Team 7

Standing in the entryway of her small household, Ichgio frowned as her father continued to fawn over her, checking to make sure that she was fully prepared to face her first day of official Genin training.

“Do you have your kunai knives and your shiruken? What about the new summoning scroll I gave you for Hotaru? And your shoes- you have both your shoes on, right? Did you brush your teeth this morning?” he fretted, nervously circling her and checking every inch of her person as if to find a reason to make her stay. And this guy is a legendary Jonin? She thought with a small giggle.

“Yes, Father, I have my kunai and shiruken right here,” she nodded, patting the holster strapped to her right thigh, a small distance below her hip. “My summoning scroll is back here, where you told me,” she added, turning her back so her father could see the rolled-up scroll pinned underneath her sword sheath. “I have both my shoes-“ She raised her feet so her father could see. “And of course I brushed my teeth this morning!” For added effect, she grinned widely to show her father her clean, white teeth. Immediately after her careful explanation, Ichigo heard a loud knock at the door. “That’s Naruto! I have to go now!”

“I really don’t like you hanging out with that boy,” he pouted, and Ichigo cried out as he wrapped her in a big hug. “Oh, I’m so proud of you,” he beamed happily and nuzzled the top of her head with his cheek. Ichigo spit her long white hair out of her mouth and squirmed out of her father’s muscular arms.

“Dad! Please, I really have to leave!” she laughed and bolted out of the door before he could grab her once more. She closed it behind her and smiled to Naruto, huffing, “Let’s go, shall we?”

“Lemme guess- your dad gotcha with the iron grip, huh?” Naruto laughed, putting his arms behind his head and grinning. “He seems more like a mom to me.” Ichigo giggled and began walking.

“He’s more like both. I mean, he always had to be.”

The pair walked through the bustling village city until they arrived to the village’s entrance, where they spotted two forms waiting for them. Ichigo recognized them as her previous classmates, who were now her teammates along with Naruto. She became incredibly nervous, and glanced at Naruto with an unsure expression. “Do you think they’ll like me? I’m not very popular…”

“I dunno. They don’t like me very much,” Naruto shrugged, strolling right up to the pair. The pink-haired girl, Sakura Haruno, pointed angrily at him with a vicious scowl.

“Naruto, you’re late! Sasuke and I have been waiting here forever!” she snapped, then gave a fawning look to the dark-haired, serious boy standing next to her who had his hands in his pockets and a disinterested look on his face. “Isn’t that right, Sasuke~?” she purred, and Ichigo could have sworn she saw the girl’s pupils turn into hearts when the boy replied, “Yeah.” Like nearly every other girl in her graduating class, Sakura had an immense crush on the edgy youth; Ichigo had to admit that the boy was attractive, but didn’t see the point in pawing over him when it was quite obvious that he had no interest whatsoever.

“Relax, Sakura, I decided to walk with Ichigo, okay?” Naruto grumbled, obviously disappointed that she had attacked him so maliciously. With this, Sakura and Sasuke both turned to regard Ichigo, and she shyly waved to them with an embarrassed look.

“H-hello. I’m Ichigo Tsukihana, your new teammate. I look forward to working with you,” she stammered. She had practiced the line all morning, hoping to make a good impression on them. She was disappointed when Sakura huffed and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow.

“I thought that Genin squads were only supposed to be three-man cells,” she frowned.

“Great. Another loser to drag me down,” Sasuke muttered, kicking a pebble. Ichigo glanced down at her feet, searching for a way to defend herself. After a moment, she gathered her confidence to assert her right to be on the team.

“The Hokage made this arrangement. I know that it’s unusual, but I plan to make every effort to contribute and not drag you three down,” she said firmly, glancing up to stare Sakura in the eyes. This seemed to pacify her, as she uncrossed her arms, and her expression grew less fierce.

“Is that so? Well, then, I guess that’s that,” she shrugged, then turned as someone landed behind her.

“Good, you’ve all gotten yourselves acquainted with one another,” Kakashi mused, and Sakura now pointed the accusing finger at him.

“That’s because you’re late!” she screeched, and Kakashi only sighed before turning to address Ichigo.

“I got lost,” he shrugged, and both Naruto and Sakura erupted into a fit of complaints. The way the team interacted was a marvel to Ichigo, and she found herself smiling happily as she watched them bicker. Happiness bubbled up in her chest as she realized that these people were who she would rely on from this point on, and she hoped that she would grow as close to them as they already were to each other. So lost in her thoughts, she jumped when Kakashi asked, “So, Ichigo, one final thing before we set off on our mission today. I asked these three this when I first met them, so it’s only fair I do it for you. Introduce yourself for us; give us your likes, your dislikes, your hobbies, your dream- that kind of thing.”

“Oh!” she cried, unprepared for such a request. “Well, let’s see… I’m Ichigo Tsukihana. I like heights and stargazing, and I dislike spicy food. As for hobbies, I suppose taking walks at night and training. And, my dream…” she paused, contemplating the subject. “My dream used to be becoming a ninja. Now that I’ve already done that… I suppose my dream would have to be…” she trailed off, unable to come up with anything. The prospect puzzled her; now that she had achieved what she had wanted, what was her dream? Before Kakashi could interrupt, she finally came to a conclusion. “My dream is to becoming a legendary ninja, a ninja so great that the entire world knows my name! That way, when people think of the Tsukihana, they’ll think of the good things I’ve done- not the bad things the rest of my clan has done,” she smiled.

The four of them blinked at her, stunned into silence. Then, Naruto snickered and gave her a big grin and a thumbs-up.

“I think that’s an awesome dream! When I’m Hokage, I’ll make sure the whole world knows how great you are!” he cried, and Sakura sighed and shook her head.

“Oh, brother, there he goes again…” she muttered, throwing her arms up in defeat. “Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you, they don’t let just anyone become Hokage!”

“Shut up! I’m gonna be Hokage someday!” he objected, and as the two began to argue Kakashi stepped between them with a sigh.

“All right, enough, you two. We’ve wasted enough time as it is. We have missions to complete today, if you haven’t forgotten,” he instructed. Then, he turned on his heel and began walking out of the village. His three pupils followed after him, bickering all the way, but Ichigo hesitated for a moment as she glanced over her shoulder at the village. This is it, she thought with a big smile as she took off running after her new team. From this point on, I’m a member of Team 7!