Naru looked up at her ceiling, her back pressed against the lumpy mattress below her. Her alarm had gone off ten minutes ago and she was struggling to get out of bed. Naru looked over to the shadow clone she had created before going to sleep, it gave her a small smile and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. She had created one every night since her memory of that day returned to her, she was afraid of losing control to the nine tails while she slept so took precautions. It had been a while since she had dreamt about it but being back in Konoha unnerved her. Knowing that the empty Uchiha compound where it had taken place was a ten minute walk away. She shook her head as if she was trying to chase away the memories; she couldn't afford to think about it now. Naru put a smile on her face and jumped out of bed. She strapped up her upper legs and threw her wrinkled dress on over top, then proceed to put her weapon pouches on. Naru looked in the mirror and pulled a piece of hair in front of her face, she needed a haircut but she couldn't stand the gossiping women in the shop so decided to pass and let her soft, wavy hair fall behind her, opting not to tie it up.

Naru wrinkled up her nose at her appearance, she was never one to care about how she looked and she hated wearing a dress but Pervy Sage had thrown out her baggy tracksuit and replaced it all mumbling about how she would never attract a decent husband if she kept wearing the gaudy outfit. Naru had ranted at him for hours afterwards, telling him how she had no intention of attracting any male attention as she had no time for a relationship; her main focus becoming Hokage. Naru sighed and stepped out onto her balcony, today was the day she would face her friends. Naru had opted to stay home the day she got back, tired from travelling and if she was honest she was scared of facing Sakura.

"I know your there Kakashi Sensei" she heard a chuckle from behind her and she blushed slightly. Her stomach tightened and she bit her lip. Even being in proximity to her mentor made her nervous and cause her hands to shake.

"Your perception has advanced" Naru took a deep breath and tried to calm her beating heart. She couldn't let on her attraction to him. She cursed Pervy Sage under her breath. It had been his fault that she began thinking this way, all his talk about relationships and marriage. Her blush depend when she remembered back to the day he brashly asked her about how she felt about the jonin causing something to stir in her that she had never felt before. "Are you alright Naru?

"Oh! Sorry Sensei I got lost in thought" she felt his hand on her shoulder and she froze, she couldn't turn to face him. Naru's face was as red as a tomato and she felt if she turned around in the flustered state she was in she would die of embarrassment. She lifted her hand and imitated his two finger wave and took off over the roof tops, leaving the confused man behind her. Naru didn't know if he was following her, she didn't care. She just needed distance between them long enough for her to get a hold of herself. She eventually found herself standing in front of the academy, staring up at the building where it all started for her.

"Naru!" Kakashi landed next to her, staring down at her in worry. Her cheeks were still flushed but at least she could pass it off being caused by her running. She raised her hand and scratched the back of her head awkwardly while smiling apologetically.

"Sorry Sensei! I felt nostalgic all of a sudden!" she laughed, her eyes shifting towards Iruka who was waving at her.

"Something's wrong Naru…" she looked at her feet to avoid his gaze. This was Kakashi Hakate, the copy ninja; his eye's missed nothing and she was an open book right now.

"Naru! Kakashi!" Iruka ran up to them and Naru welcomed the intrusion. She needed to direct her mind somewhere else instead of the urge to kiss the man in front of her senseless.

"Iruka Sensei!" she warmly smiled at the kind man that use to be her teacher. She threw herself into his arms and into his embrace. Ever since that day with Mizuki, Naru had felt Iruka was the closest thing to a father figure for her. "I missed you Sensei!"

"It's great to see you Naru! I was worried something had happened since you didn't come back yesterday!" he held her at arm's length to look her over as a concerned parent would.

"Oh, I did get back yesterday, I was just too tired to see anyone" Iruka frowned at her and she shuffled her feet "Sorry for worrying you!"

"What did you do to Kakashi?" the two men stared at each other and Naru furrowed her brows in confusion; Kakashi looked like he was almost jealous.

"The Hokage wants to see you later" Kakashi smiled through his mask and disappeared in his usual dramatic flair.

"So…Kakashi?" Naru sighed, she could never get anything past Iruka. "You seem to have gotten under his skin"

"How so?" the man laughed, obviously she had missed something because she thought he had picked up on her feelings for the silver haired ninja.

"Oh nothing…Ramen tonight? My shout?" Naru's face lit up and she enthusiastically nodded her head. Iruka ruffled the top of her head, his eyes focused past her a small smile on his lips.

"See you then Iruka Sensei!" Naru gave him a quick hug and ran off, waving behind her. She felt lighter after seeing the man she considered family and it was about time she ran into some old faces her own age.

…

Naru wandered down a familiar street that led to her childhood park. She didn't know why she walked in this direction considering the park only held feelings of loneliness for her. Every memory she had of the park was parent's ushering their children away from her, spitting insults at her as they turned their backs and left her alone by herself. Naru sighed, those days were the worst. She had been confused as a child, never understanding why the place she called home hated her so much.

"NARU!" A loud voice boomed behind her and she spun around quickly only to be tackled by an overgrown Akamaru. Naru laughed as the giant white dog licked her face and she tried pushing him off her as he was far heavier then he look.

"Akamaru! Heel!" The dog bounced off her and she pushed herself to her elbows. Choji, Shikamaru and Kiba ran over to her excitedly. Kiba held out his hand to her, an apologetic smile on his face as he helped her up. "Sorry Naru, Akamaru's just excited to see you"

"Hey, it's no problem! I can't believe how big he's gotten!" Naru crouched down and snuggled her face into the dog's neck as she patted him. "And you guys! You don't look much different!"

"Hey! Of course we do!" Choji exclaimed which cause Naru to lean forward and inspect him in a joking manor.

"Nope, sure you look older but not much has changed!" she placed her hands on her hips and then three boys looked at her before pulling her into a hug.

"It's been too quiet without you here Naru! You have to tell us everything!" Kiba grabbed her shoulders and Naru shook her head. There was far too much to tell and she had so much on her mind that she didn't feel like sharing right now.

"Kiba, leave the girl alone can't you see your being bothersome" Kiba went to retort to Shikamaru's input when a loud bang rung out. Naru found herself pushed to the ground by Shikamaru as a large white creature jumped at them.

"What the hell!" Naru exclaimed, jumping to her feet to see a pale looking boy sitting on a roof with a large scroll and a paint brush. "Oi! You! What do you think you are doing?" the boy ignored her and began to paint again. Shikamaru braced himself, attempting to catch the boy with his shadow Jutsu. Naru and Shikamaru shared a look and she took off running towards the boy, hoping to distract him from the shadow Jutsu. More creatures ripped out of the scroll the boy was holding and Naru held her arm's in front of her.

Shikamaru's Jutsu skewered the creatures, causing them to disappear with a splat which Naru assumed was ink. Naru stopped for a second to look back at Shikamaru, surprised at how advanced the boy's Jutsu had become. Maybe they have changed she thought before turning back to the mysterious boy who smiled down at her. Naru shuddered, something about him reminded her of Sasuke and she took a step backwards. Kiba rushed past her, kunai in hand as her heart began to beat rapidly and she dropped to her knees.

Naru's hands began to tremble and she closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. It's not Sasuke she repeated in her head over and over. She flinched when a hand was placed on her back and some kneeled next to her. Naru turned her head to see Shikamaru's concerned face, he had never known her to back down from a fight before. Naru gave him a weak smile and forced herself to her feet shakily.

"Hey, are you okay Naru?" she let out the breath she didn't realise she was holding and clasped her hands in her dress. She felt so ashamed and embarrassed, she had put them in danger because she couldn't handle the idea of facing Sasuke even if it wasn't him she was facing.

"I'm sorry guys, I must still be feeling a bit of fatigue from the long journey home" Kiba and Choji went to ask more question's but Shikamaru held up his hand. That was one thing Naru was always thankful for, Shikamaru always picked up when people needed to be left alone. "I think I'm going to go home"

"You should go see Sakura, she might be able to give you something" Choji offered. Naru internally winced. She knew she would have to face her best friend sooner or later but after what had just happened she prefer later.

"I'll be fine, I just need to go home and sleep" she waved off their concerns, plastering her usual smile on her face "I wonder who that guy was anyway, I've never seen him before"

"You go home, we'll go report to the Hokage about this" Naru nodded in thanks to Shikamaru and gave the three boy's a hug each before taking off home.

Naru fought back tears the entire way, willing her body forward until she ended up under a tree with no one around. She couldn't risk going home like this, she was certain she would have visitors now that word was out she was home. Naru pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face into them. Her body shook with sobs and she tried her best not to be loud as she cried. Naru had trained so hard, she had come so far and yet she felt so weak.

It made her angry knowing that he had so much control over her, that even though he was so far away the very idea of him being close to her could break her down to such a pathetic mess. The pressure in her chest grew and it felt like she couldn't breathe. Naru gasped for air as her panic attack began to settle in and she dug her nails into her knees.

"Naru…" arm's wrapped around her and she was pulled into someone's lap, their hand patting the top of her head in a soothing manor. "Deep breaths Naru" She let out a small hiccup and clasped onto the person shirt as she tried to focus on their instructions "That's it, in….now out"

"K-Kakashi sensei" she sob out as she began to feel the pressure fade. Naru felt safe in his arms and she hoped that he didn't let her go. Right now she needed this, needed the warm embrace she was in.

"Shh Naru, just keep concentrating on your breathing" Naru nodded and after a while she had calmed down enough that she untangled her fist's from his shirt and looked up at him with swollen red eyes. "You wanna talk about it?"

"No…" she wrung her hands together and blushed "Sorry for ruining your shirt"

"Naru, I wish you would talk to me" Kakashi sighed out, running a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Not yet, I'm not ready" she whispered, getting out of his lap and brushing her dress off.

"When you are ready I'll be here…I know that I've let you down in the past but I promise that it won't happen again" Naru refused to look him in the eye. She didn't blame him for what happened she was just embarrassed and scared. She didn't know how to open up to someone even if she did want to. Naru was ashamed, she had been weak and if she talked about it people would probably blame her; the demon.

"I should probably go see Granny Tsunade…I'll see you later" Kakashi nodded, remaining where he was to give her the space she needed. That didn't stop Naru seeing the pain in his eyes, the guilt that he held. "Kakashi sensei"

"Yes Naru?" he looked up at her so hopeful that she felt her heart twinge.

"I don't blame you…" she ran off before he could reply, fearing that if she stayed she would cry again and she was already embarrassed that he had seen her in such a state.

….