"I have a mission today."

I hated hearing that, as quiet as I would stay. He was always going off on missions, like being a chuunin meant having more missions. Which it probably did, but I didn't think it should. I was greedy, you could say. I felt that Shikamaru and I should always be together, that our missions should always be together, that no one and nothing should ever come between us.

At one time, we were Ino-Shika-Cho. The three of us, always having missions. Together. Sure, I didn't care much if Ino was there or not, but at least Shikamaru and I were together.

That's what mattered.

Because I was greedy.

I wanted Shikamaru, and I wanted my way.

Not that I'd get it.

Like every time Shikamaru had a mission, I hugged him and wished him luck. I told him to be careful and he just replied with "Stop worrying, baka. You know I'll be fine."

Just like always.

That afternoon, Ino, Asuma-sensei, and I all met as if we had a mission.

But we didn't.

We just...met.

And it felt weird, because Shikamaru wasn't with us.

We had been talking for a while before I finally couldn't hold it in any longer. "I'm taking the next Chuunin Exam and dammit, I'm passing!"

Both Ino and Asuma-sensei stared oddly at me.

"I understand wanting to be a chuunin," Asuma-sensei said, flicking some ashes from his cigarette onto the ground. "but why so gung-ho all of a sudden?"

I felt myself blush and I sunk down into myself.

No one else knew about Shikamaru and I, so I couldn't say "Because I want to be with Shikamaru all the time!"

So I quickly made up an excuse. "B-because...Because I'm tired of stupid genin missions."

"Really?" Ino asked. "It's not like you to complain about the missions. Usually, you're complaining that you're hungry! Look at Shikamaru. Don't you think those chuunin missions are tougher?"

I couldn't answer, so I didn't. I didn't say anything else the rest of the day.

------------------

Five days had passed and I was getting worried.

Shikamaru's missions weren't usually more than two days long, and already the third day was drawing to an end. Team Asuma would have a mission tomorrow, but I was contemplating on playing sick. I didn't want to go on a mission. Not without Shikamaru.

So I planned it out that night.

I wouldn't show up tomorrow. When Asuma-sensei and Ino would show up to get me, I'd already have been working on ways to make my temperature go up, so that I'd seem to have a pretty high fever.

It wouldn't take anything more than that, I was sure.

I was hurrying around, trying to get things ready, ideas to bring up my temperature in the morning when I heard a knock at the door.

My father answered it, but I crept out to see who it was.

Two ANBU.

And they said...they wanted to talk to me.

I had his terrible feeling deep in my stomach, the kind of feeling you get when you know something absolutely terrible happened but you just don't want to find out about it.

And when I heard their news, I knew why I didn't want to find out.

I broke down right there, crying.

Nara Shikamaru...was dead.