Chapter 6: Establishing the routine

As the classes for the day ended the rest of our group minus Katsumi gathered at the usual place. There was no reason to announce that I had passed as it was already evident by the headband tied around my head yet I did so nonetheless. I received a round of congratulations and talks about what being a genin would be like but I noticed that amidst the idle chatter that Naruto was oddly subdued. While he wasn't usually part of the group he did sometimes join in when he refused to back down on one of his challenges yet there had been none so far today.

The meeting itself wasn't long and soon Hinata and Shino had to leave or else get in trouble with their parents. That left only me and the blonde as neither of us were in a hurry to head home. Something was clearly bugging him and I was about to suggest going for some ramen as we exited the academy and reached the crossroad on where we usually split up.

I may have not been the closest to him but he was an acquaintance and there was no reason to leave him in a state of misery if I could help it. Though it wasn't necessary because before I could utter anything Naruto straightened up and pointed a finger towards me. Determination shinning on his face.

"Just you wait, I am going to graduate soon too and surpass you and afterwards grow strong enough to take the hat for myself and become Hokage so everyone can acknowledge me as the awesomest ninja there is."

Any words I had prepared were washed away from my tongue as my eyes slightly widened in surprise before closing in acceptance, yeah it our relationship couldn't be anything else but this in the end. Shaking my head with amusement I turned on my heel and started walking the opposite way. There were many things I could have said in response to that but I knew in that exact moment what exactly was needed to be done.

So with that in mind I threw a hand behind me in goodbye as my voice echoed out "I'll be waiting but don't take too long or I might snatch that hat under your nose before you know it Dobe." As I made my way home I made no effort to turn around see the expression that Naruto carried, the cry of outrage and "Teme" was enough to plaster a small smirk on my face.

Two days later I found myself sitting in my usual seat next to Katsumi in our classroom for orientation day that would decide on who would team up with who. Considering the timeline and how early I had graduated I wondered who my sensei might end up as I was pretty sure none of the canon ones had entered the teaching business yet. I was also not certain who I would end up on a team with as to be honest I had not made much effort to observe the rest of my classmates to remember who my skill set would mesh the best with.

Kei-sensei wasted no time to begin listing the teams and their names while interestingly enough starting from eleven and going up. I didn't have to wait long to know where I will be going because as soon as he reached thirteen I heard my name being uttered.

"Team 13 will be Uchiha Sasuke, Aburame Katsumi and Sarutobi Kenshiro."

It almost made me laugh at the irony of being placed on t such of an unlucky number but I held it in and instead only let out a quiet snort that earned a soft elbow to the ribs from my seatmate and now teammate. I was glad to be on the same team with a familiar face that I was comfortable with it and while I was not a fan of the Sarutobi I could also not deny his skills so overall it was not a bad selection. The only thing left to figure out was who would be our sensei.

A look and nod of appreciation was shared between me and Katsumi as our instructor announced a short break before he introduced our Jounin sensei. Thankfully it didn't take long and soon everyone was seated once more with the only difference being that some people had rearranged themselves to sit where their teammates were including Kenshiro who was now seated next to us. No words beyond a few more nods had been exchanged before the first Jounin entered to retrieve his team.

The first two were generic faces that rang no bells regarding cannon but it was when the person who was to be our sensei entered that recognition sparked. Of average height with dark hair tied in a spiky ponytail he would have easily passed off as an average member of the nara clan if not for the way he was dressed or the two distinctive scars on the right of his face that gave away his identity right away.

Even without having knowledge of the show and relaying on just the memories of Sasuke the visage of Nara Shikaku a member of the famous Ino–Shika–Chō trio and Jounin commander of Konoha was unmistakable. My eyebrows rose in surprise as my mind whirled with why him of all people was assigned as our team leader as he lazily called our team "Team 13, follow me."

We scrambled out of our seats to follow as he didn't wait for us at all and was already exiting the room. All we managed was the exchange of confused glances or at least I hoped I wasn't the only one, it was hard to tell with Katsumi but Kenshiro was at least sharing my sentiment though probably for different reasons.

We walked quickly through the streets of the village as they gave way to the area were most training grounds were located. The spot we reached was generic as they came with just a clear field of grass surrounded by trees. As we reached the center of it where three training posts were Shikaku finally decided to turn and face us and after giving us a quick glance he spoke.

"Alright, this is too troublesome so I'll only say it once so listen up brats. There's usually a test that determines if you are fit to be genin or be sent back either to the academy or outright quit the shinobi program."

A sardonic smile pulled at his lips and crinkled the scars on his face as he locked eyes with us once more before he continued speaking "But let's be real here, not only was that never an option for you to begin with but I am also taking away time from my duties to enter the active roster once more and also instruct you lot. The timeframe we have is limited so that's why there will be no test."

"Instead this will be an evaluation of your skills in order to determine where you all stand and what we will work on going forwards. Now come at me with the intent to kill, anything less and you'll regret it."

More question then answers arouse in my mind at his explanation and so many theories on why he was the one to be our teacher were rising but they were all slowly being pushed back as I fell into a combat stance and prepared for the oncoming spar. My teammates were of similar mind as I spotted them doing the same from the corner of my eyes.

With no further explanation needed all of us charged at him at the same time and then found ourselves thrown back in different direction of the field. I hadn't even been able to see him move as he did that and that did not bode well for the rest of the match, none the less I quickly rose back up and as my eyes bled into red I shared another series of nods with both of my teammates. It was going to be a long first day as a genin.

Laying on the ground arms spread and my body taking in ragged breaths I was proven correct in my assumption that it would be a long day. Tilting my head to the side I noticed the hunched over form of Kenshiro who was sweating bullets as he tried to support himself up with his arms on his knees, not far from him was my other teammate slumped against the tree that might have looked alright if it wasn't for her hair being matted against her forehead and the clear signs of exhaustion that were visible even despite her heavy clothing.

My head moved once more and this time refocused on the taunting visage of our tormentor who looked right as day and not even with dust on his form. We had thrown everything we could at him and when that hadn't worked we began cooperating more and more trying to come up with ways to take him down and each time we failed. The worst part was that we hadn't even been able to force our teacher to use the signature move the nara were known for and instead used simple taijutsu and ninjutsu among the evading.

As my eye were focused on his form I was able to spot his own calculating gaze he had on us. He no doubt was running the spar through his head and drawing his conclusion or where we stood and what we had to work on. Barely a minute passes before he released a sigh and spoke aloud "You are not bad for bunch of graduates but noting above that. We'll have a lot to work on if you want to live beyond a year or so, especially the little wannabe prodigy."

I understood where he was coming from and the fact that I wasn't all that special when it came to achievements but my nose still wrinkled slightly in distaste at the mocking in his tone even if I was the only one laying on the ground.

The worst thing is he knew that and as his eyes moved to mine and his face twitched in an effort for his lips to not be pulled in a smirk. If I had the strength I would have totally attempted to try and deck him even if the chances of connecting were low, it was a matter of pride.

With great effort and willpower, I managed to maneuver my aching body to stand and I was just in time as our new sensei dismissed us for the day. "That's enough for the day, I've seen what I wanted to. We'll met here tomorrow too and for the foreseeable future as I whip you all into at least not so dreadful form." With that said he just waved us off and disappeared in a cloud of smoke as a last mutter of troublesome and needing a drink echoed around.

That had happened exactly one month ago and the rest of the days following it were spent pretty much in the same vein of exertion. We were running through drills, exercises and series of spars either against each other or our sensei though those were rarer, he did have a reputation as a Nara to up hold to after all. Surprisingly or not that much we were able to mesh pretty well as team during that time.

Of course that was helped by the fact that I was already a friend with one of the members and much as I didn't like to admit it Kenshiro was just good at the role of being the friendly teammate and fitting in general. I chalked it mostly to it being a Sarutobi thing, like a special ability or something because it was just not natural I tell you.

Honestly had it not been for all of those factors being present I would have most likely been the troublesome link in the team. I was accepting to a degree but I was also a harsh judge and stubborn once a decision was taken, thankfully my inner sense had not failed me so far and I had already surrounded myself with a group of people I found likable enough for my testes, sort of.

But yes had I been stuck with anyone else from the graduation class I don't doubt that the team dynamic would have been a lot more frigid and unstable. Thankfully for him, Shikaku-sensei ended up dealing with a lot less troublesome then he suspected or maybe he was aware and this was exactly what the Hokage or whoever arranged the teams was aiming for when making up our squad.

This cohesion also meant that it didn't take long for our sensei to sprinkle D-rank missions in amidst our catching up training as he called it. Now they were a real chore to do especially if your body was constantly feeling like a lump of lead and I swear the Nara purposefully took the most physical demanding ones on our worst days just to torture us, I will never look at dog walking the same after that.

My train of thoughts was suddenly interrupted when an elbow lightly burrowed its way into my ribs. Turning swiftly to glare at the perpetrator I could only hiss out "What was for that for?"

With an unashamed smirk Kenshiro returned to painting the fence "You were doing that brooding introspective old man face again."

" I was doing no such thing" turning my head to the other side in order to confirm with the person who always has my back "Tell him that I wasn't Katsumi."

But I was only met with a nod of her head and a mutter of a "You were" so I just returned to painting the fence while grumbling about traitorous teammates. Of course sensei decide it was a good time to indulge in his sense of humor as well and chimed in "Don't worry Sasuke I'll save you a seat for when I go out for a drink with the rest so you can complain about unruly brats."

The irksome laugh of the Sarutobi rang around in response as I turned to glare at Shikaku while contemplating about just throwing paint at him but his amused and knowing raised eyebrow alongside the flickering shadow dissuaded me. I just knew how he would react and being the more mature member of the whole team I kept my cool and silence while painting, also no matter what she said I was not brooding thank you very much Katsumi.

With that another day of simple chores and training passed yet our sensei left us a few words that both excited and left dread to build up in my stomach. After all, hearing that that your team would be taking its first C-rank mission would have startled any fresh genin but especially one that knew what could happen even on one of those.

Well It's been a while and all I can say is that RL can be a kicker. As for the chapter itself well to be honest it has been just sitting around gathering dust for the past few months and it's not all I want it to be but I prefer to just get it out and move the story. That's all and as always beware the typos and I'll see you in the next chapter.