new Team 7

Chapter 2

He rested his chin on his intertwined fingers, his eyes focused and looking forward. The day had finally arrived. They would tell him what he was supposed to do now that he had accomplished the rank of gennin. He was only twelve years old, but his brother had graduated from the academy when he was seven. Being the younger of the two, he had spent his entire life trying not only to catch up to him, but to surpass and defeat him.

Now he just wanted to kill him.

He could get one step closer to that desire if he was assigned a team leader who would actually teach him, who would take him as his student and make the most out of him.

His teachers at the academy had labeled him a 'genius' and it was time to show it. He was intelligent enough to learn anything. And he possessed the grim determination to become the greatest ninja in Konoha and finally face Itachi. He had to make him pay for all the pain he had brought to his life, for the massacre of their clan, for his loneliness.

Every step I take, I get closer to you, Itachi Uchiha.

He clenched his fingers tightly, ignoring the ache. He didn't even notice the complete chaos in the classroom...all the talking, yelling and laughter. Most of them spoke only nonsense anyway. They didn't seem to understand that it didn't matter who graduated from the academy or who didnt; it was about who would live or die on the road. At that moment, he was determined to be one who survived and he knew he would kill anyone who was stupid enough to get in the way of his destiny: fulfilling the vengeance of his clan.

"Good morning, Sasuke-kun!"

He glanced to see who was calling him, the rest of his inexpressive face motionless. He knew perfectly well who that annoying voice belonged to. It was one of those brainless girls that had been obsessing over him since the academy and just wouldn't stop bothering him. They called themselves his "fans". In his eyes, they didn't even exist.

Her name was Sakura. He knew that. She had been following him around wherever he went, unable to understand that his silence towards her wasn't an act of arrogance or an attempt to act cool; he simply had nothing to say to her. He didn't care about her at all. His mind was completely focused on his objective, on his goal and dream.

When will she realize she means nothing to me? When will she leave me alone?

"Can I sit next to you?" The girl asked.

He just stared back at her with hostility. Maybe that way she would get the message through her thick skull. He didn't want to sit next to someone who wouldn't stop talking to him, constantly interrupting his thoughts, unrelenting in her pursuit to break that wall he had created between the world and him. All he wanted was to listen to the instructions they were about to give him in peace, and then get out of that place.

That's why he didn't answer. If she was even a vaguely intelligent girl, she would understand his silence.

"Hey! I was going to sit next to Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke moved his eyes from the pink haired girl to the blond one next to her. The slightly more attractive girl, but who was as simple and persistent as Sakura, was called Ino Yamanaka.

"First come, first serve!" Sakura Haruno complained.

"I came into the classroom before you!" Insisted Yamanaka.

"I did!" Haruno whined.

Soon the table was surrounded by girls from all the classes, not just his. Some of them he had never seen before and he didn't even know all the names of the ones he had. The only thing that seemed to matter to them was sitting beside him. Should he be flattered by this?

"No, me!"

"I want to sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"I arrived here before any of you!"

"I want to be close to him!"

"Sasuke-kun is mine!"

How annoying...- He thought as he turned his face forward once more.

Did any of those girls even know him? Did any of them attend his parent's funeral? Did any of them even talk to him before that? Did any of them try to see beyond his appearance? Of course not. If they had been that close they would've seen the monster forming inside of him; they would have run away terrified.

No one knew him. None of the girls in the class did because honestly, none of them had taken the trouble to do so. Nobody knew what he was capable of. They admired him because of his clan name; they felt curiosity because they knew he was the last of the Uchiha. They would speak to him because he was the best in the class. It had always been like that, they chased him as if he was honey and they were flies.

All of them, except one.

Even now, when all of those girls wanted to sit next to him, she remained sitting quietly on the other side of the room, with a strange expression on her face, distracted and withdrawn. She never approached him. Maybe she was afraid of him? And if she was, then that was smart. He was an Uchiha, and Uchiha were meant to be feared.

But what caught his attention now was the way that Hyuga girl was staring at...Naruto? Bah! She was a complete idiot too, like everyone else in that clan. The only thing interesting about her was how useless she was, considering Neji Hyuga had been the best gennin of his generation and someone he wanted to defeat if the occasion ever arose. Neji would be a great opponent to gauge his strength on.

Sasuke was thrilled he wouldn't have to see Hinata Hyuga, nor Sakura Haruno or Ino Yamanaka, and any of those other dumb girls in "The Sasuke Uchiha Fan Club" ever again.

Besides, they were all weak. He was sure they would end up performing some useless job inside the Village; one with a low mortality rate and little probability of failure. The perfect vocation for simpletons like Ino or Sakura would be medical ninjas. For someone like Hinata Hyuga, he didn't even expect that. With a little bit of luck her father would manage to marry her off to a rich feudal lord. It was in her best interest to forget the whole ninja thing; it just wasn't something meant for someone like her.