Hm.

Not first, nor last. I was about in the top quarter of the graduating class.

Acceptable, barely.

I was in a room of children that I did not at all recognise. My rapid shuffling around in the Academy years had made it so that I never stayed in a classroom for long enough to really know any of the other children.

And now I was graduating. In a single year.

Just like Itachi.

Father had been happy. It was somewhat of a surprise to me that it wasn't just because of the prestige and reputation gain of possessing a powerful heir, but he was genuinely proud of me, and he had said so.

I would like to think that in the past few years, with all of Hanada's tutelage and lessons, that Byakugan or not I could read people rather well. And Father had open in showing that he was not just proud of me as an heir, but me as a son.

It was an odd feeling. By how much Father liked to talk of Itachi and 'those blasted Uchiha' (never those exact words), it was a pleasant surprise to know that he did care. He was more than a cold clansman head.

As a parent should.

It made me a bit fuzzy inside the think of it.

The forehead protector, hard-won, had been tied around my head and pulled back my choppy purple hair from my eyes. I fingered the metal absently, only half-listening to the chunin instructor giving the graduation speech.

I had noticed that, somewhat strangely, not a single Hyuuga of the Main House wore anything to cover their foreheads. Only one or two actually wore their forehead protectors and those that did had had it tied either around their neck, on an arm, or around their waist.

Whether sheer coincidence and personal preference or an unconscious pride of their lack of a seal, they all did so.

But I did not. My forehead protector with Konoha's crest gleamed proudly upon my forehead, covering it. It was minor, not even breaking any set written tradition, but it set me apart from the rest of the Head House. An added bonus was that it helped just the tiniest bit to make me more similar to the Branch House, all of whom covered their foreheads in any way that they could. Or at least making it less awkward for me to be one of the only ones without a covered forehead.

I sensed a shift in the rest of the students, a little shuffle and fidgetting indicative of nervousness and anxiety and listened back fully on the speaking chunin instructor.

Ah, teams were to be announced.

"Team 3," the instructor called out, reading from his papers, "Will be comprised of Tanaka Yomi, Watanabe Yuki, and Saito Eiko to be led by jounin Shirakumo Hayama."

And so it went. I admit, I myself had gotten caught up in the excitement. This was the most important turning point of my life thus far, my team would be my team for the foreseeable future, and there was a good chance that we would be working closely together even after life as genin, for the rest of our careers.

"Saito Akito, Yamamato Eisen, and Takahashi Eisuke will make up Team 5, to be lead by..."

It was a life-changing event, really. Who exactly my jounin-sensei was would change everything. If they were a taijutsu-specialist like Maito Guy, then I'd refine my close-range combat. If they were a genjutsu specialist like Kurenai, then I'd likely pick up some of those and incorporate them into a fighting style.

My teammates were equally important. They would determine what sort of role I would play and our compatibility and overall competence would be the deciding factor in my continued survival.

"And Hyuuga Haruka..."

I perked up at the sound of my name and began raptly paying attention.

"Nakamura Misaki..."

A civilian-born girl. Not bad. I looked around the room a bit, trying to discern who it was. I think it was the girl with the brown hair sitting in the front. She seemed to be having a slightly larger reaction to the call than any others. It was difficult to tell, though.

"And Uchiha Amane..."

...

Crap.

What were the Academy teachers thinking? Putting an Uchiha on the same team as a Hyuuga? That was... hoo boy. It's not as if I particularly disliked the Uchiha anyway, just felt a bit... uncomfortable around people bearing the name. Knowing their doomed fate was equally disconcerting, that they would die. Amane herself seemed far more displeased than I was, likely leaning into the historic rivalry more heavily.

That is if her indignant squawking and demands to switch teams was anything to go by.

There would be much work to do in terms of teamwork if this team was to have any chance of survival.

At the very least, I could be relatively certain in Amane's competence. Being from the Uchiha Clan meant a certain level of training was to be expected after all. She would hold her own weight.

"Will make up Team 7," the instructor continued, "To be lead under jounin Hatake Kakashi."

That...

That was terrible.

Perhaps the worst possible outcome.

"And for what it's worth," the chunin went on, droning over Amane's continued protests, "I'm sorry."

I folded my arms together on the desk in front of me and put my head down. There was a migraine coming, I could feel it. I would need to lie down later. This was an unmitigated mess.

My mind was not one to rest in misery, however, and I churned with thoughts of how we were supposed to get into a semi-cohesive unit, at least enough to pass Kakashi's bell test.

The room slowly emptied as the other genin were assigned their teams and happily left with their jounin senseis, eventually the instructor even leaving giving us a pitying look as he did. All the while the three of us: Misaki, Amane, and I, sat in a tense silence in the room. Amane, in contrast to her earlier protestations, sat with her arms crossed, sullenly and quietly fuming. Misaki twirled her light brown hair around her finger, fidgetting awkwardly.

Misaki, bless that girl, was the first to break the silence.

"Maybe..." she stuttered, "Maybe we could introduce ourselves? We'll be a team from now on, right?"

I looked up from my arms at her. Amane didn't even bother, sitting in her own cloud of brooding.

"I'll go first?" Misaki fidgetted a bit more, shifting around and brushing her hair back, "My name is Nakamura Misaki. I like dango and mochi. I dislike cold tea, and, er... my favourite colour is green."

She blushed a bit as she trailed off and finished.

I was actually rather impressed. Even as an adult, I probably wouldn't have had the courage to speak up at all in a group scenario, especially if there was a cutting sort of silence. Being here had slightly bled that out of me, but habits still remained.

Seconds carried on as Misaki shrank back on herself, neither Amane or I introducing ourselves. My mind raced to put together a hasty introduction. I'd hate for Misaki to get no response after putting herself out there.

"My name is Hyuuga Haruka," I slowly began, "I... also like dango. I like my sister and my friend and training as well."

I chewed on my lip a bit as I tried to put together the components of the exemplar introduction that Misaki had given. Likes, dislikes, and favourite colour, I think. A bit different from what Kakashi would ask, but that was fine.

"My favourite colour is purple, I suppose."

Misaki tentatively smiled, "That's nice."

I nodded.

Amane refused still to talk, and no amount of hopeful looks would get an introduction out of her. Misaki and I thus spent the rest of the time before Kakashi arrived in silence, punctuated only by small bits of idle chatter.