Manga Spoiler: SASUKE-KUN!!!! FINALLY! I almost forgive you now. It's about time you defeated Oropimp!

END SPOILER: Had to get that out of my system… also, the new Naruto Shippuuden is out and it totally rocks! DEIDARA! And that ending song was amazing… I've already got a good chunk memorized… but enough with the awesomeness of the manga/anime, onto the LAST chapter of Leaf High.

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And it Ends

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"Gollum's dancing… it's not right…"

"Why are we watching weird American movies?"

"How did you know what else that guy played in?"

"Who's talking right now?"

"Can't you hear?"

"What are you guys doing?"

"Someone's kicking my head."

"Ok that's it," Temari said, thoroughly annoyed. "I'm turning on a light."

"My eyes!" Naruto whined as the room was filled with the nasty bright stuff.

"You're overreacting," Sasuke said, lightly nudging Sakura off of his arm where she'd been watching the movie.

"SHIKA-KUN WAKE UP!"

"No Sasuke," Tenten said, rubbing her temples in annoyance. "That's overreacting."

"Why did we suddenly stop watching?"

"It was scaring Akimoto," Gaara answered.

"Was not! You were the one whose eye was twitching."

"His left or right?" Temari asked immediately.

"I wasn't paying that much attention…" Akimoto confessed. Temari and Sakura exchanged meaningful glances, but didn't say another word about that matter.

"Why were we watching another weird movie in English?" Shikamaru asked, his ear bleeding from the sudden loud noise coming from a blonde girl who so thoughtfully screamed into it.

"It looked interesting when we started watching it," Sakura said handing him something to put over his ear.

"And someone let Ino have control of the remote," Neji added.

"Well if you guys could think of something more interesting to do, then I wouldn't have to watch old movies that make no sense."

"We could go out for ramen," Naruto suggested.

"We came here because we were done eating ramen, Naruto-kun," Hinata reminded her long time crush/stalking victim.

"I'm hungry again…" he complained quietly.

"That reminds me," Ino said suddenly, climbing to her feet and accidentally kicking Neji. "We do nothing interesting anymore."

"How did this happen?" Naruto said suddenly.

"How did what happen, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"This!" he gestured to the group of friends in general. The explanation made sense to him…

"Care to explain, dobe?" asked Sasuke.

"Look at Gaara. He's got a living human-type thing sitting by him, and she doesn't look the least big scared."

"Human-type thing?" the kid is a ninja who wears bright orange and yet she's being insulted.

"Leave Akimoto-chan alone and finish your story," Sakura instructed.

"Sasuke-teme is sitting on a sofa with Sakura-chan and he hasn't called her annoying all day! There's something weird about that I tell you."

"N-Naruto-kun, they're just getting along better, we should he happy for them."

"Then there's Hinata-chan," Naruto continued. "She's almost stopped her stuttering, and she hasn't fainted in awhile. When did she become that perfect?"

"That's sweet in a creepy kind of way," Tenten commented.

Naruto eyed the weapons expert, "And you! Out of nowhere you started eating Neji's face!"

"Naruto-kun you're going to end up with your head above someone's fireplace if you don't stop soon," Akimoto warned him. It isn't wise to make Gaara, Sasuke, and Neji mad all at once… or at all really…

"Ino-chan's right," Sakura said, deciding to get off the topic of reasons to kill the poor fox boy. "The last time we did something insanely fun was when we trapped the fangirls in a net."

"And before that… we were at the beach…" Temari said, looking slightly angry at the memory.

"We should go there again!" Ino said. "That was fun."

"Sasuke-kun's driving!" Sakura yelled.

XxX

"This brings back memories…" Sakura said, burying her feet in the warm sand.

"Of being spied on," Tenten pointed out.

Dark looks were shot at the boys who… well, Naruto I think might've been slightly worried…. His was the only expression that changed. Shikamaru was asleep, Gaara was just being awesome, and Sasuke and Neji were glaring at people who walked by them a little too slowly.

"I like the sand," Akimoto said after a silence became too weird. Since when was there ever a quiet moment in their group?

"Reminds me of home," Gaara said

"You should visit Suna someday, Akimoto," Temari said, stretching out and drawing random designs in the sand with a shell Ino had stepped on earlier. She decided she liked the shell. Though it had nothing to do with the pain it caused her… friend…. "There's sand everywhere there."

"It sounds nice," she replied.

"Gaara will probably end up running it someday," Temari continued. "After he graduates, that is."

"If Gaara becomes Kazekage then I'll defiantly become Hokage!" three guesses who.

"Naruto, you're standing on my foot," Ino complained, kicking him with her other. "I'm going to have to heal it now…"

"Does it really n-need it Ino-chan?" Hinata asked as Naruto sat back down. Ino muttered something about it not being completely ruined and that she could possibly walk again… or maybe she said it was fine… I forget… and lie… apparently.

"There aren't any good cloud watching spots in Suna," Shikamaru said, if merely to remind people he was there.

"You just haven't found them yet," Temari countered.

"There are tons in Konoha!" Ino pointed out. "You don't even have to look for them."

"Suna doesn't have as many annoying people," Gaara spoke in his awesomely awesome voice. "The people there don't argue two words at a time."

"Sounds nice and boring all at once," Tenten said. "It'd be nice not to have the twins over here," she jerked her thumb in Sakura and Ino's direction, "but then there wouldn't be anyone to make fun of."

"There's always Temari," Ino reminded her.

"Konoha is way better way better than Suna will ever hope to be, because I'm going to be in charge one day!" Naruto exclaimed, jumping to his feet once again and striking a nice guy pose worthy of Lee.

"Are there wannabe ninjas who dress in bright orange?" Sasuke asked. "If not, I'll move there."

Naruto and Sasuke once again started arguing, Naruto's voice carrying over the entire beach so everyone got his side of the argument, while Sasuke kept his calm, annoying Naruto even more.

"Sasuke-kun, buy me an ice cream," Sakura… asked? "There's a stand for them way over there. I'll even come with you!"

"Fine."

"I WASN'T DONE YELLING AT HIM YET!" Naruto hollered.

"You'll get him next time, Naruto-kun," Hinata said to soothe him. Naruto accepted the statement, and settled back down on the large beach towel beside the shy heiress.

It really was a nice day especially without Sasuke and Sakura present. Without them Naruto and Ino had no one to argue with, so were surprisingly calm. Shikamaru was taking the opportunity to catch up on his sleep, because he hadn't been getting a full 14 hours a day lately… poor lazy, genius, pimp…. Neji and Tenten were discussing youth and green spandex. Specifically, how it ruins people's minds. Gaara was just being awesome. Because let's face it, that's what happens when the person writing the story is an overly obsessive Gaara fan girl. Temari was talking to Akimoto about Suna and all the reasons why it was better than Konoha (the fact that Ino wasn't there was constantly brought up, which resulted in near arguments quiet frequently). Ino took her revenge by laying down beside Shikamaru and messing with his hair, which is awesome because it's like a pineapple.

"So once I'm Hokage, I want to have a son," Naruto was saying to anyone who would listen, meaning Hinata.

"Good to know there's never going to be another Uzumaki running around then," Neji said; glaring as Hinata's face turned bright red.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Naruto yelled, jumping up.

"It means, dobe," Sasuke answered as he walked back up to the group, Sakura following, contently eating an ice cream cone. "That since you'll never become Hokage, you're never going to get an offspring. We thank kami-sama." A few people bowed their heads solemnly as if silently thanking kami-sama, others to hide their laughter.

"That's not funny teme!" Naruto shouted. As an answer, Sasuke nodded towards the people who were laughing, and very clearly thought it was funny.

Naruto looked around for an ally, "Hinata-chan, do you think I could be Hokage?"

"Kakashi-sensei did say that you could surpass Yondamie-sama," she said, not looking directly at Naruto.

"See! Hinata-chan believes in me!"

"She said you could possibly become Hokage," Sakura said slyly.

"She didn't mention that you could get married and have kids," Ino finished.

Naruto frowned, but Akimoto came to his rescue, "I'm sure you'll find someone who would be happy to marry you Naruto-kun. Maybe someone you already know…" then under her breath "someone with white eyes and purple hair."

Naruto didn't hear the last part, so took her statement the wrong way, "You're really nice Akimoto… demo…"

"Not me!"

"She likes Gaara," Tenten mentioned casually. "And I do believe she was referring to… I don't know… the girl who looks like she's got a nasty sunburn but only on her face."

"Tenten-chan!" Hinata squeaked, hiding her face in her hands, looking horrified.

"You guys mean Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked, finally putting two and two together and realizing it equals four.

"I'd be sarcastic… but I'm not sure it would be a good idea," Temari said, shaking her head.

"He wouldn't get it," Ino confirmed, though she regretted that she agreed with Temari. "I think I see… um… Chouji! Let's go see him, Shika-kun."

Shikamaru nodded and followed Ino. Weather Chouji was really there or not… well only Ino knows.

"She… agreed… with… me…" Temari said, twitching on the ground… or just shuddered and continued listening to the current conversation, you decide.

"I never liked Suna to be honest," Tenten said. "Not many trees for target practice."

"Which means fewer birds," Neji said simply. "And I don't think I'd be allowed to live anywhere else. Another problem with the Hyuuga clan…"

"If you wanted to, Neji-nii-san," Hinata said quietly. "I'd grant you permission once I'm head of the family. Then it'd be up to the Hokage."

"I'm ok with you moving away!" Naruto said, in what he assumed would make Neji happier, but instead he looked highly annoyed, though didn't say anything.

"I think it'd be nice to raise kids where we grew up," Sakura said. "Then we'd already know it was a good neighborhood."

"If Naruto's offspring are running around, it wouldn't be a very good place to raise other kids," Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto shouted an answer, Sasuke scoffed, Tenten rolled her eyes, Temari took a nap, Sakura shook her head in shame, Gaara built a sandcastle without using his hands, Akimoto dug a hole, and Hinata read a book. And that's how their day was. They hung out, Ino and Shikamaru came back (smelling strongly of barbeque chips), laughed at each other, talked about what they would do after graduation, and enjoyed each other's company (arguments and all). What more is there to say? They were friends. A bunch of misfits, ranging from a genius pimp to a psycho killer panda. Two sets of people with a best friend/rival relationship. A shy heiress that was hopelessly in love with a hyperactive blonde who only had a vague idea that she liked him, but made his life goal to make everyone else acknowledge him. A weapons obsessed girl with perfect buns and her best friend who hated his family, but was getting along a lot better with his cousin. A girl with an abnormally large forehead, dating a boy who could have any girl he wanted, but chose the annoyance over everyone else, though his life's ambition was still to defeat his brother. A poor lazy genius who had two bossy, yet beautiful, blonde girls constantly arguing over him, though he didn't seem to care too much. And then there was the new girl. The girl who managed to not only befriend all of these unique people and got along with them, but found herself falling for a boy who thought he loved himself and himself only.

They all fit. They argued, fought, made fun of each other, laughed at each other's mistakes, and put each other down. Yet that didn't matter. They got along. When it came right down to it, even Temari and Ino would put aside their differences and save the other if it came right down to it. Neji wouldn't dream of ever letting someone actually hurt the girl who he himself had attempted to kill, because even if their family was screwed up, he still loved his cousin. You couldn't find better friends than Sasuke and Naruto. That's what they were, though they'd never admit it. They were best friends, and would always be. Sasuke acknowledged Naruto when no one else would, and even if they aren't text book friends, there's not anyone could break apart their friendship. Tenten would always be there to break apart any minor disagreement that Ino and Sakura had, because let's face it, they'll never have a major one again. They can finish each other's sentences, fight and then the next day act as if nothing happened at all. You can't have that with someone and ever really hate them. Their friendship wouldn't ever end.

Neji and Tenten, Sasuke and Sakura. Proof that best friends can become more. (A/N: insert remark that will surely offend H-chan when we discuss HP later here.) True Sasuke repeatedly called Sakura annoying and ditched her frequently, and Neji didn't acknowledge most of Tenten's accomplishments, but in the end, they were friends, and more. Sasuke wanted someone to help him start a family, and Sakura wanted him to accept her. They worked well together. Neji and Tenten. It just works. Even in their training they just worked. She didn't miss a target; he needed someone to challenge him. He was apathetic and thought fate controlled ever aspect of life, while she didn't have a rule book to live by. They completed each other.

Then there's Gaara. Cold, unfeeling Gaara who fought only for himself, and didn't care if anyone died or not. Then she came along. Akimoto. Emotional, loved her gigantic swords, got along well with most everyone, and was loyal. It takes a special (or insane) kind of person to be able to love someone like Gaara. And though Akimoto's sanity could sometimes be questioned, she did manage to see past his cold personality, love of killing people, and (according to imouto-baka-chan) obvious creepiness.

To look at this group, now packing up beach supplies and getting ready to return home, one would think that they were just a normal group of people. But that was far from the case. This was the weirdest group of people in Konoha. But that didn't matter. Weird as they are, they're also the closest group of friends Konoha or Suna would ever know.

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And I find myself on the same laptop, in the same seat that I was in when I first started this story… watching the same kids wrestle, and listening to the same toddlers screaming. Some vacation…

I hope everyone enjoyed the story, I will eventually write a sequel I think…. Sorry for the cheesy ending, but I couldn't think of how to end this. Mustard-Gal requested another beach scene, so that's why it's reused. Not only because I'm that uncreative.

Thanks to Mustard-Gal for betaing, creating Akimoto, and being awesome. Don't forget to check out the AMVs and fanart made for this story (fanart by Mustard-Gal, AMVs by me).

Until the sequel,

Chibi-Penguin-Chan