Sorry for the late update, guys! FF was giving me trouble for some reason (or maybe it was this hunk of junk I call a computer) so I decided to try again and it was actually able to get my documents into here!
In other news, the convention was a BLAST! It was more than we expected, that's for sure! I'll never forget that day; it definitely cracks my Top Five Greatest Days of My LIFE! We had so much fun, we're planning on going to Sac-Anime with an even BIGGER group (AOD was Kyoko, Nami, our friend Nanashi, and me)! I mean, come on. We got pics of pretty much everyone there (though the pics on Nana's camera got...DELETED! NOOOOO!!!!), we got OUR pics taken, Kyoko and Nana got to skip around with Gaara, we saw Deidara strip, we danced with Naruto and a harem of Sakuras, I fought with Sasori; IT WAS SIMPLY AWESOME! Info about our days will be on the site tomorrow or the next day, because we're all still recovering from coming back from SF only to get homework and projects from our lovely school. (sweatdrop)
Anyway, thanks for the reviews! I'm happy to know that whatever I do, you guys will stick with me till the end! Which is, pretty much, this chapter since the next is a sort of epilogue-ish thing. And as a heads-up to those of you who love romance, I put in a tiny bit of fluff. The rest of you...bear with my corniness. XD Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
The jutsu was to be carried out in the woods; Tsunade wanted a secluded area as to not arouse too much suspicion. (She claimed that any shinobi at genin level, if their perceptive enough, or higher would be able to sense the jutsu being performed, though.) The girls sat waiting near one of the many trees around while the adults drew out the symbolic design into the ground; it seemed to be a cross between a diamond and hexagon with lines crisscrossing inside the shape like spider web. It was taking a fine amount of time, considering the design had to be etched clearly and done several times to make that so.
"You still want to leave, Midori?" Nami asked, matter-of-factly. "We can always decline. It seems pretty dangerous to me."
"And since when are you one to be so cautious?" Midori countered. "They've already started, and I have a feeling Tsunade-sama wouldn't be happy if we declined. And it's not like we belong here. We belong back home in our own world."
Nami sighed. "There's no way to change your mind, huh?"
Before Midori could answer, Kyoko said, "Hey, do you guys hear that?"
Midori and Nami glanced at the adults, who were concentration on the etching of the lines in the ground, then strained their ears to listen. The faint sound of flesh against hard wood sounded continuously, as if someone was hitting a post.
"Sounds like someone's training nearby," Midori deduced. "Maybe we should move…"
"We can't move; they've already started step one!" Kyoko said. "We should see who it is!"
"What for?"
"To know who it is, obviously."
Midori raised an eyebrow.
"Come on! They won't be done for at least three minutes, you know," Nami said. "It'll be something to do."
"We should ask first…"
Nami and Kyoko rolled their eyes.
"Tsunade-baa!" Nami called, gaining the Godaime Hokage's attention, "Can we go check out who's training nearby?"
Tsunade paused, then listened, noticing the barely audibly sounds of pounding in the distance. "What's your reason?"
"So we can…persuade them to leave. You said you wanted to finish before anybody has a chance to show up and make a scene, right?"
"That's true…" Tsunade said, "But I'm only sending one of you."
"What?!"
"It isn't a problem, is it? Something like that would only need one person," Tsunade said intelligently. "So, Midori, you can go. Don't be long; you have a few minutes."
Midori blinked, then stood up and said, "Okay…"
Nami crossed her arms and Kyoko pouted while they watched Midori disappear through the trees.
Midori quietly crept through a group of bushes, following the sound of the increasing thumping noise. She wondered who would be training at this hour; the sky was already beginning to darken. It was definitely one of the boys, she figured. Perhaps it was Naruto…or maybe Lee…
She seemed to have been spotted somehow, for the clamor had stopped. Midori came to a stop as well for a split second. Suddenly, something swiftly descended down from the trees in front of her, scaring the bajeezers out of her. After silencing a choked squeak, Midori said, "Neji? You scared me!"
Neji raised an eyebrow, then questioned, "What are you doing out here?"
His voice sounded indifferent to Midori today. Well, more indifferent than usual.
"Just taking a walk," Midori said.
"Shouldn't you be getting home now?"
Midori was sure he had seen her wince at his statement. Of course, he had meant getting home to the apartment with Nami and Kyoko. What else could he have meant, right? She still felt unsettled.
"What about you? It's getting pretty late, and I think we both should be getting home," Midori said as she racked her brain for a proper excuse to get him out of the woods. He was the last person she'd want to see watching her and her friends leave.
"You're acting strange," Neji said bluntly. "Trying to hide something?"
"No, of course not!" Midori laughed nervously, wondering why in the world Tsunade would send the most unconvincing liar on her team to get rid of someone. She knew by Neji's look that nothing would be able to fool him, especially her. Sighing, she surrendered. "Neji, I have to tell you something."
"I know you're leaving," Neji said with that ever so apathetic look on his face. "I overheard you telling Lee."
"Oh," was all she could muster.
"If that's the reason why you want me to go, just say so," Neji said, turning slightly. "But answer me this: Why hide the fact from me?"
Midori hesitated. "I…I didn't want you to be watching when it happened."
"Why? Did you think I was going to stop you?"
She opened her mouth for a moment, but closed it. What was she supposed to say to that?
"It's your decision," Neji said, "and there's nothing I can do or say to stop you. But you're leaving a lot behind. I didn't think you'd be one to do something like that."
"It's not about what I want," Midori argued forcefully. "It's about what will work for everyone!"
"And this works for you? What about Nami and Kyoko?"
"Look," Midori said, feeling her temper rise a few notches, "There's one thing I've learned after all these years spent with Nami and Kyoko, and that's when we decide something, I'm the one who okays it. I decide what the best thing to do in situations, and it always works out in the end!"
Neji narrowed his eyes. "No one's right all the time. Maybe you should bear that in mind."
Before Midori could protest further, he turned completely and stalked off. Watching him leave, she found her hand subconsciously in the form of a shaking fist which she slammed against the trunk of a tree short-temperedly once Neji was out of sight. She took a deep breath, then mumbled, "Sorry, tree." There was nothing left for her to do but go back to the others and get sent home.
On the short journey back to the designated place, Midori's head whirled with jumbled thoughts. She had succeeded in getting the Hyuuga to leave the woods, but it didn't feel like a victory at all. The snappy way she had said those words wasn't exactly the way she had pictured her last conversation with her long-time crush. And when had she gotten to be so mean?
"It wasn't my fault," Midori said aloud, "It was his for acting so emotionless!" Yeah…right…
"So who was it?" Nami questioned when Midori got back.
Midori shrugged. "Does it matter?" she mumbled.
"No, but we wanna know anyway," Kyoko said bluntly.
Midori didn't have time to retort because Tsunade suddenly appeared between them and said, "Well whoever it was, you sent them back into the village, right?"
"Yeah."
"Good," Tsunade said, standing up straighter. "All right, everyone! Time to get into position!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Just as Jiraiya was about to take his spot at the far left, a figure came charging at him at a rising speed. He felt like he was having de-ja-vu, and it was confirmed when he felt the wind get knocked out of him.
"Dynamic Entry!"
"Oof—!"
"Gai-sensei!" shrieked a high female voice, which could only belong to Tenten.
"See, Tenten! I told you I was not lying!" Lee and his teammate ran over to their sensei that was standing with one foot on Jiraiya's chest, his face dramatic.
"I didn't doubt you for a second, Lee!" Gai declared.
"Get off me you—"
"Jiraiya-sama!" Gai said, looking down at the sannin, surprised. "I didn't expect you to be here!"
"You do this AGAIN?" Jiraiya raged. "Why don't you watch where you're flying?! Get some glasses or—"
"What are you doing here, Gai?" Tsunade interrupted sharply.
"I heard from Lee that something was going on around here concerning Team Twelve!" Gai explained, stepping off of Jiraiya and turning towards the Godaime. "He said they were from another universe and they were going back today! The moment I heard, I sprang into action to get to the bottom of this!"
"How…did you know?" Tsunade said difficultly.
Midori twiddled her thumbs and averted her eyes nervously. She caught sight of Nami mouthing, "What did you do?" She in turn mouthed, "I told Lee" and Kyoko's eyes bugged out. The taller girl whispered, "What?!"
Tsunade glanced at the girls' antics from the corner of her eye and sighed. "Gai, this is my decision as the Godaime Hokage, and it has nothing to do with you. So take your students and—"
"Oh, but there are more than my students here!" Gai said in a grand way.
A vein pulsed in Tsunade's head. "What?"
"On my search, I told some people, and they in turn told more people!" Gai explained.
"I also informed several genin about it!" Lee added.
"Erm…I might've told one or two people…" Tenten said tentatively.
"Well, it doesn't matter," Tsunade said, "As long as they don't know where we are—"
"TSU-NA-DE-BAA-CHAAAAAAN!"
Suddenly, Naruto rocketed out from the trees yelling, "YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"
"Wha—!"
"Naruto!" Jiraiya exclaimed.
"I—finally—found—you," Naruto panted, looking up at Tsunade. "You can't do this jutsu and send them back!"
"Naruto! How do you know about this?" Tsunade demanded.
"Nami-neechan told me!"
Nami slapped her forehead and Midori raised an eyebrow.
"You guys are really bad a keeping secrets," Kyoko whispered.
"Shut up," Nami and Midori countered snappily.
"But I didn't tell you about the jutsu," Nami said, "How'd you know about it?"
Tsunade looked down expectantly at the whiskered blond who started rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I kinda snuck into Tsunade-baa's office and took a peek at the scroll...and then put two and two together."
"YOU WHAT?!"
"But you can't do it! That's…That's like telling fellow shinobi of the village to quit their commitment!"
"They agreed to it, Naruto," Tsunade said, "And this way they'll be safe from any harm. Besides, this isn't about you."
"But—"
"It's true, Naruto-kun," Midori said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We're choosing to leave."
"But…But then you're deserting the village!" Naruto tried.
Midori bit her lip, not knowing what to say.
"It's their choice, Naruto."
Nami turned her head towards the voice and Tenten said in disbelief, "Neji?"
The Hyuuga prodigy was walking towards where Naruto and Team Twelve stood. "They were never a part of this village originally."
Nami, Kyoko, and Midori stared at him, surprised at his cold words. Kyoko seemed to want to blurt something out, but Neji only continued.
"Even so, they've become three trusted resident shinobi of Konoha. The only reason why they're leaving…Is to protect the village." He glanced at Midori.
She smiled.
"What?" Naruto said, still not understanding completely.
"To protect a village," Kyoko, surprisingly, said, "Means that you have to make sacrifices for the people in it. Cheesy, I know, but it's true. You of all people should know, right, Naruto?"
Naruto nodded, realization hitting him. "If you leave…will you forget about Konoha like you forgot about your world?"
Nami shook her head. "Of course not. How could I forget this place?"
"So then…you guys are leaving forever?"
"Maybe," Nami said. "Maybe not. But didn't I tell you I'd see you around?"
"No one knows what the future holds," Midori added, with a glance at Neji.
Naruto grinned, and Nami said, "Well then…For the good of the village!"
Nami stuck out her fist, and all at once, Kyoko, Midori, and Naruto joined her, connecting their own fists with hers.
"That's a real tear-jerker," said a tired voice.
"Shikamaru?" Naruto said, whirling around. His eyes widened as he noticed the people gathered around. How could he not have noticed before?
Standing to the sides were Teams Eight, Ten, and his own Team Seven (minus Sasuke, of course) and the four sensei. Tsunade had a small smile on her face at the little revelation that had occurred while Gai and Lee were sprinkling the grass with salty tears.
"When did YOU guys get here?!" Naruto exclaimed.
"A little while ago," Kakashi said, his only exposed eye gleeful. "It wasn't hard to track you all, really. It's all thanks to Pakkun."
The mentioned dog peeked out from behind Kakashi's right leg and waved a bit to Naruto. "Yo."
Naruto face-faulted.
Sakura stepped forward and said, "So…It's true then? You three are really from…a different…world?" She acted as if she were speaking a foreign tongue; the words seemed difficult to say.
"Why else would we have all this set up?" Nami said, gesturing towards the large design around the clearing.
If Sakura was still shocked, she didn't say anything about it.
"Enough of this drama," Anko said, "Are we going to do this or what?"
"Yeah," Midori said with a quick look at the second exam examiner. "Tsunade-sama?"
Tsunade nodded and she as well as the others stood in the right places in the design. Their hands formed expertly into hand seal after hand seal, moving at a rate only the Sharingan could detect. As they concentrated, the people gathered around were silent, eyes glued to the blue light that was starting to emit from each corner.
Nami, Midori, and Kyoko stood several feet away, waiting for the word from Tsunade. Soon…
"I'm sorry, Neji," Midori whispered to the Hyuuga so only he would be able to hear. "I was acting like a…" She searched for the right word, but couldn't say anything.
Neji shook his head. "I thought we both understood that when I came here, you were forgiven." His mouth rose at the corners, slowly becoming a diminutive smile.
Midori couldn't help but smile back, and before she knew it, she had her arms wrapped around his neck in a warm embrace. She suddenly felt audacious, pulling herself away, hands on his shoulders, lips against his cheek. First kiss.
Kyoko and Nami exchanged glances, both thinking the same thing: Finally.
"Now!" Tsunade's voice rang. Sweat was dripping down her face and she dared a glimpse at the girls.
Kyoko and Nami each gave Naruto a quick one-arm hug and lined up inches away from the blinding blue light that followed the patterns carved into the ground.
Neji silently grasped Midori's chin in his bandaged hand and kissed her forehead in one second, and she had no time to blush. Midori quickly followed her friends' lead, stepping to the far left, Kyoko and Nami to her right. Together, they grasped hands and without another furtive glance back, they took a step forward past the outer line with only thoughts about their universe; their home.
A few days later…
"Gaara, you got something in the mail," Temari called, taking the package from a courier at the door. "Looks like it's from Konoha."
Gaara walked into the room silently then took the fair-sized parcel, mumbling a small, "Thanks." He was still working on being courteous to people…
Temari smiled lopsidedly.
"Temari! Where's Karasu?!"
A vein pulsed off the side of Temari's forehead. "How should I know?!"
"Help me find him!"
"Why don't you learn how to keep track of your dolls?!"
"They're not DOLLS!"
Temari groaned and left the room muttering incoherently.
Gaara waited until he could barely hear her faint footfalls before he ripped open the paper. Once he did, he discovered a beautiful bouquet of flowers wrapped up and tied with a red bow. Sitting a little off to the side was a folded paper which he unfurled. On the paper was a quickly-written scrawl of writing. A note.
Gaara
To be honest, I don't really know how to start this. I have to leave for reasons I'd rather not say, and by the time you get my present I'll probably be gone already. Stay nice for me, please. I feel so happy when I talk to you and when you choose to talk to other people. I just wish I could be around to watch you continue. Thanks for everything, Gaara.
Love,
Kyoko
"Love," Gaara muttered. Next to the kanji 'love' was a small heart Kyoko had doodled onto the bottom of the page. He set the box down on a table, took the bouquet in his hands, and pocketed the note. Then he stepped out into the blazing heat of outdoor Suna, closing the front door behind him.
Kinda short and you STILL kind of don't know if the jutsu worked or not. (winkwinknudgenudge) The epilogue is even shorter, but I'm also adding a sneak peek to the sequel which doesn't have a name yet! Here's the low-down with the updates. I'll post the epilogue/sneak peek this weekend considering how many reviews I get right away. Since I posted this one kind of late, I'm guessing I'll either post the next chapter tomorrow night or the next morning after that. Then, the sequel on Labor Day. YES PEOPLE. THE SEQUEL WILL COME OUT ON LABOR DAY! YAY! So review, review, review!
P.S. No Sneak Peeks on AizoAnime this week. Don't wanna ruin any surprises, now do we? XP
Until next time...
-HM