He had never had the intention of coming home. When he ran off, all he had wanted was to get as far away as possible. Maybe he had believed that if he left, the memories would stay behind, he would not have to stop at every damned streetlamp, because it reminded him of some friend whom he had lost – one way or another. Maybe he had believed, that if he wasn't surrounded by constant reminders, it would get better. Maybe he had believed that in some faraway place his appetite would return.
He had been wrong and had been right. One year he travelled, visited the smaller nations that bordered to the Land of Fire and realised that yes, he could try and run away from his own loss – even if this meant leaving everyone he still had left behind, but he could not run from the terrors the war had caused, for they were not limited to his village, and not to his own life.
Still, it had not been his own idea to return. During his travels he would offer his help as a mercenary in order to get by. Had he been asked to escort someone to Konohagakure, he probably would have refused, but no one had asked him. He had just sat down to rest, had just started to unpack the provision he had recieved in way of payment for his last job, when he heard a cry for help from the road.
Long story short, he came to save a merchant's life and goods from the hands of some robbers, and the merchant in turn insisted on him accompanying him. If only so that he, the merchant that is, would get a chance to pay the shinobi back, once he had exchanged his goods for money. And thus he was, so to speak, brought back to Konohagakure.

When they passed the village's gate he tried his best to walk by unnoticed. Though, admitadly his physical form was not exactly fit for walking by unnoticed, and the moment he set foot on Konohan soil, the two guards, namely Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu, jumped up to greet him – as if he was a long lost war-hero, finally returned home. Which sort of was what he was, still he felt this greeting to be highly inadequat.
He managed to shake them off, told them he had to say hello to his family and walked into the village, avoiding open streets or any places where he might stumble into someone who knew him. He did not imediatly go to see his family though. There was someone else he had to see first, someone he owed an apology.
He felt surprisingly calm when he entered the hospital, walked over to the receptionist – who did not seem to recognise him – and was just about to ask where he might find his friend, when a loud scream interrupted him and everyone else present in the hospital's lobby, someone jumped on his back and covered his eyes with two slender, well manicured hands.
"Chojiiii! You came back!", his attacker squealed, got off him, pulled him around to see his face, maybe to make sure it really as him, then slapped him as hard as one can without reinforcing the blow with chakra.
"That's for leaving, you fat-ass idiot", she said.

They spent Ino's entire break walking in the hospital garden. They didn't talk much, because neither of them knew where to start. After she had returned to her work, Choji made his way for Kurenai's apartment. As he climbed up the stairs he was beginning to feel uneasy, maybe he should see his family first after all? But there he was already, his finger pressed on the doorbell. He counted down from three. If she did not open in time -

"Choji...", Kurenai looked at him in disbelief, then gave him a quick hug before she ushered him to come in, led him into a small kitchen and offered him some tea.
"Uhm, actually", Choji scratched his head "I came to see Shikamaru. Ino said he'd be with you."
Kurenai smiled, she nodded towards the door leading to her livingroom.
There he was, half kneeling and seemingly unaware of anything around him except for the one-year old girl, holding on to his fingers as she tried to figure out how to carry her weight on two legs.
"He must be getting better, if you let him play with her", Choji mused over his tea.
"I don't know...", Kurenai sight "I think he's getting better because I let him play with her."
Choji looked confused, then reached for the sugar and shoveled a considerable amount of the sweetener into his cup.
"Nozomi's the first and only person he always seems to recognise. I guess the promise he gave to Asuma weighs heavier than Madara's genjutsu", she gave a sad smile.
It was this moment, when little Nozomi decided that she was tired of learning how to walk, fell down on all fours and crawled to her mother, Shikamaru following after her. As he entered the kitchen he stopped.
"What is that man doing here?", he pointed at Choji, who swallowed hard on his tea. He wasn't going to take it personal this time, because this time he was prepared, this time he knew what to expect. What he had not expected though was as small toddler's hand tugging his trousers, pointing – her big eyes wide with astonishment.
"Phat!", she said, as bluntly amazed as only little children can be.
"That's not a very nice thing to say, Nozomi-chan", Shikamaru told her, picked her up and placed her – as expertly as any parent would – on his hip.
"This is Choji", he told her "and he's not fat, he is just big-boned."