[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/923rM7Z.png[/img]

[color=gray][sub][center][color=C0ABB0][b]Location:[/b][/color] The Classroom of Hatake Toshiro, Konohagakure, Morning[/center][/sub]
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[INDENT][INDENT][INDENT][hr]
	Fortune had never favored Hatake Shunpei, but against all odds, he was going to become a shinobi of Konohagakure.

	It was not that he was a bad student. Far from it. But despite his efforts, he was not a good student, either. He was, however, the [i]last[/i] student--the last in theory, in training, and in general competence as a shinobi. This was no exaggeration, either; he had seen the results scroll (no doubt planted by his uncle and sensei, Hatake Toshirou, to guilt him into improving) yesterday with his own two eyes. 

	(It was working, by the way.)

	The genin-to-be was worried he would be held back like Uchiha Ria, but it turned out that was not the case. He would be graduating quite literally surrounded by all his best friends... Sort of. One of them, Hyuga Mitsuko, was in her favorite corner seat in the back despite being invited to sit with the rest of them up front. It was a shame she had rejected their offer, but he understood. His mom always told him not to force people against their will. He knew she was up here in spirit.

	Next to him was Inuzuka Kimura, writing in her journal with her trademark eagerness. Shunpei peered at what she was so fervently inscribing into her journal. It was in some strange, illegible code, but based on the scrambled array of diagrams, it seemed to have something to do with his household. A new trap formation maybe? 

	She flipped a page. This time she was writing about Tensai's hairstyle. Although he couldn’t really understand the content (but he could make a decent guess), her writing movements were soothing, and the sound of turning pages and charcoal on paper left the feeling of static running along his scalp. He only stopped watching once Uncle Toshirou manned the podium and drew everyone’s attention to the front for his big farewell speech--and the announcement of the class’s top ninja, whose identity came as no surprise to Shunpei. 

	After all, who knew Uchiha Tensai better than Shunpei himself?

	He looked past Kimura (which wasn’t difficult at all, considering the height difference) to the other end of their table, where the prodigy himself sat. Tensai looked more distant than ever. Not once--not during the announcement, not during the chaos, not during the resulting silence--did he express any joy over this announcement. He just sat there, thinking the thoughts of one who had just been blinded and orphaned

	Although Shunpei had been spared the finer details of the incident, his mother had filled him in on the broad strokes after returning from Uchiha compound one day in a terrible state. Apparently his mother had tried, and failed, to invoke her right as Aunt Narumi’s appointed guardian to take Tensai into their family. It seemed the will of the clan trumped even the will of the dead. 

	Shunpei couldn’t imagine the kind of pain he’d been going through, all alone in that clan compound (they wouldn’t even let him in when he’d tried), but seeing his best friend like this was troubling and frankly depressing. And the silence was deafening as Uncle Toshirou waited for Tensai to do or say something to kill time while waiting for the third sensei.

	The young Hatake began rising in his seat as well, fully prepared to do something stupid and senseless (as usual) to take the attention off Tensai and the awkward silence, but fortunately he didn’t have to. In that moment, a convenient interruption occurred: the arrival of the last sensei, a dirty-looking man with a bearing not unlike that of a Hatake shinobi.
 
	Now that all of them were accounted for, Uncle Toshirou introduced the three jonin. The dirty one was named, fittingly enough, Kagetsu Kitanai; the disapproving, well-muscled brunette was Sarutobi Matsuoka; and Tensai’s aunt was, in fact, Tensai’s aunt Shinatobe, eyeing the class like a crow would eye carrion.

	Of course, with introductions out of the way, Uncle Toshirou began assigning teams, which was as exciting as it was nerve-wracking. Especially as it became very evident Shunpei's name was not showing up any time soon.

	The first team to gather all its members--Sarutobi Matsuoka’s--was an eclectic bunch. As far as Shunpei could tell, their formation lacked an obvious specialty. He didn’t know anything about the sensei, but Enma, Inokikue, and Ria didn’t have any obvious commonalities in their three skill-sets, especially taking into account things like kekkei genkai and hiden. 

	In Shunpei’s mind, they were either going for a generalism or nepotism. Inokiku under a Sarutobi was as close to an InoShikaCho formation as you were going to get in a class without any Nara or Akimichi, and the Sarutobi clan were historically linked with the Senju. Why Ria had been placed there and not with her aunt was beyond him. Maybe it was supposed to use the Senju-Uchiha rivalry to create additional motivation, or maybe it was just rich folk looking out for other rich folk.

	By Shunpei's reckoning, Inokikue certainly seemed pleased with his state of affairs (despite being on the only team with another guy), but Ria was less so. Was she that displeased about not being assigned to an Uchiha, or had something happened between her and Inokiku? She [i]was[/i] kind of glowering at him and muttering strange things.

	The second team to assemble the brunt of its members was Kimura and Fukushu’s team, the one lead by Tensai’s aunt. Though it had not been completed, there was no doubt the remaining member was Tensai himself. He had gone from clan outcast to clan treasure in something like two weeks. Shunpei would eat his bonsai if the Uchiha clan would let anyone else teach “their” prodigy, especially now that he was blind.

	Now if it weren’t for Fukushu being assigned to that sensei, there would have been a real solid chance Shunpei could have been with his closest friends. They could have totally been a [i]thing[/i], like InoShikaCho, except they would be TenShuKimu and they would be 100x cooler. But maybe in another life. Unfortunately, it would be all Ten[i]Fu[/i]Kimu all the way down.

	Shunpei’s prediction was proven correct when he was assigned to Kagetsu Kitanai. 

	[color=C0ABB0]“Oof,”[/color] Shunpei winced. Seeing something coming didn’t mean it made the secondhand cringe any less painful. They really [i]did[/i] just put Fukushu and Tensai on the same team--underneath Tensai’s aunt, even! If he could switch with the poor guy, Shunpei would have, but even he knew full well the Hokage doesn’t take complaints from kids like him. At least Tensai had Kimura to keep him sane. 

	The second-to-last student took the long, inconvenient way around the table, which conveniently let him pass by Tensai. 

	[color=C0ABB0]“Reckon that means you’re on [i]her[/i] team, huh?”[/color] Shunpei took Tensai by the hand and gently pulled him out of the seat. To everyone else (except maybe the jonin, those-in-the-know, and the exceptionally perceptive students) it was just some brotherly, if awkwardly executed, gesture. Considering they were normally inseparable, this wasn't nearly as weird as it ought to have been.

	Tensai only made two faces in response: one of confusion, and one of realization. Given the circumstances, Shunpei didn't expect Tensai to be super talkative, but Shunpei could talk enough for the both of them.

	Once Tensai was upright, Shunpei threw his arm over his shoulder and grinned. [color=C0ABB0]“Ya know, I think this gettin' split thing just means they couldn’t handle all of us at once,”[/color] he half-whispered, leading him down the steps, [color=C0ABB0]“But hey, at least ya got Kimura. That's a plus.”[/color]

	After hitting level ground, Shunpei pulled his arm back and faced Tensai head on. [color=C0ABB0]“Looks like this is where we part,”[/color] he said, scratching the back of his head.

	[color=C0ABB0]“Guess I'll see ya 'round,”[/color] Shunpei said. He had almost reached out for a fist bump back then--a bad move to execute with a secretly blind kid who could hit better than you, for sure. Instead, he gave Tensai a single, powerful pat on the shoulder, as if it were the head of a majestic lion or the neck of a horse, [color=C0ABB0]“If ya ever need a hand, ya know where to go.”[/color]

	With that final exchange, Shunpei and Tensai parted ways and headed to their respective teams. 

	The team led by Kagetsu Kitanai wasn’t nearly as much of a powder keg as Uchiha Shinatobe’s. As far as Shunpei knew, there shouldn’t be any Fukushu-Tensai-level conflicts. After all, his teammates were Yakushi Tsume and...

	[color=C0ABB0]“Ah! Would ya look at that: we’re on the same team,”[/color] Shunpei greeted Mitsuko, [color=C0ABB0]“Ain’t that great, Honey Bun?”[/color]

	Why she had insisted on being addressed in such a way was beyond him, but he wasn’t so impolite as to deny such a request. Perhaps she would grow out of it now that they were debuting as proper shinobi.

	[color=C0ABB0]“Ah! Right! Where’re my manners?”[/color] Shunpei exclaimed, the tips of his ears taking on an embarrassed pink tint. He turned to properly face his team.

	Now that he was up close, Shunpei was able to get a better read on the man. His sensei didn’t seem nearly imposing as his height and build might have suggested--and what a build he had! There was no doubt this guy knew his stuff when it came to taijutsu, which made sense considering the team composition. Were they planning on developing Shunpei's taijutsu skills as well, or was there something else?

	Still, the most significant thing about the man was not in his form. It was in his eyes. Shunpei decided that they were like his mom’s: bright and world-weary. Compared to the other senseis’ eyes, the difference was like the sun and the moon. 

	[color=C0ABB0]“Kitanai-sensei!”[/color] Shunpei bowed deeply. [color=C0ABB0]“I’m Hatake Shunpei. Hope we can all work well together!”[/color]
[/INDENT][/INDENT][/INDENT]