Disclaimer: All canon characters from the Naruto franchise belong to Masashi Kishimoto. All original characters belong to me. Thank you!

In the Shadows

Prologue: The Misfit 18

It was a cool October day, five years ago. I'd sat in the back of the stark Academy classroom, keeping mostly to myself and my frenzy of thoughts. The room was filled with individuals my age, proudly sporting Konoha's hitai-ate and speaking excitedly to one another. Next to me, Hana-chan and Rei-chan wondered if the three of us would be placed together on the same team.

Absentmindedly, I'd twirled a lock of blonde hair between my fingers. Tugging at the hitai-ate around my upper right arm and fidgeting in my seat, I'd been almost oblivious to them and the commotion taking place a few rows in front of me. However, when I'd noticed Uzumaki-san and Uchiha-san locking lips, I was fully alert and sat erect in disbelief. I remember Hana and Rei had burst out laughing, while I turned fifty shades of red and looked away from them.

Seconds later, our Sensei had entered the room and quieted everyone down. After congratulating everyone for passing the exams, Iruka-sensei had begun calling out names, placing us in squadrons of three. I'd held my breath, worry most likely etched in my every feature. Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long, as I was on Team 2; unfortunately, I was not placed with either of my best friends. Instead, my team consisted of myself and two boys named Akihiko Surada-san and Shinjiro Yuki-san.

Realistically though, you, the reader, don't know anything about these people. Minus, of course, Naruto Uzumaki-san and Sasuke Uchiha-san. But I mean, who doesn't know them? Naruto Uzumaki: the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi, son of the Fourth Hokage, and basically the savior of the entire Shinobi universe. Sasuke Uchiha: the last of the Uchiha clan, the aforementioned clan's avenger, and another savior of the Shinobi universe. If our lives were some graphic novel, those two would surely hold center stage at least ninety-percent of the time.

But what about us? What about Hana and Rei, Aki and Shin? What of me, Nadeshiko Yamato?

That was one thing Iruka-sensei failed to tell us all that day.

We were all bright-eyed twelve year olds, ready for whatever came next after our years at the Academy. No one told us then that only nine of the twenty-seven graduates would actually become ninja. No one told us we'd be sent back to the Academy seconds after finally being release. No one told us we'd be forgotten.

But we were. We weren't the Rookie 9. We were the Misfit 18.

New story! I promise real chapters will be longer. Despite how this may sound so far, the story is actually very canon-character-centered. Many of the OCs will only be briefly referenced throughout the story, either in flashback or what-say-you. The main character, Nadeshiko Yamato, as well as maybe one or two other OCs, will be probably the only truly recurrent OC.

Either way though, I hope this sounds interesting! It's been awhile since I messed around with Naruto fanfiction, but I'm really excited for this!

*ALSO*: if you are a fan of the anime K (AKA: K Project), I'll be writing a story for that soon as well! So keep an eye out for that!

Sayonara!