Disclaimer – I do not own Naruto or any of its characters

Character ages:

Naruto, Hinata, and all of their friends: 19

Neji: 21

Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Hanabi: 11-12

CHAPTER ONE – THE HOMECOMING

The sun shone brilliantly from its midday position in the clear blue sky. A cooling breeze blew from the north, providing relief in the hot July weather.

"Ahhhh, a beautiful day like this and we have to sit here doing absolutely nothing!" Groaned Genma. The Jonin watchman yawned lazily and plunked his feet on the desk of the guardhouse that stood sturdily by the main entrance to Konoha. His comrade Raidou leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head and chuckled.

"Ah Genma. Is that the fifteenth or sixteenth time you've said that today? I'm beginning to lose count."

Genma sighed a big sigh. "I lost count too. It's just annoying that we had the bad luck to get these watchman shifts during all this nice weather. Why can't we get the daytime watch shifts on the humid days when it is too hot and sticky to move?"

"I don't know Genma. Why don't you go tell the Hokage when exactly you'd like to do the watch shifts?" Raidou smirked and glanced at Genma, who rolled his eyes and muttered "baka" under his breath, not bothering to answer that stupid question.

Raidou started to chuckle but suddenly sat up straight, head turning quickly to stare out down the path exiting Konoha. Genma raised an eyebrow. "Do you see someone?" Raidou narrowed his sharp eyes.

"Yes, two figures are coming this way, one of them is running." Genma frowned and stood, leaning over the desk to get a better look. Raidou's unnaturally sharp vision could spot travelers when they still looked like two ants in the distance. Nevertheless, Genma quickly noticed one figure appearing rapidly in the distance, obviously running directly towards the entrance. Genma walked around the desk and peered down the path visitor. Something about him looked familiar...

"Hey... does that kind of look like..." he began, but was cut off by a noisy shout.

"Oiiiiiiii, GENMA!" The running figure put up a hand to wave. Genma tilted his head and stared at the newcomer coming into view. It was a young man, with blond hair, wearing a head protector with the Konoha Leaf symbol and a black and orange jumpsuit. Genma squinted, and then his eyes widened in surprise.

"It couldn't really be him, could it...?" He said softly to himself. Raidou walked to stand next to him, a grin slowly spreading on his face.

"Yup, I think it could!"

The youth finally approached and skidded to a stop in front of them. He was tall, about 6'1", with a lean build and broad shoulders. Birthmarks that looked whisker marks adorned his cheekbones. A huge goofy grin was plastered on his face, which was noticeably chiseled into a more masculine appearance. He pointed at his chest with a thumb.

"It's me! Uzumaki Naruto! Wow it is great to see you guys. I'm finally back from training!" The boy grinned. The watchmen stared at him in awe.

"Wow, Naruto! I honestly didn't even recognize you for a moment! I see you've finally hit a few growth spurts while you were away." Genma laughed, smiling at the man-boy that was now eye level with him.

Naruto chuckled and put a hand behind his head. "Hehe, yeah, the Pervy Sage forced me to eat more vegetables while we were traveling, and I guess he ended up being right about my diet helping my growth." Genma and Raidou looked behind Naruto at the sound of approaching footsteps. They nodded respectfully to the older man with long spiky white hair walking up next to Naruto.

"Naruto, now that we are back in Konoha, you REALLY have to stop calling me that, or else!" Jiraiya, also known as one of the Legendary Sannin, growled menacingly at the grinning boy. Naruto just laughed.

"Sure thing Pervy Sage!" Jiraiya sighed and gritted his teeth. Genma and Raidou sweat dropped at the boy's disrespectful talk towards the legendary Shinobi.

I guess even though Naruto is older physically, mentally he is still a pre-teen twerp, Genma thought, shaking his head.

Naruto turned to look down the path leading to the village. "Alright! I can't wait to see Sakura-chan, and eat Ichiraku Ramen, and see Shikamaru, and Lee, and Chouji, and eat ramen, and talk to Sakura-chan, and see my ROOM, and have a shower, and OH YEAH eat ramen!" He rambled excitedly. He made to start running off, but cringed when Jiraiya barked "No!" He turned to him with a pouty face.

"Awww, why not?"

"I already told you this. We need to go first to Tsunade and report that we have returned. I also need to talk to her about some things." Naruto rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to see Tsunade baa-chan! I'm tired and hungry and I want to see Sa-" Jiraiya clamped a hand over Naruto's mouth.

"We are going to Tsunade and that is final." He said over Naruto's muffled protests. "Afterwards I will take you to Ichiraku, ok?" Naruto stopped struggling and grinned from behind Jiraiya's hand.

"Alright! It worked! Now I'm getting free ramen!" He giggled mischievously. Jiraiya looked up and the sky and groaned. He turned to Genma and Raidou who were still chuckling.

"We are going to head in to the Hokage. Please make a note that we checked in today." Genma and Raidou nodded.

"Hai! It is good to see you both back and safe." smiled Raidou. Jiraiya smiled and nodded. He turned to tell Naruto to start walking, but saw the boy was already sprinting full speed towards town.

"Come on old man! I'll beat you to her office!" Naruto laughed as he sped away. Jiraiya sighed again.

"I honestly can't believe I spent three years with this kid!"

The Fifth Hokage groaned as she lifted yet another pile of new reports that she had yet to review. The beautiful weather was not helping the fact that she was extremely bored and yet had to plow through piles of paperwork that seemingly never depleted. Honestly she rather sit by the guardhouse and watch for visitors or enemies. At least those guys got to spend time outside! She wondered how stupid she would look if she asked her watchmen to trade places with her for a couple of hours...

Her thoughts were cut short when she heard a commotion outside her door. She heard her Jonin guards cry out in alarm.

"Hey you! You can't just run in there!"

Her door banged open and a black and orange blur shot past the entryway. Tsunade sat up in shock. Those clothes, that hair, those electric blue eyes...

"Tsunade baa-chan! How are you?" An adolescent version of Uzumaki Naruto stood before her with his hands on his hips, grinning widely. She blinked at him, unable to speak.

"Oy, old lady, did you hear me?" Tsunade's eye twitched. Yes, it had to be him. Only he would be so bold to call her that.

She stood up slowly and smirked, her eyes looking at him up and down as she came around her desk, assessing him with a clinical eye. Naruto's brows furrowed as she circled him.

"Oi, what is wrong with you? Stop staring at me like that!" He said a little nervously, crossing his arms self-consciously under her hawk eye. Tsunade laughed softly, in the blink of an eye yanking Naruto by the neck into a tight headlock. She rubbed the top of his head vigorously with her fist. Naruto gasped out when she grabbed him and cried out in protest as she nougied him a little too roughly.

"Ah, so you finally dared to return! I see you have grown into quite the young man. I take it that you are big and strong and ready to take my job as Hokage?" Naruto growled as she teased him.

"Ugh, let go of me! You are messing up my hair!" He whined. Tsunade laughed and let go of him, allowing Naruto to immediately rub his neck while he eyed her reproachfully.

"I was wondering when the two of you would get back. It has been a long time. I was actually starting to miss your noisy obnoxious self." She smiled at him and nodded approvingly at his appearance. She noticed he was still wearing the First Hokage's pendant that she had given him so long ago after he won her bet. Where had the time gone? Her smile became softer as she looked at him fondly. She had been speaking the truth when she said she missed him.

"Ah, Tsunade, I see the two of you have reunited already." A deeper voice appeared from behind her. Her smile turned back into a smirk.

"Jiraiya." She nodded at him in greeting, looking at her Sannin comrade. He bowed to her with a wry smile of his own.

"It is good to see you both." She said. "Come and take a seat. I'm sure you are weary from your journey back."

Jiraiya hummed in thanks and took a seat, waving a hand to Naruto to get him to join. He sighed.

"After this, ramen, right?" He pestered. Jiraiya ignored him.

Tsunade perched on the windowsill behind her chair. "So, Naruto, how has your training been? I hope you have made good progress. I have been looking forward to getting you back to do some missions for me."

Naruto smiled. "Training was great, with the exception of when Pervy Sage would abandon me to go on his fake "reconnaissance" missions to get material for his perverted books." Jiraiya glared at him, and Tsunade raised an exasperated eyebrow at the male Sannin.

"Shut it boy. As you know, I did collect quite a bit of pertinent information that the Hokage would be interested in hearing. On the subject of Naruto's training, he has definitely grown in strength since you last saw him Tsunade, thanks to my own skill as a sensei." Jiraiya made a smug look. Naruto muttered something under his breath about "practically trained myself", but Jiraiya continued to fill Tsunade in on the highlights of their trip. Naruto sighed and tuned out of the conversation. He looked outside the window and gazed at the familiar rooftops and the Hokage monument farther off. He felt excitement bubble deep in his stomach at the thought of seeing how everyone was, and how much stronger they had gotten since the last time he saw them. He couldn't wait to see how he stacked up, he thought with glee.

Konohamaru bent his knees slightly and tried to slow his labored breathing. He strained his ears to pick up the faint sounds around him, the rustle of the trees in the wind, a bird chirping somewhere to his left, and... a rhythmic whirling sound to his right?

He launched himself in the air at the last moment to avoid the blunted shiruken that whistled past a fraction of a second after he jumped. He heard the metal like clink it made when it hit the tree behind him. He landed in a low crouch. Two more whirling sounds came at him from the left, causing him to cartwheel away rapidly. He braced his back against another tree and stilled himself, quickly wiping the sweat away from his forehead. His hand brushed the blindfold that blocked his vision. He had to keep advancing forward...

Konohamaru stepped gingerly away from his safe place and kept moving north, praying that he hadn't lost his sense of direction. According to his calculations, he should still be in that patch of soft grass that should muffle his footsteps. He padded noiselessly forward, ears pricked, waiting for the slightest sound.

Snap! He winced as he stepped squarely on a twig. Immediately more whirling sounds appeared and he shifted from side to side to attempt to avoid them, but he failed to hear one coming head on until it was too late. He grunted as the shiruken clanged into his goggles.

"Stop! That's enough." Called a clear, high pitched voice. Konohamaru sighed and sank to the ground, yanking off his blindfold. He squinted in the bright sunlight as he saw his teammates running towards him.

"Hah! I told you I would get you, Konohamaru-kun!" sang Moegi in a victorious voice. Udon ran up behind her, wiping his constantly runny nose. "Yeah, Konohamaru-kun, she got you right in the head, hehe!" Konohamaru groaned.

"Yeah yeah Moegi, you were lucky this time ok? Next time you won't even touch me!" he said in irritation.

"Konohamaru-kun, since you lost this round, you have to go collect the shirukens that went over the fence." called the same voice that was soft yet firm at the same time. Konohamaru looked up and blushed, scrambling to his feet.

"H-hai, sensei!" he said hurriedly. Moegi rolled her eyes while Udon looked at him weirdly. Konohamaru ignored them and ran to the wooden fence, jumping nimbly to clear the top just enough to reach the street outside.

Naruto and Jiraiya decided to take the scenic route on the way to Ichiraku Ramen so that Naruto could get a good look around at his hometown.

"Wow, everything looks the same and yet isn't the same. The streets are still busy, but some of the shops have changed. That jewelry store wasn't there last time! And what happened to the big fish market?" Naruto chattered away while Jiraiya was deep in thought, thinking about his talk with Tsunade.

"And hey, here is the old Academy! It definitely hasn't changed." Naruto paused by the main gate to his old school, smiling up at the building where Iruka-sensei was probably teaching the next generation of rising- Genin shinobi.

Before he had time to be nostalgic, he heard someone land a few feet away from him. He turned and cocked his head, looking at the boy that appeared in front of him and was busy picking up some training shirukens off the ground. He spotted goggles wrapped around the boy's head that looked all too much like the ones he used to wear before he became a Genin.

"Is that you, Konohamaru?"

The boy straightened up quickly and whipped around when he heard his name. He stared at Naruto with wide eyes and slightly open mouth.

"I know you..." Konohamaru said slowly, looking at the tall blond in front of him. Naruto laughed.

"Come on Konohamaru, has it really been that long? You can't say you don't recognize your longtime rival." Naruto said smiling down at the younger boy. Konohamaru gawked at him, and then his face quickly brightened.

"Naruto! Just as I expect of my longtime rival, you just decide to show up here unannounced! The nerve of you!" Konohamaru shouted with bravado, running up to get a closer look at his rival and role model. He looked amazedly at Naruto's grown up appearance, taking in his tall physique and noting the fluid nature of his movements as he walked closer to greet him. He then added a bit hesitantly, suddenly feeling shy, "Are you staying, or are you just here for a little while?" he said in a low voice.

Naruto grinned at his apprentice. "Yup, I'm here to stay! Well, at least while Tsunade baa-chan doesn't have any missions for me. I'm glad to see you, Konohamaru! Have you learned any new jutsus while I've been gone? I bet you are super strong now!" Naruto said with a wicked grin.

Konohamaru returned his grin with an equally mischievous smirk and leaned forward conspiratorially. "Yes, I have learned many new jutsus. You'll be especially keen to know a new one that I recently added to my arsenal...a Sexy Jutsu that will put yours to shame!"

Konohamaru began to make some hand seals when a voice from behind the academy fence rang out.

"Konohamaru? Are you almost finished?" Naruto looked up in the direction the voice came from with a quizzical look. That voice sounded somewhat familiar...

Konohamaru froze and looked sheepishly at the fence.

"Ahh, hehe, maybe I will show you next time, Naruto! I have to go finish my lesson." Konohamaru scratched his head apologetically. "I will see you later, right?"

Naruto nodded reassuringly. "Sure Konohamaru! You will see me around." Konohamaru grinned happily and waved, grabbing the shurikens off the ground before leaping back over the fence. Naruto had half a mind to take a peek over the fence to see to whom that familiar voice belonged, but as if on cue his stomach rumbled loudly and he remembered where his second stop in Konoha was supposed to be.

"Hurry up Naruto! Otherwise I take back my offer to treat you to ramen!" Jiraiya called lazily, already crossing the street towards Ichiraku. Naruto gasped and bolted after him - he would hate himself if he lost his free ramen opportunity!

Konohamaru raced back to his teammates.

"You guys, you won't believe who I saw!" Moegi and Udon turned to look at him quizzically.

"Uzumaki Naruto is back!"

A small gasp was heard behind his teammates. He looked over to see his sensei who became so still she looked like a mannequin. Her long blueish hair that reached all the way to her lower back waved in the slow summer wind as she looked off at nowhere in particular, her unusual pupil-less eyes that looked like lavender pearls taking on a glazed look. She clutched the bag of training kunai and shiruken to her chest.

"Hinata-sensei... are you ok?" Konohamaru worriedly asked his young sensei, who has never had such a look on her face before. Hinata's eyes widened as she came back to Earth, and she shook her head quickly and turned back to her students, smiling shakily.

"Y-yes, Konohamaru-kun, I am fine, thank you. Let's head b-back inside now for the next lesson." Konohamaru looked at her strangely, wondering since when his beautiful, clear headed sensei had a stutter.

"Hai!" The young shinobi squad chorused before they ran back to the classroom.

Hinata hung back, still taking in Konohamaru's statement.

"Uzumaki Naruto is back!"

Hinata silently cursed as a pack of butterflies erupted in her stomach and her knees became shaky. Damn it! She thought in despair. How does he still make me feel like this? It has been three years...I wonder what he looks like now...

She sighed, mentally shaking herself to wake up. She couldn't be having such thoughts while she was working! She straightened and strode towards the classroom with purpose. But for the rest of the afternoon, she knew her brain was on autopilot while her subconscious fretted about the moment when she would finally see HIM again...