Episode 9:

"Return"

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but if I did the show/manga would not focus so much on Sasuke.

Kotetsu and Izumo led a fairly easy life. Since the two became Chunin their sole job has been to stand guard over the village gate which more often than not meant a lot of paperwork. Usually the most interesting part of their day was when a team returned home from a mission. So when the lookout atop the wall signaled to them that a group was approaching the gate the Chunin started to think that their day was finally looking up.

The two men stood up from their seats as the group stepped through the gate. They both greeted them with smiles on their faces however those smiles quickly faded when they saw the black scroll tied to Naru's waist. Both of the Chunin had been trained on what to do in this situation but it was Izumo who took the initiative as he stepped forward to face Naru.

"Who goes there?" he asked in a formal tone.

"Uzumaki Naru Genin of Konoha" replied the blonde.

"What business do you have within these walls?" Izumo continued.

"I am bringing Haruno Sakura Genin of Konoha home" Naru finished with a hint of sadness in her voice. Izumo nodded and stepped aside.

"Welcome home" offered Kotetsu as they passed by.

A short while later Team Seven found themselves standing before a quiet Hokage and a distraught Iruka. "It was too soon…" Iruka said sadly. "They weren't ready yet!" he said, his voice rising in volume. The Chunin stood up and pointed a finger at Kakashi. "It's your fault, you bastard! It was your job to protect them!" he yelled.

"Sit down Iruka!" Sarutobi commanded.

Sarutobi Hiruzen the Sandaime Hokage of Konoha stared at the scroll now sitting before him. "What happened Kakashi?" questioned the old man. Kakashi stepped forward and spoke "The mission started without a problem. As far as we knew it was a standard C rank mission. However shortly before we reached the coast we were attacked by a pair of missing-nin from the Hidden Mist. Naru was injured severely during the ensuing battle."

Kakashi's gaze shifted slightly towards Iruka when he heard the Chunin's hiss of breath at his last statement. "Please continue" said the aging Hokage. Kakashi's eye shifted back to Sarutobi and he continued with his report "I knew at that moment that we had been lied to and that the mission was at least B rank."

The Jonin seemed to struggle with the next part, his voice heavy with regret "Naru was so badly injured that I feared she wouldn't survive the return trip to Konoha. At that time we were closer to Wave so I decided that we would continue forward…" Kakashi spent the next 20 minutes conveying the rest of his tale to Iruka and the Hokage. By the time he was finished Iruka's eyes were wide open and the Hokage was as pale as a ghost.

Sarutobi made a slight motion with his hand and almost instantly an ANBU was standing before him. "How may I serve you Hokage-sama?" asked the man in a hawk shaped mask. "I want you to assemble a team of five of your best trackers for a mission" he replied. The man in the mask gave a quick nod "What is the mission?" The Hokage studied the man's clay mask for a second before responding "Your mission is to find Jiraiya and return him to Konoha as soon as possible."

Despite his professionalism the man let out a choked sound. "Jiraiya-sama? Lord Hokage please forgive me but I doubt Jiraiya of the Sannin will just return because we ask him to" the hawk man said. The Hokage sighed "I share your doubts however you are to tell him that it involves The Blonde." The ANBU glanced quickly at the young blonde standing off to the side. "The Blonde?" he said questioningly.

The Hokage nodded "Yes, Jiraiya will know what it means." The man in the hawk mask bowed "If that will be all Hokage-sama…" The village leader inclined his head and the ANBU disappeared as abruptly as he had appeared. Sarutobi reached for his pipe. He packed it with tobacco and brought it to his lips as he lit it with a match. The old man took a long drag off of the pipe and let the smoke out with a sigh.

"Kakashi, while I understand your reasoning I cannot condone your actions. Once you knew that the mission was not what it seemed you should have turned back" he said firmly. "As it stands however you did not and now I have to explain to Sakura's parents why their daughter won't be coming home tonight" the old man continued. He would have kept going had he not been interrupted by an irate blonde.

"It's not his fault!" shouted the girl. Naru stepped forward and stood in front of her teacher as if to protect him. "Kakashi-sensei did what he thought was best for us. It was my fault that I couldn't protect myself from that claw guy and if I hadn't killed that rabbit than Sakura might have ducked in time…" the girl trailed off as the truth of their loss once again settled around her like an unwelcomed guest.

Iruka having gotten over his earlier shock turned to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama I don't think anyone is truly to blame for what transpired. It was a series of unfortunate events and mistakes that snowballed into a nightmare. Hatake-san couldn't have anticipated the kind of danger that they were in. And while I agree that he should have gotten involved before Naru could become injured I believe he made the right decision in continuing on to wave" Iruka said with some confidence.

The Hokage took another drag and gave Iruka a small nod before turning back to Kakashi. "I'll take Iruka and Naru's words under advisement. Under normal circumstances you would be suspended with pay while awaiting a review of your actions. However since suspending would in effect harm Sasuke and Naru as well you will be docked the pay for this mission. You will also be fined in the amount of one B rank mission" he said.

Naru looked like she was going to interrupt once again but Sasuke shoved his hand over her mouth and dragged her away from their teacher. The Hokage gave him a grateful smile before continuing to address the Jonin "As to the fate of Tazuna…" Kakashi actually had the good sense to look a bit sheepish when the Hokage mentioned their former client.

"While I think you could have gone about it in a better way, Tazuna brought about his own fate when he lied to us and caused the death of one of our own" the aged leader said with more than a hint of anger. The Jonin bowed to his leader "Thank you Hokage-sama."

"Naruto, Sasuke please step forward" Sarutobi requested. The two Genin moved closer to the desk and stood before the Hokage at attention. "The both of you will be receiving commendations for your actions during the mission. You showed great courage in taking on the demon brothers to protect Sakura and the client" the old man said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Commendations? Why, all we did was get our asses handed to us" Sasuke said candidly. The Hokage took a drag from his pipe and gave the boy a smile "While you may have been overpowered, you must remember that the demon brothers were highly experienced Chunin. By taking them on without hesitation you were able to buy enough time for Kakashi to finish them off. However there is one thing I want you two to keep in mind and that is while a punch to the face can be effective at deterring an opponent; a kunai to the face can end things much sooner."

Sasuke gave the old man a lightly shocked look but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. "The old man is crazy" he thought. Sarutobi turned his head slightly towards Naru "As for you Naru. I am amazed at what you have accomplished here. For a newly minted Genin to take down an experienced Jonin is almost unheard of. Not only did you manage to defeat Zabuza but you did it without taking a single wound from the man."

Naru shook her head and stared at the ground sadly. "It wasn't me that beat him it was…" she began before being interrupted by the Hokage. "No it WAS you that defeated Zabuza. Never doubt that" he said sharply. "Zabuza died by your hands because he underestimated you. Even a Kage can be defeated by a Genin if he doesn't take them seriously" the Hokage finished softer than he began.

The young blonde chewed on her lip for a moment before speaking once again "But that power… I didn't…" Once again Naru found herself being interrupted by the aged leader "Don't allow yourself to be swayed by the opinions of others. That power is yours to control, not the other way around." The blonde gave him a small smile as his words reassured her

Sarutobi took his now unlit pipe and placed it on the desk. "Now as to the matter of Haruno Sakura, while she may not have been a shinobi for very long the fact is she died in service to the village. For that she will receive a full military funeral. The date for this shall be decided later after I have had time to consult with her parents. For now and at least until after the funeral I am placing Team Seven on medical leave. You are dismissed" he said with finality.

Team Seven collectively bowed to their leader before filing out of the office one by one. On their way out they saw a couple heading towards the office. The man, an older gentleman with short gray hair and a goatee was supporting a sobbing woman with shoulder length pink hair. The couple stopped when they came face to face with Team Seven.

"Haruno-san" Kakashi said in acknowledgement, his voice filled with regret. The older man looked like he was going to speak when his wife jerked away from him. The pink haired woman walked over to Naru. The blonde's look of confusion only lasted a moment before the slap sent her head snapping to the side. Naru's hand went up cradling her stinging cheek. She flinched when she saw the woman raise her hand again.

The woman would have hit Naru again had her husband not rushed over to grab her wrist. "Sayo please stop!" the man begged urgently. Sayo ignored her husband as well as the two male shinobi who now had kunai in their hands. "It should have been you!" shouted the woman. "You're nothing but a demon! It should have been you that died, not my daughter" she finished with a sob, tears streaming one after another down her face.

Naru stood their frozen, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "I'm s…s…sorry" the young girl whimpered. "I don't want the apologies of a monster! I want my Sakura back!" the woman shouted. "Sayo that's enough" said the Haruno patriarch.

"Yes that is quite enough I think" the Hokage said as he strode out of his office.

"Hokage-sama please she didn't mean it!" the grey haired Haruno said pleadingly. "The village leader shook his head "I am sorry Haruno-san but the law is clear. Your wife knew the consequences of her actions and now she must pay the price for her crime." Sarutobi motioned with his hand and two ANBU appeared before them. "Haruno Sayo you have broken the Third's law that was set in place 12 years ago. For your crime I sentence you to death. ANBU please take Haruno-san to the prison and schedule her execution for the morning" he said grimly.

The pink haired woman stared at them her jaw open in shock as her eyes opened almost comically wide. She shouted for her husband to save her but he could only watch with sorrowful eyes as the ANBU dragged her away. The elder Haruno slumped to the ground. "Please Hokage-sama I beg you. Take my life as well. I cannot go on living having lost both my daughter and now my wife" the grey haired man pleaded. Sarutobi contemplated the man's request for a moment before shaking his head.

"That isn't a request I can grant Haruno-san. We all must deal with loss" the Hokage would have continued had he not been interrupted by Naru tugging on the sleeve of his formal robes. "Please let her go Ji-chan. She didn't mean it. Please don't kill her" the tearful girl begged. The old man placed his wrinkled hand atop the girl's head. "I'm sorry Naru but the law is clear" he replied.

Naru pulled away and stumbled over to the grey haired man on the ground before kneeling beside him. "I'm sorry… I didn't… I…" after a few tries she gave up trying to speak and just kneeled there beside the man her own sorrow weighing her down. The elder Haruno looked at the girl and felt a pang in his heart. He reached out and wiped the tears from the blonde's face. "Don't cry child, it's not your fault. The Hokage is right. Sayo knew what she was doing when she called you a…" he trailed off for a moment before continuing.

"She only has herself to blame for her actions" he finished. Naru looked at him through eyes puffy from crying, her lower lip trembling. The man gathered his courage and gave the girl a slight smile. "I'm Haruno Kensuke" he said as cheerfully as he could. The girl returned his smile as best she could "U…Uzumaki N…N…Naru."

The Hokage smiled at them both and took his chance to address them "Often during times of our greatest sorrow we can find hope, a reason to go on despite all the pain we may feel. I believe this is such a time. As it turns out the building where Naru's apartment is located has currently been scheduled for demolition."

"WHAT?" The blonde screeched.

The others in the hallway rubbed at their abused as Naru spent the next five minutes complaining in a rather high pitched tone. Eventually Kakashi had to cover her mouth to keep them all from going deaf. "Calm down Naru" he said. The girl responded by opening her mouth wide and biting down on his hand. Kakashi glanced from her to his gloved hand and back to her. "It's an armored glove" he said blandly.

She growled and released his hand before stepping back, her lips turning down in a pout. Sarutobi looked on with a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Kensuke-san, I know this is a trying time for you but maybe by taking in Naru and providing a home for her you can find a new reason to continue living" he said.

Naru looked like she was going to say something when the elder Haruno spoke up. "I think you are right Hokage-sama and so I formally request to adopt Uzumaki Naru" the man said with confidence. Once again before Naru could say anything the Hokage spoke up "request granted." Naru stood at the Hokage and her new father her blue eyes conveying her shock. She finally did get to speak though.

"WHAT!" she screeched out once again.

Bwuahaha you weren't expecting that now were you? As always please read and review!