Author's note: Hello one and all! Here is your weekly update of this story! My picture still isn't done yet, but I'm aiming for it to be done by next week (hopefully!). Next week is going to be crazy for my since finals are then. WISH ME LUCK! I knew my little input of Shikamaru marrying his cousin would stir some emotions in yinz(call me cruel, but it's fun seeing you guys flip out...hehe;))! Hehehe...mission accomplished. Not really, but just read this chapter to find out what happens with Shikamaru and Kita! That's all about I got for you...here aresome replies to your reviews (keep them coming!):

Quibyi: I agree Shika marrying his cousin is awkward, but I'm glad you trust me! I will not let you (or anyone else) down!

Heart of pure ruby: Well...Temari hasn't lost to Ino, yet. Just read this chapter to find out what happens. I'm sure you'll be surprised. I do believe also that Temari and Shikamaru belong together, but the story would be boring if there were no conflicts. Maybe they'll end up together, maybe they won't (my brain hasn't thought that far ahead yet ;)).(side note: I got a message from some one on YouTube saying that Temari and Shikamaru are cousins...I find that odd and don't believe it one bit. Also, the person claimed that they found it out by reading the regular (supposidly) Narutomanga.).

IQSymphic: I do realize that in America it's "wrong" to marry your cousin, though it actually occurs in some states. It just depends on your culture and how you view things. I don't agree with marryinga cousin, but if that's how it's done in another culture, then I respect that. A few characters may be OOC since it is based in the far future of where the anime/manga currently is. I'm glad you think my story is "alright".

Kisshu-luv: It's not the fact that he's lazy, but it's the culture and his parents who determines (or supposidly does so) whoShikamaru marries. Hinata and Gaara? Very odd...just kinda like how I've seen/read/heard people say that Sakura and Gaara and even Sakura and Itachi are good couples. THAT'S JUST FREAKY! Oh well, you think that so I'll respect that (though it's kinda strange...lol;)). I can definately see Hinata and Kiba together, but I think Shikamaru and Temari are #1...well, at least in my book they are!

azngrl4lyfe: Yeah, I don't know how wide spread it is, but there are countless amount of jokes around the Ohio/Pennsylvania area about West Virginians and how "hickish" they are. I've also heard some Californian jokes myself too;).

Mtyugi: Are you on YouTube? O.o...

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

The clouds are nice

Chapter 20

Shikamaru was too bewildered to respond right away. The thought of marrying his cousin was absurd. "M…marry my cousin? What are you two talking about? And how long have you guys been planning this arranged marriage?" Shikamaru frantically asked.

"You should know, Shikamaru. Anyone part of a clan is to marry their cousin to keep the bloodline clean and going. It's been settled ever since you and your cousin were born that you two were to marry. It's already been decided with her parents, so there's no turning back." His mother sternly informed.

Shikamaru huffed and placed his head in his hand. "Then how come I was never informed of this?"

A vein popped in his mothers head as she slammed her fist down on the table. "YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS YOUR WHOLE LIFE!" She shouted.

"No need to yell, Yoshino. He's been very busy lately, so give him a break." Shikaku sighed.

"GIVE HIM A BREAK! This is an important matter here!" She snapped at her husband.

"All right! All right!" He grumbled.

Shikamaru stared at his parents and then rolled his eyes. Damn…they're being troublesome. I wish they would've told me about this sooner or at least kept talking about it so I would know. Suddenly, a painful realization finally hit Shikamaru. I see. This marriage ordeal can be explained by how I was always forced to play with Kita as a little kid. My parents were always either having her family come over or we'd go over to her house. They were always forcing me to do things with her, and now I know why. I don't see why they could've told me "Hey! This is who you're going to marry when you get older." Gah…how troublesome. "If this is such an important issue, then why didn't you tell me sooner? Or at least have reminded me once in a while." He stated.

A softer look came across his mother's face, but she was still aggravated. "You're so busy anymore!"

"You know where I live!"

The vein popped on his mom's forehead again. "Don't get smart with me!" She yelled. Shikamaru placed a finger in his ear.

"Hey you two, calm down! Since we're getting no where, let's get rid of the small talk and get to the rest of the business," Shikaku interrupted, hoping not to get verbally lashed by his wife. Luckily, she didn't say anything and sat back in her chair. "Ok. We've already told Kita that you'd meet her at the Korean Barbeque restaurant for lunch. So if I were you I'd leave now to meet with her." He ordered.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Korean Barbeque restaurant? What a weird place to meet someone in this kind of situation. Oh well…might as well go with the flow. "Alright. I'll go." Shikamaru said and got up.

"Shikamaru!" His father blurted out suddenly.

Shikamaru stopped and faced him. "Huh?"

Shikaku didn't say anything at first and kept to his thoughts. I wonder if I should tell him about his mother and me. "Oh…um…good luck with Kita."

"Yeah…." Shikamaru unenthusiastically responded and walked out of his house.

Fortunately for Shikamaru, the restaurant wasn't that far from his former home. So on the now seemingly long walk there, he stuck his hands in his pockets and looked up at the clouds. Ah…to be a cloud. That would be nice, not troublesome at all.

Shikamaru walked into the restaurant, trying to keep a low profile; who knew if Ino or one of her conspirators were there. Over in the far back corner sat a young girl with long, dark hair. She was the only one in the restaurant besides the workers.

That must be Kita. Damn, I haven't seen her in forever. Shikamaru thought to himself as he walked over to her. "Um…hello." He nervously greeted.

The girl looked up and eyed Shikamaru. "Hello." She responded, not paying attention to who it was, in an almost displeased tone. A few seconds later she finally realized who it was. "Shikamaru?"

"Kita?" Shikamaru's heart skipped. He thought Kita was very good looking, more beautiful than he remembered. Though amazed by her looks, Shikamaru's stayed on Temari.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kita smiled. "I assume you've been very busy with being a Jounin and having your own team. I wish I was a Jounin, but I'm still a Chuunin unfortunately." She sighed in jealousy.

"It has been a while, I guess." Shikamaru smiled back and sat down across from his cousin. "There's nothing wrong with being a Chuunin. You're still acknowledged by the higher ranking ninjas and can do many more things than Genins can. You're only nineteen, right? You shouldn't be worrying about being a Jounin yet. It's troublesome." He sighed and sat back. THIS is really troublesome. I don't want to be here. I need to get back to Temari before it's too late.

Kita giggled. "You haven't changed one bit. You're still very smart and yet lazy at the same time. I wouldn't expect anything less from the cousin I admire most." She smiled at sat back in the booth seat while looking at Shikamaru who didn't seem very interested, but now blushing at her last comment. Kita sighed and repositioned herself some more. "I remember when we were younger we would always play on those grassy hills on the edge of the forest. You never wanted to do anything but just lie in the grass and stare up at the clouds the whole time. But when those awful boys would come by and tease me for being ugly, you would always stand up for me and faked your Kage Mane No Jutsu though you hadn't learned it yet…."

Shikamaru smirked. He remembered those memories just as well Kita did. "Heh…yeah." But who knew she'd become so pretty years later. I bet those kids regret teasing her now since she's a ninja.

"Those were such wonderful times. Who knew years later our parents would arrange for us to marry each other." Kita sighed again.

"Uh…speaking of which, I need to tell you-"

"You're a great person, Shikamaru, and I look up to you a lot. But the thing is…I don't want to marry you." She solemnly looked down at her lap after interrupting Shikamaru.

Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Really?"

"I hope you're not disappointed! I mean, you had to come all this way out of your busy day to meet me to only find out I don't want to marry you." Kita began to apologize.

"No! This is great! You don't need to apologize." Shikamaru felt relieved.

"Really? I mean, the thing is…my parents don't know it yet, but I've been seeing this one guy for a long while now and he wants me to elope with him and I want to."

Shikamaru felt a huge sweat drop run down his forehead. Elope? What is she thinking? That's worse than marrying outside of a clan! Oh well…at least this part of my problem is solved. "Well, I hope you're making the right decision. I don't want you doing anything that you'll regret."

Kita giggled again. "You've always acted like an older brother to me and protected me. Please trust me!" She begged.

"I trust you. I'm just saying that since you don't want to marry me and now want to marry out of the clan."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing."

Kita leaned across the table and got right up into Shikamaru's face. "Tell me! Pweeze?" She begged again while making a "puppy dog face" this time.

Damn it. I hate it when she does this. Shikamaru thought to himself while trying to lean back out of the way. "Fine, fine," He groaned as he softly pushed Kita back in her seat. "I'm planning on asking someone to marry me soon." Shikamaru looked away then folded his arms in embarrassment.

"Aww! There's no need to feel ashamed! Who is she? Do I know her?" Kita squealed in delight.

What a troublesome girl. "No."

"Ok then. Who is she anyway?"

Shikamaru didn't say anything continued looking away.

"SHIKAMARU!"

"WHAT!"

"Tell me who she is!"

Shikamaru heavily sighed and faced Kita again. "Alright already! I'll tell you if you promise not to tell anyone right now."

"Why?"

"Just promise!" Gah…so troublesome and annoying.

"Fine! You're no fun."

Oh like you're a barrel full of monkeys. "Her name is Temari and she's from the Sand country."

"OoooOOooo! A foreigner! How'd you meet her?" Kita smiled devilishly.

"None of your business."

Kita growled. "You haven't changed at all! I still have to battle with you to get any type of information." She laughed. "Anyway, thanks for understanding! I need to get going. I hope I can see you around soon."

"Yeah."

Bye!" She said then got up and left.

"Bye." Shikamaru responded then got up himself. She must've been in a huge hurry. Heh…at least that troublesome thing is over with now. Alright…now to see Temari again. He decided and walked out of the restaurant.

Shikamaru was now overjoyed to find out that the person he was arranged to marry didn't want to marry him after all. He knew it shouldn't be something to be happy about, but it just happened to be so to Shikamaru. The only problem now for Shikamaru was to explain to his parents about how Kita didn't want to marry him and wanted to elope with someone else who was outside the clan. Let's just hope Shikamaru realizes it soon.

"I can't believe how much I've changed," Shikamaru began talking to himself. "I never used to care about things like this. I've always thought I would never marry though I had my future planned out that involved a family and a wife. Maybe this IS true love, this feeling that I have for Temari." He sighed and continued on walking.

Shikamaru was now just about in the area where Temari left him earlier that day. Whew…I'm almost there. He told himself as his heart started beating faster. Hey! There's Temari…wait…. "Temari!"

Ino widely grinned and stepped back from Temari. "Now who's stronger? Not you, that's for sure!" She taunted then began to walk away. "I expected you to be more of a fight, but I guess I had too high of an expectation of you." Ino boasted and waved her hand, though Temari wasn't looking. "Toodles!"

Several minutes later Temari slowly opened her eyes to reveal a blurry world. Damn that Ino. She's one hell of a bitch. Ngh…. Temari cringed as she attempted to get up. She was in too much pain and fell back down. Shit…. I know it's been a long time since we've last fought, but I can highly doubt that she could ever surpass me during those years. "Ow!" Temari yelled as she tried tilting her head back. A sudden sharp pain struck the back of her neck. Feeling the back of her neck, Temari found three needles that appeared to have been covered in some sort of toxin. I see…now…. Temari fell over again from the pain and exhaustion.

"Temari!" Shikamaru shouted as he ran up to her. When he caught up to Temari, he looked around the perimeter and noticed no one around. Damn it, where is everyone? Shikamaru sat down, carefully rolled Temari onto her back, and laid her head on his lap. "Temari! Can you hear me?"

Temari began to slowly open her eyes again, but didn't say anything.

Shikamaru sighed in relief. At least she's conscious. "Temari, can you hear me? Please say something!"

"Ngh…." Temari cringed in pain again.

"Temari! Did Ino do this to you? Please say something!" Shikamaru began to plead.

"Shi…Shikamaru?" Temari quietly said while continuing to gain strength. But…have I become…weaker? She began to think again. I haven't wavered in my strength until I was back with Shikamaru. It's all his fault! I…I need to get away from him! I'll only get worse if I stay. Even though she was badly injured and still contained the toxin that knocked her out, Temari still used the rest of her strength to move.

"Wh…what are you doing Temari? You're too injured to move!" Shikamaru reprimanded. "Let me carry you back to your room."

"No! Ngh…stay away…from me…." Temari snapped while trying to slowly move away while in intense pain.

"Wh…what? Why? You'll never make it back to your room in that condition!" Shikamaru tried helping Temari again.

"I said get away from me!" Temari yelled again and pushed Shikamaru away.

Temari…what's happened to you? Shikamaru questioned. He could feel his heart sink below his chest. "What's the meaning of this? Please tell me!" This isn't like her; she's more troublesome than usual.

"Go away! I never want to see your face again!" She shouted.

Temari's words struck Shikamaru's soul like an arrow. "I'm trying to help you! Please let me help you…."

"No! You…you've never helped me…you made me…weak!"