Hope for the Future
And How It Died
Team 1 - Rock Lee
Owaru Kaito- Extrememly low chakra reserves. Uses mainly kenjutsu.
Hyuuga Renji- Typical Hyuuga. Attitude problem. NOT a genius.
Nekora Aya- Comes from a clan that bonds with cats. Uses swords.
Team 6 - Inuzuka Kiba
Ginnosuke Suu- Comes from a civilian family. Very determined.
Karasu- Origins unknown. Wears a hood and hitai-ate over eyes.
Akimichi Kaneshiro- Looks more brawny than fat. Unfortunate bully mentality.
Team 10 - Yamanaka Ino
Kazuhiko Yuki- Second generation ninja. No unique techniques.
Yumeryu Pyon- Clan focuses mainly on genjutsu. Excellent at illusions
Huoji Sakasa- Uses clan jutsu to focus destructive chakra to hands.
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, what in the world would I be doing HERE?!
--
Chapter 1
--
Silence reigned in the spacious room, the only sound being the occasional hiss from decaying paperwork, giving the casual observer an idea of how long it had been sitting on the corner of the desk, ignored.
Then the silence was broken by a perverted giggle.
The source of this unsightly sound was not one of two white-haired men like you might suspect. Instead, it seemed to emanate from a white hokage tent-hat. And buried deep inside the hat, two keen blue eyes, scrunched up in glee, and a mop of wild blonde hair peeped out.
The council had been furious, but Tsunade had refused to budge. The next Hokage had been chosen, and he was Uzumaki Naruto.
As soon as news and photographs had spread, Iwagakure had declared war on Konoha, apparently offended by his resemblance to his unfortunate father, his status as a jinchuuriki, and just everything in general about the man.
Naruto single-handedly (many-handedly?) defeated their entire army without shedding a single drop of blood. He combined his famed Kage Bunshin with the even more infamous Hiraishin to terrify and browbeat the Iwa army into running back home wetting their pants. He had thousands of clones "flashing" all over the entire field.
His popularity as Rokudaime had skyrocketed, much to the council's utter disgust.
Unfortunately, overexposure to Jiraiya and Kakashi had left its mark on him. The irony that Naruto was now easy prey for his very own first unique jutsu was not lost on anyone, especially Konohamaru.
Especially Konohamaru.
Naruto was carefully monitoring the Hokage tower in case someone came in while he was reading his Icha Icha Violence.
Sensing Haruno Sakura's unique chakra signature, he regretfully put it away and gazed at the stacks on his desk waiting to be filed.
His paperwork wheezed at him.
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Paperwork does not make noise. It most certainly does not wheeze," he informed the errant piles in his best 'I'm a serious Hokage' voice.
"It does when its suffering from severe neglect apparently," Sakura said from behind his shoulder. "Honestly Naruto, if these were children, you would've been arrested by now."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Naruto waved her off. "Shouldn't you be at the hospital? Don't they run you ragged there even though you practically own the place?"
Sakura shrugged dismissively. "Yeah, usually. But Konohamaru-kun came by and asked me to deliver these for him." She produced an enormous stack of paper from apparently nowhere, and thunked it down on the desk in front of him.
"He just looked so frazzled with all those academy kids hanging off of him, I just couldn't say no!" She said cheerfully.
Naruto collapsed onto his back, his foot pointing towards the ceiling and twitching erratically.
"Oh come on!" Sakura scolded. "Student profiles are interesting! Besides, the genin exams are coming up, so you get to arrange teams and assign senseis."
"Fun." Naruto growled.
As per becoming Hokage, Naruto had come to realize that everything about genin teams and how they were arranged was pure politics. His old team 7 had contained the last Uchiha, which was the only reason they passed the bell test, set up next to the city pariah and a civilian born to make him look good.
Team 8 contained the Aburame and Inuzuka heirs, two clans considered weird or insignificant to the townspeople, next to the Hyuuga heiress, a subtle and very political move designed to show that the clans unique talents were appreciated. Hyuuga Hiashi might not have thought much of his eldest, but to the townspeople she was a princess, and they treated her thus. Placing Kiba and Shino with her was a clever way to gain recognition for their clans.
Team 10 was a tribute to the past and a testament to the effectiveness of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation.
Every single other squad that year had been composed of civilian children, and they had never stood a chance. Naruto assumed this was the council's way of discouraging civilians from becoming shinobi. Sakura... well, Sakura had been a very lucky girl.
Scowling, Naruto looked at the genin wannabe's rosters. "We've got a Hyuuga, maybe we'll pattern this after Team 8," he thought out loud. "A Nekora, she'll do well on his team. And..." Naruto's voice trailed off. A boy, with pitifully low chakra reserves, who could barely perform one bunshin.
Rock Lee had been a jounin for a long time, and had created thousands of devastating taijutsu techniques, and learning almost every style that did not require chakra.
Perhaps it would be better to recreate Team Gai instead of Team 8. He had a feeling Lee would appreciate it. Naruto sighed and began to arrange the other teams.
--
Nekora Aya stifled a sigh of boredom. In less than a week, the genin exam would come up, and something interesting would finally happen. She grinned. When she passed, she would finally get the swords her clan was famous for, and her teeth would be filed down into wicked points.
The small black cat on her shoulders purred in amusement. Aya scowled and tapped her fingers on the desk, irritated.
"Are you paying attention, Aya?" Konohamaru-sensei asked, exasperated.
"Yes sensei," Aya muttered, scowling even more. It was no great secret that the eighteen-year-old chunin held no fondness for his role as academy sensei, and indeed often informed his students that he couldn't wait to make jounin so he could leave the school behind.
A boy in the back row, an obvious victim of an early growth spurt, long and gangly, fidgeted nervously. Owaru Kaito was horribly nervous. It was only painfully obvious that he barely had enough chakra to perform a single, simple henge. He fidgeted with his hands, forming seal after seal but molding no chakra.
He had made a huge mistake. He had been single-mindedly focused on increasing his abysmal chakra capacity for so long; and with so little result; that he had neglected all other areas, such as taijutsu and accuracy, the things that he could do!
He hung his head, sandy hair falling into hazel eyes. He was going to fail.
But he still had a week. Kaito sat up, newly determined. If he could not perform ninjutsu, then he would just focus on taijutsu and find some different way of performing the required ninjutsu.
A boy who might as well have been from another world was sitting perfectly in the middle of the class, not too close and not too far. Unlike Kaito, this one had every confidence in his ability to pass. His cold white eyes alienated him from everyone else, and his haughty, superior attitude had just further estranged him. He had fangirls, but none of them were brave enough to admit it to him.
Renji's forehead was bare, showing that he was a member of the main house. His clothes were loose and baggy, which would help disguise his movements and intent in combat.
He gazed around at his class, never once turning his head or moving his eyes, and could find no one even close to being his equal.
Renji clenched his fist. He might be the rookie of the year, but to his clan such titles meant nothing. To them, he was worse than a failure. He was average.
It had never been heard of before, a Hyuuga heir who was not either a complete failure or a prodigy, sometimes both. Unremarkable. Unimpressive. Skilled enough to be satisfactory for a branch member, but not the heir.
He was not a genius. There were Gentle Fist techniques that it seemed he would never be able to learn. He, along with all the other Hyuuga children, had heard the stories of the amazing Neji, who picked up the clans most secret and difficult techniques merely by watching them. Techniques Renji could not learn, not even with a special tutor.
--
Konohamru sighed as he glanced around at the motley group he was forced to call a class.
Truthfully, he was a little afraid for them. Shinobi as a rule were generally an odd bunch, but this class particularly really took that to an extreme.
There was the bouncing, daydreaming catgirl. The beanpole in the back of his room who had low chakra capacity and an equally low ego. Akimichi Chouji's nephew Kaneshiro, who had somehow missed the kindness and loyalty that his family was trademark for, and was a common bully with some small skills
Karasu (who in the world would name their kid "Crow" anyways?) could possibly have been the weirdest one. In the three years that Konohamaru had known him, he had never once seen his face or heard his voice, hidden deep inside his hood.
Yumeryu Pyon came from an up and coming young clan that focused on obscure and powerful genjutsu techniques. As a boy focused on genjutsu, he was a rarity.
Huouji Sakasa was a third generation Kunoichi. Her grandmother had developed a technique of focusing chakra to the hands in an extremely destructive form. It took an outrageous amount of chakra, and was limited to hand to hand combat. But the girl insisted on relying entirely on the technique, even though she could barely use it.
Hyuuga Renji wasn't so weird, Konohamaru decided. Just another Hyuuga with emotional problems.
All the rest of the students were eerily uniform. Identical skin tones, hair and eye color, smiles... He shuddered. Creepy.
Maybe the Hokage would know what to do with them.
At the thought of his Hokage, Konohamaru's scowl lifted. Much had changed, but Naruto had remained a constant, always there, always encouraging, always smiling. Except now instead of 'demon brat', he was 'Beloved Rokudaime.'
"Just watch out, Naruto," he muttered to himself. "I'm coming to take your job!"
--
Kaito jittered nervously. It was exam day, and he had figured out how to pass.
The soldier pill he had 'picked up' trembled in the palm of his hand, the alluring drug that would at least double his chakra output.
Which would allow him to complete the requirements!
He swallowed it as fast as he could, afraid he would lose his nerve. He didn't know if soldier pills were against the rules, and he didn't want to find out.
"Akimichi Kaneshiro," the teacher's aide called. The hefty boy stood up, cracking his knuckles menacingly at a few of the smaller students, and then obediently disappeared through the door. A mere two minutes later, he strode back through triumphantly, hitai-ate tied around his bicep.
"Huouji Sakasa," was called next. Sakasa stood up and preened for a moment, then stalked in, obviously confident in her abilities. Kaito's restlessness increased, he began tapping his feet.
Beaming smugly, Sakasa strode out again, a hitai-ate tied around her thigh.
"Hyuuga Renji," the teacher's aide droned. He stood up, cast a cold glare at the class, and paced out of the room. He came back out in a few minutes, his hitai-ate on his forehead where it belonged.
Several people turned and glared at Kaito. His nervous habits were getting noisy. He looked up, and grinned sheepishly.
Karasu wandered back in, and looked up. For the first time in six years, his face was partially visible.
His chin was sharp and pointed. His mouth had premature frown lines around it. His nose was small and pert. And he was wearing his hitai-ate over his eyes.
Instantly everybody was gossiping.
"Who would've thought..."
"He's kinda cute..."
"Why is he wearing it over his eyes?
"How can he see...?"
"Nekora Aya," was called next. The girl and her cat bounced out happily. Kaito resumed twitching.
"Why are you so nervous, Kaito-chan?" Yumeryu Pyon sneered, being sure to emphasize the -chan suffix instead of the appropriate -kun, or -san. "After all, we all know what's going to happen. You're gonna fail, and then no one will have to worry about being stuck with a loser like you on their team! Right guys?" he asked the class. Everybody laughed obediently.
Kaito dropped his head and fumbled with his hands, unconsciously running through the seals.
Aya bounded back into the room and let out a whoop of joy, her hitai-ate bouncing around on her neck as she started to do her own version of the happy dance. Some people rolled their eyes, but most smiled back, especially when the cat, Si, joined in on the fun.
"Owaru Kaito," the teacher called.
Kaito made his way over to the door as fast as he could, deftly avoiding the feet stuck out into the aisle to trip him. He refused to look any of his teachers in the eye as they shut the door behind him.
"Kaito-kun, perform a henge, kawarimi, and create three bunshin," Konohamaru-sensei said in a gentle, letting-you-down-easy voice that was unusual for him.
Kaito took a deep breath and called up his chakra. To his joy, there was indeed more of it, and it was easier to draw upon. "Hardest one first," he muttered, and began making the hand seals for the bunshin. There was a loud pop and a burst of chakra smoke. He looked up hesitantly to see what he had created. Two bunshin, perfect in every way stood to his right side, staring blankly. The third, on his left, was blurry and see-through. Kaito looked at Konohamaru-sensei hopefully.
He deliberated for a moment, then nodded. "Good enough," he said.
Adrenaline and excitement washed over Kaito. "Henge!" he shouted, being careful to use the bare minimum of chakra needed. With a pop, the assistant teacher was standing in his place, grinning.
Konohamaru was impressed. He hadn't thought the kid would be able to do it, but if he kept it up then it would appear that he was wrong!
"Kawarmi!" Kaito shouted, still in henge, and disappeared to be replaced with a perfectly cut log that was apparently just lying around somewhere.
"Good job Kaito! You pass." Konohamaru said. Grinning weakly, Kaito took the proffered Hitai-ate, tied it around his forehead, and dragged himself out the door, to be met with silent outrage from the entire class. He collapsed in his chair, too exhausted to care, while visions of brave shinobi performing heroic deeds filled his mind.
He had done it!
--
Aya almost didn't make it to the Academy the next day. Only sheer force of will kept her feet on the path to where she was going.
Nobody had told her that having your teeth filed hurts! In retrospect it was probably for this exact reason that she wasn't told, seeing how she was sorely regretting letting it be done. Her gums had been scraped by the file more times than she cared to count, and her tongue was a mess from all the times she had accidentally bitten it.
She winced as she accidentally bit her tongue yet again.
Trying to distract herself from her misery, she examined her new swords. For now, they were simply thin metal bands wrapped around her fingertips, but by pumping chakra into them, they would extend, lengthening out and becoming ten thin claw-like swords
Si followed Aya warily. She had expected to be riding on her favored perch, Aya's shoulder. However, when making the jump, the top of her head had bumped her human's tender jaw.
After the brief but dramatic scene that had ensued, they both came to the conclusion that it would be best for Si to just walk for today.
They slunk into the classroom, a good fifteen minutes early.
Instantly all pain was forgotten as she was distracted by a blob glowing an eye-scalding shade of orange.
"Aww, come one Konohamaru!" a voice complained, as she patiently waited for her eyes to adjust. "You know I hate brats!"
Someone, presumably Konohamaru-sensei, replied in an amused voice, "You mean brats like me old man? It isn't the kids' faults that you're getting old! Oh, and by the way Aya, you're a little early."
Aya blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic. "I'mna ear'y Oo're oo?" she snapped unintelligibly.
"Why Konohamaru, you never told me one of your student's has a lisp!" the orange blob cried, bending down so he was on her level; revealing bright shiny teeth, bright blue eyes, bright blonde hair... the man looked entirely too cheerful for Aya's liking.
Narrowing her green slitted eyes, she peeled her lips back and leered at him, exposing her pinkened teeth.
"Wow, you're a mess," the orange man observed. "Normally I'd tell you to just suck it up and deal with it, but I don't want the smell of blood stinking up the classroom, so..."
The man waved a green glowing hand in her face. Si gave a warning yowl and leaped forward as Aya gave a warning yowl and leaped back; when she realized the pain was gone. She prodded her jaw disbelievingly, then did a little victory dance with Si.
The man had turned back to Konohamaru-sensei, apparently not expecting a thank-you. Aya finally got her first good look at him. He was wearing a bright, neon-orange robe with black flames at the hem. Hmm, seemed to ring a bell. Blonde hair, blue eyes, three thin stripes on each cheek that she had just noticed, about six foot three?
He was the Rokudaime. The Rokudaime was in her classroom! The Rokudaime had talked to her! He had even healed her! (Insert rabid fangirl scream here)
Before she could melt away entirely into a puddle of girly goo, all the new genin were suddenly pushing past her, shoving rudely, and telling her in no uncertain terms to move it. Si escaped onto her shoulder, tail lashing angrily. Aya was positive that the arrogant Hyuuga had stomped on her foot on purpose.
No matter how rowdy the class was, the Hokage had a definite stage presence (perhaps it was the clothes?) that almost immediately drew all attention to him. As one, the entire class bowed and murmured a respectful, "Hokage-sama,"
The Rokudaime grinned and scratched the back of his head. Konohamaru-sensei stepped forward, and, clearing his throat importantly, announced, "As you all know, today is the day that your lives as shinobi will begin!"
There was a murmur of excitement, as all the new genin glanced at each other and grinned, shifting in their seats.
"As you can see, I managed to convince the Hokage--" Konohamaru-sensei started.
"Kaff Blackmail Kaff!" the Hokage coughed. A few titters spread through the room, while the rest wondered at their sensei's audacity to blackmail the Hokage.
"Convince," Konohamaru-sensei emphasized, glaring around at the class, "The Hokage to come and say a few encouraging words. Hokage-sama, if you will."
The Rokudaime sighed a little. Placing both hands behind his head and staring off into space, he began.
"Being a shinobi is hard," he said bluntly. "It's not glamorous, it's not easy, and a lot of the time it isn't fun either. People will die, and sometimes it will be your fault. In order to keep up, you will have to train yourselves into the ground every day. You have not chosen the easy path, and anyone who thinks that they have needs to leave now. There are no shortcuts to being a good shinobi."
Nobody moved.
"No one? Good! You'll all do just fine!" The Hokage beamed. He then walked back over to Konohamaru-sensei, who seemed to have mysteriously sprouted fangs.
"Encouraging!" he stage-whispered loudly. "Encouraging words! What's so difficult about that concept?!"
The Hokage shrugged. "I decided not to sugarcoat it," he said. Konohamaru-sensei fumed silently.
However, his speech had done its damage. Replacing the sparkling joy of achievement was the nervous tension born of people who do not know what is going to happen next.
The Rokudaime unfolded a crinkled piece of paper from his pocket, and began to read off the teams and senseis, as the tension grew more and more palpable.
"Team One, led by Rock Lee--"
SMASH
As one, every genin in the room lefted up his or her voice in terror. One particularly unfortunate soul bolted for the door and ran for her life, slowly becoming a small dor on the horizon.
The rest crammed their way into the back of the room, bunched up together for safety.
The object of their terror? A six-foot tall menace to society and all things normal, with his shiny black bowl-cut hair and larger than life eyebrows. He stood among the shattered remains of an innocent window, clad in blazing green spandex, contorted into the most uncomfortable pose the young innocents had ever seen.
"Calm down kids, it's just Rock Lee and his dynamic entry." Konohamaru-sensei said calmly, as if such things happened every day.
"YOSH! THE FIRE OF YOUTH BURNS BRIGHTLY IN THIS CLASS, KONOHAMARU-SAN! I AM HERE FOR TEAM 1!!!" he bellowed, rattling the remaining windows in their frames.
"You're a little early, Lee-san," Konohamaru said kindly. "Why don't you wait outside for a few minutes, and then come back in a little more quietly?"
"I SHALL STRIVE -- oops! I mean, I shall strive to follow your instructions, or I will run --"
"Yes yes," Konohamaru said, shutting the door in his face. "Now then, Na- er, Hokage-sama, why don't you continue?"
The Rokudaime peeled his face off of his palm and looked at the class huddled in the back of the room.
"As shinobi, you will come across people much more frightening than him," he pointed out.
The class remained mute and immobile.
He sighed and plowed on anyways.
"Team one, led by Rock Lee," he read, raising his voice to be heard over the pandemonium and horror. "Nekora Aya."
He waited for the echoes from her anguished scream to die down.
Owaru Kaito," he continued. Kaito put his head in his hands. Obviously this was a punishment. They had figured out he cheated, and were punishing him.
"And Hyuuga Renji," he finished.
An audible snap echoed through the room as the pencil the hyuuga had been holding disintegrated in his fist.
The rest of the class however, breathed a long sigh of relief, looking happier and happier as more teams were announced.
"Team six, led by Inuzuka Kiba, Ginnosuke Suu, Karasu, and Akimichi Kaneshiro." Poor Suu shrank into her seat, giving the bully a fearful glance. Kaneshiro leered. Karasu didn't respond, and instead gave a rather remarkable impression of a tree.
The Rokudaime took no notice of their varied responses or lack thereof, and forged onwards, until he reached the last squad. "Team 10, led by Yamanaka Ino, Kazuhiko Yuki, Yumeryu Pyon, and Huouji Sakasa."
"Guess that's my cue," a sourceless voice echoed around the room. A tall, well-endowed blonde woman appeared amid a swirl of leaves. "Yamanaka Ino, I'm here for Team 10. We'll see what you brats can do."
Sakasa hated her on sight.
Rock Lee was hot on her heels. Much ore sedate this time, he flashed a blinding smile and a thumbs up.
"Yosh! Team 1, follow me! Come, my adorable students!" he cried.
Something deep inside Aya shrivelled and died. She had a sneaking suspicion that it was the last of her dignity. She, Kaito, and Renji moved towards their new sensei, steadfastly ignoring the waves of pity being broadcast their way.
When they got outside, Lee-sensei pointed off into the distance and cried out, "To training ground 7!" He then vanished noiselessly.
"Bowl-cut hair. Freakish eyebrows. Green spandex. Orange legwarmers... That is my sensei." Aya murmured disbelievingly.
"Maybe we should just not go meet him," Kaito offered timidly.
Renji's cold white eyes fell on him, giving him a cursory glance before looking away. He was silent for a moment, then said, "I must become a shinobi as quickly as possible. Even if it has to be under this buffoon who can teach me nothing. I will just put up with it and advance through the ranks as quickly as possible. You two of course are free to do as you wish." With that he turned and walked away. Inside though, he desperately hoped that they would come with him. He wasn't sure he could face his new sensei alone.
Kaito and Aya stood silently for a moment. For just a second, Aya almost turned around and went home to wait for next year, but then she slumped down and trudged after Renji, followed quickly by Kaito
A.N. Poor Lee! He's not really good at making a first impression, is he? I know this chapter leaves a lot of questions unanswered, but I planned on answering them slowly over the course of the story, so hang tight!
Please review. Please?