Sorry for the long wait. I was working on another story and unfortunately this one kind of took a back seat. I'll try to update on a regular basis from now on. Thanks to Morcalivan7, InARealPickle, BigfootSighted, and injuiin-luna for your reviews. I still don't own the Naruto characters. Enjoy!
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
As Shikamaru and Naruto walked through the streets of the village, Shikamaru decided to ask the question that had been bugging him ever since they left the restaurant. "Hey, uh, Naruto? Why didn't you tell everyone who you are? I mean, you told me and Tsunade-sama."
Naruto stiffened beside him, but his facial expression didn't change. "I just… it was only two people before. Two of my best friends. That was…. I mean, they were all my friends, but… I just wasn't ready. I wanted to, but once I got there and saw all of them, I just couldn't. I will tell them, I just need some time." Shikamaru nodded, trying to imagine what his friend had gone through during his absence. He quickly gave up, the images that popped to mind being too unpleasant. "So, what's been going on since I… left?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "A lot of boring missions, pointless training, and exams."
"Exams? What is everyone ranked now?" Shikamaru noted the half-curious, half-dreading tone in his friend's voice.
"We're all mostly still chuunin, but Neji, Sasuke, and the Sand Siblings are all jounin," he replied to his friend's question.
"Oh." Shikamaru should have known Naruto still hadn't had any chance to retake the chuunin exam—after he came back from training with Jiraiya he had been too busy searching for Sasuke, and then he had… well, after he found him he hadn't really been around to take it. Of course it was a sensitive topic for Naruto—not a lot of seventeen-year-old shinobi as strong as Naruto were still genin. Actually, Shika couldn't think of any. "You sure your father won't mind me staying with you? I'd be fine in the inn," Naruto said, obviously attempting to change the subject. Shikamaru let him.
"Would you stop it, Naruto? This is getting troublesome. Of course he won't mind." Naruto was quiet for a while after that, but Shikamaru noticed that he seemed a little less stiff. At least he was loosening up a little bit. This strange new Naruto was beginning to creep Shikamaru out. The number one hyperactive knucklehead ninja he had known as a kid had seemingly been replaced with this quiet, sullen clone. But maybe he was just still dealing with seeing all of his friends again after so long. Surely he would be himself after a little while. Maybe even once they were alone and way from all the memories, he would act like Naruto again.
"So Sasuke actually came back." Naruto's voice startled Shikamaru out of his thoughts.
"Uh, yeah. Look, I'm sorry I didn't prepare you beforehand. I just kind of assumed you knew…."
"No, it's okay. You didn't know. Is he, uh… how is he?" Naruto asked, obviously unsure of how to ask his question.
"He's still Sasuke. If possible, he's even more of a loner than he used to be—except when it comes to Team Kakashi. He's either alone or with one of them, always training." Naruto nodded absently, a distant look on his face. The two friends continued down the street in silence.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Naruto thought about what Shikamaru had just said. So Sasuke had finally come home and returned to his old habits, and Naruto hadn't been there. True, it was because of him Sasuke ever returned at all, but he still felt bad for not being there for his friend. Had everyone accepted him back, or had he been estranged from the group? Had he estranged himself? It sounded like he was on good terms with their old team again, but was that it? Had the rest of the Rookie 9 rejected him or had he simply kept himself isolated from their friendship?
Naruto suddenly realized that he hadn't said anything since Shikamaru stopped talking, so he tried to keep the conversation going. "Has anything interesting happened around the village? Any big missions or attacks or… anything?" The lazy ninja next to him looked up quickly when he started talking, obviously startled.
"Oh, uh… not really. The Sound village almost declared war on us two or three times, but what else is new?" Naruto responded with a small laugh, earning a lazy smirk from his friend. The blond shinobi again fell into silence, unsure of what else to talk about. The two ninjas had entered the awkward stage between small talk and really going into details, and Naruto wasn't ready to spill his guts yet. So he settled for companionable silence.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Umino Iruka walked through the streets of Konoha, searching for Shikamaru. The lazy genius had been due at the academy an hour and a half ago, and he hadn't even sent a message saying he couldn't make it. Iruka wasn't one to get excessively angry, but he was a little more than annoyed as he spotted the shinobi walking nonchalantly down the street with an unfamiliar ninja. The academy instructor quickened his pace as he headed toward the two, opening his mouth to lecture the irresponsible Nara boy. Just as he was about to talk the strange shinobi froze mid-stride and exclaimed, "Iruka-sensei!"
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN
Again, I'm sorry about the wait. Thanks for reading and reviewing.