(Well, here's my second story... I know, I still need to work on chapter 1 of The Black Cat... But honestly, I'm kinda stuck in a bad position. Since that one's like a re-telling with altered events, I'm trying to figure out how to do that while keeping the same SAO feeling. So, here's something else: A Naruto story! Well, this is going to take place around 20 years after Naruto Shippuden's ending, and in an "alternate reality" type thing so that I don't have to worry about anything that was decided in my story being ruined because the opposite happens in the actual series. Also, before people start accusing me of spoiling something, or getting something wrong: Since this is an alternate reality, and the Ninja War is still going on in the manga, I can pretty much decide on the outcome. Some characters might die by my story's canon, and not the actual canon. So if a character's death is mentioned, it's just my story's canon. Well then, enjoy!)
Chapter 1: Graduation Day
Today was a special occasion in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It had been 20 years since the Fourth Great Ninja War had ended in the victory of the Allied Shinobi Force, as well as graduation day for their Ninja Academy. As such, the inside was packed with students, parents, and a few higher-ups of the village. Standing in the front of the room, centered behind her usual desk, was Sakura Haruno, the school's current sensei, or teacher. To her left was her former teammate and current husband, Sasuke Uchiha. And to her left, her other former teammate and the Sixth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. Next to him was his wife, Hinata Hyuga. There were a few other jonin and chunin from their old graduating class, too.
Then, there were the students. In the front row, three friends all sat together and talked while waiting for the ceremony to start. "Looks like we've finally graduated from the academy. Today, the three of us are finally ninja!" The one in the far left, Koukon Yougan, exclaimed. Koukon had trained almost twice as hard as the others at times, being the heir to his clan. He was glad that the hard work was finally paying off.
"Heh, I never doubted my chances for a second. It was obvious I'd make it! And you'd have to make it too, since you're my rival!" The one in the center, Haseo Kunisaki, bragged. "Of course, you're really talented to graduate at the same year as us, Haruka."
"Yeah, I can't believe that I'm graduating at a year younger than most of the other students. I guess that shows how strong I am." Koukon's twelve year old sister, Haruka, smiled. Everyone else graduating that year was 13. She was the one exception. She had her private training sessions with Koukon and Haseo to thank for that. After she said that, Sakura stepped up and began the ceremony.
"Hello everyone! Welcome to today's graduation ceremony! Today's a momentous day, due to not only the ceremony right here, but also the 20th anniversary of the Akatsuki's defeat! I'd like to give the stage to our Hokage for a moment!" She turned to face Naruto, smiling.
"Hey there, everyone! Like my friend here said, it's been 20 years since the last great Shinobi War ended! It was a rough time, we even lost a few great shinobi from our village," Naruto paused for a moment, a pained expression on his face. Hinata shared a similar expression. Naruto looked back up, grinning again as usual. "However, we also found many heroes, and united the ninja world. And now, I stand before the future peacekeepers... As a student, I learned all about the Will of Fire, and its importance in our village. I hope to have caused this will to ignite in all of you that I stand before today!" He said, being followed by applause. "Now then, let's get on to the team assignments. Sakura, you have those prepared, right?" He asked the teacher.
"Of course I do." Sakura replied, sounding slightly annoyed that Naruto would have to ask that. Even though she was much older now, she still had a bit of a short fuse around some people. She began reading off names of genin in groups of three, notifying who was teamed up with who.. When she read off Haruka's name, and not Koukon's or Haseo's, Haruka became slightly disheartened at the thought of not being able to work with the two. She shrugged it off, realizing this gave her a chance to meet new people she hadn't known before. Finally, Sakura reached the final team. "And, that leaves Team 10 with... Koukon Yougan, Haseo Kunisaki, and Hikari Uzumaki!"
Koukon and Haseo high-fived, glad to be on the same team. They then remembered their third team member. "Hikari Uzumaki... The Hokage's kid? We get to work with her?" Haseo asked, trying to make sure he was thinking of the right person. She was always one of the quieter kids... The two had never really talked with her much.
Koukon looked in the back of the room, spotting her in the far corner. Their met eyes for a second, then Hikari turned away. "Hopefully she's a lot friendlier than she seems to be..." He muttered, spinning around to face Sakura again.
"Those are the team assignments! Tomorrow, you'll all meet with your team leaders! Try to spend today getting to know each other, okay?" She suggested. "Well, if that's all... Class dismissed!" The students all stood up and approached their new team members.
"Well, guess I should go with my team... See you two later!" Haruka waved to her brother and Haseo, then left to approach two other students.
"We should probably go meet up with Hikari." Haseo told Koukon. "Where'd she go?" He asked, looking around the room.
Koukon spotted her outside the school building, sitting on the lonely swing in the courtyard. "There she is." He said, walking in her direction. Haseo followed him, trying to stay a step ahead of his best friend. "Hey there, I'm Koukon Yougan, and this is Haseo Kunisaki. You're our teammate, Hikari Uzumaki, right?" He asked her. Of course, there was no mistaking her. The blonde haired, gray-eyed girl stood out well, having her mother's Byakugan eyes.
"Yes, that's me..." She muttered in a soft, barely audible voice. She didn't even look them in the eyes, instead staring down at the ground beneath her. Koukon and Haseo had a silent exchange for a second, something along the lines of What's her problem?
"Well, hey, we're teammates... Want to go get some ramen or something?" Haseo suggested, trying to get her to say more. He decided that would be a good way to get her to open up a little bit.
Hikari raised her head for a second, studying the two. She stood up, and looked inside. "I... I have to go, I hear my parents calling me. I'll see you two tomorrow, I guess..." She bolted inside, leaving the two friends alone.
"Strange girl..." Haseo muttered. "What do you think is up with her, anyway? Is she just shy, or what? Of course... what girl wouldn't be nervous around me?" He joked, laughing a bit. Koukon stared at Hikari as she ran inside. He could tell that she was in pain... "Hey, Koukon. You okay?" Haseo asked his friend, worried about him.
"Yeah, I'm fine... Hey, I'm going to get Haruka and head home. We've got a long day ahead of us." Koukon explained. He noticed that Haseo looked a little hurt that he was just going to leave suddenly, too. "Of course... I guess there's time for the three of us to go get ramen, first." He smiled.
"Right! Let's go get Haruka, then. We can't leave her out, too." Haseo grinned, as the two walked inside...
(Well, that's it for now. I'll try to get Chapter 2 up soon!)
(Well, here's my second story... I know, I still need to work on chapter 1 of The Black Cat... But honestly, I'm kinda stuck in a bad position. Since that one's like a re-telling with altered events, I'm trying to figure out how to do that while keeping the same SAO feeling. So, here's something else: A Naruto story! Well, this is going to take place around 20 years after Naruto Shippuden's ending, and in an "alternate reality" type thing so that I don't have to worry about anything that was decided in my story being ruined because the opposite happens in the actual series. Also, before people start accusing me of spoiling something, or getting something wrong: Since this is an alternate reality, and the Ninja War is still going on in the manga, I can pretty much decide on the outcome. Some characters might die by my story's canon, and not the actual canon. So if a character's death is mentioned, it's just my story's canon. Well then, enjoy!)
Chapter 1: Graduation Day
Today was a special occasion in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. It had been 20 years since the Fourth Great Ninja War had ended in the victory of the Allied Shinobi Force, as well as graduation day for their Ninja Academy. As such, the inside was packed with students, parents, and a few higher-ups of the village. Standing in the front of the room, centered behind her usual desk, was Sakura Haruno, the school's current sensei, or teacher. To her left was her former teammate and current husband, Sasuke Uchiha. And to her left, her other former teammate and the Sixth Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. Next to him was his wife, Hinata Hyuga. There were a few other jonin and chunin from their old graduating class, too.
Then, there were the students. In the front row, three friends all sat together and talked while waiting for the ceremony to start. "Looks like we've finally graduated from the academy. Today, the three of us are finally ninja!" The one in the far left, Koukon Yougan, exclaimed. Koukon had trained almost twice as hard as the others at times, being the heir to his clan. He was glad that the hard work was finally paying off.
"Heh, I never doubted my chances for a second. It was obvious I'd make it! And you'd have to make it too, since you're my rival!" The one in the center, Haseo Kunisaki, bragged. "Of course, you're really talented to graduate at the same year as us, Haruka."
"Yeah, I can't believe that I'm graduating at a year younger than most of the other students. I guess that shows how strong I am." Koukon's twelve year old sister, Haruka, smiled. Everyone else graduating that year was 13. She was the one exception. She had her private training sessions with Koukon and Haseo to thank for that. After she said that, Sakura stepped up and began the ceremony.
"Hello everyone! Welcome to today's graduation ceremony! Today's a momentous day, due to not only the ceremony right here, but also the 20th anniversary of the Akatsuki's defeat! I'd like to give the stage to our Hokage for a moment!" She turned to face Naruto, smiling.
"Hey there, everyone! Like my friend here said, it's been 20 years since the last great Shinobi War ended! It was a rough time, we even lost a few great shinobi from our village," Naruto paused for a moment, a pained expression on his face. Hinata shared a similar expression. Naruto looked back up, grinning again as usual. "However, we also found many heroes, and united the ninja world. And now, I stand before the future peacekeepers... As a student, I learned all about the Will of Fire, and its importance in our village. I hope to have caused this will to ignite in all of you that I stand before today!" He said, being followed by applause. "Now then, let's get on to the team assignments. Sakura, you have those prepared, right?" He asked the teacher.
"Of course I do." Sakura replied, sounding slightly annoyed that Naruto would have to ask that. Even though she was much older now, she still had a bit of a short fuse around some people. She began reading off names of genin in groups of three, notifying who was teamed up with who.. When she read off Haruka's name, and not Koukon's or Haseo's, Haruka became slightly disheartened at the thought of not being able to work with the two. She shrugged it off, realizing this gave her a chance to meet new people she hadn't known before. Finally, Sakura reached the final team. "And, that leaves Team 10 with... Koukon Yougan, Haseo Kunisaki, and Hikari Uzumaki!"
Koukon and Haseo high-fived, glad to be on the same team. They then remembered their third team member. "Hikari Uzumaki... The Hokage's kid? We get to work with her?" Haseo asked, trying to make sure he was thinking of the right person. She was always one of the quieter kids... The two had never really talked with her much.
Koukon looked in the back of the room, spotting her in the far corner. Their met eyes for a second, then Hikari turned away. "Hopefully she's a lot friendlier than she seems to be..." He muttered, spinning around to face Sakura again.
"Those are the team assignments! Tomorrow, you'll all meet with your team leaders! Try to spend today getting to know each other, okay?" She suggested. "Well, if that's all... Class dismissed!" The students all stood up and approached their new team members.
"Well, guess I should go with my team... See you two later!" Haruka waved to her brother and Haseo, then left to approach two other students.
"We should probably go meet up with Hikari." Haseo told Koukon. "Where'd she go?" He asked, looking around the room.
Koukon spotted her outside the school building, sitting on the lonely swing in the courtyard. "There she is." He said, walking in her direction. Haseo followed him, trying to stay a step ahead of his best friend. "Hey there, I'm Koukon Yougan, and this is Haseo Kunisaki. You're our teammate, Hikari Uzumaki, right?" He asked her. Of course, there was no mistaking her. The blonde haired, gray-eyed girl stood out well, having her mother's Byakugan eyes.
"Yes, that's me..." She muttered in a soft, barely audible voice. She didn't even look them in the eyes, instead staring down at the ground beneath her. Koukon and Haseo had a silent exchange for a second, something along the lines of What's her problem?
"Well, hey, we're teammates... Want to go get some ramen or something?" Haseo suggested, trying to get her to say more. He decided that would be a good way to get her to open up a little bit.
Hikari raised her head for a second, studying the two. She stood up, and looked inside. "I... I have to go, I hear my parents calling me. I'll see you two tomorrow, I guess..." She bolted inside, leaving the two friends alone.
"Strange girl..." Haseo muttered. "What do you think is up with her, anyway? Is she just shy, or what? Of course... what girl wouldn't be nervous around me?" He joked, laughing a bit. Koukon stared at Hikari as she ran inside. He could tell that she was in pain... "Hey, Koukon. You okay?" Haseo asked his friend, worried about him.
"Yeah, I'm fine... Hey, I'm going to get Haruka and head home. We've got a long day ahead of us." Koukon explained. He noticed that Haseo looked a little hurt that he was just going to leave suddenly, too. "Of course... I guess there's time for the three of us to go get ramen, first." He smiled.
"Right! Let's go get Haruka, then. We can't leave her out, too." Haseo grinned, as the two walked inside...
(Well, that's it for now. I'll try to get Chapter 2 up soon!)