Stepping back through the gates of Konoha was weird. I hadn't seen the place in three straight weeks. I had almost forgotten the smell of Ichiraku's Ramen. I smiled as I eyed my three sisters waiting for us. I ran over to them and we got into a group hug.

"Sweet! You're finally back!" Shinzi exclaimed while smiling wide. Her dark hair was put into two pigtails, her bangs hanging in her face. Her mud brown eyes went well with the freckles that were strewn across her face.

Mi-ho nodded encouragingly and added, "We missed you so much! Gontei isn't fun to play dress up with." She laughed. Her sandy brown hair was also in two pigtails, but hers were put up tighter. They reminded me of Temari's hair style. Her mint green eyes shone brightly in the sun.

Keime only smiled along with them, her almost neon blond hair flowing down to her shoulders. A single strand hung between her eyes, making a line between the two glowing sapphires.

My father and I went over all the things that happened in Suna. I talked about Kunkuro and Temari, while he spoke of the wonders of how Suna was built.

I was about to tell Keime about Gaara, when I heard someone yell, "Pori-chan!"

I turned to see Sasuke running towards us. His short raven hair and dark eyes showed he definitely had missed me.

I smiled as he arrived, "Hey, Sasuke-kun."

He jerked his head to the left, signaling that he wanted to talk. I nodded then followed him unnoticed. When we were alone, we walked to the park. Other kids were playing there. One was a blonde, and he seemed to be ignored by the other kids. He kind of reminded me of Gaara. Another had dark hair and a bored expression. He was sort of cute, and I had an urge to go talk to him, but then I remembered that I was talking with Sasuke.

We sat on the swings and he looked at me, "So how was it?" he asked like he wasn't completely lonely while I was gone.

I sighed, "I made some friends." I said. I knew he would expect it, but that still didn't make me feel any less guilty when I saw the look on his face.

"I knew you would . . ." He said all glum.

Sasuke wasn't good with people. Not at all since what Itachi did to him. Our clans had been close from the beginning though. It had something to do with the Sharingan and my clan's kekkai genkai. Apparently they went good together, and our clans just had to team up. So it was only natural that Sasuke and I had been best friends since we could use our hands.

"Sasuke-kun . . . Don't give me that look. You know how social I am . . . I was bound to make friends with someone." I complained.

He nodded, "Tell me about them?"

I smiled, and then told him all about Temari and Kunkuro. I noticed him chuckling, so I asked, "What is so funny?"

"You totally like that sand guy." He said with a smirk.

I couldn't stop myself from blushing, "W-what do you mean? I do not!"

He chuckled again, "Yeah you do. Every time you say his name you get this look in your eyes." He clasped his hands together and held them to his chest, and got this dreamy look on his face. It was really annoying. "You love him or something."

"I do not!" I yelled at him. This only made him laugh harder, and the growing redness on my face didn't help anything.

I groaned, "Will you shut up? I still have more to tell you." He got a hold of himself, though the smirk never did leave. I had to tell him about Gaara. I needed to. I started to talk about it, only to be tackled off the swing by something.

I groaned again as I saw who was sitting on top of me. "What do you want, Lee?"

He stood, then with a twinkle in his eye, he said/yelled, "I would like you to play with me!"

I looked at Sasuke; he didn't look like he was that into my story anyway. I would tell him later. I looked back to Lee and nodded. He smiled like an idiot then grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the playground. I looked around to see if anyone could save me. Bingo - TenTen.

"Hey, TenTen!" I said, waving at her. She smiled then rushed over to me and Lee.

"Popori, Lee, what's up?" She asked smiling at us.

"Just got back from Suna." I told her.

Both she and Lee looked at me with amazement. "The Land Hidden in the Sand?" Lee asked.

I nodded then TenTen said, "Whoa, that's cool. Was it awesome?"

I smiled then told them all about my trip to Suna. When I was done, they had the same reaction as Sasuke had. They were both giggling at me.

"What?" I whined.

They looked at each other then said in unison, "You totally love, 'Kuro-kun'!"

AN: Yeah this was a pretty boring chapter. It introduced some of the original characters, though. This was kind of filler. I promise that the next chapter will be action packed, and probably tear-inducing.

Till next time, love ya!