Chapter 2: Graduation Day

Jun watched from the back as student after student was called up to perform the 3 graduating jutsu. Kawarimi, Henge and Bunshin. The first half of the day had consisted of the written and practical exams, both of which he was confident he'd passed. He was by no means the top student in their class, but he was neither anywhere near the bottom. Of course, there was a natural deviation of skill in this particular class anyway. It was no secret students from shinobi families were often better than their fellow civilian students in almost every facet of their education. Furthermore, clan children often started training a year or two before they entered the academy and, particularly to him, the clan kids in his class were all children of their respective clan heads.

It must've been a nice feeling, going back home every day to a family that had all the tools to help you succeed. It must be a nice feeling to go back home to any family, regardless of who they were.

"Jun Sato."

Iruka called out Jun's name and he made his way down to the front. All eyes were on him, which wasn't a problem. He'd learned to tune out everyone's stares a long time ago.

Iruka gave him a cold look as Mizuki watched next to him with a straight face.

It was 5 minutes later that he walked out of his class, looking at the black headband held in his hand. He couldn't help the butterflies in his stomach and the smile that appeared on his face.

"Yo Jun!'

Jun looked up to see two students waving at him from under a tree. He jogged over, gripping his headband tight. "Hey Haruki, Ema."

Haruki and Ema were perhaps what Jun would call his best friends. Two students he'd hit it off with early at the academy, spending nearly every day hanging out, eating, talking and joking with them. They came from civilian families, but they had known each other since before the academy. Both their parents had been friends in their youth and had grown up to eventually be neighbours.

"Told ya we'd pass no problem!" Haruki exclaimed, pointing to the headband tied around his forehead. Ema rolled her eyes and elbowed him. "You were the only one panicking about the written exam, idiot. What do you mean no problem?"

Jun chuckled at the exchange. They'd often fall into the same roles as 'annoyer and annoyee' with Jun sometimes mediating as a third opinion. "She's got you there y'know."

Haruki rubbed his arm dramatically and then stood up straight, taking a pose similar to Iruka when he was teaching. "A ninja can never be too careful Ema," he said, wagging his finger at her. Ema swatted it away with an annoyed look and then turned to Jun with a smile.

"So... how'd you feel now that you've graduated?" she asked.

Jun took a step forward and leaned his back against the tree, facing the both of them. "Nervous. Kinda. But also happy? I mean this is finally it. We're ninja. Official ninja. Well, nearly. But we're most of the way there. After that, it's missions and pay and I'm all for a proper income."

"And cool ninja stuff," Haruki added.

"Yeah and cool ninja stuff."

Ema nodded and then pointed to the headband in Jun's hand. "Put it on. Let's see how you look."

Jun stood up straight and brought the headband towards his head, he tied it back and then looked at both of them.

"It suits you," Ema said.

"You got the extra long one, huh?" Haruki asked.

"Yeah, I like it flowing down. It's kinda cool."

It was a little while longer when the last student had come out of the classroom, and 5 minutes after when Iruka walked out, Mizuki behind him. They'd spent the time talking more about their future as ninjas, and their possible results from the written and practical exams earlier in the day, commenting on how they'd seen other students perform. Ema had hit Haruki when he'd teased her after Sasuke had walked past and he'd caught her staring at him. She swore she didn't have a crush on him, but the red tinge on her face wasn't exactly convincing. Naruko had come out just after to a near crowd of people congratulating her. Jun watched, a little jealous she had it so easy, but squashed down the feeling.

"Well done to everyone who passed today." Iruka started, "I see from the looks on your faces you're all excited to take the next step towards your future as Leaf ninja. Please come back inside, and we will proceed on calling out the 3-man cells."

The students slowly filtered in, taking their usual seats. Jun was at the back again, Haruki on his right and Ema on the right of him.

Iruka and Mizuki stood in the middle of the room at the front.

"Today is a memorable day. You have all spent 6 years in the academy, learning all aspects of what it means to be a ninja, and it has all culminated in this. But don't be too quick to celebrate. Although each of you has passed the graduation exam, you are not fully fledged genin. You have one final test to go through."

Naruko's voice pierced the silent room. "Throw anything you got at us Iruka-sensei! I won't give up until I'm a ninja just like my dad!"

Mizuki laughed, "It's good to be confident Naruko, but as Iruka-sensei says, a ninja can never be too careful. Sheer will may not be the answer."

Haruki nudged Ema with a smile, to which she rolled her eyes and focused her attention back on the front.

Mizuki continued. "Unfortunately, the test will not be graded by either me or Iruka-sensei, it will be completely up to the judgement of your jonin instructor. They are cleared to test you however they wish, and the pass requirement may differ from team to team."

Iruka nodded in agreement and walked over to his desk, pulling out a sheet of paper. "Listen carefully, the team cells will now be called out."

The class sat silently in anticipation, waiting to see who they would be paired up with. Although it was unlikely, Jun hoped he'd be in the same 3-man cell as Haruki and Ema. But he was a realist, and it was likely they'd each be in a team with some of the other civilian students.

Teams 1 to 5, alongside their jonin instructor, had been called out with none of the names being Jun's, Haruki's or Ema's. With each following team mentioning none of their names, Jun's hopes grew ever so slightly. And then they completely deflated.

"Team 6: Ema, Haruki and Sakura. Your jonin instructor is Hamaki Mimura."

Both Jun's friends gave him weak smiles, and he gave one back. It was a long shot anyways. He guessed he'd be paired up with random students after all.

"Team 7: Naruko, Sasuke and Jun. Your jonin instrucor is Kakashi Hatake."

This time both Ema and Haruki gave Jun incredulous looks, and Jun failed to give them one back, shock written across his face. There was no way. Out of all people, he'd been their 3rd teammate? Even Iruka had paused a little, a slight one, but he carried on. Hinata would have made more sense. The Hokage's daughter and the children of the two heads of the most prominent clans in the Leaf.

"Team 8: Kiba, Shino and Hinata. Your jonin instrucor is Kurenai Yuhi."

Jun was still blanking at the information about his 3-man cell. He was a nobody, and that wasn't all self-deprecation, there was some truth to it. He was one of the many orphans whose parents had died in the Nine-Tails Attack. An average kid and an average student. Sure it was odd how many glares he'd get from people anywhere he'd go, he could never figure that one out. And sure sometimes he'd be hurried out of shops or restaurants or his bill to pay would be higher than advertised for no apparent reason. And sure Iruka always seemed slightly cold towards him, and although Mizuki was slightly better, he'd never see him smile at him the way he'd smile at Naruko. So sure, he was a little disliked. Or a lot disliked. Okay so maybe a little below average. But that made it make even less sense as to why he was on Team 7. If any civilian was going to be placed on a team with the daughter of the Fourth Hokage, and the heir of the Uchiha clan, Sakura would have made the most sense. She wasn't the most physically gifted, but she was by far the cleverest student in the class.

Jun looked down to where Naruko and Sasuke were sitting and saw them give him looks of confusion too. Naruko was obvious with it while Sasuke had barely raised an eyebrow. It made him feel small, which made him feel a little angry. Okay, so he wasn't from a clan. So what?

They'd each turned to look at each other before Naruko shrugged and they returned their focus to Iruka. It was well known Naruko and Sasuke had a strong friendship, even though they were probably the two students who got into the most fights, usually with each other. And here he was about to be the third wheel.

Jun looked back to the front and realised he'd missed Team 9's announcement.

"Team 10: Ino, Shikamaru and Choji. Your jonin instrucor is Asuma Sarutobi."

Iruka placed the sheet down and looked up. "All 3-man cells have been called. Your jonin instructor will expect you here tomorrow at 9 am sharp. I recommend you take the short time you have to get to know your teammates before then. Good luck and congratulations on graduating from the academy."

The classroom was suddenly filled with low chatter as everyone got up to leave the class in their new teams.

"Man, that's some shitty luck you have."

Jun turned to Haruki. "Yeah, trust me I'm used to it."

Ema gave him a sympathetic look. "It's not all bad Jun. Maybe you'll hit it off with them y'know? You've still got the test with your jonin instructor yet. And they're the strongest in our class. Who knows, maybe you'll pick up a few tricks?" she finished with a smile.

Jun didn't return it. "Don't think king jerk and the princess care to teach me anything, Ema. They probably think I'll hold them back. And they're probably right."

Ema stayed silent, the same look on her face.

Haruki turned back to see Sakura making her way towards them. She gave them a wave, "Hey guys, you wanna get something to eat? We can go over our game plan for tomorrow?"

Ema gave a 'sure' and Haruki nodded before standing up.

"Look dude," Haruki started with a low voice, as Ema gave Jun one last look of sympathy before following Sakura outside the class, "Don't worry about it okay? They're strong, yeah, but you still got your own stuff to show. Clan kids like them are always a bit full of themselves, and if their egos get on your nerves, don't hesitate to give us a shout. We'll shoot the shit and blow some steam."

"Thanks." Jun said with a smile, "I appreciate that."

"There you go, now I better get going before Ema decides to break my nose. See ya."

Haruki gave Jun one last pat on the back and jogged to meet up with his team. He watched as Team 6 walked away from the door, talking as if they'd been friends forever.

The classroom slowly emptied and Jun made his way to Naruko and Sasuke. He gave an awkward 'hey' and sat down, noticing they were closer to each other than him. Naruko, unsurprisingly, was the first to say something. "Alright, whaddya say we get some Ichiraku Ramen? We can brainstorm how to take Kakashi-nii down!

"Is that all you eat, you loser?" Sasuke was the next to speak, short and blunt as was his way of talking.

"Shut up you bastard! I'm sure Jun doesn't mind! Do you, Jun?"

Jun paused as both sets of eyes landed on him, one pair of deadpan black and the other a sparkling blue. "Errr...yeah sure I don't mind."

"That's settled, 2 against 1 bastard. Let's go!"

In truth Jun did mind, the owner, Teuchi he thinks his name was, didn't often like it when he entered his ramen shop. Sometimes he'd let him eat if the place was empty or near closing, for a near extortionate price, and other times he'd say he wasn't serving when he clearly was. Jun would just leave without arguing if that was the case, which it often was and settled to learning to cook for himself when he was hungry, as Teuchi's attitude towards him was shared by nearly any business he'd come across. But he didn't want to stand out more than he already did with these two, and so he'd resigned himself to agreeing and going along. He was with the Hokage's daughter after all, so maybe he'd get a free pass from the bullshit for once.

As the three of them were about to leave the classroom, Jun took notice of Iruka at his desk, grading some papers. "Hey, erm, could you guys give me a second? You can go on without me, I'll catch up."

Naruko gave him a puzzled look while Sasuke didn't seem bothered. They didn't push any further and both left, walking at a slow pace. Iruka gave them a goodbye and Naruko gave one back, with Sasuke giving a small wave.

Once he was sure they were gone, Jun walked over to Iruka, who didn't bother to look up from his papers and acted as if he wasn't there. It didn't surprise him. Back when he had just started the academy, he had seen Iruka as a proactive, kind teacher. He'd often witnessed him go above and beyond to help his students. Compared to other teachers anyway. He'd make rounds around the class, asking if anyone needed help or work 1 to 1 with a student who was struggling on a specific topic with no problem whatsoever.

Except when it came to him.

At first, he would find Iruka would often miss him during his rounds, and he considered that maybe Iruka didn't think he needed any help. So he started to raise his hand whenever he was near to show that he did. It didn't work. Iruka would still walk past him. He considered that maybe Iruka was too busy helping others to see his raised arm, so the next time he walked by he'd call out to him instead. That didn't work either. Iruka would still walk past him. He did find it odd that Iruka would always see or hear others when they called for him, especially Naruko, but Jun didn't want to think the worst. So he thought the next time he needed help he'd approach Iruka after class. This did work. Iruka gave vague instructions on what Jun was finding hard, which wasn't a huge help, but it was better than nothing. He'd kept this up for a couple of days before Iruka was nowhere to be found after class. For a whole week. He'd approach him in class the following one, but Iruka would make excuses to attend to someone else. Or tell him to go over his notes. Or just tell him he was too busy.

Over time Jun stopped making the effort, realising Iruka was just the same as all the others.

'I exist too you know' Jun thought bitterly.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka didn't respond.

"Iruka-sensei."

Iruka looked up from his papers as if the mere thought of attending to Jun was an inconvenience.

"Can't you see I'm busy Jun?" he said annoyed.

'Not busy enough not to wave Naruko goodbye.'

"Yeah, sorry Iruka-sensei" Jun stated flatly, "But I just wanted to ask a question about the 3-man cells."

Iruka didn't respond, and Jun took it as his cue to go on. "I think, it's a bit odd that I'm in Team 7. I don't fit in as a third member to Naruko and Sasuke. I know Sakura would be a much better fit and so I was wondering if it's possible to swap with Tea-"

"No." Iruka interrupted bluntly. "It isn't. These Teams have been put together by Lord Hokage directly, and if you have a problem with them, you can take it up with him."

"I can't just go to Lord Ho-"

"Exactly. You can't. So I suggest you find peace with the decision that's been made and stop trying to cause trouble. Now leave, I have work to do."

Jun turned silently and walked out of the classroom. 'So much for being a teacher. You're not even willing to help out a student.' Of course, Iruka wasn't willing to not help out students, he just wasn't willing to help out him.

Jun hoped his jonin instructor wasn't the same, but as a realist, he didn't put too much stock into it. He looked up to notice Naruko and Sasuke in the distance and quickly closed the gap.

They made some small talk along the way, some stuff about the exams and techniques their parents were teaching them. Jun didn't contribute much to the latter. He'd learned Sasuke mastered the Fireball Jutsu, however, and that Naruko was working on her mother's bloodline limit. He felt a bit outclassed upon hearing it but tried to squash the feeling down. He'd asked Naruko about 'Kakashi-nii' and she'd explained she'd known him since childhood. He was a student of the Fourth and had been like an older brother to her growing up. The revelation had rested some worry about the test tomorrow, as familiar ground was always an advantage.

The three of them soon found themselves outside Ichiraku Ramen, Jun's nerves flared for a second but he kept them under control. Naruko was the first to walk in, and Jun heard a cheery greeting from Teuchi and his daughter (he didn't know her name) and Naruko's happy reply. Sasuke was next, to the same greeting and a polite reply in return. And Jun last, to a quickly restrained shock and a transparently weak smile and 'hello' which Jun saw straight past.

Sasuke noticed the interaction, which Jun wasn't aware of, while Naruko was busy conversing with Teuchi's daughter.

"Two large miso ramen with extra pork please Ayame!" she called out as Ayame made her way to the back.

Teuchi turned to Sasuke and he quietly ordered himself a bowl before he finally turned to Jun. Jun looked back with a pause, unsure how to proceed, barely stuttering out his order.

"E-Erm... Just one miso ramen...please."

Teuchi nodded and it wasn't long before they were all eating, Naruko scarfing down her food as if it was her last meal on earth, Sasuke taking his time and Jun almost playing with his, a weird feeling in his stomach at being treated a little normal for once.

I guess being on a team with Naruko has its perks.'

Naruko looked over and noticed Jun not eating. "Hey, ain't 'cha hungry? If you're not gonna eat it, I'll finish it!" she exclaimed with a smile.

Sasuke turned and looked over, "She actually will, so better to eat it before she does."

"Hey!"

Jun chuckled awkwardly and looked back at his food. He didn't get many luxuries out of his life, and he'd usually have to pay near double the price at an inconvenient time to eat here. 'I might as well enjoy it.'

The 3 ate in relative silence until it was interrupted by Naruko burping loudly and putting down her second bowl, to which Sasuke looked at her in disgust and Jun looked up from his food.

"So," she started, "What's the plan for tomorrow?"

"You tell us, loser. You're who one who knows Kakashi best."

"Well actually..." Naruko trailed off awkwardly, fiddling with her thumbs.

Sasuke scowled. "Actually what?"

"ACTUALLY, I don't know much about his fighting capabilities so..."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't."

"Hey! We're a team ya know! I can't be pulling all the weight!"

"You don't pull any weight idiot."

Naruko jumped from her seat and pointed at Sasuke. "That's it! You and me right now!"

Sasuke looked at her expressionless. "Now isn't the time for a spar. We need to conserve our energy for tomorrow... idiot."

Jun laughed to himself. They reminded him of Ema and Haruki, but with the roles reversed.

Naruko noticed Jun laughing and a slight tinge grew on her face. "Now look what you did you bastard! You're embarrassing me in front of our teammate!"

"You're doing it yourself."

Jun placed his chopsticks down and turned to them, "Well, could you tell us a little about his personality? Maybe we could get some insight into how he thinks. It might make it a little easier to deduce his pass requirements."

Naruto hit her fist into her palm, "Good thinking Jun! That's kinda clever!"

Jun looked bashful. "Thanks"

Naruko placed a hand on her chin and looked up. "Well... he's really kind... but also lazy... but my dad tells me he was kind of a prodigy when he was younger, and that he was completely different back then! He likes dogs too. And he's always reading this book, I don't know what it is, no one ever tells me and-"

"You're rambling. Give us his views about being a ninja." Sasuke interrupted.

"Oops, sorry. Erm... well I know he's really strong. So maybe he values strength?" Naruko asked, "But I do remember something he's said a few times."

Jun looked on expectantly and Sasuke with a bored expression.

"In the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum. But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum."

There was a pause, and Jun found himself in admiration of Naruko's, or technically Kakashi's, words. 'Wow. That actually sounds...pretty cool.'

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement.

"Sounds like he values teamwork then. Right?" Jun asked.

"Yeah. It does. Let's make sure we all work as a team for the test. That way, there's no way he can fail us on that front." Sasuke replied.

Naruko nodded fervently and darted her arm out, palm down. "On 3, let's say teamwork!"

Sasuke looked at her with a questionable stare while Jun wasn't sure what to do.

"C'mon, guys! We're a team!"

Sasuke reluctantly stood up from his seat and placed his hand on top of Naruko's. "Fine."

Jun stood up from his seat and followed.

"3, 2, 1.."

"Teamwork!"

Second chapter done. And yes it is extremely long. Around 4x as long. I hadn't actually planned for that.

I apologise for focusing the first half on OCs. Don't worry they won't be the main focus at all. Jun's relationship with Team 7 will be. Interestingly enough, the Jonin Instructor for Team 6 is actually a real jonin of Konoha.

I'm aware I tend to have a slow pace for things, but that can be good and bad. I won't be going through every 24 hours of Jun's life but I can't help myself to add in any characterisation possible.

If you have any comments, feel free to leave a review! Thanks for reading.