Chapter Twenty
A/N: Sorry it has taken me so long to get things up and running again, I have been quite busy recently. I hope you are all enjoying the story. Please feel free to review the story. Thanks.
I don't wanna live, I don't wanna breathe
'Les I feel you next to me
You take the pain I feel
Waking up to you never felt so real
I don't wanna sleep, I don't wanna dream
'Cause my dreams don't comfort me
The way you make me feel
Waking up to you never felt so real
Hinata walked beside Shikamaru as they headed toward the village gate. They walked slowly, trying not to bring any unwanted attention to themselves. They passed into the village without any issues and walked a little further into the village before Shikamaru stopped. "We need to find our apartment." He said without looking at her. "Right," she said, nodding. Shikamaru pulled out a piece of paper from his bag and studied it. "It says here that we need to be looking for the Hisho apartments." He started moving down the street and Hinata followed him. They walked through several streets, wandering around the village for the better part of an hour. Hinata could sense Shikamaru's irritation building up as they continued to walk past countless houses and shops. "This is ridiculous!" he complained, "This place is impossible to find!" Shikamaru started storming ahead and Hinata almost had to run to keep up with him. They walked down another two streets or so – Hinata couldn't remember, she was too concentrated on keeping up with Shikamaru – when he stopped suddenly and Hinata bumped into him. "Wha-? Hinata, what are you doing?" he asked, turning to face her. She leaned against him, too out of breath to answer, as she surveyed the street they were in now. There were people moving through the street, going about their daily routines. She spotted an elderly lady toiling away in her garden a few houses down from where they were and she started walking toward her. "Where are you going?" Shikamaru called, following her.
She approached the fence, hoping the lady would see her. When she did not, Hinata called out to her. "Excuse me ma'am?" The little old lady looked up. "Oh, hello dear, is something the matter?" she asked politely as she looked at Hinata. "Well, yes," Hinata confessed. "We are new here and we're looking for the Hisho apartments. Would you know where to find them?" The old lady studied her. "Of course dear," She said, "just turn left at the end of this street and then take the first right." Hinata nodded. "Thank you very much." She turned and looked at Shikamaru. "Perhaps we should have done that to begin with," he said. "Oh well," Hinata replied, "it's done." She walked down the street and turned left, as the little old lady had said to do, and found themselves in a market place. Ignoring the stalls, she looked for the turn off on the right the lady had told her about and headed toward it. The apartment building was the first building on the left. Hinata looked up at it. It was six stories high and it was a faded grey. A sign up the top of the entrance said 'Hisho Apartments' in big bold letters. Taking a breath, Hinata moved to the door and pushed it open. Inside it smelt of cigarettes. "Lovely" she muttered under her breath. A woman sitting at the receptionist bench looked up as she walked over. "Hi," she said, "we are just moving into town and need an apartment." She offered no more explanation. The receptionist nodded. "We will be requiring an up-front payment for the room," she said. Shikamaru moved forward. "Of course," he said, pulling his wallet out of his back pack.
Hinata watched as Shikamaru discussed prices with the receptionist before finally handing over the money. The receptionist produced a key from a pocket and walked over to a cabinet. Unlocking it, she removed a room key from it and brought it over to them. "There you are," the receptionist said. "Thanks," was all Shikamaru said as he headed for the stairs. Hinata followed him. "What floor are we?" she asked. "Third," he replied, "and I think she said our window overlooks the market." They ascended the stairs to the third floor. "We are room number seven," he said, heading for the door with the big number '7' on it. Slipping the key into the keyhole, Shikamaru unlocked the door and pushed it open. He stood aside to let Hinata in first. She entered the apartment and looked around. There wasn't much in there. A small brown table with two chairs, an old red sofa and a small kitchen. She went in search of the bedrooms and bathroom. She found only one bedroom which had a queen sized bed in it. "Shikamaru," she called, "there's only one bedroom." She turned and headed to the kitchen. Shikamaru looked up at her. "We're supposed to be a couple. Remember? Relax, I'll take the couch" She nodded and went back to the bedroom, putting her back pack down and flopping onto the bed. She was hungry, but there was no food. They would have to go and buy some. Pushing herself up, she dug through her bag for her wallet and called out to Shikamaru, "We need to buy some food." Without waiting for a reply she got up and went into the kitchen, taking Shikamaru by the arm and pulling him out. "Are you sure we need to do this now?" he asked. "Yes Shikamaru. We have nothing. We need food." He didn't say a word; just let himself be pulled along by her. They left the building and headed for the market. Hinata let go of Shikamaru's arm and began to casually stroll through the market, looking at all the different stalls. Most were selling food, but some were selling clothes and bits and pieces.
The marketplace reminded her of the night when she and Shikamaru had stayed behind at the bridge after everyone had left. She watched Shikamaru as he browsed through items at the stalls. She thought of all the times they had been together. Don't let this go to waste. She moved beside him and slipped her hand into his. They moved along, looking at all the items, until they found a stall that sold fruit and vegetables. There Hinata bought enough stock to last a few days, and then she searched for somewhere to buy some meat. When she had bought enough food to last at least three days, she began to slowly wander back towards their apartment. Shikamaru gripped her hand a little tighter as they got nearer to the building and he pulled her a little closer. Hinata smiled. They went into the building and up to their apartment. Hinata sorted through all the food, putting the meat in the small fridge in the kitchen and whatever fruit they had bought too. The vegetables she put in the small cupboard. For tonight they would have instant-ramen, she was too tired to cook. Filling the kettle with water, she clicked it on. When the water was steaming and the kettle turned off, she poured the water into the ramen cups and carried one to Shikamaru, who was laying on the couch. "Here you go," she said, handing him one. He sat up and took it from her. "Thanks," he said. She nodded and went into her bedroom. She sat on the bed and had a few mouthfuls of the hot, steaming ramen before she set it down on the small bedside table. She lay down on the bed and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she drifted off to sleep.