A/N: Greetings! Thank you for checking out this story! This is my first story, but it has been in the making for quite a while. I hope you enjoy, please read and review.

Disclaimer: I love Naruto, but he (and his story) are not mine. Naruto loves Ichiraku's, but it (and ramen in general) are not his. Kishimoto owns both, so go enjoy those, too!

"[Naruto] will become a vital shinobi for this entire village. When I'm with him...I want to walk at his side."

~Shikamaru Nara


"Here he comes!" Hinata's whispered warning sparked the Konoha 12 – minus Naruto and Sasuke – into action. Temari and her brothers watched as Naruto's friends prepared his surprise going-away party.

"Why are we here, again?" Kankuro whispered.

"Naruto is leaving his home to train for two years. We will support him in his endeavor." Gaara replied, his raspy voice leaving no room for argument.

Temari leaned over to Kankuro and reminded him, "That knucklehead saved our butts back there, so be nice."

He shook his head and muttered, "And I'm sure it has nothing to do with the shadownin'…"

"Shut up!" Temari hissed. Kankuro smirked.


~flashback~

The Sand Sibs walked out of the hospital and toward the gates of Konoha. Matsuri trailed behind Gaara, Temari followed her, and Kankuro lagged behind them all. They had almost reached the gates, when Shikamaru rushed up to meet them.

"Hmph, what's got you all in a tizzy, lazy?" Temari challenged. The 'crybaby' rolled his eyes at her and turned to Gaara.

"I don't know if you're heard, but Naruto leaves the village this morning for intense training with Jiraiya of the Sannin." Shikamaru began.

"Yes. I heard Jiraiya-san* tell Naruto that his 'research' on the Akatsuki tells him that he can train Naruto for three years before the Akatsuki try anything." Gaara responded, curious about the Leaf nin's intentions.

"Really?" Shikamaru was surprised, but he just filed it away for later. "Anyway, we, Team Return the Favor, are planning a going-away party for Naruto. It's a drag, but he's well-deserving of it. We wanted to invite you, since you're also leaving and…" The shadownin paused. "It would mean a lot to him for you to be there, Gaara-san."

The Sand shinobi mulled it over for a second, and then nodded. "We will attend. Where shall we go and when?"

"Hmph, probably Ichiraku's, right?" Kankuro muttered. Shikamaru confirmed with a nod.

"It's a surprise, so try to arrive a few minutes before the hour of the snake." He elaborated, nonchalantly sticking both hands in his pockets.

"We'll be there, lazy." Temari confirmed.

"Tch, girls. Always gotta get the last word. See ya." With that, Shikamaru turned and sauntered away.

~end flashback~


Sakura had put up a genjutsu to hide the waiting ninjas, so they all settled in, waiting for just the right moment to surprise a certain knucklehead ninja. Hinata and Neji quietly counted down to his arrival, using their byakugan. "3, 2, 1…"

"Hey, Ramen Guy! One miso, please!" Naruto's head poked through Ichiraku's banners.

Teuchi released a hearty laugh. "Just one, eh?"

Shikamaru signaled Sakura to drop the illusion while Naruto answered, oblivious to what was literally under his nose. "Yeah, Pervy Sage's supposed to be waiting for me at the gate. But he let me have one more bowl of your ramen, since it'll be awhile before my next one." Behind the genjutsu, the shadow user's gesturing got more frantic. "But I don't think anyone's coming to see me off, though." The blonde continued with a sigh.

Finally, Sakura got the message and yelled, "KAI!" releasing her technique. All the ninjas jumped at him and screamed, "SURPRISE!"…then burst out laughing at Naruto's stunned face.

"W-what…what are you…?" The loud-mouth blonde was speechless for once.

Kiba explained, "We all heard you'd be leaving for a while, so…"

"We planned a going-away party." Sakura interrupted.

After Naruto got over his shock, he started to tear up. "Y-you guys…" He'd had no idea that his friends cared so much; and for an orphan who'd been shunned his whole life, this was something that had been beyond even dreams. He swiped at his eyes.

Gaara walked over to his friend. Naruto exclaimed in surprise, "Gaara! I thought you already left."

The Sand shinobi answered, "We heard you were leaving Konoha to train, and I wanted to wish you good luck. Naruto-kun, you rescued me from myself. I'm honored to call you my friend."

"Me, too. You set me free." Neji added, having overheard his words.

"Yes, Naruto! You are an inspiration to us all to get stronger! We will not forget you!" Lee yoshed and struck a 'nice guy' pose. Everyone nodded.

"N-naruto-kun, you will make a great Hokage." Though not that loud, Hinata's uncharacteristically confident voice caught everyone's attention. She eeped at everyone's stares. "A-ano, I mean, Naruto-k-kun…You've already inspired s-so many p-p-people…You'll be Hokage, f-for sure!"

"Hmph, not if I'm Hokage first!" Kiba asserted. Umm, Hinata was caught between her teammate and her crush. W-what do I do n-now? Thankfully, her other teammate saved her.

"Kiba, Naruto is going off to train with one of the Sannin. You should train first and wait until he comes back before you challenge him." Shino quietly reprimanded.

"Hmph, fine." Kiba muttered.

Shikamaru stood up and raised his cup of ramen. "Naruto, you're troublesome and a knucklehead, but you have a way of inspiring everyone around you. I believe you can become Hokage, and when you do, I'll walk at your side."

"Yes, me too." "Me, as well." "I'll be standing with you, too." The Konoha 12 voiced their assent. "To Naruto, Future Hokage!"

Shikamaru continued the toast, "As ninja, we train to fight and to die. But Naruto has shown us all what it means to be a friend. His belief and his loyalty to his friends are irreplaceable. The lengths he goes to for his friends is way too extreme for ninja who have to be prepared for everyone that is precious to them to die. But who says that our predecessors knew the best way to be a ninja. Naruto makes me want to follow his path, to walk by his side." His heart was beating out of his chest, but he meant every word. If he hadn't met Naruto, he wouldn't have been doing this anyway. Making a motivational speech in front of his classmates? He wouldn't have even wanted to get up long enough to go the the party. But there was something different about him now, after these infernal Chunin Exams and the crazy far-fetched effort to bring Sasuke back. There was a thought forming in his head; one that went against the "Nothing is more important than the mission" statement from the Ninja Handbook. One that would mean an all-out loyalty, not to a Village called the Leaf but to the people that made the Village the Leaf.

Sakura raised her cup in agreement, all too familiar with how contagious Naruto's enthusiasm is. Hinata nodded, too, knowing intimately the effect that Naruto had on ninja's lives. Choji, Kiba, and Neji had all seen firsthand how much Naruto valued his nakama*, even one that had run away to join Orochimaru. And one by one, the up-and-coming ninja of Konoha reflected, at least in some small way, how a ninja could put a comrade above all else.

Shikamaru took a deep breath and continued his train of thought, "I want to live full out. I'll be loyal to my comrades, my nakama. I will always stand by you, no matter what comes our way! If you all join me, we, the Konoha 12, will be remembered, not for our death but our life. This is my will of fire!"

The gathered assembly was … shocked at the change that had come over Shikamaru. He wasn't being lazy and apathetic. He was suggesting that everyone take a heavier workload, but … for their nakama. It was true that they all expected to die in combat and hopefully be remembered as a hero. But, he was suggesting that not just their manner of death had meaning…but that their life in and of itself could make a difference in their world. They reflected on the words of the Sandaime, about his little treasures, and that they now held his will of fire. All the assembled ninjas experienced emotions that resonated deep within: admiration, unity, passion. They expressed their agreement all in their own way, and stepped up to confirm that "We agree; this is our will of fire!"

As the Leaf ninja hurrahed, Temari withdrew to her own thoughts. Hmm, the Suna princess murmured. Guess Shikamaru can be pretty animated when he gets all fired up. She thought back to his ridiculous "Team Return the Favor." He had fought well; but, honestly, all the genin had been outclassed. Even so, the Leaf ninjas had looked pretty scared when they went up against the Celestial Four. She guessed that those battles had been the closest the Leaf Genin had come to death. Suna could not afford its genin such naïveté. The only reason Temari hadn't yet been promoted to special ops yet was that Gaara had needed a team to infiltrate Konoha. She'd already been sent on nine C's, five B's, two A's, and an S-ranked mission. (Granted the S-mission hadn't really panned out, but that's how she was here today. If Gaara hadn't freaked and met the Uzumaki boy, Shukaku would have ravaged the Leaf and destroyed any hopes of garnering favor with Konoha.) Now, they're in favor with Konoha, thankfully. She was a fierce warrior, but overall, she wished for peace for her village – no matter what it would take.

Speaking of her village…it was time to leave. She moved over to Gaara. Before she could say anything, a new arrival interrupted the festivity.

"All right, time to…" Jiraiya's head had poked through the curtains, but he stopped short at the sight of Naruto's party. All Naruto's friends had come to see him off. He hid a smile – his godson had made some good friends. He caught said godson's attention and interrupted, "…eh, let's get moving, Naruto." The Toad sannin watched as the Konoha 12 all shouted sendoffs to Naruto and wished him a safe return. Looks like this generation just may do something big…

"Gaara, we should head out…" Temari reminded her brother. He signaled, in a minute.

"Naruto, I want to become part of your camaraderie, too. I fully support your endeavor to become Hokage. I will attempt to do the same in my village." The addressed ninja turned around and stared. In his mind, Naruto replied, "Gaara, you are already my comrade. We've gone through the same things…you'll be one of my closest friends, I know it." Of course, the knucklehead couldn't figure out how to express that, and didn't want to seem uncool, anyway.

"Gaara…Good luck, my friend." Naruto, serious for once, nodded in affirmation to their now shared goal – to make their village acknowledge their "weapon" as someone precious who cares for them. "I guess this is where people are supposed to shake hands and get all choked up, but I've never been very good at that stuff, either; so let's just leave it…" Sand slowly enveloped Naruto's hand, urging it towards Gaara's already outstretched one. They shook hands, then parted ways.

Gaara reached his siblings' side. "Let's go."


*I don't think I will use honorifics, for the most part. If I feel that adding an honorific will contribute to the feel of the address, I will put it in; however, I don't think I'll use honorifics that often.

*Nakama is the word used in the anime that translates to comrade. I feel that nakama has a slightly different meaning than our comrade, however; so, I will often use nakama instead.

Hope you enjoyed! Please review :D

God bless,

~Ying~