I apologize for the long, unannounced hiatus. A mixture of things have kept me from writing, the biggest being that I finally got a job! It's only a month before I go back to college, but better late than never, I guess. Besides, I'll get to go right back to this job next summer without having to be hired again. YAY! Anyway, I will try to update again on Friday to attempt to make up for the long break.

Enjoy!


Chapter Twelve—How Far We've Come

Ino was awakened the next morning by a frantic buzzing at the bedroom door. She sat up, pushing the hair out of her face. Her sky blue eyes immediately turned toward the foot of her bed, where Shino should have been sleeping. When only empty space met her gaze, her eyes widened and she quickly rolled out of bed. There was no sign that Shino had even slept in the room.

'Maybe he slept in the living area,' she thought.

She pulled on the shirt and pants Shino had bought her yesterday, then stepped toward the door. As she reached for the doorknob, she realized that the buzzing she had heard earlier came from a lone kikai which had apparently been trapped in the room with her. She opened the door and it instantly flew to the front door. Her brow furrowed.

"Shino?" she called.

Ino looked around the living area, finding that there was no sign her companion had slept there either. She poked her head into the kitchen, but he wasn't there. Ino turned back to the frantic kikai.

"Where is he?" she asked the bug.

She walked over and opened the door, then had to run after the kikai as it flew from the inn. Without hesitating, it made its way down the street. It suddenly stopped, circling one spot as its buzzing gained a forlorn note. Ino scanned the area around them, eyes fixing on a human-sized dent in one wall. Her heart sank. Ishiyama must have sent someone after them, but…it was unlike Shino to be caught off guard. And if he had been, was he dead? She didn't know enough about kikai to figure out this bug's behavior. She cupped her hands around it and let it crawl onto her shoulder, where it remained. Its buzzing changed to a quiet hum which was oddly comforting.

"Excuse me," she said to a nearby shop owner.

The elderly man perked up, his smile showing several missing teeth.

"How might I help you, madam? Could I interest you in one of my hand-woven baskets?" he asked.

"Actually, I was looking for someone. Did a man with black hair and brown eyes pass by here last night?" she asked.

His smile widened.

"A lot of men fit that description, madam," he said.

Ino nodded, expression falling. Well, maybe if Shino didn't feel the need to hide those beautiful golden eyes, he would be easier to notice. She started to turn away from the man.

"You're a kunoichi, aren't you?" the man called after her.

She turned to face him. How did he know? She wasn't wearing her headband and she was certainly not skilled enough to be listed in a bingo book. He must have seen the confusion in her eyes.

"Something about the way you move. The man you are looking for must be a shinobi then. If so, you're in luck. Two men got in a fight just over there last night. One of them had black hair and brown eyes," the man said.

"What happened to him?" she demanded.

"The other man knocked him unconscious and carried him off in the direction of Nimamura," he said.

"Thank you!" Ino said, bowing to him before turning and starting to run.

"Be careful, madam!" the man called after. She lifted a hand in acknowledgement and he shook his head, muttering, "It's probably a trap."

.oOo.oOo.

The sun was high in the sky as Ino carefully picked her way through the unusually quiet streets of Nimamura. Ishiyama's resort was still a few blocks ahead of her, but already her well-honed danger sense was screaming at her.

Or maybe it was just the kikai buzzing in her ear.

She cupped a hand over it to muffle the sound, scanning the street around her.

"Ouch," she exclaimed as the bug nipped at her finger.

She removed her hand instinctively and the destruction bug flew into the air. She followed it down the street, but it quickly outpaced her cautious steps. It rounded the corner ahead of her. Suddenly, its muted humming cut off. Her steps quickened and she turned the corner to find the carriage driver standing there. His head was inclined toward the ground, long bangs hiding his eyes.

Slowly, his head lifted, the tiniest of smiles playing at his lips. A cold feeling swept over her and she stepped backwards. Aotora lifted his foot, revealing the kikai which had been smashed into the ground. Ino gasped as it buzzed weakly.

"What's the matter? Did you get attached to it?" he asked coldly.

Her eyes lifted to his, anger hardening their blue depths. He released a mirthless chuckle.

"You did…this is better than I thought it would be," he said.

She drew a kunai, shifting into her battle stance. In response, he slid his katana from its sheath at his side. She ran forward, swinging the kunai at him. He blocked it easily.

"Where is Shino?" she demanded.

He smiled thinly, "You'll find out soon enough. In fact, I'll even give you a choice."

With a grunt, she shoved him away from her and stepped back a short distance to prepare herself for another attack. Their blades clashed again, the friction sending sparks flying.

"You can choose Ishiyama…who will use you…" he said between blows, "Or, you can choose me. I will kill you."

"How about option three: I kill you and rescue Shino," she said.

She spotted an opening in his defense and lunged in, sinking her kunai into his shoulder. He grabbed her wrist, dragging her in close to him. When she tried to reach for another weapon, he seized her other arm, pinning her to him. She could feel the blood from his wound seeping into her shirt.

"That isn't an option," he breathed into her ear, "Now make your choice."

She felt something against her foot and looked down to find the battered kikai crawling into her shoe. It hummed against her skin, trying to comfort her despite its own wounds.

She made her choice, not that there was much of one.

"I'd rather die than let that man touch me again," she stated.

"I hoped you would say that," Aotora said.

He shifted against her back and she felt a pressure beneath her ear.

The world went black.

.oOo.oOo.

"-So then I said, 'this isn't ramen!'" Naruto said, bursting out laughing.

Lee laughed as well, though he didn't get the joke. Beside her fiancé, Sakura shook her head. She resisted the urge to smack both Lee and her old teammate over the head for their stupidity. Hinata, who sat beside her own fiancé, smiled gently at the horrible attempt at a joke. Sasuke glowered at the bowl of ramen in front of him, wanting to be anywhere but there. Hinata squeezed his hand and, when he looked up, smiled at him. His glare softened as he gave her a small smile of his own.

"That made no sense, dobe," he stated.

The blond Hokage stopped laughing, using his chopsticks to point at the dark-haired Uchiha. Sasuke warily watched the noodle which hung off the end of one of the chopsticks. If that thing touched him, he wouldn't care about Hinata or the ANBU standing discretely across the street from Ichiraku's. He would kill Naruto.

"Shows what you know, teme," Naruto stated, going back to his ramen.

The other four shinobi turned their heads as someone else stepped into the ramen stand, while Naruto remained immersed in his food.

'Some things never change,' Sasuke thought.

However, when the newcomer stopped behind the Hokage, Naruto reluctantly set down his chopsticks. He let out a tiny sigh as he pushed the bowl away from him.

"What is it, Shibi?" he asked without turning.

The older man's head turned, surveying the group from behind his dark sunglasses. His glance lingered on Sasuke and the former missing-nin's hand tightened on Hinata's.

"You can speak freely, Shibi. I trust them with my life," Naruto said, finally turning on his stool. His sapphire eyes met Shibi's hidden gaze as he added firmly, "All of them."

The Aburame clan leader nodded.

"Something has gone wrong with my son's mission," he stated, "I request permission to go after him."

Naruto stood, folding his hands inside the sleeves of the Hokage robe.

"Permission denied," he said.

Shibi's own hands fisted, the first sign of emotion the younger shinobi had ever seen from him. His chin lowered and he released a slow breath. The buzzing of the kikai within him, which had increased at Naruto's words, faded back into a barely audible hum.

"Might I remind you, Hokage-sama, how important Shino is to the Aburame clan?" he asked softly.

"I have not forgotten that, but I would remind you that it is my responsibility to look after the well-being of all of Konoha, not just the Aburame clan. Shino will be fine, believe it!" he said.

Shibi hesitated a moment, then bowed.

"Forgive my interruption, Hokage-sama," he said, leaving the ramen stand.

One of the ANBU suddenly stood beside Naruto.

"Should I have someone follow him?" he asked quietly.

Naruto shook his head.

"No, he isn't impulsive enough to go against my command," the blond said.

The ANBU nodded and returned to his place on the opposite side of the street. Naruto sat back down.

"Teuchi-san, another bowl of ramen!" he asked.

"Coming right up, Hokage-sama," the restaurant owner said, eager to please his most loyal customer.

Sasuke watched as his best friend dug into the steaming bowl. He smiled despite himself.

'You've really done it, Naruto. You've not only fulfilled your dream of becoming Hokage, but you've become a good one,' he thought.

"Slow down or you're going to choke, baka!" Sakura ordered, hitting Naruto on the back of his head.

He rubbed at the sore spot, whining, "Sakura-chaaan."

Some things never change, but Sasuke was glad for it.


I really think this chapter title suits the chapter. It was fun going back to Konoha and seeing how everyone else was doing. n.n Hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks to KatanaAmaya, Krizzlybear, SmallButPowerful, Living in a make believe world, 21me21, Yourtypicialpsycho, ..., Josiphia, Lady Katanya, Chocoholic, Akai-sora, and tsukiYomi for reviewing!