NARUTO

Nox Noctis Ingredior

Teammates and Friendship

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Sakura shouted at Ino.

"So… good…" the girl moaned in response, being the only reception Sakura was able to get from her dazed looking friend. After a kiss like that, who wouldn't be surprised?

"Alright! Listen here you hussy! NARUTO-KUN IS MINE!"

Ino shook herself out of her daze and glared at her pink-haired rival. "Oh yeah! Well… you can have Sasuke! I can take Naruto if that's alright with you!"

"What! No way! Not after that! Naruto-kun is mine!"

"No mine!"

"No mine!"

"You stay away from him! He's mine!"

"I don't think so!"

Sasuke lifted his head from the sauce pit and looked up, eyes narrowed and expression set in a way that increased its comical appearance by how the sauce was spread all over his face. He licked his lips as he pushed Naruto off of him slowly, looking down to see the dazed look on his face as the blonde unconsciously fell flat onto the desk in front of him. The Uchiha shook his head and wiped it clean of the sauce, stopping just for a few seconds to taste it.

"Mm… not bad," he mumbled, in spite of his ego and pride being shattered.

Naruto, on the other hand, was dizzy from the overload of processed information. "That was so nice…" he mumbled in his faze, cheeks blushing red and drool leaking out of his mouth. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at him before pushing him away.

"Stop flooding the place, dobe," Sasuke said, pointing out the drool leaking out of his mouth. It was a pretty hilarious sight, especially since Sakura and Ino were still bickering. It was only with the much needed entrance by Iruka that stopped the fight, and brought everything back down to earth.

"Alright students, take your seats…" As the newly made Genin took to the rows, Iruka noticed the state Naruto and Sasuke were in. Firstly, the Uchiha was covered in sauce, and looked as though he had been rough-housed by a hotdog. Then there was Naruto, who was lying in a semi-conscious state with a look of bliss and a blush on his face, and a drool hanging from his mouth, as he lay splayed out on his desk. There were no signs of life coming from him. "Hey, what happened to Naruto?"

"Well, let me evaluate," Kiba exclaimed from behind, a smirk on his face, as he used hand signs in an attempt to put visual effects into use. "Pinky fell on Blondie, Blondie fell on Emo, Emo's face fell into a container of dango sauce. Pinky kissed Blondie, Blondie kissed back, and Second Blondie kissed Blondie upon removing Pinky. Simple as that…"

Iruka blinked and stared at the underdog of the class, who shrugged at him for further inclination. A few seconds of silence was to follow, before Iruka's brain caught up with him.

"Ooookay…moving on," Iruka cleared his throat and looked down at his notepad, readying to make his announcements for the day. "Now that you're all graduated to shinobi status, it is time to initiate the final stages of your inauguration. So to speak, it is time to assign you to your teams…"

The class remained silent, and listened in on this new information, while Naruto dazedly, but surely, regained consciousness to the real world.

"All shinobi and kunoichi of Konohagakure, as well as all the neighboring countries with ninja support, have been assigned to teams. Teams consist of three subordinates and one Jonin or team leader. In these three-man cells, all of you will learn to function as a team to complete your missions and learn the values of teamwork," Iruka explained. "By working as a team, you can accomplish tasks greater than what one ninja can perform…"

"So, how does this thing work?" a random student called.

"Do we have to do everything as a team?"

"Well, that is a yes and no," Iruka continued. "Yes, team assignments and duties require you to associate with your teammates and perform all the tasks given; such as mission work, training, tutoring, gatherings… but that doesn't mean you can't train and get stronger on your own time. You can continue to get stronger at your own pace, but you must maintain constant vigilance and communication with your teammates in order to create a strong force, and be able to accomplish future mission faster! Most of the missions distributed to ninjas in Konoha require functioning teams, which is why a lot of the ninja are seen coming and going from the village."

The students nodded in understanding, a hush murmur escaping over the ascending rows.

"Furthermore, each team is assigned their members based on their scores achieved in their exams, and their full year's marks!" Iruka stated. "Once these teams are listed and the names are distributed, they are made official. There is no going back, and there is no arguing it. You will have to cope with your teammates, and learn to get along with them. So… let's begin…" Iruka looked back down at his notepad. "Team 1…"

During the time Iruka read out the teams, Naruto managed to regain consciousness. Like recovering from a hangover, the boy groaned and shook his head, looking around through half-lidded eyes for the ones responsible for his sudden drop out of reality. He looked towards the upper rows, where he saw Sakura and Ino waiting eagerly for their teams to be read out. Sakura spotted Naruto looking up at her and waved, to which Naruto waved back with a grin.

"Boy… I will never get tired of that smile…"

Shaking his head, he stared back to the front of the classroom, and waited for his team to be called out. Eventually that time came…

"Let's see… Team 7 will include: Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka began, Naruto's head popping up at the sound of his name.

"Haruno Sakura!"

Sakura pumped her fist. "Whoosha!" and she stuck her tongue out at Ino, who fumed at being out marked. The blonde girl folded her arms and sulked where she sat, sending a few mental curses Sakura's way.

"Regardless, Naruto will be mine, forehead! You can count on it!"

"And Hyuuga Hinata!" Iruka concluded.

Hinata's eyes widened a bit, and Sakura deflated in a second upon hearing this. Ino was also a little surprised, as were a lot of the other students. Naruto blinked, and turned t look up at the quiet, purple-haired girl sitting next to Shino. The bug user glanced at her, his sunglasses flashing as he watched her face grow a bit in redness and her eyes shimmer in surprise.

"WHAT!" Sakura shouted.

"Well… erhm…" Iruka cleared his throat and smiled, glancing down at his notepad. "And Team 7's Jonin leader will be…"

There was a smashing of windows, and suddenly a ball of bundled up sheets flew in. When it unraveled, much to Naruto's dismay, who slammed his head repeatedly on the table, shouting 'why-why-why' upon realizing who it was, there stood Konoha's hottest kunoichi: Anko Mitarashi. Finishing up her last dango, she tossed the stick away and in an all cool style manner, placed her hands on her hips.

"Ha! Right on time too!" Anko exclaimed, pointing at the three students she was assigned and grinned. "You, you and you! Meet me at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar in six minutes, or your asses are going straight back to first Grade!"

All the students in the class were staring at the woman with slack-jawed expressions, especially Sakura and a rather nervous looking Hinata. Iruka just rubbed the back of his head in an uncomfortable manner, knowing that this was going to become a real pain for him in the future.

Naruto groaned and looked up at the woman with a deflated and defeated look on his face, seeing Anko grinning at him happily. "You? Why you? Of all the Jonin in the village! How can thi…oh…" the realization soon dawned on him, and he immediately rose to his feet. Immediately becoming enraged, he leapt at the woman, only to be quickly restrained by Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru, Shikamaru and Choji the moment they realized what was going to happen. They struggled to keep him in his seat. "OH! You! YOU! YOU KNEW AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME! ARGH! LET ME AT HER! LET ME AT HER! RARGH!"

The sight was rather comical.

Anko laughed out loud, finding the scene in front of her the most hilarious she's seen all day. "I see you're happy to have me as your Jonin guide, gaki!" the woman exclaimed, running a hand through her hair. "That's great! The angrier the better!" She cocked an eyebrow as she watched Naruto struggle against the four of them. "That's what I really like about you… so forceful… kinky…"

Sakura's eye twitched as she looked the woman up and down, analyzing her figure and the way she made her appearance known. "Who the heck is she? I have never seen this woman before?" A cold chill ran down her spin at the grin she gave Naruto, staring him down without a hint of fear at all. "Boy, she gives me the creeps…"

Hinata gulped, having met this woman before on many occasions when Kurenai invited her out or over to her place. Sure, she was comfortable around her, but the prospects of having her as her teacher made her nervous.

"Anko… our teacher…oh my…"

Said purple haired woman looked at her three teammates, ignoring the gawks from the other students, and jabbed her thumb over her shoulder.

"Come on, get moving! You have five minutes left!" she folded her arms and looked at her nails casually, while at the same time, mumbling a countdown. "Four, fifty-nine! Four, fifty-eight! Four, fifty-seven! Four, fifty si…"

"Okay! Okay! We're going!" Naruto shouted, jerking himself out of the boy's grips and sprinted out of the classroom, waiting at the door to be joined by a hurrying Sakura, and a timid Hinata. Anko grinned and clapped her hands, coaching them on.

"Come on, ladies! Move it! Move it! Move it! That goes for you to, Naruto-chan!"

"Fuck you!" came Naruto's voice echoing down the hallway.

"That's the spirit!" Anko then began to follow, but before she left she turned to Iruka and winked at him. "See you soon, Iruka-kun!" She left, leaving a blushing Chunin and rather appalled looks from a lot of the students. The thought of Iruka and Anko together made them feel a little ill…

Several minutes later, the three members of Team 7 were sitting at Ichiraku's Ramen Bar, each of them with a cup of green tea in their hands and drinking happily from them. Anko joined them several seconds before time expired, and treated them all to this social tea outing before getting down to the actual business. She took a long, dry sip from her cup, and after setting it down, rounded on the three sitting next to her.

"Well then! I guess introductions are in order!" Anko exclaimed, causing Naruto, Sakura and Hinata to look at her. The woman adjusted her coat and crossed her legs, showing off some of her leg. "I'll start! My name is Anko Mitarashi! I like dango, sweet-bean soup, snakes, and playing with my prey. I dislike hot and spicy food, and people who judge you before they get to know you. My favorite hobby is tea ceremonies. And my dream is… well… ahh… lets skip that!"

Naruto, Sakura and Hinata blinked at the same time. "Huh?"

Anko grinned at them and pointed in their direction. "Okay then! Your turn! Tell me your name, your likes, dislikes, your hobby, and dreams for the future…go on! You first, pinky!"

Sakura developed a tick-mark at that reference but went on anyway. "Alright! My name is Sakura Haruno! I like dumplings, umeboshi and cherry blossoms and uhh…" she glanced over at Naruto and giggled slightly, causing Naruto to grin and rub the back of his head nervously. "I dislike Ino, and I wish to fight her to prove that I am stronger than her! My hobbies include memorization and playing trivia! And my dreams for the future include becoming a kunoichi, and raising a family!"

"Interesting, interesting," Anko exclaimed, rubbing her chin. "But boring…"

Sakura was shot down at this, and she immediately became pissed.

"Ah! Just kidding!" Anko sniggered. "Okay! Your turn, hot-shot!"

Naruto grinned. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I like training, practicing my ninjutsu, ramen, and everyone I care about! I also dislike people who judge me, and the time it takes to cool ramen! My hobbies include training, writing… I guess! And my dream is to become the strongest ninja in Konoha, so that I can protect all those closest to me, and this village!" He held up his fist as extra leverage to his statement.

"Good on yah, gaki!" Anko exclaimed, giving him the thumbs up. "Okay, now you bright eyes…"

"Uhh… okay…" Hinata began, taking in a deep breath of air to compose herself. "I'm Hinata Hyuuga! I like zenzai, cinnamon rolls and… and… N-N-Naruto-kun. I do not like shrimp and crabs. I like pressing flowers as a hobby, and… my dreams for the future… a-are to fight Neji and my father, to prove that I am stronger than they think!"

Naruto turned and smiled at the young girl, seeing the sincerity and courage behind her words. The purple haired girl looked at the blonde and, upon seeing him smiling at her, smiled back and blushed heavily, before looking away, running a hand through her hair. Sakura also smiled at Hinata, then turned to Naruto and nudged him in the arm.

"You're pretty popular now, Naruto-kun…"

"Yeah… I… I guess so…" Naruto replied, but retracted into himself as his thoughts exposed a rather inconvenient truth he did not want to become aware to. "But am I liked now because of me, or for what I have done?"

"Well then! Now that we all know each other!" Anko exclaimed, rising to her feet. "I'd like to get one last thing over with. All of you come with me…" She said, paying for their drinks and departing. Naruto, with Sakura and Hinata at his sides, followed after, wanting to know what the psycho Jonin had planned for them.

TO BE CONTINUED…