"Why? Why did you have to do this?" asked Shikamaru. "
So you won't break my heart anymore." said Ino closing her eyes and going limp.
"Ino? Ino! Wake up! Please wake up!" Shikamaru cried. He stood up and held her in his arms.
"Ino, you baka! Temari was helping me. I was practicing proposing to you with her. I love you." he sobbed.
Shikamaru stood with his teammates and friends as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Tears streamed down his face silently as he watched. Asuma put his hand on his shoulder but Shikamaru paid no attention.
"We're going to go now." Asuma said quietly. Shikamaru just stood there staring at the ground as his friends left. Inoichi Yamanaka came up to stand beside Shikamaru. They stayed together in silence for a while. Inoichi put his
arm around Shikamaru's shoulders.
"Come, Shikamaru. Let's go." he said quietly.
"No. I'm going to stay here a little longer." said Shikamaru. Inoichi watched him for a bit.
"Alright. Just don't stay here too long. Ino wouldn't want that." he said. Shikamaru nodded but said nothing. Inoichi sighed and walked away leaving Shikamaru to grieve alone. As soon as he was alone, sobs were wrenched from
him, feeling as if his very soul was being torn away.
Asuma was walking around town later that night. He decided to head to Shikamaru's place to check on him. Once there he knocked on the door. His friend Shikaku greeted him.
"Asuma, come in." said Shikaku.
"Ah. I can't really stay. I was just coming to see how Shikamaru is doing." said Asuma.
"He hasn't come home yet." said Shikaku.
"He hasn't? The funeral was hours ago." said Asuma.
"He will come home when he is ready." said Shikaku.
"You're right. He isn't one to let his emotions run his decisions. I'll be going now. See you later." said Asuma.
"See ya. If you see Shikamaru, send him home." Shikaku said.
"Will do!" said Asuma as he left. He continued on his way and eventually came to the cemetary. He was going to walk by until something caught his eye. Heading in to the cemetary, he saw Shikamaru kneeling on the ground in
front of Ino's grave. He walked silently up to the boy.
"Shikamaru?" he said. Shikamaru turned his head up to look at him.
"It's late. Go home." said Asuma.
"I want to stay just a little longer." said Shikamaru.
"You've been here all day. You need to rest. Your father is waiting for you." said Asuma. He placed his hand on the younger boy's arm.
"You need to go home. It won't do you any good to stay out here all night. I'll take you home. Let's go." said Asuma. Shikamaru jumped up and whirled on the older ninja.
"NO! I am staying here. I am NOT leaving her!" he cried. Seeing the look on his student's face, Asuma relented.
"Alright. You can stay here but please go home soon. Ino wouldn't have wanted this." he said. Shikamaru nodded and sat back down in front of the grave. Asuma took off his jacket and wrapped it around Shikamaru's shoulders.
"I'll be back here in a couple hours. If you are still here I will take you home. And by force if necessary." he said. Shikamaru didn't say anything so Asuma left. After he left, Shikamaru began to talk.
"Ino, why? Why did you leave me? I love you. I can't be here without you. I wanted to marry you. What am I supposed to do now? How can I go on without you by my side?" he said. Shikamaru leaned his head against the
gravestone and began to cry again.
"What are Choji and I going to do without you? We need you. I need you. How could you just leave us like that? Why didn't you fight it?" he yelled. Sobs wracked his body until no more came. Physically and mentally exhausted,
Shikamaru fell asleep his head never leaving the cold stone. Asuma found him a few hours later.
"Shikamaru? Hey, Shikamaru." he said. As he got closer he realized the boy was asleep. Gently so as to not wake him, Asuma picked up the boy and carried him home.
"Shikamaru, I am so sorry. I know how much you loved her." he whispered softly. Upon reaching his home, Asuma saw the lights were still on downstairs. Hurrying to the porch, he gently knocked on the door. Shikaku answered it.
"Asuma! You found him. Is he alright?" he asked.
"He is sleeping. The funeral took a big toll on him." said Asuma. Shikaku nodded.
"I can only imagine what he is going through. Let's get him to his room, shall we? Follow me." he said. Asuma followed Shikaku through the house to Shikamaru's room. Asuma quietly crossed to his bed and laid the boy down
gently. Shikaku covered him up and motioned for Asuma to follow him out. Asuma walked out the door and turned around.
"I am so sorry for your pain, Shikamaru. It will get better with time." he said and quietly closed the door.
Downstairs Shikaku and Asuma talked about Shikamaru. "What do you think he will do when he finds out he isn't there tomorrow?" asked Asuma.
"My guess is he will go back. I don't see him leaving her alone for too long." said Shikaku.
"That's what I am afraid of." said Asuma.
"What do you mean?" inquired Shikaku.
"I tried to get him to leave earlier. He just about lost his mind at the thought of leaving her alone." explained Asuma.
"Ah. I see. Well I will be sure to keep an eye on him the next few days." said Shikaku.
"I will try to keep him busy as well. I'm sure in time he will be better. We just have to ride it out for now." said Asuma. Shikaku nodded.
"That's all we can do at this point." he said. Asuma stood up.
"I better be going. Kurenai will probably be wondering where I am." he said. Shikaku laughed.
"That woman can be troublesome, ne?" he asked.
"More than you know." Asuma agreed. Shikaku walked Asuma to the door.
"I will stop by in the morning to see how he is doing." said Asuma.
"That will be fine. Goodnight, Asuma." said Shikaku.
"Night, Shikaku." said Asuma as he leapt off the porch towards Kurenai's home. Shikaku turned and shut the door. He shut the lights off downstairs and went to check on Shikamaru. Seeing that he was still asleep, Shikaku quickly
walked down the hall and went to his own bed.
The next morning Shikaku went to check on Shikamaru and to see if he wanted breakfast. He knocked on the door and waited. When he heard no sounds coming from the room he knocked again.
"Oi, Shikamaru. It's time for breakfast." he said. He still heard nothing. Growing concerned he quickly opened his son's door to find his bed...empty.
"What the hell?" he yelled. He raced down the stairs and out the door. In the village he ran into Asuma walking with Kurenai.
"Shikaku! How's Shikamaru this morning?" asked Asuma.
"I don't know. I went up to get him for breakfast this morning and his bed was empty! I have to find him." said Shikaku.
"I'll help you look. Gomen, Kurenai. Raincheck?" said Asuma.
"Go on and find him. He needs you more than I do right now." said Kurenai. Asuma kissed her quickly before leaving with his friend.
"Do you have any idea where he would go?" asked Shikaku.
"I have a pretty good idea where he is." said Asuma. They hurried through the village towards the cemetary as fast as they could go. Once they reached the cemetary they slowed their pace and walked to where Ino's grave was
located. As they got closer they found Shikamaru kneeling on the ground writing. Shikaku started to walk up to him when Asuma put his arm in front of him.
"Wait." he whispered. Shikaku glanced at Asuma and nodded. Soon they noticed Shikamaru was shaking. Thinking he was crying or cold they began to approach him. When they were just a few feet behind him they heard him
speaking softly.
"I'm sorry, Ino. I just can't do this without you. You meant everything to me. I'm lost without you here. I want to be with you." said Shikamaru. He pulled out a kunai and plunged it into his heart.
"I hope you can forgive me. I..love you...Ino." he said before falling over. Asuma and Shikaku rushed to his side once the shock of what just happened wore off.
"Shikamaru!" they yelled. Shikaku scooped his son up into his arms.
"Hold on, Shikamaru. Just hold on. We'll get you to the hospital. You'll be just fine." said Shikaku.
"Gomen...dad. I couldn't...live..without...her." Shikamaru said softly. He closed his eyes and smiled.
"I'll..see..her...soon." he said. Shikaku and Asuma watched as the last breath shuddered from his body. His arm went limp and a paper fell to the ground. Asuma picked it up and read it.
"If you are reading this, I am already dead. I am sorry for whoever finds me. Tell my parents I love them and I know this will hurt them. I just couldn't continue my own life when the woman I loved the most no longer had hers.
Please understand I needed to do this. It was the only way to stop the pain. I love you, my parents, and all my friends. We will meet in the next life, I'm sure. Shikamaru."
They laid his body to rest two days later. All of his family and friends came to say their goodbyes and pay their last respects. Asuma stood quietly to the side with Choji while everyone placed a single white rose on his casket.
Finally the funeral was over. Asuma walked Shikaku and his wife home. Choji stayed behind after everyone left. He knelt down between the two graves.
"Ino, Shikamaru. I miss you both so much. I am lost without you now. What should I do? Where do I go from here? Where ever you are, I hope you are both finally happy. I don't completely understand why you chose this route and
I probably never will. My heart hurts with the thought of you being gone from me forever. Are you finally together? Are you happy where you are? I hope so. There's been enough hurt to last a lifetime. Maybe some day we will meet
again and you can explain it to me. For now I know I will never understand. I love you both." he said crying softly. He stood up and placed a flower on both graves. He said a quick prayer and turned to leave. The wind began to pick
up and blew across his face. He could hear the sound of laughter and what sounded like someone saying "troublesome". He turned around and looked at his friends graves. In the darkening light, he could see them standing hand in
hand and smiling at him. Tears fell down his face when he saw them.
"I am glad that you are finally happy. I miss you both. Goodbye." he said. The ghostly forms wavered in the wind and disappeared into the night. Choji smiled and
turned around. He quietly left the cemetary and headed for home.