Chapter 2

Settling In

"Thank you!" I waved to the receptionist and my boss.

"No, thank you and welcome back, Maddie!" my boss smiled warmly back at me.

I closed the door of Konoha's Postal Service and swung my new red Messenger jacket and brown Messenger bag over my shoulder. After searching the village for a while, I had finally found the building where I was once employed as one of the Leaf Villages Messengers. I would report in my jacket with my bag at 6:30 in the morning, fill up my bag full of letters, magazines, and packages, and take off running towards the section of the village in which I was assigned to deliver the mail to. Now that I had come back to the Naruto world and Ten-Ten was planning on selling her condo, I wanted to work at a job that I was good at in order to take the condo off of Ten-Ten's hands and live there myself with Noah and Angel.

After I had dropped off my uniform back at Ten-Ten's place, I once again found myself back on the streets of Konoha. However, unlike earlier in the day, about afternoon, the streets and shops weren't as crowded, for it was nearing dusk and families would soon be gathering around the dinner table to discuss the day's events.

As I was strolling along, I noticed that I was passing the BBQ Restaurant. I didn't really look inside, but I definitely heard very familiar voices coming from inside. Angel stopped in her tracks while I kept walking, sniffed, and barked at me, wagging her tail excitedly.

Do you have any idea who's in there right now?

"Somewhat of an idea," I shrugged, not turning around.

Why don't we go over and say 'hi?'

"I don't know…They might be busy right now. Plus, I know someone who'll find us out any minute now."

Who are you-

My dog was suddenly cut off when a giant white dog the size of a small car landed in front of my face, it's landing sending tremors through the Earth's surface. Riding on his back was a tall boy my age with short spiky brown hair and wearing a blue Hidden Leaf Village headband around his forehead. On each side of his cheeks was a red triangle, making him look super badass with his cocky grin and gleaming eyes. He wore a dark gray jacket, a black fishnet shirt underneath, and a pair of khaki pants.

"HOLY SHIT!" I screamed.

"Hey, look!" the boy laughed. "It's Maddie!"

"Jesus, Kiba, do you really have to scare me like that?"

"Just making sure it was you," he grinned. "So what's going on? I haven't seen you since you left two and a half years ago."

I opened my mouth and was about to answer, but a voice that I heard made me stop.

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" the voice asked.

I turned and smiled. Running towards me was another boy my age, but much taller and chubbier. He had long spiky brown hair and a red Hidden Leaf Village headband tied around his forehead. He wore a baggy red long sleeved shirt and a pair of red pants. Attached to his thighs, forearms, and shoulders were silver, layered pieces of Japanese styled armor. On his chest was a bigger piece of armor with the Akimichi's clan symbol. On his chubby cheeks were two red swirls.

The boy lifted me up like I only weighed a feather and embraced me in a bone-crushing hug.

"Chouji…I can't breathe…" I gasped.

"Whoops, sorry," he chuckled nervously, setting me down. "I just haven't seen you in ages. How is it possible that you're back here?"

"It's ok," I smiled, giving him a hug around the waist. "To answer your question, I really don't know…I was with Noah and Lilian in my room and then there was this flash of light from my laptop and then…I woke up here…"

Chouji and Kiba exchanged looks. Angel looked up from nuzzling Akamaru and barked.

You do realize what you just said makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, right?

"I'm fully aware," I replied through clenched teeth.

Kiba laughed at our conversation, fully understanding it, while Chouji shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"So, Maddie…" Chouji started. "Have you seen Shikamaru yet?"

I winced just shy of a micrometer, but the two ninja probably noticed nevertheless, "No…not yet…"

The problem was I had mixed feelings about seeing Shikamaru again. I honestly wanted to see him, I really did. However, at the same time, my gut didn't want to. I really didn't want to have to face him, especially after I had just disappeared from his life without giving him a warning. If I hadn't told him in the first place, then I would've broken his heart more than I did by telling him.

"He should be back from the Hidden Sand Village by now…" Chouji continued, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Oh, ok, I'll go look for him then," I turned and started to walk away. "Thanks for the tip."

"Wait!" Chouji's voice stopped me. "You wanna go eat at the BBQ Restaurant?"

I shook my head sadly, "Sorry, Chouji. I'm a vegan."

The chubby ninja stared at me and then realization dawned upon his face, "That's right! I remember now! Ok, see you around!"

I waved, motioned for Angel to follow me, and continued my walk through the local neighborhoods with music in my ears. By this time, the sun was slowly starting to set, casting a faint orange glow on everything in sight. After about five minutes, Angel suddenly sniffed the air and started to bark excitedly.

Oh my God! I can't believe this!

"What?" I looked at her worriedly.

My dog ignored me and took off running in a random direction. Confused, I sprinted after her, having no idea what she was talking about. She led me through alleys, over bridges, on top of roofs of buildings, everywhere. Eventually, we came to a place where I recognized it instantly. I stopped in my tracks and stared while she kept on running ahead.

Angel had led me to a place where I had many fond memories of from earlier. It was a small grassy hill, right below the Hokage Mountain and above the Hokage's Office, giving the person who was standing at the top a magnificent view of the entire Hidden Leaf Village. Currently, the sun was setting, making the orange glow it cast on the surrounding area intensify. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, making it blend slowly from gold, to salmon, to a light green, and finally blue.

My eyes slowly averted from the sunset and followed the path in which Angel was running in. Then, she and my eyes stopped instantaneously. A pair of hands picked her up and lifted her to the person's face. My heart suddenly skipped a beat and my breath got caught in my throat. I desperately wanted to get away, but my feet wouldn't let me; they felt like they were cemented to the ground. I had to leave though. I couldn't face him now, not after I freakin' ditched him for two and a half years and then just decided to get myself a boyfr-

Angel turned her head towards me and barked.

Hey, look who it is!

I clenched my hands, deciding that I would kill my dog later for giving myself away. His eyes met mine and then they widened. I took a step back, my legs feeling weak.

"Wait," he called, reaching his hand out. "Maddie…? Is that you…?"

I nodded silently, "Shikamaru…"

The lazy ninja set Angel down and then straightened back up. We both stood there, looking at each other, trying to remember what each other had looked like two and a half years ago. Then, he took a step forward…and another…and another. Before I knew it, he had already crossed the distance halfway between me and his original place. My feet moved a few measly steps forward, but he was moving much faster than me.

I hated to admit it, but the magic I had felt about this place when I was thirteen, about the friends I had made, about Shikamaru, it was all gone. I no longer felt this feeling in which butterflies filled my stomach and my face blossomed red. Instead, it was all replaced with just emptiness, remorse...and disinterest.

No…I thought. This isn't right…I can't do this…I would be cheating-

And then, he was standing right in front of me. I stared down at my feet, averting his gaze. Suddenly, I felt something touch my hand ever so lightly. It was gentle, sensitive, and comforting all at the same time. I looked and found that Shikamaru's hand was on top of mine. I then glanced up at his face and his eyes were shining with many mixed emotions: confusion, recollection, disbelief, and nostalgia.

"Maddie…?" he whispered.

I smiled a tiny smile, "Yeah…it's me…"

We stood there awkwardly for a moment, not really sure what to do now. Then, his arms moved from his sides and held them out for a moment. Though I really didn't want to, I took this chance to take a step closer and closed the gap between us while his arms draped lightly around my body and pulled me into a gentle hug.

I too wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him back. Taking in a deep breath, my nostrils instantly recognized his familiar scent of sweet hay and freshly washed cotton, making me sigh softly, totally forgetting about my current conflicting feelings.

"I can't believe you're actually here…" he murmured. "I never would've thought…"

"I know…" my voice was muffled against his vest. "I missed you so much…"

Shikamaru sighed, pulled away, and looked me over, "You've changed quite a bit, actually."

"I should say the same for you," I rolled my eyes.

Shikamaru laughed, sat down, and motioned for me to sit down next to him. There, we talked about what we've been doing during the time we didn't see each other.

~ L ~

"I'm just taking a walk, Hinata, I'll be back," I called, stepping out the back door.

The heir of the Hyuuga clan waved through the window while reading at the table. I waved back and stepped into the darkening forest. The sun had just slipped behind the brilliantly colorful horizon and now everything was turning to a dark navy blue and pitch black. The moon was a luminous beauty in its waxing gibbous phase, surrounded by thousands of appearing twinkling sparkles that looked like spilled salt on a dark blue canvas.

Walking through the silver trunks, I enjoyed the serenity of the forest. A quartet of talented crickets rehearsed their tune along with the help of two tuba bellowing toads and a single hooting owl. Fireflies drifted through the air lazily, casting a faint golden glow wherever they went. Taking a deep whiff, my nostrils immediately came in contact with the fresh scent of pine and earth.

After wandering along the soft dirt path for what seemed like quite a while, I came to a clearing in the trees. Stepping past the last moonlit trunk, I paused in my tracks and surveyed where I was.

A pond, sparkling immensely, was right in the middle of the clearing, the water a dark navy and stagnant, surrounded by cattails, rosemary, and cream colored lilies. A few green lily pads floated in the crystal clear water, one of them being occupied by an evergreen toad with bulging black eyes, its belly expanding every time it croaked. Tiny glowing fireflies danced among each other in the night sky, trying to make the most out of their short lifespan. The long, flowing grass that surrounded the entire area rose up to my shins and caressed them like thin, green fingers. A few fairly large boulders were clumped together on one side of the pond and, along with everything else in the vicinity, were bathed in silver moonlight.

My eyes softened at the sight of the familiar place and after heaving a great sigh, I dragged my feet through the long grass towards the pond. Lying down on my stomach next to the silver water, I stared back at my shimmering reflection and somehow became intrigued with it. Curious, I dipped my index finger into the water and gently swirled it around. Jet black tadpoles darted away, but some of the more daring stayed behind and bravely danced around my finger, tickling it.

Then, suddenly, a pale face with sparkling lavender eyes framed by long dark hair and illuminated by moonlight, appeared next to my reflection.

"Having fun?" he smirked, clearly amused.

I smiled back at his reflection, "Yes, actually, I am."

I then turned around and looked him up and down. He was wearing a white long sleeved shirt along with a pair of khaki pants and black sandals. A white sash was tied around his forehead and his long dark brown hair swayed in the gentle breeze. His pupil-less eyes were like pale lavender orbs, showing no sign of emotion, yet staring at me so deeply that it confused me whether he was looking at me or staring off into space.

Turns out he was looking at me, for he cocked a smirk and took a seat next to me. I smiled back, but it wasn't a genuine glad-to-see-you-too smile. It was more like a smile that you would give to a person that you really aren't that happy to see. And it's true. I wasn't happy to see him; not after I had randomly disappeared from his life with only an explanation that made me seem like a lunatic.

It wasn't just guilt that was holding me down, but disinterest as well. For God's sake how old was I two and a half years ago? Thirteen? Exactly. I, and I hope Madeline has too, have passed the stage of thinking like a thirteen year old. Wishing for things to happen is completely illogical. There's no such thing such as magic or superpowers or any of that. The fact that we were here completely proved those beliefs wrong, but even still, the point was that we had grown up. We were almost sixteen and we had things to do and take care of so that we could start our adult life once we graduated.

Things…have changed.

"So what are you doing out here so late?" his voice brought me back to reality.

I shrugged, "Wandering around, doing whatever my heart desires, hanging out, whatever."

"Very descriptive," he cocked an eyebrow. "Care to explain why you're here?"

"God, Neji, you don't act like you're surprised at all that I'm here."

"I am. I'm just better at concealing my emotions is all."

I snorted and told Neji the whole story along with what we've been doing since we left. I was very careful, however, not to mention any new romantic relationships that had sprung up during the last two and a half years, especially the one in which Madeline was still involved with.

After we had talked for a while, Neji told me to go back to the house and he would be coming in after me shortly. We both stood up, and just as I turned around to go, he grabbed my hand and twirled me back around into his arms, where he embraced me lightly. With my conflicting feelings, I found this hug awkward, but I tried to make it looked like I was surprised.

"Welcome back," Neji said softly, releasing me.

I gave the fake smile again and took the trail back to the house, where I spent the rest of the evening fumbling with my emotions and thoughts.

~ M ~

"I can't believe you guys actually set this up," I complained to Ten-Ten. "Do I really have to go?"

"Of course!" she threw her hands in the air dramatically. "It's your party! Why wouldn't you want to go?"

"'Cause it's embarrassing! I hate being the center of attention!"

"Well you were a little like that at your party last time you were here but not nearly as bad as now."

"Well I've changed," I shot back.

God it's like bickering with my mom…

Ten-Ten sighed and grabbed my arm, "Well too late to turn back now 'cause we're already here."

I gave up resisting and just let her lead me by my arm into The Teahouse. After navigating through various booths, tables, and the bar, we finally came to the room where they had groups of seven or more eat.

My eyes scanned the area and I let out an annoyed sigh. Almost everyone we knew from the village was here, including people we barely talked to. Even some that we met from the Sand Village were there.

3…2…1

"OH MY GOD IT'S MADDIE!"

I rolled my eyes.

Great…

A girl about the age of eighteen sprang up from her chair and hugged me. She had her dirty blonde hair up in four small buns and her bangs hung in front of her turquoise eyes. She wore a dark purple dress with a red sash tied around her waist that she slipped her giant fan through so that she was able to carry it on her back. The two fingerless black gloves that she wore on her hands corresponded with her black heeled sandals.

"Hey, Temari," I smiled. "How're you doing?"

"Eh can't complain," she released me and then looked me up and down. "God, you've changed so much! So what's been up with-"

"Well if it isn't Maddie," a voice said behind me.

I turned and smirked. Standing there was a woman about the age of twenty-six or so, picking her teeth with a toothpick. Her dark purple hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her bangs almost covered her pupil-less warm gray eyes. She wore a fishnet undershirt and a long brown jacket with a pair of black shorts. On her forehead was a Hidden Leaf Village headband and attached to her feet were a pair of black sandals.

"What's up, Anko?" we pounded fists as our greeting.

In an instant she had me in a headlock and was giving me noogie, "Just look at how much you've grown! I'm jealous man, you're so hot now!"

"Stop it!" I laughed, struggling to get out of her grasp.

She finally released me, pulled up a chair, and kicked back, resting her feet on the table, "So what's been going on?"

"I was just about to tell Temari," I said. "But since a bunch of people are going to want to know the same thing, why don't I just tell everyone at dinner?"

"Yeah, go right ahead," Anko waved her hand. "Go greet everyone and then we'll talk."

~ L ~

As soon as I walked into the restaurant, I changed my mind about the party. When Hinata had told me about it, she made it sound like it was going to be really fun.

"We'll just be eating dinner and talking," she had said. "It'll be a good chance for everyone to get together."

I had believed her because how bad could it be, right? It was just a little 'welcome back' party. But once I walked into the room where we were to be sitting at, my whole attitude changed. I went from a little excited back to being disinterested. There was a bunch of people and I was sure that every one of them wanted to know my life's events for the past two and a half years. I absolutely did not want to be the center of attention and tell people that I hadn't thought about in years what I had been doing with my life since I left.

I surveyed the room and spotted Madeline talking from person to person as they would come up to her. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying greeting all of them, she really did. However, her smile looked…a little off…like she was trying to smile. I've known Madeline since fourth grade, and I should know that she's not the type to be the center of attention, especially at a party where there's a lot of people staring. Not only that, like me, she seemed to be a little disinterested in the whole thing. I would talk to her later about it, but if I didn't know any better, I would say that us being here was a mistake.

"Hey, it's Lilian!" a voice shouted behind me.

I turned and smiled. A giant white dog, Akamaru, came bounding towards me. Riding on top of him was Kiba, who was grinning down at me.

"Yo," I smiled. "What's up?"

"Same old, same old," he shrugged, jumping down from his dog.

We chatted for a few minutes before I was grabbed by a few more people and was forced to socialize with them. Finally, after about fifteen minutes, everyone who was supposed to come came and we were able to sit down at the ridiculously long table. We were all given menus and after we had all ordered our meals and were served our appetizers, Tsunade stood up and instantly the chatter ceased.

"I appreciate you all for coming here tonight," she began. "I know everyone has been busy lately and I'm glad that this many people showed up. We've all come together here tonight to welcome back Maddie, Lilian, and Noah. However, this is also a chance to welcome back Naruto and Jiraiya from their two and a half year hiatus. Would the senseis like to say anything?"

Kakashi stood up and looked around, "I too would like to thank everyone for coming together tonight. It presents a great opportunity for us to catch up with one another. Naruto, you and Sakura have both grown considerably but you two still have a long way to go before becoming great shinobi. Maddie, Lilian, and Noah, welcome back. I look forward to training with you three again."

He sat down and Tsunade said from her seat, "That's all that we really have to say. I won't embarrass any of the mentioned shinobi by making them say anything unless they would like to. Otherwise, enjoy the dinner and have a great evening."

Just as she had finished, the waiters and waitresses brought forth our meals and the chatting slowly started to rise. I stared at my plate and sighed.

This was going to be a long night.

~M~

"So what's up, young lady?" Anko punched my shoulder playfully.

I sighed. The little party had just ended and everyone was heading home. I was hoping to sneak back before anyone, even Ten-Ten, would be able to catch up so I could walk along in peace and get lost in my thoughts.

I guess that was a stupid thing to hope for.

I rolled my eyes dramatically, "Nothing much, I just got here. What do you expect? Me to have already gone off on a top secret mission or something?"

"Don't act so stupid!" she scoffed. "You know what I'm talking about. I wanna catch up with what has happened in your life, preferably the romantic side."

I shot her a dirty look while a light blush blossomed across my face. Anko broke out into a fit of giggles and slapped me on the back.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she winked.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I took a deep breath, looked her in the eye, and then switched my gaze to the ground.

"Well…" I started. "I'm kinda…going out with someone right now…"

"I knew it!" Anko exclaimed. "Once I saw you and how much you've grown I knew you had a bf! So how is it? Is he cute? What have you guys done? How far have you two gone?"

I snorted at the last question and shrugged, "We've only been going out for about three months. And ya, he's cute, not drop-dead-gorgeous or supermodel looks, but he's cute… We've hung out and gone out on a couple of dates."

"Well I'll be! Looks like you got pulled out at the wrong time."

"You don't even know the half of it…" I muttered.

"Oh! So what are you going to do then? I mean, you were kinda going out with that Nara kid last time you were here right? Now that you're taken, what are you going to tell him?"

Sighing deeply, I suddenly felt exhausted. Thinking about this whole conflict was really starting to take its toll on me.

"I…honestly don't know…" I murmured. "I mean…I don't want to start liking him again…'cause that would make me feel guilty about my guy back in my world…but I'm afraid that if I don't show the same feelings like I did those years ago, then…I'll make him feel really bad…and then maybe he won't like me anymore or something…"

I suddenly found myself in another headlock with Anko's knuckles digging into my scalp.

"You think too much," Anko's tone was annoyed, and it probably wasn't because of my surprised curses. "Just tell the kid exactly what you told me…and just see where it goes. He's a pretty smart guy, yeah? I'm sure he'll understand how you feel and things will work out. But hey, don't worry too much about it, ok?"

Massaging my throbbing head, I nodded and suddenly found myself at the front door of my condo. Anko saluted me from the side of her head with two fingers before hopping over the three-story railing and disappearing into the night. I stared into empty space for a long time until I was brought back to reality by Angel scratching at the door. I drowsily let ourselves in and then proceeded to my room, where I feel face first into my bed and instantly feel asleep.