Chapter 21:::Final Moments
After Chikako had finally got her feelings sorted out she went to find Kiba. Unfortunately she waited too long. The next day Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, Naruto, and Neji went on a mission to retrieve Sasuke, who left to find Orochimaru, the Third's murderer. Lets just say it didn't go so well.
She waited patiently, but very nervously, for her brother and friends to get back. She had a bad feeling about that mission, she almost told Chouji not to go. She found out when he returned she was right to fear for her brother. And also Kiba, Neji, and Naruto; Shikamaru was the only one to come back conscious. She tried to talk to him, but he seemed to be avoiding her. She later found out that he held himself responsible for what happened.
Chikako and her father sat outside Chouji's room for hours, anxiously and fearfully waiting for the dreaded red light to turn off and the medical-nin to tell them how he was. Chikako was extra scared. All her life Chouji and her had a special sibling bond that all twins seemed to have. That was what made her not want Chouji to go on the mission, and at the time it seemed like it was shut off. That was the scariest thing she had ever experienced.
During the time waiting Chikako visited Kiba, but every time she did he was asleep. Sometimes she would pull up a chair next to his bed and watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful, but she missed the arrogant smirk that always seemed to grace his lips. She had been caught several times by Kiba's sister ,Hana(?), staring at Kiba. She smirked a smirk that all of the Inuzuka clan seemed to have and introduced herself, just making conversation as she checked on Akamaru. Chikako told her her name and Hana's eyes shown brightly with mischief. Chikako thought she was a nice person and asked her if she would tell Kiba she was there before she went to see Chouji.
About halfway to his room something in her head went off, and she ran the rest of the way to his room. When she reached the hallway leading to his doors she stopped in surprise. Shikamaru was standing there with his father, and was...crying. Everyone looked at her, which included the Fifth Hokage, her assistant Shurzune(?), and surprisingly Temari from the Village of the Sand. Although she had heard that the three sand siblings had saved team Shikamaru.
She looked into the Hokage's eyes. "When can I see Chouji?"
She raised an eyebrow. "He is currently in recovery, you can see him when he wakes up."
Chikako nodded and walked past the two Naras', only glancing at Shikamaru. She smiled a small smile before taking a seat next to Temari.
"I want to thank you." Chikako muttered, watching the Hokage and her assistant leave.
Temari crossed her arms and looked at Chikako, she was looking at the double doors. "Why? I didn't actually help your brother."
Chikako looked at her, she was smiling slightly. "I know, but you still helped, and all of Konoha's ninjas are important. You still helped, and for that I own you my thanks."
Temari smirked and nodded. Silence fell over them. Chikako looked up at Shikamaru, his father had left. She smiled again, but he looked away.
"I'm sorry."
Chikako frowned and stood up, looking him in the eyes. "It's not your fault, it's not like you knew this was going to happen. Chouji made his own decision to fight. It was your jobs to lead them, not to fight for him. You have nothing to be sorry for." She hugged him, not caring if he hugged back or not.
Shikamaru closed his eyes, relieved, and hugged her back. There was nothing romantic, just a forgiving friendly hug.
She pulled back and wiped her eyes, just noticing that she was crying. She cracked a smile. "I know, I know, I'm such a crybaby."
Shikamaru smiled and sighed, sitting down next to Temari.
Chikako cocked her head to the side and looked at the two of them. "Hm."
They both looked up. "What?"
She smiled and sat on the bench across from them. "Oh, nothing."
Chikako took a deep breath before entering Kiba's room, closing the door behind her. She automatically noticed that Akamaru what up, but Kiba wasn't. She sighed and picked up the small dog, placing him on her lap as she sat down next to Kiba's bed..
"How are you feeling Akamaru?"
Akamaru gave a soft bark and leaned into her hand.
Chikako smiled and looked at Kiba. Her smile turned into a frown. "Why is he always sleeping when I visit? Hana said he was awake when she left." She looked down at Akamaru when he barked, not noticing Kiba's left eye open a bit to glare at the dog. He quickly shut it when Chikako looked back up. Akamaru barked again and jumped off of Chikako's lap and onto Kiba's stomach.
Kiba made an 'omph' kind of noise and sat up, moving Akamaru. Chikako blinked surprised, but it turned into a glare.
"You've been awake!"
Kiba shook his head quickly. "No I was really asleep! Even when you visited earlier today." He winced. "Or that's what Hana told me."
Chikako crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh, sure." She paused. "Why were you faking, did you not want to see me?"
Kiba was quick to reassure her. "No! Of coarse I want to see you, but I just wanted didn't know what to say to you."
"Well, you could tell me why you avoided me after...um...you know." She blushed.
Kiba smirked. "I wasn't avoiding you, I was training. You're just not a very good tracker." He leaned toward her. "So why did you need to see me?"
Chikako blushed more, wondering. How did the conversation get turned around like this? She smiled nervously. "I just needed to talk to you. I...figured something out."
He tilted his head and leaned closer. "And what was that?"
She glanced at his lips, then back into his eyes, playfulness, curiosity, and a bit of hope shown brightly. She cleared her throat and smiled. "That...I..like you, too." She closed the distance between them and kissed him.
Kiba's eyes widened a bit and he grinned against her lips, joy replacing all doubts he had. He kissed her back, grabbing her hand and closing his eyes.
Chikako pulled back a second later, blushing. Kiba opened his eyes and grinned. "You blush a lot." He stated.
She ducked her head. "Sorry."
He grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes. "I like it when you blush."
Chikako smiled and hugged him, being careful of his injury. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the moment.
A/N DONE! I made this the last chapter just for you reviewers and also because I didn't like how I ended it. So now I see no reason for me to continue. I hope you liked my story, and will check out my other ones.
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Cry Just a Little!
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LadySoftball