Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Friends ❯ Chapter One: Meetings ( Chapter 1 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: Alden 
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.15.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 843 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Romance | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 07.15.2004 | Pages: 4 | Words: 3.1K | Visits: 843 | Status: Completed
Friends
By Alden-san
Chapter One: Meetings
"Sakura!"
"Mom! I'll do it later! Please?"
"Alright..." Her mother's annoyed reply came on the wind that followed Sakura up the path and out of her home. "Be back by lunch, though, okay honey!"
"Okay, Mom! See you in a bit!" She called back, and bent over to open the gate, fumbling as she tried to unlock it as fast as she could. Unlocking the gate and pushing it open, she took a step, determined to build up speed...
"Good morning, Sakura..." A derisive voice, followed by a 'hmph' and a hint of rude laughter met her as she cursed her lack of speed. If only she'd left a bit earlier!
"Damn..." Sakura muttered, agreeing fullheartedly with Inner Sakura that this was a common enemy. Sighing, she addressed the figure without turning, through gritted teeth. "Hello, Kiba..."
'Stupid ass...' she thought, then attempted to calm herself down. Breathing in, and out, and in... she was making some progress...
"Wha's wrong, Sa-ku-ra? Dun like your neighbour much? I'm hurt..." Kiba, one of the graduates from her class, and her lifelong neighbour, jumped from his door, over the hedges between the houses, to land behind her. "What's your problem... Forehead girl?"
"What do you want, Kiba..." She muttered under her breath.
"Just the satisfaction of seeing you cover that big bald spot of yours, " Kiba grinned, glad at seeing Sakura's oh-so-strong defenses crumble. He worked, almost daily, to annoy her as much as he could.
"Screw you..." Sakura said angrily, pushing the gate open and walking out onto the street, heading for the park to meet her friends.
"See you later, pinkie!" He called after her, laughing uproarously.
'I really hope I'm on a different team than that jerk is......' Sakura muttered inwardly, cursing her annoying neighbour and his oddly coloured dog. 'Maybe... on a team with Sasuke-kun!? And... Hmmm... Maybe Shikamaru, or someone... There's only one girl per team, so I think I'll be good as long as Sasuke-kun's on my team and Kiba isn't! Maybe Naruto would've been a good... but he didn't graduate... again...'
Finally, she stood at the edge of the park where she and her friends usually met, and looked around. Shikamaru was sitting at his regular table with Hinata, playing their daily game of shogi. Tenten was with them, sitting to their side, watching and smiling. Chouji was sitting across from Tenten, sort of watching the game (but focusing more on his snack, a small bag of chips). And another table was being used as a seat by Ino and Naruto...
"Naruto! You have a hitai-ate!" Sakura gasped, surprised, and ran over to her two best friends. "You did it! How?"
"Geez Sakura... Don't yell so early in the morning... Such a troublesome voice..." Shikamaru complained, lounging back on his chair while Hinata quietly pushed one of her pieces a bit forward. His blue-haired partner was biting her lower lip nervously, then opened her mouth to speak.
"Ummm... Shikamaru...? Could you... ummm... move one of your pieces?" Hinata said, like everything else she did, quietly. Shikamaru turned back to the board, sighing and smiling slightly, then lowered his eyes to the board. Meanwhile, Sakura was cheering at the sight of the thing wrapped around Naruto's head.
"I didn't want to get it dirty, but i wanted to show everyone, so..." Naruto smiled, making a victory 'V' with his fingers and pointing it at Sakura. "Like it?
"Yeah, Naruto! It's awesome..." She ran up to him and hugged him. "You did it! But... How?" Sakura stepped back,a nd doubt shadowed her features. "Did you bribe Iruka-sensei?"
"No... umm..." Naruto lapsed into silence. To tell her what ahppened, or not? He wasn't even sure if it was legal to tell her. The ANBU had told Iruka not to tell anyone, and Naruto assumed the warning was meant for them too.
"Naruto and I went back to the Academy and asked for a retest. It was late, so Naruto's name was never posted up on the board..." Ino frowned. "I think they're putting his name up this afternoon, though. Aren't they neat? Sasuke-kun will love them, proves to him that we're not just useless groupies, right Naruto?"
"Ehhh... yeah..." The insanely truthful Naruto wasn't sure why Ino has lied so much... It was only the Kyubi that was illegal, not what happened last night... Then it clicked: If people knew about it, they might look into it. Sakura included.
"Mizuki-sensei was sacked last night too. Iruka said that he was... charged with illegal smuggling of Konoha secrets into enemy hands, I think." Ino said. Iruka had explained, also later, that this was true. Iruka had found out about Mizuki's plans in some notes left at the school (Which clued him into heading him off in the forest.
"Hmmm... Interesting..." Sakura looked thoughtful. What had happened last night? It seemed all too coincedential, but... It was confusing...
"Mizuki-sensei? He was always around in my classes, but never taught anything... Hmmm... Should have guessed he was a spy. I'm glad he's gone, he was always... eyeing me..." Tenten said with a shudder. "He was definately a creep..."
"You were in Iruka-sensei's class last year, Tenten?" Ino asked, looking her way. "I thought..."
"You thought I might be in some other class? No, we're all graduates of the same class... Neat, huh?" Tenten leaned forward, to look at the board. "Shika, I think you made an illegal move!"
"What- Err... Hinata, can I move my piece...? So troublesome.." Shikamaru said, and pushed the piece to the side as Hinata nodded.
"Hrmm... Shikamaru, you think I could learn how to play this?" Chouji looked over the board. "It looks easy... but there are so many different pieces..."
"Ermm... Ehhh... I'll teach you... sometime..." Shikamaru nodded, with an added word under his breath. Then he put a finger on one of his pieces and moved it forwards.
"Thanks, Shikamaru!" Chouji exclaimed, smiling and biting down on another chip.
"N'problem..." Shikamaru turned back to the board. Hinata had already moved. Shikamaru put his hand to one of his pieces, and pushed it forward.
Hinata stared at the board for a few minutes while Shikamaru openede a couple of pop cans. He rolled one over to Hinata.
"Thank you, Shikamaru... Ummm... I forfeit..." Hinata nodded her head to the table. Shikamaru cracked a smile.
"You were pretty good this time, Hinata. It was a good time to forfet for you, though, I could see that you missed the chance to defeat me a few turns ago..." Shikamaru looked over at his friends. "I think I'll go home and read... or something..."
"Guys!" Tenten's sudden outburst interrupted Shikamaru's decision. "I think we should all have lunch somewhere, to celebrate, your guys' graduation! My treat!"
An (almost) unanimous "Yeah!" swept the park, the only negative reply being Shikamaru's "Too troublesome..". Other than that, it was unopposed (and everyone knew Shikamaru probably wanted to go too, anyways). When Tenten asked where to go, though, it was a big argument.
Naruto and Ino wanted ramen. Chouji wanted some Korean BBQ. Hinata, shyly, asked if they could get some dango, and Sakura agreed, forcefully. Shikamaru just wanted 'whatever'...
"Why not Shukou square? We can sit there, and you guys can all go get what you want, around there. Sakura and Hinata can get their dango, Ino and Naruto can head to Ichiraku, while Chouji can take Shikamaru to his buffet. Then, we can meet back at the square with our food! How 'bout it?" Tenten suggested. She had always been good at accomadating to everyone's preferences.
"Hell yeah! This is awesome! Thanks, Tenten!" Ino cheered, pulling Tenten from her chair and spinning her around.
"Hey, anything to get away from Neji's brooding and Lee's hyperactivity... Hinata, even you can't pretend he's not hyper, you know that," Tenten looked in the younger girl's direction.
"Yes, Lee-san is hyper, sometimes... I guess... But-" Hinata, looked at her older friend's fave, as Tenten cut her off with a hand gesture.
"Yes, I know he's a hard worker, and that's he's a good person, etc. etc. You don't defend Lee all the time, Hinata, even if- Well, lighten up a little, okay?"
"O-o-okay, Tenten...." Hinata gulped and smiled a little bit.
"Now... Let's go!" Tenten pointed the way towards the square, and headed that way. The rest promptly followed.
--
Every passerby, or at least almost every passerby, looked oddly at the group at one of the square's many tables. Most of the academy's graduating class, sitting around a table with a girl from last years graduating class, eating seemingly random lunches from various restaurants, talking about random things. Right now, ythe popular conversation topic was Sasuke.
"He's an ass..." Shikamaru stated his opinion forcibly.
"Shikamaru, Sasuke's not an ass, he's just..." Ino stopped herself, searching for a phrase, then continued with, "Not on anti-depressants..."
"Yeah, Shikamaru, Sasuke's..." Sakura then proceeded to blush furiously as she bit into her dango.
"Well, I'll be fine as long as I'm not in his team..." Shikamaru muttered. "Such a troublesome guy..."
"Stupid Sasuke..." Naruto twirled his ramen professionally on his chopsticks and shoved it into his mouth. He then continued, full mouth or not, with "He'z definetly an ash!"
"Narutoooooo!" Ino groaned, smackijng him over the head with her empty bowl of ramen. "Because you and Shika were complaining about our beloved Sasuke, you two can go get my refills of ramen!"
"And me some more dango!" Sakura said, waving her hand furiously.
"I thought you were on a diet?" Ino turned to her friend.
"I'm allowed to splurge every so often..." Sakura nodded, and yanked Shikamaru up by the collar. "Go, Shika!"
"Yeah, Naruto, go!" Ino pushed her two male best friends in the general direction of Ichiraku...
"Eugh... Troublesome women..." Shikamaru said, as Naruto dragged him towards his and Ino's favourite ramen stand. He grumbled almost straight on the way to the ramen stand. Finally, they reached the stand, and both sat down.
"Hey, it's.. errr.. Shinto!" Naruto said, smiling and pointing to another of his graduating class. The boy, looked over at Naruto quietly, and Naruto could feel annoyance in that look, even though the boy's eyes and lower face were hidden by dark glasses and coat collar, respectively. He was also creeped out by the fact the boy wore the coat in this heat...
"Naruto..." Shikamaru groaned.
"What?" Naruto's head snapped back to look at Shikamaru.
"... His name's Shino, not Shinto..." Shikamaru grumbled, looking over to the old man who ran the stand. "Could you get your damn ramen so we can go?"
"Sure, sure..." Naruto said, waving the stand-tender over. When he came, Naruto promptly ordered his own shrimp ramen, and Ino's miso and pork ramen. Eating quickly, he then covered Ino's bowls (two Pork and miso), then yanked Shikamaru from his seat.
"You're getting Sakura's dango!" He said, pulling him along down the road.
"Yeah, yeah..." Shikamaru groaned, being dragged along by his energetic friend. They reached the place where they sold dango, and bought two steaming hot ones for Sakura, bagged them and headed out of the shop. On the way, Naruto bumped into someone.
"Che... Naruto..." The boy said, making a rude sound.
"Sasuke..." Naruto glared at his classmate, and made his way to his feet. "What're YOU doing here?"
"Getting my lunch, dobe... Now move..." Sasuke shoved past him, muttering something rude. Naruto swore under his breath and made his way out the door.
"Who does that bastard think he is..." He grumbled as he and Shikamaru walked back to their table.
"Eugh... Naruto, Your fights are so troublesome..." The two then made their way the the table, and sat themselves down.
"What took you so long?" Ino grumbled, taking her ramen. "It's probably cold by now..."
"Yeah..." Sakura agreed, a bit less forcibly, and took her bag from Shikamaru, who proceeded to slump backwards in his chair and grumble.
"So... You're all genins now!" Tenten smiled and clapped her hands. "That's exciting, right?"
"Yeah... Now I have to pay the bills, not just for food..." Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms. "Stupid cheap bastards..."
"Naruto, don't worry... You'll be fine..." Ino patted him on the back with a hopeful tone in her voice. "And we could help, if you really need it..."
Naruto just sighed.
--
Umino Iruka sat at his desk shuffling through papers. Looking back through the profiles, he gave them one last check before he'd leave...
Team 5:
Kouboku Ami. Excels at foreign jutsu. Mediocre stealth skills. Low-class nin.
Kouboku Miki. Excels at plant-related jutsu and medic skills. Weak projectile control. Average nin.
Unimo Haruka. Excels in foreign jutsu and chakra control. Bloodline skill (limited control): Quick Healing. High-class nin.
Team 7:
Yamanaka Ino. Excels in stealth, genjutsu and mind-control jutsu. Weak taijutsu. High-class nin.
Akimichi Chouji. Excels in size-increase taijutsu and calorie-to-chakra conversion. Mediocre genjutsu. Average nin.
Uzumaki Naruto. Weak chakra control. Strrong bunshin. Failed exam three times, but proved aptitude only hours after last test. Low-class nin.
Team 8:
Aburame Shino. Excels in Kikai bug contrrol and taijutsu. Average-good in other skills. High-class nin.
Inuzuka Kiba. Excels in taijutsu and dog partnership specialty. Weak ninjutsu. Failed exam once.Average nin.
Hyuuga Hinata. Excels in genjutsu. Bloodline skill (very limited control): Byakugan. Low-class nin.
Team 10:
Uchiha Sasuke: Excels in ninjutsu. High taijutsu. Average genjutsu. Bloodline Skill (not unlocked): Sharingan. High-class nin.
Haruno Sakura. Excels in chakra control, genjutsu and sword techniques. Poor taijutsu and elemental jutsu. Average nin.
Nara Shikamaru. Does not apply himself. Borderline effort. Poor everything. Low-class nin.
Iruka wasn't sure if he was too harsh in Shikamaru's case, but the boy was completely useless mopst days. Iruka was surprised when the boy stood up and passed the test... A perfect accent opposite to overachiever Uchiha and in-training Sakura.
Satisfuied with his results, she moved to put the sheets in the folder for Hokage-sama, but something interrupted him.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone was knocking at his classroom door! Iruka stood and made his way to the classroom's door. Opening it quietly, he was not surprised at all to see Ino's parents. Were they here about Ino's recent conduct?
Iruka bowed slightly, to be polite, then led them to his desk. Sitting down, he laid his hands on the table and waited for the Yamanaka's to be seated. Once they did, Ino's mother opened her mouth.
"We were wondering about Ino-chan's teammates."
That meant she wanted to know if Naruto was on her team. Iruka groaned inwardly.
"We were hoping... me'n the guys were hoping that Ino, Shika and Chouji could experience the same thing we did, with the InoShikaCho, like the old Team 10 did..." Inoshi clasped his hadns together and rested them on the desk. "I know it might be some ttrouble, but would it be alright?"
Iruka knew the team would never work. Chouji was not the general Chomaru had been. Shikamaru was even LESS motivated than his father had been, and Ino's boy obsession came up even more than Inoshi's womanizing. None of them showed any potential to change like their fathers had to create the InoShikaCho.
"Yes, Inoshi-san. I think that's a wise decision... How is Ino, by the way?" The three continued polite conversation as Iruka changed the sheets...
Team 5:
Kouboku Ami
Kouboku Miki
Unimo Haruka
Team 7:
Uchiha Sasuke
Haruno Sakura
Uzumaki Naruto
Team 8:
Aburame Shino
Inuzuka Kiba
Hyuuga Hinata
Team 10:
Yamanaka Ino
Akimichi Chouji
Nara Shikamaru
And, as the two parents wavefd him goodbye from down the acadey hallways, Iruka cursed his weakn resolve when it came to stand up to a student's parents, to tell them he disagreed with their decisions. This weakness had time and again weakened the genin teams and through that, Konoha's ninja.
Then, he closed the file, sealed it, and dropped it off in the Head's office. Stepping into the mild air, he headed off at a brisk pace homewards.
-End Chapter Two-
By Alden-san
Chapter One: Meetings
"Sakura!"
"Mom! I'll do it later! Please?"
"Alright..." Her mother's annoyed reply came on the wind that followed Sakura up the path and out of her home. "Be back by lunch, though, okay honey!"
"Okay, Mom! See you in a bit!" She called back, and bent over to open the gate, fumbling as she tried to unlock it as fast as she could. Unlocking the gate and pushing it open, she took a step, determined to build up speed...
"Good morning, Sakura..." A derisive voice, followed by a 'hmph' and a hint of rude laughter met her as she cursed her lack of speed. If only she'd left a bit earlier!
"Damn..." Sakura muttered, agreeing fullheartedly with Inner Sakura that this was a common enemy. Sighing, she addressed the figure without turning, through gritted teeth. "Hello, Kiba..."
'Stupid ass...' she thought, then attempted to calm herself down. Breathing in, and out, and in... she was making some progress...
"Wha's wrong, Sa-ku-ra? Dun like your neighbour much? I'm hurt..." Kiba, one of the graduates from her class, and her lifelong neighbour, jumped from his door, over the hedges between the houses, to land behind her. "What's your problem... Forehead girl?"
"What do you want, Kiba..." She muttered under her breath.
"Just the satisfaction of seeing you cover that big bald spot of yours, " Kiba grinned, glad at seeing Sakura's oh-so-strong defenses crumble. He worked, almost daily, to annoy her as much as he could.
"Screw you..." Sakura said angrily, pushing the gate open and walking out onto the street, heading for the park to meet her friends.
"See you later, pinkie!" He called after her, laughing uproarously.
'I really hope I'm on a different team than that jerk is......' Sakura muttered inwardly, cursing her annoying neighbour and his oddly coloured dog. 'Maybe... on a team with Sasuke-kun!? And... Hmmm... Maybe Shikamaru, or someone... There's only one girl per team, so I think I'll be good as long as Sasuke-kun's on my team and Kiba isn't! Maybe Naruto would've been a good... but he didn't graduate... again...'
Finally, she stood at the edge of the park where she and her friends usually met, and looked around. Shikamaru was sitting at his regular table with Hinata, playing their daily game of shogi. Tenten was with them, sitting to their side, watching and smiling. Chouji was sitting across from Tenten, sort of watching the game (but focusing more on his snack, a small bag of chips). And another table was being used as a seat by Ino and Naruto...
"Naruto! You have a hitai-ate!" Sakura gasped, surprised, and ran over to her two best friends. "You did it! How?"
"Geez Sakura... Don't yell so early in the morning... Such a troublesome voice..." Shikamaru complained, lounging back on his chair while Hinata quietly pushed one of her pieces a bit forward. His blue-haired partner was biting her lower lip nervously, then opened her mouth to speak.
"Ummm... Shikamaru...? Could you... ummm... move one of your pieces?" Hinata said, like everything else she did, quietly. Shikamaru turned back to the board, sighing and smiling slightly, then lowered his eyes to the board. Meanwhile, Sakura was cheering at the sight of the thing wrapped around Naruto's head.
"I didn't want to get it dirty, but i wanted to show everyone, so..." Naruto smiled, making a victory 'V' with his fingers and pointing it at Sakura. "Like it?
"Yeah, Naruto! It's awesome..." She ran up to him and hugged him. "You did it! But... How?" Sakura stepped back,a nd doubt shadowed her features. "Did you bribe Iruka-sensei?"
"No... umm..." Naruto lapsed into silence. To tell her what ahppened, or not? He wasn't even sure if it was legal to tell her. The ANBU had told Iruka not to tell anyone, and Naruto assumed the warning was meant for them too.
"Naruto and I went back to the Academy and asked for a retest. It was late, so Naruto's name was never posted up on the board..." Ino frowned. "I think they're putting his name up this afternoon, though. Aren't they neat? Sasuke-kun will love them, proves to him that we're not just useless groupies, right Naruto?"
"Ehhh... yeah..." The insanely truthful Naruto wasn't sure why Ino has lied so much... It was only the Kyubi that was illegal, not what happened last night... Then it clicked: If people knew about it, they might look into it. Sakura included.
"Mizuki-sensei was sacked last night too. Iruka said that he was... charged with illegal smuggling of Konoha secrets into enemy hands, I think." Ino said. Iruka had explained, also later, that this was true. Iruka had found out about Mizuki's plans in some notes left at the school (Which clued him into heading him off in the forest.
"Hmmm... Interesting..." Sakura looked thoughtful. What had happened last night? It seemed all too coincedential, but... It was confusing...
"Mizuki-sensei? He was always around in my classes, but never taught anything... Hmmm... Should have guessed he was a spy. I'm glad he's gone, he was always... eyeing me..." Tenten said with a shudder. "He was definately a creep..."
"You were in Iruka-sensei's class last year, Tenten?" Ino asked, looking her way. "I thought..."
"You thought I might be in some other class? No, we're all graduates of the same class... Neat, huh?" Tenten leaned forward, to look at the board. "Shika, I think you made an illegal move!"
"What- Err... Hinata, can I move my piece...? So troublesome.." Shikamaru said, and pushed the piece to the side as Hinata nodded.
"Hrmm... Shikamaru, you think I could learn how to play this?" Chouji looked over the board. "It looks easy... but there are so many different pieces..."
"Ermm... Ehhh... I'll teach you... sometime..." Shikamaru nodded, with an added word under his breath. Then he put a finger on one of his pieces and moved it forwards.
"Thanks, Shikamaru!" Chouji exclaimed, smiling and biting down on another chip.
"N'problem..." Shikamaru turned back to the board. Hinata had already moved. Shikamaru put his hand to one of his pieces, and pushed it forward.
Hinata stared at the board for a few minutes while Shikamaru openede a couple of pop cans. He rolled one over to Hinata.
"Thank you, Shikamaru... Ummm... I forfeit..." Hinata nodded her head to the table. Shikamaru cracked a smile.
"You were pretty good this time, Hinata. It was a good time to forfet for you, though, I could see that you missed the chance to defeat me a few turns ago..." Shikamaru looked over at his friends. "I think I'll go home and read... or something..."
"Guys!" Tenten's sudden outburst interrupted Shikamaru's decision. "I think we should all have lunch somewhere, to celebrate, your guys' graduation! My treat!"
An (almost) unanimous "Yeah!" swept the park, the only negative reply being Shikamaru's "Too troublesome..". Other than that, it was unopposed (and everyone knew Shikamaru probably wanted to go too, anyways). When Tenten asked where to go, though, it was a big argument.
Naruto and Ino wanted ramen. Chouji wanted some Korean BBQ. Hinata, shyly, asked if they could get some dango, and Sakura agreed, forcefully. Shikamaru just wanted 'whatever'...
"Why not Shukou square? We can sit there, and you guys can all go get what you want, around there. Sakura and Hinata can get their dango, Ino and Naruto can head to Ichiraku, while Chouji can take Shikamaru to his buffet. Then, we can meet back at the square with our food! How 'bout it?" Tenten suggested. She had always been good at accomadating to everyone's preferences.
"Hell yeah! This is awesome! Thanks, Tenten!" Ino cheered, pulling Tenten from her chair and spinning her around.
"Hey, anything to get away from Neji's brooding and Lee's hyperactivity... Hinata, even you can't pretend he's not hyper, you know that," Tenten looked in the younger girl's direction.
"Yes, Lee-san is hyper, sometimes... I guess... But-" Hinata, looked at her older friend's fave, as Tenten cut her off with a hand gesture.
"Yes, I know he's a hard worker, and that's he's a good person, etc. etc. You don't defend Lee all the time, Hinata, even if- Well, lighten up a little, okay?"
"O-o-okay, Tenten...." Hinata gulped and smiled a little bit.
"Now... Let's go!" Tenten pointed the way towards the square, and headed that way. The rest promptly followed.
--
Every passerby, or at least almost every passerby, looked oddly at the group at one of the square's many tables. Most of the academy's graduating class, sitting around a table with a girl from last years graduating class, eating seemingly random lunches from various restaurants, talking about random things. Right now, ythe popular conversation topic was Sasuke.
"He's an ass..." Shikamaru stated his opinion forcibly.
"Shikamaru, Sasuke's not an ass, he's just..." Ino stopped herself, searching for a phrase, then continued with, "Not on anti-depressants..."
"Yeah, Shikamaru, Sasuke's..." Sakura then proceeded to blush furiously as she bit into her dango.
"Well, I'll be fine as long as I'm not in his team..." Shikamaru muttered. "Such a troublesome guy..."
"Stupid Sasuke..." Naruto twirled his ramen professionally on his chopsticks and shoved it into his mouth. He then continued, full mouth or not, with "He'z definetly an ash!"
"Narutoooooo!" Ino groaned, smackijng him over the head with her empty bowl of ramen. "Because you and Shika were complaining about our beloved Sasuke, you two can go get my refills of ramen!"
"And me some more dango!" Sakura said, waving her hand furiously.
"I thought you were on a diet?" Ino turned to her friend.
"I'm allowed to splurge every so often..." Sakura nodded, and yanked Shikamaru up by the collar. "Go, Shika!"
"Yeah, Naruto, go!" Ino pushed her two male best friends in the general direction of Ichiraku...
"Eugh... Troublesome women..." Shikamaru said, as Naruto dragged him towards his and Ino's favourite ramen stand. He grumbled almost straight on the way to the ramen stand. Finally, they reached the stand, and both sat down.
"Hey, it's.. errr.. Shinto!" Naruto said, smiling and pointing to another of his graduating class. The boy, looked over at Naruto quietly, and Naruto could feel annoyance in that look, even though the boy's eyes and lower face were hidden by dark glasses and coat collar, respectively. He was also creeped out by the fact the boy wore the coat in this heat...
"Naruto..." Shikamaru groaned.
"What?" Naruto's head snapped back to look at Shikamaru.
"... His name's Shino, not Shinto..." Shikamaru grumbled, looking over to the old man who ran the stand. "Could you get your damn ramen so we can go?"
"Sure, sure..." Naruto said, waving the stand-tender over. When he came, Naruto promptly ordered his own shrimp ramen, and Ino's miso and pork ramen. Eating quickly, he then covered Ino's bowls (two Pork and miso), then yanked Shikamaru from his seat.
"You're getting Sakura's dango!" He said, pulling him along down the road.
"Yeah, yeah..." Shikamaru groaned, being dragged along by his energetic friend. They reached the place where they sold dango, and bought two steaming hot ones for Sakura, bagged them and headed out of the shop. On the way, Naruto bumped into someone.
"Che... Naruto..." The boy said, making a rude sound.
"Sasuke..." Naruto glared at his classmate, and made his way to his feet. "What're YOU doing here?"
"Getting my lunch, dobe... Now move..." Sasuke shoved past him, muttering something rude. Naruto swore under his breath and made his way out the door.
"Who does that bastard think he is..." He grumbled as he and Shikamaru walked back to their table.
"Eugh... Naruto, Your fights are so troublesome..." The two then made their way the the table, and sat themselves down.
"What took you so long?" Ino grumbled, taking her ramen. "It's probably cold by now..."
"Yeah..." Sakura agreed, a bit less forcibly, and took her bag from Shikamaru, who proceeded to slump backwards in his chair and grumble.
"So... You're all genins now!" Tenten smiled and clapped her hands. "That's exciting, right?"
"Yeah... Now I have to pay the bills, not just for food..." Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms. "Stupid cheap bastards..."
"Naruto, don't worry... You'll be fine..." Ino patted him on the back with a hopeful tone in her voice. "And we could help, if you really need it..."
Naruto just sighed.
--
Umino Iruka sat at his desk shuffling through papers. Looking back through the profiles, he gave them one last check before he'd leave...
Team 5:
Kouboku Ami. Excels at foreign jutsu. Mediocre stealth skills. Low-class nin.
Kouboku Miki. Excels at plant-related jutsu and medic skills. Weak projectile control. Average nin.
Unimo Haruka. Excels in foreign jutsu and chakra control. Bloodline skill (limited control): Quick Healing. High-class nin.
Team 7:
Yamanaka Ino. Excels in stealth, genjutsu and mind-control jutsu. Weak taijutsu. High-class nin.
Akimichi Chouji. Excels in size-increase taijutsu and calorie-to-chakra conversion. Mediocre genjutsu. Average nin.
Uzumaki Naruto. Weak chakra control. Strrong bunshin. Failed exam three times, but proved aptitude only hours after last test. Low-class nin.
Team 8:
Aburame Shino. Excels in Kikai bug contrrol and taijutsu. Average-good in other skills. High-class nin.
Inuzuka Kiba. Excels in taijutsu and dog partnership specialty. Weak ninjutsu. Failed exam once.Average nin.
Hyuuga Hinata. Excels in genjutsu. Bloodline skill (very limited control): Byakugan. Low-class nin.
Team 10:
Uchiha Sasuke: Excels in ninjutsu. High taijutsu. Average genjutsu. Bloodline Skill (not unlocked): Sharingan. High-class nin.
Haruno Sakura. Excels in chakra control, genjutsu and sword techniques. Poor taijutsu and elemental jutsu. Average nin.
Nara Shikamaru. Does not apply himself. Borderline effort. Poor everything. Low-class nin.
Iruka wasn't sure if he was too harsh in Shikamaru's case, but the boy was completely useless mopst days. Iruka was surprised when the boy stood up and passed the test... A perfect accent opposite to overachiever Uchiha and in-training Sakura.
Satisfuied with his results, she moved to put the sheets in the folder for Hokage-sama, but something interrupted him.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Someone was knocking at his classroom door! Iruka stood and made his way to the classroom's door. Opening it quietly, he was not surprised at all to see Ino's parents. Were they here about Ino's recent conduct?
Iruka bowed slightly, to be polite, then led them to his desk. Sitting down, he laid his hands on the table and waited for the Yamanaka's to be seated. Once they did, Ino's mother opened her mouth.
"We were wondering about Ino-chan's teammates."
That meant she wanted to know if Naruto was on her team. Iruka groaned inwardly.
"We were hoping... me'n the guys were hoping that Ino, Shika and Chouji could experience the same thing we did, with the InoShikaCho, like the old Team 10 did..." Inoshi clasped his hadns together and rested them on the desk. "I know it might be some ttrouble, but would it be alright?"
Iruka knew the team would never work. Chouji was not the general Chomaru had been. Shikamaru was even LESS motivated than his father had been, and Ino's boy obsession came up even more than Inoshi's womanizing. None of them showed any potential to change like their fathers had to create the InoShikaCho.
"Yes, Inoshi-san. I think that's a wise decision... How is Ino, by the way?" The three continued polite conversation as Iruka changed the sheets...
Team 5:
Kouboku Ami
Kouboku Miki
Unimo Haruka
Team 7:
Uchiha Sasuke
Haruno Sakura
Uzumaki Naruto
Team 8:
Aburame Shino
Inuzuka Kiba
Hyuuga Hinata
Team 10:
Yamanaka Ino
Akimichi Chouji
Nara Shikamaru
And, as the two parents wavefd him goodbye from down the acadey hallways, Iruka cursed his weakn resolve when it came to stand up to a student's parents, to tell them he disagreed with their decisions. This weakness had time and again weakened the genin teams and through that, Konoha's ninja.
Then, he closed the file, sealed it, and dropped it off in the Head's office. Stepping into the mild air, he headed off at a brisk pace homewards.
-End Chapter Two-