Chapter Two

Sandaime chewed pensively on the end of his pipe, and stared at the young woman across from him. She met and held his gaze for several seconds, before nervously looking down and smoothing out a few non-existent wrinkles in her pants.

"I know I shouldn't be here…" she began, but the aged Hokage cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Under the circumstances, I believe it can be excused," he said. She glanced at him, and asked slowly,

"Then you believe what I've told you?"

The Hokage inclined his head slightly. "I'd be a fool to not at least consider it," he smiled gently. "I am many things, but I would like to think that a fool is not one of them," he added, with a touch of humor in his voice.

Nami hesitated, then said softly, "May I ask one thing?" Seeing Sandaime nod, she continued. "I'd like to remain here. This is my home, and I feel as though I've seen these things for a reason. My place is here…I want to protect…"

"Impossible," interjected Izumo, one of the shinobis at Sandaime's side. "You weren't supposed to return to this village at all, you're lucky Hokage-sama…"

"Enough," the Third said quietly, but firmly.

"Hokage-sama?" breathed the startled ninja.

"Did you seek the recommended treatment?" the Third asked Nami.

Nami nodded. "We were able to find her…and she gave me this," Nami stood up, and turned her back to the Hokage, pulling back her hair to reveal a seal on the back of her neck. It formed the vague shape of a triangle, which was made up of three parts. The top part was a narrow circle, which was intertwined with a perfect circle. Intersecting across the bottom of that circle was a dual arch, like two wave crests.

"How have you been feeling?" asked Sandaime, not unkindly.

Nami turned around, and sat back down. She shrugged, and answered "Okay, I guess," she smiled wanly. "I still don't sleep much…nightmares," she added, after a pause. "But there have been no further…incidents," she finished.

The Hokage appeared to be considering her words. He let out a long, slow puff of smoke, and closed his eyes. Making a decision, he opened them, and looking at Nami he said,

"Whether you stay or go is not a decision that can be made by one alone. This is something that should be, and will be discussed. In a few days, we will be holding a meeting to discuss the upcoming chunnin exams. I want you to be there, and then we can let your fellow shinobis decide. Until then, you are free to remain in Konaha. If you wait just a moment, arrangements will be made for a place for you to stay."

Nami bowed low. "Thank you, Hokage-Sama." She received a key and was told the location of an empty apartment that she could use, and she left quickly.

Once outside, Nami thought of the hostility she had seen in the eyes of Izumo and his friend, Kotetsu and shivered. She hadn't exactly been expecting the warmest of welcomes, but their continued distrust after all these years both surprised and saddened her. Clearly, the ten years in which she had been absent hadn't been sufficient, Nami thought a little bitterly. If former classmates of hers reacted this way, what could she expect from the rest of the village? Not that she completely blamed them. Nami sighed, and made her way back to Iruka's house. He still hadn't returned from his visit with Naruto, so Nami sat down out in front of his door to wait. Leaning her back against the cool stone exterior of the building, Nami closed her eyes and tried not to remember the day she was forced to leave Konaha.

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"And then, and then," Naruto said in an excited tone, "Kakashi-Sensei was trapped in this water-prison jutsu! And he told us to run…"

"Mmmm," muttered Iruka distractedly, as he twirled the noodles of his ramen around in the bowl. Sensing he didn't have his teacher's undivided attention, Naruto frowned and squawked disapprovingly, "Ne…IRUKA-SENSEI, have you even been listening?"

Iruka blinked, and looked at Naruto. "Of course I have. You just said how Kakashi-sensei was…"

"So who's that lady again?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Iruka was a bit thrown off balance by the sudden change in subject, and rubbing the back of his neck he replied, "Well, like I told you, she was in my genin group.."

"Then how come I haven't seen her before now? Has she been away on a mission or something?" Naruto interrupted.

"No," Iruka frowned, choosing his next words carefully. "She was…sick. No one here could really help her, so she and her family left to find someone who could."

"She's sick? She didn't look sick," Naruto frowned.

"No, she didn't, did she?" Iruka said, more to himself than to Naruto.

"But why was she gone so long then? She said ten years…?" Naruto trailed off, looking more than a little confused.

"Well, Nami had to see one of the legendary Sanin, Tsunade-sama. She isn't an easy person to track down," Iruka smiled, remembering some of the wilder stories he had heard about the woman.

"But ten years?" Naruto asked a bit incredulously. "Can it really take that long to find someone? And why did you ask her if she was in trouble?"

Iruka's eyes flicked away from Naruto. They settled on the empty bowl in front of the young boy. "Naruto," he said brightly, "You've finished already? How would you like another bowl?"

At the mention of more ramen, Naruto's eyes lit up and he began to enthusiastically shout his order to the old man that owned the restaurant. Iruka smiled, then continued,

"Why don't you finish telling me about your mission? How did you manage to get Kakashi free?"

Naruto enthusiastically resumed his tale, told between enormous mouthfuls of his favorite food. Iruka made sure that his attention did not wander again, more than a little grateful that his former student had such a large appetite and such a short attention span.