"Well," I said out loud, walking through the city park, "what do'ya think'll happen today?"

Before you ask, yes—I am talking to myself! Gods, I can't even remember how many centuries it's been since that habit kick in. If I had to guess, I'd say I developed it out of loneliness, but, hey, I'm no expert.

But seriously, how else do you expect me to waste my time? I try not to make friends. I've already lost my old ones. I can't find a job. I don't need a job. Nobody has any use for my super special skills, anyways.

"Is it just me", I asked, looking up at the sky, "or have these last two hundred years been really…boring?"

I hate to say it's just me…but it probably is. Who else do I know that's live long enough to feel the same?

Nobody, that's who.

I sighed as I sat down on the nearest park bench. Ever since the ninja villages got wiped out, the world's been so uneventful. I mean, sure, there are still wars, but they're over stupid things like money and power. Nobody fights for knowledge and freedom anymore.

'Fighting'….If you can even call it that. This generation is so lazy! They don't even fight their wars anymore. They've developed so much in tools and technology that they can do what took Pein almost all of his life's energy to do, with the flick of a switch! They don't even have to leave their villages.

At least when true shinobi fight, they fight with their fists. They don't hide behind some screen door and watch the effects as they unfold; they don't sit back and relax as the area they take over crumbles into nothing. They get down in the dirt and fight like men. They come back with battle scars, not an electricity bill.

And do the soldiers even feel the same coming home alive anymore? Like they accomplished something great, after years and years of preparation and study? Do they even have to study?

I shook my head.

I lay down on my back, deciding to look back up at the sky again. It's all I can really do other than muse nowadays. "Don't I do this every day…or, maybe not? Maybe I've just done it so many times, they've bunched up together?" Who am I foolin'—I do do this every day.

Let's try cloud watching.

Hey, that cloud looks like…a bunny. And that one looks like a stick—no, wait, never mind. That's the tree above me. Heh heh. Oh, oh! That cloud—that cloud right there. It looks like...a cloud.

I groaned, "I don't care what Shika says, you can only do this for so long!"

"Hey! Guys!" I heard, what sounded like a little girl, whining in the distance. "Come on, guys, slow down! Wait up, gu—ow!"

My shinobi senses tell me—she just tripped….Better go check it out.

"From ninja to nurse; what're the odds…? You guys alright?" I asked when I reached them. The two boys were surrounding the fallen girl, begging her not to cry by bribing with promises of 'Konohamaru taking her out for ice cream'. "You know, you should try not run out here right now. After all, it just…rained…."

What the…there's no way….

I looked down at them.

These kids…they…

The brunette boy looked up at me with a familiar face, "We know we shouldn't have run, but we were in a hurry! Moegi's still hurt though!"

Moegi…? Gods, they do have the same name! Same names, same faces! I'm dreaming! Tell me I'm dreaming!

Tell me I not dreaming.

"I must've hit my head harder than I thought."

"Don't worry, Moegi!" The Kono-clone grabbed her arm. I think he's gonna try to carry her. "We'll get you home in one piece! Ready, Udon?"

The other clone had a hold of Moegi's feet. They really are trying to lift her.

"Ready! Heave!—whoa!"

"What the!"

"Ack!"

And…they failed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So which way's your house?" I asked Konohamaru as we walked down the street. I had Moegi in my arms.

"It's two blocks from here if we just keep going straight….Thanks again for helping us out", he scratched the back of his head, "But isn't she kinda heavy?"

"Nah, pretty light, actually. But you shouldn't comment on a girl's weight. If this Moegi's anything like the one I knew, she'll kill you when the time's right."

"You know another Moegi?" She asked, "I thought it wasn't a common name."

Crap, I said it out loud! "Uh, no, no, it's not that common." It really isn't. "I mean, I've never met anyone else named sprouts. Well, except that other Moegi I just mentioned. Heh heh." I tried to laugh out the awkwardness, but they just kept staring at me.

Konohamaru was the first to turn away though. He stopped in front of a shop window.

"Hey, guys. Can we walk in here for a moment? I think I see something Granddad would be interested in."

In an antique shop? Must be one of those grandfathers….Wait…his grandfather….

"Hey, kid," I asked him, setting Moegi down on a stool. "About your granddad, is he on your mom's side, or your dad's side?" What am I asking? The odds of this spreading much farther than these kids is one in a thousand.

Or, maybe one in three thousand.

"My dad's, not that it really matters anymore; I don't live with my parents. But my uncle, his wife, and—pretty soon—my cousin, they all live in the house with us too."

I know I'm just getting my hopes up with this. They don't recognize me at all. I'm just setting myself up for disappointment. But—but come on! His story fits perfectly!

"Alright, guys," Kono-clone held up his shopping bag, "we can leave now."

"Pleasure doing business with you again, child," the old store clerk smiled. "Your old grandpa's the only person I know who still believes in that shinobi business."

COME ON!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm home!" Konohamaru called out when we walked through the door. "And I brought friends!"

"Welcome back", an old voice greeted us. It had a familiar ring to it.

Ha, I never thought I'd get to see you grow wrinkles twice, old man!

He turned to face me, his eyes lighting up. "It's about time you showed up." He smiled at me. "You've left me waiting quite a while."

He—does he recognize me? That can't be?

Can it?

"Come here a moment", he motioned to me; tapping the ground he was sitting on. "Let me see you." He grabbed my hands, studied them.

Well…I guess this proves it. This isn't a dream…

He smiled, "It's 'bout time someone answered that job application!"

Yeah, this is happening alright….Only in reality is he ever this stupid!

He chuckled, "Say goodbye to smooth hands, though. You'll have blisters the size of Hokkaido when I'm through with you."

My cells regenerate too fast for that, nimrod!