Best Friend till the End

Shikamaru sighed deeply as he stared up at the clouds floating above him. He thought of Asuma and the promise he made to him as he lay dying in his arms. He then noticed a rather fluffy cloud that resembled a bunny. His mind flashed back to a more peaceful time when he was young, laying in the same spot he was now. The only real difference was his appearance and the little girl that laid splayed out next to him. He could still recall her soprano voice.

"Hey Shika, you know what we should do for fun," she asked as she sat up to look down at him with beaming eyes.

Shikarmaru simply lulled his head to the side to look at her. "Lay here longer? That sounds like less of a drag to me."

"No silly! We should become husband and wife someday, but in order to do that we need to make a promise today so that we will," she replied excitedly.

Shikamaru's brow furrowed. "Why should we do that," he asked incredulously.

"Well, I like you and you like me don't you," she asked placing her small hands on her hips dramamtically.

"Of course I do. We're friends."

"Exactly! We're the best of friends, which is why we should get married!"

The memory brought a smile to his face. They were the best of friend alright. They had gone through ninja academy together. Luckily enough none of that had really changed. Riko was still his best girl friend since Choji claimed the title of being his best guy friend. All seemed well, though he knew that a dark cloud was about to cover his world.

"Shika!"

Shikamaru did not move, he didn't want to give away that he could hear her.

"Shikamaru," the feminine voice called sounding a bit darker with frustration.

Riko reached the top of the hill where Shikamaru was resting. She nudged him in the side with the toe of her shoe.

"Get up. I know you're awake, I can see you breathing," she huffed.

Shikamaru opened his left eye to look at her. "Uhm, Riko? People breathe when they're asleep too. Otherwise they'd be dead," he pointed out.

Riko rolled her eyes and sat down beside the chuunin. "Always so literal. You know what I meant."

Shikamaru was about to say that he actually didn't know but decided better of it.

They were both quiet for some time, both caught up in their own thoughts.

Riko swallowed hard and squinted her eyes at the sky. "You're not going to chicken out are you?"

Shikamaru turned his head to look at her. He was surprised but knew what she was referring to. He turned his gaze back to the clouds. Why couldn't he be a cloud? Life would be less complicated and less of a drag.

"No. I won't chicken out. You have nothing to worry about," he sighed placing his arms behind his head.

Riko nodded slowly. "It's not me that's worried."

They both shared a sigh. They knew very well that is wasn't each other they needed to worry about. At least for now.

Shikamaru gave one last sigh as he sat up, rubbing his face. "What a drag."

Riko bit her lip and looked away. "Maybe it won't be so bad. I mean at first it will suck, but maybe after some time we'll get used to it," she said softly.

Shikamaru looked down at her for a moment with sadness in his eyes. "I'm sorry…I wanted you to be able to be with someone you love. Hell, I wanted me to be with someone I love." He mumbled scratching the back of his head.

Riko closed her eyes briefly, willing the tears to go back from where they came. "Yeah…I know." It hurt her for him to say those words. She wasn't sure that he knew that though.

They sat a little longer in silence. Then without a word, they both got up and went their separate ways.

Today was the day that Shikamaru had been dreading. It wasn't fair that his parents had to ruin his life like this. Of course it probably wasn't all bad, but it sure looked that way. He played different scenarios in his head about how he could get out of this situation, none of them were appealing.

There was a knock on the door as Shikamaru adjusted his black robes. "Come in."

Shikaku walked in looking his best. He smiled at his son as he shut the door behind him. "It's almost time. Are you ready?"

Shikamaru frowned lightly at his father. "Yes, dad. I won't let you down."

Shikaku put his hand on his son's shoulder and looked at their reflection together in the mirror. "You know I want you to be happy right?"

Shikamaru nodded to his father, even though he felt the exact opposite at this particular moment.

"I believe that this will make you happy. I know right now it seems unreasonable, but your mother and I know that you will make the best of this. After all, you are the one who proposed this all those years ago. Just because a few things has changed doesn't mean that it won't work," Shikaku stated.

"I was five dad. What did I know," Shikamaru muttered.

Shikaku shrugged and turned around to walk out of the room. "Come on son. It's time."

Down a different hallway Riko stood in fancy red and white kimono. It was mainly white with a few splashes of red on it. It was supposed to represent the virgin girl that she was and the woman she was to become. Riko stood in front of a mirror holding flowers. Her father, Akio, was in the room with her smiling like he was the proudest man alive.

"Ah Riko, don't frown child. Today is the beginning of the rest of your life!" he sang, happy to be so lucky when it came to his only child.

Riko put a small smile on her face and turned to her father. "I believe it is time for us to go in."

Akio nodded. "I believe it is."

He held his arm out for his daughter to take, which she did. He led the way out the door and Riko could feel her life slipping away from her.

Riko was led to a bigger room where all of their closest friends and family members were dressed to the nines. As soon as Riko entered, everyone stood. She blushed a bit, feeling uncomfortable with all the attention. Her eyes darted around the room, trying to avoid everything. Before she knew it they had stopped and her father had let go of her to go take his seat. Riko looked up into the face of Shikamaru with Choji and Shikaku standing behind him.

Shikamaru gave her a small smile trying to reassure her even though he wasn't sure of anything himself.

Riko smiled back and held out her hand for comfort. Shikamaru recognized the gesture and took her hand. Everyone in the room read it as something more than it was.

The ceremony began and the two tortured souls played their role perfectly. Then the dreaded moment came all too soon.

"I now pronounce you man and wife. Shikamaru, you may now kiss your bride."

Shikamaru and Riko turned to face each other. They both looked awkward. Shika was pulling on his collar as if it were too tight. Riko was blushing and wringing her hands together. Choji gave Shikamaru a tiny push to get things moving. Shikamaru sighed and leaned in to Riko. Riko got the message and leaned in as well, both closing their eyes as their lips met for a brief moment. They pulled away and the crowd cheered.

The newly married could feel the weight set in on them as they walked away hand in hand, more than ready to flee the mess of people as if they were the problem.

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated anything in a long time. I've been between writing new stories and dealing with my first year of college. It sure is hectic. But I hope that I will have more time. Especially once summer gets here I will only have work to deal with. So hang in there! And please review this story so I know what the thoughts are on it. Please and thank you! :D