Chapter 1: The Next Generation

Over at the Shinobi Academy, the place was very crowded for some reason at Twelve 'O' Clock in the afternoon. The Academy's school yard was full of children, all of them were conversing amongst each other. But if you looked more closely, you would notice that somebody was missing. A certain pony-tailed kunoichi was nowhere to be found.

"Man, where the heck should I put this..." said the pony-tailed kunoichi as she tried to figure out where to place her headband. Apparantly, she was in the girl's bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. "...now should I wear it around my waist like a belt, or should I wear it on my forehead like everyone else?" and thus, she started to scratch her head in frustration because she couldn't figure anything out.

It was then at that moment that an idea had struck her like a bolt of lightning. She grabbed her headband and tied it around her right thigh. She stood up straight and smiled at herself in the mirror. "Damn, I didn't even know that I was this cute!" she exclaimed as she turned around and headed out of the bathroom.

As she reached outside, a warm feeling suddenly came over her. she looked around and noticed all of the kids talking. Some were leaving with their parents by their sides, others were running around and yelling, and one boy was picking his nose while sitting on the swing. Besides that...she liked things like this when everybody was happy.

She slowly started to walk towards the crowd, getting ready to head home, but then..."Hey Kari!" a voice yelled as the mystery person ran towards her. Kari slowly turned around and noticed a boy with long spiky blonde hair and white eyes. As he got closer to Kari, he stopped and placed his hands on her knees. "Hold on...I just need...to catch....my...breath." said the boy in-between breaths as he wiped her forehead.

Kari just chuckled and patted the boy on his head. "Hey Takato, your really excited today. What's the special occasion?" Takato's head shot up as a grin formed on his lips. Dangling from his neck, was a konoha headband with a leaf symbol on it. "Like you don't know. Were actually ninja of our village now, why aren't you excited?"

"I am..." Kari replied as she turned her head away from him, a confident smile on her lips. "...but I try to conceal my happiness, mostly because I don't want to humilate myself in public." Takato's grin turned into a pout as he turned away from Kari. "Oh, you know I'm kidding. So, what are you doing later on today?"

"My dad is gonna teach me a super-cool Jutsu as soon as I get home. What about you?" Kari just shook her head to answer his question. "Nothing special really. I was gonna go and enjoy a nice bowl of Ichiraku Ramen. I'll see you later." and she walked away from him, still close enough where she could hear Takato's small "bye" from behind her.

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Kari sat in the Ichiraku Ramen bar. It was getting kind of late, and she was the only person in there. She stared down into her barely full Ramen Bowl with sad eyes. "Wow, I graduated. I'm now a full kunoichi of m village. Now...how come I'm not happy?" she asked herself in her mind. "I should be happy. I mean, Takato was so cheerful today! Still...he must not know what happens tomorrow. We might end up being split apart...and I don't want that to happen." she stared into her bowl for a few more seconds before finally snapping out of her trance.

"Ayame-sama, I'm finished with my Ramen. I'll leave the money on the table." and she got up from her chair and walked out into the foggy mist of the night sky. She stared straight ahead with determined eyes, her hair blowing in the calm and serene wind. "Well, whatever happens tomorrow...happens. I have to be strong...for the both of us."

~A day in Konoha ends...what happens tomorrow?~