HI!! So I'm happy! Yet annoyed at the same time. I'm happy 'because I got a new phone to replace my other one which broke. Yet I'm annoyed because… SPRING BREAK IS OVER!!! CURSE YOU FLORIDA! XP I've had a ton of reports to do so I'm sorry for the wait. NOW FORWARD SNUFFLES!! FORWARD TO THE RECAP!!

Snuffles- I apologize for my master. She got hocked up on sugar.

Valeria- BE QUIET SNUFFLES AND ONWARD!! (As a warning there will be some sexual themes toward the end of the chapter. NO LEMON OR LIME!! …Maybe as a side story though…)

RECAP

They entered Shikamaru's room and sat side by side on Shikamaru's bed. He offered Ino his arm to snuggle which she gladly accepted.

"Shikamaru?" Ino said breaking the comfortable silence.

Shikamaru turned his head to meet her eyes and she again saw that same tiredness in his eyes.

"What else is going on?" She asked quietly.

He tensed. He had hoped that this conversation wouldn't come until later. He sighed.

"Ino… what would you do if I asked you to do something that would change our lives forever…" He said looking at the ceiling.

"It depends on what it is." She answered quietly.

Shikamaru gulped and whispered into her ear, "Marry me."

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Ino's eyes widened, her breath caught fast in her throat, she couldn't speak as her mind tried to make sense of what he just asked.

Shikamaru though took the silence as a no and he felt he had to explain himself.

"I-I'm sorry it's just that I love you so much, and… something happened in Suna."

Ino turned to face him still in slight shock.

He continued, "I led the winning troop defending them and well Gaara being the kazekage thought I deserved something for my bravery, when Temari piped up. She said I deserved a woman."

Ino's eyes narrowed she had an idea where this was going.

He kept talking, "Gaara thought it was a splendid idea and asked if she had any ideas who."

Ino found her voice but tried hard to keep the anger and anxiety to know out of it, "Who?"

"Herself." He stated simply.

Ino grew enraged and then a thought hit her, "What did you say?"

He looked kind of embarrassed, "I said I was already to be wed… to you."

Ino's face went as red as a tomato and she tried to put up a front, "Baka! Why didn't you just tell her you didn't want her!?"

Shikamaru shivered, "Her brothers was glaring at me the whole time I was trying to think my way out of it I was unnerved! And Gaara said if he found out I'm lying when he comes to visit Konoha, he'll tear my limbs of my body with his sand."

Ino frowned and took his hands.

"So are you done explaining?" She asked.

Shikamaru nodded, fear of rejection running through his head as Ino stayed silent for a few seconds.

Ino looked down at his hands rubbing his palms with her thumbs. Their skins were so different. Hers were so soft, while his skin was callused and rough. Her mind flashed through all the good times they had when they were younger. All the easy times. Every time he would cradle her when she would cry, the times he went out of his way to make sure she was okay.

She smiled to herself.

"So where's the ring Shika-kun?" she asked mischievously smiling up at him.

"Huh?" he said not understanding.

"I want a ring for people to see that we're engaged!" Ino said cutely.

Shikamaru's brain slowly processed this new information and when it was done his jaw dropped. Happiness chasing away the grisly memories of war, the tiredness that had plagued him since the war's first battle.

He enveloped Ino in a hug, "I'll get you it as soon as I'm paid. The prettiest one there, I promise."

Ino smiled and hugged him back, both of them thinking of their futures.

-------------- A few days later.

'Oowww …I can't feel my arm…'

Naruto lifted his head and looked at his arm, which happened to be hung up in a cast. He looked around the bright white room.

'Argh, I hate hospitals… Where's Hinata?'

His eyes wandered the room but he found no one.

'I don't blame her… after what I did…I almost killed myself because I didn't want to face her about Kyuubi bastard.'

He laid his head back and just rested it there, happy that Kyuubi didn't try to invade his thoughts.

The silence in the room was broken when the door creaked open with only the slightest amount of noise. Still Naruto's sensitive ears picked it up; he looked to the door to see Hinata neatly freshened up and holding a big duffle bag but still looking terribly tired and worried, but her face changed considerably when she saw Naruto looking at her. She smiled happily and walked over to him desperately not trying to run over to him and start yelling.

"Are you ok Naru-kun?" Hinata whispered.

Naruto nodded slowly as a burning made its way into his throat.

"Do you have water?" He rasped.

Hinata sighed soundlessly; relieved greatly that Naruto was okay. She got him the water and waited silently for him to finish.

As he did Hinata asked him, "Are you comfortable?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah."

Hinata smiled again, "Good."

She was quiet for a moment and then she death glared at Naruto, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!?!?!?! I WAS SCARED! YOU ALMOST DIED!!"

She stopped and tears ran down her face as she sobbed quietly.

Naruto carefully and quickly lifted his casted arm off of the small net thingy and sat up at the end of the bed. Hinata still stood near the door her tears still running down her cheeks. Her eyes were closed just wanting to cry out her fears, just get them out of her system, that Naruto would not be okay.

She felt an arm wrap around her and the familiar warmth of Naruto's body calming her down as he hugged her with his good arm

"I'm so sorry for scaring you Hina-chan; it's just that I thought you would hate me after finding out…" Naruto said in a weak voice that sounded nothing like him.

Hinata shivered at the voice and hugged him fiercely, yet gentle enough to not hurt him.

"Naru-kun… You and I both know you're not that… thing," Hinata said soothingly, attempting to bring her happy, cheerful Naruto back.

She succeeded of course.

Naruto tightened his grip on her and rested his head on her shoulder and for a time they didn't have to worry about the outside world. Just about them… until Lee burst with gifts and with a woman by the name of Erin, whom he later explained that he had saved her from an attack by the sound.

She nodded goodbye to Hinata and Naruto as she left with Lee who went to go see Neji.

"He's changed," Hinata said.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah we shaved his eyebrows in his sleep and forced him to shut up about the youth crap and the final stage was meeting Erin, I guess. He grew out his hair and now he could pass for a normal human being."

Hinata giggled at the story of Lee's transformation and the two continued on and on about pranks Naruto played to boost morale.

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Neji was eating some of the lunch Ten-Ten had made for him happily; they were both sitting and conversing until someone walked in.

Neji mentally groaned, it was Lee.

Lee pointed to Neji, "Get up and face me Hyuuga! I have the move of your defeat!"

Neji sighed, "No Lee, I'm resting for the next day or two, so go away."

Neji looked past him and thanked Kami. Erin was there.

"Erin please talk some sense into him," Neji pleaded.

Erin smiled and nodded dragging Lee away shutting the door behind him.

Neji sighed, "Still annoying as ever."

Ten-Ten giggled, "So you were going to tell me how you got the seal off?"

Neji nodded and began to tell her.

Flashback

Neji, Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru went over the body of a dead Kabuto, killed by one of Shikamaru's techniques. They searched him for anything that might be helpful in sneaking into Orochimaru's armored fortress.

They did find plans of the whole fortress and something even better.

An unsealing scroll.

After looking it over to make sure it was safe they found it could remove very strong seals. First up for removal was of course, Sasuke so when they battled against Orochimaru they couldn't use that on him. Then Naruto had a crazy idea.

"Couldn't it remove the caged bird seal Neji?" Naruto asked.

He nodded slowly, not getting where Naruto was going with this.

Naruto smiled, "When I become Hokage this is the jutsu I will use to unseal the branch members of the Hyuuga clan!"

Neji smiled warmly at his friend. He knew the grief the seal caused him, and couldn't help but feel happy that people cared.

He looked outside of the tent to yell at some of the men to stop horsing around and didn't notice that Naruto had started a series of seals.

When Naruto had finished he hid his glowing hand behind his back.

"Oi, Neji take off your forehead protector."

Neji turned and looked at Naruto strangely before hesitantly removing his forehead protector. Naruto moved swiftly and hit Neji hard in the middle of the caged bird seal with his glowing hand.

A sizzling sound filled the air and Neji fell to his knees as it seemed a great weight was placed on his shoulders and then quickly lifted.

"Naruto did you just…" Neji stopped; he already knew the answer to his unasked question.

All the consequences that would come of this ran through his mind but he suddenly didn't care. Now that the caged bird seal was gone his fate had changed, and now he could pave that new fate.

End Flashback

"And that's what happened that day. All the branch and main house members approved and thought it was time I went against the elders and that blowhard Hiashi."

Ten-Ten nodded in agreement.

Neji smiled at her, "And now they can't do anything about me. I'm a free bird now."

Ten-Ten smiled back at Neji and hugged him resting her head on his shoulder sighing soundlessly as she snuggled with her boyfriend.

--------------

Sasuke awoke and smiled down at the pink haired angel lying down next to him. That smile turned into a smirk as he remembered the events of last night. (Yes ­that did happen people.) Movement next to him brought him back from his reverie. Sakura had awoken and was blushing profusely.

Sasuke laughed, it was as if she was trying to copy Hinata's color of red she accomplished when she was younger.

Sakura pouted and tried to stand up to take a shower when pain erupted in the most private of places from doing the nasty yesterday.

She winced and sat back down. Sasuke had no idea what was going on though.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"No… it kind of hurts…" Sakura answered slightly embarrassed.

"Huh? What does?" Sasuke asked not understanding at all.

"It hurts," Sakura said.

Sasuke still looked confused.

"God damn it Sasuke! My pussy hurts!" Sakura said exasperatedly.

Sasuke blushed a bit in embarrassment, "Oh…"

Sakura nodded, "Take me to the shower."

Sasuke looked at her strangely, "Why should I?"

A vein appeared on Sakura's forehead, "Because I said so," she told him as venomously as she could manage.

Sasuke was about to refuse when a voice in his head warned him against it.

'There's nothing more dangerous than a woman scorned. It's just not worth it to argue. Plus you might get to go another round.'

Now there was logic Sasuke could agree to.

He got up and lifted Sakura up and took her to the bathroom, perverted plans running through his head.

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So the end of another chapter comes again on a happier and more perverted note. SO SAYS VALLY27!! REVIEW!! ….please. XP