AN: I just finished reading back through the story and I feel like doing a rewrite; so many mistakes that should not be there. As it stands, I'll probably not get to it for a while.

Churning this chapter out is like pulling teeth as it is, especially when all I want to do is get to the main part of the story, but I can't because I need to get through these fiddle things first. Hopefully this is the last filler chapter I will need to put in and then I can start in on the actual story line.

AN2: Went back over it and fixed some things that seemed to be out of place, was incorrect, or just didn't flow well.

I'm thinking about trying and getting another chapter out for JotPaP or something else before Christmas, but we'll see.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Demimeg and Cloud Dancer1014.

To Cloud Dancer1014 – No need to worry. I do eventually update my stories…it just takes a while. Ask anyone who reads my story Magical Secrets at Sea. Hope this chapter will assure you.

To Demimeg – I smile every time I read your review. It's true that Kyuubi and Shippo bring up two very different images, but that is what makes it fun. ^_^ I'm sorry to tell you that I won't be doing any pairings, no matter how cute Naruto and Hinata would be. And trust me, there's a reason I put Shikamaru in instead of Hinata. Hope you like the chapter.

To the rest of my reviewers and readers – I'm terribly sorry for the long wait. I hope that this update will make up for it. Please let me know what you guys think.

Oh! And Vixen Uchiha, shush you! Don't be giving things away. ^_^

oOoOo

Meet the Team

Naruto shuffled in his seat for the umpteenth time, his face contorted into slight discomfort as he steadfastly tried to ignore the stares of his teemmates. He knew what they wanted of him, but he didn't know how to go about telling them that what they wanted to ask was classified information. It didn't help that Sasuke's gaze freaked him out which forced him to edge towards Shikamaru who he knew could freeze him at a slight touch of his shadow. Naruto was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and it wasn't helped any when Shikamaru seemed to find it too troublesome to continue to try and outstare his blond comrade and decided to sleep instead.

The three boys had been left to their own devices after the last of the teams had been picked up by their Jounin instructors. Naruto could have sworn that the lady Jounin who had come to pick up Team 8 had given them a sympathetic smile as she left. Naruto felt another tick added to his forehead as he glanced at the clock at the front of the room again. It had been an hour and a half since Team 8 had left.

Sasuke wasn't faring much better. The comparison made by his peers was still gnawing on his brain. The fact that they even had the gall to bring up his brother's name was infuriating in and of itself. But it still left questions in the young prodigy's mind. "Hey, Naruto," he stated.

The jinchuriki's shoulders stiffened. Deciding to acknowledge the rather rude way of getting his attention, Naruto turned his squinted eyes towards his teammate. In the back of his mind, Shippo commented on the fact that Shikamaru's even breathing had become too even. The genius had woken up and was listening. "Ya, what," he countered defensively.

"How many times have you tried to graduate from the academy?"

"Huh," Naruto hummed out in surprise. That was not the question he was expecting, but it could lead to what he didn't want to answer.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "It's a simple question, Dobe. How many times have you taken the graduation exam?"

Naruto frowned. What was he up to? "Three times, including the last one. Why?"

"How old does that make you?"

Now the blond jinchuriki was really surprised. "I'm thirteen."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at the fact that he outclassed someone two years older than him. 'Antithesis indeed. Brother graduated at age eight with top marks. The dobe graduated two years late and at the bottom of the ladder. That should mean something, right? So now the question is…' "How did you graduate?"

Naruto could feel his whole body tense. He was going to have to work on that. Dimly, he noticed that Shikamaru wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was awake and listening.

"Be careful, Naruto."

'I know. We were expecting this, right?' "The Hokage graduated me." A statement that was the truth. The Hokage had graduated him.

Even Shikamaru frowned. "Why would the Hokage…" The Uchiha did not get the chance to finish his question when the sound of the door opening caught their attention.

A shock of silver hair seemed to stick itself through the door, followed by a head and body. Leisurely, the Jounin looked at the three remaining boys with his one eye that was not covered as he strolled to take a spot at the front of the room.

If Naruto had been tense before, he hadn't noticed. Now it felt as though all of the hairs on his body were standing on end. 'Shit. It's that one-eyed Jounin from last night.'

"We knew this was coming too," Shippo said with a resigned sigh. "We just get all of the luck, don't we?"

'He didn't give the old man any trouble when he asked him to leave. Could that mean…'

"Doubtful. Acting is part of the game. As for our act…"

'Right.'

Silence filled the room as the Jounin continued to study the three boys. Kakashi went over what he knew about them from their files. He was not looking forward to teaching the Uchiha seeing as the council would be at his neck to try and get the kid to show the Sharingan. Teaching the Nara wouldn't be too bad. At least until he wanted to get the kid to do something constructive.

As for the jinchuriki, he didn't know what to make of the blond yet. Whereas the other two were prodigies in their own rights with top marks in every field, the Uzumaki had been forced to repeat the last year twice and had been the dunce of the class each time. Comparing his school records with what the wolf Jounin had witnessed last night and what he personally knew of him already left him confused. The dunce of the class had given professional Anbu the slip, including him self, and had the insight to know that he was being tricked. On the field it appeared that he was up to snuff, yet it didn't show in his track record. This made the boy unpredictable and Kakashi disliked surprises.

Oh well. They were not his students yet.

Kakashi suddenly smiled, his visible eye curving. A grin spread across his covered face when he sensed the boys twitch in surprise. And was that tension he saw in the blond's shoulders? "Alright. I guess you three are my students, ne? Well, it's a bright, sunny day, so I'll meet you on the roof," he instructed as he disappear in a puff of smoke.

"How troublesome," Shikamaru finally spoke. "He makes us wait and then tells us to go to the roof. Troublesome guy," he mumbled as he stood and started heading for the door. Sasuke gave a grunt as he stood and followed.

Naruto, however, stayed where he was. He and Shippo had talked about this for most of the evening and morning; the possibility of the Konoha Council sending in someone to watch and ring the bell on him for anything that may seem suspicious or be considered demonic in nature. The one-eyed Jounin had obviously been one, but the last thing either jinchuriki or demon had predicted was to have the same Jounin as Team 7's instructor. Despite the fact that Shippo had run through various scenarios with Naruto and had coached him until the boy had fallen asleep with fatigue, the blond jinchuriki was still nervous. It was one thing to suspect, it was another to have confirmation.

Noticing one of his teammates not with him, Shikamaru paused in the door way to look behind him. Sasuke stopped as well, his brows knitting together in a frown at the holdup. "Oi, Naruto," the shadow user called out, curious of the expression of impending doom on the immobile blond's face.

"What's the matter, Dobe," Sasuke asked with a smirk when he caught sight of the other boy. "Finally realize you're not supposed to be here?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry guys," Naruto grinned as he scratched the back of his head and stood. "I guess I just zoned out there. Sorry. I do that sometimes," he explained as he made his way over to the other two.

"Whatever, Dobe. Just try and not get us killed when you go off in your fantasy world," Sasuke sneered as he turned around and stalked out of the room past Shikamaru.

Naruto gave a frown. "What is up with that guy? I didn't do anything to him." Shikamaru gave a snort before continuing to make his way out of the class room, mumbling 'troublesome' along the way. "Was it something I said," he wondered aloud as he too made his way out the door and towards the stairwell to the roof.

"I wouldn't dwell too much on it," Shippo advised, though he too was frowning at the situation. "All three of you are under a degree of stress at the moment. You may not know it, seeing as how you have not had much social interaction, but your nervousness can be sensed by those around you. The fact that you scored at the bottom of the class thrice over and that you graduated under unknown conditions, or suspected conditions, does not give them much confidence in your skills. They probably are worried about taking up the slack they think you'll make."

'Suspected conditions?'

"We have to start working on your hearing skills, Kit. Some of your classmates think you graduated because of your relationship with the Hokage. The rest find your situation interesting."

'What? When was this?"

"During lunch."

"Oh yes, that makes me feel so much better," Naruto grumbled as he stomped his way up the stairs. "Talking about me behind my back. Not like I don't get that enough from the adults, but do my own peers have to be so negative," he quietly asked no one in particular as he opened the door to the roof. Making his way out, he spied the other two seated on the stone benches in front of their instructor.

Hearing the sound of the door opening, Kakashi looked up. "Well, it's about time you decided to join us," he said in mock annoyance, hoping to get a rise out of the boy. He was met with surprise when the blond didn't comment, only proceeded to take a spot furthest away from his other two teammates. Interesting yet worrying. The teamwork in this group was going to be appalling. Maybe he didn't need to worry about trying to help the team fail for once; they'd make themselves fail on their own. "Ok," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "Let's start with introductions. Name, hobbies, likes, dislikes, future ambitions, and anything else you can think of. Who wants to start?" No one volunteered. "Alright. I guess I'll go first. My name is Hatake Kakashi, Kakashi-sensei to you lot. I like a lot of things and hobbies that would probably scar your young minds. My dislikes are also none of your business. Alright, you next," he said as he pointed to Shikamaru.

"Troublesome," the shadow said with a sigh. "My name is Shikamaru Nara. My hobby is sleeping. I like watching clouds. I don't like doing chores. I don't plan on doing much in the future."

Kakashi nodded. "And you, the brooding one."

Sasuke scowled. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like a lot of things and like even less. My ambition, my goal is my own."

Kakashi nodded again, though, to those that could tell, a frown marred his face. 'No signs yet of an avenger streak, but they can still pop up.' "Ok, and blondie." He was met with silence. "You're next, kid," he urged again in Naruto's direction. The jinchuriki just continued to stare. "Do I need to persuade you to speak," he threatened with little conviction and a smile.

"I'd like to ask a question," the blond finally spoke. The Jounin nodded in consent. "I can not understand why you want us to go through introductions when you can learn about us through our dossiers. If this were about actual introductions, you would have given us more than your name."

Kakashi smiled under his mask. This one could think. "That is very true, but what your files don't mention in much detail are the characteristics of the person in question. I'm surprised you noticed, Naruto," he tried to praise only to be surprised when the jinchuriki paled. 'Why is he so tense?' "Want to continue anyway?"

'Shit. I only mentioned it because I thought it was obvious.' "Um, sure," Naruto said with a slight smile. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen. I don't like snakes or spiders. I don't have any future ambitions," he said succinctly. He made sure not to make eye contact with his teammates as he was able to feel their curious gazes.

Kakashi clapped his hands once. "Good. Now that introductions are out of the way, we can begin the real Gennin test," he announced in false cheer. He wasn't surprised when only Naruto did not seem shocked.

"What do you mean 'real Gennin test'," Sasuke asked cautiously after he gauged the others' reactions.

"I'm guessing," Shikamaru started, "that the test we took in the academy was just to weed out the weak, right?" Kakashi nodded. "What happens if we don't pass?"

"You'll be returned to the academy for further training. Any other questions on that, you can ask Naruto. Now then, your test will take place tomorrow morning at seven sharp. Come prepared, but don't eat breakfast; you'll just throw it up. See you tomorrow," the Jounin parted in farewell before disappearing in another cloud of smoke.

Naruto stood ready to leave, until a hand jerked his arm back. He twisted out of the grasp and turned to glare at the perpetrator only to find Sasuke. "What do you want?" The jinchuriki felt nervous under the accusing eyes of the Uchiha.

"Why didn't you warn us that there was another test, Dobe?" Shikamaru nodded in agreement. "Maybe we would not have looked like green fools back there if you had told us."

Naruto continued to glare. "I didn't say anything because one, you didn't ask, and two, I didn't know for sure myself. Several people have returned to the academy, placed in different classes, even after graduating. I did try asking why, but no one told me." And it was true; he had asked several of the people who had returned to the academy, but each would snub him and tell him nothing.

"In other words, you didn't know for sure," Shikamaru summarized. "That's okay then."

The glare fell from Naruto's face, only to be replaced with shock. "Huh?"

Shikamaru stood and joined his other teammates. "You didn't know if your information was true or not and decided not to tell us. Whether or not you did this intentionally, you didn't give us false information. If we pass the test tomorrow, decisions like that will become commonplace. In this case, the information you had was true, but you didn't know it. By not telling us, Sasuke and I were blindsided, but that's alright because it did no harm. In the future, however, how about we give each other whatever information we have with a side note of its authenticity," the shadow user suggested. Sasuke gave a grunt, annoyed that someone else was taking up the leader spot other than him, but consenting to the common sense the other spoke. Naruto nodded his agreement as well. "Now that we have that clear, how about answering Sasuke's earlier question, Naruto."

'Damn.'

"I knew this was going to come up again."

"What earlier question," he countered as he kept his face neutral though the pallor of his cheeks could give it away.

"How did you graduate, Naruto?"

"Oh, that question. I already told you; the Hokage graduated me."

Sasuke gave a hum of annoyance. "Yes, you said that. But why did the Hokage decide to graduate you?"

'Information. We just agreed not to hold back information, but this is classified. I need to ask Jiji. Stall, stall, stall…' "Tell you guys what," the jinchuriki said with a grin. "Let's play a game."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in question. "A game?"

The blond nodded. "A game."

"What kind of game," questioned the Uchiha.

"The rules are simple. If we pass Kakashi-sensi's test tomorrow, I'll tell you what I can about my graduation. If we don't pass, you get nothing. Agreed?"

Sasuke gave a smirk. "Might as well tell us now then, Dobe."

"How are you so sure we'll pass," the shadow user addressed Sasuke.

"What makes you think that an Uchiha can not pass a simple test," he countered.

"You're just full of yourself, aren't you," Naruto asked in faked exasperation causing Sasuke to glare at him while Shikamaru grinned behind a fist and a cough. "Pride come before the fall, and all that jazz," he continued nonchalantly. Infuriated, Sasuke turned on his heel and stalked off. Before he could get too far, however, Naruto hollered out, "Wait. In the spirit of sharing information, I highly suggest that we do not not eat breakfast tomorrow."

"What," Sasuke questioned incredulously as he turned back around.

"Our orders were to not eat breakfast, Naruto. That is another part of the shinobi life: following orders. Or did you skip that lesson too," the Nara asked in exasperated boredom as though what he said was common knowledge.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," he commanded quickly with waves of his hands. "Just hear me out. Yes, I know that our orders were to not eat breakfast, but think about it. There is a reason why breakfast is considered the most important meal of the day. And if you want a shinobi scenario, what would a shinobi do when presented with the possibility of not having access to food for a while? Don't the Akimichi consume larger amounts of food than usual just before going out on a mission in order to stock up on energy? I say that Kakashi-sensei is out to sabotage us, wanting us too hungry tomorrow to be able to function properly. And if we can't function properly then we're guaranteed to fail the test."

The roof was silent as the other two digested what the blond had said. "He has a point," Shikamaru conceded as he addressed Sasuke.

"Are you agreeing because he mentioned the Akimichi clan," he accused, referring to the shadow users well known friendship with Choji Akimichi. "And on top of that," he said as he addressed Naruto, "What makes you think the instructor is out to sabotage us?"

Naruto shrugged in response. "Just a feeling."

"Better to be cautious than hungry," the shadow user commented. "And how do you know the Akimichi's pre-mission habits?"

Shrugging again, the blond answered, "I have a lot of time on my hands. I like to watch people."

"More like watch out for people."

Shikamaru gave a chuckle as a wry smirk twitched into existence on his face. "Troublesome. Alright, I'll play along with your game and I'll take your advice. You're as troublesome as our sensei, ya know," he asked rhetorically as he stared making his way back to the stairwell.

"Hn," was Sasuke's comment as he too started to leave. Whether he would take the blond's advice or not remained to be seen.

Once the other two had left, Naruto took to the rooftops, sticking to the shadows. He had some questions to ask the old man.

oOoOo

AN: And that's that. I don't usually leave an author's note at the end of my fics, but I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!