"Well, well, well, look what the bird dropped in."

I shut the door behind me. "Hi, Lady Tsunade," I say, still smiling.

"Welcome back," she says, wearing a smile of her own. "I'll be honest with you, I was worried you might not make it back here. Minako always did enjoy interfering with people."

I can't help but laugh. "That definitely sounds like her. It was difficult, getting out of the compound," I admit to her. "A lot of planning and preparation was done on my part to make it easy for us."

Lady Tsunade leans into her clasped hands. "I'm just glad you were able to return safely," she says. "And your brother?"

"He came down with a fever on our way here," I tell her, shaking my head. "He was looking forward to speaking with you in person, Lady Tsunade, always going on about how he's "forever in your debt"."

She chuckles at me. "I'll have to keep that one in mind, then. In the meantime, there's something I'd like to discuss with you, Kari." I frown at the sudden-serious expression on her face. "The effects caused by Fugen Bosatsu... Have you learned to control it?"

"Entirely so," I say. "In fact, I've... I've been keeping tabs on Orochimaru with it since I have." Lady Tsunade stands, placing her hands flat on the table.

"Tell me everything you've learned."

卍

I tuck my hands behind my back and throw my weight all onto my one foot. Having been standing for so long, my knees are beginning to ache.

It'd taken me around twenty minutes to tell Lady Tsunade of what I've seen and discovered. Between all of us in Team Seven, I'd been the only one to not have any direct contact with Orochimaru, making me all the less likely to know anything first-hand with him. But, thanks to Sasuke, I've been able to track almost his every move. And Sasuke's.

"Incredible," Lady Tsunade breathes. "That ability of yours really is a gift."

"Yeah..." I shuffle awkwardly in place. "I guess so. Say, Lady Tsunade... Any idea when Naruto'll be coming home?"

"Naruto?" she repeats. "Haven't you been in contact with him the entire time?"

"Well yes, but... he hasn't mentioned to me a specific day or time soon that he'll be returning, and I've just been feeling quite anxious about it." Lady Tsunade leans back in her chair, and smirks at me. "W-What?"

"Sorry if I sound like an old man for saying this, but young love really is a fickle thing, huh?"

I can't help but gape at her. My face is about as hot as a ramen bowl as my mind replays that line over and over in my head.

"L-L-Lady Tsunade, why would you... say such a thing!?" I turn away and move away from her desk. I groan, trying to relieve the tension in my cheeks. "Jeez, thanks for nothing," I mumble, and I leave her and her laughter in her office.

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"What a woman; doing that kind of thing should be illegal, honestly..."

The redness still hasn't left my face. Jeez, I hate how easily embarrassed I still get. That's one thing that hasn't changed over the past three years. Maybe that's something that'll never change, even three years in the future.

"Young love?" I scoff loudly on my way back to my house. "What does she know... she's just an old lady."

"If you're talking about Lady Tsunade, I'd be careful she doesn't hear you!"

My heart stops at the familiarity of the voice, the giggle that'd followed... I'd recognize it anywhere!

"Sakura!" Arms outstretched, I run back to her, my emotions having overtaken me, and jump. "Sakura!!"

"Welcome home, Kari!" she chokes out. "C-Can't – breathe!"

Adrenalin surges through my body, and I find myself bouncing in place on the street once letting her go. Aside from her hair, she really isn't the Sakura Haruno I remember! Not only has she matured physically – however, once again, I'm still much taller than her – but her chakra has, too. Compared to the last time I'd seen her three years ago, it's quite stifling.

"Sorry," I say, beaming. "I got a little too excited; it's been so long since I've seen you, Sakura! You've changed so much!"

"I-Is it a good change?" she suddenly asks. I nod firmly.

"Very! You look amazing." She grins at me, her cheeks tinted pinker than her hair. Just like Tsunade had, Sakura gets an extremely serious look on her face, awhile narrowing her eyes below my chin. "Wh-What is it?"

"In more way than one," she mumbles, "you're bigger than me."

"I mean, yeah, I'm a little taller than you, but—Oh, that's what you mean." She was referring to my chest size. "Believe me, it's no joy to have these things," I assure her. "Training's just one big pain in the butt, and you always have to strap them down... I'd happily switch places with you."

"If only it were possible," she groans. I pat her shoulder sympathetically.

"Hey, look on the bright side of this—we've still got a few years to keep growing, right? That's plenty of time," I reason.

"A few years," she repeats, staring down at her feet. "Hey, Kari?"

"Yes?"

"While you were gone, you didn't happen to hear anything about... Sasuke, did you?"

All the excitement from earlier has drained itself from my body. I guess even the mention of Sasuke's enough to put a dank mood between the two of us, and all of this negative energy... I've no idea what to do with it.

"He's... been on the move quite a bit," I tell her, "so it hasn't exactly been easy to pinpoint his exact location." I sigh heavily. "Every time I'd gotten permission to leave the Yamada compound to go out and physically locate him, he'd be in a new place by the time I did. But I do know that he's alright."

The one corner of Sakura's lips turns up. "That's a relief," she says. "For a second, I thought you were going to give me bad news."

I shake my head and smile. "Never," I say. "So! Where were you off to?"

"I just have to go pick up something for Lady Tsunade," she tells me. "Feel like coming with?"

"Sure!"

Even just being in Sakura's company is enough to settle the storm inside my heart. I'd been so on edge since I hadn't seen many people yet. But talking with her face to face, rather than through letters, is a whole other fantastic sensation. In great detail, she's told me all about her experience, having been taught under Lady Tsunade the past three years. She'd even said that at a point, Ino had joined her, and gotten a good piece of training, as well. But not only has Sakura been trained as a Medical Ninja, like Sen was, she also received all the positive physical aspects of the training. By the sounds of things, I wouldn't be surprised if she'd gotten Lady Tsunade's crazy old lady strength.

I shudder at the thought.

"Hey, Sakura!" a voice yells from behind us. Sakura's next words are cut short, and we turn around to see three young children running toward us.

"Oh, hi Konohamaru!" she says, grinning down at the boy with the scarf. I rub my eyes, which've grown wide.

"Konohamaru?" I repeat, taking in his group. "You've grown so much since I last saw the three of you!"

"We've grown stronger, too!" he assures me. "When'd you get back?"

"Just a short while ago," I tell him. I take note of the shining headbands tied around their foreheads. "And you guys made Genin! Congratulations! Been on any missions yet?"

"We just finished one," Udon tells us.

"But it was a D-rank mission—super easy," Moegi says.

"So, where're you guys off to?"

"The main gate," Sakura says. "I have to pick up this morning's pedestrian traffic ledger for Lady Tsunade. Do... you wanna come along?"

卍

"And the cat went nuts and started scratching my face off!"

Sakura and I laugh. "We had missions just like that," she says.

"I think we had one exactly like that," I realize. "I wonder, did this cat of yours have a little red bow on its ear, Konohamaru?"

"It sure did," he grumbles. I share a look with Sakura and chuckle tiredly.

"It sure brings back a lot of memories," she adds. I smile.

"It sure does," I agree.

"By the way, have either of you gotten word or anything from Naruto?" Konohamaru asks.

"Nope, nothing yet," Sakura says.

"Me, neither," I say with a sigh.

"Awh, too bad."

"He should be popping up around here pretty soon," Sakura says, her eyes thoughtful.

We'd finally returned to the gate, both Izumo and Kotetsu busy in conversation.

"Hey Izumo, Kotetsu," Sakura greets, interrupting it. "How are you today?"

"Well look who's here." Kotetsu hands Sakura a wound-up scroll.

"There's something back in town waiting for you," Izumo says. Sakura blinks, confused.

"Yeah! You gotta see it to believe it," Kotetsu adds.

"What are you guys talking about?" Konohamaru asks, equally as confused.

And that's when I feel it. I'd had my sense up this entire time, waiting for a sensation of his arrival through the village gates. But I should have known better. It's been three years, after all. His chakra has gone through lots of changes, I'm sure.

"Sakura!" I call, already feet away from them and running back toward the village centre.

My eyes blur as I dart through the villagers and their slow pace. Would it kill them to walk a little faster? Probably. I squint far ahead of me, and with an extra shove of effort, I expand my range to pinpoint his location.

It's been three years since I've seen you, and while the letters sustained me, they were never enough, I think. It's been three years and three-hundred and sixty-four days too long!

Naruto!