Naruto laughs and continues to spin me around in the air, his smile contagious and causing my own to grow even more. 

Looking behind his shoulder I finally take notice of the large number of people gathered at the village gates. I feel shock run through my system right down to the very core. 

Looking behind me, I look at Hikaru with wide eyes. He just laughs at my reaction and shakes his head in amusement. 

"Oi! you can't just hog her for yourself, you idiot!" 

Naruto lets out a frustrated sigh before finally setting me down on the ground. Turning I open my arms and welcome the embrace of Kiba and Shikamaru. Both of them basically pounce on me and start suffocating me with their hugs. 

"Kami, I missed you." Mutters Shikamaru. 

"Don't ever leave us like that again!" Growls Kiba. Both of them strengthen their hold on me for one second more before abruptly letting go. I look at them with confusion, but before I could open my mouth to speak, a stinging pain runs through my head. 

"Ow! What the-" 

Kiba looks at me with a sour expression. "THAT'S for leaving me with only a letter. A letter may I add, that made me think you were dead for the longest time! I thought you were dead up until this moment because you never wrote me any letters!!" 

Guilt stabs at me relentlessly, causing me to look towards the ground sheepishly.Naruto was really the only one that I kept in touch with, well him, and also Kakashi and Tsunade. 

 Another punch is delivered to my shoulder, causing it to be twice as sore then what it was already. (I Had last minute training before we left for Konoha.) 

I look towards the person who punched me, only to be greeted by an angry Shikamaru. "Now THAT is for you lying to me and making me think you simply left for an A-rank mission. To top it off, you made me think that letter was a freaking surprise! When in actuality, it was the complete opposite!" 

I look back towards the ground again. I go to apologize, but not only two, but three sets of arms wrap around me now. 

"We're just happy that you're safe now, Shizukana." Whispers Kiba. 

When we all pull apart, Naruto looks at me with slightly hooded eyes. The look he was giving me was both concerned and serious. "When you're done greeting everyone, I want to see how those wounds healed. Your clan never let me stick around long enough to see you after the trial." 

I grimace and refrain from reaching up to touch some of the scars on my back. They healed nicely, but that was far from the point. My back was the only part of my body that was even remotely clean of scars, but now along with the Kanji; My back was littered with ruthless scars, meaning that my entire body now matched. 

"Wounds?! What wounds!?" screeched Kiba. Shikamaru snaps his head around so quickly, that I was afraid it would break. 

"What."  Hisses Shikamaru. 

I hear a sigh from behind me, and at that moment, I officially loved Hikaru. 

"Guys, just give her a break okay? She just got back, and I'm sure that she wants to say hello to everyone." 

My two best friends and my brother turn and give Hikaru the stink eye before relenting. 

"Ya! Leave momma alone!" My reaction was instant as let out a howl of laughter. Turning I grab the little boy that I adored from Hikaru. Placing him up on my shoulders, I continue to laugh as I face the three boys that were the target of Ren's rath. 

"That's right! You tell them, Ren!" 

My laughter only continued to increase as Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba and gap at the kid sitting on my shoulders. They not knowing what to do as Ren continues to rip a strip out of them for bothering me. It took him awhile to stop but once he did, the three boy's were left speechless. While Hikaru and I continued to laugh. 

Giggling, I turn and continue to make my way towards the gate, where the rest of the people were waiting. On my right, Hikaru walks up and matches my stride, a smile stretching across his face as he surveys the people who had gathered. 

Naruto walks up beside him and throws his arm around his shoulder. "it's good to have you back as well, Hikaru!" 

Shikamaru and Kiba voice in their agreements as they take up the spot on my left. As the boys all converse, I survey the crowd for a particular head of silver hair. When I find the man I was looking for, I quickly take Ren off my shoulders, hand him to Hikaru and fills my feet with chakra. 

"Shizukana, be careful! There's other people there!" 

I laugh as Hikaru's face fills with worry. "Have a bit more faith in me, love." 

"LOVE!? WHAT THE HELL!?" Protests Naruto. 

Before I could hear any more complaints, I crouch and prepare to take off. A bolt of purple lightning flashes across the sky, and as soon as it hits the ground, I'm gone. 

The speed at which I move is undetectable unless one possesses the Sharingan. My speed was one of the things that I trained relentlessly in. I wanted to be so fast, that Shinobi struggled to see me. 

I achieved that goal.

 So when I appear suddenly in the middle of the crowd, furiously hugging my adoptive father, it's not surprising that he's the only that knows what had just happened. 

"Holy shit did she just-" 

"Where did she go?" 

"Wait-" 

"She's right there!" 

I ignore everyone's awe struck gazes and I clutch onto Kakashi. "I missed you!!" 

Kakashi clutches onto me just as tightly, his voice slightly chocked as he hugs me. "I've missed you too, little siren." 

A smile makes it's way across my face as I enjoy the familiar warmth of a parents hug. From the corner of my eye, I watch as another crack of lightning splits across the sky, telling me that Hikaru was heading in our direction. 

Ears alert and body tense, I take a step back and grab onto the little boy that was in Hikaru's arms. Hikaru's speed only being seen by myself or Kakashi. Hikaru almost barrels over Kakashi as he hugs him just as tightly as I did. 

"I missed you old man!" 

Kakashi lets out a low chuckle as he hugs Hikaru back. "Missed you too, brat.."

"I am not a brat!" 

"Sure." 

I shake my headand  laugh at the two as they playfully bicker back and forth. looking around me, I take notice of everyone that was staring at us silently. Their eyes wide with shock and excitement. 

Turning back to Kakashi, I hand over Ren, letting the little boy greet his grandfather. Once he was out of my arms, I approach the small group of people that I actually knew. 

Temari, Asuma, Sakura, Tsunade, Hinata, Choji, Lee, Tenten, Shino, and even Neji were here. Smiling, I walk up and greet them with smiling on my face. From behind them, I notice that the perverted author Jiraiya was also here. 

Shaking my head, I go and greet my old friends. 

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Sighing, I stretch out my limbs and wince as my bones pop and crack. Sleep weighed down on my bones, and yet; the sun had just hit the highest point in the sky. 

Groaning, I walk beside Kakashi, Hikaru, and Ren towards our house. The pack on my back felt like it weighed a hundred pounds when in actuality it weights maybe fifty. It wasn't that my body was tired, no. In fact, it was just my brain that was tired from all the 'hellos' and 'how are you's' that I had to do in the span of one hour. That, and I also had to evade Naruto's continuous pestering about my whip scars. 

although I'm sure that once I have a couple minutes of silence, I will be back in tip-top shape. 

After all, I have a small little test that I have to apparently do with Sakura, Naruto, Hikaru, and Kakashi. We could have done it sooner, but Mr. Pervert over here needs to read his godforsaken book. 

"Nothing much as changed since you three have been gone, I've been too busy on missions to really be able to change anything inside the house. That also, unfortunately, means, that there is little to no food in the house." 

Ren giggles beside me as I groan and wipe my hands on my face. Looking towards the adult beside me, I look at him with narrowed eyes. 

"So it's safe to guess that it looks like a pig sty in there, doesn't it." 

His sheepish look was the only answer that I needed. Beside me, Hikaru lets out a sharp laugh, his finger pointing at me in triumph. "Looks like someone's gonna be stuck cleeeeeaniiiiing!" 

I let a small smirk cross over my face. "Don't you think you're getting away from helping. Because I sure as hell ain't doing this by myself." 

Hikaru's happy expression drops, and this time, it's Ren's turn to laugh. Scooping the small boy up in my arms, I place him on my hip and tickle him relentlessly. 

"You're helping too, mister." 

Ren was too busy laughing to really complain. 

Laughing we continue to walk towards the direction of the house. 

After we finish cleaning, We have that test to do, and then I must speak to Tsunade about her offer of being an ANBU. Over the period that I was in Kiri, I trained so hard that I managed to achieve the rank of Jounin. 

It, of course, didn't come without repercussions. I trained so hard, that I became a frequent visitor to the hospital, and on several occasion, was forbidden to train by the Clan head for certain periods of time. This happened more than once. 

All the hard work paid off, however, because I was much stronger then what I was before I left. 

And I plan on showing everyone during this little "test" of ours. 

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This was just a short filler chapter! Probably unwanted, but it's necessary to continue on with the novel :) There will be more action and adventure in the upcoming chapters as I will be following MOST of the Naruto storyline. Some will stray away from the original plot, but there be some similarities. 

-Mizuko