TOGETHER AGAIN chapter 1

A tall, thin, well built young man, about in his late teens stood in front of the Konoha gate. He gazed upon the small village, the rooftops of all the houses, lined up in a sort of scattered fashion. Five years, he thought as he saw a figure slowly approaching him. The young man went slightly tense, but seeing that the figure was familiar to him he relaxed.

            "Long time no see Kakashi, or should I call you Hokage sama?" he said sneering.

            "Kakashi is fine, five years and Im still not used to being called the Hokage," said Kakashi smiling. He was quite older now, he was thirty-two years old, and was considered the strongest ninja in the Konoha village, therefore being the fifth Hokage.

            "I'd rather call you that too," said the man sighing. "So many things must have changed after I left, I need at least some things to remain the same."

            He looked at the village again, noticing that new buildings could be seen scattered about. A new hotel, convenience store, drug store. He looked about as though searching for something that was the same.

            "How is everyone," he finally said looking up. He brushed back his black hair and looked Kakashi in the eye.

            "Fine, fine," said the young Hokage smiling as he usually does. "Naruto became a Chuunin four years ago, that's a year after you left, and now hes aiming for the Jounin test. Just like him to be thinking about it already huh?"

            "Yeah," said the young man as though he didnt really care. "What about the other person?"

            Knowing who the boy had meant when he asked the question in the first place, Kakashi replied, "Sakura is alright, but I think you had better see how she is for yourself. . .

Sasuke."

            Sasuke was silent. Kakashi knew he had thought about her the whole time he had been gone. "She's changed about as much as you. Right now she is undoubtedly the most beautiful girl in this village, there isn't a guy that wouldnt be after her. She took it quite harshly after youd left, and started studying about three times more than she had before. Thanks to that she'd finally passed the Chuunin test last year. I'd say shes in the library even at this moment studying a new jutsu or two."

            "Thanks," Sasuke said, as he turned around and walked into the village. He was now twenty, certainly not a boy any more, and had grown very much. He was still as attractive as he was before, even more as a matter of fact, or that's what the girls seem to think. He'd grown much taller than before and slightly more muscular. He had become a Jounin at age 18, so was looked upon as a man of high status from many lower ninjas.

He turned the corner leading to the library, and remembered the times he had had there with Sakura. She would help him interpret the scrolls and hed help her get a jutsu to work, but those days were now gone. He opened the sliding door, and a familiar scent of old books had wafted onto him. He stepped in, from one of the higher levels he heard a woman's voice call, "the librarians out to lunch now, if you wanna check out a book you'll have to come back in an hour or two."

The room was filled with high shelves, packed with book after book after book. There were some stairs leading up to the higher level, where the voice had come from. He climbed the stairs and reached the second floor. He could see the first floor from there, due to the fact that it was more like an inside balcony than a second floor. The second floor only had couches and tables; it was where people would take their books and study, read, or do whatever they pleased.

He saw a girl lying on a couch, but because the couch's arm was in the way he couldnt see her face. Only her legs, which were resting on the other arm, were visible. The girl didnt look up; she seemed preoccupied by her book.

Not seeing any other way to get her attention he said in almost a whisper, "Sakura?"

The girl shot up, she knew that voice, it was one that she had heard long, long ago. A voice that she had learned to love. "Sa. . . Sasuke kun?" She whispered.

She turned around, and Sasuke was able to see what Kakashi had meant. Her hair had grown; the pink hair that once was only up to her neck was now down to her hips. Her lips were redder and her skin was a softer color. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed into the eyes of the stranger, trying to find some resemblance to the boy she once knew. She looked as though she was about to cry, but held back her tears; shinobi never show their emotions.

"Your back?" she finally got enough courage to say.

"Yeah, I was on quite a long mission. It was A rank of course, and it'd taken me a year to complete, we were after some dangerous organization so it took quite a while. Then I went into training to become a Jounin, and after I'd become one I had quite a lot of missions to complete. I couldn't come back here at all during that time."

"Oh," Sakura replied. She then said in a quivering voice, "We were surprised, when you suddenly left without saying anything."

He paused for a moment, but then continued, "I didnt expect to be gone that long. Id planned on being gone for only about six months, but then that became about five years."

"Well things have changed around here," Sakura said. "Kakashi senseis the new Hokage, Naruto's a Chuunin ninja thats currently destined to become the next generation of the Hyuuga Souke, and I. . ."

"What about you?"

"I'm engaged." 

-TO BE CONTINUED-