AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok guys don't kill me! I know I haven't updated in a while but put the gun down!!!

Anyway its good to finialy update this. I would of updated a week or so earlier but I have been having extreme computer issues (reformatting a laptop plus not having the original OS disk plus no drivers on disk equals not happy fun times). I want to mention that after reading my story once over I seem to have a CRAP load of emotional moments that would probably have more of an effect if I had some time in-between them. The reason for having so many though is because of his return, I promise to get this story more level headed after everyone has seen him.

As for pairings I am still not certain. I see they updated the character lists on the search engine although they have yet to add Ayame to the list ( go figure). This is the longest chapter I have written for either stories so I hope the wait will be worth it. I'm going to try really hard to make my next chapter come faster, although college will be starting again for me soon so I don't know.

YOU MOFOS NEED TO REVIEW DARN IT! If I went by views technically the reviews should of doubled the last chapter but alas they didn't sadly haha. I'm not as big of a review whore as many other authors but I will say they do help. I haven't given stats for this story as of yet so they are as follows:

Alone I suffer
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Last but not least I would like to thank drag-eart for the picture he drew for his interpretation of Naruto in this story. He also has a very good story going on if any of you are interested you should check it out in his profile. I should have his picture in my profile very soon if you wish to see it.

Now on with the story!

Chapter 7

The two blondes had covered quite a bit of ground in the two hours they had been in conference. She questioned him about his travels and other events that took place on his three year journey which he replied most in a calm collected voice. Akatsuki had not managed to be able to track him since his new found evasion techniques he learned from his departed sensei and because of that he had yet to face any of them during his travels. He explained how he himself now had a bounty on him by a group of missing nin hence why he was unable to write in fear they would retaliate against his precious people. After he thoroughly recounted his leave of absence she took it upon herself to update him on the changes in the village.

The rookie nine plus Gai were all jounins at this point except they all had varied roles with their new ranks. Sasuke, Neji, Lee, Choji and Kiba joined the ANBU together and formed their own squad with the Uchiha being the leader. Shikamaru was asked if he wanted to join the squad as well but he merely commented it was -insert Shikamaru cliché here- and decided to take his own genin team instead (go figure). Shino joined the interrogation department as Ibiki's prized protégé who's "work" had spread throughout the ninja nations causing many to not risk the chance of being captured doing missions against Konoha . Sakura convinced the Hokage to allow Ino and Hinata (although the latter still held deep resentment for the pinky) to join under her tutelage and all three were now among the top 4 medic nins in the fire country (Tsunade being number 1 of course).They still went on missions occasionally but the three used their seemingly natural medical talents to help at the hospital more often then ever. Tenten decided after passing her joinin exam that she would still do missions during the summer but during the school year she would teach at the academy. Many asked her why she would take such a drop in pay and job title which she always answered "The future of this village is the youth and I'm going to help mold it". After Sai became a jounin he merely began taking more "A" and "S" rank missions, happy to be by himself again. She finished explaining and waited for his response.

"Ahh I see, that's great news" the hunter nin stated with a ghost of a smile on his features. All the information was new to him but he was only mildly surprised as he expected his friends would become stronger in his absence.

"So what are you plans Naruto? You're still a genin after all and the next chunnin exam is months away" she expected to get a rise out of him but he merely stared back at her impassively.

"It really doesn't matter to me anymore. Although I'm confident I could pass the exam I think I'll stay out of it. What my master taught me was not meant to be flaunted in a completion much less in front of an audience" he stated calmly to the blonde before him.

"So you're going to remain a genin forever?" her voice utterly surprised. The demon vessel merely smiled lightly at her response.

"genin, chunnin and jounin are all just as easily susceptible to death. You know how many "jounin" I have slain without them even knowing what was happening?" his eyes momentarily phased from their normal blue hue to that of ice. They quickly reverted back as he continued after a brief pause.

"Those ranks mean nothing to me; as long as I attain the title that allows me to be this village's sole protector." He paused reaching into his jacket grasping the stone he wore. He stood from his chair and walked to the main window over looking the village. Tsunade did not expect such a mature answer from her guest, but nonetheless she could understand his point of view.

"I will talk to the counsel about the possibility of organizing a test that will not force you to reveal your new abilities to the public. Also with this test you may be able to skip chunnin and jump right to special jounin since your bounty record obviously shows you're more then capable. I can't break tradition and give you A and S rank missions if you're still a genin so until then I want you to take a month of leave on the reserve duty roster."

The blonde teen's head shot from the window in a heartbeat.

"You can't be serious" his voice almost sounded upset. The Hokage's face dropped as she gazed into her surrogate son's blue orbs.

"Naruto…you have been gone for over three years without even writing one letter to anyone from your home village….Why are you in such a rush to get away friends and family?" she emphasized her last word as she too felt as if the young man wanted to distance himself from her. His face visibly softened realizing how he may have sounded. He walked over to her desk and sat down on it right next to her.

"It's not that I don't care about you or my friends…It's just that I'm not the same person anymore. Everyone is going to be expecting me to be wearing that fake face that I paraded around town all those years except this time I can't even remember how to do it anymore." he patted his hand to her shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"I live so that I can keep a very important promise. All that matters is that you and everyone else are safe." he forced a smile trying to dissolve her concerned face. Although his last words touched her heart at the same time it pained her to see the boy she knew had changed so much. She put on a smile regardless.

She stood up and ruffled his hair "I understand brat, just make sure you stay here for good now. Also could you try to lighten up? For me?" he smiled back at his motherly figure.

"I'll do what I can Baa-chan" he said quietly.

Normally his disrespectful reference would make her crazy, but the fact he was so distant made every bit of familiarity precious. He stood up walking towards her door. He reached down and picked up his mask that was discarded earlier and returned it to his face. When he reached the door he turned around.

"I forgot to mention earlier I found a little girl living out on the street last night. What I don't understand is why something like this would be overlooked in such a prosperous village." He frowned under his mask recalling the feeble state he found the tiny child in. The busty blonde's features seemed to question his words but she immediately schooled her features.

"I honestly don't know how she was overlooked unless something happened. I'll send Shizune to the local orphanages and find out if they had any recent runaways. She left to inspect the hospital medical staff almost an hour before you came so she should be back very soon." The blonde hunter nin nodded in return. When he was close to leaving he let out a brief chuckle.

"Also, it's nice to see you too Kakashi-sensei, Anko-san and Kureini-san" he then disappeared into a swirl of leaves as the door close instantly. The red eyed jounin dropped the genjutsu and the three jounins were revealed in 3 corners of the room.

"So he knew we were here the whole time and didn't say anything?" the copy ninja stated scratching his head. The purpled haired kunoichi merely smirked.

"He's so tall now……I wonder if everything else has grown.." she said in a husky voice as she licked her lips. The genjitsu mistress merely shook he head at her fellow jounin.

"You haven't seen the boy in 3 years and that's all you can think about?" she let out a long sigh as he raised her head to the Hokage.

"It's hard to believe that he was the boy who painted graffiti all over the Hokage monument" Kurieni said in a low tone. The Hokage's face grimaced momentarily before taking on a confident smile.

"Don't worry, give it a little while and he will be back to normal in no time" she beamed at the fellow occupants. Kakashi looked down at where the blonde teen had been sitting on the desk moments ago.

"I hope so Hokage-sama"

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"Iruka-sensei I don't want to learn about the leaf exercise!" a boy in his preteen's yelled to his teacher. Iruka scrunched his brow looking at the boy in one of the back rows of his classroom. This generation was just like any other he had taught; troublesome. He looked around the classroom seeing a large percentage of the other children scowling back at him. He looked back at the original trouble maker and let out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm just curious Akiro…since you seem to dislike everything I try to teach you guys.. What would you suggest we learn next?" the black haired student's face instantly brightened up at the notion of him choosing the class topic.

"Tell us the story about how Naruto-san saved Sasuke and brought him back to the village!" as if the word Naruto was a code word for something, the entire class surged with life at the mention of the name.

"Yeah sensei! Tell us how he helped save the Kazekage from those bad guys!" another boy said as he jumped up from his chair raising a fist in the air.

"Can you please tell us about how Naruto-kun saved Hokage-sama from that evil snake man?!" a girl said as she and many others began blushing and giggling almost simultaneously.

The information regarding the blonde's exploits had spread shortly after he left for the second time. Most of the information regarding Akatsuki was censored but the details of the battles were declassified to the chunnin and below after many of the demon container's friends and supporters thought that perhaps allowing the public to know his deeds would shed new light on the boy.

They couldn't be more pleased with the results.

The scarred chunnin smiled at the excited displays of his pupils thinking back about his blonde student. He was happy to say the least that his precious friend had gained so much support from the village after many villagers realized how foolish the hate was that they were harboring against him. He was brought out of his thoughts after hearing a faint knocking on the classroom door.

"Enter" he said as the door slowly began to slide open. The class was momentarily brought out of their musings as they watched the door inch its way to the side revealing a tall masked blonde Shinobi.

"Can I help you hunter-san?" the chunnin said. He looked up and down the hunter nin feeling as though he felt somewhat familiar. He returned his eyes to the red mask he was wearing and noticed the distinct spikey blonde hair.

"Iruka-sensei, you're still making them learn that lame leaf concentration exercise?" the masked nin's voiced echoed in the classroom in a playful manner.

The class instantly liked the man.

Iruka on the other hand was utterly speechless as he tried to form the words he wanted to say. His mouth opened numerous times but shut almost in the same instant. The blonde reached to his face and pulled the mask of revealing his angular tired features. The scarred chunnin eyes widened as the whisker marks confirmed his suspicions. There they both stared at the each, one's face looking like a fish and the others holding a tired, rare guanine smile. The boy Akiro still standing looked at the tall Shinobi and then back at his sensei wondering what was going on.

"Why are you acting so weird Sensei? And who is that guy?" the chunnin suddenly broke from his thoughts hearing his students query. He looked back at his class seeing the confusion-ridden features upon all their faces. He studied his old student and excitedly waved him over to come in.

"Everyone, I would like to introduce my favorite student, although many of you already know who he is" the brown haired chunnin smiled mischievously at his students. The few that had made outbursts earlier glared at him in response. His grin widened as he watched them ponder the hunter nin's identity. The blonde walked into the class looking over the young academy students. He was surprised to see many of the girls were blushing and even more surprised that quite a few boys were staring at him with awe struck expressions. He put on decent smile as he turned to face the class.

"For the record, it was Baa-chan who saved me from that snake bastard, I just happened to beat the crap out of Kabuto with the 4th's technique before that"

He closed his eyes scratching the back of his head out of embarrassment. The sound of squealing girls brought him out of his musings as he covered his ears. He opened his eyes seeing a horde of students filling out of their rows towards him with rabid looks in their eyes. He looked back at his old sensei for help but he merely smiled evilly at the blonde's plight. He felt arms tugging at all his sides as the girl's fought for the best place to latch on to the blonde's waist. The boys on the other hand stood looking up at him starry eyed like he was some sort of royalty. He tried to keep up but soon was overcome by the many questions launched at him.

"Naruto-san is that a real katana? Can I see?" Ohhing and Ahhing filled the room.

"Is it true you developed your own technique that could incapacitate the third Hokage?" Iruka slapped his forehead at that one.

"Cool mask Naruto-san! Can I wear it?" Ohhing and Ahhing filled the room once again.

"Do you have a girlfriend Naruto-kun?" giggles and squealing deafened the room's occupants.

The blonde hunter nin stared baffled at all the bright young smiling faces around him while trying to understand why they knew so much about him. A rare glimmer of happiness entered his heart seeing the students so captivated by him, but that feeling was quickly lost after a sad realization. He inwardly sighed knowing the cold hard truth; they did not know what was sealed inside of him.

The classmate's faces all scrunched in confusion seeing the blonde's sleep deprived eyes stare off into space. Iruka noticed as well and decided to step in.

"I'm sure Naruto would love to answer all your questions but perhaps later would be better. After all, he has been away from the village for over three years and probably needs some rest." The students all sighed in desperation. The blonde looked up at his old sensei with true gratitude at his quick safe.

"Alright guys, I'm going to go ahead and let class out early today"

Saying the mood of the children going from disappointed to excited would be an understatement. Before they could run out Iruka quickly squashed their hopes of complete nirvana.

"You better be ready for tomorrow though...We are going to do double the work to make up for today!" he yelled with a Gai-like pose and smile.

The mood went back to disappointed in a heartbeat.

They all filed out of class saying their goodbyes to their sensei and blonde demi-god and soon enough the two were alone. The blonde looked down at his feet trying to put together the proper words to explain himself.

'Lets see...I catch Sakura sleeping with Sasuke and almost lose control of Kyuubi, then I leave the next day for three years without saying a word or explanation and don't say goodbye to the one of the first people to accept me for who I am'

The guilt began to manifest inside of him wondering if his first parental figure would be able to understand why he left without a word. Silence crept upon them as he continued contemplating any string of words to begin his explanation.

"Iruka sensei I'm-"

"It's ok Naruto"

The blonde raised his head to his old sensei as the guilt claimed his features. To his surprise the chunnin was smiling back at him.

"I heard what happened….I myself don't know what I would have done in your shoes" the blonde flinched upon the mention of the very act that almost pushed him over the edge. He unconsciously ran his palm over the scar as if trying to lull the memories back to sleep into the dark reassesses of his mind.

"I want you to know that I'm always here for you if you need to talk. We may not be related by blood, but I do consider you my family. Next time you could at least leave a postcard if your going to leave." He said chuckling lightly.

His touching words quickly dissipated all the guilt and pain that had grown since he began walking to the academy. The demon vessel felt a genuine smile take his features as he looked at one of his most precious people. He felt the chunnin's arms wrap around him and embrace him as his family, the only family he had left.

"Thank you Iruka-sensei" he said as he felt his body begin to relax, sleep threatening to creep up behind him. Sleep was something he longed for more then anything, but he knew better then to fantasize about getting any. Today was becoming a huge emotional rollercoaster for the blonde, yet it wasn't exactly a bad thing for him. Both men failed to notice a certain jounnin kunoichi who was watching their display from the door.

"Ummm…sorry to interrupt but I wanted you to go over…..Naruto?" the blonde hunter slowly backed out of the embrace and turned around to face none other then Tenten. She eyed him down suspiciously as she took a few steps inside the room. His face remained impassive as he watched her look him over as if trying to decipher some sort of encrypted text.

"I'm happy to see you are well Tenten-san" he said respectfully with a short bow to the confused woman. She knew the boy was none other then the blonde prankster from the rookie nine, however his change in appearance and behavior was a bit shocking to say the least. The last time she saw him was a few weeks before he left village after "the incident" had occurred. Then he was just a tiny bit taller then herself but only by an inch or two; now the man towered over her, his face also reflecting his growth with how chiseled his jaw line appeared. Like all people who had seen the hunter nin return, she was eerily drawn to his weary sapphire eyes, as if trying to find answers to unasked questions.

"Ehh-hem" Iruka coughed. Both turned back towards the chunnin sensei.

"Since I don't have class, why don't we head to your all time favorite ramen stand ehh Naruto? I'm very interested in what happened over your long journey." He walked next to him and gave him a mischievous smile.

"I'll even pay!"

The hunter nin smiled back and nodded in agreement. Tenten's mouth was still wide open trying to find words to say, but remained silent. The other two gazed up at her with confused looks.

"Tenten-san, I think I just saw a fly buzzing around inside your mouth"

The hunter nin's words quickly woke her from a stupor while she blushed to extraordinarily crimson haze.

"Sssorry Naruto-san, I did not me-an to stare" she said looking down at her feet. He waved his hand dismissing any offense.

"Its fine, your reaction to seeing me has to be the most toned down version I have received today" he said smiling back at her. She looked up and met his gaze again but quickly looked away; she was having trouble keeping her mind focused to which she could not understand why.

"I'm sure Naruto doesn't mind if you wish to join us right Naruto?" the Kyuubi container nodded truthfully in response.

"I would looove to- I mean I-I would like to join you but I'm a bit behind on my work. I was actually coming by to drop off some papers I wanted you to look over when you get a chance Iruka-san." She walked up to his desk and set them down, making sure to keep her head down as she passed the tall blonde. She returned back to the door briefly after.

'Why can't I look him in the face? grrrrrrr I'm acting so stupid, I barely know the guy, I shouldn't be acting like this!' she inwardly yelled at herself.

"I'll make sure to look those over and get them back to you tomorrow"

The woman nodded in return and smiled back at the two men.

"Well I'm going to get back to work, It was nice seeing your again Naruto-kun I….I know Lee has missed you and your sparring sessions, and Neji…is Neji, I'm sure he would like to see you too." She said quickly and she bowed and left the men alone.

Iruka looked at the now vacant spot she had been standing and smiled to himself

'I'm going to enjoy teasing her about that display later'

"So are you ready to go Mr. Hunter-nin?"

The blonde nodded to his old sensei and reached to grab his mask from his belt before the chunnin grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Why don't you leave that off? I haven't seen you for years and would like to see your face while we talk, if that's ok with you."

The blonde hesitated for a moment, trying to think back to the last time he walked freely without his hunter nin mask. He opted to leave it off while he trained with his old master during their sessions, but shortly after his death he began wearing it again. It finally occurred to him that unless he was taking a shower or eating (which he did very quickly) he had wore that mask almost the entire 2 and a half years after his sensei's demise.

'I guess it wouldn't hurt to do him this one request, I owe that much to him at the very least.' His arm went back to his side and he nodded to his old sensei.

"On your way I need to pick up something really quick and then stop by the hospital if you wouldn't mind"

Iruka gave him a puzzled look before nodding with a smile and together they walked out of the classroom.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he will be here soon"

The raven haired little girl did nothing to respond as she just laid there in her bad, clutching the faded photo her savior had given her earlier that morning. The Blonde haired medic nin had arrived around noon for her shift at the hospital when she heard the news from her pink haired best friend-once rival. At first she was happy about the other blonde returning home, everyone missed him in some way or another but few would really talk about him knowing how the topic of why he had left in the first place usually surfaced in the conversation. What was in the past was in the past, but many knew how much the boy loved his girlfriend at that time, and it hurt many of them knowing how much pain he must have been in. What made her a little sad after such good news was how Sakura found out it was indeed him. She figured it could have been a lot worse, and he had every right to do what he did, but she could still tell it left her friend quite unsettled. After Ino arrived Sakura was sent home for the day shortly after for being sick, but everyone knew the truth that she was just too shook up from her morning encounter to continue.

Presently the blonde kunoichi was trying to understand why the girl was unable to speak. After reading Sakura's diagnosis about her other ailments she was curious if maybe something was wrong with her vocal cords. She ran her own medic nin diagnostic and found her self concurring with the original assessment. The cause of the little girl being mute was not that she could not speak, merely she would not speak. They both summarized that perhaps something happened that induced something along the lines of shellshock or another form of extreme psychological stress that was blocking her ability to freely communicate with others. Sakura had mentioned that Naruto planned on coming back in the afternoon to visit the child and it was almost half after three. She hoped he came back soon for seeing the girl so focused on waiting for his return was cute but a little sad as well. She was about to leave to check on the other patients when a she heard voices outside the door accompanied by knocking.

"Come in" she said in calm voice. She watched as the door creaked open, revealing the chunnin Iruka and a blonde nin clad in all black. They both stopped their conversation upon seeing who the nurse was.

"Ahh hello Ino" the chunnin voiced happily. The words didn't seem to register as the blonde merely stared at the tall hunter nin that accompanied him. Their eyes met briefly before before the demon container averted his gaze to the now fully alert little girl.

"It's been a long time Ino-san, I hope things have gone well for you" he bowed his head to her and then walked to the opposite side of the bed with one arm behind his back. "I see you're taking good care of the little one. I'm relieved she has been in good hands since I brought her here." He said smiling at the little girl ruffling her hair with his free hand. Ino couldent help blushing at the compliment she had received, even though it was her job to take care of everyone there. She looked down at the little girl and noticed for the first time since she had been on shift her face actually appeared to be content rather then worried. She was brought out of her thoughts when the hunter nin spoke again.

"I would like to introduce you to someone very special to me" he said moving to the side allowing Iruka to get closer to the bed. She eyed him suspiciously when he first arrived moments ago, but upon hearing his companion's statement she visibly seemed more willing to be trusting of him. He stood a foot from the head of the bed looking down at the child.

"My name's Iruka" he then bowed his head slightly. He was informed on the way about how the girl had yet to even speak to Naruto so he wasn't surprised when she didn't respond. Naruto took his place next to him and smiled down to her.

"So you ready to get out of this hospital and go get some ramen?"

The girl's face beamed with a light he had yet to see since the little bit of time he had known her. She didn't need to smile to let them know she was definitely looking forward to getting out of the hospital. Her eyes traced to the corner of the room where he tattered dress hung on a rack. The demon vessel caught the look in her eyes and remembered why they stopped on the way to the hospital.

"I almost forgot, no princess I have ever heard of would ever wear rags when going out to get something to eat" he said smiling. He didn't mean to make her feel bad but it seemed she took it the wrong way as she looked down at her chest. He quickly rebounded back to his original intentions. He moved his hand from behind his back revealing a rather large paper buddle tied up with a box under it. She looked at it curiously as he set it on her lap.

"Go ahead, open them hime" he said quietly. The girl wasted no time and got to work on opening the bundle first. Ino wouldn't admit it but seeing the display between the two made her a tiny bit jealous. She had dated many people since her days at the academy but never would dream of being treated so sweetly, even if it was just because she was a little girl. In the five minutes he had been in the room he had changed a girl's mood instantly, something not many people could do she mused. She was relieved he was too focused on the girl to notice her eyeing him down from head to toe. The child had ripped the last section off the tied bundle revealing 3 beautifully designed kimonos: one pink one with flowers, a blue one with white swirls that looked like waves , and an orange one that had red Konoho spirals on it like what used to be on the back of the hunter nin's old orange jacket. She was so mesmerized by the clothing she had yet to even open the other box which would reveal a brand new pair of sandals (which he hoped he had choice the right size). Her face looked as if she had seen a ghost. After a minute or so she then opened the other box seeing the new sandals.

"I hope you like the colors, I picked them myself and am not too experienced with any sort of fashion" he said waiting patiently for her response. He was very pleased with the end result. She slowly raised her head and to everyone's surprise her face no longer had the dull expression she had worn since that morning; she was smiling.

"You should smile more often hime-chan, it shows how pretty your face is" the raven haired girl surprised them again when she started blushing a deep shade of pink looking down away from the blonde hunter nin. Ino couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped her lips seeing the girl so embarrassed. Iruka seemed to enjoy the display as well but decided not to embarrass her anymore then she already was. Naruto was a little overwhelmed by the feelings that began to enter his heart, the feelings he had long buried deep down in order to protect himself from anyone getting close. He kept his eyes on the girl's face trying to understand what it was that made him so willing to make her happy. He had only met her less then a day ago but he found himself rapidly wanting to be more involved with her wellbeing. He still wasn't sure if he was making the right choice in possibly allowing him and her to grow more attached, but decided he would think on that later.

"Take them with you along with the shoes and decide which one you want to wear today and then we can leave after you're done changing" the girl looked back up and nodded quickly as she hopped over the bed running towards the bathroom and closing the door behind her. The demon vessel shifted his gaze from the door back to the other blonde.

"I forgot to ask if you would mind if she could leave with us for a few hours" he said scratching the back of his head.

"To be honest I think a walk around the village and getting some fresh air with a hot bowl of ramen would do her well." She said smiling back at him.

"Thank you Ino-san. I'm curious where she is going to be placed after she is completely released from the hospital. I'll have to talk to Shizune-san tomorrow"

A few minutes later the door opened and all eyes were drawn to it. She walked out wearing the new sandals in the orange kimono she chose to wear first. The hunter nin was surprised that she had chosen the orange outfit out of the three beautiful kimonos and smiled inwardly at her decision. She walked forward to the front of the demon vessel looking up at him with a tiny smile.

"There is no question about it now. You are a princess" he laughed lightly as the others joined in. Her face suddenly looked down with her bangs covering her face hiding her expression. The hunter-nin quickly noticed and realized maybe he had said something wrong. He bent down to one knee so that he was eye level with the girl and tried to see her face.

"I wasn't trying to be mea-ummphdfh"

He felt the wind knocked out of him as the girl launched herself into his chest. Her little arms wrapped his back as he buried her face into his neck. Her chest shook lightly as she sobbed into the hunter-nin's chest, letting herself open up to him with her raging sea of emotions. He ran his arms around her and brought her closer into his chest, remembering the day the 3rd Hokage had bought him his first orange jump suit and how happy it made him feel to have someone care. His chest wrenched in pain as his memory began surfacing the bottled up emotions he had forced into the back of his mind. He wanted to join her in his heart, but he could not. He had not shed a tear since the day his master was slain by his own hands, the day he knew he had keep his emotions in check in order to not allow his tenant to take over his mind. He did the next best thing he could think of; he held tightly and let her cry for both of them.