Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom or Naruto!
"NANI?" The four genin asked incredulously.
"It's time for Danny to return home," Sarutobi calmly repeated. "You didn't think he was going to remain here forever, did you? The reason he came was so that he'd learn the skills necessary to defeat Vlad and his sharingan." Danny sighed and turned to face his three friends.
"He's right," he said. "As much as I've enjoyed being here, I have to face Vlad eventually."
"But…why now?" Sakura asked.
"Danny is at the level of an advanced genin, he possesses a bloodline limit, and he is proficient in two forms of tai-jutsu. I believe him to be sufficiently prepared," the Hokage replied shortly. "Come back here in half an hour's time, after you've packed your things, in order to return home." Danny nodded and left the hokage's office, and Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto followed him.
"It's gonna be weird not having you around," Naruto stated.
"We're all going to miss you," Sakura asserted.
"Hn."
"I'm going to miss you all too," Danny said. "I only wish I could stay here for longer…" The four of them approached Naruto's apartment building. They climbed the stairs and Naruto unlocked the door, and lead all of them inside.
"Naruto, this place is a mess," Sasuke noted upon seeing all of the partially-unrolled scrolls and empty instant-ramen cups everywhere. Naruto shrugged. Danny threw all of his spare fishnet undershirts, t-shirts, pairs of pants, kunai, and shuriken into a black bag, as well as a whetstone he'd gotten in order to keep his weapons sharp. He patted the weights on his arms and legs, and the weapons pouches on his right thigh and waist in order to make sure they were still there, and then stood up.
"That's pretty much everything," he said, then checked his watch. "We still have twenty minutes until we have to meet the hokage. What do you want to do?"
"I say we go for one last cup of ramen!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke and Sakura sighed, and Danny shrugged.
"Fine by me." The four of them left the apartment and went over to Ichiraku's. The stand was empty, so they took four stools next to each other.
"I'll have one Miso Ramen!" Naruto said.
"Can I get a Beef Ramen?" Danny asked.
"Pork Ramen, please," Sakura and Sasuke chorused. They waited a couple of minutes, then Ayame came over and placed the ramen in front of them. They each broke apart a pair of chopsticks and dug in. Afterwards, Danny paid for them.
"You don't have to pay for us!" Sakura exclaimed.
"What am I going to do with this money once I get back? They don't accept ryou in Amity Park," Danny replied with a shrug. He tossed the bag to Naruto. "Consider it my rent." Naruto opened and closed his mouth silently, much like a fish out of water, as they stood up and left. They were walking down the street when Danny noticed something out of the corner of his eye.
"Come on out, Hinata," he said. The shy girl blushed and came out from her hiding place behind the telephone pole.
"K-konichiwa," she stuttered. "Wh-what's the bag for, Danny?"
"Oh, this?" he asked as he shifted the bag's position on his shoulder. "Well, as much fun as I've had staying here with you guys, it's time for me to go home now. We're on our way to see the hokage before I go. Do you want to join us?" She nodded and fell into step with them, and the five genin made their way over to Hokage Tower.
They entered the large building and headed for Sarutobi's office. Once there, the hokage was about to speak when all of a sudden, the door slid open and a bawling Lee entered.
"Is it true that my student must leave Konoha?" He wailed.
"Yes, Lee, it's true," Sarutobi sighed.
"But the Flames of Youth burn so brightly in him! It would be such a shame if he were to leave at this point!"
"Lee, I have to go home now…it's not up to me," Danny said. "Listen, I loved training with you, I really did, but I can't stay." Lee hiccupped and slowly stopped crying. Just then, a circle of bright blue light popped into existence right next to Danny.
"Clockwork…" he muttered. "This portal should take me back to right after you brought me here," he explained. He turned to face everyone. "I'm really going to miss you," he said. All of a sudden, Sakura and Hinata ran up and hugged him.
"We'll miss you too, Danny," Sakura said. Danny smirked and flickered intangible for just long enough for the girls to pass right through him and land on his other side, where Sakura landed on Sasuke's chest and Hinata landed on Naruto's. He smirked as the four of them stood up, blushing profusely.
"It's been a blast," Naruto yelled.
"I shall miss your springtime of youth!" Lee exclaimed. Sasuke gave a small nod and even smaller, yet genuine, smile. Danny gave them one last wave goodbye, and stepped into the portal. As soon as he did so, the portal closed behind them and left the four genin standing in the hokage's office.
"What a great kid…and I bet his ghost powers would've been really useful for peeking…" Sarutobi said to himself.