Jinhai sat on one of the desks in the academy, kicking his feet and letting them fall back to knock against the wooden side with a thud. He, Kuria, and Eiji had been waiting far longer than anyone else for their sensei to show up. They had the exam to become genin at least a week ago, but their sensei had said they were putting off assigning jonin leaders until later on. Today they had finally been called together, and yet their sensei was still late.

"This is nuts! They're so late I have to wonder if they're showing up at all!" Eiji huffed as he began to pace around the room. "How dare they keep the future ruler of the world waiting!"

Kuria looked up, a red mark on her forehead from leaning on the desk so long. "Since when are you the future ruler of the world?"

"Well I'm the best genin out there, so it's only a matter of time."

"Oh? Are you sure you don't want to choose a different goal? I mean, it will be awful lonely at the top won't it?" There was a glint of mischief in Kuria's eye as she leaned on her hand.

Eiji stumbled slightly as he came to an abrupt stop. "Lonely? Why would it be?"

Humming slightly, she shook her head. "I mean, of course you'll have fans, but being that powerful will make people scared. Honestly, you'll be rather hard to approach if you ask me."

"Er... well then... Maybe not ruler of the world per say... maybe just um... a very powerful shinobi." Eiji nodded his head. "Yeah, I'll be the most powerful jonin! It shouldn't be hard, I'm already stronger than half of them!"

Kuria shook her head as Eiji disappeared into his fantasies. "I'm shocked at how quickly he recovers sometimes."

"Yeah." Jinhai looked at him. "I'll chalk this one up to stupidity though. There's no way he's stronger than a jonin right now."

Before anyone could respond to that, the door slid open. All eyes snapped to the entrance of the room, eager to see who would be their sensei. Jinhai was off the desk immediately, running and embracing the figure.

"Aoi-sensei!"

"AH! No fair Jinhai! I'm always supposed to be the first to attack him!" Eiji looked slightly pissed before Kuria lightly knocked him on the head with her fist.

"Like I've said, you shouldn't be attacking Aoi-sensei."

"Why shouldn't I!? It helps me improve doesn't it?"

"He already teaches you after academy lessons!"

"You should always seek to get stronger! After all, I'm going to be the strongest jonin!"

"If you keep picking fights with people stronger than you, you won't even make it to chunin!"

"Hah! Nobody is stronger than me!"

"But you haven't even landed a single punch on Aoi-sensei."

The earth-shattering logic in that statement sent Eiji reeling backwards, the color draining from his entire being as he slowly fell to the ground in defeat.

Disregarding the argument, Aoi turned on his heel. "Come along and I'll explain what we will be doing." He didn't wait for a response, instead just walking off. The three genins waited a moment before dashing after to catch up to his retreating back.

_+_

"I would like you to become a jonin instructor." Tsunade leaned forward and smiled happily, as if it was only natural.

Aoi stood with slight incomprehension. "Pardon?"

"You heard. I want you to become the jonin instructor for some new genin that graduated last week. That was the reason I suddenly sprung the jonin test on you." Tsunade's smile grew slightly. "Neji was offered the same."

Seeming to think it over, Aoi hesitated for some unknown reason. There was a sense of foreboding at the thought of becoming a jonin instructor, but he couldn't place why. "If I were to decline?"

"Hm... I wouldn't if I were you." The underlying, threatening tone that was in Tsunade's voice made the implications clear. Shizune simply shook her head at Tsunade's scare tactics.

There was a slight pause. "I shall accept your offer." Though Aoi wasn't particularly scared of Tsunade, it would do him no good to antagonize her. If he did, it was unlikely he would walk away without a few broken bones.

"I rather thought you might." Her cheerful aura was back in full force by now. "You ought to get going, your team has been waiting for a while now."

Nodding slightly as a sign of respect, Aoi left the office.

Turning to Shizune, Tsunade's face took on a serious light. "I think it best if we keep Aoi within Konoha for a while. Make sure that everyone in the department that assigns missions is aware of this." Nodding, Shizune left the room to do as the Hokage had said.

_+_

Jinhai, Kuria, and Eiji all sat at the base of a large pine tree, the boughs of the tree just a meter or so above their heads and making a chill shadow as Aoi stood in front of them. Aoi had discovered the spot nearing two years ago, and always found it a relaxing place.

"Now then, though we all know one another rather well, this is our first day as teammates. I would like us all to introduce ourselves, stating things like what you enjoy, what you don't, hobbies, or your dreams for the future." Aoi nibbled on a piece of pocky, idly scratching the soft down feathers on Hane's neck.

There was a small silence as everyone looked from one to another, as if urging someone to go before them. Finally, Kuria spoke up. "Aoi-sensei, could you go first and get us started?"

"Hm... Well I'm Aoi, I enjoy rice, pocky, and small animals. I dislike axes and ramen. My hobby is cooking and I hope to completely understand emotions one day." There were quizzical looks all around at the last part, much as there had been when he had first introduced himself to team seven. Aoi ignored this though, instead gesturing to Jinhai.

Taking the cue, Jinhai perked up slightly. "Well, I'm Jinhai Hikage and I really like training. I guess that counts as my hobbie, so I enjoy eating candy with Aoi-sensei. I don't really like the cold. My dream for the future would probably be to become strong enough to protect my comrades and family."

Now that they were into the swing of things, Kuria spoke up next before anyone could ask. "My name's Kuria Shizuko. I really like to challenge myself to do new things. I don't really enjoy arguments or stupidity. My hobbies would be baking and reading. I dream to overcome my obvious disability and become a kunoichi respected throughout Konoha."

"Guess we saved the best for last." Eiji stood up proudly. "The name's Eiji Hatsuharu, strongest shinobi in Konoha! My likes are too great in number to count, but I definitely don't like vegetables. My hobbies include challenging my rival Aoi. My dream is to be the strongest jonin in the entire village, though that won't be hard to do."

A sigh escaped Kuria's lips as she shook her head and rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance. Jinhai smiled slightly, knowing that Eiji wasn't going to change anytime soon. There was a brief lull in the conversation before Aoi spoke up.

"Alright, now that we're acquainted a bit better, let's move on. Before you get too comfortable wearing those forehead protectors, there's one more test you need to pass." They all started a little, but before any of them got a word out, Aoi began talking again. "You all have the basic abilities to become genin, but tomorrow's test will be checking if you have a vital quality that is necessary in the shinobi world. If I deem you unworthy, I will be sending you back to the academy like all the others that fail their final exam of sorts."

Kuria spoke hesitantly. "Um... Aoi-sensei, how many people usually pass this test?"

"On average there are two to three teams that will pass each year." All three started slightly in shock. "Anyway, meet here tomorrow morning at six. Don't bring anything, you won't be needing it. If you're late tomorrow, you will be running laps around Konoha. It will be significantly harder to complete the task tomorrow if you are running laps."

The three genins shared a few looks of confusion, but by the time their attention returned to where Aoi was, the blue haired jonin was gone. They sat in silence for a while.

"So, what do you guys think we'll be doing tomorrow?" Kuria looked at the two boys, trying to start up a conversation.

Jinhai shook his head. "It could be anything. Though I find it strange he said not to bring weapons."

Eiji scoffed at them. "It's obvious that it's going to be a battle." They both looked at him. "Well I mean, that's what shinobi do right? It makes sense that the instructors would test that. I don't see why a new jonin instructor would do any different."

"Then why would he have us leave our weapons at home?" Kuria sent a baleful look his way.

"Well... because he doesn't want there to be injuries!"

"If we're fighting, then why wouldn't there be injuries?"

"I meant that Aoi doesn't want to be injured by my awesome kunai throwing!"

"But you only just managed to hit every target. If your throws are awesome, mine are nearing perfection."

"Hah! Everyone knows that you hide your true skills, that way you take your enemy by surprise."

"I don't know, someone looked pretty worried about the exam for that."

"If you're referring to yourself then-"

"ENOUGH!" Jinhai, listening to their argument, had slowly grown past irritation to anger. "All you guys do is argue and it's beginning to get quite annoying. Look, I can understand not getting along, but do you have to fight every time you get into a conversation."

Both lowered their heads, slightly ashamed. That is, until Eiji spoke up. "I'm sorry for Kuria's impudence."

"My impudence? If anyone is being impudent here, it's you!"

"Hah! You're the very picture of impudence!"

"You are kidding right? It feels like I'm the only rational one here!"

"If you're rational I don't want to be."

"Wha-? That doesn't even make any-"

Jinhai threw his hands up in defeat. "Are you kidding me!? It hasn't even been five minutes!" Both stopped, insults frozen on their tongues. "You're both driving me nuts, so just cut it out. Save your energy for tomorrow or something."

There was a small silence. Kuria was the one to break it this time. "So... You said you thought it might be a battle?" Eiji noticed the small truce flag and nodded. "Yeah, I guess it could be that."

"I guess it doesn't necessarily have to be that either."

Smiling slightly, Jinhai looked around. "We should go back to town, it looks like the sun is setting."

Jarred slightly, both Kuria and Eiji looked to the sky, noticing the sun as it dipped ever lower toward the mountainous horizon. "Which way was town again?"

Eiji and Jinhai shared a glance, then pointed in opposite directions. "This way," they chorused.

"Ah..." Kuria looked both directions. "And I thought it was that way..." She pointed in a direction perpendicular to both of their lines.

There was a silence between the three once again, a cricket's song echoing through the trees.

_+_

After he had told the three what to do, Aoi had jumped upward, sitting in the boughs of the pine tree and watching them curiously. As Kuria and Eiji got into yet another fight, he couldn't help a small smile that upturned the corners of his mouth. The two reminded him of Sasuke and Naruto in their younger days, the only difference being that they could admit when they were in the wrong. That and the third team member that would break the two up.

It all caused him to wonder though, would the three be able to work together as a team? They often played together, but that didn't mean they got along. While it was obvious that Kuria and Eiji would have trouble with teamwork, it was Jinhai that worried him most. The orange haired boy wasn't the most outgoing, and it was mostly due to how he was bullied in the past. But because of him keeping to himself, he had started seeing others as different from him. Almost below him. It wouldn't do to have someone with a silent superiority complex. Sure, Eiji thought he was better than others, but Kuria often brought him off of that quickly enough. But if it wasn't obvious that one had a superiority complex, it could lead to disastrous situations on missions.

Aoi sighed slightly, unconsciously nibbling on a piece of pocky. It was strange, he thought, that these three had been placed on a team under him. It was known that Aoi taught the three, but he somehow didn't expect the Hokage to make him their jonin instructor. He had finished his last box of pocky when he watched the three point in different directions as they tried to figure out which way Konoha was.

It looked like Kuria and Eiji were going to start another argument, but Jinhai stepped in. The three faced one another, beginning a game of rock-paper-scissors. Another smile crept onto Aoi's face as all three played a different sign, effectively making the game a draw. This happened another three times before Jinhai and Eiji both threw the same sign and lost to Kuria. Shaking his head slightly, he watched the three walk off in the complete opposite direction. How would they ever find their way back to this tree? They didn't seem too observant. He would be surprised if they had even noticed it to be one of the few pine trees around Konoha, or better yet the tallest of all the surrounding trees.

So this was team 13.

Didn't seem like they were very lucky.

_+_

Sup? Look at me, updating within a reasonable time-frame! So if you haven't guessed, next chapter will be team 13's test to become true genin. After that is chapter 50. As for chapter 50, I'm actually already writing that, even before I thought of this chapter actually. The thing is though, I won't post it until I've decided that the fans have truly made it a fan appreciation chapter. That means that your thoughts and desires have gone into it! So comment some ideas guys, like only one of you has~! If there aren't any ideas, I can hardly post the chapter can I? On that note, there, of course, are some shy people out there. So, if you happen to have a tumblr, you can anonymously message me an idea there. The link is on my profile, but I'll put the URL here too: http://nchanstories.tumblr.com

Dedication to SilentSilverSlip because... Because. So yeah!

With that out of the way, spring break is coming up. I don't know if I'll be in town though, so there will either be a few good updates or maybe, like, one... There's my fickle attitude you all love, right? Anywhore, hope you liked the chapter. Um...

Anyone know a good book series?

-Nicky~