Homecoming (GttS Transition)

[Tensei Kaori]

Home at last.

Tensei Kaori would have liked to had some time to enjoy their homecoming - greet the villagers, enjoy the scenery, stay to help direct the unloading of the caravan - but much, much more important matters were at hand now.

Having left Akina in charge of the caravan with the two ANBU squads guarding their prisoner, Kaori made her way through Konoha as quickly as possible without flat-out running. The lack of Akina at her side irked her, Kameko's report troubled her to no end, and Miyoko wasn't helping matters at all. In the end, Kaori had left her at the caravan under Akina's charge.

Despite her foul mood, she managed to smile and wave at the villgers who greeted her as she passed. There was no need to be rude to them despite her rush, even if she didn't stop to chat. But how could she? There was much to be done, and she could only hope that she had the time to do it.

Tokoharu Akina, for all her fiery temper, was somehow managing to keep a cooler head than her Sensei, who had set off in a hurry almost as soon as they had entered the village. Villagers, both those coming home and those who had stayed, had flocked to go after her - only to be stopped and set to work by the wild kunoichi Miyoko. Akina was glad for the help; with the ANBU guarding their prisoner, she had only her own students, the seemingly half-mad Miyoko, and anyone else she could happen to commandeer to help her disband the entire caravan.

Still, if the Tokoharu were known for nothing else, anyone familiar with their family might remark on their stubbornness, and Akina was no difference. With a calm head and a firm hand, she set about her daunting task.

"Poor Akina-san," Hoshiko murmured to her traveling companions. "Wanna go help?"

[strangevisitor]

Panic. Stress. Paranoia. Fear. Hopelessness. A Dash of Hope. Anticipation. Utsuro's head swam with these thoughts as he fussed over his clothes. Washing them had only brought attention to the amassment of patches and stitching holding the poor garments together. He never had gotten around to buying new ones.

The Hokage had finally returned from her business in Suna. He had yet to hear when he would be meeting with her. What was he supposed to do? Say? Did he need to bring anything? If you don't calm down your head's gonna pop, kid!!

He was so lost and confused..

[Kiri]

Nadameru breathed a sigh of relief as the caravans made their way through the gates of Konoha, glad to be home at last. The trip had been a crazy one, and even if it seemed like things would not be settling down any time soon, she was glad to be in a familiar place.

"Poor Akina-san," she heard Hoshiko murmuring, "Wanna go help?"

"She looks like she could use it," Nada agreed. "Let's go offer, at least."

[Tensei Kaori]

"Yeah!" Hoshiko agreed with a grin. "Let's go!" And with that, the eternally energetic Chuunin set off, leading the way to where the Hokage's Lieutenant was giving her orders. "Heeeeeeeey! Akina-san!" Hoshiko called. "Nada-san and I wanna help! What can we do?"

Zyu yawned, leaning lazily against the wagon containing the interesting find they'd picked up on the way home. Compared to the deserts of the Wind Country, wearing ANBU gear outside almost felt chilly now, and when it got cold, Kibikibi Zyubirii got sleepy.

"Wake up," her teammate Asano snapped from her place in the doorway, never taking her eyes off their squad leader, Ama-chan, who was holding the prisoner under a Genjutsu. "You all right in there?" Asano asked. Ama-chan just nodded in response. It wasn't that much work to restrain a man who was already practically unconscious, but the two women still shared concern for their leader. Sometimes it felt like that was the only thing those two had in common - friendship with Ama-chan.

"Hey! Hey! Get away from here!" Zyu called suddenly, snapped out of her reverie by a pair of overeager Genin who had decided to wander too close to the wagon.

"But we wanna see the dead ninja!" one pleaded. "Pleeeeease?"

"I-ahh-wha-wha-WHAT are you talking about?" the orange-haired ANBU sputtered, taken completely by surprise by the question. "There's no dead ninja over here! Go away!"

"But we saw it!" the first one argued.

"Yeah, yeah!" the second echoed. "He was picked up and taken here, right? We wanna see him!"

"Do you kids honestly think it takes six ANBU to guard a dead person?" Zyu asked irritably. "Go on, then. Go find something more productive to do."

"But we wanna see him!" the persistent Genin argued in unison. Zyu sighed; these kids weren't gonna leave unless she dragged them off, and that was commonly classified as abandoning one's post. Maybe one of the other ANBU could help, she wondered, glancing around to see who was within reach on this side of the wagon...

Blessed relief! More volunteers were exactly what Akina needed right now. "You can most certainly help," she told them with a genuine smile. "The unloading is a disaster; everyone's just crowding around and trying to grab their own things, and everyone is stepping on everyone else. Can you two get things organized over there? Commandeer anyone you see passing by who isn't working to help you get everything unloaded."

"A little closer.... almost there........ got it!"

Hyuuga Hanae grinned with relief as she finally reached the top of a building overlooking the entrance to Konoha. She hadn't gotten the hang of climbing with chakra yet, but she'd always been good at climbing the good old-fashioned way - much to the chagrin of many of her relatives, of course. Still, it did have its uses.

Like now, Hanae thought happily as she sat back and watched the procession. She might get in trouble for meeting Niichan, but she could - hopefully - get away with seeing him from a distance.

Activating Byakugan, the young Hyuuga took a closer look at the chaotic mess that was the disassembling caravan.... and.... there! was that him? She leaned forward to get a closer look....

[Sergeant Tenny]

Masato decided that there were sometimes more important things than unloading caravans... Things like finding a sister who he hadn't seen in several months. He decided that he would climb to a nearby rooftop and look for her. Skipping lightly up the side of the building, he crested the edge of the roof and... Saw Hanae?! A mischievous grin spreading on his face, he hurried forward, as quietly as he could, and stood in the exact spot where Hanae's Byakugan's blind spot would be. He waited until she activated the doujutsu and started searching the crowd, then reached out and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey there, kiddo! How ya been?!"

[Tensei Kaori]

No... Hanae thought sadly, not him. Where could he---

"Hey there, kiddo! How ya been?!"

That voice! It was---! But Hanae didn't have time to complete the thought. He'd snuck up in her blind spot and completely taken her by surprise. "Kyaaaaaaa!" the startled Genin shrieked in surprise as she leaped up and whirled around - but she had already been leaning precariously over the side of the building to look for the brother who was now behind her. As a result, she lost her balance and slipped on the rooftop, just a breath away from falling to the ground below.

[Sergeant Tenny]

Masato saw the danger inherent in his idea the second after he spooked Hanae. Thankfully, instinct kicked in and he reached out and caught her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her back from the precipice. Deciding to turn it into a full-on hug, he smiled down at Hanae, who wasn't nearly as short as he remembered her. Suddenly, a glint of reflected sunlight caught his eye. "A hitai-ate?! You made Genin! Congratulations, Nee-chan! What do you say, can I buy you a celebratory lunch?"

[Tensei Kaori]

"You better after almost scaring me off a rooftop, you great big meanie!" Hanae laughed, hugging her brother even tighter. "It's been forever! I've missed you so much!"

[Sergeant Tenny]

"I've missed you too, little sis. You take your pick where you want to eat, and I'll buy, and we'll get caught up." Still holding Hanae tightly, he hopped down from the roof, landing lightly and setting her back on her feet. " Let's get to walking before we get roped into helping unload the caravan," he said with a grin.

[chuwawa]

Kiyo hobbled away from the caravan. So many people had been rushing to get their things, he nearly had his legs trampled! Ah well, at least he was able to walk away from that chaos at the moment.

Still, the events at Hidden Sand troubled him greatly. All this time....he'd been lied to. No, he'd been lying to himself, albeit unknowingly. How could Grams-

Kiyo stopped himself right then and there. There was no need to focus on that sort of thing right now. Last time he'd tried it he'd made a mess of things and ended up passed out on the floor.

Scanning the crowd, he noticed the same red-haired woman who'd helped him in the forest. What was her name? Akina or something? At any rate, she looked like she could use some help, so he might as well see what he could do.

"Hey, Akina-san!" he called. As he got closer, his eyes started to make out two other figures next to her. One he didn't know, but the other-

Kiyo stopped dead in his tracks and gulped. Nada-chan!

Ohgoshohgoshohgosh what was he going to do?! After that horrible display back at Hidden Sand?! He'd caused her enough trouble! He was probably the last person she needed to see right now...

Unfortunately, Kiyo had already made himself known when he'd called out to Akina-san. Course, that didn't keep him from being mortified.

Nervously, his face completely flushed, he spoke,

" Oh, N-N-Nada-chan! H-how are you?"

Oh lord. In Kiyo's mind, you could have heard a pin drop.

[Sergeant Tenny]

Hyuuga Nyoko wandered through the crowd, searching for 3 individuals. She had received the message about her assignment immediately upon returning to the village with the caravan. Spotting Uteke Kiyoshi, her gray eyes narrowed in amusement. She decided to play a trick on him to properly initiate the teacher/student relationship that he would grow to understand in the coming months. Pulling a human sized canvas sack out of her belt pouch, she opened it, sneaking up behind Kiyo. "Gotcha!" she cried as she drew the sack over his head and pulled the strap that closed the end of the sack. With her Genin student secured, she danced off through the crowd like nothing had happened.

[chuwawa]

At one moment, Kiyo was busy stammering in front of Nada-chan. "Come on, Kiyoshi. Pull yourself toge-"

"GOTCHA!"

The next thing he knew, Kiyo was being hoisted upside down inside of a large, burlap sack, the end tying off his only means of escape....though too bad his foot was still on the outside of the sack. As such, very quickly poor Kiyo was losing feeling in his right ankle.

"A trap! It's a trap!" he wailed, his mind frantic and confused. But he needed to focus right now. If he didn't get himself out, he'd never get to see Nada-chan again!

These people were serious about moving, weren't they?

[Kiri]

"You've got it, Akina-sempai," Nada replied with a smile.

As she turned to Hoshiko to get ready to head off to work, she paused, hearing a familiar voice call out Akina's name. Who could it have been? It sounded a lot like--... the jounin's face paled.

Don't turn around, she thought. Maybe he won't see you.

"Oh, N-N-Nada-chan! H-how are you?" she heard Kiyoshi say.

Just what she needed right now. "Uh, I'm fine," she mumbled, pretending to be looking over the progress of the caravan's arrival. "A little busy."

It seemed, however, that he didn't hear her, as he stammered on without end. "Come on, Kiyoshi. Pull yourself toge-" He cut off abruptly before wailing, "A trap! It's a trap!"

Wincing, she heaved a sigh and turning to face him. "For heaven's sake, Kiyoshi-kun, what are you...." Nada trailed off. Much to her surprise, there was no one there. The jounin blinked once, twice, then once more, her mind coming to a screeching halt. She hadn't just been hearing things, had she?

"Uh...." she murmured, wondering where he could have gone as she watched another jounin with a big canvas sack frolicking away through the crowd. Was that... a foot sticking out? No. That must have been her imagination.

[Sergeant Tenny]

Nyoko giggled to herself merrily as she watched Nadameru turn back around towards the caravan. "There'll be no rescue for you, little refugee. Your beloved Nada-chan won't save you this time." Turning down an alley, she opened the sack, and unceremoniously dumped Kiyoshi out. "Now then..." she said with a gleam in her slate-toned eyes. "Let's see what you can do on your own, eh?

[chuwawa]

As if on a whim, Kiyo found himself unceremoniously on his backside, having been dumped from the infamous burlap sack.

"Now then....let's see what you can do on your own, eh?"

Kiyo robbed his head, thoughtfully, giving the woman a death glare. "And just who exactly are you?" he muttered irritably.

Despite his usual cheerful nature, one of Kiyo's pet peeves had always been being trapped in a burlap sack. Strange he never realized it before now...