I don't own the Naruto characters. This is my first Naruto fanfic, so let me know what you think.
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Naruto stood outside the gates of Konoha, staring at his old home. He had dreamed about this moment for two long years, and now that he was finally home he was too scared to go inside. He had changed so much in the time he had been gone. Six months of torture had made him more reserved and quiet. He had become much stronger while training during the year he lived with Kizake, the ninja who rescued him from Kabuto. And he had become used to solitude while living alone for another six months. He was afraid of how his old friends would receive him. Naruto took a deep breath and walked through the gates. He had come this far, he might as well see his "mission" the rest of the way through.
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Tsunade sat in her office, leaning on her desk and dozing off. Technically she was supposed to be filling out paperwork on the latest missions, but she still had a hangover from the night before and didn't want to think about anything. She jumped when someone knocked on her door; she had asked not to be disturbed.
"Come in," she said irritably. This had better be important. The door opened and one of her ANBU guards walked in. He bowed quickly.
"Shikamaru is here to see you about his mission, Tsunade-sama," the guard reported.
"Send him in," she sighed. I suppose this is important. She quickly smoothed down her hair and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, sitting up in the chair. She pulled out a file and began to go through the motions of examining it. When the young ninja entered, she gratefully shoved the file aside and motioned to a chair on the other side of her desk. "So, how was the mission?"
"Very troublesome. You really should check your ranking system; that had to be at least a B-rank mission. But we completed our goal and all returned safely," the lazy shinobi answered.
"Thank you for reporting so quickly. I'm sure you're tired; go get some rest…." The hokage was interrupted by someone else knocking on her door. "I'm in a meeting," she snapped.
"This is very important, Tsunade-sama. A strange ninja is here to see you on a matter of urgent business," she recognized the voice of Shizune, her faithful assistant. If she had come herself, it must be important.
"Fine, send them in; I'm almost finished." She turned to Shikamaru. "I'll expect your formal report tomorrow; for now go get some rest." Both ninjas looked at the door when it opened. A strange ninja walked in and stared at them, not saying anything. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with a hood that was pulled up over his head, black pants, black sandals, black fingerless gloves, and black forearm protectors. He had on a black mask covering the lower half of his face leaving only his eyes visible. They were a striking blue—a blue that brought back many memories; some pleasant, some painful. Tsunade instantly hated those eyes. Only one person was allowed to have eyes that color, and that person was dead.
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Naruto stiffened when he saw his old friend Shikamaru in Tsunade's office. He had prepared himself to meet the hokage again, but he hadn't been ready to see friends yet. Shika was much the same—his dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail and his outfit was almost identical to his old one, fishnet and all.
"Well? What do you want?" Tsunade's gruff voice broke his thoughts.
"I see the hospitality here has declined since I was last in the village," he answered wryly. He saw Tsunade motion for Shikamaru to leave them alone. He hesitated for a moment before stopping him. "No, wait. You don't have to leave."
"You said you've been here before," Tsunade said, allowing the other Konoha shinobi to stay. "Who are you?" Naruto hesitated, unsure of how to answer. He had been prepared to reveal his identity, but now that it was time he was unsure of how to proceed.
"Uh…. You probably won't believe me even if I tell you," he replied lamely. Tsunade had a look on her face that plainly said "try me." Shikamaru looked as uninterested as usual. Naruto couldn't help but smile at the difference in his two friends. "I used to live here, a long time ago. But I, uh, was captured two years ago and only just returned."
"I don't remember anything about a Konoha ninja being captured two years ago," the hokage said, an obvious note of disbelief in her voice.
"That's probably because you think I'm dead." Naruto reached up and pulled down his mask and hood, revealing his striking blonde hair and whiskered cheeks. Tsunade and Shikamaru gasped.
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Shikamaru was too lazy to show emotion. As a rule, his face always remained passive and uninterested. But when Naruto, his good friend Naruto who he thought was dead, showed his face in the hokage's office, Shikamaru broke that rule. His mouth fell open and his eyes instantly widened. He took a step backward, scarcely believing what he was seeing.
"N-Naruto?" Tsunade whispered. Shikamaru was too shocked to speak. Naruto was a few inches taller than he had been when they were fifteen, and was much more muscular. His hair was longer and hung over his now-visible forehead protector and framed his face. His whisker marks had grown darker and more pronounced with age and he had a long, jagged scar stretching from the top of his forehead, over his left eye, and down his cheek. But it was still Naruto, his long-lost friend.
"Who else?" Naruto replied. It was then that Shikamaru really looked into his eyes for the first time. They were much older looking, much wiser. They were harder than they used to be, but held the same determination they always had. Shikamaru finally found his voice and cleared his throat.
"Where have you been? We thought you died in the battle with Orochimaru," he said. He watched as those eyes turned to look at him.
"Around. Nowhere I wanted to be, but all over the place," Naruto replied. He smiled then for the first time, and Shikamaru was glad to see a little of the old Naruto peeking through this strange new one. "Trust me; I didn't stay away any longer than I had to. I missed you guys."
"Yeah, well…. It was a drag around here without you. I'm glad you're back."
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Naruto left the office with Shikamaru, leaving behind a very stunned and speechless Tsunade. He had promised to come back tomorrow once his return had sank in and fill her in on what had happened during his absence. In truth, he was glad he had a day before he had to explain himself. It had been a shock for him, too, to see his friends again, even though he had been expecting it. He looked over at his friend, who was now wearing his trademark bored expression—the look which was rivaled only by Shino's.
Shino. Naruto thought about his other friends. Would they be as shocked to see him alive? There was the rookie 9, or eight, not including him. Shikamaru, Choji, Shino, Kiba, Hinata, Ino, Sakura…. He wondered how Sakura would take his return. They had become close after Sasuke left the village, and he was sure she had been devastated by his "death." And Sasuke. He knew he had been rescued by the Konoha shinobi before Naruto had been captured, but whether or not he had stayed in the village he didn't know. There was also Gai-sensei's team: Neji, Lee, and Tenten. Then there was Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Jiraiya, and Konohamaru. And Yamato and Sai, whom he had grown close to while searching for Sasuke.
Part of Naruto couldn't wait to see his other friends, and part of him dreaded it. How would they react? Did they miss him? Were they even still in the village? He looked again at Shikamaru, wondering how to word his question. "Um, Shikamaru? How is everyone? I mean, are they all…." alive. Naruto shuddered at the thought of any of his friends having died in his absence. Shikamaru looked at him, obviously expecting him to finish his question. "…here?" he finished lamely.
"Uh, not everyone." Shikamaru quickly elaborated at his friend's alarmed expression. "Everyone's okay, Naruto. But Gai-sensei's team and Team Kakashi are on a mission." Team Kakashi? Naruto wondered who all that included now. Kakashi, of course, and Sakura, Sai, and Yamato. And Sasuke, if he was still in the village.
"Oh. Um, hey…. Do you mind if we stop by the inn? I need somewhere to stay."
"Are you crazy? You can stay with me; my father won't mind. Tomorrow we can go clean up your apartment. It's a little dusty, but just like you… left it." Naruto blinked. They had left his apartment alone? They hadn't rented it out to someone else?
"Uh…. Thanks," was all he managed to reply.
"Do you want to go get some ramen? Some of the guys are always down there about this time."
"Um, sure. Why not?" But Naruto wasn't as sure as he sounded. Some of the guys? He didn't know if he was ready for this.