"Rin-san!"

Rin glanced back behind her, smiling when she recognized that mop of spiky blonde hair. Kakashi raised a brow when Naruto reached them and clung fast to Rin's left arm, but didn't comment. Rin had to physically steel herself from flinching away from the genin's warm grip, reminding herself that he only housed the Kyuubi and wasn't the Demon Fox himself. It helped, but only a little. She realized sadly that she would never be able to see Naruto as anything but a jinchuuriki, no matter how friendly the boy was and how close he grew to her.

"Hai, Naruto-kun?" she asked after a moment, snapping out of her thoughts. "Did you need something?"

"Can we go out for ramen? I told Iruka-sensei we'd meet him at Ichiraku's!"

"Naruto-kun, why didn't you come ask me first? What if I had other things going on?"

"Aww, please, Rin-san? Iruka-sensei was really looking forward to meeting you!"

Rin looked over at Kakashi, noticing that he was still buried in his book. No help there, she thought, switching her gaze back to the genin on her other side. "Fine, fine, I'll go with you to meet Iruka-san. But next time, give me more warning, all right?"

"Yosh!" Naruto tightened his grip on her arm and started to pull her in a different direction that she had been going to begin with. Rin caught herself hoping that Zetsu wasn't waiting for her at her apartment to deliver news from Leader-sama. If she were late returning home while the Akatsuki's spy was waiting for her, he would be irritable, and when Zetsu was irritable, Zetsu was hungry. She fought down a shiver.

"I'll see you later, all right, Kakashi-kun?" she called back to the jounin. He merely raised his hand in acknowledgement, but Rin could feel the irritation in his chakra. Soon enough, though, she could no longer see him or feel the pulsing of his chakra. That did nothing to calm her worries, though; Kakashi was the only surefire ally she had in Konoha, at least until she revealed her true colors. Who knew how Iruka-san would think of her.

"Here we are, Iruka-sensei! I told you I'd bring her!"

Dragged from her musings, Rin took her first look at Naruto's closest friend and favorite teacher. He looked… motherly. Brown hair, surely longer than her own, was pulled back into a high ponytail, reminding her of the Nara clan; an open, earnest expression that did nothing to quell her worries; caramel-colored skin, so different from the pale ivory of Kakashi's, and the warmest chocolate-colored eyes she had ever seen.

"Hello," the chuunin said, beaming at her. "You must be Rin-san. Naruto talks about you all the time."

"Oh, really?" Rin glanced at the boy, who promptly blushed and released her arm. "Nice things, I hope?"

"But of course. Please, sit. Did Kakashi-sensei not feel up to joining us?"

"Uh… I didn't think to ask if he wanted to come along. It was so sudden that it completely slipped my mind. I should apologize later; we haven't really been able to hang out since I got back." She smiled sheepishly and sat on a stool on the opposite side of Naruto. Her eyes swept over the menu that the stall owner placed in front of her, and she noticed that neither Naruto nor Iruka had one. In fact, they were making idle conversation, obviously waiting on her, which meant they already knew exactly what they wanted.

"What'll it be, miss?" the old man asked after a moment.

"Ah, miso soup with eggplant, please." Rin smiled and handed back the menu, turning to face her two lunch companions. Only then did she realize that they were staring at her blankly. "What?"

"That's the same thing Bakashi-sensei always orders!" Naruto exclaimed. "I didn't know you two liked the same food!"

"You didn't know me until about a week or so ago," she replied, smiling down at him. "But yes, Kakashi-kun and I used to always get miso soup with eggplant all the time when we were younger. I haven't had it in so long, not since I left. Is that a problem?"

"You two were really close, ne, Rin-san?"

"Yes… Kakashi-kun and I were very close. In the end, we were all that was left of our team. And then I was sent to help Suna with their medical program…" She sighed softly. "It's a wonder Kakashi-kun is so cheery all the time. He used to be so serious and cold!"

Naruto laughed. "You mean Bakashi-sensei was like the teme? No way!"

Iruka ruffled the boy's hair. "Believe it or not, Naruto, but it's true. He was even worse than Sasuke. I remember seeing him around the village in my days at the academy. He ignored everyone, even his teammates when they walked with him."

"Nani? But Bakashi-sensei is nothing like Sasuke-teme!"

Rin laughed. "Shows what you know, Na-ru-to!" she sang, poking him in the cheek. Naruto whined and pushed her hand away, before turning to the steaming bowl of ramen that the stall owner placed in front of him. Rin watched as his face lit up, and as he put his hands in front of him and bowed before snapping his chopsticks in half and digging in. All of it was just like Sensei… She smiled softly, turning to her own bowl. It sure felt like home again…

"So, Rin-san… what brings you back to Konoha?"

The kunoichi tensed. What was with everyone questioning her return to the village? Couldn't a girl just come home without being questioned at every turn? With a mental sigh, she forced herself to relax and smile at the chuunin, who couldn't have had any idea why she reacted like she did. "Well… Suna's very different. Yondaime Kazekage-sama… wasn't as open and friendly as Sandaime Hokage-sama was. And what with all of the turmoil right now, trying to find a Godaime Kazekage, it's just very hectic and I missed the Hidden Leaf."

"You came from Suna? That means you know Gaara!" Naruto exclaimed, his mouth full of noodles. Rin winced at the vision, but Iruka scraped the boy's head with his knuckles in a silent reprimand. Naruto swallowed and tried again. "Right, Rin-san? You know Gaara, right?"

"Gaara?" She had to think. Was this Gaara actually someone she would know, if she had really been in Suna? "You mean Yondaime Kazekage-sama's youngest son?"

"Yeah!"

Of course Naruto would know about Gaara, the jinchuuriki of the one-tail. That was Sasori and Deidara's target, no doubt; she'd overheard the two talking about Suna, but Sasori was reluctant to go just yet because one of his puppets wasn't ready for battle. Crazy old man. "I saw him a few times. We never actually spoke. He isn't… exactly the most popular of children."

"He's really strong! I fought him just after the Chuunin Exam!"

"Naruto, eat," Iruka said firmly.

"Hai!"

Rin giggled as the child promptly turned back to his food. "You've trained him well, Iruka-san."

Iruka just smiled at her, and both of them snapped their chopsticks cleanly in half and began to eat.