A/N: I was planning on writing this many days ago, but the heavy rain, complimented with thunder prevented me from using my computer. I love rainy days, but if it's with thunder I hate it because I can't use my computer… Well, anyway, here is the sequel to my ShikaTema oneshot 'Don't Leave Me'! Didn't thought you would get a sequel? Hehe, well read away! Oh, and sorry for the suckish title, but I couldn't come up with anything else.
What If…
I walked into Konoha. I was returning from a 4-day escort mission. I came back only with a few scratches, but nothing else. I went home, took a long shower, and right now I am on my way to pick up my daughter, who I left in her grandparents house. Then I would go to give Lady Tsunade the report I wrote when I was at my hosue. As I approached Shikaku and Yoshino's house, I heard someone yell.
"Mommy!" my six-year-old daughter yelled, as she ran outside of her grandparents' house and was coming to where I was. "Mari!" I yelled, as I bend down with my arms open. "Mommy, you're back!" Shikamari yelled, and after a couple of seconds, she was in my arms, hugging me warmly. I happily hugged her back.
We broke the hug, and I stood up, looking down to my daughter. She looked so much like her father. She had gotten his long, dark-brown hair, which I somehow styled in my signature four ponytails, and she had my eyes. As for the attitude, well, it's a mix between Shikamaru and me. I grabbed her hand as we walked into her grandparents' house.
"Shikaku! Yoshino! I'm here!" I yelled, and after a couple of seconds Yoshino came out of the kitchen. "Oh, welcome back Temari!" she said. "Care to stay for lunch?"
"I'm sorry, but I have to go to Lady Tsunade's. I'm just here to pick up Shikamari and thank you for taking care of her while I'm on missions" I said. Shikamari was still by my side, holding my hand.
"Oh, don't thank us! We love having Shikamari over!" Yoshino said with a smile. "Shikaku, get over here, you lazy ass!" she then yelled, and returned looking at us with the smile.
"Grandma, that's a bad word!" Shikamari said innocently.
"Oh, right, sorry!" Yoshino said with a hand behind her head.
"Grandpa Shika!" Shikamari yelled when she saw Shikaku coming to the room, ran to where he was, and grabbed on to his leg. He laughed at this and playfully moved his leg to try to make her let go, but failed. Shika…that was Shikamaru's nickname…
"Are you gonna pick her up already?" Shikaku asked me, and I nodded. "I still haven't reported to Lady Tsunade, but I'm sure she won't mind if I bring Mari along!" I replied with a smile. Lady Tsunade seemed to care for Shikamari a lot, since she always asked me how she was. This time, I decided to let her see by herself how she is.
Me and Yoshino went to the living room, sat down and started talking while Shikamari went to pick up her stuff, with the help of her grandpa.
"Do you still miss him?" I heard Yoshino say.
"Very much. I…I will never stop missing him…" I replied, and I felt tears forming up in my eyes.
"Mommy! I'm ready!" I heard Shikamari say as she entered the room with a backpack on her back and another bag on her hand. Shikaku came into the room behind her. I held back the tears. "Do you want me to help you with that?" I said, standing up from the couch.
"I can do it all by myself" she said with a smile, while walking to the door, but obviously the bag was too heavy for her. I smiled, walked to where she was, and took the bag. She looked at me for a second, and then smiled gratefully.
"Well, we'll be going now!" I said to Yoshino and Shikaku as Shikamari and I stood in front of the door, looking at them.
"Bye grandma Yoshi! Bye grandpa Shika!" Shikamari said, ran to where they were, hugged them, and then came back to where I was. I tried to contain a chuckle because I found Yoshino's nickname funny.
"Take care of yourselves!" Yoshino said, waving goodbye, and Shikaku did the same. We waved back and got out of the house.
"Mommy, am I going to meet Godaime Hokage today?" Shikamari asked me not long after we started walking. "Yes, but we have to drop by home and leave your things there. Then you can meet her"
"Yay!" she said. She admires Lady Tsunade a lot, and she has asked me a couple of times if she can meet her. I'm sure Lady Tsunade wants to meet Shikamari as well…
O.O.O.O.O.O
I knocked on Lady Tsunade's office door. "Come in" I heard her say. I opened the door and entered, with Shikamari holding on to me. She was a little nervous and excited. Lady Tsunade was looking out the window. "Lady Tsunade, I came here to give you the report of the mission" I said, and then she turned around.
"Very we-" she said, as she looked at Shikamari. "Oh my! Is this who I think it is?!" she said, with a smile on her face. I nodded, returning the smile. Shikamari stood by my side. "Nice to meet you Godaime Hokage. I am Shikamari Nara" she said, and I smiled.
"Wow! She's so big!" Lady Tsunade said. "How old are you, little one?"
"Six" Shikamari replied, after counting with her fingers, and showing them to Lady Tsunade when she said it.
"Wow!" she replied. "I remember when you were just a little baby…time sure flies by…"
"It sure does" I said, with a little sadness on my voice, but I made sure that it wouldn't be noticeable to Mari.
"Godaime Hokage…" Mari said. "Yes?"
"Is it true that you're going to retire soon?"
"Hmm…yes it is. I see that rumors and news spread fast…" Lady Tsunade replied.
"Lady Tsunade…who do you plan on leaving on charge?" I forced myself to ask.
"Well…" Lady Tsunade said, smiling. "Naruto is going to be Hokage?!" I asked, with shock on my face.
"Uncle Naruto is going to be Rokudaime Hokage?!" Shikamari yelled excited.
"Yes" Lady Tsunade replied. Shikamari calls 'uncle' every best friend of Shikamaru. Neji is 'Uncle Neji', Naruto is 'Uncle Naruto', Kiba is 'Uncle Kiba', Chouji is 'Uncle Choji'…you get my point. She also calls Ino, Tenten, Sakura and Hinata her 'aunts'.
"Looking at her is like looking at a female version of him" Lady Tsunade said. "Y-yeah, it is"
"Well…anyway, Lady Tsunade, here's the report" I said, taking a scroll out of my pocket and handing it to her.
"Ah, yes! Thank you Temari. You may rest for now" Lady Tsunade said. Shikamari and I bowed, said our goodbyes and left.
The walk from Lady Tsunade's office to my house was about 15 minutes. Shikamari and I got home and she ran excitedly around the living room. Then, we sat on the couch. "M-mommy?"
"Yes?" I asked, fixing one of Shikamari's ponytails. "How was…daddy like?" she asked. I felt a combination of shock and sadness inside of me. "I mean, you've showed me pictured of him but how was he like?"
"I'm…I'm gonna go whip us something up" I said, trying to change the subject.
"Why do you never answer that question to me, mommy?" she asked, as I stood up. I stayed like that for about a minute, and then I sat down again.
"So, you want to know about daddy?" I asked her, and she nodded.
I sighed. "Okay then. Let me see…" I said, taking a little time to think.
"Shikamaru Nara. He was a Jounin-level ninja who saw life, and pretty much everything else as a troublesome thing. He was lazy and pessimist, but when the time came, he was very useful in battle. He was a genius with an IQ of over 200. Mommy first met him in the Chuunin exams. She had to fight him"
Shikamari looked ecxited. "Ooh! Who won?" she asked.
"Well, daddy was about to win when he ran out of chakra, and then he gave up, so mommy won. If not, he would have probably won. But still he was the only one of the Chuunin exams participants who got promoted to Chuunin" I said, and stopped for a moment to think. "He was part of the 'Ino-Shika-Cho' trio along with aunt Ino and uncle Chouji. Mommy met him again not long after the Chuunin exams. Lady Tsunade let us know that our leaf village allies needed assistance in battle, so they called for me, uncle Gaara and uncle Kankuro. I had to assist daddy, and we won"
I felt the tears forming up in my eyes. "Long after that, we met again. We became a couple, but the distance between our villages was a problem, so we decided that I would move to Konoha and started living together. Not long after that, he proposed to me, and I accepted…but then…" I stopped.
"Even though he was a lazy person, he was very fun to talk to, and he was good company. I'm sure that he would have loved you a lot. I'm sure he does love you a lot from where he is right now. And he's with us even though we can't see him…" I felt the tears rolling down my cheek. "
"M…mommy?" I heard Shikamari say, her voice cracking, and I looked up to find her crying too. "Oh! I…I'm sorry, Shikamari" I said.
"Mommy?" she said again. "Yes?"
"I want daddy to be here…" Shikamari said. "I want to see him!" I hugged my crying daughter. "I want daddy to be here too…" I whispered in her ear, as I felt Shikamari crying in my arms, and then felt myself crying too.
I woke up breathing heavily. I looked around me, frightened. I found myself in my bedroom. But, was this all true? Did Shikamaru die in the hospital, and left his daughter father-less? And left me?
I heard a groan very near me. "Temari?" a voice asked.
"S-Shikamaru!" I said, and automatically hugged him. After that, he gave me a confused expression. "I'm sorry…I just had a horrible nightmare…"
Shikamaru smiled. "Troublesome woman…" he said with a smirk. I couldn't help but chuckle at this. "Everything's fine Nara, go back to sleep" he said.
I remember now…Shika didn't die, and we have do have a six-year-old daughter who is, I assume, sleeping in her own room. I smiled. I surely like things the way they are right now, and I don't want them to change…
Hehe! Finally finished writing this! I hope everyone liked it! Now, I can update 'Fangirls Spell Trouble' in peace!
