This is dear diary part 2. You are still able to vote for who you want Sakura to end up with. You can still vote til the end of this month. At the end of this chapter I'll tell you the votes for now. So keep on voting people!
"Are you full now Naruto?" asked Shikamaru. The two had just got back from the Ichiraku Ramen shop. Naruto nodded his head.
"I'm full! So let's continue reading the diary!" said Naruto as he grabbed the diary from the table.
"Whatever…"said Shikamaru sitting besides Naruto. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be watching Sasuke?"
"It's alright, Kakashi said that he and Sai will be watching over him for the day." Said Naruto flipping to the page they were before. He read the last line again. "You know what, after you told me about how the battle ended, I think this is how Sakura and Neji started to like each other…"
"I think you're right" said Shikamaru as he watched Naruto flip the page.
6/9/06
Dear Diary,
Neji took me out for some ice cream after our battle. I never thought he would be this nice. After we got ice cream, we decided to walk around at night. It was so romantic. I'll admit that I have an attraction for Neji but I love Sasuke and him only. Besides I promised him I'd wait for him. Besides, I can't like him since Tenten has a crush on Neji and I can't do that to her. Hopefully they'll get together and I'll forget all about me liking him. Besides Neji already told me he had a girl in mind that he met when he was younger. I'm guessing that girl is Tenten. She sure is lucky.
Shikamaru's eyes widened as he flipped back through the pages, back to the entry with the date 7/03/1997. Shikamaru and Naruto read it again.
"Hey Shikamaru, it says here that Sakura met a boy that sounds like Neji, when she was younger. Do you think Sakura was the girl Neji was talking about?" asked Naruto
"I think she was…" said Shikamaru flipping through more pages.
4/1/07
Dear Diary,
My birthday past! I'm finally 15 years old! But my throat is hurting a lot right now. I just took the medication the third Hokage Prescribed to me. Anyhow, I found out that Tenten didn't like Neji anymore, in fact she liked Lee. I'm glad Lee has someone that really likes him. But his affection for me doesn't make him notice that Tenten likes him. This kinda reminds me of Hinata and a certain someone she likes.
"I BET IT WAS KIBA!" said Naruto getting jealous. "I knew Kiba liked Hinata. That's why he used to be so mean to me!"
"Naruto, I think your conclusion is wrong! It was you! Hinata had a crush on but you didn't notice it since you had a crush on Sakura." said Shikamaru shaking his head. Naruto looked back at Shikamaru.
"Hinata-chan liked me that long?!" asked Naruto.
"Sigh...yes…" said Shikamaru. Naruto looked back down.
'Sorry Hinata-chan…for not noticing sooner…" thought Naruto smiling sadly. 'It must have been hard for her to watch me like another woman. I'll make it up to you sooner.'
"Let me see the book now!" said Naruto as he flipped through more pages.
2/14/08
Dear diary,
Today is Valentine's Day, just to remind you. Anyways I had a weird dream. I thought I saw my mom, but sadly it was just a dream. I really miss her. I'm trying to keep the promise I made to my mom before, but it's getting harder to keep it as the years fly by. My sickness is still mild. I remembered about the medic that tried to heal my sickness. She did some type of jutsu that can stop it from growing for a while. But it will wear off before my 17th birthday day which will be in two years. I'm getting scared by the minute. I wonder how Konoha will be with me gone. I wish I can see Sasuke before I die. I really miss him. Even though he almost killed Naruto and betrayed us, I still love him, but not like I used to. Probably the way I love Naruto. Like a sister/brother love. I think I'm in love with Neji Hyuga! But I don't know if he feels the same. Oh and Tenten finally was able to tell Lee that she liked him. Lee was so shocked that he fainted. Ino and Shikamaru finally got together, and Hinata and Naruto…she's getting there. Kiba finally noticed that Hinata loves Naruto and he's happy for her, and I've noticed that Temari and Shino are getting closer together. I wonder if Neji's the one for me…
"Does Sakura know everything that's going on in Konoha or something?" asked Shikamaru as he flipped to a couple of pages.
3/9/08
Dear diary,
Today is Tenten's birthday. She's 17 now! She felt really depress when Lee didn't reply to Tenten's love. But on her birthday party, he came up to her and kissed her. She practically melted in his arms. It was so cute. Ino took pictures. The days seem to pass by fast. It's really scary. I mean my birthday is coming up soon too. After that I have one more year before I have to worry about my illness again. Ino is still worrying about it too. I want to tell everyone else about my illness, but I don't want them to act different around me.
"So Ino was the only person that knew?" asked Naruto. Shikamaru nodded his head as he flipped a couple of more pages.
3/22/08
Dear diary,
Omg, you will not believe who came back to the village. Sasuke came back. I literally dragged Naruto with me to find him. When I saw him, I felt like time stopped. He looked so different. He still had the same hairstyle but longer. He lost his boyish look and turned into a man. I started to cry in front of him as he just smirked at me. I ran up to him and slapped him. He was really surprised. I soon yelled at him for leaving us and stuff. Then I gave him a long hug. Surprisingly, he hugged me back and said that he was sorry and that he killed his brother, but wasn't able to beat Orochimaru since he vanished. I'm glad he's back, but I still love Neji. He lost his chance…
"I remember that day, Sakura-chan was so happy to see him; she looked like a little girl that found her lost dog or something like that. But I think Neji was jealous that day. I was hanging out with him while Sasuke was talking to Tsunade-baachan. He had this really scary look on his face. He made all the little kids cry that day!" said Naruto.
Shikamaru chuckled. "I remember, that was actually the only day I ever saw Neji show so much emotion. I guess people didn't know that they were together, and I guess they were trying to hide their relationship too. I think they've been together since after the second Chuunin exams."
"You think so?!" asked Naruto.
"I guess…" said Shikamaru. "Go to a new entry…"
"This one sounds interesting…" said Naruto as he read out loud.
3/27/08
Dear diary,
I just got back from Shikamaru's house. I totally kicked his ass in Shougi! At first it was just me and him playing. Naruto was watching us play. Soon Ino and Chouji came over, followed by everyone else. He was so shocked that he could speak for a few minutes. I had to trick him a bit though I'm surprised it worked. I was actually losing but I tricked him into losing. Well tomorrow is my birthday. I'm going to be turning 16.
"I remember that day! You got served!" said Naruto cracking up as he and Shikamaru remembered that day.
Flashback (A/N: This flashback is from the story A Ripple in the Pond by Lady Hanaka. I recommend this story. And I had permission from her to use it as well. Besides it did fit what was going to happen in the flashback anyways.)
'Hey Shikamaru, what's this?" asked Naruto as he pulled out something from Shikamaru's table. Neji, Sakura, and Shikamaru looked at Naruto.
"It a shougi board" said Sakura. "Hey Shikamaru, I'll play you!" She said smiling.
"Haha, Sakura-chan. This is Shikamaru, remember? No one was ever able to beat him in this game!" said Naruto putting his arm around her.
"Are you trying to say I'm not smart enough to beat Shikamaru?" asked Sakura cracking her knuckles towards Naruto. Shikamaru sighed.
"How troublesome. Look Sakura let-"
"Shikamaru Nara, I challenge you in a game of Shougi!" said Sakura as she grabbed the board from Naruto's hands and went outside.
"This is why girls are so troublesome…" said Shikamaru as he followed Sakura outside.
An hour later
Shikamaru and Sakura sat opposite each other, a shougi board between them. Neither of them moved. The silence stretched on.
Their collective audience, which consisted of Naruto, Neji, Ino, Chouji, Sai, Sasuke and Hinata, watched in rapt attention. Ino, Chouji and Hinata were walking past Shikamaru's house and saw the four there, and decided to see what was going on. Sasuke and Sai were looking for Sakura and Naruto. Tenten, Lee, Kiba, and Shino walked by the Nara compound at that moment, looking inside and seeing everyone.
"Ooh, Sakura and Shikamaru are having a Shougi match! Let's watch them!" said Tenten.
"I'll be cheering on for Sakura-san, but no one has been able to beat Shikamaru before!" said Lee. Sakura heard this and was getting ticked off.
Shikamaru frowned. "Since when did I invite you into my house?"
"Stop asking question and continue!" said Ino.
"Will you guys please shut up, I'm trying to concentrate!" yelled Sakura. This shut everyone up. Soon the group got closer and watched. Sakura sat back down and looked at the board. She focused her eyes on the piece Shikamaru had in his hand as she studied the board.
Sakura soon frowned as she looked at the piece in Shikamaru's hand. Shikamaru noticed and looked at the piece in his hand. Why was she frowning like that? Shikamaru started to hesitate moving the piece. His hand started to twitch again.
"You're twitching again, Shikamaru." Sakura murmured with a smile. "Stuck?"
"I don't think so…" said Shikamaru as he studied the board that was in front of him.
"I'm just wondering…" said Sakura as she watched Shikamaru move the piece. Sakura soon started to make a tsking sound. Shikamaru looked up at Sakura then back at the board. Everything looked like it was going his way, so what did Sakura see that he didn't?
"What's wrong Shikamaru?" asked Kiba. "Aren't you going to move?"
Shikamaru frowned. "Man, all of you guys are so troublesome." He said as he put his fingertips together, getting into his thinking position. He closed his eyes and thought. His brows furrowed in confusion. He couldn't see what Sakura was seeing! What did she know that he didn't?
He looked at the board once more. He touched the same piece again as he looked at Sakura for any reaction. All she did was shake her head and bit her lower lip as if saying 'make that move and you're going to lose'
Shikamaru moved a different piece and played it. Sakura smirked as she picked her piece, putting it in its place. "I win…" said Sakura.
"Say what?!" said Shikamaru looking back at the board. Sure enough, she won.
"S-she beat Shikamaru!" said Naruto.
"GO Sakura!" said Tenten.
"Good job!" said Sasuke.
"Go Ugly!" cheered Sai.
"I'm really proud of you!" said Neji. Everyone got up to celebrate.
"Sakura!" said Shikamaru. Sakura turned around.
"Yes?" said Sakura looking back at Shikamaru.
"Good game, but I just have one question…what did you see that I didn't?"
"What do you mean?" asked Sakura with a confused look on her face.
"That face you made." Shikamaru frowned. "You knew that if I made that move I'd lose."
Sakura grinned at him. "If you had made that move, you probably would have won."
"What?" Shikamaru stared at her, and then back down at the board. Sure enough, the only way that Sakura had won was because of the one mistake he'd made. The one move where he had doubted himself.
"Well, to celebrate this moment. We're all going out to eat, all on me!" said Sakura.
"To the Ichiraku Ramen stand!" Choji pointed.
"We're not going to eat ramen again. We had that yesterday." Ino argued.
"I like ramen." Kiba supplied.
All of the others walked ahead of Shikamaru and Sakura, arguing about what to eat.
Shikamaru gave a loud sigh and Sakura looked at him quizzically.
"Don't be a sore loser, Shikamaru. That was a once in a lifetime shot."
"Nah." Shikamaru shook his head. "That's not true, Sakura. You're good at making people doubt their moves."
"Oh?"
Shikamaru smiled. "Yes, thanks for making me feel normal"
"I'll be glad to kick your ass at shougi any day." Sakura grinned, slinging her arm around his shoulders. "Though I doubt it'll ever happen again."
Shikamaru chuckled softly. "You'll never know? Don't doubt yourself. I did and look what happened to me.
"You're starting to sound like an old man, Shikamaru." Sakura warned teasingly.
Shikamaru sig. "Che. Women. And I thought you were different. You're still troublesome."
Sakura steered him towards the others, laughing.
End of Flashback
"That was a great day. Maybe for Sakura-chan's 18th b-"Naruto stopped as he realized what he was going to say. Sakura wasn't going to be alive next year. Naruto fell to the ground.
"Sakura-chan will never have a chance to see her 18th birthday day…" Naruto said quietly. Shikamaru didn't say anything as he left Naruto's apartment to watch some clouds.
Naruto got the book and flipped to the last page to see that nothing was written. Naruto sighed as he went to Sakura's house to put the book back.
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Naruto entered Sakura's house through the window. It was really quiet. Naruto put the book under the mattress and sat on the bed.
"I wonder how long till Sakura-chan…" Naruto didn't finish as he closed his eyes.
"How long till Sakura what?" asked a voice. Naruto's eyes shot opened.
"Ahhhh!" Naruto looked to see Sasuke frowning at him.
"What are you doing here dobe?" asked Sasuke.
"What am I doing here…what are you doing here?!" asked Naruto. Sasuke blushed
"Answer my question first dobe!" said Sasuke.
"I came to return the book we took from her room before."
"Oh…" said Sasuke looking around her room. Everyone always though that Sakura's room would be pink. Instead it was a beige color. It had a wooden floor to match it. He noticed a picture in the corner. It was picture of her and her mom when she was little. She looked so happy.
"Sakura-chan looked so happy didn't she…" said Naruto also looking at the picture. Sakura and her mom looked alike, except that her mom looked older.
"Hey Naruto…" Naruto looked at Sasuke.
"What is it?"
"Is there something wrong with Sakura?" asked Sasuke. Naruto's eyes widened. He was not supposed to tell anyone that Sakura had a disease.
"Um no, why?" asked Naruto.
"It's just that she looks paler than usual and her voice. It's quieter and she's always coughing and having to have Tsunade heal her. I think there's something wrong with her."
"Hehe, don't worry about it Teme. Tsunade just said that Sakura has a bad cough. That's it…" said Naruto. Sasuke looked at Naruto before sighing.
"Hn…whatever…" said Sasuke leaving the house. After making sure Sasuke left, Naruto sighed in relief.
"That was close…." said Naruto. "I'm sorry Sasuke. But you'll find out when the time is right.
All right this how the votes are now. But please continue voting, you have till the end of Feburary.
Neji: 12
Sasuke: 7
Sai: 0 (Srry Sai...)
Gaara: 2
Kankuro: 1