6 years later….

Sasuke stretched and did a couple quick, wake-up warm ups after he got out of bed. His cat, Minu, looked up at him question questioningly, sensing his good mood. He merely grinned at his favorite companion, causing her to become even more intrigued by his demeanor. He bent down and pet her head, feeling her soft fur run through his rough, training hardened hands.

His good mood was easily explained. Naruto had passed the genin test after all. He had seen that Naruto was the only one not to pass, and had been upset to see that he hadn't made it, even after two prior tries. He knew it wasn't really the jinchuuriki's fault, most of the teachers hated him and taught him the wrong techniques on purpose. The only good one of them all was Iruka, who would help Naruto with his homework and take him to Ichiraku's stand. Even if the teachers weren't biased against him, Naruto would still have had trouble. The Kyuubi had greatly enhanced his chakra capacity, so the academy's three required jutsu, bunshin, henge, and kawarimi, which all required minimal amounts of chakra, were challenging for him.

Sasuke went down the hallway, and stopped in the kitchen, getting a couple eggs out of his refrigerator for breakfast, grabbing a can of cat food out of the cabinet on the top shelf on his way back to the oven. He gave Minu her meal before he started preparing his on the stove top. Not ten minutes later, he was sitting at the table, a plate with two fried eggs on it. He finished his breakfast quickly, wanting to have plenty of time to get ready for his last day at the academy.

Unlike the other students, he didn't have to wonder who would be on his team, or who would be his jonin instructor. As the rookie of the year, he would be put on the same team as the kunoichi of the year, and the dead last: Himself, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. His jonin instructor would have to be able to teach him how to use his sharingan when he "awakened" it. The shinobi would also have to be one of fantastic skill, with a working knowledge of Fuuinjutsu, so he would be able to help contain the Kyuubi should anything happen to the seal keeping the demon locked inside Naruto: Kakashi Hatake.

Sasuke pulled on his dark blue shirt, the Uchiha fan printed out onto his back. He couldn't help the small sense of accomplishment he felt as he tied the Hitai-ate onto his head. It wasn't that he was proud he had passed the exam, or any prior test or paper work. His achievement was in remaining undetected, his true skill and maturity levels hidden from anyone but Minu and Nekobaa, as well as his true personality.

He almost hummed to himself as he started his long walk from the lonely Uchiha Compound to the academy, but stopped himself. No reason to risk detection when he was so close to a new level of freedom, no matter how small it was. As a genin under a jonin instructor, a certain amount of growth would be expected from him, giving him a wider range of techniques to use in combat.

He walked through the big double doors and into the large building that doubled as both the academy and the Hokage's Tower. His footsteps didn't echo through the hallway as most of the students did, since he had long since perfected his ability to walk silently. He had to make a mental effort to make noise if he wanted to stop.

The classroom was empty when he arrived, as it usually was. Sasuke liked to arrive at school early, giving him plenty of time to take care of any business he would rather other people not have any knowledge about. He sometimes looked through the teacher's papers to see what they would be doing in the next couple weeks, even if he had already predicted most of what would be happening. Other times, he would just sit down and appreciate the peace and silence of the empty room while he waited for the rest of the class to show up.

He sat down in his chair by the window, and stared out at the street below him. It was early, so there wasn't as much traffic as there usually was, but there were still a few people out. Most of them were business owners in the area, and they were getting to work early to prepare for what they were probably hoping would be a busy day. He saw Iruka walking down the street, and watched as he entered the building through the same doors he had about half an hour ago.

Iruka walked into the classroom and gave Sasuke a polite nod in greeting. He had long since gotten used to Sasuke arriving earlier than him. The first time Iruka had walked through the door, he hadn't noticed Sasuke for a full fifteen minutes. It wasn't until Sasuke had stood up to go to the restroom that Iruka had seen him, and the chunin had jumped nearly three feet out of his seat and in the air in surprise.

He sat and watched as his old sensei rearranged the papers on his desk, writing a few notes on a paper here and there. He saw the bandages on the man, noticing the way he winced almost imperceptibly when he shifted slightly in his seat. Sasuke hadn't thought that Mizuki would have been able to do that amount of damage, since Iruka was far above him in skill. The man's betrayal must have really taken Iruka by surprise. He remembered seeing them eating lunch together during their breaks every once in a while.

As the minutes slowly ticked by, more children walked through the doors, and the sound of Iruka's pencil scratching against the paper slowly changed to the soft murmur of collective conversations. Some of the students came into the classroom alone, but more often than not, they would arrive in pairs, or groups. The only people other than him to arrive by themselves were Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuuga. Even Naruto would walk in sometimes talking with Kiba, or Shikamaru and Choji.

Naruto chose that moment to walk through the door, his new Hitai-ate proudly on display. He was stopped by Shikamaru, who shrugged and went back to doing nothing when Naruto grinned and flashed his forehead protector at the lazy Nara. The boy's spirits were not diminished, and he merely kept walking on, the same happy look as before still on his face. Inwardly, Sasuke cursed himself, knowing he would be the one to take that joy from the poor boy, outside, however, he remained as stoic as ever.

The door to the classroom was abruptly thrown open, and two girls entered the room at the exact same time, both scowling at each other while they did so.
"I was here first and you know it, Ino-pig!"

"In your dreams forehead!"

Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno. Both had the potential to be shinobi of the highest caliber, and used to be the best of friends. Then they both got a stupid crush on him and became "rivals" because of it. He could only feel ashamed of them. They shouldnt let something as petty as a crush tear apart their careers and friendship.

He looked up to see Naruto glowering and studying him from his position squatting on the desk. Sasuke glared right back at him, keeping in the character he had built for himself, even though inside, he just wanted to get up and move to a different seat. He saw someone in front of him shift in their seat, moving their elbow just enough to hit Naruto and send him off-balance. Sasuke oh so dearly wished he could just move out of the way, like he had wanted to in the beginning, but stayed their, resigned to his fate. As soon as their lips met, however, Naruto was sent sprawling onto the floor, after being hit with a punch that would put Sakura's best to shame.

Afterward wasn't much better, since he had to deal with the fangirl army. When all was said and done, Naruto could add black as a new color to his blue and orange outfit.

Iruka had left the class to print a couple papers in the teacher's lounge, and walked through the door the minute all the action had died off. Sasuke was sure that he noticed the multiple new injuries Naruto had acquired, as well as the way he was glaring bloody murder at the boy along with the fangirls. However, Iruka hadn't been teaching the class for the past six years for nothing, and knew better than to stick his nose where it didn't belong.

"Well, since everyone that passed the exam is now here, then I suppose we can now announce the team placements." He said, a bit less cheerful than usual. Sasuke supposed it was because they were his first class, and he was feeling sentimental.

"Team One," He began, "Miro Junchi, Karen Toyuma, and Roku Namata." Sasuke listened as the teams were announced, wanting to know if his assumptions were correct.

They had gotten to team six, and so far Sasuke had been right on all accounts. There were only three teams left, and he was certain he would be right about the placements on those team as well.

"Team Seven, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno," Sasuke noticed how Naruto shot out of his chair in joy and Sakura slumped over in despair. He also watched as their positions reverse when the last member for their team was called. "And Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka finished.

"Hey Sensei!" Naruto yelled, standing up to speak even louder. "How come I'm stuck on a team with a loser like him?" he asked, pointing at Sasuke, who felt a bit hurt. The kid needed to learn how to take a loss with grace.

"The teams are made to balance each other out and complement each other's abilities," Iruka explained. "Sasuke was the top of the class, with the best grades. You were dead last, having the worst grades of anyone." Snickers erupted from around the classroom, and Naruto's face turned a tad red. He didn't sit back down though.

"You were placed on Sasuke's team so that he could help make up any shortcomings you may have." Iruka finished. Naruto fell back in his seat and slumped down in a position that would make anyone worry about his posture. Sasuke could feel another sliver of pity creeping into his mind. He quickly squashed it, intent on making sure he was considered normal.

"How did you manage to get on his team?" Sasuke heard Ino whisper furiously to Sakura, who replied by sticking her tongue out at the Yamanaka girl.

"Team Eight, Kiba Inuzuka, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame." Sasuke wouldn't have minded taking Kiba's place on that team. He actually like Shino and Hinata, since they didn't judge people by grades or looks the way most of their other classmates did. It was also an infiltration team, which happened to be his favorite area of expertise.

"Team Ten, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara." A lot of people are slumping over in despair today it seems, Sasuke thought as he watched Ino do the same thing. Sasuke could see the confusion flow through the few students who were still paying attention. He knew that Team Nine was composed of students who had graduated the year prior to them. He had heard that they were actually quite skilled, though they hadn't been entered into any chunin exams to be officially ranked.

"You all will be sitting here and waiting for jonin instructors to show up. It shouldn't take too long." Iruka said, before leaving the classroom.

Two hours later, and the three genin of Team Seven were the only people left in the room. Sakura was laying on one of the desks, and Naruto was pacing the room. Sasuke had stayed in the same position the entire time. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Naruto put an eraser on top of the door, his idea of "payment" for their sensei's lateness.
"Naruto, you shouldn't do that!" Sakura said, an annoyed and worried look on her face. Too bad for those two, they didn't even realize Kakashi's lateness was terminal. Possibly in both ways if Naruto and Sakura ever got strong enough to actually beat him.

It was about ten minutes later that Kakashi Hatake opened the door of the classroom, blinking a bt as a bit of chalk from the eraser got into his one visible eye. He looked at the three of them with an almost impossible mixture of interested boredom.

"Hmm… let's see here. My first impression of you? You're a bunch of idiots."