So, there we stood. On opposing sides of the training grounds. One waiting for the other to make a move. I think somewhere in our minds, we both just wanted to go home and nap, for I had traveled all day and Kotetsu had worked all day. But somehow, we were waiting for this.

To see how much I'd grown. To see if my fighting style had changed. To see who won...

This, we've been waiting for since Kakashi began teaching me.
It was strange, but I had an attachment to Kotetsu, possibly stronger than the ones with my other friends. Perhaps it was because he acted like a protective brother from day one.

I was raised in an orphanage in my world, so any brother figures I had would come and go. There was no real attachment to anyone in that world, but when I met Kotetsu, that changed... I knew, for some reason, that Kotetsu was going to be a constant presence unless I left. Izumo, too.

I pulled a sealing scroll from my torso, biting my thumb to draw blood, and unrolling the scroll in the air to slide my thumb across. One of my favorite weapons was summoned into my hand, and Kotetsu pulled his two large Kunai from his own scroll. [1]

I smirked as his eyes widened, and I popped underground, tunneling beneath the surface of the earth...

"Over here!" I shouted, from his left just as he turned his head to the right, but I jumped, flipping in the air over the top of him, and landing to his right side. I say this, and it sounds like it happened slowly, but it was in the blink of an eye, and he kept up well, our weapons creating that distinct 'clang' as he blocked my sword.

He countered with his second Kunai, aiming for my left side, but I ducked, kicking my leg up into his abdomen, grabbing his wrist, pulling his body over mine, and flipping him onto his back, jumping up, turning around, and disengaging. 

"Damn, (Y/n)..." He smirked, standing up, "You have gotten stronger..."

"You're not done, are you?"

"Heh...no, I couldn't disappoint you like that."

"I'm glad."

It was his turn to attack me, swinging his blades down simultaneously, but I blocked both with the metal protector on my forearm.

I smirked at him as I pulled a second scroll from my side, letting it unroll on the ground. It was a new scroll, that I had just created, with something new.

It had Mist sealed within it. I pushed him back by his Kunai, and he stumbled back. The mist was thick enough around him that I could slip away from him, but he knew that the mist had to be limited. Luckily for me, there was a large water source nearby. 

Kotetsu skidded out of the mist cloud, just as I performed Kirigakure no Jutsu, the mist seemingly consuming everything more than two feet in front of us.

I was fairly new to this technique... But I was confident that I could learn to use it correctly.

Especially with my new Jutsu. 

I made these hand signs, Dog; Bore; Dog; Hare

I didn't yet know what to call this Jutsu, but it laced my chakra through the surface of the earth around me, so I could detect the Chakra of another person when they exerted it. 

See, to chakra jump or sprint using Chakra, as we Ninja often do without even thinking about it, we exert a fair amount of Chakra through the soles of our feet, not enough to crack the ground beneath us, but enough to detect with this Jutsu. 

I created a Mizu Bunshin, who trotted toward where Kotetsu last was, I heard a slice, and then a scream, followed by a shout from Kotetsu, "Izumo! (Y/n)'s hurt!"

I was trying so hard not to laugh, so I thought I would end this where it was. The mist was beginning to fade, so I knew this was my only shot.

I silently moved to where I felt Izumo move to, but I wasn't after Izumo... I tackled Kotetsu from behind, and let the Water Clone drop to be nothing more than a puddle.

I was now sitting on Kotetsu's back, with his arms pinned to the ground, and Izumo standing in front of us. 

"Ow..." Kotetsu muttered.

"I won, Hagane. I told you that you should've asked for Izumo's help."

"Shut up. Not all of us are trained by a Sannin." 

I laughed, "Okay, okay, fair enough." I released his arms and rolled to the side, jumping up and hugging Izumo. 

He instantly hugged back, "I missed you, (Y/n)."

As soon as Kotetsu recovered, he stood, dusting himself off, "Oh, so he gets a hug, and I get a beati-" I cut him off with a hug, so happy to be back in Konoha with some of my best friends.

I pulled away from him, "I've missed you guys, too."

He smirked, "You know, that tackle really did hurt... I could use some compensation for it... like Ichiraku Ram-" Instead of what he was suggesting, I kissed his cheek, and his body stiffened, but he didn't protest. He looked at me with wide eyes, "(Y/n)?"

"Hahaha! How was that for compensation?" I rose a brow, "I'm not buying you ramen, Kotetsu, I'm unemployed."

He blushed. 

I shook my head, "You guys are idiots. Let's go. You can buy me ramen if you want."

"Well, I guess for old times sake..." Kotetsu said, Izumo and him catching up to me. 

"You missed me, just admit it."

"Oh, please. You're like an annoying little sister."

"Uh-huh."

"Well, you are like an annoying little sister, but I missed you." Izumo said, laughing. "He's just embarrassed."

"Because he lost or because I kissed him?"

"Probably both."

"I'm right here, you know." Kotetsu said, seemingly fed up.

"We know."

*****

Eventually, we arrived at Ichiraku. I didn't realize how sub-par all of the other ramen shops were until right then, smelling the aroma, tasting the miso. There's just nowhere like Ichiraku Ramen.

"Do you guys know if my teammates are around?"

"I saw Kenji earlier... He said he was going on a mission in the morning." Kotetsu answered. 

"I'll have to go find him in a little while. Both of them."

"I'm sure they'll be happy to see you." Izumo smiled.

"Yeah..." I began to wonder if Naruto had become a Genin yet. He was supposed to have, so I just assumed he did, but what if my being here changed things? "Hey? Did Naruto ever become a Genin?" I asked them.

"Oh, yeah, about a year ago." Izumo answered.

"And, I've got to hand it to you... you were right about that kid. He's not exactly the little punk I thought he was." Kotetsu admitted. 

"I take it that he was in the Chunin Exam?"

"Yes. He didn't pass, though."

"Looks like I've got something in common with him, then."

"I guess you do. I guess you're probably going to find him?"

"Hell yes!" I stood from the barstool, having finished my ramen, "I'm gonna go cause some trouble with a few people... in the morning. Could I maybe crash on someone's couch?" I chuckled awkwardly.

"Of course." Kotetsu tossed me the key.

"Thanks! See you guys later!"

******

As my eyes opened slowly, and the room around me came into focus, I sat up, looking at the clock on the wall to see that it was nine in the morning.

I stood up as I heard Kotetsu exit his bedroom, "Mornin' Tetsu. I need to get to work on messing with everyone before word gets out that I've returned. Got any food?" I walked into the small kitchen area, opening the fridge to see almost nothing. I sweatdropped.

"Uh... Maybe some expired milk..." I noticed he was shirtless, but... he was still wearing a bandage across his nose.

'Weird...' I picked the carton up, to find that it was empty, "Well, it's empty... but, yes, the carton is expired."

He awkwardly chuckled as he took the carton and chucked it in the trash, "Well, let's just-"

"No! I've already risked being seen enough... I'll go see if Izumo has anything. Thank you, though, Kotetsu."

I walked over to Izumo's door, after being sure the coast was clear, of course, and knocked. I heard footsteps, and Izumo soon opened the door and rose a brow, "What is it?"

"Can I bum some food?"

A momentary silence, followed by a sigh, "I guess Kotetsu's out?" He stepped away from the door.

"Thank you. And yes, Kotetsu didn't even have expired milk." His brow furrowed, and I narrowed my eyes as I said, "Not that I wanted... expired milk."

"Right..."

'Yeah... that was a normal conversation...' I averted my eyes as I shut the door and followed him to the kitchen. He washed his hands upon arrival at the kitchen sink, 'I forgot he had a phobia...'

He opened the fridge and pulled out milk, eggs, and bread, which I had to comment on. "You keep your bread in the fridge... you're such an old man at... what, twenty-five?" I snickered.

"Twenty-four. And I'm not an old man. If you don't put bread in the refrigerator, it will go bad faster. I live alone, so I don't eat bread very fast."

"Still." I shrugged, "I bet you put a piece of bread in your cookies to keep them fresh, too, don't you?"

"Oh, shut up..." He shook his head as he pulled a frying pan from the cabinet. "Fried or scrambled?"

"Scrambled..." I walked around the counter to wash my own hands before placing the bread in the toaster.

"You know, it's going to be hard for some of us to get used to having you around again."

"I know... It's going to be hard for me to get used to being around again."

********

After breakfast, which Kotetsu ate with us, Izumo and Kotetsu went to work, and I went off to visit the new Hokage.

I had to sneak my way to her office, of course, but it was worth it. After knocking on the door, and being told to come in, I entered, "Tsunade-sama!!!"

She looked up from her papers, smirking, "I see you're back in Konoha. And in high spirits."

I sat down on the edge of her desk, "Such high spirits. I forgot how beautiful Konoha is. Anyway, how's the Kage life treating you?"

"I'm drowned in paperwork and running on four hours of sleep. But other than that, it's wonderful-" She broke a pencil as she wrote. I couldn't decide if it was unintentional or not.

"...Well, Tsunade-sama, I'm afraid that I'm here for business, not pleasure..." She looked up at me, "I need an apartment... preferably my old one, but at least in that building."

She rose a brow. "Sentimental attachment?"

"No. It's the smell. It reminds me of my grandmother's basement. A mixture of mothballs and a strange musty smell, that I can only describe as oddly captivating. Ironically, I don't have a grandmother, but if I did, that's what her basement would smell like."

She nodded, "I will get it arranged. I suppose you'd like to be reinstated?"

"Absolutely! But I'd like to go mess with my friends first... Is it okay if we take care of that detail in a few days?"

"Sure. Anything else?"

"Yeah... when's Kakashi Sensei going to be back? Do you know?"

"Should be within the next couple of days. Could be as early as this afternoon."

"Are my teammates here?"

"Daisuke is, Kenji is not."

"Okay. Thank you, Hokage-sama! Is it okay if I use the window?" She waved me off, and so I exited through the window. I landed on the branch of a tree outside of the Hokage Residence. 'It was good to see Tsunade again after... what? A year, probably?'

It was true, we bumped into Tsunade on the road about a year ago. Chatted a couple of nights, because we were staying in the same town. Before that, I hadn't seen her since my feeble days. I briefly wondered where Shizune and TonTon were, but let it slip away as I saw an old friend innocently walking away from the academy, about twenty-five yards from where I was standing.

'Bingo....'

After the said friend was faced away from my direction, I jumped down and pulled him into the alley across from the academy. "You scream, you die... You guess my name, and you can live...Umino Iruka." I had a Kunai pressed against his neck. Maybe it was a bit much, but I am one for theatrics.

He tried to turn his head toward me, but I was certain all he could see was my dark hair. "This better not be one of my students... I don't know your name... but if you kill me because I screamed you'll still get caught."

"But you'll get what you deserved..."

"Who are you...?"

"Okay, I'm done. You're too easy, Iruka-Sensei." I released him, and he turned around wide-eyed. I laughed.

His face turned bright red as he began the lecture of a lifetime. "(Y/N)! ONE OF US COULD'VE GOTTEN INJURED!! You kids just don't know where to stop, do you!? First, it was Konohamaru with the syrup and thumbtacks, and now you show up and-"

I cut him off with a hug, "It's good to see you, too, Iruka-sensei."

"(Y-(Y/n)! This is very unprofessional..." He gently peeled me from him.

I laughed, "Iruka, friends hug other friends, and I'm not your student anymore. Chill for a minute, okay?"

"Okay... How long have you been back?"

"I got here yesterday, around six or so. Also... I need to keep it a secret that I'm back... I want to... surprise... Daisuke and Kenji... and the Sensei. But, unfortunately, two of the three are out on missions, so any idea where I might find Daisuke, since, you know, you both work at the academy?"

"Well, he's probably at his apartment..."

"So he doesn't live with his mom anymore?"

"No. He lives with his girlfriend... but he wasn't teaching today, he's been sick this week. You have been warned."

"I'm not scared of the sniffles, Iruka... I'll see you later. Have a nice day, and, uh... hopefully no more... syrup and thumbtacks...?" He smiled awkwardly. "Is that normal?"

"With this group... yes." He sighed. "Daisuke's apartment building is a couple of buildings in that direction. The second floor, third door on the right."

"Thank you, Iruka-Sensei!"

[1] I assume they're in a scroll, cause he doesn't always have them.