Author's Note: Apparently strikethroughs do not show up in Fanfiction, so anything that has "=" around it is a strikethrough. It's only for the beginning parts.

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Dear =Kanoko= Asshole,

You're an asshole.

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Yours truly,

Uzumaki Naruto – The Sixth Hokage.

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Dear Asshole/Bastard,

Its day thirty and I still haven't forgiven you.

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Yours truly,

The Sixth Hokage and all around badass.

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P.S. I hope duckbutt is making your life miserable with his life sucking emo mood swings.

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P.S.P.S You never told me that your brother latched onto anything warm and breathing while he slept… Like, what the fuck?! He's like demon-possessed koala bear that squeezes the life out of its victims! I've tried everything! Different rooms with locks, pressure activated traps, and fucking metal chains! Nothing stops him!

And what's worse, is that he doesn't even know it! And trying to tell him that he sleepwalks… The bastard just ignores me! Says that I'm not funny and that he'd know if he was sleepwalking! How the fuck would he know?! How?!

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ANSWER ME!

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Dear Arch Nemesis,

We're on our… Fifth? Sixth month? I think it has been six months since we left Konoha. Things have been pretty exciting so far… All super-secret stuff that I can't go into detail about, but let's just say some princesses were rescued, some bad guys were put down, some villages now have bridges named after me – you know, the normal things that happen to great ninjas like me.

Anyways…

=How's Sakura-chan?=

=What's been going on with our friends, specifically Sakura-chan?=

=So… Has Sakura talked about me? Like how she really misses me and how she cries herself to sleep?=

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If I get back and Sakura-chan is dating that bastard…

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Yours truly,

The most amazing ninja in =the Land of Fire= the world.

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P.S. KEEP DUCKBUTT AWAY FROM SAKURA!

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Dear The Most Amazing Person Ever and My Best Friend :D,

It's been a year since we last saw each other. It's hard to believe it's been that long. It feels like yesterday I packed my bags and made my way to the gates of Konoha – ready to start my next adventure.

Everyone had shown up, too, to see me off. All the rookie genin, bushy-brow's team, all our senseis, Iruka-sensei… Everyone... It was crazy… I remember walking through the forest leading out of Konoha with a smile on my face and a warm flutter in my chest.

One of the best days of my life.

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Until I realized that was stuck pitching tents in the middle of nowhere with the Land of Fire's biggest pervert and the world's laziest bastard.

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But that's all in the past now! I toooootally forgive you for using my selfless nature to trick me into giving you two and a half years of peace from your brother – who, randomly, decided to stop being lazy and is constantly running me into the ground with a lovely combination of physical and mental torture training.

Yep! You can rest easy knowing that that I completely forgive you for convincing me to follow a lunatic around, learning the consequences unprotected sex and mental terrors vindictive women with sharp knives can inflict on a person's psyche.

And I most definitely have forgiven you for forgetting to tell me that, due to my blond hair and blue eyes, an entire village would be out to get me.

Do you know how many fucking Stone shinobi there are?

A fucking shit ton – that's how much.

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But I digress (as you can tell, Shit-a-maru is helping me expand my vocabulary)…

The point of this letter is to inform you that I have no ill will against you and that you can rest easy knowing that I haven't hired high caliber assassins from the Village Hidden in the Mist to murder you on one of your missions.

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Serious.

It wasn't me.

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Really.

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Yours truly,

Uzumaki Badass Naruto

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P.S. But if you happen to find a frog wallet on one of the assassins that, coincidently, looks similar to froggy – my own personal wallet which is currently on my person – I would be really grateful to receive such a fashionable gift.

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Dear Ex-Best Friend/Person I Really Want To Punch,

The gift basket of ramen, but was actually ramen cups full of rotten leeks was both rude and uncalled for.

Here am I, dead beat tired after almost falling to my death a total of three times, surviving at least five bandit fortress infiltrations in order to rescue four princesses and one smelly old man, escaping a horde of angry, broken hearted women out for pervy-sage's blood, protecting the new Kazekage from a political plot involving arranged marriages and poisonous cocktails, facing off with some S-ranked samurai/ninja hybrid, running away from more scary women as they aimed an array of sharp objects towards our private parts, saving a whole village from a crazy, world dominating villain and his small army, and getting my head nearly crushed by Stone ninja, twice, and low and behold, I get the magical gift of a basket full of my favorite ramen cups from my least favorite teammate…

…Only to open one and be met with the horrific stench of rotten leeks.

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Not even I, Uzumaki the-most-forgiving-person Naruto, can overlook such atrocity.

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You should be ashamed. To defile the holiness of ramen in such a way...

Such disrespect.

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And as retribution, I have sneakily "dropped" a letter from Sakura to myself, informing me of a relationship between yourself and one Uchiha Sasuke. This letter was, conveniently, picked up by your brother, who is very unhappy and may or may not have hired highly skilled shinobi to eliminate duckbutt's procreating abilities.

You are welcome.

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Yours truly,

President of the Ramen is Life Association, Uzumaki Kickass Naruto

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Shikamaru,

For the last time, I am neither in a relationship nor thinking about starting a relationship with Uchiha. If you do not call off the attacks threatening the continuation of the Uchiha Clan, I will be forced to send you Mr. Deerling…

In pieces.

This will be your only warning.

With care,

Kanoko

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Dear Kill-Joy,

It's been two years since lazy-ass, pervy sage and I left Konoha. Man… So much has happened, but at the same time, it feels like just yesterday we walked out the gates of Konoha, waving bye to all our friends and family…

I wonder how much everyone's changed…

Of course I've gotten a lot stronger, and cooler, and amazing and shit.

Shikamaru still sucks all the fun out of everything (just like another Nara I know…) and is still incredibly lazy, but he's changed a lot. He's… I don't know how to put it… Dependable? Like, I know that you, Sakura-chan, and Kakashi-sensei are there for me, always, but with Shikamaru… I don't know, it's like… I rely on him without even thinking. When we're fighting off against enemies our moves and ideas just naturally play off each other.

It's really freeing.

Pervy sage has changed a lot too – something I didn't even think was possible. Remember when he used to vaguely explain something and then go on his way and goof off? Well, Shikamaru went all "physiological warfare" on his ass. Seriously, the lazy bastard is downright frightening when he wants to be. Pervy sage was in a constant state of paranoia, not sure when Shikamaru would attack – and I don't mean physically! Your brother would just shrug and make an off handed remark that neither of us understood until several hours later when pervy sage would just stare at Shikamaru like he was some kind of demon.

It went on for a while until pervy sage just broke out in laughter until he couldn't breathe. After catching his breath he just shook his head at us and said something like, "It figures it'd be the two of you" or something like that. Anyways, I didn't get it, but after that, pervy sage took our training seriously.

He's still a pervert though.

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Has everyone else changed as much?

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Yours truly,

Uzumaki Naruto, Your Next Hokage

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Dear Kanoko,

We're coming home.

See you soon,

Shikamaru

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Stay safe sis.

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Also… Don't tell kaa-san… :(

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Shikamaru,

I would do a lot of things for you.

Lying to kaa-san is not one of them.

With care,

Kanoko

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Tou-san says he will mourn the loss of his only son like he has mourned no one before.

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"You know, you're kind of a walking contradiction."

A young man, no older than fifteen turned towards the voice. The young man raised an eyebrow before shaking his head lightly, trying to shake out the drops of rain out of his pale, sand colored hair.

The voice spoke again, "Seriously. You are both the simplest and most complicated person I've ever met."

The boy rolled his eyes, "And you're noisiest." The blonde placed a cloth down on the ground before dipping a long blade into the river, "And you complain about women…" The young man mumbled as he started cleaning blood off of his sword.

A figure emerged from the shadows with his arms crossed, "See, this is what I mean. You'll speak with anyone that strikes up a conversation with you and respond to them with a politeness and respect that should be reserved to people you actually care about, but you'll also cut them down just as quickly if you deem them a threat." The figure paused to eye the multiple blades the young man was cleaning, "And without any future regrets."

The young man turned to give the figure a blank look, "Is there a point to this conversation Shika or are you just making noise for the sake of making noise?"

Shika gave his friend an annoyed look, "And this is also why you only have one friend, Tobirama."

Tobirama shrugged as he started to dry off his weapons, "Friends are liabilities." His red eyes shifted to Shika, his expression showing boredom, "And I'm not sure how I even got one to begin with."

Shika sighed, shaking his head as he returned Tobirama's bored look with a dull one of his own, "You and me both."

"OI! SHIKA-KUN!" A pitched voice called out through the trees.

Shika turned ghost white, "Shit." Looking towards Tobirama, he hissed at him, "Tell her I'm dead!" And with that, the boy faded back into the shadows.

Running out into the clearing by the river, a young woman with bright red hair flowing around her stopped a few feet away from Tobirama. The girl snapped her head around before settling her gaze on the blonde, "Ugg… It's you."

Tobirama straightened his back as he slowly stood, pretending as if he did not hear the red head next to him.

"HEY! I'M TALKING TO YOU BUDDY!" She barked at him, making Tobirama's nose to scrunch up at the noise.

Stomping over, the young woman hissed, "I know I heard Shika-kun around here… What'd you do with him?"

Tobirama raised an eyebrow at the woman's pointed question. Taking a moment to think it over, he settled on, "I killed him."

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"NOOOOOO! YOU'RE DEAD SENJU! THIS MEANS WAR!" She roared at him, her red hair standing up on end and deadly chakra racing around her.

"WAIT! MISAKO!" Shika called out, running out into the clearing and putting himself between the girl and his friend, "He was just kidding!"

Misako blinked before running through a series of expressions that, if Tobirama cared enough would have made him laugh. Shock, happiness, anger, confusion, then back to anger appeared on her face before the red head started yelling again, "WHAT THE HELL SENJU?!"

Tobirama shrugged, "Shika wanted me to tell you he died. I figured the benefits of being known as the shinobi who killed the Nara Clan's heir would outweigh any hate you have against me for such an act. After all…" Tobirama raised an eyebrow at Misako, "You already react violently every time you see me."

"Because you're an asshole!" She shouted back at him.

Tobirama rolled his eyes, "Obviously. I didn't realize you were slow, in addition to being crazy."

"AHHHH!" Misako screamed in anger, pulling the ends of her hair to stop herself from getting into another fight with the Senju.

Shika sighed heavily at his two friends as he thought, "Why am I cursed with such troublesome friends…"

"Why don't you say that again when you aren't hiding behind your friend-" Misako started before stopping suddenly and twisting her body around.

Tobirama stiffened, having also felt the spike in negative energy coming from behind Misako. Tobirama pushed out his senses, trying to identify the source.

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In an instant the area was covered in blazing red flames. Standing at the edge of the fiery hell were several shinobi.

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Shinobi dressed in dark red and black, sporting an insignia that always made his heart stop and his breath hitch.

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Uchiha.

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And worse yet, he recognized the person at the front of the group.

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Uchiha Madara.

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Kanoko gasped loudly as she sat straight up from where she slept. Breathing heavily, Kanoko quickly placed a hand over her heart. Taking deep breaths, she started to calm herself down – her eyes dropping to stare blankly at the sleeping bag covering her bottom half.

"What's wrong?"

Kanoko turned her head slightly, her orange eyes looking up at the person speaking to her, "It's nothing Sasuke." Kanoko stared back down at her closed fists loosening their grip on her lap, "Just a bad memory."

Sasuke kept his gaze on his mission partner for a few moments before turning to look up at the full moon, "It's the moon. When it's full like this..."

Kanoko looked up at the bright yellow moon, taking a moment to take in its glow. Her sharp eyes shifted silently toward the Uchiha, "That's right… It was full moon that night too."

Sasuke caught Kanoko's gaze and shrugged her look off, "Try to get some sleep. I don't want to be stuck handling everything on this mission."

Kanoko shook her head with a slight smirk on her face, "What you mean to say is, you want to get done with this mission as soon as possible so you can be back in Konoha in time to welcome home Naruto."

Sasuke scoffed as he crossed his arms. Instead of responding, he turned away and took off into the woods – likely to make another round around the area in order to avoid getting teased by Kanoko.

Kanoko chuckled quietly at her partner's antics. Taking another look up at the sky, Kanoko's mind wondered back to her dream.

"I haven't thought about my past in a long time." Kanoko laid back and slowly closed her eyes, "I shouldn't read too much into it. They're just bad memories."

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Nine-hundred and thirteen days.

After nine-hundred and thirteen days he was back. Back to where the sun was warm, but no overly so; where the breeze lightly blew through and the leaves fluttering back and forth; where kids ran through the streets as they played and laughed; where shinobi and civilians alike came together and shared their home; where a sense of peaceful warm and joy spread over the land, seeping into everything it touched.

Naruto took a deep breath in with his arms wide open, "Home. Home sweet home." Naruto grinned to himself as he saw Konoha's gate peak through the trees.

"It's good to be back, isn't it boys?" Jiraiya sighed out, smiling warmly at the sight of Konoha's large walls. Jiraiya turned to look at the two boys, now young men that walked behind him.

Both had really grown up in both looks and attitudes.

Shikamaru had grown quite tall, five feet and six inches, much to Naruto's dissatisfaction. His spiked ponytail had also grown in length, but not overly so. He had also filled out more. Shikamaru was no longer that lanky kid with a big head. While Shikamaru's natural lax demeanor and insightful observations had calmed Naruto's more act first, think later instinct, Naruto's own hardworking and inspiring persona (or as Shikamaru liked to call it: pure troublesome essence) had forced Shikamaru into a daily ritual of training, running for his life, and training some more.

Shikamaru couldn't have stay thin as a stick if he wanted to – not without dying in the process.

Due to his growth, he could no longer wear his preferred outfit: Loose slacks, a fish net undershirt, and his clan half jacket. Now, Shikamaru wore dark, ankle length, fitted dark gray cargo pants and a black turtle neck long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows.

Jiraiya shook his head slightly as he thought about the Nara's choice in clothes. Simple and plain. A complete opposite to Naruto and himself. The sage chuckled to himself as he thought, "I never should have taught him that unlimited storage seal. Figures the kid would use it to be extra lazy and plain looking."

Not long after Jiraiya had taught Shikamaru a variety of storage seals, he had found the boy in the middle of tattooing his third seal on his body. Jiraiya just about had a heart attack. After all, seals, if written incorrectly or if even the smallest of errors was made, the seal could be quite destructive. And here was this pre-teen tattooing it on his body.

Shikamaru just shrugged and mentioned that his sister tattooed all sort of experimental seals on her body and she was still alive.

Though… As soon as it came out of the young boy's mouth, Jiraiya could see the doubt growing in Shikamaru's eyes. As if it just occurred to him that his sister was clinically insane and no one should be taking lessons from her – unless they wanted to die a painful death.

"COME ON PERVY SAGE! I DON'T HAVE ALL DAY!"

Jiraiya was pulled from his thoughts at the screeching noise of his least and most favorite student: Uzumaki Naruto.

Turning his head, he saw Naruto standing with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed in a glare.

Jiraiya smirked at the kid, now teenager. As much as the kid had changed over the last few years, he also hadn't changed at all. For every mature part of Naruto there was an equally immature part. One look at Naruto only reinforced that thought.

Due to the, surprising, amount of bitching Shikamaru gave Naruto regarding his choice to wear the most identifiable and glow-in-the-dark bright color that ever existed (which, paired with Naruto's notorious luck was a recipe for disaster), Naruto purchased a new outfit with Shikamaru once they had out grown their current ones.

The result was surprising to the old sage, who was painfully reminded why Naruto meant more to him than he was willing to admit. Gone were the bright orange pant and jacket with the creepy white collar. Instead, the blonde sported black pants with matching sandals and a long sleeved navy blue turtle neck jacket, which accentuated the bright blue of the First Hokage's necklace which lay over his shirt. What really hit Jiraiya in the gut was that Naruto had also found a cream colored cloak that reminded him of the one Minato wore turning his tenure as Hokage. The only differences was the length of the cloak, which end at his thighs, and the plainness of the cloak – the only marking on it was an orange swirl drawn on the back with a permanent marker.

All in all, with his clothes, hair and black headband, Naruto reminded Jiraiya of his former student – and boy, did it hurt.

In fact, if Naruto didn't open his mouth, Jiraiya may be tricked into believing Minato had never died.

But Naruto couldn't keep quiet for long…

He was so much like his mother…

Brash, loud, and a temper that would make most women jealous, Naruto was his mother's son without a doubt. Even with Shikamaru's constant attentiveness to calm Naruto down or get him to think before he acted, Naruto was still the same "act first, save everyone, and remember that he was still human and could actually bleed to death later" person he was before.

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Shikamaru chuckled lowly at Naruto, who was currently looking torn between acting like an adult and just leaving Jiraiya to his thoughts, and acting like a three year old and jumping up and down in a tantrum. The Nara looked up at the blue sky, full of bright white clouds, and exhaled peacefully. Closing his eyes to feel the breeze, he couldn't fault Naruto for wanting to get home as soon as possible.

He missed this.

A lot more than he thought he would.

Taking another deep breath, Shikamaru looked over to his friend and shrugged at him, "Give him a moment Naruto. You can't blame him for acting the way he is." Shikamaru looked towards the Leaf's gate, "Stepping through those doors means our mission, trip, or whatever you want to call it is over. Two and a half years ago we left the village with a goal, but when it came down to it, the whole thing was bound to be nothing but a drag." Shikamaru smirked lightly as he looked at Naruto, "After everything we went through together, just the three of us against the world, I can honestly say I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Naruto blinked at Shikamaru words. Turning to his sensei, Naruto grin at Jiraiya, "Ahh! Pervy-sage! Don't worry! We will still come visit you when we're superstars and your counting coupons in your little shack built for one!"

Jiraiya's eye twitched, "Superstars? Ha!" Jiraiya crossed his arms and barked out laughter, "You wouldn't know the first thing about being a celebrity! And that's coming from the Land of Fire's best selling author!" Jiraiya paused before adding with a snort, "And I'll have you know, my retirement home will be full of beautiful women and guess what? You're not invited!"

Naruto scoffed, "Pleeeease! As if I'd want to go to your stinking hole in the ground full of old hags!"

Jiraiya opened his mouth to retort when Shikamaru cut in with a sigh and a heavy drawl in his voice, "If you two are going to keep this up, the gates are going to close and we're going to have to wait until morning to get in."

Naruto snapped his head around, "No way!" He turned back to Jiraiya and called out to him before running off, "Come on pervy sage! I know you're old, but seesh! Pick up the pace!"

Jiraiya crossed his arms and mumbled under his breath about unappreciative bastards and demon children, or something – Shikamaru was barely listening.

Shikamaru took one last look at the sky before passing through the gates to his home, "Home… I wonder how much has changed."

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"UGG! This is soooo unfair!"

"Come one Ino. It's not that bad…"

Yamanaka Ino snapped her head to her long time frenemy, once best friend and once again best friend, Haruno Sakura.

"Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD?!" Ino exclaimed while raising her arms in the air, "WERE YOU LISTENING AT ALL?!"

Sakura sighed heavily, "Let's at least get to our destination before you start in on your life's-not-fair-rant."

Ino snorted but followed after her friend as the two of them walked into Team 10's favorite barbeque joint.

Passing through the curtained door, Sakura straightened her back to look around the place for an open seat.

"Follow me. There's always one open over here." Ino told her pink haired friend before grabbing her wrist and dragging her near the back.

Sakura was caught slightly off guard by Ino's sudden pull and stumbled slightly, her chin length, light pink hair swishing slightly in the wind. Sakura had decided to cut her hair when it kept getting in her way when she was working with patients.

Finding an empty table to two kunoichi took a seat across from each other. Ino flipped her long blonde ponytail over her shoulder and quickly ordered for the both of them before jumping back into the conversation she had started earlier, "So you were about to tell me what you thought about the whole thing."

Sakura groaned slightly, wishing Kanoko would teach her how to teleport out of any situation, "I don't know Ino. I guess I just don't care."

Ino crossed her arms underneath her purple clothed chest and scoffed, "You can't be serious! That bitch Ami thinks she can come into MY flower shop with some BOY TOY and tell me-"

Sakura jumped up from the table, her emerald eyes wide as she stared out the restaurant's window.

"Sakura? What-" Ino tried to say before her pink hair friend raced out of the restaurant. Ino stared at Sakura's fleeing back in wonder, "What the hell…" Turning back to the window, Ino leaned over the table to see if she could see what caused Sakura to run out.

Pale blue eyes widened, "No way!"

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Sakura raced out of the barbeque restaurant, pushing past people coming in and ran out into the street. Her emerald eyes searched the area frantically, in order to get a glimpse of what she saw before, but didn't believe it.

Wind blew through the area, kicking up leaves and blowing various other paper-like items. The slight breeze was all Sakura needed for her eyes to catch the swishing of a cream colored cloak she had seen earlier.

"Naruto…"

Sakura watched Naruto turn his head to the side, laughing at something the person next to him said. She was completely frozen. Naruto… He looked so… Different. More confident, more mature, more…

"Damn!" Sakura her Ino say next to her with an appreciative whistle, "Naruto looks hot!"

Sakura just nodded automatically, completely in a daze. She didn't know what shocked her more: The lack of orange or how cool he looked in such a simple outfit.

Ino crossed her arms and tilted her head, "Shikamaru looks the same though – completely plain! Still doesn't put a single thought into his appearance, the lazy bastard!" Ino frowned and narrowed her eyes, "Of course your teammate would come back a complete hunk and mine would just get taller."

Sakura was pulled from her gaze on Naruto fleeting back when she caught the tail end of Ino's rant. Shifting her eyes to the person next to Naruto, she blinked, "That's Shikamaru?"

Ino huffed, "I'd recognize that miserable slouch anywhere."

"Wow." Sakura spoke in wonder, "They both have really changed. I wonder… If they are completely different people now."

Ino laughed and placed a hand on her hip, "Yeah right! Those two? It's more likely that Kiba would become a cat lover and Shino would become an exterminator than those two being anything but lazy and crazy!"

Sakura crossed her arms and mumbled, "Naruto's not crazy…"

Ino threw her hands in the air, "You know what? I give up." The blonde reached out and grabbed Sakura's wrist before pulling her roughly through the crowd, in the direction that Naruto and Shikamaru left in.

"Ino! What the-" Sakura called out.

"You wanted to see if they changed right?" Ino told her with a large grin, "What better way to figure it out then to ask them yourself?"

"Ino!" Sakura chastised her.

"Oh hush! You know you want to!" Ino replied before turning back and racing towards the Hokage's tower with one Haruno Sakura in tow.

"INO!"

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"Kanoko, honey! Could you grab the glass pan for me?" Yoshino called out while mixing ingredients in a bowl.

"Of course kaa-san." Kanoko answered, stepping around her mother and grabbing the dish from the cupboards. Kanoko placed the dish next to her mother and asked, "Is there anything else I can do?"

Yoshino smiled and shook her head, "Thank you honey. And you're free to leave. I won't hold you up any longer."

Kanoko shook her head, "I don't mind." Orange eyes looked over the supplies spread out on the counter, "You're really spoiling him, you know. Making him his favorite dish…" Kanoko shook her head with a slight smile, "Though I imagine he's still going to get yelled at for not telling kaa-san he was coming home today."

Yoshino moved around and picked up the mackerel on the counter, "Go, go! Your mother can handle something as simple as this!"

Kanoko nodded politely, knowing better than to get on her mother's bad side. Kanoko turned away and started to walk out the house. Just as she passed through the front door, she noticed her father playing shogi by himself on the porch.

"Noko-chan." Shikaku called out lightly with a smirk on his face.

Kanoko resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I wish you wouldn't call me that anymore…"

Shikaku shrugged with a smile, "You'll always be my little girl and little girls need cute little names like Noko-chan."

Kanoko groaned, "Tou-san…"

Shikaku laughed at his child before waving his hand, "Now off you go. Go find your troublesome brother and bring him home before your mother goes on a rampage."

Kanoko sighed but smiled as she spoke to her father, "She's making his favorite. It won't take much to convince him."

Shikaku nodded, turning back to his game, "In any case, I wish you luck." Shikaku started chuckling under his breath and spoke low, "My poor boy's going to get the shock of his life when you too meet after all this time."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "What makes you say that?"

Shikaku didn't look up, he simply waved his hand, "Oh don't listen to the ramblings of an old man."

Kanoko frowned slightly, annoyed by her father's teasing. Shrugging, Kanoko decided to leave it be. After all, she still needed to track down her brother and teammate. Goodness knows she won't be able to leave with her brother in tow without answering a million questions from her teammate.

The Nara heiress started walking out of the Nara lands and headed in the direction of the Uchiha Compound.

"I should check in with Sasuke. The realtor should be meeting him today to discuss selling a few homes within the compound." Kanoko thought, "No doubt Sasuke will give the realtor a hard time…"

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"About time the three of you came home!" Tsunade chastised them before smirking, "I sure do hope all the time spent away did some good."

Naruto grinned brightly, "Hell yeah!" Naruto turned and looked to Shikamaru before nudging his side, "Even Shikamaru's not a complete loser anymore!"

"Hey." Shikamaru snapped at Naruto with a lazy drawl in his voice, "You weren't any better."

Naruto crossed his arms, "I-"

Naruto didn't get to finish as the doors swung open and two kunoichi barreled through.

"Hokage-sama! I'm so sorry! Ino wouldn't let go and-"

"Sakura… Chan?" Naruto spoke, his eyes slightly widening.

Naruto couldn't believe his eyes. Sakura's pink hair, once long and flowed gracefully behind her, was now cut short – floating just above her shoulders with a ends curling in slightly. Her bangs were not flat and blending in with her hair while a few strands swept over her forehead from right to left.

Naruto's eyes traveled down and noticed her red and white dress had been shortened as well with a thick black band secured tightly around her waist – framing her slight curls. The dress ended mid-thigh and underneath was tight black shorts that ended a few inches above her knees. And finally, on her feet were sandals that looked very similar to the ones Tsunade wore.

"You know… Everyone in the room is started to feel really uncomfortable – the way you are looking over Sakura like a piece of meat." Shikamaru told his friend plainly.

Naruto jumped, "What?! Wait! No! It's not what you think!"

Sakura blushed crimson before gritting her teeth and holding her fist in the air, "Naaaaaruto!"

Ino laughed out loud, "You can't get mad at him, Sakura! You were doing the same thing just a few minutes ago! You were just sneakier about it!"

Naruto looked over to Ino. To him, she looked the same. Though he did turn slightly pink when he noticed her flat stomach was on display for anyone to see and her shorts were quite short.

"INO!" Sakura screeched while turning red.

"Ehem!"

Everyone turned around to see Tsunade giving them an annoyed look, "I know you're all excited, but flirt on your own time!"

Everyone turned slightly pink while Jiraiya just broke out in laughter, "Oh to be young…"

"Anyways…" Tsunade started, giving Jiraiya an annoyed look before continuing, "I'm happy to see you both home and in one piece." Tsunade leaned back in her chair and smirked, "But now it's time to prove to me that the last two and a half years weren't a waste." The Fifth Hokage turned to Shikamaru, "Jiraiya tells me you have more than earned your chunin stripes. I, of course, will be the final judge of that."

Shikamaru's shoulders dropped, "I should have made a break for it when I had the chance…"

Naruto looked from Shikamaru to Tsunade, "What are you talking about, baa-chan?"

Tsunade smirked, "You didn't think I would just let the two of you out to complete missions in the name of the Leaf without confirming you're up for the task." Tsunade eyed Jiraiya, "Someone's too much of a softy to be trusted to give an unbiased opinion."

Jiraiya crossed his arms, "Softy? That's funny coming from you!"

Naruto cut in, impatient to learn how Tsunade would test the two of them, "So what are you going to have us do?"

Tsunade turned back to Naruto, "The two of you are going to be tested with your original teams."

Sakura perked up at this statement, "Original teams? I thought…"

"That because Kanoko was a jounin now that your genin team would split up?" Tsunade finished with a smirk, "I have news for you kids. Your genin teams were made by the late Third Hokage himself. Your fates were determined a long time ago."

Ino turned to Shikamaru, "The Third Hokage? Did you know that?"

Shikamaru shrugged, "I knew our team was predetermined. I mean, just look at our tou-sans."

Naruto looked at his peers before snapping his head back to Tsunade, "Wait, so…" Naruto looked at Sakura, "You're saying that all of Team Kakashi is getting tested?" Naruto looked around the room, "Then where's Kanoko?"

"Right now? Beating Sasuke over the head with a stick for being an idiot – her words, not mine." A voice spoke from the widow behind the Hokage.

Naruto and Sakura perked up, "Kakashi-sensei!" They both called out.

"Yo!" Kakashi responded with a smiling eye. Looking from Naruto to Sakura, Kakashi spoke, "It's been a long time, hasn't Sakura?"

Sakura sweatdropped, "Yeah… It's nice to know that your own sensei will go through great lengths to avoid you, just because you're training with his arch nemesis."

Kakashi took a thoughtful look, "That certainly doesn't sound like a very good sensei…" Kakashi smiled at Sakura, "It's a good thing you have me then, huh?"

Sakura groaned and mumbled, "I never thought I would miss Gai-sensei…"

Kakashi held a hand to his heart and gasped, "You wound me, Sakura-chan!"

"AHEM!" Tsunade coughed out, her eyes narrowed.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head, "Apologies, Hokage-sama…"

"Continuing on…" Tsunade started with an annoyed tone, but was cut off by Naruto.

"So Kakashi-sensei, do you know who we're facing off against?" Naruto asked.

Tsunade's eye twitched, "IF YOU LET ME CONTINUE!"

Jiraiya laughed out loud, "Ooooh I miss this! Seeing other people be driven crazy instead of me!"

Shikamaru sighed and gave Jiraiya a bland look, "You know you're just asking for trouble."

"THAT'S IT!" Tsunade shouted, slamming her hands on the desk in front of her. Pointing her finger at Naruto, she shouted, "You!" She moved her hand to point at Sakura, making her jump, "You!" Tsunade pointed at Shikamaru, making him turn pale, "And your infuriating sister are all facing off against him!" Tsunade finished by pointing at Kakashi, "And you're going to do it BEFORE I WALK BACK INTO THIS OFFICE TOMORROW!"

Naruto, Kakashi, and Sakura all nodded, looking a bit pale.

"GOOD!" Tsunade shouted again before pushing her chair back and stomping towards the door, "Now I'm getting myself a well-deserved drink!"

Shizune, who was standing behind the Hokage's desk, jumped and raced after her Hokage, "Wait! Tsunade!"

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, "Well…" He looked over to Sakura and Ino, "Have you seen Kanoko today?"

Ino crossed her arms and frowned, "She's probably hanging around Sasuke-kun, like Kakashi-sensei said."

Shikamaru frowned and look to Kakashi, "You said earlier… Something about my sister beating Uchiha up?"

Kakashi looked up, while placing a hand on his chin, "Did I? I can't remember…"

Sakura and Naruto sweatdropped. Naruto turned to Sakura, "He hasn't changed at all, has he?"

Sakura shook her head, "Not a bit."

Kakashi looked between his students with a sad look, "Such love you two have for your precious sensei…"

Naruto gave Kakashi a bland look before a thought occurred to him, "Oh! That reminds me…" Naruto pulled back part of his cloak and pulled out a book, "I got something for you!"

Kakashi, curious, leaned forward to look at what Naruto got for him. Kakashi's one eye widened, "Is… That…?!"

Naruto snickered, "Yep! Make out Tactics! Pervy-sage's third book! Signed and everything!"

Kakashi was stuck between squealing like a schoolgirl and laughing out loud in happiness. Grabbing it gently, like handling a newborn, he looked up at Naruto with a tear in his eye, "I've missed my favorite student."

"Hey!" Sakura called out, crossing her arms and glaring at her sensei.

"Ehem.." Kakashi coughed lightly, trying to school his excitement, "In any case… You both need to find Kanoko before I can start your test." Kakashi looked up, "And who knows exactly what my old student has gotten up to. Could be anything." Kakashi looked at his two students with a grin, "And since I'm such an amazing sensei, I will give you the rest of the afternoon to find her and get ready to face off against me!"

"Riiiight… And your generosity has nothing to do with the book in your hand." Shikamaru drawled out.

Kakashi looked at Shikamaru and smiled, "You know… For person who wants to be neither seen nor heard, you sure are quite noisy."

Shikamaru simply responded with an annoyed look.

Kakashi chuckled quietly to himself before turning to the rest of the group and waved, "Well… Toodles!" And in a puff of smoke, he was gone.

"That good for nothing…" Naruto started with a growl.

Sakura sighed, "Let's go find Kanoko. She'll have an idea on how to beat Kakashi-sensei."

.

A few minutes later, Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto and Sakura were all walking down the main street of Konoha, in the direction of the Uchiha compound.

Sakura walked beside Ino, staring at Naruto's and Shikamaru's back, "Maybe Ino was right. They haven't really seemed to change that much." Sakura smiled lightly, "I wonder if they're shocked by how much we've changed…"

Naruto stopped suddenly, making everyone turn towards him with a curious look. The blonde boy turned to Sakura and narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide.

Naruto rubbed his chin, "You said… Kanoko was a jounin?"

"Well duh!" Ino answered for her friend, "That's not even the half of it! Sasuke-kun and Neji have made jounin as well, and most of us think Sasuke-kun and Kanoko are also in the ANBU."

Sakura nodded solemnly, "Yeah… I worry about those two. They really are pushing themselves too hard…"

Shikamaru's fists tightened while Naruto's face turned serious. Straightening his back, Naruto's voice got deeper, "ANBU…"

Shikamaru looked from his friend over to Ino, "Earlier… You agreed with Kakashi that Kanoko would likely be around Sasuke. Why is that?"

Sakura perked up, "Oh! That's right, you guys have missed everything…" Sakura turned and looked in the direction of the Uchiha compound, "Kanoko and Sasuke have been working hard between missions to rebuild the Uchiha compound to the way it was before. They even have this fifteen year plan to raise the Uchiha Clan to the position it was before."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Fifteen year plan?"

Sakura nodded, "Yeah. Kanoko explained a bit of it to me once. Apparently the first step was rebuilding the houses and giving the compound an upgrade to match current standards and luxuries. Next, they held certain events within the main house of the compound – just simple things like parties and meetups. Now they're trying to sell certain homes within the compound, in order to encourage people to come to the compound on a regular basis – essentially trying to make the compound not feel so isolated."

Ino crossed her arms and mumbled, "Yeah, now all that's left is to repopulate the compound with little Uchihas…"

Naruto's eyebrows shot up, "Wait, WHAT?!"

Shikamaru frowned, "Isn't that great news? Don't you want to be Mrs. Uchiha or…" Shikamaru looked over to Sakura, wondering if Ino was upset that Sakura finally won their half a decade long fight.

Sakura blushed at Shikamaru's look and shook her head.

Ino huffed, "As if I'd lose to billboard brow!"

Sakura scoffed and glared at her friend, "Bring it on, Ino-pig!"

Naruto jumped up and moved his hands to form a timeout symbol, "Woah, woah! Time out!" Naruto looked to Ino, "So you aren't dating duckbutt…" He turned to Sakura, "And you aren't dating duckbutt – thank god…" Naruto mumbled that last part out before looking back and forth between the two girls, "Then what crazy, suicidal, blind woman is going to be… Assisting in the repopulation of the Uchiha clan?" Naruto's face scrunched up, "Are we really even sure this is such a good idea? This is duckbutt we're talking about. Isn't there a rule on how many emos one village is allowed?"

"No, but there is a rule on how many dobes we can have per village, dobe." A deep voice spoke from behind Naruto, making everyone turn.

"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. If it isn't Uzumaki Naruto! Shikamaru too!"

"Naruto-kun… It has been a long time, I hope you are well."

Naruto blinked before grinning, "Kiba, Hinata! And even duckbutt!"

"Hn." Sasuke responded, but smirking slightly, unable to keep the frown on his face.

Shikamaru took a quick look over the trio in front of them. Dressed in a dark leather jacket and long dark pants, Kiba stood at a proud five feet and five inches. He wasn't the shortest kid of his academy group, but he had really grown over the last couple of years. Not just his height, but also in muscle. Shikamaru's eyes lowered slightly to the beast of a dog next to the Inuzuka. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, not having realized Akamaru was going to get so big – practically the size of a small horse!

Hinata, like Kiba, had changed quite a bit. Shikamaru was trying not to notice how much the young girl had filled out over the years, but was hard not – both due to the company he'd kept for the last two years and due to just how much more she looked like a woman compared to before. Opposite to Sakura, Hinata had grown out her hair and it flowed around her as if it was light as a feather. The girl was dressed in an outfit that didn't remind Shikamaru of the typical Hyuuga garb and honestly, didn't look all that much different than what she wore before – just different colors.

Last, Shikamaru scrutinized Sasuke – already feeling on edge by what everyone was insinuating what was going on between him and his sister. Taking a hard look at Sasuke, Shikamaru was mildly curious by the black haired boy's clothes. Shikamaru vaguely remembers the Uchiha Police Force, but looking at Sasuke's outfit now, he wondered if they were one in the same. Dressed in a standard Leaf uniform, the colors were completely different. His cargo pants and long sleeve turtle neck were both light gray while his vest was a dark gray. On the upper arm area of his sleeves was a green shuriken symbol with the Uchiha fan in the middle. Attached to his lower back was a short sword and on his shins were metal plates.

Shikamaru shifted his eyes to see Naruto's reaction. The blonde was still grinning, but he was standing taller and had placed his hands on his hips.

"I barely recognized you guys! It looks like everyone's changed!" Naruto told them with a grin before chuckling, "Though you're just as ugly as before, duckbutt!"

Sasuke smirked as he chuckled low.

Kiba cut in on his friend's behalf, "Least we look like men now! You just look like an overgrown child! Just as short too!"

Shikamaru couldn't help chuckling, especially when the girls behind him laughed out loud.

"WHY YOU!" Naruto started, holding his fist in the air.

Shikamaru placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder and gave him a smile. Naruto huffed, but calmed down to simply glare at Kiba before a thought occurred to him. Looking over at Sasuke, Naruto spoke, "We were looking for Kanoko. Everyone says you would know where she is."

Sasuke paled as Kiba barked out a laugh, holding his stomach as he did so.

The group looked at Team Kurenai strangely.

Hinata coughed lightly, trying not to laugh at her teammate before turning to the group to explain, "Kanoko-chan came by earlier this morning, to check on…" Hinata paused looking at Sasuke, who was frowning with his arms crossed.

"Well?" Naruto asked, insanely curious now.

Hinata looked a little sheepish before continuing, "Kanoko-chan walked into the compound just as Sasuke chased off the realtor he was meeting. I'm not quite sure what the agreement was that they had prior to this meeting, but Kanoko-chan took one look at Sasuke-"

"I thought she was going to kill him!" Kiba yelled out, cutting off Hinata, "Shit! I thought we were all dead! I 'bout nearly pissed my pants!"

Sasuke glared at his teammates, feeling betrayed by the both of them.

"So? What happened after that?" Naruto asked, a little too excited.

Kiba grinned, "Kanoko stomped up to him, grabbed him by the ear and dragged him behind one of the homes! I was too afraid to look, but I heard something on the lines of "immature little child" "this makes the tenth realtor this week alone" and "grow a pair and negotiate like a man"!"

Hinata frowned at her teammate, "It wasn't that bad!" Hinata turned to Naruto and the rest of the group, "Kiba is exaggerating. Kanoko-chan was simply disappointed in Sasuke. She wasn't yelling or anything…"

Naruto chuckled at Sasuke, "You know, I told Kanoko I hoped you were making her life miserable, but it sounds like you were the one being made miserable instead!"

Sasuke glared at the group before suddenly smirking.

Naruto stopped laughing, his eyes narrowing, "What are you smirking about?"

Sasuke shrugged with the smirk firmly on his face, "Nothing." He paused to smirk directly at Naruto, "Just wondering when you are going to realize that now that the two of you are back… All of Kanoko's mother-henning will be focused entirely on the two of you."

Shikamaru and Naruto paled immediately while everyone around them laughed loudly.

Shikamaru groaned looking up at the sky, "Troublesome…"

The laughter died down, allowing Kiba the opening to speak, "Well, I hate to run, but the three of us were supposed to meet up with Kurenai-sensei. And if there is one thing you don't do, it's stand up a pregnant jounin sensei whose specialty is creating nightmares."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, "Kurenai is pregnant?"

Ino giggled behind him, "And you'll never guess who the father is."

Shikamaru sighed at his teammate, "A certain cancer stick obsessed jounin…"

Ino nodded with another giggle, "Yep! Asuma-sensei is the lucky winner! You should have seen his face when Kanoko congratulated Kurenai on the baby! First time I've seen a cigarette fall out of his mouth!"

Shikamaru sighed, "Yeah… That sounds just like Kanoko… And Asuma-sensei…"

"Well, as I said, we have to go." Kiba repeated before grinning, "It was great to see you guys again! We should all get together and spar! You won't be able to beat Akamaru's and my teamwork!"

Naruto grinned back, "You're on!"

Hinata followed Kiba as he walked past Naruto, but stopped to bow slightly to Naruto and Shikamaru. Looking up at Naruto, Hinata turned slightly pink, but grinned widely at him, "I am happy you made it back safely, Naruto-kun."

Naruto blinked, a little taken aback by Hinata's smile before grinning back, "Thanks Hinata-chan!"

Sasuke was the last to leave, giving Naruto a nod before following after his teammates, but not before speaking low, "It's good to have you back, dobe."

Naruto grinned at Sasuke's back before yelling out loudly, "Aww! I missed you too!"

Shikamaru chuckled quietly next to Naruto before turning back to the girls, "So… Sasuke was a bust."

Sakura nodded before turning to Ino with a finger on her chin, "Shikamaru's right. Clearly she's not with Sasuke… Do you think she's at home? Or maybe out training?"

Ino shrugged, "She could even be at the Academy."

Sakura snapped her fingers, "You're right!"

"Academy?" Naruto asked, "Why would she be there?"

Sakura turned to Naruto, "Kanoko started volunteering her time at the academy – as a fill in for sick teachers or just assisting with grading. After a while, Iruka-sensei recommended that she be made a teacher. Lady Tsunade resisted at first, stating Kanoko was more valuable as an operative in the shinobi forces than as a teacher. It took some time, but Iruka was able to persuade enough people on his side and force the Hokage's hand. She agreed, but only as a part-time teacher. Missions still come first, but the way Kanoko goes through missions… She's at the academy most days."

"She's not the only one either." Ino cut in, "Shino's also began volunteering at the academy around the same time, when not on missions. I think some of their classes even overlap."

Naruto blinked, "What? Shino? As a teacher?!" Naruto turned to Sakura, "We're talking about the same Shino right? Glasses? Cloak? Bugs in his body?"

Sakura nodded with a smile, "Yep! He's good too! Makes Kanoko jealous by how much more well liked he is over her!"

Shikamaru's eyebrows rose, "Kanoko? Jealous?"

Ino laughed with Sakura, "Oh, you guys have no idea! Kanoko and Shino are one step away from being arch enemies!"

Sakura giggled, "It's really more a one-sided rivalry. Shino actually really respects Kanoko, he just likes trolling her."

Ino nodded, "Like that time-"

Sakura nodded with a large grin, "Oh my gosh, that one was soo good!"

Shikamaru looked to Naruto, "You've been replaced."

Naruto turned towards his friend with a confused look before Shikamaru's words settled into his brain. Naruto froze. Suddenly, Naruto threw his arms in the air as his knees hit the ground with a thud. Facing the sky, Naruto wailed out, "NOOOOOOOO!"

Sakura sighed at her teammate, "Oh come on Naruto. It's not that bad. Kanoko still has full days of bad moods after receiving some of your letters or "gifts"."

Naruto looked up at Sakura like she was an angel sent from heaven, "Sakura-chan…" Jumping to his feet, Naruto tried to play it cool by smirking and crossing his arms, "Well, that's good to hear, but you see, I've matured. I don't need to play pranks or best others to make myself feel better."

Sakura gave Naruto a bland look, "Riiiight."

Shikamaru chuckled and placed his hands in his pockets. Looking up at the sky, he noticed that the sun was starting to set, "You know…" He started, catching everyone's attention, "If you don't find my sister soon, you're going to fail your mission."

Naruto and Sakura blinked before turning towards each other, "Shit!"

Ino looked up at the sky, "And you guys are on your own. I promised tou-san I would help him close up the flower shop tonight."

Sakura nodded, "Thanks for hanging out with us Ino! Are we still on for Tuesday?"

Ino grinned, "You bet!" Flipping her long blonde hair over her shoulder, she grinned at the two boys, "See you guys later! And Shikamaru, don't forget to stop by Choji's house tomorrow! He'll be back from his mission then and he'll be sad if you don't visit him as soon as he's back!"

Shikamaru smiled lightly and nodded to his teammate, "Yeah, yeah. Of course I'm going to visit Choji."

Ino grinned back, "I know. Anyways, it's great to have you guys back! See you!"

"See you Ino!" Naruto and Sakura shouted out.

Sakura turned to the boys, "Academy?"

The boys nodded, taking a step in the direction.

.

.

.

"Jiraiya."

The white haired sannin turned around, holding a hand over his heart, "Damn kid! You're going to give me a heart attack!"

Kanoko gave the sannin a bland look, "In your last message, you mentioned the faction was becoming active again. Two and half years after their first attack on the Waterfall Village…"

Jiraiya nodded solemnly, "You don't mess around, do you kid?"

Kanoko didn't respond to Jiraiya's comment.

The toad sage sighed heavily and spoke seriously with his arms crossed, "I have been going around these last few weeks and informing all the villages of the impending threat. While we still don't know their true goals, we do know the tailed beasts play a large part in it."

Kanoko nodded, "I assume the Sand is making the proper measures to ensure their Kazekage is not a victim to these rogue shinobi? The Sand will not survive the loss of another Kazekage as they are now. It would mean the end of the Village Hidden in the Sand, which will only lead to another great war."

Jiraiya stared at the Nara before him before shaking his head, "I forgot how much you scare me – not that your brother is any better, you damn Naras… Even knowing your heritage… The insight you have about the fragility of the nations and the politics behind it never ceases to amaze me."

Kanoko's tone gets darker, "This is not a laughing matter. If needed, the Leaf should be sending the Sand capable shinobi to defend the Kazekage. We cannot lose the Sand as allies."

Jiraiya nodded, "I have warned them." The white haired sage paused, "But you may be right… There is still so much about this group we don't know, but I do know they have spies. The Sand has made great leaps in the last couple years, after the large loss in their forces in the Chunin Exams, but… Their Kazekage is just a child. If he is their strongest shinobi…"

Kanoko frowned, "If Naruto learns Gaara is in trouble, he won't hesitate. He'll be in the Land of Wind before we can even ask where he is."

Jiraiya smirked, feeling proud of his student, even if he did understand Kanoko's worry, "Naruto's one of a kind. Even knowing that he would be in danger… I trust him to pull through, no matter what."

Kanoko's frown deepened, "You sound confident. I can only hope the student of Hiruzen knows what he is doing."

Jiraiya paused, taking a moment to stare at Kanoko before playing it off coolly, "It's the kid. He brings it out in people. I'm sure you understand."

Kanoko nodded solemnly, "Unfortunately, yes." Kanoko looked up towards the Hokage's tower, "Regardless what you decide to inform the Hokage, I would reiterate my earlier comment. If the Sand loses their Kazekage we not only lose an ally, and are pulled into another great war, but our enemies would get what they want: A tailed beast." Kanoko turned to look at Jiraiya with blazing orange-reddish eyes, "And if you've ever faced a tailed beast, you would understand the true terror of the situation before us."

.

"And don't forget, they already have the seven-tailed beast."

.

.

"UGGG! WHERE IS SHE?!" Naruto shouted towards the sky.

The three of them had just finished searching the Academy, the Hokage's office, the marketplace, and even made their all the way over to the Hyuuga compound, in case Kanoko was over there training with Neji.

Either they were just barely missing the Nara heiress at each location or she had left the village to screw with them. Sakura reasoned that she could be back home, but Shikamaru quickly shook his head – wanting to expend all other options before traveling there.

They were now slowly approaching Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto's stomach started growling over an hour ago and he finally decided enough was enough. Just a foot away from the curtains leading into his favorite ramen stand, Naruto felt his mouth begin to water.

"Ramen. Ramen. Ramen. Ramen. Ramen."

Naruto passed through the curtain to the ramen bar and opened his mouth, a large grin on his face and his eyes shining, "One bowl of the Naruto-"

"About time you showed up."

Naruto froze, completely immobile at the sound of such a familiar voice. Turning his head slowly to his left, Naruto's blue eyes landed a young woman sitting up straight, her body turned towards him.

The woman, who looked to be about his age, had long brown hair that spilled down over her shoulders and over her thighs. Her bangs were as long as her hair and framed her sharp oval face. Naruto's eyes traveled down from her face as his cheeks heated up. The brunette wore a tight black turtleneck with a dark cream button up shirt overtop. The sleeves of both shirts were missing and the tail of the button up ended just past her bottom, with a few buttons at the top undone – showing more of her black turtleneck as well as accentuating her considerably large bust without showing any cleavage. Over her hands and ending just below her elbows were long, dark brown gloves.

Naruto's eyes kept traveling down to take in her long legs, covered in skin tight cream colored pants. Covering her feet and calves were thick brown boots – the toe of the shoes covered in a thick, dark metal.

Blue eyes shot back up to meet orange ones when he realized he, for the second time today, was just caught checking out a member of the female population of Konoha.

And it did not look like she appreciated the visual pat-down.

.

Though, that was nothing in comparison to the dark energy whipping around behind him. Before Naruto knew what happened, a dark tendril wrapped around his waist and tossed him roughly out of the ramen stand – making him fall face first in pavement.

Groaning in pain while holding his bleeding face, Naruto barked out across the street, "What the hell was that for Shikamaru?!"

Shikamaru simply crossed his arms and glared hard at Naruto.

Sakura could hold in the giggle and laughed at Naruto while also feeling sympathy for him, "I think Shikamaru is angry at the way you were looking his sister up and down."

Naruto blinked, his eyes catching the movement of the curtains of the ramen stand. Emerging from within the young woman from before stepped out with her arms crossed, "You should thank Shikamaru. He just saved your life."

Naruto quickly shuffled to his feet, the voice finally clicking in his head, "KANOKO?!"

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "I haven't changed that much, have I?" Kanoko looked over to her brother for confirmation.

Shikamaru gave his sister a bland look, "You're kidding right?"

Kanoko frowned at her brother before giving him a quick once over, "I think you've changed more than me. I didn't think you'd ever out grow out of that lanky, awkward stage your body was before. It's good to see you've grown up. You almost look like a man." Kanoko turned to Naruto and nodded to him, "You both do."

Shikamaru turned pink as he glared at his sister, his voice thick with sarcasm as he spoke, "Thanks sis. As always, you know just what to say to make me feel like an accomplishment."

Kanoko raised an eyebrow, "Now I wouldn't go that far…" Kanoko paused as her eyes narrowed, "What is that seal?"

Shikamaru blinked, "Huh?"

Kanoko grabbed the edge of Shikamaru shirt and lanked it to pull it up. Shikamaru's hands quickly shot out to stop Kanoko, "KANOKO?! What the hell?!"

Sakura blushed and looked away when she caught a glimpse of Shikamaru's hard abs.

Shikamaru was able to knock his sister's hands away and glare at her. Kanoko met his glare with one of her own before hissing out, "I don't approve."

Shikamaru gave Kanoko an annoyed look, "Guess what? I don't answer to you."

The twins continued to glare at one and another, sparks flying back and forth.

Naruto finished cleaning off the blood from his face and came up to just behind Kanoko. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Kanoko turned from Shikamaru to look at Naruto. Naruto grinned sheepishly at Kanoko, "Come on. This is our first day back. Let's enjoy it and kill each other tomorrow. Pleeeease?"

Kanoko crossed her arms and gave Naruto a stern look before huffing out in annoyance. Turning to Shikamaru, the two exchanged irritated looks before Kanoko relaxed her shoulders, "Welcome home Shikamaru."

Shikamaru relaxed slower, but returned his sister's sentiment, "It's good to be back…"

Naruto grinned at the two of them, "Now it's time to party! Ichiraku Ramen style!"

Sakura rolled her eyes and snorted, "Is all that you think about?! Food?!" Just at that moment, Sakura's stomach growled as well.

Naruto grinned at Sakura, making the two Nara smirk lightly.

"I guess one bowl isn't a bad idea…" Sakura said sheepishly, but with a smile.

Kanoko smiled back lightly at her teammates, watching as they walked into the ramen stand. Kanoko looked over at her brother, who was still just outside the ramen stand, "Kaa-san is going to be upset with you."

Shikamaru sighed, "And whose fault is that? I told you not to tell her…"

Kanoko smirked, "Not that."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, wondering how he got in more trouble with his mother so quickly.

"Kaa-san made your favorite." Kanoko explained simply, "Though, if you leave now, you may still make it in time."

Shikamaru felt torn between chancing his mother's wrath and eating her homemade cooking – something he sorely missed. Looking at his sister from the corner of his eye, he spoke, "I don't suppose you'll come with me?"

Kanoko looked ahead, her eyes landing on the backs of her teammates. Smirking lightly, Kanoko looked back over at her brother, "You know I want to."

Shikamaru smirked, his face also softening as he looked over at Naruto and Sakura, "You know I'll be ok without you and that they'll need you, if you all have any chance of defeating your sensei before morning."

Kanoko chuckled lightly, "Two and a half years with Naruto and I can't help but feel like he's had a better influence on you than I."

Kanoko felt a hand land on her shoulder.

"No, you taught me that – to put others above your own needs and wants." Shikamaru smiled softly at his sister.

Kanoko raised an eyebrow.

Shikamaru returned the look with a raised eyebrow of his own and a smirk on his face, "You don't remember?"

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"You taught me that, the day you sent me away."

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Author's Note:

I'm alive! But just barely… Sorry for the disappearing act! I was caught up in long hours at work, then I was in a bicycle accident, and finally, I drank too much and gave myself alcohol poisoning… In any case, we are back on track!

***This chapter was only edited by me. My amazing beta tried to review the chapter for me, but I'm an idiot and can't seem to operate google docs anymore.***

Let me know what you lovely people think!

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Last note: I drew a picture of Kanoko after the time skip when I started writing this story. It is on deviantart, here:

Ht**tp*:*/*/*krista06*.*deviantart*.*com*/*art*/Nara-Kanoko-Timeskip-644394779

*Don't forget to remove the "*"!