A/N: I finally managed to update another chapter, and I wish I could say there'll be another one soon, but I'm not sure whether it'd be true or not. Sorry for the wait, though.
"Getting tired?" Sasuke asked with a smirk as he flipped through the air, dodging Shikamaru's shadow once again.
"Nope...you?" Shikamaru grunted in response. Ino flicked a kunai at Sasuke, and he had to contort his body to avoid it as he landed back on the ground, only to jump into the air again a second later.
"No, but I'm getting pretty bored," Sasuke replied.
"Shikamaru, let me attack him while you try to capture him. You're going to run out of chakra soon if we don't hurry," Ino pressed, glancing over at Shikamaru, but making sure she could still see Sasuke out of the corner of her eye.
"I'll get him. Just stay there."
"I'm a ninja too, Shikamaru! I can take care of myself!"
"Now's not the time, Ino..." Shikamaru hissed.
They were both too busy arguing to see Sasuke's Sharingan activate, and Shikamaru froze suddenly as Sasuke landed on the ground ten feet in front of him.
"Wha-"
"I can copy your jutsu, remember?" Sasuke reminded him. "Now you're the one trapped in my Shadow Possesion."
Shikamaru's surprised look changed, and he raised an eyebrow. "So? That accomplishes nothing. It's two against one, remember?"
"Oh, I know," Sasuke used his good hand to reach into the pouch at his hip, drawing out a kunai. Shikamaru copied him. "But Ino won't attack me. Whatever she does to me, will happen to you, too."
Ino looked from Sasuke to Shikamaru anxiously, pulling out another kunai after a moment.
"Ino, attack him," Shikamaru ordered.
Ino was taken aback. "What? No way!"
"Do it!"
"He can't do anything to hurt you without hurting himself!" Ino retorted. "So why should I attack him? He'll run out of chakra soon, too."
Sasuke lifted his kunai slightly, and Shikamaru's hand moved too. Slowly, Sasuke moved the kunai directly above the place where his other hand would've been if Sai hadn't cut it off.
"I see," Shikamaru said, his attention back on Sasuke. "If you move your kunai over that empty spot, it won't do anything to you, but I'll lose a hand. You're hand's already gone, so it won't affect you."
"Exactly."
Shikamaru winced as the cold metal touched his wrist, struggling in vain to free himself. "Ino! Attack him now, or I'll lose a hand!"
Ino looked from Shikamaru to Sasuke wildly, then threw her kunai at Sasuke without thinking. Sasuke was too surprised to move, and the kunai embedded itself in his right shoulder. Both he and Shikamaru cried out, and Sasuke released the jutsu without thinking, then pulled the kunai out of his shoulder, wincing as Ino ran over to Shikamaru, who had sank to his knees.
"I'm fine," he muttered to her, brushing her off. "We can't let him get away."
"You're bleeding," she told him, watching blood run out of the cut in his shoulder. "There's no way you can fight now, you're losing blood fast."
He was standing up slowly now, his arms dangling at his sides as he gripped the kunai still in his hand. Sasuke was still nursing his own wound, but seemed to be recovering fast despite the amount of blood he'd lost.
"Shadow Possesion Jutsu," he forced out, his breath already coming out in gasps. A small shadow began to spread out from his feet, surrounding Sasuke's own feet before the Uchiha realized what had happened. "You should never get distracted in a battle," Shikamaru told him, coughing suddenly. Blood flew from his mouth, staining the ground in front of him.
"You're right," Sasuke admitted, watching him carefully.
Ino's hands began to glow next to Shikamaru, and he turned towards her sharplly. "Don't heal me," he ordered. "It'll heal him too."
"Shikamaru, you're dying!" Ino shouted, tears welling up in her eyes now.
He coughed again. "I know. Sacrifices have to be made sometimes. Don't feel guilty about throwing that kunai, either, because I know you will later on. It's what I told you to do." He lifted the hand with the kunai in it, and Sasuke did the same across from him. Slowly, Shikamaru turned the kunai towards himself.
He grunted suddenly when Ino tackled him the ground, and Sasuke was forced to the ground too as Ino straddled Shikamaru's waist, wrestling him for the kunai in his hand. "Ino...let go! I have to do this!"
She shook her head quickly, only tightening her grip on his wrist. "I won't let you," she whispered.
"We talked about this when we were on our way to head Sasuke off. His death is more important to the village than my life."
"Your life is important to me!" she exclaimed, tearing the kunai from his hand as he grew even weaker from blood loss.
"Ino...give it back...I won't be able to hold the jutsu for much longer," he panted, watching her eyebrows furrow in concentration as she began to heal his wound. "Stop..." he said, but he could feel his strength coming back to him quickly, and he deactivated the jutsu, knowing Sasuke was being healed, too. He rolled himself and Ino over so that he was on top of her, stopping his protests and letting her heal him as he watched Sasuke catch his breath, and then stand up, looking over at him.
"She hasn't gotten much smarter, has she?" Sasuke asked, beginning to walk towards them.
Naruto stood in the entrance to one of the abandoned Uchiha houses, looking down the road and wondering how Shikamaru and Ino were doing. He ran a hand through his hair nervously.
"Come sit down."
He turned around at the sound of Sakura's voice, to see her sitting inside the house with her back against one of the walls. She patted the ground next to her.
"I can't. I have to keep watch."
She scooted over slightly to a spot where the open doorway would be visible from where she was sitting, then patted the spot beside her again. He sighed, then walked toward her, letting her pull him down to the ground beside her. He leaned against the wall, exhaling loudly and staring at the doorway. His fingers tingled when Sakura slipped her hand into his, and he felt her breath against his cheek, so he turned his head to look at her, which only result in their lips meeting instead of a kiss on the cheek.
Sakura's hand left his and both of her hands planted themselves in his hair, running through it carefully, and Naruto gripped her hips, pulling her closer as she deepened the kiss. Their tongues met and danced, and Naruto broke the kiss suddenly, keeping his eyes closed as he felt Sakura's breath on his face again. "We can't do this right now," he told her, finally opening his eyes to stare into hers.
"I know," she murmured, but she pulled him forward anyway and kissed him again, and Naruto felt the room quickly heating up as her fingers slid under his shirt, tracing the muscles of his chest shakily. "But I can't help it."
His shirt was off a second later, and his mind was racing too fast for him to be able to keep up with what she was doing. He threw his head back and moaned when she left a trail of heated kisses down his neck, then shuddered once her lips reached his chest. She'd only ever acted like this with him once before, and, well...he knew full-well what that had led to. "Sakura-chan..." he managed to choke out. "Sasuke could be coming for us right this second..."
She paused, looking up at him anxiously. "The last time he was here, I was taken and I couldn't do a thing about it. If the same thing happens again, this might be the last time I'll ever see you."
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen," he promised.
"You couldn't make sure last time," she replied, and although she hadn't meant it harshly, it still stung, because he knew it was true. "I don't know what's going to happen. Ino and Shikamaru could be dead right now, or Sasuke could even be dead. But if he isn't, and we still have time while they're fighting him, I want what could possibly be my last memory of you to be something other than watching you stare down a road, waiting for him to show up. I want it to be of the two of us together."
She kissed him again, and Naruto lost track of time as her hands continued to explore his torso, but he forced himself to break the kiss again as her hands slid towards his pants. "He wants me dead, too," he told her. "I can't..." He blushed suddenly, embarassed. "What if...I mean, I wouldn't exactly be in the best position to defend myself...and I'd rather not be caught doing that in the first place."
She bit her lip, then sighed, reaching for his shirt and handing it to him. "You're right," she admitted as he put it back on. "We can't put ourselves in danger by letting our guard down so heavily."
"Hey," he said, noticing how disappointed she looked. "Having sex isn't the only way to make a good memory. What about..." He pulled her onto his lap carefully, then wrapped his arms around her, letting her lean back against him as his hand slid under her shirt. "...this?" He began to rub her stomach lightly, and heard her sigh and relax against him. "This isn't so bad, right?" he asked, hoping his attempt at cheering her up was working. She turned towards him slightly so that they could see each other, then smiled, pecking him on the lips.
"It's perfect," she told him, then turned around fully in his lap so that they were facing each other, taking hold of the wrist of the hand rubbing her stomach. She held his hand until it was still, smiled at him again, and moved his hand to the center of her stomach, kissing him again while she kept his hand still. "Your baby's in there," she said, pulling away as his eyes focused on his hand.
"How could I ever forget?" he replied.
