Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

"That's enough!" Kiba shouted. "You guys were horrible!"

"Well, you're a Jonin; we're only Genin. We had no chance of winning." Saru said, panting.

"Look, monkey-boy, trust me; I know that. You could've done a lot better than that, though. All I did was step back and let you three collide. Only two minutes we've been doing this and you already lost – horribly!" Kiba said, exasperated.

Shaking his head Kiba continued. "I don't got the patience for this, right now. Go do whatever the hell you want. Just, leave me alone." With no other words, Kiba stalked away leaving the three Genin, staring glumly at the ground.

"That went well." Tae said cheerily, attempting to lighten the mood.

"No, it didn't. We screwed up big time." Saru sulked. "And it's all your fault, Tae."

"What? My fault? How?"

"You kept arguing with him. You wouldn't shut up about how you thought cats were better."

"Well, I'm a cat-master what did you expect. My family is going to kick his doggy butt."

"No, they aren't, because the can't. You're family tries to pick fights with the Inuzukas, all the time. You've never won once, or even come close to winning.

"Next time. Next time, we'll get them. Anyway, it's not my fault. I did fine during the actual fight – at least, the same as you."

"You are correct. During the battle, it was Fuji – not you – who let us down." Saru agreed, staring pointedly at the final member of their squad.

"Sorry guys." An obese girl with red pigtails apologized.

"It'll be fine, once you fix the problem." Saru responded.

"Don't be so hard on her." Tea defended. "She-"

"We need to keep up with the other Genin, meaning she needs to keep up with us. I do not wish to die in the field because she did not put enough effort." Saru interjected

"You are just like those other guys," Fuji whined. "Calling me 'Fugly Fuji', and a fat ass, and retarded and a worthless piece of--"

"It does not matter what others say about you. I could not care less what your reasons were; just as long as the problem is fixed – soon." Saru interrupted, before walking away, in the direction their instructor had left.

Kaito trudged home, after his mini quiz with Naruto, dismayed that he had done so horribly – not even able to land a hit.

"Defeat comes to every ninja; that is inevitable. How you handle the loss, is what determines the true strength of a ninja."

"Hey, Uncle Neji," Kaito mumbled, not looking up. He snorted wryly. "It's not like I'm not used to losing, though."

"And that will make you stronger."

"I was so sure I was going to win, though." Kaito complained.

"Underestimating opponents will undoubtedly cost you victories."

"Are you training to be a Wiseman? What's with all the sagely advice?"

"Do not change the subject. I have heard that your trainer is Naruto. Is this true?"

"Yeah."

"Feel fortunate. Though, he is an amazing ninja, his true strength lies in his mental resilience. If anyone should teach you how to be a ninja psychologically, it should be Naruto."

"Why?"

"You make a habit of asking the wrong people certain questions. If you wish to know ask Naruto, himself."

Cursing his cryptic Uncle, Kaito tramped the rest of the way. He was exhausted after his beating and fell asleep the second he fell into his bed.

Walking into the Jonin lounge, Naruto saw Kiba and Iruka sitting in two La-Z-boy chairs. Making his way over to them, he came into their conversation mid-way.

"Man, Iruka, you weren't kidding. These punks are horrible. One, seriously, could not throw a shuriken." Kiba laughed remembered the fat girl missing her target by a couple yards.

"Are you sure Kiba? Mine weren't nearly that bad, and I have the dead-last." Naruto asked as he plopped onto a large cozy couch.

"Well, yes, as a whole they are pretty bad. Nevertheless, Kiba, you had even more unfortunate luck, than the other instructors did. You see, you were placed with the team of complete dead weights." Iruka told them.

Kiba stood there his mouth agape. "Wait," Naruto, said, "I have the number one rookie, Reiji. Shouldn't that mean I have the worst, too? Either, Kaito or Lola?"

"Normally it would. Except we decided that instead of giving all three teams horrible chances of surviving we put the best six on one team, and stuck the remaining three, together." Ibiki said, as he entered the room. "Lucky, for you, Kiba, you shouldn't have to be an instructor for that long."

"That's total bullshit!" Kiba yelled. "What is wrong with you, sending an entire squad to its death."

"He's right. Being stronger than others doesn't necessarily make them more worthy of living than those weaker than them. You should've divided the strongest members amongst the group, because that's what the strong should do: protect the weak!" Naruto snapped.

"In a perfect world, you may be right. However, it is not that simple. If we had split them up, all of them had a much less chance of surviving. Think about it, what is better, three Genin dead and six alive, or all nine dead? Of course, there's still the chance all nine die anyway, but there odds are more in their favor now."

"You can't use only cold hard reason when dealing with the lives of others. It's-" Kiba growled.

"On the contrary, cold hard reason is much more efficient. Emotions and other weaknesses only lead to more deaths. You've been a ninja almost twenty years; it's past time you learned that lesson."

As Ibiki srolledout the front door, Naruto shot out of his seat, stalking out an opposite exit.

"What do you do when you look at the clouds?" Ino asked Shikimaru, as she found him under an oak, gazing at the sky. "Do you look for shapes? Ponder the meaning of life?"

Shikimaru sighed, taking his time to answer. "The point is I don't do anything. I just relax, clearing my mind from all the annoyances I have in my life."

Ino was qiet for a second, repecting Shikimaru's wish for silence. Finally, she burst. "Wanna ask how my day went?"

Groaning, he replied. "No."

"It was great." Ino chirped, ignoring Shikimaaur's repsonse. "My squad is exceptionally skilled – better than I thought at least – and very well behaved. Their teamwork is excellent. But, I'm still nervous I'll mess up. You believe in me, though. Right?"

Silence was all that answered.

"Shikimaru, are you considering me one of these annoyances you need to clear from your head?" Ino asked dangerously low.

"No, I am not. That was your cue."

"Huh? Cue for what?"

"You're way too stressed, right now. Just sit back and watch the clouds."

"That's silly." Ino wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Do you have anything better to do?"

"No," Ino grudginly admit. Sighing, she sat next to him under the great oak tree.

Ino and Shikimaru watched as the clouds floated through the heavens, as the sun sank deeper past the mountains, as the sky colored red, as the moon and stars came up lighting the serene, still night sky.

000

"Where's Kakashi?" Naruto asked, as he walked up to Sasuke and Sakura at Ichiraku's Ramen Stand. His two friends were seated at a booth talking animatedly. Well, Sakura was animated, while Sasuke was only a little more animated than usual.

"Late, as usual. Why did you even bother asking?" Sakura responded, scooting over to let Naruto sit down.

"Just making conversation." Naruto shrugged and turned to the server who had just walked up.

"Hello, my name is Oprah, and I'll be serving you tonight. I already have your friends' orders but what would you like?"

"Five bowls of miso ramen, please. After that, we'll have to see."

"How can you still eat so much? I understand when you were a kid you had a growth spurt, but now, how?" Sasuke asked, watching disgustedly, as his friend devoured bowl after bowl of noodles.

"He's still a kid. Naruto never has and never will grow up. I don't know whether that's good or bad."

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto paused to cheer, before inhaling more ramen.

"Yo." Kakashi said, appearing next to the table.

"You're late!" Sakura said casually. Naruto tried to say it too, but he ended up choking on his ramen. Kakashi hit his back, fixing the problem, before he sat next to Sasuke.

The accusation had lost its significance over the years. The only reason it was said was for a nostalgic ritual. It had become too ingrained in the two over the years, the neither could not wanted to stop yelling 'you're late' at Kakashi.

"As I was walking up a really big hill on my way here, I tripped and rolled all the way down, forcing me to start all over again." His excuses had not changed either. Still ridiculously absurd.

"So, Naruto, now you'll finally know what I had to deal with as a teacher. Good luck. You'll need it."

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad." Kakashi just stared blankly at Naruto with one eye. Naruto moaned. "I'm so screwed. These kids will be the death of me."

"No, you'll be perfectly safe - physically at least. You just can't go on any harder mission for a while." Kakashi replied, pulling out his novel.

"That's my point. I'll die of boredom by the end of the first month. It'll be a nightmare." Naruto groaned and hit his slumped his head onto the table.

"These kids need someone to care for them; you should feel honored to be apart of their youthful growth, Naruto." A voice shoutedfrom behind him. The entire restaurant had their eyes fixed on the table, with the strange man with green spandex standing by it.

"Hey, bushy-brows," Naruto said without picking his head up. "'Scuse me for not caring about their growth… but I don't."

"That is very selfish," Kakashi said, still not looking up from his book. "I remember someone who was upset because I trained Sasuke during the Chunin exams and not them. Just because you are no longer a student, doesn't mean education is no longer important."

"Look who's talking you did not want to teach us. You were bored as hell, same as me!" Naruto yelled, picking his head and jumping on the table.

Ignoring the finger of accusation pointed at him, Kakashi clarified. "I may have been bored, yes, but I did care about it. That's one of the reasons, I left the ANBU and became a regular Jonin."

"Are you sure it's not because ANBU is a joke, nowadays? They went from elite to little more than police officers. Their ranks are made up of Chunin who want to take on extra missions while preparing for the Jonin exam."

"You know, as well as I, that the ANBU was at its peak when I quit."

"See, Gai-sensei's greatest rival, Kakashi, understands its importance so you should, too."

"Rock Lee? You're still here? You were so quiet I thought you left." Naruto said climbing slowly back into his seat.

"Yosh! Yes, I am still here, but for no longer. I am needed by Gai-sensei. I only overheard your conversation and thought that you needed to be shown the truth about the youthfulness you must bring you students. I shall see you later." Dashing away, silence echoed throught the stand.

After the huge scene caused in the Ramen Stand, other families slowly started resuming their conversations that had been interrupted by a weird blonde man jumping on Oprah's table.

"So," Sasuke finally said to break the awkward silence that had enveloped their table. "You are my son's teacher?"

"Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. Yup, I am. He's a cool kid, you and Hinata should be proud."

"I wanted to watch his practice test that he had with you. Howver, I went to Rei's ceremony. Did you do the bell test, Kakashi did with us?"

"Yeah, they were all ok. Definite room for improvement, but after what Iruka said, I thought they couldn't even throw a punch."

"How did Kaito do?"

"He was reckless and cocky, and rushed at me first chance he got. First thing I need to do, is teach him to use his head."

Sasuke growled. "I've run through millions of scenarios with him, how could he react so harshly."

"He probably only underestimated me. I made a mess in the Academy and they thought I was a joke."

"That's even worse to hear. You are a Jonin, he should know that no one becomes a Jonin by fluke. Few survive the process to become Chunin and fewer still live to be Jonin."

"Don't be too hard on the kid." Kakashi interjected. "I know you desperately want Kaito to be a great ninja, but being harsh may not be the best way to go about it."

"Hn. I'm going home to talk with him about his day." Jumping over Kakashi, Sasuke walked out of the restaurant.

"Hey, Kakashi, how come you have never seen Kaito or Rei? You should meet them, since you were Sasuke's teacher and everything. I saw them around six years ago, and they were cute little kids."

"I've met Rei, and I'll meet Kaito when the time is right. I've got to go too. See ya." Kakashi disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Blinking at the abrupt exit, Naruto turned to the only other team seven menber still there besides him. "Well, Sakura, guess it's just you and me, what do you want to talk about?"

"Who do you think would win: the third Kazekage or the first Hokage?" Sakura asked, setting on a inconsequential topic to help them both relax.

Gaara never slept. Insomnia plagued him for his entire. Sometimes, it had its privileges, like being able to catch up on all the work that he had to do as Kazekage. Most of the time, however, it was an unbearable burden. It gave him too much time to think. It gave him too much time to remember. It gave him too much time open old scars, every single night.

Night after night, the grave was where he always ended up. He tried to avoid it, but an indiscernible force tugged him – forced him – there every time.

Gaara never knew where he wanted to be. Some nights, he was stuck in the past, remembering all the times they had had together – reliving every memory ingrained in his mind – both good and bad. Others he wished for the future. His memories were hated haunting of what he could never have, ever again.

"You changed me." He whispered to the grave.

Part of him wished that it would answer him. Wished he could hear her voice one more time.

Smiling wryly, at his how hopeless such a wish was, he plopped onto the ground, sitting cross-legged. After he set his large gourd next to him, he stared at the grave, dismayed to find that he could not form the words he so desperately wanted to say.

Gaara looked up and smiled. "A full moon is out, tonight. They used to drive me insane – literally. I was a mad killing machine driven by an insatiable lust for blood. I've mellowed out over the years thanks to you, and all the friends I gained."

"If my old self were to see me, well, I would have probably laughed at the fool, I became. But, now, I'm not so sure. Is it better to have loved and lost, or never loved at all?"

He paused, still hoping for an answer. He sat in silence, pondering his rhetorical question to himself. The moonlight bathed him and the grave, completely. So lost in thought he did not hear tiny footsteps echoing through the crisp, night air. A snap of leaves brought Gaara out of his musings.

"What are you doing, here? You should be asleep." He asked briskly, no nonsense.

"I had a nightmare, daddy. I can't sleep."

Gaara smiled. "Come here. I'll read you a story to sleep. Is that okay?" A nod was all that answered him, as she fell into his arms.

Picking the girl up, he turned and looked back at the grave once more.

"Bye-bye, mommy." The girl whispered, before sleep took her, again.

Smiling, Gaara made up his mind. Loving and lost may hurt, but without love the little miracle in his arms, could never have been. He and his daughter disappeared in sand, leaving the night silent as the grave.

The fourth chapter is now done. I would appreciate any reviews thrown my way. If any of you care the title will be changed to Generation Now, on December fourth (12/4/06).

That was either InoShika romance or friendship; you tell me. I couldn't find a canon character for Gaara to be paired with, so I made an OC. I did not want to have to make a whole back story, so I killed her.