©Masashi Kishimoto.

Internet at long last! Who knows for how long but i take what i can get! Here's the final chapter and Shippuden is right around the corner. There's so much that I want to thank everyone for. For staying with me up to this point and helping making it all the way through to the end, even when the chapters were a mess people still stuck it out with me. It took a lot of energy to type every one of them out. Even when my computer was damaged and my internet connections were gone and all I had was my phone to hang onto. A special thanks to Princesa de la Luna for checking up on me every now and then and making sure that I remember to update my stories. Don't worry, it's on my mind every day and I feel bad that I can't get them out fast enough.

P.S: For GaaraxAki fans, there will be more fluff for them in the Shippuden arc.

P.S.S: Naruto Shippuden Arc will be in a different fic. You smart people will know when you see it!

Song of my day...I don't know if it is a song but I watched the video cause it had one of my favorite actors in it. The Youtube title is Nagayama Takashi bailando ParaPara

It was scary sitting in the waiting room of the ICU watching all the nurses and doctors rush about tending to the major injuries that the young Genin sustained on their mission. Ryoko kicked herself repeatedly for coming out of the mission unscathed while the others were fighting for their lives. She even came out less than what Shikamaru had. A broken finger.

'I'm such a failure...' She sighed slouching against the wall while rubbing her temple.

She heard soft footsteps approach her and a plastic cup filled with green liquid lined her vision of the white floor. She looked up to see that Aki was the one holding the cup. "You look like you need this." She said forcing the cup in her hand, "It's Hi-potion. It'll give you your strength back." She explained before leaning against the wall next to her.

"I do need a perk up." Ryoko mutters before taking a sip. However when the liquid hit her tongue with a bitter tang she spits it out into the cup, "ugh! Bitter!"

Aki chuckled, "But it made you feel better didn't it?"

Ryoko sets her cup down near her foot, "I'll let you know when I can feel my tongue again."

Aki giggled even more, "Sorry, sorry"

They fell into a short pause before Ryoko spoke, "The mission was a fail. It's my fault that I let him get away..."

"I'm sure you had your reasons…not all missions can end in success…"

"I like him." Ryoko confessed bravely, "He's such a strong passionate shinobi. Yeah, he annoyed the heck out of me at times, but there's something about Sasuke…not his looks but his…fire…" Ryoko explained vaguely, struggling to find the words to convey her feelings, "I just keep kicking myself because…what was I thinking letting him go after everything everyone went through to get him? Where's my village pride? I basically betrayed my village because I allowed him to leave…!"

"You weren't thinking…" Aki supplied, "You let your feelings rule your judgment and now everyone has to pay the price for your actions..."

"I know..." Ryoko grimaced.

"However...I think you did something good..." Ryoko looked at her, surprised that she was kind of taking her side. "By letting Sasuke go...I think you've made your friends stronger on this mission. Everyone took some hard hits but I think they've matured. And as for your blonde hair friend..." Aki flashed a kind smile, "…not only does he have his Hokage goal to work hard for - he has the goal to get his friend back. This challenge will make him stronger..." She then gave her an all-knowing look, "…You too as well…"

Ryoko looked at her with admiration before looking down at her feet. Looking back, she realized that she may need to work on improving herself. She knew long ago that she was not on the same level as Naruto and Sasuke…they were way out of her league. But she would now use her time wisely to improve herself. She would take new challenges to make her, Naruto, and Sasuke proud to be a shinobi.

"I realize that I've been a tag-along on missions, only providing help when needed. I want to become someone who can throw the punches as well and help others…" Ryoko whispers, determination setting into her eyes, "I've got some work to do."

Aki smiled encouragingly, "You're growing up already." She stated nodding approvingly, "…I've got some work to do myself…"

Ryoko looked at her confused, "What do you mean? You seem plenty strong to me already…"

Aki looked down the hall to the left of Ryoko. She could see Gaara quietly approaching them. "Nope…I still have a long way to go before I can proudly stand by the side of the one I want to protect the most…"

Before Ryoko could question her further, Gaara had reached them and informed them that Lady Tsunade was about to give everyone the report on the Genin. Not wasting anytime they made their way back to the emergency room where they had administer the rest of the wounded Genin.

Everyone waited eagerly to the status report.

Tsunade leisurely walked passed them all to sit down on the cushioned benches, "Choji is okay thanks to the medicine from the Nara clan…Kiba is making a full recovery along with Akamaru…Neji Hyuuga is out of the danger zone and is making a steady recovery…and Naruto is also making a steady recovery, he was badly damaged but his life is not in danger.." He pointed a steady look at Shikamaru and Ryoko, "The mission was a fail, but everyone came out alive. That's all I could ask for."

Everyone gave small sighs of relief that their friends were not in mortal danger of dying.

"The next mission will be perfect. I swear." Ryoko and Shikamaru promised.

The next day Ryoko almost sped back to the hospital, leaving a trail of dirt dust in her wake. She was determined to see Naruto so she could apologize to him properly about failing the mission. He was the only one allowed to have visitors due to his quick recovery, but he still had to stay in the hospital for a while longer.

After word got out about the mission, many took the loss hard (the fan girls) because they lost a valuable shinobi. Sakura took it especially hard. The girl couldn't stop moping or sobbing. Not even her visit with Naruto cheered her up to any degree. Ryoko couldn't bring herself to talk to her, it made the guilt worse, but she swore to herself that she would bring Sasuke back for the village's sake.

Upon reaching Naruto's room, she was mildly surprised to see Lady Tsunade there waiting at the door.

"Lady Hokage…"

"Ryoko…I have a proposal for you…"

Hearing the sound of his room door open, Naruto immediately looked up to see who could be visiting him. He was greeted by Ryoko and Tsunade. Shame settled into his heart. He felt like he let everyone down by not giving it his all to bring Sasuke back. He heard from both Shikamaru and Sakura that Ryoko was last to see Sasuke and that even she couldn't stop him.

"Ryoko…" His voice wavered as he looked up at her before looking down and the scratched headband lying on his lap. Sasuke's headband…during their great battle the metal plate had a long scratch running through the leaf symbol. It was similar to ex-shinobi who crosses out the symbol of their village on their headbands.

Ryoko quietly walked over and sat on the edge of Naruto's bed, not quiet facing him yet, and said softly, "Naruto…I'm sorry I let you down…"

Naruto's head quickly snapped up and looked at her with disbelief, "N-no Ryoko! I was the one - "

Ryoko firmly shook her head, "No. You fought with everything you had Naruto…I was just the back up…and even then I let Sasuke get away. I let him get away because I wasn't strong enough to hold him back…"

"Ryoko…"

Ryoko turned her body so she could face him fully. She gave him a cheesy grin that he often gave others when making a big promise, "I'm making you a promise of a life time, Naruto! I'm going to work hard to help you get Sasuke back!" She jumped up from the bed and pumped one fist in the air, "BELIEVE IT!"

It took a moment for her words to sink in, but Naruto felt better by her words, "Hey! That's my catchphrase and my pose! You can't steal that!"

"Too bad, bro! I'm borrowing it until I can make my own pose and catchphrase!"

Later that day Ryoko went to Lady Tsunade's office just as she had requested earlier on before they went in to see Naruto. She thought about her proposal for a while and decided to take in on with everything she had.

"So…have you come to a decision?" Tsunade asked when Ryoko stepped into her office.

Ryoko stood in the middle of the room, her form poised with confidence and determination, "Yes. I accept the mission." She bowed at the waist. "I know it won't be easy, but I won't give up."

Tsunade studied her for a long moment. 'She does seem to have the drive and potential…I'll have to test her resolve before anything else…'

"Alright. Three days from now. We'll start the test to see if you're ready."

Ryoko rose back to her full height with a confident smile, "Yes, ma'am!"

Three days later….at the village gates, the young kids from the Konoha academy were saying good-bye to the sand ninja.

"Thank you very much and see you again soon!" They all said in perfect unison.

"Alright, kids, keep training." Temari told them.

"I'm going to learn the shuriken jutsu by the time you get back!" Konohamaru stated confidently.

Aki nodded encouragingly, "I'm sure you will."

"I'm going to be as strong as Kankuro and Gaara-sensei!" The boys cheered.

"I want to be like Aki and Temari when I get older!" The girls gushed.

Aki smiled fondly at them, "We're very honored to hear that, everyone."

"Thanks again, sorry you guys had to help out instead of seeing the sights because we're short of staff." Shikamaru said.

"I don't mind. It was a good chance to help out." Temari said.

"And besides, it was a good chance to evaluate Konoha's military power since these kids are going to be future shinobi." Kankuro chipped in.

"I guess you guys better be careful on getting home." Shikamaru said, knowing that it was going to be a three day trip back for them. It was surprising they got to them as fast as they did.

"Okay, thanks." All of them but Gaara waved good-bye to them and made their way back home. Before they were too far out of ear shot, Temari turned around slightly, "Just call the next time you need saving, ya big cry baby."

Shikamaru sighed, "You girls are all alike. You've gotta have the last word in."

As they walked further away Aki turned to Gaara with a small smile, "I heard that Naruto is going away for three years to train with Jiraiya, the Toad Sage…looks like you're going to have some competition Gaara…"

Gaara closed his eyes and gave a soft chuckle, "If Naruto's working hard to get stronger….then I will work hard as well…"

"Have you realized your goal, then?" She asked him.

Gaara nodded, "It's a goal I'm willing to struggle for…"

Ryoko sat in her apartment packing up the last of her things. She had already said good-bye to everyone and she was going to meet Naruto at the gates before he sets off for his 3 year training. It was bitter-sweet that they were going their separate ways for a while. Naruto even choked up a bit because they hadn't been apart since their academy days…it seemed so long ago. It felt like the team was breaking up. She had briefly wondered how Kakashi-sensei was feeling about all of it…his students were stepping out of the team to do their own training to get stronger in their own way.

'I'm sure he'll be fine…it's only going to be three years…' She assured herself as she zipped up her back pack and hoisted it onto her back with ease. "Okay. Time to go."

She walked to the front door of her apartment and took one last look back before closing the door behind her, as if she was closing the door to her past behind her.

'Being the top rookie female ninja in my class was just a title…it didn't really mean anything to me…I haven't really changed at all since my academy days…I don't have amazing abilities like Naruto or Sasuke…but that didn't stop me from lending support when I could. I may have been extra weight but I was still important to missions…'

As she passed Ichiraku's shop, the old man poked his head out when he thought he saw a familiar face, "Ah, Ryoko, going on a mission are you?"

Ryoko turned around and smiled at the ramen man, "Something like that. Did Naruto already leave?"

"You just missed him a minute ago. I'm sure you can still catch him."

Ryoko nodded and waved good-bye, "Okay, see yo-"

"Now hold on a minute," he interrupted going into his ramen shop for one moment and coming out the next with a bento box, "something for the trip." He explained, "On the house." He said giving her the bento box.

Ryoko smile and bowed gratefully, "Thanks, old man." She turned on her heel and continued on her way to the village gates with a better attitude now.

'…but now…I'm going to become something more…I'm not going to fall behind anymore…I'm going to start living up to my name…I'm going to be a new and strong Ryoko Koneko…Naruto…Iruka-sensei…old man Hokage…grandma Tsunade…Kakashi-sensei…Aki…Gaara…everyone…even Sasuke…just wait…in three years…I'm going to help make a difference…

"How long do we have to keep waiting, Naruto?" Jiraiya asked impatiently, "We need to put some road behind us."

"I'm waiting for Ryoko to come say good-bye, pervy-sage!" Naruto yelled, "I'm not going anywhere until she gets here!"

Ryoko chuckled and put a little more speed in her steps, "Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto looked up to see Ryoko running over to him waving, "About time you came!" He exclaimed with a bright smile, "So you're ready to go too?"

Ryoko nodded, "Yeah, but I'm going a different way. I'm actually supposed to go to the east gate…I came to say see ya later."

Naruto blushed uncomfortably and scratched his cheek, "Hey, c'mon, Ryoko…no need to get all mushy on me. You'll see, three years will be over quick!" he exclaimed giving her a thumbs up.

Ryoko nodded, "Yeah, I know…I just want to get one last look at that stupid face of yours before I go." She joked as she glomped him in a tight hug.

Naruto returned the embrace after a short few moments. He was going to miss his friend dearly. She was the only other person that accepted him without question or complaint. He was forever grateful that she was his friend and he valued all the times and moments they had together, "You make it sound like I'm not coming back…"

Ryoko pulled away with a bright smile, "Of course you're coming back! I said 'see ya later' not 'good-bye'. Besides you're going to be Hokage, so you have to come back!"

Naruto also treasured the fact that she believed in him in the fact that he will be Hokage some day, "Yeah..."

After a brief moment of silence and the gentle breeze that swept their hair, they shook hands and made a silent promise to each other: They will be back stronger than ever before.

"Good luck, Naruto…"

"You too, Ryoko…"

Just wait…in three years…we'll change…we won't be weak anymore…we'll break through the obstacles in our way…we'll bash any doubt in our minds…and continue to run forward…we won't anything stand in our way or let anything hold us back from our dreams and our goals…just wait…we'll be back…Believe it…believe it with all your heart…

THE END.

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