Disclaimer:

I do not own Naruto nor the characters mentioned in the story. No matter how much I may love them. Lol

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I.

Future

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"Lord Hokage! Please state the meaning of this!" The man who barged in to the office unannounced, Shikaku Nara, was shocked by the news that had reached his ears earlier that morning. Needing to escape the meanderings of his wife, he decided to head to the tea shop to soothe the slow-coming headache that came from her banshee-like yells that morning. While eavesdropping on the commotion of his neighboring table, he discovered that the conversation between the jonin in the shop pertained to the academy graduates and who they were assigned to be led by. He knew of the meeting that day but certainly not of the information he had overheard. It was through his intrusion into their discussion that he had learned of the end of the Ino-Shika-Cho triad that was long heralded in Konoha's history. "Why go back on traditions now, Lord Hokage?" He stood disgruntled behind the leader of his nation. He could not help but to stare at the robe that was draped across the Hokage's back, which ruffled with the scent of tobacco when the chilling breeze of the fall flew through the opening of the office's window. Sweat built at his fore brow as he pondered on how well his son could fair as a genin without the assistance from the heirs of the Yamanaka and the Akimichi clan. His internal dispute was halted suddenly at the sound of the Hokage's gravel-like chuckle. He looked up to see a smile with eyes that embodied the wisdom and experience that any shinobi who had lived long enough to see the age of the revered man would possess. Before he could question as to what was so damn funny at the moment, his intrigue was satiated.

"I guess the cat is out of the bag. Before you offer out a hand of reasoning, I would request that you hear me out." With the wisps of smokes following, the Third Hokage took to walking towards the chair that sat behind his desk. "The teams that I have chosen aren't based off of the past dynamics. Yes, I agree that some of the teams that we had assigned in the past turned out to be legacies that display the strength that the village radiates. However," he took an inhale from his tobacco pipe before folding his hands underneath his chi, "those results turned out to be somewhat counterproductive in the long haul for those of us who have lived long enough to see it. I understand that the teamwork between the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi, have been praised since the early beginnings of the village. I simply wish for the youth of today to make their own path to leave their impact upon. There's a need for change from us old relics and if we continue imprinting the past upon our futures, how are we to ever see the chances of a new and improved beginning?"

"They can still be individuals in their own right. I completely understand your reasons for the choice. Yet, that gives no jurisdiction as to why you would go ahead and change a perfectly good momentum that has been going on for decades." Shikaku could not but help to have the seeds of doubt that the Hokage had no idea as to what his methods entailed.

"I apologize for not telling you in advance, Shikaku. But, my decision is final. Out of that miniscule positive, I can only see the countless amount of negatives that 'tradition' has constantly repeated. I wish to break that chain and leave behind the steel for the ninjas of tomorrow to sanctify." The finality in the Hokage's tone left the facially scarred jonin awestruck. When the foot had been put down, there was no way that even he could be the one to lift it up.

"Of course, sir." Shikaku bowed in respect and turned towards the door prepared to exit the futile argument. Three steps were made before he paused on his stride. He turned back and asked what had suddenly plagued his mind. "Could I at least be informed as to those who he will be teamed with? Including, his sensei?"

As a response, the Hokage smirked and opened his lips to tell of those who would join the son of the Nara clan head: Shikamaru Nara.

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"… Sakura?"

A girl with vibrant pink hair and gorgeous green eyes looked up at the call of her name. Her tongue ceased attacking the sugary chocolate sweet that with every contact contrasted with a chill against the heated muscle. She donned a light yellow dress with green ribbons sewn onto the bottom rim. Her curiosity had been peaked during her administrations by her blonde headed friend.

"What is it, Ino?"

Ino wore a glittery purple spaghetti tank-top with grey shorts. Her feet rocked back and forth as her blue eyes looked up to the sky that resembled her pupils. She seemed to be struggling to say whatever was obviously on her mind to her oblivious friend. The vanilla ice-cream cone she held was held aside. Before Sakura could prod once again, Ino took to finally saying what had been on her mind.

"Do you… Do you have a crush on Sasuke?" While Ino sat more deeply in her unrest after confessing to what she had conjured up in her mind, Sakura sat at a loss to why the question was so hard to answer. She could admit that the boy Ino had mentioned was cute, but nothing more nor less.

"No." A silence rang after Sakura's response to the question. The two girls sat with their backs on the bench and their words circulating through the others mind.

"… You're lying!" Sakura was taken aback by the viciousness that overtook her best friend's voice.

"Wh-what?"

"You're lying! You have to be! No one can resist Sasuke! Not even you, forehead!" Taken aback by that response, Sakura's face flashed with the hurt. To call her a name that only reminded her of a period where she felt nothing but despair at the idea of her person was a slap to the face.

"If I liked him, I would have told you! What's your problem?"

"No! You wanna know why?! Because it would make it just that much easier for you to sink your teeth where they don't belong!"

"Ino!"

"Even if you don't like him now, what's stopping you?!" A wind combed through the scalps of the equally heated girls. Suddenly, Ino rose out of her seat and smashed the treat in her hand on top of Sakura's head. Tensions invaded the air and the two of them as tears trailed down Sakura's plump cheeks. As Ino walked away, Sakura's throat was constrained with the countless amount of professions to cease this brawl.

"Why?" Ino stopped and held her head down to hide the fact that walking away was hurting her just as much. "I'd never take any opportunity away from you, Ino." A bitter smile stretched across the girl's hidden features.

"You're right…" Ino turned halfway to show her facial features scowling at the pinkette, "… Not if I can help it." She continued on forward away from her (once) closest companion.

While she watched her closest and only friend walk away from her, Sakura was left too distraught to notice the mess that began to melt down her palms from the crushed cone.

*Flashback Ends*

"Sakura! Hurry up! You don't want to be late!"

The yells of her mother reminded her that today was finally the day that she had worked endlessly to achieve: graduation. It would officially be her last time as an academy student and her first day of being a shinobi. Although it was the lowest ranked status as a ninja, being a genin would breed the lessons that would help her accomplish the goal that she had set after the day Ino had ceased their friendship. She returned her glazed gaze back to her mirror that showed the outfit that she deemed efficient enough to perform to her best standard. She donned a black sleeveless turtleneck that was slightly ruffled around the collar in order to avoid the feeling of being completely choked. Over it, she wore a mid-bicep sleeved cloud grey longline duster kimono. It trailed down reaching slightly above her knees. Eyes following downwards in what was reflected in the mirror, were cargo shorts reaching mid-thigh colored hunter green. Her right thigh and left calf were covered by mesh. The last thing was her black ninja sandals. The only accessories that she had were her fingerless gloves with brass knuckles capable of being infused with chakra to enhance her blows and her forehead protector which she tied across her forehead. Her hair was short-cut but tied into a spiky ponytail. All in all, she adored the look and felt that she was prepared to uphold the shared responsibility of her shinobi peers to protect their sacred village. She would be another dash of gasoline to enhance the flames of the Will of Fire. Deciding that she was done checking over herself, she grabbed her weapons pouch and placed it on the back of her waist. She left her room with one last look and went downstairs to eat breakfast. In the kitchen stood her mother whom was finishing up her bento box.

"All done. Here you go, Sakura. Now, you head out and make me proud. Don't forget the motto?"

"Kick ass and strip class?" Her mother bonked her on the head with a wooden spoon.

"Silly child. Do your best! Sheesh. Who the hell raised you to have such a smart mouth?" Sakura smiled at her mother's chidings. As soon as she noticed the rant coming to an end, Sakura snatched up her bento box, gave her mother a kiss, and went out the door excited for the day to come.

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"If your lazy ass does not get out of that damn bed in two minutes, I'm going to burn the damn mattress!"

A sigh escaped from the body that was ensnared by both fear and exhaustion from beneath silk stitched sheets. Brown eyes looked out of the window in the room to see the sun burning with an exuberance unquenched.

"What a drag." Shikamaru popped out of bed with his shinobi uniform on already prepared to escape from the tyranny that was… her.

"Not only will that bed be incinerated, but you along with it if I scream one more – oh, honey, you're awake." Yoshino Nara, a woman whose moods shifted faster than the direction of blades of grass caressed by the wind. Also known as –

"Yeah, mom." The mother of the to-be shinobi, Shikamaru Nara.

"I'm shocked to see that not only are you up, but you're already dressed."

"I woke up some time ago and decided I might as well prepare myself ahead of time. Might as well get there early so I can get some sleep in before hearing who I'm teamed with." Yoshino chuckled at her son's agitation.

"Smart idea. I hadn't considered thinking such a task would be too tedious for you to do. Well, except for that last part. Haha!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." It was only so I could I avoid those banshee hollers you label as a morning call. Grabbing his weapons pouch, he heard an unsettling crack as the hinges of his door fought to stay in place against the enraged tugs of his then furious mother.

What the hell did I do?! Oh man. This is bad. "Banshee hollers?!" Oh crap. Guess that thought slipped out. He ran out the window and continued running as his mother's voiced echoed. "You're dead when you get back to this house! Do you hear me, Shikamaru Nara?! Dead!"

When he got far enough, he let out a breath of relief.

Poor dad. He's gonna be the one getting berated instead of me. Putting his hands behind his head, the lazy ninja took to his path towards the academy to get news of who his teammates would be.

Troublesome.

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"Alright, everyone. Settle down if you'd please." The class being talked was filled with excitement, anxiety, and anticipation. The teams would be assigned and in just an hour after their lunch breaks, they would be introduced to the leaders of their quadrants. However, with all of that being said, most of the class were too busy moving their gums to notice the budding anger on Iruka's face. The vein on his forehead bulged out and his patience had wavered thin. "Either all of you are going to shut the hell up or I swear I will revoke you all of your headbands!" Everyone sat down with their lips tightly sealed after the angered threat. "Good. Now, before I start announcing the teams, I'd just like to once again congratulate you guys. I hope to see your faces stand in line with those willing to risk their lives every day for the safety and security of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" Some of the students smiled, while others cheered (or yelled, in Naruto's case). Faces beamed with pride and contempt at reaching this point. None knowing of what the future would entail past this point. "Now, let's begin. Starting off with Team 1!"

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In the back of the classroom, near the window sat two people with an empty chair in between them. Shikamaru and Sakura never necessarily disliked each other yet they never really interacted to begin with. Shikamaru preferred fading in the background and absolving himself from being acknowledged for most of his years in the academy. Other than incidents involving pranks with other boys in the glass, he generally kept out of sight and hopefully, out of mind. Juxtaposed to Sakura who made it well known that she was widely intelligent as well as skilled. Although she lacked the abilities of those whose clans possessed either kekkei genkai, she ensured that her success fell upon pure effort. She pushed herself, whether it be in textbook knowledge or ninjutsu and ensured a place as one of the brightest, if not the brightest, in the class. Returning to the present moment, Shikamaru was observing the sky from his posture, head leaning into his hand with the elbow resting on the desk. A chair space across from him was Sakura with her arms crossed, letting one of her fingers twirl her left bang in circular motions. Both obviously had things in their mind yet refrained from speaking them out loud. That is until Sakura's curiosity got the best of her.

"Which two people do you think you're likely to be paired with?" It was said out loud but Shikamaru knew the question was directed at him. He pondered the question yet showed no signs of even hearing it. Before she could ask it again, he turned towards her with a somewhat puzzled face.

"The only people I could come up with that are the most likely choices are Ino and Choji. That's not even based on our skillsets either. Our families have coincided with one another on the battlefield for as long as the village has been what it is. I don't necessarily find it to be a bad idea. But I doubt that the village would start thinking past old dynamics that seemingly work well."

"I was gonna say why not settle for what works well but I get what you're saying. Why just settle for satisfactory quadrants when we can mix up different shinobi possessing different talents in order to orchestrate what could be a force none would reckon with? I'm not surprised that you of all people would think that through." Shikamaru was taken aback with her response.

"Me of all people? What do you mean by that?"

A smirk bloomed on Sakura's face. "Regardless of how high or low your grades are, I'm not exactly one to associate a piece of paper with the mechanisms of how a person's mind works." Sakura turned to him with a smirk still perched on her lips and her eyes glistening with mirth. "Don't observe the word for you'll be misled by all you've learned. It's a little tacky philosophy but it helps me see what many don't care to show."

Shikamaru steeled his eyes before responding. "What is it exactly that I'm afraid to show?"

"Apparently, the thing you're showing right now: the need to know and the drive to knowing it." Shocked could not capture the description of Shikamaru's emotional reaction to what he had just heard.

She's not one to play with. Shikamaru couldn't help the thought that this was someone past being a mere observer. This was a full-fledged kunoichi in front of him. Not one of his classmates who have yet to enter the field of battle but a shinobi. On one hand, he was taken off guard and that was a frightening feeling for someone like Shikamaru. On the other hand, he was intrigued by this discovery.

"Hmph. You must play a mean game of shogi I bet." Sakura laughed at Shikamaru's response to her analysis of his character.

"I don't even know what shogi is." Before Shikamaru could respond, something told him to shut up and listen for a second.

"Shikamaru! Shut up and listen!"

Oh. Make that someone. His eyes turned to the front of the classroom at Iruka sensei fuming.

"Sorry Iruka sensei." Sakura chuckled aside from him at being the only one of the two of them caught.

"Anyways, Team 10: Shikamaru Nara, Shino Aburame", Shikamaru turned his head to look at the student called out, "and Sakura Haruno." Ino-Shika-Cho was no longer at that moment. But Shikamaru saw what the Lord Hokage spoke of that morning to his father. This was the outcome of the need for change. This was the opportunity for a better future and an improved Village Hidden in the Leaves. This was where the spark of the Will of Fire began.

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I hope you guys like it. I decided not to tell you guys the sensei yet because I am still debating. The pairings of the other rookie nine will be announced as well. I have already chosen them. I'd like to update this story every three to four weeks if possible. No promises though! Haha!