"We're home! We're finally home!" Eneko called, running down the hill. Itachi ran after her.
"Eneko! Ene-chan, wait up!" He called after her. Sasuke laughed and ran after them. Kakashi followed slowly, smiling to himself. Eneko ran straight through the gate, not even pausing to stop and look at the guards. All the guards felt was a burst of wind, followed by a second and then a third. Kakashi came up, waving.
"Sorry about those three. They haven't been home in almost a year." He apologized lazily. The guards just blinked at him. Eneko ran straight for her small house and burst through the door. She was on the floor, laughing, when Itachi finally caught up to her.
"Eneko-chan. Don't run off without me running off with you." He panted. Eneko laughed harder. She then got up and kissed him.
"We're finally home, Itachi! We're finally home! Now things can get back to normal…" She sighed and put her head on his chest. Itachi wrapped his arms around her in a sweet embrace.
"Normal isn't the word I would use… We've still got to get married, Eneko-chan." He murmured into her hair. Eneko smiled.
"But that won't be a problem. We're already in love…" she murmured back. Sasuke came in to see them like this.
"Get a room, you two." He muttered playfully, causing Itachi to growl and Eneko to go beet red. She shook it off quickly and turned to him, Itachi's arms still around her so now he was hugging her from behind.
"Sasuke. You need to go and see Sakura. Try and find Naruto as well. I'm cooking a welcome home dinner for all of us!" She informed them. Sasuke smiled and nodded, putting his hand on the door handle. Suddenly he let go and leapt back, forcing Eneko, Itachi and himself all to the ground. The door burst open with a loud crash and a familiar loudly dressed blonde-haired ninja was standing at the door, his eyes alight with excitement. All three of them leapt back to their feet and Eneko smiled largely.
"You're home, nee-chan!" Naruto cried, tackle-hugging Eneko around the middle. Eneko laughed and hugged him.
"We missed you, Naruto-kun!" She cried back, laughing. Itachi smiled, but his eyes were glinting protectively. Naruto noticed this.
"What's with you, Itachi-san? You never used to be this protective of Eneko-chan. Did something happen after I left?" Itachi nodded. Eneko put a hand in front of Itachi and Sasuke's mouths to keep them from telling the story.
"We'll tell you at dinner, Naruto-kun. Bring Hinata and take Sasuke with you to find Sakura. I'm cooking." She told him. Naruto's eyes glinted, excited.
"Yes ma'am, nee-chan! C'mon Sasuke!" He grabbed Sasuke's hand and dragged him off, both of them laughing. Itachi immediately hugged Eneko again, causing her to kiss him.
"You're going to get burned if you keep hanging onto me like that. I've got to cook, Tachi-kun." Itachi shook his head.
"Not yet, Eneko-chan. We've got to go talk to the hokage." Eneko's eyes widened and she nodded.
"That's right, we do! Come on, Itachi, let's go!" She called, running back out the door, but this time at a slower pace. Itachi grabbed her hand, and forced her to walk with him like that.
"You're not getting away from me again, Eneko-chan." He told her. She smiled and was content to walk down the streets of Konoha, hand in hand with her fiancé. People stopped to look at them every so often, but they usually ignored it. Finally they got to the hokage's building to find a lot of people darting back and forth, obviously following some sort of order. Eneko looked at Itachi, confused, and he shrugged, just as confused as she was. They went up to the hokage's office and knocked quietly on the door.
"Enter." Was called by a strong-sounding, gruff female voice. Itachi opened the door and lead Eneko in. Eneko came face to face with a blonde woman with harsh gold eyes. Her own green eyes blinked. "Who are you and what do you want?" Tsunade asked with a sigh, obviously overworked.
"Oh! Right, why we're here…Uhm…well…" Eneko stood up straight, just as if she was talking to a commanding officer. "My name is Tsubasano Eneko." Itachi got a glare and stood up as well.
"Uchiha Itachi." He muttered. Eneko elbowed him in the ribs and he flinched. "Ma'am." He added painfully.
"We've – no wait – I've been gone for around eight months on my own personal mission to find and bring back my fiancé, Uchiha Itachi. Two genin came with me, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Please, could you make the ANBU black ops stop attacking me? Last time I got poisoned and it was no picnic trying to get better." Tsunade's eyes were wide along with the black haired, dark-eyed woman standing beside her.
"You are Uchiha Itachi and Tsubasano Eneko?" She asked surprised. "Wait…ANBU attacks? Shizune, get me the ANBU mission file." Tsunade ordered. The dark haired woman quickly scurried from the room. "I never ordered for a party to be sent after you. Then again, I just got here and apparently can't do a thing right. But if you traveled with Naruto, I can tell you're a good person." Eneko laughed.
"I see you've fallen under Naruto's spell as well?" It was Tsunade's turn to laugh. She nodded.
"Yes, yes I believe I have. That boy is mesmerizing, he is. I don't think I've introduced myself. My name is Tsunade." Eneko's memory started scanning.
"Tsunade. You were on a genin team with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, under command by Sarutobi-sama, and can summon slugs, correct?" Tsunade's eyes went wide.
"Some memory you have there, Tsubasano-san." Tsunade acknowledged politely. Eneko put up her hand.
"Call me Eneko, at least, Tsunade-san." Tsunade grinned.
"Fine, but you have to call me Tsunade." Eneko grinned and looked up at Itachi.
"I like her, Tachi-kun." She told him. He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her. Shizune scurried back in, a manila folder in her hand, and handed it to Tsunade. She scanned through the file and pointed to a spot on the page.
"Rescue mission. Tsubasano Eneko has captured both Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto and assaulted Sabaku no Gaara while he was a guest for the chuunin exams." She read. Eneko fumed.
"I did not kidnap Sasuke-kun or Naruto-kun and I most defiantly did NOT assault Gaara-san! I sealed Shukaku so that he wouldn't be taken over like her usually was." Itachi pet her head, calming her down.
"We know, niji-chan. Calm down." Eneko turned to Itachi, a playful glint in her eyes.
"Oh, I get to calm down now, Itachi? Who's the one who nearly got himself killed by the ANBU by not being calm in the face of battle, hm? And that was when I was poisoned too!" She countered. Itachi grinned sheepishly and put his hands up defensively.
"Eneko-koi, calm down. We're in the presence of the new hokage." He told her nervously. Suddenly, someone transported themselves into the room in a plume of smoke, startling everyone. A familiar silver-haired jounin reading the infamous orange book was standing there.
"Hokage-sama. I have a nomination for this year's genin team captain." Kakashi told her lazily. The whole room blinked at him.
"Yes, Kakashi?" Tsunade asked, confused.
"Tsubasano Eneko. She just got back from a personal mission and – " He blinked his shown eye, looking up to see the person he was talking about staring at him. "Oh, she's here." He pointed at her. "Her. You should see how she handles Sasuke and Itachi when they're fighting." Eneko grinned manically before tackling Kakashi and taking the infamous orange book out of his hand.
"Tachi! Catch!" She called, throwing the book at him. Itachi caught it easily and began reading it to himself. Kakashi struggled under Eneko.
"Hey, give that back!" He yelled. Tsunade was laughing and Shizune was staring at Eneko and Itachi, horrified. Itachi made a face.
"Eneko-chan. There's a character in here that reminds me of you…except for her actions anyway…." He shuddered. Eneko did a few hand seals, using wood jutsu, much to everyone's surprise and pinning Kakashi to the floor. She stood up and went over to Itachi, taking the book from him and reading over it.
"I think I need to have a talk with Jiraiya. I never got this far into the book. Didn't like it much." She gave the book to Tsunade. "Anyway…what?" She asked, watching Tsunade's expression. "Why are you staring at me like that?" She asked, nervously.
"I think you do need to be a genin team leader. What do you say, Eneko? You and Itachi both should be team captains, seeing as how Itachi was an ANBU when he was here and you were ANBU material which qualifies both of you to do so." Eneko looked over at Itachi, then back at Tsunade.
"When are the next genin teams assigned?" She asked. Itachi stared at her. Tsunade smiled.
"In three months." She told them. Eneko smiled at Itachi.
"It gives us three months to get married, Tachi-kun? Please? I want to do this? Can't you do it with me?" She pouted. Itachi tried to stay his normal, indifferent self, but failed miserably, seeing the pout she sent him. He smiled and held up his hands in surrender.
"Only if you and I are co-teachers. I'm not going to teach one and you teach one." He told her. She looked back at Tsunade pleadingly and Tsunade smiled. The blonde hokage nodded and closed her eyes.
"It settles it then. Eneko Tsubasano and Itachi Uchiha are co-captains of one of our genin teams. And, Eneko, one more thing?" Eneko turned to Tsunade again.
"Yes, Tsunade?" She asked, tilting her head to the side. She pointed at Kakashi.
"Could you get him out of that and how did you perform wood-style jutsu?" Eneko snapped and the jutsu around Kakashi dissipated, letting him stand.
"The first was of my Clan originally. I'm related to him in some way or another, and it gives me his technique." She smiled, seeing Tsunade's surprised look. "My Clan called me the 'prodigy', just like Itachi's did. I know all of my Clan's jutsu except one…and I'm going to learn it…" She said, still smiling, even though her aura went cold. Itachi wrapped his arms around her again.
"Well then, report back to me in two-and-a-half months for jounin acceptance and don't forget to invite me to that wedding of yours. I'm the first's granddaughter." Eneko's eyes widened and she saluted playfully.
"Right." Both girls burst into laughs while the others in the room smiled. It was finally going back to normal in the Leaf Village.