Team Assignments, Team 7

The classroom was as noisy as ever.

Kiba had one foot on a chair, telling Akamaru with great enthusiasm how many high-rank missions he'd take after graduation.

Akamaru was sprawled on his head, barking twice, his tail wagging furiously.

Shino stood by the window, his collar hiding half his face. He said nothing, while a beetle he'd just caught outside perched on his finger.

Hinata sat by the wall, lightly tapping the desk with her fingers. Every now and then, she snuck a glance at the orange-clad figure in the row ahead.

Shikamaru was sleeping with his head on his desk.

Ino was chatting with Choji beside him.

"Choji, do you think Sasuke-kun is back yet? We haven't seen him in three years. I wonder if he's gotten even more handsome!"

Choji stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth and answered indistinctly, "I think Sasuke would be handsome no matter what he looked like."

"What, Choji? You really know your stuff! Give me some chips." Ino reached into Choji's bag and grabbed a handful.

Shikamaru lifted his face from the desk and pursed his lips. "Can you two stop talking about this stuff the minute we graduate?"

"Shikamaru, shut up."

Naruto took his Forehead Protector from Iruka, then tied it around his forehead.

He stood at the front of the classroom, hands on his hips, and looked around at his old classmates.

"Your number one guy is back!"

Shikamaru didn't move from his desk. He merely raised his eyes. "Oh, you're back."

"Shikamaru, what kind of reaction is that? We've barely seen each other in three years!"

Naruto walked over to Shikamaru's desk and slapped it.

"Look at my outfit! Look at this Forehead Protector! Don't you want to ask how much stronger I've gotten?"

"No." Shikamaru closed his eyes. "I could tell the moment you walked in. You're still as loud as ever."

Kiba jumped down from his chair and circled Naruto, sizing him up.

"Three years later and you're still wearing orange." Kiba Inuzuka crossed his arms, while Akamaru barked in agreement from atop his head.

"You said you went away to train, but every time you came back, you never showed us any new jutsu. You weren't slacking off the whole time, were you?"

Naruto grinned until his mouth nearly reached his ears. "Heh. Just you wait, Kiba. Don't cry when I beat you."

"Anyone can talk big! Let's settle this on the training ground later!"

"Sure! Who's scared?"

Ino stood up and walked over to Naruto. She glanced at him, then looked toward the door.

"What about Sasuke-kun? Didn't he come back with you?"

"Sasuke went to meet—"

"Naruto!"

Sakura's voice came from the doorway.

She pushed open the classroom door, cutting Naruto off, then smiled and waved at Ino.

"Ino! Long time no see!"

"Sakura?" Ino stared at Sakura with her mouth hanging open. She froze for a moment, then hurried over, grabbed Sakura by the shoulders, and looked her over from every angle.

"You've changed so much since you came back! Is your hair a little longer? Your whole vibe is different, too. Your skin looks better, and the definition in your arms—"

Ino squeezed Sakura's arm, then her fingers. She lifted Sakura's palm and spotted the calluses on her knuckles. Her eyes widened even further.

"What have you been training in? Have you been working even harder than me?"

Iruka cleared his throat and set the attendance book on the desk.

"Everyone, get back to your seats."

"Naruto! Go find a seat."

Kiba leaned over his desk and nudged Akamaru with his elbow. "That guy's still the same."

Akamaru barked.

"Is he really that strong? Naruto, don't tell me we've already left you in the dust."

"Left me in the dust?" Naruto whipped around. "What are you talking about? I'm—"

"You're what?"

"I'm—"

Naruto's mouth hung open as his mind raced.

He'd planned to say he'd developed a new jutsu, one that let him create more than a dozen Shadow Clones at once, and that the vibrations in his chakra could split tree trunks.

But then he remembered Jiraiya saying that a ninja shouldn't reveal all his cards. He needed to hold something back.

He grinned and pointed a thumb at his chest.

"Anyway, I'm really strong! Even Iruka-sensei might not be able to beat me now!"

Iruka sighed and tapped Naruto on the head.

"All right, all right. Go back to your seat." Iruka took back the attendance book and glanced around the classroom. "We'll announce the team assignments once Sasuke gets here."

Naruto didn't get mad when Iruka tapped him. He rubbed his head and started back to his seat.

The front door slid open.

Sasuke walked in, a Paulownia Wood Case tucked under one arm and the backpack he'd brought with him on his back.

Iruka picked up a Forehead Protector from the lectern and handed it to him.

Sasuke took it and looked at the Leaf symbol reflected on its metal plate.

"Don't I have to take an exam?"

"Lord Jiraiya vouched for you, so you don't."

Iruka looked at Sasuke, a student he'd barely taught. Standing there now, Sasuke bore no trace of the child he'd been three years ago.

"Besides, you already knew the Clone Technique and the Transformation Technique, and your grades were pretty good. If it's only a Genin exam, it's just a formality for you."

"Thank you, sensei."

Sasuke put the Forehead Protector in his pocket, nodded to Iruka, then slipped past Naruto, who was still pestering the teacher with questions. He went to a seat by the window in the back row.

He rested the case against the leg of the desk, pulled out the chair, and sat down. Then he turned his head toward the window.

Naruto pushed through the crowd and ran over to Sasuke, taking the seat beside him.

"Sasuke! Where were you just now? Were you meeting that—"

"Quiet."

"You're doing it again!" Naruto dragged his chair forward half a meter, its legs screeching against the floor.

"I just told Iruka-sensei how strong I am. Did you hear me?"

"I heard you."

"Well, what do you think?"

Sasuke glanced at Naruto, then turned back to the window.

"We just fought, didn't we? What else do you want me to say?"

Naruto gave a satisfied little snort.

Iruka stood at the lectern and tapped the blackboard.

"We'll announce the team assignments now. If I call your name, stay in your seat and don't run around. Once the assignments are finished, each team's jonin instructor will come to the classroom to collect their students. Anyone whose name isn't called should wait in the hallway."

He opened the attendance book.

"Team 1—"

The hallway soon filled with students waiting for their team assignments.

Each time the classroom door opened, another team was led away by its jonin instructor.

By the time only three students remained in the classroom, the hallway was nearly empty.

Sasuke sat by the window in the back row, Naruto beside him, and Sakura behind Naruto.

At last, Iruka's list reached Team 7.

"Team 7! Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno!"

Sakura stood up and pressed a hand to her chest, murmuring, "Thank goodness. We weren't split up."

Naruto folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, balancing on its two rear legs.

"What are the odds? I actually ended up on the same team as you."

"Not happy about it?"

Sasuke answered without turning around.

Sakura promptly punched Naruto from behind.

"Can't you say that nicely? We've been together for three years. Of course Sasuke-kun knows what you're thinking."

"Sasuke and I are rivals! I'd rather be assigned to a different team and beat him fair and square!"

The room fell quiet for a while.

The teams their jonin instructors had already collected were long gone. Outside, the only sound in the hallway was the wind rustling an old notice on the bulletin board.

Naruto knocked the front legs of his chair against the floor twice, then finally lost patience.

"That guy's way too late!"

He jumped out of his chair, went to the classroom door, and stuck his head out to look both ways down the hall.

The hallway was deserted. There wasn't even a rabbit in sight.

Naruto turned and walked back, folding his arms as he stood in the middle of the classroom.

"I'm really strong now. If I scare the teacher by ambushing him when he comes in, I'm not accepting him as our teacher!"

"That's not a good idea, Naruto..." Sakura started to say, but Sasuke spoke up beside her.

"Black."

The shadow at Sasuke's feet rippled. A dark shape emerged, but Sasuke held it down before it could take form.

"Just scout. Don't attack."

The shadow went still, then rippled faintly, as if nodding.

Sakura spoke up in earnest, too. "I also think it's not great that our teacher is late, but Sasuke-kun, don't you think an ambush is a little—"

She didn't finish.

The sliding track of the classroom's front door gave a faint rattle, and the door opened.

A silver-haired man stood in the doorway.

Kakashi Hatake, Konoha's Copy Ninja.

His tilted Forehead Protector covered his left eye. His visible right eye curved into a lazy arc. One hand was in his pocket, and the other held up a small book with an orange cover.

He lifted his eyelid, but before he could look over the three faces in the classroom—

"Bang!"

White smoke burst into the air.

A Shadow Clone landed right behind Kakashi, while Naruto's original body charged from the front. He compressed the chakra in his right fist, set it vibrating, and clenched it tight.

"Heh!"

Kakashi closed his book and held its spine at his side.

Naruto's punch slammed into the book. Before the vibrations could spread, Kakashi effortlessly neutralized them.

The Shadow Clone attacked from behind, but Kakashi merely shifted aside, letting its strike miss, then kicked the clone away.

The white smoke cleared.

Kakashi casually caught Naruto by the wrist.

He looked down at the bristling Naruto. His right eye swept from Naruto to Sasuke by the window, then to Sakura standing beside her seat, still unable to finish what she'd been saying.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki.

Sasuke Uchiha, whom the Third Hokage had once asked him to keep an eye on.

And—

A pink-haired girl.

Was her name Sakura Haruno?

The Third Hokage sure knew how to give me trouble...

Kakashi reopened his book and lowered his gaze to the pages.

"How should I put this?"

He turned a page.

"Quite an interesting first impression."