Melted Snow (Discontinued)

Chapter Two

        I yawned, having been woken up early by Kakashi and told to go to the academy. I was probably going to be late though since I had gotten lost several times and had to retrace my steps before finding the right direction. When I entered the classroom, I had gained everyone's attention since I was interrupting a lecture. I looked around, then gave a sheepish laugh when the students consisted of five year-olds.

        "Oops, wrong room."

        "Iruka's class is across the hall," the sensei said in amusement.

        I nodded gratefully, closing the door and going to the opposite room. I was still the center of attention, but this time all the kids looked my age. I grinned triumphantly, and walked in.

        "Found it!"

        "You must be Yuki Murakami."

        "Yup! And this must be the group of people lucky enough to meet me!"

        "Uh...right. Class, this is Yuki Murakami. She will be on one of your teams."

        "What?! How come she gets to be a ninja? She didn't even take the graduation exam!" a boy in a loud orange jumpsuit shouted.

        "Ha! I'm just that amazing!"

        "Er...she performed and passed flawlessly for the Hokage."

        Several hands shot up into the air when Iruka finished, and when he didn't pick anyone, I pointed at a guy with a dog on his head.

        "State your name and then say what you want," I demanded, making him roll his eyes.

        "I'm Kiba Inuzuka. Where are you from?"

        "The Land of Hail," I answered, then pointed at a girl with pink hair.

        "I'm Sakura Haruno. Do you see anyone you like?"

        I stared at her. "What kind of question is that? I don't even know anyone."

        My answer made her blush, and sink into her seat. I rolled my eyes, then pointed to a blonde.

        "I'm Ino Yamanaka. Who do you think is the cutest guy in here?"

        I groaned, then looked around to answer her question and get these stupid questions out of the way.

        "I don't know. They're all pretty cute. If anyone else has questions related to boys, put your hands down now." Three hands went down, all belonging to girls. I nodded in satisfaction when I saw there were no more hands, then looked at Iruka.

        "Alright, you can take a seat in any open space you like. I was in the middle of listing the teams before you came in."

        I nodded, looking round the room. When I didn't see any appealing seats, I just sat on the floor where I was. I crossed my legs, and leaned back on my hands. I returned the weird looks I was getting with a cocky grin.

        "Alright then," Iruka said awkwardly, then proceeded to list the teams.

        "Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno," I laughed as Naruto cheered and Sakura slumped, "Sasuke Uchiha," more laughter as their roles reversed, "and Yuki Murakami."

        "Wooh! Lucky you guys!"

        "But sensei, why does an amazing ninja like me have to be on the same team as that loser?!"

        "Balance, Naruto."

        "Huh?"

        "These teams are configured so each one has a balance in skill. Sasuke got the top scores in the class, you got the worst."

        "Sensei, if that's true, then why is Yuki on our team?" Sakura asked.

        Iruka looked at me, and I shrugged.

        "I'm not sure, Sakura, you'll have to ask your new sensei."

        After that, he finished listing the teams. I yawned, feeling no need to pay attention now that I knew which team I was on. I laid on the floor, throwing my arm over my eyes and began to drift off.

        I groaned when I felt a foot prodding into my side, and swatted at it with my free hand. When it persisted, I moved my arm a little to glare at it's owner.

        "What?" I snapped at the blond.

        "You were asleep, and I wanted you to be awake for when our sensei arrived," he said, crossing his arms.

        I sighed, using my hands to sit myself up and support my torso. I looked around to see that our team was the only one left I'm the room. I frowned in confusion, looking back up at Naruto.

        "Where is everyone?"

        "Gone, our sensei is really late."

        I looked back at Sakura and Sasuke, staring for a moment. Bubblegum and Blue Jay. Perfect. Easy to remember. I grinned at my new nicknames, too busy patting myself on the back to notice Naruto's antics.

        "Naruto, what are you doing?" Bubblegum screeched.

        I looked over at the loud blond, laughing when I saw him placing an eraser in the door.

        "This'll teach our sensei to be late!"

        "Teme, do you really think a trained Jounin will fall for that?"

        "You're just jealous you didn't come up with it, Blue Jay."

        Before Sasuke, or Sakura for that matter, could respond, Kakashi showed up. The eraser plopped onto his head as soon he poked it into the room. Both Naruto and I started laughing, with Naruto shouting about how he actually fell for it.

        "Hmm. My first impression of you is...you're all idiots."