So this is, I'm afraid, the last chapter for "The List". It has reached its natural conclusion for me, and it definitely developed more than I expected when I first started to write this!

rroni16 - thank you so much for your review! Your words truly made me smile and mean so much as I only started to write with An Involuntary Break a little over two weeks ago (I think!)

RPM Shadow - I hope you like this ending as much as you have the other chapters!

Enjoy!

The Yin and the Yang

Hmm, spotlessly clean teeth? He pulled a face in the mirror hanging in the bathroom they used to share in the Temple of Airjitzu, leaning in and scrutinising, checking for any renegade bits of breakfast stuck in his pearly whites… It really was a miracle that they were all still so perfectly inline, considering the amount of times he had been punched and kicked in the face, but yep! Check.

Hair, on point? Well, several points… Double, triple and…oh! A hand reached up and smoothed one of the carefully sculptured spikes which had flopped slightly. And, check.

Right, a quick splash of his favourite cologne, not too much of course, just enough to cast a subtle, alluring scent. He winced slightly as it stung his freshly shaven skin. Check.

Ok, the clothes…he looked down and breathed out slowly, huffily eyeing his outfit. He tugged at the cord to his white hakama, fidgeting and cursing as his rebellious obi once again curled up, refusing to behave. Why had she insisted that they all wear these? He had never felt entirely comfortable in the crisp, white ceremonial come training gear that Wu had had tailored for them a while ago, only having been worn a handful of times. They had secretly dubbed them the "Wu Cru Suits" and had all vowed not to wear the most impractical ninja suits that they had ever come across unless deemed absolutely necessary. But apparently she had deemed this one of those absolutely necessary occasions. He wondered what would happen if he turned up in his usual red gi, and quickly disregarded the idea. There was no way he was going to take on her wrath today! But seriously, only a water elemental could think that wearing all white was a good idea; no chance of her staining or burning her clothing! Oh, FSM! He lifted his arms and eyed the scorch marks at the end of his sleeves, grimacing. She had asked him to fix them…maybe she wouldn't notice? Huh, fat chance of that! With a quick final check that his kimono was lying correctly at the back and a sharp tug on his obi he turned and walked down the twisting, narrow steps of the temple.

The temple looked amazing, little lanterns adorning every nook and cranny and the white petals Zane had scattered earlier blowing and mingling gently with the colourful autumn leaves, all now fallen off the trees with the turn of the seasons complete. They had agreed with Wu's suggestion of holding the ceremony up here, its majestic setting up in the clouds making it ideal for checking the guests making their way up before being allowed admittance. They had allowed Dareth to be the "chief invite checker", a job he had graciously accepted, gushing that the brown ninja would not let them down.

Cole's voice carried over to Kai, revealing their location. "Hold still would you, Jay?" followed by a sharp and higher pitched than normal "I'm trying, Cole!". With a sigh he made his way over, joining his brothers in their fight to keep the already highly-strung Jay calm.

It was as he was trying to persuade Jay that no, he didn't think that someone else could just say the vows for him, and yes, it really did have to be him doing this that he noticed her, tugging awkwardly at her kimono as she walked over.

"This thing is too tight!" she hissed, grimacing and accepting his hello kiss on the cheek. He stepped away from the mess that was Jay, leaving Cole to deal with him for a moment, and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders, trying to reassure her. This was the first time he had seen her in any of her official ninja training gear. Right now Skylor was also clad in the white "Wu Cru" gear that all of the ninja team were wearing, but hers with subtle burnt orange stitching where his was red. From the way the black obi nipped and accentuated her waist to the way the fabric stretched and fit her snuggly in all the right ways… she looked nothing short of amazing, although it was very obvious she thought differently. Her eyes were narrowed, and he had to hold in a snort. She looked so uncomfortable, but to him she just looked breathtakingly perfect. And now a fully fledged ninja and member of the team; he was so proud.

"It's too tight! How can you lot actually train in these things without splitting them open?!"

Leaning close, he whispered in her ear "Well I can think of some training moves we can practice with you in that later…" earning him a playful clip round the ear.

"Kai! Not at your sister's wedding!" He shrugged and smirked down at her, loosing himself in those fabulous deep green windows to the most stunning soul he had ever met.

"What? Fire blooded male here!"

Leaning over and kissing his cheek she whispered in his ear "Maybe later…"

"Come on you two, it's time." Cole called over whilst holding onto Jay who was blinking and looking shell shocked, taking deep breaths. Nodding to the waiting earth ninja she chuckling as she noted Kai's widened eyes, grabbing the astounded ninja's arm and leading him to the ceremony area with a smile.

Her newly changed into dress was swirling around her lithe body as she danced, bopping along happily to the beat of a track he did not know but she obviously did. She oozed confidence and charisma, and even from where he was leaning against the makeshift bar chatting with his dad, he could see the deep green sparkle in her eye as she turned towards him, catching his eye across the crowded room and beckoned him over. Ray looked up, seeing immediately the cause for his son's distraction mid-sentence, raising his eyebrows and smiling; his son and this new member of the ninja team, Skylor, reminded him of when he and Maya had first been starting out, and he remembered those heady days well.

"Go get her, son." Ray slapped Kai good naturedly on the back, gesturing to the waiting red head on the dance floor. Kai looked up and grinned to his dad, sharing a knowing glance with him. Not needing to be told twice he put down his drink and made his way over to her, threading around the mass of dancing wedding guests to meet her in the middle of the crowded floor. Lloyd and Cole, who she had been dancing with, grinned and moved away when they noticed his arrival, both shouting excuses about needing to get drinks, leaving the masters of fire and amber together. The beat suddenly slowed as the DJ changed the music to something slower, and Kai listened, recognising this one. Greenday, Time of Your Life. He took hold of Skylor's waist, pulling her close and they shuffled together to the music, neither speaking but every inch of their bodies communicating with each other comfortably.

It was a couple of minutes into the song when she raised her head off his shoulder and looked deep into his eyes, breaking the silence.

"You know I never felt I had a right to a future before I met you; I thought I didn't deserve one. I dare not even dream that I could end up being a part of all this." she gestured around the room, where Nya, looking stunning in her traditional white dress, and Jay were also dancing together, seemingly oblivious to everyone else in the room. Lloyd and Cole were engaged in some form of chaotic looking drinking game with his dad, Ray, whilst his mom and Jay's parents, Ed and Edna, were sat talking animatedly with Wu and Misako. Zane and Pix were also dancing, looking suspiciously like they were doing "the robot" together with some of the other elemental masters. Every inch of the room was filled with laughter and joy.

She looked back to Kai and her gaze was so intent it was hypnotic.

"I never felt I had a future until I met you." She whispered. He leant into her, lips gently meeting hers and tasting that subtle hint of cherry he loved so much. Skylor moaned softly against him and kissed him back, a long, lingering kiss followed by several small, sweet kisses before they drew apart, resting their foreheads together, eyes closed, just swaying together to the music. In bliss.

The sudden halting of the music forced them both to look up suddenly, still holding each other tightly, Kai groaning when he noticed the not so subtle change in the music being orchestrated by Dareth who had grabbed a microphone and was announcing how he was "gonna get this love ninja party started!"

"Oh what is he going to play…?" Kai groaned, shaking his head. They both just started laughing as the unmistakable beat of the Cha Cha Slide kicked in, Skylor just holding her head in her hands as Kai deftly fell into rhythm with Lloyd who had suddenly appeared next to them excitedly. She could not help laughing at the pair as they executed every move perfectly, throwing her head back uncontrollably as the pair were joined by every other member of the team, her team, including Nya in her just stunning wedding dress, all dancing the Cha Cha Slide together in the middle of the crowded dancefloor in their white Wu Cru outfits with Dareth belting out "Go Ninja, go!" over the microphone.

As the song began to end and merged into whatever monstrosity Dareth felt was now appropriate, Kai sidled out of the ninja dance troop, grinning with that mischievous, lop sided smile as he made his way back over to the still laughing amber ninja. She gasped and laughed even harder as he grabbed her waist tightly and spun her around. Deftly and expertly, the laughter and love filled room now merging into swirling and spinning colours around her as he spun her ever faster. Everything blurred except the face of her love whose eyes never left hers as he swept her up from the spin with a final, flourishing twist of her body under his arm, leaning her back and swooping in for a kiss.

But then Kai audiably gasped, physically jumping back away from her and nearly dropping her, eyes widening in shock. The room continued on around them with all the usual noise and bustle of a wedding reception in full swing. The eating, the laughing and drinking and dancing…

But for Kai, that had now all stopped, as everything around him was blurred and fading out, the beat of the music a dull, slowing thud which was now muffled like he was underwater. A suffocating feeling crept over him, goosebumps prickling on his skin along with a devastating feeling of helplessness. The only thing he could see clearly was her. Stood in front of him, all of the woman he loved. Shining red hair. Strong, graceful body as charismatically poised as always. But her eyes…

"Skylor…?" He reached out but stopped himself from touching her, his outstretched hand millimetres away from her unblinking face.

She raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, a cruel smirk flooding her face and her voice as hard as the purple glints he could see shimmering in her eyes. Her normally deep, green eyes.

"No. Not Skylor."

Eek! Cliffhanger! Sorry...!

I really, really hope you guys have enjoyed this. I have got lots of plans, snips of already written pieces etc for a sequel to this, so once I've got the plot nailed for it I will start structuring it and uploading, and it promises to be a much more lengthy story :) It has been such a pleasure writing this and if I have made just one other person smile or laugh alongside me then I am truly made up! Bye for now!