The Never Ending Path

by Austin Jade

Two years have passed since the Eye of the Moon Plan. Naruto has become exceedingly restless and it has not gone unnoticed by his friends in the Hidden Leaf. Naruto comes at a crossroads in his life and his feelings of Team Seven. Companion Piece to 'The Path to You All', but can also be a stand alone. Light references to several pairings. T for Language.

"Just go on and run, using your own two feet and no longer fear anything; keep heading down this path and aim for the future. Cut open a path and run."

Epilogue – The Never-Ending Path

"Sai, I'm at Point A."

"Sakura, I'm at Point B."

"I can't believe I agreed to this."

"Now, now; this is the first mission with in years…even if it's an unofficial one."

"…Fine. I'm at Point C."

"Do you have sight of the target?"

"Yes, Sensei. It's resting in a tree about 12 meters away, overlooking the training grounds."

"It's not hard to spot him, with that stupid jumpsuit."

"Enough. Sakura, move in."

"Right!"

Thump.

Crackle…

Crash!

"What the hell is going on!?"

"The target is escaping! Move in!"

"Sai, he's heading towards you!"

"Ninja Art: Super Beasts Scroll!"

"Ow! Knock it off, you guys!"

"You won't get away!"

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"OWWWWWWIIIIEEEE~!"

Painful silence.

"…question…ended…bringing him…"

"Say again, Sakura?"

"I said, the target in question has been apprehended and we're bringing him to Ichiraku's, now."

"Well done, team."

"YOU GUYS OWE ME A BOWL OF RAMEN, EACH, FOR THIS!"

XXXXX

"Why the hell did you try to burn me to a crisp, Bastard!?" an extremely irritable orange ninja roared.

Sasuke snorted derisively. "Shut up, Dead Last. The last time we sparred, you countered it well enough."

"I'm not climbing out of dead slumbers when we spar, you fucking Asshole!"

The troupe of Team Kakashi plus one marched down the boisterous main road of Konohagakure as they approached the restaurant destination. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto were busy vehemently "discussing" the protocol of trapping unsuspecting prey at the front of the crew, with Sai a step behind them, mentally taking notes of their interaction. Haruno Sakura and Hatake Kakashi were content watching the duo proceed with their debate.

The rosette bit her lip, glancing at the villagers on the side of the village road. The foul language the two were using, coupled with their apparent disinterest to even attempt at keeping said words at a low volume, caught the ears of passersby. The other occupants of the road cast stares ranging from incredulousness to outright irritation, particularly at a certain whisker-faced shinobi. There was something else in their gaze, though, that sent a chill up the girl's spine.

"Should we let them continue like this?" the medic inquired to her teacher.

Kakashi eyed her. "You know why Naruto always acts like this. Just let them be." He sent a pointed look at the Uchiha in front of them. Sakura grimaced a bit, realizing that not all of the frosty looks sent their way were directed at the blonde; a few trailed away to meet the dark-haired ex-ninja who walked next to him.

She knew it was asking a lot for everyone to forgive everything the Uchiha did, but it didn't stop her from hoping her friend would receive warm welcomes from most of the people they met. In truth, she realized, most of the people were at least cordial with the former missing-nin. The knowledge of actual war shook the minds of the civilians who had not known the horrors of battle, taking the teachings from the two warriors to heart.

The medic-nin's reverie was broken when she heard her name ahead.

"You should be happy Sakura argued we do that much," the Uchiha spat. "If it were up to me, we would've just charged in, sending our techniques at you from the start."

"Naruto-kun, have your limited skills as a ninja diminished since the Shinobi World War?" Sai passively inquired, falling in-step with the two rivals at the head. "We still need our ninja to be at top form, you know. You can't slack off."

The fox's incensed gaze turned upon the pale ANBU. "Don't even get me started on you, Sai…" the blonde threw an accusing finger at his teammate. "Damned lions nearly tore my arm off, Jackass!" He furiously flexed the arm in question, which was suspiciously missing part of the sleeve up to the middle of the bicep.

"Hey, Sai, can a genin really mouth off like that to an ANBU and get away with it?" Sasuke scoffed, inciting the orange shinobi by referring to his low rank.

"Now that you mention it, Sasuke-kun, I do have a higher rank," the artist replied. "But since when has status of any kind kept Naruto-kun from being loud, opinionated, and obnoxious?"

"You're right," the Uchiha thoughtfully agreed. "Even when he just acquired the rank of genin, he was preachy."

"Why you…!"

"That's enough, Naruto!" the roseate-haired kunoichi commanded, obviously drained from the bickering. "People are staring at us!"

"But Sakura-chaaan~!" he whined immaturely.

Fighting down a smirk at the capricious ninja, she continued. "Besides, if you hadn't been avoiding our monthly get-togethers like this, we wouldn't be having fake missions to drag you there, in the first place." An abnormal silence from the ninja followed, causing an inquisitive pink eyebrow to rise at him.

The silver-haired ninja piqued his eyes up with weary happiness. 'They grow up…but they never change, huh?' A wry smirk crinkled the mask on his face as he reminisced when the three were pre-teens, just starting on their shinobi journey. He suddenly felt extremely old.

Calming himself down, the teenage ninja shoved his hands into his pockets and pouted. Argument quelled for the time being, the orange ninja began to inspect the surrounding street. Although considerably smaller than the Konoha he knew, the city was slowly but surely being built from the ground up, under the watchful eye of the Hokage Monument.

A light breath exhaled from the orange ninja's mouth. "It's amazing" he mused.

Sakura smiled. "I can't believe how much the city's been rebuilt in the short time since the Akatsuki's attack."

Naruto nodded in agreement, but somberly remembered the lives lost. 'Yamato-taichou…' He smiled poignantly. "We lost a lot of good ninja for this." No one stepped up to question his thoughts.

Outside the shops, many colorful stalls full of foodstuffs and games, both local and foreign cuisine, were being erected. Various civilians and ninja hung extravagant décor from the stands and the local shops, giving the street an exotic, celebratory feel. Symbols from the Five Great Nations and the smaller surrounding nations that had signed treaties to join them were etched in the tapestries that were draped from the buildings and kiosks. The kiosks, themselves, had one symbol, signifying the locations the food or game in question came from.

Fox-like slits quirked inquisitively. "What's with all the decorations and shops?" He pursed his lips. "Is there a festival, today, or something?"

An exasperated sigh came from the Uchiha. "You're such a Loser."

"Keep your opinions to yourself!"

"Naruto-kun, don't you remember what today is? We've been helping set up for the past week." Sai wondered aloud. The reply came when the blonde thinned his lips. "It's the second anniversary of the end of the Shinobi World War. We had one, albeit it much smaller because we were still rebuilding the village."

"Oh…is that right?" A poignant smirk rose on the boy's face. Sasuke and Sai glanced out of their peripheral vision at the now-eighteen year old ninja. Kakashi warily observed him from the back. Sakura bit her lip as she glanced at the boy from behind. "Two years… eh…?"

xxx

The drapes for Ichiraku Ramen were pulled aside as Team Kakashi stepped inside, Naruto last. He saw the smiling faces of the members from Teuchi, Ayame, Team Guy, Team Eight, Team Ten, Konohamaru and his friends, and Iruka sitting at the bar.

"Happy Birthday, Naruto~!"

All the boy could muster for a moment was a stunned face full of surprise at the large gathering. A moment passed where he marveled at how they could fight so many people in the stall, when the meaning of their words wrapped around his mind.

"EHHHHH!?"

"Naruto! How could you forget the reason for our get-together today?"

"Reason?"

"You really forgot, Naruto-kun?"

"You're such a Loser."

The blonde was subsequently mauled by several of his friends. Hugs and friendly punches were aplenty as the group made their way over the bar and grabbed the remaining open chairs. Ramen flowed abundantly as the bowls were distributed amongst the customers, who ate their fill.

A little more than an hour passed uneventfully, with the group of friends passing around stories of recent missions and memories of old. Despite the raucous crowd, nobody really disturbed the party, except on occasion to wish the young blonde ninja a happy birthday.

Naruto took a moment to stand back and survey the celebration. Neji, Shino, and Tenten all watched, at varying levels of interest, the 'training' Guy, Lee, Kiba, and Chouji were having by eating the most bowls of Ramen. Akamaru rested behind Kiba's stool, having finished his own meal. Iruka, Kakashi, and Shikamaru were discussing matters involving the reconstructed school and the incoming genin, with the latter throwing occasional glances at the platinum blonde and dark-haired ANBU at the other end of the table. Ino was too busy swooning Sai, who surveyed the training and her attempts at gaining his recognition with a stare that had a mix of slight amusement and distinct indifference, to notice his stares. Sakura was busy chattering away with a stoic Sasuke like old times.

His eyes remained on the pair of old teammates for a long moment. He recalled how his birthdays had been before he became a ninja. The Third Hokage would give him some sort of present, usually a kunai or another ninja tool, and a free meal. Eventually, Iruka also would take him to get Ramen. But, in general, the only change on his birthday was the stares given to him by the Hidden Leaf civilians would be a fraction more fierce and frosty than normal.

A small, warm smile spread across his features at the scene before him.

The grin prompted an inquiry from the lavender-haired girl next to him. "Something on your mind…Naruto-kun…?"

A relieved breath escaped from the ex-jinchuriki's mouth. "Nothing, really. I'm just so glad we can have moments like this."

"Yeah~" Ino playfully hummed from her seat. "It's been a while since we all met, like this."

"What else are you going to do for your birthday, Naruto?"

The blonde's face scrunched up in confusion. "Hmm…I didn't really think about…I was taking a nap 'cause I was wiped…"

"Dead Last didn't even know it was his birthday, today."

"Shut up, you!"

The kiosk erupted in laughter at their interaction, eventually spreading to the blonde, who grinned, and the Uchiha, who smirked cheerfully.

Hinata, in her mirth, felt a gentle nudge from behind her. She gasped and turned, seeing Tenten and Kiba smiling encouragingly at her. She gulped, turning towards the guffawing blonde.

The Hyuuga felt her face heat up, suddenly, at the request on her mind. She murmured his name to get his attention. The blonde quieted, glancing at the lavender-haired ninja, causing her face to redden even further. An eyebrow piqued in a silent recognition of her presence, which did little to calm her nerves. With a shrug, the blonde turned to observe the party, again, with an exhausted expression.

The weary gleam in his eyes reminded the Hyuuga heiress why she wanted to ask him her question. She closed her eyes, inhaled in her nose, and exhaled through her mouth. Her nerves calmed enough to think, her brow crossed in a determined look. She tugged on the ninja's jumpsuit, causing him to turn again.

"N-Naruto-kun…are you…will you be going…to the festival tonight?"

"Hmmm? The festival?" He looked back outside at the growing number of shopkeepers and travelers entering the village. "I don't know…I'm not sure I'll be going."

"Oh…I see…" She turned back towards their friends, downcast. She raised her eyes to them and saw they had all stopped performing their 'training', looking at here with support. Seeing her friends placing their faith in her, she reinforced her determination and tried, once more, to ask the question on her tongue.

"Naruto-kun," she began, "would you…like to go to the festival tonight with me?"

"With you?" She nodded. Blue eyes inspected pale violet, seemingly trying to determine the sincerity of her question. Each passing second felt like a lifetime to Hinata, but she forced herself to stare into Naruto's deep sky blue.

The blonde gave his trademark goofy grin. "Sure, why not?"

Almost disbelieving of his answer, her face dropped in shock. "What? Don't wanna go now?" the blonde jokingly queried.

She shook her head vehemently. "No, no! That's not it at all! It's just…I was worried you'd say no."

"Why would that be, I wonder?" She didn't reply to his offhanded question, but he paid no heed.

After finishing the rest of his ramen, he handed the empty bowl to the chef. "Thanks, Teuchi-jii-san!" He looked at all of his friends who were present. "Thanks for coming, Everyone! But I gotta go get ready for the festival."

"Don't forget to dress in a hakama!"

He motioned to inform them that he heard and they all bade him farewell, watching him leave the celebration. As he left, however, a pair of jade green eyes, filled with sadness and suspicion followed the fluttering drapes, the sound and view of Naruto's footsteps disappearing into the amassing crowds gathering for the festival.

xxx

With the sun significantly passed high noon, the festival was in full swing causing the lively city to teem with even more activity than a typical Konoha afternoon. Colorful décor draped and flowed with the blustery, yet surprisingly warm, autumn air. Multiple styles of music gently floated through the breeze from several different directions, each containing the soul and emotion from their respective nations. Distinctive sounds though they were; the music meshed together melodiously when hearing more than one of the bands playing.

Also traversing the crisscrossing drafts were the salivating smells of roasting meats and steaming noodles. Fires crackled in the stalls as smoke billowed harmlessly into the cloudless sky through holes at the top of the tents. Customers were attracted to the sights and smells of the eateries.

Naruto stood in his black and orange hakama in the town square. Lining the streets were entertainers dressed in the garb of their home nations, the northern nations more heavily clothed than the southern nations.

He observed children huddling around his own dark-haired partner. Sai speedily sketched on his reel of parchment. With a simple gesture and focus of Chakra, the ink paintings of rodents and birds hopped and flew off the page, allowing the youngsters to chase and pet them, as if they were real. Even the pale ANBU permitted a soft grin to grace his features, emanating the emotions he had developed over his interactions with his partners and their friends.

Sai, in a deep red gown of his own, saw his colleague and waved at him. Naruto greeted him with a grin, but then noticed his friend pointing in a direction. The blonde raised his eyebrow and followed the imaginary line from the tip of his comrade.

Two deep blue eyes warmed at the sight of his two Team Seven. Sakura's lips turned up into a grin in her pink kimono standing near the front of a food stand, taking orders and handing out the food to customers. Beside her was her blonde friend, Ino, in her own deep violet kimono. Behind the two of them, manning the grills with food, were Sasuke and Chouji, both in traditional garb, themselves.

"Naruto-kun!"

The blonde turned to see Hinata running towards him fluttering her hand at him. A flowing light purple, almost violet-blue, yukata ran down her form. It hugged, but not scantily, causing a solemn beauty to permeate her. He noticed several looks from some of the younger men at her, even those who had currently none-too-happy dates from their staring.

She slowed as she neared him, taking a second to catch her breath from forcing her way through the crowds. Naruto gave her a thumbs-up. "You're looking good, Hinata! I approve."

A slight blush rose to her cheeks. "Thanks, Naruto-kun…" she breathed. She glanced around and absorbed the invigorating experiences from the festivities, before turning back to her crush and smiling brightly. "So, what should we do first?"

Fox slits squinted quizzically, mulling over the question she gave him. "Hmm…I'm not exactly hungry, yet…" His face brightened, turning sapphire blue orbs onto his female friend. "How about your choice? Ladies first, right?"

Unexpectedly, the Hyuuga nodded appreciatively. "Well… If we're not hungry, yet… We could always eat later and go play some of the games."

Agreeing with her, the pair waded through the massive grouping of people, heading to the designated area for games. For over an hour, the couple could be seen playing at the game stalls. They each caught a trio of fish in the fish catching game, which Naruto handed to his friend. She graciously took both bags of water, and noticed a particularly small orange one who seemed to be extremely energetic.

'This one…reminds me of…' Her gaze floated over to the genin standing in line looking for a small snack for the two to munch on them. He was energetically talking to the middle-aged woman handing him a pair of popsicles.

A soft smile spread on her face, memories of the times they had together reverberating through her head. All the times Naruto cheered for her and helped her through his words or actions. Also, all the times she helped him and they felt that they got closer. She still wasn't sure of the boy's feelings towards her, Sakura or their friends, for that matter. Lately, he had started distancing himself from the rest of them, leaving early after missions were over, and vanish for hours on end, most usually being found some place where he looked like he was just sitting and thinking. If it wasn't for the preparations of the festival, they would have hardly seen him at all.

She bit her lip, fighting back a wave of emotion that rose within her. She saw the boy of her thoughts strutting up to her holding a purple icy treat in front of him towards her. "Here you go, Hinata."

xxx

After a few more games, where Naruto won a small orange bracelet, which he promptly handed to Hinata, and Hinata won a small fox keychain, given to Naruto. She wasn't entirely sure it matched his gift to her, but she giddily grinned at the chain as it dangled in front of his face, so she smiled in satisfaction afterwards.

They spent the rest of the afternoon going to different kiosks and inspecting their wares. Although Hinata offered to buy Naruto some trinkets he had his eye on, he instantly refused, saying she shouldn't waste her money on him. The keychain was more than plenty and very memorable.

They saw a majority of their friends either helping out or enjoying the events in the town. Team Guy passed them as they enjoyed themselves in food and drink, Neji and Lee apparently having a few too many shots of sake, as both challenged the blonde to fights, though for very different reasons. Tenten seemed to spend most of the time restraining the two to keep them from going out of control and burst through several stands in the side street. Might Guy was merely enjoying his 'springtime of youth'.

Kakashi was in charge of security detail, but did spend a few moments chatting with the two ninja. Though faintly weary from spending his time trying to rein Naruto in to join the party, then spending a busy schedule keeping the peace in the town, he seemed mostly his cheerful self.

Konohamaru and his team were also enjoying the festival, though in their own way, trying to hide and surprise/scare their jounin mentor, Ebisu, who was helping Kakashi with crowd control. The 'closet pervert' had grown almost as crafty as Naruto's sensei, though, as the three attempts to scare the teacher did little more than add amusement to Naruto and Hinata's night.

Kiba and Shino, for their part, were helping prepare for the fireworks later on in the agenda, carrying explosives to just outside the city, safely away from the children and possible vandals. Akamaru, meanwhile, was happily treating the younger children to rides and entertainment in an open area near the entrance.

Kurenai and Iruka were busy helping out at the Ichiraku Ramen stand. Shikamaru had dodged a bullet helping out by tending to the two-year-old Asuna, who he was showing around the town during the festival. Naruto accidentally made the girl cry, but Hinata was able to calm her down, adding to the blonde's despair.

As the sun began to lower behind the mountaintops, the two returned to the stall Sasuke and the others were serving for dinner. "Hinata… I'm having a lot of fun!"

She smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. As they approached the kiosk, however, they found that Sakura and Sasuke had left the stall.

"Eh? Sakura and Sasuke?" Ino questioned. "Sasuke was scheduled to help with the fireworks. As for Sakura… mmmm…"

Sai, who had left his post as an entertainer and had begun to help at the stall, overheard their question and faced to the pair, "I think it was time for her break. Though I don't know where she went."

"Oh? Really? I was hoping to catch them before they ran off, too…"

"Aren't you with a date, anyway, Naruto?" the platinum blonde inquired. "It's rude interrupting with others."

"Huh? Is that so?" His eyes dropped to the dark-haired girl next to her, who seemed preoccupied with the ground, at this point. He hardened his gaze, then smirked and looked at the female member of Team Ten. "Ino, when do the fireworks start?"

xxx

Long after dusk had settled in the region, the couple sat on the roof of Naruto's apartment. Two plates of food and a small basket of takoyaki were empty and placed aside from them. Above them bright explosions resonated, illuminating the sky and the town, which had grown dark and silent, as opposed to the exuberance it had earlier.

Another series of fireworks exploded in the night's sky, ignited the area in a pink and golden hue for a long second. In the brief second, Hinata used the light to glance at the boy next to her.

She noticed a lot about him in that brief moment. The awed look the boy sported reminded the Hyuuga of how he was when she knew him in the Ninja Academy and why she idolized him in her youth. From a distance, she noticed that he held the same determination and spirit that empowered him and his friends, especially herself, time and time again. She also realized that, come what may, he would most likely never change.

But what surprised her most were his eyes. While his body radiated the same vigor he always had, his eyes appeared, for lack of a better word, exhausted. They were distant; looking far off in the horizon. It wasn't as if the fire in his eyes had vanished, but had dimmed from an erupting blaze to a low simmer. He appeared much older than his eighteen years.

It wasn't a huge surprise to her. The teen had experienced plenty and accomplished plenty more; more so than any normal person would in an entire lifetime, ninja or not. However, knowing Naruto, he wasn't tired from fighting; he had just accomplished everything here and wanted to see how much further he could push his limits. Konohagakure just couldn't contain him, anymore.

'Maybe…that's why…'

The blonde turned to face her and warmly released his trademark smile at her, melting her heart. "Hmmm? Something wrong, Hinata?"

Surprised for a moment, Hinata immediately thought up an excuse. "You know... Naruto-kun… you've helped me so much, since I've met you. I don't know how I can thank you enough. For everything."

The boy nodded. "I know. You've helped me, too. Your determination when you faced Neji helped give me the confidence to believe in myself when I fought him next time. If I didn't see how desperate you were to prove yourself, who knows how that fight would have gone at the Chunin Exams. And if I would've had the confidence to face down opponents later, if my confidence was shaken that early.

"All of our friends have helped… I'm just…so glad to have met them all. I said in my battle with Sasuke all of you guys had an influence in my life and I meant it. I don't want to know how my life would have gone without any of you."

Her chest beat heavily as the boy regarded her. A wealth of emotion hit her, hard. She wanted to tell the boy how she felt, but…

She found she couldn't face him, right away. She turned towards the sky as another bright purple firework fired the sky. Hinata calmed herself, inhaling through her nose and exhaling from her mouth. Still feeling the boy's gaze upon her, she smiled a bit before turning back to him. Regardless of the result, she wanted to do this.

"Naruto-kun… I…"

The blonde's eye slits perked up inquisitively.

'I…' She gulped. "Naruto-kun… I… you…"

She leaned towards his face with hers.

His eyes widened a bit. "Hinata…?"

She bit her trembling lip. 'I… can't…'

The girl pulled the boy into a tight hug, nearly knocking the wind from his lungs. "I'm… I'm just…so glad to have met you," her voice wavered.

She heard him gasp into her shoulder, but then felt his smile and his arms wrap tightly around her. "Yeah…me, too, Hinata…" She forced the lump in her throat back down into her soul.

They remained like that for an untold amount of time, until the finale of the fireworks had long diminished in the sky. Breaking their moment, they both heard someone call to them. It took a moment, but they heard a second one below them.

"Hey! Hinata! Naruto!"

The two released their grasp and looked down, seeing Kiba, Shino, and Akamaru staring up at them. "Let's go! You're going to miss the after-party!"

Hinata placed her hands to her mouth. "I'm coming!" She happily glanced at Naruto, closing her eyes. "Goodbye, Naruto-kun!"

"Yeah," he grunted. "Take care of yourself, Hinata." Without turning to him, she leapt down off the roof, using Chakra-infused feet to stick to the wall, and landed next to her teammates on the road. She began walking away from the apartment complex, leading the way for her colleagues.

After walking a few blocks away, the team turned a corner into a dark alley. Akamaru glanced up at Hinata, then back to his master, and began to whimper. The warmth of the air signaled the presence of several other people in the area.

"So," Kiba started, "how did it go?"

She smiled genuinely at her teammates and friends who had appeared in the alleyway. For a moment, the air's thick tension released, until the Hyuuga began to sniffle and, despite her bright smile, tears flowed endlessly from her eyes.

Hinata barely noticed her vision become watery as she tried to respond to them through the cascade on her cheeks. "I'm…I'm sorry…everyone," she hiccupped weakly. "But he's… so dead set on it…I just…I couldn't…"

A strong and tender arm slowly wrapped around her, pressing her forehead against smooth fabric. A warm hand gently patted her back in comfort. "There, there, it's ok…" Tenten soothed. "We all failed, too." Hinata's small hands grasped Tenten's free hand tightly as she released her sadness into the older girl's clothing.

"Then," a deep voice droned matter-of-factly, causing a few of the members to turn towards the dark-haired owner of the voice, "I guess we can only rely on Sakura, after all."

xxx

'Thanks, Everyone… and…I'm sorry.'

xxx

"Alright," the blonde sighed, hopping off of his roof into his apartment. It had been emptied in the last two weeks, down to only a few belongings. The kitchen and bedroom/ living room combo looked pristine and were free of any grime or pests he had found. He laid his hakama gently on the dresser and took his trademark jumpsuit and put it on. Most of his belongings, like his bed, were sold for extra funds for the trip, though it was mostly to just give them use, considering now he was 18, he had access to the funds his mother and father left him.

A small futon mattress was rolled up and leaning against the wall at the entrance next to a pair of bags. One, a backpack, carried a few provisions and the larger or less useful equipment until he made his first town outside of the Fire Country's borders. The other was a smaller pack full of his ninja equipment to carry on his belt.

He noticed a pair of pictures inclined against his luggage and smiled. Pictures of his two teams, one was of Team Seven, back when his ninja journey began. It displayed a weary Kakashi placing his hands on Naruto and Sasuke in a futile attempt at getting them to take a good picture without glaring each other down. Sakura, blushing at the mere idea of taking a picture with the man of her dreams, smiled sweetly at the bottom, apparently made unawares of the struggle above her. He dearly wished that he could have been the one to give her that smile.

Naruto recalled this shot as their fourth attempt at the picture, when their sensei settled on it.

Naruto remembered the adjacent photo was even more of a pain to take than the first. It was shortly after Naruto and Sasuke were cleared from the hospital after the Fourth World War, and was originally supposed to just be Team Seven reincarnated. However, Naruto insisted Sai join the picture, grateful for all the ANBU had done and just being his friend. Then, Team Ten walked by and Ino stated they should be in it, dragging Chouji, who wanted a barbeque, and Shikamaru, who claimed it to be troublesome to join her. Team Eight then appeared with a pregnant Kurenai, Shino begrudging the group for not allowing them, particularly himself, into the picture. Guy appeared with his squad, declaring it was youthful to join in a photo uninvited, and Tsunade, Shizune, and Tonton had passed by after losing all of the Hokage's pocket change at the gambling house. An already annoyed photographer thinned his lips further, when Iruka and Team Ebisu joined, before the photo was finally taken.

It made for a picture that was jam-packed with action; from Hinata fainting standing in front of Naruto to Akamaru having to pee; from Ino swooning over Sai to Guy challenging Kakashi to a fight; from Chouji munching on a bag of chips he had snuck with him to Neji threatening Naruto with scandalous gropes on the girl who fell into his body, it was an interesting photo shoot. However, after looking at, Team Seven decided it was perfect. The photo captured everyone's unique personalities better than any standard picture could ever have.

Naruto carefully placed the pictures into his sack. He tied the futon to it tightly for easy toting and slipped his arms through the flaps. He latched the knapsack to his waist before grabbing the key and advancing to the front door. Taking one last long look through his small apartment that served him for most of his life, sans the training journey with Jiraiya, he closed the door and locked it.

After sliding the key under the door to the landlord, he slowly traipsed the silent streets towards the large staircase that had been built to reach the Hokage Monument. Standing at the bottom of the monument, he stared at the five overseers of the Hidden Leaf solemnly staring off into the distance. The blonde honorably bowed, offering a soundless thanksgiving to each of them for their help in creating Konoha, uniting the world, or raising Naruto to be the man he was.

He took one last glance at the Fourth Hokage's visage and grinned resolutely. 'I'll be back, Dad,' he mentally informed him.

Well after dark at this point in time, Naruto decided to travel the main road. He passed by the stalls which were eerily empty of customers and caretakers, giving off the vibe of a Ghost Town. He did hear the distant sounds of something akin to a party off in the distance, however, and decided the 'after-party' must have been well underway.

He bypassed a group of buildings and was a few feet away from freedom from the Leaf Village. He bypassed the reconstructed Ninja Academy, a newly-planted tree from the forest which held a swing in its branches, and a cemented walkway with a bench on it.

It was here that he sensed a presence in the night. It wasn't trying to hide, but it wasn't moving closer or further away, either. It was waiting.

Focusing his darkness-adjusted vision, he saw the outline of what looked to be someone garbed in ninja gear, though closer to casual wear as opposed the to the uniform sported during Shinobi World War. He finally registered the color of the cloth.

"Why're you out here at this time of night, Sakura-chan?" he gently inquired at the silhouette.

The rosette stepped forward, revealing her whole form in low moonlight. She looked prepared to take on a mission. Her hair was coiffed up in a small ponytail, revealing the nape of her neck. Her eyes were somber yet stern with their gaze.

Memories of her previous encounter with a teammate leaving the village violently repeated in her mind's eye, but she remained collected. "I knew you'd pass by here… if you were to leave… So I waited here."

"It's late. You should probably head home and go back to sleep." He gingerly inched forward and moves passed her, silently begging she do just that.

The visions returned with more fervor to Sakura's mind, forcing her to bit her lip to keep them from overwhelming her with the emotions perpetually attached to them. Overcoming the tears, though they remained unshed in her eyes, she turned to face the back she had grown accustomed to seeing full of life and fortitude, bend forward with heavy regret and sentiment.

Sakura begged the gods for penance as she elected to tug on those strings. "Did you really plan on leaving without saying goodbye?" she accused more than asked. He froze; a sign he was willing to listen. "You're leaving like Sasuke-kun did. No, you're worse; we all knew he had a reason for leaving. You don't have any reason." Silence answered her.

"I know you… You try to bottle everything up inside you. But instead of Sasuke-kun, you pretend everything's all right even when things aren't. You don't show sadness or vengeance in your aura; just that miserable, distressing smile that you claimed for your own."

The tension hung heavily in the air between them. Sakura realized that, even before they were teammates and fellow ninja, the gap between had never seemed so wide.

She heard him exhale. "I just…don't like long goodbyes," he declared, still refusing to face her. "I don't want the lasting image of my friends for an extended time be of them crying over me."

"Is that true?" she incredulously inquired. He didn't reply. "Goodbyes are sad. Of course, they are. But sneaking off can hurt so much. You may not want a lasting image of us crying for you, but is leaving without letting us know any better? What if we never got to see you again? What if we never got to relay our feelings to you before you left?"

Images of the date he had with Hinata earlier that night flashed in his mind. He remembered, in particular, the fireworks they watched together.

"I'm… I'm just…so glad to have met you."

'So that's what it was…'

He heard the medic-nin sit down on the bench behind them. A soft patting beckoned him to sit with her, causing him to whirl around slowly. Her eyes pleaded to sit with her. He lowered his backpack to the ground and acquiesced.

Several more moments of silence passed between them; Naruto wondering what he should say to quell the situation and Sakura wondering of her times with the boy. She rubbed the arm of the seat softly. 'We had a lot of memories here, don't we?'

"Yeah," the boy replied after a long pause, making her recognize she voiced her thoughts. "Hey, Sakura-chan, remember our first C-Rank Mission?"

"The Land of Waves, huh?" she remarked. "I guess that was the unofficial start of our ninja lives, though it wasn't our first mission. Tazuna-san was definitely odd, at first, but I felt that we made a real difference, there." She giggled. "And you and your crazy antics, stabbing yourself to bleed out the poison.

Naruto sheepishly nodded. "But I remember how awesome you were when those assassins first attacked us, ready to protect the Old Man in an instant, like that. All I did was stand there and get hit."

A despairing aura dampened them for a second. "In that battle, though, the only one who really did anything was Sasuke-kun," she reminded him. "The Chunin Exam was a different story."

"Yeah! I rocked that one!"

"Oh? I remember distinctly that you being lucky the final question was right up your alley in terms of determination and courage."

"H-hey…that hurts, Sakura-chan…"

She giggled.

"But, admittedly, I was so worried about your dream…I was actually going to forfeit our squad, because I didn't want your dream to be Hokage to die out, like that."

"Really? I never knew that!"

"Well, it wasn't like I was going to tell you something like that, idiot! And, besides, you did help us, and everyone else in that room, pass. And you were pretty cool in the Forest of Death and the one-on-one matches, too."

"You did pretty good, yourself! Though most of the Forest is second-hand knowledge to me, I did get to see you beat up Ino!"

"It was a tie…"

"Not to me! Especially when you broke out of that Mind Body Switch Jutsu of hers!"

"It was your loud mouth that brought me back."

They both laughed and, unbeknownst to them until that moment, the pressure that filled the air was gone. The chuckles died down between them, as they both contentedly stared at the sky filled with twinkling diamonds. Sakura noticed, however, that the gap between them still existed. She firmly attempted to close the distance even further.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

"Eh?"

"I wasn't always kind to you, after we became teammates."

Naruto snorted. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't remember? I called you annoying that morning, without so much as a second thought…"

"Hmmm…really? I don't recall anything like that."

"But, even still, I always wished we could've started off on a better foot."

"Don't sweat the small stuff, ok, Sakura-chan? We've all come a long way in these six years." He smiled brightly at her; his infectious Naruto smile that always seemed to reach his eyes. The regret and sadness that his back previously bore had diminished completely.

Sakura's heart melted at the beam and it was then that she knew why none of her friends were able to convince the blonde to stay within the confines of Konoha. She pondered momentarily if he knew that he had defeated each of them single-handedly without them directly attempting to order the blonde to stay.

She knew she couldn't, either. But she was still determined to try; for her friends.

Minutes of hushed silence raced by and neither Sakura nor Naruto knew how long they sat on that bench together, basking in each other's warmth. The medic-nin finally tried her last gamble.

"Why are you trying to break up Team Seven, when we just got back together?" she questioned, not accusingly, but as a teacher would ask a respected student.

He regarded her for a swift moment, before he uproariously guffawed at her question. It did little more than incite her ire and inflict a painful punch to his skull. "What's so funny, Moron!?"

He tenderly rubbed the crown of his head. "Sakura-chan, you and I both know that Team Seven can no longer physically be together," he chided inaudibly. "We're all growing up, now. You reminded me of this when I first came back with ero-sennin. Sasuke can't do official missions, anymore, though he has been given 'unofficial' missions with us under the guise of being watched by Sai and Kakashi-sensei. Sensei will probably soon be asked to train new recruits in Teams, similar to when he became our sensei. Sai will eventually report back to ANBU on specific missions for them.

"Even you, Sakura-chan. You are getting more and more famous as a great doctor." She found her face heat up at his recognition and was thankful the moon wasn't bright enough to see her blush. "Soon, you'll probably be focused on working strictly at the hospital and won't be able to take missions with the rest of us, anymore."

Mulling over his statements, she realized how right the blonde was. She also noticed he had not mentioned himself in his acknowledgements. "So, what will you do?"

"I've been wondering that very thing," he replied. "So, I decided to finish my training to become Hokage."

"Finish your training?"

"A man once told me that the world of the shinobi is a world ruled by hatred," he informed her. "The world's heading towards the future, on its own, but many countries are still filled with strife and hatred, with nothing to bring it to a close. To finish my training, I want to travel and understand what is necessary to end all of it."

He stood up on the bench and raised his hands wide to the sky, like he wanted to envelope the horizon in an embrace. "But it's more than that, Sakura-chan. We made this world what it was. Not just you and me. Or Sasuke. Or Kakashi-sensei. Or the Kages. Or any one person. It's all of us; it takes every person to make a difference. And I want to travel the world and thank everyone for helping to make the place like it is today and for helping to make it better for the next generation."

Sakura was defeated.

Naruto dropped off the bench and grabbed his backpack, sliding his arms through the flaps once again. "Well, I think it's about time I made my leave."

Sakura sighed heavily. "So, you're going…just like that?" He nodded sadly. "And there's nothing I can do stop you, huh?" Again, he nodded.

"It's not like I'm going away for good, Sakura-chan. I'll be back after my journey's done. It'll only be a few years. And when I get back, it'll be like I never left. So take care of yourself. And make sure that Bastard opens up a bit more, too, huh?"

He whirled around and began to head for the large gate at the entrance of Konoha. Stunned, the rosette could only watch the boy walk away from her. She knew she had closed the gap between them, and yet, still, she could only watch his back.

She'd had enough.

"You Idiot~!"

He fell in exasperation from the insult.

He heard footsteps from behind him and saw the girl staring down at him with an angry glare on her features. "How is it you can leave everyone speechless, like that?"

"Sakura-chan…?"

"Besides, I can't let you go off on your own. As I'm sure you've noticed, I have been given a mission from Hokage-sama." She reached into her pouch and stuffed a parchment with the unmistakable insignia of the Hokage's stamp into his questioning hand.

"What's this?"

"Just read it!"

He glanced down at the paper quizzically and began to read:

September 10, Year XX89

S-Class

Uzumaki Naruto acquired a treasured Crystal Stone pendant given to me from the First Hokage, long ago, and has yet to return it. Unless he returns it or repays the funds equal in amount to the value of this Crystal Stone, he is not allowed to leave Konohagakure.

Confusion, then rage, welled up inside the ninja's chest, directed at the leader of the Hidden Leaf Village. "Who the hell does she think she is!?" he roared, crumpling the order in his hands. "I won that bet, fair and square! And now she's looking for more money to waste—"

"Finish the whole thing!" Sakura ordered.

Begrudgingly, he unfurled the mission description and continued reading:

In the event Uzumaki Naruto escapes the village without following these two conditions, the Hokage's First Apprentice, Haruno Sakura, is to maintain pursuit until he returns to Konohagakure.

Signed and Sealed by,

Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato,

Tsunade-baa-chan

Naruto speechlessly stared at the rag in his hands, when he heard footsteps in front of him. He dumbly lifted his head and stared wide-eyed at the figure in front of him. Sakura now had a backpack of her own with a futon mattress tied to the top of it and a pouch of ninja tools tied to her belt.

She raised her hand cheerfully. "I'm Haruno Sakura!" she introduced. "I hope we can be good teammates!"

A weight lifted off of Naruto's chest and, with it, laughter sang in the night's breeze. "I guess I can't very well decline a mission given by the Most Reverent Hokage, now, can I? Was I that obvious?"

Sakura put a finger to her lip in though. "Well, let's just say we weren't the only ones who noticed you thinking about leaving the village."

"Oh?" His gaze returned to the parchment in his hands, reading it over and hardly believing it to be true, when he noticed the date. When midnight passed, it was October 11th.

Visions of the one-on-one meetings he had with all the friends and family he had made in Konoha flashed in his mind's eyes. Kakashi had taken him out for training, one day. Iruka bought him all the ramen he could eat, another. Konohamaru and his friends helped escort Inari and Tazuna after they helped rebuild part of the city. Shikamaru took him cloud watching then joined with Chouji, who took him out to the barbeque. Naruto was even allowed to eat the last piece of meat, at Chouji's insistence. Ino gave him a book filled with healing herbs he could find on his journey for various cuts and bruises and answered any questions he had. Sai gave him a new picture book, filled with various pictures of his friends and all their adventures. Sasuke sparred with him all day, one day. Kiba took Naruto to see Akamaru's puppies and even named one after the blonde. Shino took him bug hunting on the Hokage Monument. Guy and Lee had Naruto join them (albeit, unwillingly) in doing 5,000 laps around the village on their hands. Tenten taught him different ways to use weapons and even gave him a useful summoning scroll filled with tools he could use on his journey. Neji took him to visit his Father's memorial, followed by an eventful dinner at the Hyuuga Estate. And then, of course, Hinata gave him the date at the festival.

"We… really have great friends, huh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto announced.

She nodded firmly, when a series of fireworks went off above the village entrance. The pair raced over to the entrance to see everyone in the village formed into rows clapping and cheering madly at the blonde for his work. He noticed Sakura wave hesitantly at a pair of crying adults with odd hairstyles that he could only guess were her parents.

"What's… going on?"

Sakura snorted in exasperation at him. "C'mon, Naruto! This festival was to celebrate the unification of the Great Nations and bringing peace to the world. Who do you think did all of that?"

Backslaps and chants were abundant as they made their way through the sea of people and closer to the forest. Coming into view at the back of the mass of people were the friends who had already said their farewells to the duo. Most of them were happily smiling at the pair, though a few couldn't stop the tears from falling at them.

Konohamaru was one of the few who couldn't stop crying. "Do you really have to go, Chief!?" Ebisu tapped his shoulder in gentle admonishment. "Yeah…I know…" He wiped his eyes firmly.

Ino smiled at him. "Don't worry; Sakura will have him whipped by the time they get back."

Sakura pursed her lips and turned away as she reddened in embarrassment, while Naruto chuckled heartily at her expense. She glared daggers back at them, but softened her gaze when she heard someone call out to the blonde.

"Naruto!"

The genin turned towards the owner of the voice, Sasuke. He was smirking arrogantly at the ex-jinchuriki, who returned the gaze firmly after a moment. Those present wondered if there was an entire discussion that went on between the two, but no words were exchanged in the glances they gave.

Sasuke held out a hand to the blonde, which the boy slapped vigorously in a greeting.

"I'm going!"

"Right."

xxx

It couldn't have been more than an hour when daybreak finally came, when Naruto and Sakura could no longer hear the cheers for them as they disappeared into the forest. They didn't say a word to each other in that time, merely content being in each other's presence.

It was here, though, that Sakura realized she had no idea where they were headed. Interested in this knowledge, she spoke up. "So, where are we headed?"

The boy shut his eyes tightly in thought at her question, looking for an answer. After a while, he simply shrugged. "Wherever our feet take us!" he enthusiastically affirmed.

She gave him a bemused stare at his answer. "That's rather…cliché."

He chuckled. "What's the hurry? We can go wherever we want; there's no rush. What's important is that we have a place we can go home to." He stopped and turned to face her. "Right, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura contemplated Naruto's form for a long breath, before returning the bright smile he so readily gave others for confidence. "Yeah…you're right, Naruto." They both turned to the last vestiges of the village; the Hokage Monument.

That's right…

No matter where we may end up…

No matter how far we travel…

We will always come back to this wonderful place…

This place we call, 'Home'.