Disclaimer: fanfic, remember?

Note: There might be a little (okay, I admit, it's A LOT) of inconsistencies so please have mercy.

Chapter 1: It all Started…

So he is in…

Not that it came as a surprise for him, but for his entire family, it is the same as placing a bomb in their dining table. And that proved to be the case when he said that he will attend the prestigious Ninja Academy [the only reason it's prestigious is because it is the only academy offering this kind of option] in their village starting tomorrow.

Which happens to be today…

Well, let's just say that they have given up all hopes that their lazy-to-the-bone son, who can't even be bothered with any house chores [it's not his fault the rice turned to charcoals, no one told him there's supposed to be water in it, geez!] or even do anything right [will you just forget the hair!] can be a shinobi.

At least he is good at playing board games. Unfortunately he is too lazy, he didn't bother to look for other alternatives except for shogi. He spent all his free time [which means the whole day] playing that no one can beat him.

Except yesterday, he can't believe he lost.

He was in his usual spot when someone visited his father. That someone is an old man who happened to stand right at the sun's light. Of course anyone would be annoyed and for him, it's practically a crime. "Can you stand a little to the left so you can block everything?" He asked sarcastically.

And the man just did what he said, "Are you already senile? I am being sarcastic here!" he yelled.

The man just gave a hearty laughed, letting the insult slide, and replied, "You know you can't play that game without an opponent."

He just gets his attention back to the shog,i not really bothering at the old man and said "So? No one wants to play with me."

The shadow finally went away from the board, but it was replaced with the man sitting right at the other side of the board. He is wearing an all white robe and a funny-looking hat. It's in the middle of summer so he has no idea why he had to wear something like an oven!

Then the oldie raised a tile from his game, "Care if I challenge you, then?"

He snapped his face back to the man. Not really sure if he's serious, so he just said, "Okay."

"Still it wouldn't be fun without a bet."

"What can you possibly want from a child?"

"How about, the loser has to do everything the winner wants?"

"Fine by me," he doesn't see anything wrong with that. He's just happy to have someone to play with. And anyway the betting is part of the game, you bet everything at every game…your pride, your skills and something that sounds important and cool.

And so, they play…

…and he lost...

"You cheated!" he yelled, they've just been playing for minutes, no one can possibly win with no less than ten moves!

"Do you think so?" the man asked, putting the tiles where they are supposed to be.

H e was silent for a while, trying to check every move at the game. He remembered everything and found nothing out of place. Okay, he might be lazy, he might be arrogant, but he knows when to admit defeat. "No," he answered.

"What's your name, child?"

"Shikamaru,"

"About the bet…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…so what is it."

The old man stood up, crossed the table and said "I'm the head principal of the Konoha Ninja Academy…and I want you to start attending class tomorrow."

Well, yeah it came as a shock. Being admitted to that academy is a privilege given only to deserving children with a shinobi family …so what, if his father is a ninja, Shikamaru definitely do not belong at the first criteria. But that is not what is really surprising, because after all, the head principal is no other than the Hokage.

xxxXXXxxx

So it definitely came as a shock to everybody.

Everyone already accepted that he will end up in the public school, away from the active, tiring and dangerous, specially the tiring part, life of a ninja. And yet, here he is, entering the room designated for his class and will start learning to be one.

He did not bother looking at the faces of his new classmates. What is the point? He will just forget it after an hour. Shikamaru went to the corner-most seat and took his place, glancing at each faces momentarily to have a feel at the place.

Then he gave up. He wants to sleep! How troublesome…waking up early in the morning, killing yourself for some out-of-this-world exercises, memorizing words...not to mention numbers and incoherent chants…symbols, calligraphy, hand signs and the never-ending gazillion volumes of rules and regulations of the code of ninja…not to mention the Village's constitutions and others his brain doesn't want to think about…

Arghh, his body is already screaming for sleep just wondering what might happen four years from now! FOUR YEARS!

But anyway, he's only after for the allowances, so I guess it's not that bad.

xxxXXXxxx

Then, the door slide open. Everyone fell silent. Most students averted their eyes at the new-comer while others desperately tried to get a glance at the boy whose eyes are the same color as his jet black hair. He knows the kid. After the incident at the Uchiha clan, his name became an instant word-of-the-mouth in the whole village. The sole survivor of the Uchiha, it also didn't help that the clan is already way too popular to begin with.

Sasuke was a normal kid [was, past tense], he knew him at grade school. He's actually nice. You know, typical naïve [don't look at me, I'm already jaded at birth, probably runs with the blood] cheerful and everything. But now…he just looked as if he died with the rest of his family. Shikamaru really cannot say if he understood. He have never lost any relatives [thank Kami!] so there's no way he can relate to him even if he wanted to. And they're not even close. He will just end up like all those goody-two-shoes who swarm at Sasuke, trying to console something inconsolable.

He shifts his attention to his other classmates. Most of the children his own age are dallying with each other, probably getting to know them, when in fact they are more interested in their parent's name. You see, in here, family reputation is everything.

Oh, there's Chouji, waving at him at the side. He scanned again and there is Ino, Chouji's neighbor, the blonde wild flower [as Chouji would call her] at the other end. His eyes also found a wild mess at the center…so Kiba was also here. Other than them, there weren't any faces he could recognize. Oh well, one person is already enough.

He doesn't know what came over him, but his eyes moved at the other end of the room…and there was a boy. Oddly enough; he is the only one who never raised his head from his seat. He just tucked it away, letting the shadows of his blonde hair hide his eyes. There is something familiar with the kid that he just cannot put his finger on.

He was still busy scrutinizing the blonde when he felt something in the room. Then a gust of wind propelled across the class and from the screen of smoke accumulating at the board, a man appeared. Shikamaru tried to hide his shock. Of course he expected to meet their teacher but he never expected this.

Aside from the scar across the man's nose bridge, there is nothing else that marks him threatening. He had an easy smile, a calm face and an over-all approachable disposition. He also wore the distinguished shinobi get-up, the green jacket, the mass-produced pants, and sandals and of course, the forehead protector with the Village's insignia at the center.

"Good morning," the man greeted and glance at the piece of paper he is holding. "You can call me Umino Iruka-sensei. There is nothing interesting about me, except that I will be your homeroom teacher for the next four years, so there is no need for further introduction," The man added as he smiles.

He does not look intimidating as the other ninjas so maybe there is still a chance for him to survive in this academy.

"Okay, so…you," The sensei pointed at the kid at the front, "you…" he pointed to the one wearing a green shirt, "you…you there on the back…you, you…" he continued until he has named at least a few dozen kids, then he said, "all those selected, please stand up and get your bags. You can now go home and please tell your parents that there is always a next year."

There was a pause as the students try to absorb what the teacher has said. Then deafening murmurs and grumbles erupted in the room. It was a chaos, with everyone not knowing what just happened! The green shirt stood up and yelled "Sensei! This is unfair! Why should we go home? We passed the exam, and we -" the chunin appeared in front of the kid, startling him that he stumbled back to his seat.

"And you are all going to die out there," he said with such finality that everyone just went silent.

He straightened his back and asked, "Is there anymore questions?" with his smile still in place.

Slowly, those selected went on their way outside the class. Some are even trying hard to stifle their cries. Almost half of the class left and Shikamaru realized how wrong he was at his assumption…dead wrong.

End of Chapter 1