Flashing Before My Eyes (T)
The air around him felt heavy. It smelt of rust and blood. Clouds of smoke surrounded his blurred vision. His eyes faintly registered a familiar face, looking down at him with sad eyes. His eyelids felt painfully heavy and desired to retire. He could barely hear the muffled pleads and cries as the kunoichi that held him repeated the same words.
"Shikamaru, stay with me!" Her voice managed to squeeze through the deafening ring in his ears. Stay with you? I'll always stay with you, Temari. Shikamaru tried so hard to voice his thoughts but even that required too much energy. All he needed right now was a good rest. He let his eyelids descend. A hand shook his head. Damnit troublesome woman, let me sleep. His eyes lazily opened to find Temari in his face, tears in her eyes,"Shikamaru!"
That's right...I'm dying. It all happened so fast. His mind finally recalled what happened before he blacked out. Blood was all around him and now he faced the truth. He was gonna die and there was no way around it. He slowly blinked once. Her tear-filled eyes stared into his as she pleaded for his survival. With his last ounce of energy, he forced a smile out. Temari, I'm sorry.
He slowly blinked once more. The skies were blue and the land around them was green. Birds were chirping and the rays of sun warmed everything. His onyx eyes opened and he saw a woman in front of him. A woman that he knew too well. She adorned a white dress and her hair flowed out of its usual style. Temari glistened in the perfect sun, making her seem like a goddess. She looked over her shoulder and shot him the smile that he loved. Shikamaru's eyes wandered down to her fingers and saw a single gold band around one. He inspected his own hand and found the same ring wrapped around one finger. His lips formed a genuine smile. Temari, I'm sorry.
He slowly blinked for the third time. Young cries were heard through the room. Cries from a baby to be exact. "It's a boy!"
Of course his life plan was killed once again. Not only did he end up with the most troublesome woman he knew, he also ended up receiving a boy first. But now, he didn't care about his stupid little plan years ago. He was happy where he was. Shikamaru shifted his view to see Temari, holding their newborn son. A soft,delicate smile adorned her face as she lifted her eyes to meet his.
"Shikamaru, would you like to hold him?" Shikamaru grinned and made his way over to the side of her bed. He carefully took their son from Temari's arms and stared at him. It was as if he looked at himself. Tears welled up in his eyes as the baby slept peacefully in his fathers arms. The corners of his lips naturally lifted. Temari, I'm sorry.
Shikamaru smiled at the life that flashed before his eyes. The life that could have been.
For one last time, he slowly blinked. But he couldn't finish it. His eyes refused to lift like it had before. They remained shut and he could faintly hear her cries. Shikamaru saw white now. It was all around him and it was blinding. He shielded his eyes with his arms and shut them. When his eyelids finally decided to rise, he saw darkness with a weak flickering light. The sound of fire cackling and shogi pieces slamming against a board were the only sounds he could hear.
"Shikamaru." The voice he had heard much of his life called out to him.
"Come join us. You can play the winner," A voice that he had heard since the start of his ninja career called out to him. Shikamaru slowly turned around to find his father and sensei playing shogi by a campfire. It took a moment for him to collect himself, but eventually he gravitated towards the two older men.
"Son, I didn't expect you to come so early. Tell me all about it." His father's eyes stayed glued to the board as he set his piece down.
"Yeah, I would like to hear too." Asuma crossed his arms trying to figure his next move. As always, a lit cigarette rested at the corner of his mouth.
"Asuma, Dad..." He took a seat and spectated their game. His dad was about to win, as always. Shikamaru let a wide smile show, similar to the one Temari would adorn,"I'll tell you everything."
Temari, I'll wait for you. Forgive me.
