Ok, this is the grand finale! I hope you guys like this one! I'd like to shout out many thanks to Defender of the Light, Tomboy901, Kyoto-chan, rockleelover of course, and EVERYONE who has reviewed this! You guys are my loves! Warning, much fluff in this chapter, but I still really hope you like it.

Chapter 18

The Real Thing

The girls rummaged through their clothes, looking for what to wear. Yet another relation to just that morning, the clothes were strewn across the bed and flipped on the floor and everything once more.

The girls were showered up and had done their hair the same way they had in the morning. Even Tenten agreed to wear her hair down, but claimed this to be the very last time.

They didn't bother to cover their bruises with any makeup and they were pretty bandaged up. For some reason, they didn't care. The war scars made them feel accomplishment of what they had done, and did not feel it was right to try and hide them.

"Just think," said Sakura, twirling around happily, feeling like a little girl again far before they got caught up in fate. "No more ankle pains, no more trying to hide seals, no more lying…"

"…no more running." Tenten finished, smiling. Sakura stopped twirling and fell back onto the clothing covered bed.

"Exactly." She said.

"But what about what Gaara said?" Hinata asked. "About us having not completely fulfilled the prophecy yet?" The girl's faces went blank, as they had forgotten about that.

"Oh yeah…" said Ino. "But what have we not done? I mean, we've killed Rinua and Kirokoa and destroyed the dark prophecy, what else is there left to do?" She lay back on the bed and looked at the ceiling fan.

"No use worrying about it now," sighed Tenten, walking out of the bathroom. "We've got other things at the moment." Neji ran through her mind.

"Hell yeah we do…" said Ino, getting off the bed as she grinned evilly. Sakura did the same.

"Like what you're gonna wear." Sakura said, as the two girls began to close in on Tenten, articles of clothing in hand. Tenten's eyes widened with horror.

"Stay back!" she said, backing in corner. "If it's not enough that you're making me wear my hair down, again, now you're going to make me relive the pain of this morning?" The girls did not yield. Tenten just sighed in a succumbing manner. "Great. Here we go again…"

With the boys…

"So," Shikamaru scratched his head. "What is one supposed to wear to these sorta things?" Neji walked in as he polished a kunai.

"What sort of things?" he asked curiously. Naruto bounded in.

"Dates, duh!" He poked Neji mockingly, who swatted Naruto away.

"Who said this was a date?" Sasuke asked, holding his hands up. "It's just a get together with friends…"

"…Of the opposite sex." Naruto interrupted, wiggling his eyebrows seductively.

"I have to agree with the brat," Neji said, grinning. "Just admit it Uchiha, you have something for that pink haired girl Sakura." Sasuke turned his back at this, not wanting to reveal to his friends his flush.

"Whatever…" Sasuke started out the door into the living room. He was not about to admit it. Even if they are right…

After Sasuke walked away, Naruto began talking again.

"And you two have something special for those girls too," he said pointing at Shikamaru and Neji. Shikamaru snorted.

"Ino? She's not…she's just…"

"The beautiful, lovely, true, gorgeous, everlasting love of your short life?" Naruto interrupted yet again, batting his eyelashes jokingly. Shikamaru gripped the sides of the chair he was sitting in. How was Naruto of all people so good with knowing this stuff?

"This is troublesome." He sighed. He got up, and something fell out of his pocket. Naruto bent down and picked it up.

"Ooh, what's this…allow me to read." Naruto read the words on the fallen object, and only seconds later, burst into laughter.

"Breath mints?" He said between laughter. "Yeah right Ino's 'just a friend'! What do you suspect you'll be doing on the first date anyway?" Shikamaru's vein bulged in his temple. It often did that when he was irritated.

"Well," the smooth voice of Neji came behind Naruto. "At least he doesn't have condoms." Neji opened Naruto's fist, which had been clenched. Inside it was a small square package.

"Dude, I'm no perv!" Naruto defended, looking hurt. "It's only a wet nap! I can't have crap on my face during a date!" Naruto opened the package and pulled out a white towelette. It was indeed a mere wet nap. Neji sighed in relief.

"Although Hinata is quite the pretty young lady…" Naruto added to intentionally annoy Neji. Neji bopped him over the head.

"Watch it there! I don't care if you would give up ramen for the rest of your life just to be with her, she's still my cousin." He said seriously to Naruto. Naruto rolled his eyes in a 'cousin my ass!' fashion. Shikamaru had slinked out of the room, still in embarrassment about the breath mint incident.

"Whatever you say, Hyuuga." Naruto began to jump on the bed. Neji rolled his eyes. How did someone like him end of with my cousin?

"But there's no denying," Naruto jumped off the bed and pointed at Neji. "You are crazy about Tenten. I can see it." Naruto began to bound around again.

"You certainly are into the game of matchmaker, aren't you Naruto?" Neji walked to the window and looked at the lowering sun.

"Who me? Naw. I can just tell when one is caught up in the game of affection." Naruto said, putting his elbow on Neji's shoulder. Neji shrugged it off.

"I tried to not let…affection…get in the way of my life. I don't need it…as far I see, humans can do without it." Neji clutched fists and looked down from the sunset.

"Dude, no." Naruto shook his head. "That's, like, the opposite of what life should be like." Neji ignored him.

"But…no matter how I try to fight it, it keeps coming back, pestering me. Just like the past used to do." Neji sighed and walked away from the window. Naruto now looked at the sunset.

"Then that is indeed affection my friend," Naruto said proudly. "That is indeed."

Later that night, in the Konoha courtyard…

The boys were there first because, as Naruto claimed, the men are always courteously early while the women are fashionably late. They all had white button up shirts, and…jeans. Lets just say, they weren't exactly fashion gurus.

"Hey guys." The guys turned to the voice behind them. It was the girls. They were stunned at how good they looked. Apparently, the girls had taken this as a date also. The boys were relieved. They would have looked really stupid had they been dressed up and the girls came looking casual.

But that wasn't the case. Ino was wearing a black strapless dress that went to above her knees, almost making Shikamaru's eyes jump out of their sockets.

Sakura was wearing a soft pink dress that had spaghetti straps and flowed out at the end. Even Sasuke couldn't stop himself from gawking.

Refusing to wear a dress, Tenten was wearing a tight black spaghetti strap tank and a white pleated skirt that complemented her figure. Neji had to admit, she looked very attractive.

Hinata was also dressed up. She had a navy blue dress that had short sleeves and stopped at her knees. For just about the first time ever in her life, she was wearing makeup. Naruto whistled, making her blush.

"So…" Shikamaru said in the silence as they had all been examining one another. "…Wow." He finished, as if it were the greatest complement his mind could conjure up.

The rest of the boys slowly nodded in agreement. The girls smirked and looked at each other. Their plan to impress had followed through.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Sakura asked. The boy's faces fell. They had not exactly thought about that.

"Well…about that," Naruto began. The boys all looked down ashamed. This was their first date (or something like one) and they had blown it in the first second.

"You know what?" Tenten said, sitting down. "Let's just stay here." The rest of the girls sat down too. The boys raised their eyebrows.

"…In the courtyard?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes," said Sakura, putting one leg over the other. "It's really nice out…good temperature, full moon, the stars are out and everything. Let's just talk, you know?" Ino nodded. The boys all looked at one another and shrugged. They each sat down next to a girl. (AN: I bet you can guess who sat with whom)

From there, separate conversations rose with each couple. Their benches were sufficiently spaced at different ends of the square, so they each had privacy.

With Neji and Tenten…

"You might be wanting this back now, since we succeeded in, well, you know." Tenten said timidly as she held Neji's kunai out to him. "I noticed that your name is on it and it's all scratched up, and I figured it was valuable to you, so I thought-"

"Keep it." Neji interrupted solidly with a smile. Tenten blinked.

"What?" She asked.

"I want you to keep it." Neji repeated. "You are right, it is valuable to me, but I think I found something even more valuable." He said.

"And what's that?" Tenten asked, though she had a pretty good feeling she knew what it was. She could feel her heart doing laps around her system.

"You." The next thing Tenten knew, Neji's lips had come down on hers and it turned to a full-fledged kiss. Much better than the one from before, since there were no orbs of light being thrown at them or ninjas attempting to decapitate them. It was just her, Neji, the stars and the moon. And also the fact that Neji had directly said it changed everything.

When they broke apart, Tenten smiled.

"Ditto." Was all she said. Neji smiled back at her. It pretty much summed everything up.

With Naruto and Hinata…

Hinata and Naruto were both sitting, their feet having enough room to swing since they both lacked impressive height.

"You're a lot stronger than you look, you know." Naruto said to Hinata, being serious. Hinata smiled.

"Thank you. You are also very strong Naruto." She replied.

"I just don't understand why you don't have a lot of confidence," said Naruto, shaking his head. "I mean look at you, you're powerful, kind, have great friends, pretty and…" Naruto could feel himself trailing off, only making Hinata smile more. Naruto was all she had hoped for…someone who saw her as the Hinata inside of her whom she desperately wanted to be. Someone who saw her for her, instead of the shy girl who hangs out with those three pretty girls. Naruto wasn't done yet though. "And I guess what I'm trying to say is…" Naruto turned red this time, just as deep as Hinata's usually is. "I think…you're perfect." He said the last words with passion, yet slight awkwardness. He didn't meet her eyes.

Hinata did something she never did. She reached out and turned Naruto's face towards her own. Then she did a second thing the regular Hinata would never do.

"I think…you're perfect too Naruto. Thank you for helping me find my inner strength." With that, Hinata did a final third thing the regular Hinata would never do. She leaned in, and kissed Naruto on the lips. Strike three. And it wasn't a simply peck. It was drawn out, and long lasted (AN: or so it seemed for them). For once in her life, Hinata was more proud than ever to be who she was.

With Sasuke and Sakura…

Sasuke was looking for words to say to Sakura. Before, he ran from passion because it would supposedly tarnish his reputation as the stoic Sasuke Uchiha who had never felt affection or care for another person in his life, nor strayed even close to it. But now, he felt as if it was all stupid. It seemed as though Sakura could read his mind.

"Why run?" Sakura asked Sasuke, looking up at him with her wide emeralds. Sasuke pretended to look clueless.

"From what?" He asked.

"Emotion." Sakura answered. Sasuke felt his face heat up. How did she…? Man, she really is smart.

"I'm not…I just…"

"Especially…if both know it's destined to happen." At saying this, Sakura inched her hand closer to Sasuke's. This move encouraged Sasuke to react the same. He accepted the offer by putting his own hand over hers tightly.

"You know what, you're right." He said, squeezing her hand tighter, bringing it up to his lips. "I definitely know it is." He lightly kissed her hand (AN: Major OOCness, I know, don't flame me for it please.).

"Me too." Sakura said, grinning. They both made the first move and leaned in at the same time, as if sharing the same thought at exactly the same moment. This added to why they felt they went so well together, and why the kiss they shared was possibly the beginning of the best thing in their lives.

With Shikamaru and Ino…

Shikamaru couldn't stop looking at Ino.

"You look really beautiful tonight," he said shyly, looking away. Looking away seemed be the typical thing for the guys to do when they said or did something that was unlike them to do.

"Thank you," said Ino, also looking away.

"Well, not just tonight," he added. "From the moment I met you in English." Ino smiled.

"When you came to my rescue from the hair nazis." Ino chuckled as she twirled a strand of hair around her finger, as mentioned earlier, a nervous habit of hers.

"Yeah. But it wasn't exactly then that I got attracted to you…it was later." Shikamaru said. Ino perked up. So he is attracted to me? It wasn't just a heat-of-the-moment thing…

"It was when I saw you stand up to Temari the way you did. Heck, no other girl in the school would have the nerve to do that. It showed me…" He scooted close to her. "That you're brave…and willing to take chances." Ino scooted closer to him as well to the point that there was no space in between them left.

"That's what I aim for." She said. "Besides," she giggled. "I was sort of being fueled by…" Ino stopped mid sentence. Was she ready to spill this yet? It was clear that there was chemistry between them, but would Shikamaru return as vast emotions as Ino had towards him?

"Love?" Shikamaru offered. Ino slowly turned to him. She looked at him and remembered everything they had done that day…from the sticky situation in the hallway, to the false poisoning. She knew right then that she was ready to admit to 'it'.

"Yes." She answered without hesitation. Shikamaru had a grin grow on his face.

"I was hoping that was it." He said. Ino's heart did back flips. He does love me.

And I bet you can guess what happened next. Yep, they kissed. Like the others, this kiss meant far more than the ones from earlier. Just the whole air to the moment, it being the day they fulfilled their life-long obligations, the whole perfection of the night…it was all just so much more.

After they all had finished up their moments, the town clock began to chime as it struck midnight. The girls vowed not to stay out past twelve, as they still had school the next day. (AN: No, haha that isn't supposed to be a Cinderella relation, but it's funny how it worked out like that.)

"We'll see you guys tomorrow." Hinata said as the girls turned to leave.

"Definitely." Naruto said, as he and the rest of the guys came and gave their girls farewell pecks on the cheeks. Each girl flushed crimson madly. They all gave each other the love-struck teenage girl looks that said, aren't they just, like, perfect?

The boys grinned. Just as they all turned to leave, one last thing had to be said.

"Oh, by the way." Neji said. The girls turned around again and faced the guys.

"Rinua was right about one thing," said Shikamaru. "This is the real thing." The girls smiled, knowing how the boys meant it. With that, they all walked in the direction of their homes, each of their hearts filled with sense of accomplishment, and you guessed it, love.

Little had the teenagers known, Gaara and the fellowship had been watching from around a nearby corner. Gaara smiled warmly upon watching the events that had just taken place. "Prophecy has been fulfilled," he said to himself.

The Chosen Ones become true.

I know, cheesy cheesy cheesy cheesy, HORRIBLY and DRAMATICALLY cheesy! I know that's what you all thought as you read this. But please, I beg of you, as fluffy as it is please don't bash it's cheesiness! It was supposed to be kind of passionate and sweet, as the other chapters have all been rough and tumble. And in case there is any confusion, the last line of the story was supposed to be the last line of the prophecy. I'm afraid this is the end of the story, and I'd like to thank everyone who motivated me to write it! Seriously guys, you have no idea what a help you've been. You rock! -does rock on sign with hands-. I've already asked a few people this, but tell me if you want me to write more action/adventure/romances! I have another romance/adventure kind of story in the making, so look for it later! Thanks again everyone for reading!