We are almost done with this story! Just one more chapter. This chapter is going to be a fun and cute and heartwarming chapter and it features only our three favorite students. We will get romance. We will get drama. We will get lots of feels. And we will bid two boys good bye.

Chapter 25: Goodbye to You

Kinako exited the hospital with no sight of wounds or scratches. She didn't really engage her would-be-kidnappers so she didn't have any injuries. The doctor also checked her mental state and she was cleared. Kinako didn't feel any different herself. Sure, she was a bit tired from what happened tonight...maybe even overwhelmed with all the information dumped onto her. But she didn't feel compelled to go out again. She just wanted to go back to her room and go to bed. She wanted to sleep in her home before moving out to her new home with Kiba.

How nice of him to offer a place for her! She was very excited to live with him. She couldn't wait to cook for him and Akamaru. She couldn't wait to come back from training to find him welcoming her home. She couldn't wait to play with Akamaru every day. Kinako felt her face grow hot and she fumbled with her hands. She was going to live with Kiba...a man she owed so much to...and made her heart beat so much.

Kinako walked further out to the streets but she noticed two very familiar chakra gaining close on her. It seemed like these two people were following her. Yet she knew that she was in no danger. She knew these boys.

"Shun-kun? Ryuu-kun?" Kinako turned and smiled, "Why are you following me? It's late."

"I know. Why were you at the hospital? Did you get hurt?" Shun asked with concern.

"Oh. Don't worry about that. I'm fine!" Kinako nervously replied. "It's a long story I can tell you guys later. What are you two doing out? You guys have to leave early tomorrow."

"Well, Dead Last and I want to hang out as a team one last time. We tried to find you at your bakery, but you weren't there. So we went around looking for you until we found you here." Ryuu explained. "Shun and I usually hang out in the woods. Do you want to come?"

Kinako shook her head. "I can't go out to the woods tonight. Stuff happened. How about we go back to my place. I'm supposed to make some food for you guys tomorrow."

"I don't know..." Ryuu frowned.

"C'mon! It'd be fun!" Kinako grabbed his hand and held her hand for Shun. "Do you want to come too?"

A blush rose to Shun's face and he took her hand. "Sure."

So Kinako led her two boys back to her bakery. Along the way, she told them about what happened tonight. Both Shun and Ryuu got pretty worried and asked her a lot of questions. They even offered to convince their sensei to bring her along. Kinako merely shook her head and explained why she couldn't go and why she was safer in Konoha. Her boys finally eased up when they were assured she was safe.

They started asking about her situation afterwards like why her bakery was closing down and why she was moving. Almost immediately, both Shun and Ryuu offered their places to stay.

Kinako still shook her head. "I'm going to live with Inuzuka-san for a while before living on my own. Thank you for your kindness. Really!"

Ryuu shot a look at Shun, who merely glared back. Ryuu just shrugged and backed off from him. He could tell that Shun was a little annoyed that Kinako chose to live with a guy. He could tell that Shun was getting a little jealous.

"Huh? That guy?" Ryuu called her out. "He's an old guy. Are you sure you should be shacking up with him?"

"Inuzuka-san is not old!" Kinako shot back. "I've known him since I was little!"

"Maybe that's his goal since way back when?"

"Ryuu-kun!"

"Gate Jumper, just stop teasing her." Shun said with a sigh. "Kinako, if you're comfortable with him then I see no problem with it. But if you were going through a rough time, you should have contacted us first. We're your teammates for a reason."

"But you guys are chunin now. Shikamaru-sensei said-"

"So? It doesn't matter if we're different ranks. We're not Team Shikamaru if you're not with us." Shun defiantly answered. "Alright Kinako, when we come back, you better be chunin by then."

"Heh. I plan on it!" Kinako smirked back.

She finally brought them to the front entrance of her home. She took them inside the empty bakery and up a set of stairs that led to her apartment. Most of her stuff was packed away, but she still had a lot of packing left to do. The kitchen was still furnished with pots and pans and utensils necessary for cooking.

Ryuu walked around her apartment a little. "You live in a nice place. I've actually never visited here."

"Yeah...it's too big for one person. That's why I'm moving out." Kinako explained as she grabbed her tools. "So what do you boys want to eat tomorrow? I'm your personal baker tonight! Any sweets or pastries you want, I got you covered!"

Ryuu joined Shun at the kitchen island. "Anything we want huh? Are you sure?" Ryuu cheekily smiled.

"Of course! You boys are going to help me."

"What?" Both boys exclaimed.

Shun retorted, "I don't know how to bake."

"I'll teach you." Kinako began preparing her work space. "Now what do you want? Cake? Brownies? Cookies? Macaroons? Bread?"

"I think brownies and cookies sound good." Ryuu said, knowing those were probably the easiest to bake.

"Okay and I'll bake some cakes for your sensei." Kinako said as she started taking out the flour, sugar, chocolate, and other baking necessities. She handed eggs to Shun and Ryuu. "Okay. I want you to crack four eggs for the cookies, four eggs for the brownies, and two eggs for the cakes. Make sure the cake eggs are separated."

They just stared. "Huh?"

"You guys don't know how to crack eggs? How do you even make breakfast?" Kinako asked in disbelief.

"We don't."

"Well it's not that hard." Kinako cracked a single egg to demonstrate. "See. Just crack and separate the shells. Try not to get the shells in the bowl."

"Ummm…"

"You guys are hopeless!"

Eventually, Kinako was able to get them to learn how to crack eggs. Then, she got them to sift flour, measure baking soda, grate chocolate, combine ingredients, and mix them together. Both boys essentially sucked at their jobs but they tried their best. She had to give them that. And it was also fun to throw flour at them every once a while. Kinako picked up a small pinch a chucked it right at Shun.

"Hey!" Shun yelled out, surprised and annoyed. He was trying to figure out how to use her mixer and she wants to play.

"Oh! So it's going be like that!" Ryuu prepared his hand signals.

"You cause a tornado of flour in my house, I will make you clean all night!" Kinako yelled, making him stop.

"Damn…" Ryuu moved to the side. "You're on your own dude."

Kinako giggled and tried to hit Shun again with a flour bomb. He retaliated by throwing flour back at her and they were chasing each other around the kitchen. Soon, the flour landed on Ryuu and he got in on the flour bombing action. Eventually, the three kids were both tired out and they sat down exhausted on the kitchen floor.

"Wow! That's probably the most fun I've had in a while." Kinako exclaimed. "It's going to be a long time before we get to play like that again."

"Huh? Why's that?" Ryuu asked.

"Well who knows how long you guys are going to be out of the village. We may not be kids anymore when we come back as a team."

"Doesn't matter. We can still have fun." Shun replied back. He knew it was going to be a long while before this team were going to be together again. But he believed that they were still going to be close. True friends are the ones whose friendship has not changed over time. He believed that when they all come together, it would be like they never left.

"Besides, it's going to be fun when we come back all grown up. I'm going to look so hot!" Ryuu said with a smirk.

"Hah! I doubt it." Shun shot back.

"Oh yeah, want to bet Dead Last?"

"Bring it on Gate Jumper!"

Kinako watched the boys argue out like they usually would. She just sat there waiting for them to finish. One thing for sure, these boys will never change their arguing. But she loved them both regardless. At first, she thought the both of them to be jerks. Ryuu was the more jerkish of the two. Shun was just quiet about everything. Now, she found them to be lovable dorks who always try their best to make her happy. They protect her and treat her as an important member of the team. She loved their dynamic and she loved teasing both of them. At first, she was disappointed that she was put in a team with them. Now she was thankful.

But if they keep arguing, they'll run out of time to bake.

Kinako clapped her hands together. "Hey! Stop arguing. We still have a lot of baking to do if you guys want sweets tomorrow."

"Kina-chan. I'm tired!" Ryuu complained.

"Doesn't matter."

Kinako made both of the boys stand up and continue the work. They quickly got cookie dough onto baking sheets, cakes into the tins, and brownies into the trays. Now it was just time to wait for everything to finish. However, Kinako was tired out and she fell asleep with her head buried in her arms at the kitchen island. Ryuu was also yawning. Shun seemed perfectly fine and awake.

Ryuu walked over to Shun. "Hey, I'm going back home to get some rest."

"Okay. I'll stay here until everything is done."

"Alright…" Ryuu glanced over at Kinako's peaceful sleeping body. "Hey, like we've been saying, it's going to be a long time before we see each other...don't you think it's about time to confess to her?"

"Huh!?" Shun jumped.

"Shhhh," Ryuu hushed. "Kina-chan is asleep."

"I don't like her like that!"

"Sure…" Ryuu rolled his eyes. "I'm going to lay this out for you real simple. Kenji has the hots for her too. He's gonna be here in Konoha. So either you make a move soon or regret it when you come back."

Shun didn't say anything back. He only waved good bye to Ryuu who also waved a silent good bye. Ryuu quietly left the apartment, leaving the two teammates alone there.

Shun gazed onto Kinako's sleeping figure illuminated by the moonlight. She looked so peaceful. Shun remembered his time in the Academy with her. She wasn't a popular girl, mostly because she was quiet and didn't speak to anyone. But Shun found her to be strange and when she was put in a team with him, he tried his best to be nice and courteous to her. She turned out to be a very fun person. What a surprise!

But everyone kept teasing him about her. He didn't like her! Absolutely not! She was his teammate! She was a comrade above anything else. But every time some other guy seemed to grab her attention, he always felt a little burn in his stomach, like a small fire ready to burst into flames. What was this? As Shun kept his eye on Kinako, the more he just wanted to…

Ring! Ring! Ring!

Kinako jolted up from the noise. "Oh. It's done!" She groggily rubbed her eyes and saw only Shun there. "Huh? Ryuu-kun left?"

"Eh? Um...yeah. Yeah, he left." Shun stammered out. "I stayed back to help finish these."

"Oh thanks!" Kinako put on some baking mittens and took all the food out. "So let's wrap the cookies and brownies together. I'll decorate the cakes and put the cakes in boxes. One is for Naruto-sensei and the other is for Sasuke-sensei."

"Okay." He carefully followed her instructions and made the care packages.

Every once in a while, Shun looked up to see what Kinako was doing. She was very concentrated on decorating each small cake. She had quite an artistic hand since the cakes looked like they belong in the front of a bakery. Soon, Shun finished and joined her to help decorating.

"Thanks, you've been so helpful." Kinako said as she packed away the cakes.

"Oh it's no problem." Shun looked up at her. "Hey, are you going to be okay without us?"

"Yeah I think so. I have other friends here to keep me company."

"Like Triple B?"

"Yeah. I think they're friends. Sanae is always so sweet to me." Kinako replied with a small smile.

"Hey. I got a secret for you."

"A secret?"

"Did you know that Kenji likes you?"

Kinako was flustered for a second but quickly recomposed herself. "Uh yeah, I knew that already."

"We're not going to be around to protect you from him. What are you going to do?"

Kinako frowned and lightly slapped his arm. "I don't need protection. And I think I'll just be nice to him, like I always do. And if he asks me out, I'll let him down gently."

"You don't want to accept his feelings?"

"No. I don't want to date really." Kinako shook her head. "I don't know...I haven't really thought about dating or romance or anything like that. I probably won't for a while. That's a problem for future Kinako to worry about. Right now, I just want to enjoy my friends and have fun."

"Um yeah...of course."

"Thanks for telling me though."

"No problem."

And so, they packed all the goods up and cleaned up the kitchen. Kinako bid Shun good night.

OoOoO

The chestnut haired girl ran out as fast as she could to the front gates of Konoha. She couldn't be late! She must not be late! She must see her teammates before they leave! Kinako finally appeared with all her presents ready for them. Shikamaru was there. Ryuu and Naruto and Sasuke and Shun were almost ready to leave.

"Wait up!" Kinako yelled as she finally made it. "I'm sorry I'm so late. I was trying not to drop all of this. Here!"

"Thanks. What is it?" Naruto asked as he took a small box.

"We stayed up last night to bake some sweets for the journey." Ryuu answered for her.

"Thanks." Sasuke simply took his gift. "We have to leave soon. Time to say your goodbyes."

"Always the no nonsense guy." Shikamaru said and knelt down before Shun and Ryuu. "Okay boys, be good and do your best out there."

"Yes sensei!"

Shikamaru patted both of their heads. "Alright then, good luck. I'm glad to say that I was your sensei."

Kinako suddenly ran up and hugged both of them. "I'll see you guys in a while?"

"Mhmm! You bet Kina-chan!" Ryuu smirked.

"Yeah, see you soon." Shun said and hugged her back.

Kinako waved goodbye to her boys as they quickly leaped away to make their journey towards the Land of Water. She was going to miss them. But she definitely will catch up to them when they come back. She turned towards her sensei, "Shikamaru-sensei, I'm ready to start training again!"

Shikamaru found himself smiling at his student's eagerness. "Alright, we'll start with a shogi match."

"Yes sensei!"

Timeskip time! Cool thing I'm going to do is that this time skip is going to feel very familiar and there are plenty new characters! Read and review!