Disclaimer: Characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto
Gwen's body swayed from the movement of the horse underneath her. "I can't believe we're almost there."
The walls of the village loomed in the distance. Giantic doors were resting open. People streamed in and out. They joined the flow of traffic heading inside. Above the walls of the city the mountain with the village leader's faces on it stood out prominently. She recognized her foster father's face as the furthest from the left and a faint smile touched her lips.
Aisling's mouth was set in a grim line, her eyes cold as they swept over the crowd, lingering briefly on the headbands of the ninja. "I do not approve of this."
Gwen looked away from the familar sight to her mentor. "Its been five years. I promised to come back."
The woman said nothing and clenched her jaw.
"Halt. Identification please." Two ninja manned the gate. One of them rose and moved from behind the desk they sat behind and walked over to them.
Aisling went rigid in her saddle.
Gwen smiled apologetically at the men. "Afraid I don't have any. I am not a ninja."
The men looked at each other and then their gazes flicked over the knives and sword thrust through her belt. Other than the weapons, they weren't dressed any differently from the rest of the villagers. Aisling wore a pair of black pants and a red tank top and Gwen wore a violet sleeveless top and black shorts.
"What? A lady needs protection when traveling on these roads. A bandit could come out of nowhere, and then there'd be problems." She said innocently.
"You should let them pass. Don't you two recognize the Hokage's foster-daughter?" A familiar lazy voice issued from behind them.
A towering form and a head of silver hair appeared near the two men. Gwen scowled. "Of all the shitty luck. To run into you the moment I step foot inside the village."
Kakashi gave her one of his usual bland looks. "While you may have physically matured, you still have that mouth I see."
"Trust you to notice, perv."
"Kakashi, are you sure-" One of the guards cast Aisling and Gwen suspicious looks.
The ninja waved them off. "Its fine. I'll take them to the Hokage."
Relieved these suspicious strangers wouldn't be gallivanting around the village unsupervised, they returned to their post.
Kakashi strolled along beside their horses, hands tucked in his pockets. "You should probably board them at the stables before going to see Minato."
"Yeah, probably."
A quick trip at the village stables and then they were heading toward the hokage's office.
Gwen paused outside the gates and looked up. It seemed much smaller than it had when she left. Of course she had been eleven back then, almost twelve.
At nearly seventeen it was not very impressive.
Kakashi led them up the stairs and down the circular hall, passing the room wear the ninja got their missions and straight for Minato's office. With a final amused glance at Gwen, he rapped on the door with his knuckles.
"Come in."
Grabbing the bottom of her top, Gwen adjusted it nervously as the ninja opened the door. It had been a real long time. She took a few hesitant steps inside.
Minato scratched away with his pen on a document. He looked much the same, maybe a bit older. He added the paper to a growing stack, before raising his eyes. "How can I help you..."
He trailed off and stared at her.
Gwen froze. Didn't he recognize her? What if he didn't? Then she would have to explain herself and then prove herself and all sorts of annoying things.
But she didn't need to worry. A wide smile spread across his face. He vanished from behind his desk and reappeared in front of her.
Before she could react, he enveloped her in a bear hug, swinging her around.
"I can't believe you're back."
Her eye twitched. She hadn't missed this. Pulling at his arms, she wiggled free, landing on her feet with a thud. "All the theatrics isn't really necessary. Its not like I've been gone forever."
Minato wasn't paying attention. He was watching her, faintly teary-eyed with a proud expression. "Look at you! You're so grown up."
"A little taller, maybe. I don't think I look that different." She turned to Kakashi. "So, shouldn't you be leaving?"
He poked her in the shoulder and she staggered backward. "Little brats shouldn't mouth off to their elders."
"Well, I wouldn't if you weren't such an arrogant jerk." She returned.
Minato shook his head in dismay. "At least somethings haven't changed. The two of you are getting on as well as ever."
"See you later, sensei." The silver-haired ninja gave the hokage a sloppy salute and departed.
Aisling put her hands on her hips and stared Minato down. "Do not let any harm come to her or Dublin will be demanding answers."
"I understand. I will look after her." Her foster-father said far more graciously than her mentor had.
Without any movement whatsoever, the woman disappeared.
"Its unnerving how easily your kind can do that. I wish I had such talent at the teleportation technique but for the Dublins it comes as easy as breathing." Minato said enviously.
Well, theoretically the women were better at teleportation than Minato. Gwen still had a long way to go before reaching her foster-father's level. It also kind of sucked because though she possessed chakra she couldn't actually do any of the elemental jutsu that the shinobi could, but oh well, that was life.
"Well, I imagine you are looking forward to going home and resting. Its only midday so I'll be a long while yet." Minato said, somewhat awkwardly.
"Actually, I think I'll walk around for awhile."
"Then could you deliver Naruto's lunch? He forgot it this morning and it should be getting close to their break." He held out a bento box tied with a red cloth to her.
"Sure, no problem." It would give her a chance to scare Iruka. She grinned evilly.
Gwen sought out the familiar chakra signature of the academy instructor and pulled on it, creating a connection between them.
Using that as the focus for her destination, she teleported with ease.
Iruka was sitting at his desk talking with a silver-haired man, one of the other instructors probably. He didn't noticed Gwen right away.
Whistling, she sauntered over and dropped the lunch on the desk. The two men jumped at the sound and whirled around in defensive positions.
Gwen snickered. "Chill dudes. Its only me, though its been awhile Iruka."
The man blinked rapidly, studying her. "Guinevere. Is that you?"
"In the flesh. Just got back a half hour ago." She bowed mockingly.
The surprise quickly gave way to anger. "Don't sneak up on a shinobi. I could have injured you."
"Hmm. I doubt it." As slow as Iruka was, he might as well be a turtle.
Propping her elbows on the lunch box she leaned forward. "So, where's Naruto?"
"He's with the other children outside on recess, why?"
"Minato asked me to drop off his lunch. Apparently, the idiot spaced out and left it at home again."
"Lunch is nearly over. Wait here. He can eat it in class."
Fangirls were huddled outside the room, giggling and looking through the open doorway.
"I wonder who she is? I've never seen her around before. " Ino said in a snotty tone.
"She's pretty. I wonder if she's sensei's girlfriend?" Sakura had stars in her eyes.
"I doubt it. She's too young for him." Shikamaru said in a lazy voice.
Curious as to what was going on Sasuke moved over to his classmates. Upon seeing him the girls giggled and blushed.
"Hey, get out of the way!" Naruto barrelled through the group and stumbled into the classroom.
"Ugh, Naruto you loser! Watch where you're going. You messed up my hair." Sakura hissed, smoothing the pink locks away from her face.
"No way! No way! I can't believe it. Gwen you're back!" The obnoxious blond charged down the stairs to the front of the classroom where Iruka and a dark-haired young woman stood and lunged at her.
With a surprised noise, Gwen, and it was her, caught him in her arms. "I see you haven't quieted down at all, squirt. Still, making so much noise." She put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.
"Hey! Knock it off, sis."
Gone was the short-limbed perpetually dirt-covered girl who went with Itachi everywhere when they were kids. Sasuke studied the defined cheekbones, long-lashed lilac eyes and fall of dark hair. Sakura was right. She had turned out to be very pretty. Arm still around her brother she smiled up at all the kids. "It seems we have an audience."
Iruka, realizing he was quickly losing control over his classroom drew himself up. "Alright everyone, take your seats. Class will resume momentarily."
Grumbling they filed in. Sasuke hunched down so she wouldn't see him but of course Gwen noticed anyway.
"Little Sasuke! You've gotten taller too. Come down here and give your sister a hug!"
The fangirls let out little hisses of outrage.
"How dare she..."
"Who does she think she is..."
Sasuke paused in front of his seat and glared. "You are not my sister."
She laughed, unperturbed by his attitude. "How is your brother doing? I didn't sense him anywhere in the village. Is he away on a mission."
He slunk down in his chair. Typical. Right off the bat and she was asking about Itachi.
She tapped the toe of her high-heeled shoe against the floor. "Well?"
"Ask him yourself. He'll be back tonight."
Itachi had gone to the neighboring village to see about supplies for his restaurant. A few months after Gwen had left the village five years ago, he quit being a ninja and instead got a job at the book store and now he owned a restaurant.
Sasuke remembered how furious his parents had been. Their talented son had abandoned the tradition of their family for the sake of some girl and her pacifistic ideology. Even he did not comprehend why his big brother gave up being a shinobi. Though, he knew Gwen was not the only reason he quit.
"I'll get out of your hair, Iruka. I should go home and see how Kushina is doing." Naruto ducked out from underneath her arm.
Gwen gave him one final pat and with a wink vanished.
Several students gasped and Iruka blinked.
Sasuke leaned forward in his seat and stared down at the spot where she had been standing. Oh, that's right. He had forgotten about that special teleportation trick of Gwen's. Apparently, the other kids hadn't seen it before.
"No way. She can vanish just like the Hokage." Sakura gasped in awe.
Ino snorted. "Its not that impressive. I bet she doesn't have the fighting skills to back the technique up."
The pink-haired girl growled. "Like you know anything, Ino-pig."
Naruto grinned from ear to ear, swinging his legs back and forth. "That's my sis." He said, like that explained everything.
Gwen appeared in the living room, figuring Kushina would be there. She turned around, taking in the light blue walls, brown sofa and coffee table. It looked the same other than a few more additional bookcases.
"I'm in the kitchen, Gwen!" Kushina hollered.
Undoing the ties to her boots, she placed them in the foyer and plodded to the kitchen. The red-haired woman had her back to her, whipping up something in a bowl with furious strokes of a whisk.
Gwen peered over her shoulder and saw the beginnings of chocolate chip cookie dough. "My favorite."
"I know. Minato was so excited he ran all the way home to tell me you'd returned."
That figures. The man was a complete idiot. He could have just teleported.
Snagging a wooden spoon from the drawer, she started to dip it into the mixing bowl when Kushina smacked her hand away.
"Wait until they're finished."
Gwen made a face. "Do I have to?"
The older woman scowled as she plopped dough onto a pan. "Yes, I am also making that dish you like, the noodles and cheese and some fresh bread."
"Its called mac and cheese." Gwen returned the spoon to its place. "Do you need any help?"
"No. Go on to your room and get settled in." Kushina said distracted, her gaze flicking between a block of cheese and a bowl of boiling noodles.
She knew when she was being dismissed.
The room remained basically the same as she had left it.
The bed had a violet flowered comforter draped over it. Matching curtains covered her window. The mirror propped up in the corner refracted distorted images of the bookshelf and desk in the corner. Closet doors were shut tight. Everything was neat as a pin.
Kushina must have cleaned it regularly all these years. Gwen mused.
Dropping her travel bag on the desk, she plopped down on the bed with a sigh of relief. Her legs were sore from riding all the way across the fire country from the west.
Gwen closed her eyes and let the quiet wash over her and soon drifted off.
She didn't sleep for long, at least she hadn't thought she had until Minato jostled her awake. "Come on, dinner's ready."
Rolling onto her side, she rubbed her eyelids. "Sorry, was tired." Gwen said groggily.
He smiled gently in understanding. "No trouble. Traveling has the tendency to take it out of even the most vigorous person." Her foster father slung an arm across her shoulders and propelled her toward the dining room.
"Come on, come on, I'm hungry!" Naruto bounced up and down in his chair, and the plate on the table rattled loudly.
The pink-haired girl next to him, slapped him upside the head. "Idiot! Don't be rude."
"B-but Sakura, I'm hungry and we still gotta work on our project!" He whined.
Sakura, the girl, crossed her thin arms over her chest and sniffed. "I know, believe me. I can't believe I got stuck with you as a partner."
Gwen frowned at the girl's snotty tone and shrugged Minato off. "Oh, no you don't, you little bitch! How dare you talk to my brother like that?" She towered over the girl.
Sakura blinked jade green eyes in surprise. "Who-you're the girl from before!" Then realizing what Gwen said about her clenched her fists. "You got a problem with me?"
Placing a hand on her hip, she leaned down in the girl's face. "A huge problem, brat. You're a guest in this home and have been invited to dinner and yet are acting completely immature and rude to your host's son. Talk about bad manners."
The younger girl turned brick red and steam poured out of her ears. Gwen almost thought Sakura would hit her but she restrained herself somehow.
"He's so annoying." The girl complained.
"Well, you're annoying me and if you don't stop I'll knock you into next week." Gwen said menacingly.
Sakura surged to her feet. "I'd like to see you try, old hag!"
Old hag? She wasn't even sixteen yet. "I warned you, bitch."
A tug at the back of her shirt prevented her carrying out the threat anyway. Minato stepped in-between the two girls, his tall form acting like a wall between the two.
"That's enough Gwen. I think you've made your position clear." He plastered a nervous smile on his face. "Now, kids. Try and get along please? Kushina will have my head if she has to mop blood off the floor." He steered Gwen toward a seat on the other side of the table. "Sit."
Kushina stuck her head out of the kitchen, her red hair flying around her. She pinned them all with an evil glare. "All of you shut up. I'm trying to finish up in here."
"A-alright, dear." Minato said nervously.
"Get in here and help me!"
The man practically tore into the kitchen to do as Kushina commanded.
Naruto gulped down a glass of milk with a satisfied sigh. "So, what have you been up to all this time Gwen?"
"Training."
"But you're not a ninja."
"There are many different kinds of warriors." She said evasively.
Aisling had warned her to keep everything they had been doing quiet. The Dublin woman hated ninja and feared they would be a threat to Gwen. While that might be true of most of the villages, the leaf village bore her no ill will.
"Ah, come on. That doesn't tell me anything."
Gwen shrugged. "What can I say? It required a lot of reading and studying."
Naruto's eyes glazed over in boredom. "Ugh, boring. I hate studying, just talking about it makes me tired."
"Well, I had a personal tutor. I didn't stop my education when I left the academy."
"So, you're like a civilian scholar." Sakura said without a trace of belligerence.
Probably because Kushina was within hearing distance. Only a fool would piss off that woman.
"Yes." Gwen replied, diffidently. Leave it at that.
"If you graduated from the academy, why didn't you become a kunoichi?" The girl didn't want to let the subject die.
"Not that its any of your business, but the life of a shinobi is against my personal philosophy. Ninja are mercenaries. They take lives to earn their money. What honor is there in that?"
Plus she had actually failed the the test to graduate. Gwen would never admit it out loud though in front of the arrogant girl.
Naruto glowered at her. "There is nothing wrong with being a ninja! We protect our people!"
She had five years of wisdom and living on the kid. His logic didn't impress her. "You wouldn't need to protect them from threats if ninja didn't go out on missions and actively take lives and cause problems politically with other nations."
A basket of steaming bread plunked down in front of Gwen. "Its no use, arguing kiddo. Gwen's from the Dublins, remember? They have their own ideals about honor and life." Minato winked playfully at her.
Naruto's brows furrowed. "What are the Dublins?"
Sakura studied Gwen with new interest. With a deep breath she straightened in her chair and began a lecture. "The Dublins are the central region of Britannia, a land that lies west of the fire country. It is a matriarchal society, which means women rule there while the men act as a support system, the opposite of our land. Their warriors are called the Dragons and very talented with can sense chakra and in some cases the most powerful of the female warriors among them can actually control it in another person and the Dragons can travel vast distances through teleportation like the Hokage can."
Naruto still looked confused. "Wow, you used a lot of big words there."
"It means the people of the Dublins are not like us." Minato finished succintly, casting a nervous glance at Gwen.
She regarded her foster-father somberly. There was much more to the history. History that haunted her dreams every summer when the anniversary of that fateful day came around.
"However, during the third-great ninja war the cloud village attacked because they feared the nation due to their open trade policy with the leaf. The Dragons are fearsome warriors and the cloud thought they would ally with the leaf. No one knows exactly what happened, but, the house where the high-queen was chosen from, was scattered in the chaos. No one has heard much from them since the war. They have kept to themselves after the invasion happened. " Sakura finished proudly and glanced around to see if everyone was processing her diatribe.
Gwen's hands shook as they closed around the glass in front of her. "Will you shut the fuck up, you nosy little know-it-all? No one want's to hear about that!" She snapped, her voice, even to her own ears, sharp and defensive.
"I-im sorry, I didn't mean-"
"Just forget it." Taking a ferocious bite of the garlic bread she chewed.
"This really, isn't a proper topic for the dinner table." Minato clapped his hands together. "Why don't you tell me about your project for school, kids?"
Discussion switched to something mundane and ordinary. Some of the tension left Gwen's body when Kushina came out with the rest of the meal. She let the conversation wash over her as she ate, not wishing to get involved.
Gwen wolfed down half a dozen cookies and swallowed the rest of her milk. "May I be excused? I'm tired."
"Of course, go and get some rest." Kushina answered.
Relieved to escape the inquisitive girl, Gwen took a shower and brushed her teeth.