Shikamaru was vaguely aware he was bleeding out, but he couldn't really bring himself to care. The kunai in his chest wasn't actually hurting him- just causing a dull pulsation every other second, which he realized must've been his heartbeat, as uneven and slow as it was. Huh. He never knew dying was quite like this. It hurt a lot less than it should have.

If he could've sighed, he would. He always knew he would die on a mission (Such was the life of a ninja), but he hadn't expected it to be while he was leading a team. There was a higher probability of it happening while he was solo than with people he trusted.

Oh well. At least he didn't have to fill out the paperwork for this one.

"No, no, no, no, no. This, this isn't- Just keep your eyes open, okay, Shikamaru? You're going to be just fine."

And there was Chouji. Crying. How troublesome.

He felt bad for making his best friend so upset, but what could he do? He had little to no feeling in any of his body and he couldn't exactly force his wounds to close, could he? The shuriken in his arm and leg certainly wasn't helping anything.

Ugh, his face felt sticky. Did he hurt his head at some point? Probably when he fell out of that tree. One of the branches must've caught him. The ground wasn't as soft as it looked either.

Really, the only thing he was able to do was allow himself to lay limp and stare at the sky, just as he had done for the past seventeen years of his life. He didn't really mind. What better way to go out than staring at the clouds? If only Chouji would lay back and watch them with him. Then it would've been perfect.

"Hang on. We're close to Konoha, so just hang on until we get there, okay? Please."

Someone was screaming and it sounded like Ino. Troublesome girl. Couldn't keep quiet for once, could she? Why couldn't she just lay low and sneak up on the enemy instead of announcing her presence?

Not there was much chance of a surprise attack now, considering the fight had been going on for some time. But the least she could do was keep quiet while she fought. Respect for the dying and all that.

Man, the sky was blue today. There was a perfect amount of clouds too. Not enough to cover the whole sky, of course, allowing some space in between the mounds of cotton and there was more than a few wisps in the air. It was a perfect day for watching them. Or maybe napping on that hill of his. He was so sleepy.

"No, Shikamaru, don't close your eyes! You have to keep them open, okay? For me."

When had Chouji started to carry him?

"Just another minute, okay? Just another minute and we'll be there and you'll be fine. Keep, keep your eyes open, okay? Don't close them. Don't fall asleep."

Huh. He hadn't even noticed his eyes were closed. And how could he ask him not to fall asleep? He was so tired and the way he kept bouncing up and down was almost rhythmic.

Fingers, Chouji's hands, kept tightening and relaxing around him, like he wasn't sure how hard to hold. If he were more awake, it might have hurt, but like everything else he barely felt it. In some strange way, that was okay. He was dying. So be it. Life was a huge effort anyway.

"No, no, you can't. You can't go. You can't leave me! I won't let you!"

He was a dead man. He knew it and Chouji knew it. So why was his best friend acting as though he had a chance?

"Look, see? We're almost there. Tsunade's waiting for us. It's going to be fine."

If he didn't say something now, he knew he'd never get the chance and he'd die knowing Chouji blamed himself.

His tongue felt numb, unmoveable, making his words come out slurred and disjointed. It was hard to even think straight. How troublesome….

"Cho..ji-"

Those arms tightened around him again.

"No, shh, you have to save your energy. Just don't talk and everything will be fine." Like he was convincing himself.

Opening his eyes was such a bother when he couldn't feel them, but he had to see Chouji. To let him know he was serious.

His eyes parted only halfway, most of his sight blocked by his own lashes. Why did they have to be so long? Now it was harder to see. Though he suspected not all the darkness in his vision was his own hair. Sigh.

" 'S'not yowr fawlt." He sounded like a toddler. Tch. Whatever. "…Did yawr…b'st."

"Shh, no, I said not to speak, don't-" Was that a hitch in his voice?

" 'M dyin', Cho. S'it's okay."

Something wet landed on his face and he suspected it wasn't his own blood.

Had his eyes closed again?

"Don't talk like that! You're going to be fine, do you hear me? You're going to...to be just-"

"Yawr a…great f'w'nd. B'st."

He had stopped feeling anything at all now and what little energy he had was slowly seeping out the multiple holes in his torso. He had to be quick now. There wasn't much time left.

"Why do you keep talking like that? You won't die!"

Maybe he was smiling or maybe it looked more like a scowl. He hoped he looked happy. At the very least he could do that for Chouji.

"See ya…in t' n'xt life, m'kay?" His words were soft to even his own ears and it would be a miracle if Chouji could hear him.

He was so, so sleepy. Why could he never nap in peace?

"S'ry I wuzzn't a b'tter friend…."

"Shikamaru!"

"L'ter."

"Shikamaru!"

Night.

I may or may not make a sequel to this one. It depends on what kind of response I get. But if there is a sequel, it would probably be slash. I'm just as happy leaving this by itself though. Thoughts?