And here's Chapter 4. I won't be able to bang these things out like this after today. Gotta go back to work sometime. I'm glad that this story had garnered attention as fast as it has. Not many negative things said about it, and I'm glad for that. Either my work has gotten better or my stories have garnered a reputation. I'd like to think both. Anyhoo, enjoy. Readers, Reviewers, thank you. Voodoo Too. Peace.

CHAPTER FOUR

Walking to class was somewhat of a chore for Naruto. It seems that people had heard of his speech to his students and the results were mixed. Most of the ones who he assumed were parents, or people who were the age of the parents of his students, gave him dirty looks. The older folks and ranked ninja gave him appreciative looks. Apparently, being spontaneous and brash was a double-edged sword when it came to teaching. At least they didn't outright hate him.

Walking peacefully was another new experience to him. In fact, most greeted him or gave him a polite nod. Having the Kazekage as a friend was a good benefit apparently. He thought back to the night before and Temari. She had smiled at him more than she usually did and had destroyed his dessert with passion, even growling at Gaara when he tried to take the last piece. Naruto smiled in spite of himself. It wasn't every day you saw Gaara startled like that.

He stepped into the school and greeted everyone he met with a smile. One of his fellow teachers walked up to him and stuck out her hand.

"Hello there. I'm Urameshi Kari. My class is the one down from yours. I have to say, your little…demonstration…yesterday was quite a shocker."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing Urameshi-san?"

"Kari, please, and that's a good thing. It's nice to have a teacher that the students actually look up to and don't disrespect."

"Look up to? Heh, if they look up to me, they don't know me yet. My students will hate me by the time I'm through with them."

"Why's that?"

"Because of the regimen I'm going to put them through. I'm sorry to cut our conversation short Kari-san, but I have to get to class and so do you. I look forward to speaking with you again."

Kari watched as he paced on down the hall, the heels of his shoes thumping against the wooden floor.

'Interesting guy.'

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Naruto walked into his classroom and took up his position at the desk again. He was pleasantly surprised to see that all his students had shown back up. They were indeed a surprising bunch; he'd expected at least four or five to not come back. He smiled at them and walked to the black board.

"Good morning class."

In unison, they all chanted 'Good morning Naruto-sensei.' His smile grew a little wider. Naruto-sensei. Yeah, he liked the sound of that. He faced them again and put his hands behind his back.

"Now do you all remember what I spoke of yesterday? Good, good. Today will be our first official day of training. I will be with all of you and will do an assessment of your skills. But first, let's all go outside. Follow me."

Opening the door, he turned to see them still in their seats and raised an eyebrow in annoyance.

"MOVE YOUR LAZY ASSES AND GET OUTSIDE!"

They all squeaked and flew past him. Chuckling to himself, he followed them out and found them in a line, facing the building.

"Ah, excellent form. I'm glad that you all know how to stand at attention. Now, to begin you're all going to do five laps around Suna. Once you're done, we'll begin with a few light calisthenics and then you'll sit as I lecture on a topic. Once I'm finished, and it'll be brief since I hate to sit still, we'll begin working with each of you individually. This will be our regimen for the mornings. Now let's go. Follow me."

He heard little to no grumbling as he jogged away. That was good. It seemed that these kids took him seriously. He smirked as he led them on their run around the village, which he was sure would wear them all out. What they didn't know was that their training had already begun. This was to build their endurance. The light calisthenics when they got back were to stretch their bodies out before they got into the heavy stuff. The lecture was because he hated to read textbooks. If his former senseis had only used the approach he was going to use, he wouldn't have been half as pathetic as he had been.

After about two hours, their run was through. Many students looked about ready to collapse but Naruto was proud to see a gleam in their eyes, a look that was filled with determination. He led them through some jumping jacks and stretches and then had them sit in a semi circle around him as he began that morning's lecture.

"Now I'm sure most of you are tired and you rightfully should be. Just remember that all of you are eight years old and are a beginning class. The fact that none of you dropped out of our run speaks wonders about you. I'm proud of all of you. As we go on in the years to come, it will grow easier and we will set new goals to supercede those we have surpassed. I want you to listen carefully as I explain something to you."

Despite their tiredness, he was pleased to see them all lean eagerly in for his lesson.

"Do all of you remember what I told you about shinobi being emotionless tools yesterday? Good, you all remember. I don't believe that, not one bit. Emotions can help you in a fight as much as hinder you. It's simply a matter of knowing when to use them. Anger can blind you, but it can also help you gain strength to win. Sadness can burden you, but it can also drive you to succeed. Do not forsake your emotions, for that is folly."

"I, myself, am a very emotional person. I seem to be driven by them. But I use them to my advantage. Tell me, class, what makes a person strong?"

The answers ranged from ninjutsu to muscles and Naruto sighed in annoyance.

"That is a typical answer. It's true that those things can make you stronger. But they will never allow you to break the glass ceiling and become a great ninja like emotions can. The truth to gaining strength, the real truth, is that to become strong you must protect your precious people. When they are in danger, you can overcome any obstacle to save them. I was told this by a very wise person, who died before their time. I took his words to heart and hold them closely to this day."

"Naruto-sensei, who was this person?"

Naruto smiled sadly and looked toward the scorching sun.

"He was my first friend, someone who I could identify with. His name was Haku and he was the apprentice of 'The Demon of the Bloody Mist' Momochi Zabuza. Haku was a kind, gentle soul and loved his master greatly. He would have done anything to help him achieve his dream and that is what made him strong. But even great ninja fall prey to emotion and in the end, even though we were enemies, he couldn't kill me. His heart was too soft, too kind. And yet, he got strong because of Zabuza."

"Haku was a child thrown away. He came from Mist, where bloodlines were despised and anyone who had one was killed. His mother was from a clan whose line allowed them to manipulate ice. His father killed his mother and then tried to kill him, but Haku slaughtered his father in a moment of panic. He wasn't wanted. Then Zabuza found him, and wanted him for the very thing that everyone else hated him for. Zabuza was not a good man, but he took in an urchin and nurtured him, fed him, clothed him, gave him a purpose. He was precious to Haku, even if it was only for those reasons. With him Haku felt wanted."

"That's not to say Zabuza loved him. Haku was a tool to him, that's what he told Haku and himself. But deep inside, Haku was the son he never had and it pained him to see Haku die. The day Haku died, snow fell in a land that had never seen snow and Zabuza died, wishing with all his heart to see the boy in the next life. I hope he made it there. I hope those two are together and I hope they are happy. Purity. That's what Haku was, pure as the snow and with the snow came a pure start for a country on the brink of decline."

Naruto looked at his students and sniffed.

"I hope you all take Haku's words to heart. Shinobi are not gods, we are men and women, flesh and blood, and we take life and we give life. We love and we hate, we kill and we protect. But never forget that to become strong, you must protect those precious to you. If you aren't strong enough to defeat someone, then it's because you haven't found someone precious enough to you yet. When you go home today, I want you to think about who is precious to you. Tell those people you love them every day, because as a ninja, you never know when your last day will be. Think of those you will leave behind and honor them every day. I'm an orphan. I had no one until I was nearly twelve years old. But here, in Suna, I hope to forge a loving relationship with someone. I want to find precious people here. I have three already, but I want more. Love is meant to be spread, hatred is meant to be contained."

"Never take your life for granted. This is the lesson for today. Think about your goals as a ninja and before that goal, make this your golden rule. Protect those precious to you. If you do that, you will never fail, no matter what you do. And you will all be splendid shinobi."

Naruto looked out over his students and saw that they were all deep in thought. He couldn't believe how good teaching felt. It made his heart swell to know that he was molding these children, that his teachings would guide them in life. Clapping his hands to get their attention, he summoned enough clones so that each child had one.

"Today we will work and see where your chakra control is. Once that is found, we will begin exercises to build up your reserves. We'll work on taijutsu tomorrow. I'm not the best at genjutsu, but I'll find a genjutsu specialist and we'll have them help us. Now then let's split up."

The children all picked a clone and spread out. Some were passable with chakra control, while others were abysmal. A couple actually had rather decent control, but he chalked that up to small reserves. Once it was found where their control level was, Naruto called them all back. The kids stood in a line, awaiting further orders.

"You'll be happy to know we're going back inside for this. We don't have the necessary area to work out here. Now follow me back inside."

Once back inside, Naruto turned to the children.

"Now we're going to work on your control. You're going to climb these walls, with no hands."

Many children looked at him like he was stupid and a couple scoffed. Naruto threw his head back and laughed.

"Don't worry, that was my reaction to this as well. I started on trees, but unfortunately, we don't have that luxury, at least not yet. Perhaps I can do something about that in the future. For now watch me."

The students watched in awe as he walked up the wall and then across the ceiling, standing above them, looking down.

"This will both help build your chakra reserves and build your control. Now then, to avoid any holes in the wall, I want you all to lay on the floor and put your feet on the wall. There won't be any running starts so you'll have to concentrate. Focus the chakra to the bottom of your feet and place your foot on the wall. When you think you have it, gently place your foot on the wall and see what happens. If you feel it begin to stick, and you will feel it, then put more weight on that foot and concentrate on the other while maintaining that level of chakra output. Try to match it in the foot not stuck to the wall and continue onward. The object is to get at least halfway up the wall today. If you can't, don't worry. I'll help you."

The children all lay down and as expected, those with small reserves made it up within several minutes. They could not, however, maintain it for long before flipping to the floor and lying down again. The ones with bad control struggled; they would put a foot on the wall and test, but couldn't seem to get the right level. The clones stood over them, encouraging and giving instructions. As lunchtime rolled around, every student was able to at least get off the floor. They looked discouraged, but as the clones poofed away, Naruto eased their fears.

"Don't worry about getting it on the first day. I didn't learn this until after I was a genin. It's not something that most people learn until later. I want you guys prepared though. Go to lunch and after you come back, we'll start on another lesson. Be back in an hour."

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Naruto walked into Gaara's office just a few minutes past noon and saw that the redhead had a table against the wall laden with fruits and meats. Drooling from the mouth, he headed towards the table only to have a wall of sand appear in front of him.

"It's rude not to announce that you're here before diving in."

"Fine. I'm here. Can I please eat now? I'm starving. Look at me, I'm wasting away."

"I highly doubt that. Bring me a plate over here when you come, I need to finish reading this document."

Naruto piled the plates with as much meat and fruit as he could carry and made his way to Gaara's desk. He swept some documents out of the way and sat Gaara's plate down in front of him, receiving a grunt of appreciation. Or at least he thought it was appreciation. Munching happily on his meal, he waited for Gaara to finish before striking up a conversation. Grumbling under his breath, Gaara signed the paper with a flourish and put it in his out box. He grabbed a slice of cantaloupe and sighed contentedly.

"So, how go things at the school?"

"It's all right. The kids are uncommonly sedate and willing to learn. I don't understand it."

"Perhaps it was your little speech you gave them."

"You heard about that?"

Gaara nodded and reached for a slice of ham.

"From numerous sources. I'd say you scared the stupidity right out of them. That's a good thing though, so don't go getting mopey. It doesn't suit you."

"Well, I just hope I'm doing the right thing. Have any parents complained about me yet?"

"One. He's a grandfather and legal guardian of one of your students. He remembers me way back when I was still a bloodthirsty killer and doesn't like people like you or I. He's stuck in the past and wanted to pull his grandchild out. Of course, I told him where he could go if he didn't like it. He caved with little difficulty."

"You used your sand on him didn't you?"

"People should not be so foolish as to believe that just because I am young, that I am a pushover as Kazekage. I don't take being told what to do very kindly, no matter if they are my elder or not."

"You still shouldn't threaten people Gaara. It'll only reinforce his opinion of us."

Gaara sighed and looked at his friend as he munched on some grapes.

"You're too kind for your own good Naruto. It'll be the death of you someday."

"Perhaps. I'm sorry Gaara but I have to return to class. My clone says that the students returned earlier than I thought."

"Very well. I shall see you this evening perhaps, if my duties don't keep me here all night."

"All right. Later."

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As Naruto walked back to the classroom, he wondered what he could show these kids. He decided that starting with the basics was the best thing to do. Since he'd already made them do control exercises today, they should be able to do henge with no problem. Nodding to himself that that was indeed the correct path to follow, he walked inside to find his classroom in utter chaos. The children were talking and laughing amongst themselves loudly. He gritted his teeth. The clone had dismissed itself prematurely. Next time he'd leave two clones to avoid this. The kids never noticed as he smoothly glided to the desk and leaned against it, his arms folded against his chest.

The more he listened to the pointless banter, the more irritated he became. He thought of using his former sensei's big head jutsu but decided to test the theory that Gaara had that these children actually respected him. As quietly as he could he uttered two words.

"Be still."

As if those were magic words, all the kids turned in their desks and faced forward. It was amazing, the power he held over these children. Only Konohamaru had listened to him with such rapture and attention. He coughed into his hand and looked over all of them.

"We'll begin with our last lesson of the day. You will all learn to perform henge. I will situate you each with a clone and it will show you the necessary seals to perform this jutsu. This is a rudimentary jutsu, as are all the academy graduating standards. However, henge and kawarimi can save your life if need be. They cost relatively little chakra and higher-level shinobi still use these E-class jutsu to this day. In fact, henge was my favorite technique for quite a while. Allow me to give you a demonstration."

Naruto put his hands in the proper seal and transformed into Gaara. In the Kazekage's monotone drawl, he explained the exercise.

"To complete the jutsu, to make it totally effective, it helps if you learn the mannerisms and voice of your preferred target for transformation. If you can replicate everything down to the tiniest twitch of a finger, only a genjutsu master or someone with a doujutsu could tell you weren't the real article. Now then, scatter out around the classroom and prepare to learn."

The children were all assigned a clone and began to perform the necessary seals while Naruto sat at his desk and wrote some things down. These kids would become the model for what an academy student should be. He'd make sure of that. After nearly a half hour, one of his clones poofed out, signifying that a student had completed the jutsu. Naruto glanced up to the girl and motioned for her to come before his desk.

"So you've completed the exercise?"

"Hai sensei."

"Indeed. Perform the henge for me. Transform into me."

The girl made the necessary seals and turned into a perfect copy of Naruto. He nodded and stood up, making his way around the desk.

"A few more examples and I'll assign you a new task. I want you to transform into what I do."

The girl nodded her head and Naruto transformed into Gaara and she followed suit. He turned into Baki and she did that as well. He poofed into Temari and the girl did it mostly well but the hair was slightly discolored. Naruto undid the illusion and sat back down in his chair.

"You have a high degree of control but that is mostly due to low reserves. You performed very well, but when you turned into Temari, you discolored her hair, signifying your chakra was nearly out. Do not perform any more jutsu for the rest of class and let your reserves fill back up. Help out the other students and learn from their mistakes. Watch what they do and give suggestions. Dismissed."

The girl bowed and walked over to a boy who seemed to be struggling. Naruto's clone stepped back and watched the two. The boy seemed grateful for the extra help and soon was able to perform the justu with minimal difficulty. Naruto smiled at his students and continued with his paperwork.

Soon, the day was over and Naruto called for the students to return to their seats. Many flopped down, breathing heavily while his clones dispelled. He walked around in front of the desk and leaned against it.

"Very good. You all did well today. I want you to go home and do as you please this evening with one exception. I want you to try to trick a family member by using the henge. If you can't perform the henge all that well, then practice with your control. Now then, get out of here. I have better things to do than stare at your ugly mugs."

The students beamed at the praise and gave him a 'Hai sensei' before leaving. Naruto shuffled his papers and made as if to leave when he saw the woman from that morning standing in the doorway, leaning against the jamb. He waved to her and said hello.

"You're quite the unorthodox one aren't you Naruto-san? I was walking by and saw the students all laid on the floor with a copy of you standing over them. Tell me, what were you doing?"

"That's a trade secret. How is your class?"

"My class is fine. They're coming along quite nicely although they hate my lectures. They say history is boring."

"I agree. I gave my class a lecture on emotions and shinobi today. They actually seemed interested in what I had to say. It's quite an experience molding minds."

"Indeed. Well, I suppose I've kept you long enough. I shall see you tomorrow I suppose. Good evening Naruto-san."

"Good bye Kari-san."

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After another spectacular dinner, Naruto sat on the roof of the compound, staring out over the desert. He was lost in thought again, a strange occurrence considering who he was. He had been reading one of his father's scrolls on jutsus and was eager to try them, but between the academy and cooking for his housemates, he didn't have any time left. He sighed and looked up into the stars. He supposed even the stars could feel lost sometimes. He heard the crunch of a shoe behind him and didn't bother to turn around. Her scent carried on the wind.

"Hey Temari. Need something?"

She settled down beside him and pulled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"No I don't need anything. I just wanted to see if you wanted some company. You've been unusually quiet lately."

"I've had a lot to think about lately."

"That's true. I don't think I've asked you yet how you like it here."

"I like it very much. It's less green than Konoha, but the people are nicer to me. Besides, if I can make it work, it'll be a lot greener around here someday."

She looked at him like he had two heads.

"What does that mean?"

He gave her a foxy grin that showed his fangs.

"That's a secret. You'll be the first to find out though if it works, I promise."

"Hmph, everything's a secret with you. I heard about your teaching regimen today."

"Word gets out fast huh?"

"With those gossipy little brats of yours it does. They're all so excited to have a sensei that's not afraid to tell them the truth. Word around the campfire is that you have quite a few pairs of eyes on you, both professionally and otherwise."

Naruto cocked an eyebrow and looked at her quizzically.

"What's that mean?"

She smirked at him and looked at the stars.

"That's a secret."

"Look who's being a hypocrite. You get onto me for being secretive and yet here you are keeping secrets. Sounds like a double standard to me."

"Well you know the exchange for secrets. I'll tell mine if you tell yours."

"Nah, I can live without your secret. Besides, we'll both find out eventually what the other meant."

"Asshole."

"Ah, you love it."

The two sat in relative silence for what seemed like forever. Both marveling at how at ease they were around the other. Comfortable silence, didn't someone say something about that sometime or other? Soon enough Temari sighed and rested her chin on her arms.

"I have to go to Konoha tomorrow to give them our reports and get theirs. Anything you'd like me to tell the old lady?"

"Just that I'm doing all right and that I miss her. If you see a one armed pervert tell him I miss him too."

Temari laughed softly and turned her attention back to the desert. It looked so different at night, not at all the scalding, torturous wasteland it was during the day. She looked over at her companion and took in his facial features. He'd grown since she last saw him again. He was taller and that baby fat was disappearing rapidly. He'd gotten more handsome. Stronger too. Suddenly Kankurou's suggestion didn't sound so crazy. It might be fun to have a guy like Naruto as a boyfriend. He'd be a challenge to her, unafraid to bear her judgment and punishment. Hell, she'd bashed him over the head numerous times in the past days he'd stayed at the compound and he just brushed them off and kept picking with her.

With that thought in mind, Temari made a decision. She was the daughter of a former Kazekage, the sister of the current Kazekage, and one of the most powerful jounin in the military. Having a boy who wasn't afraid of her and was stronger than her as a boyfriend was a damn good idea. It was just a bonus that he was good-looking and smarter than he let on. She jumped to her feet, the sudden motion startling Naruto. When he asked her what was wrong she merely smiled down at him and held out her hand. He took it and she lifted him up.

"Say Naruto, you ever had a girlfriend?"

Taken aback by the abrupt question, he managed to stammer out a no.

"How about dates? Ever been on a date?"

Another no.

"Wanna go on one with me?"

If the boy was stuttering earlier, he was speechless now. A beautiful, deadly kunoichi asking him on a date? What alternate dimension had he stumbled into? Temari took his silence as hesitation and growled, grabbing him by the shirt collar.

"Look Naruto, I'm the daughter of a Kazekage and the sister of the current one. I'm used to getting what I want and you're no exception. Now I want you to take me on a date and you're going to like it."

This little proclamation snapped Naruto out of his muddled thoughts and brought back some of that bravado he was famous for. He narrowed his eyes and spoke in a haughty voice.

"And since when have I cared who someone was related to or what their name was? You don't scare me."

Temari smirked at him and let go of his collar.

"That's what I like about you Naruto, blunt and to the point. When I get back I expect you to take me out to dinner and a movie. And you can't be late since we live in the same house. It's brilliant."

"I don't believe I ever agreed to this little escapade."

Temari's smirk grew wider (if that was possible) and sauntered over to him, her hips swinging seductively. Naruto gulped when her hand found its way to his cheek and pressed against his face as she fluttered her eyelashes.

"But Naruto, I wanted to go on a date with you. Please? Pretty please?"

She did a victory dance in her head when the poor boy nodded dumbly and she released the hold on his cheek, patting it a couple of times.

"See, that wasn't so hard now was it? You're a good guy Naruto and I expect to be treated like a queen."

Naruto smiled and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He couldn't believe he let himself be suckered like that.

"Is there any other way to treat a lady?"

Temari smiled softly before going back downstairs to her room.

"For your sake there better not be another way. You know what I'll do to you afterwards, and that's after I make you promise on a make up date."

She smiled sweetly while she gave her threat and walked downstairs to her bedroom. Naruto sighed in defeat and lay back again to stare at the stars. It seemed a few winked at him, as if they were laughing merrily at his predicament. He walked downstairs and was just about to open his door when Temari poked her head out of hers.

"Oh, before I forget, you have to dress nice too. We're going to a really nice restaurant."

Naruto started to protest before she shut the door and went back to sleep. He grimaced and opened his door, locking it behind him. As he lay down on the bed, he could have sworn he heard the puppet master next door snickering through his wall. Damned eavesdroppers. He picked up his mother's scroll on gardening again and smiled. If he could get a plot of land and the jutsu worked, he'd plant a lot of flowers.

'Wonder what Temari's favorite flower is?'