Looks like a brief vent on LJ works to inspire some people. Shortly after I posted my last entry, I just couldn't help myself and write this up. I've concluded that I love starting fics, but I'm terrible at finishing them.
To people looking for a MSaS update, sorry, but I do plan on getting that one updated soon. Sometime, hopefully, before next Monday which is when summer school starts up for me.
To all of my reviewers, thank you so much for your support and comments.
To Amanda and Lyell, I understand your concerns towards Naruto's age. I've given it some thought, and I decided that instead of 14, I'll make him 13. I see the academy students taking the Genin exam at age 11. I figure if Naruto failed it twice, age 11 and 12, he would be 13 on his third try. Remember, Naruto is trying to 'fit in' and dumb himself down. If he starts and finishes the academy early, that could be cause for chaos in the village. I plan to go back to Chapter 4 and make the necessary changes…eventually.
oOoOo
The Day After
Iruka hobbled into the classroom on his crutches fifteen minutes before the bell. A few of his graduate students rushed to take his bag from his shoulders, a small crowd of curious chatter soon following. "Oh, thank you, Sakura. If you would put it on the desk?"
"Of course, sensei," the pinket responded with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Once situated comfortably in his chair, the Chunin rested his chin in a palm and quietly surveyed his latest graduate class and their curious faces. What was it that tipped them off that Iruka was injured? The crutches, perhaps? Or the cast on his foot? 'And, of course,' Iruka thought amused, 'they'll want to know the story behind it. Too bad for them; that information is classified.' Quietly preparing himself, the sensei waited until all of his graduate class was present. There was ten minutes left until the last class started, and there was a distinct lack of a second blond head.
Retrieving his bag, he started pulling papers out for his next class. "Damn. Forgot to grab the roster sheet. Everyone, I'll be right back. No funny business, alright?"
"Hai, sensei," was the chorus he received. Smiling, he stood and started hobbling back to his office.
Of course, it didn't take long for the second blond to show up after the sensei had left. With a quiet swish of the sliding door, the newest Genin made his presence known. Closing the door behind him, Naruto quietly made his way up to his regular seat, eyes on him the whole way. 'I wonder who will talk first.'
"The dog-boy. Kiba, right?"
'Ya. And his pet Akumaru. What makes you say him?'
"Too much like Inuyasha. It's got to be something about dogs that make people brash at a young age. And wolves."
Naruto smirked at the comparison. Said smirk, of course, caught the attention of aforementioned dog-boy. "What's with the smirk, Naruto? Why are ya even here? You flunked, again, remember?" Kiba mocked with a smirk of his own. Akumaru gave a small bark as back up.
"Kiba's right, Naruto," the first blond head, Ino, stated. "You don't belong here, so leave."
Lounging in his usual spot next to Kiba, Shikamaru propped an eye open to survey the trouble causing blond. "Troublesome," he sighed. "Do either of you ever use your eyes?"
"Huh?" Several pairs of eyes darted towards the lazy genius. A small sweat drop could be seen dripping down the shadow user's face.
On the other side of the classroom, a raven haired prodigy turned away from the commotion, a small smirk adorning his lips. 'Obviously not. Though, one does have to wonder how he got it,' he thought as he laid his head down, not interested in the commotion in the room.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed again. "If none of you can tell, I'm not going to the trouble of pointing it out to you," he explained as he closed his eyes and continued to lounge. 'Besides, it's too troublesome to figure out the how of it.'
As a pair, Ino and Sakura each leaned towards the scrutinized blond, drawing an annoyed frown from the usually neutral face.
Surprised, Sakura made the first observation. "That's a Konoha hitai ate! Where did you get it?"
"You stole it, didn't you?" Ino accused.
Naruto sighed and grumbled, "I didn't steal it. I earned it, thank you very much. Now, if you don't mind, would you please get out of my face," he asked with a snarl. Startled, the girls and spectators jumped back a few paces. Shippo quietly chuckled as he lounged in his cage, watching the spectacle through Naruto's eyes.
Enraged, Sakura and Ino both grabbed Naruto by the front of his orange jacket. Together, they started yelling at the unfortunate blond. The jinchuriki merely looked on, waiting out the ire of his classmates. Not seeing a wanted reaction, however, the girls hauled Naruto over their shoulders, making him fly to the front of the room, face planting on the desk, in front of where Sasuke rested, oblivious in his light nap. Of course, this got a reaction from both boys. As Naruto forced himself up, ready to give the two kunoichi a piece of his mind, Sasuke's head shot up in surprise. Time seemed to slow as the two startled boys locked lips. Both seemed to pause and blink, not quite understanding what was going on. Seconds later, they scrambled away from each other; Sasuke tipping backwards in his chair and Naruto falling backwards off the desk.
"Hahahahaha! Priceless! Simply priceless!"
'Shut up, you bastard fox! This is not funny!"
Shocked at what they saw, the two kunoichi responsible turned a vibrant red before attacking the jinchuriki alongside their fellow fangirls. The blond forced himself into a fetal position as the fangirls abused his body, accusing him of stealing Sasuke-kun's first kiss. The rest of the class looked on in shock at the display.
Back up where it started, a familiar blond watched his clone as it took a beating. Sighing, he laid his head down and allowed his clone to disappear, giving a wince as memories of the clone assaulted him. The fangirls gave a startled shout when their victim suddenly turned into smoke. Looking from the fangirls back towards the blond behind him, Shikamaru pinched the bridge of his nose and grumbled, "Troublesome." 'How the hell did he get back up there?'
All action was halted by the return of Iruka sliding open the classroom door. "Alright, everyone back to your seats; time to assign teams."
"Iruka-sensei! Why is Naruto here? He didn't graduate," the still irate, pinket stated.
"Hm? Oh yes. How are you this morning, Naruto," Iruka inquired.
Looking up, the blond jinchuriki answered, "Fine, Iruka-sensei. I've definitely had a kick start to my day. How are you doing?"
Iruka looked puzzled. "Kick start?" he inquired only to have most of the class start quietly laughing. Naruto shook his head and returned to resting his head.
Deciding he didn't want to know, Iruka continued to hobble back to his desk, team rosters in hand. "Now then; this is your last class with me, within this room," Iruka started his graduation speech. "Each of you will be put on a three-man team. You and your teammates will be assigned to a Jonin-sensei. This sensei is responsible for you, your teammates, and your training. Now, this roster," Iruka explained with a slight wave of the paper, "gives me the names and sensei of each team. Each team and corresponding sensei was hand-picked by the Hokage. Therefore, if you have any qualms about the people on your team or your sensei, go talk to the Hokage." Nervous gulps could be heard from various parts of the room. "Now then, Team 1 is…"
Naruto tuned Iruka out, mentally setting his ears for his name. 'Will it be the last time I'm in here? I know a few of the graduates from last year came back. Will we be weeded out again?'
"More than likely. The academy is for the academics. The real stuff is when you graduate with the basic knowledge. Now, they need to know if you are physically up to it in the field. I smell another test."
'I wonder what kind of test,' Naruto commented to his demon friend.
"Team 5 will consist of…"
"I suppose that will be up to the sensei."
'You're probably right. It will probably be someone that the council has under their thumb too. Guess I'll have to play it low, huh?'
"More than likely."
"Team 7 is Naruto Uzumaki…," said jinchuriki sat up straighter, "Sasuke Uchiha…," promptly had a mild panic attack while the female population held their breath, "and Shikamaru Nara," and proceeded to allow his forehead to smack onto the desk before him with a dull clang of his hitai ate. The blond could deal with both the stuck up Uchiha and the lazy Nara; it was the fangirls of said stuck up Uchiha that worried him.
"Oh boy. Here we go." And like clockwork, the shrieking began, aimed at both the jinchuriki and the shadow user.
"How dare you get placed on the same team as Sasuke-kun!" "You are going to go tell the Hokage that you want to switch with me, damn it!" And other such accusations and demands were bombarded upon the unfortunate Genin.
When Naruto had assumed the fetal position again and Shikamaru went limp in an abusive fangirl's hands, Iruka finally decided that enough was enough. "Quiet! All decisions are final. In the real life of a shinobi, you rarely are able to choose your teammates. There will be often times where you must work alongside someone you do not get along with. The ability to work with that someone is a mark of a true shinobi. If you have a problem with it, go ahead, talk to the Hokage. He'll tell you the same thing I am now. If you can not work with your assigned comrade, you should just quit being a shinobi." Silence met his speech and slowly, the girls retreated to their own seats, Sakura and Ino the last among them, though still glaring daggers at the two shinobi. "Good. Now, Team 7's Jonin Sensei will be Hatake Kakashi. Team 8 is Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Hinata Hyuga. Your Jonin Sensei is Kurenai Yuhi. As Team 9 is still in commission, Team 10 will be Choji Akamichi, Ino Yamanaka, and Sakura Haruno with Asuma Sarutobi. Team 11 is…"
"Oh good kami," Ino moaned quietly in a slumped position. "I'm stuck with Choji and Forehead Girl."
Hearing her, Sakura went red. "Hey! I don't like it any better than you. This is all Naruto's fault. He wasn't supposed to be here anyway," she whispered back indignantly.
Ino shook her head. "The Hokage made these lists. He would not have put Naruto on a team if he didn't think he should be on one."
"Ya, but you know how chummy he is with the Hokage."
With another shake of her head, Ino explained, "If that were true, don't you think Naruto would have been put on a team already instead of retaking the Genin exam three times?"
In the back, the blond of topic gave a small snort in mild amusement.
"Not as amusing as that kiss." The blond turned red.
'Shut up!'
"And that concludes this year's Genin graduate teams. Congratulations to all of you and lots of luck. You're going to need it. Your Jonin sensei will be coming to pick you up in an hour in this room. Until then, feel free to have lunch, chat with your new teammates, and get a bit of exercise. You have been an excellent class and I can not wait to hear of your progress," Iruka concluded with a bow.
As one, the newly dubbed Genin rose and bowed back. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei."
Slowly, the Chunin sensei gathered up his papers and supplies into his bag and slipped it on over his shoulders. With a wink towards his favorite student, he hobbled out of the room. Naruto gave a small grin in his wake.
The room erupted into chaos as the Uchiha's teammates were bombarded with questions, suggestions, and demands. Both played ignorant or asleep. The chaos did not last long as the crowd slowly started losing interest until it was only the two of Team 7 left. Looking up, the jinchuriki noticed someone missing. "Hey. Where did Sasuke-teme go?"
Not bothering to look around, Shikamaru answered, "How troublesome. He left us high and dry."
Naruto puckered his lips together in a slight pout. "Some teammate," he muttered as he dragged out an apple from his jacket pocket. Rubbing it slightly on his shoulder, he took a bite.
oOoOo
Out in the academy courtyard, said deserter sat in a tree, eating his packed rice balls, and assessing his teammates from what he knew. 'The Nara guy is supposed to be from a clan known for their genius, but is notorious for their laziness. A lazy bum won't be of much help to me, no matter how smart he is. Uzumaki is almost the same way. Lazy and laid back, but he can be loud at times. Of course, he was lazy enough to fail the Genin exam twice already. A third if the last one was anything to go by, but his hitai ate says other wise. It at least shows that he has some hidden secrets. That might be useful to me, but he's such a lazy ass. I'm probably overestimating him. This Kakashi guy, on the other hand, I have never heard of. So long as he can make me powerful, I don't care,' he concluded as he took a sip of water from his canister.
A little ways away from Sasuke's tree, several of the other Genin graduates were gathered around in the shade. Their topic shifted between the Uchiha and the surprising Uzumaki. "I say he sweet talked the Hokage. There's no way he could have gotten his hitai ate legitimately. Besides, we all saw him fail the Genin exam. Iruka-sensei could even vouch for that," Sakura stated.
Pushing his glasses up his nose a little, Shino countered, "Throughout shinobi history, there have been several who have broken out of the mold provided by society. An example being Uchiha's own brother, Itachi Uchiha, whom graduated from the academy after only one year at the age of 8. Naruto, one could say, is his antithesis."
Kiba rolled his eyes. "Ya, and look where that genius landed. The whole clan was slaughtered, remember? We have our living proof in our own class."
Choji swallowed his potato chip and said, "While that's true, Shino has a point. Naruto might have found another way to graduate. And as Sakura said," he added hastily so as to avoid his new teammate's glare, "he is very friendly with the Hokage. It's possible he could have pulled a few strings."
"Well I don't believe that for a second," Ino strongly stated. "It's like Iruka-sensei said, it is the Hokage's decision. I don't think the Hokage would idly grant someone who has failed the Genin exam in the past shinobi status. There's something else going on."
"W-what changed your mind, Ino-san?" Hinata questioned quietly from behind Kiba.
"What changed my mind? What do you mean, Hinata-chan?" Ino asked perplexed.
"W-well, you were s-so angry with N-Naruto-kun a few minutes ago. W-why are you not n-now?"
"I was angry that he took my spot on Sasuke-kun's team! If he had not have graduated, I could have been on the same team as Sasuke-kun. I've got to say, though, the mystery of Naruto's graduation is rather intriguing. That makes up for the anger."
"Anger and intrigue; a deadly combination," Shino commented.
"Perhaps, but I think it'll be fun," Ino countered with a sly twinkle in her eye.
Back in his tree, the last Uchiha struggled to remain his composure. 'How dare they bring up Itachi. And to compare him to the dobe? Inexcusable,' he thundered in his mind as he jumped from his branch. Keeping his head low so as to hide his murderous face, he stalked back to the classroom.
oOoOo
Naruto looked up, disturbed from his doze, as the last member of his new team decided to come storming in, casting a brief glare towards the blond. 'What else went up his butt?'
"Something that he most likely won't tell any one. At least, not without some serious prodding."
'He looks like he'll bite my head off if I ask,' the jinchuriki concluded as he went back to his lucid nap.
Slowly, the rest of the graduate class returned to the room, ready to be picked up by their sensei.