Naruto’s POV (Leaf Academy - Hidden Leaf Village)

  Naruto sat there and pondered his team placement. Ino was familiar with the blonde, but their interactions were mixed; at least he knew what to expect. But the other one, Neji Hyuga, was a mystery to him. Naruto had yet to learn who he was personally but had heard he was some genius. Naruto felt a gaze settle on him and, looking up, discovered Neji was staring directly at him. Naruto would admit the pupilless pale eyes certainly gave some oomph to his stare. Though his look both added and took away from this. He had long brown hair tied into a ponytail and wore a white and black kimono. It was a formal look yet an arrogant one. Naruto could just tell he was a real bastard. Luckily, Naruto had dealt with bastards before and learned never to back down. He matched Hyuga's glare; the two did so for ten seconds before Naruto frowned but waved at the boy. At least a small part of him knew they'd now be comrades. This means some effort was required to keep things running smoothly. But the young Hyuga seemed to ignore this, flicking his gaze back to a scroll on his desk.

  "You are one unlucky bastard, Naruto," Shikamaru stated bluntly. The observant Nara had seen their interaction.

  "What does that mean?" The blonde replied. With Shikamaru, complaints could be legitimate or absurd, and only he would have a problem with them.

  "From what I heard, he's really stuck up and harsh. The type to not play well with others." Shikamaru stated while he gazed at the Hyuga. "I know you're the boisterous type, but I'd tread lightly. Rumor has it he injured someone years ago in spar."

  "That's because he's a Hyuga," Shino said suddenly behind the two. Naruto jumped, but Shikamaru seemed to already know he was there. "They are considered the premiere clan in the village. Worse yet, he's not one of the main houses."

  "You mean?" Shikamaru started.

  "Correct," Shino confirmed.

  "Why would it matter what house he's from?" Naruto asked.

  "What a drag. It's because the Side House of Hyuga are treated as more servants than actual clan members." Shikamaru stated, sounding exhausted by the news.

  "Wait, servants?! Why the hell would they do that!" Naruto demanded.

  "That's because they are much more traditional than most clans. Even mine seems surprisingly modern in comparison. The Hyuga refuse to change the laws they live by even hundreds of years later. While many wanted it changed, the environment changed completely after the fall of the Uchiha. Their clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha, attempted to overthrow the Fourth Hokage. Fortunately, he failed, and as a result, he and the most active shinobi from the Uchiha were imprisoned or executed. The vacuum of power this left allowed the Hyuga to finally surpass the Uchiha as the most powerful and influential clan and then some. The political sway this allows them, as a result, allowed them to keep the unpopular and antiquated practice of discriminating against the Side House. Neji, though, is an even more unique case." Shino informed, his voice completely monotone. Yet it clearly held an edge of annoyance, showing the man's thoughts.

  "Ya, he's even more troublesome. Neji is the son of the former head of the Side House, Hizashi Hyuga. Even though he was the second of a set of twins born mere minutes after his older twin, it had still sealed his fate. He was, upon birth, marked a member of the side branch. And so would be his spawn. Worse yet, Neji is a genius known to be able to match the main house fighters. Yet he is not treated as such merely due to being a Side House member. It must really suck because two years ago, Neji had what they called a "mental lapse." A main house member apparently was attacked by Neji. Neji struck him down. But a group from the main house saw this and attempted to detain him. Neji injured ten men and only surrendered when the main house used some ability they wielded that allowed absolute control of the side branch. A tragic guy, but one with a hell of a chip on his shoulder."

  "Can't believe that it still flies. How the hell do you two even know so much anyway?" Naruto asked, attempting to digest the info.

  "All clans keep tabs on each other, mostly for political reasons and blackmail. After all, as shinobi, we are expected to weaponize information, and as heirs, we will be expected to do so to the highest level of our abilities. Keeping an eye on a rival never hurts." Shino informed me in detail.

  "Sounds stupid to me," Naruto stated with absolute certainty.

  "The main point is that you drag, and you and Ino must tread softly around him. He might be a damn psycho. And could likely take you both out." Shikamaru concluded.

  "CLASS!" Iruka yelled, his head seemingly having grown larger for the duration of the shout. This time-tested method finally allowed him to cut through their chatter. "Ahem, now the whiteboard contains your meeting spots with various team leaders. I would suggest using the walkover to learn about your teammates. Personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and so on. You will often be working with them, for Kami knows how long. As Shinobi, we expect you to be flexible and mature enough to make these teams work. Such is the bare minimum expected from Genin."

  Various students then went to the board and left to meet with their new teams. Naruto walked down to Ino, who was waiting for him by the board. The blonde looked around for the Hyuga, but he seemed already gone.

  "Ya, I saw him leave as soon as Iruka finished. Didn't even bother saying hi to me! Why are the hot ones always so damn moody." Ino complained as she stomped her way out of the classroom. Naruto, deciding she likely knew where to go, followed after her. He also felt pretty annoyed about Neji, but based on her angry ranting, Ino didn't need any more ammo. By the time she cooled off, they were well on their way to the training grounds. Naruto couldn't be sure which one, but Ino still led the way. As such, he felt no need to interfere with her flow. "You know what I mean?" Ino asked, apparently having actually been talking to the blonde while he had been thinking.

  "Um, no, sorry, I wasn't quite listening," Naruto replied bluntly.

  "You weren't listening! At least pretend to listen; no, you will listen, you dick!" Ino retorted.

  "Wouldn't lying be worse?" A glare from the female blonde promised death if pushed further, so the fellow blonde merely raised his hands in surrender with an awkward chuckle.

  Naruto thought it might be a blessing that they had walked silently until they arrived; he just wasn't sure how to act around Ino. Luckily, they arrived shortly, finding Neji already there, apparently napping against a log. The blonde considered waking him earlier but brushed it off; sensei would be here soon. Perhaps Neji deserved their sensei, thinking him a slacker. As the time dragged by, more than thirty minutes, in fact. It did so with an awkward silence. The group, unfamiliar and perhaps uncertain of each other, sat unsure of how to approach their forced union.

  "Sooo," Ino broke the ice. "Are you excited to be training under Kakashi Hatake?"

  "Not sure who it is, to be honest," Naruto replied, inspecting his tanto. He cleaned any smudges he found on the gift. "My mom knows him, but she hasn't told me much.

  "I've heard he has mastered a thousand jutsu. That he was a genius who was part of the last academy's course. And get this, he did it as a five-year-old." Ino immediately listed off. She had always enjoyed a bit of gossiping. "Apparently, our sensei is some sort of hotshot."

  "Sounds cool to me." Naruto retorted happily. "I don't know if I could handle it if our sensei was some kind of wimp."

  "Can you both be quiet while I meditate? Besides, while it is true, I doubt there is any saving you regardless of who our sensei may be." Neji interrupted voice stern.

  "Kiss my ass!" Both blondes shouted at once, smiled, and then high-fived each other.

  "Hmph, fitting words for peasants such as yourself," Neji replied snidely.

  "Excuse me!" Naruto raged as he attempted to walk over to Neji, Ino holding him back barely.

  "You should thank her. A shinobi of your level would be lucky to last thirty seconds against me. You pretending otherwise changes nothing. Do not blame me; it is merely your fate to be below average and, as such, below me." Neji stated before closing his eyes again.

  Naruto considered attacking him right then and there. But Ino, grabbing his arm and shaking her head, let him attempt to calm down. Naruto took a deep breath and managed to reign himself in. He'd get a chance to prove him wrong later. For now, he settled for a middle finger sent his way. Neji's face twitched as if reacting, but the blonde saw his eyes closed. Perhaps something related to the "Byakugan" he had heard so much about. Luckily, they did not have to wait much longer as a smoke bomb suddenly landed in front of the three logs they sat against. A tall man emerged from it with noticeable dramatic flair. Long, spiky, gravity-defying hair swayed to the left. He wore a Jounin's flak jacket and standard Leaf fatigues. He glanced at the three, and Naruto could see he was wearing a facemask covering the lower half of his face and one of his eyes. Making it difficult to see his thoughts as he scanned them.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  "Why, hello there! I'm sorry for being late; see, a dog robbed a bank, and I, being the shinobi I am, felt the need to assist and apprehend him. However, it turned out to be a shinobi pup, and after a drawn-out and difficult battle, I scarcely won…" Kakashi said in an airy tone.

  All three young adults stared back at the man, all thrown off by the terrible excuse.

  Naruto thought that this guy must be some kind of slacker, perhaps even an idiot. His mother must've been an enemy of this weirdo or something.

  Ino thought the man must be doing a bit. Surely a Jounin could not be so uncouth.

  Neji merely wished the man wouldn't waste his time so wantonly.

  Naruto and Ino then angrily berated the man, accusing him of wasting their time and lying blatantly to them. Neji simply offered him his patented "you're not worth my time" stare.

  "Hmmm," Kakashi dramatically hummed as he slowly approached them." Two whiners and a moody one. I got a bad crop this year."

  Neji and Naruto rose angrily as if to attack the man, while Ino looked prepared to blow a gasket in stress.

  "Anyway, let's introduce ourselves to each other. Likes, Dislikes, dreams, and such." Kakashi said, seemingly unaffected by the three's anger. "Let's start with blondie. Oh, there's two blondies, then let's start with the runty-looking blonde male if that still doesn't help." He finished with what could only be assumed was a smile.

  "Firstly, I'm not short, you ass! I'm average height! My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I'm a hardworking guy who enjoys snacking on ramen, training for the future, and gardening. I dislike pricks, tests, and waiting in general! My dream is to be Hokage!" Naruto sounded out. His voice nearly dripped with enthusiasm. It always felt good for him to proclaim his goals. The first step is making them a reality.

  "Ah, good, he'll answer to runt," Neji said with a smirk.

  "Call me that one more time, either of you!"

  "Alright, girlie, your turn," Kakashi said, ignoring the blonde.

  Ino narrowed her eyes but complied. "My name is Ino Yamanaka. I like flowers, fashion, and psychology. I dislike fangirls, secrets, and poor fashion. My dream is to become the first female head of my clan."

  "Should be obvious who's next," Kakashi said.

  "My name is Neji Hyuga. I like training, meditating, and calligraphy. I dislike weaklings, slavers, and fools. Two of the three apply to the two next to me. You may choose which ones. I have no dream of being a branch member; my fate has already been decided. By the rightfully ruling Main House." The last sentence was soaked with sarcasm.

  Naruto tried to let it go; he really did, but before he could think it out, he rushed forward with no warning. He struck Neji directly in his face with a hook, sending the young man sliding back. An instant later, Neji kipped up, growled, and charged the blonde. The blonde drew his tanto and met his charge. Before either could reach the other, Kakashi appeared in the middle quickly and savagely, slamming two hammer fists atop each boy's head and flooring them with ease.

  "Now, let's behave ourselves, me?" Kakashi asked playfully, entirely at odds with his violent intervention. The boys crawled to their feet, glaring at each other but leaving it be for now. "Hmm, this won't do. You all have too much energy. As a sensei, I must make sure you're all properly entertained. What to do, what to do." Kakashi pondered, tapping his head, "Ah!" He slammed a fist into his palm. "Go run ten laps around the village."

  "What, who the hell ca-" Ino started.

  "My best friend does it as a warm-up. Every morning." Kakashi countered happily.

  "Wonder if he knows Bushy Brows," Naruto said curiously.

  "With a name like that, almost certainly," Kakashi answered. Ino stuttered, thinking of any reason to avoid this, but ultimately came up short.

  "Oh, one last thing: You all must complete ten laps. Even if you finish first, you'll keep lapping until everyone finishes, " Kakashi said, his jovial tone making it clear he enjoyed this greatly.

  "So it's a team thing? Alright, guys, let's do this-"

  "Neji left already," Ino told the blonde yet again bluntly.

  "Really starting to hate that guy," Naruto replied. Ino merely nodded, and the two began their jog. They were far behind Neji due to his headstart, but Naruto didn't mind too much. He had always loved running; it just felt amazing to the blonde. However, it seems Ino didn't share the love. Keeping up with him, but even on the first lap, she showed signs of slowing. Naruto debated upping his pace, but since it wouldn't allow him to rest, he decided against it and to maintain his speed with Ino. Two more laps passed before Ino started to slow down even more.

  "God, I can't decide what pisses me off more!" Ino screamed between pants.

  "What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

  "This insane run, our weirdo sensei, or our walking dick of a teammate. Just cuz he's some hot genius doesn't mean he's god."

  "Just have to call him hot, huh?" Naruto asked blandly.

  "Oh, calm down. The truth is the truth. You wouldn't be so bad if you didn't come across like a hot mess." Ino replied with a roll of her eyes.

  "A hot mess?"

  "Poor fashion, kinda obnoxious, and oblivious to women." Ino taunted.

  "First off, orange is the BEST color." Naruto ranted.

  "No. No it is not, that would pe purple."

  "I have no counter to being obnoxious."

  "Obviously."

  "And women are confusing!" Naruto ended.

  "Spoken like a true man," Ino said, rolling her eyes.

  "Well, it's not like you're good with men!" Naruto said sourly.

  "I'm not?" Ino said, grabbing Naruto's arm and smiling prettily at him.

  Naruto blushes slightly, causing Ino to smirk and jog a little faster, having made her point. Naruto growled and increased his speed to catch up. They were now on lap four.

  "Well, it's not like you've dated a guy," Naruto said spitefully. Once, he did catch up to the now heavy-breathing Ino.

  "Maybe that's true, but it's not my fault all the good ones have bad attitudes," Ino said morosely.

  "Then what makes Sasuke so good anyway?" Naruto inquired.

  "Dark hair, icy expression, from an infamous clan, dark past, full of mystery. Need I go on?" Ino asked with a smile.

  "What does that make me then? A bad one with a good attitude?" Naruto asked.

  "We usually call your type the nice guy. They are nice, funny, and solid guys, but we young women want more. Something different and exciting." Ino said.

  "So Neji then?" Naruto retorted.

  "No, he's too much. If a guy is too stuck up, a girl gets scared off. No one wants to be stuck with a permanent party pooper."

  "Pretty much does the same things Sasuke does. Don't really see the difference," Naruto pointed out, confused.

  "What similarities do they share?" Ino asked with an annoyed glare.

  "Both geniuses have dark pasts, with poor attitudes, and stick up their asses." Naruto listed off automatically.

  "Huh, go- good point," Ino panted, having slowed down considerably.

  Naruto slowed down with her, but she merely shook her head and waved him on. Naruto felt something was wrong but decided to head the ladies' order. Naruto completed the fifth, sixth, and seventh laps with relative peace. When he next saw Ino, she looked considerably worse off, however. Naruto pondered what to do. She wasn't that close to being done but was gassing out. Naruto knew she would likely react poorly to him carrying her, but he had no other ideas. He stopped before her and stooped down to offer her the chance to climb into his hands. Ino stopped seeming keen on saying no, but her exhaustion won over. On the one hand, it would be mortifying to be carried by the blonde. But simply, she was exhausted and didn't know if she could go for four more laps. Ino hated running, and Naruto was still going strong. Besides, the blonde had so far been her only solace. With silent annoyance, she climbed on the back of the blonde. She half expected him to drop her as a childish prank. But he held her firmly and gently. The short blonde was much stronger than he had seemed.

  "Are you comfortable?" Naruto asked. Ino was surprised by this more serious and caring side.

  "Yes," Ino answered, an unfamiliar meekness filling her. She felt smaller like this. Much more aware of how formidable Naruto was. Had he always been so strong and friendly? Didn't Shikamaru say he was some kind of loner?

  The next lap passed with relative silence, and things felt awkward due to circumstances. But this was broken by the sign of Neji barely walking forward, still having another lap left. Naruto was tired but sighed and summoned two clones.

  "Come on, Neji, hitch a ride," Naruto said bluntly. As he did, the two clones surrounded Neji and encouraged him with hand gestures.

  "Forgot it, weakling." Neji forced out even while struggling for his breath.

  Naruto merely shrugged, summoned four more clones, and pointed at Neji. The clones quickly mobbed the exhausted Hyuga, forcefully lifting and carrying him. Neji showed some surprisingly in-depth curses Naruto was certain the upper class would normally never use. But burnt out as he was, he couldn't truthfully resist. A fact that Naruto must admit he loved. Neji deserved to be carried over the finish line by a "weakling." As the three crossed the line for the finish. Kakashi acknowledged them with a small round of golf claps.

  "Alrighty, let's talk about performance. Now, Ino, you had the lowest stamina but acted in a way that lessened your burden and made you cooperative with your teammates. So, it's not too bad overall. Naruto handled the exercise well and even took charge. Color me impressed. Neji, you almost completed it alone, but that's just it. You were on your own with no idea how your team was doing. Not to mention, if not for the teammates you ignored, you wouldn't have finished your laps. Which, of course, would punish your innocent teammates as well. Get your head in the game." Kakashi finished harshly, and then the tension there seemed to dissipate. "Next stop; once you are all rested, we will do spars; for now, one on, one spars where the three of you face me head-on. One after the next. But please go easy on me. I'm old, after all." With this, Kakshi poofed away.

  "Thanks, Naruto, for that. I'm sorry I needed help." Ino started, but Naruto laughed earnestly.

  "Don't worry about it! Just seemed smart; lemme know if you ever need my help, ya know?" Naruto said with a small, toothy smile. Ino saw it was different from his usual one and had to admit Naruto had undoubtedly gone up in stock today.

  Neji merely went back to meditating, not thanking Naruto for his help. And seemingly too tired to try to pick a fight. Naruto and Ino gave each other the thumbs up at this.

  "Do not mock me," Neji said with his eyes closed. The two blondes froze, realizing somehow he could see them.

  "Damn, Byakugan again." Naruto complained.

  Ino merely awkwardly laughed while Naruto flipped off the Hyuga. Though ended that with a glare.

  Ino felt she may be stuck playing mediator between these two often. But maybe it wouldn't be all bad…

  AN

  Remastered: It might be my least favorite chapter looking back. Just not in love with the way I wrote it, nor the execution. But without changing events, I am a bit limited in what I can do to improve it. That being said, this is a shorter chapter, so perhaps that’s why.