I DON'T OWN NARUTO

Traditions – Chapter 10 – Waiting Game

Everything was going in slow motion. Shikamaru saw Sakura move out of the corner of his eye. What is she doing? He turned his head in time to see her stop in front of the barrage of weapons heading for the Kazekage. He felt like he saw every weapon pierce her body. She didn't even scream. What happened next was all a blur. Someone yelled Sakura's name, he later realized it was him as he caught her in his arms.

Somewhere in the background he heard the others as they finished off the assassin. He looked down at Sakura who had already fallen unconscious. His mind was blank; he didn't know what to do. I can't lose her, not now. I finally came to terms with what I was feeling, and she accepted the necklace.

"Shikamaru, you need to let her go so the medical ninja can take care of her." Temari said. He blinked several times and then gently lowered her to the ground and backed away. The medics immediately stepped forward to assess the situation. Shikamaru felt numb – he was aware of his surroundings, but couldn't react to anything.

"Hinata-chan, can you use your byakugan to assess Sakura's status?"

"Hai, Naruto-kun." Hinata did the necessary hand signs and the veins surrounded her eyes. "None of the wounds hit a vital point, but there is something not right."

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked with rare emotion evident in his voice.

"Her chakra, it is there but barely moving. Her other vital systems are the same, functioning but barely. I don't know why."

"Poison." All of the shinobi turned to Shikamaru when they heard this one road. "Think about it. No one would believe the Kazekage could be assassinated by kunai and shuriken and the attacker left no opportunity for a second wave of attacks. Therefore, there must have been something special about those weapons. Furthermore, they must have been very confident in the effectiveness of this poison. I doubt anyone but Tsunade-sama could counteract it."

No one spoke; know that Shikamaru's assessment was flawless.

"Kakashi-san, would you accompany me to my office? We can compose a letter to the Hokage there." Kakashi hesitated but nodded his assent – it was the best thing he could do for Sakura. "Naruto, I know that you care for Sakura, but in light of the recent events I must ask you and Hinata to reinforce the guards around the Kazekage mansion."

Naruto hesitated then looked at Shikamaru. "Call me if anything changes." Shikamaru nodded before walking to Sakura, he wouldn't leave her side.


"Jiraiya, I am glad you are here. I need your opinion on a few things." Tsunade stood up from her desk and drug him out the door.

"Tsunade, why are we at the tailor's?"

"Because I am having an uchikake made and want your opinion." Jiraiya froze on the spot – partly because of what Tsunade had said and partly because of what was in front of him. Tsunade smirked.

"I guess that means you like it."

"It is absolutely gorgeous; Tsunade, but it will never fit you."

"Baka, it is not for me. It is for Sakura."

"I didn't realize she was engaged."

Tsunade hesitated; she wasn't sure how much to tell him. "Well, she is of age now; I thought it would be best to be prepared."

Jiraiya knew she was hiding something, he was about to ask her when Shizune burst in.

"Tsunade-sama, they need you in Suna. One of the shinobi we sent was injured during an attempted assassination of the Kazekage."

"Shizune, I sent Sakura, she is more than capable of taking care of any…" Tsunade's voice faded off as she looked at Shizune. "It was Sakura." It was a statement not a question, but Shizune nodded her head in assent.

Jiraiya glanced at both women. Neither, he knew, was thinking straight right now. He decided to take control.

"Shizune, inform the council that you will be taking over the Hokage duties until Tsunade returns. We will let you know what is going on from Suna." Shizune nodded and left the room. Jiraiya walked over to Tsunade. "Don't worry; she will get to wear her kimono." He stood next to her and performed a set of hand signs.


Shikamaru was seated next to Sakura's bed. He had not moved since the incident. He even refused to leave the room when the medics changed her into a hospital gown. (Although he did turn around when he realized what was going on). The medics had asked him what to do with her personal effects. He told them to put them in a bag. But he kept the necklace, something he could hold on to that reminded him of his feelings.

Subconsciously Shikamaru had known people had come to visit her. He had heard Naruto as he told her she had to pull through or there would be know one to hit him when he acted like an idiot. He had heard Hinata's muffled sobs as she buried her head in Naruto's shoulder. He also knew that Kakashi had been there as much as he had. The sound of him turning the pages in that ever-present book became soothing. He knew Kakashi saw her as his daughter, and silently thanked him for being there.

The quiet was interrupted by a loud bang and what felt like an earthquake was followed by shouting. Shikamaru stood up and was about to unleash all his pent up emotions on the poor saps making all the noise when Kakashi stopped him. He turned his head to ask why when Kakashi pulled him out of the way just before the door burst open. The person that walked by was a blur, but the blond hair, flowing jacket, and audible heel clicks told Shikamaru who had just walked in.

"Everybody out!" Tsunade yelled. Kakashi turned to leave but Shikamaru didn't budge. Tsunade looked up ready to bodily throw whoever it was out of the room, but stopped when she saw Shikamaru. The look in his eyes was pleading. She relaxed and walked over to him. "I will not let her go. Rest, Shikamaru, she will want to see you when she wakes up." Slowly he nodded his head and retreated from the room.


Shikaku was concerned. The scroll with the betrothal details had begun glowing red several hours ago and had not stopped since. Previously, it had glowed for several seconds and it was always a light blue color. As he thought about the implications of this he couldn't come up with any comforting scenarios. Then all of the sudden the chakra emitting from the scroll changed to a light green, and Shikaku relaxed.


Shikamaru walked out of the room and stopped when he saw everyone waiting. He looked up at them through tired eyes and realized that she had so many people that loved her. He was only one of them he looked down at the necklace he had in his hands and finally let his emotions get the better of him. The tears flowed and he made no attempt to stop them, he was scared. And he could see on the faces of his companions that they were as well.

After several minutes passed Shikamaru regained control over his emotions and realized that he was hungry. He looked up at everyone and asked if anyone wanted to get food. Several people nodded and Gaara spoke up.

"I have had food prepared for all of you in one of the conference rooms here in the hospital. There are also people there if you need anything. I must return to my office, but I thank you all for your dedication." Without waiting for an answer he disappeared. Temari sighed.

"He still doesn't handle emotions all that well. He is truly worried about her, but doesn't know how to say it. Well, let's go, I think we could all use a little food and some drinks." Temari led them down to the conference room.

Silently they all got food and sat eating. Kakashi pulled out his book, which made Naruto laugh.

"Kaka-sensei, Sakura would beat you if she knew you were reading that book right now."

"True, but I trust in her enough to resume my routine. With Tsunade here and Sakura's stubbornness, she will be fine."

Jiraiya joined in, "if she is anything like Tsunade, which I heard she is it will take more than some poisoned kunai to take her down. Besides Tsunade just had a gorgeous we..OW!" Jiraiya rubbed his shin and looked at Kakashi, the look said drop it. "Umm, she is just as gorgeous as her mentor."

Shikamaru looked up and narrowed his eyes at Jiraiya. "With all due respect, Jiraiya-sama, if I find out about you either peeping on Sakura or putting her in one of your 'novels' I will make sure you suffer. Because her temper is also very similar to Tsunade's."

Jiraiya gulped audibly, but smirked a little none the less. So this is why Tsunade had the wedding kimono made. The definitely make a good pair. "You know Shikamaru if you want I can give you a complimentary set of books. It will help you pass the time while Sakura recovers, and also give you ideas how to welcome her home."

Shikamaru blushed, Kakashi chuckled and Naruto flat out laughed, "No need, Ero-sennin, Kakashi already explained all the finer points of how to pleasure women." Two shocked gasps were heard from the two females in the room.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata was flushed (but not completely from embarrassment). Temari just put her head in her hands.


"Come on Sakura, just hang in there and let me figure the antidote out. Just a little longer." Tsunade had been working for hours, and although Sakura was stable, she was running out of time. Every time she got close something was just slightly off, so the antidote didn't work. She sighed and took a deep breath. There has got to be something I am missing, but I don't see what. "What would you do, Sakura?"

Tsunade was about to begin another antidote when she had an idea. The poison was some how affecting circulation, both chakra and blood, but how? She thought back to all of the lessons she had both sat through and taught and a smile graced her features. The consistency, the first thing you do with a patient that is unconscious is hook up an IV to give them fluids. But what if the poison did something to make that fluid too thick to travel through the arteries and veins? And Hinata had told her that the chakra wasn't flowing not that it wasn't there.

"That's it!" Tsunade quickly got to work. She removed the IV from Sakura's arm and began to drain her chakra. She monitored the closely for any sign of something changing for better or worse. As she let her chakra flow into Sakura and examine her she relaxed. The blood was flowing easier now that she wasn't getting extra fluids. Her chakra had begun to flow better as well. Tsunade stopped her ministrations when she was confident that Sakura would pull through. She turned to one of the nurses who were in the room in case she needed assistance.

"She should wake up in a short time. For now please just monitor her and let me know if anything changes. She can not receive an IV, I will show you how to provide her nourishment through chakra if necessary." Tsunade left after she saw the nurse nod. She sensed her shinobis' chakras and began making her way towards them. Now that Sakura is out of danger she wanted to see how she and Shikamaru were getting along. Although if earlier was any indication, things were going well.


All conversations stopped when Tsunade entered the room. Everyone was holding their breaths waiting for the news. Tsunade smiled and asked where the sake was. There was a collective sigh of relief. After Tsunade had gotten her sake and seated herself. Shikamaru asked about Sakura's condition.

"She is stable and recovering. She should make a full recovery, although it will be a long process. The poison somehow thickened both her blood and chakra."

"So that's why it was flowing so sluggishly when I saw it with my byakugan."

"Exactly Hinata. I had to drain her chakra, and took her off the IV. Once I did that she began to recover quite rapidly. She should wake in a little while."

Everyone relaxed and began chatting again. Shikamaru realized that he had lessened his grip on the necklace he had been clutching all evening. He quietly slipped out of the room to go watch over his Kura. Three older shinobi smiled, while the younger ones made no notice.


Shikamaru quietly entered her hospital room to see her sleeping peacefully in her bed. He pulled up a chair next to her and sat down. He wasn't planning on moving until she woke up. Sakura stirred a little trying to regain her senses and pull herself out of the darkness. She gradually became aware of the fact that she was in a hospital bed, and someone was holding her hand. She felt exhausted but opened her eyes to see who was there. She smiled the second she noticed the ponytail of her Shika-kun. She squeezed his hand gently to wake him up.

He groaned slightly at being woken up, but then realized what had woken him. His head shot up and brown eyes looked directly into emerald ones. He didn't hesitate to bring his lips down to hers. Sakura immediately responded his kiss. What a way to wake up. He slid his tongue along her lips asking for entrance which she granted. He held back as much as he could but couldn't keep his tongue from exploring her mouth. Apparently she didn't want him to hold back because her tongue fought for dominance with his. The kiss continued but softened into something that promised so much more.

They broke apart when they heard someone clear their throat at the door. Tsunade stood there grinning at the two.

"That's enough for now Shikamaru, she needs to eat. And I mean real food." The two younger shinobi blushed from the comment but didn't argue nor did they move away from each other.


Okay, kind of boring but I wanted things to move along. Wedding coming up soon! Thanks for reading, Jae.