A/N: This is just something I felt that the story was missing - a beginning. I needed something to sort of sum up the theme of the story - or, at least, one of the themes. I just did this in about ten minutes, so it's nothing special, but I feel that it's needed.
Emotions…
Everybody has them, everybody feels them…
It's just a matter of whether or not they allow these emotions to be seen anywhere above the surface.
It is supposedly a teaching that true shinobi are heavily advised to keep their emotions to themselves – or, better still – to simply rid themselves of any and all emotions.
Love, hate, joy, sorrow… These all obscure a shinobi's mind, distracting them from their missions - clouding their judgement – deceiving them from what is right and what is wrong, confusing what is necessary with personal opinions.
And this was fact for many generations of shinobi. It was out of the ordinary to see one raise an eyebrow in the face of danger. Faced with death, their expressions remained as blank as they always were. They loved simply to breed – those who did it out of personal choice were seen as unfit to be among the ranks of the shinobi.
But, as time went by, these teachings became less and less apparent throughout the land. Missions were no longer completed without a hint of joy, but with huge celebrations. Personal opinions often took a role in the duties of a shinobi, changing the course that missions took.
A phrase by one Hatake Kakashi perfectly summed up the beliefs of many ninja, "Those who don't follow the rules are trash . . . but those who abandon their friends are lower than trash."
As it was, after a long mission away from Konoha, two of the three applicants were enjoying their success with a little more enthusiasm than elder shinobi would've liked to see… But they didn't care. They were the new generation – they were the now…
A/N: Just as a note - I may or may not be going over previous chapters and 'editing' the content. That is to say - I realise just how much better my writing style is now than when I began all the way back in June 2008. Don't take my word for this - I may simply just end up continuing the story, but, re-reading my first three or four chapters, I can see areas for improvement.
But that's enough from me - enjoy the story if you haven't started it yet, and, if you have - keep in tune for new updates on Fushigakure!
-Dan
Oh, and to answer a question 'Darkangel65' asked me - I did mean to write 'They loved simply to breed'. What I meant was that they only loved to create offspring, and in turn create more shinobi. I can see how the confusion came about - it's not very clear - but that's what I meant by it. Hope it helps!