Kiko Maris or whatever.......

The end of the book.

So last chapter, I hope you've enjoyed the book so far and I promise that the sequel will be up, once I've gotten a headstart on the chapters.

Tsukiko's pov:

Pervy Sage hadn't been too happy with us leaving him behind, mostly because Snakey had become angry, when he noticed, that we were gone. Supposedly Pervy Sage was 'sick' and had had a harsh time dealing with Snakey and Kabuto all alone, though he only had a few light bruises as proof. He had been whining about it all the way back to Konoha. I had run off the second that we entered the village, heading straight to Otou-sensei's room.

"Kiddo, how did the trip go?" Otou-sensei asked when I sat in the chair by his bed.

"Fine, I guess. I met Raven's brother and his fishie friend, fishie wanted to keep me, he said, that I was funny. Then Pervy Sage told a lot of women, that I was his daughter, making them all clingy. Later we met Snakey and Kabuto, who started to backtalk me, so I went out and got something to eat with Tsunade, Shizune, Naruto and Ton-Ton. Naruto managed to learn his new jutsu and he plans on having Pinky yelling at me, something about not going with strangers that offer you candy, like you did." I told him, leaving him not quite sure how to react. "Ton-Ton is a cute pig." I added in a try to lighten the mood.

It seemed to work as he began to chuckle, which was interrupted by the door that opened. Tsunade stepped in and gave me a slightly funny look, before she turned to Otou-sensei.

"Kakashi, I do believe that we need to have a talk, perhaps it would be best to send the girl somewhere else for now?" She told him in a low voice after she finished healing him.

"Kiko, go play with Ibiki." Otou-sensei sighed and sat up straighter.

Nodding my head I left the room, closing the door behind me. She seemed very serious, had something bad happened? Shrugging it of I ran off to Ibiki's work place, I remember it from when I was brought there. It wasn't really that far from the hospital, probably a good thing too.

"Ibiki!!!" I called loudly the second that I entered the building; I could hear a chuckle from one of the rooms which I followed. "Otou-sensei said to go play with yoooouuuuu!"

Thus I spent the day with Ibiki, spending the day with Ibiki usually means that you'll learn a lot of what goes on in the village. Like today I heard people talk about how Raven might be leaving to go to Snakey's place. I hope they are wrong. I also heard that Naruto and Raven had been fighting on the top of the hospital, though that got to be wrong, they wouldn't fight already right? When it got dark outside Ibiki had a mission and had to go, which left me to walk home alone. All of a sudden a hand grabbed my wrist and held it tightly; I looked over and instantly recognized the boy beside me.

"Raven?" I asked in a quiet voice and looked up at him as he stood beside me on the street; it was only the two of us outside. "I heard, that the grownups said, that you might leave the village, is that true? Are you gonna leave us?"

He looked at me silently a little before he shrugged. "I don't know, Orochimaru could teach me a lot."

"I just thought, that you should know, that if you go, then you'll be dead to me. Raven will perish and I'll mourn the loss of you greatly." I told him and he seemed to be in deep thought.

"What if you met me again? What if I came back for you?" He asked and I looked him straight in the eyes.

"Raven would still be gone; he would have died the second he left me. The person I would face then would be the Sasuke that everyone is talking about, the power-hungry one, and not my Raven. My Raven would be gone. And he would be missed. I would miss him." His eyes darkened slightly as I spoke and he was silent for a long time.

Then he smiled slightly at me. "Then I can't leave you behind." He said, but his eyes still had traces of the dark that had possessed them only moments earlier.

"You know, that I won't come with you, right? I have just built a life here, with family and friends, I can't leave that. I won't leave that." I told him and he nodded in thought, then he stepped closer to me, looked at me again, letting go of my wrist.

"I promise that I won't leave you." He said in a slight warmth in his voice making me smile brightly, then he bend his head down slightly and kissed my forehead, before turning and walking away like nothing happened.

I starred after him and stood as if frozen to the ground, before I fully realized, what he had done. Then I turned and ran after him with a face burning red. "Raven! You can't just do that!!!"

"Why? I knew that you would follow me." He said with one of those ghost smiles, that had become so characteristic for him.

I giggled loudly and followed him smiling, because I knew now, that he wouldn't leave the village.

Because he wouldn't leave me, he promised, and I wouldn't leave the village, so he had to stay!

How wrong I was. How naive to think, that he wouldn't find a loophole......