Here is the first chapter of the story, I hope you like it. Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.

It has been two and a half years since Sasuke had defected from the village. She had trained hard, trained until the day came where she and Naruto had to fight Sasuke to bring him back home. Naruto had taken up the offer with Lord Jiraiya to train with him for the past few years and she hasn't seen him since then.

She was just walking around the village and thought about the dream of the memory of that night. "I wonder if we'll be able to bring him back. It was a big thing to claim, and knowing Sasuke, he won't come back without a fight," She then shook her head, trying to reassure herself, she had trained for that day and she was not going to turn back on it. She still cared about him, but as her teammate and friend because she knew that he never cared at all. All he wanted was revenge and power, so she knew that she couldn't stop him that night even if she tried. She had to admit that it was hard to try to get over that she just let him go, but she had Naruto's support because he was always a good friend, and she found comfort in her friends, Shikamaru, Choji and her best friend Sakura.

Sakura had also needed comforting for Sasuke leaving, because she had also loved Sasuke as well, she still loves him actually. She was upset that Ino didn't stop Sasuke but she came to understand why she did it. So their bond of friendship had become stronger because of it. Ino even spent some time with Shikamaru and Choji, because all three knew each other since they were kids. When she was particularly sad, after what had happened, she was surprised that Shikamaru came to her himself to comfort her. He even awkwardly embraced her so that she could cry her heart out until she was finished. After that, she became closer to him and she even trained along with him and Choji. As she mulled these memories of Shikamaru over, she thought, "When I first met him, I thought he was lazy, unmotivated, and such a pain when he deemed things troublesome. But when I look back on it, he can be so sweet when he wants to be. I'm glad that I met him when I needed a friend." She even recalled a moment where she had to offer him her comfort.

Flashback (Ino's POV)

I had heard about what happened to the Sasuke Retrieval Team from Naruto after I went to see him. He made a promise to bring Sasuke back no matter what because he was our teammate and I appreciated his resolve to save our friend. Then I told him what I told Sasuke last night and he agreed with what I said, that I did what I felt was right. Then I asked, "How are the others?" he turned to me and replied, "Kiba, Akamaru, Choji, and Neji were severely injured, but Shikamaru only has a broken finger. From what Shikamaru told me, Choji and Neji would have been dead if they didn't treat them in time. I'm really glad that they are alive, I hate to think what would have happened if they didn't survive." I felt so guilty that my own teammate, my two childhood friends, Kiba, Akamaru and Neji could have been killed because I didn't stop Sasuke. "Shikamaru seemed really worried when Choji was in intensive care but he looked like his usual self when he came by," Naruto added, interrupting her thoughts.

I winced at that, "Is he okay?" I asked genuinely worried. I saw Naruto shrug his shoulders, "He didn't show it but I could tell that this mission shook him. Maybe you could talk to him? You knew him when you two were little right? So you probably know him better than I do." I contemplated that, "Sure, maybe I can help him like he helped me. Where did he say he was going?"

Naruto answered, "He said he was escorting the sand siblings to the gate to see them off." I immediately took off after he said where he was. I don't know what drove me to do it, but I just kept running to where Shikamaru was until I saw him seeing the sand siblings off. "Hey, Shikamaru!" I saw him turn around and he put his hands in his pockets and he said, "Ino, what are you doing here?"

"I was looking for you when I heard about Choji's condition. Could we talk?" I saw he looked a bit uncomfortable but he said, "Sure." So we walked to his favorite cloud-watching spot and we sat on the bench. I thought that the silence between us was a bit awkward so I asked, "Are you okay, Shikamaru? I know we haven't talked in a while but could you tell me if you are okay? And I don't mean physically." I looked at him and I noticed that he flinched at my question, I was about to ask again when he suddenly said, "I feel horrible. I was put in charge of four people and a dog, and they could have died in this mission. It was my fault that they nearly died, I'm relieved that all of them are alive but that still doesn't erase my guilt." I saw he was shaking his fists almost trying to control his emotions, I've never seen him so broken in my life, even when we were little.

"That's why, the next mission I'm assigned to will be perfect no matter what, because I don't want anything to happen to my friends. I will be better to protect them, and I'm not running away this time." Shikamaru added, though I heard his voice faltering almost like he couldn't hold his emotions anymore. I couldn't help but smile sadly at him, he looked like he needed to vent but he still won't let his tears flow. Then, something compelled me to envelop him in a hug, I felt him flinch but I offered comforting words to him, "It's alright Shikamaru; you don't have to hide your emotions from me. You helped me with my problems, now let me help you, just let it out." At first, I didn't get a response, but then he hugged me back, burying his face in my neck, quietly crying as his tears ran down my back. I also remember crying with him and we stayed like that until it was nearly evening.

End Flashback (End Ino's POV)

After that experience, the two were close where she would join them on their weekly dinners and train with them. Asuma even gave them new earrings to represent the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio like their fathers were. She smiled because she was glad that she made long lasting friends in them and in Naruto as well. She thought of the blond shinobi she formerly dubbed the "dead-last" who is now one of her closest friends, "I wonder how he is doing."

Unbeknownst to her, there were two people who had just entered the village gate, one with long, white hair and is slightly taller. The other wore an orange and black jump suit, had blond hair, expressive blue eyes, and a wide smile. Then he thought to himself, "I'm finally home."

Well, this is the first chapter, please let me know what you think. So feel free to leave a review. Also, I hope along with others that Shikamaru will survive.