Hiya faithful readers! This story is drawing to a close, and there will be no room for a sequel to tell the truth. I'd estimate that there are approzimately anywhere from three to five chapters remaining, with three being the absolute minimum. Don't worry, I will no stop writing awesome Naruto stuff when I'm done. To be honest, I've got another story I'm orking one at the moment, a Gundam Wing one at that.

Naruto had his little belongings packed and ready to go. He didn't need much really, so he had a small backpack. He just needed some light provisions for the trip to wherever Gaara would be leading him…

There would be no return trip for him and his friend from the Sand.

It was nightfall, and the sun had only just completed its setting. Night was just fine for Naruto. It would help him get out without anyone stopping him to say hello or talk with him or anything like that. He didn't want to have to deal with any of his friends on the way out of town, as it would be far too awkward for him.

He zipped up his pack and left his apartment with a heavy sigh. This was his home, and he would be leaving it. Most everything was still in its messy state, as he didn't feel the need to clean any of it anymore. While packing up to leave, he wrote a letter and left it in his apartment where someone would find it.

It was his will.

Writing your will was actually a funny concept to Naruto. He sat writing everything down that he could think of. What made it even more amusing was that he didn't really have much to give away. Just a bunch of junk really. He wrote that Haruno Sakura had first dibs to pick whatever she wanted before anything was taken.

After that, everything was for the most part to be donated or sold for the benefit of Konoha. He had a few pictures of people, like a picture of his team, and a picture of himself and Iruka together at the Ramen bar. Such pictures were willed to whoever was in the pictures besides himself. His old goggles he willed to Konohamaru, the little punk that practically idolized him.

His membership card to the Ichiraku Ramen bar, which gave him benefits every now and then after buying a certain amount of Ramen, he also willed to Iruka. He wasn't sure if Iruka loved Ramen as much as he did, but he was glad that his teacher was always willing to share a few moments with him anyway.

The apartment was the hardest thing to come to a decision about. He figured he could have it auctioned if Sakura didn't want it, so he wrote in his will that he wanted Sakura to decide its fate.

Sakura.

Their last night together was a scary one, though it was equally happy. Sakura asked him the day that he'd told her of his fate if she could spend one last night with him before he left. He obliged, and they went back to his apartment that night to be alone.

Naruto felt that he wanted to take the occurrences of that night with him to the grave. No one would know, except him and Sakura. He knew it was considered wrong for people as young as he and Sakura to have a sexual relationship… but neither he nor Sakura really cared. It was a night he would take with him to his death as the best night of his life. It was the night that they sealed their bond of love. Sakura, naturally, was timid at first, as was Naruto, but they got over it and professed their love for each other with the ultimate act of bonding.

Naruto was slowly and calmly walking down the dimly lit streets of Konoha now. He was going to leave, once again, and this time was the last. He wasn't going to come back. He reached the forest edge of the village. Once he left, there was no returning. No one would know what happened to him, except for Sakura.

He had to make her swear not to tell anyone about his condition and how he was going to die fighting Akatsuki. She finally did swear, and Naruto trusted her fully to keep the secret. He knew he could trust her and have faith in her. He smiled to himself as he looked at the town he was never going to see again as a living being.

"Everything is in Konoha," he said to himself. "All the people and things that I love live in this town. Every now and then, I felt like I just didn't belong… but there's no doubt in my mind that this is my home, where I was meant to be. Konoha, everyone, I will miss you more than you can know, probably more than you will miss me."

Naruto snapped to a straight stance and saluted the village for a second, a smile a mile wide across his face. He wasn't faking the smile. This was most likely his most genuine smile ever. He was remembering everything he was going to leave behind, bringing forth all the memories he loved and thinking about everyone he loved.

Iruka took the giant shuriken to the back to save his life when he was so young, and he explained Naruto's inheritance of the demon fox…

The team assignments were announced after he had graduated from the academy, and he was overjoyed at being with his crush, Haruno Sakura, and only slightly intimidated at being in a team with the legendary Uchiha Sasuke.

Then there was the time that Sasuke dove in front of him and took the attack meant for him in the wave country. Sasuke died in his hands, sending him over the edge to fight and pummel that kid who did it to him. And then the joy at realizing Sasuke was going to be okay.

Sakura and Sasuke then shared their bowls of Ramen with him so that he wouldn't starve as a result of failing the training exercise. "You guys!" shouted Kakashi, appearing out of nowhere… "Pass."

So many memories flooded his head concerning his friends. He saw all his teammates fight so well in the Genin selection tournament, and then there was the time he became friends with Gaara and the Sand Siblings. There was his first encounter with Tsunade, meeting the soon to be Hokage of Konoha and making that bet with her…

Tears were coming to his eyes, but he wasn't crying. He was loving every minute that he stood there, recalling all his precious memories of Konoha and its residents. "What a place this is," he whispered. "I promise every one of you in this town that I will not die in vain. My death… will have meaning. I will bring a stop to Akatsuki and Orochimaru so that you can all live without any worry. It's a promise, and it will be kept."

Naruto lowered his hand from the salute and stood at ease. "Because that is my ninja way."

End Chapter Twelve

This is a short chapter I guess, but I wanted to get this inspirational fluffy shit out of the way first. This, again, is one of my favorite chapters, just because it's supposed to be so emotional and touching. I don't know, maybe it's not as touching as I thought it was. I'm not too good at the emotional descriptiveness, but I think I'm at least a little talented. (No, I'm not an egotist)

So I hope you all liked it. More surprises are to come still, so stay tuned.