his hands and into the trees.

"Not bad, for a little punk." Mizuki said, standing.

"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei or Takeru, I'll kill you!" Naruto growled.

"Such big words. I can completely destroy you with a single move!"

"Take your best shot, fool. I'll give it back a thousand fold!"

I saw Naruto doing a familiar hand sign and began to grow concerned. A clone? But… he couldn't even make it through the graduation test… Mizuki seemed to have read my thoughts and didn't believe Naruto for an instant.

"Let's see you try! Show me what you can do, nine-tailed fox!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted and my jaw dropped in shock at the hundreds of Narutos that now surrounded Mizuki.

The clones all began teasing Mizuki and before the man knew what to do, the Naruto's had completely knocked him out, leaving Naruto standing above him with a grin, laughing and rubbing the back of his head.

"Hehehe, sorry. I kind of got carried away. You okay, Iruka sensei?"

"Yeah…" Iruka said, a bit breathless.

"Ah! Takeru! Are you okay too?! I didn't forget! I promise!" Naruto shouted, hurrying over to me and fretting as I chuckled a little, wincing as the action shifted my shoulder.

"I-I'm okay, Naruto."

"No you're not! You're really hurt!"

"I-I'll be okay." I said, just as Iruka called out to him.

"Naruto? Come here a minute. I've got something I want to give you. Close your eyes."

"Sensei, how much longer?" Naruto asked, Iruka having removed his headband and placing it on Naruto.

"Okay. You can open your eyes now."

Naruto wasn't sure what to do now that Iruka did this.

"Congratulations. You graduate! And to celebrate, I have a surprise. We're going out for ramen tonight! …Huh?"

Naruto suddenly tackled Iruka in a hug. "Iruka-sensei!"

"Hey! That hurts!" Iruka complained through laughter.

I watched the two of them silently for a moment, before Iruka spotted me.

"Ah, we should probably get you looked at."

I raised a brow. "You too, I think, Iruka-sensei."

He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head nervously as he stood and headed over to me, picking me up as carefully as he could.

"Don't forget me!" Naruto called out. "I'm coming too!"

"Alright, Naruto. Let's go."

Naruto grinned, giving me a thumbs up as the three of us headed to the hospital. I wasn't pleased by the scolding I received about recklessly disobeying an adult and throwing myself into danger that Iruka, the nurse, and the Hokage gave me. Even Naruto didn't get that bad of a lecture and he was the one who got in this mess in the first place! The Hokage ruffled my hair though afterwards, before telling me something I'd never expect it hear.

"You'll make a great ninja…" He only made things worse though by mentioning something else. "…if you don't keep purposely failing your end of the year tests."

My eyes widened as Naruto looked shocked.

"Huh?!" He rounded on me then as I glared at the Hokage.

"Thanks a bunch, old man."

"What do you mean purposely fail?! Takeru, you could've passed last year?!"

I sighed, giving Naruto my pitiful look. "B-But… I didn't want to graduate without you, Naruto."

He flushed slightly in embarrassment and bowed his head. "A-Alright… I guess that's okay…"

I gave the Hokage a blank look and stuck out my tongue mockingly. Take that. No one's going to break us apart now. Naruto is, after all, my best and only friend. And not even the nine-tailed fox is going to change that.


The morning after next was a bit rough for me. For one thing, I didn't get much sleep thanks to Naruto's little display the night he went after the scroll and I spent the next day cleaning up after him. It was thanks to that, that I ended up being woken up by him this morning (apparently he wanted to let me sleep as much as possible while he ate breakfast), the two of us on the verge of being late for school if we didn't leave now. We bumped into some kid on the way, someone Naruto had met yesterday supposedly, but he was nothing to really worry about and we soon passed him up.

Once we showed up and sat down though, I realized something that I hadn't thought about before. I forgot we get teams today! I might not end up with Naruto! Worry grew in my stomach and I chewed on the end of my jacket sleeve nervously (thankful for the fact that I had gotten more than one jacket should my other one get ruined, which it did). Please let me get on Naruto's team. Please. I silently begged as Naruto snickered in front of me. Shikamaru walked by then, stopping in surprise.

"What are you doing here, Naruto? This isn't for dropouts. You can't be here unless you graduated."

Naruto gestured to his headband with his thumb. "Oh yeah? Do you see this? Do you see this? Open your eyes, Shikamaru. It's a regulation headband. We're going to be training together! How do you like that?"

"N-Naruto, you don't have to be so mean about it." I stuttered out. "Shika just didn't know."

Naruto looked back at me. "Hm? Yeah, well…" He looked back at Shikamaru. "Let me put it to you this way, I look great in this headgear. Like it was made for me! Believe it! Haha!"

I sighed. That's not an apology, Naruto… Just then though, my ears picked up hurried footsteps and I watched as Ino and Sakura forced their way in through the door, having had some kind of race to get here, I guess. I looked over at Naruto who was looking over at them with rosy cheeks and I frowned slightly. He likes Sakura… Maybe… if I can't get on his team, Sakura will… Sakura began hurrying over and Naruto stood up to say hi, but she shoved him roughly out of the way.

"Move it! …Uh, good morning, Sasuke." She said. "Mind if I sit next to you?"

That's right… she likes Sasuke… I got out of my seat and helped Naruto up. Looks like Naruto's going to have a rough time.

"Back off, forehead! I'm sitting next to Sasuke!" Ino shouted, grabbing Sakura's arm.

Oh no, here we go. I thought in worry, knowing that this is how it always starts. One girl starts to cuddle up to him, and then everyone wants a piece.

"I was here first!"

"I walked into the classroom before you did! Everybody saw it!"

"Dream on!"

More girls started adding to the argument before I was suddenly dragged into the argument.

"What about Takeru? He needs someone to sit next to!"

"I'll do it!"

"No, I will!"

I blinked in worry and tried to stop them. "U-Um… T-That's okay. You shouldn't fight over something l-like a seat. I can just sit next to Naru—"

"Aw! Isn't he cute?!"

"I have to sit next to him now!"

"No, me!"

I sweatdropped, chuckling nervously before dropping my head with a sigh. Why do I bother? I went to go ask Naruto if he wanted to move seats elsewhere, but I caught him crouching on top of Sasuke's desk, nose to nose and glaring at him. Uh-oh…

"N-Naruto? I don't think that's such a good idea!" I said, concerned. "Someone could bump into you and—"

I didn't get to finish before that very thing happened. The guy in front of Sasuke's seat bumping into Naruto and knocking him forward.

"What the—"

The girls gaped in shock as I stared with rosy cheeks, a hand under my nose.

"I-I tried t-t-to warn you." I muttered, just as the girls went insane and the two boys in question began gagging.

Naruto perked up, probably sensing the group of upset girls behind him, and panicked.

"Naruto, you are so dead." Sakura said.

"Hey, whoa! It was an accident!" Naruto said, holding his hands up in surrender, but even I knew that wouldn't save him.

"You're finished!" Sakura growled, cracking her knuckles.

Now the question is, do I get involved or not? I sighed. I guess I should. He is my friend, after all. I hesitantly moved in front of Naruto, wiping away the hint of a nosebleed I'd gotten, before separating him from the rabid group of fan girls.

"U-Um, don't you think you're taking this a bit too far? I-I'm sure Naruto didn't mean to."

Some of the girls lightened up, but not all of them. Sakura was one of those.

"It doesn't matter, Takeru! He took Sasuke's first kiss!"

Some girls split off from the group and stood before me, letting me know that I had just made a big mistake.

"Don't yell at Takeru like that!" A girl shouted.

"Yeah!"

Oh, man… I just got the fan girls to pick sides and I doubt this is going to end without a war. How do I fix this?! I waved my hands, getting more worried by the minute.

"P-Please! Don't fight!"

"It's okay, Takeru! We'll protect you!" The girls in front of me said, making me sweat.

It's the rest of us that are going to need protecting… But how do I stop this?! Suddenly I came up with an idea.

"W-Wait!"

Everyone stopped and looked at me. I took a deep breath.

"I can solve everyone's problem. N-None of Sasuke's fans will sit next to him and none of my fans will sit next to me."

"What?!"

I flinched, finding all glares aimed my way as I nervously smiled and pointed at myself.

"I-I'll sit next to Sasuke. That way no one has to fight."

The girls all looked at one another, before seeming to relax, making me sigh in relief as they basically gave up their previous endeavors of fan girl war. Thank Kami… And it looks like they forgot about Naruto kissing Sasuke too. Everyone wins. Thankfully, before the group of girls could realize anything, Iruka came in and made the class settle down. Naruto took my previously abandoned seat behind where I was sitting. Though Sasuke made me nervous. It doesn't look like he hates me… I could be wrong though. Naruto and I did turn his hair pink that one time…

"As of today, you are all ninjas. To get here, you've faced difficult trials and hardships, but that's nothing. What comes next will be far more difficult. Now you are only genin; first level ninjas. All the genin will be grouped into three men squads. Each squad will be led by a jounin; an elite ninja."

Everyone else seemed to realize then that they wouldn't be able to be with the people they wanted and I suddenly remembered my earlier worries. Please let me get with Naruto.

"We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities. So that's how we set them up. I will now announce the squads."

Iruka went through the list from one on up and I chewed my sleeve silently in worry, watching as students from my class were matched up a few at a time. Slowly though, there were only enough people for a few more teams.

"Squad six. Yusuke Sanda, Aneko Kogara, and Sakura Haruno."

I watched as Sakura's face fell and felt a bit bad for her. I knew she wanted to be on a team with Sasuke and, from what I could tell, she didn't know any of her teammates that well. Heck, I didn't recognize them much at all.

"Squad seven." Iruka continued. "Naruto Uzumaki. Sasuke Uchiha."

"I'm doomed…" Naruto said, dropping his head.

"And Takeru Kobayashi."

I perked up, feeling extremely glad and looked behind me at Naruto who cheered and gave me a thumbs up.

"All right, Takeru!"

Iruka, I noticed, gave us a small smile and went back to the list. "Next, Squad eight. Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame."

I gave Hinata and the others a small smile, having gotten along with the people in their team pretty well. Though they're an odd group. I hope they all get along. Squad nine was another group of people I didn't know very well, but the next group caught my attention.

"Now, Squad ten. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi."

I peered up at Shikamaru who sighed and I quietly snickered. Poor Shika. At least he gets to stay with Choji though. I wonder how Ino's going to take it…

"Those are all the squads." Iruka finished, but Naruto suddenly stood up behind me and pointed at Sasuke.

"Iruka sensei! Why does a great ninja like me have to be in the same group with a slug like Sasuke?!"

"Hm." Iruka hummed, though I was a bit curious too how the adults balanced out the teams. "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." The class laughed and Iruka smiled, glancing my way. "And Takeru was just about in the middle with high test scores and slightly below average physical strength. That, and he seemed like a good conductor between the two of you."

I flushed in embarrassment, hiding my face in my arms as I heard Sasuke talk to Naruto behind us.

"Just make sure you don't get in my way, loser."

"Hey, what did you say?!"

"Hard of hearing?"

"Naruto…" I sighed. "Can you just let it go this time?"

Naruto looked over at me and huffed, crossing his arms and sitting. "Fine, but only because you said so, Takeru."

Iruka cleared his throat, bringing the class's attention to the front. "After lunch, you'll meet your new jounin teachers. Until then, class dismissed."

Everyone got up and headed out, some faster than others. I spotted Sakura hurrying out in an attempt to catch up with Sasuke, and Naruto turned to me; hands clasped in front of him in a begging motion.

"Really sorry, Takeru, but is it okay if I catch up with you later? You see, I wanna try and have lunch with Sakura, so…"

I nodded. "T-That's fine, Naruto. I'll just… grab some food from a shop nearby and come back here, okay?"

He nodded with a grin, giving me a one-armed hug before heading off with a wave. "You're the best, Takeru! Thanks!"

I waved back as well, slowly dropping my hand before sighing. Looks like I'm on my own. I started walking to a dumpling place right outside of the school and bought some dumplings and a bag of niboshi, feeling particularly hungry for the dried fish. As I munched on the dumplings and made my way back towards the school, I spotted Naruto jumping in through a window and tackling Sasuke. Raising a brow, I watched, waiting to see who'd come out and when Sasuke did, I paused. That… That's not Sasuke. He smells like Naruto… A clone or something?

Naruto in disguise ran off and I sighed, finishing off my dumpling and starting to eat my niboshi and head back to class. I paused though. Well, maybe I should help Sasuke out. I mean, we're technically teammates and… it'd be best if he doesn't hate me if we're going to end up working together. I hummed, chewing on the head of a sardine. Yeah, I better do it. So, I jumped up onto the roof easily and lifted the wooden cover that had fallen over the window, peeking in to find Sasuke tied up and gagged on the floor, glaring my way.

"Y-You shouldn't glare. I'm trying to help." I said, hopping down and cutting him free.

"Hn." He grumbled, removing the tape over his mouth and heading towards the window. "Do you know where he went?"

I shook my head. "No."

"Hn, useless."

He jumped out the window and I sighed, leaning against the window sill and chewing another sardine. Something tells me that we won't be a very good team if those two keep going at each other… Makes me wonder who's going to have it worse, me or the sensei. I decided to head back to the classroom then to wait and once I was there, I pulled out my book and went to read until the others showed up. Part way through though, I realized something.

"I forgot to throw out that milk…"