Author's Note: Alright, for those of you who wanted to add in a "Well, DUH

Author's Note: Alright, for those of you who wanted to add in a "Well, DUH!! It's RYU!!" after the last chapter, humor me please. Let's just see how it ends, huh? I'm actually kind of sad to end this. It's been really fun, writing this. It's definitely given me a lot of practice with drama and story lines, that's for sure!! But, OH MY FREAKIN' GOSH!! IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER!! I'm flipping out!! This is the first story that I've written that I've actually finished!! This is HUGE!! The magazine that I help with is finished up too! YES-NESS!! editor whispers into her ear The announcement? Oh yeah! clears her throat Okay!! There will TWO more Ryu stories! Exciting, yes? And so you people can keep up with with good ol' Ryu Akihara I will tell you the title of the next story... At the end of the chapter. XD Happy Reading!!

- Ryu

Until The Wind Changes

Ryu wiped her forehead as she looked at all of her belongings in front of her. Things were scattered around her room in slightly organized piles, the really important stuff being in front of her and on her bed and everything else going down in importance the farther away it got away from her bed. Al had situated himself between her jewelry box and her now-padded chakram while Raikera sat next to her, her tail twitching as she watched what her mistress did. She was packing with a heavy heart, but with some will. Dr. Masuda had asked her to come with him on an expedition to the snow country, and how could she say no?

She was starting to miss them too, her makeshift family of her mother's oldest friend and an adopted little brother. Plus, according to Lady Tsunade, she could leave for a little while if she wanted to... She pushed her hair back as it fell past her face since she had decided not to tie it back that day thinking back to that morning. Or at least that's what she had said...

She had sat there in front of the hokage's desk, in a chair that was slightly bigger then herself, feeling extra small with the very tall and strong sanin in front of her. Though because of her being in the hospital so many times, she knew she didn't have to be scared of Tsunade; she did, however, have a cowing presence to Ryu when she wasn't stuck in a hospital bed. The woman had cleared her throat and folded her hands.

"Well, Ryu Akihara," she had begun. "I was going to tell you this on the day you left for the temple, but certain things happened so..."

She brushed that matter aside very quickly.

"Anyway, after many reviews of your training and abilities here in the Leaf Village in such a short time when compared to others of your rank, and in consideration of your performance during the third exam..."

The woman had paused, as the girl's eyes seemed to get larger with every word.

"Uh... I'm very honored to say you've proved capable of becoming a chunin of the Leaf. If you choose so, that is." Tsunade finished.

Ryu took a moment to absorb the information, her eyes slowly returning to their normal almond-shaped size.

"What do you mean, if I choose to accept it?!" she had nearly shouted. "Of course I'm gonna accept it! Wow!! Thank you so much!!"

She had felt like she could start flying around the room right now. She had done it!! She was a chunin!

"Do I get the vest now, or later?" she suddenly asked. Tsunade looked like she might cringe.

"Well, there's a slight problem with that. You see, we don't have a size small enough for you right now so..."

The girl's spirits visually drooped. Tsunade had then reached behind her desk.

"But! I know your friends with Kiba, so I thought you might have fun with this..."

They had continued to talk for a while, discussing her plans for the future, including her going to the snow country. Tsunade had actually encouraged her to go, proposing her to be a sort of ambassador to the princess to help strengthen ties with the recovering nation. Ryu looked over at the chunin vest thrown on the table. She was supposed to give it to Kiba as a surprise, and she couldn't wait to do it. But she wasn't sure how to tell him that she was leaving.

He was her best friend... She felt like she was supposed to be really sad about leaving, but she wasn't somehow. After all, she knew she was coming back. She had to complete her training and continue the Akihara clan in the Leaf Village. She just hoped Kiba felt the same.

What if he was really upset? He had just gotten her back a few days ago since the Orochimaru incident so she didn't know how well he would take it. She looked out the window, seeing that the sun was starting to set. She had sent a message over to Kiba's place to meet her at the fountain in the square; he knew which one she was talking about. She wanted to laugh as she thought of it that way.

Konoha really had become her second home, just like she had hoped it would become on her way here a couple months ago. She picked up her bag and put Al's ribbon around his neck and put Raikera on her leash; she figured Akumaru might want to say goodbye too. She walked out the door, half realizing that Raikera's back was nearly to her hips now, and hoping that she wouldn't freak out any people walking in the street. Her mind went to her team as she walked along to the fountain. She hadn't told them anything just yet, and she was leaving tomorrow afternoon.

To make things a little worse, they were all off on a mission today and wouldn't be back until tomorrow evening. She absolutely had to leave something for Guy and everyone else, especially TenTen. She started to go through the memories of what happened between all of them, trying to think of something that included all of them. When she got to the square, the clock tower was striking seven, and she looked around the square. The post office was still open, and she could see the fried rice stand she had gone to the first day she had been in Konoha. And there was Kiba, sitting on the fountain ledge with Akumaru next to him. He turned around to see her before she could say anything.

"Hey there!" he said. He jumped up and couldn't resist giving her a hug.

Ryu hadn't realized how worried he had been about her until after she had gotten out of the hospital. This seemed to only stoke the small fire of worry in her. How was she going to tell him? She hugged him back.

"Hi!" she happily said back, and took a seat next to him.

Al leaped up onto her lap while Raikera lied down at her feet, calmly looking around the square. Kiba watched the tiger, seeing that she was quickly losing her kitten demeanor and starting to acquire the dignified air of a tiger. He then looked to Ryu, noticing that she had her hair down, and not in the ponytail it usually was in. It fell a little past her shoulders and looked not as ragged as it usually did and was quickly taking a curl to the night air.

"So," he said, "What's this announcement you've got?"

Ryu blinked, hoping that her eyes weren't betraying her.

"I..." She started, feeling locked by his expectant eyes.

"I became a chunin!" she finished. The inner Ryu smacked her forehead. Doh!! Lost my nerve!!

"What?! Really?! Oh, wow, Ryu!! That's great!!" he exclaimed. He jumped up, pulling on her wrist. "Come on!! Forget the fountain, we've got to go celebrate!"

Ryu laughed. "I'm not done yet!!" she said, standing up.

She gave him a mischievous smile, her eyes sparkling wickedly. Kiba raised an eyebrow, wondering what exactly was going on.

"I need you to close your eyes though!"

He patiently obliged, and heard a rustling. He then heard Akumaru take an excited breath, but Ryu quickly shushed him. The presence of something in front of him was then there.

"Okay! You can open 'em!!" said Ryu, her voice nearly bursting with giddiness.

He opened his eyes and was greeted by the signature red circle of a chunin vest. Ryu looked around it, grinning crookedly.

"Ta-dah!!" she sang.

He blinked at the vest. "Who's this for?" he said stupidly, not quite believing it.

Ryu put the vest down and bopped on the forehead.

"You, silly!! Who else?!"

He blinked once more then jumped up, crowing happily.

"Yahoo!!" he shouted into the air. He quickly grabbed Akumaru, practically dancing on top of the fountain.

"We did it, Akumaru!! We did it!! I'm a chunin!!"

He jumped down from the fountain, and picked Ryu up, spinning her around in the air.

"This is so cool!! My mom's gonna completely freak out!!" he said excitedly. "Okay, now we have to go celebrate!! For both you and me!"

He started forward again, but Ryu stayed where he had put her down, looking anxiously down at the ground. Akumaru whined to him, and he stopped. He turned around.

"Ryu? What's the matter?" he asked.

"Um... There's something else..." she said. She sat back down on the fountain. "I'm leaving."

Kiba's happiness high suddenly stalled out. "What?"

She looked up at him, giving him a pained smile. "I'm leaving Konoha tomorrow with Dr. Masuda and Inu." she said.

Kiba numbly sat down. "Oh..."

That was all he could really say or think. Just 'Oh.', and that was it. Akumaru immediately started to whine, crawling over to Ryu and putting his head in her lap. She started to pet him gently. Kiba studied the ground, absorbing the information.

The fountain bubbled playfully, willingly filling the sad silence. He tapped his foot, and Ryu bit her lip. She reached over, and lightly touched his hand. He looked at her.

"Why?" he asked her, his eyes tinged with sadness.

"He needs me to go with him to the snow country." she explained. Though explaining didn't seem to be making her feel better about this. "Apparently the weather change is making all the snow and ice spirits go a little crazy."

"Crazy how?"

"Like causing avalanches, floods, and killer blizzards crazy."

Kiba's eyes widened at that. "Oh..." he said again. "That kind of crazy..."

"Yeah..."

Another sad silence, and she looked at him, giving him another wane smile.

"I'm coming back though; I have to. I just don't know when..." she said, letting the sentence trail off. Akumaru whined some more in her lap, licking her right wrist.

She scratched the top of his head. Kiba sighed, getting up. He looked around the square, hands on his hips. He kicked the ground with the tip of his sandal.

"Well..." he started to say. He then took his coat off, revealing the white t-shirt he wore underneath.

He then held the coat out to her.

"It's gonna be cold up in those mountains, so you might need this," he said.

Ryu's mouth dropped open.

"B... But, Kiba!! I can't take this!!" she said, completely blown away.

He looked at her flatly. "Ryu, I have another at my house just like it. I'm pretty sure I'll be just fine without this one." he said convincingly.

Ryu took the coat, not knowing what to say. She then jumped up, leaping into his arms.

"Oh, Kiba! Thank you so much!!" she said as she hugged him so tightly he thought he heard a rib crack.

He was actually lying about the coat, but Ryu didn't know that and he wanted her to take it. It wouldn't matter how long she was gone now, she would always have that to remind her of him. He was starting to think about getting something different anyway, but he liked her having it more then throwing it away. He smiled down at her.

"Now you have to come back so you can pay me back for the coat!"

"Oh!! I'm going to miss you so much!!" she said, burying her forehead in his chest. She then looked up at him, smiling crookedly. "You're one of my best friends here!! I'm going to send you a letter every day!!"

His smile became broader. "Yeah, well, I try! So, you wanna go celebrate now? There's no night like tonight!"

She then let go of him, laughing. "Okay!" she said.

She quickly skipped forward towards the restaurant district.

"Come on!! I'll race you to every ice cream place around here!!"

The boy hooted with laughter. "Alright! Let's go party!!"

He raced over to her, followed by the animals, and they started their trek around the district. Kiba donned his new chunin vest and Ryu pulled his coat on so the night air wouldn't get to her in her tank top. The bottom nearly reached her knees and the arms flopped over her hands a few inches, but she didn't care. Ryu was laughing and smiling, her heart glowing. She knew now it didn't matter how long it took her to get back to the village, her and Kiba would stay friends through the time.

And she would send him letters every day! Or at least once a week now that she thought of it. Sending him a letter every day might be hard considering how boring life seemed to get as soon as you started to record it. They might be a little sad since they couldn't see each other, but neither of them would forget the other. Either way, she wanted the memory of this night to be a good one as she prepared to celebrate their new rank and say goodbye with cheer with one of her best friends.

It actually wasn't until eleven at night that Ryu was able to get home. Her and Kiba had lost track of time until he had realized his mother might murder him before he could tell her he had become a chunin. He had walked her home as usual, and they had shared one final hug before they said goodnight to each other for the last time. Ryu flopped down on her bed, exhausted. Raikera had already claimed the sofa, and Al curled up next to her. She looked out her window at the huge full moon that threatened to swallow the sky.

Gaara sat on top of the temple, looking out over Konoha. He had almost forgotten how much thinking he was able to do every night, and it was one of those nights. He was still trying to sort out the new feelings he had so suddenly discovered. He was in love... With Ryu.

After his talk with Temari, everything had made so much sense. The way he felt around her, and how he liked to be around her so much. Now all he had to do was figure out what to do with these feelings for now. The most he had done in Konoha was make use of their library, and he had read a few books where romance was involved. It usually went two ways: spectacularly well, or completely disastrous.

Then there was Temari and Shikamaru, and he ended up comparing them with Kankuro's ex-girlfriends. He sighed as he stared at the moon. What am I going to do...? he thought, trying to keep the indecision at bay. He couldn't just leave it this way; feeling like this and going back to Suna, and leaving her here with... Kiba.

He couldn't help, but feel nervous at that thought. She was so easy with him, and he made her laugh and smile. She was so happy and energetic with him. He thought back to the exam and how fiercely he had fought to keep that Grass ninja away from her. He couldn't really compete with Kiba; they were on completely different levels. And what could he offer her? His scarred humanity and half-paralyzed heart. He sighed into the night.

"You are the hardest person to find, you know that?"

He turned at the sound of Ryu's voice, and saw her standing a few feet away on the temple's tiled roof. She walked over and sat next to him, swinging her legs over the edge of the building.

"I thought I might have to search the whole village to find you." she said, smiling at him as she did. He couldn't help but blink at her.

"Where... How... Your hair's down." he finally said, feeling stupid at the statement.

Ryu laughed as she touched her slightly wavy hair. "Yeah, well, I decided to let it down for a while. It's been a long time..."

A small glow started in his chest as his heart did a tiny leap in joy. She was looking for me! Yay! he thought he heard it whisper.

"Why were you looking for me?" he asked her. There had to be a reason.

The girl looked down at the far away ground, swinging her legs back and forth. He waited for her to answer, trying to read her eyes. The lights had dimmed the slightest bit, and she twisted her lips in a way he hadn't seen before. She then looked up at the moon.

"Well... I kinda have something to tell you..." she said, sounding sad.

She looked over at him, slightly surprised by the light expression of concern on his face.

"What's the matter?" he suddenly asked her. Her eyes got a little wider at this question. She bit her lip.

"I'm leaving Konoha," she finally said. Funny, why did her heart feel sadder then it did when she was talking to Kiba?

Was it because of the reassurance that she would see him again in the future, and that she had none when it came to Gaara? Gaara was suddenly split into threes; one was happy that she wouldn't be left with Kiba, one was sad that she was leaving a place where he could find her, and the last was just starting to suffer from a broken heart. He then understood why the lights had dimmed in her eyes.

"When?" he asked quietly.

"Tomorrow."

He looked at her, alarmed. She looked at him, smiling a little painfully. Gaara felt like he was going to fall off the temple he was lightly swimming in sudden feelings. A pit was starting gnaw it's way where his heart was.

"That's... Really soon," he said numbly.

"Yeah, it is..."

She drew her legs up, bring her knees up to her chest.

"You know," she said. "It felt different, telling Kiba today, but now I'm telling you and it feels... Like I might never see you again."

Gaara didn't know what to say. He was a little busy in his own mind, trying to steady his breathing.

"Ryu..." He took a breath, and looked at her. She had already looked over at him when he had said her name.

"Um... I... Love you."

In Ryu's head, the world seemed to stop for a moment. She blinked, trying to wrap her head around this sudden information. Gaara loved her? She then realized he had continued after his proclamation and shook herself awake to listen.

"I've loved you the moment I saw you, I just didn't know it yet. It took me a while to realize it, but I love you. And..." He took another breath. "The problem is, I don't really know what to do with myself now..."

They hadn't stopped staring at one another. He was having a little trouble reading her face. She hadn't slapped him yet or started shouting or stomped off so those were good signs. Ryu didn't know what to say for once in her life. Except that she couldn't help but think that that was the most she had ever heard Gaara say in one full moment.

And then it finally struck her; a boy was actually in love with her. She suddenly looked away from him, completely embarrassed and not knowing what to do. Gaara tried to look into her face, and saw that a full blush was starting on her face. He had never seen her blush before. He had seen her laugh, smile, cry, and shout in anger, but she had never seen her blush.

"Ryu?" he tentively asked. She looked at him, her hands going to her face to try and hide the blush.

"Um... I... Uh... Oh, jeez..."

She felt so silly, and shy, and embarrassed... And completely clueless as to what she was supposed to do.

"Are... Are you sure?" she asked, and then immediately regretted opening her mouth.

Good Lord, what a stupid question!! He had just confessed to her, of course he was sure! Idiot! Idiot!! Idiot!! she couldn't help but shout at herself. Gaara smiled shyly.

"Yes, I'm sure," he said with his soft as ash voice. She suddenly thought she might faint as he looked at her.

For some reason she was seeing him in a different light. She had always seen him in this sort of way, but had kept it from herself. Then again, she had always known him to be handsome, and she liked how quiet and soft he was compared to her. He was a break from what she usually knew, and she always felt... Safe when she was around him. She had always been searching as to how she felt around him and she had finally found the word. He made her feel safe and... Oh, he was still waiting for an answer wasn't he?

"I... Oh, Gaara, I really, really don't know what to do..." she said, looking at him pleadingly. "I mean... "

"Ryu?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

She stared at him. Her heart and lips moved before her brain could catch up.

"Sure,"

Gaara leaned forward, gently took her chin, and kissed her. Ryu's heart skipped a couple beats. It was quick, and was over in an instant as he pulled away from her. She thought she felt her face turn bright red in embarrassment, but she suddenly laughed. Gaara blinked in surprise.

"What is it? Did I do something...?" he started, but Ryu shook her head, giggling.

"It tickled!" she said, smiling. "That tickled so much!! And... I'm sorry, but I had to do something to break that silence! I couldn't stand it anymore, and I still don't know what to do or anything and... I'm babbling, aren't I?"

Gaara nodded, and she giggled again.

"So... You don't mind?" he asked, looking a bit unsure. She shook her head, blushing a little again.

"No, I don't... I think... I think I always knew," she said, finally getting her head back on her shoulders. She smiled shyly at him. "And... I think I love you too."

At this she blushed again. Gaara thought he might start shouting for joy. He got closer to her.

"Really?" he asked hopefully. She nodded, still blushing.

They were so close together that she tilted her head so her lips could catch his. Instead of him kissing her like before, she was kissing him. His eyes widened in reaction, and he kissed her back. He wrapped his arms around her and she hugged him. She stopped the kiss, and looked into his face. Her heart finally decided to quiet down, and she sighed quietly as she let him hold her against him. So, this is what my mom found, she thought. I like it... Her heart glowed happily as he gently held her.

"I love you, Gaara," she finally said.

He smiled as wide as he could.

"I love you, Ryu,"

TenTen reached over to her right foot as she stretched on the ground, warming up for the day's training. She had meant to go see Ryu the night before, but had been too tired to even get up for dinner. Both Guy and Lee had exhausted her with their usual vigorous gusto, though Lee hadn't been as excitable as Guy. She looked over at the meditating Neji, and then over to Lee who was stretching as well. She turned as she heard Guy enter the area and saw that he was carrying two boxes and a few letters in his hands.

"Team, I've got an announcement," he said. He usually sounded happy and excited when he had an announcement, but he sounded grave with this one. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stood up.

"As of today, Ryu will no longer be training with us."

TenTen blinked, completely shocked. She half-thought that this was what a boat being shot out of the water might feel.

"What?" Lee said, letting all their shock speak through his mouth. "Why?"

She tried not to become too depressed as she listened to her sensei explain.

"She's gone back with her guardian, Dr. Masuda, on a mission in the snow country. After that, she intends to finish her training with him, and then she'll return here. We just don't know when..."

A general depressed silence took the area. They would all miss her in their own way. Guy gestured to the boxes and letters in his hands.

"She left all of this for you," he said. He went around and gave them each a letter and a box, except for Neji who only got a letter.

TenTen looked over at him, who was turning the lumpy letter over in his hands. He looked over at her, shrugged his shoulders, and opened his letter. Guy then set down the largest box in front of her. TenTen quickly opened the letter before she opened the box, and started to read.

Dear TenTen,

I'm sorry I wasn't able to say goodbye to you. I felt really bad about leaving all of you without even an explanation or a warning. You made me feel very welcome here in the village and on the team. I know I've left a real friend waiting for me when I get back. So I decided to leave you something that I knew you'd love. The Doc sent them to me from Oto, but I never got the chance to use them. But I thought you might have more fun with them then I would. Enjoy!

Your Friend,

Ryu

P.S. Don't let Lee shake his box!!

TenTen quickly looked up from the letter to see Lee getting ready to do just that. She was about to jump up and stop him when the boy noticed that there were air holes punched in the box. Ryu had left him something that was alive. Lee very gently opened the box.

"Oh!"

TenTen, Neji, and Guy went over to see what was in the box. It was a baby tortoise, happily munching on a small lettuce leaf that had been left in the box with him. Lee reached in and petted the shell.

"Aw! He's so cute!" TenTen said as she peered in.

The boy then very carefully scooped up the tiny reptile. The tortoise quickly pulled itself into it's shell. Lee held it up to his eyes, trying to look non-threatening.

"It's okay," he coaxed. "I won't hurt you."

It timidly came out, and TenTen looked to Neji.

"What did you get?" she asked him.

He held up a beaded necklace. Every bead had a different symbol on it.

"She says it's supposed to bring good fortune," he said, sounding like he didn't really believe her claims. "But I don't know about that..."

Lee looked over at her. "What about you, TenTen? What did she leave you?"

TenTen finally picked up her box, and opened it. She let out a shriek of joy when she saw what was in it. A pair of gleaming red chakram had been carefully packed into the box. She took them out and held them up.

"Look, look, look!!" she nearly shouted.

The chakram earned an impressed "Ooh." from the trio of boys. She started to immediately practice with them, trying to figure out how they worked and which way they spun best. Guy watched his students reminisce about their friend in their own way. He was going to miss her too.

But in the letter she had left him a promise to write to all of them, and tell them when she expected to come back. She promised it wouldn't be long.



Final Author's Note: TA-DAH!! The end!! Well, that's it for this story, thanks for sticking around, folks! And now for the title and preview of the next Ryu Akihara story, Letters From Suna. I hope you guys have fun with the extras I left too!