Kakashi was having a good day. In his book, all was good, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, Orochimaru was in prison, the little Uchiha snake hadn't had that seal put on him, there had been no invasion to interrupt the Third Phase of the Chunin Exams, and the Third Hokage was still alive. Since there hadn't been an invasion, there was no construction going on which he'd be forced to participate in for the good of Konoha since Konoha was intact.

As he was getting into one of the more interesting scenes in the book he used to throw people off guard and ward off unwanted social interaction, Naruto ran by. As Naruto ran by, he noticed that there was something different about him. If he could just put his finger on it...

He was wearing the eyesore of a tracksuit again, the one that made him look like Dead Naruto.

"Naruto, why are you wearing that?" he asked his beloved student when he caught up to him.

Now that he was able to properly focus on it since it wasn't passing by in an orange blur, the outfit was bringing back bad memories, memories that faded each time he saw his living student up and running around doing Naruto things and not being dead.

"Because I don't want my good clothes to smell like fish." Naruto replied.

"Why would your clothes smell like fish?" he asked.

"Long story" BOOM! "short, I needed to step up my game to keep Sasuke's and Neji's respect." Naruto replied as he continued to run.

Shrugging, he let Naruto continue to run and soon, the boy disappeared into the distance. It was at that point that he started noticing something odd.

Was it raining fish guts, or was it just him?

"It's raining fish guts." Kisame said as he finished the last of his Goma dango, ignoring the smoking offal that was spattering on the table, himself, and his partner for the most part.

"I noticed." Itachi said as he set his tea aside when an eye landed in it with a tiny splash.

"Don't worry beautiful flower, my home is nearby, and the shower is big enough for two." Rock Lee, who was still pacing in place on his hands waiting for an answer to his previous question, said.

"Did that kid just...?" Kisame asked sounding both stunned and amused over the fact that his partner had been propositioned.

"Kisame, I do believe that it is time for us to leave." Itachi said calmly as he got up from the table and went inside to pay.

"It's way beyond that." Kisame muttered. "If Leader-sama orders us to come back here again, I'll tell him where to stuff that order."

"She's going inside to pay." Rock Lee muttered to himself as a small amount of blood trickled to the ground creating a puddle beneath his head as the sort of fantasies that made wearing spandex leotards inadvisable ran through his head. "Is that a yes or a no? If I could just get Sakura-chan to...Then everything'll be perfect."

"Bit of advice kid." Kisame said to the perverted little green weirdo who was still pacing by his and Itachi's table on his hands. "You don't want the pretty blonde to say yes. And, if you want your "Sakura-chan" to go out with you, give her flowers. Women love flowers. Flowers and racy lingerie."

"Flowers, racy lingerie. Got it." Rock Lee said, as he made note of the advice.

"Thanks mister." Rock Lee said before shifting onto one hand and giving Kisame an upside-down Nice Guy pose which made the larger ninja shudder.

"Come Kisame, we're leaving." Itachi said as he exited the tea house.

"Finally." Kisame muttered as he got up to go, leaving the weird kid who had propositioned Itachi behind.

As far as he was concerned, if he ever saw this village again, it would be too soon.

"Gee, thanks." Sakura said as she accepted the package that Lee had presented her with less than an hour after Kisame and Itachi had departed from Konoha.

She wasn't sure if she wanted the boy to be spending money on her, since she had no plans of ever going out with him, and anything he spent on her would therefore be wasted. But, the flowers he had given her along with the gift he'd handed her had been beautiful, and she hadn't been able to bring herself to refuse them. Because she had accepted the flowers, she couldn't just hand the present that had come with them back without seeming rude.

Curious as to what the box contained, she opened it. Inside was a small camisole and a thong both of which were mostly made of lace, and in a shade of pink that matched her hair. Upon finally realizing what she was looking at, she dropped the box as if it were on fire, and shouted "What kind of girl do you take me for?" as she gave Lee a punch that would have given Naruto a concussion before storming off.

"That did not go as well as I anticipated." Lee said as he clutched his head and watched Sakura storm away. "It seems that I will have to get my dating advice from somewhere other than Gai-sensei, Icha Icha Paradise, and random strangers I meet on the street."

"So, you're really leaving?" Naruto said sadly as he watched Gaara pack his suitcase.

He'd known intellectually that this day would eventually come, since Gaara was from Suna and would eventually have to return there but, over the last month and a half, he had gotten used to the Godaime Kazekage's presence. Most of the time when he and Gaara had seen each-other before he'd gone back in time, it had been because one or the other of them was in trouble. This last month however, there had been no crises taking up their attention, and they'd had time to talk to each-other, get to know each-other and play games together which was something they hadn't done before. Well, something he and the Gaara of his timeline hadn't done before at least, considering the stories this Gaara had told him about his other self.

"Yes, I'm leaving. I have to go back home. I can't become the Kazekage again if I stay here in Konoha with you forever." Gaara replied almost as sadly as he set the last of his belongings into his suitcase.

Apparently, he too had enjoyed the time they'd spent together sharing stories such as the day the Rokudaime Hokage had signed up for the Chunin Exams, and playing Ninja without Sakura. Perhaps one day, he would return and they would be able to do so again. Konohamaru and his friends who had also taken to Gaara would probably enjoy it as much as he had.

"I'll miss you." he said.

"And, I you." Gaara replied as he snapped his suitcase shut and head towards the door. "But, we're only a couple days apart, and It's not like we'll never see each-other again."

"That's true." he said hopefully.

As soon as he could, he would be visiting Suna, even if he had to weasel his way onto a mission that was headed that way.

"Oh, and Naruto." Gaara said as he paused at the door of the room he'd been staying in while in Konoha. "If you do go vacationing in Suna, please don't show off your Tajuu Bunshin Daibakuha Jutsu."

"My what?" he asked, slightly confused as that jutsu, whatever it was, wasn't one he had in his arsenal.

"Never mind." Gaara said rapidly, looking slightly panicked. "Forget I said anything."

Too late. Naruto was already running the Jutsu name in his head and translating it. Multiple Great Exploding Clone Jutsu. That sounded promising...

Somewhere in a land far away, Tobi shivered as a sense of dread inexplicably came over him.

Author's Note: For those of you who were wondering, the story The Exam is the tale of what happened when the Hokage Naruto entered the Chunin Exams. It is told from Naruto's point of view.

Edited 11-4-12