Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!!

Uzumaki Ichiraku whistled happily as he locked the door to his apartment and made his way down the streets of Konohagakure. Having just graduated from the Ninja Academy a few days ago, today would be the day he was assigned to a three-man squad.

"Ready to be part of a team?" a voice from directly behind him said as a hand ruffled his spiky indigo hair, making Ichiruka jump.

"Didn't see you there, Kakashi," he said. "But I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

"Any ideas on who you'll get for teammates?" The copy-nin asked as the two of them continued on side-by-side.

"Not a clue," he replied. And it was true-he really wasn't sure how he'd be ranked. Although he found the academy extremely easy, thanks to Jiraya's and Kakashi's private lessons, he purposely remained in the middle of the pack. He didn't want to draw a lot of attention to himself, and besides, this way he knew he wouldn't be teamed up with the last-place graduates.

As if reading his mind, Kakashi stated, "your dad was in last place when he graduated, you know. And I'd say he turned out okay." Ichiraku shrugged. "Anyway, I think I see an old lady that needs help crossing the street, so…"

"Ja ne," Ichiraku said with a shrug and a wave of his hand, and Kakashi vanished. A couple of minutes later he reached the academy and sat in one of the benches. Nobody in the crowded room did anything to acknowledge his presence. He sighed.

True, he wasn't picked on as badly as Jiraya and Kakashi say that his dad was, since this time around everybody knew that his father and grandfather were both hokage, but they still tended to avoid him. He wasn't complaining; to him, having friends meant less time available for training. Unfortunately, on days when Jiraya and Kakashi were both on missions, that left him b-o-r-e-d. He usually spent the spare time in the library, learning about some of the more famous ninja in Konoha and elsewhere. He zoned out as Iruka-sensei came to the front of the room, brushed some of his graying brown hair from his face, and began reading off the list of names for his team.

"…and team 7, Uzumaki Ichiruka," Ichiruka's ears perked up at the sound of his name, "Rock Gai, and Inuzuka Ami. Team 8 will be…" Ichiruka zoned out again, and this time thought about his new teammates. He knew that Gai wasn't able to use nin-jutsu or gen-jutsu, and that he was a tai-jutsu expert. He also knew that he tended to be overexhuberant at times, which usually kept things interesting. The kunoichi of their squad was an Inuzuka…they had been in different classes at the academy so he didn't know her on a personal level, but he surmised that she had a puppy with her just like every other Inuzuka. She would also have twin triangular tattoos on her cheekbones, so he'd be able to recognize her fairly quickly.

Apparently Iruka-sensei had finished reading off the list, because a bunch of jounin had just entered the room and were calling out the names of their squads. Ichiraku didn't hear anybody calling for Squad 7, so he didn't bother getting up. Pretty soon, there were only five other genin in the room. Just then, a jounin with white-blonde hair and blue eyes entered.

"Squad nine?" she asked. Three genin stood up and followed her outside. The three remaining genin came and sat together, and were about to introduce themselves when-

"GET YOUR LAZY ASS IN THERE! YOUR STUDENTS ARE THE LAST ONES LEFT, YOU KNOW!"

"Alright, alright…troublesome woman…" the three of them snickered and watched as a jounin with spiky black hair and a bored facial expression shuffled into the room and plopped down in front of them. He cleared his throat.

"They told me to take you guys somewhere with a nice view for our first meeting, but it's too troublesome…my name is Nara Shikamaru, and I guess I'm supposed to be your sensei. So why don't we go around and say our likes, dislikes, hopes and dreams for the future… all that troublesome stuff."

"Er… can you go first, sensei?" Ami asked. Shikamaru sighed.

"It's troublesome, but I guess so…as I said before, my name is Nara Shikamaru…I like watching the clouds and playing shogi…I dislike troublesome things…and I hope to live a laid-back, troublesome-thing-free life in the future." All of a sudden, Gai began bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Ooh! Pick me! Pick me, sensei!" He exclaimed. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Go ahead."

"I am Rock Gai!" he announced. "I like training in my tai-jutsu. I dislike people who look down on me because I cannot perform nin-jutsu or gen-jutsu. I hope to become an excellent ninja like my father in the future!"

"Great…now you." He pointed at Ami.

"My name is Inuzuka Ami. I train with my puppy, Kurenai, but my tou-san said that I didn't have to bring her here today, so she's at home. I like animal-lovers and dislike people who are mean to animals. I hope to become really strong like tou-san and his sister."

"Alright, then…and last but not least, Ramen Boy."

"Hey, it's not my fault my parents loved Ayame's Ramen!" Ichiraku protested. "Besides, my tou-san was named after a ramen topping also and he became Hokage!" he cleared his throat. "Anyway, my name's Uzumaki Ichiraku. Obviously, I like ramen. I also like training and learning new techniques. I dislike people who look down on others without first getting to know them, and people who think that they're better than others just because they're from a clan like the Uchiha or the Hyuuga. In the future I hope to become Hokage, just like my tou-san and my ojii-san." Shikamaru snickered.

"What?"

"It's just…you don't know much about your kaa-san, do you?"

"Her name was Uzumaki Hinata, she had the same color hair as me, and she died a couple of minutes after I was born."

"That's it?" Ichiraku nodded. Shikamaru shrugged.

"Okay, then." He turned to face all three of them. "Meet me tomorrow near the memorial stone at around 8:00 in the morning. Team 7 is dismissed." He stood up and slouched out of the room. The three genin turned to face each other.

"You're tou-san and ojii-san were both hokage?" The other two asked Ichiraku.

"Yeah…the Yondaime and the Rokudaime. It's not that big a deal…"

"Are you kidding? I bet you know tons of awesome jutsu!" Ami exclaimed excitedly. Ichiraku rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well…I do know a few…"

"Can you show us?" Gai asked. Ichiraku shook his head.

"Not now. Later, when I need to, I'll use one or two." The other two's gazes became downcast. Ichiraku sighed.

"All right, fine. I'll do one. But only one." The other two perked up. "This one was my dad's favorite when he was growing up. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he shouted the last part and was engulfed by a large puff of smoke. When it cleared, there were five genin where only one had stood before.

"You can make Kage Bunshin?" Ami asked, awed. "But that's like, a jounin-level move." The clones disappeared and Ichiraku turned a light blue eye on her.

"I told you…my tou-san learned it just before he graduated from the academy and it was his favorite when he was growing up…but that's enough for today. We should get going."

"Hai," the other two replied, and the three of them left the academy building.