“But then hey, our wedding present is definitely the best one!”
“Obviously. You, me, and Akamaru all achieved this gift by working together, after all.
After a while, the old buildings of the abandoned town started to come into sight again. There weren’t as many cats in the area now.
As expected, the cats had shown up to keep an eye on them. They’d probably decided Shino and the rest weren’t a threat and gone back now.
That, or they’d seen them walking with Tamaki and Momo, and decided they approved of their presence.
Somehow, it felt like the abandoned town itself had given them its seal of approval.
As they entered a complicated looking alley-way, Shino took out one insect.
Just in case, he’d told this one insect to memorise the complicated journey back.
Kiba saw the insect and immediately understood, letting out a whistle.
“You’re really sensible,” He said, “Thanks.”
“If we follow it, we’ll head to the exit soon.”
They followed the insect as it flew through the roads without hesitating once.
“And with this,” Shino murmured, “Team Eight’s Last Mission…is complete…!”
For some reason, he’d wanted to say the words himself. He didn’t want to hear them from someone else. He wanted to hear them come out from his own mouth.
Of course, if he did that, the self-declared leader of Team Eight -aka Kiba- wasn’t going to let it slide.
“Why are you the one who’s declaring that?! And you know, the mission isn’t gonna be finished until we head back to the village!”
“Of course.” Shino obediently nodded, continuing to think about what he’d been considering earlier, “We’ll go back to the village, and make sure to ascertain the beginning of Naruto and Hinata’s future with our own eyes.”
“Hm? What’s this? You’ve turned into a real poet today.”
“Have I?”
They kept talking as they walked.
Shino remembered the day he’d first been put on the same team as Kiba.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to get along with you well. The reason is that we–”
Kiba hadn’t let him finish that sentence.
Back then, he’d been filled with nothing but anxiety about the future. Every day, he’d felt depressed about it.
But, look at how things turned out.
Right now, Shino had a partner he trusted more than anyone else walking beside him.
He had a best friend who listened to what he had to say.
If he was able to tell his past self about how things would turn out, what kind of an expression would his younger self make? He’d probably think the future wasn’t all that bad after all.
But, there was one thing Shino clearly knew:
The present isn’t all that bad.