First Day

1: Assignments

Naruto shook with excitement as Kakashi shuffled around in his pockets. It was the day that he had been waiting for , ever since he had graduated from the academy. Now that he was in a genin team and considered a true ninja, it would be the perfect chance to prove his worth to others. If only Sasuke wasn't on his team…

Kakashi finally found what he was looking for, and pulled out a crumpled scroll from his pocket. He handed it to the three genins, but Naruto grasped it first eagerly. Sasuke merely looked bored.

"What is it?! What is it?!" Naruto shouted as he fumbled with the string of the scroll. "What's our assignment?!"

"'Baby-sit the Sasegawa twins'," Kakashi said matter-of-factly.

"Baby-sitting?!" Naruto sputtered with surprise. The scroll fell from his open fingers. "B-But we're ninjas, not baby-sitters!"

"Shut up, loudmouth idiot," Sasuke snapped, swiping the scroll away from him to examine it more closely.

"Genin-level ninjas only receive D-level assignments," Kakashi explained dully. "You shouldn't be surprised. Easier assignments are given to newcomers like you. You need experience before you get onto the tougher missions. Besides, all the other teams are doing it."

"How's baby-sitting going to help us gain experience?!"

"A ninja isn't supposed to back out on any mission!" Sakura said angrily at Naruto, slapping the back of his head. He gave a loud cry. Inwardly, however, Sakura was the most excited for the mission—a whole day with Sasuke-kun without any risk of death! It was going to be a good day.

"I don't want to baby-sit smelly kids!"

"You're the only smelly one here!"

"Well, Sasegawa-san is expecting you at nine," Kakashi said breaking into their argument. Sakura checked her watch and Naruto leapt backward as her eyes bulged.

"Kakashi-sensei! It's nine-twenty now!" she screamed.

Kakashi gave them a sheepish grin. "Yes, well, I had gotten lost, like I said—"

"LIAR!"

---

"'P-Paint the Eishi house'?" Hinata stammered in surprise. "…We have to p-paint a h-house?"

"What?! NO WAY!" Kiba exclaimed, snatching the scroll from Hinata's hand and rereading it. "Wait… a house?"

"That's what it says," Kurenai said, her hands placed firmly on her hips. "Eishi-san filed the report a week ago and no one took up the assignment. I figured this would be the best for you three."

"How's painting a house the best for us?" Kiba said indignantly. "Why couldn't we walk dogs or something?" Akamaru barked in agreement.

"It's something all three of you are equally bad at," Kurenai said bluntly.

Kiba's jaw dropped. "I'm not bad at painting!" he exclaimed. Kurenai shrugged in response. "…Am I?" He turned to Shino for confirmation. Unfortunately, all he received was a cold, expressionless stare from behind Shino's sunglasses.

"I-I don't think I can p-paint very well," Hinata said, her fingers fidgeting.

"I hate paint," Shino said simply. "The fumes aggravate me."

Hinata smiled weakly at him. "I d-don't suppose the b-bugs like it much e-either."

"How can we paint a house in a day?!" Kiba shouted at his sensei. "That's impossible!"

"Eishi-sensei's house isn't very large," Kurenai retorted. "And you have three members. It's more than enough time."

"I refuse," Kiba said, folding his arms stubbornly. "I hate painting."

"You can't refuse," Kurenai said, walking away. "You are ninjas. You do what you are told."

Kiba pouted. Akamaru sulked.

---

"…I'm going home," Shikamaru said, after Asuma had had his say.

"You can't go home," Asuma said gruffly around his patent cigarette. "You're going to weed that goddamn garden and weed it good."

Ino stared mournfully at her hands. "I just did my nails yesterday, too."

"I'm hungry," Chouji moaned. "When is lunch?"

"It's nine-thirty in the morning!" Asuma snapped. Shikamaru let out a sigh.

"Tell me about it," he said. "Why'd you wake me up so early for such a troublesome assignment?"

"It's your duty as genin to complete at least ten assignments before I can nominate you guys to take the Chuunin exam!" Asuma exclaimed, "We have to get going! I bet Kurenai and Kakashi already sent their teams off—"

The three genin shared knowing looks. Asuma glared.

"What?"

"It's the whole 'my team's better than yours' idea, isn't it?" Shikamaru said lazily. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared longingly up at the sky. "You three are always at it."

"Yeah, especially you, Asuma-sensei!" Chouji moaned.

"What are you talking about?!" Asuma exclaimed. "This is your first day! You have to do your best!"

"Just because our team sucks, doesn't mean you have to push us so hard," Shikamaru muttered, not quite under his breath.

"W-What? You guys don't suck—"

"Let's face it," Ino said, sitting up straighter. "We have this lazy guy," she gestured to Shikamaru, who rolled his eyes, "and this fat-ass," she jerked her head towards Chouji. "Any team with these two losers is bound to suck."

"As if you don't suck just as much, you Sasuke-idiot," Shikamaru snapped.

"Shut the hell up you mother—"

"Stop!" Asuma said, teetering off the edge now. He gave an exasperated sigh. "Okay, if you guys just finish this one assignment, I'll treat you all to yakisoba."

At this, Chouji perked up. Shikamaru let out another sigh.

"Does that mean a yes?"

Shikamaru glared at him. "Stop using Chouji against us, you bastard."

---

Coming up...

2: Problems
Sakura's jaw dropped to the ground. "W-WHAT KIND OF PARENTING IS THIS?!"

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