Chapter one

One day during the seeming endless spring, just at the very beginning of the New Year, Raven decided. He'd decided it was time, waiting for his weekly check-up which usually consisted of a blood sample and reflex checks, he'd make his move.

Which he did, one of the few times that it would be Tsunade herself Raven spoke for what was the first time in she couldn't remember how long, she almost shook it off as her imagination. But being shaken from the usual routine when he spoke again; "I'm ready to go"

Haven spoken to himself for so long Raven was actually unsure whether he thought it or actually said it, but upon seeing a shocked reaction and stare from Tsunade who was prepping his arm for a needle, he knew he had said it.

Tsunade wasn't 100 sure what to say and still not sure if she'd heard him correctly, "Raven did you say something?" she had to ask, she couldn't explain it exactly but she had to ask again to make sure she'd not just been working too much.

".. I'm ready to go" Raven repeated, he did partly expect this kind of reaction, from his count it'd been exactly two years and ninety three days since he'd said something to someone other than himself. His previous communication being a simple nod or shake of the head with no more than a glance, it truly was something Tsunade had to think twice about.

"Ready to go?" Tsunade had hoped that during the time of what happened before and now, that they'd of spoken more, although for the moment any dialogue was something she was happy for, not like she knew what he meant though.

"Yes" every word that Raven was saying was helping him; he was starting to feel a little bit more ready.

"To go where?" Tsunade did indeed notice the fact his confidence was although only in small increments steadily increasing, having abandoned the needle on a nearby table. The taking of his blood wasn't needed if he was intending to return to the village and he wouldn't need to be checked so regularly.

"Back.. I'm ready"

It was actually quite sad how much he truly had fallen, being a once strong and promising young shinobi, to the person that she was witnessing. Sure he'd grown physically, but she knew he'd been doing training to keep fit so it wasn't totally surprising that he'd grown into a 5ft 9inch teenage version of kakashi, the main difference being the face and his hair which although the similar colour was in a style that resembled hyuuga neji. Something that Raven would never grow out of.

Feeling slightly more confident Raven stood up from a dark dust covered table, Ravens accommodations were kept as clean as the hospital, but having only Raven living their and his lack of movement, dust would settle in almost an instant.

Tsunade stepped back to have a look at Raven face to face, his face which used to always be so happy and excited upset her greatly to see him like this, so void of emotion. Tsunade had hope though; she had always felt that although in the beginning it would be awkward, when Raven returned to living openly in the village he would become happy again. Then maybe he'd eventually be in the state of mind to become a shinobi again. When a few years back all gennin and chuunin were retested when new policies and rules were established, Raven not in a state of mind to take the exam again technically lost his gennin rank, becoming nothing more that a civilian of konoha.

"Back where? Back to the village?" she had hoped this was the case, seeing him walking through the village like before was something she'd in fact been looking forward to for a long time.

Raven just nodded in reply, looking up into tsunades eyes Raven tried his best to stay strong, giving her a soft almost invisible smile, Raven glanced towards the doorway. Taking a few steps towards a window Tsunade opened the curtains slightly, which Raven hadn't opened more than twice the entire two years. Light poured in, totally illuminating the room, Raven closed his eyes quickly and tried his best to adjust to the sunlight that he hadn't seen in so long. After a few minutes he opened his eyes again, squinting and walking slowly over towards the window he looked out over the entire village, a clear view from the gate to tsunades hokage office. Taking in the sights he saw many differences from when he went in to begin with, although because of not opening the curtains for so long he'd forgotten slightly what it did look like to begin with. Raven thought it was silly to not even know the village he lived in anymore, but it was just another sign of how much he was affected by what happened.

"A lots changed since the last time you opened these I'm sure, if you truly are going to go back maybe we should get someone to show you around" Raven noted the concern in her voice, he was thankful she was being so kind and understanding, she was as an older sister to him before and now she still was.

"Thank you… I'd like that" hearing this from Raven, Tsunade was so pleased and happy, she could really tell he was trying to come back. With a smile and a nod she thought of asking sakura but remembered she was on a mission to the sand country with naruto and kakashi, so she was out of the question. Thinking of someone else was a bit difficult, after sakura, Hinata was the next choice, but it was too soon for Raven and Hinata to meet again, Tsunade thought about neji to show him around but neji was also on a mission. In fact one of the only people Tsunade knew Raven knew that wasn't on a mission was ino, shikamaru and Chouji were away on a special research mission. So ino was left helping her family run their flower shop. Tsunade decided, ino would show Raven around the now unfamiliar konoha, if and when naruto got back they were to avoid confrontation at all costs. With a comforting smile of reassurance Tsunade rested a hand on Ravens shoulder, "Raven if you follow me through the tunnel you can follow me to the hospital, once their you can wait while I get your escort."

Raven nodded and tried his best to smile back; almost eerie in a way but it was something that made Tsunade happier none the less. Not only was Raven talking again but he decided to return to normal village life, it wasn't just a small breakthrough but it was a sudden gush of activity, walking towards the entrance she came in through, she waved for Raven to follow.

Raven looked around his room revelling in the idea he'd soon be gone from there and followed Tsunade, walking through a somewhat dark and long tunnel which went straight through the mountains, the smell of old dusty air was no loner what Raven was smelling, as they were reaching closer and closer to the exit the smell of what Raven thought was trees and fresh air bellowed up his nostrils. Finally at the end he arrived into a bright room, which he remembered as being a security post responsible for him. A medical ninja that came in to deliver supplies and get blood tests was shocked to see Raven following Tsunade; he actually stood up to find out what was happening.

"Tsunade-sama, is something wrong?" he said softly yet a hint of surprise to his voice, something Raven picked up on instantly.

Just as Tsunade was about to answer the confused medic's question Raven looked over at him trying his best version of a smile so far, "nothing is wrong, I'm returning to the village".

A nearly inaudible gasp and slight flicker of his eyelid was something Raven noticed, he understood it meant he was confused as to the sudden change but being sat at a desk and monitoring just one single person who didn't speak, didn't leave, or move around much. Was confusing to say the least.

Tsunade just smirked slightly and exited the room, entering into a long and even brighter corridor Raven realised that in the direction Tsunade was heading for was the waiting area he'd walked through when being emitted into seclusion.

Funny how some things stick and some just slip away. Following Tsunade Raven looked around his surroundings, unsure if what he saw now was the same 2 years ago. The lack of communication of the two wasn't something to think twice about, after all Raven just assumed Tsunade was taking in all that was happening and what had to be done to implement what was going to happen. The smell of clean floors and bleach was somewhat new again to Ravens senses, taking in everything was a bit of a heavy load but he felt he was managing well. Down the corridor Raven glanced briefly out of a window and into a large flower garden, a few people he didn't recognise sitting down on a large stone bench in front of what sounded like a water feature of some kind.

Once at the end of the corridor Tsunade and Raven arrived at the reception waiting area, with a quick glance and a few words to one of the receptionists Tsunade turned back around to face Raven.

"Ok if you take a seat I'll be right back," Tsunade said with a reassuring warm smile, before walking out of the main entrance doors and into a road leading into town.

Raven glanced around the area, noticing a empty seat near the reception he sat down, taking a moment to survey his surroundings he noticed 2 of the 3 receptionists looking him over, as well as some people who were also sat down waiting, they all seemed to be looking and whispering among themselves. Feeling a little uneasy from being looked at like some sort of show Raven fidgeted in his chair, his chairs where he'd been living were slightly warn down wooden chairs. The chairs he was sitting on now were soft and bouncy, he knew it'd be something that'd need getting used to. Another one of the sad facts he knew he'd have to face whenever he was going to come back.

Hearing a faint sound of laughter Raven turned towards the receptionists one more time, catching a single word from what they were talking to each other about. The word "cute" didn't quite compute fully, Raven still had to re-learn most of what was normal. He wasn't brave enough however to start up conversations with people he didn't know just yet. Which reminded him of who might be showing him around, if he knew the person their would be odd questions, if he didn't then he wouldn't know what to say at all.

Talking to himself was so much easier, but he knew it probably wasn't a wise idea to talk to himself out loud, still unsure if what he'd been saying was actually being said or just in his head just convinced him to stay quiet and wait.

Waiting a few minutes he heard what sounded like Tsunade's voice, then he picked up slightly on a female voice, which although slightly unfamiliar it was also familiar at the same time. Everything just making him more anxious wasn't making it any easier to figure out what to say to the questions he'd be expecting.

When he finally saw tsunades feet he stood up, walking towards the door he stopped and waited, first he saw the person's feet, small and dainty. Most likely female, then he saw halfway up her leg, noticing the start of a skirt of some kind, a kind of purple fabric. The closer Tsunade got the closer it got to Raven meeting the person who'd show him around the place he'd previously called home.

Once above the person's waist he noticed a patch of blond hair, which seemed like it was in a long ponytail, sifting through his memories Raven tried hard to remember who it might be, if indeed he did know her. When Tsunade finally got in full view and entered the door she walked over to him and smiled.

"Raven you remember ino?"

Raven remembered, she'd hang out with sakura, like before he become gennin he'd sorted out a little incident between them, but now she was different.

She was taller, her figure had grown, she was obviously older, her hair was in a slightly different style, which accentuated the soft features of her face, especially lips that shone with a dash of sunlight dancing across them. Tsunade she could sense an odd feeling from him. Looking her over he was unsure what he was feeling exactly, it was like he felt attracted to her, although he never understood the idea of being attracted to someone before.

Tsunade noticed a few twitches and glances Raven made at Ino, part of her wanted to giggle at a silent conclusion, making her truly feel like her 2nd adopted brother was back.

With a soft and sweet smile upon her face she nodded and tilted her head slightly, causing her hair to sway a little "Raven, it's been a long time" she felt a similar attraction to Raven, the last time she saw him was the moments after he was brought back from orochimaru. He'd changed a lot since then, he'd grown taller, his shoulders had grown out, his hair was longer and his body seemed more muscular under his clothes, she couldn't help but think that Raven had grown into a handsome man. She knew that the Raven she knew before wasn't the same person she saw now, although she could still see a hidden smile in their somewhere. Their was a definite paleness to his skin, he was milky compared to her slight tan, having been filled in on what really happened and why, along with where he'd been during the past 2 years just helped her paint a picture in her mind of the place he had been, a perpetually dark room. In a world which probably felt just as dark, she had indeed been through some bad missions and situations since the two had last seen each other. But she didn't think she'd be able to go through with the choice Raven made, let alone for over two whole years.

As the two looked over each other Raven finally spoke up, "yeah it's been a while..". Needless to say there was many feelings from both sides, Raven finally coming out of his seclusion and meeting an old friend. And ino for finally being able to see for her own eyes that Raven was ok.

"I hate to interrupt the reunion but I have work to do, Ino I've told you the basics, show Raven around, avoid…. and take care of him. Raven if you have any questions ask ino, she's smart and knows the village well, also avoid any trouble, if you feel uncomfortable it's ok to return here and give everything a chance to settle in. Needless to say this is a big change for you and the people who still consider you a friend. No need to rush." Tsunade hoped for the best and she wanted to be able to show Raven around herself, but she had a lot of work to do and shizune would catch her eventually. She trusted ino to do it for her though.

With a smile and a quick nod Tsunade was off, she knew if she stayed any longer it'd be harder to resist abandoning her oh so joyful work.